Stories from Thursday, September 8, 2011

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. - The Children's Trust Fund (CTF), Missouri's foundation for child abuse prevention, and the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission will host a recognition ceremony event at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13 at the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission, 3019 Fair Street, in Poplar Bluff. The event will highlight CTF's Fiscal Year 2012 grantees in the Southeast Missouri region, one of which is the Regional Healthcare Foundation housed in Dexter...

Dexter residents will soon be noticing a slight increase in their water bills. At the Monday night meeting of the Dexter Board of Aldermen, the board voted unanimously for the increase that City Administrator Mark Stidham called "necessary". Stidham noted that the increase will still keep Dexter's rates below those of other comparable municipalities. ...

MIKE McCOY photo After years of being housed in Dexter, most recently at the Liberty Center on Business Hwy. 60, the offices of Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation (DAEOC) are closing. An office in Sikeston will now serve Stoddard, Mississippi and Scott Counties. That office will officially open next Monday, Sept. 12 under the direction of Jan Wheeler, who formerly headed up the Dexter center...

Dexter has managed to clear the first two hurdles, but the third could prove to be the toughest of 2011 season. The Bearcats have now posted wins over Class 3, District 2 powers Ste. Genevieve and Park Hills Central, but this week the team will step up to a Class 4 power when they host the highly touted Sikeston Bulldogs Friday night at 7 p. m. at Charles Bland Stadium...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - The process of renovating the house built by Henry Miller on Old Cape Road in Bloomfield started in 2009 and should be ready to be put out for bids sometime in late September according to Sue Tippen, head of the Stoddard County Development Foundation. ...

Flora Louise Hodge, daughter of the late George and Orpha Leon Cookson Stovall, was born in Puxico, Mo. on Jan. 17, 1928, and died at her home in Puxico, Mo. on Sept. 6, 2011, at the age of 83. Mrs. Hodge was a lifelong resident of the Puxico area. She was a faithful member of the Egypt Community Church. She loved painting and gardening. She worked for many years as a store clerk at Cliff's Markets and as a cook for Puxico Public Schools...

Leo Tibbs, a resident of Dexter, Mo. died on Thursday morning Sept. 8, 2011 at the Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter at the age of 92. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter...

Elizabeth Rice, a former resident of Bernie, Mo. died on Wednesday Sept. 7, 2011 at the Malden Nursing Center in Malden, Mo. at the age of 94. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Bernie...

The Advance Senior Community Center Board of Trustees met on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011 to resolve the issues which have resulted in the closing of the center for 4 weeks. Present at the meeting were Madeline DeJournett, chairman of the board; Chester Powers, building manager; Emma Powers, Royal Lee Bohnsack, Wanda Rodgers, Billie Hiett, Faye and Jim Borders, Tom Schmidt, Diann Williams, JD Braswell, Violet Kern, and Shelby Beardsly...

An Advance man, 39-year-old Christopher L. Schearf, sustained serious injuries and later faced charges, following a motorcycle wreck in Cape County Saturday night. According to the Highway Patrol, Schearf was eastbound on County Road 256 in Cape County when he reportedly struck an animal in the roadway. He was ejected from his bike and was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau for treatment...

For the first time in recent memory, the weather turned off cool for the annual Advance Labor Day Parade and Fair. In fact, the many residents were wrapped in blankets, as they sat in chairs and on quilts to watch the parade wind its way from the elementary school to Umfleet Park...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - The process of renovating the house built by Henry Miller on Old Cape Road in Bloomfield started in 2009 and should be ready to put out for bids sometime in late September according to Sue Tippen, head of the Stoddard County Development Foundation. ...