Stories from Thursday, March 13, 2014

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- An Ellsinore, Mo., man who was charged as part of an investigation into suspected illegal activities committed while Tommy Adams was Carter County sheriff pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to a health care fraud scheme...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Eighteen Butler County residents expressed their priorities in seven transportation areas during a meeting at the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission Tuesday night. Each person placed a big blue dot on the top priority for aviation, bicycle/pedestrian, highways/bridges, motor carriers, public transit, railways and waterways and smaller dots for lower priorities...

By BARBARA ANN HORTON News Editor Kim Stuckenschneider of Poplar Bluff, Mo., merged her dream of owning her own business with the knowledge she gained from the Operation Jump Start program. Today, she owns The Fit Room, which recently opened a second location...

A bumpy ride ahead Well, it looks like our President is finally gonna do what he considers the right thing for millions of Americans across the nation by raising the minimum wage. But in another political move that many see as nothing more than buying the votes again with your money, there are some unintended consequences that might actually benefit America as a whole. ...

By BARBARA ANN HORTON News Editor Is owning your own business at the top of your bucket list, but you lack the confidence to step out on your own? Operation Jump Start may be the solution to your dilemma if you live in Butler, Ripley, Carter or Wayne counties...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat You have to give credit to the liberals - which I hesitate to do. The liberals know that if you put a derogatory name or slur on your opposition, you demean their value to some. And that's why we have "birthers" or "teabaggers" or "climate deniers."...

From Staff Reports CORNING, Ark. -- MFA Oil Biomass LLC is expanding operations to Corning, where it is leasing a 50,000 square foot warehouse from the city of Corning to store and process the company's renewable energy crop, miscanthus giganteus...

By MICHELLE MALKIN You knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. When government expands entitlements, illegal aliens always end up with a piece of the pie. Obamacare promoters relented to GOP pressure to include an illegal alien ban on eligibility and vowed endlessly that no benefits would go to the "undocumented." But denial isn't just a river in Egypt. It's the Obama way...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON -- Vladimir Putin is a lucky man. And he's got three more years of luck to come. He takes Crimea, and President Obama says it's not in Russia's interest, not even strategically clever. Indeed, it's a sign of weakness...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor The Heartland Gobblers chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation had its best banquet in a dozen years Saturday night, raising more than $53,000 to support the organization's habitat conservation and hunting heritage missions...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Congratulations go to Butler County Conservation Agent John Pratt, who was recognized Monday night as the Missouri Department of Conservation's Southeast Region Hunter Education Agent of the Year. "I'm completely surprised," he said after receiving the award from Southeast Region Outdoor Skills Specialist DeeDee Dockins and Protection District Supervisor Mike Lancaster...

Ideally, only the Dexter Lady Bearcats should be in the gym this week as the last surviving area basketball team still in the state playoffs. But with the late blast of winter weather that hit last week, area schools have had a hard time getting workouts outside of the gym in order to get the MSHSAA-mandated amount of practice before the spring season season starts. The Lady Bearcats aren't the only ones still indoors...

Mary Lou House CAMPBELL, Mo. -- Mary Lou House, 70, of St. Francis, Ark., died Sunday, March 9, 2014, at the Piggott Community Hospital in Piggott, Ark. Visitation will be from noon to 1 p.m. Friday at Landess Funeral Home in Campbell. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. Friday at the Landess Funeral Chapel with Rev. Randy Vaughn officiating. Burial will be at Gravel Hill Cemetery in St. Francis...

Claudine Jensen PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Claudine Marie Jensen (nee Duckett) of DeSoto, Mo., died Feb. 24, 2014, in DeSoto. Visitation will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday at Ruegg Funeral Home in Piedmont with a memorial following at 11 a.m. also at the chapel...

ROLLA -- Ken Lanning, a six-time Ozark Invitational champion, died Saturday. He was 90. Lanning won five straight Ozark titles from 1955-59 and also took the 1963 title. He was the first to win consecutive titles at the annual tournament held at Westwood Hills Country Club that started in 1947 and won twice in a playoff, 1956 and '63...

Dora Boyer ELLSINORE, Mo. -- Dora A. Boyer, 91, died Monday, March 10, 2014, at her residence in Ellsinore. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Friday in the McSpadden Funeral Home in Ellsinore with the funeral service following at 1 p.m. Bro. Jerry Casteel and her grandchildren will officiate. Burial will be in the White's Mill Cemetery...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Former Three Rivers Raider Tarius Johnson and Eastern Kentucky are going to the dance upsetting top-seeded Belmont in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Saturday. It is Eastern Kentucky's first time in the NCAA Tournament since 2007...

Harold Siegrist MALDEN, Mo. -- Harold Siegrist, 86, of Malden died Monday, March 10, 2014, at his residence. The memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Twin Rivers General Baptist Church in Fisk, Mo., with Brother John Bowlby and Pastor Adam Mathias officiating. Landess Funeral Home of Malden is in charge of arrangements...

Marie Casey-Clark Marie Casey-Clark, 86, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Monday, March 10, 2014. Mrs. Clark was born April 22, 1927 in Poplar Bluff to the late William and Bertha (Hillis) Mosley. On Jan. 4, 1943, she married Raymond Casey in Poplar Bluff. He preceded her in death on June 23, 1980. She and Leroy Clark were married Aug. 10, 1993, in Poplar Bluff. He passed away on March 9, 2001...

ELLISVILLE, Miss. -- The Lady Raiders matched undefeated Jones County hit for hit, but not walk for walk. Three Rivers lost 10-2 on Tuesday to complete its five-game road trip. The second game of the planned doubleheader against Jones County was cancelled due to rain...