Stories from Thursday, August 1, 2019

Conditions were just about ideal when more than 80 teams fished last weekend’s Wappapello Bass Circuit tournament. Taking the win was the team of Rhodes and White, who tallied a total stringer weight of 18.29 pounds. Second place went to Hardin and Meyer with 17.06 pounds, while third place was earned by Henderson and Henderson with 15.21 pounds. They also had the day’s second-largest bass, weighing in at 7.27 pounds...

Chase Breitbach wiped the sweat off his brow with a smile Tuesday morning while tending the mulch on the grounds of the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff. “Our weather is not this humid and it is super hot today, but we are blessed to be here,” said the-Dickinson, North Dakota youth leader...

DEXTER, Mo. — Michael Wayne Dumey, 74, of Bloomfield, Mo., died Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at his residence. Friends may call from 5-8 p.m. Sunday, August 4 at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. Funeral services will then be conducted at 10 a.m. Monday, August 5 in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel with Rev. Steven Koerner officiating.

Flexibility is a word Jay Eaton used a lot as he walked through the new 136,000-square-foot building for Empire Comfort Systems in Poplar Bluff earlier this week. It’s a word heavily tied to the future, both for the 87-year-old company and the generations of area residents they hope to employ here...

The John J. Pershing VA Medical Center is looking for volunteers to help with the My Life, My Story program. The program is designed to help doctors and nurses get to know veteran patients’ experiences, without having to ask about it, by reading stories in the patient’s chart...

As Dewayne Coleman began planning for retirement, the Army veteran who worked 35 years at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, wanted something to keep him busy, motivated and active. History and Poplar Bluff are two of his favorite topics, so Coleman began collecting items featuring the history of the area...

The annual St. Jude Archery Shoot is just more than a week away, and organizers are hopeful it will be the biggest and best yet. “We’re really excited, and our committee really pulled it all out this year,” said Miranda Fickert, team captain for the Poplar Bluff St. Jude Heroes Team, which co-hosts the event with the Indian Creek Bowhunters...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announces that Mitchell Dering of Wappapello is the new state-record-holder for spotted gar. Dering caught a 6-pound, 2-ounce fish on the St. Francis River July 5 using the pole-and-line method. The previous record was a 6-pound, 0-ounce fish caught in 2005 in Boeuf Creek...