Stories from Wednesday, November 29, 2023

100 years ago Nov. 29, 1923 • Thanksgiving Day is today and it marks the 11th anniversary of the opening of the Elks Club in Poplar Bluff. The day will be celebrated with a Thanksgiving Ball. However, the ball will be on Friday night (Nov. 30) because of the inability to secure the Egyptian Serenaders orchestra from Cairo, Illinois, on Thanksgiving night. The winter and spring social season is expected to be a banner year for the Elks Club in the way of social functions...

Having opportunities to work, earn and live comfortably in a community one loves is a slice of the American dream. Aloing those lines, Steve Halter, president of the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce, recently signed a partnership agreement with the Southern Missouri Innovation Network (Innovate SOMO), the organizations announced in a press release...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — Saint Francis Healthcare System and SSM Health announced the organizations have entered into an agreement focused on expanding access to world-class care in southeast Missouri. Both organizations have a long history of strategic affiliations and collaborations intended to enhance high-quality, local healthcare. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — The boutique hotel that used to be the Himmelberger House officially has a new name. Madawn Traxel and her husband, Ben, have named the 603 N. Henderson Ave. location Rockwood Inn after the street it’s adjacent to. The Traxels are former Poplar Bluff residents...

Jessica Mierisch, a receptionist for the Cardiovascular Institute of Southern Missouri, has been announced as Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center’s newest BEE Award winner, the hospital announced in a press release. “Jess is always positive and we are very glad to have her on our team,” said Baley Robinson, who is Mierisch’s director...

Roughly a year after a zoo-reared Ozark hellbender successfully fathered a clutch of eggs in the wild, an eastern hellbender has followed suit. The Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed the first eastern hellbender raised in human care at the Saint Louis Zoo has reproduced in the wild on the Gasconade River...

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows young hunters ages 6-15 harvested 3,574 deer during Missouri’s late youth portion of the 2023 firearms deer hunting season, Nov. 24-26. Of the 3,574 deer harvested, 1,697 were antlered bucks, 361 were button bucks, and 1,516 were does...

The Missouri Department of Conservation invites people to discover nature through Eagle Days events and by watching bald eagles around the state. From December through February, Missouri’s winter eagle watching is spectacular, according to MDC staff...

DONIPHAN — An error regarding Ripley County tax statements will not cause residents to pay more, according to information discussed by the Ripley County Commission. The error has been identified and a plan has been formulated to deal with it, but it impacts only the entities which receive tax collections not those who pay taxes, officials said...

The United Gospel Rescue Mission staff and volunteers served 2,000 meals Thanksgiving Day, which was 400 more than last year. Executive Director Greg Kirk was expecting to serve at least 1,600 people, which is about 10% of the town. “Every year it’s grown,” the pastor said. “My first year here, in 2006, we served 900. I did not believe we would serve 900. I said ‘no way. We’re making way too much.’ We served 900.”...

100 years ago Nov. 30, 1923 • Poplar Bluff had a distinguished visitor yesterday (Nov. 29) in Army Col. John H. “Gatling Gun” Parker, commander of the Seventh Corps Area, which includes eight states. He was the guest of Dr. and Mrs. J.L. Lindsay. Parker said he was gratified with the results of the recruiting work done since Dr. Lindsay, a civilian reserve officer, took over the work here...

Christopher J. Coleman, 49, of Searcy, Arkansas went to be with the Lord Nov. 23, 2023. He was born Jan. 15, 1974, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri to Boyd Coleman and Nettie (Greer) Coleman. Christopher loved going to church and was baptized April 15, 2018. He loved doing art work, watching TV, and listening to his mom read the Bible to him. He was very close with his family and enjoyed spending time with them...

Joseph David Martin, 55, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Poplar Bluff. He was born Feb. 17, 1968, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, to Bill Martin and Sharon (Galiher) Briggs. Joseph moved to Poplar Bluff from Mt. Vernon, Illinois in 1977. He enjoyed playing golf, fishing, and playing the drums. He loved spending time with his family...

Judith Ann Coleman, 80, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, at her home. Judy was born Feb. 6, 1943, to Woodrow and Betty (Fraser) Jeffries in Poplar Bluff. She married Louis Coleman on June 24, 1961, also in Poplar Bluff...

Kathern Harris had special words for the four students waiting at their computers. “You are all winners, you’re champions...You’re four out of hundreds of students,” she said, adding their schools, classes and parents were already proud of them. These students represented the top 1% of math students in the Poplar Bluff School District, and a two-minute test would determine which was the 2023 4th Grade Math Counts champion. ...

Cattle farmer, small business owner, and dedicated community leader, Keith Elliott, has officially declared his candidacy for the Missouri House of Representatives in the 153rd District, encompassing parts of Ripley, Carter, Oregon, Shannon, Wayne, and Howell counties. As a Conservative Republican, Keith brings a wealth of experience and a commitment to addressing the pressing issues facing the people of Missouri...

Poplar Bluff Fire Department Poplar Bluff firefighters responded to a motor vehicle accident involving a pedestrian at 8:49 a.m. Monday, Nov. 27 at 100 N. Main St. According to Battalion Chief Kevin D. Edgar’s report they arrived to find Poplar Bluff police with the subject, who reportedly had been struck by a vehicle in the parking lot. The firefighters left when Butler County EMS arrived...