Stories from Thursday, June 5, 2014

Heritage Day celebrating skills and traditions that enabled Ozark settlers to survive the trials of the Great Depression is being held at the Big Springs National Park June 28. The one day event is free to the public and this year will have two contests open to all with no entry fees...

CHADWICK, Mo. -- Bear experts and advocates are working to educate Missouri residents about black bears as the number of the species increases in the state. The Missouri Department of Conservation began an effort seven years ago to count the black bear population after the animals that had been reintroduced in Arkansas slowly moved north into the state. Last week, the effort began focusing on trapping female bears, The Columbia Daily Tribune reported...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Stoddard County judge set a $750,000 cash bond Tuesday morning for a former Bloomfield pastor accused of multiple felonies, including the attempted murder of his wife, and ordered he abide by 12 special conditions upon his release...

Karen May Stewart WAPPAPELLO, Mo. - Karen May Stewart, 67, of Wappapello, died Monday, June 2, 2014 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. A celebration of Mrs. Stewart's life will be held at a later date. Cotrell Funeral Service in Wappapello is in charge of the arrangements...

Leonard Lee Woodfin Leonard Lee Woodfin, 88, of Poplar Bluff, passed away Monday, June 2, 2014, at John J. Pershing V.A. Hospital. Mr. Woodfin was born Dec. 10, 1925, in Lutesville, Mo., to the late John and Nellie Shell Woodfin. On Aug. 6, 1944, he and Mary Helen Hindman were married in Piggott, Ark. ...

The Poplar Bluff High School of 1955 will meet at 7:30 a.m. Friday, June 6, 2104, for breakfast at Myrtle's. All class members, spouses and guesta are invited. Any questions, call 573-686-1019.

Howard Chandler DEXTER, Mo. - William Howard Chandler, 87, died June 3, 2014 at his residence in Bloomfield. Visitation at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. Thursday.

Just a simple round of golf to raise a little bit of money for the V Foundation a few years ago has turned into something much more. The Ben Kruse 18 FORE Life event that raises money for local cancer patients is now a staple in Dexter every first weekend in June and has grown every year into something participants look forward to every year...

Jerry Lefler MALDEN, Mo.--Jerry Paul Lefler, 72, of Malden, died Monday, June 2, 2014, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter, Mo. Visitation will be at 1-3 p.m. at the Landess Funeral Chapel in Malden. Funeral services will follow at 3 p.m. at the Landess Funeral Chapel in Malden with Rev. James Mills officiating. Burial will be in the Elder Cemetery in Campbell, Mo...

Contrary to what was reported in Sunday's edition of the Daily American Republic, Jeremy Fineout was not a house guest of Anthony Wolfley, according to Wolfley. Wolfley said Fineout had been let into the Kinzer Street home by a third party who was there at the time...

Kent Hamby Nichols Kent Hamby Nichols, 60, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, at his residence. Mr. Nichols was born Oct. 14, 1953, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., to the late E.A.and Irene (Hamby) Nichols. On Nov. 11, 1978, he married Denise Davidson, in Poplar Bluff. ...

Why did city pay too much? I think there are questions about the new City Council and the actions that they have taken. I think the question should be why did the city pay $900,000 for a car wash that appraised at $445,000? Seems to me the difference could have been used to buy one or maybe two fire trucks. ...

Naylor Elementary School's 4th Quarter Honor Roll is as follows: All A's First Grade -- Trenton Anders, Noel Baguio, Caleb Bell, Madison Brainard, Jeffory Byrd, Maci Dornin, Keon Steward, Kyle Tubb, Blake Warren and Bella Woolard. Second Grade -- Brennan Davis, Madison Ederer, Junior McCoy, Ricanna Powell, Jacob Scranton, Bryce Spargo and Cooper Yarbro...

H.B. Starnes PUXICO, Mo. - H.B. Starnes, 89, of Poplar Bluff, died Tuesday June 3, 2014 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Complete arrangements will be made by Morgan-Sifford Funeral Home in Puxico.

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- All modern presidents of both parties have been too much with us. Talking incessantly, they have put politics unhealthily at the center of America's consciousness. Promising promiscuously, they have exaggerated government's proper scope and actual competence, making the public perpetually disappointed and surly. ...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Chevrolet dealerships across the country are getting a new look as they are being redesigned to bring uniformity to each one. "Chevrolet wanted to update all the facilities nationally," explained Garry Lunsford, general manager of Baldwin Chevrolet Cadillac, 621 S. Westwood Blvd. "There were dealerships that had been in one physical location for centuries, and new facilities that hadn't been updated since they were built."...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Fishing for catfish and bluegills still is the hot ticket for anyone wanting to wet a line, but if you go after largemouth bass, you may or may not have the same success. "We've been seeing a lot of bank fishermen and people using jug lines and trotlines," said Wappapello Lake Ranger Doug Nichols. "They've been wearing the catfish out."...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN On Memorial Day weekend, scores of thousands of bikers arrived here for their annual Rolling Thunder tribute to America's veterans, especially those lost in our wars or left behind. But this year the tribute has been sullied by a squalid scandal in the Department of Veterans Affairs...

By JOHN PRATT Mo. Dept. of Conservation This weekend is predicted to be hot. Also it is a hot time to go fishing, especially if you don't have a fishing permit. Up in the hills, we used to refer to permits as licenses. Whether you call them permits or licenses, they aren't required because this weekend, June 7-8, is Free Fishing Days in Missouri...

By SARABETH WALLER Staff Writer To honor a Poplar Bluff hero's final wishes, a two-person golf scramble will be held at 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday at Ozark Ridge Golf Course. Staff Sgt. Eric Summers, 32, served in the U.S. Marines and was killed Nov. 13, 2013, at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, Calif. He was attempting to clear unexploded ordnance at the time. With five deployments in combat zones under his belt, even at his young age he had considered his final wishes...