Stories from Sunday, January 15, 2017

Jan. 20 and 21 marks the dates of the Heartland Agriculture and Natural Resources Expo (Ag Expo), which will be held at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff. Ag Expo has continued to grow and add new events each year under the direction of the Butler County University of Missouri Extension Council and the Ag Club of Three Rivers College...

By AMY WALKER Due to the past holiday season, many have received unwelcoming raised electric bills as a belated welcoming to the New Year. Although rates have not risen, the amount of usage each individual has used has increased over the past month of December...

By AMY WAlKER Upon returning from Christmas break Jan. 4, the Puxico Elementary has been changing the schedule for the two oldest grades in the school. Instead of spending the entire day inside of one classroom, the fourth and fifth grades will be switching between the three instructors for each grade...

Dana Mechelle Lepold-Beckwith, 48, of Naylor, Mo. passed away peacefully Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017 Funeral services were held Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2107 at Palace of Praise Church in Poplar Bluff. Donnie Fowler officiated. Burial followed in the Gum Cemetery near Naylor...

Cecil E. Gould, 64, of Wappapello, Mo. died Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017 at his residence in Wappapello. Services were held Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 at Ruegg Funeral Home in Greenville. Mo. Online condolences: www.rueggfuneralhomes.com

Lovers of the written word look forward each year to the annual readers' retreat held at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center in Piggott, Ark. This year participants will be in for a special treat Saturday, April 1, when Hemingway's former personal secretary and confidante, Valerie Hemingway, will be featured during this all-day event...

MT. HOREB, Wis. -- Martina K. Scott, 108, from Mt. Horeb and Puxico, Mo., died on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017 at Ingleside Manor. Martina was born on April 25, 1908 in Mt. Horeb, Wis. to Leo and Theresa Sutter. She graduated from Mt. Horeb High School in 1927. On April 10, 1935, she married William A. Scott. They owned and operated W.A. Scott Manufacturing in Puxico, Mo. for more than 60 years...

Puxico Schools Jan. 18-24 Breakfast Wednesday: Cinnamon roll, breakfast nachos, cereal, oatmeal bar, banana, fruit juice, yogurt, milk. Thursday: Scrambled eggs, apple pastry, cereal, oatmeal bar, toast, orange smiles, milk. Friday: Biscuits and gravy, mini waffles, cereal, oatmeal bar, sausage, pineapple, fruit juice, yogurt, milk...

What is a Master Gardener? It starts with individuals that desire to give back to the community through volunteer programs that train the public in the use and benefit of gardening. These individuals attend horticulture training and pass on the information they learn through advice and education to the public on gardening and horticulture...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor PUXICO, Mo. -- A move from her native St. Paul, Minn., to Southeast Missouri in the middle of the winter is a big undertaking, but the chance to start a new career doing something she loves is what brought Debbie Koenigs to Puxico...

By MIKE MCCOY SEMO News Service "Truly, I can say I feel like I've made a difference," said former Stoddard County Chief Deputy Tommy Horton. "You have to, or you don't want anything to do with it." Horton's last day on the job was Dec. 23, 2016, but his official retirement is Jan. 31, 2017...

By SCOTT BORKGEN Sports Writer PUXICO -- Leading by a point with 11 seconds to go, Neelyville coach Patrick Morton reached for his monkey wrench. "We hadn't run a zone all night. So we decided at the end to switch it up, throw something different at them," Morton said...

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) invite Missouri public, private, and home-school students in grades K-8 to help fight litter in the Show-Me State -- and to have creative and educational fun -- by participating in the 2017 "Yes You CAN Make Missouri Litter-Free" trash-can-decorating contest. The annual contest is sponsored by MDC and MoDOT as part of the state's "No MOre Trash!" statewide litter campaign...

Students earning places on the Puxico elementary school second quarter honor roll includes: Fifth Grade: Erika Allen, Carly Barnfield, Emily Carr, Christina Creason, Madison Duncan, Julia Engram, Molly Faries, Trevor Fortner, Abbigail Grubbs, Austin Harbin, Nikki Jones, Michelle Lambert, Micah Lane, Logan Melton, Lydia O'Dell, Dawson Oliver, Lily Stephens, Ava Thomas and Gabe Williamson...

William G. Brunaelle, 83, of Poplar Bluff died Friday, Jan. 6, 2017 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. A private memorial service will be held at a later date. Online condolences: www.cotrellfuneralservice.com.

The last words of Jesus to His apostles as recited in the Gospel of Matthew are: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:19, 20...

From Staff Reports Hearthel Miler's friends use words like jolly, spiritual and close to God to describe the Poplar Bluffian who will celebrate her 90th birthday Saturday, Jan. 21. Her children Freddy and Brenda Douglas invite her friends to celebrate from 1-3 p.m. at the dining hall of the United Gospel Rescue Mission, 400 S. Broadway, Poplar Bluff...