Stories from Tuesday, May 22, 2012

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor City Cable is ready to transition its analog channels to digital format one zone at a time, beginning the week of June 11. "We have separated the city into 20 zones. Our goal is to have a new zone being transitioned each week," Bill Bach, general manager of Municipal Utilities and City Cable, told the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday night. "We anticipate the completion date to be Dec. 3."...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor The low bid of $159,978 from Second Sight Systems of Herculaneum, Mo., for seven storm warning sirens was accepted by the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday night. Fire Chief Ralph Stucker said the new sirens will replace 40-year-old models...

By ERIN RAGAN SEMO News Service CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Chaffee will join numerous other Southeast Missouri cities in requiring a prescription for medicines containing ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine when a new ordinance takes effect June 1...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A micro earthquake occurred at 5:06 p.m. Monday four miles southwest of Williamsville, Mo., and eight miles east of Ellsinore, Mo. The quake measured at a 2.9 magnitude, according to a preliminary earthquake report from the Cooperative New Madrid Seismic Network. It occurred at a depth of 6.5 miles, and would have produced weak to light shaking in the surrounding area...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer Neelyville R-IV Schools will continue the grant application process for a Federal Emergency Management Agency safe room, the board of education decided Monday night. Board member Steve Womack was absent. To qualify for FEMA grant funds, the district first had to approve participation in the Butler County Hazard Mitigation program, according to Crystal Jones with the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor The arrest early Monday morning of a Poplar Bluff, Mo., teenager for allegedly breaking into a local convenience store has led authorities to tying him, as well as two others, to similar crimes. Jonandrew Robert Stenger, 17, of the 900 block of County Road 468 was arrested by the Poplar Bluff Police Department and subsequently charged Monday with burglarizing the Southside Sinclair...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Sections of Oak Grove Road and Highway PP will be closed, beginning Thursday, due to construction work during the summer while schools are not in session, according to announcements from the Missouri Department of Transportation and the city of Poplar Bluff, Mo...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer The Neelyville R-IV School Board plans to pursue another, smaller tax levy increase in August to fund improvements at the Neelyville and Hillview campuses, after discussion at Monday's regular monthly meeting. Heather Mudd of finance company PiperJaffray will draft a resolution with the ballot language, including a $0.275 tax levy increase. ...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Three more actions that will help to facilitate the creation of the Eight Points Commercial Development were taken by the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday night. An ordinance authorizing Mayor Ed DeGaris to execute an agreement for the purchase of part of the Sheehy Mobile Home Park property for the Oak Grove Road widening project was approved 6-0. Betty Absheer was absent...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor The low bid of $159,978 from Second Sight Systems of Herculaneum, Mo., for seven storm warning sirens was accepted by the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday night. Fire Chief Ralph Stucker said the new sirens will replace 40-year-old models...

By ERIN RAGAN SEMO News Service CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Chaffee will join numerous other Southeast Missouri cities in requiring a prescription for medicines containing ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine when a new ordinance takes effect June 1...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer The Neelyville R-IV School Board plans to pursue another, smaller tax levy increase in August to fund improvements at the Neelyville and Hillview campuses, after discussion at Monday's regular monthly meeting. Heather Mudd of finance company PiperJaffray will draft a resolution with the ballot language, including a $0.275 tax levy increase. ...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A micro earthquake occurred at 5:06 p.m. Monday four miles southwest of Williamsville, Mo., and eight miles east of Ellsinore, Mo. The quake measured at a 2.9 magnitude, according to a preliminary earthquake report from the Cooperative New Madrid Seismic Network. It occurred at a depth of 6.5 miles, and would have produced weak to light shaking in the surrounding area...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Sections of Oak Grove Road and Highway PP will be closed, beginning Thursday, due to construction work during the summer while schools are not in session, according to announcements from the Missouri Department of Transportation and the city of Poplar Bluff, Mo...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer Neelyville R-IV Schools will continue the grant application process for a Federal Emergency Management Agency safe room, the board of education decided Monday night. Board member Steve Womack was absent. To qualify for FEMA grant funds, the district first had to approve participation in the Butler County Hazard Mitigation program, according to Crystal Jones with the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission...

Neiko "Dylan" Rawlings of Malden and Caela R. Petty of Neelyville each have received a Three Rivers Scholarship. Rawlings received an Incentive Scholarship. He is the son of Michael and Tammy Rawlings of Malden and is a 2012 graduate of Malden R-1 High School. He plans to study business administration...

Sandra J. Pratt and Whitney L. (Chatman) Chronister, both of Poplar Bluff, Mo., have graduated from St. Louis College of Pharmacy. The commencement ceremony was held at Powell Hall. They were two of 180 students to receive a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree...

Holly Spain of Wappapello, who is a 2012 graduate of Puxico High School, has been awarded a $1,200 scholarship from Faith Baptist Church of Wappapello. She plans to attend Three Rivers College and Southeast Missouri State University to earn a Master's Degree in Nursing...

By REG HENRY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Before entering this column, readers should be alert to two advisories: 1. No fish were harmed in the production of this column. 2. Women readers should exercise discretion, because the subject matter concerns men behaving badly...

By OLIVER NORTH WASHINGTON -- Forty-three years ago this week, the fabled 101st Airborne Division launched Operation Apache Snow -- a major ground offensive against North Vietnamese army invaders in the treacherous A Shau Valley. Though fighting raged over hundreds of square miles of triple-canopied jungle, the focus soon became a single terrain feature, a mountain, with peaks as high as 3,000 feet, the Vietnamese named Dong Ap Bia, or "Mountain of the Crouching Beast." The Americans who fought there called it Hamburger Hill.. ...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Among the more controversial chapters in "Suicide of a Superpower," my book published last fall, was the one titled, "The End of White America." It dealt with the demographic decline of the white majority and what it portends for education, the U.S. economy, politics and national unity...

The following students from Poplar Bluff, Dexter, Van Buren, Doniphan and Williamsville received recognition during the 2012 Fine Art Students Exhibition at Three Rivers College. Henry McCoy Jr. received the first place award in the Three Rivers College 2012 Fine Art Students Exhibition for his charcoal drawing "My Feelings of a Now." He also received an honorable mention for "Untitled 2." The juried exhibition is held at the college each year and features the best works of Three Rivers art students. ...

By MONA CHAREN Appearing on ABC's "This Week," former Gov. Eliot Spitzer (why do they give him a forum?) offered the Democratic Party's defense of the Obama economy. The Republicans, Spitzer sputtered "want to go back to medieval medicine, the bloodletting, leeches. They want to go back to the very crazy economics that brought us over the cliff and created a cataclysm."...

To the Editor In other Missouri communities groups of animal lovers have banded together to significantly lower the kill rate at their local dog pounds by getting the dogs on out of state transports to rescue sites that make sure the dogs are fully vetted, fixed and go to forever homes. As unlikely as it sounds to fellow Missourians, states up north do not have enough pet pups and dogs to meet public demand. I, for one, really want to help those pet less people out!...

To the Editor: You want your servants to stop running your life, just do your duty as the Government you are. You create jobs; alter, abolish or change laws and even constitutions of State and Federal. Don't allow the servants in Government create more jobs that only increases your taxes and takes more control of your life. ...

By DAN K. THOMASSON Scripps Howard News Service How much information is too much, especially when there is a possibility that it may damage national security by alerting our enemies to the way we have thwarted their activities? It's a simple question that not only has been around since a free press was enshrined in our Constitution but also one that has become increasingly distressful in a world that has gone communications crazy. ...

Ava Wilkerson FISK, Mo. - Ava Faith Wilkerson, of Bloomfield, Mo., was born and died Friday, May 18, 2012, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Survivors include, her parents, Daniel and Amber Wilkerson of Bloomfield; one brother, Logan Ray Wilkerson, of the home; grandparents, Jim and Brenda Wilkerson of Bloomfield and Michael and Betty Whitley of Dexter, Mo.; great-grandparents, Oleta Whitley of Morehouse, Mo., and Elaine Wilkerson of Benton, Mo...

PIEDMONT -- Twin Rivers was 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position before senior Kaleb Doyle came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh Monday. Doyle singled back through the middle to score two runs for the Royals as they rallied past Greenville 2-1 in the MSHSAA Class 2 playoff at Clearwater High School...

Lois Oliver DEXTER, Mo. -- Lois Oliver of Dexter, Mo., died Tuesday, May 22, 2012, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Funeral arrangements are pending with Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter.

Julian Pearson FISK, Mo. -- Julian F. Pearson, 80, of Fisk, Mo., died Monday, May 21, 2012, at his residence. Funeral arrangements are pending with White-Sanders Funeral Home in Fisk.

The Missouri State Veterans Cemetery at Bloomfield, Mo., will hold its annual Memorial Day Program at 1 p.m. Monday at the Committal Shelter Plaza in the cemetery. Keynote speaker for the program will be James S. "Stan" Baughn, who has been with the Missouri Veterans Commission for 14 years. He started with the commission as a veterans service officer in the Poplar Bluff office. He has served in numerous positions with the commission and is a veteran of the U. S. Air Force with 15 years service...

NAYLOR -- Taylor Davis was never thrown into a situation like Monday but the Naylor junior rose to the occasion. Davis, who at the beginning of the school year was pegged as an end-of-the-rotation pitcher for the Eagles, proved to be a solid No. 2 option against Oak Ridge in the MSHSAA Class 2 playoffs...

By JOHN WILLEY Staff Writer It's that time of the year when both men and women seek those sun-bronzed bodies. The immediate affect may be that well-tanned look, but there can be side effects -- some deadly. May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month -- a time to make sun worshipers realize the effects of too much of a good thing...

JOPLIN -- Poplar Bluff golfer Patty Robinson finished the first round of the Missouri Women's Senior Championship in the hunt Monday. Robinson's 5-over-par 77 at Twin Hills Country Club put her second, 2 strokes behind leader Stephany Powell of Springfield...

Lisa Faith and Wayne Andrew Wright of Fisk, Mo., have chosen the name Serenity Dianne Wright for their 5-pound, 13.6-ounce daughter born at 2:54 p.m., Friday, May 18, 2012, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Serenity was 18 inches long. Grandparents are Lillian Mayfield and Alvin Mayfield of Brooklyn, Ark., and the late Tony and Sheila Rouse of Fisk...

Marvin Johnston PUXICO, Mo. -- Marvin Johnston of Puxico, Mo., died on Monday, May 21, 2012, at the Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Funeral arrangements are pending with Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Puxico.

By OLIVER NORTH WASHINGTON -- Forty-three years ago this week, the fabled 101st Airborne Division launched Operation Apache Snow -- a major ground offensive against North Vietnamese army invaders in the treacherous A Shau Valley. Though fighting raged over hundreds of square miles of triple-canopied jungle, the focus soon became a single terrain feature, a mountain, with peaks as high as 3,000 feet, the Vietnamese named Dong Ap Bia, or "Mountain of the Crouching Beast." The Americans who fought there called it Hamburger Hill.. ...

By REG HENRY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Before entering this column, readers should be alert to two advisories: 1. No fish were harmed in the production of this column. 2. Women readers should exercise discretion, because the subject matter concerns men behaving badly...

Ava Wilkerson FISK, Mo. - Ava Faith Wilkerson, of Bloomfield, Mo., was born and died Friday, May 18, 2012, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Survivors include, her parents, Daniel and Amber Wilkerson of Bloomfield; one brother, Logan Ray Wilkerson, of the home; grandparents, Jim and Brenda Wilkerson of Bloomfield and Michael and Betty Whitley of Dexter, Mo.; great-grandparents, Oleta Whitley of Morehouse, Mo., and Elaine Wilkerson of Benton, Mo...

By DAN K. THOMASSON Scripps Howard News Service How much information is too much, especially when there is a possibility that it may damage national security by alerting our enemies to the way we have thwarted their activities? It's a simple question that not only has been around since a free press was enshrined in our Constitution but also one that has become increasingly distressful in a world that has gone communications crazy. ...

Julian Pearson FISK, Mo. -- Julian F. Pearson, 80, of Fisk, Mo., died Monday, May 21, 2012, at his residence. Funeral arrangements are pending with White-Sanders Funeral Home in Fisk.

Lois Oliver DEXTER, Mo. -- Lois Oliver of Dexter, Mo., died Tuesday, May 22, 2012, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Funeral arrangements are pending with Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter.

PIEDMONT -- Twin Rivers was 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position before senior Kaleb Doyle came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh Monday. Doyle singled back through the middle to score two runs for the Royals as they rallied past Greenville 2-1 in the MSHSAA Class 2 playoff at Clearwater High School...

NAYLOR -- Taylor Davis was never thrown into a situation like Monday but the Naylor junior rose to the occasion. Davis, who at the beginning of the school year was pegged as an end-of-the-rotation pitcher for the Eagles, proved to be a solid No. 2 option against Oak Ridge in the MSHSAA Class 2 playoffs...

The Missouri State Veterans Cemetery at Bloomfield, Mo., will hold its annual Memorial Day Program at 1 p.m. Monday at the Committal Shelter Plaza in the cemetery. Keynote speaker for the program will be James S. "Stan" Baughn, who has been with the Missouri Veterans Commission for 14 years. He started with the commission as a veterans service officer in the Poplar Bluff office. He has served in numerous positions with the commission and is a veteran of the U. S. Air Force with 15 years service...

By JOHN WILLEY Staff Writer It's that time of the year when both men and women seek those sun-bronzed bodies. The immediate affect may be that well-tanned look, but there can be side effects -- some deadly. May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month -- a time to make sun worshipers realize the effects of too much of a good thing...

Marvin Johnston PUXICO, Mo. -- Marvin Johnston of Puxico, Mo., died on Monday, May 21, 2012, at the Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Funeral arrangements are pending with Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Puxico.

Lisa Faith and Wayne Andrew Wright of Fisk, Mo., have chosen the name Serenity Dianne Wright for their 5-pound, 13.6-ounce daughter born at 2:54 p.m., Friday, May 18, 2012, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Serenity was 18 inches long. Grandparents are Lillian Mayfield and Alvin Mayfield of Brooklyn, Ark., and the late Tony and Sheila Rouse of Fisk...

JOPLIN -- Poplar Bluff golfer Patty Robinson finished the first round of the Missouri Women's Senior Championship in the hunt Monday. Robinson's 5-over-par 77 at Twin Hills Country Club put her second, 2 strokes behind leader Stephany Powell of Springfield...