Stories from Wednesday, December 21, 2016

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Bloomfield Wildcats couldn't have asked for a much better start than the one they had against visiting Chaffee. Active hands led to steals, precise ball movement led to efficient offense and their leading scorers continued their roles as the Wildcats ran away with a 65-32 win on Tuesday at Bloomfield High School...

DELTA, Mo. -- Five players scored in the double digits as the Scott County Central Bravettes notched their first conference victory of the season during a 62-47 win over the Delta Bobcats. Breasia Jones led the way with 15 points for Scott County Central (4-3, 1-1 Scott-Mississippi Conference). ...

Not known for having a touch from the outside, the Sikeston girls basketball team showed just how dangerous they can be when an efficient offense compliments its stellar defense.

SIKESTON --To help provide a safe place for online purchase transactions, Sikeston Department of Public Safety now has an "Internet Purchase Exchange Location" at its headquarters. "More and more people are using social media to buy and sell items locally," said Capt. James McMillen, public information officer for Sikeston DPS...

SIKESTON -- A vehicle and foot pursuit of a Sikeston man wanted on several felony warrants resulted in his arrest. At 12:30 p.m. Thursday, officers with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety observed a vehicle in the 900 block of Davis Street being driven by Marco Tyrone Sawyer, 31, of Sikeston, according to Sgt. Jon Broom, public information officer with Sikeston DPS...

SIKESTON - A Kentucky man was killed when his vehicle struck a tree. David W. Stephenson, 55, of South Shore, Ky., was pronounced dead at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday by Mississippi County Coroner Terry Parker at the scene of an accident on Interstate 57, four miles north of Sikeston. Stephenson is the 71st fatality in the Troop E area this year...

LILBOURN, Mo. -- It didn't look like a typical classroom. Students circled together on the floor. Others plopped on their bellies as they read directions. A trio gathered around the table eyeing tiny pieces arrayed before them. There was a lot of discussion. Each had an opinion on the project before them...

BENTON, Mo. -- Several board appointments were made during Tuesday's Scott County Commission meeting. Donna Tippy, Gerald Settles and Sheila Eftink, all of Sikeston, were re-appointed to the SB40 Board for three-year terms, which begin Jan. 6. Oliver Kirkpatrick of rural Scott County was appointed to a three-year term on the Levee II board while Jerry Laseter of Blodgett was appointed to a four-year term on the SEMO Port Authority Board. These terms begin Jan. 1...

UPDATE- The Portageville Lady Bulldogs played in the Consolation semifinals against Twin Rivers. BROSELEY, Mo. -- A disjointed and rushed final possession by the Greenville girls basketball team worked out just right in the end. On her way down the court with just under 10 seconds remaining, Beth Bangert weaved her way in between defenders before finding an opening and a clear path to the basket...

SIKESTON -- Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also an opportune time for "porch pirates" to steal packages before homeowners have the chance to bring them indoors. About 2:10 p.m. Monday larceny of mail was reported at a residence in the 100 block of Larkspur Lane in Sikeston, according to Sikeston Department of Public Safety reports. The stolen package contained $100 worth of miscellaneous toys...

BENTON, MO. (SMNS) - The Scott County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged a Benton, Missouri, man who threatened to blow up Boomland and set his car afire Thursday, Scott County sheriff's deputies said. Jerod Anthony Dockins, 39, was been charged with three Class A felony counts of assault and attempted assault on law-enforcement officers, making a terrorist threat and resisting arrest...

SIKESTON --To help provide a safe place for online purchase transactions, Sikeston Department of Public Safety now has an "Internet Purchase Exchange Location" at its headquarters. "More and more people are using social media to buy and sell items locally," said Capt. James McMillen, public information officer for Sikeston DPS...

As the unbridled joy of the Christmas season approaches that special day, I find myself increasingly concerned about Michelle Obama's hopelessness. The first lady last week expressed her dismay at the current state of politics and her hopeless view of this new political landscape...

COMMERCE, Mo.-- Golda Johnson, 90, died Dec. 21, 2016, at The Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Benton.

SIKESTON -- Jeanne Crowley, 83, died Dec. 19, 2016, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born Oct. 1, 1933, in East Prairie, to the late Pete and Etta Jane Perry Sams, she was a member of Shady Acres Church of Christ in Sikeston. Survivors include: one daughter and son-in-law, Becky and Danny Kuykendall of Sikeston; four grandchildren, Josh Crowley of Jackson and Claudea Kuykendall, Jackson Kuykendall and Hudson Kuykendall all of Sikeston; and two great-grandchildren...

Sikeston ASTRA Club Vice President Fadel Alkilani presents Gabbie Hodgkiss with a donation to help her Girl Scout troop prepare and serve a holiday dinner for the House of Refuge and Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corp's Homeless Shelter.

Anne Westrich, Kelly High School FFA president, welcomes guests to the Degree Ceremony at the agriculture building. Members of the officer team including Alyssa Moore, Mitchell Proctor, Wyatt Standridge, Gracen Florek and Kenzie Scherer, as well as advisor Jeff Scherer await their opportunity to speak. ...

Mary Caroline Pullen, 6 months old; Mason Pullen, 23 months old; and Maverick Bell, 23 months old, along with their mothers pose for a picture outside the Sikeston Kindergarten Center as the Sikeston R-6 Parents as Teachers children of the month for November. For more information about PAT program, contact Maryiln Schlosser, PAT educator, at 471-0653...

The Scott County Central All Schools Foundation recently presented a check to Superintendent Alvin McFerren for the One for One Initiative. The funds helped to purchases technology for each classroom. The organization raises funds to purchase materials to meet and enhance the academic needs of the Scott Central K-12 students. ...

The Scott County Central All Schools Foundation is sponsoring a raffle for a chance to win an Otto Porter Jr. autographed basketball encased in a Lucite container. A former SCC graduate, Porter is currently a member of the Washington Wizards NBA team. ...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Donald "Gene" Chasteen, 90, died Dec. 16, 2016, at the Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter. Born Sept. 2, 1926, in Dexter, son of the late Carl Chasteen and Ruth Sitton Chasteen, he was a veteran of the United States Navy serving in World War II. He retired from Fred Weber Construction in St. Louis before returning to Dexter, where he worked for McMullin Excavating for 10 years, Dexter Walmart for 12 years and was a member of the First Church of Nazarene...