Stories from Sunday, December 2, 2018

PUXICO, Mo. -- Ella Dunning, 80, died Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, at home in Puxico. Funeral arrangements are pending with Morgan Sifford Funeral Home in Puxico.

Elizabeth "Joy" Smith, 88, of O'Fallon, Mo., formerly of Des Arc, Mo., died Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to noon Monday, Dec. 3, 2018, at Ruegg Funeral Home Chapel in Piedmont. Funeral service will follow at the chapel. Burial will be at Carson Hill Cemetery, Mill Spring, Mo...

The jolly man in the red suit will be collecting lists from all the good little boys and girls in the area and checking them twice at Santa Land. The 16th annual Santa Land will be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff. Doors will open at 5 p.m. for children with special needs...

Sometimes, one player can make the difference in a game. Friday night, that difference was Northeastern Oklahoma A&M forward Bethy Mununga. Three Rivers had no answer for Mununga in her 33 minutes on the court. The previous NJCAA Player of the Week racked up a game-high 24 points and 17 rebounds on a nearly perfect 12-of-14 shooting night from the floor as NEO outlasted Three Rivers 82-72, ending the Lady Raiders' four-game winning streak...

Shari Head-McCarty passed away Nov. 25, 2018. She is survived by her son and daughter in law; Chris and Wendy Head of Springfield, Mo. Two grandchildren; Kalvin and Karen Uber and two great-grandchildren. Services will be held at 2 p.m., Dec. 9 at First General Baptist Church, 1801 North Main St., Poplar Bluff, Mo. 63901. In lieu of flowers please make donations in Shari's name to the church...

Carolyn Dianne Reno, 75, of Poplar Bluff departed this life Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 in Poplar Bluff. She was born Jan. 23, 1943 to the late Homer and Lois (Underwood) Overfield. In 1982 she was married to Richard Reno, he preceded her in death on Aug. 18, 2017. She loved being with her grandchildren, quilting and animal rescue. Lois was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, and of the Baptist faith...

Peggy Jane Butler, 85, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 at The Manor. Mrs. Butler, daughter of the late Cecil and Ica Mae (Smith) Sinden, was born Dec. 20, 1932 in Poplar Bluff. She was a member of First Church of God. Mrs. Butler enjoyed spending time with her family especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and their spouses. She also enjoyed reading, doing crafts and sewing...

Raymond Kane, 76, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service.

Earl H. Baumgardner, 96, of Greenville, passed away Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. He was born August 4, 1922, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., the son of John and Lena (Dalton) Baumgardner. Earl was a World War II veteran, serving in the submarine service of the US Navy. ...

HARRISON, Ark. -- It was raining 3s in Harrison, Arkansas, Saturday afternoon. Three Rivers knocked down 18 3-pointers against North Arkansas (6-5), including five each from sophomore Tristan Jarrett and Hayden Sprenkel in a 122-86 victory for the Raiders...

Staff Reports It's time again for the Nashville Christmas Concert to benefit Kiwanis Bacon Park. Once again, young up and coming Nashville stars are coming to Poplar Bluff at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14 at the Tinnin Center on the Three Rivers College campus for an evening of music and fundraising fun...

Staff Reports Poplar Bluff will kick off its traditional classic Christmas with two events downtown Friday. The River Radio Lighted Christmas Parade, which begins between 6 and 6:30 p.m. through downtown streets, and at 8 p.m. an opportunity to watch classic Christmas movies at the historic Rodgers Theatre...

EMINENCE, Mo. -- Ozark National Scenic Riverways will celebrate the holiday season with special open house events at Van Buren and Eminence in December. A Christmas Open House will be held at our Van Buren Visitor Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. ...

LADUE, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff put together several consideration sate cuts in its season-opener at the Ladue Invitational on Saturday in Ladue. The 200 medley of Audrey Cisne, Elizabeth Anders, Paige Bradley and Raegan McAtee finished third for a consideration state cut, as the the team of Jessica rush, Addison Kirkman, Carly Wiseman and Emryn Smith, who finished 19th...

With $40 from his own pocket, Pastor Melvin Keena paid rent at 201 South Broadway in Poplar Bluff for what would later become the United Gospel Rescue Mission. Adjusted for inflation 50 years later, that $40 to start the Rescue Mission would be roughly $290 today. It takes about $450,000 in donations each year to keep the Mission going...

MANCHESTER, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff wrestling got its first team title since 1992. Kendric Gordon won the heavyweight division at the Patriot Classic as Poplar Bluff went 3-0-1 to win the tournament Saturday at Parkway South. "He scared us a few times in that championship match but he ended up pulling it out and getting a championship win," Poplar Bluff coach Kelton Thompson said for Gordon. ...

BLOOMFIELD -- Bloomfield senior Bailey Below felt right at home when she visited John A. Logan College. That's one reason why she chose to play volleyball for the NJCAA program from Carterville, Illinois. She signed a letter of intent Nov. 27 at Bloomfield High School...

Pamela Susan (Edwards) Miles, 69, of Poplar Bluff, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. She was born on June 15, 1949 to Darwin and Lois (Jiles) Edwards in Phoenix, Ariz. Pam graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 1967 and attended Three Rivers College. ...

SDLqThe Russians are coming. The Russians are coming!" Many remember this statement from a movie released in the 1960s. The practice of whipping well-intentioned American citizens into a frenzy over fear of foreign threats is not a new or novel tactic...

The Yellow Sucker Game was held Friday night in Ellsinore with the host Redbirds trying to keep the Fish Trophy from their cross-county rivals and even the series in the process. Friday nights in the winter mean high school basketball across the region...

The recent guilty plea of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former attorney, to charges he lied to Congress about the president's involvement and knowledge of a proposed project to build a tower in Moscow, demonstrates the importance of the Mueller investigation...

OGDEN, Utah -- All season long, the Southeast Missouri State football team thrived by following a simple formula: generate more turnovers than the opposition. The Redhawks entered Saturday's second-round Football Championship Subdivision playoff game first in the nation in turnover margin...

Three Rivers won a game by 76 points for the second time in a week. The Lady Raiders forced 35 turnovers, which led to 54 points, in a 106-30 demolition of Lindenwood-Belleville JV Saturday night in the finale of The Shelter Insurance Lady Raiders Classic...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- All season long the Hayti Indians dominated opponent after opponent with an explosive offense and stingy defense. Saturday was no different as the Indians claimed their first state title in school history, defeating Lincoln 44-0 in the Class 1 state championship game...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Quiet all game, Dominique Hardimon got loud in the fourth quarter. Hardimon scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for Poplar Bluff after not scoring more than two points in any quarter. The Mules had 18 fourth quarter points as a team to hold off Liberty North 57-42 at the Norm Stewart Classic in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday...

HOLCOMB, Mo. -- Risco coach Brandon Blankenship was somewhat concerned his squad might experience a letdown less than 24 hours after knocking off the top-seeded Bernie 60-56 Thursday in a semifinal of the Holcomb Invitational. "I was a little concerned how we would bounce back after a physical, emotional game last night against Bernie," Blankenship said. "Sometimes it's hard to come back the next night and start hot."...

Geoff and Sandy Burns have said the Pledge of Allegiance hundreds of times since arriving in the United States from South Africa in 1995. When the time came to put their hands over their hearts and recite the pledge on Oct. 13, 2017, it felt different and emotion overcame the Poplar Bluff couple...