Stories from Friday, June 22, 2018

The Poplar Bluff R-1 Board of Education will vote next week on a budget which includes deficit spending, but ultimately ends with a positive balance. At Thursday's annual budget workshop, Asst. Superintendent of Finance Rod Priest presented the financial plan for Fiscal Year 2018-19...

Although two centuries separate the rough-hewn log structure that first served as home for Black River Baptist Church from its modern counterpart on Highway T, time has not eroded its traditions of faith and worship. The third oldest Baptist church west of the Mississippi River, according to its members, Black River has endured three fires, seven moves, war, depression, the formation of the state of Missouri, shifts in ideology and many generations to reach a celebration Sunday of its 200th anniversary.. ...

By MONA CHAREN Not too long ago, I returned to my parked car and found a sheet of paper on the windshield bearing an expletive-laden message. The anonymous poster had obviously gone to some effort to make these flyers on his home computer -- complete with color cartoon figures and such. ...

WASHINGTON -- The constitutionality of Obamacare is an issue again. Six years ago, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court upheld the statute in NFIB v. Sebelius, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 had an important effect -- whether or not intended -- on Obamacare's constitutionality...

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Justice's decision to break with its duty to defend United States law and join in an ideological effort to continue dismantling the Affordable Care Act is simply wrong. The legal argument calling the ACA unconstitutional is weak, the politics are tone-deaf and the results would take us back to the days when insurance companies decided who lives and who dies based on profit models rather than health care outcomes. ...

Russell Gaddis, 77, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday, June 21, 2018 at his residence. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral service.

I love to hike. Next to fishing, it is my favorite outdoor activity. In fact, if I can hike and fish on the same trip, well let's just say, it is pretty close to heaven. This past week I had the privilege of hiking in the Lake of the Ozarks State Park...

Kathern M. Riley, 97, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Friday, June 22, 2018 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service.

Richard Harvey Shelton, 66, of Poplar Bluff, formerly of Chicago, Ill., died June 20, 2018 at his home. Visitation will be held from noon - 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, 2018, at Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home, Poplar Bluff, Mo. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, 2018, at the Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home, Poplar Bluff, with Rev. Donny Emmons, officiating. Burial will take place in the Elder Cemetery in Malden, Mo...

Joe Cooper Keith, 94, of Malvern, Arkansas, father of Catherine Bryant of Poplar Bluff, died Wednesday, June 20. Born June 11, 1924, in Malvern, he was a retired cattleman and was actively involved in the local community. A son of Marvin N. and Clara Cooper Keith, he was a World War II Navy veteran and graduated from the University of Missouri in 1948 with a degree in mechanical engineering. ...

James (Andy) Morgan, 56, of Poplar Bluff, passed away on June 16, 2018 at The Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. James Morgan, or Andy if you're a friend. He was born on March 9, 1962 to Vance and Nadine Morgan of Saint Louis, Missouri. James worked for himself and was considered a jack of all trades. On July 17, 2014 he married Bobbie Shockey. James and Bobbie lived in Poplar Bluff, Mo...

Cape Girardeau's Brevin Giebler is a veteran of the Missouri Amateur Championship golf tournament, and that experience was on display Thursday. Giebler advanced to the Round of 32 with a 4 and 3 match-play victory over Conrad Maloney of Wildwood, Missouri, at Dalhousie Golf Club in the 111th annual Missouri Amateur Championship...

Eric Rowland, 50, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Thursday, June 21, 2018 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Visitation will be held Monday, June 25, 2018 from noon - 3 p.m. at Moore Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff. Funeral services will be immediately following visitation at 3 p.m. in the Moore Funeral Service Chapel. Burial will be in Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Poplar Bluff...

Extreme one-day rainfall across the nation has increased 80 percent in the 30 years since the first warnings about Global Warming, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Here that means record floods more often on the Black and Current rivers...

Historic Rodgers Theatre enthusiasts and supporters filled the Black River Coliseum Thursday evening to celebrate the restoration project of the historical landmark. "We took the tower down about a month ago and we are in the process of trying to get it restored first and then go from there," Rodgers Theatre, Inc. President Wally Duncan said. "We want to show people progress is being made."...