Stories from Wednesday, May 18, 2016

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper who made nearly 900 arrests last year was named Saturday as Officer of the Year by the Poplar Bluff Elks. Trooper Shayne K. Talburt joined the patrol eight years ago and works extremely hard in all aspects of his job, explained Elks past Exalted Ruler Mack Campbell...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Members of law enforcement from five Butler and Ripley county agencies were honored Saturday, during the annual Elks Law and Order Night. The following individuals were named Officer of the Year for their agency, with additional awards given to support and civilian staff...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The Poplar Bluff City Council will vote June 6 on a nearly $900,000 purchase for the Municipal Utilities department. First Missouri State Bank has offered to sell the city a building at 1902 Sunset Drive to serve as offices for the utilities administration and billing employees...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor A Poplar Bluff, Mo., couple was arraigned Monday morning on charges stemming from the alleged abuse of a disabled boy who suffered injuries his evaluating doctor said were suggestive of torture. Following their arrests Sunday night, Vanessa Lynn Jean May, 35, of the 1200 block of West Harper and Michael T. ...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The city of Poplar Bluff wants to temporarily relocate its city hall offices, as the debate to replace or repair the current location continues to drag on. Trash cans sat at the front of the city council chambers Monday to catch water from a leaking roof as city council members discussed the matter...

Chairperson and President Norma McLane Smith recently announced the promotion of Michael Allen to senior vice president and Chris Hyten to vice president of Midwest Bancorporation, Inc. and its affiliate, Poplar Bluff Banc Company. A 30-year veteran of the financial services industry, Allen joined the affiliated group in 1987. ...

Robert (Bob) D. Pickett Robert (Bob) D. Pickett, 61, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away on Saturday, May 14, 2016 at his residence. Mr. Pickett, the son of John and Betty Armes Pickett, was born January 17, 1955 in Poplar Bluff. He was an interior designer who enjoyed creating special effects for all of his clients' homes. Mr. Pickett also enjoyed working with flowers and creating unique pieces...

To the Editor, We are still Northside Nutrition Center (even though we moved) to Twin Towers on May 9 with no break in service. We'll have a bigger kitchen and can serve more people. We now serve 400 daily which includes "Meals on Wheels" for seniors...

By STEPHEN MOORE Several years ago, I joined a poker game with a group of people I hadn't met before. The stakes went up and up, and, at one point, a pot reached over $1,000. I had what I was fairly certain was the winning hand, but the dealer, who was a friend of my remaining opponent, "accidentally" flipped his last card face up, not down. Normally, the rule is that the misdealt card is "burned" and a replacement card is dealt face down. No harm, no foul...

To the Editor: I went to the City Cemetery to take flowers. I am so glad I did. Our cemetery is back beautiful once again. I want to thank the people who cleaned it up. Thank you so much. I hope you will be able to keep our city proud of it. Thank you guys and God bless you. I just can't thank you enough...

Brad Cornelious Baker DEXTER, Mo. -- Brad Cornelious Baker, 21, of Sikeston, died Tuesday, May 10, 2016, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Saturday, at the New Hope Ministries Church in Sikeston...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- In 1906, Leonor Loree, an accomplished railroad executive, examined the dilapidated Kansas City Southern Railroad that he had been hired to rehabilitate. Dismayed, he permanently enriched American slang by exclaiming: "This is a helluva way to run a railroad!" Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the nation's second-most important court, recently said, with judicial decorousness, essentially the same thing about Amtrak...

Janice Lou Moore Janice Lou Moore, 66, of Poplar Bluff, passed away unexpectedly, Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Ms. Moore was born July 22, 1949 in St. Louis. to the late Bennie and Mary (Edwards) Moore. She was a member of New Life Tabernacle Church. She had worked as a dietary aide at Lucy Lee Hospital for 27 years and Odell Cleaners for 10 years. She enjoyed her dog "Baby", collecting birds and playing computer games...

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

Betty Grace Hulan Johnson DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Betty Grace Hulan Johnson, 75, of Bardley, died Sunday, May 15, 2016, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Visitation will be from 5 -- 8 p.m., Wednesday, at Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. The funeral service will take place at 10 a.m., Thursday in the funeral home chapel with burial to follow at Bardley Cemetery...

Bridgette Keeling Fuemmeler BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. -- Bridgette Keeling Fuemmeler, 48, of Blytheville, passed away Saturday, May 14, 2016 at her home. Bridgette was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith. She enjoyed family events, especially family reunions...

Cynthia Hemphill Cynthia Hemphill, 60, of Piedmont, Mo., died Monday, May 16, 2016, at her residence. Arrangements currently are pending with Ruegg Funeral Homes, Inc. Online condolences: www.rueggfuneralhomes.com

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A pair of early goals Monday put the Poplar Bluff soccer team into the district final for just the second time in program history. Lauren Rowland scored just 100 seconds after kickoff and the Mules held off Cape Central 2-1 in the MSHSAA Class 3 District 1 semifinal...

Robert "Bob" Pickett -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Janice Lou Moore -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. James and Stephanie Kerperien -- Campbell, Mo. Brad C. Baker -- Sikeston, Mo. Terry Lynn Allen -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Betty Grace Hulan Johnson -- Bardley, Mo. Bridgette Fuemmeler -- Blytheville, Ark...

SAPPINGTON, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff players fell short in a bid to reach state in the MSHSAA individual tournament Monday but the Mules can still punch their ticket as a team. Humza Siddiqui and Poplar Bluff's doubles teams of Peyton Bradley and Eduardo Martinez, and, Greg Roberson and Ben Stewart all lost in straight sets in the sectional playoff...

Linda Hill Linda Hill, 72, of Poplar Bluff, died on Monday, May 16, 2016 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Arrangements are pending with Moore Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff. Online Condolences: www.moorefuneralservice.com

East Carter's Trey Hampton left Three Rivers College on Monday with a souvenir. Hampton hit the first home run of his career late in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 semifinals to give the Redbirds an insurance run. The score held and East Carter won 3-1 to advance to the championship against Thayer...

GREENVILLE -- These are promising times for Trynt Tompkins and his six fellow seniors. As their days in a Greenville uniform begin to dwindle down, Tompkins has settled into his daily routine and helped his team slip their way out of a slump Monday...

CAMPBELL -- Bernie baseball coach Darrin Shipman felt left-handed hurler Trey Kirkpatrick was the perfect pitcher to face the Bloomfield Wildcats on Monday. "I decided to go with Trey because I knew Bloomfield had a lot of lefties in their lineup," Shipman said. "I just thought it was a good matchup for him."...

Richard "Rick" Eugene Wright Richard "Rick" Eugene Wright, 58, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. passed away Thursday, May 12, 2016 in the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center at Poplar Bluff. He was born May 3, 1958 at Poplar Bluff to the late Wilborne Wright and Dorothy Bunn...

Freda Wangelin Freda Wangelin, 93, died Sunday, May 15, 2016, at her home in Poplar Bluff. Mrs. Wangelin, daughter of the late Ura Vincent and Beulah Short Buffington, was born on Aug. 10, 1922, in Ripley County, grew up in Carter County, graduated from Van Buren High School and married attorney Harris Kenneth Wangelin on June 27, 1939. He died in 1987...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Everything seemed to fall into place for the Cape Central baseball. A sophomore pitcher beat one of the more experienced lineups in the area, the defense behind him held up its end and the offense scored runs when it needed to. The recipe for an upset had all its ingredients, with Jacquen Cummins and Copper Crosnoe doing the stirring...

Rain made the opening round of the MSHSAA golf championships a soggy mess Monday. Poplar Bluff's Nathan Woolard shot 7-over-par 79 but is tied for 14th in the hunt for all-state honors at the Class 4 tournament in Bolivar. Justin Capps shot 87 and is tied for 72nd at Silo Ridge Golf Club...

Terry Lynn Allen Terry Lynn Allen, 49, of Poplar Bluff, died Wednesday, May 11, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio. He was born Oct. 13, 1966 in Poplar bluff. Terry served in the U. S. Navy. and was employed by Gregory Logistics. He married Shannon Biggerstaff May 21, 2007 in Poplar Bluff. She survives...