Stories from Friday, September 27, 2013

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor The former bookkeeper for a local construction company was charged Wednesday with stealing nearly $200,000 after she allegedly used company credit cards to make personal purchases. Heather Easterday, 48, of the 1700 block of County Road 565 was charged with the Class B felony of stealing and the Class C felony of stealing by Butler County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Oesterreicher...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer Testimonies like that of Chelsea Vinson, a Lady Raiders basketball player at Three Rivers College, were the emphasis of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes' sixth annual Fields of Faith Wednesday night. Roughly 2,500 students and leaders from throughout Southeast Missouri met at Fred M. Morrow Stadium...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Residents and other property owners have submitted objections to a proposed halfway house for federal offenders on a site between East Outer Road and Bypass 67 southwest of Poplar Bluff, Mo. Glenn Clausen, who lives along County Road 302 in Sherry Vista Subdivision, prepared an objection letter for his neighbors to mail...

By AMITY DOWNING SEMO News Service PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The grotto sculpin has been labeled an endangered species, but Perry County is in the clear, as its land was not designated a critical habitat, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Drury Southwest has donated $25,000 to Three Rivers Endowment Trust to create a scholarship in memory of Lambert C. Drury. The announcement was made Wednesday morning at the first of two ribbon cuttings that celebrated the remodeling of the Lambert C. Drury Academic Resource Commons and the opening of two mobile skills training labs...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Robyne Collins, who has provided mental health, substance abuse and behavioral counseling in Butler and Ripley counties for 12 years, has submitted a proposal to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to operate a halfway house for up to 41 males and five females...

By MONA CHAREN You can tell who the keepers of American culture are by, among other things, the anniversaries they mark. We're currently being invited to revel in memories of the "iconic" tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, the so-called "Battle of the Sexes". ...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat Success in politics is often about picking the right battles. But success also depends on timing. The GOP may well be picking the right battle at the wrong time. And although I fully support and understand the wide range of disagreement on the miserable Obamacare mandates, from a political standpoint I see nothing but setbacks...

Are you a fan of Gala, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, McIntosh, Gold Delicious, Jonathan, or Rome Beauty apples? Yes, it's just about time for fresh apples to hit local markets. This delicious fruit is fibrous, juicy, and low calorie. That's why it's great for little kids and adults. Experts say that the average person will eat about 120 apples each year!...

The PBHS Class of 1960 will meet for lunch at 11:30 a.m. Monday at the Branding Iron Restaurant. All classmates, spouses and friends are welcome to attend. If there are any questions, please call 573-686-2251.

The Qulin Lion Club Homecoming Dinner will be held from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Lion Club in Qulin, Mo. Cost is $10 at the door. Menu includes: fried chicken and catfish, French fries and hushpuppies, baked beans, cole slaw, drinks and dessert...

Morgan Whittington Morgan J. Whittington, 76, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013 at his home. Mr. Whittington was born Aug. 8, 1937, in Poplar Bluff, to the late Frank and Pauline (Phelps) Whittington. He was a truck driver and enjoyed fishing, hunting, gardening, spending time with family, telling stories and St. Louis Cardinal Baseball. He also worked at McDonnell Douglas. He was a member of the American Legion...

Cherry Sue and Richard Lee Miller of Doniphan, Mo., have chosen the name Samantha Nicole Allen for their 7-pound, 7-ounce daughter born at 4:02 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, at Saint Francis Medical Center's Family BirthPlace in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Samantha was 20 inches long...

Coming off consecutive losses featuring fourth-quarter collapses, the Poplar Bluff Mules look to finish the job Friday night against conference rival Sikeston. The unbeaten Bulldogs come to Morrow Stadium having allowed a total of 20 points all season...

By JOHN PRATT Mo. Dept. of Conservation An important season for some fishermen opened on Sept. 15, and that was gigging season for rough fish. The opening night was a full moon and that made the fish hard to gig. Most experienced fishermen will tell you the fish are wild on moonlit nights. Also, the warmer water temperature in September makes the fish more mobile. Gigging is a time honored tradition in the Missouri Ozarks, with many participating in the activity...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor WAPPAPELLO, Mo. -- Trouble could be on the horizon for Wappapello Lake's fisheries if invasive Asian carp, which have been found in the St. Francis River below the dam, make their way into the main lake. The bighead and silver carp species are very prolific and able to reproduce rapidly, according to Missouri Department of Conservation Fisheries Management Biologist Dave Knuth, who oversees the lake, and once established in a water body, they're very hard, if not impossible, to control.. ...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Missouri's archery deer season is rolling along nicely, with cool mornings making for ideal conditions. Just a week and a half into the season, bowhunters already have killed 5,212 deer statewide. That's more than 9 percent of the entire archery harvest last fall, so things are looking good at this early stage...

The Hester/Fredwell family reunion will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6, at New Home General Baptist Church's Fellowship Hall, located on the corner of Hwy. AA and B. Bring a covered dish and/or dessert. Meat will be provided. Bring and auction item. For more information, contact Sonny Mitchelle at 785-5279...

NEELYVILLE -- To Neelyville baseball coach Justin Dobbins, the first three innings of Wednesday's game was a prime example of just how good his team can be. The Tigers leaped out at Bloomfield for a quick 10-0 lead and won 11-2. "I thought the first three innings we played excellent baseball," Dobbins said. "The (Kaleb) Thomley kid has pitched pretty good for (Bloomfield) this fall. Our approach was pretty good and we got a lot of hits off of him."...

Mary Robinson BERNIE, Mo. -- Mary Sue Robinson,, 89, of Bernie died Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013 at the Cypress Point Skilled Nursing Center in Dexter. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Bernie. Funeral services will be conducted at 1 p.m. Thursday in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel with Dr. Tom Bass officiating. Burial will follow in the Chalk Bluff cemetery...

Bob Moore DEXTER, Mo. -- Roy "Bob" Yewell Moore, 85, of Dexter died Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Friday at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Lynn Ash officiating. Burial will follow in the Dexter Cemetery...

Kim Johnson DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Kimberly Ann Johnson, 50, of rural Ripley County, Mo., died Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, at the Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Mrs. Johnson, daughter of Cecil and Shirley (Delana) Dale, was born April 15, 1963, in West Plains, Mo. She had worked in the lab at Southeast Health of Ripley County in Doniphan. Mrs. Johnson loved horses, camping, fishing, hunting and truck pulls. She was a member of the Twin Pines Pentecostal Church...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Using partial quotes is OK in some situations, but in others it can be misleading even though the intention was to be clear. Councilwoman Angela Pearson was misquoted in Wednesday's Daily American Republic and called me Wednesday afternoon...

Rombauer GB Church will host the Rombauer Fall Harvest Celebration from 7 a.m. - 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 12. Free biscuits and gravy for all service men and women at 9 a.m. to say "Thank you!" to all our service men and women. Events include: kiddy carnival, petting zoo, turkey shoot, silent auction, quilt raffle, gun raffle, yard sale, crafts, full kitchen with great food, Boston butt for sale, sweet goodies and hay rides...

Laveta Gentle Laveta Gentle, 71, of Doniphan, Mo., died Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013 at her residence. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Cotrell Funeral Chapel and the funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. Burial will be at 3 p.m. at Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield, Mo...

Howard McFadden Howard D. McFadden went to be with the Lord at the Mark Twain Caring Center, Tuesday morning, at the age of 91. He was born in Akron, Ind., June 16, 1922. He served in the Navy, Pacific Theater, during World War II. Howard graduated from Lincoln Christian University, Lincoln, Ill., and entered the Ministry...