Stories from Friday, November 1, 2019

LILBOURN, Mo. — Dora Elizabeth Keaster, 87, died Oct. 31, 2019, in Sikeston. Born July 4, 1932, in Lilbourn, daughter of the late CH Penning and Mildred Edna Nolin LeBoeuf, she was a member of the First Baptist Church of Risco. She was also a member of the Rural Independent Club of Risco and the Order of the Eastern Star of New Madrid...

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SIKESTON — Voters in Sikeston will see only one issue on Tuesday’s ballot, a question of whether or not to approve a use tax on out-of-state purchases. According to the wording on the ballot, if approved, the use tax would “eliminate the current sales tax advantage that non-Missouri vendors have over Missouri vendors.”...

MINER, Mo. — The City of Miner will have two issues on the ballot in Tuesday’s election, including how the police chief is chosen. Currently the Miner Police Chief is voted on by the citizens of Miner. That was recently an issue when former police chief Chris Griggs was impeached by the Board of Alderman in March. That impeachment was recently upheld by a judge on appeal...

NEW MADRID, Mo. - The release of the numbers from Missouri’s Annual Performance Report for schools brought good news for Dr. Sam Duncan, superintendent for the New Madrid County R-1 School District. Academic strides are being made districtwide. “What the numbers say is our individual students are making gains over time,” he said as he looked at the state’s data online at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s website. ...

SIKESTON — After a long, tedious process that took years, the City of Sikeston has a reduction in the flood zone. According to Sikeston City Manager Jonathan Douglass, Sikeston received approval of a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) that shrinks the flood plain designations in the northern portion of Sikeston...

Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, recently announced 17 commercial vehicle officers graduated from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy on Oct. 25. Mr. Tom Crawford, president and CEO of the Missouri Trucking Association, served as the guest speaker during the graduation ceremony. ...

Montgomery Bank recently donated $5,000 to Southeast Missouri Food Bank to support Backpacks For Friday (BFF) for the Sikeston R-6 School District. The program provides students who need them with backpacks containing enough food to feed of four for the weekend. Montgomery Bank has been a longtime supporter of the program...

The Sikeston Regional Chamber held a ribbon cutting for Family Matters Home Services and Adult Dayhab Center on Oct. 24. The Center is designed to teach developmentally disabled clients  life skills needed for daily living. The recent addition of a club house provides after skills and socializing and includes a pool table, foos ball tables, ping pong table and much more...

SIKESTON — Sandy Mehner has always wanted to help others and working at one of Sikeston’s longest-standing banks has given her that opportunity. Mehner, the regional retail manager at Montgomery Bank in Sikeston, has been part of Montgomery Bank team for over 15 years...

TALLULAH, La. — Mary Virginia Russell Osborne, 81, died Oct. 30, 2019. Born April 4, 1938, in Charleston, Mo., she earned her registered nursing degree from Barnes Nursing School in St. Louis in 1958 and retired from nursing in 1988 after serving 30 years. She was a member of First United Methodist Church in Lake Providence where she was a member of the choir and also served as organist...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — Kenneth Paul Gaebler Sr., 73, died Oct. 31, 2019, at the Chaffee Nursing Center in Chaffee. Born Dec. 26, 1945, in St. Louis, son of the late Lester Gaebler, LeVern Gibson Gaebler and Dorothy King, he was a veteran of the United States Marine Corp and a former sous-chef for many years. He was of the Baptist belief...

PUXICO, Mo. —  Jimmie “JD” Dale Kelley, 65, of Puxico passed away Oct. 30, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. 

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Stella Catherine “Kitty” Presson, 80, died Oct. 30, 2019, at the Charleston Manor. Born July 17, 1939, in St. Louis, daughter of the late Gene Maxie McLaughlin and Helen Brook McLauglin, she lived in the St. Louis area a number of years moving to East Prairie in 1976.