Stories from Monday, November 17, 2014

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Four grants totaling a record $4,000 were presented during the third annual meeting of the Poplar Bluff Regional Giving Circle at Fellowship General Baptist Church. The Child Concern Center was presented the largest grant of $1,950...

By NOREEN HYSLOP SEMO New Service Joe Ward, Jr. learned as a Marine to be tough -- to have a hard core and to project an attitude of defiance, of physical and mental strength. But a mare named Levi taught him one day that he no longer needed to be so tough -- that he could live life without the overpowering stress with which he'd lived for years -- if he would reach within for a deeper understanding of what life is all about...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties today in southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and western Kentucky. The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., has issued a winter weather advisory for snow and sleet, which is in effect from 6 p.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Current and former members of a Poplar Bluff advisory board fear the city's historically low electric rates could be in danger if officials move forward with a plan to eliminate the financial practices they say have protected customers for nearly a century...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer A Poplar Bluff grassroots ministry is taking the gospel to the streets by helping the homeless and downtrodden find hope and criminal offenders transit from behind bars to the community. Crossroads Ministries since February has been hosting services at the Butler County jail, hosting services on the outside for anyone interested at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday at their 415 Vine St. location and doing whatever else they can to help people having a hard time get back on track...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer A local scout is the third generation of his family to earn the rank of Eagle, the highest honor obtainable in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Troop 166 honored Coulton Becker in a ceremony on Sunday at First United Methodist Church in Poplar Bluff. ...

By KRISRIN DEJOURNETT-SIMON SEMO News Service Lois Troyer was born in Virginia Beach, Va., and raised in a Mennonite family with 10 other siblings. "The Mennonite life is all I know," Troyer said. "I gave my heart to the Lord at a young age and became a member of the church at age 14."...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The first snow of the season dropped more than 3 inches of winter precipitation on parts of Poplar Bluff through the early morning hours, according to area weather spotters. Temperatures are expected to hover near the record low of 22 this evening, with windchill temperatures of between 5 and 10 degrees tonight and into early Tuesday morning, said meteorologist Brittany Peterson of the National Weather Service at Paducah, Ky...

Melvin Stewart Melvin Bodine Stewart, 78, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014, at his residence. The arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff.

Flagged for poor conduct The front page article in the Sunday, Nov. 9th newspaper was unbelievable regarding the soccer players being allowed to play a match on Saturday after being suspended from school on Friday. I assume these are the teens that were throwing full 12 oz. water bottles from the back of a truck at students leaving high school, walking down the Harper Street hill. It is truly a miracle that one of these students was not seriously injured or even killed...

Nestled in the lowlands of southeastern Butler County on Highway HH stands a treasure of the past -- Carter School -- a fully-restored one-room school house. Saturday, Oct. 18, owners and former Carter School teachers, Bob and Wanda Stinson, of Hazelwood, Mo., hosted another reunion for former students and teachers and an open house for their families and friends of Carter School. ...

Photos and stories by CAROLYN SMITH Staff Writer Nestled in the lowlands of southeastern Butler County on Highway HH stands a treasure of the past -- Carter School -- a fully-restored one-room school house. Saturday, Oct. 18, owners and former Carter School teachers, Bob and Wanda Stinson, of Hazelwood, Mo., hosted another reunion for former students and teachers and an open house for their families and friends of Carter School. ...

Virgil Hillis FISK, Mo. -- Virgil Hillis, 87, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., formerly of Broseley, Mo., died Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, at Westwood Hills Health & Rehab in Poplar Bluff. He was born Dec. 18, 1926, at Cash, Ark., the son of Robert Henry and Mary Matthews Hillis...

Poplar Bluff had already lost well before the state soccer quarterfinal had even kicked off last Saturday. At the end of 80 minutes, the scoreboard said Webster Groves had beaten the Mules 2-0. Poplar Bluff suffered a greater loss, however, in allowing four suspended players onto the field...

By SHARON RANDALL McClatchy-Tribune News Service Why do we wait so long to tell someone what they mean to us? What makes us quick to criticize and slow to offer praise? Why are the most important words often the hardest to say? People like to tell me stuff. Not just friends, but strangers, too. It's not unusual to find myself leaning on the sink in a public restroom listening to someone I just met as she walked out of a stall, pour out her heart. I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse...

Dorice Raymond Chiles KIRKWOOD, Mo.-- Dorice Raymond Chiles of Kirkwood died Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014. He was the beloved husband of Thelma Edith Ritchey from December 1945 until her death Nov. 9, 1997 and of Opal L. Freeze from April 1, 1998 until her death July 1, 2012...

Dorothy Counts NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Dorothy M. Counts, 91, of Doniphan, Mo., died Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014, at her residence. Visitation will be from noon to 2 p.m. Monday at Forest Hill Funeral Home, 2440 Whitten Rd., Memphis, Tenn., with the funeral service following at 2 p.m. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis...

Daisy Whitener Daisy Merle Whitener, 92, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014, at Mark Twain Care Center. Arrangements are pending with Cotrell Funeral Service.

Briana Murray NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Briana M. Murray, 24, of Grandin, Mo., died Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, at Garwood, Mo. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p..m. Tuesday at Fowler-Sullivan Memorial Chapel in Neelyville followed by the funeral service at 1 p.m...

Audrey Brake Audrey Nadine Brake, 84, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Mrs. Brake was born Feb. 14, 1930, in Chaonia, Mo., to John Alexander and Minnie Louiza Leach Atnip. On Oct. 15, 1950, she and Cecil Brake were married in Poplar Bluff. He survives of the home...

Geraldine Kane Geraldine Mae Kane, 93, of Fenton, Mich., passed away Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014, at her son's residence in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Mrs. Kane was born Feb. 8, 1921, in Detroit, Mich., to the late Donald and Ester Warfield Keeney. She was of the Lutheran faith and was a homemaker. Mrs. Kane was a member of the Tops Club in Fenton, Mich., where she received a 40-year membership pin. She enjoyed spending time with her family...

ST. LOUIS -- With so many weapons on offense, sometimes Malden junior quarterback Chapen Riley doesn't get much of a chance to throw the ball. Coming into Friday's MSHSAA Class 2 quarterfinal with Cardinal Ritter, Riley had just five completions on nine attempts the two previous district games...

PARK HILLS -- Three Rivers freshman Domonique Alexander air-balled a fade away, off balance jumper as the shot clock expired in the final minute of the game. The buzzer sounded and the Park Hills announcer, getting his buzzers confused, started announcing the final score with 13 seconds still remaining...

SEDALIA -- Halftime has been the toughest opponent the Lady Raiders have had to deal with this season. In each of their four losses, Three Rivers came out of the break and were badly outplayed. On Saturday, Wabash Valley opened the second half with a 15-1 run and beat the Lady Raiders 82-71 in Sedalia...

ST. LOUIS -- In a setting Cape Central had struggled to find a victory in this season, the Tigers proved the environment was never an issue Friday night. The Tigers' only two regular-season losses came on the road against a pair of St. Louis Schools, and their offense sputtered on the natural-grass fields...

ST. LOUIS -- The Green Wave's latest blowout win rewrote the record book and put Malden into the state semifinal for the first time since 1969. Malden scored on its first six drives Friday night and made a pair of first-half red-zone stops to beat Cardinal Ritter 47-6 in the MSHSAA Class 2 quarterfinal...

PARK HILLS -- The Butler did it. He did that, too, plus that other thing and a few of those, as well. Torry Butler set a season-high in points with 20 for the Raiders. He added 10 rebounds, two steals and an assist as Three Rivers easily defeated Lewis & Clark (Ill.) 81-59 on Saturday at Mineral Area College...

Albert JR Johns CAMPBELL, Mo.-- Albert JR Johns, 72, of Doniphan, Mo., died Friday Nov. 14, 2014, at his residence in Doniphan. Visitation will be from 4 - 8 p.m. today at Landess Funeral Home in Campbell. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home chapel with Mr. James Powell officiating. Burial will be at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Campbell...

Ronald Catt CORNING, Ark.-- Ronald Catt, 75, of Corning, passed away Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014, at Flo and Phil Jones Hospice House in Jonesboro, Ark. surrounded by his family. Mr. Catt was born in Knobel, Ark. on Feb. 8, 1939, the son of Dale and Hazel (Hancock) Catt. He was a graduate of Knobel High School. He was a farmer raising rice and soybeans and had cattle. He was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church in Corning...

Cherline Roberts PHOTO FISK, Mo.-- Cherline Opal Roberts, 85, of Florissant, Mo., died Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, at Christian Northwest Health Care in Florissant. She was born on May 25, 1929, at Holcomb, Mo., the daughter of the late Alfred and Dovie Baker Medley. ...

Briana Murray NEELYVILLE, Mo.-- Briana M. Murray, 24, of Grandin, Mo., died Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, in Garwood, Mo. She was born May 16, 1990, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., she was a homemaker and a lifelong resident of Carter County. She was of the baptist faith. She enjoyed singing, yard sales, word search puzzles, the outdoors and spending time with her family...

Melvin Stewart Melvin Bodine Stewart, 78, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014, at his residence. Mr. Stewart was born Aug. 8, 1936 in Tippah County, Miss., to the late Lester Homer and Mildred Idona Bishop Stewart. On July 26, 1957, he and Betty Joyce Goodson were married in Aurora, Ill. She survives of the home...

Southeast Missouri State University announces area students who were among the school's Summer 2014 graduates. They are: Poplar Bluff, Mo.: Christopher White, Specialist in Education with a major in specialist/educational administration; Stacey Burge, Graduate Master's High Honors with a Master of Arts with a major in secondary education, education technology option; Leslie Markham, Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a major in nursing; Amy Darnell, Master of Arts with a major in TESOL...

It would be unreasonable to expect a student with the reading, writing and computing abilities of an eighth-grader to do well in college. If such a student were admitted, his retention would require that the college create dumbed-downed or phantom courses. ...

By MICHELLE MALKIN This week, President Obama launched a prominent social media campaign on behalf of "net neutrality" and urged the FCC to "keep the Internet free and open." The man has gall. This is the same speech-squelcher in chief whose administration snooped on reporters; vengefully audited tea party pro-life activists and conservative election watchdogs and slow-walked the probe into the IRS witch hunt against them; entertained a government scheme to monitor story selection in TV newsrooms; and forked over $1 million to a researcher building a Twitter-snooping database.. ...

For months I've been telling you about how detrimental the new Waters of the United States Environmental Protection Agency regulation would be to our way of life, and now there's something we can do to stop it. The federal government is accepting comments on this new proposed rule through Friday, Nov. 14. As your congressman, I am submitting comments to explain just how damaging this federal overreach would be to our area, and I encourage you to submit comments as well...

Audrey Brake Audrey Nadine Brake, 84, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Visitation will be 9:30-11 a.m. Tuesday at Cotrell Funeral Chapel, with funeral services at 11 a.m. Burial will be at Memorial Gardens Cemetery...

John Stenger John Forest Stenger, 58, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. The arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff.

Greenville Schools have released the names of high school and junior high school honor roll students for the first quarter of the school year. They are: Seniors: Madison Baker, Jacob Barks, Coulton Becker, Lathan Blackburn, Alex Boren, Brandon Brinkman, Bridgette Burkett, Mackenzie Clark, Bridget Clifton, Brett Cluckey, Devon Duncan, Presley Ericks, Sydney Frisch, Austin Goebel, Elizabeth Hefner, Ruby Hefner, Ben Lee, Catherine McDaniel, Elizabeth Newhouse, Kandi Payne, Kristi Payne, Hunter Rainey, Samantha Rainwater, Rhianne Reneau, Kelsey Richardson, Brenden Sanders, Samantha Shaffer, Chrissy Stevens, Cody Turner, Linsey Walk and Bethany Weaks.. ...

Edward Moore PIEDMONT, Mo.-- Edward L. "Ed" Moore, 77, of Piedmont, died Friday, Nov. 14, 2014 at the Clark's Mountain Nursing Center in Piedmont. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Morrison-Worley Chapel in Piedmont with Pastor Don Hutto officiating. Burial will be held at a later date...

Madge Sample Madge Wright Sample, 94, of Poplar Bluff Mo., went to be with the Lord on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014, at her home in Poplar Bluff. She was born in Cape Girardeau, Mo., on May 1, 1920, to the late James Eldon and Della (Martin) Wright. On Feb. 18, 1939, she married Henry A. Sample. He preceded her in death in 1983...

Hubert Crain DONIPHAN, Mo.-- Hubert Douglas Crain, 82, of Fairdealing, Mo., died Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014, at St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Hubert was born on Aug. 10, 1932 in Oxly, Mo. He was an auto mechanic by trade and loved to dance in his free time. ...

Cherline Roberts FISK, Mo.-- Cherline Opal Roberts, 85, of Florissant, Mo., died Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, at Christian Northwest Health Care in Florissant. She was born on May 25, 1929, at Holcomb, Mo., the daughter of the late Alfred and Dovie Baker Medley. ...