Stories from Thursday, July 19, 2018

The process of developing a limited hunting season for the management of Missouri's elk herd is moving along, and hunters could get their first opportunity to pursue them in the fall of 2020. At the Conservation Commission meeting last week, MDC cervid biologist Aaron Hildreth laid out for the commission not only the current status of the state's elk herd, but also what work has been done so far to implement a future management plan, which, from the beginning of the restoration program, was to include hunting.. ...

Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement, leading to President Donald Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, has thrown progressives, the Democratic Party and the news media into an out-and-out tizzy. The online magazine Slate declared, "Anthony Kennedy Just Destroyed His Legacy as a Gay Rights Hero." The New York Times' editorial board said about a second Trump court appointment, "It is a dark moment in the history of the court and the nation, and it's about to get a lot darker.". ...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- America's child president had a playdate with a KGB alumnus, who surely enjoyed providing daycare. It was a useful, because illuminating, event: Now we shall see how many Republicans retain a capacity for embarrassment...

By MARC A. THIESSEN WASHINGTON -- The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting to get a different result, which is one of the many reasons President Trump's news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed so insane. Trump is trying to do something that both of his immediate predecessors tried to do: turn over a new leaf with Russia. They both failed, and so will he...

HARDY, Ark. -- A sinkhole that opened in the Spring River last month has been closed, Commissioner of State Lands John Thurston announced July 12. The Commissioner of State Lands office, alongside the Attorney General's office, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas Geological Survey, the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, Fulton County Sheriff Albert Roork and Fulton County Judge Darrell Zimmer, as well as local landowners and volunteers, completed work Thursday repairing the sinkhole, located south of Mammoth Spring.. ...

Sam Pietrofere, 65, of Poplar Bluff, died Saturday, July 14, 2018 at his residence. Arrangements are pending with Moore Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff. Online condolences: www.moorefuneralservice.com

A $25 million indoor aquatic center in Cape Girardeau "would give us everything we would want," but a $12 to $15 million project would be "more reasonable," city parks and recreation director Julia Jones said Wednesday. Jones discussed the project at the inaugural meeting of a joint committee of the Cape Girardeau city/school district, which has been tasked with developing plans for the facility. The meeting was held at noon at the Shawnee Park Center...

Another black bear has been struck and killed by a motor vehicle in Missouri, making a half dozen roadkills around the state this summer. "We have documented seven bear mortalities so far this year," said Department of Conservation Resource Scientist Laura Conlee, and "six were roadkill bears."...

PIEDMONT, Mo. - Sharon E. James, 72, of Piedmont, formerly of Annapolis, died Wednesday, July 18, 2018 at the Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis. Arrangements are pending with Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel in Piedmont.

Jacee Edington Stumpf and Major Aaron Stumpf announce the birth of their son Paxton Thomas Stumpf born Tuesday, April 10, 2018 in Alexandria, Virginia. Paxton weighed 9 pounds, 8 ounces and was 22 inches long. He has one brother, Fulton James. Paxton's grandparents are Jamie and Thomas Edington of Poplar Bluff and Kerry and George Stumpf of Chesterfield, Missouri. His great-grandparents are the late Hazel and James Cantrell and the late Jean and Norman Edington...

DEXTER, Mo. - Jerry Dale Townsend, 73, of Dudley, died Tuesday, July 17, 2018 at the Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County. Visitation will be after noon on Saturday, July 21 at Watkins & Sons Funeral Service in Dexter. The funeral will follow at 2 p.m. with Pastor Cory Townsend of Dudley and Pastor Brad Moore of Advance officiating...

WILLIAMSVILLE, Mo. - Leslie M. Leonard of Williamsville, died Wednesday, July 18, 2018, near Mill Spring, MO. Arrangements are pending with Ruegg Funeral Home, Williamsville.

Ana Santos Rutschman Saint Louis University The sprawling U.S. health care industry has trouble managing patient information: Every doctor, medical office, hospital, pharmacy, therapist and insurance company needs different pieces of data to properly care for patients. ...

BLOOMFIELD -- The city of Bloomfield will receive nearly $4.8 million in federal money for wastewater treatment improvements expected to start by early spring 2019. A $2.8 million loan and a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will improve the treatment and collection of the city's wastewater...

BLOOMFIELD -- The city of Bloomfield will receive nearly $4.8 million in federal money for wastewater treatment improvements expected to start by early spring 2019. A $2.8 million loan and a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will improve the treatment and collection of the city's wastewater...

Funeral services will be held tomorrow for a Cape Girardeau man whose family penned a unique farewell that is beginning to viral in Southeast Missouri. The good-bye for Mark Ervin was said in a way that has not only touched those who knew and loved him, but also reached those who didn't with a reminder of how to find joy in everyday moments, according to responses posted on social media...

Learning all of his students' names will be easier for Cody Young at his new job as superintendent at Gatewood R-III School. "I'm going from one building with 1,300 students to a district with 82 students," laughed Young, who began his new position July 1. "At Poplar Bluff, it took me until Christmas to learn everyone's name. Hopefully, here it will only take a couple of weeks."...

The new anticipated date of completion for the Libla Family Sports Complex is Aug. 17, architect Mike Pollard of Dille and Traxel Architecture said Wednesday. Pollard shared the information with the Three Rivers College Board of Trustees during its regular monthly meeting. The new date came from Huffman Construction's LFSC project manager, he added...

While the Twin Rivers R-X School District saw a decrease in their annual school bus inspection score, Transportation Director Jeff Snider used the process as a learning experience for next year. The Missouri State Highway Patrol released inspection results last month and saw Twin Rivers slip from 100 percent to 60 percent...