Stories from Friday, October 18, 2024

Crime, carelessness and bad luck topped the front pages today. A Piedmont lawyer was convicted of forgery in 1924, a Bootheel ax murder was solved in 1949, and three harrowing accidents occurred within hours of each other.

Just a century ago, the turbulent resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in America impacted Poplar Bluff and Butler County in ways few people know about today. Former Daily American Republic editor John Stanard will share details of a tipping point in local history involving the Klan at a talk titled “The Pen Was Mightier Than the Klan” when the Butler County Genealogical Society meets at 1 p.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church. The public is invited...

Jackie Ray Wrinkle of Bartlett, Tennessee was born March 19, 1942, to Joe Bryant and Dorothy Marie Wrinkle of Gideon, Missouri. He was the eldest of 13 children. He died Oct. 4, 2024, in Bartlett. He was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses Nov. 14, 1969, in Jefferson City, Missouri. ...

Dorothy Marie Whitener, 85, passed away with her family by her side Oct. 17, 2024, at her home in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Dorothy was born March 21, 1939, to Everett and Floye Willard in Taskee, Missouri. She married Ray Whitener Aug. 4, 1962. Dorothy was loved by many and made lifelong friends with her quilting family. She enjoyed listening to gospel music, reading her Bible every day, and loved taking care of her husband, Ray...

Charles Davis, 84, of Jackson, formerly of Wayne County, died Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Visitation is at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 22, at Ruegg Funeral Home, Greenville Chapel. Funeral following at 1 p.m. also in Greenville Chapel. Burial is in Greenville Cemetery...

Wilbert “Eugene” Croney, 64, of Clubb, Missouri, died Wednesday, Oct. 16, in St. Louis, Missouri. Visitation is at 5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 20, at Ruegg Funeral Home, Piedmont Chapel. Funeral is at noon, Monday, Oct. 21, also in the Piedmont Chapel. Burial following in White Hollow Cemetery, Clubb...

Sandra Kay Baugh, 81, died Oct.16, 2024, at her home in Villa Ridge, Missouri, following a short illness. Sandy, daughter of Darrel D. and Lillian M. Owens, was born June 18, 1943, in Rombauer, Missouri. On March 27, 1965, she married Noel Baugh in Rombauer. ...

Officers located a stolen A/C unit Friday, Oct. 18, and located where it was stolen from. _ Officers responded Friday, Oct. 18, to Save A Lot for two separate shoplifting incidents. Photos were captured of the suspects. _ Officers responded Friday, Oct. 18, to the 800 Block of 9th Street for a report of a missing person. Kay Drane, was reported missing. Drane has a history of memory loss. Drane was listed as missing, and a silver advisory request was sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — A Poplar Bluff man facing sex crime charges in Butler County pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor in federal court on Friday.

The Historic Rodgers Theatre board, friends and sponsors gathered Thursday night to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the theater during the Eighth Annual Restore the Rodgers Banquet. “I feel like we have made great strides in the restoration of the historic building,” Wally Duncan told the group at the Black River Coliseum...