... RACE WILL BE SETTLED IN MISSISSIPPI PRIMARY TOO

MISSISSIPPI COUNTY, Mo. -- Two friends will vie for the county coroner's position in Mississippi County during elections Aug. 8.

John McMikle of Charleston and Lonnie Thurmond of East Prairie, both Democrats, are competing for the position being vacated by Coroner Rick Penrod, who is not seeking reelection after 12 years in office. There are no other candidates for the position, so the winner of the August primary will be the next office holder.

McMikle, 42, and Thurmond, 40, work for competing funeral homes in the county and have known each other many years. There are no real issues in the campaign, which both said is friendly because of their work and personal relationships.

"I didn't know if John would run or not. We're still going to be friends when this is all over," said Thurmond.

"This is the first time there's been opposition probably since I left office," said McMikle. "We know everybody, which I guess is just the nature of a small community."

McMikle served as coroner from 1984 until 1987, when he resigned the position to enlist in the U.S. Army.

Thurmond is currently deputy coroner and the Mayor of East Prairie. He has worked at Shelby Funeral Home since he was 14. He and his wife, Linda, have a blended family that includes Meredith, Cody and Colby, all 17, and Lauren, 12.

His term as mayor expires in April, but Thurmond said he has not decided whether he will seek reelection. He has no plans to resign if he wins the coroner's position.

"My position as mayor doesn't require a lot of time for meetings, so right now I don't have any plans to step down," Thurmond said. "In Mississippi County you just never know one month you might have several calls and the next month there's only one."

McMikle Funeral Home is a family business. He and his wife, Carla, have a blended family of three sons: Josh, 20, Nelson, 11, and Bryant, 8. They are expecting a fourth child within the next month.

Both candidates said the job description for coroners in the county has changed over the years. The advent of hospice and home health care have reduced the need for coroners to identify cause of death for the elderly and others in their homes. More often, the Mississippi County coroner will be work with law enforcement agencies to investigate deaths related to accidents or crimes.

They agreed the most difficult part of the job would be contacting a family they knew to inform them of a death.

"What I did in the past was, if I knew where they went to church, I'd contact the minister if possible and inform them so they could go to the home, then I'd notify the next of kin," McMikle said. "I wouldn't say there's anything easy about it because it's a sad situation all around."