Stories from Monday, December 2, 2013

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Riding the 237-mile Katy Trail in 25 hours is the goal of two Poplar Bluff, Mo., bicyclists. Jeff Shawan and Jeremy Downing plan to begin "the one continuous ride" on June 26 -- the birthday of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Billie G. Kanell, who died during the Korean War...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer VAN BUREN, Mo. -- A Van Buren father and son are thankful this year for their first opportunity to hunt together in a decade. Dennis McSpadden first took his son Erik hunting when the boy was 5 years old, just big enough to carry a cork gun. That November, they camped on the Current River and it became something of a tradition...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. (AP) -- The family of a southeast Missouri mother killed by her estranged husband is trying to move forward after a June plea deal that landed the killer in prison while allowing police to recover her body. Thirty-nine-year-old Jacque Waller, a mother of 5-year-old triplets, was missing for almost two years before her body was found on a Mississippi River island near Cape Girardeau. ...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer While other high school seniors spend a Friday night at the movies or out with friends, Twin Rivers senior Haley Doyle spends hers in a shop building, sanding an end table. The completed project will be sold through the business she owns, Haley's Furnishings: From Faded to Fresh...

Debbie Hanner Debbie Bishop Hanner, 56, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013, at her residence. Debbie was born Dec. 9, 1956. She was a member of the American Legion and Eagles. Survivors include three children, Chris Bishop, Scott Hesselrode and Choni Hanner, all of Poplar Bluff; her mother and father, Patsy Cole and Jim Bishop, both of Poplar Bluff; three sisters, Diane Kiefer (Dennis) of Williamsville, Mo., and Dee Brooks and Dawn Bishop, both of Poplar Bluff; one brother, Michael Bishop (Christy) of Eminence, Mo.; grandchildren, Adriana Bishop, Shadow Bishop, Lexie Hesselrode and Axton Eisenbeis, all of Poplar Bluff; several nieces and nephews; and all her friends.. ...

By GEORGE F. WILL MILWAUKEE -- In 2011, tens of thousands of government employees and others, enraged by Gov. Scott Walker's determination to break the ruinously expensive and paralyzing grip that government workers' unions had on Wisconsin, took over the capitol building in Madison. ...

Riley Ewing III Fisk, Mo. -- Riley Kirk Ewing III of Broseley, Mo., was stillborn Friday, Nov. 29, 2013, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. He is survived by his parents, Riley Ewing and Linda Decaro Ewing; three sisters, Precious, Rileynn and Mikeyia; one brother, Mikel...

Helen Bostic MALDEN, Mo. -- Helen Marie Bostic, 68, of Piggott, Ark., died Friday, Nov. 29, 2013, at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro, Ark. Visitation will begin at noon Wednesday at Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden, followed by the funeral at 2 p.m. Burial will be in the Stanfield Cemetery at Clarkton, Mo...

PBJHS students honored The Poplar Bluff Junior High School P. T. O. honored students for excellent citizenship, effort and positive attitude toward their school work. Students of the Month for elective teachers (Ivie, Melson, M. Berry, Burchett, Garner Yarber and J. ...

Chuck and Sheila Loury announce the engagement of their daughter, Charmayne Loury, to Patrick Edington, all of Poplar Bluff, Mo. The bridegroom is the son of Tracy and Tami Edington, also of Poplar Bluff. The couple plans to be married Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014, at the First Christian Church in Poplar Bluff...

The annual Watermelon Growers meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the American Legion Building in Kennett, Mo., and will provide an opportunity for growers to talk with specialists in weed management, nutrition and irrigation. Specialists are Dr. ...

By RAY BURSON It was a quiet Friday evening after dinner at our first floor apartment in Izmir, Turkey on Nov. 22, 1963. My wife Ruth and I were expecting our second child. I had just finished the week's teaching of English at the Turkish Air Force Academy under a U.S. Air Force contract. We were playing scrabble when the doorbell rang and one of my fellow teachers, Art, burst in shouting, "They shot Kennedy. They shot Kennedy in Dallas!!"...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The local charity Project Christmas Promise begins its fifth year having delivered more than 9,400 gifts to Butler County children through the generosity of area residents. The program was started, according to organizers, to ensure no child in Butler County went without on Christmas morning. In addition to toys, many of the children also receive badly needed essentials, like shoes and warm winter coats...

Oak Grove Elementary School has announced its November students of the month for the 2013-2014 school year. Essence Ware, daughter of Tonya Ware, was chosen for her first grade class. Teacher Paula Knight says, "Essence is a very conscientious student that works to excel in all of her subjects. ...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON -- For all the gnashing of teeth over the lack of comity and civility in Washington, the real problem is not etiquette but the breakdown of constitutional norms. Such as the one just spectacularly blown up in the Senate. To get three judges onto a coveted circuit court, frustrated Democrats abolished the filibuster for executive appointments and (non-Supreme Court) judicial nominations...

Storybooks spark third graders creativity O'Neal third graders recently participated in Pumpkinpalooza, an annual pumpkin decorating contest at the elementary school that revolves around a storybook character. Winners, determined on Monday, Oct. 21, by the school community, were based on the most money the pumpkin generated for St. ...

Kevin Siebert Qulin, Mo. -- Kevin Siebert, 60, of Piggott, Ark., died Friday, Nov. 29, 2013, at his residence. He was born Aug. 11, 1953, at Poplar Bluff, Mo. On Dec. 4, 1971, he married Sevedia Kay Maddox. She preceded him in death on Aug. 13, 2012. He was a member of St. Teresa Catholic Church at Glennonville, Mo...

Velma Short GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Velma Short, 82, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013 at her residence. Visitation will begin at 5 p.m. today at Ruegg Chapel in Greenville. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Monday in the funeral home chapel...

Marga Moody MALDEN, Mo. -- Marga Moody, 87, of Clarkton, Mo., died Friday, Nov. 29, 2013, at the Gideon Care Center. A graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Stanfield Cemetery at Clarkton. Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden is in charge of the arrangements...

Editor's Note: For your convenience, Speak Out now offers two options, call 573-686-6548 or visit our website, click on "Speak Out" and leave a message. Thank you. History reoccurs Call me a skeptic, but with the recent deal that the president and the group of six made with Iran, I truly feel that all we have done is basically set them a timeline for finishing their weapon and giving them the funding to do it. ...

By CAROLYN SMITH Staff Writer Everyone knows who wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas," more popularly called "The Night Before Christmas." The author was Clement Clarke Moore. According to legend, a family friend had his poem published anonymously in the "Troy Sentinal" in 1823 -- one year after Moore penned the poem for his wife and children. ...

O'Neal Elementary School's principal had a "sweet" time during a school-wide gathering celebrating the success of the Parent Teacher Organizations's Christmas gift fundraiser. Students got the chance to cover Principal Angie Rideout in ice cream sundae toppings as a reward for selling 20 items or more through the fundraiser...

VAN BUREN -- Poplar Bluff's big man may have been quiet early, but he was pretty loud late. Stacy Gipson had two points for the Mules in the first half, but made several clutch plays in the final minutes as Poplar Bluff beat Logan-Rogersville 61-56 in the Current River Challenge on Saturday night...

ST. LOUIS -- The Dexter Bearcats varsity girls basketball program outlasted the St. Joseph's Academy Angels 62-53 Saturday afternoon in a battle of state-ranked teams. St. Joseph's Academy, which is ranked No. 3 in the preseason Class 5 state rankings, looked more than capable of collecting a double digit victory late in the first half. The Angels outscored the Bearcats 23-10 in the second quarter and led 35-22 at halftime...

A night after shaking off the rust, the Three Rivers College men's basketball team was all business Saturday night. The Raiders used an 11-2 run after College of Faith scored first and Three Rivers led by double digits for the majority of a 93-78 win at the Bess Activity Center...

William Slusher GREENVILLE, Mo. -- William M. Slusher, 72, of Patterson, Mo., died Friday, Nov. 29, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Visitation will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel in Greenville. The funeral service will follow at noon Monday in the funeral home chapel...

VAN BUREN -- Doniphan had no answer for Jaelon Acklin in the Current River Challenge at Van Buren on Saturday night and the Liberty Eagles easily won 82-58. Acklin sank seven 3-pointers for Liberty and finished with 36 points. Dakota Mooney led Doniphan with 18. Clay Payne had 11...