Stories from Tuesday, April 15, 2014

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Jury selection began this morning in Wayne County in the trial of the former head coach of the Doniphan varsity basketball team accused of sexually assaulting a female student on school property...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor The annual spring cleanup known as "Buff Up The Bluff" will be from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at the Poplar Bluff yard waste disposal site. It can be reached by going past the Twin Towers, turning right onto F street and continuing onto County Road 604...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A career in education came late for the Poplar Bluff kindergarten Teacher of the Year, who left factory work at the age of 29 to help children with special needs. After 16 years in the classroom, special education teacher Shelly Johnson is still passionate about teaching. Poplar Bluff schools recently honored campus and grade level teachers of the year. Profiles of these instructors will run once a week in April and May...

By GEORGE F. WILL PHOENIX -- From the Goldwater Institute, the fertile frontal lobe of the conservative movement's brain, comes an innovative idea that is gaining traction in Alaska, Arizona and Georgia, and its advocates may bring it to at least 35 other states' legislatures. It would use the Constitution's Article V to move the nation back toward the limited government the Constitution's Framers thought their document guaranteed...

Question about pharmacies I just can't understand all the pharmacies they're building here in Poplar Bluff why can't they build a pharmacy closer to the new hospital? Why can't we have a 24-hour pharmacy? Your kid gets sick. You don't get out of the emergency room until 8 o'clock at night--maybe not until 2 a.m. ...

By SEN. ROY BLUNT U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) recently took to the Senate floor and said, "There's plenty of horror stories being told [about ObamaCare]. All of them are untrue. But they're being told all over America." Every day, Missourians contact me to share their stories about the real impact of this flawed law. ...

By MONA CHAREN In the aftermath of the mass shootings in Aurora, Colo.; Newtown, Conn.; Tucson, Ariz.; Virginia Tech; the Washington Navy Yard; and sadly, other locales, conventional wisdom held that the epidemic of mass shootings was a problem of gun control. I wrote columns attempting to draw attention to the mental health system in America that so wrongheadedly fails to treat the dangerous mentally ill...

Glenn Davis QULIN, Mo. -- Glenn Davis, 87, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Saturday, April 12, 2014, at his residence. Mr. Davis was born Dec. 25, 1926, at Qulin. He is survived by his wife, Rose Davis; two daughters, Glenda (Gene) Dye and Cabrina (Clinton Jr.) Summers; five grandchildren, Bryan (Michelle) Carmean, Shawnna Yetzer, Rachel Dye, Clinton D. Summers and Davis Summers; eight great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; and many nephews, nieces, family and close friends...

Three Rivers students Dustin Chaney and Megan Cook have been named to the Phi Theta Kappa All-Missouri Academic Team, an honor bestowed on the state's top community college students. Members of the All-Missouri Academic team are selected from nominations submitted by each of the state's community colleges. ...

Victor Thompson PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Victor Eugene Thompson, 59, of Piedmont passed away Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Victor was born into the Baptist faith on June 27, 1954, in Poplar Bluff to Enoch and Pauline Thompson of Piedmont. On Dec. 16, 1982, Victor married Mary Jean Westmoreland...

With the arrival of spring comes sunnier days, warmer temperatures and a chance at a fresh start. The American Red Cross encourages eligible donors to make blood donation part of their spring ritual and help support patients like 5-year-old Nathan Pennington...

Mary Robison GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Mary Barks Robison, 98, of Grassy, Mo., died Saturday, April 12, 2014, at her residence. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at the Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel in Greenville. The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home chapel with burial following at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery near Greenville...

A pair from Ste. Genevieve had the best times in the Black River Coliseum Triathlon Sunday. William Zoughaib was the men's overall winner as he finished the three events in a time of 1:15:20.9 while Jenya Zoughaib was the women's overall champion at 1:36:41.2...

Wheatley School will be the site of an Arts and Crafts Show, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday, April 19. This is a community project sponsored by Hinton Farms and Family. There will be handcrafted items, paintings, photos/poems, refreshments, special drawings and family day...

The children of Wilma Rhodes of Fisk, Mo. will give her a 90th birthday party beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Broseley Senior Center. Her family asks friends and relatives to help her celebrate this milestone in her life. The family asks those attending not bring gifts...