Stories from Sunday, November 5, 2017

Bluff Area Transit Service is offering free rides at all stops for the month of November. The Poplar Bluff city bus service expects to see ridership double to around 3,000 during the month, said regional manager Steve Bush. "We moved this to the month of November as a means of saying thank you to the community for supporting us and riding with us," said Bush....

Former Perry County coroner Herbert Miller will serve prison time after a judge Friday revoked his probation. Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis ordered Miller taken into custody to begin serving two concurrent, seven-year prison sentences. In 2015, Miller was convicted of felony financial exploitation of the elderly and theft of $25,000 or more. The crimes occurred while Miller was coroner...

Missouri Department of Transportation area engineer Chris Rutledge said his organization is in a position similar to past years: equipped to address maintenance concerns, but short of the capital necessary for large improvement projects. In delivering a presentation during the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee, Rutledge said the transportation system should be a priority as a matter of course...

Three Rivers College has been a stepping stone for all walks of life throughout Southeast Missouri. Whether someone attended for one semester or saw it through until earning an associate's degree, alumni are an integral part of the institution. To recognize the accomplishments and achievements of the college's graduates and former students, Three Rivers is now seeking nominations for the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award...

The road to success starts at home, but how successful can students be if they don't have access to basic essentials, like hot water? To help ease challenges faced by many children at Poplar Bluff R-1, Bright Futures strives to be there. The organization provides necessities to families in need, free of charge, through donations made by the community...

"It was an amazing day," Missouri Angel's Pageant organizer Teresa Bradshaw said of the event. "Everyone enjoyed it and kept thanking us for everything we did. They all want to come back next year." The Missouri Angel's Pageant was held Oct. 21 at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center on the Three Rivers College campus in Poplar Bluff. An Angel's Pageant is for individuals of all ages with any type of special need...

SSLq'How do I write down the wonder of watching the seasons change or the evolution of bugs or the tiny microcosms of worlds watched," wrote Rev. Annette Joseph, pastor of Holy Cross Episcopal Church, 420 N. Main St., as she reflected about her four month sabbatical. "There is no way," she continued, "to record the ways in which these have and will supply and refresh my soul, influence my preaching or care, come out in new epiphanies of learning."...

By MONA CHAREN We knew within hours of the attack that the New York truck killer was a Muslim extremist, inspired by ISIS. In today's climate, that means that NPR was hesitant to report that he had shouted "Allahu akbar" and that Donald Trump thundered that our legal system is a "laughingstock" (he frets a lot about being laughed at) and blamed immigration...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN "Meet you at Peace Cross." In northwest D.C. in the 1950s, that was an often-heard comment among high schoolers headed for Ocean City. The Peace Cross, in Bladensburg, Maryland, was a 40-feet concrete memorial to the 49 sons of Prince George's County lost in the Great War. Paid for by county families and the American Legion, it had stood since 1925...

By the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board Americans love their national parks. Last year, these lands attracted 331 million people _ a record number and an increase of 7.7 percent over 2015. But that love is a mixed blessing for the parks. Visitors expect to be provided with roads, bridges, trails, restrooms, campgrounds, water fountains and more. The more people come, the more it costs to keep up the infrastructure that facilitates enjoyment of these rare and precious places...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Bob Wallace, 82, of Puxico, died Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Visitation will be from 9:30 - 11 a.m., Monday, at the Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Puxico. Services will follow at 11 a.m. with Bro. Keith Sandlin of Poplar Bluff officiating...

Raymond Fiehtner, 65, of Poplar Bluff passed away Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, at his home. Mr. Fiehtner was born Dec. 19, 1951, in Pawnee, Neb. He served on the USS Turner Joy in the United States Navy during Vietnam War. He enjoyed spending time with family and friends and watching sports GO BRONCOS!!!!...

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Marvie J. Gray, 72, of Annapolis, Mo. died Thursday, Nov. 2, at the St. Anthony's Medical Center in St. Louis. Visitation will be at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday at the Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel in Piedmont. Funeral services will follow at 2 p.m., Tuesday, at the funeral home chapel with Pastor Dan Pitcher officiating...

ARNOLD, Mo. - Clemens J. Lampe, 81, of Arnold, Mo., died Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Visitation will be held from 4 - 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6, 2017 at Kudis Funeral Home in South County. Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017 at St. David Catholic Church in Arnold. Burial will be in Shepherd Hills Cemetery. Kudis Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements...

Hannah Fortner, 18, and Lane House, 18, both of Poplar Bluff, have each received $1,000 scholarships from the Buel Johnson Endowed Scholarship Fund to help underwrite their studies at Three Rivers College. The fund is administered by the Three Rivers Community College Foundation...

This weekend, public service announcements will remind us to "fall back," ending daylight saving time by setting our clocks an hour earlier on Sunday. On Monday, many of us will commute home in the dark. This semiannual ritual shifts our rhythms and temporarily makes us groggy at times when we normally feel alert. Moreover, many Americans are confused about why we spring forward in March and fall back in November, and whether it is worth the trouble...

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- Four first-half turnovers leading to 21 points proved to be too much of a hole for the Malden football team to dig out from Friday night in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 championship. Caruthersville ended the Green Wave's three-year reign as district champions with a 38-20 win at Hopke Field, where Malden last lost a district playoff in 2013...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Jennifer Morey earned all-state honors for a fourth straight year as the Van Buren senior finished fourth at the MSHSAA Class 1 state cross country championship meet Saturday. Morey ran her fastest time at the 5,000-meter course at Oak Hills Golf Course in 21 minutes, 9.61 seconds, leading Van Buren to a seventh place finish as a team. It was also her top finish and third time in four years she placed in the top eight...

After a blowout win to open the season, the Three Rivers College women's basketball team faced and dealt with a much more challenging team Saturday and showed some moxy. The Raiders had a double-digit lead reduced to one possession twice, but kept the lead and beat Olney Central (Ill.) 79-60 at the Bess Activity Center...

Before Friday's season opener, Three Rivers men's basketball coach Gene Bess told the Raiders about how basketball is a simple game. You get better shots and more shots, he told them, and you keep the other team from getting good shots and don't let them get second shots...

The Raiders avoided a buzzer beater and in doing so, avoided their first losing streak to start a season since 1984. "I knew this was going to be tough early sledding," Three Rivers men's basketball coach Gene Bess said following a 91-89 win Saturday over Link Year Prep...