Stories from Thursday, August 3, 2017

A local ham radio group that helped provide communication for emergency response during historic spring flooding will hold free classes during the month of August. Ham radios can be a crucial part of response and recovery work, but operators must be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission...

ROMBAUER, Mo. -- A Rombauer woman, who alleges she was the victim of ongoing physical abuse at the hands of her brother, admitted to shooting him at their shared home during an apparent argument over finances Wednesday afternoon. At about 1:30 p.m., Butler County deputies were sent to 189 Burrough St. for a domestic assault, said Investigator Randle Huddleston...

The body of a Butler County man was found Wednesday afternoon caught in a root wad on Black River, more than 6 miles south of where he was last seen. "Yesterday afternoon around 2 o'clock, I was advised by dispatch that the water division of the (Missouri State) Highway Patrol had possibly located Thomas Mayabb south of the Dan River boat ramp," explained Butler County Sgt. James Lewis...

In preparation for the start of the 2017-18 school year on Aug. 17, the Twin Rivers R-X School District hosted its Back to School Fair on Tuesday. Around 30 vendors were on hand to supply students from the district with nearly all the supplies they will need to start a new school year...

Runners, walkers and supporters of Three Rivers College will have the opportunity to work up a sweat on a late summer run to benefit students pursuing a future in fine arts. TRC will host the second annual "Run 4 The Arts" four-mile run/walk at 9 a.m. Sept. 9 at its Poplar Bluff campus. The event is being held to raise funds for an endowed scholarship for students majoring in fine arts (music, theater or art) at TRC...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- (AGFC) Hunters fortunate enough to harvest a banded duck, goose or dove next hunting season will see a change in the way they report those bands to the United States Geological Survey. The call-in center that has been in place to record information has been replaced by an online tool at www.reportband.gov...

PIGGOTT - In 1928, acclaimed author and Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway penned portions of one of the most enduring war novels in American literature, A Farewell to Arms, at the home of his second wife Pauline Pfeiffer in Piggott, Ark. Hemingway's studio at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center (HPMEC) is the site of an all-expense-paid weekend writing retreat for military veterans Friday through Sunday, Sept. 15-17...

MALDEN, Mo. -- Helen Neal Elder, 82, of Malden, Mo., died Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017, at her residence. Visitation will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 3 at Bradshaw Funeral Homes, Inc. in Malden. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 4, at the funeral home chapel in Malden with the Rev. Kenneth Bounds an the Rev, Ernest Puckett officiating. Burial will be in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Malden...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat The GOP is facing a dilemma unlike any in history. With each passing day, it becomes harder to defend President Trump's actions and words, though his policies still remain highly popular with the majority of Americans...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Twenty-five years is a long time for most anything, but for local Second Amendment supporters, it's a testament to their passion. "It's pretty special for all of us," said SEMO Friends of NRA committee chairman Andrew Heuiser when talking about the organization's 25th annual banquet, which is set for Aug. 19 at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Given the bravery he showed in stepping out front as the first senator to endorse Donald Trump, Jeff Sessions deserves better from his boss than the Twitter-trashing he has lately received. The attorney general has not only been loyal to Trump and his agenda, he has the respect and affection of ex-colleagues in Congress and, more broadly, of populists and conservatives nationally...

GREENVILLE, Mo. -- Dora R. Freyermuth, 86, of Silva, Mo., died Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017, at Shangri-La Rehab and Living Center in Blue Springs, Mo. Visitation will be held from 10 - 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017 at Ruegg Funeral Home, Greenville. Funeral services will immediately follow at 11 a.m. also at the Greenville Chapel. Burial will be at Greenville City Cemetery. Rev. Mark Hunsberger will officiate...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor After three months and a record-high water level, Clearwater Lake finally is at a normal level. "We can finally call ourselves pretty much back to normal," said Deputy Operations Manager Fred Esser this week. The normal water level, 497 feet at this time of year, means all boat ramps at the lake are back in service, as are most facilities...

WASHINGTON -- Transparency, thy name is Trump, Donald Trump. No filter, no governor, no editor lies between his impulses and his public actions. He tweets, therefore he is. Ronald Reagan was so self-contained and impenetrable that his official biographer was practically driven mad trying to figure him out. Donald Trump is penetrable, hourly...

Theresa Jean Thiele, 61, of Silva, Mo., passed away Sunday, July 30, 2017 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. She was born Feb. 23, 1956 to Philip and Velva (Christian) Hawkins in St. Louis, Mo. She graduated from Ritenour High School in St. Louis in 1973. On June 21, 1974 she married Millard "Junior" Thiele in Overland, Mo...

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- 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 Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel in Piedmont. Funeral services will follow at 2 p.m. Friday at the funeral home chapel with Bro. Brent Reed and Bro. Daniel Tidmore. Burial will be at Mt. View Cemetery in Des Arc, Mo...

Marion Don Moffitt, 70, of Poplar Bluff, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Saint Louis, Mo. He was born May 23, 1947 to Henry and Vera (Young) Moffitt in Pollard, Ark. He graduated from Qulin High School in 1965. After graduation he enlisted in the United State Air Force during the Vietnam War and was honorably discharged after several years of service. ...

Carita Lee Peters Roach, 90, of Columbia, passed away Saturday, July 29, 2017. Visitation will be held from 1- 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017 at Memorial Funeral Home followed by the funeral service at 2 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery...

He could have been butting heads and slamming elbows, but Brantly James chose a more sedate, though still punishing, route. It was never his first passion, but James' distance running ability earned the Poplar Bluff graduate a cross country and track scholarship to Williams Baptist College...

When Bruce and Pat Miller noticed some relatives and friends in attendance at a recent Babe Ruth game they attended in Charleston, they didn't think it was suspicious. Their grandson, Caleb, coaches a team -- which went onto win the state championship -- so to see some family members there wasn't unusual. The game was especially well attended, but that also didn't seem cause for alarm...