Stories from Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Calvin Noel "Butch" Murphy, son of the late George Redden Murphy and Della Ann Boone Murphy was born in Bernie, Mo., on June 23, 1942 and died at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter, Mo., on March 11, 2012 at the age of 69. Mr. Murphy had been the owner and operator of Otasco in Bernie for 20 years, and had been an assistant supervisor of Liberty Township prior to his retirement. He was a resident of Bernie...

Julia Morse, a resident of the Avert community, died at her home early Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at the age of 96. Arrangements are pending with the Chiles Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield.

By MIKE McCOY Statesman Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - The Missouri Attorney General's office has scheduled a public meeting for March 27, 2012, from noon until 2 p.m. in the Commission Room of the Government Building in Bloomfield to discuss the National Mortgage Settlement. As part of that settlement, the nation's five largest mortgage servicers have agreed to a landmark $25 billion settlement after a suit was filed by a coalition of state attorneys general and federal agencies...

By ERIN RAGAN SEMO News Service CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Don't tell Meagan Brehmer Smith her passion is "not a sport." "If they don't believe me, I say they need to come watch what we do," Smith said Sunday, surrounded by her teammates, some still wearing crisp traditional competition clothes, others in boots covered in dust and bits of straw...

From staff reports CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - A Dexter man was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison Monday afternoon on child pornography charges related to him allegedly exploiting a teenage relative by taking nude videos of her. Michael Lee Wilson, 37, was sentenced to 135 months on two felony counts of possession of child pornography by U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr., according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Abbie Crites-Leoni...

By NOREEN HYSLOP Managing Editor CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Stoddard County was well represented at the recent 56th Annual Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. A Puxico High School student, Victoria Willcut, received several awards at the annual contest, including First Place Chemistry, American Chemical Society, National Society of Professional Engineers, Southeast Missouri Dental Society, U.S. ...