Stories from Thursday, August 14, 2014

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Authorities are in the process of using dental records to determine if the body found Monday afternoon in a wooded area behind the Poplar Bluff Junior High School is that of a Texas man. A school maintenance worker found what was later determined to be a human body in an area between the junior high and U.S. Forest Service office at about 3:35 p.m. Monday...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A device that allows a train to switch from one track to another is to blame for a July 24 accident in Dexter, Mo., that derailed 14 Union Pacific cars, one of which was carrying a hazardous substance. "The safety team has determined ... the devices that guide a train from one track to another was defective," said Mark Davis, Union Pacific public information officer...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor The city and Municipal Utilities audits for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2013, were accepted by the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday. While the city is still considered to be in good financial shape, the general fund balance has dropped to slightly less than $8.6 million, a decrease of $3.1 million over the past two years...

Wilma J. Warren GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Wilma Jean Warren, 79, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Services are pending with Ruegg Funeral Home in Greenville, Mo. Online condolences: www.rueggfuneralhome.com...

Cheryl Nicole and Booker T. Tuggle III of Poplar Bluff, Mo., are the parents of a 4-pound 12-ounce son born at 3:20 a.m. Sunday, July 27, 2014, at Saint Francis HealthCare, Cape Girardeau, Mo. He is 17.5 inches tall. They named him Booker Travaughn Tuggle...

James R. Vaughn DEXTER, Mo. -- James R. Vaughn, 67, of Dexter died Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014 at SoutheastHEALTH Center of Stoddard County in Dexter. Visitation will be from 6 - 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. The funeral will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel with Brad Aycock and Rev. Ronnie Stevens officiating. Burial will follow in the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield...

By MONA CHAREN The United Nations plays a supporting role in every war between Hamas and Israel. U.N. spokesmen routinely issue statements, accusations and denials about everyone's conduct, including their own (most recently they had to account for why they returned rockets, discovered in a U.N. school, to Hamas). Israel was denounced worldwide for an "attack" on a U.N. school said to be housing 3,000 civilians, but it was actually an attack on particular terrorists on the adjoining street...

Larry R. Stricklin Larry R. Stricklin, 61, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff.

Billy Joe Norden FISK, Mo. - Billy Joe Norden, 56, of Fisk, Mo. , died Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014 at his residence. Visitation will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at White-Sanders Funeral Home in Fisk. The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in the funeral home chapel with Rev. Jim Sanders officiating. Burial will be at Ash Hill Cemetery East at Fisk...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- At about 5:15 p.m. on June 17, 1971, in the Oval Office, the president ordered a crime: "I want it implemented on a thievery basis. Goddamn it, get in and get those files. Blow the safe and get it." The burglary he demanded was not the one that would occur exactly one year later at the Democratic National Committee's office in the Watergate complex. ...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Oppressive humidity, early morning fog and the potential for rain weren't enough to put a damper on Saturday's Shootin' for St. Jude archery event in Poplar Bluff, Mo. "It was a fantastic event," said Miranda Fickert, captain of the Poplar Bluff Heroes Team, an event sponsor along with the Indian Creek Bowhunters. "We didn't hear a single complaint, and everybody seemed to have a good time."...

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. ("Southern Missouri," NASDAQ: SMBC), of Poplar Bluff, Mo., announced its acquisition of Peoples Service Company ("Peoples"), Nixa, Mo., and its subsidiary, Peoples Bank of the Ozarks. Southern Missouri is the holding company for Southern Bank, headquartered in Poplar Bluff, operating 25 facilities in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Peoples Bank of the Ozarks is headquartered in Nixa, and operates 10 facilities in southwest Missouri...

By FRANK CAMPA Mo. Dept. of Conservation Believe it or not, fall hunting seasons are approaching quickly. Our first season that opens each fall is dove season. The regulations this year resemble last year's. While the printed version will soon appear on permit vendor's shelves, this year's regulations are available online at www.mdc.mo.gov...

I encourage you to keep in touch with the legislative process through the Internet. You can both read about and view video clips of the latest Legislative happenings at: www.house.mo.gov August Primary Results in Solid Voter Turnout The August primary elections drew a significant number of voters who wanted to make their voices heard on a variety of issues ranging from gun rights to farming rights. ...

Parnell Weaver Miller MALDEN, Mo. -- Parnell Weaver Miller, 85, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., formerly of Malden died Monday, Aug. 11, 2014 in Poplar Bluff. Mrs. Miller was born Oct. 7, 1928, at Tuckerman, Ark. to Earnest Hartsell and Addie Mae Watson Hartsell. She first was married to Joe Wayne Weaver, who preceded her in death in 1977. She later married Edward Alvin Miller in April 1988 at Tuckerman. He died Nov. 25, 2011...

Dennis Trinkler Dennis Lee Trinkler, 59, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014, at his residence. Mr. Trinkler was born Nov. 1, 1954 in Ironton, Mo., to the late Richard L. and Lavaughnda C. Davis Trinkler. He had worked at Revere Plastics, and enjoyed helping neighbors and mowing yards...