Stories from Friday, December 21, 2018

The Stoddard County election process already has begun with the filing of candidacy for the April elections. Many local city offices and school board positions have had quite a few individuals file for positions. The city of Puxico has six positions open, two of which have no candidates running at this time. ...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Haven House serves the counties of Stoddard, Butler, Wayne, Carter and Ripley. By BARBARA ANN HORTON Staff Writer The Christmas tree gracing Martha and Dave Albers' home has the Poplar Bluff, Missouri couple reflecting not only on 31 years of family memories, but also reminiscing about the safe shelter provided by Haven House...

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER...

First Midwest Bank of Dexter was awarded financing of the jail expansion by Stoddard County commissioners Dec. 17 following last week's opening of bids. "We had several bids and they were all good bids, but First Midwest Bank stood out," Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis said. "We are very pleased it's staying with a county bank."...

PIEDMONT, MO. -- Melba Kinnamore, 71, died Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018 at her home in Piedmont. Arrangements are pending with Morrison-Worley Chapel in Piedmont.

Ronnie Walker, 59, of Poplar Bluff died Sunday Dec. 16, 2018 at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation and the funeral service was held Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018 at the Fowler & Sons Funeral Home. Rev. Marty Bryant officiated. Burial followed in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Campbell...

Elsie Emma "June" Hendershott, 90, of Marble Hill, Mo., died Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018 at her residence. Visitation was held Dec. 19, 2018 and funeral service was held Dec. 20, 2018 at the Liley Funeral Home in Marble Hill. Pastor Dan Overton officiated. Burial followed in the Dan Eaker Cemetery near Marble Hill...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo.- Norma Lee Rampley, 85, of Bloomfield, died Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018 at the Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter. Visitation and funeral were Friday, Dec. 21, 2018 at the Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield with the Rev. Kenneth Lambert of Bloomfield officiating. Burial was in the Missouri Veteran's Cemetery in Bloomfield with Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home of Bloomfield in charge of arrangements...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offers a meaningful way to dispose of your used Christmas tree and provide fish and wildlife habitat at the same time. The Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake will be accepting Christmas trees from Dec. 26 through Jan. 18 at the Redman Creek boat ramp. The drop-off location will be marked with a sign. Once the trees are deposited at the collection site, they become property of the Corps of Engineers for use in establishing fish shelter and small game habitat...

Staff Reports A pair of brazen thieves appear to have targeted Office Depot electronics, according to reports filed with Poplar Bluff Police Department. Employees of the store told officers this week one man has walked into the store and walked out with a new HP laptop twice this month...

James Thomas Parks (Tom), 67, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. passed away Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018 at his residence. Tom was born on Feb. 21, 1951 to Hm and Ruby (Williams) Parks in Saint Louis, Mo. Tom worked as a letter carrier in the city of Poplar Bluff until his retirement. On Nov. 7, 1970 he married Linda White...

Joseph Lundry, 45, of Poplar Bluff, passed away Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018 in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Joseph was born on July 23, 1973 to James Lundry and Wanda Ray in Pocahontas, Ark. Joseph is survived by two brothers, Frankie Lundry, Butch Rohrbach; six sisters, Ramona (Jorge) Rodriguez, Sally (Bryan Williams) Wells, Norma (Dale) Prim, Mary (Bob) Eagan, Donna (Carroll) Emmons, Colleene Hullar; three sons, Jesse Lundry, Billy Lundry, Kenny Cason; Daughter, Dezaray Lundry...

"When Christmas is over," said a merchant to a minister, "it's over, and it is our job to rid the store completely of Christmas in a day." The minister said, "I have a much bigger job--to try to keep Christmas in the hearts of my people for a lifetime."...

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Alice Louise Dusenbery, 94,departed this life Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018. Alice had resided in Van Buren for the past 70 years and was formerly of South Dakota. She was of the Catholic Faith, and was an active member of the St, George Catholic Church. ...

DEXTER -- A trail project for the city of Dexter is among several included in $1.79 million in grant funding announced Thursday afternoon by the Missouri Department of Transportation. The city will receive $576,325 to extend a new trail parallel to Arvin Road, between One Mile Road and Sycamore Road, said David Wyman, MoDOT area engineer. The grant is for total project costs...

The hit country artist famous for songs like "Farmer's Daughter," and "It's America," will add a stop in Poplar Bluff to his February concert dates. Rodney Atkins was announced this morning as the performer for the annual Valentines for Veterans concert to be held Feb. 15 at the Black River Coliseum. Tickets will be available to the public starting Jan. 3 at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce and the Black River Coliseum...

The following students have been named to the fall 2018 Dean's List at Southeast Missouri State University: Puxico: Charlotte Adams, Samantha Cryts, Caleb Swallows and Joshua Sifford. Bloomfield: William Jones, Harley Allen, Brittany Brown, Mara Mayo, Stewart Mayo and Rachel Pullum...

Former University of Missouri football star and NFL player Dorial Green-Beckham was in jail in Springfield Thursday morning after he allegedly tried to flee police by jumping out a window with a pound of marijuana. Jail records say Green-Beckham was booked on suspicion of marijuana possession and resisting arrest. He had not yet been charged Thursday morning...

The Neelyville R-IV Board of Education accepted the resignation of Superintendent Brad Hagood during executive session at Thursday evening's meeting. Hagood said he has accepted a position with the Doniphan School District as superintendent. "It was an opportunity I couldn't pass," he said. "I'm in no way leaving the district on bad terms. Everything is going very well right now."...

HOLCOMB -- Campbell improved to 7-2 Thursday night with a 92-38 win on the road against Holcomb. Blake Fowler and Kaden Siebert carried the offense for the Camels in the blowout. Fowler scored a game-high 23 points with the help of a perfect 8 for 8 day from the free-throw line, and Siebert added 20 points on eight made shots...

Three Rivers College has released its Dean's List for the Fall 2018 semester. The honor is awarded to students taking 12 or more credit hours in a semester, who achieve a grade point average of 3.5 or above. Dean's List honors are also used at graduation to help determine eligibility for honors or highest honors...

It was there for the taking last week. The AFC West title and a first-round bye in the playoffs were among the thresholds that would have been crossed had the Chiefs held on to a late two-touchdown lead against the Los Angeles Chargers. Poof. All gone in a matter of minutes. But those objectives remain within the Chiefs' grasp. Win out, starting Sunday night in Seattle against the Seahawks, and the Chiefs will be the AFC's top seed...

Several years ago, my wife and I visited Bethlehem while on a Holy Land tour. While there, we enjoyed a very special, totally unexpected treat - a parade! Dressed in full military uniform were young men and women, boys and girls, beating drums, playing bagpipes and marching through the streets of the birthplace of our Savior...

There's a play that sticks out in Bob Sutton's mind from Thursday's loss to the L.A. Chargers. The Chargers were at first-and-goal from Kansas City's 4-yard-line early in the second quarter. The ball was snapped to quarterback Philip Rivers and handed off to rookie running back Justin Jackson...

The Christmas tree gracing Martha and Dave Albers' home has the Poplar Bluff couple reflecting not only on 31 years of family memories, but also reminiscing about the safe shelter provided by Haven House. The tree has provided "a lot of good memories," said Martha Albers, who was among the founders of the local domestic violence shelter, which welcomed its first families in 1985. ...

BLOOMFIELD -- Bloomfield could easily be 5-2 entering Christmas break. However, the Wildcats lost their fourth straight game by four or fewer points Thursday, losing on a layup with one second remaining by Chaffee's Landen Tenkhoff in a 57-55 setback...

Editor's Note: This is the fifth of a 10-part series looking back on area events reported in the newspaper that highlighted 2018. JUNE 1 The iconic tower at the Rodgers Theatre is removed for repairs as work on restoring the 69-year-old building continues downtown...

George K. Baum & Company's Dr. Brent Blevins presented the Poplar Bluff R-1 School Board during Thursday evening's meeting with information on refinancing existing debt that could save the district over $260,000. The district's 2009 debt is currently callable, allowing refinancing Build America Bonds, according to Blevins...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo.- Norma Lee Rampley, 85, of Bloomfield, died Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018 at the Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter. Visitation and funeral were Friday, Dec. 21, 2018 at the Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield with the Rev. Kenneth Lambert of Bloomfield officiating. Burial was in the Missouri Veteran's Cemetery in Bloomfield with Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home of Bloomfield in charge of arrangements...