Stories from Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Pesticides and herbicides are destroying many families' way of life in the Bootheel. Many of us enjoy planting a garden and having fruit trees. Personally, it's always been a favorite moment of mine each summer to bite into a ripe fresh tomato pulled right off the vine. As Southerners we take pride in our gardens. I take pride in feeding my grandchildren from it. Not this year!...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce," a saying attributed to Karl Marx, comes to mind in this time of Trump. To those of us raised in the Truman era, when the Red Army was imposing its bloody Bolshevik rule on half of Europe, and NATO was needed to keep Stalin's armies from the Channel, the threat seemed infinitely more serious. And so it was...

By STEPHEN MOORE Once upon a time, "work for welfare" was a pretty accepted notion. In 1996, Bill Clinton signed a strict workfare bill, which was so popular that it helped him get reelected. A Brookings Institute study by welfare scholar Ron Haskins proved those reforms moved more than half of those on welfare (mostly young single moms) into the workforce, and millions eventually gained economic self-sufficiency...

The new anticipated date of completion for the Libla Family Sports Complex is Aug. 17, architect Mike Pollard of Dille and Traxel Architecture said recently. Pollard shared the information with the Three Rivers College Board of Trustees during its regular monthly meeting. The new date came from Huffman Construction's LFSC project manager, he added...

BLOOMFIELD -- The city of Bloomfield will receive nearly $4.8 million in federal money for wastewater treatment improvements expected to start by early spring 2019. A $2.8 million loan and a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will improve the treatment and collection of the city's wastewater...

Stoddard County commissioners will discuss filling another open spot on the Senate Bill 40 board in August, according to presiding commissioner Greg Mathis. The commission discussed SB40 matters Monday, after a board member resigned at last week's meeting. Three new members appointed in July by the commission have created a shift in board priorities, and new upheaval for the entity created to help the county's developmentally disabled...

WAPPAPELLO -- A man drowned over the weekend at Wappapello Lake. According to the report, Randall L. Scott, 59, of Wappapello was swimming at 5:40 p.m. Saturday, two miles north of the dam, when he became fatigued, went under the water and never resurfaced...

A new public administrator has been appointed for Stoddard County, Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis said Monday, following a meeting of the Stoddard County Commission. Cindy Duckworth has been appointed by Gov. Mike Parson effective Aug. 1, following current Public Administrator Pamela Lape's resignation...

MAYFIELD, Ky. - Jack D. Vincent, 91, of Mayfield, Kentucky, passed away on July 21, 2018 at Hospice of West Alabama. Services will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018 at First Presbyterian Church of Mayfield, Ky with Rev. Lynn Shurley officiating. A private family burial will take place at Highland Park Cemetery in Mayfield, Ky...

For Missourians, agriculture is the heart of our communities. The country roads of southeastern and south central Missouri weave together 19,000 farms, home to some of the hardest working people I've ever met. This week I'm kicking off a thirty-county swing to hear firsthand from the farmers and ranchers - big and small -- who drive Missouri's economy and feed the world...

A multi-unit affordable housing complex built on the promise of helping area veterans will be finished by the end of the year, according to statements from the organization supporting the project. Earlier this month, Dr. Joel Denney provided an update as to the progress being made on behalf of the Missouri National Guard Foundation...

"For as long as I can remember," says 73-year-old Larry Thompson, "I have been fascinated by airplanes. Of course, as a kid growing up in Caruthersville there were no opportunities for children to experience aviation as there are today. My first, and primary, exposure to planes was standing in the yard, looking up at the sky."...

PUXICO, Mo.-- Carolyn Metcalf Vardell of Puxico died Tuesday, July 24, 2018,at the Chaffee Nursing Center in Chaffee, Mo. Arrangements are ending with Morgan Sifford Funeral in Puxico.

DEXTER, Mo. - Harold M. Gaines, 96, of Bloomfield, Mo., died Monday, July 23, 2018 at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at the Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The funeral will be at 1 p.m., Thursday, July, 26 at the Watkins & Sons Chapel in Dexter with Bro. Kenneth Gaines of Bloomfield officiating...

FISK, Mo.-- Rosanna Shelton Stinson, 80, of Broseley, Mo., died Monday, July 23, 2018 at Dexter Living Center in Dexter, Mo. Mrs. Stinson was born Sept. 13, 1937 in Malden, Mo., daughter of the late John S. and Ethel M.Shelton. She was a member of Fellowship General Baptist Church at Poplar Bluff. Mrs. Stinson was a homemaker, had worked as a seamstress at various clothing manufacturing companies and been a secretary...

PLANTATION, Fla. & HEREDIA, Costa Rica -- DHL, the world's leading international logistics provider, has recently opened an expanded facility in Heredia, Costa Rica, that will bring together many key support functions previously separately located under one roof and will serve much of the company's Americas Region and beyond...

FISK, Mo. -- Gerald "Jerry" Roe, 78, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, July 23, 2018 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, in Poplar Bluff. Mr. Roe was born Jan. 25, 1940 in Fisk, Mo, son of the late Victor and Mary Roe. He formerly was an educator and coach. He later worked for the Missouri State Health Department and was the Director of the Butler County Health Department...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Funerals have been set for five more members of an Indiana family who lost nine relatives when a tourist boat sank on a Missouri lake last week. A church spokeswoman says services will be held Saturday at Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis for 70-year-old Horace Coleman; his 69-year-old wife, Belinda Coleman; 76-year-old Ervin Coleman; 45-year-old Angela Coleman; and her 2-year-old son, Maxwell Coleman...

By RON SMITH Prospect-News DONIPHAN -- A Doniphan woman faces nearly 30 charges after officials say she kidnapped and endangered the welfare of her five children, spending two days in the woods before her arrest. Danisha R. Price, 26, was arrested July 17, and three days later, the body of her 56-year-old neighbor was recovered in a remote area of western Ripley County in a suspected homicide...

Tony Webb and the SEMO Bulls shuffle down the stairs inside of Hyland Arena. It's here at Lindenwood University that the Bulls are once again participating in an AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) tournament. The competition attracts the best teams across the Midwest, as well as collegiate coaches representing schools from Division I all the way through junior college...

"Pretty, bling and a good charity, you can't beat the combination," Hearts for Rescue volunteer June Rigby said of the foster-based rescue group's newest fundraiser to be held tomorrow evening. Hearts for Rescue will be "Puttin' on the Dog" from 4-8 p.m. Thursday at Lemonade House Grille in Poplar Bluff...

The public is invited Thursday to hear from Republican candidates for Butler County and state offices. A forum will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center, hosted by the Butler County Republican Central Committee, said chairperson Eddy Justice. The event is free and open to the public...

The Twin Rivers R-X School District will have a new, furry face roaming the halls beginning this school year. During the district's board of education meeting Tuesday, the board unanimously approved the addition of a policy for therapy animals. The district already has a policy in place for students with service animals, such as for vision impairment...