Stories from Thursday, July 20, 2017

SIKESTON — A new law means Missouri voters will have to show a valid photo ID before voting in their next elections. The new photo voter ID law took effect June 1. New Madrid County was the first in Missouri to have an election with the new law in effect when a special election was held for one of its wards on June 20, according to New Madrid County Clerk Clement Cravens...

In Jeremiah 29:1-4 we read, “Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;”. ...

As the High school football season kicks off, you will see a new set of bleachers on the visitors side. Also in the home side, fencing has been added to the top of the bleachers as a safety precaution. Additionally, the Vic Reaves Athletic Field sign is getting a much needed upgrade. - Scott Seal photo...

Missouri Set to Implement Blue Alert System to Protect Peace Officers (SB 34)  Missouri will soon have a system in place to ensure law enforcement officials quickly receive the information they need to apprehend individuals who injure or kill peace officers. The governor recently signed into law a bill approved by the General Assembly that will create the Blue Alert System...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens vowed Wednesday his administration and law enforcement at all levels will work together to tackle the opioid epidemic and take drug traffickers off the streets. Speaking before hundreds of federal, state and local law-enforcement officers standing in the hot sun on the tarmac of the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, Greitens said, "For too long in Missouri, we lacked a strong, coordinated effort across the state to stop these traffickers before they hit Missouri towns.". ...

MINER, Mo - An ordinance was amended by the Miner Board of Aldermen in its regular meeting on Tuesday changing the city's hiring policy. The new law, which is ordinance 1183, will exclude part time employees from the codified hiring policy allowing Miner department leaders to hire part-time and seasonal workers without going through an interviewing committee...

DEXTER, Mo. -- A lot of changes have taken place at the Dexter Housing Authority over the past 21 years, and Mona AuBuchon has been witness to every one of them in her role as executive director. Those days, however, are about to end. AuBuchon will spend her final day on the job on July 31...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. --A 49-year-old man was pronounced dead Wednesday at the scene of an apparent homicide in Cape Girardeau, police said. The victim, whom police have not yet identified, was a Cape Girardeau resident found shortly after 12:30 p.m. in the 200 block of South Lorimier Street, according to a news release issued by Cape Girardeau Police Department...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The case of Robert Phillips, charged in May 2017 with two counts of felony first degree statutory sodomy, has been continued until mid-August. The case involving Phillips, who posted a $25,000 cash bond upon being arrested May 12, was slated for a 491 hearing on Thursday, July 13, in the courtroom of Judge Joe Z. ...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Final paperwork was signed by the Stoddard County Commission last week to obtain a grant for further rehabilitation of the cupola of the Stoddard County courthouse. The grant is being provided by the State Historic Preservation Office in the Department of Natural Resources...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- With dangerous heat and humidity settling across the Midwest, the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory that continues through Sunday. Beginning Wednesday, a large upper level high began producing a dome of heat and humidity across the region that is forecast to continue through Sunday. ...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Elaine Clara Haney, 75, died July 19, 2017, at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis. Born Dec. 15, 1941, in Cairo, Ill., to the late Paul and Freda Schefer Scheffer, she had been employed at Brown Shoe Co. and later worked at the East Prairie Nursing Center. She was a member of St. Henry's Catholic Church in Charleston...

SIKESTON -- James R. "Ronnie" Templeton, age 60, of Sikeston, died July 20, 2017, at his home. He was born April 29, 1957, in Sikeston, to the late James G. and Faye D. Holland Templeton. On Jan. 18, 2003, in Sikeston, he married Teresa D. Ward, who survives of the home...

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Douglas Bernhardt Johnson, of Farmington and formerly of Sikeston, passed away surrounded by his loving family at Parkland Health Care Center on July 18, 2017, at the age of 70. He was born in Lawrence, Kan., on Dec. 4, 1946, to the late Dr. Howard Bernhardt Johnson and Barbara Louise (Moore) Johnson. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, Abhram Moore Johnson...

DELTA, Mo. -- Dallas L. Lands, 76, died July 19, 2017, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born on Feb. 21, 1941, in Randles, son of the late Thomas and Lucy Spain Lands, he was a retired chemical salesman for Beaver Janitorial Supply in Cape Girardeau. He was employed with Burlington Northern as a driver for their train crew and a member of the Arbor General Baptist Church in Arbor...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Lillian Elizabeth Marsac Godsey, 89, died July 19, 2017, at her home in Charleston. Born Dec. 16, 1927, in Caruthersville, daughter of the late Eric Earl "Buster" and Josie Thelma Blackburn Marsac, she lived in Caruthersville until moving to Portageville in 1963 and then to Charleston in 1965. She was employed at Brown Shoe Company in Caruthersville then following her move to Charleston she was employed in the kitchen at Hearnes Elementary for 25 years until her retirement...