Stories from Monday, June 25, 2012

By MELISSA MILLER SEMO News Service The area could now be in violation of the Environmental Protection Agency's eight-hour ozone standard after two high readings this month. The ozone monitor in Farrar, Mo., exceeded the standard of 75 parts per billion two times during June, according to data collected by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Poplar Bluff authorities are investigating two robberies believed to have been committed early Saturday morning by the same trio of armed suspects. The first robbery occurred at about 1:15 a.m. in the 1200 block of West Harper...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor A Poplar Bluff, Mo., man remains in a intensive care today after he was allegedly cut late Friday night with a box cutter by a downstairs neighbor following reports of loud music and noise coming from his apartment...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Accused of firing multiple rounds into a parked car and a home early Saturday morning has resulted in a Poplar Bluff, Mo., man facing a weapons-related charge. Jerry Demond Crouch, 28, of the 2100 block of North Westwood was charged Sunday with the Class D felony of unlawful use of a weapon by Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Barbour. He is being held in the Butler County jail on a $50,000 bond...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Butler County authorities are following several leads after a man allegedly robbed a convenience store at gunpoint Sunday morning, making off with an unknown amount of money. At about 11:44 a.m., a white male with a bandana over his face and armed with a handgun entered the Lake Road Grocery Store at the intersection of Highway T and U.S. 60, according to Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Butler County authorities are following several leads after a man allegedly robbed a convenience store at gunpoint Sunday morning, making off with an unknown amount of money. At about 11:44 a.m., a white male with a bandana over his face and armed with a handgun entered the Lake Road Grocery Store at the intersection of Highway T and U.S. 60, according to Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs...

By MELISSA MILLER SEMO News Service The area could now be in violation of the Environmental Protection Agency's eight-hour ozone standard after two high readings this month. The ozone monitor in Farrar, Mo., exceeded the standard of 75 parts per billion two times during June, according to data collected by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Poplar Bluff authorities are investigating two robberies believed to have been committed early Saturday morning by the same trio of armed suspects. The first robbery occurred at about 1:15 a.m. in the 1200 block of West Harper...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER "With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations [of immigrants brought here illegally as children] through executive order, that's just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed."...

By ANN McFEATTERS Scripps Howard News Service WASHINGTON A recent study concluded Americans have not been taking their vacation time. If that is true, they are making a big mistake. I recently logged in a few hours of beach time and found that not once did I ponder whom Mitt Romney would choose as his running mate. I gave only cursory thought to Greece's economic meltdown. And I didn't even care (much) how obvious it is that Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama can't stand each other...

By DAN K. THOMASSON Scripps Howard News Service It must be difficult being a Catholic these days, buffeted by the demands of Rome and the realities of modern life. The road from the Vatican to the rest of the world gets almost impassable at times, I would think...

SMTS bus rules unfair Yes, I'm calling from Carter County. The SMTS buses that take you to shop says it's equal but its unfair because even if you have an income and are 60 you're not required to pay, but there are a few who do ride for free. But, I'm declared disabled and under 60 and I'm getting kicked off because I can't pay and I've got no other way to shop or anything like that. ...

The 20th Annual Children's Theatre Drama Camp will be offered Aug. 6-10. It will be open from 9 a.m.-noon. Curriculum includes readers theatre, creative dramatics, acting, musical theatre, storytelling, directing, improvisation and stage combat. There will be a final presentation at 11 a.m. Aug. 10 at Kay M. Porter Theatre. Students entering grades first through seventh are eligible to enroll. Scripts, T-shirts, refreshments and a notebook will be supplied...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Nick Wilson never led during the first 24 holes of Sunday's championship match in the 105th Missouri Amateur at Dalhousie Golf Club. That didn't prevent Wilson from winning his first Missouri Amateur title. He slipped past defending champion Skip Berkmeyer 2 and 1 in a thrilling final...

The John J. Pershing VA Medical Center announced a mechanical failure in its drinking fountain system occurred Tuesday, June 12. A malfunctioning "chiller" caused a brief release of trichloroethylene (TCE) into the drinking fountains of the main building. Because the drinking fountains are isolated from all other water sources at the facility, no other sources were impacted. Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials confirmed public health was not affected...

By ANN McFEATTERS Scripps Howard News Service WASHINGTON A recent study concluded Americans have not been taking their vacation time. If that is true, they are making a big mistake. I recently logged in a few hours of beach time and found that not once did I ponder whom Mitt Romney would choose as his running mate. I gave only cursory thought to Greece's economic meltdown. And I didn't even care (much) how obvious it is that Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama can't stand each other...