Stories from Thursday, February 2, 2012

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Each year rental properties in Poplar Bluff, Mo., are among the structures damaged or destroyed by fire, and fire officials say in nearly every case the occupants find themselves without insurance to cover their losses...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor For years, area residents have been urged to vote during primary and general elections because every vote is important in selecting county, state and national leaders. However, Missouri Republicans will not be able to take a meaningful part in selecting the Republican nominee for president in 2012...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Dexter, Mo., man was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to molesting a young girl in 2010. Raymond Henson, 33, of the 800 block of North Mulberry pleaded guilty as charged to the Class B felony of first-degree child molestation, according to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor For Vicki Greer, her motorized wheelchair is her only means of transportation. She uses it to crisscross the streets of Poplar Bluff, Mo., as she pays bills or grocery shops, and in doing so, she shares the roadways with the motoring public...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Dexter, Mo., man was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to molesting a young girl in 2010. Raymond Henson, 33, of the 800 block of North Mulberry pleaded guilty as charged to the Class B felony of first-degree child molestation, according to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver...

Regions Bank received eight Greenwich Excellence Awards in 2011, doubling its 2010 tally. Notably, Regions Bank was the only company recognized in the Middle Market Banking: Credit Policy --Willing to Lend/Pricing category among 750 banks evaluated...

By ANN McFEATTERS Scripps Howard News Service Newt Gingrich promises that by the end of his second term as president, the United States will have established a permanent "American" colony on the moon. As campaign promises go, this is real pie in the sky...

Glenda Ethridge Glenda J. Ethridge, 73, of Paragould, Ark., died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, at Arkansas Methodist Central Medical Center in Paragould. Funeral arrangements are pending with Cotrell Funeral Service of Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Peggy Grimm PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Peggy Sue (Eaton) Grimm, 49, of Piedmont, Mo., died Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, at Benchmark Healthcare Center in Greenville, Mo. She was born Dec. 17, 1962, in St. Louis, Mo. She formerly lived in St. Louis where she worked as an in-home aide for a home health service. She was baptized at Grace Baptist Church in St. Charles, Mo. and had been attending the Church on the Rock in O'Fallon, Mo....

Grizzlies rep here Sat. for Tyler night Feb. 10 Memphis Grizzlies account executive Lance Gooch will be at the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to sell discounted tickets to the Tyler Hansbrough/Poplar Bluff Community Night. Community night will be held Friday, Feb. 10 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., where the Memphis Grizzlies will take on Hansbrough and the Indiana Pacers...

By JOHN PRATT Mo. Dept. of Conservation About every other day, I get a new sporting goods catalog in the mail. I'm not complaining, because they provide a lot of mindless entertainment for me. As of late, many of the catalogs feature the latest must-have fishing equipment. It's a wonder we caught any fish back when I was growing up, considering the crude equipment we used...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Work is progressing on a 21-mile off-road mountain bike trail along Wolf Creek Road, also known as Forest Road 3107, in the Mark Twain National Forest, just west of Poplar Bluff, Mo. "If all goes well, the west side of the Wolf Creek Mountain Bicycle Trail should be open by late summer," said Wilmer Scott, the Mark Twain National Forest's wilderness and trails eastern area manager...

There is an excellent article in the Missouri Conservationist this month. The article is about regulations updates for 2012. One of the most noteworthy involves furbearer hunters and trappers. In the past, hunters and trappers were allowed only 10 days after the close of the season to sell their furs. This gave them very little time to scrape, dry and sell their hides if they chose to handle them in this manner. Now, there is no limit as to how long a person can keep their legally caught furs...

ROLLA, Mo. -- Hunters who put up temporary deer stands on the Mark Twain National Forest need to remove them. Portable deer hunting tree stands are permitted to be placed on the forest two weeks before deer season. Portable deer hunting tree stands are to be removed no later than two weeks after the close of archery deer season, which ended on Jan. 15...

WAPPAPELLO, Mo. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake and the Missouri Department of Conservation will sponsor a hunter education class at the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitor Center. The class will be March 23 from 6-9 p.m., and March 24 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students must attend both sessions, which will total at least 10 hours in the classroom...

Jefferson College turned up the pressure and Three Rivers couldn't handle it. The Lady Vikings used a full-court press to force 31 turnovers and erased a four-point halftime deficit to beat the Lady Raiders 84-73 Wednesday at the Bess Activity Center, 84-73...

The East Carter Redbirds have been flying in clearer skies this season. After five forgettable seasons where the team had a combined record of 8-85, the Redbirds already have eight wins this season to their claim and have shown improvement in all facets of the game...

The Clearwater Lady Tigers have easily been the most improved team in the Ozark Foothills Conference, if not all of Southeast Missouri when it comes girls basketball this season. After suffering through a 5-37 record the last two seasons, the Lady Tigers have barnstormed the scene this year with a 14-5 record entering Saturday's OFC Tournament in which they drew the No. 4 seed and will play East Carter...

By WALTER E. WILLIAMS There's been a heap of criticism placed upon President Barack Obama's domestic policies that have promoted government intrusion and prolonged our fiscal crisis and his foreign policies that have emboldened our enemies. Any criticism of Obama pales in comparison with what might be said about the American people who voted him in to the nation's highest office...

Charles Carrens DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Charles Dwight Carrens, 90, of Pittman, Ark., died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, in the Five Rivers Medical Center in Pocahontas, Ark. He was born on April 4, 1921, in Lead Hill, Ark., and was the son of the late Dr. James Siegel and Mamie Thomas Carrens...

Dallas, Texas -- Lavonda Denise Redd was born March 18, 1975, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., to the union of Charles Redd Sr. and Anna Redd. Miss Redd moved to Dallas, Texas, in July of 1996. Miss Redd was a 1995 graduate of Three Rivers College and 2000 graduate of Dallas Baptist University. ...

Charles Tucker Charles Douglas Tucker, Sr., 78, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, at The Manor in Poplar Bluff. Mr. Tucker was born Sept. 6, 1932, in Lake City, Ark. He had retired as a factory worker and musician. Mr. Tucker was a veteran of the U. S. Army, and was a member of the American Legion...

Frank Marler GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Franklin D. "Frank" Marler, 70, of Silva, Mo., died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, at the Westwood Hills Health Care Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born June 9, 1941 at Silva and had lived most of his life in Wayne County. He was owner/operator of Marler Trucking and was of the Baptist faith...

Marilyn Jones CORNING, Ark. -- Marilyn Turrentine Jones, 60, of Corning, Ark., died Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, at her home. Born June 30, 1951, Mrs. Jones was a homemaker who enjoyed puzzles, drinking coffee, and yard sales. She was of the Pentecostal faith...

Wendell Clinton PUXICO, Mo. -- Wendell Clinton of Puxico, Mo., died Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. Funeral arrangements are pending with Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Puxico.

Glenda Ethridge Glenda Jenal Ethridge, 73, of Paragould, Ark., died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, at the Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould, Ark. Mrs. Ethridge was born Oct. 24, 1938, in Clover Bend, Ark. She was of the Baptist faith and was the first woman to work at Darling Store Fixtures in Paragould. Mrs. Ethridge also worked as a seamstress. She enjoyed spending time with her family, sewing and planting flowers...

Marilyn Burnett Marilyn Vera Burnett, 75, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, at Westwood Healthcare Center in Poplar Bluff. Funeral arrangements are pending with Cotrell Funeral Service.

Op Off Street fish fry Sat. Operation Off Street will hold a community fish fry from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Operation Off Street building, 425 Harper St. The menu will include fish, spaghetti, coleslaw and cake. Cost of the meal is $6.50...

Dori Drummond, president of the Smooth Talking Toastmasters Club, placed third in the 2011 District 8 Table Topics Contest. Table Topics involves impromptu speaking in which the contestant is given a question and then must respond immediately. The question posed to Drummond was: "If you could achieve absolute success in any aspect of your life, what would it be and why?" She spoke about her calling as a public defender and stated that representing indigent criminal defendants enables her to achieve success by making a difference for other people.. ...

After Christmas, I'm always thinking of ways to eat better and spend less money. January bills can make your head spin! Look at the different ways you can spend less money. It takes a lot of skill, determination, and know-how to reduce your grocery bills. How can you save money at the grocery store?...

Art exhibit at TRC Three Rivers College if featuring mixed media artist Dylan Mortimer at the Art Gallery at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center. Mortimer's exhibit, titled "Can't Knock the Hustle," is on display until Feb. 10. Admission into the Tinnin Center Art Gallery is free; large groups are asked to call ahead to the Tinnin Center director's office at 573-840-9648...

Lavonda Redd -- Dallas, Texas Franklin Marler -- Silva, Mo. Glenda Ethridge -- Paragould, Mo. Charles Tucker -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Wendell Clinton -- Puxico, Mo. Marilyn Jones -- Corning, Ark. Marilyn Burnett -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Charles Carrens -- Pittman, Ark...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON - Once upon a time, small ball was not Barack Obama's game. Tuesday, it was the essence of his State of the Union address. The visionary of 2008 -- purveyor of hope and change, healer of the earth, tamer of the rising seas -- offered an hour of little things: tax-code tweaks to encourage this or that kind of behavior (manufacturing being the flavor of the day), little watchdog agencies to round up Wall Street miscreants and Chinese DVD pirates, even a presidential demand "that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18." Under penalty of what? Jail? The self-proclaimed transformer of America is now playing truant officer?. ...

The East Carter Redbirds have been flying in clearer skies this season. After five forgettable seasons where the team had a combined record of 8-85, the Redbirds already have eight wins this season to their claim and have shown improvement in all facets of the game...

WAPPAPELLO, Mo. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake and the Missouri Department of Conservation will sponsor a hunter education class at the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitor Center. The class will be March 23 from 6-9 p.m., and March 24 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students must attend both sessions, which will total at least 10 hours in the classroom...

ROLLA, Mo. -- Hunters who put up temporary deer stands on the Mark Twain National Forest need to remove them. Portable deer hunting tree stands are permitted to be placed on the forest two weeks before deer season. Portable deer hunting tree stands are to be removed no later than two weeks after the close of archery deer season, which ended on Jan. 15...

There is an excellent article in the Missouri Conservationist this month. The article is about regulations updates for 2012. One of the most noteworthy involves furbearer hunters and trappers. In the past, hunters and trappers were allowed only 10 days after the close of the season to sell their furs. This gave them very little time to scrape, dry and sell their hides if they chose to handle them in this manner. Now, there is no limit as to how long a person can keep their legally caught furs...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Work is progressing on a 21-mile off-road mountain bike trail along Wolf Creek Road, also known as Forest Road 3107, in the Mark Twain National Forest, just west of Poplar Bluff, Mo. "If all goes well, the west side of the Wolf Creek Mountain Bicycle Trail should be open by late summer," said Wilmer Scott, the Mark Twain National Forest's wilderness and trails eastern area manager...

Marilyn Burnett Marilyn Vera Burnett, 75, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, at Westwood Healthcare Center in Poplar Bluff. Funeral arrangements are pending with Cotrell Funeral Service.

After Christmas, I'm always thinking of ways to eat better and spend less money. January bills can make your head spin! Look at the different ways you can spend less money. It takes a lot of skill, determination, and know-how to reduce your grocery bills. How can you save money at the grocery store?...

Art exhibit at TRC Three Rivers College if featuring mixed media artist Dylan Mortimer at the Art Gallery at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center. Mortimer's exhibit, titled "Can't Knock the Hustle," is on display until Feb. 10. Admission into the Tinnin Center Art Gallery is free; large groups are asked to call ahead to the Tinnin Center director's office at 573-840-9648...