Stories from Tuesday, December 12, 2023

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Ernest Delmer Agee, 82, of Charleston passed away on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, at the John J. Pershing Veterans' Administration Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. He was born in Charleston on Feb. 2, 1941, to the late Benjamin Franklin Agee and Virley (Jennings) Agee...

MATTHEWS, Mo. — Joseph Parker Riley, 67, formerly of Owensboro, Kentucky, died Dec. 10, 2023, at Cotton Point Living Center in Matthews. Services will be at the Glenn Funeral Home in Owensboro with all arrangements made by McMikle Funeral Home of Sikeston...

VAN BUREN, Mo. — Catherine “Ruby” Louise Gremore, age 91, passed away on Dec. 10, 2023, at her home in Van Buren. She was born on Sept. 19, 1932, in Bogota, Tennessee, to the late R.E. and Lena Campbell Waterson. On Sept. 13, 1952, in Lilbourn, Missouri, she married Jack Gremore who preceded her in death on July 27, 2019...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Kenneth Lee Brazel, age 61, of Charleston died at his home on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. He was born Sept.17, 1962, in Sikeston, Missouri, to the late Jimmy Brazel and his mother, Aneda Louise Cummins Brazel of Charleston. Kenneth was a lifetime resident of southeast Missouri. He was a warehouse worker for several years before ill health forced his retirement...

SIKESTON — Earnestine Guest, 63, resident of Sikeston, died Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, while at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Aug. 23, 1960, in Hughes, Arkansas, to the late Otis and Rosie Guest. Visitation and services will be held Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, at 11 a.m. at the Williams Funeral Chapel in Charleston, Missouri. Interment will immediately follow services at Evergreen Cemetery in New Madrid, Missouri...

SIKESTON — The overpass under construction near South Ingram Road in Sikeston is part of plans to upgrade Highway 60 to Interstate 57. In 2017, the United States Congress designated Highway 60 from Sikeston to Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and Highway 67 south from Poplar Bluff to Little Rock, Arkansas, as the future I-57. ...

BENTON, Mo. — The city of Benton will deck the streets with holiday cheer for this weekend’s fourth annual Benton Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade. According to Jim Wade, president of the Benton Chamber of Commerce, the Christmas parade will begin at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Recess is always important to youngsters, but at the Portageville Elementary School, recess is now even better. Thanks to a $30,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and additional funding from the Portageville School Board, two new playgrounds were added this school year. There is a new play area for students in kindergarten through fifth grade and an enlarged and enclosed playground for the school’s expanded prekindergarten program...

Regional health care leaders discussed navigating a complex, evolving industry during the Southeast Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Symposium (SEEDS) on Nov. 30 at Drury Plaza Hotel Conference Center in Cape Girardeau. During the event, four leading figures in the industry featured in a round-robin discussion moderated by Jon K. Rust, publisher of the Southeast Missourian and president of Rust Communications...