Stories from Friday, June 14, 2019

Daniel Atwood, Three Rivers College Music Department graduate, was a speaker at the recent 2019 Bach Colloquium at Harvard University—an invitation-only conference. Atwood’s presentation explored the sociocultural association and emotional power of hymns in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Germany...

QULIN, Mo. Martha E. Woods, age 84, of Qulin, died Thursday, June 13, 2019 at her residence. Mrs. Woods was born January 27, 1935 in Lanton, Mo., daughter of the late Adam and Mary Garrison. Visitation will begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 17 at White-Sanders Funeral Home in Qulin. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, in the funeral home chapel with Rev. Ernest Puckett officiating.

DONIPHAN, Mo. — Belva Evelyn Humphries Stroud, 102, died June 3, 2019 at Sonshine Manor in Republic, Mo. on June 3, 2019. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Friday, June 14 in the Edwards Funeral Home Chapel with a graveside service following at 2:30 p.m. at Spring Hill Cemetery...

PUXICO, Mo. — Grady Smith, 85, of Puxico, died June 13, 2019 at Puxico Nursing and Rehab Center in Puxico. Visitation will be held on Monday, June 17 at 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. First Christian Church in Puxico, with services to follow at 11:30 a.m. with Watkins & Sons Funeral Service of Puxico.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Donald Batson Sr., 62, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died June 12, 2019 at his residence. Memorial visitation will be at 1 p.m. Monday, June 17 at Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff. Memorial service will follow at 2 p.m. in the funeral home chapel. Military rites will follow services...

BERNIE, Mo. — Ralph Edward Fain III, 43, of Malden, Mo., died Sunday, May 19, 2019 at his residence. A memorial service will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 19 at Bernie City Park in Bernie.

NEELYVILLE, Mo. — Kenneth Cartez Whitehead, 59, of Neelyville,59, died June 11, 2019 at his residence. Visitation will be Tuesday June 18 starting at 11 a.m. in the Fowler and Sons Funeral Home of Neelyville with the funeral following at 1 p.m. in the chapel.

The community will come together tonight at the former Wheatley School to honor the memory of Lonnie Davis. “He was just something else,” said Larry McClellon. “It was a pleasure to know him. He was a person you don’t forget.” Davis, who was inducted into the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, was a talented athlete and musician, an entrepreneur, a coach, a mentor, a father and a father figure to many in the community...

As a strong advocate for private property rights, I am constantly on the watch for any additional government encroachment on land-owning citizens. That’s why I was concerned when proposed changes to the Conservation code were brought to my attention...

A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for a recent rash of burglaries at rural Butler County churches. “Over the course of about two to three months, there has been a rash of church burglaries in which the suspects utilized the same pattern with respect to how entrance was made and the items taken,” said Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs...

“The driving force behind my motivation to start this organization,” explains retired Dexter teacher Rhonda Stuever, “comes from my years of working with migrant children. In those families, I observed people who worked extremely hard, had little, yet made the most of what they did have.”...

Margaret Harwell Art Museum is accepting entries now for Pictures by the People, a show that has featured photography from people around the region for more than three decades. “Some people are intimidated about putting their photographs in this show, but last year we had an emerging photographer. He put some very interesting viewpoints in there,” said MHAM Director Steve Whitworth. “It was really an evocative angle and pose. I just want everybody to get out there and experiment.”...

Jerry Buhler wasn’t certain he wanted to be a father and when he realized he did, health issues ruled out his becoming a biological one. Buhler’s mother died when he was 8 years old and he was sent to live with his dad. “I had never lived with (him) and I didn’t know (him),” Buhler said. “He was abusive. Because of my early life and the way I was raised I didn’t know if I ever wanted to be a father.”...