Stories from Saturday, March 18, 2017

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer One of the largest manhunts in the state's history culminated 56 years ago this St. Patrick's Day in Butler County, resulting in a local man's death and the non-fatal shooting of a Missouri State Highway Patrolman. Douglas Wayne Thompson and cohort Sammy Aire Tucker in late February 1961 escaped from a jail in San Luis Obispo, Calif. ...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Poplar Bluff school board members worked through a lengthy agenda on Thursday - voting to hire a new junior high principal, approving district health insurance benefits, ending district involvement in its 60-year practical nursing program and again suspending meeting rules to approve several new positions...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor GRANDIN, Mo. -- Authorities resumed their search this morning in the Grandin area for a Rector, Ark., man who is charged in two counties with sexually assaulting and kidnapping the mother of his child. The search, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott, has focused around the Bay Nothing area along the Current River at the Ripley/Carter County line for Heath Brandon Miller, 29, who is considered armed and dangerous...

By CHELSAE CORDIA Staff Writer NEELYVILLE, Mo. - The Neelyville School District is facing a decision most consumers face when purchasing a new vehicle --buy or lease. Board members reviewed bids for new, used and leased school busses at Thursday's Neelyville R-IV Board of Education meeting and a focus on price and accessibility were top priorities...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Not long ago, a democratizing Turkey, with the second-largest army in NATO, appeared on track to join the European Union. That's not likely now, or perhaps ever. Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared Angela Merkel's Germany to Hitler's, said the Netherlands was full of "Nazi remnants" and "fascists," and suggested the Dutch ambassador go home...

Most Americans, whether liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican, do not show much understanding or respect for the principles of personal liberty. We criticize our political leaders, but we must recognize that their behavior simply reflects the values of people who elected them to office. That means we are all to blame for greater governmental control over our lives and a decline in personal liberty. Let me outline some fundamental principles of liberty...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON -- When he was Ronald Reagan's secretary of state, George Shultz was once asked about the CIA's disavowal of involvement in a mysterious recent bombing in Lebanon. Replied Shultz: "If the CIA denies something, it's denied."...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Three Rivers College has helped educate Southeast Missouri's agriculture industry for more than 50 years and continues to introduce innovative training to keep producers competitive in the marketplace. According to ag instructor Joyce Rehkop, the college focuses on meeting the needs of traditional agriculture students by offering associate degrees in agriculture, environmental horticulture, forestry, agriculture systems, forest technology and a recently added a certificate in precision agriculture.. ...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor With a history spanning more than a century, the specialists at the University of Missouri Extension Office continue to provide research-based information to area residents on many aspects of the agriculture industry...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Area crop and plant experts are warning residents not to count Mother Nature out yet. Early spring-like temperatures, and 70-degree highs not normally common until April, fooled many plants into blooming as much as two weeks ahead of schedule...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- It was the worst possible combination for the Dexter girls basketball team. St. Pius X of Kansas City couldn't miss and the Lady Bearcats couldn't buy a bucket Thursday night. For a crucial 7-minute stretch to open the game, Dexter went without a single point as the Warriors rode a 17-point swing and never looked back for a 59-34 win in a Class 4 semifinal at Mizzou Arena...

By CHELSAE CORDIA Staff Writer Last year, cattle prices saw a dramatic dip that left a lot of farmers shaking their heads, but according to experts there's not going to be much relief in the near future. "Markets have prepped back up a bit," said Joel Tatum, livestock specialist for the University of Missouri Extension office, "but more so, the market corrected. What we're seeing now are steady, long-term prices. I don't foresee any upcoming jumps or changes in the future."...

In their first doubleheader in a week, the Lady Raiders barely got in enough innings for one normal length game. Three Rivers College throttled Arkansas Baptist 15-0 and 15-0 in a pair of four-inning games Thursday at Rains Field. "You don't want to have too many of these games on your schedule. Kids have a way of making bad habits, making mistakes, and it carries over for a day or two afterward," Three Rivers coach Jeff Null said. "Lucky for us we don't play until Sunday."...

Trooper Glen Davis, featured in the accompanying article on the March 1961 manhunt, also had a promising boxing career. Davis began boxing in the Golden Gloves program when he was 14 years old. He would go on to win the 1954 mid-south Golden Gloves tournament in the welterweight class and fight in the national tournament that year in Chicago...

Leon Maple CORNING, Ark. -- Leon Maple, 84, of Corning passed away Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at home. Mr. Maple was a farmer and a member of Corning Masonic Lodge #719 Scottish Rite and a Shriner. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Corning...

Sharon Patterson Sharon Patterson, 67, of Poplar Bluff, died Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at St. Louis University Hospital. She was born Oct. 27, 1949 in Poplar Bluff to Bertha Allen and the late William A. Endicott. She was a life time resident of Poplar Bluff. Sharon was a member of the Midland General Baptist Church...

Mary Stewart FISK, Mo. - Mary Stewart, age 79, of Fisk, Mo.,died on Thursday, March 16, 2017, at the Gideon Care Center in Gideon, Missouri. Mrs. Stewart was born November 4, 1937 in Portageville, Missouri to the late: AlbertFreeman and Bernice Lorene (Miles) Meatte. ...

Janis L. Birdsong Janis L. Birdsong, 67, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday, March 16, 2017 in the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Arrangements are pending with Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff.

James D. Simmons James D. Simmons, 83, died Thursday, March 16, 2017 at the Clark's Mountain Nursing Center in Piedmont. A private family memorial service will be held at a later date. Online condolences may be left at www.morrisonworleychapel.com...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A $10 drug that could have saved as many as four Butler County lives in the past three months was distributed Thursday to community members, part of an ongoing battle against the heroin epidemic officials say has hit the area...

Weldon E. "Wick" Crites GREENVILLE, Mo. - Weldon E. "Wick" Crites, 88, of Greenville, died Thursday, March 16, 2017 at the Greenville Nursing and Rehab Center. Visitation will be at 5 p.m, Sunday, March 19 at the Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel in Greenville with Masonic services following at 7 p.m. ...