Stories from Saturday, June 25, 2016

By TYLER GRAEF and LINDA REDEFFER SEMO News Service ZALMA, Mo. -- The end is near in Zalma. While Zalma will continue to exist just north of Arab, Missouri, in Bollinger County, it won't be a village anymore. After years of dwindling interest and engagement in civic and commercial affairs, Zalma has announced it will disincorporate as a village...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Poplar Bluff R-I Board of Education on Thursday approved a $53 million budget, a pay raise for bus drivers, 2016 graduation rates and will take under consideration a request from a parent regarding Lady Mules softball. Prior to the adoption of the agenda, district parent James Gerber addressed the board, asking the Lady Mules softball program be allowed to stay at Bacon Park instead of moving to the new Bobby Strenfel field at the new high school...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Both the Butler County and Poplar Bluff fire departments recently put new fire trucks into service to better serve the citizens they protect. The Butler County Fire Protection District's new truck is a 2016 3,000-gallon tanker, with a 1,000-gallon-per-minute pump, while the city added two 2016 pumpers to its fleet...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Baseball fans can see a St. Louis Cardinals game on the cheap and support local higher education at the same time next month during Three Rivers College's "Day at the Ballpark" event. Tickets are discounted to $25 for the Cardinals vs. Dodgers baseball game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, July 24. Tickets are for a reserved seating section in Left Field Loge. The purchase deadline is July 5...

There's still time to nominate an older adult for the 26th Annual Outstanding Older Workers of the Year contest, but the July 6th deadline is quickly approaching. Nominations should be submitted by employers for outstanding older workers who are age 60 or older; state residents working at a Missouri job site for at least 20 hours each week; and have demonstrated success in learning new skills and participating in job training. Nominees may not be self-employed...

The Agee Community Club met at the Bread Company on June 17. Jeanie Figgins was hostess. Club President Cathy Womack opened the meeting with the women repeating the club motto, "When the heart is full of love the world is full of beauty." Nadine Johnson offered the invocation. Figgins read the devotional from Jeremiah 31:3 about everlasting love then read the secretary and treasurers' reports. There was no old or new business...

A variety of swimming experiences such as swimming lessons, water aerobics and aqua dance are being offered at the R. W. Huntington Municipal. Poplar Bluff Park and Recreation is accepting registrations for swim lessons to be held in July, according to Aquatics Supervisor Heather Tuggle...

Truman St. honors list The Office of the Registrar at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. has released the Spring 2016 Vice President for Academic Affairs' List. To qualify for this list, an undergraduate student must attain a semester 3.50-3.99 grade point average and must complete 12 semester hours of credit...

By STEPHEN MOORE In the last month or so, both the presumptive presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, have said stupid and even offensive things. Trump, as we all know (because we heard it repeated by the media a thousand times), questioned the impartiality of a federal judge because he is of Mexican descent. Dumb. Even indefensible...

By GEORGE F. WILL "There's an old adage about a vat of wine standing next to a vat of sewage. Add a cup of wine to the sewage, and it is still sewage. But add a cup of sewage to the wine, and it is no longer wine but sewage. Is this what Donald Trump has done to our politics?"...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat Though the outcomes are virtually assured, there remains a final breath in the Presidential primary season. Small rumbles still can be heard concerning a potential push-back to Donald Trump on the GOP side and the ever-popular Sen. Bernie Sanders remains optimistic that his voice will be heard on the convention floor...

Activities at Twin Towers Start your week off at 9 a.m. with exercise in the Assembly Room when the P. A.C.E. (People with Arthritis Can Exercise) class meets or play Bingo at 9 a.m. in the Altrusa Room. "Inner Peace" will perform in the dining room at 11:30 a.m., Monday...

Naylor Elem. honor roll Students earning places on the Naylor Elementary fourth quarter honor roll include: A Honor Roll First grade: Hunter Anders, Kenyon Hannah, Emma Johns, Hixon Layton, Kaylei McGee, Amelia Steward, Bree Teters A-B Honor Roll First grade: Kailyn Benson, Jayde Clark, Emily Elder, Trey Foster, Jasa Gillea, Wyatt Harmon, Payton McGee, Malia Melvin, Jason Moore, Allison Whtmer, Kadence Wilkerson and Mariah Winters...

Qulin student graduates from Linn Tech College LINN, Mo. - William Jackson Jones of Qulin, Mo. is a spring graduate of the State Technical College of Missouri. Ranked among the best nationally, the State Technical College of Missouri serves a unique role as one of the leading two-year technical colleges in Missouri and the Midwest region...

June Lee Johnson MALDEN, Mo. -- June Lee Johnson, 96, of Tallapoosa, Mo., died Sunday, June 19, 2016, at Golden Living Center in Malden. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Friday until service time at Bradshaw Funeral Homes, Inc., in Malden. The graveside funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Mt. Gilead Cemetery in Clarkton with the Rev. Johnny Meese. Burial will be in Mt. Gilead Cemetery in Clarkton...

Judith Ann Hansmann SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. -- Judith Ann Hansmann, 72, of Springfield passed away Sunday, June 19, 2016. Ms. Hansmann was born Oct. 8, 1943 in Boise, Idaho to the late Carl and Hazel Yeates. Judith will be remembered as a loving mother and grandmother; her family will remember her creativity and her love of painting, coin and stamp collecting, gardening, photography, sewing and biking. She was a registered nurse for over 50 years and retired from the State of Tennessee...

Alfred Ward PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Alfred Ward, 86, died Friday, June 24, 2016 at his home in Arnold, Mo. Visitation will be held at noon Monday at the Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel in Piedmont. Funeral services will follow at 2 p.m. Monday at the funeral home chapel with Rev. Alvin McFadden officiating...

Brett Hayse Rinehart ELLSINORE, Mo. -- Brett Hayse Rinehart, 20, of Ellsinore, son of Jackie Christine Rinehart and Lori Suzann Shaffer, was born Jan. 22, 1996 in Poplar Bluff, MO., and was taken from this life too soon on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 in Ellsinore...