Stories from Tuesday, January 2, 2024

SIKESTON — Christiana Staple, daughter of Frank and Danielle Staple and reigning 2023 Miss Sikeston queen, is the Standard Democrat’s Calendar Girl for January.

SIKESTON — An O’Fallon, Missouri, man faces arson charges for his alleged involvement in a July residential fire in Sikeston. Morris D. Falkoff of O’Fallon, Missouri, is charged with second degree arson through Scott County, according to Sikeston Department of Public Safety...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Warren T. Palmer, age 82, of Charleston died Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023, at Southeast Health in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Born Oct. 14, 1941, at Louisville, Mississippi, to the late Clinton Lemuel Palmer and Phalor Lenora Jernigan, he grew up in Mississippi and moved to Missouri at a young age with this family. ...

SIKESTON — Phyllis Ann Watkins, age 77, of Sikeston died Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, at the Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She was born Aug. 6, 1946, at Parma, Missouri, to the late Charles Ross and Dolly Sanders Ross. She had lived in Sikeston most of her life and had been employed as a nurse aide...

SIKESTON — Joseph J. Sauceda Jr., 62, died Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until the funeral hour at noon, Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Sikeston. 

DEXTER, Mo. — Joyce Battles, daughter of the late Cecil Steele and Helen Ralph Steele, was born on May 19, 1935, in Memphis, Tennessee, and departed this life on Dec. 30, 2023, at her residence in Dexter at the age of 88 years. Mrs. Battles was a retired landowner with her husband, Elmer. She was a member of Friendship Baptist Church in Dexter, and she enjoyed sewing, gardening and doing laundry...

MOREHOUSE, Mo. — Linda Faye Kitchen Collier, 59, died Jan. 1, 2024, at her home in Morehouse. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6 at the Sanctuary Church in Sikeston, Missouri, with Jay Teague, pastor, officiating. McMikle Funeral Home of Sikeston is in charge of arrangements...

SIKESTON — Storms, holiday decorations, candles and, especially, heaters can all contribute to an increased risk of fire during the winter months.  With temperatures expected to drop this winter, many residents may be thinking about plugging in their space heater...

SIKESTON — Sikeston Department of Public Safety has become something of a family affair as mother and son are now teaming up to help fight crime. Earlier in 2023, Phayzun Fobbs joined his mother, Detective Paula Nichols, at Sikeston DPS. For Nichols, being a law enforcement officer was something she knew she wanted to do from a very young age...

DEXTER, Mo. — Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., a leading national producer and distributor of shell eggs, announced Friday, Dec. 29 that it will establish an egg processing facility in Dexter, investing $13 million and creating approximately 96 jobs. To establish operations in Dexter, Cal-Maine will re-purpose an existing facility previously used for chicken processing, according to a press release from the Missouri Department of Economic Development...

SIKESTON — SEMO Electric Cooperative is offering opportunities for local high school juniors and sophomores to embark on trips to Washington, D.C., and Jefferson City, Missouri, as well as exclusive scholarship opportunities for graduating seniors. ...