Stories from Wednesday, July 29, 2015

By SAVANNA MAUE SEMO News Service After a mass shooting in Tennessee that resulted in the deaths of four Marines and a sailor July 16, members of the state's Republican Caucus asked Gov. Jay Nixon to sign an executive order that would allow Missouri National Guardsmen to carry weapons...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Three Rivers College students and staff members are participating in the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program by helping a retired U.S. Army soldier mail Christmas cards to military personnel still in Afghanistan and Iraq...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Gov. Jay Nixon today announced he has re-appointed Sikeston businessman and longtime conservationist Don C. Bedell to the Missouri Conservation Commission. The Commission protects and manages Missouri's fish, forest and wildlife resources and provides unparalleled opportunities for Missourians to use, enjoy and learn about nature...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Board members at the Moark Regional Railroad Museum were surprised when two relatives of the man who built the Frisco Depot 87 years ago made their first visit to the museum on July 18. Risi Compass and her brother, Eric Rellergert, both of Cape Girardeau, are the step-grandchildren of Julius William "Bill" Gerhardt, owner of Gerhardt Construction Co. in Cape Girardeau...

R-I to update 'sexting' policy By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Poplar Bluff Public Schools will update school policy following the passage of a bill that addresses internet predators and "sexting." Signed into law by Gov. Jay Nixon last week, House Bill 501 adds language to Missouri Revised Statute 170.015, which governs human sexuality instruction. The new language compels educators to teach internet safety and the dangers of online predators...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor NAYLOR -- Betty Abernathy began teaching at the two-room Taylor School at Torch in 1944 and retired in 1985 from Naylor Elementary School, but she still enjoys teaching children. A few days prior to her 90th birthday on May 4, she was substitute teaching in the school which is within walking distance of the house where she has lived for 65 years...

Carolyn Nepean GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Carolyn Jean Nepean, age 61 of Wappapello, Mo., passed away Friday, July 24, 2015, at the St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. She was born Dec. 16, 1953 at Sycamore, Ill., the daughter of Wilbur Benjamin Thompson and Gertrude Delores (London) Thompson...

By WALTER E. WILLIAMS We call the war of 1861 the Civil War. But is that right? A civil war is a struggle between two or more entities trying to take over the central government. Confederate President Jefferson Davis no more sought to take over Washington, D.C., than George Washington sought to take over London in 1776. ...

By MONA CHAREN The Trump bump tells us something about the state of American politics. Progressives are panting to interpret his surge as evidence of Republicans' black hearts. Some Donald Trump supporters have suggested that his success, such as it is/was (this is being written after the McCain flap and before polls have gauged its impact), is an indictment of the limp "Republican establishment." It's neither...

The Poplar Bluff R-I Board of Education took the following actions during the executive session portion of the July 23 meeting. Resignations Cornelia Hyde: Teacher at Kindergarten Center Jeff Schuchardt: Assistant Track Coach at Junior High Justin Shell: Assistant Baseball Coach at Senior High...

Irene Warren Irene Warren, 89, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Sunday, July 26, 2015, at her residence. Funeral arrangements are pending with Cotrell Funeral Service.

Mary Silkwood Mary Lou Silkwood, 81, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Saturday, July 25, 2015, at Cedargate Care Center in Poplar Bluff. Mary was born July 31, 1933 in Harviell, to the late Winfred and Beulah (Drake) Felts. She was a graduate of Poplar Bluff High School and was a member of First Baptist Church, where she was a member of the Bible Learners Sunday school class. ...

Florence Ella McComb NEELYVILLE, MO.--Florence Ella McComb, 73, of Neelyville, died Friday, July 24, 2015, at her residence. She was born April 15, 1942 in St. Louis. May 10, 1969, she married Ted McComb in Corning, Ark. He survives. The couple had nine children. From 1994 until 2007, she served as mayor of Neelyville. She has also served on Neelyville City Council and was a Head Start teacher at Neelyville...

Reba Sides BERNIE, MO.-Reba Sides, 83, of Bernie, departed this life Saturday, July 25, 2015, in Malden Nursing & Rehab of Malden. The daughter of the late I. G. Boyle and Rhea Looney Boyle, she was born Dec. 25, 1941 in Morrilton, Ark. Mrs. Sides had been a school teacher at Bernie Junior High and Senior High Schools for many years. She had served on Stoddard County Children's Home Board and was a member of the Bernie United Methodist Church...

Joseph H. "Joe" Heskett DEXTER, MO.--Joseph Harding "Joe" Heskett, 91, of formerly of Zalma and Advance, died Sunday, July 26, 2015 at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m., Tuesday at the Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The funeral will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday, July 29, at the Watkins and Sons Chapel in Dexter with Rev. Steve Tippen of Bloomfield officiating...

Paving Brick's road irks reader Hi, I wanted to comment on the paving of the roads. I've lived on my road which is 482 for 40 years and I've been begging to get our road paved all that time. And also 480 that has a cemetery on it and also a church over there and we been wanting to get it paved and we call...

By MIKE JENSON Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat A gentleman approached me in a grocery store this week and asked if I could confirm a rumor he heard about the President. In hushed tones, he said the President was poised to ignore the Constitution and seek a third term. And should the populace resist that controversial move, the rumor opined that the President would impose marshal law to quell any discontent...

Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry and the Obama Administration, along with China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany, negotiated a deal to lift economic sanctions on Iran, a deal that makes a dangerous area more volatile. When it comes to the interests of America, a bad deal with Iran is worse than no deal, and this is a very bad deal...

LYONS, Kan. -- After going undefeated in pool play and cruising through its semifinal earlier in the day, Wayne County's timely hitting fizzled and the Lumberjacks' postseason run came to an end. Wayne County rolled to a 6-0 win over Riverton, Kansas in a semifinal before being dealt a 12-0 five-inning loss to Hopkins, Minnesota in the Senior Babe Ruth Midwest Plains Regional championship Monday...

June M. Taylor June M. Taylor, 93, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died July 25, 2015 at Westwood Hills Care Center. She was born June 17, 1922, in Greenville, Mo., to the late William Levi Jones and Ester Twidwell Jones. She was a member of the Hazelwood Baptist Church in St. ...

Fay Green Doniphan, Mo. -- Fay Green, 100, of Doniphan, Mo. departed this life Monday, July 27, 2015, at Westwood Hills Healthcare in Poplar Bluff. Funeral arrangements are pending with Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan and will be announced upon completion...

Joyce W. Ward Joyce W. Ward, 91, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, July 27, 2015. A visitation will be at noon, Thursday, July 30, at First Methodist Church. The funeral service will be at 1 p.m. also at the church. A complete obituary will be in Wednesday's paper. Arrangements are under the direction of Fitch-Hillis Funeral Home...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer A local agriculture student is putting his "green thumb" to good use by helping recovering patients at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center. Poplar Bluff High School junior and National FFA (Future Farmers of America) officer Alex Frey has spent his entire summer readying a previously unused greenhouse on the hospital campus. When mature, all the plants and produce are given to veterans who are staying at the VA or those getting ready to return home...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Butler County and surrounding areas will likely see one of the most miserable days of summer with heat indexes reaching 110 to 115 degrees this afternoon. A National Weather Service excessive heat warning is in effect until 9 p.m. today for the entire southeast Missouri region. An excessive heat warning means that a prolonged period of dangerously hot temperatures will occur...

In a back-and-forth game, it would have been easy for the Focus softball team to give up. Focus trailed twice against Sander's Construction and watched their third lead turn into a tie in the fifth. Yet somehow they found a way to come back each time and win with the game on the line in the Park Department Sub-Junior Tournament championship...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Photographic lineups will be provided today to the victims of a weekend home invasion as authorities attempt to identify a second suspect. The investigation is "still kind of preliminary right now," said Poplar Bluff Police Detective Bryce Colvin, who also is trying to find the get-away car, described as possibly a red Honda Civic...