Stories from Tuesday, August 29, 2017

DEXTER, Mo. -- A local businessman whose name has been a household word for many years across Southeast Missouri died Saturday at his Dexter home at the age of 89. Allen Christian established his first automobile sales operation nearly six decades ago under the name of Taylor and Christian Auto Sales. ...

A North Carolina-based charity has donated $20,000 to repair storm damage at the home of World War II veteran Wilbur Schmit and his wife, Anna. Repairs will start next week on Almond Street, with a combined $40,000 raised to purchase supplies. "The main mission we know we're going to get done. We just want to restore some dignity and order to his home," said volunteer Jeff Shawan...

An unidentified odor at the Poplar Bluff Early Childhood Center will cause its first day of school to be postponed until Tuesday, Sept. 5, nearly a week past the original plan of Wednesday, Aug. 30. Superintendent Scott Dill said he was made aware of the situation "over the weekend."...

A Poplar Bluff woman will stand trial for second degree murder and second degree elder abuse stemming from the December 2016 death of her mother, 87-year-old Theresa Smothers. Associate Circuit Judge Thomas Swindle made the ruling Monday following a preliminary hearing for Judy Ann Smothers, 66, in the Butler County Courthouse...

"A decision has not been made yet," House Speaker Todd Richardson said regarding a possible run for state auditor. "A decision will be made very soon." Richardson, of Poplar Bluff, is not taking the decision of whether or not to run for the office lightly. Throughout his decision making process, Richardson said he is remaining mindful of the commitment to the office...

Awakened early Monday morning by the sounds of glass breaking and his dogs barking, a Poplar Bluff, Mo., man found another man allegedly damaging property outside his home and fired multiple rounds, striking him once. A call came into the Butler County Sheriff's Department just before 4:30 a.m. Monday from Paul Duckett, who reported a man was "breaking windows out of his vehicles and house" in the 500 block of County Road 526, explained Chief Deputy Wes Popp...

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMBC, "SMBC"), the parent corporation of Southern Bank, and Southern Missouri Bancshares, Inc. ("Bancshares"), the parent corporation of Southern Missouri Bank of Marshfield, today announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement whereby SMBC will acquire Bancshares in a stock and cash transaction...

Lois Francis Caldwell, 89, of Puxico, died at her home near Puxico Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. Visitation and funeral services were held Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017 at the Corinth General Baptist Church near Puxico. Rev. Jimmy Clark officiated. Burial followed at the Rock Hill Cemetery near Puxico, with Watkins & Sons Funeral Service of Puxico in charge of arrangements...

The biggest problem with U.S. insider trading laws is that the U.S. has no insider trading law. It's true. The nation's seminal securities statute, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, while broadly outlawing securities fraud, never even employs the phrase "insider trading." And over the subsequent 83 years, while Congress has occasionally increased the penalty for insider trading, it has never gotten around to defining what it is...

FISK, Mo. -- Rev. Irvin Harold Carr, 80, of Poplar Bluff, died Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017 at his residence in Poplar Bluff. Visitation was Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017 at White-Sanders Funeral Home in Qulin. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017 in the funeral home chapel in Qulin with Rev. Bill Orr officiating. Burial will be in Qulin Cemetery at Qulin...

A Poplar Bluff, Mo., dentist recently learned he passed the necessary requirements to be awarded a fellowship through the World Clinical Laser Institute. "In March of this year, I took the boards for a fellowship degree in the World Clinical Laser Institute, WCLI," said Dr. John Blaich of the Dental Arts Group, located on Kanell Boulevard. "I passed the examination, and I was awarded the certificate" in June...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Richard "Rickey" Kelley, 56, of Bloomfield, died at his home Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Visitation and services were Friday at the Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield. Burial will follow at the Missouri Veteran's Cemetery in Bloomfield with full military honors...

"Time flies when you're having fun," said Lucas Edington, owner and broker of Mozark Realty, about the agency's 10 year anniversary of its affiliation with Mossy Oak Properties. To celebrate the milestone, Edington renewed Mozark's contract with the Mossy Oak Properties franchise for another 10 years...

Have y'all noticed the proliferation of "emotional support animals" lately? I used quotes because I think it's possible a few of these are just dogs playing dress up but I could be wrong. There was one in the bank today wearing a sporty red vest, but what if it was just a cleverly tied scarf from T.J. Maxx the owner uses to make sure her dog can hang out with her in public places?...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat Just like the iconic television character Mr. Rogers, today kids we're going to learn a new word - offend. When you see or hear something you don't like, you can be offended. This also applies if your "feelings" are somehow offended...

Katherine Killian, 94, of Poplar Bluff, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Friday, Aug. 25, 2017 at the Bluebird Retirement Community in London, Ohio. She was born March 18, 1923 to Virgie and Lorien Puryear in Doniphan. She married Clifford L. Killian Sept. 23, 1940, who preceded her in death...

FISK, Mo. - Marvin Willard Jewell, age 89, of Fisk, MO. Died Sunday, August 27, 2017 at Mark Twain Caring Center in Poplar Bluff, MO. He was born March 3, 1928 at Greenway, AR to the late Everett A. and Nora (Crabtree) Jewell. He was co-owner and operator of Jewell's Station & Café at Broseley for several years and later owned and operated Jewell's Grocery & Station at Fisk. ...

DEXTER, Mo. - Leonard Edward Palmer, son of the late Ellie Bedford Palmer and Minnie Arabella Palmer was born on October 14, 1922 in Braggadocio, Missouri and went to be with Jesus on August 26, 2017 at the age of 94. He was a graduate of Bernie High School Class of 1941. Doc served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He met his wife Martha Mae Day on a...

Bertha "Diane" Davis, 70, of Wappappello, Mo., died Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, at her residence. Visitation and funeral were Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, at Little Brushy Missionary Baptist Church near Wappapello, Mo. . Burial was in the Little Brushy Cemetery...

By MARYBETH NIEDERKORN SEMO News Service Southeast Missouri State University set a record in student retention this semester, though total student enrollment is down from this time last year, according to university officials. Dean of students Debbie Below said for the first time, Southeast has topped 75 percent student retention...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Local police departments will soon have access to grenade launchers, high-caliber weapons and other surplus U.S. military gear after President Donald Trump signed an order Monday reviving a Pentagon program that civil rights groups say inflames tensions between officers and their communities...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Allen Page Christian, 89, son of the late Warner Christian and Erma Harris Christian, was born April 14, 1928, in Acorn Ridge, Mo. and died Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, at his residence surrounded by his loving family. Mr. Christian was a Sergeant in the United States Army and served in the Korean War. ...

At the beginning of the summer Shelbey Johnson found out there was a sport she wasn't good at. This was not OK for the Poplar Bluff senior. "I'm naturally super competitive. I was like, if I come out here and blow this I'm going to be so mad. I can't come out here and look like a fool," Johnson said. "Volleys weren't that hard for me, but my forehand was absolutely terrible. I could not hit a ball to save my life."...

What spirit characterizes the kingdom of God on earth? Too often the true spirit of the kingdom of God is lost or violated in our concern about the legal aspects of it. When we read what Jesus said concerning greatness in His kingdom, we just can not believe He was serious about it. ...

BLOOMFIELD -- The Bloomfield Lady Wildcats show their true power during their first home match of the season Monday evening. Bloomfield got multiple kills from four different players in sweeping Twin Rivers 25-6, 25-13. "I work hard and I love to hit," said Bloomfield's Jewel Chism who led with five kills...

Members of the Mingo Men's Ministry Outreach will be hosting a 22 Shoot at 1 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Stoddard County Cowboy Church near Puxico. Registration is from 10 a.m. until noon and shooting starts at 1 p.m. sharp. You can pre-register by calling 573-222-3735...

Juanita Esperanza Sanders and DeQuan LeShawn Sanders of Grandin, Mo. are the parents of a 7-pound 7-ounce son named Amaziah DeQuan Sanders born at 12:49 p.m. July 18, 2017, at Saint Francis Healthcare System in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He was 20 inches tall and has one brother and two sisters...

Khelie Spence slammed down a kill for the opening point of the third game Monday night and the Poplar Bluff Mules suddenly had life again. "That just gives us so much momentum," Mules coach Amanda Lance said. "She had two of those tonight. One of those plays can carry us through. It gets the girls excited and when they're excited and happy, they play better."...

BROSELEY -- It's never really easy, but the Bernie baseball team made it look that way during their second road game of the fall season Monday. Backed by a pitching and hitting gem from Dalton Hobgood and an offense that keeps rolling, the Mules hammered a young Twin Rivers team 13-3 to remain undefeated...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff rallied from a three-run deficit to pull even in the sixth inning then lost the lead as Chaffee edged the Mules 5-4. An error to start the bottom of the sixth allowed Chaffee's Madeline Hendrix to reach base. She moved to second on a bunt and scored the go-ahead run on a single to right field by Shana Burden...

From Staff Reports Emmy award winning star Vicki Lawrence will be the keynote speaker for the Women Aware 30th anniversary conference Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Lawrence, who played Carol Burnett's sister as well as starring in her own TV series "Mama's Family," was the conference committee's pick for the event's keynote speaker. Committee members believe her presentation will go well with this year's theme "Laugh Your Pearls Off."...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stoddard County Commission approved hiring Smith & Company, Engineers, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., to begin the engineering for replacement of bridges on County Road 743 (Elk Township #2240007), County Road 467 (Castor Township) and County Road 772 (Elk Township #2220017)...

DEXTER, Mo. -- A local businessman whose name has been a household word for many years across Southeast Missouri died Saturday at his Dexter home at the age of 89. Allen Christian established his first automobile sales operation nearly six decades ago under the name of Taylor and Christian Auto Sales. ...

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Workers at Clearwater Dam have spent the past week conducting heavy maintenance they say is critical to the 69-year-old structure's operation. It is the kind of care that may be annual, but is anything but routine, according to operation and maintenance team leader Russell Cooper...

The Stoddard County Ambulance District (SCAD) Board awarded a contract to B&K/Asa Asphalt of Advance for an asphalt overlay on parking lots at the SCAD stations in Advance and Puxico at its regular meeting recently. The cost of the project is $3,800...

Nothing clears out those first-match jitters like, well, a first match. "You've got to get them out of the way, and that's what I told the girls, let that go and then we'll move on," Puxico coach Hannah Wight said. The Indians and Poplar Bluff combined for 51 errors Aug. 22 in the season-opener for both teams. The Mules ended with fewer miscues, more kills and didn't miss a serve to win 25-16, 25-16 at the Senior High Gym...

The Annual Lake Wappapello 25-Mile Yard Sale will begin Friday, Sept. 1 and continue through the Labor Day holiday weekend. This is a community event and everyone is invited to participate. It's a great opportunity for schools, churches or civic groups to have a fall fundraiser...

The Missouri Association for Family and Community Education of Butler County is sponsoring a tour to visit "The Ark" and "Creation Museum" in Williamstown, Ky. The tour is planned for Monday, Oct. 23 and Tuesday, Oct. 24. The cost will be $180 for FCE members and $200 for non FCE members. This includes the bus fare, overnight accommodations - double occupancy (single occupancy add $50), admission to The Ark and Creation Museum, and evening meal at The Ark...

FISK, Mo. -- Carl E. Lloyd Sr., age 84, of Broseley, Mo., died Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, at his residence in Broseley, Mo. Visitation was Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, at White-Sanders Funeral Home in Fisk. Funeral services were Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in the funeral home chapel with the Rev. Jim Sanders officiating. Burial, with military honors, will be in Brown Chapel Cemetery at Broseley, Mo...