Stories from Friday, August 11, 2023

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Mike Parson announced on Friday, Aug. 11 that the state has begun the process of obtaining federal disaster assistance in response to severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began impacting Missouri on July 29. “Beginning July 29, a severe weather pattern has repeatedly struck Missouri with damaging winds, tornadoes, and flash flooding, causing extensive damage in 26 counties across the state,” Governor Parsonsaid. ...

BENTON, Mo. — Sgt. Lee Dodd of the Scott County R-4 “Kelly” School District has received certification as a school safety specialist. Dodd attended the recent School Safety Academy hosted by Missouri School Boards’ Association’s Center for Education Safety. The event was held July 25-27 in Jefferson City and is designed to train and certify school safety coordinators in comprehensive school safety planning and development...

MoDOT should get an F for the changes made to the Bertrand overpass. We had a simple on/off ramp system. Now we have two complicated roundabouts which we, the taxpayers, get to pay for. Just my opinion.

The other day I noticed in the dirt near my back deck several little downward slanting funnels. I immediately knew that I have a particular insect in residence – antlions.  The adult antlion looks a lot like damselflies, with their slender bodies and delicate wings.  But the larvae are another story. ...

“Bella Rose Winterspell,” the latest book published by Olga I. Griggs of Sikeston, is now available on Amazon in paperback and eBook formats. Griggs has written 30 Christian romance novels since the end of 2017. She is the mother of Banner Press religion columnist Linda Schreckenberg, a former Bollinger County resident now living in O’Fallon...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Approximately 140 members and former members attended the New Madrid Baptist’s Church 75th anniversary celebration on July 16. The day included a special morning worship service, dedication of the new Family Life Center, a dinner and singing...

FARMINGTON, Mo. — Dr. Michael DeWint Zaricor Sr., 77, of Farmington passed away Aug. 9, 2023. He was born Feb. 17, 1946 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to the late DeWint and Annette (Watkins) Zaricor. Mike grew up in the Sikeston, Missouri, area. He excelled in sports and academics, graduating from Sikeston High School in 1964. ...

Sikeston Regional Chamber recently hosted a ribbon cutting for Great River Learning Center, 1213 S. Main St., Suite 219, in Sikeston. GRLC is a leading organization dedicated to comprehensive reading interventions for children and adults who experience reading difficulties, including dyslexia. ...

Sikeston Kiwanis Club recently made a donation to the YMCA of Southeast Missouri.

The Budweiser Clydesdales parade around the Art Saunders Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, during the grand entry of the 71st Annual Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo at the rodeo grounds. The Clydesdales also appeared in the grand entrance Friday night and Saturday night of the rodeo...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — A new and unique business venture by two East Prairie sisters has everyone in the Bootheel talking about it. Amanda Hancock and Melissa Hancock own a local freeze-dried candy and fruits business.  The business, Sugar Rush Candy Co., does not have its own store, but they are known for setting up at farmers markets, being vendors at local events and having their own space in Sikeston’s SEMO Workshop and Craft Mall...

A crowd listens as Sikeston Jaycee Justin Wibbenmeyer gives a tour of the rodeo ins and outs during the Behind the Chutes event Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, at the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo grounds. The four-day event concluded with a soldout crowd Saturday night...

SIKESTON — Sikeston will be in the path of totality for the upcoming solar eclipse in less than a year, making it one of the best viewing locations in the country. Sikeston residents are encouraged to mark their calendars for “Total Eclipse of the Park 2024,” which will take place on April 8, 2024, and will feature a variety of festivities...

Travis Denning performs Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, during the second night of the 71st Annual Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo at the Sikeston Jayceeo Bootheel Rodeo Grounds. Thursday’s events also include Sikeston Community Night; mutton bustin’ championship; bullfighting; and a visit from the Budweiser Clydesdales...

Recent rains, including 0.79 inches received Wednesday, Aug. 9, in Cape Girardeau and another one-third of an inch that fell in the early morning hours of Thursday, Aug. 10, figure to further curtail drought conditions in the three-county region of Cape Girardeau, Perry and Scott...

BLODGETT, Mo. — Kimberley Lewis Wyatt, age 70, passed away Aug. 10, 2023, at her home in Blodgett. She was born Aug. 2, 1953, in Fresno, California, daughter of the late Eugene Stanley Wyatt and Gloria Lewis Goff. Kimberley worked as a receptionist for St. Francis Medical Center before retiring...

SIKESTON — Cheryl Ann Jones, age 67, of Sikeston passed away on Aug. 10, 2023, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, surrounded by family. She was born on June 22, 1956, in Cape Girardeau, to the late Gonnie and Duane Wiggins. She was raised in Advance, Missouri, and graduated from Advance High School in 1974. ...