Stories from Saturday, January 14, 2017

By CHELSAE CORDIA Staff Writer In an effort to put the fun in fundraising and spark the interest of competitive minds, a local education-focused organization is gearing up for its annual event. The Poplar Bluff High School Academic Assistance Group Trivia Night will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, in the high school cafeteria...

By CHELSAE CORDIA Staff Writer Monday marks the 88th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and for many members of the community, the holiday is an opportunity to celebrate the life of a man whose message of history, hope and responsibility lives on today...

By MARYBETH NIEDERKORN SEMO News Service Eight-year-old Finley Watkins of Bernie, Missouri, is making a name for himself as an Elvis Presley impersonator. He has been performing and competing regionally and beyond since he was 5. Now he's showing off his talents on TV. On an episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," scheduled to air locally at 4 p.m. Thursday on WSIL-TV 3, he'll be interviewed by the talk-show host and perform the song "Blue Suede Shoes."...

By PAT PRATT Staff Writer January is National Mentor Month and program organizers at Poplar Bluff Schools say it's a good time to think about making a difference in a child's life by volunteering. "We want to continue to have opportunities for our students to be affected by leaders and role models in the community. Many of our students need a role model, and simply, an extra friend, said Carrie Booker, co-coordinator of Bright Futures, which manages the mentoring program...

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) -- U.S. car shoppers will find plentiful deals, relatively low interest rates and lots of high-tech choices in the market this year. "It's a good time to buy a car now, and it should be for the rest of the year," says Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with the car-shopping site Edmunds.com...

Tayler McLane, precision agronomist at MFA Agri Services in Bernie, Mo., is the first female to win the ARA Precision Impact Award. McLane and her team recently were given the award at the Agricultural Retailers Conference in Orlando, Fla. McLane and her team were nominated for the award by the home office in Columbia MFA Inc., along with two other stores, for the number of acres she precision grids soil samples and for the number of acres on which they spread fertilize...

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMBC, "Southern Missouri"), the parent corporation of Southern Bank, and Tammcorp, Inc., the parent corporation of Capaha Bank, have announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement whereby Southern Missouri will acquire Tammcorp in a stock and cash transaction. As part of the transaction, Capaha will be merged with and into Southern Bank...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN "As we begin 2017, the most urgent threat to liberal democracy is not autocracy," writes William Galston of The Wall Street Journal, "it is illiberal democracy." Galston's diagnosis is not wrong, and his alarm is not misplaced...

The members of the Missouri House of Representatives convened in the House Chamber on Wednesday, Jan. 4, to officially open the 99th General Assembly. Rep. Cookson was sworn into the Missouri House of Representatives for his fourth and final term. Because of term-limits, Representative Cookson is not allowed to serve in the House more than 8 years. ...

Sacred Heart School has selected their students of the month for January 2017. Mavrik Tabanera is Sacred Heart Preschool's student of the month. Mavrik lives with Papa Roussel, Mama Joan and his siblings: Marcus and McKayla. He loves going to the playground with his family. His favorite activity is playing basketball, baseball and Batman games...

Ray Heyden Burson DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Ray Heyden Burson, 79, of Doniphan, Mo., departed this life Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, at his residence. Mr. Burson, son of Frank Ray and Claire (Heyden) Burson, was born Jan. 16, 1937, in Elizabeth, N.J.. He had been a Foreign Service Officer and Diplomat for the U. S. Government...

Laura Luvenice Chatman Laura Luvenice Chatman, 96, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 at Westwood Hills Healthcare Center in Poplar Bluff. Mrs. Chatman, daughter of the late Joseph and Louibbie Tooley Sisson, was born April 26, 1920 at Cabool, Mo. ...

Joe Wilson DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Joe Wilson, 55, of Doniphan, died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Mr. Wilson, son of Cecil Samuel and Willie Cloe Wilson (Brooks), was born Dec. 5, 1961 in Doniphan. He graduated from Doniphan High School in 1980 and was employed at Klepzig sawmill for two years before moving to Borger, Texas, where he was a member of Borger Fire Department...

Tommy Crossen NEELYVILLE, Mo. -- Tommy Crossen, 69, of Neelyville, died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Visitation will be from 1- 2 p.m., Saturday, at Fowler-Sullivan Memorial Chapel in Neelyville. Funeral will follow at 2 p.m., Saturday at the chapel...

Charlie Brooks Charlie Brooks, 36, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 at his home. He was preceded in death by his father, Charles Brooks Sr. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 at South Poplar Bluff General Baptist Church, 817 Arthur St., with the Rev. Michael Pope and Rev. Steven Winberry officiating...

NEELYVILLE -- It had all the makings of another thrilling game, mirroring their meeting three weeks ago in the Lady Royals Christmas Classic championship. But Neelyville had revenge on its mind and no interest in giving another one away to Dexter. Just like last time, the Lady Tigers let an 8-point lead slip in the third quarter. This time they regrouped to score on their final 11 possessions and held Dexter to four points in the final 4 minutes, hanging on for a 75-67 victory Thursday...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The list of interested schools continued to grow by the minute for Fred Thatch. Some of the "big boys," as he called them, were throwing the Sikeston junior some attention. In the end though, Thatch was enamored with a school and its coach close to home...

PUXICO -- Leading by a point with 11 seconds to go, Neelyville coach Patrick Morton reached for his monkey wrench. "We hadn't run a zone all night. So we decided at the end to switch it up, throw something different at them," Morton said. With both team in the bonus, Puxico coach Nathan Martin was drawing up a play to attack Neelyville's man defense, which is what it had been running...

BROSELEY -- Three players scored in double figures, helping the Twin Rivers Lady Royals extend their winning streak to three with a 69-49 Ozark Foothills Conference win over Greenville on Thursday. Katelyn South scored a game-high 28 points, had five rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead Twin Rivers (8-8, 2-1 OFC), which started the season 0-5...

Donald A. Forrest CANTON, Ill. -- Donald A. Forrest, 72, of Mt. Vernon, Ill., formerly of Qulin, Mo., died Friday, Jan. 6, 2017 at the Farmington Country Manor in Farmington, Ill. Cremation rites have been accorded and a celebration of life will be held at a later date. The time and date will be updated at the funeral home web site...

Claude Gene Hill Claude Gene Hill, 78 of Farmington, Mo. died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 at the Farmington Presbyterian Manor in Farmington. Arrangements are pending at this time with Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff.