Cookie sales exceed goal

The Otahki Girl Scout Council exceeded its goal for cookie sales this year, increasing by 9 percent last year's total number of cases.

The girls are delivering 17,094 cases of cookies this week at 12 boxes per case. They sold 15,668 cases last year, said Karen Redfearn, program director for the council.

The goal was an 8 percent increase.

The money raised will fund camps and other Scout activities, but the cookie drive is about more than dollars and cents, Redfearn said.

"We hope the girls learn a lot of things, such as goal setting, money management and time management," she said.

The top seller was Kaelyn McGill of Cape Girardeau, who sold 1,009 boxes. Kaelyn died in a car accident Feb. 3, and other girls are helping by delivering her cookies. Her family wants to give the prizes she would have earned, including Six Flags tickets and jewelry, to the girls who helped make deliveries.

"Kaelyn set a high goal for herself, and she was determined to reach it," Redfearn said.

The other top sellers were Danielle Wilson of Fredericktown, Mo., second place, and Shalee Rains of Jonesboro, Ill., third place.

The top sellers will be honored at a luncheon on April 27.