Editorial

A BOUQUET FOR SKATERS

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Southeast Missouri has a pair of ambassadors who will be in the national spotlight this week. Matt Buttrey and Sarah Booth will be competing in the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships in Rhode Island. This is their second appearance in the nationals. They won a bronze medal in the novice division last year in Detroit. This year they are skating in the junior division.

Eighteen-year-old Matt is a student at Scott City High School, and 13-year-old Sarah is a student at Woodland High School at Marble Hill. They practice at The Ice in Cape Girardeau, which is an asset few communities in the southern United States can boast. As a matter of fact, The Ice is the only indoor ice-skating facility between St. Louis and Memphis. It is owned by Dr. Tim Talbert and his wife, Bettie, and it is used by other competitive skaters who take lessons there, a youth hockey league that competes in nearby states and casual skaters who just think skating is fun. The Ice has provided these opportunities for more than a decade.

Because of the sizable number of skaters in this area, there will be plenty of supporters keeping track of Matt and Sarah as they compete in both a short program and a long program.

One day, the pair hopes to make it to an Olympic competition. They have shown their ability and determination. All of Southeast Missouri wishes Matt and Sarah well as they give the nation one more glimpse of the winners and heroes this area produces.