Stories from Wednesday, August 2, 2017

It may be August, but for The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce holiday cheer is in the air. The chamber got an early Christmas present when it learned Poplar Bluff will one of the stops for a truck carrying the 2017 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- A Doniphan man was to make his first court appearance Wednesday morning after being charged with fatally shooting his brother-in-law during an apparent argument. Benjamin Michael Ruhl was to appear before Associate Circuit Judge David Swindle for arraignment on the Class A felony of first-degree murder, the Class B felony of first-degree assault, four Class D felonies of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and two unclassified felonies of armed criminal action...

An apparent low bid of less than $11 million has been submitted for construction of a Shelby Road extension that was expected to cost $15 million. The Poplar Bluff City Council is expected to review nine bids for the project at their meeting Monday evening...

Wheatley School and Kathern Harris go hand in hand and this summer was no exception. Over the past three weeks, 21 students spent their days at the Super Kids Summer Camp at Wheatley School, learning life lessons such as organization, reading skills, math and emphasizing on character education...

10 BOX Cost Plus Food store is coming soon to Poplar Bluff. The Poplar Bluff 10 BOX store will be the fifth store of the Cost Plus format. The first 10 BOX Cost Plus store opened in April 2016, two more opened early this year in Russellville and Springdale, Ark., and a fourth opened just recently in Rogers, Ark...

At 25-years-old, service technician Joshua Clover of Baldwin Ford-Lincoln-Toyota achieved his goal of becoming a Senior Master Technician by the age of 30. Clover is one of 254 technicians in the Memphis Region to hold this status. "We're very proud of this young man," General Manager Bruce Hutson said. "It is extremely difficult to achieve Senior Master Technician status. Master tech is one thing, but senior is a whole different ball game."...

Don Moffitt, 70, of Poplar Bluff, died on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Visitation will be from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 4, 2017 at Moore Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff. Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Poplar Bluff...

By STEPHEN MOORE Quick: What was the No. 1 source of electricity production in the U.S. during the first half of 2017? If you answered renewable energy, you were wrong by a mile. If you answered natural gas, you were wrong by a tiny amount. According to the Energy Information Administration, which tracks energy use in production on a monthly basis, the single largest source of electric power for the first half of 2017 was coal...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN "Iran must be free. The dictatorship must be destroyed. Containment is appeasement and appeasement is surrender." Thus does our Churchill, Newt Gingrich, dismiss, in dealing with Iran, the policy of containment crafted by George Kennan and pursued by nine U.S. presidents to bloodless victory in the Cold War...

Eight out of ten adults had contact with a healthcare professional in the past year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In Butler county, there were 20,329 emergency room visits and 6882 hospitalizations in 2013. With all this doctor-patient contact, there are also frustrations...

Patty Ruth "Pat" Ward, 73, of Arnold, Mo., formerly of Poplar Bluff, died Friday, July 21, 2017 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m., Saturday, August 5 at Westside Church of God in Poplar Bluff. Online condolences may be expressed at www.cotrellfuneralservice.com...

NEELYVILLE, Mo, -- John Dewayne Minks, 49, of Malden, Mo., passed away Thursday, July 30. 2017. Mr. Minks was born on Oct. 7, 1967 in Eureka, Calif. He worked as a carpenter for Dwelling Construction and enjoyed fishing, working on cars and electronics...

Steven Ray "Bear" Ruble, 58, died Monday, July 31, 2017 at his home near Vulcan, Mo. Visitation will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the Vulcan Assembly of God Church. Funeral Services will follow at 2 p.m. Friday at the church with Bro. Brent Reed and Bro. Daniel Tidmore officiating under the direction of Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel in Piedmont. Burial will be at Mt. View Cemetery in Des Arc, Mo...

Master Sergeant (Retired) Richard "Dick" Joseph Collins, 80, died peacefully in his hometown of Poplar Bluff, Mo. Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he retired from Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas after 22 years of honorable service...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Matthew Dwayne Schrimsher, 31-year-old husband and father, departed this life on Monday, July 31, 2017. Matt was born on Nov. 15, 1985 in Poplar Bluff, Mo. and was a lifelong resident of the Briar, Mo. community. For the past 10 years, Matt has worked as the Parts Manager at Northend Auto Parts in Doniphan. ...

Minor League baseball is a place filled with fantastic mascots. There's the Albuquerque Isotopes, Toledo Mud Hens and Savannah Sand Gnats. The logo for the Quad Cities River Bandits is a raccoon in a cowboy hat. The Jamestown Jammers feature a very angry grape...