Stories from Thursday, May 24, 2018

Conditions were just right Saturday morning for the annual Kids Fishin' Fun Day, and nearly 100 children and their parents turned out for the big event, which was sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Sportsman's Association, Missouri Department of Conservation and U.S. Forest Service...

By MARC A. THIESSEN WASHINGTON -- President Trump's critics were apoplectic last week when the president referred to MS-13 gang members as "animals." Of course, no one should be dehumanized. Yet many of the same people expressing outrage that Trump would dehumanize vicious gang members have no problem dehumanizing innocent, unborn children...

WASHINGTON -- America's government declares "war" promiscuously -- on poverty, on drugs, on cancer, etc. -- except when actually going to war, which the nation has done often since it last declared war (on June 5, 1942, on Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary). But the incipient war du jour is being postponed. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the Trump administration is "putting the trade war on hold." The one with China, that is. Others can continue...

By MICHELLE MALKIN Educrat (ED-yoo-krat) noun, usually pejorative. A government school official or administrator whose primary function is to spend tax dollars telling other parents what to do with their children. Beltway education bureaucrats abhor families who choose to keep their kids out of public schools -- unless it's to grandstand over gun control...

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Danita Ross, 47 of Piedmont, died Wednesday, May 23, 2018, at her residence. Visitation will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, May 26, 2018, at Harvest Baptist Church, Piedmont. Funeral services will follow at 2 p.m., at the church. Online condolences: www.rueggfuneralhomes.com...

Wanda Maxine Allen, 86, died Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at Anna House in Bridgeton, Missouri. She was born May 21, 1932, the daughter of Eugene and Pearl Hill. She married Clifford Allen July 5, 1953 in Fairdealing, Mo. He preceded her in death March 6, 2011. ...

VAN BUREN. Mo.-- Phillip "P.R." Randolph Hollis, 46, son of Christine (Barton) Cletcher and the late Robert Richard Hollis, was born July 19, 1971 in Prince George's County, Md., and departed this life on May 22, 2018 in Van Buren, Mo. P.R. had resided in Van Buren for most of his life. ...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Raymond Roy Parsley, 88, of Doniphan, died Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at his residence. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 26, 2018, at the Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. in the funeral home chapel. Burial will be at Oak Grove Cemetery near Doniphan...

MALDEN, Mo. -- James Hancock, 75 of Malden, died Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at his residence in Malden. A memorial service will be held 10 a.m., Friday, May 25, 2018 at the Landess Funeral Home in Malden with Pastor Jonathan Ross officiating. Burial with military honors will be at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield...

QULIN, Mo. -- Ronald Gene Lock Sr., 64, of Qulin, died Sunday, May 20, 2018 at his residence in Qulin. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at White-Sanders Funeral Home in Qulin. Funeral service will follow at 2 p.m. in the funeral home chapel with Rev. Jim Sanders officiating. Burial will be in Brown Chapel Cemetery at Broseley, Missouri...

James Finn, 73, of Ellsinore, Mo. died Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. He was born May 7, 1945 in St. Louis, Mo. to the late Alvin Finn and Virginia Haney Finn. He married Michell Padgett April 23, 1992 in Piggott, Ark. She survives...

PARK HILLS, Mo. -- Gavin Bristow has been told all season that one of these days, he's going to have to win the game for Malden. He did just that Wednesday when he scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat West County 4-3 and send Malden to the MSHSAA Class 3 semifinals. It is the second game in a row where the Green Wave scored on a walk-off passed ball...

DONIPHAN, MO. -- James A. (Jim) Hill departed this life Wednesday, May 23, 2018 in Osage Beach, Mo., surrounded by his family. Jim was born Aug. 23, 1951 and was a lifelong resident of Doniphan, Mo. Jim and his family relocated to Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. approximately 20 years ago...

Henry Lee Mosbey, 82, of Fisk, Mo., died Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. A complete obituary will appear in the Friday edition of the Daily American Republic newspaper. Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

Butler County commissioners will discuss the future of an industrial park overpass project Friday that has been stalled for more than four years as they try to close funding gaps. The $4 million project would construct an overpass at the Cravens Road entrance of the industrial park, which has become more heavily used by tractor trailers and employees since the installation of a bypass road in 2012...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A newspaper publisher who gave $120,000 to an attorney for the ex-husband of Gov. Eric Greitens' former mistress says the money was his and did not come from a donor hoping to topple the governor. Scott Faughn, who publishes The Missouri Times, a small newspaper and online service that caters to the state's political class, told a special Missouri House committee investigating the impeachment of Greitens that the money included $100,000 for recordings the ex-husband had made of the woman discussing her 2015 relationship with the governor.. ...

Work on the marquee at the historic Rodgers Theatre started Thursday with the letter 'S' still missing from the iconic tower in downtown Poplar Bluff. At more than 2 feet tall, the 'S' was removed recently to be refurbished and feature long-lasting LED bulbs. It's the latest step to restore the 69-year-old building...

BLOOMFIELD -- A Bernie man will make his first appearance in court Thursday after he recently was charged with raping and sodomizing a teenager, who told authorities the relationship was consensual. Garrette Dewayne Mason, 32, is to appear before Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield for arraignment on the Class D felonies of second-degree statutory rape and second-degree statutory sodomy (two counts)...

A Poplar Bluff mom was to appear in court this afternoon after she recently was charged with hitting her young son with what authorities described as the "duty belt" she used as a law enforcement student. Having previously waived her arraignment, Gwendolyn Marie Stroh of the 300 block of Roxie Drive was to appear at 1 p.m. before Associate Circuit Judge John Bloodworth for an announcement in her case...