5 hrs ago
Walker County commissioners rejected a 25 cent per hour cost of living pay increase for non-elected or appointed employees Monday afternoon, amid a 7.8% unemployment rate in the county and slow growth from a recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposal was presented by Precinct 3 Commissioner Bill Daugette at the midway point in the countyâs fiscal year. However, it wouldnât reach a vote due to the lack of a second.
âDuring budget time last year we had a lot of unknowns, so we budgeted pretty conservatively and hoped for the best. At that time I knew that I wanted to review our revenues and expenses at the mid-year point and work towards a cost of living increase for our employees,â Daugette said. âI canât say thank you enough to our county people that have gone above and beyond this past year.â
Heartland funeral homes see increase in business
Heartland funeral homes see increase in business By Noelle Williams | January 22, 2021 at 9:45 PM CST - Updated January 22 at 10:30 PM
SIKESTON, Mo. (KFVS) - The pandemic is affecting a lot of industries and that includes the funeral business.
As the US averages over 4,000 deaths each day to COVID-19 some funeral homes are having a hard time keeping up.
“We’ve had an increase of about 15% of COVID-related deaths,” said Danny Kuykendall, Nunnelee Funeral Chapel manager in Sikeston.
He said their cremation rate has nearly doubled, and has seen immediate burials without any service at all.