News

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Portageville High School began Thursday transitioning to full virtual education through Nov. 6, the school district announced Wednesday. “We plan on returning to in-person classes on Nov. 9,” said a message posted on the school district’s official website and Facebook page. “This is a result of increased COVID-19 contact tracing. This is for high school students only, grades 9-12. Students will not attend vo-tech in Sikeston.”...

Students at the Sikeston Kindergarten and Early Childhood Center look through the 67 pumpkins entered in the school’s annual Great Pumpkin Decorating Contest, which ends Thursday. From treats like a giant ice cream cone, a donut tray and gumball machine to familiar characters like Oscar the Grouch, Poppy the Troll and a Minion, students’ creativity was on full display this year. ...

Scott Amick and Carl Rose are both candidates for Scott County Coroner on the Nov. 3 ballot. Amick is a Democrat while Rose is a Republican. The following is a Q&A with Rose. Amick was contacted for the article but did not submit his responses...

SIKESTON — As the number of domestic violence incidents increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for shelters, such as the House of Refuge in Sikeston, is at it’s peak. However, with many avoiding large gatherings due to the pandemic, many fundraising opportunities for shelters like the House of Refuge are being canceled, leaving a need for funds. Now a new tax credit hopes to encourage more giving...

Seven deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported in Scott County since Friday. The Scott County Health Department reported six deaths between Friday to Tuesday afternoon and another death, the county’s 27th, was reported Wednesday. An additional 40 positive cases were reported late Wednesday afternoon while 25 more people have fully recovered. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were 261 active cases in Scott County with 1,240 recoveries...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston R-6 School District will receive over $1 million in a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to build a community safe room. The grant will fund the construction of a new community safe room at the Sikeston R-6 School District-Kindergarten Center Campus in Sikeston...

UPDATED 10/27/20: A Poplar Bluff man missing for nearly a week has been safely located. On Monday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Poplar Bluff Police Department canceled the Endangered SILVER Advisory for 83-year-old Robert Lee Coats who had last been seen at 9:45 a.m. Oct. 20 in Poplar Bluff.

Despite the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, most local communities will continue with Halloween activities, with extra safety precautions encouraged. Sikeston Trick or treating will continue as planned in Sikeston but officials are encouraging parents and children to follow the best practices for social distancing, face coverings and sanitation...

Terry Cole and Dennis Ziegenhorn are both candidates for 1st District Scott County Commissioner on the Nov. 3 ballot. Cole is a Republican while Ziegenhorn is a Democrat. The following is a Q&A with each candidate. In 100 words or less: Describe your experience/background?...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — As the local area continues to see positive cases, a free COVID-19 testing event is planned. The testing will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 29 at the New Madrid County Public Safety Center, 342 US Highway 61, in New Madrid. The test is a PCR test done by a nasal anterior nares swab to determine if there is an active infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This is not an antigen or antibody test. Register online at health.mo.gov/communitytest...

Standard Democrat SIKESTON — The purchase of three vehicles for the Sikeston Department of Public Safety was tabled during Monday’s Sikeston City Council meeting. Instead of purchasing the three used highway patrol vehicles, DPS Director Jim McMillen asked Council to table the measure. With the decrease in staff at DPS, McMillen said he wanted to focus on obtaining new hires for his department...

SIKESTON — Early this month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said traditional Halloween activities are fun and can still be enjoyed this year, but there are some steps people can take to decrease the risk of getting or spreading COVID-19 or the seasonal flu...

Vicki Jackson, site administrator of the Hunter-Dawson Historical Site in New Madrid, discusses the lives and deaths of Amanda and William Hunter during a tour of the Hunter-Dawson Cemetery Saturday in New Madrid. The tour of the cemetery wasn’t designed to scare up ghosts before Halloween but to introduce the public to history and some of the town’s founders. ...

Southeast Missouri Food Bank in Sikeston, Missouri, has received a grant from Feeding America that will cover the cost of monthly mobile food distributions in Scott County and other nearby counties through April, a study on how well the food bank’s services are doing, a new staff member, and a pilot program to improve access to healthy foods, according to a news release sent Monday...

The Missouri Bootheel Regional Consortium Inc. based in Sikeston, Missouri, hosted an invitation-only meeting Oct. 8 at the Drury Lodge Convention Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Among attendees was John “Tony” Lowden, who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump as executive director to lead the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry. ...

SIKESTON — When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, the impact was felt by all in some way, especially small businesses. But Hector Lemus, manager of La Ruleta Mexican Restaurant, didn’t fold under the challenging times. “At first it was nerve wracking, when you have something business-wise, even health-wise, and you don’t know what tomorrow is going to be,” Lemus said. ...

SIKESTON — Scott County Health Department Administrator Barry Cook doesn’t remember the first time he heard of coronavirus-19, but he remembers when it began to hit Missouri in mid- to late March — and the world hasn’t been the same since, especially for those who work in public healthcare...

Mike Backfisch Jr. and Donnie Keifer are both candidates for 2nd District Scott County Commissioner on the Nov. 3 ballot. Backfisch is a Republican while Kiefer is a Democrat. The following is a Q&A with each candidate. In 100 words or less: Describe your experience/background?...

Scott County R-4 “Kelly” school bus driver Dina Wilkerson delivers meals to a parent in the district Thursday at the Benton City Hall. Since Oct. 9, the district has been educating all of its students virtually after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 and had been in close contact with many of the other staff members. ...

SIKESTON — The Missouri Veterans Hall of Fame has announced its first inductees, and among them is a Southeast Missouri native. Inductees require a Missouri connection, honorable military service and contributed exceptionally to the community, the state and/or the nation...

Temporary speed bumps are currently in place on Salcedo near the intersection with Columbine. Several individuals in the area have made multiple requests for the city to install the speed bumps at the location and Sikeston’s Traffic Committee has previously considered but denied this request. ...

MATTHEWS, Mo. — A pedestrian was injured after being struck by a vehicle in the parking lot of a truck stop late Thursday in New Madrid County. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the incident occurred at 9:30 p.m. in the Love’s Truck Stop parking lot in Matthews as the northbound vehicle driven by John M. Riley, 39, of New Madrid, Missouri, was backing from a parking spot and struck a pedestrian, Ernest D. Howden, 79, of Lake Michigan, Michigan...

SIKESTON — There will be a Thanksgiving meal offered to the community this year; however, it will be different than ever before due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re making drastic changes this year,” said longtime event organizer Marlene Stevens of Sikeston. “We’re still going to have a meal, but we will not be delivering or directly serving the food. All the meals will have to be ‘to-go,’ and we feel like that’s the best way to do it to keep everyone safe.”...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Southeast Missouri Food Bank in Sikeston will receive just over $500,000 in new funding to assist residents in need during the pandemic. Gov. Mike Parson announced on Wednesday $5 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to be divided among Missouri’s six regional food banks to help citizens who continue to rely on food assistance...

SIKESTON — Delta Dental of Missouri’s Land of Smiles program, known for visiting hundreds of elementary schools throughout Missouri each year to teach grade-school children good dental health habits, has launched a new virtual experience in response to the continuing impact of COVID-19...