Stories from Wednesday, October 2, 2013

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Downtown Dogs has been selected as the name for the first annual Dog Show, which will begin at 2:30 p.m. Saturday during the Iron Horse Festival. The Dog Show will be in the Kids Zone grassy area east of the historic train depot off of Second Street in Downtown Poplar Bluff...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Emma Eudaley, 8, has already completed more than 150 laps -- nearly 40 miles -- around the walking track at Lake Road Elementary. Eudaley and her classmates don't realize that as one of four paved tracks in the Poplar Bluff School District, it represents a nearly $30,000, grant-funded investment to encourage children to be more active...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor City Attorney Wally Duncan presented arguments Monday in Butler County Circuit Court in support of his motion to dismiss CSE Enterprises of Rolla, Mo., as a plaintiff in a lawsuit concerning the acceptance of a higher bid for a project at the city power plant...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor JACKSON, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff, Mo., man preempted his upcoming trial by pleading guilty Monday morning to a manslaughter charge in connection with the December 2011 shooting death of another man. Paris Thomas, 24, of the 800 block of Garfield pleaded guilty to the Class B felony of voluntary manslaughter and Class C felony of unlawful possession of a firearm before Presiding Circuit William Syler, according to Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Barbour, who offered a 20-year sentence in exchange for the plea.. ...

By MONA CHAREN The Republican Party has experienced a calamity -- the reelection of Barack Obama -- and some parts of the party are behaving like an animal in a trap, chewing off a foot in an effort to cope with it. Sens. Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, Heritage Action and a handful of talk-radio hosts are lashing out at anyone who questions the "defund" tactic on Obamacare as "the surrender caucus." The only reason Republicans haven't prevailed, they argue, is because Republicans politicians -- especially Republican leaders -- are squishes. ...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN After his narrow defeat by Gerald Ford at the Kansas City convention in 1976, Ronald Reagan was seen as a has-been. Came the Carter-Torrijos treaties of 1977, however, which gave away the Panama Canal, and the old cowboy strapped on his guns:...

By GEORGE WILL WASHINGTON -- When Dwight Eisenhower asked Gen. Georgy Zhukov how the Red Army cleared minefields, Zhukov replied that it marched through them. Being profligate with lives is a perquisite of command and a luxury of those with an abundance of lives at their command. ...

Lottie Rice Lottie Berniece Rice, 67, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. The family will plan a memorial service at a later date with Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff in charge of arrangements...

Vernon Ward GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Vernon Ward, 95, of Greenville died Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, at Benchmark Healthcare of Greenville. Visitation will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Ruegg Funeral Home in Greenville. Services will follow at 1 p.m. at the chapel. Burial will follow in Wesley-Dixon Cemetery near Hiram...

Janice Throop GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Janice Joyce Throop, 78, of Des Arc, Mo., died Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Arrangements are pending with Ruegg Funeral Home in Greenville. Online condolences: www.rueggfuneralhome.com...

Elsie Lawson GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Elsie Marie Lawson, 83, of Greenville died Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, at Benchmark Healthcare of Greenville. Visitation will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Ruegg Funeral Home in Greenville with services following at 1 p.m. Wednesday also at the chapel. Burial will follow in Marcus Memorial Cemetery in Fredericktown, Mo...

Dorothy Wilfong GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Dorothy Wilfong, 87, of Otterville, Mo., died Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, at her residence. Arrangements are pending with Ruegg Funeral Home in Greenville. Online condolences: www.rueggfuneralhome.com.

Letha Hays Letha Montgomery Hays, 83, co-founder of Hays Music in Poplar Bluff died peacefully at her home Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, with her family by her side after a yearlong illness. Letha was born Dec. 26, 1929 to Coker and Hazel Montgomery in Patterson, Mo. She was a graduate of Poplar Bluff High School and lived in Poplar Bluff the rest of her life. On Feb. 20, 1949, she married Joel S. Hays, son of the late Paul C. and Buena C. Hays. He preceded her in death on May 22, 1982...

Military Crossing Cemetery meeting will be held at noon, Saturday, Oct. 5. Anyone who is interested in upkeep or maintenance of the cemetery or who has loved ones buried there is encouraged to attend. For information, Call Debbie Wilkes at 573-998-2188...

Southeast Missouri State University junior Morgan Riley of Bernie, Mo., has been named a Golden Opportunity Scholar and will attend mentoring conferences Nov. 3-6 through the Golden Opportunity Scholars Institute. The Institute is a program co-sponsored by the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America...

Just want to have my say I'm calling in reference to the county. Basically the county shed. I called last week, but they still haven't come out and I just kinda wanted to give a heads up. The weeds are just horrible. They are thick and they are not maintaining and I've called them for four weeks in a row now and they keep saying, "Oh, well, it's on the list." It don't take four weeks. ...

By BETSY HART My daughter, a high-school senior, just told me to turn down the music because she is studying. Really. The music is from the 1984 Go-Go's album, "Talk Show." The track? "Head Over Heels." You see, I just dug into my vinyl-LP collection for the first time in about two decades. ...

By WALTER E. WILLIAMS Every time there's a shooting tragedy, there are more calls for gun control. Let's examine a few historical facts. By 1910, the National Rifle Association had succeeded in establishing 73 NRA-affiliated high-school rifle clubs. ...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat Government shutdown. Obamacare. Debt ceiling. Iran. Syria. Amnesty. Let's count the ways our elected officials can find disagreement and continue to flip the middle finger at the American people. But as we all know, the list is growing daily...

Robert Martin Robert Hardy Martin, 80, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at The Manor in Poplar Bluff. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff.

Lisa Snider DEXTER, Mo. -- Lisa Snider, 84, of Dexter died Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital in St. Louis. Funeral arrangements are being planned for Thursday and will be announced by the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter...

Harold Cassinger Harold W. Cassinger, 85, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., formerly of Neelyville, Mo., died Monday, Sept. 30, 2013 at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Visitation will be 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Fowler-Sullivan Memorial Chapel in Neelyville. The funeral will follow at 1 p.m., Wednesday at the Fowler-Sullivan Memorial Chapel. Burial will be in Coon Island Cemetery...

MARSHALL -- Three Rivers College bull rider Keith Hall continued where he left off last season by winning the short round at the Missouri Valley Viking Stampede. Hall, who was the first Raider to compete at the College National Finals this summer, traveled to Marshall over the weekend with the rest of the team for the first event of the fall season. He won the bull riding short round with 77 points...

Martin Tetley PUXICO, Mo. -- Martin L. Tetley, 78, of St. Louis, Mo., formerly of Puxico, died Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013, at St. Mary Hospital in St. Louis. Mr. Tetley was born April 12, 1935, in Morehouse, Mo. He was a member of First Baptist Church in St. Johns, Mo., and graduated from Puxico High School in 1952. He as a self-employed insurance consultant...

NAYLOR -- For the first time this season and the second time of their careers, Darby Pruett and Charity McCoy hit back-to-back home runs. For the first time in her career, Emily Neidenberg gave up back-to-back home runs. Naylor scored four runs in the fifth inning and Shayna Tharp allowed one hit afterward as the Lady Eagles defeated East Carter 5-1 Monday...

Bob Allen PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Bob Allen, 76, of Piedmont died Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Arrangements will be announced by Morrison-Worley Funeral Home Chapel in Piedmont.

Charles Hamaker Jr. DEXTER, Mo.--Charles Wayne Hamaker, Jr., 36, of Dexter, Mo., died Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, at his home. Visitation will be from 1-3 p.m. Tuesday at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter with the Rev. Danny Spence of Yellville, Ark. officiating...

Paul Kordick Jr. DES MOINES, Iowa -- Paul Vincent Kordick Jr. of Des Moines, Iowa, was born on July 10, 1942, the son of Paul and Alma Kordick, and died Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4 at St. Peter Catholic Church, 618 E. 18th St., Des Moines. Burial will be 12:30 p.m. Friday at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery near Van Meter, Iowa...

BERNIE -- The host and the No. 1 seed will meet for the championship of the Bernie September Showdown as both teams won blowouts Monday afternoon. Top-seeded Neelyville beat Leopold 10-0 in five innings while the Bernie Mules topped Campbell, 11-3. Neelyville (20-2) got seven strikeouts on the mound by Lane Spencer for the shutout...