Stories from Friday, July 12, 2019

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Geneva T. Godwin, 84, of Mount Vernon, Illinois, died June 20, 2019 in Mount Vernon, Ill. Visitation will be from 2-2:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 16 at Fitch-Hillis Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff. A celebration of life service will follow. Online condolences: www.fitchhillisfh.com

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Emmalyne Hedspeth, 103, of St. Louis County, formerly of Williamsville, Mo., died Tuesday, July 9 at deGreeff Hospice House. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 17 at Cotrell Funeral Chapel in Poplar Bluff. The funeral will follow at 11 a.m. in the funeral home with Dr. Bill (William) Hedspeth officiating. Burial will be at the City Cemetery in Poplar Bluff.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Thomas Kendall Sparkman, 63, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday July 9, 2019 at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. Visitation will be at noon Friday, July 19 at Ford and Sons Funeral Home on Mt. Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau. The funeral will follow at 1:30 p.m. in the funeral home. A graveside service and burial will be held for immediate family later in the day at Sparkman Cemetery in Poplar Bluff...

The Ellington man who was the subject of a recent endangered silver advisory may face charges in Butler County after he allegedly wrote a bad check for nearly $30,000 for the purchase of a new car. The advisory was issued by Ellington Police Department after Richard Elmer Dorey, 78, was last seen at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Brent B. Tinnin Manor, 200 Euel Polk Drive...

ALTON, Mo. — An Oregon County judge ordered a Poplar Bluff man to stand trial Thursday afternoon for murdering a man he believed was making sexual advances toward his girlfriend. Accompanied by his attorney, Michael Ligons, Kahlil Gregory Omar Smith appeared before Associate Circuit Judge Harvey Allen for a preliminary hearing on the Class A felony of first-degree murder and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action...

Like many of you, I had the opportunity recently to take some time off for vacation. Dianne and I got married on June 23, 1973 at Lone Hill Baptist Church, and just returned from a memorable trip to celebrate our 46th anniversary. During the tour we visited the eastern Mediterranean to see some of the places that influenced the development of Christianity and western civilization...

Gathered in camp chairs and truck beds, standing on sidewalks or parked in business lots, on July 4th hundreds of area residents turned their eyes to the Poplar Bluff fireworks display. Most came to the downtown area to watch the shower of lights above Ray Clinton Park and the Black River...

It’s getting harder and more expensive to find earthquake insurance in the state of Missouri, and especially in areas that need it most near the New Madrid fault, according to a report by the state’s insurance department. The report estimates that property valued at $110 billion is “exposed to significant earthquake risk but is not insured.”...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Kenneth Leon Wood, 90, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., died Friday, July 12, 2019 at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 14 at Cotrell Funeral Chapel in Poplar Bluff. The funeral will follow at 2:30 p.m. in the funeral home with Pastor Glen Hamilton officiating. Burial will follow at Sparkman Cemetery in Butler County.

A Poplar Bluff native with strong ties to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department has been chosen to succeed longtime Director Clark Allen, who retires in August. Lanny Corcimiglia, 48, was selected Wednesday by the park’s board of directors in an 8-1 vote. He will begin Aug. 5 at a salary of $65,000...

A zoning decision expected Monday by Poplar Bluff City Council members will determine which side of the city limits most medical marijuana businesses will be allowed to operate. Council member say they must consider what residents want, rules established by the state, their own moral concerns, and how it could impact the city’s bottom line in making this decision...

Poplar Bluff residents could soon see a sewer rate increase that city officials have been discussing since 2012, when voters agreed to pay for nearly $19 million in system upgrades. The increase could represent an approximately 70% bump in the average residential sewer bill, once it is fully phased in...

Cindy Jenks of Fairdealing achieved a position in June that she’d been working toward for 15 years. Jenks was elected president of the National Federation of Democratic Women (NFDW) at the organization’s annual convention in Albany, New York. She started with the organization in 2004 when the Democratic Women’s Club of Ripley County was started. ...