Stories from Friday, December 12, 2014

It's a Wonderful Life will be presented by the Stage Company at The Rodgers Theatre, Poplar Bluff, Mo., at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12-13, and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Dec. 19-20, and a matinee will be offered at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor Two new nursing instructors are among hirings approved by the Three Rivers College Board Wednesday. Pamela Elledge will replace Kyra Langley, whose resignation for personal reasons was accepted Wednesday. Elledge has previously worked at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Whole Kids Outreach at Ellington, Mo...

By DAVID SILVERBERG Associate Editor A new five-year strategic plan, 2020 Vision, was approved by the Three Rivers College Board Wednesday. "The strategic planning steering committee spent the last 4-5 months working through the process of creating a new strategic plan which sets the direction of the college for the next five years," Dr. Wesley Payne, TRC president, said. "The committee has been extremely dedicated."...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer The Poplar Bluff Municipal Utilities office will close at 1 p.m. Friday and reopen Monday in its new location. Staff will move into a modular building across the street from the current location, behind Fire Station 2 on Barron Road...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor Local authorities are searching for a Poplar Bluff, Mo., man they believe may be responsible for multiple thefts of firearms and all-terrain vehicles. Austin Million, whose last known address was in the 2000 block of Sanders Street, is a person of interest in a number of recent thefts reported in the Poplar Bluff area, according to Poplar Bluff Police Capt. Dave Sutton...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer The stockroom levels of local food pantries are always under threat and especially during the holidays, but the Southeast Missouri Food Bank officials hope a 50 percent state tax credit will help fill those shelves. The Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) approved the Southeast Missouri Food Bank for $125,000 in Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) tax credits in October. ...

Have you selected your perfect turkey for the upcoming holiday? Will you have twenty at your Christmas dinner or maybe just two? Turkeys and turkey products come in all sizes to meet the individual family's needs. Did you know that you can buy boneless turkey, turkey breasts, turkey pieces, chopped or cubed turkey, turkey cutlets or rolls, and even processed products like pastrami or deep fried turkey breasts?...

Mabel L. Ruble-Clark PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Mabel L. Ruble-Clark, 88, of Piedmont died Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014 at Clark's Mountain Nursing Center in Piedmont. Visitation will begin at 5 p.m. Friday at Harvest Baptist Church in Piedmont. The service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday also at the church...

Oscar McNew DONIPHAN, Mo.-- Oscar L. McNew, 81, of Winston, Mo., formerly of Doniphan, died Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, at the Cameron Nursing Center in Cameron, Mo. Visitation will start at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. in the funeral home chapel with Ernie Tillman officiating...

Tony R. Tripp Tony R. Tripp, 59, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. at his residence. There will be a graveside service at 11 a.m. Saturday at Pine Lawn Cemetery in Winona, Mo. Arrangements are under the directions of Fitch-Hillis Funeral Home...

Danny Tinnell Danny W. Tinnell, 66, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. Friday at Cotrell Funeral Chapel in Poplar Bluff with the funeral service following at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Jim Schremp officiating. Burial will follow at the Poplar Bluff City Cemetery...

Clarabelle Birkhead Plumb Our beautiful mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, Clarabelle Florence Birkhead Plumb, 83, left her earthly body and joined her Lord in Heaven to enjoy eternal rest on Dec. 5, 2014, at Cedar Hills Adult Residential Care in Yakima, Wash., after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease...

Terry Bennett DONIPHAN, Mo.-- Terry Lee Bennett, 57, of Fairdealing, Mo., died Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014, at Southeast Health Center in Doniphan. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Friday in the Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. The funeral service will follow at noon in the funeral home chapel with Alan Wilson officiating. Burial will be in the Rowland Woods Cemetery in Patterson, Mo...

In the medical profession, there is the admonition primum non nocere, the Latin expression for "first, do no harm." In order not to do harm, at the minimum, requires accurate diagnostics. Suppose a patient presents with abdominal pains, and the physician diagnoses it as caused by the patient's ingrown toenails. If that isn't the cause, the physician can spend all the resources he wants treating the patient's ingrown toenails and not remedy the patient's abdominal pains...

The Dexter Lady Bearcats' roster makeup is a little bit different than the previous couple seasons. They still get the same respect though. The Lady Bearcats have won four Twin Rivers Lady Royals Christmas Classic tournaments since 2008, including the previous three consecutively, and earned the top seed for this year's tournament Wednesday...

Affordable energy options for Missourians may be a thing of the past if President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) place additional burdensome regulations on coal-fired power plants. Coal is an effective, affordable means of energy that keeps Missouri's utility rates low. Right now, EPA officials are attempting to wage war on coal by eliminating or restricting its use in energy production. This is not only a war on coal; it is an attack on our way of life in rural America...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON -- Old habits die hard. The media are so enamored of the continuing (and largely contrived) story about the great Republican civil war that they fail to appreciate that the real internecine fight is being waged on the other side of the aisle...

Oscar McNew DONIPHAN, Mo.-- Oscar L. McNew, 81, of Winston, Mo., formerly of Doniphan, died Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, at the Cameron Nursing Center in Cameron, Mo. Visitation will start at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. in the funeral home chapel with Ernie Tillman officiating...