Stories from Thursday, June 18, 2020

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Paul L. Neal, 63, died June 14, 2020, at New Madrid. Born April 16, 1957, in Cotton Plant, Ark., son of the late Dorothy Bosewell Neal, he graduated from Cotton Plant High School and attended Southern Arkansas College. He worked in food service and later became a minister. He had been the minister at New Bethel Church in Portageville since October 1998...

SIKESTON — Harry Lewis Powers III, 41, died May 31, 2020, at Colonial Manor in Sikeston. Born June 7, 1978, in Sikeston, son of the late Harry Lewis Powers Jr. and Sharon Lynn Rayburn, he had lived in Sikeston his entire life. He had worked at the Sheltered Workshop for over 20 years...

GIDEON, Mo. — The Rev. William Elsworth “Bill” Piatt Jr., son of the late William Elsworth Piatt Sr. and Emma Catherine Hayes Piatt, was born Sept. 13, 1935, in Springfield, Ohio. He attended the Church of God in Portageville, Mo., and was a member of the Air Force National Guard...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — FaQuazia Danairia Wilson “Quay” Ellis, 20, died June 7, 2020, in Sikeston, Missouri. Born Feb. 1, 2000, in Sikeston, daughter of Favis Wilson of Charleston and the late Crystal Cooper, she was a 2018 graduate of Charleston High School...

There were 283 new positive COVID-19 cases and 37 new deaths reported in Missouri on Thursday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. To date, there has been 16,908 positive cases and 946 deaths. The Scott County Health Department reported five new cases on Wednesday and two new positive cases on Thursday along with nine more recoveries. Scott County currently has 147 positive cases with 37 active and 99 recovered. There have been 11 deaths...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Mike Parson requested President Donald Trump approve a major disaster declaration for Missouri to provide federal assistance to a total of 19 counties in response to severe storms and tornadoes that swept across the state on May 3 and 4, resulting in widespread destruction...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Two documentary films directed and produced by students at Central High School in Springfield and Richland High School in Essex are among 35 documentary films selected for an online showcase sponsored by National History Day, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Learning Lab. The public can stream the documentary showcase online from June 17 – 24...

An E-waste Recycling Day will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. June 22 in Mississippi County. There will be drop off locations behind Charleston City Hall on North 1st Street and at the East Prairie Maintenance Shop on Highway 105. The event is for the residents of Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Scott and Stoddard Counties...

SIKESTON — Sikeston Department of Public Safety responded to a two-vehicle accident early Thursday on North Main Street at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. According to Sikeston DPS Chief James McMillen, at 8:40 a.m., a vehicle was stationary and facing west in the entrance way/exit of the hospital parking lot whenever the driver said he looked both ways and didn’t see any traffic. The driver said he started to cross Highway 61 when he saw a vehicle traveling south on 61; he said he tried to stop but couldn’t and hit the vehicle traveling south, McMillen said. The westbound vehicle overturned.

SIKESTON — The warmer weather and eased pandemic restrictions have more people on the roadways. Whether in a vehicle, walking or biking, the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety says they should keep their head ups and be alert as safety is a two-way street...