Stories from Thursday, December 18, 2014

Snow accumulating to 1-2 inches is predicted tonight for Reynolds County, according to winter weather advisory issued today by the National Weather Service at St. Louis. It is expected to develop shortly after midnight and continue until mid-morning on Thursday...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor A contest has already developed for two seats on the Poplar Bluff School District Board of Education. Incumbent Kent Eyler and two new candidates, Ken Davis and Heather Tuggle, filed Tuesday -- the first day of filing...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Cane Creek Quarries LLC met with nearby landowners Tuesday during an informal public hearing on a proposed limestone quarry in Butler County. Cane Creek Quarries is owned by Chris Williams of Poplar Bluff, who recently filed an application to begin mining from a 50-acre site on County Road 321, approximately five miles south of Poplar Bluff. ...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer The leader of the free world may have his work cut out for him after 10-year-old "Kid President," has become an inspiration at a local school for students to promote community advocacy. With his "presidential" style and dress and down to earth "policy making," Kid President has become an Internet sensation. His real name is Robby Novak, but students at the Poplar Bluff 5th & 6th Grade Center and the rest of the Internet community know him as Kid President...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer More than 12 months after city leaders acknowledged city hall had likely deteriorated beyond repair, Poplar Bluff has taken the first step in developing a permanent plan to address the situation. The city council expects to vote Jan. 5 to hire Poplar Bluff architectural firm Dille and Traxel to complete a city hall feasibility study. They will begin by reviewing the existing locations of city hall, municipal court and the police station...

Puxico High School Beta Club members will be holding Trivia Night, a benefit for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, starting at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 16, in the cafeteria on the campus of Puxico R-8 Schools. The cost to participate is $10 per team member, and teams may consist of up to eight people. The three highest scoring teams will receive cash prizes...

Joyce Stafford Joyce Stafford, 60, of Dexter died Dec. 5, 2014 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Services were held Dec. 9, 2014 at the Morgan Sifford Funeral in Puxico. Rev. Buck Cruz and Rev. Glenn Epps officiated. Burial followed in the Puxico Cemetery...

Joseph Pigue Joseph T. Pigue, 78 of Puxico, formerly of House Springs, died Dec. 8, 2014 in Puxico. Services were held Dec. 11, 2014 at the Morgan-Sifford Funeral Home in Puxico. Rev. Ray Placher officiated. Burial followed in the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield with full military rites...

By MICHELLE L. VARVIL Toes were tapping Dec. 9 in the Arnold Ryan Gymnasium when the Puxico High School Choir along with first, third and fifth grade students from Puxico Elementary School put on their annual Christmas concert. The PHS Choir, under the direction of Shannon Hanner, kicked off the evening of holiday tunes with their performances of "Silent Night," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "Away in a Manger" with piano accompaniment provided by Shelby Hobbs and "Winter Wonderland."...

Ethel Daniel Ethel Verneal Daniel, 93, of Advance, passed away Dec. 10, 1921 at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 11, 1921 at Bell City, the daughter of Amonal A. and Hazel Lee Rodgers Wilkerson. Verneal had worked in factories. She also had worked at the Advance Nursing Center as a Medical Tech. She believed in the Baptist faith...

Brandy Evans Brandy Evans, 35, of Puxico died Dec. 4, 2014 in Puxico. Services were held Dec. 8, 2014 at the Morgan Sifford Funeral Home in Puxico. Rev. Scott Sifford officiated. Burial followed in the Walker Cemetery in Bloomfield.

By MICHELLE L. VARVIL Brown General Baptist Church members hosted their annual free yard sale this past weekend. "I think this is our fifth annual," said Bonnie Taylor, one of the event volunteers. "Rhonda Modglin came up with the idea for this, and every year she brings it back up to us. She came up with the idea, and we've just done it every year."...

By MICHELLE L. VARVIL Students in Julie Hamann's School and Community Leadership class at Puxico High School have learned a lot about the importance of community involvement this semester. Hamann said this is the first year this elective has been offered. She would like to be able to offer it one semester each year in the future...

By MICHELLE L. VARVIL Puxico R-8 Board of Education members reviewed and approved OPAA! Food Management Inc.'s bid for food service management for the next school year at their regular monthly meeting Dec. 11. Dr. Kyle Dare, superintendent, said they placed an advertisement in The Daily Statesman that the district was accepting bids for food service management and sent notices to all registered food service providers. ...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Concerned with rising utility rates? If you have about $14,000, a little patience and a desire to tell the utility company to take a hike -- welcome to the world of solar. John Ervin of Midwest Solar Distributors spoke at the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce recently, highlighting some of the benefits and details of making the switch...

The members of the Brown General Baptist Church of Puxico will be hosting a Drop-In "Christmas Celebration" from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21. The celebration will begin with a few Christmas carols and the reading of the Christmas Story. There will be activities such as Christmas crafts, cookie decorating, face painting, games, story telling and of course refreshments...

What were some of the things contained in the bringing about of the birth of Jesus? A pure young maiden standing in awe at the message of an angel that she would conceive before her marriage and bear a son to be named Jesus. A troubled Joseph, until an angel revealed God's plan to him. ...

Eugene Field Elementary School has announced its Students of the Month for November. They are: Aunisty Alexander, the daughter of Matthew and Jacklyn Rael, was nominated by her teacher, Michelle Adams to represent the first grade. She enjoys reading and math, playing on the swings, slide and monkey bars with her friends. ...

Transparency and the city I just watched some Poplar Bluff City Council Meetings on Youtube. I see the meetings for September 2 and November 10 are two parts. Why did they do this? It looks like they cut part of it out. I'm not sure this is the kind of transparency this council ran on...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Brought before a House inquisition, MIT professor and Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber burbled a recantation of his beliefs about how that triumph of liberalism had been achieved. Yet, something needs to be said in defense of Gruber...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Mingo National Wildlife Refuge is soliciting bids to farm approximately 300 acres. There are two different farm units, each consisting of approximately 150 acres. The Refuge will be taking bids on a per-acre basis, with the highest bidder receiving the farm fields for a period of three years (2015 - 2017)...

Arlie Sanders PIEDMONT, Mo.-- Arlie Sanders, 81, of Piedmont, died Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014, at his residence. Visitation will be from noon until 2 p.m. Thursday, at Ruegg Funeral Home, Piedmont. Services will follow at 2 p.m. Thursday at the chapel. Burial will be at Masonic Cemetery...

It's becoming more and more obvious to us that City Hall, i.e. City Manager Heath Kaplan, doesn't like us taking a close look at city business. In fact, he is putting obstacles in our path to try and stop or delay us from getting information that will keep the public informed of what's going on in their city government...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor During its monthly meeting last week, the Missouri Conservation Commission set the dates for the 2015 deer and turkey firearms hunting seasons. In 2015, the youth turkey season will run April 11-12, followed by the regular season April 20-May 10...

By FRANK CAMPA Mo. Dept. of Conservation Right now is a great time to head down to your local Missouri Department of Conservation permit vendor or simply go on the Internet. Why might you ask? There are two very good reasons. First of all, with the alternative weapons portion of the 2014 firearms deer season opening on Saturday and going through Dec. ...

Marie Decker Marie Decker, 94, of Piedmont, died Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, at Stockhoff Memorial Nursing Home in Fredericktown. Arrangements are pending at this time. Online condolences can be made at www.rueggfuneralhome.com.

BROSELEY -- With Puxico's post presence on the bench, Twin Rivers' post presence did whatever it wanted. Andrew Mittelstadt and Seth Snider both put up season highs in points against Puxico and the Royals won at home 74-52 Tuesday. After a slow start for the Royals, Mittelstadt came alive in the second quarter with 13 of his 21 points in the four minutes before halftime. Snider led all scorers with 28 points, primarily in the second half...

At the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Christmas Classic seed meeting last week, Naylor coach Gene Deckard suggested his team should get about the No. 3 seed when he made his pitch to the other coaches. The Lady Eagles got exactly that spot behind top-seeded Dexter and No. 2 Neelyville. They will play No. 14 Malden at 4 p.m. Friday in the first round...

Dexter's Winning Streak Coming into this year's tournament, the top-seeded Dexter Lady Bearcats have won three straight Twin Rivers Lady Royals Christmas Classics and were third in 2010. They have won 13 consecutive tournament games by an average of 51.3 points dating back to a 2010 semifinal loss to Kennett. This year's Lady Bearcats team enters on a two-game losing streak after taking defeats to Marmaduke (Ark.) and Jonesboro (Ark.) at the Paragould...

Joseph "Shorty" Kestner DEXTER, Mo.-- Joseph E. "Shorty" Kestner, 87, of Dexter, Mo., died Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Visitation will be Monday from noon to 2 p.m. at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. The funeral services will follow at 2 p.m. Monday in the funeral home chapel with Bishop Ronnie Webb officiating. Burial will follow in the Dudley Cemetery...

Betty Lou Davis Minton DEXTER, Mo.-- Betty Lou Davis Minton, 87, of Dexter, departed this life Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, at her residence near Dexter. She was born on Nov. 10, 1927, in Bloomfield to the late Dr. Sam Severy Davis and Nola Parmenter Davis...

Ingram Bell MALDEN, Mo.--Ingram Bell, 82, of Gideon, died Monday, Dec. 15, 2014 at Gideon Care Center. Mr. Bell was born Oct. 31, 1932, in Conway, Ark. to Roy Arthur and Gertrude Clarie Ingram Bell, both preceded him in death. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Portageville, and he was the former owner of a forklift business...

Wilma Ping BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Wilma Ping, 82, of St. Louis, Mo. died at the Brookview Nursing Home in Maryland Heights, Mo. Saturday, Dec. 14, 2014. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield. The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home. Burial with be in the Bloomfield Cemetery in Bloomfield...

Ed Mosbey Ed Mosbey, 65, of Fisk, died Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014 at his residence. He was born January 24, 1949, in Fisk. He was a carpenter and auctioneer. On Feb 2, 1970, he was married to Sue Weathers. She survives. He is also survived by three sons, Dwayne (Cindy) Mosbey and Douglas (Heather) Mosbey both of Fisk, and Robert Mosbey of Ohio; three grandchildren, Theron, Wyatt and Shaley Mosbey: one great-grandson, Dean; two brothers, Pete Mosbey of Fisk and Roy (Terry) Mosbey of Burleson, Texas: five sisters, Nelda (Jerry) Dalluge, Linda (Jerril) McClure and Star (Jim) Moore all of Santa Ana, Calif., Judi (Douglas) Rogers of Madison, Ind., and Marty (Tim) Ward of Poplar Bluff.. ...

Maggy Bess Maggy Bess, 70, of Puxico, died Friday, Dec. 12, 2014, at her residence. She was the daughter of the late Nolan Travis and Virginia Williams Thomason. She was born in Harrell, Ark., on Nov. 28, 1944. Maggy had lived in Florida for 10 years and returned to Puxico where she has lived the past 18 years. She was a member of the Christian Church and most enjoyed spending time with her family. She worked for Mel's Diner in Puxico as a cashier...

Charles Johnson VAN BUREN, Mo.-- Charles Lebert "Deacon" Johnson, 91, of Collins, Mo., died Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, at the Good Shepherd Nursing Home in Lockwood, Mo. A visitation will begin for the public at 10 a.m. on Friday in the McSpadden Funeral Home Chapel in Van Buren, with the funeral service following at noon. Burial will be in the Bristol Cemetery in Carter County, Missouri...

Norma Goins FISK, Mo.--Norma Lee Goins, 85, of Broseley, died Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, at Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County in Dexter. She was born May 22, 1929. On Aug. 4, 1945, she married Raymond Goins at Piggott, Ark. He preceded her in death on Nov. 27, 1990. She helped her husband farm and had a dress shop in Broseley for several years...

Qulin Center fish dinner Friday The Qulin Nutrition Center will host a catfish dinner Friday. The menu includes: catfish, hushpuppies, baked beans, French fries and coleslaw. Drinks and dessert will also be provided. Cost if $5 for seniors 60 and over and $7 for those under 60. Carry-outs begins at $10. Dine in begins at 11:30 a.m. You may call in your order ahead of at 328--4406...

Wylie DeJournett DEXTER, Mo.-- Wylie DeJournett, 87, of Dexter, died Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, at the Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County in Dexter. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. Graveside funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Missouri Veteran's Cemetery in Bloomfield, Mo. with the Rev. Kenneth Biggs of Dexter officiating...

DONIPHAN -- The visiting Naylor Lady Eagles put the Doniphan Donettes down by double digits with the first 1:54 of play Tuesday night and cruised to a 77-26 Ozark Foothills Conference win. Naylor (4-0, 1-0 OFC) cruised out to a 17-0 start as senior Shayna Tharp knocked down three 3-pointers in the stretch...

Franklin graduates college Amber Kneir Franklin of Poplar Bluff, recently graduated from Mineral Area College at Park Hills with an associate's degree of science in radiologic technology. She had a 4.0 grade point average. She works at Ozark Medical Center, West Plains...