Stories from Wednesday, June 27, 2018

A group of individuals have come together in Stoddard County for an opportunity at a renewable energy source that is starting to become more prevalent in the market. With the help of John Bollinger and Bollinger Real Estate Services of Sikeston. Mo., Orion Renewable Energy Group of Oakland, Calif., has been looking at land in Stoddard County to install solar farms...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN If Trump's supporters are truly "a basket of deplorables ... racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic" and "irredeemable," as Hillary Clinton described them to an LGBT crowd, is not shunning and shaming the proper way to deal with them?...

Jobs are open, wages are up, unemployment is down, and Americans are optimistic about the future. The country has come a long way in the six months since President Trump signed historic tax cuts, which I was proud to send to his desk. The best is yet to come, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is doing wonders for the pocketbooks and paychecks in Southern Missouri. ...

By STEPHEN MOORE Last week, I testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on the state of the American labor market. I summarized my message in one sentence: For American workers, the job market has never -- or at least seldom -- been better. If you don't have a job, go out and get one, because jobs are out there for the taking...

DEXTER -- The new Dexter Chamber of Commerce executive director hopes to have a hand in growing her adopted community. Korie Fish took over this month from former director Hillary Starnes. "I want to continue to be a resource for the businesses and the people of the community," explained Fish, who started at the chamber June 11. "I want the economy to thrive on a local level."...

Independence Day activities will be held Saturday, June 30, at Wappapello Lake. Activities are: 7 a.m. Vendors and Crafters Setup (Redman Creek Recreation Area) 9 a.m. Opening Ceremonies: Flag Raising Mingo Job Corps (Gate House Registration for Boat Poker Run Begins (Redman Creek Recreation Area)...

Stoddard County commissioners continued interviews with five more candidates for a Senate Bill 40 board spot and two others up for reappointment June 30. Verrell Marchbanks, Daniel Robinson, Shirley Fann, Ray McLane and Danny Griffin came before the commission Monday to answer questions ranging from their best attributes to serve on the board to approaches to correct the issues between the SB40 and Sheltered Workshop boards...

Brian Thompson, president and chief executive officer of Lebanon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (Lebanon-REDI) and a former Dexter resident, was selected last week by statewide peers to serve as an at-large director on the Missouri Economic Development Council (MEDC) Board of Directors...

Dexter Public Schools' annual school bus inspection rating saw a dip this year after the district received a state award in 2017. Results of the Missouri State Highway Patrol's 2018 school bus inspection program were released earlier this month and the reports show Dexter Schools earned an 88.5 percent...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- The City of Cape Girardeau has taken carGO transportation service to court over the issue of whether a liquor license is required to deliver alcohol. James Stapleton, co-founder of carGO and a major investor along with local businessman Jeff Maurer, doesn't believe carGO needs a liquor license, and filed a motion to dismiss Tuesday in municipal court...

The new Dexter Chamber of Commerce executive director hopes to have a hand in growing her adopted community. Korie Fish took over this month from former director Hillary Starnes. "I want to continue to be a resource for the businesses and the people of the community," explained Fish, who started at the chamber June 11. "I want the economy to thrive on a local level."...

Russell L. Gaddis, 77, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died Thursday, June 21, 2018 after a courageous battle with cancer. The visitation will begin at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Cotrell Funeral Chapel with the funeral service immediately following at 3 p.m. The Rev. Thomas McCanless will officiate...

MALDEN, Mo.-- Doris Green Moody, 85, of Malden, Mo., was born on Nov.9, 1932, in Portageville, Mo., to the late Albert E. and Beulah Mae Crafton Green. Doris was the 10th of 11 children. She departed this life on Monday, June 25, 2018, in Cape Girardeau, Mo...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Shirley Emma Knapp, 92, Grandin, Mo. died Monday, June 25, 2018 at her residence. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Edwards Funeral Home Chapel followed by the funeral services at 11 a.m. also in the Edwards Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in the Grandin Cemetery...

Stanley Holder, 73, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at his residence. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Gov. Mike Parson returned to Sikeston on Tuesday to sign a budget bill that will provide over $4 million in funding for opioid abuse solutions across the state in the new fiscal year. During Parson's visit to Mission Missouri, a faith-based recovery support agency in Sikeston, he toured the facility and discuss House Bill 2010...

Twin Rivers R-X staff will see a base salary increase for the 2018-19 school year. During their regular meeting Tuesday evening, school board members unanimously approved raising the base 1.23 percent and adding $50 to the increments, landing starting teachers at $31,000 in the Twin Rivers School District...

Power was out to more than 5,000 area residents Tuesday evening as severe storms moved across Southeast Missouri with wind gusts nearing 60 miles per hour and ping-pong size hail in some locations. Ozark Border restored electric service to the last of its customers around 7:30 a.m. today, said general manager David Schremp. The majority of outages were near Wappapello Lake, the M Highway area of Poplar Bluff and between Hilliard and Hendrickson, he explained...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state filed the necessary paperwork Monday to declare its intentions to seek the death penalty against a Williamsville man accused of killing a couple and their toddler. Assistant Attorney General Kevin Zoellner filed a notice of the state's intent to seek the death penalty, including statutory aggravating circumstances it intends to use, in the case of Drew D. Atchison. The notices were filed in Cole County, where Atchison's case was moved on a change of venue...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Stoddard County jury took about 55 minutes Tuesday afternoon to convict a Doniphan man of murdering a convicted sex offender by shooting him in 2016. Just before 3:50 p.m., the bailiff entered the courtroom to tell Presiding Circuit Judge Robert Mayer that the jury "had arrived at a verdict" in the case of Michael "Mick" Harris...