Stories from Thursday, March 3, 2016

By PAT PRAT Staff Writer A Doniphan, Mo. teenager's death in an alcohol-involved crash in 2014 has prompted state legislation to stiffen criminal penalties for supplying liquor to a minor. Missouri Sen. Mike Cunningham, R-Rogersville, introduced Senate Bill 614, also known as Austin's law, which sets the penalty for contributing alcohol to a minor resulting in injury or death to a class D felony...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Changes are on the way for Poplar Bluff Public Schools transportation program as a new director takes the reins and a changeover of two campuses looms large on the horizon. Poplar Bluff High School in September 2016 will be moved to the current 5th and 6th Grade center campus on Oak Grove Road. The 5th and 6th Grade Center will be transformed into the Poplar Bluff Middle School (grades 4-6) and located at the current high school campus...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A local woman credited with creating change that helps improve the health of women and children was honored Monday at Butler County Health Department. Shari Eads, a lactation consultant, received the Loving Support award from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The award recognizes Eads for outstanding dedication and professionalism in her efforts to improve breast feeding practices within her community...

Poplar Bluff Elementary Schools are celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday this week. The students at Eugene Field made green eggs and ham to honor the late Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904 and died Sept. 24, 1991. He was an American writer and illustrator best known for authoring popular children's books under the pen name Dr. Seuss...

CLAY COUNTY, ARK. PRIMARY ELECTION: DEMOCRATS --President James Valentine, 59 Roque De La Fuente, 43 Bernie Sanders, 881 John Wolfe, 97 Martin O'Malley, 113 --Clay Co. Judge Jeff Young, 1,271 --Sheriff/Collector Gerald McClung, 564 REPUBLICANS -President...

Donald Trout Donald Ray Trout, 79, of Broseley died Feb. 25, 2016 at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Services were held Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016 at White-Sanders Funeral Home Chapel in Fisk. Rev. Jim Sanders and Johnny Meese officiated. Burial followed in the Brown Chapel Cemetery in Broseley...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Standard Standard Democrat As this muddled presidential campaign continues to unfold, the Democrats seem to always return to the recurring theme of income inequality and their obsession with wealth redistribution. All this great nation needs to do - according to the progressive line - is to tax the wealthy a little more and move those funds for services to the low and middle income...

By MICHELLE MALKIN Heed the cry of an entitled young American hipster: Woe is me, me, me, me, me! Talia Jane, a 25-year-old melodramatic millennial, made social media waves with her "open letter" to the CEO of crowd-sourced review website Yelp. The indigent English major in smart glasses lamented her deplorable plight toiling in the company's San Francisco-based customer support office of its food delivery and takeout division Eat24 -- oh, the poetic injustice -- as she bravely battled hunger pangs.. ...

WASHINGTON -- It is frequently said that, unfortunately, Americans disdain government. It is more usefully said that, unfortunately, they have abundant reasons for doing so. In coming days, the Supreme Court, by deciding to hear a case from Connecticut, can begin limiting a contemptible government abuse that the court's passive deference to legislatures has encouraged...

Thelma LaRue (Schneider) Williams EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Thelma LaRue (Schneider) Williams, 84, of Poplar Bluff, died Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016 at Westwood Hills Nursing Home in Poplar Bluff. Mrs. Williams was born Aug. 14, 1931, in New Madrid County, (Sugar Tree) to Adam Pete and Eula Mae (Lynch) Schneider. ...

Karen Stamps Karen Diane Stamps, 61, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Monday, Feb. 29, 2016 at her home. Karen was born Dec. 4, 1954, in St. Louis. She was of the Pentecostal faith and had worked as a radiology technician. She loved her dog, Bunny...

Ronald "Sonny" James Mays DEXTER, Mo. -- Ronald "Sonny" James Mays, 71, of Bloomfield, died Monday, Feb. 29, 2016 at his residence. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m., Wednesday, at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter . Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m., Thursday, in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel with Rev. Greg Stevens and Rev. Dan Sitze officiating...

CEDAR HILL, Mo. -- The Jackson boys basketball team overcame a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime and went on to defeat Seckman 68-62 in the semifinals of the MSHSAA Class 5 District 1 tournament Thursday in Cedar Hill, Missouri...

Michael Gene Leroux NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Michael Gene Leroux, 58, of Naylor passed away at his residence Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. He was born Jan. 8, 1958 at Poplar Bluff to Gene Leroux and Louise B. McGonigal. Survivors include his father, Gene Leroux of Doniphan; two brothers, Freddie Leroux of Doniphan and Steven Leroux of Naylor; one sister, Ramona Pierce of Doniphan; two nephews, Tim Pierce of Maynard, Ark. ...

Terry Lynn Cunningham MALDEN, Mo. -- Terry Lynn Cunningham, 56, Gideon, died Monday, Feb. 29, 2016 at Clarkton. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Thursday at Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden. The funeral will be at noon Friday at Bradshaw Chapel in Malden with the Rev. Jack Allen officiating. Burial will be in Stanfield Cemetery in Clarkton...

Goldie Johnson Goldie Johnson, 96, of Bolivar, Mo., formerly of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Wed., Mar. 2, 2016 at Citizen Memorial Hospital in Bolivar. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff.

Cecil (Pearl) Medley Cecil (Pearl) Medley, 84, of Poplar Bluff, died Tues., March 1, 2016, at Westwood Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center in Poplar Bluff. Arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service of Poplar Bluff...

MO. Hwy. Patrol will conduct MCSAP in March The Missouri State Highway Patrol will be conducting a Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Project (MCSAP) in Troop E sometime in March. During the operation, troopers and officers from the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division will be concentrating their efforts on locating commercial vehicles being operated in an unsafe manner, as well as drivers committing hazardous-moving violations...

DWI saturation conducted in Stoddard Co. The Missouri State Highway Patrol will conduct a driving-while-intoxicated saturation in Stoddard County sometime during the month of March. The saturation, which is be conducted in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, is a mobile operation in which troopers saturate a specific area in an effort to arrest impaired drivers...

Marion "Bud" W. Phillips DEXTER, Mo. -- Marion "Bud" W. Phillips, 83, of Dexter, died Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, at Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County. Visitation will be from 9:30 - 11 a.m., Friday, at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. Funeral services will follow at 11 a.m., in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel with Rev. Dean Williams officiating...

CEDAR HILL, Mo. -- Marcedus Leech threw down a dunk and added to his 3-point record in scoring 22 points Tuesday night in the MSHSAA Class 5 District 1 semifinal. But it was the Poplar Bluff freshman's five steals that helped the Mules pull away from a pesky Fox for a 73-51 win at Northwest High School...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports a magnitude 2.2 earthquake struck at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday approximately six miles southwest of Lilbourn, Mo. The epicenter was reported at a depth of approximately 4.6 miles near the intersection of U.S. Highway 62 and County Road 331 in New Madrid County...

BLOOMFIELD -- The same ankle that's been giving her trouble for weeks couldn't stop Callee Pickrell from leading her team in a charge to the MSHSAA Class 1 quarterfinal Tuesday night. For the third time in three weeks, Pickrell fell awkwardly and rolled her left ankle towards the end of the second quarter against Oran, picked herself up and returned for a dominating run...

DYERSBURG, Tenn. -- Three Rivers baseball coach Stacey Burkey is hoping a trip along the Gulf Coast will be what starts a winning streak for the Raiders. After losing 9-8 on Monday at Dyersburg State, the Raiders have opened the season 1-8. Six of those losses have been by two runs or less and Burkey feels the Raiders are close to turning things around...

BLOOMFIELD -- At the end, Advance boys basketball coach Bubba Wheetley could barely speak. His voice scratched and cracked and, much like his team's performance on this night, fell short. The Hornets got popped in a way they hadn't all year, falling into a 22-point hole by halftime and never able to muster a full response as they couldn't keep up with a quick, experienced Gideon side that ended their season 90-71 in a MSHSAA Class 1 sectional on Tuesday night at Bloomfield High School...