Stories from Tuesday, September 3, 2013

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer Nearly 200 years after their great-grandfather settled in the Cane Creek area, Barbi Johnson and Patti Leamon of Poplar Bluff, Mo., still hold onto 80 acres of the land he was deeded by President Franklin Pierce. Johnson keeps the family farm tradition alive, raising horses and growing hay, while Leamon has allowed her property to return to the forest-like setting Solomon Kittrell would have encountered when he first set foot in the area in 1819...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer A Poplar Bluff, Mo., native is making her mark on the big screen, currently filming an action horror film in Dallas, Texas. Chelsea Edmundson plays heroine Sam Sheridan in the "Daylight's End", written by Chad Law. The film also stars Lance Henriksen ("Alien" and "Terminator"), Johnny Strong ("Black Hawk Down" and "The Fast and Furious"), Louis Mandylor ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding") and Heather Kafka ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre")...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor A young woman from Neelyville, Mo., was extricated by a passing motorist after her car overturned in Pike Creek along Highway 142 on the south side of Poplar Bluff, Mo., at 9:29 a.m. Saturday. Taylor P. Steele, 22, was transported by ambulance to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, according to Patrolman Bob Larkins of the Poplar Bluff Police Department...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The dedication of Wappapello Dam in July 1941 drew a large crowd, at least to 9-year-old Ira Tucker. His family drove over from Puxico, Mo., on the hot day, cutting across gravel roads and a few fields, the way locals did then, when roads to the dam were rough and few...

By CAROLYN SMITH Staff Writer Dean Clark, son of Jack and Laura Clark of Poplar Bluff, Mo., recently returned to his parents' home after spending 11 months teaching in Moscow, Russia. It would have been more convenient for him to continue working in Moscow until the next term began at his new school in Damman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but his Russian visa and apartment lease both expired in June, so he took this opportunity to visit with his parents...

More HIV victims surface By COREY NOLES SEMO News Service BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Additional individuals have reached out to police after learning of the arrest of David Mangum. Mangum, 36, was arrested Aug. 26 after his former partner went to the police after a positive HIV test. Mangum is charged with felony recklessly infecting another with HIV...

By AMITY DOWNING SEMO News Service CAPE GIRARDEU, Mo. -- The U.S. Postal Service's earlier first-class mail pickup time went unnoticed for some, but those who say they were charged late fees on bill payments and had utilities shut off because of a late notice may have a different opinion...

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- From a taxpayers' viewpoint, it's a boon. From the governor's, a boondoggle. As Gov. Jay Nixon tells it, a clause in the income tax cut bill that he vetoed could trigger a $1.2 billion run on the state treasury. The attorney general has seconded the possibility. But for the hypothetical to occur, it would require a chain reaction of events that may not be likely...

City street paving update By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Portions of 12 streets are included in the 2013 Poplar Bluff Street Department asphalt overlay program. "We have completed 75 percent of the work," said Jeremy Grable, street department superintendent...

Fisk Fall Festival is on Saturday, Sept. 28. Booths will be open by 9 a.m. Parade participants should line up at the school parking lot before 10 a.m. There is no charge to participate in the parade, but participants must bring handouts for the youngsters. Parade participants will compete for cash for first, second and third people's choice awards that will be announced at noon...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake in partnership with the Wayne County Historical Society, 10th Missouri Light Artillery, Crowley's Ridge Black Powder Club and Mingo Job Corps announces the following schedule of activities for the 22nd Annual Old Greenville Days event on Sept. 21-22 at the Greenville Recreation Area located 2 miles south of Greenville, Mo., on Business U.S. Highway 67...

Kearbey Chapel Cemetery annual meeting is Saturday, Sept. 7. Lunch on the grounds at noon with meeting to follow. If case of inclement weather, the lunch and meeting will be held at Bethel Chapel Church on County Road 415. For more information, call 573-998-2744 after 6 p.m...

The Julian and Jeannette Potter family reunion will be held from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, at the Piedmont park by the river in Piedmont, Mo.

On Monday, Sept. 2, the Housing Authority Office, Senior Citizen Office and the Library will all be closed for Labor day. On Tuesday Sept. 3, Carolyn Pentecost will sing and play the piano and organ for all enjoying lunch in the dining room. At 2 p.m. the Self-help chronic disease class will meet in the Snyder room...

By SHARON RANDALL Scripps Howard News Service She was the last survivor of my grandparents' children, the next-to-youngest of 12. Two of the three boys died in early childhood. The oldest boy and his nine sisters lived fairly long and rather colorful lives, remaining close, more or less, for as long as they could...

By DALE McFEATTERS As in other moments of national stupidity, we've pretty much erased it from our memories, but back in the '70s, during the Arab oil embargo, there was an idea going around that gained considerable popular support: We present Saudi Arabia and other Mideast oil producers with this proposition: A bushel of wheat for a barrel of oil. The implication being that they take the deal or starve...

By GEORGE F. WILL "The saviors come not home tonight: Themselves they could not save." -- Lines from A.E. Housman, scribbled in a soldier's diary. WASHINGTON -- On Oct. 27, 1947, thousands of caskets were unloaded from a ship in New York. The bodies of soldiers from the European theater, writes Rick Atkinson, "then traveled by rail in a great diaspora across the republic for burial in their hometowns." Three young men, killed between the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and April 1945 in Germany two weeks before the war in Europe ended, were destined for Henry Wright's Missouri farm:. ...

The Butler County Retired Teachers and School Personnel Association met on Aug. 21 at Twin Towers. The local association is inviting all retired teachers to come out to the annual "We're Not Going Back to School" party at the First Christian Church, (1601 N. ...

Thelma Lape DEXTER, M0. -- Thelma Harlan Lape, 89, of Dexter, Mo., died Friday, Aug. 30, 2013, at her residence. Funeral arrangements will be announced by the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

By BARBARA ANN HORTON News Editor Married for seven decades, Bob and Margery Alsup of Greenville, Mo., formerly of Kennett, Mo., may not know how to make everyone's union work, but Bob has a few words of advice for couples contemplating tying the knot...

Brandi Chapman Brandi Marie Ellis Chapman, 32, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., went to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, surrounded by her loving family, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Mrs. Chapman was born June 30, 1981, in Poplar Bluff. ...

Knealin Wright Jr. DEXTER, Mo. -- Knealin W. Wright Jr., 42, of Dexter, Mo., died Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, at SoutheastHealth Center of Stoddard County in Dexter. His funeral was Saturday afternoon in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel in Dexter with the Rev. James Hook officiating...

By DAVID ESPO AP Special Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) -- Delaying what had loomed as an imminent strike, President Barack Obama abruptly announced Saturday he will seek congressional approval before launching any military action meant to punish Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons in an attack that killed hundreds...

Wanda Woodall MALDEN, Mo. -- Wanda Lee Woodall, 90, of Clarkton, Mo., died Friday, Aug. 30, 2013, at Malden Rehab and Nursing Home in Malden, Mo. Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Landess Funeral Home in Malden. The funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the funeral home chapel with the Rev. Jack Allen officiating. Burial will be in Stanfield Cemetery in Clarkton...

Sister Mary Monaghan OWENSBORO, Ky. -- Sister Mary Renee Monaghan, 84, an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph, died Aug. 30 in Mount Saint Joseph at Maple Mount, Ky., in her 65th year of religious life. She was a native of Central City, Ky. She served as principal and teacher Sacred Heart School, Poplar Bluff (1982-89) and St. Teresa School, Glennonville, (1964-70). She also served in Kentucky and Indiana during 58 years of ministry...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Christopher James Hyskell, 25, of Ava, Mo., was injured when he was hit by a car at 5:34 a.m. Friday on Highway 67 South near Flapjacks Restaurant. According to a Poplar Bluff Police Department report, the pedestrian was standing in the middle of the southbound lane when he was struck by a 2004 Ford Focus driven by Juliet Urich, 38, of Route 1, Naylor, Mo...

In Saturday's scorching heat, the Poplar Bluff softball team connected for several hot shots down the third-base line and beat Delta 11-1 in five innings at Bacon Park. "They played a lot better than they did in the first game," Poplar Bluff coach Lisa Boyer said. "They cut out a lot of errors. I thought their pitch selection was a lot better...

NEW MADRID -- The heat was on Friday night and New Madrid County Central melted under the pressure of Malden's defense. Under extreme conditions and with players leaving the game left and right with cramps, the Green Wave stifled the Eagles for five turnovers in a 12-0 decision...

UNION -- Bi Nguyen took a handoff midway through the fourth quarter Friday night and ran into the record book. The Poplar Bluff junior broke the 22-year-old team mark for rushing yards in a single game with 320 in the Mules' 31-14 win at Union to open the season...

DEXTER -- Quarterback Peyton Pollock was responsible for 81 percent of the Dexter's offense Friday night. The junior was 8-for-17 passing for 89 yards and ran the ball 17 times for 108 and Dexter finished with 243 yards of offense on the night. However, St. Genevieve nearly doubled that with 435 yards and won 42-7...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN The next 72 hours will be decisive in the career of the speaker of the House. The alternatives he faces are these: John Boehner can, after "consultation," give his blessing to Barack Obama's decision to launch a war on Syria, a nation that has neither attacked nor threatened us...

By CLIFFORD D. MAY Scripps Howard News Service Al Jazeera America launched last week. The new television channel features such broadcast luminaries as Soledad O'Brien, Joie Chen, Sheila MacVicar, John Seigenthaler, David Shuster and Ali Velshi. Paul Beban, a regional correspondent, told the Denver Post's Joanne Ostrow that he "defuses suspicions about Al Jazeera America with 'a little bit of humor and friendliness.' " For example, when asked whether he is required to wear a burqa, Beban replies: "You know what? They were out of 42 long.". ...

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Flu vaccination is no longer merely a choice between a jab in the arm or a squirt in the nose. This fall, some brands promise a little extra protection. For the first time, certain vaccines will guard against four strains of flu rather than the usual three. Called quadrivalent vaccines, these brands may prove more popular for children than their parents. That's because kids tend to catch the newly added strain more often...

By MONA CHAREN Gathering on the 50th anniversary of the speech that made Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. an icon, a crowd of Democratic partisans, including the president of the United States, attempted to hijack King's legacy for cynically narrow ends...

Eight hundred touches per day. For those who may not understand soccer lingo, a touch can loosely be defined as simply controlling the ball. The first touch is the most important one to maintain possession and distribute the ball where it needs to go...

Mansell Head NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Mansell R.L. Head, 71, of Neelyville died Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, at his residence. Funeral arrangements are pending with Fowler-Sullivan Memorial Chapel in Neelyville.

By JAKE COYLE AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- In the end, Hollywood made it through a precarious minefield of summer box-office bombs with a heftier wallet. The summer concluded with a record $4.7 billion in box-office revenue despite much maligned flops like "The Lone Ranger," ''After Earth" and "White House Down."...

Anyone who attended the Dudley school or who lived in the community is invited to the Dudley reunion at noon Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Dudley Community Center. The meal will be a carry-in potluck meal. For more information, call (3145) 719-7449.

June Bearden PIEDMONT, Mo. -- June Bearden, 71, of Piedmont died Monday, Sept. 2, 2013, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Arrangements are pending with Ruegg Funeral Home in Piedmont.

The Legacy Hospice Caregiver's Seminar will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, at the third floor of Kneibert Clinic. It will be teaching basic rules of care giving, including comfort measures, infection control and home safety. Signs will be placed at the clinic to direct attendees to the seminar...

John Weiss ALTON, Mo. -- John Rex Weiss, 62, of Alton died Friday, Aug. 30, 2013 at his residence near Many Springs. John was born Sept. 10, 1950, in Denver. He married Sandra Penrod on April 17, 1974, in Bethany, Mo. He served with the United States Marines during the Vietnam War, was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a volunteer with the BB Road Volunteer Fire Department. John enjoyed life to the fullest...

By JULIE PACE AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) -- For President Barack Obama's new foreign policy advisers, the first test of their willingness to undertake military action wound up being a stark lesson in the president's ability to overrule them all...

Barbara Brewington PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Barbara Faye Brewington, 63, of Piedmont died Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013, at her residence. Visitation will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Ruegg Funeral Home in Piedmont. Funeral services will follow 11 a.m. Thursday at the chapel. Burial will be in Beulah Cemetery in Brunot, Mo...

Thelma Lape DEXTER, Mo. -- Thelma Harlan Lape, 89, of Dexter died Friday, Aug. 30, 2013, at her residence. Visitation will be from 1-3 p.m. today at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. Funeral services will begin at 3 p.m. at the funeral home chapel with the Rev. Rich Lee officiating. Burial will follow in the Dexter Cemetery...

Loyd Kennedy FISK, Mo. -- Loyd Joseph Kennedy, 87, of Broseley, Mo., died Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013, at his residence. Mr. Kennedy was born May 15, 1926, at Hackelburg, Ala., to the late Robert and Ethel George Kennedy. On Dec. 28, 1946, he married Juanita Dillon. She preceded him in death on Dec. 4, 2007. Mr. Kennedy was a farmer...

George Baumgardner George William Baumgardner, 75, of Columbus, Ga., died Saturday Aug. 31, 2013, at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Tim Hovis NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Tim D. Hovis, 70, of Doniphan, Mo., died Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013, at his residence. Mr. Hovis was born Aug. 10, 1943, in Lansing, Mich., and was a former resident of Success, Ark. He was an auto mechanic and a member of Pilgrims Rest Church in Fairdealing, Mo. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and woodworking...

Lois Cravens PARMA, Mo. -- Lois Cravens, 72, of Parma died Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at the Golden Living Center in New Madrid, Mo. Visitation was today at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Parma. The funeral service was at 1 p.m. today at the funeral home chapel with the Rev. Frank Townsend of Parma officiating. Burial is in Bernie Cemetery in Bernie, Mo...