Stories from Friday, September 2, 2016

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer While opening day at most Poplar Bluff Public School campuses went smoothly as planned, those driving to the new high and middle school campuses experienced a number of traffic snarls and delays. According to Poplar Bluff Police, traffic volume at the high school was unusually high and backed up nearly one-half mile on Oak Grove Road...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Poplar Bluff Middle School's open house on Wednesday, much like the new high school's open house the evening before, saw a capacity crowd with hundreds of parents, students and community members coming out to explore the new campus...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor CORNING, Ark. -- U.S. 62 in Corning remains closed today as railroad personnel repair the track where a train collided with a trailer loaded with a piece of heavy equipment. Between 6:45 and 7 a.m. Wednesday, an eastbound truck pulling a low-boy trailer, loaded with a heavy piece of equipment, got hung up on the tracks, said Corning Police Chief Jimmy Leach, who believes the equipment may have been chassis for big dump trucks...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Summer officially ended for thousands of parents and students early this morning as Poplar Bluff Public Schools opened its doors to kick off the 2016-17 school year. However, for many parents of kindergartners, it was a day that had come all too soon. More than a few mothers dropping off their 5-year-olds waved them off with a smile, only to turn and dry the tears from their eyes as their youngsters entered the school doors...

BY PATRICK J. BUCHANAN The debacle that is U.S. Syria policy is today on naked display. NATO ally Turkey and U.S.-backed Arab rebels this weekend attacked our most effective allies against ISIS, the Syrian Kurds. Earlier in August, U.S. planes threatened to shoot down Syrian planes over Hasakeh, and our Iraq-Syria war commander, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, issued a warning to Syria and Russia against any further air strikes around the city...

By JAY AMBROSE Tribune News Service The Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, is also well-known for the trouble it keeps getting into. The most recent chapter could be the next to last. Big insurance companies, thinking there are better ways to make necessary profits than by losing money, are saying goodbye to the program's exchanges. This and others departing could make the program collapse, and some of the remedies being floated about could make it even less sustainable...

By Paul Davis Outdoors Editor As expected, staff at both Clearwater and Wappapello lakes have cranked up the tailwater discharges at those impoundments after initially holding water following the heavy rains a couple weeks back. The discharge at Wappapello has been around 3,800 CFS, with the lake falling about 6 inches per day...

By Paul Davis Outdoors Editor COON ISLAND, Mo. -- Farmers love a good rain every now and then to help ensure growth of their crops. Migrating waterfowl love rain because it can temporarily flood new areas where they can find food. Even Luke Bryan touted some shady benefits of a good soaking in his corny hit song, "Rain is a Good Thing."...

To the Editor: All of us have heard the phrase, "get the lead out." We got the lead out, but I doubt most of you are going to like the results when you learn what this really means. We all know that lead poisoning is a very serious problem especially for intercity children. The toxic gas fumes are still a major problem from low lead aviation fuel. This exhaust is pouring out over our large cities, because that is where the airports are...

By FRANK CAMPA Mo. Dept. of Conservation As we move forward into our fall hunting seasons, I wanted to include some of these dates to help people stay on top of what is going on so nobody misses anything while trying to keep up with their busy fall schedule...

EDITOR'S NOTE: PBRMC's video in 2015 Medline Pink Glove Dance video competition last year placed fourth. Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center will be competing in the 2016 Medline Pink Glove Dance video competition with the goals of winning a $15,000 donation for the United Cancer Assistance Network (UCAN) and gaining social media attention to promote breast cancer awareness. ...

Area pet owners can end the summer with a splash at the Poplar Bluff city pool in Hillcrest Park on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 10. That's when the Animal Welfare Alliance (AWA) and the Poplar Bluff Parks & Recreation Dept. will co-host "Doggie Swim Day" from 3 to 5 p.m. Admission is just $1 per dog; humans get in free. Refreshments for two-leggeds and four-leggeds will be available for purchase...

Wappapello Civic Center will be having a Spaghetti Dinner, Gun Raffle for a Henry Golden Boy 22 Rifle, Silent Auction and western dance Saturday, Sept. 17. Dennis Worley & Red Light Band will be performing for the 7 -10 p.m. dance. Proceeds raised from this project will be matched by Modern Woodmen of America up to $800, which will be used to buy propane for the winter and insurance...

Ralph B. McAtee GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Ralph B. McAtee, 46, of Greenville died Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, at the Parkland Health Center in Farmington, Mo. as the result of injuries suffered in an auto accident in Wayne county. Arrangements are pending with Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel, Greenville...

Shontay Oliger, a nursing student at Three Rivers College, has received the Allison Grace Daughhetee Scholarship. Oliger, a Poplar Bluff native and current Campbell resident, is a non-traditional (over the age of 25) student and a mother of two. She received a $450 scholarship for the 2016-2017 school year...

Ina Bea Stevens Pruitt MALDEN, Mo. -- Ina Bea Stevens Pruitt, 82, of Malden, died Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be at 1 p.m., Thursday, at Bradshaw Funeral Homes, Inc. in Malden. Graveside funeral will be at 2 p.m., Friday, at Rosewood Cemetery in Malden with Stan Dauck officiating...

Betty Louise (Reasoner) Whitaker RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. -- Mrs. Norman Whitaker, Betty Louise (Reasoner) Whitaker, 90, passed away Thursday, July 7, 2016 surrounded by her family. Mrs. Whitaker was born Aug. 14, 1926 in Conway, Ark. She was the daughter of the late Mr. ...

Wanda Dean Sparks MALDEN, Mo. -- Wanda Dean Sparks, 74, of Bernie, died Tuesday, Aug. 30. 2016, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be at 1 p.m., Friday at Bradshaw Funeral Homes, Inc. of Malden. The funeral will follow at 2 p.m., at Bradshaw Chapel in Malden with Rev. Paul Starnes officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery in Malden...

PUXICO, MO. -- Mingo National Wildlife Refuge is now accepting applications for raccoon hunting on the refuge for the 2016 season. The raccoon hunts will take place through a random draw process in which parties will be issued a free Special Use Permit that outlines their hunt area and hunt dates...

MINDENMINES, Mo. - The beauty of Prairie State Park reveals itself, slowly, to first-time visitors. "People are used to trees and water - this is more about large landscapes and great vistas," said Katy Holmer, natural resource steward of the park near the Kansas state line in the southwest corner of Missouri...

James Fiske James Columbus Fiske, 86, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, in Poplar Bluff. Arrangements are pending with Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff.

What the Poplar Bluff Mules do -- or don't do -- in the moments before the snap while on defense Friday night could determine whether they leave St. Charles with a win. "It's real important that we don't tip our hand of what coverage we're running in the secondary until the ball is snapped," Mules coach Mark Barousse said...

When Three Rivers finished its spring semester and all the students moved out of the dorms for the summer, Gabe Grant didn't go home. Fresh off an All-American season as a freshman, the Raiders' leading scorer chose to live and workout in Kansas City instead of going home to Chicago. He lived with his uncle who also set him up with a personal trainer. The plan was to take Grant's physicality to the next level...

Michael Fox WAPPAPELLO, Mo. -- Michael Fox, 51, of Puxico, Mo., died Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016 at his residence. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, at the Wappapello Cotrell Funeral Chapel with the funeral service following at 11 a.m. Burial will take place at Wappapello Cemetery...

Plans to construct a new softball and baseball practice facility at Twin Rivers High School are moving swiftly. In the two months since the Twin Rivers Board of Education voted unanimously to accept bids on the new complex, a concrete foundation has been poured, trusses have been built and other building materials are scheduled to go up later next week...

BERNIE -- Bernie and two-time defending MSHSAA Class 1 state champion Bell City were scoreless through seven innings. Bell City's Cole Nichols scored off Logan Yates' hit in the top of the eighth and the Mules, who had two hits in the game, couldn't answer, losing 1-0...

Wanda Dean Sparks -- Bernie, Mo. Ina Bea Stevens Pruitt -- Malden, Mo. Ralph B. McAtee -- Greenville, Mo. Michael Fox -- Puxico, Mo. James Columbus Fiske -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Daniel Leroy McNew -- Poplar Bluff, Mo.