Stories from Thursday, February 10, 2022

Devona Gibbs, a retired nurse practitioner, said her father always told her that her great-grandfather, Henry Hines Jolly, laid the brick streets in downtown Poplar Bluff. “Several years ago, I got on Ancestry,” she explained. “And then I found out about newspapers.com And first thing I did was do (search) the name Jolly.”...

Carolyn Sue Shelton, 79, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri passed away Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, at St Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Carolyn was born Nov. 7, 1942, to Carl and Otis McMurtry Medling in Naylor, Missouri. She married Donald Dawson Shelton July 3, 1959, in E. St. Louis, Illinois...

PIEDMONT, Mo. — Bobbie Bennett Sr., 89, of Patterson, died Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Chesterfield, Missouri. Visitation is at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 12, at Ruegg Funeral Home, Piedmont Chapel. Funeral service will follow at 11:30 a.m., also in the Piedmont Chapel. Burial will be in Mt. Pisgah Cemetery, Silva...

BALLWIN, Mo. — Gerald Mark Bage, son of the late Gerald Barnes Bage and Wathena Malin Bage VanAmburg, was born Dec. 15, 1954, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. He died Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, at his residence in Ballwin, Missouri, at the age of 67 years. Mark was raised in Campbell, Missouri, and was a 1973 graduate of Campbell High School. He attended Southeast Missouri University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and graduated with a B.S. in Industrial Technology in 1977...

Eighth District U.S. Rep. Jason Smith quelled long-standing speculation Wednesday on whether he planned to run for Missouri’s soon-open U.S. Senate seat. ...

CORNING, Ark. — Don Hawkins, 77, of Jonesboro, formerly of Corning, passed away Feb. 8, 2022 at his home. He is survived by his wife, Inge Hawkins, children, and grandchildren. Visitation will be Sunday from 1 to 2 p.m. at Ermert Funeral Home in Corning. Funeral service will follow at 2 p.m. with Rev. Phillip LaRue officiating. Burial will be at Richwoods Cemetery in Corning...

The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce is excited to host the Live2Lead simulcast conference Friday, Feb. 18, at the chamber building. The main speaker is leadership expert and bestselling author John Maxwell, accompanied by Jeff Henderson, Ed Mylett, Don Yaeger and Tim Elmore...

The first We Are One community worship event of the year is set to occur at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18. The free service will be held outdoors on the square in Downtown Poplar Bluff. There will be prayer, words of worship and music by the Palace of Praise band...

BROSELEY — Students at Twin Rivers High School were recognized Thursday for their efforts to combat distracted driving, earning second place in a statewide contest hosted by AAA Missouri and the Missouri Department of Transportation. “I’m very proud of them. They went above and beyond, which is what you expect from Twin Rivers students,” said Superintendent Dr. Ben Johnson...

Is learning to deal with stress and challenges in life on your bucket list? The University of Missouri Butler County Extension is offering the program ‘Taking Care of You,’ which provides practical strategies for dealing with stress and life challenges...

POPLAR BLUFF FIRE DEPARTMENT Firefighters were dispatched at 7:55 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, to a reported unauthorized fire at 821 Cedar St. Upon arrival, they found a trash fire behind the apartments and used 20 gallons of water to put it out. BUTLER COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT...