Stories from Sunday, June 3, 2012

By COREY NOLES Statesman Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Stoddard County man charged with sodomy will have a preliminary hearing in June. Alan Heaton of Dudley was charged with multiple sex-related felonies following an investigation into a sexual abuse case in 2011...

SEMO News Service JACKSON, Mo. - A year after Jacque Waller's disappearance, her family is still struggling to come to grips with the loss of the vibrant mother of young triplets. Waller was 39 when she was last seen on June 1, 2011. Dozens of searches in southeast Missouri have failed to turn up a body, but Waller's estranged husband, Clay Waller, was charged with first-degree murder in April. Their children, now 6, live with Jacque's sister, Cheryl Brenneke...

SUBMITTED photo Rachel Putnam, a sophomore At Dexter High School, is the Statesman's June Calendar Girl. She is the daughter of Denny and Shannon Putnam of Dexter. Her activities include varsity football cheerleader, dance team, student council, FCCLA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Top 10%, Dexter Show Choir, and Honors Choir. Calendar Girls are comprised of the 12 finalists in the Miss Dexter competition, sponsored annually by the DHS Vocal Music Program...

By NOREEN HYSLOP Managing Editor Gale Simmering is no stranger to cancer. She lost her mother and an older sister to breast cancer, her father to kidney cancer and just last year her youngest sister to lung cancer. When a swollen lymph node on the right side of her neck appeared after Christmas last year, Simmering went to her local doctor. She was diagnosed with an ear infection and prescribed a round of antibiotics...

SUBMITTED photo For the seventh year since 2002 and the sixth consecutive year, the Richland School District has been awarded the Distinction in Performance Award from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Distinction in Performance recognition is based on the 14 academic performance standards that are the basis of the state's accreditation program for all school districts. ...