Stories from Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Here are a few headlines about an African tragedy: "Africa's Worst Locust Plague in Decades Threatens Millions" (The Wall Street Journal), "'Unprecedented' Locust Invasion Approaches Full-Blown Crisis" (Scientific American), "Somalia Declares Locust Outbreak a 'National Emergency'" (The National) and "UN Calls for International Action on East Africa Locust Outbreak" (Bloomberg Green). ...

Residents in the Ellington, Van Buren, Freemont and Ellsinore areas will receive their Daily American Republic for Wednesday a day late due to a vehicle fire that destroyed those newspapers. The DAR regrets any inconvenience this causes our readers and will include a Wednesday paper with the Thursday deliveries for these subscribers...

The rumblings from the Beltway are ominous, my fellow Americans. As the U.S Supreme Court prepares to rule on President Donald Trump's termination of the Obama administration amnesty and work permits for 800,000 young illegal immigrants sometime between now and June 2020, all the usual open-borders special interests are lobbying for a "DACA deal" in Congress...

QULIN — Foul play is not suspected in the death of a Qulin woman whose body was found early Wednesday morning inside her burned home. “The (Butler County) Coroner’s Office was dispatched at about 4:30 this morning to a residence south of Qulin on 53 Highway,” explained Coroner Andy Moore. “Inside, there was a deceased individual...

Keynote speaker Kathern Harris will present an informational session on the Tutoring Needs for Poplar Bluff at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Northside Community Center, 1450 Garfield St. Parents, guardians and caretakers are welcome to attend. Harris will discuss eligibility criteria, locations, calendar year and summer programs...

County firefighters responded at 3:33 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, to a grass fire at 1833 Highway W. According to the report, a small area, owned by Robert Anthony, burned. City firefighters responded at 7:57 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, to a report of a gasoline odor in the Hobby Lobby parking lot, 715 N. Westwood Blvd...

Mildred Eloise Boyers Worley Alford, 93, passed peacefully March 2, 2020. Mildred was born Aug. 23, 1926 to the late Byrd and Hettie (Sparkman) Boyers. She is survived by her daughter: Marilyn Presson and husband, Larry, of Poplar Bluff, Mo.; siblings: Meredith Boyers and Betty Webb; daughter-in-law: Sue Worley of Broseley, Mo.; grandchildren: Clete Worley and wife, Jill, of Dexter, Mo., Jeff Worley of Broseley, Mo., Somar Lapekas and husband, Dustin, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Susan Fentiman and husband, Zack, of Denver, Colo., and Season Presson of Nashville, Tenn.; great-grand-children: Jase, Jentri, Febe, Cy Worley and Lukas Lapekas. ...

MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL A 52-year-old Poplar Bluff man was injured in a one-vehicle crash at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 3, on Highway Z, four miles east of Bernie. According to the report, David L. Hopson was operating a 2009 Mack dump truck eastbound when it ran off the road. Hopson reportedly overcorrected, which caused his truck to return to the road and overturn...

Anglers at Wappapello Lake shouldn’t expect the best crappie fishing this year, according to Department of Conservation Fisheries Management Biologist Dave Knuth, who oversees the lake’s fishery. In his 2019 Fishery Management Report, released last week, Knuth notes Wappapello Lake’s white crappie population last fall was rated as fair, primarily because of poor growth and size structure...

The Heartland Gobblers chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation is gearing up for its 27th annual Hunting Heritage Banquet, set for March 14 at the Brown-Mabry American Legion Post 153 in Poplar Bluff. The doors to the event will open at 5 p.m., and it will kick off with a social hour and silent auction...

In only five years, the Poplar Bluff-based Outdoorsmen With a Mission organization has grown from an idea of a few people to help others into a larger group dedicated not only to its original goals, but also to introducing children to the outdoors. On Saturday, the organization held its fifth annual banquet, which organizers said was the biggest yet...

Despite two other large events going on in Poplar Bluff Saturday night, organizers said the annual Bluff City Mallards/Ducks Unlimited banquet at the Black River Coliseum was a success. The event saw 175 visitors and went smoothly, chapter chairman Jeremy Wethington said...

The T-shirts will be ready this week for the ninth annual Sarah Jarboe White UCAN Walk, which will be held Saturday, April 25. A lot of teams already have begun fundraising, but now is the perfect time to organize a team to participate in the walk, said UCAN Executive Director Melody Chailland...

BLOOMFIELD — Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner recently announced his department will be holding a junior deputy camp this summer. The camp will consist of weekly meetings from 5 to 9 p.m. on Mondays during June. Participants can look forward to an introduction into the duties involved in the many facets of law enforcement. ...

QULIN — An autopsy Wednesday afternoon confirmed a Qulin woman died of the injuries she suffered when her home caught fire. “The autopsy confirmed our initial finding that there was no foul play” in the death of Tammie Boswell, 51, said Butler County Coroner Andy Moore...

Fred Lee Mock, 74, of Piedmont, Mo. passed away March 4, 2020 at his residence. Visitation will be at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 5, 2020 at Ruegg Funeral home in Piedmont, Mo. There will be a visitation Friday, March 6, 2020, from 11 a.m. -2 p.m. at Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan, Mo.s with the funeral following at 2 p.m. Interment will be in the New Hope Cemetery in Doniphan, Mo...

Twin Rivers R-X students will be out of class for the rest of the week due to illness. Superintendent Jeremy Seibert said 109 students and 12 teachers called out sick Wednesday, which prompted the decision. The district has about 900 students and roughly 70 teachers...

A mow-to-own program recently approved by the Poplar Bluff City Council will allow property owners/occupants from within a four-block radius of a vacant lot to apply for ownership of eligible property. The new program is part of an effort to deal with vacant and abandoned properties, according to city officials...