Stories from Thursday, November 10, 2011

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer Country rock band Confederate Railroad, with two Top 10 albums, will perform at the Rodgers Theatre at 7 p.m. Saturday, with proceeds benefitting restoration efforts at the historic theater. Confederate Railroad was formed in the late 1980s by frontman Danny Shirley, and originally performed as a backup band for David Allan Coe and Johnny Paycheck. ...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer More than $14,000 brought in by 2,300 visitors to the haunted depot will assist three area organizations in their operations. The Poplar Bluff Historic Depot Restoration Corporation, Butler County Search and Rescue and the Southeast Missouri Amateur Radio Association teamed up for the event and will divide the proceeds. All construction costs were supported by sponsors, so the money raised will go directly to the organizations...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Dr. Jarrell "Jerry" Holt, a retired Poplar Bluff, Mo., dentist, was a copilot/navigator on a Lockheed PV-1 bomber, doing anti-submarine patrols in the Atlantic Ocean and South Pacific during World War II. Lt. Holt, who is 90, will be among the few remaining World War II veterans attending the Veterans Day program at 11 a.m. Friday at the Veterans Wall in front of the Black River Coliseum. He is a member of the Veterans Wall Committee...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Several Veterans Day activities have been planned for Friday, including the annual community program at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial in front of the Black River Coliseum. Larry Thompson, commander of American Legion Post 153, said the speakers will be Mayor Ed DeGaris and Paul Schuerenberg, a vocational rehabilitation specialist at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center. The public is invited...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Naylor schools will be closed for two weeks following the discovery of a significant water leak beneath the high school, Superintendent Sherry Burns said today. "We are having to replumb the high school," she said. "We've been looking for and trying to isolate this leak for the better part of two weeks."...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The Douglas C-47's - not built to carry heavy cargo at high altitude - forced pilots in World War II to blaze new trails through rather than over the world's largest and highest system of peaks, the Himalayas. The Curtiss C-46's could fly faster and higher, but had tendency toward engine failure...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer Country rock band Confederate Railroad, with two Top 10 albums, will perform at the Rodgers Theatre at 7 p.m. Saturday, with proceeds benefitting restoration efforts at the historic theater. Confederate Railroad was formed in the late 1980s by frontman Danny Shirley, and originally performed as a backup band for David Allan Coe and Johnny Paycheck. ...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Naylor schools will be closed for two weeks following the discovery of a significant water leak beneath the high school, Superintendent Sherry Burns said today. "We are having to replumb the high school," she said. "We've been looking for and trying to isolate this leak for the better part of two weeks."...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Dr. Jarrell "Jerry" Holt, a retired Poplar Bluff, Mo., dentist, was a copilot/navigator on a Lockheed PV-1 bomber, doing anti-submarine patrols in the Atlantic Ocean and South Pacific during World War II. Lt. Holt, who is 90, will be among the few remaining World War II veterans attending the Veterans Day program at 11 a.m. Friday at the Veterans Wall in front of the Black River Coliseum. He is a member of the Veterans Wall Committee...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer More than $14,000 brought in by 2,300 visitors to the haunted depot will assist three area organizations in their operations. The Poplar Bluff Historic Depot Restoration Corporation, Butler County Search and Rescue and the Southeast Missouri Amateur Radio Association teamed up for the event and will divide the proceeds. All construction costs were supported by sponsors, so the money raised will go directly to the organizations...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Several Veterans Day activities have been planned for Friday, including the annual community program at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial in front of the Black River Coliseum. Larry Thompson, commander of American Legion Post 153, said the speakers will be Mayor Ed DeGaris and Paul Schuerenberg, a vocational rehabilitation specialist at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center. The public is invited...

Finally, I can write about one of my favorite outdoor hunting seasons of the past. Duck hunting, at one time, came up to coon hunting as my favorite outdoor activities. Restrictions such as steel shot and a few years of not many ducks got me out of the duck hunting activity. I would still love to duck hunt, but the interest just isn't there anymore...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor PUXICO, Mo. -- A date change for the annual managed youth deer hunt at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge made all the difference in hunter success compared to a year ago. This year, youngsters killed 38 deer during the Nov. 5-6 special hunt on the refuge's west side. Last year, the hunt was held in mid-December and featured poor weather and a harvest of only five deer...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Missouri's youngest deer hunters shattered a youth season harvest record set just two years ago, killing 16,380 deer during the Nov. 5-6 early segment of the season. The two-day total for this year's early youth season is 1,346 more than the previous full season record of 15,034, which was set during the second year of an extended, four day youth hunt. The previous record for the first two days of the youth season was 13,328, set in 2009...

BLOOMFIELD -- After an extremely successful three years on the Bloomfield varsity volleyball team, senior Lindsay Hutchison recently signed her National Letter of Intent to play at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Hutchison is only the second Lady Wildcat to sign with an NCAA Division I team in the past couple decades after Kris Vandeven signed with Arkansas State in the mid-1990s...

To the Editor Was this nation founded on religious principles? Are we indeed a Christian nation? Do we support freedom of religion? I believe the answer to these questions should be a resounding YES, based on a remarkable presentation to the Daughter's of the American Revolution at a recent meeting here in Poplar Bluff...

By WALTER E. WILLIAMS Ignorance Exploited Many Wall Street occupiers are echoing the Communist Party USA's call to "Save the nation! Tax corporations! Tax the rich!" There are other Americans, on both the left and the right -- for example, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner -- who call for reductions in corporate taxes. ...

American factory needed Here we go again. Today's paper [Oct. 18, 2011] another factory closing in Poplar Bluff. Poplar Bluff, wake up and smell the coffee! And, they supply Briggs & Stratton. Yo-hoo! Let's have a factory that's American, not a foreign country. Thank you...

Phillip Johnson Phillip Johnson, 63, of Lake of the Ozarks, Mo., died Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011, at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis. Mr. Johnson was born Oct. 27, 1948, in Blytheville, Ark. He was a carpenter. Survivors include three daughters, Deanna Farel, Brenda Bradshaw and Christa Callaway; his sisters, Deloris Roach, Mary Olcott and Sheila Hartenstein; two brothers, Jerry Johnson and Larry Johnson; and 11 grandchildren...

Alvin Wilson PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Alvin Wayne Wilson, Sr., 72, of Piedmont, Mo., died Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, at his residence. He was born May 23, 1939 in Holcomb, Mo., son of the late Robert Grant Wilson, Sr. and the late Velma Puckett Ryon Wilson. Mr. Wilson attended school and spent most of his childhood in Rector and Marmaduke, Ark. He later moved to St. Louis, Mo., and then to the Patterson, Mo., area after retirement...

Local blood drives set There will be a Veterans Day blood drive Thursday at Three Rivers College and three other opportunities to give blood at local schools between now and next Friday. They are: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday -- Three Rivers Community College, 2080 Three Rivers Blvd., Poplar Bluff, Mo...

Dr. William Jackson Dr. William Claude Jackson, Jr., 87, of Poplar Bluff, passed away peacefully Tuesday, November 8, 2011, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Dr. Jackson was born March 12, 1924, in De Soto, Mo., to William Claude Jackson, Sr. and Lillian Swift Jackson. At the age of two, he moved with his parents to Poplar Bluff where he remained a longtime resident...

Glen Williams Glenon R. "Glen" Williams, 83, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, at Westwood Hills Healthcare Center in Poplar Bluff. Mr. Williams was born July 24, 1928 in St. Louis, Mo. He was of the Protestant faith and had retired as an electrician for the McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Co., in St. ...

Myrtle Smith MALDEN, Mo. -- Myrtle Smith, 95, of Gideon, Mo., died Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, at her residence. Funeral arrangements are pending with Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden.

Myrl Hastings Mrs. Myrl Hastings, 81, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, at her daughter's residence in Ballwin, Mo. Mrs. Hastings was born Aug. 24, 1930, near Poplar Bluff, and was a member of the First General Baptist Church. Surviving are one daughter, Tracey Graves and husband, Todd, of Ballwin; two brothers, James W. (Bill) Hendrickson and wife, Maxine, and Donald G. Hendrickson and wife, Sue, all of Poplar Bluff; and one sister, Melba Jean McCoy of Poplar Bluff...

Michael Conley NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Michael A. Conley, 44, of Columbia, Mo., died Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011, at Allen Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa. He was born Feb. 27, 2011, at Detroit, Mich. Mr. Conley formerly lived in the Neelyville, Mo., area and was a member of Agape House of Worship at Neelyville...

As Thanksgiving approaches, now is the time to decide if you are making the traditional turkey dinner. What kind of turkey will you buy? What size will it be? Do you want the kind with the pop up timer? Where can you store a frozen turkey? Plan your menu several weeks before the holiday. ...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Missouri's youngest deer hunters shattered a youth season harvest record set just two years ago, killing 16,380 deer during the Nov. 5-6 early segment of the season. The two-day total for this year's early youth season is 1,346 more than the previous full season record of 15,034, which was set during the second year of an extended, four day youth hunt. The previous record for the first two days of the youth season was 13,328, set in 2009...

To the Editor Was this nation founded on religious principles? Are we indeed a Christian nation? Do we support freedom of religion? I believe the answer to these questions should be a resounding YES, based on a remarkable presentation to the Daughter's of the American Revolution at a recent meeting here in Poplar Bluff...

Ethelyn Underwood PUXICO, Mo. -- Ethelyn Burge Underwood, 96, of Corona, Calif., died Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011. She was born on July 31, 1915 in Puxico, Mo. In the early 1920s the Burge family moved to Pueblo, Colo., where she lived for the next 25 years. ...

Myrl Hastings Mrs. Myrl Hastings, 81, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, at her daughter's residence in Ballwin, Mo. Mrs. Hastings was born Aug. 24, 1930, near Poplar Bluff, and was a member of the First General Baptist Church. Surviving are one daughter, Tracey Graves and husband, Todd, of Ballwin; two brothers, James W. (Bill) Hendrickson and wife, Maxine, and Donald G. Hendrickson and wife, Sue, all of Poplar Bluff; and one sister, Melba Jean McCoy of Poplar Bluff...

Glen Williams Glenon R. "Glen" Williams, 83, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, at Westwood Hills Healthcare Center in Poplar Bluff. Mr. Williams was born July 24, 1928 in St. Louis, Mo. He was of the Protestant faith and had retired as an electrician for the McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Co., in St. ...

Alvin Wilson PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Alvin Wayne Wilson, Sr., 72, of Piedmont, Mo., died Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, at his residence. He was born May 23, 1939 in Holcomb, Mo., son of the late Robert Grant Wilson, Sr. and the late Velma Puckett Ryon Wilson. Mr. Wilson attended school and spent most of his childhood in Rector and Marmaduke, Ark. He later moved to St. Louis, Mo., and then to the Patterson, Mo., area after retirement...

Dr. William Jackson Dr. William Claude Jackson, Jr., 87, of Poplar Bluff, passed away peacefully Tuesday, November 8, 2011, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Dr. Jackson was born March 12, 1924, in De Soto, Mo., to William Claude Jackson, Sr. and Lillian Swift Jackson. At the age of two, he moved with his parents to Poplar Bluff where he remained a longtime resident...

American factory needed Here we go again. Today's paper [Oct. 18, 2011] another factory closing in Poplar Bluff. Poplar Bluff, wake up and smell the coffee! And, they supply Briggs & Stratton. Yo-hoo! Let's have a factory that's American, not a foreign country. Thank you...

As Thanksgiving approaches, now is the time to decide if you are making the traditional turkey dinner. What kind of turkey will you buy? What size will it be? Do you want the kind with the pop up timer? Where can you store a frozen turkey? Plan your menu several weeks before the holiday. ...