CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Saint Francis Healthcare System will recreate the scene of Jesus’ birth with its fourth annual outdoor Live Nativity. Come and experience the true reason for the season on Saturday, December 17, from 5-7 pm. Invite your neighbors, friends and family to follow the Star of Bethlehem to the Saint Francis Cancer Institute (Entrance 6) and witness this truly special event.
James Magee is celebrating his 25th year as executive director of Piggott Health Systems (Piggott Community Hospital). The current hospital was built in 1978, which is when the city came into ownership. Before then, the old hospital was privately owned. Magee was phasing out of banking when the previous administrator, Betty Reams, became ill. The board then asked Magee to fill the vacancy. Reams and Magee have been the only two directors since the hospital opened in 1978.
I love to tell exciting stories from my childhood. Like when I jumped on the back of a live, 7 footlong alligator. Or the time a hurricane knocked over my great grandparents apartment and I had to piggyback my 90 year-old great grandmother out of the wreckage during the eye of the storm. I could spend all day sharing about losing the soccer game because I wasn’t paying attention in the goal, or talk about playing pranks on the school bus with my friends. I love delving through life for those great stories.
A few weeks ago we were notified that our 21-22 ACT Aspire test scores showed remarkable improvements from the previous year in several areas and throughout several grade levels. While our scores aren’t yet as high as they were before the pandemic, our improvements were significant and are definitely reflective of the hard work that our students and are staff have put in the past two years to gain back what they lost.
POCAHONTAS, AR- Patrolman Adam Holcomb of the Corning Police Department was one of 47 officers who successfully completed Basic Police Training Course 2022-B at the Black River Technical College Law Enforcement Training Academy in Pocahontas, Arkansas.
The Corning City Council held a special council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 3 p.m. to address the city’s payroll in what the mayor described as a kind of preparation for their yearly budget and to address payroll needs. Councilmen Terry Masterson, Ray Vannoy and Randall Godwin were present. Councilman Trent McKinney was not in attendance. City Clerk J’Anna Couch began, “What we’re proposing is just an all-around 6% cost of living increase and then additional raises in between a 1% and 3%.” She said,” We talked to each supervisor and based on talking to the supervisors, there’s between actually a 0 and 3% increase above the 6% based on raises. So that’s what we’re proposing on that.” The 6% cost of living increase includes the mayor, city clerk, council members and everyone employed by the city now. Council members, the mayor, supervisors, and city clerk did not get the additional raise of 0 to 3% raise. The funds for the increases will come from different departments and is what the city clerk described as “very doable.” Addressing bonuses, Couch continued, “This year’s bonuses, it’s normally been $500 and then taxes, well for full time, $500 for full time and $250 for parttime. And then anyone under, I believe it was 520 hours, it’s less than that and then taxes are held out of that. This year we’re proposing $600, so they can actually get $500 or at least close to that with the taxes being held out, $300 for parttime. And it would be a hundred dollars flat rate for anyone that worked 520 hours or below. And it would be based on your month’s work. So basically, it averages out to, for full-time, $50 a month, part-time, $25 a month, and then a hundred dollars flat rate for anything under that.” This would address recent new hires who haven’t worked over the 520 hours and would get a $100 flat rate.
On November 21st, 2022, agents with the Second Judicial Drug Task Force were alerted to a large quantity of narcotics within a storage facility near the 400 block of 2nd Street in Corning, which is in close proximity to a child day care within the city. A police canine was summoned to the storage facility and subsequently indicated the presence of narcotics emitting from one of the units.
Corning Cares is preparing for its 8th annual “Shop with a Hero” event slated for Saturday, December 3, 2022. As always, the organization is choosing to shop LOCAL.
Opening night of Christmas in the Park 2022 on Saturday, Nov. 26 was a big success as the forecasted rain was delayed and those enjoying the evening listened to live entertainment that began at 5 p.m. Entertainers Tracy Dobbins and Larry Dobbins sang songs as soloists and as a duet, as well as the Corning High School Choir and Colton Ladyman performed.