Stories from Friday, June 26, 2020

“I took an accounting class my senior year of high school,” says Emily Carpenter of Poplar Bluff. “I liked it so much, I decided to pursue a degree in business administration. When I took more accounting classes at Three Rivers College, (TRC) I realized how much I really enjoyed the work.”...

My friends, WE HAVE A PROBLEM. This problem isn’t what you think. Yes, I watch the news and social media. I know the police have become the scapegoats of society and people are justifying burning and looting as a legitimate form of protest. But, that is not the problem...

With so many difficult things currently happening in our world, and so many of us feeling so much stress, I decided to write something this week that I hope will make you smile. My friend Larry Davies has written a weekly blog for years. I have periodically used things he has written, and he has occasionally used something of mine...

Deborah Ann Gregory, 64, of Jackson, passed away Monday, June 22, 2020, at her home in Jackson. She was born Oct. 5, 1955, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to Vernon and Christine Montgomery Thurman. She and Alan Gregory were married June 19, 1975, at New Home General Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Three children were born to their union, Matt, Jesse and Seth...

Jeanne Marie Bayne, 72 of Poplar Bluff passed away June 22, 2020, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Jeanne was born Aug. 9, 1947, to the late James and Selma Julia (Hill) Harris in Belleville, IL. She enjoyed collecting tea pots. She was married to John Clifton Bayne Sr. He preceded her in death...

Shirley Ann (Taylor) Bruce, 65, of Poplar Bluff, passed away Tuesday, June 23, 2020. She was born Aug. 23, 1954, to the late Claude and Nellie (Williams) Taylor in Portageville. Shirley married the love of her life, Vernon Bruce, on Feb. 18, 1977, in Stringtown. She worked as a line worker with Briggs & Stratton. She was a longtime resident of Poplar Bluff where she enjoyed shopping at Walmart and spending time with her grandkids...

Butler, Ripley, Dunklin and Wayne counties are among 10 counties in the state of Missouri with the highest rates of hunger among residents, according to a recently released study. The recently released Map the Meal Gap, an annual study on the prevalence of hunger, showed Southeast Missouri has some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the state. The effect of these high rates of hunger was only made worse by the coronavirus pandemic and resulting joblessness...

Representatives from Missouri State Parks invite the public to an informational meeting on Lake Wappapello State Park at noon, Saturday, July 11, at the park store Breakin’ Waves Rentals, LLC. The public is invited to share comments about the park and its operations. Park staff will be present to provide information and answer questions...

MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL A 25-year-old Poplar Bluff man was injured in a one-vehicle crash at 2:10 p.m. Thursday, June 25, on Highway B, four miles east of Poplar Bluff. According to the report, Vance L. Byerly was operating a 2010 Toyota Tundra westbound when it ran off the road and struck an embankment and a fence...

City firefighters responded at 10:42 p.m. Thursday, June 25, to a vehicle fire at the railroad depot, 400 S. Main St. According to the report, firefighters found smoke coming from the front passenger side window of a 2011 Jeep Patriot, owned by Aunri Stevens of St. Louis...

University of Missouri Extension specialists warn livestock producers to be on the lookout for ergot this year. A cool, cloudy and wet spring with a prolonged flowering period was followed by high temperatures and humidity, setting the stage for infection, says Tim Schnakenberg, field specialist in agronomy...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — Orville Ray Krauss, 86 of Liberty, Missouri, formerly of Cape Girardeau, passed away Wednesday, June 24, 2020, at Norterre Nursing Home and Rehab. He was born Aug. 3, 1933, in Miner, Missouri, to the late Charles and Lois Rae Krauss...

Several area high school students recently won the Ozark Border Electric Cooperative’s Youth Tour Essay Contest. This contest challenges high school juniors to write an essay for the chance to win one of two all-expenses paid trips to the Rural Electric Youth Tour in Washington, D.C., according to Ozark Border. The seven-day tour usually provides an opportunity for students to learn firsthand what it is like to be involved in politics, leadership positions and community service...

Missouri health officials reported nearly 500 new cases of COVID-19 Friday as the state reached 990 deaths. The 493 new positive tests was a new one-day high while the seven-day average also reached a new high of 388. There have been 19,914 confirmed cases of the virus statewide since the pandemic started...

CORNING, Ark. — Deloy J. Lawson, 93, passed away at his home in Paragould, Arkansas, Thursday, June 25, 2020. Lawson was a World War II veteran at the June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, and of naval action in the Pacific prior to the ending of the war with Japan...

Alarming is the word officials are using to describe the methamphetamine/Fentanyl mixture now being seen in Southeast Missouri, including Poplar Bluff. Authorities say this mixture is leading to an uptick in overdoses and deaths and was the topic of a discussion Thursday between local, state and federal officials...

Stoddard County officials reissued a state of emergency order Monday in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The joint order from the county commissioners, the director of the Public Health Center and the Health Officer asks county residents to practice social distancing and comply with all guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to help slow the spread of the virus...

Thursday’s Games BABE RUTH LEAGUE First Midwest 8, Midwest Security 1 R&T Auto 13, Pack’s Do-It 4 Monday’s Games CIVIC LEAGUE Las Margaritas vs. Mossy Oak, 6 p.m. Sterling vs. Beards, 7 p.m. Castello’s vs. Shooter’s Shack, 8 p.m...

The Neelyville R-IV School Board approved a balanced budget Thursday night for the 2020-21 fiscal year, that includes both an increment and step added to staff pay, but also tightens in some areas.

The Twin Rivers R-X School Board approved a budget Thursday night that is expected to change in coming months.