Stories from Thursday, December 1, 2022

A fire involving over 30 vehicles in an auto auction yard has been ruled suspicious and is under investigation in Scott County. According to Scott County Rural Fire Protection District Chief Jeremy Perrien, about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, the department received a call reporting a large fire at Copart located on the East Outer Road in Sikeston...

The Scott County Commission and Office of Emergency Management lifted on Thursday the burn ban for the county, which had been in place since Sept. 23. County officials said residents should use extreme caution if burning.

ESSEX, Mo. — Mary Ruth Hicks, 84, of Essex passed from this life on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, at her home. The daughter of the late Cyrel Herbert George and Thelma Louise Williams was born on Oct. 8, 1938, in Stoddard County, Missouri. She was a member of the Beech Grove General Baptist Church in Bloomfield, Missouri. ...

SIKESTON — Judy Dean Stokes, age 77, passed away on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She was born on Nov. 16, 1945, in Anniston, Missouri, to the late William “Bill” and Wanda Pemberton Brooks.

Much of Southeast Missouri continues to be classified as drought-stricken, according to the latest Drought Monitor map released by U.S. Department of Agriculture and partnering agencies. In response, Gov. Mike Parson, in a statement released Monday, Nov. 28, has extended the state’s drought alert until March 1 because of what he called Missouri’s “abnormally dry conditions.”...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Santa Claus will visit the Mo-Ark Regional Railroad Museum three times in December. He will talk with children from 1-4 p.m. Saturdays, Dec. 3, 10 and 17. Children may have photos taken with Santa at various areas in the museum, the red Missouri Pacific caboose or anywhere outside, weather permitting. Candy will be given to the children, according to a press release from the museum...

DIEHLSTADT, Mo. — William DeWayne Kirkpatrick, age 60, of Diehlstadt was called to his eternal home in heaven, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. Born May 25, 1962, in Lutesville, Missouri, to the late George “Willie” Kirkpatrick and Dorothy Mae (Welker) Kirkpatrick, he grew up in the Marble Hill area and was a 1980 graduate of Woodland High School. ...

SIKESTON — Eleanor Mae Boyd, 91, of Sikeston passed away Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, at Delta South Nursing Facility in Sikeston. She was born in Herrin, Illinois, on Feb. 20, 1931, daughter of Andrew and Edna Fairbanks Jackson. She and Donald Short were married, and he preceded her in death in 1972. Eleanor later married Dewey Boyd in 1995...