Stories from Thursday, June 25, 2015

SIKESTON -- A Sikeston man died after accidentally shooting himself. Around noon Wednesday, officers with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety responded to a home on Virginia Street following a report of an accidental shooting. According to Capt. Jim McMillen, DPS public information officer, upon their arrival, officers found a 19-year-old man with a single gunshot wound to the abdomen...

SIKESTON -- Authorities have released the name of the Sikeston man who accidentally shot himself Wednesday in Sikeston. Michael Evans Boyd III, 18, of Sikeston died following a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. "Police were told that somehow the man accidentally shot himself while handling a firearm," Capt. Jim McMillen, Sikeston Department of Public Safety public information officer said in a news release. "EMS quickly responded and transported the man to a local hospital."...

Well, summer is officially here my friends, and for our beautiful part of the country that means a couple of things. One of which is sweltering heat, and choking humidity, and the annual resurrection of Satan's favorite little blood-sucking bug, the mosquito. Being an optimist though, I'd rather focus on the positives, and for late June those pros are hot water crappie, bullfrogs, swimming pools, and the beach, among others...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The rain-swollen Mississippi River continued to slowly rise Sunday in Southeast Missouri, inconveniencing travelers and inundating farmland. The Missouri Department of Transportation said floodwaters have closed roads in more than two dozen counties, with the largest concentration of closures in the east-central part of the state...

Missouri school officials are still waiting on end of the year assessments results, despite testing consortium Smarter Balanced's promise of a 10-day return.

PORTAGEVILLE - A driver and two children were ejected from an ATV during a weekend accident. Sarah E. Keene, 30, Brooklyn R. Linville, 6, and Carson J. Linville, 4, of Portageville were all seriously injured in an accident at 6:45 p.m. Saturday on Highway TT at County Road 417, four miles southeast of Portageville...

In this series on the lessons to be learned from God's judgment upon the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah we learned that the people of Lot's day (as well as people of our day) were not following God's plan for marriage but instead were committing abomination. ...

Jackson won the first game 14-0 and the second 10-0 both in five innings. Post 158 out-hit Sikeston 27-8 combined in the doubleheader.

BENTON -- A Sikeston man faces charges for sexual-related crimes involving a child. Terry Allen Lewis, 35, of Sikeston is charged with two counts of statutory sodomy, child molestation in the first degree and two counts of sexual misconduct. Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter said investigators began working with the Scott County Children's Division after receiving information that Lewis had sexual-related contacts with a female relative. ...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Area youth will have the opportunity to learn about and experience frog hunting next month in Mississippi County. The Missouri Department of Conservation invites families to discover nature at a frog gigging clinic from 6:30 p.m. to midnight July 11 at Ten Mile Pond Conservation Area. The clinic is free and open to youth ages 7 to 17 and their parent or adult mentor. Preregistration is required by July 6...

The move is officially getting underway for The Christian Academy to its new location at 103 E. Kathleen St. Jeff Robey, owner and operator with Cora Signs, puts up the signs for the Sikeston Christian-based school on the building, which formerly housed Three Rivers College's Sikeston campus. ...

DUTCHTOWN -- The tiny village of Dutchtown has become smaller as residents in flood-prone areas pack up their belongings and head for higher ground. Seeking refuge from rising floodwaters is not a new experience for people in Dutchtown's low-lying neighborhoods. But this time, it's a little different. This time, people will not return to their homes, but moving into new ones...

The 2015 Bulldog Basketball Camp is currently being held at the YMCA gym in Sikeston for boys ages 8-14. Here, Will Holifield watches as Tristan Brotherton goes though a shooting drill. The camp will continue through Friday with each camper learning specific basketball skills as well as getting individual attention from coaches and Sikeston players...

HOUSE SPRINGS -- Inez Duncan, 98, died June 23, 2015, at House Springs. For the complete obituary and more, see the Thursday edition of the Standard Democrat.

SIKESTON -- Bobby Gene Hatley, 84, died June 24, 2015, at Miner Nursing Center. For the complete obituary and more, see the Thursday edition of the Standard Democrat.

CHAFFEE -- Janie Lynn Connell Rauch, 63, died June 23, 2015, at Southeast Health in Cape Girardeau. For the complete obituary and more, see the Thursday edition of the Standard Democrat.

CHARLESTON -- Sharon Dugan, 71, died May 4, 2015, at Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter. For the complete obituary and more, see the Thursday edition of the Standard Democrat.

I still carry the scars of a vicious dog attack that happened when I was six years old. Back then, the Sikeston Police Department took the report and did nothing afterwards. The police were satisfied to let the owners keep the German Shepherd in a 4-foot fence that the dog could jump at anytime. ...