Stories from Thursday, June 15, 2017

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN On May 22, Salman Abedi, 22, waiting at the entrance of the Arianna Grande pop concert in Manchester, blew himself up, killing almost two dozen people, among them parents waiting to pick up their children. Saturday, three Islamic terrorists committed "suicide-by-cop," using a van to run down pedestrians on London Bridge, and then slashing and stabbing patrons of pubs and diners in the nearby Borough Market...

Would you leave your home unlocked or your car doors wide open? Probably not. But right now, America's borders are about as secure as an open fence line with a herd of cattle. That's why this week I voted to give Customs and Border Protection more resources to secure our border by making it easier for them to hire our brave military veterans and law enforcement officers...

Ella Grace Newberry is the name chosen by Sara Diane and Daniel Harrison Newberry of Van Buren for their 4-pound, 15-ounce daughter born at 6:57 p.m., Thursday, June 1, 2017 at Saint Francis Medical Center's Family BirthPlace in Cape Girardeau. Ella was 18 inches long...

Blake and Jennifer Thomas of Poplar Bluff have chosen the name Taryn Blake Thomas for their 6-pound, 15-ounce daughter who was born at 7:50 p.m., Friday, May 26, 2017 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Taryn was 19 inches long. Grandparents are; Stan and Joyce Webb and Larry and Lisa Adamson, all of Poplar Bluff, and Mike and Pam Thomas of Linn, Mo...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor PUXICO, Mo. -- It's time once again for nature photography enthusiasts across the region to dig into their archives, gather their best photographs and enter them in the 12th annual Flora and Fauna Photo Contest, sponsored by the Mingo Swamp Friends, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and area businesses...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Debra Carol Smith, 60, of Dexter, died Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at the Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. - noon, Saturday, at the Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. Service will follow at noon at the funeral home with Bro. Herman Morse of Dexter officiating...

By FRANK CAMPA Mo. Dept. of Conservation This is a very important time of year for wild animals. This is the time of year when reproduction is happening; baby animals are being born. Therefore, this is also the time of year when wildlife numbers are at their highest...

Perfect weather draws big numbers of anglers to the water, and nowhere was that more apparent than during Saturday's rescheduled Wappapello Bass Circuit tournament when 64 teams competed. Pierce and Moser were the big winners of the day, hauling in a five-fish stringer weighing 17.04 pounds. They also had the day's second-largest bass, which weighed 6.14 pounds...

QULIN, Mo. - Kenneth "KV" Vancil, age 70, of Qulin, Mo., died Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at Williamsville, Mo. Mr. Vancil was born August 12, 1946 in Poplar Bluff, Mo. son of the late Homer L. and Clara Mae (Pierce) Vancil. Kenneth graduated from Qulin High School in 1964. ...

PUXICO, Mo. - Lloyd L. Johnson, 83, of Wappapello, Mo., died Tues., June 13, 2017 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Funeral arrangements are pending with Morgan Sifford Funeral Home in Puxico.

Many years have gone by since Poplar Bluff native Bill Morrow made a promise to his mother. Morrow had decided to follow in his father's footsteps and be an educator. His dad is the late Fred Morrow, who served several years as superintendent of Poplar Bluff schools. The former football stadium is named after him...

Wanda Mae (Nixon) Mayo, 80, of Poplar Bluff, died Tuesday, June 13, 2017 in St. Charles, Mo. Mrs. Mayo was born June 20, 1936 in Poplar Bluff. The daughter of the late Ike Nixon and Almalee Bradham. She worked at J.C. Penney in the jewelry dept. She loved reading, bowling and playing card and board games with her great-grandsons...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Cynthia Ramsey, 56, passed away Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Born Oct. 25, 1960, in Dexter, to Letha Landers Jones and the late Jerry Jones. Survivors include: a son and a daughter-in-law, Dustin and Shannon Ramsey of Poplar Bluff; a daughter, Nakeesha Williams of Poplar Bluff; a brother, Jerry Jones II of Michigan; a sister, Melisa Bishop of Sikeston; five grandchildren: Kencin Ramsey of Poplar Bluff, Justice Williams of Poplar Bluff, Dustin II, Nick and Andrew Ramsey of Poplar Bluff; and many nieces and nephews.. ...

Repairs are underway for breaks in the Black River levee responsible for flooding last month of Highway 53 and county roads east of the Poplar Bluff city limits. Work on the largest of the three levee breaks in a section called 'no man's land' finished Wednesday, said Butler County Highway Superintendent Gary McDonald. It measured 100 feet across and more than 8 feet deep...

The state recently filed a motion asking a Butler County judge to allow the admission of evidence which it says would demonstrate the alleged propensity of a former Naylor assistant principal to commit sexual-related crimes against children. Ripley County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kacey Proctor filed the motion in Butler County Circuit Court in late May in the case of John Franklin Mullins, who had been granted a change of venue from Ripley County...

Local authorities continue to investigate the apparent suicide death of a Poplar Bluff, Mo., man who was found early this morning inside his car. Poplar Bluff police officers and emergency-medical-services personnel responded just after 7:30 a.m. today to the Hillcrest Apartments in the 400 block of Second Street regarding a "male subject bleeding in a vehicle," explained Deputy Chief Donnie Trout...

To dream of becoming a musician, whether while belting out a favorite melody in the shower, rocking an air guitar at a live show or during a heated round of carpool karaoke, is a fairly common notion. But for one 16-year-old Poplar Bluff native, his dream of musical stardom is on its way to becoming a reality...