Stories from Wednesday, October 31, 2018

On a cool Tuesday evening on West Castor Street, the Dexter Fire Department stood in full gear. Heavy smoke poured from the house with flames visible through the window. The firefighters, with no hesitation or fear, entered the house, where temperatures soared to more than 200 degrees, to battle the flames.Although this fire was very real, this was not an emergency call. ...

Saturday, in Pittsburgh, a Sabbath celebration at the Tree of Life synagogue became the site of the largest mass murder of Jews in U.S. history. Eleven worshippers were killed by a racist gunman. Friday, we learned the identity of the crazed criminal who mailed pipe bombs to a dozen leaders of the Democratic Party, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden...

VAN BUREN, Mo. - Cordell Smith was born April 30, 1940 in Poplar Bluff, Mo. to Luin and Dorothy Smith and it took the whole town to raise him. He departed this life on Oct. 30, 2018 at his residence in Van Buren, Mo. He had attained the age of seventy-eight years, and six months...

In just a week, the critical midterm election will be over and, unfortunately, the campaign will begin anew. If you naively thought that somehow we would get a reprieve from the non-stop political campaigning, think again. Regardless of the election outcome, political turmoil will remain in full swing as hopefuls officially launch their bid for the Presidency...

By STEPHEN MOORE Here is Moore's rule of modern-day politics: The better the economy performs under President Donald Trump and the more successes he racks up, the more unhinged the left becomes. It's a near linear relationship. And it goes for media as well...

Three months after the voter approved jail expansion, Stoddard County Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis said he is ready to put the project "on the fast track and start moving forward" during Monday morning's meeting. After hearing from two companies last week, Gilmore & Bell and Stifel of St. Louis, Mo. regarding legal and financing services, Mathis asked fellow commissioners Steve Jordan and Carol Jarrell what direction they would like to see the project head...

LOS ANGELES -- To fill the two openings on manager Mike Shildt's coaching staff, the Cardinals pulled one obvious candidate from their organization and another from their past. Jeff Albert, who spent the 2018 season as Houston's assistant hitting coach, has been hired as the Cardinals' hitting coach for the next season. He will work with Mark Budaska, who returns as a hitting coach and will have the assistant title...

SECKMAN, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff saved one of its best games for the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 semifinals, but it wasn't enough. The Mules trailed by one at halftime and gave up a late goal to lose to Jackson 2-0 to end the season. Xander Martin had a chance to score for the Mules in the first half when he was taken down in the box by the Jackson keeper, but didn't get the call. ...

When the serving line opens at 11 a.m. Sunday, it will mark nearly 60 years that Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dexter has served traditional Thanksgiving dinners to the Dexter community. Dinners as a fundraiser, though, began almost 70 years ago when the growing young church desperately needed a new facility...

Staff Reports Poplar Bluff's school dining service received national recognition within its corporation for forging numerous partnerships and giving back to the community. Chartwells Food Services Director Dixie Harden received the 2018 national 'Be-A-Star' Compass in the Community award out of over 600 nominations on Wednesday, Oct. 10, in Orlando, Fla. Poplar Bluff was among six districts that were honored in different categories out of 4,000 schools total under the Compass Group...

Staff Reports Currently, 4-H is looking for volunteers to lead programs and special interest project clubs in a variety of topics. Please attend an informational training at 1 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Extension office in Poplar Bluff. This will be a fun-filled, interactive day and is welcome to adults interested from any county...

Staff Reports Administrators over the Poplar Bluff R-I maintenance department showed their dedication to employing best practices by earning their core certifications from the Missouri School Plant Managers Association. Upon completing 38 hours of continued education, Director of Buildings and Grounds Al Ursery and Custodial Supervisor Steve Shupe were recognized during the annual MSPMA conference held Sept. 30-Oct. 2, in Branson, Mo...

Staff Reports Poplar Bluff High School students packed the senior high gym for a different kind of pep rally Tuesday afternoon. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill into law in front of the students who will soon benefit from it. The legislation calls for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to boost awareness for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics starting in the sixth grade, expand course opportunities for high school students, create a certification for teachers and develop curriculum standards.. ...

"The area has given so much to our ministry, this is it just coming back," said John 3:16 Instructor Cole McAllister. Men from the John 3:16 program in Poplar Bluff have been out and about in Van Buren this past week doing odds-and-ends jobs beautifying the area...

From Swindles grocery store in Malden to the highways of Texas and the mountains of Colorado, citizens have more that unites them than divides them -- that's the message one cyclist hopes to convey this election with a 4,233-mile ride through the nation's Heartland...

On Friday, Oct. 26, 2018 at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Dr. Juergen Bertram hung up his stethoscope and entered into his eternal rest. He was born on March 5, 1945 to Hanno and Liselotte Bertram in Austria. He was raised in Nuremberg, Germany. ...