Stories from Friday, March 25, 2016

By BEN KLEINE SEMO News Service A Sikeston, Missouri, man who was volunteering at a 4-H event allegedly used a handgun as a hammer Monday at Kelly Elementary School in Benton, Missouri. Jeffrey Kyle Grubbs, 45, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and child endangerment, both felonies...

By BARBARA ANN HORTON News Editor Unite with family, friends and coworkers, form a team and plan to "Walk in Faith Not Fear" at the Sarah Jarboe White United Cancer Assistance Network Walk Saturday, April 30. Walk in Faith Not Fear is the theme for this year's walk and the event will begin at 10 a.m. at the Danny Bell Cancer Center...

By TERRY GANEY Gateway Journalism Review JEFFERSON CITY -- Scott Faughn and two of his publications, the Missouri Times and SEMO Times, owe more $17,000 on overdue bills for state taxes and commercial printing, according to creditor lawsuits filed recently in Cole County Circuit Court...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Associate Editor BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Four Stoddard County residents were to appear in court this morning following their arrests earlier this week on drug-related charges. Randi-Ann Hill (Murphy), 35, and James Allen Hill, 38, both of Dexter, Mo., and Thomas Rust Brown, 32, and Melissa Gayle Robbins, 32, both of Bell City, Mo., were to be arraigned before Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield on their charges...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Problem solver, dynamic, firm but fair, a leader - just a few terms used by colleagues to describe Gretchen Pendley, the Poplar Bluff High School and Secondary Grade Level Teacher of the Year for 2016. Pendley teaches biology, and apparently well, but according to many fellow teachers and students, her policy of putting students first, her compassion and her understanding are the attributes that truly cause her to shine in front of the blackboard...

One of the first veggies to plant this spring is lettuce. This is a really old vegetable. People have grown lettuce since 4500 BC. It was first used to cure insomnia, nervous excitement, and coughing. Today, everyone just thinks of lettuce as the main ingredient in their salad...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Spring has returned to Southeast Missouri and with it one of the most sought after and frustratingly elusive culinary delights of the forest - the morel mushroom. At the time of this writing, at least one morel find has been reported in Butler County and several in southwest Missouri, but to say morel season is here, would be a serious disservice to our readers...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor I've been hearing of some slightly better catches of crappies at Wappapello the last week. Some say they're catching fish 3 feet or less deep, while others are finding success along the channel in much deeper water. I think the lesson in that is you have to keep working to find the fish and changing tactics can help your success. Staying with the same technique, and in the same spots all day, when it's not really working, is a recipe for frustration...

By FRANK CAMPA Mo. Dept. of Conservation With spring firearms turkey season just around the corner, I am sure there are some folks out there that still probably need their hunter education certification before this hunting season arrives. Who might still need this certification to purchase a spring firearms turkey hunting permit (or any other firearms hunting permit)? Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1967, and that includes a lot of people...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is hosting a Disabled Veterans Spring Turkey Hunt April 24-26 in Bollinger County. The event is open to any disabled veteran with service-related injuries. "We want to proudly honor those who have defended our freedoms," said Conservation Agent Alan Lamb...

By TOM UHLENBROCK Mo. State parks MIAMI, Mo. -- The American Indian tribe that became known as the Missouria had first choice, and they built their thatched lodges on the hills above a spring in the fertile Missouri River valley. They planted corn, beans and squash, and gathered roots and seeds from the wetlands below. The upland woods and prairies, and bottomland forests and river sloughs, provided a supply of otter, beaver, turtles, muskrat, deer, bison, fish and waterfowl...

By WALTER E. WILLIAMS Let's look at the political angst over trade deficits. A trade deficit is when people in one country buy more from another country than the other country's people buy from them. There cannot be a trade deficit in a true economic sense. Let's examine this...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Proposed smallmouth bass fishing regulations on a long stretch of the Current River have some local anglers upset with the Missouri Department of Conservation. At issue are potential changes, which would create a new smallmouth bass management area on the river between its confluence with the Jacks Fork River and Van Buren, Mo...

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER WASHINGTON -- By international and historical standards, political violence is exceedingly rare in the United States. The last serious outburst was 1968 with its bloody Democratic-convention riots. By that standard, 2016 is, as yet, tame. It may not remain so...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat Donald Trump's campaign stump speeches are low on specifics and high on emotion. But for all he's getting wrong, there is one point on which he is correct. It was Trump who brought the issue of illegal immigration to the campaign debate and it is Trump who continues to beat that drum on a daily basis...

Romney needs to just butt out I would like to say in the paper that Mitt Romney needs to butt out of our election and quit coaching the candidates on what to say. He gets mad 'cause he couldn't become president himself. And that's all I'd like to say...

Jerry William Yee Swiney Jr. NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Jerry William Yee Swiney Jr. 37, formally of Doniphan, died Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at Chapel Ridge Living Center in Mineral Point, Mo. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. Friday in the Fowler-Sullivan Memorial Chapel of Neelyville, followed by a grave-side service at the Mt. Olive Cemetery at Doniphan, Mo. at 2:30 p.m...

Francis Maxine Harris VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Francis Maxine Harris, 93, died Tuesday, March 22, 2016 in the Riverways Manor in Van Buren, Mo. The visitation will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday March 25, in the McSpadden Funeral Home in Van Buren, with the funeral services beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, in the funeral home chapel. Rev Bill Orr will officiate. Burial will be in the Aldrich Valley Cemetery. Donations may be made to help offset expenses for Abby Buckner...

Kathleen Devonne O. Tuma Kathleen Devonne O. Tuma, 97, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday, March 24, 2016 at the Chaffee Nursing Home in Chaffee, Mo. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff.

Cape Central standout Al Young added the John Gibbs Award to his trophy collection Wednesday night while Tyeshia Mitchell became the first Sikeston player in program history to win the Bob Gray Award. Both were honored at the 58th annual Poplar Bluff Letter Club Basketball Banquet at the Black River Coliseum, which started with a keynote address by Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Rick Ray...

Twenty five local athletes received postseason basketball honors including All-Conference, All-District and All-State selections. Fresh off second place finishes at the MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown, Naylor and Neelyville represented the Ozark Foothills Conference well in the Missouri Coaches Association's all-state team...

William S. Bayne William S. Bayne, 41, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., passed away Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Mr. Bayne of was born Dec. 26, 1974 in Poplar Bluff. He was a member of First Liberty Missionary Baptist Church and enjoyed fishing and hunting...

Harold Bishop Culp CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- Harold Bishop Culp. 94, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, March 21, 2016 at his home. He was born Jan. 26, 1922, at Cottonwood Point, Mo. He was the son of the late Walter Culp and Beulah Virginia Bishop Culp. He attended the Kinfolks Ridge Schools...

MARBLE HILL Mo., -- Bernie (1-0) pitchers Blake Beacham and Alex Guzman combined to allow one run, leading the Mules to a 9-1 conference win. Beacham started and allowed one hit with eight strikeouts and one walk. Guzman entered with two outs in the fourth inning and finished the game with five hits and one run against...

Clarence Thomas Redus WAPPAPELLO, Mo. -- Clarence Thomas Redus, 84, of Wappapello, Mo., passed away Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter, Mo. Mr. Redus, the son of the late Everett Thomas and Nancy Ann Arnold Redus, was born May 7, 1931 in Gatewood, Mo. ...

Mary Alice Hert Mary Alice Hert, 73, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Wednesday, March 23, 2016 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. A graveside service and burial will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, March 25, in Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Poplar Bluff, Mo., with Ron Fowler officiating...

The Way of Cross, sponsored by the members of the Downtown Churches will gather at Holy Cross, 420 N. Main St., at noon, Good Friday, walk to the public library, Butler Co. Sheriff Dept., City Hall, Black River Historical Marker, Butler Co. Court House, Behavioral Health Center, Train Depot Steps, United Gospel Rescue Mission, Fire Station #1, Skate Park,U.S. ...

The baseball and softball teams at Three Rivers College have received a donation of four automated batting cages from Julie and Jim Gronski of Piedmont. The batting cages will be used to improve the practice facilities and clubhouses of the Raiders and Lady Raiders...

SEMO News Service CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- A Senath, Missouri, woman pleaded guilty to a fraud charge involving her misuse of $52,267 in food-stamp benefits. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office Eastern District of Missouri, Pamela O'Dell pleaded guilty to one felony count of mail fraud before U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. in Cape Girardeau...