Stories from Thursday, July 30, 2015

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man was sentenced Tuesday afternoon to more than two years in federal prison for illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon. James Odell Johnson Jr., 25, of the 700 block of Seventh Street was sentenced to 27 months on the felony of being a felon in possession of a firearm by U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr., according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Sorrell...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- A Naylor man was sentenced Tuesday afternoon to nearly 10 years in federal prison for possessing sexually explicit images of young girls. Billy Joe Wertenberger, 26, was sentenced to 117 months for the felony of possession of child pornography by U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr., according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Koester...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor A signing ceremony at Three Rivers College Tuesday marked the completion of "a significant six-figure donation" from the Bank of Grandin for the sports complex to be built at the northwest corner of the campus. Dr. Wesley Payne, president of Three Rivers College, thanked the bank and the family of the late Bob R. Kitterman, a former president of the Bank of Grandin, for the substantial donation...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer The Twin Rivers school board was presented the results of the Missouri State Highway Patrol annual school bus inspection during Tuesday's monthly meeting. The report reflected the highest scores of Butler County's three biggest school districts...

SIKESTON, Mo - Building upon the company's commitment to growth through investment, NewWave Communications announced a doubling of existing, available Internet speeds to 100 Mbps in over 80 communities, including Poplar Bluff. NewWave customers in these areas can now increase their speeds to up to 100 Mbps and also receive cutting-edge premium Docsis 3.0 wireless modems that will increase the range of the signal strength within their home. ...

Obeying God Dear Speak Out: Finally Baptized. I was turned away from many religious organization when in search of being baptized. I am not able to join a church nor contribute to their organization. I wanted to be baptized in obedience to God. I was told by many a list of rules (man-made) that I had to follow in order to be baptized. ...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor With so many banks already in Poplar Bluff, many people were surprised to see The Bank of Missouri open a facility here. "The growth of Poplar Bluff over the last couple of years is what really attracted us here," said Kevin J. McCormick, community bank president since July 1, 2014...

There have been several notable cases of racial fakery. Years ago, then-law professor Elizabeth "Fauxcahontas" Warren falsely claimed that her great-grandfather was Cherokee Indian. A diversity-starved Harvard University jumped at the opportunity to hire her. She was so good at the racial fakery that a 1997 Fordham Law Review article lauded now-Sen. Warren as Harvard Law School's "first woman of color."...

By PATRICK BUCHANAN The American political class has failed the country, and should be fired. That is the clearest message from the summer surge of Bernie Sanders and the remarkable rise of Donald Trump. Sanders' candidacy can trace it roots back to the 19th-century populist party of Mary Elizabeth Lease who declaimed:...

Cedric Lewis Cedric Burns Lewis, 59, of Poplar Bluff, passed away on Thursday, July 16, 2015 in Piedmont, Mo. Cedric was born on Sept. 21, 1955 to Lonnie and Olivia (Shaw) Lewis at St. Louis, Mo. He graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 1975. He then graduated Southeast Missouri University with an engineering degree and worked for Hewlitt-Packard...

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Clearwater Lake staff is proud to announce that applications are available for our annual Wounded Warrior deer hunt, Oct. 17-18, as well as our annual mobility-impaired deer hunt for non-ambulatory hunters, Oct. 24-25. Both hunts will take place within Clearwater Lake's watchable wildlife area...

James Fuller James Marcus Fuller, 50, of Poplar Bluff died Tuesday, July 28, 205 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff.

By FRANK CAMPA Mo. Dept. of Conservation One of the duties of a conservation agent this time of year is to deal with vandalism. This becomes a priority, and it is one of our law enforcement duties that is quite disheartening. The Missouri Department of Conservation tries to provide the public with nice parking lots, public access to miles of river they normally would not have, and even a few nice restrooms on site...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor The SEMO Friends of NRA banquet is the largest event of its kind each year in Poplar Bluff, and organizers are hopeful that holds true once again. This year's 23rd annual banquet will be held Aug. 15 at the Black River Coliseum...

Christopher Douglas Ursery PARAGOULD, Ark. -- Christopher Douglas Ursery, 29, of Paragould died Thursday, July 28, 2015 at his residence. He was a Catholic and worked at ARI. He liked going to the river, fishing and deer hunting. He was the son of Doug and Letitia Ursery and Annetta and David Allen. Christopher was preceded in death by his grandfather, Albert H. Ursery, and uncle, Ricky Weisenbach...

Jeffrey Dean Roehm MALDEN, Mo. -- Jeffrey Dean Roehm, 58, of Austin, Texas, formerly of Malden died Wednesday, July 15, 2015, in Austin. Visitation will be from 1-2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1 at the Landess Funeral Chapel in Malden followed by the memorial services at 2 p.m. in the Landess Chapel. Burial will be in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Malden...

Noah Wayne Coleman was born Thursday, June 18, 2015, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff to Kendra Coleman. He weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces and was 21 inches long. His grandparents are Kenny and Rachel Coleman of Hunter, great-grandparents are Louise Dameron of Grandin, Molene Chaligoj of Doniphan and Jim and Virginia Phelps of Williamsville...

Josh Freeman got a loud, Boilermaker fueled welcome to college football. The former Poplar Bluff, all-conference safety was redshirted his freshman season in 2011 at Southeast Missouri State University. The Redhawks traveled to West Lafayette, Ind. to play Purdue, in the second week of the season, served up as the unfortunate cupcake that major programs love to schedule in September. ...

Cedric Burns Lewis -- Poplar Bluff Christopher Douglas Ursery -- Paragould, Ark. Jeffrey Dean Roehm -- Austin, Texas James Marcus Fuller -- Poplar Bluff