Stories from Saturday, June 28, 2014

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Doug Bagby, the former Poplar Bluff city manager, objects to interim City Attorney Robert Smith's attempt to move the city's contract dispute case against him to Wayne County. Smith filed an amended petition for declaratory judgment and a motion for a change of venue Wednesday...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Nine workers in the Poplar Bluff Regional Office of the Missouri Department of Mental Health will lose their jobs with the budget cuts announced this week by Gov. Jay Nixon. "The Poplar Bluff Regional Office will be managed by the Sikeston Regional Office," said Debra Walker, director of public affairs for the Missouri Department of Mental Health...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Poplar Bluff High School expects to see a more than 7 percent increase in its graduation rate for the class of 2014. The four-year graduation rate, which tracks students who earn a diploma four years after starting their ninth grade year, is expected to reach 87.2 percent for the 2013-14 school year, Principal Mike Kiehne said during a program review approved by the board...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer State funding shortfalls will cost Poplar Bluff School District about $367,000 from the $55.1 million budget passed Thursday by the Board of Education. The state is withholding a $100 million increase from the school foundation formula money it pays to districts and $15 million in transportation aid, Associate Superintendent of Finance Rod Priest said at the board's monthly meeting. ...

Gospel music legends Mark Lowry and The Martins are hitting the road together for the first time. Their long awaited concert event will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 10, at the First Baptist Church. Renowned pianist Stan Whitmire will accompany Mark and The Martins on tour, and according to Lowry, fans can expect a little of everything during this special evening...

Sudan detains Christian KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- A lawyer for the Sudanese Christian woman sentenced to death and later freed says the woman and her family were detained at the international airport in Khartoum while trying to leave the country. U.S. ...

Tops MO 734 take Off Pounds Sensibly was called to order at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 25. Kim Joyner called the meeting with nine Tops and five Kops present. Lou Ann Wrather read the secretary's report, which was approved. The best weekly loser was Wrather for Tops...

Grandin School reunion July 5 The Grandin School Reunion will be held in the school gymnasium from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, July 5. Anyone attending school at anytime is welcome to attend. For more information, call (573) 996-3005 or (573) 996-2928.

Early Childhood screening Area residents can call now to make appointments for the next Poplar Bluff Early Childhood Center screening, which will be held Aug. 15. Children enrolling for the next school year must be 3 years old before July 31, but not 5 years old...

Qulin Lions Club dinner The Qulin Lions Club will host a Sunday Dinner from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, July 6. The menu includes fried chicken, fried pork chops, potatoes, seven layer salad, green beans and corn. Drinks and dessert will also be provided. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children under 12, and may be paid at the door...

By GEORGE WILL WASHINGTON -- Chris McDaniel, 41, the flawed paladin of the tea party persuasion who in Mississippi's Republican Senate primary failed to wrest the nomination from the faltering hands of six-term incumbent Thad Cochran, 76, came into politics after a stint in talk radio. ...

Nothing kills jobs and hurts our economy in rural Missouri more than regulations from bureaucrats in Washington. With each passing day federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Labor create more and more rules that are forced on individuals, small business owners and farmers who are struggling to make ends meet. At a time when our economy needs to grow, regulations are holding back innovation and the American entrepreneurial spirit...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court this week admonished the Environmental Protection Agency for overreaching in regulating greenhouse gases. The Clean Air Act covers polluters that emit 250 tons per year (or in some cases, 100 tons). This standard makes no sense if applied to greenhouse gases. Thousands of establishments from elementary schools to grocery stores would be, absurdly, covered. So the EPA arbitrarily chose 100,000 tons as the carbon dioxide threshold...

Wayne Morgan VAN BUREN, Mo.-- Wayne Morgan, 62, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., departed this life Wednesday, June 25, 2014 in the John J. Pershing Veterans Hospital in Poplar Bluff, Mo. He was born July 27, 1951 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. to the late Doris (Gadberry) Morgan-Dixon and James "Jimmy" Alfred Morgan...

Charles Powell Charles Wayne Powell, 69, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died Thursday, June 26, 2014 at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Saturday at the Fowler-Sullivan Memorial Chapel in Neelyville, Mo. There will be no funeral service...

ST. LOUIS -- Carr Vernon neeed an extra hole Thursday to advance at the 107th Missouri Amateur Championship. The Poplar Bluff golfer reached the second round of match play for a fourth straight year by edging Jack Litzelfelner of Jackson 1-up on the 19th hole at Norwood Hills Country Club...

After receiving a telephone call Friday morning from someone impersonating an Internal Revenue Service employee, local businessman Robert Whelan is warning the call is a scam. Whelan said he received a call at about 8:15 a.m. from a person with a foreign accent who was "very demanding (saying) there would be someone at my office in 30 minutes; they were going to pick me up for illegal activities" if money was not paid...

IRS fraud calls are reported After receiving a telephone call Friday morning from someone impersonating an Internal Revenue Service employee, local businessman Robert Whelan is warning the call is a scam. Whelan said he received a call at about 8:15 a.m. from a person with a foreign accent who was "very demanding (saying) there would be someone at my office in 30 minutes; they were going to pick me up for illegal activities" if money was not paid...