Stories from Thursday, June 18, 2020

ST. LOUIS — The statewide gas price average in Missouri is $1.85 for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel, according to the AAA Gas Prices. That price is one cent more than this day last week and is 56 cents less per gallon compared to this day last year. Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed in Missouri, drivers in Kansas City are paying the most on average at $1.96 while drivers in Joplin are paying the least at $1.77 per gallon...

GREENVILLE — Lee Roy DeSpain, 92, of Campbell, died, Sunday, June 14, 2020, at Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County. Visitation is at 6 p.m. Friday, June 19, at Ruegg Funeral Home, Greenville Chapel. Funeral service will follow at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 20, also at the Greenville Chapel. Burial will be in Twidwell Cemetery, Clubb...

Three Rivers College is hosting its 28th Annual Children’s Theater Drama Camp for students entering grades 2-8. The camp will be held 9 a.m. – noon July 20 – 24 at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center on the Three Rivers College Poplar Bluff campus. The students will have a final performance at 11 a.m. on July 24 at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center.

Scores from Tuesday, June 16, action in the Poplar Bluff Park Dept. baseball leagues.

Visitors and passers-by at Poplar Bluff’s Ferguson Grove may notice a new addition to the park as they cruise the area - a new sculpture. For the last 15 months or so, sculptures could be found in several Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department parks, including Whiteley, Ferguson Grove, McLane and Hendrickson, but on Wednesday, a new addition was added at the small park at the intersection of Main and Ninth streets...

Charles Evert Norman Sr., 79, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away on June 17, 2020, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Charles was born on Feb. 13, 1941, to the late John and Beulah Mae (Marsh) Norman in Harviell, Mo. He had been married to Nancy Ellen Norman, who preceded him in death...

Scores from games played Wednesday, June 17, in the Poplar Bluff Park Department.

Part 1 of 2 When an aged family member becomes ill under normal circumstances, the family’s usual reaction is to gather close to the loved one to offer support and comfort. Now, with the onset of COVID-19 and social distancing, a large gathering is not safe for either the afflicted elderly, or the family...

Poplar Bluff City Council will hold a second special meeting at 1 p.m. Monday to discuss personnel matters. The council met in special session Thursday, but did not have any open session discussion. No votes or motions were made, according to city clerk Nevada Young...

Poplar Bluff lost a longtime member of its aviation community on June 7, when Reggie Hopwood’s twin-engine Mitsubishi freight aircraft crashed on takeoff in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Hopwood, 58, was leaving the Sioux Falls airport when the incident occurred...

From developing a student-run store to helping students learn in creative ways, Poplar Bluff Middle School teacher Shalyn Copas works to provide opportunities for her students.

Wayne County health officials announced Thursday night that a person tested positive for COVID-19, the first in a county that was one of only three in Missouri without a confirmed case. The Wayne County Health Center said it was working with the patient to identify close contacts in order to monitor them for symptoms and contain spread...