Stories from Saturday, August 30, 2014

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A warrant was issued earlier this week for the arrest of a former Dexter, Mo., pastor accused of stealing more than $112,000 from his church. Marcus Credale Geuin, 35, was charged Monday with the Class B felony of stealing and the Class C felony of forgery by Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Nine out of 14 area schools have maintained or seen overall improvement in the criteria used to grade districts for accreditation, according to information released today by the state. Three of those districts -- Neelyville, Naylor and Greenville --met the first criteria needed to earn accreditation with distinction...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt met with local community leaders Thursday morning to discuss a bill he has introduced to hold the president accountable for enforcement the laws passed by the U.S. Congress. Blunt introduced ENFORCE (Executive Needs to Faithfully Observe & Respect Congressional Enactment) of the Law Act of 2014 to help ensure the executive branch faithfully executes the laws enacted by Congress...

The Cane Creek Community Club met Aug. 13 at Twin Towers with seven members present. Marie Boxx substituted as hostess for Jean Hawkins, who was unable to attend. Nancy Wujcik, president, called the meeting to order at 11 a.m. The thought for the day was "Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, you can grow flowers or you can grow weeds."...

The upcoming Cape Cod bus tour and guests speakers from the Bank of Missouri were major topics for the Vietnam Veterans of America when they recently met at the chapter home of 502 Vine St. The bus tour to Cape Cod begins Saturday, Sept. 20. The required quota has been met for the trip but there is still time to sign up. The cost for double occupancy is $719 per person. The trip is nine days and eight nights. Interested persons should contact Bardis Dismuke at 573-718-4125...

Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) Mo. 734 was called to order at 10 a.m. Wednesday Aug. 6, with 13 TOPS and four KOPS were present as leader Linda Morgan called the meeting. Following roll call, Lou Ann Wrather read the secretary's report; Pam Kane read the monthly treasurer's report; and Ruth Fisher read the monthly exercise report. All reports were approved...

By BEN CARSON Many people in this country were shocked when the U.S. Navy recently announced the removal of all Bibles from military hotels under their control. This was in response to pressure from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a well-known atheist group...

The Qulin Community Senior Citizens' has available 70 percent credits from the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP). A donation to the Qulin Community Senior Citizens' NAP tax credit building project is a way to reduce tax liability and to benefit the community and seniors being served...

To the Editor: Ever wonder why one the most addictive and destructive substances known to man---alcohol, was exempted when President Richard Nixon launched America's longest war---the "War on drugs," back in 1971? After all, statistics then and now show alcohol abuse as being more destructive to individuals, families, and society than most of the drugs and substances that were criminalized. ...

Last week, Poplar Bluff lost a man who virtually dedicated his life to helping others. That man was James "Mack" Whiteley. We won't call him great -- that will be for history to decide. We will say that he was a good man that got involved in various community activities without thought of personal gain or enhancement of his business...

Donald F. McVaugh Donald F. McVaugh, 59, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. passed away Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Mr. McVaugh was born July 2, 1955 in Louisville, Ky. He was a construction worker, who enjoyed fishing and building different things...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- About the only thing slowing down the Southeast Missouri State football team on Thursday night was a lightning delay that pushed the start time back about 20 minutes. Not much else was stopping the Redhawks as they cruised to a 77-0 victory over NAIA affiliate Missouri Baptist, which is in its inaugural season, to give Southeast first-year coach Tom Matukewicz his first win as a head coach...

Shelby Sievers and the Poplar Bluff softball team had quite a debut Thursday. The freshman drove in a run in her first career at-bat, later had a 2-run homer and pitched a five-hitter as the Mules beat Sikeston 9-1 at Bacon Park. "She's got a lot of confidence," Mules coach Lisa Boyer said of Sievers. "She's got a lot of experience so she doesn't really play like a freshman."...

Arnold David and Mary Arnold are the parents of a 6 lb. 7 oz. girl born at 10:54 a.m. Aug. 13, 2014, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Paige Elizabeth Arnold was 20 inches long at birth. She has one sister, Chloe Lynn Arnold. Grandparents are Paul and Linda Arnold of Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Tammy Willis of Poplar Bluff, Mo...

BROSELEY -- Ricky Julius gave his coach a great birthday gift Thursday. Julius produced five quality innings on the mound and drove in five runs at the plate to celebrate coach Jon Simpher's birthday as the Puxico Indians earned its first win of the fall, 12-4 over Twin Rivers...

BROSELEY -- The Lady Royals picked up their first win behind a strong performance from their returning junior pitcher. Twin Rivers' Kira Cunningham was perfect through four innings and pitched her first shutout of the year. She led the Lady Royals to a 3-0 home win over Puxico...

By DAR STAFF PIEDMONT -- After a setback to start the year against Eminence, the Clearwater Lady Tigers dominated play Thursday night with a 25-11, 25-12 victory over Ellington. "We played better as a team tonight and our communication on the floor was much better," Clearwater coach Sara Hampton said...