Stories from Friday, June 4, 2021

David L. Miller, 81, of West Covina, California, passed away on May 24, 2021. David was born on April 20, 1940, to Lewis and Gayle Miller in Sikeston, Missouri. His family would later move to Poplar Bluff, Missouri. After graduating from Poplar Bluff High School in 1958, he would go on to get a Bachelor of Science in Accounting at Union University. At Union, he pledged the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon...

City firefighters responded at 4:53 p.m. Wednesday, June 2, to a report of an accident with smoke showing from a vehicle at 1959 South Westwood Boulevard. When firefighters arrived, they discovered a service truck had repaired the vehicle and the parties were leaving the scene...

David H. Wendel, 69, of Panama City Beach, Florida, passed away on Thursday, February 11, 2021. David was born on October 17, 1951 in Granite City, Illinois. He was raised in Kimmswick, Missouri and attended St. Pius High School. He went on to graduate from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, and to own his own Pharmacy in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. David was extremely active in Elks as Exalted Ruler and collector of Elk Memorabilia...

Howard Rogers Francis left his body peacefully while sleeping May 11, 2021 one month after his 94th birthday. The youngest of four children, his family moved to Poplar Bluff, Missouri when he was in the 5th grade. He graduated in 1945 from PBHS where he lettered every year in football and track...

Kathy Burks Peer of Poplar Bluff beat breast cancer when she was 37, but 19 years later, as a 56-year-old newlywed, she’s waging war with anal cancer. She was vigilant for many years as a survivor to keep up with exams. “At first, when I had the breast cancer, I worried all the time,” the mother of two said. “I was doing breast self exams, constantly, asking ‘Oh, my gosh, am I OK?’ If you bump your toe and it gives you a bump, you think is that cancer. I finally quit doing that.”...

If Downtown Poplar Bluff and the Three Rivers Board of Realtors have their way, the Poplar Bluff’s downtown area will be a hub of activity again. All they believe is needed is to show off those hidden gems that are the buildings that make up the downtown area...

There are few places that have been hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 than India — a fact that has not been lost on Poplar Bluff businesswoman Babita Patnaik, who grew up there. “Since the second wave of COVID-19 hit India, I have been worried and anguished for my homeland,” Patnaik, who runs Sunrise Home Care in Poplar Bluff with her husband Subrat Mishra, said. ...

Speaking in Tulsa on the 100th anniversary of the racial atrocity there, Joe Biden belatedly turned to the issue of voting rights, to explain why he is having such difficulty winning passage of the party’s priority legislation. “I hear all the folks on TV saying, ‘Why doesn’t Biden get this done?’”...

The 2021 legislative session began in January with the House Speaker calling on his colleagues to “take on even the toughest challenges” and “make the hard decisions that will improve the quality of life for Missourians of all ages.” As the legislative session came to an end, the members of the Missouri House had approved numerous bills meant to help Missourians from all walks of life in all parts of the state...

Percy and Peggy Kiefer of Poplar Bluff will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary Sunday, June 6, with a small family gathering at their home. Daughter Doris Hastings recalls stories about her parents dating six weeks before getting married, and they are still together. Her mother finally agreed to date her dad because he always was following her and her friends to the movie theater in Steele. Admission to the movies was a nickel...

Poplar Bluff Garden Club members are celebrating National Garden Week Sunday through Saturday, June 6-12, at the Poplar Bluff Library, 318 N. Main St., and are inviting the public to view their display. The club’s display will include information on topics about trees, pollinators, Missouri native plants, gardening and information about the Poplar Bluff Garden Club, said Carla Aldridge, club president...

POPLAR BLUFF POLICE DEPARTMENT Aaron Nathan Sheehan, 39 of the 800 block of Clare was arrested at 5 a.m. Friday, June 4, on South 11th Street on two warrants for stealing and a failure to appear warrant for first-degree trespassing _ BUTLER COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT...