Stories from Saturday, July 2, 2016

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer A number of state and federal lawmakers attended the Boys and Girls Club of Poplar Bluff's annual Legislative Brunch on Thursday, getting an up-close look at the positive effects the organization has on the community. U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., addressed the crowd of more than 100 elected officials, community leaders and club patrons, citing the value of the organization in helping young people build character and become contributing members of society...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Officials may decide this month to seek the final piece of funding needed to start an extension of Shelby Road estimated to cost $10.5 million. The project would add 2.5 miles of street between Kanell Boulevard and Highway 53...

By CHELSAE CORDIA Staff Writer Wappapello Lake served as a pit stop for Vietnam veteran Dell Francis, 74, who is cycling from Texas to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness for sailors killed on the USS Frank E. Evans, whose names are not on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial wall...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer City officials have rescheduled Fourth of July celebrations due to the threat of rain. The annual parade will be held July 9, said organizers with Downtown Poplar Bluff. The fireworks are tentatively set for July 8 at Ray Clinton Park. The fireworks could not be held on July 9 due to a previously scheduled rodeo, officials said this morning...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- The Leave campaign won the referendum on withdrawing Britain from the European Union because the arguments on which the Remain side relied made Leave's case. The Remain campaign began with a sham, was monomaniacal with its Project Fear, and ended in governmental thuggishness...

By ERIC FRAZIER The Charlotte Observer via Tribune News Service At the end of his lengthy press conference Tuesday explaining and defending the House Republicans' 800-page Benghazi report, Rep. Trey Gowdy got a little emotional. The South Carolina Republican who led the House's two-year inquiry into the 2012 attack on America's diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, choked up while declaring his belief that the families of the four Americans who died there deserve answers about what happened and why.. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Steve Bieser is moving on after leading the Southeast Missouri State University baseball team to new heights in his four seasons at the helm. The Redhawks coach was announced as the new head coach of the University of Missouri baseball team Thursday afternoon...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Stripped of its excesses, Donald Trump's speech contains all the ingredients of a campaign that can defeat Hillary Clinton this fall. Indeed, after the speech ended Clinton was suddenly defending the Clinton Foundation against the charge that it is a front for a racket for her family's enrichment...

Mikel Crafford FISK, Mo. -- Mikel Eugene Crafford, 61, of Fisk, died Wednesday, June 29, 2016 at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Funeral Arrangements are pending with White-Sanders Funeral Home in Fisk. Condolences: www.whitesandersfuneralhome.com...

On Serve Day, Saturday, Sept. 10, members of the First United Methodist Church and volunteers will head outside of the church to help the community. The purpose of Serve Day is to engage the community to grow in faith by actively following Christ in serving our neighbors...

Emma D. Lewis Emma D. Lewis, 86, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Wednesday, June 29, 2016 at Westwood Hills Healthcare Center in Poplar Bluff where she had resided for the past 10 years. Emma, the daughter of the late John and Carrie Stephens Harris, was born Dec. ...

Next season, Jordan and Pippen will be throwing down dunks for the Raiders. Cameron Jordan, unrelated to Michael Jordan, has signed to play for Three Rivers College. Add in returning sophomore forward Kavion Pippen, who is the nephew of Scottie Pippen, and the '90s era Bulls references become inevitable...

There will be a new face on the diamond in the Ozark Foothills Conference this fall. Tyler Thompson was tabbed as the new head coach of the Neelyville baseball team in April and has officially begun work at the helm of the Tigers. Thompson guided Linn High School to a 12-12 finish in his first full season as a head coach and this year, the Cuba, Mo., native is returning to Southeast Missouri...

By CHELSAE CORDIA Staff Writer Neelyville R-IV Board of Education officials held a special session Thursday for an in-depth discussion regarding the installation of security cameras at the elementary and high schools. A series of break-ins last summer, as well as an overall concern for student safety, prompted the need for a security system...

The city of Van Buren, Mo., lost water service sometime after 10:30 p.m. Thursday, but hopes to restore services before the end of business today. Storms damaged a pump at the city's well house, said city clerk Vietta O'Dell. City workers are in the process of obtaining replacement parts and hope to have the parts installed quickly, she said...