Stories from Wednesday, August 26, 2015

By TOM UHLENBROCK Missouri State Parks EMINENCE, Mo. - The development of the state park system's property in Shannon County will add a new lodge, cabins and campground to the state park system but will open up for exploration a much larger landscape of the Missouri Ozarks and its wealth of wooded hills, bluff-lined valleys and sparkling float streams...

A 34-year-old Poplar Bluff, Mo., woman was killed in a one-vehicle crash at 2:10 p.m. Monday on Highway W, five miles north of Poplar Bluff. According to the report, Michelle L. Vernon was operating a 2003 Chevrolet northbound when it ran off the right side of the road. Vernon reportedly overcorrected, which caused her vehicle to run off the left side of the road and strike a tree...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Poplar Bluff culinary arts students put their skills to the test on Friday in anticipation of the September opening of Mules Cafe. In her first year as instructor there, Chef Stephanie Letassy gave some of the senior students a "mixed bag" challenge. Letassy, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, replaces Chef Aaron Hudlow who moved out of state in May...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Members of Bright Futures from throughout the state addressed the community Tuesday morning at a symposium in Poplar Bluff, sharing the initiative's many success stories and discussing its future. Bright Futures was instituted in Poplar Bluff last year. ...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The American Red Cross will provide a rare opportunity in September to individuals who would like to be better trained to support their communities in times of crisis. An overnight shelter training exercise will be held Sept. 11 and 12 at the Black River Coliseum. Registration for the event is due by Sept. 9...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Investigators with the Butler County Sheriff's Department have followed countless leads in their search for two men who were reported missing by family members earlier this summer. Tyler Scott Russom, 22, was reported missing June 8 by his mother, Stacy Goodson...

Wardell police chief faces felonies SEMO News Service KENNETT, Mo. -- The police chief of Wardell, Missouri, is facing three felony charges. According to Dunklin County assistant prosecutor Jonce Chidester, Casey Aaron Redden was charged July 12 with two counts of parental kidnapping...

Patricia Davis Patricia Ann Davis, 69, of Poplar Bluff, died Saturday, Aug. 22, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Visitation will be at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 25 at Fowler- Sullivan Funeral Home Poplar Bluff. The funeral will follow at 2:00 p.m. and burial will be in the Poplar Bluff City Cemetery. Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences: www.fowler-sullivanfuneralhome.com...

To the Editor: The Poplar Bluff Mules Booster Club would like to extend their appreciation to those involved in making the 7th annual Mule Skinner golf Tournament, auction and banquet a great success. Proceeds from this fundraiser make it possible for the Booster Club to fund requests from all the sports teams at Poplar Bluff High School...

Fire marshal of Kennett is charged SEMO News Service KENNETT, Mo. -- Kennett's city fire marshal is charged with stealing, and he was disciplined last week by the city council. Scott Tutor will appear in municipal court next month in connection with a report at a local Wal-Mart. On July 29, Tutor allegedly took a $59 camera flash from the store...

By MICHELLE MALKIN Here in my adopted home state of Colorado, orange is the new Animas River thanks to the blithering idiots working under President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency. It's just the latest man-caused disaster from an out-of-control bureaucracy whose primary mission is not the Earth's preservation, but self-preservation...

Task Force to Examine Managed Care Model for State's Medicaid System During the 2015 legislative session the House and Senate approved a state operating budget that will shift the state's Medicaid system to one that utilizes managed care for delivery of health care services. ...

Task Force to Examine Managed Care Model for State's Medicaid System During the 2015 legislative session the House and Senate approved a state operating budget that will shift the state's Medicaid system to one that utilizes managed care for delivery of health care services. ...

Fredda Norden Fredda Lee Norden, 88, of Poplar Bluff, died Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015 at Mark Twain Caring Center in Poplar Bluff. Miss Norden, daughter of the late Fred W. and Vida P. Davidson Norden, was born in Poplar Bluff and attended school at Kinyon, Williamson-Kennedy, J. ...

R-1 to meet on budget for construction The Poplar Bluff R-1 Board of Education will hold a special session meeting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the board of education room, 1110 North Westwood, to discuss updates to the construction budget and bids for the high school athletic complex...

Fairdealing, Mo. - Daniel Ray Crader, 63, of Fairdealing, died Friday, Aug. 21, at his home in rural Ripley County. Visitation will be at 10:00 a.m. till noon, Tuesday, Aug. 25 at Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. A graveside service will follow at 2:00 p.m. in the Crader Family Cemetery in Marble Hill, Mo...

William Marion Luna Piedmont, Mo. - William (Wm.) Marion Luna, son of Austin M. Luna and Elizabeth (Bess) Morris Luna, was born in Piedmont, Mo. on August 19, 1922. He graduated from Piedmont High School in 1940, attended Central Methodist College in Fayetteville, Mo., and received a Bachelor's degree in Business from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1944...

Arthur York Jonesboro, Il. - Arthur E. York Jr., 87, of Jonesboro, Il., died August 22, 2015 at his residence. He was born December 4, 1927 in Corning, Ar. to the late Arthur E. York, Sr. and Maude Burnham York. He was a long time resident of Poplar Bluff, Mo. He was a member of the First Baptist Church...

By DOYLE McMANUS Los Angeles Times While Donald Trump has kept the political world transfixed, Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent her summer methodically rolling out a long list of policy proposals. They add up to a platform you might call "soft populism." It's not the insurrectionist socialism of Bernie Sanders but still progressive enough to keep most Democratic primary voters on her side...

Twenty stops. 15 counties. 5 days. That's the tally for the 3rd Annual District-Wide Farm Tour so far, a yearly trip to see different sectors of the agriculture industry in every corner of our district. The Farm Tour will travel to each of the 30 counties in Missouri's Eighth Congressional District before it is finished. ...

WASHINGTON -- We could wearily shrug, say "Oh, well," and economize waste and annoyance by just building the proposed $142 million Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. But long after its perpetrators are gone, it would squat there, representing Washington at its worst and proving that we have forgotten how to nurture our national memory with intelligent memorials...

Christine Huckabee Morris NEELYVILLE, Mo. - Christine A. Huckabee Morris, 55, of Fairdealing, died Saturday, Aug. 22, at her residence. Mrs. Morris was born, Oct. 7, 1959, in Walnut Ridge, Ar. On June 14, 2003, she married Frankie Lee Morris in Doniphan, Mo. He survives...

The Poplar Bluff High School Academic Team had a strong showing during ACE Quizbowl camp last month at Lincoln College in Illinois. Jackson Rideout, the PBHS senior captain, took first place in the history tournament; sophomore Alyssa Cook, the JV captain, won second in a team contest; and Christian Cmehil-Warn, a senior starter, consistently qualified to compete with the top performing students from multiple states...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Haven Willis is living his childhood desire to be an auctioneer. "I knew what I wanted to do when I was a child, " said Willis, who has been the owner of Willis Auction Service for more than 20 years. He enjoyed going with his father to livestock auctions at the Poplar Bluff Sale Barn...

Bruce Jordan Bruce Jordan, 59, died Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Arrangements are pending with Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff.

Raymon Loyd Cothern II GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Raymon Loyd Cothern II, 52, of Greenville died Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, at his residence. Visitation will be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ruegg Funeral Home, Piedmont, Mo. Services will follow Wednesday also at the chapel. Burial will follow at Carson Hill Cemetery near Mill Spring, Mo...

He may have the hardest name to spell and pronounce on the team, but Poplar Bluff fans won't soon forget Michael Anagnostopoulos after his performance in the Mules' home opener Monday. The junior scored two goals in the first half, Kameron Misner added another in the second and Poplar Bluff rolled to a 3-1 victory over Anna-Jonesboro at Whiteley Park...

Michelle Lee Vernon Michelle Lee Vernon, 34, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died Monday, Aug. 24, 2015. She was born Oct. 7, 1980 in Paragould, Ark. to Harry Lee Boggs and Dena Boggs. She was a long time resident of Poplar Bluff, Mo. Michelle was a teacher's aide. She loved being outdoors, fishing, swimming, and being with her children. She enjoyed playing cards with her father...

A promising start to the season quickly turned south for the Poplar Bluff tennis team Monday. "All three doubles matches started up a game or two and I thought we might have it in hand," Mules coach Charlie Harper said. "Fredericktown figured us out, and first-match jitters set in."...

Mary Lou Burkholder Mary Lou Burkholder, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, passed safely into the arms of her Lord on Aug. 23, 2015. She was born June 7, 1939, to John and Fannie Gingerich, at Plain City, Ohio. She was married to (Milo) Dale Burkholder on Oct. 2, 1965. They moved to Grandin in 1969 to help start the Grandin Mennonite church...

Thomas Allen Wells QULIN, MO.-- Thomas Allen Wells, 67, of Fagus, Mo., died Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015 at his residence. He was born Feb. 11, 1948 at Gideon, Mo. He served in the army during the Vietnam War. Mr. Wells is survived by his daughter, Kimberly Armes of Poplar Bluff, Mo.; four sisters: Linda Baker, Sharon Wagster and Brenda Garver all of Qulin and Sandra Mick of Poplar Bluff; one brother, Michael Wells of Yazoo City, Miss., and one grandchild, Brylee Koonkongzurp. ...

Christine Huckabee Morris NEELYVILLE, mo. - Christine A. Huckabee Morris, 55, of Fairdealing, died Saturday, Aug. 22, at her residence. Mrs. Morris was born, Oct. 7, 1959, in Walnut Ridge, Ar. On June 14, 2003, she married Frankie Lee Morris in Doniphan, Mo. He survives...

Bill Rackley MALDEN, Mo.-- Bill Rackley, 75, of Malden, Mo., died Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015 at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Visitation will be from 10-11 a.m. Wednesday at the Parma First Baptist Church in Parma, Mo. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. at the Parma First Baptist Church with Rev. Kerry Stokes and Rev. Richard Blagg officiating...

Isaiah Williams qualified for the MSHSAA state championship meet last fall and Zakia Hickman has been running cross country since seventh grade. Two of their senior classmates are running for different reasons. "I'm on the swim team," Cassandra Porter said. "I haven't ran in two years."...

SIKESTON -- Making her first career varsity start, Kylie Noe picked up the pitching win and delivered the game-winning hit to seal Sikeston's 6-5 comeback win over Twin Rivers Monday during the season opener for both teams. Sikeston scored three runs in the last inning to secure its third straight, one-run victory over Twin Rivers in three seasons...

Bonnie Jo Noles DEXTER, MO.--Bonnie Jo Noles, 85, of Bloomfield, Mo., died Saturday, Aug. 2, 2015 at her residence. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Thursday at the First General Baptist Church in Bloomfield. A Celebration of Life service will be follow at 7 p.m. in the church chapel with Rev. Ronnie Stevens officiating...

Shirley Jean Fortner BERNIE, MO.--Shirley Jean Fortner, 72, of Bernie, Mo., departed this life Monday, Aug. 24, 2015, at her home. She was born Aug. 6, 1943 in Puxico, Mo. to the late William Vanscyoc and Emma Brown Vanscyoc. Mrs. Fortner was a homemaker and was of Baptist faith...

Maretta Helen Lorena Cooper KENNETT, MO.-- Mrs. Maretta Helen Lorena Cooper, 92, of Williamsville, Mo., died Sunday Aug. 23, 2015 at the Poplar Bluff, Regional Hospital, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Mrs. Cooper, was born Sept. 15, 1922 in Holcomb, Mo., to the late Calvert Dean Sutton and Letha Edith Bectchel Sutton. On Nov. 2, 1946 she was united in marriage to the late Charles Dee Cooper in Piggott, Ark...

WASHINGTON, D.C. --Social media is now a mainstream communication channel that consumers and small businesses across the nation utilize daily. The Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) has highlighted community banks and community bankers who make social media an integral part of their marketing and communications strategy...

A nationally recognized entrepreneurial training program is coming to the Greater Poplar Bluff area in September. Despite passion, drive and an abundance of good ideas, half of all new businesses fail within the first few years. Often that's because, despite their zeal, entrepreneurs lack the experience and tools required for starting and running a business...