Stories from Friday, April 15, 2016

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Three Rivers College Board of Trustees saw a changing of the guard during the April regular meeting held Wednesday, with the appointment of a new chair and swearing-in of two new members. Chairman Phil Davis, who chose not to run for re-election in the April election, said that after six years of service, it was simply time to step down...

By MARK BLISS SEMO News Service A congressional committee backed legislation Wednesday that would give Congress control over the spending of hundreds of millions of dollars in Internal Revenue Service user fees. U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, said after the vote he sponsored the legislation to rein in the actions of the IRS...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Music instructor Daniel Cox, Oak Grove Elementary's Teacher of the Year, goes beyond his duties as educator to instill the power of music in his students. "I am honored to have been chosen for Oak Grove Elementary Teacher of the Year," Cox said. "I have been welcomed into an amazing school full of exceptional educators and students, who know the true meaning of achieving excellence through learning."...

By BARBARA ANN HORTON News Editor Poplar Bluff, Mo., gospel songwriter Tina Sadler Stark's unique style captured the hearts of gospel music lovers across the country along with multiple awards from a variety of associations. The well-known gospel singer died Tuesday at her Poplar Bluff home. She was 70...

By BRIDGET BROWN SEMO News Service A bill that could give Noranda the opportunity to get a lower electrical rate from Ameren passed overwhelmingly last week in the Missouri House of Representatives. House Bill 2689, which is intended to modernize the regulatory process for electrical corporations to align the interests of those corporations with their customers, with specific provisions about aluminum smelters, passed with a vote of 142-4...

SEMO News Service BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. -- Blytheville police took a bite out of crime early Wednesday morning. Jimmy Givens attempted to hide crack cocaine in his mouth and eventually pulled out his dentures, which had contraband on them, according to police reports...

By ADRIA HYDE SEMO News Service KENNETT, Mo. -- A trip to Branson, Missouri, resulted in an idea for a couple that has resulted in an increase in business after only a few days -- a car covered with license plates and a giant metal chicken in their parking lot...

EMINENCE, Mo. -- Ozark National Scenic Riverways is pleased to join National Park sites around the country to celebrate the Centennial of the National Park Service in 2016. As part of that celebration, Ozark Riverways will be hosting a series of outdoor recreational workshops and events...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Missouri's youth turkey season hunters managed to kill 4,145 birds over the weekend, making this year's total the fourth-highest harvest since the season began in 2001. The record was set last year, when 4,441 birds were taken...

LITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has received 23 additional confirmed cases of chronic wasting disease among deer and elk in northern Arkansas, which brings the total to 79. Confirmation of the first positive CWD sample came Feb. 23 from a cow elk near Pruitt. Samples were tested at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Madison, and verified by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- It can be difficult to know the best methods to introduce little ones to nature. Should he play with that rock? What if she eats dirt? How much do they understand at two and under anyway? There's a program at the Missouri Department of Conservation's (MDC) Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center that takes the worry out of the "should and should nots" of exploring nature with a tot. ...

By FRANK CAMPA Mo. Dept. of Conservation This is a wonderful time of year, with everything blooming and the new, bright green leaves popping out. People cannot get enough of "outside" right now. Some people interact with nature in different ways this time of year, through fishing, turkey hunting and yes, even mushroom hunting...

"Squirrely" Shirley Swafford "Squirrely" Shirley Swafford, 60, of Poplar Bluff, died Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at her residence. Arrangements are pending with Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home of Poplar Bluff.

By TOM UHLENBROCK Mo. State Parks CRAIG, Mo. -- Big Lake is an oxbow lake left behind when the Missouri River shifted its course three miles to the west a century or two ago. Located in the northwest corner of the state, the park is a popular weekend vacation spot for residents of St. Joseph and Kansas City, as well as from neighboring states...

By LUCAS BOND Mo. Dept. of Conservation STONE COUNTY, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports James Wright of Cape Fair became the most recent record-setting angler in Missouri when he hooked a white bass on Table Rock Lake on a trotline. The new "alternative method" record white bass caught by Wright on April 6 weighed 3-pounds, 4-ounces with a length of 18-3/4 inches. Wright was using shad for bait to try to catch catfish, but instead he caught a state-record white bass...

Now is the time to plant one of my favorite veggies. This delicious vegetable originated in Mexico or Central America and dates as far back as primitive times. Historians reported that upon arriving in the New World, the first explorers found corn growing all the way from Canada to Chile...

Tina Sadler Stark Well known gospel singer and songwriter, Tina Sadler Stark, 70,of Poplar Bluff, passed away Tuesday, April 12, 2016, at her home. Shewas born Jan. 23, 1946, in Qulin, to the late Clarence Leroyand Della Marie (Sims) Jones. She was a member of the Palace of Praise Church. She lovedtraveling andsinging His praises andhad writtenseveral gospel songs that many major artists have recorded. She was a recipient of twoDove Awards...

Carol Jane Daggs FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. -- Carol Jane Daggs, 61, died Saturday, April 9, 2016 at her home in Greenville, Mo. A private memorial service may be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of Wilson Funeral Home, Fredericktown, Mo...

Tammy Susan Morey DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Tammy Susan Morey, 46, of Poplar Bluff, died Tuesday, April 12, 2016, in Poplar Bluff. Visitation will begin at noon Friday at the Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. The funeral service will follow at 2 p.m. in the funeral home chapel and the burial will be in the Oak Grove Cemetery...

Charles Daniel Yarbery Jr. is the name chosen by Paige Nicole Burton and Charles Daniel Yarbery of Poplar Bluff for their 5 pound, 7 ounce son born at 4:04 p.m., Saturday, March 26, 2016 at Saint Francis Medical Center's Family BirthPlace in Cape Girardeau. Charles was 18 and 1/2 inches long...

You almost have to laugh at an elected official who spouts blatant lies over and over, even when he's been proven wrong. That's the case with Missouri Sen. Brian Munzlinger, whose letter to the editor seeking support for his bill, SJR19, was printed in this newspaper on Wednesday...

By WALTER E. WILLIAMS During Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign visit to Liberty University, he told the students that our nation was created on racist principles. Students at a Christian-based university, such as Liberty, do not often hear the founders-as-racists argument. ...

Carol Jane Daggs -- Greenville, Mo. "Squirrely" Shirley Swafford -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Cynthia "Cindy" Parks -- Doniphan, Mo. Tammy Susan Morey -- Poplar Bluff, Mo. Helen Henson-Daughenbaugh -- Doniphan, Mo.

To the Editor: I am writing to express my viewpoint regarding the implementation of computer technology in the Poplar Bluff School District. First, I would like to share that I believe in my students, and I believe computer technology can be an effective means to instruct any student...

The Naylor softball team is back on top of this year's Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament bracket. The two-time tournament champs and three-time defending conference champs have only lost one game overall and remain undefeated in conference play, earning them the top seed in the OFC Tournament, which starts Monday and concludes with the championship game Thursday, April 21...

Records are made to be broken, sure, but not on a daily basis. A day after breaking the Three Rivers' career home run record, Destiny Bolen broke the school single-season record as Three Rivers split with John A. Logan on Wednesday at Rains Field. Three Rivers won the opener 7-2 following Bolen's two home runs, and lost the nightcap 9-1 in five innings...

CAMDENTON, Mo. -- Birdie putts weren't falling early for Nathan Woolard and the Poplar Bluff sophomore ran into a four-hole stretch that knocked him off the leaders' pace. But he rebounded with five straight pars and knocked in an 8-foot birdie putt on his final hole to finish tied for 13th Wednesday at the Laker Invitational...

SUMMERSVILLE, Mo. -- Compared to what the rest of her spring has been like, Summer Shockley's day was disastrous. The Van Buren junior pitcher gave up more earned runs than in her previous nine starts combined ... five. She also struck out 12 and Van Buren won the Big Springs Tournament Championship 15-6 over Winona on Wednesday...

Helen Henson- Daughenbaugh DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Helen Henson-Daughenbaugh, 79, of Doniphan, Mo., died Wednesday, April 13, 2016, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Mrs. Henson-Daughenbaugh, daughter of the late Rex and Bernice Christian, was born Oct. 17, 1936, in Poynor, Mo. She enjoyed cooking and reading and was a member of the Doniphan Church of Christ...