Stories from Wednesday, February 8, 2023

NEW MADRID, Mo. - Over the last week, officers have taken several calls that were initially given out as “change of mental status,” but in reality were related to drug intoxication.  When officers arrive, the person is usually hallucinating, taking off their clothes, and suffering from extreme paranoia. In at least one case, the patient fled the house as the police arrived and had to be restrained to be put into an ambulance. ...

The Democrats did not decide to raise the price of gas as Jason Smith noted in the Feb.1 Standard Democrat. The Keystone pipeline was not even scheduled to be operational till 2024 or 2025 and not the cause of current high gas prices. Thank Joe Biden for selling off part of the oil reserves. It has reduced the price of gas at the pumps which has helped the American people. The Ukrainian war, greedy oil companies, and the COVID were the primary causes of high gas prices. I get tired of hearing Republican representatives blame and complain, and yet, they have done nothing to help reduce gas prices at the pump.

BRANDON, Miss. — Benjamin Ray Burns Jr., 85, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Kosciusko, Mississippi. A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Flowood, Mississippi, with visitation starting at 10 am. Interment will follow in the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Newton, Mississippi...

Throughout the month of February, a local organization, the Daughters of Sunset, has put together an exhibit at the Sikeston Depot Museum showcasing people, locations, companies and organizations from the Sunset community to mark Black History Month...

Sikeston City Council held its first regular meeting of the month Monday, Feb. 6 at the Lincoln University Extension in Sikeston. The Council approved bill No. 6296 for the authorization to rezone land on the north side of Baker Lane from Single-Family Residential (R-1) to Single-Family Residential District (R-2) in the City of Sikeston...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Stephen Curtis Hust, 68, died Feb. 1, 2023, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Visitation is from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at the McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston, Missouri. Graveside services with full military honors will follow in the Oak Grove Cemetery near Charleston...