Stories from Thursday, March 24, 2022

SIKESTON — A week after a series of chain-reaction crashes on Interstate 57 killed five and injured 15 people while closing traffic for over 20 hours, emergency responders who assisted were honored Thursday by Missouri Department of Transportation. Emergency responders gathered Thursday afternoon for the ceremony in the garage of MoDOT’s Southeast District Office complex in Sikeston...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Loretta Jennings, 53, died March 22, 2022, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Visitation is from 11 a.m. until service time at noon Saturday, March 26 at DeLisle Funeral Home in Portageville with the Rev. Robert Anderson officiating...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Charleston woman was one of 10 women to receive the inaugural Lieutenant Governor’s Women of Achievement Award Thursday. Sherry Branch-Maxwell, of Charleston, was honored at the Missouri State Capitol Thursday morning, along with nine others, with the award, created this year to recognize the diverse accomplishments of Missouri women...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — A spur-of-the-moment purchase led a Missouri Lottery player to a $50,000 prize on a “$50,000 Crossword Extra” Scratchers ticket. The player had stopped by Casey’s General Store, 605 W. Washington St. in East Prairie, and decided to purchase the $3 ticket on the spot...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston Kiwanis Club requests those needing to mail the local service organization to use an alternative method as the post office box number is currently not working. “We have lots of people mailing in flag payments and ad money for our fish fry and they are being returned,” Sikeston Kiwanis President Jenny Hobeck said. “There has been an issue with our P.O. box so some mailings are being returned.”...

SIKESTON — Like all wars, the Vietnam occupation was terrible and especially terrible as so many of our military came home to a country that treated them terribly by physically and verbally assaulting them.  Last Wednesday at First Baptist Church, a special service was held for the upcoming Vietnam War Memorial Day (March 29). ...

When you are a pastor one of the more challenging and blessing times is when you administer a funeral. The blessing part is when the family are comforted and encouraged in their time of loss. The challenging part is when you see family not getting along...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston Girls soccer team played a brutal schedule in 2021, losing several close games while having trouble finding scoring. Sikeston held always-tough Notre Dame to 2-0, lost to Cape Central in double overtime, along with a myriad of other close games...

ANNISTON, Mo. — Patricia Elaine Hudson, age 78, passed away Monday, March 21, 2022, in her home in Anniston, where she had lived since 1966, raising and loving her family. She was born Aug. 2, 1943, in Campbell, Missouri, to the late Roy Brown and the late Anna (Boshell) Isaacks...