Stories from Tuesday, October 2, 2018

The Wappapello Civic Center, located north of dam on Civic Center Road, will be having a fundraiser, Saturday, Oct. 6 to raise money to pay for paving the handicap area of the parking lot. Modern Woodsmen of American will be helping with this cause...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD -- A Bloomfield man, who spent more than 10 years in a mental health facility, was ordered to stand trial Thursday afternoon for the 2004 stabbing death of his stepbrother. Leslie Hazel with the Public Defender's Office in Kennett, filed a waiver of preliminary hearing on Wednesday in Justen Lee Patterson's case...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Staff Writer A Dexter man was ordered to stand trial Thursday afternoon on five counts of boating while intoxicated in connection with a June boat collision on Black River that left a local teenager dead and four others injured...

Jessica McMillan of Bloomfield has been awarded the Velma Foster Memorial Nursing Scholarship by the Three Rivers Endowment Trust.McMillan is a 2000 graduate of Puxico High School. She is married to Toby McMillan. The scholarship, which provides financial assistance for the five semesters McMillan expects to attend Three Rivers College to complete her nursing degree, was set up by Tammy Stocks and Stacy Wood, the daughters of Velma Foster, who died in December 2017."My family and I are very grateful for this award," McMillan said. ...

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD -- A Stoddard County judge ordered a Dexter man to stand trial Thursday afternoon for the June stabbing death of another man. Accompanied by his attorney, Leslie Hazel with the Public Defender's Office in Kennett, Joshua James Koonce was supposed to appear before Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield for a preliminary hearing on the Class A felony of second-degree murder and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action...

By JOSH AYERS Staff Writer On Saturday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. all military veterans are invited to attend a special dinner in their honor at the Dexter Elks Lodge. The event will be hosted by the Elks, and it is their desire to recognize all veterans for their service...

DEXTER -- Members of the Senate Bill 40 board that oversees programs for the developmentally disabled in Stoddard County voted Tuesday to make approximately $60,000 in payments to an existing sheltered workshop, while stripping money for other new programs from their 2019 budget...

QULIN, Mo. - Dennis "Denny" Barnett, 66, of Broseley, MO, died Sunday, September 30, 2018 at his residence, in Broseley. Visitation will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 2 at White-Sanders Funeral Home in Qulin. The funeral will be at 11 a.m., Wednesday, October 3 in the funeral home chapel with Rev. Jim Sanders officiating. Burial will be in Brown Chapel Cemetery at Broseley. Condolences: www.whitesandersfuneralhome.com...

DEXTER, Mo. - Patricia C. Watkins, 72, of Puxico,MO, formerly of Essex, MO, died Friday, Sept. 28 at the Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter. Visitation was after 1 p.m., Sunday, September 30, followed by the funeral at 3 p.m. at the Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Dexter with Bro. Buck Cruse of Puxico officiating...

QULIN, Mo. - Dennis "Denny" Barnett, 66, of Broseley, Mo., died Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018 at his residence, in Broseley. Visitation was Tuesday, Oct. 2 at White-Sanders Funeral Home in Qulin. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3 in the funeral home chapel with Rev. Jim Sanders officiating. Burial will be in Brown Chapel Cemetery at Broseley...

Sherlene Trout, 77, of Broseley died Sept. 25, 2018 at her daughter's residence in Fisk. Services were held Sept. 28, 2018 at the White-Sanders Funeral Home in Fisk. Rev. Gary Hancock and Rev. Jared Hancock officiated. Burial followed in the Shain Memorial Cemetery in Fisk...

QULIN, Mo. -- Suellen Tompkins, 72, of Williamsville, Mo., died Friday, Sept. 28, 2018 at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Visitation and funeral were Monday, Oct. 1, 2018 at White-Sanders Funeral Home chapel in Qulin with Vernon Curry officiating. Burial was in Qulin Cemetery at Qulin...

All too often our concepts of God are formed, not by his own revelation of himself but by making him after our own image. Because we find some people difficult for us to love, we think God has the same difficulty. Yet we know that it was while we were yet sinners and unconcerned about our alienation from God that Christ came to reconcile us unto God. ...

Monday was the opener for Missouri's fall firearms turkey season, and it looks like hunters will have a lot of work to do to find success. "I wish I had better news," said Department of Conservation Resource Scientist Jason Isabelle, "but the statewide poult-to-hen ratio was 0.9, on par with last year."...

The Missouri Department of Conservation will host a free Warmup Sporting Clays Shoot for hunters Saturday, Oct. 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Duck Creek Conservation Area on Hwy 51 north of Puxico. "This year, we're aiming to provide opportunity for duck hunters to practice shooting clay targets in scenarios that mimic types of shots they may encounter while waterfowl hunting," said Dee Dee Dockins, MDC outdoor skills specialist. ...

Richard Henry McWilliams, 69, of Ruidoso, N.M., passed away at his residence in Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 15, 2018. Richard was born in Poplar Bluff on May 26, 1949 to the late Willard and Anna V. (Polk) McWilliams. He graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 1967 and went on to attend college at the University of Missouri - Rolla...

QULIN, Mo. - Joseph "Tony" Janes, age 66, of Qulin, died Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 at his home, in Qulin. Mr. Janes was born Tuesday, February 12, 1952 in Poplar Bluff. He was an entrepreneur and was owner and operator of Pontiac Plumbing, Heating and Cooling in Pontiac, Ill. ...

ELLSINORE, Mo. - Velma Edna Howell, 97, of Ellsinore, died Friday, Sept. 28, 2018 at The Manor in Poplar Bluff, MO. Visitation will be at 1 p.m., Wed., October 3 at the McSpadden Funeral Home in Ellsinore. A Committal Service will follow at 3 p.m. in the Carson Hill Cemetery in Ellsinore with Rev. Scott Reynolds officiating...

No consent. No disclosure. No escape. For legions of unwitting students and teachers across the country, this is the dangerous, de facto data policy Google has imposed over their school districts. An estimated 80 million students and teachers are now signed up for free "G Suite for Education" accounts (formerly known as Google Apps for Education); more than 25 million students and teachers now use Google Chromebooks. ...

Donald "Ray" Malpass, son of the late Emry Malpass and Edna Malpass-Spratley, was born on February 3, 1953 in Raleigh, North Carolina and departed this life on Monday September 24, 2018 at his residence in Poplar Bluff, MO at the age of 65. Mr. Malpass was a Route Courier for the Poplar Bluff Daily American Republic for the last 10 years. ...

Staff Reports Twin Rivers High School senior Blake Bleem has been named a Commended Student in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program. Bleem is being recognized for exceptional academic promise demonstrated by his outstanding performance on the qualifying test used for program entry...

Staff Reports Stephanie Bishop, a nursing student at Three Rivers College, has received the Allison Grace Daughhetee Scholarship. Bishop, who lives in Bloomfield, is the daughter of Angela and Duff Bishop of Cape Girardeau, and the granddaughter of Sue and Briney Wellborn...

Former Three Rivers Raider Kevin Jenkins was named American Midwest Conference Athletics Director of the Year. Jenkins, of Lyon College, played at Three Rivers from 1982-84 and finished seventh in the nation while at Three Rivers. Jenkins was named Athletics Director of the Year based on accomplishments during the previous year in the areas of athletics administration and service to the NAIA...

QULIN, Mo. - Dennis "Denny" Barnett, age 66, of Broseley, MO, died Sunday, September 30, 2018 at his residence, in Broseley. Mr. Barnett was born June 22, 1952 in Elgin, IL, son of the late Vernon and Verene (Hill) Barnett. He was a self- employed truck driver and worked for Jr. ...

Staff Reports Lake Road Elementary has received the highest honor an educational institution can earn by being named one of eight schools in Missouri as a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School. "We are tremendously proud of this accolade to the students, staff and faculty of Lake Road Elementary," Superintendent Dr. ...

The Bess Activity Center was abuzz Monday night, which can mean only one thing. Basketball is back. Three Rivers hosted Raider Madness as the men's and women's basketball teams participated in a 3-point contest, a dunk contest and each held a scrimmage, marking the first live action fans could witness for the 2018-19 squads...

SIKESTON, Mo. - Robert "Bob" Donze, age 78, passed away on September 28, 2018, at John J Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, MO. Born June 13, 1940, in Bonne Terre, MO., to the late Raymond and Dora Ritter Donze. He served in the United States Navy, where he played the clarinet for the naval band...

NEELYVILLE, Mo. - Gary Homer Moore, 71, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, passed away September 30, 2018 at his residence. He was born August 23, 1947 in Saint Francis County, Missouri, to Homer Moore and Mevina Bowen Moore. Mr. Moore had served in the United States Marine Corps during Vietnam. He was a member of Disabled American Veterans, V.F.W. and the American Legion. He enjoyed fishing, baseball, watching CSI and SVU...

NAYLOR -- Makenna Moore broke a 4-all tie in the seventh inning with an RBI double to give East Carter (17-5) its first lead of the day against Naylor, and another run in the seventh secured a 6-4 win for the Redbirds. Moore pitched six innings and struck out three, allowing just one hit after relieving Jordan Moore after an inning. ...

Poplar Bluff City Council members gave employees a 3 percent raise Monday and renewed the contract of city manager Mark Massingham. Increases in sales tax revenue allow the city to correct pay imbalances that started in 2015, when previous administration gave a higher raise to a small section of employees, according to Massingham, speaking before the vote...

DEXTER -- Auditors called into question Sept. 25 for a second time a decision by a Stoddard County board to spend $2.57 million on building construction that was not put out for bid. The matter was raised as Senate Bill 40 board members received audits for the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. The matter was previously questioned by state auditors during a review of Stoddard County financials...

World War I veterans from almost every county in Southeast Missouri will be represented by pictures, letters, and other artifacts at the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library honorary exhibit of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. According to the organizers, Poplar Bluff Municipal Library in partnership with the Poplar Bluff Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the John J. ...

Municipal Utilities will take possession Tuesday of a new location for its billing department and other personnel. The move to 1902 Sunset is expected to occur in the next two months, general manager Bill Bach said Monday, during a meeting of the utility advisory board...

The City of Puxico Board of Aldermen has set aside the first Friday and Saturday in Oct. 5 - 6 as the time for the Fall City-Wide Yard Sale. Time frame for these yard sales will be from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. The Mayor and Board hopes that as many residents as possible participate in these events...

Amy Ramback of Fisk has been awarded the Richard Thomas Memorial Scholarship at Three Rivers College. Ramback, a 1993 graduate of Twin Rivers High School, is pursuing a degree in Criminal Justice at Three Rivers College. The scholarship was established in the memory of Richard Thomas by his family and is awarded to a nontraditional student each fall...

Harviell Community Center will be hosting an open forum on the future of SEMO's workforce at 6 p.m., Oct. 9 at the center. Come join the conversation. Conversations on the Future of SEMO's Work Force: For more information contact Paula Moore at pmoore@semo.net...

Paycheck not better I'm calling about the article by Michael Jensen in the Sept. 12 issue of the DAR. It's titled "Come Visit Anytime Mr. President," talking about President Trump coming to Cape. There are plenty of Democrats around here in the Bootheel and Southeast Missouri that don't want to see this man come here. ...

QULIN, Mo. - Joseph "Tony" Janes,age 66, of Qulin, died Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 at his home, in Qulin. Visitation will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday at White-Sanders Funeral Home in Qulin. Funeral services will follow at 7 p.m. in the funeral home chapel with Rev. Jim Sanders officiating. There will be a private family burial...

Patricia C. Watkins, 72, of Puxico, Mo., formerly of Essex, daughter of the late Cecil Monroe and Myrtle Asher Chism, was born in Charter Oak, Mo. Sept. 26, 1946, and passed away at the Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter Sept. 28, 2018, Visitation was held after 1 p.m. ...