News

SIKESTON — The Sikeston City Council approved the use of UTVs and the selling of fireworks inside city limits but the use of fireworks is still not allowed — for now. At a city council meeting Monday morning, Council approved the use of UTVs on Sikeston city streets, after amending the proposed ordinance to include stricter safety laws for children riding in the vehicles. ...

SIKESTON — One medical marijuana dispensary license has been issued in Sikeston, and another in New Madrid has been approved by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. In all, 192 dispensary licenses were approved in a list released by DHSS Friday afternoon with each congressional district awarded 24 licenses...

SIKESTON — Four Sikeston firefighters were injured Friday after a roof collapsed while they were responding to a residential fire. At 5:37 p.m. Friday officers with Sikeston Department of Public Safety responded to 105 Bohannon Drive in reference to a structure fire out of town, according to Evelyn Aceves, public information officer for DPS...

ESSEX, Mo. — An Essex native recently opened the town’s first public library with hopes of also opening residents’ minds to a vast collection of books and rural history. Located at 110 N. Cypress St., next to the town’s post office, the Essex Public Library officially opened Dec. 14, 2019, and currently, it is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays...

MINER — Students at the Miner Baptist Church are running lines and working out the kinks for their upcoming presentation of “Catacombs,” a story of faith, persecution and survival in three acts. Presented in the form of a winter dinner theatre, Parable, the youth performing arts team of Miner Baptist Church, “Catacombs” will be performed at 6 p.m. Feb. 13-16 in Studio One on the church campus...

Three Rivers College in Sikeston welcomed its first class this month to its new Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) program. TRC took over the program, which used to reside with the Sikeston Career and Technology Center, over the summer when the State Board of Nursing approved the transfer...

MINER, Mo. — Let the races begin. With the closing of filing for city office on Tuesday, voters in several communities will have choices to make on April 7 about who will represent them. Miner has five candidates seeking election as mayor. Incumbent Bill James will be on the ballot along with Frank Tatum, Don Foster, Justin Cashmer and Peggy Holman...

“I always wanted to be a teacher,” a smiling Rosemary Walker observes. “From the time I was a little girl, I wanted to teach, and when I look back over my career in business education, my greatest pleasure came from watching the students in my secretarial practice class move on to good jobs, or to take their skills with them to college.”...

SIKESTON — A proposed school bond issue for the Sikeston R-6 school district that will be on April’s ballot was presented at the Sikeston Regional Chamber luncheon Thursday afternoon. Katie Merideth and Cooper McKelvey, co-chairs of Better Schools for Better Communities, and R-6 Superintendent Dr. Tony Robinson spoke to Chamber members, explaining the bond issue...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Portageville’s mayor has resigned and an alderman has stepped up to fill the office. During Tuesday’s city council meeting, the Portageville Board of Aldermen accepted the resignation of Mayor Floyd Simmons. Simmons, who submitted his letter of resignation earlier this month, cited health reasons for leaving office...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — An East Prairie man’s guilty plea was set aside and he was given the opportunity for new hearing due to an illegal “ping” by a former law enforcement officer. Brent Naile, 38, who was charged with second degree murder and armed criminal action for the July 5, 2014, stabbing death of Derell T. Davis, had initially entered a guilty plea to the charges. He was sentenced to 30 years in the Department of Corrections on Oct. 24, 2016...

SIKESTON — A Sikeston man faces multiple charges after allegedly striking his ex-girlfriend in the head with a broom. David Lewis IV, 27, is charged with felony second-degree domestic assault, felony armed criminal action and misdemeanor possession of marijuana/synthetic cannabinoid of 11-35 grams, according to online court records...

DEXTER, Mo. — Tara Saunders of Dexter likes to play $5 Scratchers games, using the information provided at MOLottery.com to see what games are new and which have the most prizes remaining. In the first week of 2020, that strategy paid off. Saunders played “$100,000 Money Multiplier,” a game that had been available for less than two weeks with no top prizes claimed at the time. She purchased two of the tickets at Walmart, 2025 W. Business Highway 60 in Dexter, and took them home...

PADUCAH, Ky. — The Sikeston area could see a wintery mix tonight into early Thursday. According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., a very light wintery mix is possible over parts of southern Illinois and southeast Missouri late Wednesday and early Thursday. A weather system will likely produce a light wintry mix over portions of southeast Missouri and southern Illinois tonight into Thursday morning...

The Portageville Rural Fire Department responded to a shed fire behind a residence in Hayward, Missouri, on State Highway T at 11:07 a.m. Tuesday. According to a Facebook post, Engine 3 responded and upon arrival firefighters found a shed which had been burning for some time. The owners of the shed stated they were burning trash when the fire got out of control. No other structures were damaged in the fire...

Local veterans were honored Tuesday night during a recognition ceremony between the varsity and junior varsity basketball games between Sikeston and Farmington at the Sikeston Field House. Also, before the game, the Sikeston Bleacher Bums hosted a chili supper to recognize the veterans...

Free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes will soon be offered in the Missouri communities of Kennett and Sikeston to help improve literacy in the region. The classes will be offered by the Cape Girardeau-based Adult Education and Literacy Program, which serves Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, North Stoddard, North Scott, Pemiscot and Perry counties...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston Career and Technology Center will offer a new forklift training program to high school students to help better prepare them for the workforce. The new program was introduced at a breakfast Tuesday morning with representatives from Sikeston businesses in attendance along with city officials and individuals with Sikeston schools...

SIKESTON — Sikeston Parks and Recreation is currently accepting nominees for the 2020 Honors Board. Since 1986, 48 individuals have been honored by having their names installed on the Honors Board in recognition of their outstanding volunteer contributions to youth programs in the community including baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts. The Honors Board is located near the Ingram Road entrance to the Recreation Complex...

MINER, Mo. — Sikeston Outlet Stores will be adding a new store in March. Armstrong Outdoors, an all-inclusive hunting store for men and women, is scheduled to open March 7, in the space beside Carter’s at the Sikeston Outlet Stores. This will be their second location, with a location currently in Fruitland, Missouri...

n County jury convicted a Malden man Friday of attempting to break into a home as he was fleeing from fugitive recovery agents trying to arrest him on outstanding warrants. The jury deliberated about an hour and 20 minutes in convicting Xavier M. Ray, 36, of the Class C felony of first-degree attempted burglary, according Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Nicholas Jain...

SIKESTON — A vehicle pursuit that began in Sikeston Sunday morning turned into a multi-county chase and led to an arrest in Cape Girardeau Monday. According to Evelyn Aceves, public information officer with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, Kevin R. Jobe, 19, was taken into custody on Monday by the Cape Girardeau Police Department and charged with resisting arrest, driving while revoked and failure to stop at stop signs x’s 20. He is currently being held with no bond...

The Sikeston Martin Luther King Jr. celebration was held Monday, started by a motorcade parade through Sikeston. Following the motorcade, the annual celebration program was held at Green Memorial Church of God in Christ with Mother Opal Patricia Green serving as the keynote speaker.

SIKESTON — The Standard Democrat office will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The office will reopen with regular hours at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.