Stories from Sunday, August 19, 2012

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Poplar Bluff City Council members will conduct a public hearing on a reduced city tax rate at 6:45 a.m. Monday in City Hall. The city property tax rate will drop from 70.82 cents per $100 valuation in 2011 to 61.35 cents this year, according to City Clerk Pam Kearbey. This is a reduction of 9.47 cents or 13.37 percent...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor County tax rates, which are unchanged for the eighth consecutive year, were approved by Butler County Commissioners Ed Strenfel, Jeff Darnell and Don Anderson Friday. They will remain at 9.95 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for the general fund and 3.42 cents for the road and bridge fund, according to Butler County Clerk Tonyi Deffendall...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Tree limbs falling on power lines and lightning caused power outages from Van Bureau, Mo., to Malden, Mo., during the two storms Thursday night. Nearly 2,000 customers of Ozark Border Electric Cooperative were without power for a few hours, according to Stan Estes, the general manager...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor The Poplar Bluff Police Department officially will be presented with its accreditation during Monday night's City Council meeting. The department learned in July it had received its basic law enforcement accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA) after final testimony was presented to a subcommittee in Scotsdale, Ariz., completing a more than three-year process...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor DEXTER, Mo. -- A country boy with an interest in the law and an ensuing career spanning more than four decades soon will retire after 25 years of service as a trial and appellate judge. Having hit the mandatory retirement age of 70, Judge Robert Barney of Dexter will retire from the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, on Sept. 1...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Teachers at Poplar Bluff Junior High sat down last week with trainers from Apple as R-I begins an ambitious initiative to provide a laptop or other device for every student. Administrators anticipate having about 100 Macbook laptops available by midyear for junior high students use in class. They will rotate among departments...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor County tax rates, which are unchanged for the eighth consecutive year, were approved by Butler County Commissioners Ed Strenfel, Jeff Darnell and Don Anderson Friday. They will remain at 9.95 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for the general fund and 3.42 cents for the road and bridge fund, according to Butler County Clerk Tonyi Deffendall...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Poplar Bluff City Council members will conduct a public hearing on a reduced city tax rate at 6:45 a.m. Monday in City Hall. The city property tax rate will drop from 70.82 cents per $100 valuation in 2011 to 61.35 cents this year, according to City Clerk Pam Kearbey. This is a reduction of 9.47 cents or 13.37 percent...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Tree limbs falling on power lines and lightning caused power outages from Van Bureau, Mo., to Malden, Mo., during the two storms Thursday night. Nearly 2,000 customers of Ozark Border Electric Cooperative were without power for a few hours, according to Stan Estes, the general manager...

The Designing Women Foundation (DWF) -- together with two private donors -- granted college scholarships to five young women who were graduated recently from the Sierra-Osage Treatment Center. The five were among about 80 graduates from Sierra-Osage and five other regional programs, including the Sears Youth Center, all of them operated by the Missouri Division of Youth Services to counsel and train troubled young people referred by the court system. ...

The East Carter R-II School District is having its annual early childhood developmental screening from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, in the Early Childhood Center. All district resident children ages 3 through 5 may participate. However, children currently enrolled in Early Childhood Special Education are not required to attend...

The Butler County Health Department Board of Trustees will meet in regular session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Butler County Health Department.

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN U.S. newspapers this fall will devote countless column inches and network TV will set aside endless hours to revisiting the most perilous month in the history of the republic, if not of the world. Nikita Khrushchev's decision to secretly install nuclear-armed intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Cuba began to form in his mind sometime earlier, perhaps in April of 1961...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- Sometimes the news is that something was not newsworthy. The United Nation's Rio+20 conference -- 50,000 participants from 188 nations -- occurred in June, without consequences. A generation has passed since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, which begat other conferences and protocols (e.g., Kyoto). And, by now, apocalypse fatigue -- boredom from being repeatedly told the end is nigh...

City govt. doing good job Good morning. I think it's time to speak out for our city government. They're doing a good job. There is a lot of forward thinking here. Thanks a lot. Good-bye. Voter mad about candidates' parking spot I'm calling to say it is very unethical for the candidates to park their vehicles at the polling places when it's taking up parking places, especially at the places where we had very few parking spaces available. I did not vote for you people just because of that. s...

By CAROLYN SMITH Staff Writer When Bill and Barbara Crawford of Wappapello, Mo., met, it was like a fairy tale. She was Cinderella and he was her Prince Charming. Although she didn't lose her glass slipper, they both lost their hearts. Their love story, which began 50 years ago, continues today...

Stanley and Joyce Webb of Qulin, Mo., celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary, and his 60th birthday, which was July 6, at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, July 7, at the American Legion in Qulin. The party was hosted by their daughters: Jessica Love of Qulin and Jennifer Thomas of Poplar Bluff, Mo...

David and Jamie Jenkins announce the engagement of their daughter, Sarah Jakazelyn Jenkins, all of Wappapello, Mo., to Jesse Joseph Flores of Puxico, Mo. Flores is the son of Terry and Angel Ethridge of Poplar Bluff. The bride-to-be is a 2007 graduate of Twin Rivers High School. She attended the Technical Career Center Cosmetology Program and is employed by J. C. Penney Salon in Poplar Bluff...

By BARBARA ANN HORTON News Editor Women from across the region will gather Saturday, Sept. 15, to attend the 25th annual Women Aware conference at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff. The event is a great networking opportunity not only for the attendees, but for the businesses who rent the limited number of booths available each year...

The Butler County Retired Teachers and School Personnel Association met on Sunday, Aug. 12, at Twin Towers. Region 12 vice-president Tracy Gant informed the group of issues facing the Missouri Retired Teachers Association and Public School Personnel (MRTA). ...

Freddie Copeland MALDEN, Mo. -- Freddie G. Copeland, 63, of Tallapoosa, Mo., died Friday, Aug. 17, 2012, at his residence. Mr. Copeland was born Aug. 28, 1948, in Portageville, Mo. He attended First Pentecostal Church in Tallapoosa. On Feb. 16, 1968, he was married to Patricia Cook in Portageville. She survives of the home...

Donald Culbertson Donald Duane Culbertson, 80, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Mr. Culbertson was born April 11, 1932, in Bloomfield, Mo. As a young man, he served with the U.S. Air Force as a bombardier during the Korean War. ...

Verneal Griffin DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Verneal Lilly Griffin, 94, a life-long resident of Ripley County, Mo., died Friday, Aug. 17, 2012, at The Manor in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Mrs. Griffin, daughter of Clay and Annie (King) Holland, was born May 5, 1918, in Tucker, Mo. ...

Miriam Kinworthy FISK, Mo. -- Miriam Denette Kinworthy, 55, of Decatur, Ala. died Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, in Decatur. Mrs. Kinworthy was born Sept. 3, 1956, in Dexter, Mo. She worked as a school teacher at Calvary Christian Academy for eight years and Decatur Heritage Christian Academy for 10 years teaching math, science, and technology. ...

The SEMO Fair Pageant will be held Sunday, Sept. 9, in the R & R Tent at the SEMO Fairgrounds in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The starting time will be 3 p.m. The following are the age divisions participating: Tiny Miss SEMO Fair, 18 mos.-3 years; Little Miss SEMO Fair, 4-6 years; Young Miss SEMO Fair, 7-9 years; Pre-Teen Miss SEMO Fair, 10-13 years; Teen Miss SEMO Fair, 14-16 years; and Miss SEMO Fair, 17-22 years...

Lester Phillips PUXICO, Mo. -- Lester Dewayne Phillips, 61, of Puxico, Mo., died Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Mr. Phillips was born to Allen and Lillian Phillips on Sept. 22, 1950, in Dudley, Mo. He was of the Baptist faith...

Here's a look at area softball teams in alphabetical order: CLEARWATER The Lady Tigers have four seniors and are looking to return to the Class 2 District 1 title game after losing to East Carter last season. "We are losing some seniors (from last year) in key spots," Clearwater coach Shannon England said. "We will be a new-look team."...

Cane Creek Community Club met on Wednesday, Aug. 8, at Twin Towers. Glenda Phillips, president, called the meeting to order, leading the members in the Pledge of Allegiance. Hostess, Ruth Anderson, offered the devotional. Roll call was answered by relating memories of early school years...

Donald Culbertson -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Verneal Griffin -- Doniphan, Mo. Freddie Copeland -- Tallapoosa, Mo. Miriam Kinworthy -- Decatur, Ala. Lester Phillips -- Puxico, Mo.

Coming off a winning season with seven returning starters, the Poplar Bluff softball team looks to its offense this fall. The Lady Mules, who were 14-11 last year before losing to the top seed in the district tournament, return the bulk of a lineup that averaged 4.4 runs...

The East Carter Lady Redbirds are looking for a return trip to the Class 2 state tournament with some new faces. The Lady Redbirds lost three seniors from last season in Kim Shaffer, Ashley Christman and Lindsay Crowley and also coach Angie Bowman, who took an administrative position in the district...

FARMINGTON -- Poplar Bluff's trio of quarterbacks each kept the offense moving Friday night at the preseason jamboree. Kortez Ellis, Drew Dowd and Alex Lewis each took snaps for the Mules, who didn't turn the ball over once in 36 offensive plays and scored twice...

The Butler County Health Department Board of Trustees will meet in regular session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Butler County Health Department.

The Designing Women Foundation (DWF) -- together with two private donors -- granted college scholarships to five young women who were graduated recently from the Sierra-Osage Treatment Center. The five were among about 80 graduates from Sierra-Osage and five other regional programs, including the Sears Youth Center, all of them operated by the Missouri Division of Youth Services to counsel and train troubled young people referred by the court system. ...

Lester Phillips PUXICO, Mo. -- Lester Dewayne Phillips, 61, of Puxico, Mo., died Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Mr. Phillips was born to Allen and Lillian Phillips on Sept. 22, 1950, in Dudley, Mo. He was of the Baptist faith...

Cane Creek Community Club met on Wednesday, Aug. 8, at Twin Towers. Glenda Phillips, president, called the meeting to order, leading the members in the Pledge of Allegiance. Hostess, Ruth Anderson, offered the devotional. Roll call was answered by relating memories of early school years...

Donald Culbertson -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Verneal Griffin -- Doniphan, Mo. Freddie Copeland -- Tallapoosa, Mo. Miriam Kinworthy -- Decatur, Ala. Lester Phillips -- Puxico, Mo.