Stories from Tuesday, July 2, 2019

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Anna Louise Manns, 79, of Poplar Bluff, died July 1, 2019 at her residence. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Friday, July 5 at Fitch-Hillis Funeral Home Chapel. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. with Rev. Jim Schremp officiating. Burial will be at City Cemetery. Online condolence: www.fitchhillisfh.com

NEELYVILLE, Mo. — Wayne Dale Armour, 81, of Naylor, Mo., died Sunday, June 30, 2019 at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 6 at Fowler & Sons Funeral Home in Neelyville. The funeral will follow at 2:30 p.m. in the funeral home with Donnie Fowler officiating. Burial will be in the Naylor Memorial Cemetery...

NEELYVILLE, Mo. — Franklin James Stewart, 90, of Naylor, Mo. died June 29, 2019 in the Westwood Hills Healthcare of Poplar Bluff. Visitation was held Monday, July 1 in the Fowler and Sons Funeral Home in Neelyville. A graveside service followed at Gum Cemetery with Donnie Fowler officiating.

Circuit Court Criminal Division Felonies Judges Michael Pritchett Thomas Swindle The following cases were recently acted upon in Circuit Court, Criminal Division. Larry D. Scott of the 900 block of 10th Street pleaded guilty May 28 to the Class D felony of possession of a controlled substance...

FISK, Mo. — Frank Jones, 58, of Poplar Bluff, died Monday, July 1, 2019 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Visitation will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 6 at White-Sanders Funeral Home, Fisk. Graveside services will be follow 3 p.m. at Ash Hill Cemetery East in Fisk with Rev. Tim Mondy officiating.

Watching three generations enter and complete Head Start has kept Catherine Willoughby of Poplar Bluff busy for more than 40 years. The mother and grandmother has dedicated her life helping the children attending the preschool and prekindergarten programs...

NEELYVILLE, Mo. — Elmer Dale Hargate, 77, of Harviell, Mo., died Monday, July 1, 2019. Visitation will be from 2-4 p.m. Friday, July 5 at the Fowler & Sons Funeral Home in Neelyville. The funeral will follow at 4 p.m. A full obituary will run later this week...

DONIPHAN, Mo. — Nick Pepmiller Jr., 86, of Doniphan, died Monday, July 1, 2019 at St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. - noon Friday, July 5 in the Edwards Funeral Home Chapel. A graveside service will follow at 12:30 p.m. at the Fairdealing Cemetery with Pastor Donald Carson officiating.

MALDEN, Mo. — James Franklin Elliott, 77, of Half Way, Mo., formerly of Malden, died Sunday, June 30, 2019 at his residence. Visitation will be at 11 a.m. Friday, July 5 at Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden. The funeral will follow at 1 p.m. in the Bradshaw chapel with Rev. Hubert Robinson officiating. Burial will be in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Malden...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Pauline Gray Hearne died Saturday, June 29, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Public visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, July 8, at First Christian Church of Poplar Bluff. A funeral service will start at 1 p.m. at the church. Burial will follow at Poplar Bluff City Cemetery, arrangements courtesy of Cotrell Funeral Service.

City firefighters responded at 8:31 a.m. Monday, July 1, to a report from a Spire gas company employee that gas lines had been cut and gas was leaking at the 803 Hart St. residence owned by Paula Ford of Fredericktown. According to the report, firefighters assisted the Spire employee in getting his air monitoring equipment in the house to check for gas. After monitoring through two doors, in the attic and crawl space nothing was found...

WAPPAPELLO LAKE — The Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers who patrol Wappapello Lake each summer see their mission as twofold — educating the boating public and enforcing the state statutes. “We’re not out here to give everybody a ticket,” Trooper Richie Walker said. “… We try to educate the boaters (but) we still enforce, write tickets.”...

Zack Parr tried heroin for the first time at the age of 16, in the parking lot of a local school, with a friend who is now dead. By the age of 22, he had overdosed six times, twice in his father’s home. While Parr survived, many have not. Butler County saw 19 opioid deaths in 2018, according to Coroner Andy Moore, an increase of 36% from the previous year...