Stories from Wednesday, January 1, 2014

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A slight cough and low grade fever couldn't dim Kevin Light's excitement about the approaching Christmas holiday, his mother, Alene Porter said today. The 29-year-old Poplar Bluff, Mo., man, diagnosed with an Autism spectrum disorder, was counting down the days on his calender, tickled to see it was only a week away...

Take Off Pound Sensibly (TOPS) was called to order Dec. 18. Leader Linda Morgan called the meeting with eight TOPS and four KOPS attending. Following roll call, Lou Ann Wrather read the secretary' report and recorder Ruth Fisher read the exercise report. Each report was approved...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor A new investment of resources aimed at Delta small business owners, entrepreneurs, families and communities is designed to grow the region's economy and create jobs, the Delta Regional Authority and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon have announced...

Marton Wilkerson DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Marton Homer Wilkerson, 71, of Doniphan died Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013, at the Southeast Health Center of Ripley County in Doniphan. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. today at Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. The funeral services for Mr. Wilkerson will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Riverton Church. Burial will be at the Riverton Cemetery...

Elmer Underwood BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Elmer Underwood, 88, of Bloomfield died Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013, at his home. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield with the funeral following at noon at the funeral home chapel. Burial will be in the Bloomfield Cemetery...

Angela Campbell GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Angela Campbell, 38, of Park Hills, Mo., formerly of Wayne County, died Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013, at her residence. Visitation will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Ruegg Funeral Home in Greenville. Funeral services will begin at 2 p.m. also at the chapel. Burial will be in Mt. Pisgah Cemetery in Silva, Mo...

Stuttering is a frustrating and embarrassing problem for millions of people, but it can be especially tough on teenagers. Help is available at Poplar Bluff Public Library in the form of a video. A DVD version is available free to libraries who will shelve it...

Chad Boxx CORNING, Ark. -- Chad Boxx, 41, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013. Survivors include his wife, Tonja; son, David Moreno; stepdaughter, Shawn; mother, Carol Boxx; and sister and brother-in-law, Tracie and Jimmy Denson. He was a life-long martial arts teacher and student...

Douglas Johnson PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Douglas Alexander Johnson, 68, of Piedmont died Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Visitation will be held at 6 p.m. today at Ruegg Funeral Home in Piedmont. Masonic rites will be follow at 7 p.m. at the chapel. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday also at the chapel in Piedmont. Burial will be in Yount Memorial Cemetery in Garwood, Mo...

By BILL O'REILLY Back in the 1950s, "Little Joe Cartwright" starred in a movie called "I Was a Teenage Werewolf." That's right, after seeing a full moon, Michael Landon ran around a public high school foaming at the mouth and pretty much out of control. Since there was little difference between his behavior and that of the normal students, he got away with it for two semesters...

Mildred Pigg Mildred Juanita Pigg, 91, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Friday, Dec. 27, 2013, at Westwood Hills Healthcare Center. Mrs. Pigg was born April 22, 1922, in Wilson, Ark., to James Lawrence and Mandy Ella Williams Pennington. On Oct. 5, 1937, she married Rev. Leonard Eual Pigg. He preceded her in death on Aug. 23, 1999...

Rombauer cemetery meeting Jan. 11 The Rombauer Cemetery Association will meet at 1 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Rombauer Church Annex. Two board members will also be elected. The public is welcome. For more information, call Les Schuller at 573-785-1514 or Barb Allen at 573-718-2965...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN By their heroes shall you know them. In his eulogy, President Obama put Nelson Mandela in the company of three other heroes: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Abraham Lincoln. What did these men have in common? Three were assassinated, and all four are icons of resistance to white rule over peoples of color...

By ERIN RAGAN SEMO News Service A Southeast Missouri mayor is facing a misdemeanor charge for shoplifting. Jonathan McNeely, mayor of Morley, Mo., was given a citation to appear in municipal court by Cape Girardeau police about 7 p.m. Saturday and released after being detained by loss-prevention officers at Wal-Mart in Cape Girardeau. ...

Message to the eagle thief To the night eagle thief: To the eagle thief that steals at night on CR 314, return those eagles to the owners. You wouldn't like it if someone stole from you. If anybody knows the eagle thief fly him into the police station...

By MONA CHAREN I wouldn't volunteer to be Phil Robertson's speechwriter. He chooses his words too carelessly. But, it's worth pausing a moment to consider two other faces of Christianity today. Many who are hostile to religion are eager to portray the "Duck Dynasty" star's comments about homosexuality as the essence of Christianity. ...

As 2013 comes to a close, now is the time to look toward 2014 and the challenges ahead. Some people make resolutions at the start of the New Year, some set goals. For my part, I see five key goals for the upcoming year: 1. During my time as your voice in the halls of Congress, I have been shocked by the extraordinary power federal agencies like the IRS and EPA have to create rules and regulations. ...

Politicians can be progressives, liberals, conservatives, Democrats or Republicans, and right-wingers. They just can't be dumb. The American people will never elect them to office. Let's look at it. For years, I used to blame politicians for our economic and social mess. That changed during the 1980s as a result of several lunches with Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., which produced an epiphany of sorts...

Myris Hanley Myris Evelyn Hanley, 84, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013, at Westwood Hills Healthcare Center. Cotrell Funeral Service of Poplar Bluff is in charge of arrangements with no services planned.

Donald Wilfong PUXICO, Mo. -- Donald Ray Wilfong, 73, of Piedmont, Mo., died Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013, at his residence. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Puxico. The funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home with Charlie Robertson and the Rev. Ray Placher officiating. Burial will follow in the Brown Cemetery near Puxico...

Debbie Peppers GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Debbie L. (Allen) Peppers, 52, of Clubb, Mo., died Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013, in an automobile accident in Wayne County. Visitation will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel in Greenville. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at the funeral home chapel. Burial will be in the New Prospect Cemetery at Silva, Mo...

Buddy McCain DEXTER, Mo. -- Buddy George McCain, 102, of Morehouse, Mo., died Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013, at his residence. Visitation began at 11:30 a.m. today at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The funeral service followed at 12:30 p.m. at the funeral home chapel with the Rev. Kenneth Biggs of Dexter officiating. Burial was in the Garden of Memories Cemetery in Sikeston...

Shirley Brigman DEXTER, Mo. -- Shirley Ann Hayes Brigman, 66, of Piedmont, Mo., formerly of Dexter, died Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. Services were today at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter with the Rev. Dwight Hensley officiating. Burial followed in the Gravel Hill Cemetery...

The Agee Community Club had a luncheon meeting hosted by Nadine Johnson at her home. Cathy Womack, club president, called the meeting to order with the group repeating the club motto, "When the heart is full of love the world is full of beauty." Orel Smith gave the invocation. Jeanie Figgins read the devotional from Luke 2:7-11, about the birth of Jesus...

Louise Stanford KENNETT, Mo. -- Louise Stanford, 88, of Kennett died Friday, Dec. 27, 2013, at Heritage Nursing Center in Kennett. Mrs. Stanford was born Oct. 23, 1925, to the late Ralph Risinger and Edith Gray Risinger, in Rombauer, Mo. She was a member of First Calvary General Baptist Church in Kennett...

Keifer Evans DEXTER, Mo. -- Keifer Evans, 90, of Dexter died Monday, Dec. 30, 2013, at the Golden Living Center in Dexter. Visitation will be from 9-11 a.m. Saturday at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The funeral service will follow beginning at noon at the funeral home chapel with Travis Quertermous of Dexter officiating. Burial will be in the Harris Cemetery near Maynard, Ark...

Jack Smith DEXTER, Mo. -- Jack Smith, 67, of Dexter died Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013, at Southeast Health in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Visitation will be held from noon to 2 p.m. today at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. Funeral services follow at 2 p.m. in the funeral chapel with the Rev. Danny King officiating. Burial will be in the Hagy Cemetery after services...

Linda Dare- Howdeshell Linda Dare-Howdeshell, 60, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Linda was born Feb. 2, 1953, in Poplar Bluff. She was of the Pentecostal faith and was a beautician...

Missouri Highlands Health Care based in Ellington, Mo., has named Lance Mayfield as interim CEO until further notice. Mayfield takes over as long time CEO Sherilyn Clark retired in December 2013 after dedicating her professional life to rural health care. The new position for Mayfield will be an uncompensated position and will be temporary until a new CEO is hired sometime in 2014...

DYERSBURG, Tenn. -- Suddenly things are looking up for the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules. Cassidy Harris scored 22 points, helping the Lady Mules rally from a double-digit, second-quarter deficit to beat Gosnell (Ark.) 61-57 Monday for the consolation title at the Dyersburg Invitational...

BLOOMFIELD -- The roving trophy of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament can't seem to escape the limits of Dunklin County other than its temporary stay in the hospitality room during tournament week. After spending a year in Holcomb, the trophy returns to top-seeded Kennett which won its fourth title in five years with a 59-27 dismantling of No. 3 Bernie on Monday night...

BLOOMFIELD -- Chance Wilkerson made it a certainty that the Twin Rivers Royals would leave Bloomfield with the fifth-place Christmas jewels. Wilkerson came off the bench and led Twin Rivers with 13 points, a personal-high for the season. He closed out the game with four free throws in the final 46 seconds as Twin Rivers was able to pull away for a 58-50 win in the fifth-place game of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Monday...

MEMPHIS -- The Lady Raiders led from start to finish Monday, but never comfortably. Three Rivers' biggest lead against Georgia Perimeter was 12 points, which it held for 26 seconds late in the first half. It was the only time the difference was more than 10 in an 86-83 win at the Southwest Tenn. Classic...