Stories from Thursday, October 8, 2015

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Assault charges were filed Tuesday morning against a June patron of Brick's Off Road Park, who allegedly was intoxicated when his pickup ran a stop sign near the park and struck a local woman's car, leaving her paralyzed...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer WAYNE COUNTY, Mo. -- Carved into the rich soil of a Wayne County forest, the deep ridges of a road walked by Cherokee families forced west nearly 200 years ago is still visible. In memory of those 1,100 men, women and children, national and state organizations gathered this week on the banks of the St. Francis River near Greenville for the unveiling of official Trail of Tears markers...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor A Butler County judge sentenced a Bunker, Mo., man to 15 years in prison Tuesday afternoon in connection with a "road rage episode" in which he fired two rounds into the tailgate of a passing pickup on Westwood Boulevard...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor An alleged burglary was interrupted Tuesday morning at a Butler County residence, but not before the would-be thieves got away with an electronic tablet, which would be used to help authorities solve a total of five burglaries...

By MIKE McCOY SEMO News Service BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stoddard County Commission heard a request at its meeting Monday for additional security in the Stoddard County Justice Center. Circuit Judge Rob Mayer told the commission Associate Judge Joe Satterfield, Associate Judge Steve Mitchell and himself had met recently to discuss additional security. ...

MaryAnn Kienast MaryAnn Kienast, 69, of Dexter, Mo., formerly of Lawson, Mo., passed away Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015 at Cypress Point Skilled Nursing Home in Dexter, Mo. Mrs. Kienast was born June 1, 1946, in Scottland, S. D., to the late William Max Claussen and Elizabeth Luby Claussen. She was of the Assembly of God faith. She was owner of Mary's Flower And Bridal Shoppe and enjoyed scrapbooking and bowling...

Sometimes it only takes one inning. After trailing by two runs midway through the third, top-seeded Greenville took control of Tuesday's Ozark Foothills Conference semifinal with three runs and held on to defeat fifth-seeded Doniphan 6-2 at Roger Pattillo Field...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor With the city of Poplar Bluff, Mo., continuing to grow and expand, its fire department will soon put two new pumper trucks into service, and fire officials hope to begin adding personnel to lessen gaps in staffing...

Kylee Hart got a glove on a screaming line drive back at her Tuesday, just not enough leather. The Neelyville pitcher suffered a hand injury three batters into the final regular-season game, but her coach Aaron Burton said after a 9-0 loss to Poplar Bluff he expects Hart to be ready for the postseason...

PIEDMONT -- A change in rotation and Bailey Roach's 14 kills powered Clearwater to a 25-15, 25-23 sweep of rival Twin Rivers on Tuesday. "We changed it up," Clearwater coach Sara Holmes said. "Libby Chitwood moved from setter to libero. She helped out our passing game so we could run our offense."...

Barbara Sue Fears Barbara Sue Fears, 71, of Trinity, N.C. went home to be with her Lord, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015, at GrayBrier Nursing Home in North Carolina. Daughter of Charles O. Fears and Bernice L. Fears, Ms. Fears enjoyed talking on the phone, playing cards, word search, and activities at GrayBrier. She was a woman who came into the room not as "I'm here" but as "here I am." She worked at Clearview Bag Company in Thomasville, N.C. for 17 years...

DEXTER -- In the only three-game match of the first round of the Stoddard County Activitites Association Tournament, Advance scored the final six points to rally past Bloomfield 21-25, 26-24, 25-13. Both teams blew leads in the opening sets as Advance overcame a 23-22 deficit in the second with consecutive points. The Hornets only trailed once after that to reach the semifinal...

Thelma McWilliams Thelma Dovetta (Cozort) McWilliams went to live with her heavenly father at 11:16 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, 2015 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. She was a member of the Palace of Praise Church of God. She loved her family above and beyond measure. Her entire life consisted of living for the Lord, loving her family and many friends and going to church and singing. She was a true prayer warrior. She loved talking to God. She gave God credit for everything in her life...

Robert "Bob" Barker - Memphis, Tenn. Virginia Tibbs -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Sherry Lee Hargate --Dudley, Mo. Barbara Sue Fears -- Trinity, N.C. Thelma (Cozort) McWilliams -- Poplar Bluff, Mo.

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor In the months since taking over as Butler County Emergency Management Agency director, Robbie Myers has been working with his "core partners" to prepare the county for emergencies and disasters. "When I took over as interim (director) in March, Jeff Shawan had done a fantastic job at re-establishing EMA as a community partner," said Myers, who was named director in early June. ...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor The ability to make stronger cases and spend more time on the streets are among the benefits of the technological advancements recently implemented by the Poplar Bluff Police Department. "The worst thing you can do is try to play catch up, and as Chief (Danny) Whiteley says, he wants to be proactive. He wants to be in front of the issue rather than trying to catch up," explained Deputy Chief Jeff Rolland...

The National Association of Expert Advisors [NAEA] announces that Lucas Edington has been selected as one of the United States' and Canada's Top 500 Marketing Experts. This is a huge honor considering there are more than 1.2 million agents practicing real estate between the two countries...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor The Missouri State Highway Patrol reached a historic milestone this summer when members of its 100th Recruit Class graduated and began patrolling the roadways of the state. "It was a historic thing ... when you consider the fact we started in 1931," said Sgt. Clark Parrott, Troop E's public information officer. "That first recruit class had 55 members in that training at Rolla."...

Larry Hillis Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is celebrating 20 years of business in Poplar Bluff, Mo. with expansions and renovations in the coming year. When Larry Hillis and his wife, Robyn, purchased the dealership in 1995, it covered three acres, had 28 vehicles and 12 employees. Today, thedealership covers 15 acres, has over 400 vehicles in inventory and 57 employees...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor The backbone of the Butler County Fire Protection District is its volunteers, and finding men and women willing to give of their time each year is getting increasingly harder. With only six full-time firefighters and a 655-square-mile area to cover, responding to 350 calls in 2014 would have been impossible without the department's active volunteers, who now number fewer than 100...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER "Russia hits Assad's foes, angering U.S." -- Headline, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 1 WASHINGTON -- If it had the wit, the Obama administration would be not angered, but appropriately humiliated. President Obama has, once again, been totally outmaneuvered by Vladimir Putin. Two days earlier at the United Nations, Obama had welcomed the return, in force, of the Russian military to the Middle East -- for the first time in decades -- in order to help fight the Islamic State...

To the Editor: In 1972, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriage was illegal, affirming that marriage was between a man and woman (Minnesota college students vs. State of Minnesota). I have always understood the laws of our land were to be approved by the people of our country, state by state, but over the past few years, some Federal judges have told the state governments that they had to change their laws to make same sex marriages legal...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor It has been nearly two years since the mortgage for the Butler County Justice Center was paid off, and since that time, Sheriff Mark Dobbs has been able to increase his manpower and upgrade equipment. "In order to have progress, you have to have money," Dobbs said...

BALTIMORE -- Twinkling stars are pretty but, for astronomers, problematic. Twinkles are caused by the interference of Earth's atmosphere with light radiating throughout the breathtakingly beautiful and unimaginably violent universe. In 1990, however, the Hubble telescope went into orbit 370 miles above Earth, beyond the atmospheric filter, peering perhaps 12 billion years into the past, almost to the Big Bang of 13.7 billion years ago...

A few changes to deer hunting regulations for 2016 and beyond still are being proposed in Missouri and can be found online at www.mdc.mo.gov/node/24141. Residents can offer comments online or by mail to Tom Draper, Regulations Committee Chair, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, Mo., 65102, through the end of October...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor With methamphetamine lab seizures continuing to decline, members of the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force are able to become more proactive in their investigative work. "With the labs, we were really doing a lot of reacting," said Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. ...

Jackson mom's son lands star TV role By LINDSAY JONES SEMO News Service A young man whose family has roots in the Jackson and Cape Girardeau areas will be starring in a crime show set to air Saturday on Investigation Discovery. "Hell House" will be shown at 8 p.m. on the sister station of the Discovery Channel. Investigation Discovery's shows use actors to portray real crimes...

Man shot to death in Cape By KATHERINE WEBSTER SEMO News Service A man was shot and killed Tuesday night in the 900 block of Ranney Avenue. Cape Girardeau police chief Wes Blair said police responded to a report of shots fired. When they arrived, "He was clearly deceased," Blair said...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor So far, the Missouri firearms turkey harvest seems a little low, with 1,609 birds taken as of this morning. Certainly, fall turkey hunting doesn't get nearly the interest from hunters as the spring season. Permit sales also reflect that fact, with numbers declining for several years...

Sherry Lee Hargate FISK, MO.-- Sherry Lee Hargate, 47, of Dudley, Mo., died Monday Oct. 5, 2015 at her residence. Mrs. Hargate was born March 12, 1968 at Dexter, Mo. She formerly worked at Countryside Flowers, Arvin Automotive, was a sales person for Home Interior and presently worked at Division of Youth Services in Poplar Bluff for the past 14 years. She enjoyed fishing, camping and making flowers...

Corby Seib picked the perfect time to start a one-man show. The East Carter junior baffled third-seeded Clearwater, tossing six innings of five-hit ball and also drove in the go-ahead run in the Redbirds' 12-2 win in the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament semifinal Tuesday at Roger Pattillo Field...

Virginia Nell "Darnell" Tibbs NEELYVILLE, MO.--Virginia Nell "Darnell" Tibbs, 70, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday Oct. 5, 2015 at her home. Mrs. Tibbs was born on March 1, 1945 in Poplar Bluff. She worked as a legal secretary for Mike Pritchett Law firm. She enjoyed gardening, working with Kerns Chapel, canning, her church and being the church pianist for 40 plus years. She was a lifetime member of the Kerns Chapel in Stringtown and was a Sunday school teacher...