Stories from Tuesday, January 26, 2021

I’ve heard all the stories and seen the posts on social media about the COVID-19 vaccine. Still, when I had the chance to get the vaccine, I jumped at it. Even though it is just like getting a regular flu shot — that I get each fall — I admit I still had some reservations. I’m not one to typically get nervous, but I could feel the palms start to sweat a bit as I pulled into the hospital, where there was a line of cars all going to the same place I was...

SIKESTON — City officials are seeking funding for the next phase of the Rail Trail. During Monday’s Sikeston City Council meeting, Council approved applying for MoDOT’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) in order to fund some of the next phase of the Rail Trail...

JACKSON, Mo. — Donald “Don” F. Matthews, 89, formerly of Sikeston, Missouri, passed away Jan. 25, 2021, at his home in Jackson. He was born Aug.4, 1931, in Sikeston, to Ben O. and Jennie P. Watts Matthews.  Don was a graduate of Sikeston High School. During the Korean War, he honorably served in the U.S. Air Force from Jan. 5, 1951 to Oct. 8, 1954...

SIKESTON — Jason M. “Crasy J” Stockton of Sikeston, passed away on Jan. 24, 2021, at the age of 42, at his home in Sikeston. He was born in Sikeston, on April 30, 1978, to the late Bo Brown and Phyllis West, who survives of Sikeston. Jason was very proud and passionate about his career as a contractor and painter. In his spare time, he loved fishing, hunting, cold beer, tattoos and watching the Florida Gators play. Most importantly, he loved his mother, sisters and the rest of his family dearly...

A former Mississippi County funeral homeowner has been charged with financial exploitation of the elderly after selling pre-need funerals without a proper license. Charles R. “Ricky” Penrod, of East Prairie, was charged Friday with financial exploitation of the elderly person or person with a disability. He was taken into custody Monday and bonded out on a $25,000 cash or surety bond...

Missouri ranks dead last among states for the percentage of residents who have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. According to information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Monday, only 242,937 Missourians have received their first shot or 3,958 people per 100,000 residents...

NEW MADRID, Mo. - It has been almost 10 months since the hallways of the school buildings across the New Madrid County R-1 School District were filled with all its students. But on Feb. 1, the district will be one step closer as it moves to what school leaders are calling “Eagle Days 4 All.”...

Modern Woodmen of America Chapter 5036 recently honored Marlene Stevens as a Hometown Hero. Stevens has orchestrated and provided a Community Thanksgiving meal for the elderly in the Sikeston Commmunity for the past 17 years. Presenting Stevens with a certificate and a donation ito the Sikeston Community Thanksgiving Dinner is MWA Financial representative Lee A. Bowman Jr...

NEW MADRID, Mo. - The smell of hot rolls fresh from the oven is still there. So are the friendly greetings when a senior appears at the door. But much has changed since coronavirus forced the New Madrid Oaks Nutrition Center to close its dining facilities...

On the afternoon of Jan. 21, officers responded to an address in the 600 block of Mill Street in reference to an assault in progress. When they arrived on-scene they found a woman standing on the sidewalk with an injury to her head. The woman said she had been assaulted by her boyfriend, who had forced the front door of the apartment open and punched her in the face during an argument...

NEW MADRID, Mo. - Now there are three. Monday morning, one of the candidates initially filing to serve on the New Madrid County R-1 School Board officially withdrew their name. Seeking the two three-year terms on the board at the April election are incumbents Demetrius Moore and Mary Kay Davis along with Jeffrey Polk...

NEW MADRID, Mo. - As part of the New Madrid County R-1 School District’s efforts to ensure student safety, the playground at the Lilbourn Elementary School will be moved. During its January meeting, the board accepted a a bid from Zoellner Construction to relocate the playground. The $98,000 cost for project is being funded through the bond issue passed last year by the district’s patrons...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. - Madisson Elizabeth Lambert, age 24 of East Prairie, passed away on the 26th of January 2021 near East Prairie. She was born June 14, 1996, in Sikeston to Brian Douglas Lambert and Rachel DeAnne Bolden of East Prairie. Madisson was a 2014 graduate of East Prairie High School, and began her studies in the LPN program at age 17 and finished in just one year. She was previously employed as the head nurse of East Prairie Nursing Center for 5 years...

LILBOURN, Mo. — Harold Gene “Scrogg” Rhodes, age 88, died Jan. 24, 2021, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Visitation is from noon to service time at 1 p.m. Wednesday at DeLisle Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Mounds Park Cemetery.