News

Butler County’s 63rd Fair will kickoff Sunday, Oct. 24, with a fanfare of pageants and will culminate Saturday, Oct. 30, with a day filled with a parade, BBQ wars, a petting zoo and both children's and demolition derbies. “The Butler County Fair is a family fun event,” said Jerrica Fox, fair vice chairman. “This year we have tried to add events for both adults and children. You will also find the annual sanctioned barbecue competition that was on Vine Street is now a part of the fair.”...

Carolyn Cravens’ first two mini donkeys, Patches and Donk, were not what she expected. She and her husband Dodson bought them to protect their cattle, believing they would be tame like horses. They soon discovered the two had lived their whole lives out to pasture and were completely wild...

A Poplar Bluff man was found guilty in a Butler County courtroom Thursday on charges of first-degree statutory rape, first-degree statutory sodomy and incest. Thomas Woodham was found guilty on all three counts after just 30 minutes of deliberation by a 10 woman, two-man jury...

The ongoing supply chain and labor shortages affect industries, grocery stores, school lunches. Two providers serving Butler County are adapting. Poplar Bluff The Poplar Bluff school district is served by Chartwells K-12, a division of Compass Group North America. Food services director Dixie Harden said Poplar Bluff has been able to provide for children by changing their menus and making substitutions amid fluctuating supply...

A poster seeking help for a 27-year-old Poplar Bluff husband and father fighting leukemia became a message from God to one area man. John Penaflor feels God directed him to help Zach Dobbs, 27, his wife Kayla and their baby. Dobbs’ father, Michael Dobbs of Little Rock, Arkansas, presently is at St. Louis University Medical Center where his son was transferred Sunday by Air Evac Lifeteam to the intensive care unit. The younger Dobbs was diagnosed July 22 with acute myeloid leukemia...

Coy Rahlmann grew up loving rodeo, and after years of hard work, he will find himself on the sport’s biggest stage Dec. 2-11 when he competes in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. “It’s a dream come true. That is the World Series of rodeo pretty much,” said Rahlmann, who will compete with partner Douglas Rich in the team roping competition...

A Fairdealing woman will serve two concurrent five-year sentences in the Missouri Department of Corrections after her guilty plea Tuesday for her role in the July 2019 death of a Doniphan man. Accompanied by her attorney, Matt Edmundson, Schylar Alexis Tubbs withdrew her previous not guilty plea and pleaded guilty as charged to the Class B felony of first-degree kidnapping and the Class C felony of first-degree involuntary manslaughter before 36th Circuit Presiding Judge Michael Pritchett...

Mary Ann Brown, 82, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, passed away Oct. 12, 2021, in the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. She was born Oct. 31, 1938, at Canton, Illinois to the late Harry Earl Flynn and Gladys Jean “Conrad” Flynn. She was married to Lyle Kenneth Brown at Lewiston, Illinois. He preceded her in death on April 6, 1995...

Getting a library card was once a rite of passage. In some circles, it still is. The Poplar Bluff Municipal Library is much more than just a place to check out a good book. “We try to couple our events at the library with the interests that we see as we scan the community,” said Shannon Midyett, assistant director of the library...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — A Dexter woman will serve six years in prison after being sentenced Tuesday in federal court. Tori R. Carlisle, 43, was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. following her guilty plea on charges of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri...

Mairead Ryan-Anderson started knitting at age four, at a time when knitting was part of the school curriculum in her homeland of Ireland. A lifetime of knitting later, she connected with other craftspeople who share her dedication and founded the Yarnaholics...

Wanda Sue Burkett, 74, of Poplar Bluff, passed away Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Wanda, the daughter of John William and Iva Gladys Walker Kanell, was born Aug. 13, 1947, in Poplar Bluff. She was of the Protestant faith and was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt. ...

The Child Concern Center thrift store and food bank is reopened and revamped. The reopening comes with a refurbishment of its building on Poplar Street and a new director, Lee Sparks, who took the position after her predecessor retired to focus on other projects and help care for her grandchildren. 2020 was a rough year for the store, which closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic...

Since pageants and fairs go hand and hand, the Little Miss & Mr. Butler County Fair Pageants Sunday, Oct. 24, at the Black River Coliseum will kick off for the fair’s 63rd anniversary. The actual fair will get underway Wednesday, Oct. 27, with the parade being Saturday, Oct. 30...

Steven L. Midkiff, 44, of Poplar Bluff was arrested at 10:56 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 10, on South Westwood Boulevard on suspicion of assault first degree and unlawful use of a weapon. He was transported to the Butler County jail. _ Frederick A. Meyer, 32, Poplar Bluff was arrested at 2:48 a.m., Monday, Oct. 11, at the 800 block of Kinzer Street on a warrant for possession of dangerous drugs. He was transported to the Butler County jail...

Local businesses have started making plans for recent changes to alcohol sales laws. Senate Bill 126, which extends hours for alcohol sales on Sundays to between 6 a.m. Sunday and 1:30 a.m. Monday, went into effect in August. The waiver, which initially allowed Missouri restaurants to sell ‘to-go’ alcoholic drinks beginning on April 14, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, became permanent...

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI are warning about the emergence of a new scam where perpetrators are posing as federal courts and law enforcement to scare victims. Special Agent in Charge Richard Quinn of the FBI St. Louis Division said this is one way “scammers are using more sophisticated techniques to appear legitimate,” in an Oct. 6 news release from the FBI St. Louis Division...

“I never really thought that I would write a book,” said author Megan Walker. Walker, a Poplar Bluff native living in St. Louis, was a voracious reader who thought writing sounded fun, but out of reach for a busy wife and mother of three. The impetus to channel her lifelong love of literature into writing came from a tragedy: the loss of her youngest son, Simon...

After more than two years of study and prayer as a postulant and novitiate, Mike Malone of Holy Cross Episcopal Church has become a Dominican Friar in the Anglican Order of Preachers. “I made my Life Profession on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, at an evening eucharist at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in San Juan, Puerto Rico,” said Malone...

Dorothy Pry Collard, 90, of Poplar Bluff is featured in a five-generation photograph taken at the recent Pry-Gambill Family Reunion and Celebration. Standing is her grandson, William Ahrens of Mountain View, Arkansas. Seated from left is Collard’s daughter, Deborah Collard Preston of Melbourne, Arkansas, Collard’s great-great-grandson, Carson Ricks of Bakersfield, California, and her great-granddaughter, Cherrity Ahrens Ricks of Bakersfield...

Childhood memories from multiple generations will be front and center as alumni and teachers of the former J. Minnie Smith Elementary School gather Oct. 16 for an all-school reunion and lunch. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bible Baptist Church, 549 S. C St. Parents of former students and anyone with a connection to the school also are welcome...

Neelyville School’s Tiger Fest 2021 is back and will offer a day filled with family activities and contests Saturday, Oct. 16, at the high school. COVID caused the school to cancel the event last year. “Come celebrate the autumn season with Tiger Nation,” said Superintendent Debra Parish said. “Tiger Fest serves as a community outreach event, while, at the same time, providing opportunities for clubs, classes, teams to raise money through various booths and raffles.”...

Despite a last-minute venue change, the Fields of Faith gathering hosted enthusiastic students at its annual event Wednesday evening. Fields of Faith is an annual conference for Christian students encouraging fellowship and spiritual commitment organized by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes...

From Staff Reports The 100th anniversary of the Wappapello Civic Center building, a community-preserved school, will be commemorated Saturday. Modern Woodmen of America are involved by offering a fundraiser to match the money raised at the center, Judy Wood said. All the money will be donated to the center to help pay for tuck pointing between the bricks on the worst two sides of the building...

A Poplar Bluff man is looking at several felony charges after he allegedly raped a Butler County woman in July. Darnell J. Webb, 35, of the 100 block of Hampton Court is charged with the unclassified felony of first-degree rape, the Class B felony of first-degree kidnapping and the Class E felony of third-degree domestic assault. He was recently arrested on the charges and released this week on $100,000 bond...