Stories from Saturday, May 9, 2015

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Due to a high number of unauthorized burns in the past few weeks, the Poplar Bluff Fire Department would like to remind city residents to exercise care and follow local ordinances when burning yard waste. Battalion Chief David Dudley says the department understands it is the busy season for yard cleanup, but property owners must take precautions in order to avoid a municipal summons, or worse, an out of control fire...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The city of Poplar Bluff does not have enough money to fund the current projected costs to either renovate or replace its city hall, police department and city court, City Manger Heath Kaplan said Thursday. It could cost approximately $10 million for many of the solutions being considered by the city hall feasibility study committee, according to information presented by Ben Traxel, of the architectural firm Dille and Traxel. The company is conducting the study...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Three Poplar Bluff residents appeared in a Stoddard County court Thursday after recently being charged with possessing heroin. William D. Obarr, 27 and Amy R. Dennis, 26, both of the 100 block of West Lexington, and Shannon M. Obarr, 30, of the 300 block of West Relief Street appeared before Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield for arraignment on the Class C felony of possession of a controlled substance...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor The Moark Regional Railroad Museum is participating in Amtrak Train Days for the eighth consecutive year. Area residents are invited to visit the museum from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday to learn about traveling on Amtrak trains, listen to the area history of railroads, view a 30-foot model train layout, walk through a caboose and stop in the Train Shop...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Had Freddie Gray been robbed, beaten and left to die in the streets of his Baltimore neighborhood, no one would be mourning him today. No one would be marching for Freddie. No one would be using Freddie as the new poster child of "Black Lives Matter!"...

Gas cheap, oil is not Hey, Speak Out, I'd like to have some input maybe. How come gasoline is basically half price and yet motor oil is still high as it can be? Aren't they made from the same stuff? You gotta wonder. Are we being screwed on motor oil? Probably...

By SARA DENKLER Horticulture Specialist Each year the Poplar Bluff Master Gardeners work with the elementary schools in the area to bring a garden program to second grade students. The goal of this program is to introduce the young children to the idea of growing their own food and encourage them to give it a try...

This week in Washington we worked to fund your priorities. This is the first time since 1974 that Congress has gotten such an early start on appropriating your tax dollars. This process gives us the opportunity to make sure your tax dollars are spent wisely on what is most important to southeast and southern Missouri. It's the right step to appropriating funds rather than passing temporary patches through continuing resolutions, which give a blank check to the administration...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- Owning a fragment of history -- a Gettysburg bullet, a Coolidge campaign button -- is fun, so in 1968 Gregg Bemis became an owner of the Lusitania. This 787-feet-long passenger liner has been beneath 300 feet of water off Ireland's south coast since a single German torpedo sank it 100 years ago Thursday. It contains the 4 million U.S.-made rifle bullets and other munitions that the ship had been carrying from neutral America to wartime Britain...

By KATIE LAMB SEMO News Service As Zack Buck, a student at Southeast Missouri State University, spent three weeks in South America for the Discovery Channel's "Naked and Afraid" television series, he wondered whether he could endure the last several days...

VAN BUREN -- During the 23 minute bus ride from Ellsinore to Van Buren leading up to its game against Clearwater, the East Carter baseball team did something they hadn't done all season. Individuality was off the table for the Redbirds, who huddled around a couple rows in the middle of the bus and just focused on the game at hand...

Becky Len Wealand DONIPHAN, Mo.--Becky Len (MacLaren) Wealand, 55, of Oxly, died Monday, May 4, 2015, at her residence in rural Ripley County. Visitation will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. A memorial service will follow at 6 p.m. in the funeral home chapel...

Stacy Swisher Stacy Swisher, 37, of Poplar Bluff, died Tuesday, May 5, 2015 in St. Louis. Arrangement are pending with Fitch-Hillis Funeral Home.

Eva McKinley DEXTER, Mo. -- Eva McKinley, 89, of Dexter died Wednesday May 6, 2015 at General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell. Visitation will be from noon to 2 p.m. Friday at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter with the funeral beginning at 2 p.m. with Rev. Ray Rowland officiating. Burial will follow in the Bernie Cemetery...

FARMINGTON -- Alex Lewis is absolutely golden when he plays at Wilson-Rozier Park. The Three Rivers freshman hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning Thursday to score David Branch and beat North Central 4-3 in the second round of the Region XVI tournament...

Brian Patterson will be staying in Missouri, but hopefully not for too much longer. After finishing his sophomore season at Three Rivers College averaging 9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds, the Doniphan native signed to play next season at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar...

Barry Baldwin Barry L. Baldwin, 62, of Wappapello, died Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are being handled by the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

Sara Lou Jones Sara Lou Jones, 94, of Poplar Bluff, died Thursday, May 7, 2015 at her residence surrounded by her family after a long battle with renal and congestive heart failure. Mrs. Jones, one of 14 children of the late Benjamin and Sara Townsend Smith, was born Dec. ...

HAYTI -- Matt Campbell went 3-for-3 with three singles and two RBIs to lead the Campbell Camels to an 8-4 road win over the Hayti Indians. Duncan Morrison threw four innings of relief to earn the victory on the mound for Campbell (7-11). He struck out eight, walked two and only gave up two hits...

CORNING, Ark. -- Approximately 100 workers at the L. A. Darling Company plant will lose their jobs when the store fixtures manufacturing plant closes on Sept. 30. "This business decision in no way reflects on the dedication and efforts of our associates in Corning over the last 45 years," general manager Jackie Elliott said...