Stories from Monday, August 20, 2012

SEMO NEWS SERVICE FRUITLAND, Mo. -- A volunteer fireman, who actually reported a blaze he allegedly set, was charged Sunday with setting a home on fire while a resident slept inside. Gordon Schafer, 23, of Jackson was arrested and charged with first-degree arson in the early-morning fire Saturday at a residence next door to the Fruitland Fire Department, according to a news release from the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. ...

The Fisk Community will hold it's annual Fall Festival on Saturday, Sept. 22. This year's theme is a "Salute to the Troops!" Inside booths will be available for crafters in the new community center next to city hall. The booths are 10' x 10' in size and $50 each. One table and two chairs are included. No cooking, pets or smoking will be allowed inside city buildings...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor VAN BUREN, Mo. -- The attempted kidnapping of a 19-year-old female jogger in a rural area near Van Buren, Mo., is being investigated by the Carter County Sheriff's Department. Three thin white males in a white van are being sought, according to Sheriff Bruce Van Belle. One man had a faded tattoo on his forearm...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor PIEDMONT, Mo. -- One man was shot in the leg during an altercation around 11 a.m. Saturday, according to Piedmont Police Chief Richard Sanders. The victim was transported by Air Evac to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo.,...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer (Note: This is this first of two articles regarding the state annual performance reports of area schools.) Half of 14 area school districts received the maximum points available on annual performance reports (APR) released last week by the state. This is first year under a waiver allowing Missouri to move away from federal accountability standards set after the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) a decade ago...

The Fisk Community will hold it's annual Fall Festival on Saturday, Sept. 22. This year's theme is a "Salute to the Troops!" Inside booths will be available for crafters in the new community center next to city hall. The booths are 10' x 10' in size and $50 each. One table and two chairs are included. No cooking, pets or smoking will be allowed inside city buildings...

The Auxiliary of Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center recently awarded $1,521 in scholarship reimbursement tuition for the summer 2012 term to the following individuals: Bobbie Barnes, Surgery Department. Barnes is attending Three Rivers College pursuing a career as a registered nurse...

By BETSY HART Scripps Howard News Service How would you interact with God differently if you only had today what you had thanked him for yesterday? That's the gist of a question my 13-year-old daughter, Madi, was asked by counselors to ponder during her month of camp this summer. As we caught up together at the end of her Kamp Kanakuk term in Branson, Mo., she said that question had really impacted her...

By OLIVER NORTH WASHINGTON -- In December 2009, our commander in chief went to West Point and proclaimed that he would withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by 2014. Since then, he has proudly emphasized that "We are on a course to end this war responsibly." Now U.S. and NATO troops and loyal Afghan soldiers and police officers are reaping the bitter harvest of the seeds that Barack Obama planted with those words...

Greetings: Since God has been expelled from most American culture, things have gone terribly wrong. I wonder if the liberals that facilitated this change recognize their connection with the sick society that we all live in today. Civilized societies retain God in their private and public affairs. ...

To the Editor: I really appreciated the articles on the opinion page in the Sunday, Aug. 5th newspaper. I am proud of Mr. Dan Cathy for standing up for his Christian beliefs! We should "stand up" for Jesus more often, even when we know that others will not agree! I'm sure that others will not agree! I'm sure that Mr. Cathy knew that he might be "put down" for his statements, but he was willing to "go the extra mile" for Jesus...

God bless you, Bobby I just want to call in. I was out at Dr. Anderson's office this morning, the pain clinic, in my big van and I'm crippled up in a wheelchair and my lift gate went down to the ground, but it locked up on the front and I couldn't get my wheelchair off of it. ...

Are you ready for some algebra? The start of the 2012 high school football season in Missouri brings a new playoff system that is complex in its simplicity. It puts teams in eight-team districts, ranks those teams based on their performance during a nine-game season to seed them in a district tournament that feeds into the state bracket and a championships...

George Fann PHOTO ELLSINORE, Mo. -- George Ray "Peewee" Fann, 84, lifetime resident of Ellsinore, Mo., died Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012, at the Willis-Knighton Medical Center in Bossier, La. Mr. Fann was born Sept. 15, 1927, in Williamsville, Mo. Mr. Fann was a retired sawmill operator with Price's Sawmill and a deacon of the General Baptist Church in Ellsinore. ...

Catherine Barber DEXTER, Mo. -- Catherine M. Barber, 92, of Dexter, Mo., died Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. Mrs. Barber was born June 11, 1920, in Puxico, Mo. She was a member of the Sweet Prospect General Baptist Church in Dexter, a former employee of International Hat Company in Dexter, a farmer and homemaker...

Linda Morgan, leader, opened the weekly meeting of TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Mo 734 at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15. Present were 18 TOPS and four KOPS members. The secretary read the report, which was approved. The best losers were Morgan, TOPS, and Mary Lou McPherson, KOPS...

MoDOT Bridge work is done Southeast Missouri now has 116 improved bridges, thanks to the Missouri Department of Transportation's Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program. "With the opening of the Highway 142 bridge over Main Ditch in Butler County on Aug. 15, we concluded the Southeast District's portion of the statewide Safe & Sound program," said District Construction and Materials Engineer Andy Meyer...

The Diabetic Support Group monthly meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, in the cafeteria at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center South Campus. Guest speaker will be Soloman Whitchurch who will talk about the benefits of exercise and the "Juice Plus" program...

The Aug. 8 meeting of the Missouri Star Quilters was called to order by President Teresa Rueck. The minutes for July were approved as published. The treasurer gave her report. Committee reports: Hospitality: For the September meeting Georgia Fiske, Tess Butler and Jean Teskey volunteered to bring refreshments. First Midwest Bank was thanked for providing ice cream as well as those providing items for the social...

By BETSY HART Scripps Howard News Service How would you interact with God differently if you only had today what you had thanked him for yesterday? That's the gist of a question my 13-year-old daughter, Madi, was asked by counselors to ponder during her month of camp this summer. As we caught up together at the end of her Kamp Kanakuk term in Branson, Mo., she said that question had really impacted her...

The Auxiliary of Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center recently awarded $1,521 in scholarship reimbursement tuition for the summer 2012 term to the following individuals: Bobbie Barnes, Surgery Department. Barnes is attending Three Rivers College pursuing a career as a registered nurse...

Greetings: Since God has been expelled from most American culture, things have gone terribly wrong. I wonder if the liberals that facilitated this change recognize their connection with the sick society that we all live in today. Civilized societies retain God in their private and public affairs. ...

To the Editor: I really appreciated the articles on the opinion page in the Sunday, Aug. 5th newspaper. I am proud of Mr. Dan Cathy for standing up for his Christian beliefs! We should "stand up" for Jesus more often, even when we know that others will not agree! I'm sure that others will not agree! I'm sure that Mr. Cathy knew that he might be "put down" for his statements, but he was willing to "go the extra mile" for Jesus...

Are you ready for some algebra? The start of the 2012 high school football season in Missouri brings a new playoff system that is complex in its simplicity. It puts teams in eight-team districts, ranks those teams based on their performance during a nine-game season to seed them in a district tournament that feeds into the state bracket and a championships...

Catherine Barber DEXTER, Mo. -- Catherine M. Barber, 92, of Dexter, Mo., died Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. Mrs. Barber was born June 11, 1920, in Puxico, Mo. She was a member of the Sweet Prospect General Baptist Church in Dexter, a former employee of International Hat Company in Dexter, a farmer and homemaker...