Stories from Monday, August 31, 2020

About 40 volunteers came together Saturday in Poplar Bluff to help build beds for children in the region who may otherwise be sleeping on the floor, couch or somewhere else uncomfortable in their homes. “We’re excited about the opportunity not only to build them, but more importantly to take them out and deliver them to kids all across Southeast Missouri,” said Dave Elledge, president of the local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace...

VAN BUREN — A shooting at a Van Buren campground early Sunday morning left a Dexter man hospitalized in serious condition. The shooting occurred at about 5 a.m. at the Ozark Riverfront Campground in Van Buren, said Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Kinder, Troop G’s public information office. The campground, formerly known as the Van Buren Campground, is located on Brown Road under the U.S. 60 bridge in Van Buren...

LAFORGE, Mo. — Vicki Bennett, 58, of LaForge, passed away Friday, Aug. 28, 2020, while surrounded by friends and family at Saint Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born June 2, 1962, in Truman, Arkansas, to the late Melvin and Melba Bennett, she was of the Baptist faith and a scheduler for Continu-Care until ill health forced her retirement...

The Butler County Public Water Supply District No. 1 issued a boil water order at 11:39 p.m. Saturday for all customers living north between Highway PP to Highway 67. For more information, call the water district at 573-785-5010.

Kent Withrow, 45, of Poplar Bluff died Friday, Aug. 28, 2020, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Mr. Withrow was born July 26, 1975, in Poplar Bluff. Kent was a chief engineer with American Commercial Barge Lines. On Oct. 22, 1994, he married Gayla Buttrey. She survives...

FISK — Carol Sue Todd, 73, of Tiptonville, Tennessee, died Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, at her residence, in Tiptonville. Mrs. Todd was born Monday, Jan. 13, 1947, in Poplar Bluff, daughter of the late Leonard and Alpha Berry. She was a member of Wynnburg Baptist Church in Ridgley, Tennessee...

A 41-year-old Arnold, Missouri, man was seriously injured in a one-vehicle crash at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, on Highway JJ, four miles south of Fairdealing. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Nathan D. Kissee was operating a 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor southbound when it ran off the right side of the road...

Gary Wayne Morse, 61, of rural Poplar Bluff, passed away at his home on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, surrounded by his family after a long battle with brain tumors. He was a graduate of Twin Rivers High School, Three Rivers Community College and SMSU. He was an active farmer prior to illness. He was a classic car showman, truck tractor pull enthusiast, off season traveler, dedicated family man, and gentle man of faith...

Editor’s note: Southeast Missouri State University (began) fall classes on Aug. 24. University President Carlos Vargas shared this information regarding plans to protect students, employees and neighbors in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic...

An unusual challenge. That is what comes to mind when I reflect back on my Summer 2020 focus on Southern Missouri Agriculture. Visiting all 30 counties across what makes up the 8th Congressional District during the normal Congressional August break in voting has been a tradition I have carried on since becoming your representative in the United States Congress...

The Poplar Bluff High School Class of 1955 will meet at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Dexter Bar-B-Q for its final planning meeting before its upcoming class reunion.

An employee of the Butler County Justice Center tested positive last week for COVID-19, prompting additional sanitation measures and testing for anyone who may have had contact with the worker. After experiencing COVID-19-related symptoms, the employee tested positive “somewhere toward the end of the week,” said Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs, who indicated the turnaround for the test results was fairly quick.

The Kearbey Chapel Cemetery will hold its annual meeting following lunch on the grounds at noon Saturday, Sept. 12. In case of inclement weather, the lunch and meeting will be held at Bethel Chapel Church on County Road 415. Donations may be mailed to Sandy Emerson, 3372 County Road 426, Poplar Bluff, Mo., 63901...

MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL A 16-year-old Chaffee residence was injured in a one-vehicle crash at 2:25 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, on Highway P, two miles north of Bell City. According to the report, the teen was operating a 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix northbound when it ran off the road. The teen reportedly overcorrected, which caused her car to return to the road and then run off the left side of the road and strike a tree...

City firefighters responded at 11:29 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, to an alarm at the 817 W. Victor St. residence occupied by Patrick Oxley and owned by Eve Oxley. It was investigation only. ­_ City firefighters responded at 3:13 a.m. Monday, Aug. 31, to a report of a structure fire in the 1900 block of Woodrow Street...

A local man faces charges in connection with a Friday night shooting outside a bar in downtown Poplar Bluff. Carl Corneilous Dailey, 22, was charged Sunday with the Class B felonies of first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, the unclassified felony of armed criminal action and the Class E felony of unlawful use of a weapon...

In 1920, the U.S. accepted the 19th Amendment, which established women’s right to vote. In August of that year, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment and solidified it in the Constitution.