Stories from Thursday, September 5, 2024

Meet a Missourian virtuoso: Blind Boone, a Black pianist who wowed Poplar Bluff in 1924. Boone was also a musical prodigy who began touring at age 15 and is now recognized as a profound force in America’s music history.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, the Kennett High School Auditorium will host “Stars in the Sky: A Musical Remembrance,” a special tribute concert in honor of the late Kelendria Johnson, a local singer who passed away in October 2023. This event, part of the KAFTA Fall into Arts program, is free to the public, with donations accepted for the Kelendria Johnson Scholarship Fund...

KENNETT — Mark your calendar for a day of family-friendly excitement at the annual Fall into Arts Festival on Saturday, Sept. 7. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Courthouse Square and surrounding streets will buzz with art, music, and mouth-watering food...

The John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff invites all veterans, their families and caregivers, along with members of the community to attend a special ceremony Sept. 16 to unveil a new, permanent POW/MIA honor chair and plaque display. The ceremony will take place starting at 11 a.m. in the main lobby at 1500 N. Westwood Blvd., and because the main entrance doors will be closed for the event, visitors can enter through the north and south doors...

The John J. Pershing VA Medical Center will offer several opportunities for veterans to obtain no-cost influenza vaccinations at its seven facilities in September and October. A walk-in vaccination clinic in the Poplar Bluff campus lobby, located at 1500 N. Westwood Blvd., is open 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, now through Nov. 15. Additionally, a drive-thru clinic will be held at the facility’s north entrance from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. weekdays between Sept. 23 through Oct. 4...

“Let’s get people trained,” Poplar Bluff English teacher Ashley Robertson implored. Last Sunday at Oakhill General Baptist Church, she used cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training when she least expected it. “During the service, a long-time member and guitar player fell over. Everyone was in a panic. He was turning blue and not breathing. My instinct came alive,” Robertson recalled...

This date’s headlines are all about law enforcement. In 1924, controversial detective G.H. Foree was arrested on liquor charges after testifying against a man arrested in the raids he led. An Alcatraz parolee (briefly) visited Poplar Bluff in 1949, and an Arkansas publisher was convicted of libel in 1974...

Children were invited Thursday to rev up their creativity in an effort to promote reading. A Roll & Read event was hosted at Hendrickson Park by Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation and the Butler County Community Resource Council. Families decorated bikes, wagons and strollers before setting out on a story trail. The event also offered a book distribution and an opportunity to make bookmarks, as well as other crafts...

Officers responded Thursday, Sept. 5, to the 1200 block of North 5th Street about a domestic dispute. Contact was made with both parties and it was determined one of the subjects needed to go to the hospital for a mental evaluation. _ Officers responded Thursday, Sept. 5, to 405 Karen Drive about property damage to a vehicle. The victim stated she discovered what appeared to be a bullet hole in her 2024 Buick Enclave. It is unknown what or where this occurred...

The Missouri Fraternal Order of Police-Lodge 51, an organization including members of Cape Girardeau Police Department, posted to its Facebook account a response critical of a recent Southeast Missourian article. ...