DEMOCRATS SEEK STODDARD CORONER JOB

BLOOMFIELD -- Greg Mathis and Melvin Staggs, both Democrats, will face off in Tuesday's primary election for Stoddard County coroner.

Because there are no Republican coroner candidates, the winner in the primary election will be the only name on the ballot in November's general election.

Greg Mathis of Dexter is the current coroner and is the owner and operator of Rainey Funeral Home. He was appointed earlier this year by Gov. Mel Carnahan after the death of Ray Rainey.

He is a 1975 graduate of Dexter High School and attended Three Rivers Community College at Poplar Bluff and Southeast Missouri State University. He graduated from Kentucky School of Mortuary Science in Louisville in 1978.

Mathis thinks that the job of coroner is extremely important.

The coroner is charged with the responsibility of investigating all homicides, suicides, accidental deaths and unattended physician deaths which occur in the county, he said. The coroner then determines the actual cause of death.

"This is a responsibility of the utmost importance which should be afforded the highest priority for the benefit of friends and family who have suffered the loss and the citizens of Stoddard County in general," Mathis said.

He said that the public has a right to be informed of the basic facts surrounding a death but he would never jeapordize a law enforcement investigation or compromise the privacy of surviving family members.

"I believe that the Stoddard County voters want a person as coroner who is dependable, honest and competent to fulfill the numerous and often complicated duties of such a position," he said. "I am proud of the job I have performed for the citizens of Stoddard County."

Melvin Staggs of Bloomfield is the owner of Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home Inc. He graduated from Dexter High School in 1963 and studied for three years at Southeast Missouri State University. He graduated from Forrest Park College in St. Louis with a degree in mortuary science in May of 1975.

"The coroner's duties are clearly defined in our law," he said. "I would do my best to discharge those duties in a correct, efficient and caring manner."