Stories from Wednesday, July 22, 2015

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor A flash flood warning for southern Reynolds County was issued at 7:45 a.m. today by the National Weather Service at St. Louis. At 7:42 a.m., Doppler radar indicated up to four inches of rain from slow moving thunderstorms had fallen west northwest of Ellington, according to a NWS meteorologist...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer First United Methodist Church of Poplar Bluff volunteers will spend a Saturday putting faith into practice this summer by helping the elderly and disabled of the community with home improvement projects. ServeMo 2015 is part of a larger statewide effort that will take place here on Sept. ...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor MALDEN, Mo. -- A Malden man is being held without bond after being charged over the weekend with shooting another man. Floyd Mantel Young Jr., 22, was charged Saturday with the Class A felony of first-degree assault and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action by Dunklin County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jonce Chidister...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Poplar Bluff Public Schools will receive $176,263 in grant money released Monday to support AmeriCorps work in the district. A total of $4,209,544 in funding was made available through the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) for fiscal year 2015 to 21 Missouri organizations and will support 802 AmeriCorps members...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The city of Poplar Bluff will issue nearly $17 million in bonds following a vote Monday of the city council, refinancing debt owed to Eight Points developers after months of delays and costly interest penalties. A little under $13.8 million of the money goes to fulfill contractual obligations to reimburse developers for expenses, which include infrastructure and utility work...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Poplar Bluff City Council members voted 4-1 on Monday to bring Municipal Utilities board autonomy back at a future meeting for further discussion. Council member Peter Tinsley voted against the measure, saying he failed to see the advantage of the city giving up control of a large asset...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The Poplar Bluff City Council began advertising today for applications to fill the seat of Dr. Jack Rushin, a council member at large. Applications will be accepted until 4 p.m. July 30 and are expected to be presented at the Aug. 3 city council meeting. The council will then vote on who to appoint from that list...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer New city manager Mark Massingham warned the council members Monday to expect budget amendments in the coming months as he continues to go through spending proposals left by former city manager Heath Kaplan. Among the first will be a change in the city's plans to purchase police cars...

Renters beware! Before you sign a lease, go to MO Case Net and look up the landlord. There is a landlord - an elderly couple who drive a very expensive truck. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM. They have over 100 cases for suing their tenants. He spends his days driving around his 100 apartments to see who you have over, what you are doing, etc. ...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON -- When you write a column, as did I two weeks ago, headlined "The worst agreement in U.S. diplomatic history," you don't expect to revisit the issue. We had hit bottom. Or so I thought. Then on Tuesday the final terms of the Iranian nuclear deal were published. I was wrong...

Roy E. Bostic POPLAR BLUFF, Mo -- Roy E. Bostic, 63, of Dexter, Mo. died Saturday, July 18, 2015 at the Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Fowler Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff is in charge of arrangements.

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN From first reactions, it appears that Hill Republicans will be near unanimous in voting a resolution of rejection of the Iran nuclear deal. They will then vote to override President Obama's veto of their resolution. And if the GOP fails there, Gov. Scott Walker says his first act as president would be to kill the deal...

Gary Waters FISK, Mo. -- Gary Dewayne Waters, 63, of Perryville, Mo., died Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center at Poplar Bluff. No services are scheduled. White-Sanders Funeral Home at Fisk is in charge of arrangements. Condolences; www.whitesandersfuneralhome.com...

Odell Hastings POPLAR BLUFF, Mo -- Odell Hastings, 72, of Poplar Bluff, died Saturday, July18, 2015 at Southeast Health Center in Doniphan. Mr. Hastings, son of the late Bill and Robbie (Tyler) Hastings, was born May 9, 1943 in Butler County. He was of the Christian faith. ...

Jessie L. Smith POPLAR BLUFF, Mo -- Jessie L. Smith, 87, of Poplar Bluff, formerly of St. Louis, died Sunday, July 19, 2015 at Mark Twain Caring Center in Poplar Bluff. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff...

By ADAM WALTZ St. Joseph News-Press ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) -- Throughout the United States, an increasing number of grandparents are living with and taking care of their grandchildren. Local officials are beginning to take notice, especially in the aftermath of a 16-year-old being charged with the July 4 murder of his grandparents just outside St. Joseph...

To the Editor: The Blazing New Trails Conference that was held on July 13-14 at Fellowship General Baptist Church was a huge success! The DAR carried a more detailed article on the conference in the July 14th edition of the paper. The main reason for this success was God's presence in the room as he guided the decision making for the newly formed Coalition that will help unify services offered in the recovery community...

Legislation Signed to Continue Medicaid Funding (SB 210) An importance piece of legislation passed during the 2015 by the Missouri General Assembly to continue billions of dollars in funding for the state's Medicaid program was recently signed into law. ...

By PATRICK BUCHANAN As President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran is compared to Richard Nixon's opening to China, Bibi Netanyahu must know how Chiang Kai-shek felt as he watched his old friend Nixon toasting Mao in Peking. The Iran nuclear deal is not on the same geostrategic level. Yet both moves, seen as betrayals by old U.S. allies, were born of a cold assessment in Washington of a need to shift policy to reflect new threats and new opportunities...

Jessie Lou Smith Jessie Lou Smith, 87, of Poplar Bluff, formerly of St. Louis, died Sunday, July 19, 2015 at Mark Twain Caring Center in Poplar Bluff. Mrs. Smith, daughter of the late Alexander "Jack" and Susan Elizabeth (Goins) Smith, was born Aug. ...

Finale was the best ever I just got done watching the fireworks and they were amazing. This was the best finale ever. Fireworks reflect wealth Well, it's the 4th of July. It's 11 o'clock at night and here the fine people who live on Kaiser and Brown Avenue are still shooting off fireworks. ...

Roy Bostic Roy Eugene Bostic, 63, of Dexter died Saturday, July 18, 2015, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Roy was born June 27, 1952, in Fisk. After serving in te U.S. Marine Corps, he retired from Triangle PNC in Sikeston. He enjoyed deer hunting, camping and visiting flea markets...

R-1 Board meets Thurs. The Poplar Bluff R-I Board of Education will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Board of Education Room, 1110 North Westwood. Items on the agenda include booster club financial reports, changes to the technical career center handbook, the program evaluation schedule and meal prices for the upcoming school year...

Three Rivers College coach Jack Childress has added a fourth local product to his 2015 cupboard. Doniphan's Courtney Slayton recently signed to play softball at Three Rivers. "I like Three Rivers. It is closer to home and I really like Jack. He's really nice and I'm excited to play for him and the school," Slayton said. "I know quite a few of the girls and I am pretty good friends with them. I guess we'll just see how I fit in. We've got the fall season, so we'll see how I do there."...

Gilbert Edger Medlin FISK, Mo.-- Gilbert Edger Medlin, 84, of Broseley, died Sunday, July 19, 2015 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born March 8, 1931 at Poplar Bluff. He was a farmer, and he enjoyed woodcarving, fishing, hunting, and working on old cars...