Stories from Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Fire victim still critical By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Authorities continued to investigate a weekend house fire, which left a Poplar Bluff, Mo., woman suffering smoke inhalation and in critical condition. At about 1:05 a.m. Sunday, Poplar Bluff Police Patrolman T.J. Akers arrived on the scene of a house fire at 712 N. 10th St...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A second member of Three Rivers College leadership has abruptly left. Dr. Angela Totty, vice president of Student Success, submitted her resignation Thursday, effective the day it was submitted, according to interim President Dr. Wes Payne. She left for personal reasons, he said...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor With the threat of tighter coal power plant emissions regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency in June and the fear those rules will dramatically increase utility rates, U.S. 8th District Rep. Jason Smith spent Friday afternoon reassuring officials with the Ozark Border Electric Cooperative he's fighting for their customers' interests...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor The number of applicants for the Poplar Bluff city manager position has been reduced to three. Poplar Bluff City Council members interviewed two applicants Tuesday night and three applicants Wednesday night during closed sessions at Three Rivers College...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Poplar Bluff City Council members requested more information Monday night before making a decision on continuing to budget funds for Downtown Poplar Bluff (DPB), Inc. "We would like to see a list of projects the last four years and the five-year plan for the Downtown Community Improvement District (CID)," said Mayor Pro Tem Jack Rushin...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Starting today, all drivers who purchase gasoline or diesel fuel in Poplar Bluff, Mo., must pay before filling up. An ordinance requiring prepayment or preapproval was adopted by the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday night. The vote was 7-0...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor City officials will look at various options for extending High Street across the Poplar Bluff Square Shopping Center parking lot before making a recommendation at the Poplar Bluff City Council meeting on Aug. 4...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Mayor Angela Pearson was authorized by the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday night to submit a pre-application for a grant to nominate the Garfield Historical District to the National Register of Historic Places...

Norma Goodman GREENVILLE, Mo.- Norma Ruth Goodman, 81, of Greenville died Monday, July 21, 2014, at Greenville Nursing and Rehabilitation. Visitation will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Ruegg Funeral Home in Greenville. Services will follow at 1 p.m. at the chapel. Burial will follow in Greenville Cemetery...

Beulah Renfroe Beulah Renfroe, 91, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died Friday, July 19, 2014, at Mark Twain Care Center in Poplar Bluff. Visitation will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Fitch- Hills Funeral Chapel with funeral services following at 2:30 p.m.

To the Editor: Missourians are well aware of the fact our roads are deteriorating at an astonishing rate. With the highway system ranking 7th nationwide in size but 40th in funding it is not surprising they are in such disrepair. As a result of this mismatched funding, roads and bridges are crumbling and jeopardizing the lives of Missourians. ...

Brett Allen Frazier DEXTER, Mo.- Brett Allen Frazier, 51, of Dexter, died July 19, 2014, at the Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County. Visitation will be held from 5 - 8 p.m. today at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. Funeral services will begin at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday with the Rev. Mike Kohlbaker officiating...

Cassie Sue Williams and Daniel Ephraim King of Poplar Bluff, Mo., have chosen the name Freedom Mãelle King for their 4-pound, 9-ounce daughter born at 12:24 p.m., Saturday, June 21, 2104 at Saint Francis Medical Center's Family BirthPlace in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Freedom was 17 inches long...

Lilly Rei Ladyman is the name chosen by David A. and Ellie Jane Ladyman of Williamsville, Mo., for their 7-pound, 1-ounce daughter born at 5:15 p.m. Friday, July 11, 2014 at Saint Francis Medical Center's Family BirthPlace in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Lilly was 20 inches long...

Harold Braden Harold Wayne Braden, 83, departed this life Friday, July 18, 2014 at his residence in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Born on Sept. 17, 1930 in Senath, Mo., he was the son of the late Floyd E. Braden and Thelma Price Braden. He grew up in southeast Missouri attending high school at Morley, Mo...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON -- Israel accepts an Egyptian-proposed Gaza cease-fire; Hamas keeps firing. Hamas deliberately aims rockets at civilians; Israel painstakingly tries to avoid them, actually telephoning civilians in the area and dropping warning charges, so-called roof knocking...

"The heartlessness and nativist pandering that have broken America's immigration system must give way to providing proper food, clothing, shelter and medical care to the Central American children streaming into the country," so pronounced the editors of the New York Daily News. ...

Bethany Alyssa and Cody Dale Newman, of Ellsinore, Mo. have chosen the name Sadie Raye Newman for their 7-pound, 11-ounce daughter born at 8:20 a.m., Monday, July 7, 2014 at Saint Francis Medical Center's Family BirthPlace in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Sadie was 19 1/4 inches long...

The following students were among 929 undergraduate students who received degrees during spring commencement exercises May 17 at Southeast Missouri State University. Advance, Mo. Jessica Bailey, Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a major in nursing; Hannah Barr, Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science with a major in agribusiness: animal science option; Sara Mace, Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science with a major in psychology; Miranda Nixon, Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in middle school education; Richard Nixon Jr., Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in biology education: unified science option; Molly Seabaugh, Bachelor of Science with a major in social work. ...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON -- Israel accepts an Egyptian-proposed Gaza cease-fire; Hamas keeps firing. Hamas deliberately aims rockets at civilians; Israel painstakingly tries to avoid them, actually telephoning civilians in the area and dropping warning charges, so-called roof knocking...

The President designated Arkansas counties as primary agricultural disaster areas making certain farmers and other agricultural producers in primary and contiguous counties eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA)...

By MICHELLE MALKIN Barack and Michelle Obama are quite the diversionary tag-team. He blames everyone else for his problems. She takes credit for progress on his behalf that he doesn't deserve and distracts public attention from his avalanche of failures with endless feel-good photo-ops...

Express lanes for executions As Bush stated two years ago about building more prisons for Missouri. He would put a fence around it first. Now Chris Koster Attorney General says that we should make own drugs for executions. For what? So they can build a express lane for more executions in Missouri to be number one in executions. We are pretty close to that already. We already have more prison than any other state now we are trying to be the executioners...

Cecil Andrews PUXICO, Mo.- Cecil Andrews, 92, of Wappapello, Mo., died Monday, July 21, 2014, at his home. Arrangements are pending with Morgan Sifford Funeral Home in Puxico.

SPRINGFIELD -- Carr Vernon sat three shots back as he tee'd off for the second round of the 2014 Missouri Stroke Play Championship Tuesday morning at Twin Oaks Country Club. Vernon, a Poplar Bluff graduate and current golfer for the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters, shot a 1-under-par 70 and sat tied for sixth place...

Beulah Renfroe Beulah N. Renfroe, 91, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Saturday, July 19, 2014, at Mark Twain Caring Center. She was born Aug. 20, 1922 to the late Charley Hopkins and Anna Miers Hopkins. She was a long time resident of Poplar Bluff. Beulah married K. Vurel Renfroe April 19, 1947, in Pocahontas, Ark. He survives...

Cameron Swasho Cameron Lee Swasho, 2, of Poplar Bluff, Mo, passed away Thursday, July 17, 2014 at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, in St. Louis, Mo. Cameron was born April 12, 2012 in Poplar Bluff. He loved to play outside with his brothers and he loved food. He attended the Lords Chapel...

Robbin Thompson DONIPHAN, Mo.- Robbin Thompson, 51, of Doniphan, died this morning at her residence in rural Doniphan. Funeral arrangments are pending with Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan and will be announced upon completion.

Mildred Shivley Mildred Rose Anna Shivley, 81, of DuQuoin, Ill., passed away Friday, July 18, 2014 at the Fairview Nursing Home in DuQuoin. Mrs. Shivley was born Nov. 29, 1932, in Neelyville, Mo., to the late Pleas and Freedonia Oakes. She was married to Raymond Shivley on March 31, 1972.  He preceded her in death in 1997.  She was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith...

Margie Thompson DONIPHAN, Mo.- Margie Thompson, 92, of Doniphan, died today at the Current River Nursing Center in Doniphan. Funeral arrangments are pending with Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan and will be announced upon completion.

Charles Jackson MALDEN, Mo.- Charles Leroy Jackson, 85, of Clarkton, Mo. died Monday, July 21, 2014, at Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center in Kennett, Mo. Visitation will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Bradshaw Funeral Chapel in Malden. Funeral services will be 1:30 pm. Thursday...

Buel White GREENVILLE, Mo.- Buel Winston White, 87, of Kennett, Mo., died Monday, July 21, 2014, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Arrangements are pending at Ruegg Funeral Home in Greenville. Online Condolences: www.rueggfuneralhome.com...