Stories from Sunday, January 17, 2016

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor A contest has developed for a Ward 3 seat on the Poplar Bluff City Council, according to City Clerk Pamela Kearbey. Barbara Horton, who lives on Cherry Street and is the news editor at the Daily American Republic, filed Thursday...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer It will cost Butler County nearly seven times as much to pay for elections in 2016, compared to years without a presidential contest. A nearly $360,000 election budget is included in a proposed $22.57 million spending plan for Butler County in the new fiscal year...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer From big tractors to alpacas, the 2016 Butler County Ag Expo saw another successful year of showcasing the best of Southeast Missouri farm, land and livestock management. Phyllis Flanigan of the Butler County University of Missouri Extension, who in-part sponsors the event, said Friday attendance was high and Saturday promised another strong showing...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Bids to replace the Fair Street bridge over Pike Creek will be discussed by Poplar Bluff City Council members Tuesday, two years after officials first learned the structure was becoming unsafe. The Missouri Department of Transportation ordered the bridge closed in early December, citing rust and deterioration of the steel plates that hold the bridge girders together...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- What boxer Sonny Liston's manager said of him (Sonny had his good points, the trouble was his bad points) is true of Marco Rubio. His strengths include intelligence, articulateness and, usually, cheerfulness. His misjudgments involve, in ascending order of importance, the Senate immigration bill of 2013, sugar, Libya and S-590. Together these reveal a recurring penchant for ill-considered undertakings...

Turn on headlights There is a law for drivers to turn on their headlights when it is raining. This goes for everybody. I see a bunch of Butler County residents breaking this law. Hey, it is a good law. Let us embrace it and honor it. It is for everybody's safety. Okay. Thank you...

By JENNIFER MANN St. Louis Post-Dispatch GRANTWOOD VILLAGE, Mo. (AP) -- In the 34 years that they've been married, Ed and Sheri Brimer have lived in three homes. Each was in Grantwood Village, because the couple couldn't bring themselves to leave what they see as a treasure in their own backyard: Grant's Farm...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Three weeks out from the Iowa caucuses, and clarity emerges. Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, is in trouble. Polls show her slightly ahead of Socialist Bernie Sanders in Iowa, but narrowly behind in New Hampshire. And the weekend brought new revelations about yet more classified and secret documents sent over her private email server when she was secretary of state...

Linda Fuemmeler NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Linda Nell Fuemmeler, Aug. 2, 1954-Jan. 14, 2016. Beloved wife, mother, and grandmother. She is survived by her husband, Jim; her two sons: Claude and James, and her daughter, Mary, as well as a host of family and friends...

Sylvia Dover-Fannings PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Sylvia Jean Dover-Fannings, 78, of Piedmont died Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, at Clark's Mountain Nursing Center in Piedmont. Visitation will be held from 1-2 p.m. Sunday, with funeral services following at 2 p.m., at Ruegg Funeral Home in Piedmont. Burial will be at Annapolis Cemetery in Annapolis. Condolence: www.rueggfuneralhome.com...

Sheri DeJournett DEXTER, Mo. -- Sheri Darlene DeJournett, 59, of Dexter died Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, at her home. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Walker Cemetery in Bloomfield...

Vella Carter DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Vella Carter, 87, of Doniphan died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, at Southeast Health of Ripley County in Doniphan. Visitation will be from 5 - 7 p.m. Sunday at Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. The funeral service will be at 1:00 p.m. Monday at the Doniphan Church of God. Burial will follow in the New Home Cemetery...

Dillon Keith Dillon Tyler Keith, 19, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, in Butler County, one-half mile south of Qulin, Mo. Dillon was born April 8, 1996, in Poplar Bluff. He was a graduate of Poplar Bluff High School Class of 2014 and was a member of The Bluff Church...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor The impending retirement of Jeff Rolland as deputy chief for the Poplar Bluff Police Department has led to changes in its administrative staff. "In any organization, whether in private industry or a government entity, such as a police department, it is only as good as its support staff and upper-level administration and how they function as a team," said Chief Danny Whiteley. ...

The freshmen took over Friday night in the annual Battle of Butler County. Hayden Thomas scored 20 of his game-high 30 points in the second half to rally Twin Rivers, while Poplar Bluff freshman Marcedus Leech scored nine points in the final quarter to end it...

MALDEN -- Bloomfield built a 9-point lead early in the third quarter and seemed to be cruising until the final 15 minutes Friday night. Malden used a 13-6 run to tie the game, took the lead with 4 minutes, 4 seconds remaining in the fourth and held on late to complete a 56-47 comeback win over the Wildcats...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Poplar Bluff officials have announced city attorney Robert Smith is resigning effective Feb. 10. Smith has committed to remaining with the city until a replacement is found. City manager Mark Massingham said Friday that a replacement has not been named...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Steven Haley won his weight division and Chance Moore lost in the final as Poplar Bluff placed third at the St. Charles Invitational on Saturday. Josh Lewis and Jack Smothers each placed fourth for the Mules while Garrett McClure, Tanner Dunivan, Drew Dugas and Jordan Lansford were fifth in their weight class...

CORNING Ark. -- The top-seeded Naylor Lady Eagles won their third consecutive title at the Corning Invitational on Saturday night with a 51-42 win over second-seeded Corning in the championship game. Callee Pickrell scored 22 points and Kabien Rogers added 17 for the Lady Eagles...

PIEDMONT -- The Tigers got nearly as many points in the fourth quarter as they did in the previous three Friday night. A low-scoring game through 24 minutes, Clearwater held a 25-23 lead over Van Buren heading into the fourth quarter as neither team was able to muster much of an offense...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Morgan McAtee qualified for the MSHSAA state championships for a third straight year Saturday in the 100-yard breaststroke while helping the 400-freestyle relay also make the state cut. Poplar Bluff finished sixth at the CoMo Invitational at the Mizzou Aquatic Center. Defending state champion Rock Bridge won the meet with 364 points while the Mules finished with 150, 22 points behind Lee's Summit...

WEST PLAINS, Mo. -- Gabe Grant showed up to the gym early and took a couple hundred 3s before the Raiders ever hit the road Saturday. His shot hadn't been feeling right, he couldn't sleep, so he went to work. "That was just something I did today. I'm going to start doing it more often," Grant said. "I probably took like 200-300."...

CROWDER, Mo. -- The Lady Raiders had plenty to deal with in Crowder. Three Rivers dressed eight players, couldn't buy a whistle, couldn't hit a 3 in the first half and still managed to get within two points of the Lady Roughriders in the final minutes before losing 76-67 on Saturday...