Stories from Tuesday, June 5, 2012

DIEHLSTADT, Mo. (SMNS) -- Three people are dead after a mobile home on Highway 77 in Diehlstadt was damaged in Monday night's storm. Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter said late Monday night that emergency crews were assessing damage in town and that no other fatalities or injuries had yet been reported. He said he knew of several residents who were checking on their neighbors. The names of those killed were not released pending notification of family members...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor A decision by Health Management Associates of Naples, Fla. to consolidate billing operations has resulted in 17 job losses in the business office at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. The employees, who cannot be identified, were notified Friday afternoon...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor DONIPHAN, Mo. -- A Doniphan teenager waived arraignment Monday afternoon on charges related to his alleged role in the 2010 deaths of two elderly couples whose bodies were found in their burned homes. Accompanied by his attorneys, Thomas Marshall and Janice Zembles with the Capital Public Defender's Office in Columbia, Mo., Keith A. ...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor A low bid of $201,000 from Pace Construction Company of Poplar Bluff for the airport overlay project was accepted by the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday night. "This project has been in the works for three years. It started out with a 6-inch overlay, but MoDOT approved a 3-inch overlay due to the recent funding crisis," City Manager Doug Bagby said...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor The Poplar Bluff City Council approved 42 appointments to 18 city advisory boards Monday night. "Our boards are all filled again," said Mayor Ed DeGaris after he expressed appreciation for the 60 applications. Council members named the appointees to the following boards:...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Bids for three Phase II water improvement projects were discussed by the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday night and moved to the June 18 voting session. KAJACS Contractors, Inc. of Poplar Bluff is the low bidder at $683,680 for water distribution improvements...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor DONIPHAN, Mo. -- A Doniphan man will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty Monday to murdering two elderly couples whose bodies were found in their burned homes in 2010. Flanked by his attorneys, Robert Wolfrum and Cynthia Dryden with the Capital Public Defender's Office in St. Louis, Mo., David Youngblood waived formal arraignment on four Class A felonies of first-degree murder and four unclassified felonies of armed criminal action...

DIEHLSTADT, Mo. (SMNS) -- Three people are dead after a mobile home on Highway 77 in Diehlstadt was damaged in Monday night's storm. Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter said late Monday night that emergency crews were assessing damage in town and that no other fatalities or injuries had yet been reported. He said he knew of several residents who were checking on their neighbors. The names of those killed were not released pending notification of family members...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Bids for three Phase II water improvement projects were discussed by the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday night and moved to the June 18 voting session. KAJACS Contractors, Inc. of Poplar Bluff is the low bidder at $683,680 for water distribution improvements...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN When Hillary Rosen said that Ann Romney had "never worked a day in her life," it was among the better days of the Romney campaign. For Rosen -- present whereabouts unknown -- both revealed the feminist mindset about women who choose to become wives and mothers and brought Ann Romney center stage...

By CAROLYN SMITH Staff Writer Seven East Carter County R-2 Elementary students have placed in the Missouri State Fish Art Contest. Two of Mary Jo Bell's art students were awarded first place: Landon Hendrix (K-2 grade category) and Austin Tucker (4th-6th grade). Trace Parish, Eli Maltos and Sophia Simmons won second place and Morgan Bales and Rylee Odell took third...

"When sorrows come, they come not in single spies but in battalions." William Shakespeare The Obama campaign may not be in panic mode yet -- there's still plenty of time for that -- but they must be stooping a bit under the weight of bad news that has come their way in the past several weeks...

Inman Acres going to dogs I'm here reading Speak Out about Inman Acres. First of all they got a junkyard out there and now I see where they got two horses out there and according to today's paper which is Sunday they've started shootin' out there. Shootin' shotguns out there now. ...

To the Editor: The people of Poplar Bluff and environs never cease to amaze me with their generosity and involvement. The recent 2nd Annual Art For Animals event at Artfully Framed drew almost twice as many people and twice as many artists as last year and netted the Animal Welfare Alliance (AWA) about $3,700...

James Wixom James Arthur Wixon, 51, of Houston, Texas, died Tuesday, May 29, 2012, at his residence. Funeral arrangements are pending with Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff.

Two days off only made the Poplar Bluff Thunder Senior Babe Ruth team that much stronger. After a perfect start to the season record-wise last week, the Thunder continued mashing the baseball Monday evening at Strenfel Memorial Field. The Thunder scored 33 total runs against Kennett Senior Babe Ruth for wins of 14-4 and 19-0. Both games ended on the 10 run-rule in the fifth inning...

Jimmy Rainbolt DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Jimmy Dale "Cub" Rainbolt, 52, of Doniphan, Mo., died Saturday, June 2, 2012, at Ripley County Memorial Hospital in Doniphan. Mr. Rainbolt was born Feb. 17, 1960, in Rockford, Ill. He had been an over-the-road truck driver. ...

Poplar Bluff area students named to the Spring 2012 Dean's List at Three Rivers College are listed below. (The full list can be viewed at trcc.edu/news.) To be named to the Dean's List, students must have been enrolled for 12 or more semester hours and earned an average GPA of 3.5 or better...

Kenneth Murray Kenneth Dale Murray, 72, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Sunday, June 3, 2012, at Delmar Gardens in O'Fallon, Mo. Mr. Murray was born May 18, 1940, in Van Buren, Mo. He was a member of First General Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff, and had retired as a millwright for the Millwright Union. Mr. Murray was also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He enjoyed spending time with his family, hunting, fishing and fixing things...

Rick Inman POCOHONTAS, Ark. -- Richard "Rick" Snider Inman, 59, of Pocahontas, Ark., died Friday, June 1, 2012, at his residence. He was born July 15, 1952, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Surviving are his financée, Karen Holloway; daughters, Leslie Savage of Phoenix, Ariz., Adraine Cross of Doniphan, Mo., and Ericka Inman of Austin, Texas; and three grandchildren...

Alwena Hovis PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Alwena "Bunchie" Hovis, 90, of Hiram, Mo., died Sunday, June 3, 2012, at Southeast Health Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Mrs. Hovis was born on Dec. 5, 1921, in Clubb, Mo. She spent her childhood on Upper Turkey Creek, where she attended school until she graduated from the 8th grade...

Terry Allen FLINT, Mich. -- Terry F. Allen, 86, of Swartz Creek, Mich., died Saturday, June 2, 2012, at his residence. Mr. Allen was born Jan. 11, 1926, in Oxly, Mo. He moved to Flint, Mich., from Kennett, Mo., in 1954 to work on the rebuilding of Beecher High School following the tornado of 1953. ...

Wanda Rackley MALDEN, Mo. -- Wanda Lee Simpson Rackley, 78, of Clarkton, Mo., died Sunday, June 3, 2012, at Gideon Care Center. She was a member of Stanfield Baptist Church in Clarkton. On Jan. 11, 1984, she was married to Earnest Rackley in Kentucky. He preceded her in death on Feb. 26, 1998. She previously was married to Leonis "Bo" L. Simpson on Sept. 17, 1949, in Piggott, Ark. He preceded her in death on June 19, 1975...

Mike Nelson PUXICO, Mo. -- Erskin G. W. "Mike" Nelson, 74, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Sunday, June 3, 2012, at The Cedergate nursing home in Poplar Bluff. Mr. Nelson was born July 7, 1937, in Randolph County, Ark. On Dec. 3, 1955, he was married to his wife of 57 years, Mary Ann Nelson...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN When Hillary Rosen said that Ann Romney had "never worked a day in her life," it was among the better days of the Romney campaign. For Rosen -- present whereabouts unknown -- both revealed the feminist mindset about women who choose to become wives and mothers and brought Ann Romney center stage...

To the Editor: The people of Poplar Bluff and environs never cease to amaze me with their generosity and involvement. The recent 2nd Annual Art For Animals event at Artfully Framed drew almost twice as many people and twice as many artists as last year and netted the Animal Welfare Alliance (AWA) about $3,700...

Inman Acres going to dogs I'm here reading Speak Out about Inman Acres. First of all they got a junkyard out there and now I see where they got two horses out there and according to today's paper which is Sunday they've started shootin' out there. Shootin' shotguns out there now. ...