03 Feb 1955
Page 1
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Newspaper
Sikeston Herald
Location
Sikeston, Missouri, United States of America
Date
Feb 03, 1955
Page
1
The Sikeston Herald marks its second year under current ownership with plans to expand service to readers and advertisers. It notes the community’s needs and thanks loyal supporters while addressing a local political dispute over a $60,000 City Hall remodel proposal and poses key questions about financing and taxation amid broader state issues.
A legislative group from the welfare committee advanced measures to raise the maximum monthly blind pension from 55 to 60 dollars and to lift the upper age for aid to dependent children from 16 to 18, contingent on school attendance. The house also backed a resolution urging Congress to shift old age assistance burden to the federal government and to transfer recipients to federal social security rolls.
Sikeston resident engineer Carl Wilkinson spoke to the Kiwanis Club about weather modification or cloud seeding. He described silver iodide seeds and carbon dioxide as tools to increase rainfall, citing successes in Denver and Springfield and projecting SEMO gains of 25 to 50 percent per year at a 20 cent per acre cost, with potential state legislation to aid regional use.
Funeral services for William Ju Tarter aged 78 were conducted Wednesday at the Seventh Street Church of God. The Rev RC Martin assisted by Rev Maston Aborral led the rites, with a burial following at Morle Cemetery.
Firefighters and volunteers responded to multiple alarms in January as the government reiterates their readiness. The incidents involved rapid dispatch and coordinated efforts to contain small fires and prevent further damage.
Benton Floyd Berger and Charles E Burnett were arraigned in circuit court and each sentenced to 15 years in the state penitentiary after pleading guilty to the attempted Kroger Store robbery in Sikeston. The pair had staged four armed robberies across several states, totaling about $1,620, with Burnett providing a lengthy confession detailing the sequence from Wellington to Sikeston and the approach of Redfern the Kroger manager.
A farmer from Route 4 Sikeston recalls a late Arkansas coon hunt in Black River bottoms. Fred McWilliams and companions chased coons for hours, bagging 70 with six notable catches, then shared supper at a cabin. He invites others to prove superior dogs.
The Scott County grand jury returned an indictment against Woodrow A. Baker of Sikeston charging him with taking indecent liberties with a minor. This is the eleventh indictment by the panel since it convened December 3. The grand jury may remain in session until March 7 unless extended by the judge.
In Scott County circuit court Johnny Brandy, a Black man, faced a statutory charge after a grand jury indictment. Prosecutor Weber Gilmore informed Judge D W Gilmore that the complaining witness had married the defendant and requested dismissal, which the court granted.
The Senate Agriculture Committee weighs hearings on restoring cotton acreage. Southern senators push for relief for small tracts while the Agriculture Department maintains the 1955 allotment at 18,183,000 acres, down from 21,376,000 in 1954 and about 25 million in 1953. Len Stennis argues a small increase is justified to guarantee five acres of the highest past three years for small farmers. Benson cites 398,316 acres needed for that minimum and 291,809 farmers would gain. Missouri would require 3,048 additional acres affecting 2,480 farmers.
Dewey Estes Warren, 48, a Parma area farmer, died from a broken neck after his tractor overturned in a ditch on Route 1 near Parma. Reports say Warren was found pinned beneath the overturned machine around 9 am Tuesday, with townsfolk and local authorities responding. He left his home earlier to tend the tractor, and a physician later ruled the death as a broken neck. Warren is survived by his wife and several daughters.
Louis Jones a long time Jaycee leader in southeast Missouri and head of the annual Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo is a candidate for state vice president to succeed Shad Old. The Board backed his candidacy at the Country Club meeting as plans begin with an Excelsior Springs board session this weekend. The rodeo moves earlier with shows Sept 2 3 and a Labor Day finale Sept 5.
A trio of twisters struck Arkansas Mississippi and Alabama killing 31 and injuring about 100. Casualties included schoolchildren at Wiggins Negro elementary in Olive Branch and near Commerce Landing Mississippi as National Guardsmen patrolled wrecked plantations and survivors searched for victims.
Funeral services for Edgar Desmond Lee, former superintendent of Sikeston schools, were held in St Louis. Lee earlier led schools in Sikeston and later served as president of a Columbia college before retiring years ago. He resided in Missouri and had strong ties to Sikeston and surrounding districts.
Local note reports the death of Mrs WoL Modersbach's uncle in Texas with family travel plans and sorrowful attendance. The fragmented text mentions travel from Wisconsin, a sudden death and references to relatives and locations surrounding the event.
Dis trict R-6 weighs closing Salcedo and Miner polling places for spring school elections. Voters would go to Lee Hunter School at Salcedo and to Airport School at Miner. County Clerk Phil Waldman asked secretary Roger Bailey to designate polling sites. church and store concerns, high costs, and building condition drive the consideration.
Postal authorities said a man held in Chicago on a $15 000 mail order fraud charge had operated in the Cape Girardeau area for about three years. He used at least 32 aliases, collected $12 000 to $15 000, and later claimed non receipt of items to demand refunds before moving on to another firm. Authorities sought his real name, arraigned as John Doe on the government warrant, and held him on $1 000 bond for trial.
Attendance figures report January 30 1955 for Sikeston area churches with totals for Ent Baptist 539 Fest Methodist 32 Fest ee of God 437 chutch of the Nazarets 32 Tap of Senet Loh Gav God i41 waste ee General Baptist 144 First Presbyterian $4 we
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