Stories from Friday, August 10, 2012

East Carter R-II's new superintendent Richard Sullivan has been named the Southeast Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals' Middle School Principal of the Year for his service last year as junior high principal in the district. A 1987 Naylor High School graduate, Sullivan earned bachelors' degrees in geoscience and secondary education from Southeast Missouri State University in 1995. ...

Editor's Note: An additional story and photo about TRC's nursing program appears on page 8A. By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A new grant-funded effort from Three Rivers College will offer support to nursing students and first year graduates as communities look for creative new ways to add and keep people in the health care field...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson participated in a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the $1.2 million Southeast Missouri Transportation Service, Inc. regional office and bus garage on Highway PP in Poplar Bluff, Mo. "SMTS has made a difference in the lives of the elderly and the disabled," Emerson said...

South Central Community Action Agency annual School Readiness Event, formally known as the back-to-school fair, is where various vendors and volunteers from the community set up booths and participate in helping youngsters prepare for going back to fall classes. They served more than 800 children at the Black River Coliseum...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associated Editor While there is talk of challenging the outcome of the Republican race for state representative in District 151, Scott County Clerk Rita Milam does not think the results will change. District 151 includes all of Stoddard County and eight precincts in Scott County...

Eva Johnson MALDEN, Mo. - Eva Johnson, 82, of Malden, Mo., died Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, at Gideon Care Center in Gideon, Mo. Funeral arrangements are pending with Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden.

By JIM ABRAMS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Agriculture Department says it is going to impose tougher penalties on stores that violate food stamp rules and give states new tools to root out applicants who are ineligible for the benefit program that now covers about 1 out of every 7 Americans...

By JASON DEAREN Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Analysts expect West Coast gas prices to rise beyond $4 a gallon after a fire knocked out a key section of one of the nation's largest oil refineries. Meanwhile, the same U.S. Chemical Safety Board team that investigated the oil spill in the Gulf Of Mexico was standing by with state and company inspectors waiting for structural and environmental tests to see if it was safe to enter the unit...

By SHARON RANDALL Scripps Howard News Service I'm a fisherman's daughter and proud of it, but I will tell you this: I flat-out hate to fish. I hate the hooks, the bait, the sitting and waiting and, most of all, the not talking. The only parts of fishing I don't hate are the fish I never catch...

By MONA CHAREN We have reached a point in the 2012 campaign when you long for a referee -- someone with a whistle to call foul and declare that one side has so discredited itself that it must forfeit points or be otherwise disqualified. Nancy Pelosi, the leader who warned that we were losing "500 million jobs a month" without the stimulus bill and who said "God bless them" regarding Occupy Wall Street but condemned the tea party as "AstroTurf," has declared that the Republican Party supports E. ...

The vehicle that is generating the kind of buzz that the big automakers would kill for is Curiosity, the Martian rover that showed off its braking power by going from 13,000 mph to two mph to park safely and, we're sure legally, on the surface of another world...

Herman Skaggs ELLINGTON, MO. -- Herman L. Skaggs, 71, of St. Charles, Mo., died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. Mr. Skaggs was born Nov. 20, 1940, in Ruble Mo. He had retired as a process inspector for McDonnell-Douglas...

Claude Damewood Claude Damewood, 80, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Funeral arrangements are pending with Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff.

Velta Gibbs Velta Viola Gibbs, 90, of Ocala, Fla., died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, at Ocala Oaks Rehab Center in Ocala. Mrs. Gibbs was born July 14, 1922 in Broseley, Mo. She was a member of Grace Brethren Church in Ocala, and was a homemaker. During World War II, Mrs. ...

Ali Blakeney-Crouch and Keith Crouch of Walnut Ridge, Ark., have chosen the name Robyn Aryana "Ary" Crouch for their 8-pound, 5-ounce daughter who was born Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at St. Bernard's Hospital Birthcare Center in Jonesboro, Ark. She was 22 and one-quarter inches long...

Ronald Toppins PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Ronald G. Toppins, 56, of Annapolis, Mo., died Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, at his residence. Funeral arrangements pending with Ruegg Funeral Homes of Piedmont, Mo. Condolences: www.rueggfuneralhomes.com

Velta Gibbs -- Ocala, Fla. Herman Skaggs -- St. Charles, Mo. Eva Johnson -- Malden, Mo. Claude Damewood -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. David Tyler -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Ronald Toppins -- Annapolis, Mo. Sandra Sparkman -- Poplar Bluff, Mo.

By CAROLYN SMITH Staff Writer The Poplar Bluff Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution sponsored four local veterans: Marion W. West, Leonard Taylor, Sr., and his wife, Nancy, and Nicholas Reeve Haskins, in the Missouri State Society's Patriot of the Month program which honors veterans for their service to the country...

David Tyler David E. Tyler, 51, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. Mr. Tyler was born March 5, 1961, in St. Louis, Mo. He was of the Pentecost faith, and had retired as a glazer for a glass company. Mr. Tyler was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He enjoyed spending time with his family, hunting for arrowheads, hunting and fishing...

Three Rivers College began in July to oversee the practical nurse programs located in Kennett and Hayti, Mo., according to a press release. The practical nursing programs are one-year licensed practical nurse certificate programs offered at the career technical centers in both towns...

Michael and Jillian Roach of Poplar Bluff, Mo., have chosen the names Preston Michael and Aubrey Lee for their twins born at 9:45 a.m. and 9:44 a.m. Tuesday, July 17, 2012, respectively, in Medical Center of Southeast Oklahoma in Durant, Okla. Preston was 5 pounds, 13 ounces and 18.5 inches in length. Aubrey was 5 pounds, 12 ounces and 19 inches long...

Sandra Sparkman Sandra K. Sparkman, 59, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday Aug. 9, 2012, at her residence. Arrangements are pending with Fitch-Hillis Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Butler County Fair 2012 Horse Judging Results are: GAITED STALLIONS; 1st place: Jim Wilkerson--Wrangler GAITED GELDINGS; 1st place: Jim Wilkerson -- Mustangs Rebel 2nd place; Zachary Yarbro--Dans River Alpha 3rd place; Dennis Hall-Diamond 4th place; Cooper Yarbro-Angels Omega...

By MONA CHAREN We have reached a point in the 2012 campaign when you long for a referee -- someone with a whistle to call foul and declare that one side has so discredited itself that it must forfeit points or be otherwise disqualified. Nancy Pelosi, the leader who warned that we were losing "500 million jobs a month" without the stimulus bill and who said "God bless them" regarding Occupy Wall Street but condemned the tea party as "AstroTurf," has declared that the Republican Party supports E. ...

By JIM ABRAMS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Agriculture Department says it is going to impose tougher penalties on stores that violate food stamp rules and give states new tools to root out applicants who are ineligible for the benefit program that now covers about 1 out of every 7 Americans...

By JASON DEAREN Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Analysts expect West Coast gas prices to rise beyond $4 a gallon after a fire knocked out a key section of one of the nation's largest oil refineries. Meanwhile, the same U.S. Chemical Safety Board team that investigated the oil spill in the Gulf Of Mexico was standing by with state and company inspectors waiting for structural and environmental tests to see if it was safe to enter the unit...

Claude Damewood Claude Damewood, 80, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Funeral arrangements are pending with Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff.

The vehicle that is generating the kind of buzz that the big automakers would kill for is Curiosity, the Martian rover that showed off its braking power by going from 13,000 mph to two mph to park safely and, we're sure legally, on the surface of another world...

Herman Skaggs ELLINGTON, MO. -- Herman L. Skaggs, 71, of St. Charles, Mo., died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. Mr. Skaggs was born Nov. 20, 1940, in Ruble Mo. He had retired as a process inspector for McDonnell-Douglas...

Velta Gibbs Velta Viola Gibbs, 90, of Ocala, Fla., died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, at Ocala Oaks Rehab Center in Ocala. Mrs. Gibbs was born July 14, 1922 in Broseley, Mo. She was a member of Grace Brethren Church in Ocala, and was a homemaker. During World War II, Mrs. ...

David Tyler David E. Tyler, 51, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. Mr. Tyler was born March 5, 1961, in St. Louis, Mo. He was of the Pentecost faith, and had retired as a glazer for a glass company. Mr. Tyler was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He enjoyed spending time with his family, hunting for arrowheads, hunting and fishing...

Three Rivers College began in July to oversee the practical nurse programs located in Kennett and Hayti, Mo., according to a press release. The practical nursing programs are one-year licensed practical nurse certificate programs offered at the career technical centers in both towns...