Stories from Friday, June 26, 2020

SIKESTON, Mo. — With just six weeks before the opening of the 68th Annual Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, officials are searching for a new Friday night act. On Friday, the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo Board of Directors announced that due to unforeseen circumstances ZZ Top will be unable to attend this year’s rodeo. ...

SIKESTON — The City of Sikeston, Department of Public Safety and community members have taken the next step in implementing a program to improve the relationship between law enforcement and community members. Early this month the Sikeston City Council unanimously approved the implementation of the “Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships” program sponsored by the Department of Justice...

Look what you made me do Starting today, June 15, 2020, anybody that buys a Taylor Swift record or CD should be deported from the United States. What happened with Paducah TV signal? What happened to Paducah TV in our area. On our small indoor antenna, Paducah used to come in good and clear. ...

LIBERTY, Mo. — Orville Ray Krauss, 86 of Liberty, formerly of Cape Girardeau, Mo., passed away Wednesday, June 24, 2020, at Norterre Nursing Home and Rehab. He was born Aug. 3, 1933, in Miner, Mo., to the late Charles and Lois Rae Krauss. On April 13, 1958, in Advance, Mo., he married Delores Seabaugh. She preceded him in death Nov. 30, 2014. They raised one son, Eric, and four daughters, Carissa, Melissa, DeAnna and Cassandra...

The Scott County Health Department reported one new positive COVID-19 case on Friday afternoon, making 156 positive cases for the county. There were also three additional recoveries as 25 cases are currently active with 120 recovered. There have been 11 deaths related to the coronavirus...

ESSEX, Mo. — A Richland teacher has been recognized as one of the top history teachers in the nation. Rebecca Arnold, a sixth grade teacher at Richland Elementary, was recently awarded the 2020 National History Day Teacher of the Year in Missouri and was a finalist in the national contest, finishing in the top five...

SIKESTON — A Sikeston man faces a felony assault charge after allegedly striking his pregnant girlfriend in the face. At 10:18 a.m. June 19, an officer with Sikeston Department of Public Safety was dispatched to a residence in the 800 block of William Street in reference to a disturbance, according to Public Safety Officer Evelyn Aceves, who is the public information officer for DPS...

SIKESTON — The recently released Map the Meal Gap, an annual study on the prevalence of hunger, showed southeast Missouri has some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the state. The effect of these high rates of hunger was only made worse by the coronavirus pandemic and resulting joblessness...

DESOTO, Mo. — Mary Elizabeth Shands, 86, formerly of East Prairie,Mo., died June 25, 2020, at the Hillcrest Nursing Center in DeSoto. Born April 29, 1934, in Ballard County, Kentucky, she was the daughter of the late James Louis Knight Sr. and Willie Mae Peyton Knight. In 1960, she moved from Wyatt, Mo., to East Prairie where she spent most of her life. She was a beautician before retiring and was of the Baptist belief...