Stories from Wednesday, October 5, 2011

By LECIA FORESTER SEMO News Service Shawn Morgan, 43, of Senath, Mo., made his fourth appearance in court Tuesday morning since being charged with the disappearance and death of three-year-old BreeAnn Rodriguez, also of Senath. Morgan appeared before Judge John C. Spielman and was told that after conferring with his attorneys, Thomas Marshall and Charles Moreland, public defenders from Columbia, Mo., a preliminary hearing had been set for 1:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 7...

Neelyville R-IV board members, staff and district residents met Tuesday night to discuss a possible bond issue to move the school to one campus. Superintendent Brad Hagood said the issue is in the "preliminary stages" so there is no proposal yet on what the building would look like, except it would need to include a new classroom building, cafeteria, library and gym...

LINN CREEK, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Highway Patrol is investigating the death of a mid-Missouri home invasion suspect who was subdued with a stun gun. Camden County authorities identify the man as 46-year-old Glenn Norman of Neelyville, Mo. Authorities say a Linn Creek resident called the sheriff's department around 4:30 a.m. saying a man had knocked on his door and pushed his way in. The two began struggling and the suspect left...

Authorities continue to search for a Poplar Bluff, Mo., man wanted in connection with an alleged August robbery at a local home in which money, cellular telephone and car were stolen at gunpoint. Michael McNair Jr., 25, is charged with two Class A felonies of first-degree robbery, the Class B felony of first-degree attempted robbery, three unclassified felonies of armed criminal action and the Class C felony of stealing...

The Return, a renowned Beatles tribute band out of Atlanta, Ga., will take the stage at the Rodgers Theatre 7 p.m. Saturday. The event, organized by the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce, is billed as a fundraiser for the historic theater...

Walmart, 333 S. Westwood Blvd., has been serving Poplar Bluff, Mo., and the surrounding community for 41 years. In 1990, when Walmart opened in its current location, the store was the largest supercenter built by the company. Matt Looney, manager, points out that Walmart 19, like the other 3,600 locations across the U.S. ...

This has been an exciting year for Three Rivers College. The college set enrollment records, began new programs, opened new locations, expanded external funding, and increased revenues. All these accomplishments will serve as building blocks for even greater growth in the next year...

The Independent Living Center of Southeast Missouri (ILCSEMO), located at 511 Cedar St., Poplar Bluff, Mo., has served people with disabilities in this area for 14 years, providing: information and referrals, advocacy, skills training, peer support and de-institutionalization. In addition, ILCSEMO provides In-Home Services which include: personal care, homemaker services, nurse visits, respite care and chore services...

Poplar Bluff Monument Works, LLC, 1969 S. Westwood Blvd., Poplar Bluff, Mo., has created artistic memorials for families of Poplar Bluff and surrounding areas for 38 years. Steven Gillihan, owner and manager, is known for his craftsmanship and for treating families as he would his own...

Focus on Physical Therapy, located in the old Century 21 building at 3381 Kanell Blvd., (PP Highway) is locally owned. Managed by Chad A. Casey, DPT/ATC, Focus opened July 6, 2009 and offers a variety of outpatient physical therapy services. Beyond its main emphasis of outpatient physical therapy, Focus also offers occupational therapy, athletic training and women's health therapy managed by Jennifer Funke, MPT...

Healthy foods are important to support critical periods of growth and development during pregnancy, after delivery and throughout childhood. Butler County Health Department can help families with this through WIC, the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children...

F'or nearly a decade, Tim and Gary Stricklin and the staff at Quality Air Heating and Cooling have been living up to their name by providing quality work to customers in the Poplar Bluff, Mo., area. Located at 4057 S. Westwood Blvd., Quality Air offers 24-hour service, as well as free estimates for the installation of new systems...

Smith & Co. is a proud member of and contributor to the forward looking Southeast Missouri community. "Sam Smith founded our company in 1968 and continued to grow our company to support the growth in this region," President Bob MacDonald said. Today, more than 40 Employee-Owners of Smith & Co. ...

Comfort Master, Inc., 1645 Highway B, Poplar Bluff, Mo. has been servicing more than 2,500 commercial and residential customers since April of 1984. It is our policy to hire well- trained, experienced, certified, service technicians. Our goal is to provide the best service available to the customer. Our service technicians are trained to work on air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, boilers, water heaters, commercial refrigeration units, kitchen equipment and ice machines...

With more than 145 years of successful operation, Commerce Bank offers financial strength and stability. Attesting to this, Commerce Bank was ranked among the top ten on Forbes' list of America's Best Banks, reported in December 2010. Commerce is also ranked number seven on Bank Director magazine's 2011 top 150 Bank Performance Scorecard...

For more than 30 years, customers from the Poplar Bluff, Mo., area having been stopping into the McDonald's restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Founded in 1955, the first McDonald's opened locally on North Westwood Boulevard in 1978. Since that time, additional locations have opened inside the Walmart Supercenter in 1994, on Highway 53 in 1999, in Doniphan, Mo., in 1995 and Van Buren, Mo., in 2001...

When thinking about summer float trips on the Current River everyone's destination is The Landing in Van Buren. They have been outfitting people with inner tubes, canoes, rafts and kayaks for summer float trips down one of America's most scenic rivers since 1981, but the latest addition to the resort, The River Centre at The Landing, is attracting visitors to Current River for other reasons...

Dennis Outdoors is a family owned and operated store since 1968, and established its current store on Business Highway 67 South in Poplar Bluff, Missouri in 1974. Dennis Outdoors had plans for a new building, but due to the economic downturn they have decided to post pone those plans for the future and have done interior remodeling to the current building. ...

Thirty years ago most companies, especially healthcare companies, didn't talk about culture. In fact, most folks thought culture had to do with Beethoven and other fine arts. Well, thirty years ago at Gamma, culture was a key an issue as it is today. ...

Your credit union has some great deals going on right now! We have vehicles loans as low as 3.3%, plus fantastic rates on mortgage loans, home equity loans, signature loans, lines of credit loans, small business loans, in addition to RVs, boats, motorcycles - essentially any consumer loan with collateral. We also offer share and certificate loans where you still earn interest and the loan rate is just 3 percent over the dividend rate you are earning...

A fine piece of jewelry represents remembrance: of an occasion, birthday, holiday, anniversary, engagement and all of the messages of love. For our 60 years -- Poplar Bluff natives -- the Whitworth family members, have been giving quality, experience, honesty and service to friends and neighbors at Whitworth's Gift Chest Jewelers. ...

White-Sanders Funeral Home has a long standing tradition of service in Butler County. Owners Jim and Kathy Sanders along with Wanda Sanders are lifelong residents of the area. Jim graduated from Twin Rivers High School and attended Three Rivers College before going to Kentucky School of Mortuary Science where he graduated in 1975. ...

After five generation in the agriculture business, the family-owned Cane Creek Sod, offers customers a wealth of knowledge that extends from local residential jobs to large commercial projects. The business, located at 2179 County Road 321, was started 11 years ago when owner, Chris Williams, noticed a need in the area for turfgrass...

October marks Dental Arts Group's first year in their new building at 2700 Kanell Blvd. Drs. Rick, John and Erich Blaich's goal was to design a new dental facility that was not only state of the art with technology, but also a quality setting that welcomed patients and put them at ease. ...

Neelyville and Poplar Bluff ended the regular season with a wild sixth inning Tuesday afternoon. A two-out, three-run rally gave the Lady Tigers the lead but the host Poplar Bluff stormed back with three runs in the bottom half to take a 7-6 win at Bacon Park...

FREDERICKTOWN -- The Poplar Bluff Mules soccer team broke out Tuesday night as they ended a long scoring drought and losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Fredericktown Blackcats. "I felt like we should have had more goals," Poplar Bluff coach Jamie Waddell said. "We out-shot them 21-6. We just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net."...

Chris Newman loves the St. Louis Cardinals so much that he is practically a walking encyclopedia of baseball knowledge. "He's like a stats machine," East Carter baseball coach Brock Crowley said. "He knows everything to know especially about the Cardinals."...

By DEREK KRAVITZ AP Real Estate Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mortgage giant Fannie Mae knew about allegations of improper foreclosure practices by law firms in 2003 but did not act to stop them, a government watchdog says. Similar allegations are the subject of a probe by state attorneys general into how lenders and law firms ignored proper procedures to handle a crush of foreclosure paperwork...

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) -- U.S. buyers shrugged off economic worries and snapped up SUVs and pickups last month, surprising the auto industry and raising hopes that a bumpy year will end on a high note. Big trucks typically sell when the housing market and construction industry are strong, gas prices are low and consumer confidence is high. ...

The Coalition to Enforce Antidumping & Countervailing Duty Orders, which includes Mid Continent Nail Corporation of Poplar Bluff, Mo., says House Bill 3057 establishes a rapid-response timeline by which U.S. Customs & Border Protection ("CBP"), the federal agency tasked with collecting duties and enforcing compliance with U.S. customs law, would respond to allegations of duty evasion...

By JIM ABRAMS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate on Monday weighed whether to punish China for undervaluing its currency and taking away American jobs. At issue is whether legislation would boost the American economy, as its supporters argue, or initiate a damaging trade war with a major partner...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- Elizabeth Warren, Harvard law professor and former Obama administration regulator (for consumer protection), is modern liberalism incarnate. As she seeks the Senate seat Democrats held for 57 years before 2010, when Scott Brown impertinently won it, she clarifies the liberal project, and the stakes of contemporary politics...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Friday morning, Predator drones operated by the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command rendezvoused over Yemen and launched Hellfire missiles that blew to pieces the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. A declared enemy in the war on terror was eliminated...

Mad science Today, our Congress is arguing easing the Clean Air Act. One of the components of that Clean Air Act is mercury. And, they are arguing the damage that easing the act will cause to people across our fine nation if they were to relax the regulation. ...

Emma Hall FISK, Mo. -- Emma Jean Hall, 82, of Essex, Mo., died Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Mrs. Hall was born Feb. 2, 1929, at Mountain View, Mo. She had lived at Essex for the past 52 years. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Essex. She was also a member of the Retired Teachers Association...

Lucy Page Whtteley was born at 7:24 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, 2011. She weighed six pounds, 15 ounces and was 19 and one half inches in length. The infant's parents are Sara Nicole Wheetly and Cody Lee Wheetley of Puxico, Mo. This is the first child for the couple...

Michelle Reneé Crihfield and Travis Wayne Crihfield of Poplar Bluff. Mo., have chosen the name Lydia Elizabeth Crihfield for their 4-pound, 13-ounce daughter born at 3:40 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She was 17 and three-fourths inches long...

Jeffrey McGee NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Jeffrey Roy McGee, 34, of Naylor, Mo., died Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011, at his residence. Mr. McGee was born Sept. 13, 1977, at St. Louis, Mo. He was a lifelong resident of the area and worked in construction. He enjoyed playing the guitar, video games and spending time with his daughter and music...

Larry Hastings Larry David Hastings, 63, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, Oct. 3, 2011, at his residence. Mr. Hastings was born Aug. 5, 1948, in Poplar Bluff. He was a veteran of the U. S. Air Force, and had retired from Three Rivers Community College. Mr. Hastings enjoyed the computer and oil painting...

Martha Henson MALDEN, Mo. -- Martha Jeanette Henson, 58, of Clarkton, Mo., died Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011, at St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. Mrs. Henson was born July 6, 1953, at Eau Claire, Mich. She was of the Pentecostal faith. She was married to J.D. Henson. He preceded her in death in 2007...

Mable N. Snyder PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Mable N. Snyder, 84, of Piedmont, Mo., died Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011, at Clark's Mountain Nursing Center in Piedmont, Mo. Mrs. Snyder was born on Nov. 1, 1926, at Lake Creek, Wayne County, Mo. She was of the Baptist faith and spent her life as a mother, wife, and homemaker...

Rudy Chatman Sr. Rudy Wilson Chatman Sr., 85, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011, at Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter, Mo. Mr. Chatman was born Oct. 14, 1925, at Poplar Bluff. He was a retired insurance salesman and enjoyed coon hunting. He was a charter member of the Eagles and was a member of the American Legion...

Goldie McFann DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Goldie Mildred McFann, 67, of Doniphan, Mo., died Monday, Oct. 3, 2011, at her residence. Ms. McFann was born July 22, 1944, in Black Oak, Ark. She was a certified nursing assistant. She enjoyed gardening, especially flowers...

Tony Sturgeon NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Tony Wayne Sturgeon, 58, of Neelyville, Mo., died Monday, Oct. 3, 2011, at his residence. Mr. Sturgeon was born Aug. 5, 1953, at Poplar Bluff, Mo. He was a member of the Stanfield General Baptist Church in Gideon, Mo...

Carl R. Besher Jr. PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Carl R. Besher, Jr., 39, of Piedmont, Mo., died Monday, Oct. 3, 2011, in Carter County as the result of a trucking accident. He was born July 17, 1972 in Fredericktown and had lived in Piedmont for many years. He owned and operated Wayne County Transportation...

Deer more active this time of year Col. Ron Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, reminds drivers to watch for deer, which are more active this time of year. Drivers should be especially vigilant during evening and early dawn hours. Deer behavior changes due to mating season, which may cause an increase in roadway crossings. Hunting and crop harvesting may result in these animals being in places they aren't usually seen. Drivers are urged to remain alert...

Margaret Harwell Art Museum will hold the following children's art classes in October. Classes are open for any age, but children under age 4 must be accompanied by an adult. Registration is required one week in advance. For more information, contact Lisa Tuttle at 573-686-8002 or 573-429-7105...

Matt Whitworth, son of Terena and Steve Whitworth of Poplar Bluff, Mo., graduated from Arkansas State University, Saturday, May 7, 2011 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and public relations and a minor in sociology. On Thursday, Sept. 22, Whitworth won a Prism award which was presented at the Capitol Hotel in Little Rock, Ark. ...

JEFFERSON CITY - With Fire Prevention Week 2011 and the home heating season approaching, State Fire Marshal Randy Cole urges Missourians to remember the importance of preventing fires in the home and practicing a fire escape plan with their families...

With breast cancer, education is empowerment According to the American Cancer Society, there are now about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States. A diagnosis of breast cancer brings with it many questions, and requires sudden decision making about surgery and treatment. With this comes the need to learn an overwhelming amount of new information at a rapid rate, and to become familiar with new concepts and strange medical jargon...

Dorothy Raymo DEXTER, Mo. -- Dorothy Raymo, 86, of Dexter, Mo., died Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, at Golden Living Center in Bloomfield, Mo. Mrs. Raymo was born on March 6, 1925 in St. Louis, Mo. She was a homemaker and was affiliated with the First Assembly of God Church in Bloomfield, Mo...

FCA motorcycle rally, poker run The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is hosting their annual Fall Rally/Poker Run Saturday, Oct. 8. Registration will be at Colton's Steak House in Poplar Bluff between the hours of 9:30 and 11 am. Free breakfast goodies will be served...

The public is invited to bring ideas to an open house Saturday, Oct. 8 at Lake Wappapello State Park near Williamsville and Poplar Bluff. The open house will be from 9-11 a.m. in the Asher Creek Campground and is open to the public. The recent flood events, the parks recovery and future plans for the park will be highlighted during the open house. Visitors are invited to share comments regarding Lake Wappapello State Park's services and operations. Coffee and doughnuts will be provided...

According to the American Cancer Society, there are now about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States. As breast cancer survivors go on with their lives, there are many changes they will face in the months and years after completing their treatment. ...

Q: What is cancer? a: Cancer is a disease that occurs when cells become abnormal and divide without control or order. Each organ in the body is made up of various kinds of cells. Cells normally divide in an orderly way to produce more cells only when they are needed. This process helps keep the body healthy. If cells divide when new cells are not needed, they form too much tissue. This extra tissue, called a tumor, can be benign or malignant...

Breast cancer occurs primarily in women, but men can also develop breast cancer. Although men have less breast tissue than women, they do have breast cells that can undergo cancerous changes. Male breast cancer makes up less than 1 percent of all cases of breast cancer, and is usually detected in men between 60 and 70 years of age...

Janice Arnold and Carol Pinkston, both of Poplar Bluff, Mo., are survivors of breast cancer; however, their stories are vastly different. In October 2000, at the age of 38, Janice found a lump in her breast while showering. She was diagnosed with Stage One infiltrating ductal carcinoma. ...

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare but very aggressive type of breast cancer. IBC usually grows rapidly and often spreads to other parts of the body; symptoms include redness, swelling, and warmth in the breast. Treatment for IBC usually starts with chemotherapy, which is generally followed by surgery, radiation, targeted therapy, and/or hormone therapy...

Advanced Breast Cancer Breast cancer is considered advanced when it has spread from its original site to distant areas of the body. Physicians will look at a number of factors to determine the stage of breast cancer, including tumor size, lymph node involvement, and whether the cancer has spread to other areas of the body. Once the stage of the disease is determined, there are two different ways advanced breast cancer can be classified: locally advanced or metastatic...

Today, thanks to early detection and recent medical advances, women are surviving breast cancer, remaining disease free and living longer, healthier lives. Yet despite this encouraging news, being diagnosed with breast cancer can still be an overwhelming experience. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with breast cancer, remember that no one has to face this disease alone...

Clinical trials are research studies conducted with individuals who volunteer to take part. Each study answers scientific questions and tries to find better ways to prevent, screen for, diagnose, or treat a disease. These trials are carefully monitored and evaluated to test the safety and efficacy of a particular therapy or treatment regimen. ...

Companies can support breast cancer awareness and screening programs. Many organizations have determined that when it comes to saving a life, the costs are worth the investment. Successful work site initiatives have been developed by large companies but even small companies can make a difference...

(NAPS)--Significant progress in mammography technology continues to help physicians diagnose breast cancer in its earlier stages. When coupled with new treatment options, early diagnosis through mammography screening can significantly improve a woman's chances of survival. That's good news because in the United States more than 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed each year...

Companies can support breast cancer awareness and screening programs. Many organizations have determined that when it comes to saving a life, the costs are worth the investment. Successful work site initiatives have been developed by large companies but even small companies can make a difference...

Significant progress in mammography technology continues to help physicians diagnose breast cancer in its earlier stages. When coupled with new treatment options, early diagnosis through mammography screening can significantly improve a woman's chances of survival. That's good news because in the United States more than 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed each year...