Stories from Friday, February 9, 2018

The murder case against a Williamsville, Mo., man accused of suffocating his elderly bedridden father was dismissed Thursday morning by the state. The dismissal by Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Oesterreicher came hours before Kevin Eugene Hayes, 54, was supposed to appear before Associate Circuit Judge John Bloodworth for a preliminary hearing on the Class A felony of first-degree murder...

Poplar Bluff council members have a grave decision to make regarding the cost of lots in the city cemetery. A proposal was made Monday to change the cost of spaces from $200 to $300, a 50 percent increase. The bump would make Poplar Bluff cemetery lots among the most costly of area cities, but less than at least two other private cemeteries in Butler County...

Juniors at Poplar Bluff High School (PBHS) are in the midst of preparations for April's ACT exam, despite cuts to state funding which made the previously free test unavailable to many students. The Poplar Bluff R-1 Board of Education's unanimous decision to continue providing the college entrance exam free to high school juniors came in November after a decrease in state education funding eliminated a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) program that paid for Missouri students to sit for the ACT one time during their junior year.. ...

To the Editor, Whenever I went before you last year to ask for your vote, I made one thing very clear - I have no agenda or score to settle and I want to continue helping our city move forward. Today, my purpose is the same. This letter isn't a rebuttal to anything anyone has said; it is to explain my thinking on the decision regarding where to locate city hall and what we need to do moving forward...

FISK, Mo. -- Charles Allensworth, 68, of Fisk, Mo., died Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018 at his residence, in Fisk. Visitation will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, 2018 at White-Sanders Funeral Home in Fisk. Funeral services will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, in the funeral home chapel with Rev. Neal Chilton officiating. Burial will be in Kinsey Cemetery at Harviell, Mo...

CHARLOTTE, Mich. (AP) -- A man who tried to attack former sports doctor Larry Nassar in a Michigan courtroom is thanking people who donated $31,000 online but says he doesn't want the money. Randy Margraves says refunds are available. After March 9, any money in the GoFundMe account will be donated to groups that help victims of physical abuse...

BEIJING (AP) -- The retired archbishop of Hong Kong has slammed the Holy See's negotiations with Beijing as a "catastrophe" that would bring suffering to millions of worshippers, as a bitter dispute inside the Roman Catholic Church over its future in China escalates in a dramatic fashion...

Pauline G. Haas, 88, passed away at Oakdale Residential Care Center, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018. Mrs. Haas was born Feb. 11, 1929 in Delaware County, Iowa to the late Edwin and Gertrude (Richmond) Jones. On May 5, 1948, she married Vincent Haas at St. ...

Gary David Hogue, 75, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018 in the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Memorial visitation will begin at 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12, 2018 in the Fowler & Sons Funeral home of Neelyville, Mo. with a memorial service starting at 6 p.m. at the funeral home...

Kathryn Eddington, 70, of Wappapello, Mo. passed away Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. She was born Jan. 23, 1948 to Clarence and Edna (Schirard) Hoyt in Ruppert, Idaho. She worked at Doctor's Regional Medical Center and later for Black River Medical Center in Poplar Bluff for several years until her retirement...

Three Rivers College must win its final six games of the regular season to avoid the first losing season in coach Gene Bess' 48 seasons. With one more loss, it will need to win the Region XVI Tournament to not have a losing season. Ahead in the final seconds of both regulation and overtime, the Raiders allowed a pair of buzzer beating 3-pointers and lost to St. Louis Community College 75-73 in overtime Thursday night at the Bess Activity Center...

Poplar Bluff didn't have a senior left when overtime stated on Senior Night. Doni Everts was on crutches with her right ankle in a hard cast during the pregame ceremony while fellow senior Shelby Sievers fouled out in the final minute of regulation when the Mules overcame a five-point deficit...

DEXTER -- The Dexter Bearcats checked another item off their list of goals Thursday night. The Bearcats beat Bell City 76-35 to win their second-straight Stoddard County Activities Association regular-season championship. Dexter (16-6) completed its league schedule with a 7-0 record...

In going over Thursday's gameplan, the Three Rivers College coaches told Markeia Porter she could draw as many charges as she wanted. Porter drew three in the first quarter, back-to-back charges in the fourth quarter and seven total, but Three Rivers still lost to St. Louis Community College 87-80 at the Bess Activity Center...

PIEDMONT -- Doniphan won third place in the Ozark Foothills Conference tournament after a hot start against Naylor. The Dons led by nine after the first quarter and by 13 going into the fourth before holding on for the win. Klay Barton led Doniphan (10-15) with 29 points, including three 3-pointers and an 8 for 12 night at the foul line. Trent Lippoldt added 17 points...