Stories from Monday, January 11, 2021

Dorothy Dever, 87, of Paragould, Arkansas, died Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, at Green House Cottages Of Belle Meade, in Paragould. Mrs. Dever was born Thursday, Jan. 26, 1933 in Steele, Missouri, daughter of the late Joseph and Beuna Farris. On Dec. 24, 1951, she married Freeman Leroy Dever Jr. He preceded her in death on Dec. 5, 2020...

FISK, Mo. — Ron Pflueger, 59, of Ellsinore, Missouri, died Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021 at his residence in Ellsinore. Mr. Pflueger was born May 29, 1961 in Dexter, Missouri. He was a special person. He is survived by three brothers: John A. Pflueger of Ellsinore, Dwight Pflueger of Poplar Bluff, and Paul Pflueger of Piedmont; and two sisters: Betty Gifford of Troy, Missouri, and Beverly Henderson of Bernie, Missouri...

Two suspects were arrested Monday in connection to an armed robbery Saturday evening at The Bottle Shop on South Westwood Boulevard. Two white males entered the store at approximately 6:30 p.m. and threatened the store owner with a handgun, said Lt. Josh Stewart...

CORNING, Ark. — Obie O’Neal Duncan, 91, of Corning, Arkansas, passed away Monday, Jan. 11, 2021 at Five Rivers Medical Center in Pocahontas, Arkansas. Mr. Duncan was born in Hickory Ridge, Arkansas, Dec. 29, 1929. He was retired from rice and soybean farming, but during his life he had worked in construction, a heavy equipment operator, a cattle rancher and the Corning Street Superintendent. ...

Construction continues on two new restaurants in Poplar Bluff, with both expected to open in the coming months. A 954-square-foot Rally’s building is nearing completion on North Westwood Boulevard near Highland Drive, in the same location as the former Pizza Hut...

Gayle D. Cates, 72, of Ellsinore, Missouri, passed away Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. He was born in St. Charles, Missouri to the late Eursel Alvil Cate and Geraldine (Brown) Cate. He was a longtime resident of Poplar Bluff and was of the Pentecostal faith...

Martin Luther King, Jr., once said that “Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” Over the past year, we have seen violent protests spread throughout our country, and over and over, those who committed violence were not held accountable. In fact, when the statue of Christopher Columbus was torn down this past summer in Baltimore, Speaker Nancy Pelosi shrugged it off as “people will do what they do.”...

The COVID-19 pandemic has fostered diverse ways to work and study. Area farmers and agribusiness people, who use the winter to prepare for the coming crop seasons, are utilizing Zoom for training. The University of Missouri Extension is scheduling its winter crop meetings through Zoom and offering them in shorter spans of time across a few dates in January...

POPLAR BLUFF POLICE DEPARTMENT Charles E. Wilcox, 20, of the 400 block of East Henry Street was arrested at 10:09 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 10, at his residence on suspicion of second-degree sexual abuse, first-degree sexual misconduct and second-degree harassment. He was booked at the Butler County jail...

Poplar Bluff Firefighters responded at 12:51 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, to a possible structure fire in a vacant single story house on South F street. Once the fire was out, the firefighters searched the house and no one was inside. Officers contacted the fire marshal and returned to the station at 1:48 p.m. Butler County EMS was on stand by at the scene...

Rally’s confirmed Friday that it will open at...