Stories from Saturday, May 24, 2014

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The lessons taught by the Eugene Field Elementary Teacher of the Year will carry fourth grade students far beyond the corridors of their campus, according to parents. Pam Heaton expects the best from her students, mother Angela Rush said, teaching both with compassion and the ability to be tough when needed...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Facility planners have begun meeting with teachers and administrators to develop designs for nearly $50 million worth of construction scheduled to take place in the Polar Bluff district in the next two years, according to information discussed Thursday at the Board of Education monthly meeting...

By SAMANATHA RINEHART SEMO News Service After keeping themselves indoors through months of winter storms, millions of people are preparing to hit the road for Memorial Day weekend. AAA travel reports estimate 36.1 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this Memorial Day holiday -- a post-recession high for travel volume. Nearly 32 million of those travelers will use motor vehicles as their primary mode of transportation, a 1.3 percent increase over last year's 31.4 million...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Tutoring and service program AmeriCorps will join the Poplar Bluff School District, after a decade under the umbrella of Butler County Community Resource Council. Superintendent Chris Hon announced the change Thursday at the Poplar Bluff Board of Education monthly meeting...

Stop raping the trees Yeah, I'm calling about the article you had in the paper about what Ozark Border and Townsend Tree Co. is doing to the trees. In my yard, I've got three small trees that are just about to touch the power lines. Townsend comes through the other day and said they wanted to level them to the ground. ...

By BEN CARSON I recently was asked how I could possibly endorse the U.S. Senate candidacy of Dr. Monica Wehby, who is running as a Republican from Oregon. She is pro-choice, which in the opinion of many makes her unacceptable as a conservative. I called her to query her about her stance on this issue. ...

Chris Waite will present the program Constructing Your Career: Scheduling and Tracking with Microsoft® Office at 6 p.m. Tuesday in room E105 of the Tinnin Fine Arts Center on the campus of Three Rivers College. The presentation is free to attend and you do not have to be a member of IAAP...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- Standing on his presidential limousine, Lyndon Johnson, campaigning in Providence, R.I., in September 1964, bellowed through a bullhorn: "We're in favor of a lot of things and we're against mighty few." This was a synopsis of what he had said four months earlier...

Fisk Middle School announces its Fourth Quarter Honor and Merit Roll. Honor Roll 5th Grade Andrea Arnold, Johnna Bagwell, Leann Besher, Elizabeth Clark, Harley Clark, Alexis Cobb, Zachary Deken, Hannah Eddy, Ashley Gimbel, Mariah Hastings, Abbey Hester, Erin Inman, Madison Inman, Avery Jackson, Allison Kacynski, Jacob Logan, Grace Montague, Wysteria Oetjen, Seth Pruett, Melanie Rankin, Tayler Thurman, Ayden Wilkerson...

The Agee Community Club met May 14 at Ryan's. Nickey Orton was this month's hostess. Club President Cathy Womack called the meeting to order with the group's club motto. Nadine Johnson offered the Invocation. Nickey Orton read the devotional from Psalm 16:2 and the article titled, "Living and Laughing" by Michael A. Guido. Roll call was answered with, "How do you feel about rain?"...

Ruth Anderson was hostess for the Cane Creek Community Club's May 14 meeting at Twin Towers. Five members were present. After the Pledge of Allegiance, the "Thought of the Day," by Henry Ward Beecher was read: "Flowers are the sweetest thing God ever made and did not put a soul into. Gratitude is the fairest bloom which springs from the soul."...

The Wayne County Historical Society will have a public meeting at 7 p.m. June 2 at the Patterson Community Center. The guest speaker will be Margaret Shackleford of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) at Poplar Bluff. Shackleford is a gifted speaker and her program will be on the major migration trails used by early pioneers moving westward, according to organizers. ...

It took an extra year, several torn tendons and some unprecedented in-school recruiting by Three Rivers basketball coach Jeff Walk, but Tori Cole has signed a scholarship to play basketball at Three Rivers. "Not joining in the first place was a big mistake," Cole said. "I thought I was burnt out and came to realize that it was a big regret not playing. I just can't thank everybody enough for giving me this opportunity, because not a lot of people get a second chance."...

Former Meadow Heights standout Erin Bollmann has wanted to play Division I basketball since she was in high school. She chose to attend and play basketball at Three Rivers College out of high school with the hopes that she'd still fulfill that dream...

John Cory and Ashlie Kae Patty of Poplar Bluff, Mo. have chosen the name Jackson Lee Patty for their 6-pound, 4-ounce son who was born Friday, May 16, 2014 at Saint Francis Medical Center's Family BirthPlace in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Jackson was 19 inches long...

The art classes and art teachers of East Carter County R-2 School thank the students, their families, staff and other community members who help support them with their collection programs. This year the school collected 14,588 Box Tops for education and almost 4000 Campbell's Labels for Education. ...

TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets at 10 a.m. every Wednesday at the First Presbyterian Church, corner of Main and Oak streets. They recently met on April 30 and May 7. In attendance at the April 30 meeting were 12 TOPS and five KOPS members; May 7, nine TOPS and four KOPS members attended. Both meetings were presided over by Leader Linda Morgan...

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Carr Vernon tied for 30th in stroke play at the NCAA Division II national championship golf tournament, helping Cal State-Monterey Bay reach the quarterfinals in match play. The Poplar Bluff native shot 11-over-par 224 during stroke play at The Meadows but lost his match in the team quarterfinals by a stroke Barry's Berry Jole. ...

USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) has announced fruit, vegetable and wild rice provisions that affect producers who intend to participate in certain programs authorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014.  "Similar to previous programs that we've administered, planting fruits, vegetables or wild rice on base acres on a farm can result in a payment reduction for program participants," said Mark Cadle, State Executive Director for the Missouri FSA. ...