Stories from Thursday, September 5, 2013

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor A report on all the activities being planned for the fourth annual Iron Horse Festival was presented during the Downtown Poplar Bluff board meeting Tuesday. Penny McGath, DPB executive director, and the DPB board members expressed their appreciation for the growing number of organizations that have planned activities during the festival from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Former residents of Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica and Scotland plan to display items from their country during the first Poplar Bluff Culture Fair. Francisco Esquivel, who is from Mexico, suggested having a Culture Fair during the fourth annual Iron Horse Festival in Downtown Poplar Bluff and invited people from all nationalities to attend a dinner meeting in his Las Margaritas Restaurant Tuesday night. He has lived in Poplar Bluff for 17 years...

Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center has once again earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval® for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission's national standards for health care quality and safety in hospitals. The accreditation award recognizes Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center's dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission's state-of-the-art standards. ...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Slug Hefner has purchased the former Kesler's Furniture building and is renovating it for new businesses. Simply Swirled, a frozen yogurt business owned by his wife, Paula, opened Aug. 22. It is in the southeast part of the building located along 11th Street between Vine and Pine streets...

Banks 2nd Q earns a record By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. banks earned more from April through June than during any quarter on record, aided by a steep drop in losses from bad loans. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says the banking industry earned $42.2 billion in the second quarter, up 23 percent from the second quarter of 2012. About 54 percent of U.S. banks reported improved earnings from a year earlier...

Dale Young DEXTER, Mo. -- Dale Leon Young, 77, of Dexter died Monday, Sept. 2, 2013, at his residence. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. today at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Risen Church in Dexter with the Rev. Joshua Carpenter officiating. Burial will follow in the Dexter cemetery...

By MATTHEW CRAFT AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- Imagine gathering nearly everything that has rattled investors' nerves over the past four years: the European debt crisis, fights over the U.S. government's budget and moves by the Federal Reserve. Now imagine all of them crammed into one month...

Laurence Family Reunion will be held Saturday at Ray and Barb Gilton's campsite at Doniphan, Mo. Lunch will begin between noon and 12:30 p.m. Meat will be provided. Please bring a covered dish and an item for the auction. Directions to the campsite follow: From Poplar Bluff, Mo. ...

The Agee Community Club met Aug. 26 at the home of this month's hostess, Nadine Johnson. Club President Cathy Womack opened the meeting with everyone repeating the club motto. Orel Smith offered the invocation before the group had a picnic-style luncheon...

The singer Billy Ray Cyrus was supposed to be interviewed on television this week, but he canceled. And who could blame him? His daughter, Miley, embarrassed herself and her family on worldwide TV. Her narcissism on full display, the 20-year-old pop star simulated sexual activity with an older male singer while singing some kind of suggestive song. With millions of young people watching, the scene was as degrading as it was unnecessary...

Highway 51 in Butler Co. 1 lane Thurs. BROSELEY, Mo. -- Highway 51 between Route B and Highway 53 will be reduced to one lane from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.Thursday as Missouri Department of Transportation crews make pavement repairs. Motorists are urged to use extreme caution while traveling in the work zones...

By KATHLEEN PARKER WASHINGTON -- The president is up early, already showered and preparing to shave. Wiping steam from the mirror, he grimaces slightly at his image. Obama: Good grief, I look old. So much gray. Mirror: Aw, lighten up, Bo, it makes you look distinguished. You can't wage war without a few streaks of worry showing in your face and hair...

By ERIN RAGAN SEMO News Service Southeast Missouri's congressional representative on Tuesday expressed concerns about a possible U.S. military strike on Syria. "In the Constitution, our Founding Fathers gave Congress the authority to authorize military action," U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, said in a statement. "Congress should use that authority to determine the best course of action in dealing with Syria...

Charles Julian PHOTO FLAG ELLSINORE, Mo. -- Charles Edward Julian, 81, of Ellsinore, died Monday, Sept. 2, 2013, at his residence. Charles was born July 20, 1932, on Elm Branch in Ellsinore, to the late George and Lillie Mae (Richardson) Julian Charles was a lifetime resident of Ellsinore and graduated from the Ellsinore High School. ...

Eddie Dell Chamblin MALDEN, Mo.--Eddie Dell Chamblin, 62, of Malden, dies Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. Visitation will be from 12:30 - 2 p.m. Friday. Service will follow at 2 p.m. at Bradshaw Chapel in Malden. Burial will be in Stanfield Cemetery in Clarkton, Mo...

GREENVILLE -- Not really known as an area volleyball power, the Greenville Lady Bears made a statement Tuesday night in their opener against one. The Lady Bears nearly led from start-to-finsh in the first game of the night and then withstood a back-and-forth thriller in the second against visiting Bloomfield...

Jerry Wade Gum MALDEN, MO. -- Jerry Wade Gum, 67, of Clarkton, Mo. died Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, at his residence. Visitation will from 9 - 11 a.m. Friday. Service will follow at 11 a.m. at Bradshaw Chapel in Malden, Mo. Burial will be in Stanfield Cemetery in Clarkton...

With a pair of former state qualifiers leading the pack, the Poplar Bluff cross country teams look to make a run at some titles this fall. Bailey Davidson, who qualified for his first trip to Jefferson City last year, and two-time state qualifier Allison Huskey return for Poplar Bluff, which will host the SEMO North Conference meet in October...

Sheila Fry DEXTER, MO. --Sheila Renee Fry, 47, of Dexter, died Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013 at her residence. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Thursday at the Sweet Prospect Church. The memorial service will follow at 1 p.m. with Rev. Ray Rowland officiating...

Thurman Baucom Thurman Deloy Baucom, 71, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, Sept. 2, 2013, at Mark Twain Caring Center in Poplar Bluff. Mr. Baucom was born Feb. 9, 1942, in Poplar Bluff. Survivors include his life-time partner, Nadine Baucom; a son, Cecil Deloy Baucom; one sister, Emma Sue Bridgeman; four brothers, Jimmy Ray Baucom, Chester Emmit Baucom, Alvie Loran Baucom and Arthur Raymond Baucom; six grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews...

The season couldn't have started much better for the Poplar Bluff volleyball team Tuesday night, or much worse for Puxico. Dropping just two points in the first game -- both on hitting errors -- the Lady Mules cruised to a 25-2, 25-19 victory at Peters Gym in the season opener for both teams...

Edward Pertell Edward E. Pertell Jr., 71, of Greenville, Mo., died Aug. 31, 2013. He was born Nov. 6, 1941, in Chicago, Ill. He was a longtime resident of Wayne County Mo. Before retiring, Mr. Pertell was employed as a fork lift driver. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and riding his Harley. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army...

Billie Scoville Billie Warren Scoville, 92, formerly of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died on Wednesday, July 24, 2013, in Howe, Texas. The only son of Mable Layman Baldridge and Fay Rogers Scoville, Bill was born on May 25, 1921 in San Jose, Calif. On May 23, 1943, he married Billie Abbot Davis of Knox City, Mo. ...

Marilyn Prill JACKSON, Mo. -- Marilyn Prill, 89, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., formerly of Jackson, died Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 14, 1924, in Brunswick, Mo., to William Arthur and Nettie Irene Schaefer Hackward...

Charles Julian ELLSINORE, Mo. -- Charles Edward Julian, 81, of Ellsinore, died Monday, Sept. 2, 2013, at his residence. Charles was born July 20, 1932, on Elm Branch in Ellsinore, to the late George and Lillie Mae (Richardson) Julian Charles was a lifetime resident of Ellsinore and graduated from the Ellsinore High School. ...

George Baumgardner George William Baumgardner, 75, of Columbus, Ga., died Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. Mr. Baumgardner was born in Poplar Bluff, Mo., on Jan. 21, 1938, to Charles and Jessie Mae Lucas Baumgardner. He was married to Patsy Jean Gooch. She died on Feb. 17, 2013...

June Bearden PIEDMONT, Mo. -- June Ann Bearden, 71, of Piedmont died Monday, Sept. 2, 2013, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. June was born June 7, 1942, in Noble, Ill., to Eldon and Pauline (Hasler) Oaster. On March 11, 1967, she married James W. Bearden and to this union two children were born...

Mansell Head NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Mansell R.L. Head, 71, of Neelyville died Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, at his residence. Mr. Head was born Sept. 7, 1941, in Alabama. He was a former resident of Wardell, Mo. Mr. Head was a farmer who enjoyed fishing, hunting, building things and working in his shop...

BROSELEY -- Kira Cunningham had 10 strikeouts with no walks in a complete-game win as Twin Rivers beat Doniphan 8-4 Tuesday afternoon. Cunningham gave up five hits and hit one batter with three earned runs. Cheyenne Buie went 1-for-1 with two walks, a stolen base, two runs and an RBI for the Lady Royals...

Leonard Eastwood Jr. Leonard Eastwood Jr., 78, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, at his residence. Arrangements are pending with Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff.