Stories from Tuesday, February 25, 2020

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Ted Charles Medlock, 79, died Feb. 23, 2020, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born Aug. 4, 1940, at Dexter, son of the late Virgil Utah (Bill) and Goldie Killian Medlock, he was a 1958 graduate of Dexter High School and had worked at Fralick Heating and Plumbing in Dexter. ...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Vella Bea Moody, 87, died Feb. 23, 2020, at Gideon Care Center. Born Aug. 27, 2020, in Monetee, Ark., daughter of the late Beulah Edna Hampton and E.T. “Bill” Robinson, she retired from the city of Portageville as the city clerk after serving 30 years from 1983-2013. She was a member of the First Baptist Church...

SIKESTON — Wilbert “Bill” Gossett, 76, died Feb. 15, 2020. Born Aug. 1, 1943, son of the late Wilbert and Gladys Gossett, he lived in Sikeston and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1960 to 1964. His wife, Katherine Gossett, survives of the home in Sikeston...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Courtney Wigfall Sr., 48, died Feb. 17, 2020, at Olathe, Kan. Born Jan. 12, 1972, in Hayti, son of JoAnn James and Harvey Wigfall of Portageville, graduated from Portageville High School in 1990. He served in the United States Army and was honorably discharged. He was employed by the Sysco Trucking in Springfield...

SIKESTON — Three Rivers College in Sikeston was the scene of the annual Lions Club District M1 convention over the weekend. More than 70 Lions from the district, which encompasses most of the southeastern quadrant of Missouri, attended the event on Saturday. Also in attendance were several Lions from other districts in Missouri and neighboring states who gave presentations on many diverse topics concerning the Lions Clubs focus, “We Serve.”...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo – CARF International announced that Gibson Recovery Center, Inc. has been accredited for a period of three years for its behavioral health treatment programs in Southeast Missouri.  The accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be award to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards. ...

MARSTON, Mo. — A New Madrid, Missouri, man was seriously injured in a one-vehicle accident Friday morning. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, Joshua St. Mary, 28, was traveling southbound on US 61, one mile north of Marston at 10:04 a.m. Friday when his vehicle ran off the left side of the roadway and struck a ditch culvert...

On Saturday at 6:25 a.m., the Portageville Fire Department was paged to a mutual-aid call at Gideon for a bulding fire. Portageville Ladder 1 responded. Prior to fire fighters arrival, smoke could be seen from right outside of Portageville. Once on scene, firefighters found Smith’s Auto Shop on N. ...

SIKESTON - Lonnie E. Hodges, age 80, passed away Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He was born Dec. 16, 1939 in Sikeston, Missouri, son of the late Elbert Lee Hodges and Loretta Elizabeth "Betty" Vanover Hodges...

DENVER, Colo. — Karen Elaine Duncan Parker, 62, died Feb. 15, 2020, at her home in Denver. Born Dec. 19, 1957, in Houston, Texas, daughter of the late Thomas Hershel Duncan and Marlene Karres, she was a member of Woodside Baptist Church in Denver. She retired from SkyWest Airlines in 2012...

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Orlando Pierre Butler, 54, died Jan. 21, 2020, in Milwaukee. Born Dec. 28, 1965, in Sikeston, son of Ida Bernice Williams-Butler of Milwaukee and Ernest Butler of Sikeston, Mo., he was a 1984 graduate of Sikeston High School and was a U.S. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — On May 22, 2019, violent storms spread across Missouri, spawning eight tornadoes, dangerous flash flooding, and causing three deaths and widespread destruction. The deadly system, which produced the most destructive tornadoes since the 2011 Joplin tornado exactly eight years before, is another reminder of the importance of being prepared for severe weather. ...

BENTON, Mo. — During National FFA Week, the Kelly High School FFA Chapter hosted a screening of an independent film about grain entrapment Tuesday in the high school gymnasium. “SILO” is the first-ever feature film about a grain entrapment, a possible tragedy agricultural communities face every day...

SIKESTON — Altrusa International of Sikeston, Missouri, Inc. presented the Enhancement of Semo Back Pack Program with a grant from the International Foundation on Nov. 8, 2019. As a literary focus to help increase reading skills of local students, the Sikeston Altrusa Club will use the grant to place one book in each back pack three times during the 2019-2020 school year. On Feb. 20, the club’s members placed books in the back packs for the second time this school year...

East Prairie High School students recently received over 50 pairs of waders and wading boots through Bass Pro Shops for the school’s Conservation Wildlife course. With the waders and boots, the students will be going to the Ozarks to learn about fly fishing...

SIKESTON — Norma Jean Sherry Maddox, 89, died Feb. 24, 2020, at the Integrity Nursing Center in Carbondale, Ill.