Stories from Wednesday, March 25, 2020

A recent report by Chris Stewart has shed new light on some of the educational problems faced by black youth. The report is titled "The Secret Shame: How America's Most Progressive Cities Betray Their Commitment to Educational Opportunity for All." Stewart is a self-described liberal and CEO of Brightbeam, a nonprofit network of education activists who want to hold progressive political leaders accountable...

JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Department of Corrections (MODOC) has received notification that an offender has tested positive for COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus. This notification marks the first reported case of COVID-19 among MODOC offenders. There are no reported cases of COVID-19 among staff...

Gov. Mike Parson has redirected $18 million from other departments to cover the costs of personal protective equipment and other medical supplies that will be necessary for health care providers to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten said the State Emergency Management Agency is purchasing personal protective materials that the health care, EMS, fire and law enforcement communities have identified as most important...

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is now accepting applications for the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund Grant Program. This assistance is targeted for nonprofits serving vulnerable citizens affected by the coronavirus outbreak across the CFO’s 58-county service region of central and southern Missouri. The CFO serves communities within the state of Missouri south of the Missouri River and outside the metro areas of St. Louis, Kansas City and Jefferson City...

JEFFERSON CITY – Governor Mike Parson has requested that President Donald J. Trump approve a major disaster declaration for the entire state of Missouri to provide federal assistance for state and local COVID-19 pandemic preparedness and emergency response efforts...

JEFFERSON CITY — The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, remains in operation in Missouri. Local agencies continue to support current participants and to enroll new participants who may now be income-eligible due to the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak...

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The youngest of the eight people to die of the coronavirus outbreak in Missouri was a 31-year-old Red Cross employee who was buried as her family watched from their cars. The American Red Cross Missouri-Arkansas Region said that besides the death of Jazmond Dixon in St. ...

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis woman who won $50,000 in a Lottery game 18 years ago has won again, and this time the prize is much bigger. The Missouri Lottery said Wednesday that Anne Kasal matched all six numbers in the March 11 drawing to win a $3 million jackpot. The winning numbers were 11, 16, 23, 26, 31 and 38. Kasal won the $50,000 prize in 2002...

MADRID (AP) — By the time Patricia Núñez's cough started, she was already familiar with the dreaded dry hacking sound tormenting patients who had for weeks been filling the Madrid emergency ward where she works. "We were fed up of hearing it at the hospital, so it was just a matter of time before I would contract it," said Núñez, a 32-year-old nurse who tested positive for the new coronavirus about a week ago...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri REALTORS® is pleased to share with you a monthly statistics report highlighting the Missouri real estate market for the month of February. In February, 4,711 homes sold in Missouri. The total sales volume topped $918 million, and homes sold at a consistent pace in February, staying on the market for an average of 71 days. ...

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is offering a way to report COVID-19 price gouging with a new form on his website. The form, which can be found at https://ago.mo.gov/civil-division/consumer/price-gouging, allows Missouri consumers to answer price gouging-specific questions, streamlines the form process, and makes it easier for the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team to track these specific consumer complaints. ...

MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL A 22-year-old Piedmont woman was injured in a one-vehicle crash at 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, on Forest Service Road 3107, four miles north of Poplar Bluff. According to the report, William P. King, 38, of Piedmont was operating a 2014 Chevrolet pickup southbound when it ran off the right side of the road and struck a tree...

County firefighters responded at 4:20 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, to a report of a possible structure fire on Mink Lane. According to the report, firefighters found a trash barrel in the back yard smoking. _____

The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center has confirmed the second positive case of COVID-19, which was reported by a commercial laboratory in Cape Girardeau County. The individual is a male in his 40’s and is in isolation. Public health officials are investigating the situation and tracing any close contacts to the case. The method of transmission is likely travel related. The case will continue to be monitored by the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center...

Arbadella Stringer, 75, of Fisk, Mo. died March 23, 2020, in the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Private graveside services will be Friday at City Cemetery in Poplar Bluff. Fowler & Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

The Bollinger County Health Center confirmed Wednesday morning its first presumptive-positive case of COVID-19 in Bollinger County, by news release from health center administrator Juanita Welker. The individual is a 60-year-old male and is currently on home isolation, following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control, according to the release...

Ash Hill Cemeteries annual cleanup day will begin at 8 a.m. until the work is finished. Saturday, April 4. Alternate rain date will be April 11. Ash Hill Cemetery Board secretary Nancy Jones reminds, everyone to “please remove keepsakes prior to cleanup” and “all help will be greatly appreciated.”...

As counties limit access to government offices in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, some also are making staffing changes to reduce the number of employees potentially at risk of exposure to the coronavirus. County officials report the limitations are in place through April 3, at which time they will be reevaluated...

The Qulin Lions Club is canceling all dinners until further notice.

BLOOMFIELD — Stoddard County has its first confirmed case of COVID-19, the Stoddard County Health Department reported via Facebook. The patient is a male in his early 40s, and the case in contact related. The patient currently is quarantined at home...

Stoddard County has its first confirmed case of COVID-19, the Stoddard County Health Department has said via Facebook. The patient is a male in his early 40s and the case is contact related. The patient is currently quarantined at home. Health department staff are working in coordination with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to determine any close contacts of the individual who were possibly exposed. ...

Butler County Coroner Andy Moore announced Wednesday afternoon the patient who died while under investigation for possible COVID-19 tested negative for the coronavirus.

Cape Girardeau — The SoutheastHEALTH Foundation has created a SoutheastHEALTH Response and Recovery Fund (RRF) which will accept donations to support first responders and healthcare workers affected by disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

VAN BUREN — The Carter County Health Department said Wednesday that a person tested positive for COVID-19. The individual is currently hospitalized but no other information will be provided about the patient, the department said in a statement. “The Carter County Health Center is working with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and the CDC to identify and contact people who may have come in contact with the individual while they were infectious and will monitor them for fever and respiratory symptoms,” the department said.. ...

When Dr. Chris Montgomery goes home to his family at night, he changes clothes in the garage and takes extra precautions to ensure, he hopes, he is not bringing COVID-19 home to his children. Montgomery has been a physician for 19 years, during which he volunteered to provide medical care in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Gulf Coast saw one of the greatest emergencies in our country’s recent history, and faced one of the greatest shortages of medical supplies and personnel at that time...