Stories from Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Relief is on the way for residents in Butler, Carter and Ripley counties, whose homes received damage by record flooding last month, after a much-anticipated Presidential Disaster Declaration Friday targeting 27 Missouri counties. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is encouraging citizens who incurred damage to their primary residence to register for assistance as soon as possible...

Progress has been made after a 60-day campaign aimed at raising funds to restore the Historic Rodgers Theatre in Downtown Poplar Bluff. In celebration of the commitment of its volunteers and contributors, Rodgers Theatre Inc., would like to invite community members to attend the campaign's last hurrah, a Restore the Rodgers fundraising dinner...

Representatives of Eight Points retail development announced plans Monday for six retailers, two restaurants, a hotel and gas station/restaurant to open by April 2018 at the Oak Grove Road complex. The businesses were discussed with the Poplar Bluff City Council, which has been asked to approve the issuance of approximately $11 million in additional bonds for developers...

Murder, arson and assault charges were filed Tuesday afternoon against a Poplar Bluff, Mo., woman who is accused of setting fire to an apartment house with multiple people inside. Tara Janae Maxfield of the 200 block of Alvin Street was charged with the Class A felonies of second-degree murder and first-degree arson and four Class B felonies of first-degree assault by Butler County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Oesterreicher...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to possessing more than a pound of methamphetamine with intentions of distributing it. Angela Marie Hays of the 1500 block of Coolidge Street pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession, with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine before U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr., according to special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Willis...

WASHINGTON -- In 1950, the year before William F. Buckley burst into the national conversation, the literary critic Lionel Trilling revealed why the nation was ripe for Buckley's high-spirited romp through its political and cultural controversies. Liberalism, Trilling declared, was "not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition" in mid-century America because conservatism was expressed merely in "irritable mental gestures." Buckley would change that by infusing conservatism with brio, bringing elegance to its advocacy and altering the nation's trajectory while having a grand time.. ...

Hillcrest Animal Hospital has been under new ownership since November by a husband and wife team who have a shared passion for animals. Doctors Mason and Kathryn Bell hope to continue Hillcrest's tradition of providing premier veterinary care while adding a few additional features to its list of services, including large animal care and various in-house testing capabilities...

In 1798, Thomas Malthus wrote "An Essay on the Principle of Population." He predicted that mankind's birthrate would outstrip our ability to grow food and would lead to mass starvation. Malthus' wrong predictions did not deter Stanford University professor Paul Ehrlich from making a similar prediction. ...

It doesn't mean that the phenomenon is the same, or that the United States' response to it should be the same, but it does appear that militant Islamist organizations, hitherto predominantly active in Iraq and Syria, have become recently more of a problem in Asia, including in the Philippines and Indonesia...

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Michael Anthony Carter, 57, of Fairdealing, Mo., and formerly of Waterloo, Ill. died Sunday, June 4, 2017. A Celebration of life will be at a later date. Donations may be made to McSpadden Funeral Home Online condolences: www.mcspaddenfh.com...

CHICAGO (AP) -- A study gives reassuring news for breast cancer survivors who want to have children. Those who later became pregnant were no more likely to have their cancer come back than those who did not have a baby. It's a big issue -- the average age of moms has been rising in the United States, and more women are being diagnosed with breast cancer in their childbearing years. About 11 percent of new breast cancer cases in the U.S. are in women under 45...

Beverly Jo Ann Carpenter, 74, died Sunday, June 4, 2017 at her home in Ellsinore. Visitation will be begin for the public at 1 p.m., Thursday, June 8, at the Ellsinore Community Pentecostal Church in Ellsinore, Mo., with the funeral services following at 2 p.m. in the church chapel. Rev. James Huffman will be officiating. Burial will be in the Henson Cemetery in Ellsinore, Mo...

NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Betty Mae Turner, 89, of Naylor, Mo., passed away Sunday, June 4, 2017 at Westwood Hills Healthcare in Poplar Bluff. Mrs. Turner was born on Feb. 28, 1928 in Naylor, Mo. She worked as an elementary teacher for the Naylor R2 School District for 30 years and two years at the Buncombe School. ...

Hey Justin Wimmer, what were your first couple weeks at Three Rivers College like? "It was awful. It was damn awful. It was awful. It was absolutely miserable. I called my dad and told him I was coming home. I thought Gene was crazy." Wimmer was in trouble almost from the start when he arrived on the scene in the early 1990s. ...

Stacey Gibson Steffens, 49, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Monday, June 5, 2017 at St. Frances Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Stacey, the daughter of Ron and Linda Brenneman Gibson, was born Sept. 5, 1967 in Kansas City, Mo. She was a member of Zion Lutheran Church and Lutheran Women's Missionary League. ...

Brenda F. Schalk, 71, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Saturday, June 3, 2017 at her residence. Brenda, the daughter of the late Arthur Vernon and Delma M. Roach Hill, was born Sept. 25, 1945 in Poplar Bluff. She was a member of New Home General Baptist Church. Brenda previously worked as secretary for First Presbyterian Church in Poplar Bluff. She enjoyed spending time with her family and friendsand reading...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Jack D. Shearon, 78, of rural Hillsboro, died Thursday, June 1, 2017, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis after a brief battle with cancer. He was born Nov. 24, 1938, in Poplar Bluff to Clyde Jack and Bondalee "Bonnie" Eastridge Shearon, and moved to St. ...

Berneice Schuerenberg, 93, of Sikeston, Mo., passed away Saturday, June 3, 2017 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Mrs. Schuerenberg, the daughter of the late Roy and Mary Zofe Chaney, was born April 5, 1924 in Sikeston. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Dexter, and had retired after many years as a bookkeeper with the John Deere Dealership in Sikeston. Mrs. Schuerenberg enjoyed spending time with her family, her church, flower gardening and bird watching...