Stories from Thursday, April 19, 2018

Aaliyah Coursey greatly contributed to what became the winning run for East Carter, but took a bit of a beating in the process. With her somewhat painful help in the top of the seventh, No. 4 East Carter beat No. 2 Naylor 3-2 on Wednesday at Rains Field at Three Rivers College to win the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament for the second year in a row...

Joseph Hall has experience throwing an atlatl. Until yesterday, the 14-year-old may have been the only student at Poplar Bluff Junior High School who could make such a statement. Earth Day events were held Wednesday at Wappapello Lake and students from PBJHS were invited to explore the environment with outdoor professionals...

"My dad, as he would say, would be tickled pink about how this has taken off," Chris Smith said. Smith and a group of his childhood friends organized the Louie Smith Memorial Home Run Derby in memory of his father, baseball coach and lifelong advocate of youth sports, Louie Smith...

Rules set Wednesday by city council members for the establishment of a Poplar Bluff Police Department union are more restrictive than those for other public sector employees, according to a union representative. City administration says their version of the standards to organize a union better protects police department employees...

By MARK BLISS and BOB MILLER Southeast Missourian On the night Mischelle Lawless was killed in 1992 along Interstate 55 near Benton, a man named Dallas Butler said he arrived at the murder scene, before police arrived. He was riding his motorcycle, he said, toward his mother's house in Mississippi County, crossing over on Highway 77 when he saw a car pulled over on the northbound exit ramp near the overpass. He turned his motorcycle toward the car, illuminating the car with his headlight...

Freshman Shelby Lutes said it has been her dream since kindergarten to be named Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year. Nine years later, her dream finally came true. "I was very surprised and happy because it makes you feel good whenever a place you love so much chooses you to represent them," said Lutes, who received the honor late last month...

Peggy Jane Blagg, 59, died Sunday, April 16, 2018 at her residence in Grandin, Mo. A private ceremony will be held at a later date. McSpadden Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences: www.mcspaddenfh.com

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Charles Crowley, 61, died Wednesday, April 18, 2018, at his home in Mill Spring, Mo. Funeral arrangements will be announced by Morrison-Worley Funeral Chapel, Piedmont.

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Blakely Louis "Cody" Chase, 63, of Doniphan, Mo., died Tuesday, April 17, 2018, at his residence in rural Ripley County. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until noon Saturday, April 21, 2018, at the Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan. A graveside service will follow at 1 p.m. at the Stairway to Heaven Cemetery in Ripley County...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Terri Rena Aaron, 48, of Doniphan, Mo., died Sunday, April 15, 2018, at her residence in rural Ripley County. Mrs. Aaron, daughter of Jarold and Carolyn (Ross) Hulett, was born May 1, 1969, in Piggott, Ark. She was a dedicated and conscientious public school teacher and had educated students in Poplar Bluff, Doniphan and Ellington...

By MICHELLE MALKIN Move over, Trump Derangement Syndrome. Another unhinged liberal pathology is back: Chick-fil-A-phobia. Perhaps, in the interest of public health, the CDC should launch a weekly C-F-A-P surveillance report to map the recurrence of this culturally infectious disease. ...

By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON -- Coming soon to a cinema near you -- you can make this happen; read on -- is a bite-your-nails true-story thriller featuring heroes, villains and a history-making struggle over ... the Constitution's Takings Clause. Next Feb. 24, "Little Pink House" will win the Oscar for best picture if Hollywood's political preening contains even a scintilla of sincerity about speaking truth to power...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor It's been a pretty cold and windy start to Missouri's spring turkey season, though it's finally starting to warm up, and despite the challenges, hunters are managing to have some limited success. Unfortunately, as of late Wednesday afternoon, they had killed only 7,187 birds across the state, which is far less than the 11,437 they killed last year over the same period...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor The Three Rivers Buglers chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation will celebrate its 20th anniversary May 12 when it hosts its annual Big Game Banquet at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff. "It's a milestone event for us," said committee member Lenard Wagganer of the anniversary banquet. "When we started, our goal was to get elk in Missouri, and we made it happen."...

By TOM ROSSHIRT My brother Matt died of AIDS 26 years ago today, passing away in his bed in my parents' home in Houston. It was a benighted time for people with AIDS. There were no antiretrovirals then. There was nothing much you could do for an AIDS patient but hold his hand. And many people still thought you could get AIDS by touching. My parents knew of individuals who'd been fired from their jobs for volunteering for AIDS organizations. That's how crazy the fear was...