Stories from Monday, December 13, 2021

MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — An Amazon warehouse worker in Illinois who was an outdoorsman and avid motorcycle rider. A Kentucky judge known for his common sense. A "typical" grandmother from Missouri. These were among the dozens of people killed during Friday night's tornadoes that ripped through five states in the Midwest and South. ...

DEFIANCE, Mo. — Missouri officials are continuing to assess the damage caused by tornadoes that killed at least two people in the state this weekend. Gov. Mike Parson visited St. Charles and Pemiscot counties Sunday to see the aftermath of the storms that moved through Friday night. The same storm system also generated tornadoes that killed dozens of people in four other states with the worst damage in Kentucky...

Royce Asa Hutson, 86, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, died Friday, Dec. 10, 2021 at his residence in Poplar Bluff. Mr. Hutson was born Sept. 29, 1935 in Calico Rock, Arkansas, son of the late Asa and Lela Hutson. He was of the Pentecostal faith. Royce was a lifelong farmer and enjoyed being outdoors, especially coon and deer hunting...

DEXTER, Mo. — Robert Paul Womack, 95, son of the late R.D. Womack and Beatrice Williams Womack, was born Nov. 18, 1926 in Dardanelle, Arkansas and departed this life on Dec. 10, 2021 at his residence in Dexter, Missouri. Mr. Womack was a was a Veteran of the United States Army. He was a former forklift driver for Federal Mogul, and a resident of Dexter...

DEXTER, Mo. — James Q. Smith, 92, of Poplar Bluff passed away at home Dec. 9, 2021. James was born in Arkansas Dec. 22, 1928 to Helen Coggins Smith and Elzie F. Smith. He lived in Poplar Bluff for many years and had several business ventures though out his life...

Cindy-Lou Morgan of Poplar Bluff has been named this year’s Three Rivers College Alumni Star. She will be honored at the Alumni Reunion festivities on Jan. 22, including a reception that day. “Cindy has been an energetic volunteer and engaged alumnus,” said Michelle Reynolds, director of development at Three Rivers. “She never hesitates to become involved in an event or provide feedback for a new initiative.”...

Kaye Beth Sparkman, 63, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, passed away Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Kaye was born June 4, 1958, to Ross and Reba (Carman) Marion in St. Louis, Missouri. She married Gary Sparkman Dec. 14, 1991, in Harrisonville, Arkansas...

A Doniphan man was among three people killed in accidents on Southeast Missouri roads over the weekend, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports. Two accidents occurred Friday night, while a third occurred Sunday morning. Christopher J. Koehler, 39, of Doniphan was operating a 2014 Chevrolet Impala eastbound on Highway 142 at 7:29 p.m. ...

Mary Belle Thurman, 94, of Poplar Bluff went to her heavenly home Dec. 12, 2021, at River Mist Assisted Living in Poplar Bluff. She was born May 5, 1927, to Wallace and Bertha Parkin in Butler County. On March 12, 1948, she married Homer J. Thurman. He preceded her in death on June 25, 1991...

Local law enforcement officials recovered an unoccupied vehicle from the Black River Sunday afternoon, which had been reported stolen earlier in the day. The vehicle, a white, four-door, 1997 Buick, was reported stolen at 12:53 a.m. Sunday from a residence in the 1000 block of North Second Street...

What made the difference for Butler County on Friday night when a severe storm system left a 200-mile path of destruction across the Midwest? That system found highly unstable conditions in Arkansas before it could reach this section of the Missouri-Arkansas border, along with strong wind shear that then forced it east, according to the National Weather Service...

Mayfield, Kentucky, has become the symbol of the devastating storms that swept through the south and midwest Friday night. One hundred eleven miles away, Poplar Bluff residents gathered donations of coats, blankets and more for relief efforts through Missouri charity Footsteps Medical Missions...

BUTLER COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT A resident of the 1800 block of County Road 604 reported at 8:50 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, illegal dumping on his/her property. Old furniture and several bags pf trash were had been thrown into a ditch and along a field road access...