Stories from Tuesday, March 24, 2020

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Scott County officials have decided to adjust entrance procedures by asking visitors to make an appointment in advance. “We’re still open for business, but we’re trying to protect ourselves, our employees and the public by abiding by the governor’s order,” said Scott County First District Commissioner Dennis Ziegenhorn. “You can still get marriage licenses and deeds filed here just as you always have.”...

SIKESTON — Local health department officials are working to educate the public about coronavirus so they’re prepared before, during and after cases are confirmed in the area. “Communities really need to take this seriously, and we’re just waiting for our (first) case to happen – so we’re wanting to be as preventive as possible,” said Rachelle Johnson, administrator of the Mississippi County Department...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Col. Eric T. Olson, Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol announced Monday that the Patrol is immediately suspending all written and skills-based driver road testing at all locations through April 6. This includes operator, commercial driver license and motorcycle testing...

A desperate race to find medical equipment continues as the World Health Organization warns that the outbreak is accelerating and calls on countries to take strong, coordinated action. And as virus deaths accelerate in the U.S., President Donald Trump has gone against the advice of scientists and top health experts, claiming he will reopen the country and its ailing economy in weeks, not months...

In the early days of working from home to prevent spread of the COVID-19 disease, some Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers talking strategy on a video chat couldn't help but get distracted by their team leader's kitchen cabinets. "There was absolutely nothing special about them except for the fact that they were in the private home of someone senior to us," said researcher Kate Darling, who started gossiping about the cabinetry in an online back channel...

TOKYO (AP) — The IOC announced a first-of-its-kind postponement of the Summer Olympics on Tuesday, bowing to the realities of a coronavirus pandemic that is shutting down daily life around the globe and making planning for a massive worldwide gathering in July a virtual impossibility...

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks on Wall Street joined a worldwide rally Tuesday as optimism rose, for one day at least, that government officials and central banks are unleashing enough aid to ease the economic pain caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The S&P 500 surged more than 7%, and the Dow jumped more than 1,500 points in midday trading as a wave of buying interrupted what has been a brutal month of nearly nonstop selling. ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. —L. A. Green, 71, died March 15, 2020, at his home. Born June 22, 1948, in Widener, Arkansas, son of the late Elisha and Clotean Gilbert Green, he was a 1966 graduate of Lincoln Senior High School in Forrest City, Arkansas. In 1968, he entered the United States Army, where he served his country actively until 1971 and trained to be a switchboard operator. ...

CHICAGO (AP) — Bill Purdue waterproofs basements for a living, but he has spent the past few days in his buddy's Washington, Indiana, auto trim and upholstery shop cutting rectangles of cotton fabric that his friend sews into face masks. Fashion designer Briana Danyele left Italy last month to return to her mother's Greer, South Carolina, home, where she has turned the living room into a mini sewing factory, making masks that she embroiders with the words, "We Got This!"...

The rapid spread of the coronavirus since it was first reported in China has dealt an unprecedented shock to the global economy. Here's a look at developments Tuesday as central banks, businesses and workers attempt to navigate a global outbreak that has brought economic activity to a standstill...

SIKESTON — Louetta Grigery, 82, died March 23, 2020, at Delta South Nursing and Rehabilitation in Sikeston. Born Sept. 27, 1937, in East Prairie, daughter of the late Sylvester Gray and Ruby Presson Adams, she was of the Pentecostal belief and had worked as a cook at Matthews Elementary School for seven years before retiring.

MATTHEWS, Mo. — Helen Sibley, age 97, passed away Monday, March 23, 2020, at her home in Matthews, Missouri. She was born Aug. 14, 1922, in Canalou, Missouri, daughter of the late Adrian and Lena Martin McDaniel. She was a member of Matthews First Christian Church and had worked as secretary to the principal at the Matthews Grade School in Matthews before retiring...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kenny Rogers, the smooth, Grammy-winning balladeer who spanned jazz, folk, country and pop with such hits as “Lucille,” “Lady” and “Islands in the Stream” and embraced his persona as “The Gambler” on records and on TV, died Friday night. He was 81...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — A Mississippi County food pantry saw an increase of more than 150 families served through its monthly USDA food distribution program Saturday in Charleston. Kimberly Capone, secretary of Shining Light in Charleston, said the church’s food pantry served 562 families compared to its normal 400 they serve each month...

The Butler County Coroner’s Office has been notified of a possible COVID-19 death. Coroner Andy Moore said in a news release his office is involved with a death “involving a person under investigation for COVID-19. As of the time of this press release, the test is pending.”...

ORAN, Mo. — Gracie Mae Tolbert McCann, 76, formerly of Sikeston, died March 22, 2020, at her home in Oran. Born Oct. 30, 1943, in Sikeston, daughter of the late Kelly Tolbert and Bertha King Tolbert, she had lived in the Sikeston area most of her life. She was vice president of Debra McCann Online and Prison Ministries...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — Stephen Paul “Steve” Stokes, 55, died March 22, 2020, at his home in East Prairie. Born Oct. 21, 1964, in East Prairie, son of the late Nesby and Opal B. Worthy Stokes, he was employed as a longtime teacher and coach in the East Prairie community...