Stories from Wednesday, September 22, 2021

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. - Portageville Mayor Vince Berry sees a lot of good things ahead for the community. In August, a loan for $335,000 was finalized to install a cellular water meter reading service. The new meters will read themselves and call city hall four times daily to report usage. By installing an app on their cellular phones, home owners will be alerted should the meter detect continuous water usage over 12 hours...

NEW MADRID, Mo. - The New Madrid City Council quickly worked through their scheduled agenda at the Sept. 13 meeting, then it was on to other issues. Two resolutions from the agenda were approved for purchases for the city’s electrical Department for use for day-to-day operations. Although already part of the city’s 2021 budget, City Administrator Richard McGill explained because each purchase was over $10,000 Council approval was needed...

BELL CITY, Mo. — William Hudson Finney (Pete) was born July 16,1946, in Trenton, New Jersey, to Raymond and Pauline Finney, and he died Sept. 19, 2021, of complications related to COVID.
Pete married Mildred Marcella Tanner on March 3, 1966, and they remained married until her death on Jan. 1, 2019...

Dear editors: It’s September, and I am working daily, planning for the Community Thanksgiving Day Dinner. Last year because of the coronavirus, we made made major changes to the meal. We will be following those changes again this year in order to keep our volunteers and those we serve safe from the new variation. This is my 18th year promoting this meal. I feel blessed to have great volunteers and the health to make it happen. I’m planning on going for 20 years!...

Why is your sports department not carrying any of the Kelly Lady Hawks softball games this year? We had three games last week and their was no mention. You’re only covering the Sikeston softball games. You used to have a photographer and a sports writer at the Kelly Lady Hawk games. We have four games this week, three games at home and one at Saxony Lutheran. If you don’t cover any of those, I’m probably going to cancel my subscription. I look for other Kelly Hawk parents and grandparents to cancel theirs, too. Please reconsider and start covering their games.

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — Emma Jean Ivie, age 90, of East Prairie passed away Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, at her home. She was born May 19, 1931, in East Prairie, to the late Walter Grigsby and Veda Berry Grigsby. She was a member of First Christian Church of East Prairie, where she retired as custodian...

WHITTIER, Calif. — Leonard Holifield, formerly of Charleston, Missouri, died Sept. 15, 2021, due to complications from cancer. He was 86 years old. Leonard was born in East Prairie, Missouri, to Amos and Blanche Holifield, in 1935. He went by the nickname of “Sonny.” He graduated from Diehlstadt High School in 1954. He joined the National Guard based in Dexter, Missouri, in 1955 and served honorably until 1965...

SIKESTON — Vivian Grace Davis, age 93, a longtime resident of Sikeston, died Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021, at the Westfield Nursing Center near Sikeston. She was born April 29, 1928, in Lilbourn, Missouri, to the late Edward and Polly Ann Hessling. Grace was a member of the Emanuel Missionary Baptist Church of Sikeston. She worked at Jones Rexall Drugstore in Lilbourn for a number of years and then as a machine operator at Anchor Toy. Grace was also a seamstress...

BENTON, Mo. — Frances Lee Smith, daughter of the late Pete Januska and Eva Leon Januska was born on Sept. 28, 1942, in Harrisburg, Illinois, and departed this life on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 at her residence in Benton at the age of 78 years.