Stories from Sunday, September 18, 2011

By MIKE McCOY Statesman Staff Writer BERNIE, Mo. - The Bernie Board of Aldermen awarded a contract for sidewalk repairs in the city to Action Concrete and Masonry of Bernie at a cost of $14 per linear-foot. They took the action at their regular meeting this past week. ...

By COREY NOLES Statesman Staff Writer Stoddard County Fair season is once again upon us. The 84th annual event will kick off with the downtown parade at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20. The parade will begin at Harps at the west end of Stoddard Street and will proceed east to the area of City Hall...

The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - More Missourians are defaulting on their student loans. The Department of Higher Education says Missouri's default rate rose from 5.8 percent in 2008 to 7.6 percent in 2009. However, officials say the default rate in Missouri was less than the national average of 8.8 percent...

From staff reports JEFFERSON CITY -- Gov. Jay Nixon today asked Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to designate 101 Missouri counties as primary disaster areas. The designation will permit assistance from the USDA's Farm Service Agency to farmers in those counties who have suffered losses to crops and property as a result of excessive heat and severe drought this summer...

By NOREEN HYSLOP Managing Editor Fourth in a series of "Recollections" Mike Batchelor has always been a cowboy at heart. He grew up in the era of Rawhide on Friday nights, Gunsmoke on Saturday and Bonanza on Sunday. There was no lack for adventure between The Virginian, Have Gun-WIll Travel, The Big Valley and Zorro - Annie Oakley, Davy Crockett and Death Valley Days...