Stories from Wednesday, January 29, 2014

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor ELLSINORE, Mo. -- Sunday's high winds quickly spread a grass fire, sending flames shooting across the eastbound lanes of U.S. 60 at Ellsinore and creating zero visibility, forcing the highway to be shut down as crews from multiple departments battled the blaze...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Just as he has done for nearly 30 years, Chuck Stratton continues to carry a badge and gun -- now that badge reads Three Rivers College, not Poplar Bluff Police Department. Stratton began his law enforcement career in July 1984 as a reserve officer for the police department and 29 years and eight months later, he retired from that same department, effective Jan. 3...

By EMILY PRIDDY SEMO News Service PERRY COUNTY, Mo. -- A Fredericktown, Mo., man spent Sunday night "freezing his tail off" under a tree in an attempt to avoid arrest, Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said Monday. Charles D. Grindstaff, 30, was arrested about 7:20 a.m. Monday after someone spotted him hiding under a pile of leaves on a neighbor's property and called police, Schaaf said...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer Approval from the Missouri Development Finance Board to sell $61,650 in tax credits will help the Rodgers Theatre board move into the next phase of restoration, according to theater executive director Kyle Million. "I like to call it the aesthetic phase, bringing back to life the soul of The Rodgers," he said. "I believe in it. I believe that Poplar Bluff will save its theatre."...

By ERIN RAGAN SEMO News Service CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- A suspect description emerged Monday in connection with a Saturday night shooting at Cape Girardeau's Arena Building that sent two people to the hospital. The shooting meant an early ending for a rap concert that brought about 1,000 people to the venue. ...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Members of the Poplar Bluff Historic Depot Restoration Corporation have selected National Train Day on Saturday, May 10, to have two important events. "We will have a groundbreaking ceremony for the start of construction to replace the historic staircase," said Shirley Davenport, chairman of the steps committee...

Lillian Kimes DEXTER, Mo. -- Lillian Dildine Kimes, 84, of Marble Hill, Mo., died Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, at the Westwood Hills Nursing Center in Marble Hill. Mrs. Kimes, the daughter of the late Sam B., Sr. and Dillie Mae Fuwell Dildine, was born in Wynne, Ark., on March 20, 1929. ...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN "We've outsourced our manufacturing and much of our pollution, but some of it is blowing back across the Pacific to haunt us." So says University of California scientist Steve Davis. Smog from Chinese factories has already saturated cities like Beijing, where residents go about in surgical masks, and crossed the East China Sea to foul the air of Korea and Japan...

Judy Higgins MALDEN, Mo. -- Judy Darlene Higgins, 61, of Clarkton, Mo., died Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Visitation will be at 5 p.m. today at Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden. The funeral service will be at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home chapel with burial in Stanfield Cemetery in Clarkton...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON -- Fixated as we Americans are on Canada's three most attention-getting exports -- polar vortexes, Alberta clippers and the antics of Toronto's addled mayor -- we've somewhat overlooked a major feature of Canada's current relations with the United States: extreme annoyance...

SEMO News Service CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Total first-day spring semester enrollment is up 1.5 percent at Southeast Missouri State University, according to a preliminary enrollment report compiled after the first full day of classes of the spring 2014 semester, a university news release said...

Semo Sluggers fundraiser A fundraiser for the Semo Sluggers 12-u softball team will be held from 4-8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1 at Myrtle's Place Backalley BBQ. Cost: $10 adults; $5 kids (10 and under). Menu choices are: large country steak with two sides, hamburger steak with two sides or spaghetti with one side. Each dinner will be served with Texas toast and a drink. To go orders will be available...

May Skaggs PIEDMONT, Mo. -- May Scaggs, 44, of Des Arc, Mo., died Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo. Arrangements are pending with Ruegg Funeral Home in Piedmont. Online condolences: www.rueggfuneralhome.com...

By MONA CHAREN "I came from a place of struggle," insisted Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis after The Dallas Morning News revealed that key details of the life story she had successfully shopped to the mainstream media were false. She wasn't a 19-year-old mom when she was first divorced, but 21. ...

Poplar Bluff Senior High School has released its January Students of the Month for the 2013-2014 school year. Students honored follow: Chosen for the freshman class was Tyson Tibbs, son of Brian and Lori Tibbs. Tibbs enjoys hunting, fishing, football and baseball. He has volunteered at the Salvation Army and been involved with Student Council, FCA, Trap Team and Football...

By EMILY PRIDDY SEMO News Service CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Police are still searching for a suspect today in connection with a shooting late Saturday night that left two people injured during a concert at the Arena Building in Cape Girardeau, police reported...

Mary Dicken NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Mary Alice Dicken, 60, of Troy, Mo., formerly of Harviell, Mo., died Friday, Dec. 13, 2013, in Troy. A memorial visitation will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Neelyville. The memorial service will follow at 4 p.m. at the chapel...

Mary Dicken NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Mary Alice Dicken, 60, of Troy, Mo., formerly of Harviell, Mo., died Friday, Dec. 13, 2013, in Troy. A memorial visitation will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Neelyville. The memorial service will follow at 4 p.m. at the chapel...

Leonard Baugh DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Leonard A. Baugh, 74, of Doniphan died at 11:08 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, 2014. Mr. Baugh, son of Geneva and Loy Baugh, was born Jan. 3, 1940, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. A meat cutter by trade, he managed the meat department at what is present day Harps, for almost 40 years. ...

Michael Ray and Rhonda Lynn Heaton of Wappapello, Mo., have chosen the name Wesson Ray Heaton for their 7-pound, 8-ounce son born at 6:43 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014 at St. Francis Medical Center's Family BirthPlace in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Wesson was 19 and one-quarter inches long...

Area students on Mo. dean's list Each semester, students at Missouri State University who attain academic excellence are named to the dean's list. For undergraduate students, criteria include enrollment in at least 12 credit hours during the fall semester and at least a 3.50 grade point average (on a 4.00 scale). Students from the area named to that list follow:...

To help ensure a sufficient blood supply this winter season, Three Rivers College is hosting American Red Cross We Challenge U Blood Drives in February. All presenting donors will receive a commemorative We Challenge U T-shirt, while supplies last. To make an appointment to donate or for more information, Three Rivers College students, faculty, staff, alumni and the public may call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org...

A local student has been recognized by Freed-Hardeman University for academic achievement during the 2013 fall semester. Jaclyn Conner of Poplar Bluff, Mo., has been named to the Dean's List. Conner is a sophomore majoring in pyschology. Inclusion on the Dean's List requires maintaining a minimum grade-point average of 3.4 for the semester and full-time status...

Lake Wappapello United Methodist Church will host GriefShare, a grief recovery support group, beginning Sunday from 1-3- pm. This is a 13 week, non-denominational program. For more information call 573-222-8440 or visit the www.griefshare.org web site...

In many locations around Missouri, a 9-1-1 call for help from a cell phone will not always get you the help you are expecting. Many agencies do not have the 9-1-1 technology to locate your cell phone in an emergency. What's more, much of the state does not have the basic technology to locate a landline phone due to lacking necessary funding streams. Both technologies are already available and are being used to cover entire states, such as neighboring states Kansas, Iowa, Kentucky and Tennessee...

February is Black History Month, and in the spirit of Dr. Charles Drew, the first medical director of an American Red Cross blood bank, the Red Cross reminds eligible donors of the importance of a diverse blood supply. Patients are less likely to have complications from blood donated by someone with the same ethnicity. ...

By REG HENRY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette When American soldiers came back from France after World War I, a popular song swept the nation with funny lyrics that nevertheless posed a serious question: "How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm, after they've seen Paree?"...

The Departments of Education and Justice have teamed up to make the lives of students in tough neighborhoods even tougher. Framed as a measure to combat discrimination against black and Hispanic children, the guidelines issued by the Obama administration about school discipline will actually encourage racial discrimination, undermine the learning environments of classrooms and contribute to an unjust race-consciousness in meting out discipline...

How childish can you get? Yeah, the Republican senators in Jefferson City are acting like 3-year-olds in a way that you'd spank a 5-year-old. You know just because Dennis voted against something they wanted they are going to block his appointment by Democratic Gov. Nixon for State Parole Board. How childish can you get? They all need to be brought home!...

This week marked the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in our country. Since the court's ruling, more than 56 million innocent lives have tragically been lost. To put that into perspective, there are roughly 56 million people living in the states of New York and California combined...

Hershel Vernon Herschel Allan Vernon, 57, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, Jan. 27, 2014, at his residence. Arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service.

Glen Johnson MALDEN, Mo. -- Samuel Glen Johnson, 87, of Malden died Monday, Jan. 27, 2014, at Malden Nursing and Rehab. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until service time Thursday at Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden. The funeral service will begin 11 a.m. Thursday in the Bradshaw Chapel. Burial will be in Memorial Gardens in Kennett, Mo...

James Heiser MALDEN, Mo. -- James L. Heiser, 72, of Campbell, Mo., died Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, at the Heritage Nursing Center in Kennett, Mo. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Friday at the Landess Funeral Chapel in Malden. Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Teresa Catholic Church in Glennonville, Mo., with Father David Dohogne officiating. Burial will be in the St. Teresa Catholic Cemetery in Glennonville...

ROGERSVILLE -- Poplar Bluff got off to a better start at the Logan-Rogersville Tournament but it didn't last long enough. The host Wildcats scored 17 straight points midway through the first half Monday and the Mules never recovered as Logan-Rogersville won 63-52...

Gerald McMonigle NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Gerald McMonigle, 54, of Doniphan, Mo., died Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, at Southeast Health Center in Doniphan. Mr. McMonigle was born Nov. 19, 1959, in St. Louis, Mo., to the late Ray McMonigle and Erma I. Hayes McMonigle. He enjoyed fishing, four-wheeling, firearm target practicing, working in scrap medal and salvage...

Williams Baptist College has released the names of students on the President's and Dean's Lists for the 2013 fall semester. The President's List includes those full-time students who achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average, while the Dean's List is comprised of those with at least a 3.5 GPA...

DONIPHAN -- Fresh off their big Black River League Tournament victory Saturday night, the Clearwater Lady Tigers trailed by a bucket after the first quarter Monday night at Doniphan. The Lady Tigers outscored the Donettes in the middle quarters by 12 points and took an Ozark Foothills Conference win, 58-49...

The first time, Itawamba (Miss.) beat Three Rivers with a 3 at the buzzer. On Monday, the same shot went begging. Three Rivers came back from 17 points down with 12 minutes to play to beat Itawamba 74-71 at the Bess Activity Center. The Raiders were still down by 13 with 7 minutes left when Brian Patterson made a 3 and Three Rivers coach Gene Bess called a time out, during which he switched the defense to a full-court, man-to-man press...

An educational meeting through the Three Rivers Chapter of IAAP regarding Google+ Hangouts will be held at 6 p.m. today at Three Rivers College Tinnin Center Room E105. Meeting will be presented by Greg Hicks, Three Rivers instructor. Google+ Hangouts is a free video chat service from Google that enables both one-on-one chats and group chats with up to 10 people at a time. ...

The following local residents are among more than 1,200 Harding University students included on the dean's list for the fall semester. Area students honored were: Justin Dority, a senior and Logan Page, a senior, both from Poplar Bluff. To be eligible, a student must carry 12 or more hours with a 3.65 or higher grade-point average and no incompletes...