Stories from Monday, September 28, 2015

From Staff Reports October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but this one is special for the local battered women's shelter. This year marks the 30th year of providing hotline, shelter and advocacy services to those who have been abused in their homes, making Haven House one of the oldest rural programs in Missouri. ...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer The breakfast/lunch buddy program at the Poplar Bluff R-I Middle School is seeking volunteers willing to take a minimal amount of time from their daily activities to make a difference in a kid's life. The program is a collaboration with Bright Futures and Americorps that seeks to offer a mentor to students during breakfast and lunch periods. But, organizer Becky Winters says this year they have seen a shortage of volunteers...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The cases that cross Kacey Proctor's desk in a small shared office on the second floor of Ripley County Courthouse may range from misdemeanor traffic offenses to felony murder cases, but the crimes that weigh most heavily on the 30-year-old assistant prosecutor are those involving sex offenses against children...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer PIEDMONT, MO. -- A lawsuit has been filed against Piedmont city officials alleging the water was cut off at a resident's home in retaliation for flipping the mayor the middle finger. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri says the free speech of Tina Warren and her son, Bryan Jeffers, has been repeatedly violated since a dispute that began in April 2014...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Nearly 2,500 college, high school and junior high students are expected to converge at Morrow Field in Poplar Bluff for the eighth annual Fields of Faith at 7 p.m. Wednesday. "We will have five high school and college students sharing their faith stories with their peers," said Bill Ray, the Southeast Missouri representative for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes which sponsors Fields of Faith...

By CAROLYN SMITH Staff Writer Do you have a family member who is blind or visually impaired? Are you curious about the world of the unsighted? Would you like to sensitize yourself and your family to those who are blind or visually impaired? If so, come and participate in the "White Cane Walk," sponsored by The SEMO Blind Club in partnership with Lions Club of Poplar Bluff, Saturday, Oct. 10, 8 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 500 N. Main Street...

EDITOR'S NOTE: A victory celebration for Cletus Everett Dale Manning will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. His run from Michigan to Missouri will end at the medical center. His coworkers will man mile markers every mile for the last five miles of his run. Refreshments will be served and donations will be accepted to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...

Scott and Gale Spencer of Poplar Bluff, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Whitney Gale Spencer of Fayetteville, Ark., to Eric Michael Arthur, also of Fayetteville, Ark. Parents of the bridegroom-elect are Mike and Becky Arthur of Little Rock, Ark...

William "Sonny" Evans ELLSINORE, Mo. - William Robert "Sonny" Evans, 84, of Poplar Bluff, died Friday, Sept. 25 at Mark Twain Caring Center in Poplar Bluff. No services are scheduled at this time. McSpadden Funeral Home in Ellsinore is in charge of arrangements...

Mary Jewel Tilley VAN BUREN, MO. -- Mary Jewel Tilley, 85. of Cottage Grove, Ore., formerly of Carter County, Mo., departed this life Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, at the Sacred Heart River Bend Hospital in Springfield, Ore. She was born Sept. 2, 1920 in Ellsinore, Mo., to the late, Rufus Arnold Tilley and Grace Myrtle (Sears) Tilley...

Ettie Lee Mayo BLOOMFIELD, MO. -- Ettie Lee Mayo, 83, of Bloomfield, died Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, at the Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County in Dexter, Mo. Visitation was, at the Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m., Sunday, at the Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield with the Rev. Greg Stevens of Bloomfield officiating...

Jan Burchett Jan Burchett, 61, of Nashville, Tenn., formally of the Poplar Bluff area, died on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. She was born on March 17, 1954, to James and Wynette (Johnson) Williams in Pocahontas, Ark. She graduated from Doniphan High School in 1972. She married Lynden Eugene Burchett for 35 years. He preceded her in death on Jan. 14, 2012...

Wanda Jackson DEXTER, Mo. -- Wanda L. Jackson, 87, was born in Risco, Mo., on April 3, 1928, to Luther H. and Elsie Mae (Bridges) Woolard and departed this life on Sept. 25, 2015, at Cypress Point Nursing Home in Dexter, Mo. Wanda's family moved from Risco to Puxico when she was in the eighth grade, and she graduated from Puxico High School in 1946...

NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Veronica Regina "Ronnie" Stadler, 55, of Fairdealing, Mo., passed away Sept. 24, 2015 in St. Louis, Mo., at the St. Anthony's Healthcare. She was born Nov. 17, 1959, in Philadelphia, Penn., to the late Joseph Anthony and Veronica (Garson) Anthony...

A week after giving up 50 points, Poplar Bluff was already trailing just 66 seconds after the opening kickoff Friday night. Sikeston then recovered an onside kick. "Don't think we were ready to play," Mules coach Mark Barousse said. "They tweaked something on us and we blew a coverage, give up the swinging game on the two-point and then the onside kick...

KENNETT -- It's rare that any player out-rushes Kennett quarterback Edward Wilson, but Dexter's Ethan Stevens did just that Friday night. Stevens ran for 319 yards compared to Wilson's 143, and the Bearcats handed Kennett its first loss of the season...

Check guest pass rules Another summer is almost gone from us and I would like to say something to the Water Park, Black River Coliseum and to the Huntington Pool. I wish that only if you got a family pass you were allowed to buy a guest pass that didn't have to be for a specific person, but just for anyone who stays at your house during the summer. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The Southeast Missouri State football team readied itself to face Division II Shorter University's unorthodox triple-option offense in the week leading up to the Redhawks' final non-conference game of the regular season. But Redhawks preparation didn't hold up against the Shorter Hawks, who handed Southeast its first loss to a non-Division I opponent since the Redhawks moved to the Football Championship Subdivision with a 26-21 defeat at Houck Stadium on Saturday...

JACKSON, Mo. -- The Poplar Bluff softball team shut down a powerful Portageville team in a 12-2 victory to take third place Saturday in the Jackson Tournament. Adrienne Stucker came up big at the dish with a three-run homer in the sixth. Stucker was just as brilliant in the circle and only allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two over six innings of work...

MALDEN -- For the second straight week, Malden gave up a big play to a conference foe to close out the first half. Hayti quarterback Maurice Farr hit Jamal Brooks up the seam for a 51-yard touchdown to pull the Indians within two at halftime. A fumble on their opening drive of the second half made matters worse for the Green Wave and put their slim lead in jeopardy Friday night...