Stories from Thursday, June 4, 2015

By ERIN RAGAN SEMO News Service A cool, wet spring is hampering the planting and growth of Southeast Missouri row crops and causing price rallies in the grain market. "Right now, there is speculation that we may come up short on a crop because of the weather," said Anthony Ohmes, a regional agronomist for the University of Missouri Extension in the southeast region...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Traffic flow at the intersection of Shelby Road and Kanell Boulevard (Highway PP) will improve and be safer with the new signal lights. "They will be activated at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 9," said Dominic Thompson, an engineer with Smith & Company...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer More than 40 residents have been named to fill spots on Poplar Bluff's 18 citizen advisory boards. The appointments were approved Monday by the city council. Members of the council also were named as representatives for each board...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Editor's Note: This is the fourth in a series of stories concerning officer-involved shootings and their impact on our local law enforcement community. The circumstances may have been different, but the outcome for Butler County Sgt. Brandon Lowe and Poplar Bluff Police Patrolman Bob Larkins was the same -- they had to use deadly force in the course of their duties...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor It sounds like a broken record, but fluctuating water levels brought on by off-and-on rains still are the story at our area's bigger lakes. Wappapello Lake rose to just more than 7 feet above normal pool after heavy weekend rains fell in its upper watershed, and it was expected to crest Tuesday at 367 feet. The discharge was 3,730 cfs, so there's probably some current in the lake as well...

By JOHN PRATT Mo. Dept. of Conservation The weekend of June 6 and 7 is Free Fishing Days in Missouri. Missouri Department on Conservation is suspending fishing-permit requirements for those two days. This includes both residents and nonresidents of the state...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation wants to know what Missourians think about conservation areas around the state. Draft plans for the Wappapello and Clearwater Lakes Management Lands will be available for public comment June 1-30. To preview draft management plans and share comments online, visit mdc.mo.gov/areaplans...

Tell New Wave what you think Since New Wave Cable took out the channel guide in order to make more money by adding a box to the customers to tell them what's on TV. I decided I buy a TV Guide magazine from the grocery store and subscribe to it. The subscription is just a little over $25 a year which is only about $2 and something a month. ...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- Commencement season brings a respite from the sinister childishness rampant on campuses. Attacks on freedom of speech come from the professoriate, that herd of independent minds, and from the ever-thickening layer of university administrators who keep busy constricting freedom in order to fine-tune campus atmospherics...

By MARK REED Mo. Dept. of Conservation If you are looking for a great way to get the kids' summer started, look no further. Local volunteers, along with support from businesses, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Missouri Department of Conservation, will be holding the Stoddard County JAKES Event on Saturday, June 13...

We scored a major victory for the rule of law when a federal judge upheld a lower court's order to stop implementation of President Obama's executive amnesty. This is the latest development in a court case filed by 26 states to halt President Obama's actions which would prevent illegal immigrants from being deported...

By ALBERT HUNT Bloomberg News Foreign policy is shaping up as a defining issue in the presidential campaign. Republican candidates, with the exception of Rand Paul, are vying to take the most hawkish stance on combating Islamic State and, secondarily, countering Russian President Vladimir Putin...

Fisk Middle School Honor Roll Honor Roll Fifth Grade Taylor Barrett, Mikki Elliott, Dominick Esquivel, Olivia Goodrich, Jacob Guess, Simon Heller, Dalton Hicks, Briar Hosentfeld, Landon Peters, Brandon Ratley, Emily Ward, Hannah Wright, Gracie Yarbrough...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.- There are 100 days of summer and the American Red Cross urges eligible donors to choose their day to give blood and help ensure a sufficient blood supply. Summer is a difficult time to collect enough blood to meet patient needs. ...

ST. LOUIS- Alexander Matthew Riffle, a resident of Poplar Bluff, Mo. received a Bachelor of Arts in biology with a minor in anthropology from Saint Louis University during its annual commencement ceremony May 6. Riffle is a 2011 graduate of Poplar Bluff High School...

Deadline Friday for youth gardening program Gardening Summer Program Deadline June 5 The Butler County Extension Office will host a gardening youth summer program from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, June 8. Summer programs provide a safe environment for youth ages 5-18 to spend summer learning about the world...

Eva F. Hinze NEELYVILLE, Mo.--Eva F. Hinze, 95, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., died Monday, June 1, 2015, at St. Francis Medical Center. Visitation will be from 10-11 a.m. Friday at Fowler-Sullivan Memorial Chapel in Neelyville. Funeral service will follow at 11 a.m...

Qulin Lions Sunday dinner Qulin Lions will host Sunday dinner from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Qulin Lions Club in Qulin. Menu includes: turkey w/gravy, hog jowls, potatoes, green beans, salad, dessert and drink. Adults, $8. Children 12 and under, $5...

Vickie Lee Arndt ELLSINORE, Mo.--Vickie Lee Arndt, 53, of Ellsinore, departed this life Sunday, May 31, 2015 at the Kindred Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Feb. 9, 1962 in St. Louis. Vickie was of the Baptist Faith and attended the Hunter Baptist Church. She had studied business administration and was self-employed with David Arndt's Cabinet Company, a family business; she also worked as the outreach coordinator for SCMCAA...

Mandy Whitlow is summa cum laude MURRAY, Ky.- Mandy Whitlow, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., graduated summa cum laude from Murray State University on May 9. She received a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing. Whitlow was also named to the Spring 2015 Dean's List. Students must have a grade point average above a 3.5 to be eligible for the Dean's List...

Marguerite Guess PIEDMONT, Mo.- Marguerite Guess, 95, of Piedmont, died Sunday, May 31, 2015, at Clarks Mountain Nursing Center in Piedmont. The visitation will be 5 p.m. Friday at Ruegg Funeral Home in Piedmont. The service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, also in the Chapel, burial to follow at Masonic Cemetery in Piedmont...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston man was reported in serious but stable condition after being shot several times Monday. Officers from the Sikeston Department of Public Safety were sent about 10:40 p.m. Monday to 815 Ruth St., where they found a 26-year-old man with gunshot wounds...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- A New Madrid police officer is recovering after a driver intentionally ran over him during a vehicle stop. Ron C. Murphy, 43, of New Madrid is being held in the Pemiscot County Jail pending the filing of charges, after a traffic stop that began at 3:53 p.m. Monday on Dawson Road, just west of First Street...

Ellis Timmerman Ellis D. Timmerman, 81, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Friday, May 29, 2015, at his residence. Mr. Timmerman was born August 11, 1933 in Poplar Bluff to the late Milton Lloyd and Lusetta Ellis Timmerman. He attended First Baptist Church and had served his country in the United States Army. Mr. Timmerman had retired from Whirlpool Corporation...

As Steve Edwards looks out onto Strenfel Memorial field at Poplar Bluff High School, he's reminded of the great memories he had as a player and now coach. While those memories will never fade, the field he and the Mules have called home for the last 20 years will...

Myrtle Wilson Myrtle Wilson, 74, of Fisk, Mo., died Tuesday, June 2, 2015, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Arrangements are pending with Moore Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Online condolences: www.moorefuneralservice.com...

Emma Judy Combs-Higgs-Lawson NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Emma Judy Combs-Higgs-Lawson, 63, of Doniphan, formerly of Harviell, died Monday, June 1, 2015, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. She was born Oct. 2, 1951 in Harviell. She was raised in the Harviell area, and was of the Baptist faith. She worked at a glove manufacturing factory...

In the 40-plus games the Wayne County baseball team will play this summer, one tournament sticks out among the rest for the Lumberjacks. The Wayne County Lumberjacks will be one of 54 teams to take part in the Battle of Omaha tournament in Omaha, Nebraska, home of the College World Series...