Stories from Monday, March 16, 2020

SIKESTON — In response to the ever-changing status of the COVID-19 outbreak, Southeast Missouri schools have canceled classes through next month. On Monday morning, some school districts across the region, such as Ste. Genevieve and Farmington, had already made the decision to close their schools. By afternoon, over 100 schools in Southeast Missouri began announcing their dismissals through April 3. “School leaders across Southeast Missouri have collectively made the decision to close schools for more than two weeks to help prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” said Kelly Superintendent Dr. Kevin Cogdill via a letter posted on the district’s website. “Area superintendents have been working closely with local and state health officials to monitor the latest developments regarding COVID-19 and have determined the best way to help protect our communities at this time is by closing schools.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri should be able to conduct thousands of tests per day for the coronavirus and deploy mobile testing sites throughout the state on or around April 1, Gov. Mike Parson said Monday Parson also announced the state's sixth case of the disease, this one in Greene County in southwestern Missouri. He said 170 people in the state had been tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and that 164 of them had tested negative...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Richard Stephen Miller, 77, died March 14, 2020, at his home. Born Nov. 28, 1942, in Cape Girardeau, son of Roy Sterett Miller and Gail B. Miller, he was a 1960 graduate of Charleston High School and attended Vanderbilt University and Southeast Missouri State University. He enlisted in the Missouri National Guard where he obtained the rank of captain and served as company commander in Charleston, Sikeston and Portageville...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — Carl Ray Matheney, 71, died March 11, 2020, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born April 8, 1948, in Parma, to the late Raymond H. and Eula Carlyle Matheney, he had been employed in farming for both Lester Moore Farms and Richard Bell Farms. He served in the United States Army, attended St. James General Baptist Church of East Prairie and was formerly a member of Sikeston VFW...

SIKESTON — AC James, age 81, passed away on March 15, 2020, at his home in Sikeston. He was born March 8, 1939, in Parma, Mo., to the late CJ and Lilly Russom James. On March 29, 1959, in Sikeston, he married Nina Hill James, who survives of the home in Sikeston...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — The Portageville Board of Aldermen released a statement Monday, responding to the continuing developments in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to the statement, the Portageville Municipal Court will continue all cases on its April docket until its May 7 court date...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday urged all older Americans to stay home and everyone to avoid crowds and eating out at restaurants as part of sweeping guidelines meant to combat an expected surge of coronavirus cases. President Donald Trump, in a marked shift in tone about a crisis that has enveloped the globe, for the first time acknowledged that the pandemic may send the U.S. economy into a recession and suggested that the nation may be dealing with the virus until "July or August."...

SIKESTON — As the effects of COVID-19 continue to develop, the Southeast Missouri Food Bank is taking action to ensure they are meeting the hunger needs of their 16-county service area. According to a release from the Southeast Missouri Food Bank, they are in close contact with Feeding America and preparing for any operational changes that may be needed...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Millions of Americans began the work week holed up at home against the coronavirus Monday, worried not just about getting sick but about what the unprecedented near-shutdown of the U.S. could do to their jobs and their savings. With wide swaths of the economy shuddering to a halt, stocks nosedived more than 11% on Wall Street at one point in the morning, in a sell-off so fast that it triggered an automatic 15-minute halt to trading...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mary Angela Jackson, 53, formerly of Charleston, Mo., died March 12, 2020, at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville. Born April 23, 1966, in Sikeston, Mo., daughter of Charles and Ann Welch Jackson, she was a 1984 graduate of Charleston High School and attended the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts in business and communication. ...