Stories from Friday, March 10, 2017

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Nearly 20 Wayne County residents are in jail today after they were arrested as part of a mutlijurisdictional drug round up. The arrests, Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch said, were the result of a year and half undercover investigation...

A 59-year-old Poplar Bluff, Mo., woman died of injures she suffered in a two-vehicle crash at 11:05 a.m. Wednesday on Highway 53 at County Road 306, one mile south of Poplar Bluff. According to the report, Joseph B. Hawkins, 39, of Portageville, Mo., was operating a northbound 2015 Chevrolet pickup when he turned his truck into the path of a 1997 Pontiac van, which was being driven southbound by Kenneth D. Hughes, 40, of Poplar Bluff...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The Poplar Bluff, Mo., electric department is more than halfway toward achieving cash reserve goals that could one day mean a reduction in electric costs for residents, according to officials. Municipal Utilities has reached $7.5 million of its $14 million cash reserve goal for the electric department, general manager Bill Bach said Monday, in discussion with the utility advisory board...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer A familiar face at Mules basketball games says this season will be his last. For 20 years Ray Sowell has been the man behind the scenes during roundball season - setting up the games, cleaning up afterwards and doing whatever necessary to ensure the events run smoothly...

Debra Thrower -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Shirley Deno -- Wappapello, Mo. Connie Vaughn -- Poplar Bluff Mo.

Get out your leather jacket, pull on your bobby socks, and take a trip to the fabulous '50s with Center Stage's production of the original rock 'n' roll high school musical, "Grease!" Center Stage is presenting two weekends of performances: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; and 7 p.m. March 16-18 and 2 p.m. March 19; all at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center on the Three Rivers Campus...

By MONA CHAREN The morning after President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, the Dow Jones industrial average shot up 300 points, lifting the stock market above 21,000. But the excitement of the money managers couldn't touch the ecstasy of conservative observers. ...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat Residents of north St. Louis gathered recently for a community meeting to discuss issues relating to an EPA Superfund toxic landfill smack dab in the middle of their neighborhood. Living near a toxic landfill is risky business from countless standpoints. The health issues are obviously concerning and the gathered crowd at the meeting shared stories of ailments that resulted from their proximity to the toxic swamp...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- In 1960, when John Kennedy was elected president, America's population was 180 million and it had approximately 1.8 million federal bureaucrats (not counting uniformed military personnel and postal workers). Fifty-seven years later, with seven new Cabinet agencies, and myriad new sub-Cabinet agencies (e.g., the Environmental Protection Agency), and a slew of matters on the federal policy agenda that were virtually absent in 1960 (health care insurance, primary and secondary school quality, crime, drug abuse, campaign finance, gun control, occupational safety, etc.), and with a population of 324 million, there are only about 2 million federal bureaucrats.. ...

PIGGOTT -- Caleb Riddle, a senior at Piggott High School, is the winner of the 15th annual Hemingway-Pfeiffer Student Art Exhibition. Second place was Preparation by Bianca Thomas of Puxico (Mo.) High School. Third place was Radical Bruh by Jessie Martin of Bay High School. A number of honorable mentions were also awarded...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Committee members of the Heartland Gobblers chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation are gearing up for the organization's 24th annual banquet. The event is slated for Saturday at the Brown-Mabry American Legion Post 153 off Kanell Boulevard in Poplar Bluff, Mo...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor One or two keeper crappies in a day of fishing sure makes an angler think he or she is wasting their time, and that's the sentiment heard a lot lately from those who fish for crappies at Wappapello Lake. The story is pretty much the same from everyone who spends time there...

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Preparations are underway for Ozark National Scenic Riverways to accomplish several prescribed burns this spring. Prescribed burning provides a variety of benefits to native species and habitats, and helps reduce the threat of devastating wildfires...

By JOE JEREK Mo. Dept. of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Beginning April 1, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will offer Missouri hunters, anglers and trappers its new Permit Card as an additional way of carrying and showing proof of most related permits. The new plastic cards are another option to MDC's paper and electronic permits...

By Caleb Pryor Mo. Dept. of Conservation Missouri anglers love to fish for crappie. One reason crappies are so popular is their eagerness to bite. They are fun to catch and great to eat. Because crappies tend to congregate, anglers might catch a stringer-full in one spot. However, crappies can be just as finicky one day as they were eager the day before. By knowing a little about their habits, you can increase your chances of catching them...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Have you checked out the Wolf Creek Trail System? Did you know that there are almost 25 miles of family-friendly hiking and biking trails right in Poplar Bluff's backyard? The Wolf Creek Trail system was designed, constructed and is maintained through a partnership between the United States Forest Service - Mark Twain National Forest, Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department, and a hard working group of supporters and volunteers known as the Friends of Wolf Creek. ...

By CHELSAE CORDIA Staff Writer Nestled in Southwest Missouri's Ozark Mountains, Roaring River State Park offers gorgeous scenery, challenging hiking trails and some of the best trout fishing in the state. March 1 kicked off 2017's trout season and folks traveled from near and far to catch their limit of the 6,100 fish released by the Missouri Department of Conservation...

A few new but minor rule changes have been implemented in both football and soccer by the National Federation of State High School Association for the 2017-2018 school year. The NFHS Board of Directors approved these rules at its January meeting but they will not go into effect in Missouri until MSHSAA adopts them. Each MSHSAA sanctioned sport and their respective coaches hold rules meetings at least once a year to go over new rules...

It took Camron Reedus two full years to understand why there are so many banners in the Bess Activity Center. "Last year we looked at the hard work like, 'Why are they doing this to us,'" said Reedus, who leads Three Rivers in scoring this season. "The things they do is why they win. We have no choice but to get better."...

Poplar Bluff's Kamron Misner continued his strong start at Missouri with a walk-off home run this past week. Tied at 10 in the bottom of the ninth against Illinois-Chicago on Sunday, Misner, hitting third in the lineup, drilled his second home run of the season over the right field fence...

Shirley Deno WAPPAPELLO, Mo. -Shirley Deno, 91, of Wappapello, Mo., died Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Arrangements are pending with Cotrell Funeral Service of Wappapello, Mo. and will be announced when complete...

Debra 'Debie' Lynn Thrower Debra "Debie" Lynn Thrower, 59, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Monday, March 6, 2017 at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, with her family at her side. The daughter of Arthur Brown and Mary (Eubanks) Brown, Debie was born March 6, 1958 in Poplar Bluff. Her parents survive...

Connie Vaughn Connie Vaughn, 64, of Poplar Bluff Mo., died Thursday, March 9, 2017 at her home. Arrangements are pending with Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff.

Butler County Investigator Brandon Lowe knows first hand that Narcan is a life-saving drug. While packaging evidence seized during a search of a Highway 142 home on Sept. 5, Lowe accidentally was exposed to a substance containing Fentanyl. "We found a white powder substance that was seized; at the time, we thought it was methamphetamine," Lowe explained. "We brought it back to the sheriff's office."...

A 29-year-old former Army gunner who turned to drugs to deal with memories of a tour in Iraq and a 70-year-old Vietnam veteran in trouble with the law for the first time are among just a few of those helped in the past year by the SEMO Veterans Treatment Court...

The number of drug overdoses in Butler County nearly doubled in 2017 as compared to each of the three previous years. 2017 brought a "sharp incline" when 15 people died, said Butler County Coroner Andy Moore. By comparison there were eight deaths in 2014, seven in 2015 and eight in 2016, Moore said...

Each year, the Poplar Bluff Police Department works to curb underage drinking by conducting periodic alcohol compliance checks at businesses selling or serving liquor in town. Liquor licenses are pulled from city hall, and "we try to hit all of them" during the compliance checks, said police Patrolman Rick Adams...