Stories from Thursday, September 25, 2014

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Twin Rivers R-X expects to operate "in the black" for the 2014-15 school year with the passage of an amended budget at Tuesday's regular monthly meeting. The proposed $8,679,086 working budget is dependent on federal funding, but aims to avoid the more than $400,000 in deficit spending the district reported for the prior year. ...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor City Manager Heath Kaplan told the Poplar Bluff City Council Tuesday night he has found a way to finance a new bridge and pave two gravel streets. At the Sept. 2 council meeting, Kaplan said he thinks a new Fair Street bridge "is a good project, but we have other eligible projects. The gravel streets are eligible."...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor The Poplar Bluff City Council reversed itself Tuesday night and accepted a bid for consulting services for the Kinzer and Cynthia Street Historic District project. On Sept. 2, council members voted 4-3 to reject a $21,250 bid from Terri Foley, a historical preservation consultant from Wilmington, N.C...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Residents of the Northwood Hills Subdivision were successful in keeping Dr. Jared Beaird's proposed dental office out of their neighborhood. A recommendation from the Poplar Bluff Planning and Zoning Commission to deny the rezoning of a corner lot at 1910 Northwood Drive from RS-2 general residential to O-1 office professional was unanimously supported by the Poplar Bluff City Council Tuesday night...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor City Manager Heath Kaplan was questioned about his recommendation to accept a higher health insurance broker bid during the Poplar Bluff City Council meeting Tuesday night. The higher bid was from a firm based overseas. The lower bid was from a locally-owned Poplar Bluff financial institution...

By BARBARA ANN HORTON News Editor A Puxico, Mo., mother is alive today thanks to the quick actions of her 14-year-old son and a qualified emergency medical dispatcher. Sarah West, 33, who works at Westwood Hills Country Club in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and goes to school online studying medical billing and coding, was spending the evening Aug. 9 at home with her son Brady Chubb, a freshmen at Puxico High School. They were both looking forward to the annual Puxico Homecoming the next week...

Mildred Scott PUXICO, Mo. -- Mildred Scott, 96 the daughter of the late James Otto and Bessie Stewart Smith, was born in Puxico, Mo. on Jan. 19, 1919, and passed away at the Cypress Point Nursing Center in Dexter, Mo. on Sept. 20, 2014. She had lived most of her life in Puxico. ...

Madaline Wilhelm Madaline Wilhelm, 90, daughter of the late Harold Fern and Minnie Pearl Owens Thomas, was born in St. Louis, Mo. on June 10, 1924, and passed away at Dexter, Mo. Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. She had lived in St. Louis, Kansas City and Pacific Grove, Calif., before returning to Puxico in 1946. ...

Santana Marie Jensen and Jesse Aaron Cate, both of Puxico, Mo. are engaged. Jensen is the daughter of Lori and Shane Ivy of Poplar Bluff, Mo. Cate is the son of Ernie and Becky Cate of Puxico. The couple plan to be married at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014, at the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Harviell, Mo...

By MICHELLE L. VARVIL A week that started out good with a win against Naylor Sept. 12 ended with a string of losses for the Puxico Indians baseball team. The Indians were strong against Naylor in their away game Sept. 12, winning 14-2. "We played good defensively," said Coach Jon Simpher. "Pitching was good, but offense was hit and miss. We had a lot of base runners, but we didn't seem to hit many balls hard."...

By MICHELLE L. VARVIL The Puxico Lady Indians are going through a rough patch, suffering a string of losses this past week. The girls lost to Doniphan 2-12 in an away game Sept. 12 in Doniphan. They competed in the Lady Devil Invitational in Chaffee Sept. 13, losing to Portageville 0-10, Saxony Lutheran 1-8 and Twin Rivers 0-8...

By MICHELLE L. VARVIL Puxico Postmaster Roger Martin is set to retire Sept. 30 after a little more than 29 years with the United States Postal Service and a total of 35 1/2 years of civil service time. Martin, a 1976 graduate of Puxico High School, took his first civil service job collecting campground fees at Peoples Creek for the U.S. ...

Puxico Nursing & Rehab Center administrator Debby Hess announced Ronda Wolfe is the Employee of the Month for September. Lonnie Guilliams was named Resident of the Month. Wolfe has worked at the facility for 13 1/2 years. She started as a certified nurse aide. ...

By MICHELLE L. VARVIL It was a grueling weekend of play for the varsity Puxico Lady Indians volleyball team as they competed in the Dig For Life volleyball tournament Sept. 12-13 at Southeast Missouri State University, playing a total of six matches...

No greater calamity can befall a child than to grow up without learning to respect constituted authority...parental, civil and religious. It is a mark of high intelligence for a man to recognize his dependence upon God and to submit humbly to His authority. ...

By MICHELLE L. VARVIL First-time participant Anthony Jackson attended the Wappapello Outdoor Opportunities for Disabled Sportsmen event Sept. 13 at the Redman Creek Recreation Area and enjoyed himself so much he hopes he is able to attend again next year...

By MICHELLE L. VARVIL George and Mona Foster, residents of Ward II in Puxico, addressed the Puxico Board of Aldermen about traffic problems on Click Avenue at the board's regular monthly meeting Sept. 18. George Foster said he has seen vehicles flying down Click Avenue at 55-60 miles per hour, which poses a risk to children playing in the area as well as residents trying to back out of their driveways. ...

By BARBARA ANN HORTON Staff Writer A Puxico, Mo. mother is alive today thanks to the quick actions of her 14-year-old son. Sarah West, 33, who works at Westwood Hills Country Club in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and goes to school online studying medical billing and coding, was spending the evening at home with her son Brady Chubb, a freshmen at Puxico High School...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN "Congress must now vote to support the first steps of what will be a long march toward victory," said Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Following this clarion call, 71 House Republicans bolted to join 85 Democrats in voting no to U.S. funds to train and arm Syrian rebels...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat Any time the federal government declares a "War on....", you can bet your bottom dollar - or tax dollar in most cases - the outcome will be utter failure at a massive taxpayer expense. The long-ago declared War on Drugs has turned into full surrender with nary a dip in the drug usage or availability after massive resources for law enforcement, education and an array of other tools...

By MICHELLE MALKIN Something's fouling Colorado's crisp air -- and I'm not talking about the pot smoke. In my adopted home state, the toxic fumes of Islamic jihad have penetrated the most unlikely hamlets and hinterlands. Obama administration officials are vehemently denying plots by ISIS operatives to cross our borders. ...

Poplar Bluff High School SHO-ME Band will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser beginning at 6 p.m. Friday in the back hall of the Eagles Lodge. Menu includes: spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and drink. To-go plates are available. Tickets are $5 each at the door. To purchase in advance, call 573-776-4798...

The Master Gardeners will host a free one-hour class about crape myrtles at 10 a.m. Saturday. The class will be conducted on the corner near 1600 West Harper Street at the intersection of PP Highway and Business 67. Master Gardener members will lead the class, which is open to the public...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor As Poplar Bluff High School's trap shooting team kicks off its 2014-2015 competition season, it will lean on the experience and leadership of a new coach. Bill McKinley, an agriculture teacher at the high school, takes over the job this season from Kathryn Clark, who coached the team for one year. McKinley is the team's fourth coach since its inception in January of 2006...

Jose Reyes wasn't challenged a whole lot in regulation and made one big save in the second overtime Tuesday night. The Poplar Bluff goalkeeper made two huge saves during penalty kicks and his Mules teammates scored four times on five attempts to come away with a 2-1 victory at Whiteley Park...

By ALEX WEST Staff Writer Young men and women between the ages of 14 and 20 have the opportunity to take an in-depth look at the field of law enforcement and emergency services through Exploring, a program provided by the Boy Scouts of America. Fire and Emergency Service Career Exploring will host an open house with the support of the Poplar Bluff Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Butler County Sherriff's Department from 6:30-7:30 p.m. ...

Roy Edward "Ed" Luke WILLIAMSVILLE, Mo. -- Roy Edward "Ed" Luke, 31, of Williamsville passed away on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014, near Williamsville. He was born Oct. 19, 1982, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. He was united in marriage to Renee Goebel and they shared two children...

Velva Hawkins DONIPHAN, MO. -- Velva Jean Hawkins, 77-year-old resident of Piedmont, Mo. died Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014, in the St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Mrs. Hawkins was born Aug. 4, 1937, in Oxly, Mo. to the late Orden and Imogene Watkins Christian. She was a member of the Church of Christ and helped more than 150 children by being a foster parent. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and sewing...

Frank Von Ruedgisch Clarence Franklin "Frank" Von Ruedgisch, 67, of Dexter, Mo., passed away Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014, at Golden Living, in Malden, Mo. Mr. Von Ruedgisch was born in Dexter on Nov. 6, 1946, to Fred and Margaret McFarlen Parker Von Ruedgisch. ...

BROSELEY -- The Bloomfield Lady Wildcats played a solid match for the second straight night, this time beating district opponent Twin Rivers 25-13, 25-17 Tuesday night on the road. Bloomfield (9-5-1) served very well with 18 aces. Lindsey Young accounted for six of those while Katlyn Pearson had four and Kaley Roper and Nicole Roper each had three...

NAYLOR -- The trouble with snowballs is that they can become avalanches, and those kill. After taking a 3-0 lead through three innings, Van Buren gave up six runs in the fourth after a series of defensive miscues and never rebounded. Naylor tacked on one more run in the fifth to win 7-3 Tuesday...