Stories from Thursday, March 22, 2018

In the wake of school shootings across the nation, Twin Rivers R-X is proposing to take a new approach to protecting their students and campuses. The Twin Rivers School District will hold a public hearing at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, in regard to the district selecting School Protection Officers within the school district...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Dexter's chief of police remains on paid administrative leave as city officials look into "personnel matters." Sammy Stone, who has served on the police department for more than 33 years, including the last seven as its chief of police, was placed on administrative leave last week, according to Dexter City Administrator Mark Stidham...

An annual project for Lisa French's drawing class and Brandi Lumby's American History II classes at Neelyville High School has received a lot more attention than ever expected. In recognition of the 100th anniversary of World War I, the two classes painted their own version of a piece named "Tommy" by Richard Harpum to be displayed during the school's Veteran's Day assembly...

Poplar Bluff has been asked to become the first city in eastern Missouri to take the mayor's challenge to end veteran homelessness. Only 62 communities across the United States have accomplished this in the past four years, and only three other cities in Missouri have accepted the challenge, according to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness...

A warrant was issued earlier this month for the arrest of a Poplar Bluff, Mo., mother who is accused of neglecting her children by not protecting them from the alleged abuse inflicted by her live-in boyfriend. Shakima Shane Eure, 25, was charged March 9 with the Class B felony of neglect of a child and five Class D felonies of neglect of a child by Butler County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Oesterreicher...

The Three Rivers College (TRC) Advisement and Retention Committee presented a plan to combat declining enrollment numbers during Wednesday's Three Rivers College Board of Trustees monthly meeting. Since fall 2016, enrollment per credit hour at Three Rivers has fallen by 11 percent and tuition costs for students have increased...

By MARC A. THIESSEN WASHINGTON -- With the nomination and likely confirmation of Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, President Trump will soon have a trusted adviser who can prepare him for his upcoming summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Pompeo's first job is to make sure Trump understands one thing going into those talks: North Korea has no plans to give up its nuclear weapons at the negotiating table...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Robert Bartley, the late editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal, was a free trade zealot who for decades championed a five-word amendment to the Constitution: "There shall be open borders." Bartley accepted what the erasure of America's borders and an endless influx or foreign peoples and goods would mean for his country...

By MIKE JENSEN Publisher Sikeston Standard Democrat In a brief respite from the ongoing narrative of Russian collusion and anti-Trump rhetoric, we return to the debate over gun control after massive student walkouts were held across the country. This highly-staged emotional response to the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Fla., will briefly put the spotlight back on gun violence...

Madison Kacynski of Fisk has received the Harry & Ida Blue Memorial Scholarship to attend Three Rivers College. Kacynski plans to major in elementary education while at Three Rivers. The Harry & Ida Blue Memorial Scholarship is earmarked for students who attended a Butler County high school and are pursuing a degree in elementary or secondary education. The scholarship is administered by the Three Rivers Endowment Trust, the recognized 501(c)(3) fundraising partner for Three Rivers College...

Glenda Phillips was hostess to the Cane Creek Community Club meeting March 14 at Twin Towers with five members present. Ruth Anderson gave the devotional "Stones in Your Path" from the Upper Room Booklet. President Wilma Rains led in the Pledge of Allegiance and conducted the business meeting...

A Malden woman has claimed a Lotto jackpot worth $1.3 million. Denna Barnett's ticket matched all six numbers drawn on March 3 to become the Missouri Lottery's latest millionaire. Barnett purchased her winning Lotto ticket at Casey's General Store, 401 W. Main St., in Malden. The winning numbers drawn were 4, 24, 26, 31, 39 and 41...

Boat ramp day use fees will be charged again at Wappapello Lake starting April 1. Boat ramps impacted include Rockwood Point, Redman Creek, Sundowner, Peoples Creek and Chaonia Landing. Fees were waived at these locations beginning in November 2017...

MALDEN, Mo. -- Diane Cowell, 66, of Malden died Sunday, March 18, 2018 at her residence. Memorial services will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 24, 2018 at the Landess Funeral Chapel in Malden with Rev. Charles Richardson officiating.c Landess Funeral Home of Malden in charge of the arrangements...

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Volunteers will gather April 7 to help clean up waterways in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways after historic flooding in 2017. The even will focus on heavily impacted areas near Eminence and Van Buren. Many groups will band together to tackle this problem, according to organizers, including park service staff, Ozark Heritage Project, park concessionaires, local chambers of commerce, area schools, youth groups and other volunteers...

The annual SEMO Sportsman's Association fried-chicken dinner and banquet is coming up Saturday in Poplar Bluff. The event will kick off at 5 p.m. at the Brown-Mabry American Legion Post 153 off Kanell Boulevard, which is a new location for the banquet...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- The Lady Raiders' expectations are climbing. Both teams had a come-from-behind win as Three Rivers split with defending conference champion Jefferson. The Raiders won the opener 9-2 before losing the nightcap 4-3 on a walk-off single...

There were plenty of sequels at the 60th annual Poplar Bluff Letter Club Basketball Banquet on Wednesday night. Sikeston's Fred Thatch and Dexter's Chaylea Mosby repeated as the most outstanding players of the SEMO Conference while the team champions defended their titles...

FISK, Mo. -- Thelma Marie Clark, 79, of Fisk, Mo. died Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at her home in Fisk. Mrs. Clark was born Sept. 5, 1938 in Fisk, to the late Harvey and Dorothy (Moore) Phillips. She was a life long resident of Butler County. On Feb. 16, 1957, she married Lester Eugene Clark of Dudley, Mo. He preceded her in death on Jan. 10, 1988...

What does a sales manager in St. Peters have in common with a Break Time patron from Poplar Bluff? They both matched all five numbers drawn in the March 14 Show Me Cash drawing to share the $522,000 jackpot, and they both used Quick Pick to select their winning combination, which was 4, 15, 17, 25 and 39. Each player will receive $261,000...

Eujuina Johnson, 82, daughter of the late Robert Bonner Livingston and Lena Mae Teeters Livingston, was born in Bernie, Mo. on Feb. 6, 1936 and departed this dear life at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Mrs. Johnson was a wonderful mother, grandmother and great friend to all she loved. ...

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Barbara Lucille "Bobby" Hook, 76, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., formerly of Patterson, Mo., passed away Wednesday, March 14, 2018, at Westwood Hills Healthcare Center, Poplar Bluff, Mo. She was born April 18, 1941, at Hatfield, Ark, to parents, Hollis George and Sarah Louise (Ruddell) Brown...

Nine state qualifiers return for the Poplar Bluff boys and girls track and field teams this spring while a large group of new athletes give the Mules plenty of depth to make a run at a district title. "Early in the year you don't want to run kids in too many races," Mules coach Mark Barousse said. "We're going to be able to run kids in one or two races and not kill them. Maybe we'll put some young guys in (relays)."...

KENNETT, Mo. -- The Kennett Indians enjoyed success at the plate and on the mound in its home opener against Dexter on Wednesday afternoon. Kennett senior right-handed hurler Zane Wallace limited the Dexter offense to just one run and one hit in five innings of work...

Authorities are seeking information on the whereabouts of a Poplar Bluff, Mo., woman and her young daughter who were reported missing earlier this week. On Tuesday, family members of Sara Brown, 32, contacted the Poplar Bluff Police Department to report she had left a family member's residence on March 7 with her 1-year-old daughter, Geneva Genova, according to a press release from Lt. Josh Stewart...