Stories from Sunday, May 15, 2016

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Utility offices could move to Sunset Drive under a proposal set Monday to go before the Poplar Bluff City Council for the purchase a nearly $2 million building. The city would pay $900,000 for 1902 Sunset Drive, according to city council documents. First Missouri State Bank would donate the remaining $932,500 value of the bank building under the proposed contract, which gives a closing date of July 2017...

By BEN KLEINE SEMO News Service A baby was saved from her mother's lifeless body following a fatal wreck on Interstate 55 on Wednesday morning in Cape Girardeau. Knowing the mother was dead, emergency personnel performed CPR to give baby Maddyson a chance to live...

From Staff Reports A Campbell, Mo., man is facing felony charges following a head-on collision that killed a husband and wife late Friday in Dunklin County. The Missouri State Highway Patrol is seeking two counts of felony manslaughter against Shawn L. Skaggs, 24, of Campbell. He is currently in the Dunklin County Jail on a 24-hour hold...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer A competition from Kiwanis International could turn Facebook likes into playground equipment that is accessible for all Poplar Bluff children. The Poplar Bluff Kiwanis organization is currently ranked fourth in the Legacy of Play Contest, which would provide a community with $25,000 toward the purchase and installation of all inclusive playground equipment, said President Subrina Berger. Poplar Bluff is competing against 40 other communities for the award...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer Three Rivers College honored students in each academic department during the annual Student Excellence Awards ceremony Friday evening at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center. Students must have completed a minimum of 15 credit hours and hold a 3.0 grade point average to qualify for the awards. Faculty recommend candidates for the academic areas. Organization leadership recommends candidates for the student organization and honor society awards...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Casey Jo Wayne's father always encouraged his daughter to do what she loved, and next year that means studying wildlife biology at Three Rivers College. Trips to the river with her father inspired a shared love of the outdoors, according to Wayne...

Bewildered mom seeks quality time I would like to be a voice for countless mothers and fathers that are growing older and maybe feeling a little melancholy at this time of our life. But I would like to address this to all of our children that feel like a short email or a text message replaces a weekly precious telephone conversation where we can at least hear the voice of our children asking us how we are, how has our week been, have any changes taken place in our life since we last talked...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN "No modern precedent exists for the revival of a party so badly defeated, so intensely discredited, and so essentially split as the Republican Party is today." Taken from "The Party That Lost Its Head" by Bruce Chapman and George Gilder, this excerpt, about Barry Goldwater's defeat in 1964, led Thursday's column by E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- Academia's descent into perpetual hysteria and incipient tyranny is partly fueled by the fiction that one in five college students is sexually assaulted and that campuses require minute federal supervision to cure this. Encouraged by the government's misuse of discredited social science (one survey supposedly proving this one-in-five fiction), colleges and universities are implementing unconstitutional procedures mandated by the government...

Joni Braden Joni Ann Lavender Braden, 58, of Greenville, Mo., peacefully went home to be with her Lord on Friday, May 13, 2016 at her home surrounded by family and friends. Mrs. Braden was born Oct. 10, 1957 in Denver, Colo. to William and Ruth Lavender. ...

Wayla Ann Miller MALDEN, Mo. -- Wayla Ann Miller, 73, of Malden died Friday, May 13, 2016, at her residence. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, at Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden followed with the funeral at 2 p.m. in the chapel. Burial will be in Stanfield Cemetery in Clarkton...

Connie Larrew Connie Jo Larrew, 70, of Poplar Bluff, passed away Thursday, May 12, 2016 at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Mrs. Larrew, the daughter of the late H.H. and Ruth McCarver Roseberry, was born July 11, 1945 in Fredericktown, Mo. She was a member of Second Baptist Church and attended Westwood Baptist Church. ...

Patricia Friedman CAMPBELL, Mo. -- Patricia Friedman, 70, of Campbell, died Thursday, May 12, 2016, at the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m., Monday, at the Landess Funeral Home in Campbell. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday, at the Landess Funeral Chapel in Campbell with Rev. Charles Richardson officiating...

Shirley A. Rodgers Shirley A. Rodgers, 78, of Naylor, Mo., died Friday, May 13, 2016 at Crystal Oaks Long Term Care Center in Festus, Mo. Arrangements are pending with Cotrell Funeral Service of Poplar Bluff.

Richard Kneibert FISK, Mo. -- Richard Kneibert passed away at the age of 76 on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at the St. Francis hospital, surrounded by family and friends. He was the husband of Ann Kneibert, both of Poplar Bluff, MO. They shared 20 years of marriage together...

Jean M. Burnett CONWAY, Ark. -- Jean M. Burnett, 95, passed away Thursday, May 5, 2016, at the residence of her son, Vondes in Conway, Ark. Jean was born July 7, 920. She was married to her husband of 70 years, Everett Burnett, Jan. 26, 1938. He preceded her in death, Aug. ...

Andy J. DeBord PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Andy J. DeBord, 75, of Milton, Fla., died Sunday, May 8, 2016. Family--Funeral & Cremation of Pensacola, Fla. is handling arrangements.

Richard "Rick" Eugene Wright NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Richard "Rick" Eugene Wright, 58, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. passed away Thursday, May 12, 2016 in Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. He was born May 3, 1958 at Poplar Bluff to Wilborne and Dorothy Wright. On May 13, 1983 at Poplar Bluff, he was married to Debbie Howell. She preceded him in death July 18, 1998...

By DONNA FARLEY Staff Writer Teachers describe the 2016 valedictorian and salutatorian for Twin Rivers High School as hard working and dedicated. Kira Cunningham, who took the top spot with an 11.0 grade point average, has a strong work ethic, and always put academics first, said calculus teacher Brad Hahn...

Three Rivers College Student Excellence Award winners are: Honor Societies Honors Program Distinction: Trevor Dobbs Honors Program Distinction: An Mati Honors Program Distinction: Dallas Welling Phi Theta Kappa: Lindsey Babcock Phi Theta Kappa: Stephani Fulford...

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff took all but one of the four advancing spots in the Class 2 District 1 individual tournament Saturday. Humza Siddiqui lost the singles final in three sets while it was an all-Poplar Bluff doubles final as Peyton Bradley and Eduardo Martinez claimed the title...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- Taylor Werner and Ste. Genevieve turned the tables on the short-handed Lady Mules. Autumn Dodd, Tehya Williams, Kaylee Eakin, Krisman Eakin and a pair of relays won for Poplar Bluff, which finished second in the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 standings Saturday...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Everything seemed to be going against the Mules in their quest for a first MSHSAA district title in tennis. Rain earlier in the week pushed the championship match to Friday -- the 13th no less -- the day after Poplar Bluff's graduation featuring three starters while another player got into a car accident...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- Denzel Britton defended his two sprint titles and helped the 400-meter relay repeat as champions as Poplar Bluff won the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 title Saturday. The Mules claimed their first district title in eight years but, more importantly, advanced three relays and eight individuals...

MALDEN -- After the postgame handshakes, teammate hugs, group hugs, coach hugs, family hugs and a team photo, the Green Wave cranked up on the dugout speakers "All I do is win" by DJ Khaled. The party was on. Meanwhile, two-time defending state champion Kennett listened, watched, and cleaned out its stuff from the visitor's dugout...

GREENVILLE -- The Meadow Heights baseball team had already walked-off on Ellington once this season. But with even bigger stakes on the line in the MSHSAA Class 3 District 2 quarterfinal and a sense of déjà vu in the air, the fourth-seeded Panthers did it again in the most unlikely way...

GREENVILLE -- Nothing that Chris Siler and the Puxico baseball team threw at Chaffee could slow down the sixth-inning barrage of offense Saturday. Trailing by one, the third-seeded Red Devils regained the lead for good with a five-run sixth and held on for a 9-5 victory in the opening-round of the MSHSAA Class 2 Disrtict 3 Tournament at Greenville High School...

VAN BUREN -- At the plate with a bat and behind it with a mask, Spencer Burnham did it all Friday. The Van Buren catcher drove in a bulk of the runs and called a nearly flawless game behind the plate with fellow junior and batterymate Todd Wilcoxon as the fourth-seeded Bulldogs blanked fifth-seeded Neelyville 4-0 in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 tournament...