Stories from Friday, November 23, 2018

Much of today's incivility and contempt for personal liberty has its roots on college campuses, and most of the uncivil and contemptuous are people with college backgrounds. Let's look at a few highly publicized recent examples of incivility and attacks on free speech...

President Trump did defy history in the 2018 midterm elections. While his predecessor, Barack Obama, lost 63 House seats and six Senate seats in his first midterms, Trump held the GOP's House losses to just over half of that and bolstered the GOP majority in the Senate. The combination of a Senate map that heavily favored Republicans, and Trump's success in turning out his 2016 base, produced a red wall that held up pretty well against the blue wave...

Supporters of Hillary Clinton in 2016 -- and even a few non-supporters -- are having a good laugh over the report that first daughter/senior advisor Ivanka Trump used a personal email account to transact official business. On Twitter, John Dean (yes, that John Dean) opined: "Dems should run this to ground given her father thought a very big deal when it involved Hillary. So it's got to be (a) big deal for Ivanka!" Newsweek in tweeting out its story used the inevitable teaser: "Lock her up?"...

ROLLA, Mo. -- One hundred and seventy-two pounds of non-perishable food was recently donated to food pantries to help people in need, thanks to the efforts of employees with USDA Forest Service, Mark Twain National Forest. In October, USDA concluded its Feds Feed Families (FFF) campaign, which encouraged employees to organize local food drives to benefit communities across the nation. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will host public open houses in December and take comments on options for a future, limited elk-hunting season in Missouri. MDC will hold the open houses in communities around its elk management zone in Carter, Reynolds, and Shannon counties. They will run from 6-8 p.m. and be:...

I received a call from my headquarters in Poplar Bluff that there had been an accident just outside of a small town in my assigned area. When I got there, the ambulance was on the scene and a helicopter was on its way. A beautiful 3-year-old girl had died before I could arrive...

Missouri's half million deer hunters closed out the state's 11-day November firearms season Tuesday with a total harvest of 199,427 deer, edging out last year's take of 191,368 by about 4 percent. The overall harvest also is the highest the state has experienced since 2012, when more than 204,000 were taken...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Johnny Louis Bingham, 78, of Doniphan, Mo., died Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, at the Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. A graveside service will follow at 3 p.m. at the Towles Cemetery in Doniphan with Brother Russell Chitwood presiding...

Barry Odom is putting his money where his mouth is. Last Thursday he told fans he'd pay for their tickets if they didn't have a way to attend Missouri's home finale against Arkansas, which will again be played on Black Friday, when student crowds tend to be sparse during the school's Thanksgiving break...

Staff Reports The Poplar Bluff School District was named the 2018 Community Collaborative Program of the Year for its partnership with Family Counseling Center Behavioral Health to help meet the needs of students that extend beyond academics. Serving as the district's mediator for community providers and state agencies, the truancy court liaison, as well as foster care and homebound advocate, R-I Attendance Officer Misty Dodson accepted the regional award recently at the Campbell Community Center.. ...

PUXICO, Mo. -- James Ellis McGhee, 79, of Jefferson City, Mo., died Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, in Jefferson City. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, at the Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Puxico, Mo. Funeral services will be at 11:30 a.m. ...

Judy Ann Sickels, 68, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thurs., Nov. 22, 2018 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Arrangements are pending with Cotrell Funeral Service.

Mother-daughter duo Shelly and Jordyn Ridens stepped into new Poplar Bluff retailer Ulta at 6 a.m. Friday morning with coffee in hand and on a mission to find deals. "This is our favorite shopping day of the year," Shelly said. "We were super excited about Ulta this year."...

PIEDMONT, Mo. - Oval Celeste Parker, 97, of Des Arc, Mo., died Thurs., Nov. 22, 2018 at Clark's Mountain Nursing Center. Visitation will be at 5 p.m., Sat., Nov. 24 at Ruegg Funeral Home in Piedmont. The funeral will follow at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 25 at Beulah Baptist Church, Brunot, Mo. Burial will follow in the Beulah Cemetery. Online condolences can be made at www.rueggfuneralhomes.com...

For the first time since February, the Raiders are on a two-game winning streak. Three Rivers spent the holiday tipping off the Peoples Community Bank Thanksgiving Classic with a big win. Sophomore Tristan Jarrett continued to shoulder the bulk of the load with 31 points, 12 rebounds and five steals -- all of which led the game and gave him his third double-double and third 30-point game -- as the Raiders demolished Wilbur Wright College, 98-70...

QULIN, Mo. - Joshua Tutor Goins, age 33, of Qulin left this world too soon on Monday, November 19, 2018. He was born September 17th 1985 in Belleville Ill. He attended Twin Rivers High School. Joshua left this world loving the love of his life BJ Goins. ...

An autopsy performed Wednesday morning confirmed a Qulin man died from the shot fired by a local man he struggled with after being offered a ride. An autopsy performed on Joshua Goins by Dr. Russell Deidiker at Farmington showed the 33-year-old died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, said Butler County Coroner Andy Moore, who indicated only one of the two shots fired during the incident hit Goins' body...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence of a Poplar Bluff man facing the death penalty for killing his daughter's grandmother in 1997. In an unanimous opinion, written by Judge George W. Draper III and issued on Tuesday, the court found Circuit Judge Kelly Parker did not err in denying relief to Terrance Anderson's various claims raised in his most recent appeal...