Stories from Tuesday, February 16, 2021

LILBOURN, Mo. — Ann Naomi “Nanny” Simpson went to her heavenly home on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, surrounded by her family at her earthly home in Lilbourn at the age of 94 years, 5 months and 21 days. She was born on Aug. 22, 1926, at Higgerson Landing in New Madrid, Missouri, to the late Mattie Alice Boyd Porter and William Addison Porter...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Evelyn Lucile Hodge, 80, passed away peacefully on Jan. 24, 2021. Evelyn was born on Oct. 6, 1940, to Ralph Francis and Vivian Lucile Jackson Potashnick. She grew up in Sikeston, Missouri, and graduated from Sikeston High School in 1958. ...

BERTRAND, Mo. — Jerry Wayne Holland, 86, died Feb. 12, 2021, in Sikeston, Missouri. Born Oct. 8, 1934, in East Prairie, Missouri, the second child of a set of fraternal twins to Carl Berry and Birdie (Holland) Gibbear, he worked at Del Farms, Knight’s Department Store, Barkett’s Grocery, McKinnie’s Grocery, Charles Todd/Aramark Uniform Company, and most recently he worked part-time as a bread deliverer for Lewis Bros. Co.

First ice then snow and now it looks as if Mother Nature plans to continue to blast away at the Bootheel. A strong winter storm blanketed the area with snow on Monday, leading to many travel problems and cancelation of most events. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported 161 calls for service Monday with 112 of those stranded motorist calls. There were 13 accidents with no injuries or deaths...

As temperatures drop, families often look for alternative ways to generate heat throughout their homes. While space heaters and fire places are good sources of warmth, they can be very dangerous. On Tuesday, Sikeston Department of Public Safety provided heating safety tips via the U.S. Fire Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — On Monday evening around 9:30 p.m. Portageville Fire was dispatched to structure fire on West 8th Street. According to the Portageville Fire and Rescue Facebook page, sub- zero temperatures and snow covered roads were some major factors that firefighters faced...

Former Marble Hill and Oran police chief Marc Tragesser faces a federal indictment for a civil rights violation that occurred during his tenure with the police department. According to court documents filed Wednesday, Tragesser is charged with depravation of rights under the color of law...

By: Dr. Brian Heuring Cape Small Animal Clinic When the temperature drops, we offer the following tips to keep pets safe: 1. Prepare for power outages. Call your veterinary clinic several days in advance to refill your pet’s medications or to pick up food and make sure there is enough kitty litter to last several days in case inclement weather prevents you from driving to the store...

NEW MADRID, Mo. - LaKishea Braxton has a heart to help others. In 2018, she and her husband, Cornell, came to New Madrid to lead the New Prayer of Deliverance Church. As the church grew, the Braxtons wanted to do more. They explained they saw so many needs in their community and the surrounding area, they felt a call to take action. Last year they created the non-profit organization Heart2Help...

NEW MADRID, Mo. - Members of the New Madrid Police Department will soon be wearing body cameras again. At the Feb. 8 city council meeting, approval was given to pay $27,773.60 to Wolf Company of Pasadena, Calif., to purchase body cameras. According to City Administrator Richard McGill, while local police officers previously wore body cameras, dealing with the on-site storage of the videos became a problem...

PARMA, Mo. - It was fire and ice for crews battling a blaze which destroyed a Parma residence. On the evening of Feb. 13, Engine 3 from the Lilbourn Volunteer Fire Department responded to 303 S Cypress in Parma at the request of the Parma Fire Chief. The call was at a vacant single residential structure, which had recently been put on the market...

NEW MADRID, Mo. - Just after 6 p.m. Feb. 8, officers responded to the area of Blades Drive where a 911 caller said several people were shooting at each other. When officers arrived, they found that an apartment building had been hit by several bullets and there several shell casings on the ground. Throughout the night officers collected evidence at the scene and interviewed witnesses. Also four handguns were seized as evidence...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. - The Portageville High School Beta Club will host a fish fry and raffle from 4-7 p.m. March 6. The carry-out only event will be conducted at Trisha’s, 632 Highway 61 North. The meal will include four pieces of fish, french fries, hush puppies, slaw and dessert. The cost is $13 per plate...