Stories from Saturday, May 16, 2015

Ben Soeter has been named Valedictorian and Madison Bulger Salutatorian of the Poplar Bluff R-I Class of 2015. About the two top grads, senior guidance counselor Regina Williams said nearly the entire senior class admires their integrity, compassion, and supportive nature and that Soeter and Bulger have the strength to meet any challenge and the intellectual ability to contribute to the field of their choosing...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Poplar Bluff City Council members voted 5-1 Tuesday to terminate the employment of city manager Heath Kaplan after less than nine months on the job. Mayor Betty Absheer, Mayor pro tem David Johnson and council members Ed DeGaris, Philip Crocker and Jack Rushin voted in favor of the measure...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor JEFFERSON CITY -- With a focus on getting back to business and completing the work of a highly productive session, the members of the Missouri House elected state Rep. Todd Richardson Friday morning to serve as Speaker of the House for the remainder of the 98th General Assembly...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor A former Wayne County dispatcher was placed on probation earlier this week after she pleaded guilty to possessing synthetic marijuana. Krista A. McAllister of Piedmont pleaded guilty to the Class A misdemeanor of possession of an imitation controlled substance before Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett on Tuesday, according to entries in Casenet, Missouri's online court reporting system...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Emotions ran the gamut from nervousness to tears as 300 Poplar Bluff R-I Seniors brought their high school career to a close. Family, friends and the R-I community packed the Black River Coliseum during the Thursday evening commencement ceremony. Following the traditional opening fanfare, Class President Ridge Hester kicked the evening off with some inspirational words of encouragement...

The commencement ceremony for Three Rivers College will be at 7 tonight at the Black River Coliseum. "Commencement is our college's most important event of the year," said Three Rivers President Dr. Wesley Payne. "We are proud this year that the commencement speaker is successful Three Rivers alumnus Larry DeWitt."...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor WEST PLAINS, Mo. -- A former Doniphan High School principal was placed on probation earlier this month after he pleaded guilty to fraudulently using a former student's identification when he took a college placement test for that student...

Pick central site for new city hall Dear Speak Out I would like to address the proposed new or rebuild of City Hall. I have personally seen and toured the building and in my opinion it is not worth resurrecting the current structure. The City and the Citizens of Poplar Bluff would be better served with a new building in a new location. ...

There is still time to plant your cantaloupe seeds or plants in your garden. According to the MU Vegetable Planting Calendar you will want to plant between April 20 and May 15. You will need to plant about 3 to 5 hills per person and it takes between 80 and 90 days from planting to harvesting. ...

Michael Hughes MALDEN-- Michael Edward Hughes, 58, of Malden died Wednesday, May 13, 2015, at his residence in Malden. Visitation will be held at 6 p.m. Friday at Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in the funeral home chapel with the Rev. Jim Cowsert officiating. Burial will be in the Elder Cemetery in Campbell...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- Controversies about "free-range parenting" illuminate today's scarred cultural landscape. Neighbors summon police in response to parenting choices the neighbors disapprove. Government extends its incompetence with an ever-broader mission of "child protection." And these phenomena are related to campus hysteria about protecting infantilized undergraduates from various menaces, including uncongenial ideas...

By WALTER E. WILLIAMS Occasionally, I wonder whether I'm alone in some of my wonderings. Look at the claim that conservatives or Republicans have launched a war on women as a part of their overall mean-spirited agenda. In the case of mistreatment of women -- or of anyone else -- assault, rape and murder are about as horrible as it gets. ...

Harmon gets SEMO St. scholarship Destinee Harmon of Poplar Bluff, has received the Residence Life Leadership Award to attend Southeast Missouri State University for the 2015-2016 academic year. Harmon is the daughter of Martessa Harmon-Woods and Tyson Harmon of Poplar Bluff, and will be a 2015 graduate of Poplar Bluff Senior High School...

Deborah Joyce Henderson VAN BUREN, Mo.--Deborah Joyce "Debbie" (Buffington) Henderson, 51, of Van Buren, died Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at her residence. A Celebration of Life Memorial will be held from 1-3 p.m. Friday in the McSpadden Funeral Home in Van Buren with friends and family officiating...

Halle Huffman has been going to College of the Ozarks since junior high but in the fall the Poplar Bluff senior will be playing volleyball there for the Bobcats. "We always go the College of the Ozarks (for FCA camp), since seventh grade I've always wanted to go there," said Huffman, who recently signed her letter of intent to do just that...

Joe Whitaker DEXTER, Mo.--Joe Whitaker, 82, of Dexter, passed away Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born July 24, 1932 in Naylor to the late Joe and Hattie May Jennings Whitaker. He had lived in the Dexter area most of his life and had worked for the City of Dexter as the water commissioner. ...

BROSELEY -- Clearwater scored six runs in the first inning, three in the second and added four in the fourth to wrap up the regular season with a 13-0 victory over Twin Rivers Thursday at Royals Field. The Tigers (16-6) pounded out nine hits and got some help with three Twin Rivers' errors in the win...

Briar Alford played soccer during his freshman year of high school before switching to football. "It's a hard decision," the Poplar Bluff senior said. "I was leaving all my soccer buddies and going into football where I didn't even know if I would be successful."...

Anita Greer PIEDMONT -- Anita JoAnn Greer, 59, of Piedmont, died Thursday, May 14, 2015, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Arrangements are pending with Ruegg Funeral Home in Piedmont.

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor A Butler County inmate who walked away from the jail last week while working as a "downstairs trusty" is back behind bars after his arrest Thursday. Jeremy Allen Hicks, 25, of Fisk was joined in jail by three other people, including his grandfather and father, who authorities say aided him during his "freedom," which began at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7...

Dorothy A.Pattengill CHARLESTON -- Dorothy A. Pattengill, 93, of Charleston, died Wednesday, May 13, 2015. She was born Dec. 30, 1921, in Campbell, to the late Andrew J. Harris and Minnie Pearl Williams Harris. She was raised in Campbell, graduating from Campbell High School in 1939 as an honor student. After graduation, she worked in Malden until her marriage in 1942. She then moved with her husband to Caruthersville. In 1945, she moved with her husband to their new home in Charleston...