Stories from Tuesday, September 4, 2012

By NOREEN HYSLOP and MATT SANDERS SEMO News Service and staff reports The remnants of Hurricane Isaac drenched Southeast Missouri and the region from Friday through Sunday, bringing much-needed relief to the drought-stricken area. The Dexter area benefited from five and one-quarter inches of rain over the weekend, with the majority of that falling Saturday night when severe storms ripped through the area, spawning several funnel cloud sightings...

Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Two Missouri groups announced Monday that they were dropping their legal challenge to a ruling that they didn't have enough signatures to get initiatives tightening regulations on payday loans and raising the minimum wage on the November ballot...

By COREY NOLES Statesman Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Bloomfield police have confirmed a reported stabbing over the holiday weekend. According to Bloomfield Police Chief Tim Zych, officers were dispatched at 5:35 p.m. Saturday evening to a reported assault/stabbing...

By SCOTT WELTON SEMO News Service PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- High winds and cloudy skies weren't enough to put a damper on the Delta Center's Field Day Friday. "It was a very good turnout," said Trent Haggard, director of the T.E. "Jake" Fisher Delta Research Center in Portageville. "The threat of rain did not keep them away."...

Josephine Lee, daughter of the late Benjamin Hill and Clara Chasteen Hill, was born on April 16, 1934, in Dudley, Mo., and died on Sept. 2, 2012, at the Golden Living Center in Dexter at the age of 78. She was a graduate of the Puxico High School class of 1950. ...

Rev. William (Bill) Pitts, Sr., son of Ruby Tunnell Pitts of El Reno, Okla., and the late James Robert Pitts, Sr., was born on Aug. 16, 1941, in Oklahoma City, Okla., and died in the Golden Living Center in Dexter on Sept. 3, 2012, at the age of 71...

Daisy Speer, daughter of Willard Eubanks of Bloomfield and the late Ruth Hornbuckle Eubanks, was born on Oct. 3, 1944, in Manila, Ark., and died on Sept. 1, 2012, at her residence in Dexter at the age of 67. Mrs. Speer was a resident of Dexter and a member of the Faith Fellowship Church in Dexter...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake Monday morning near Portageville measuring 2.6 on the Richter Scale. The quake reportedly occurred at 7:12 a.m. Monday and was centered six miles east/northeast of Portageville. No damage was reported from the quake, but some residents reported having felt the movement...

Twenty-month-old Caroline Dawson, daughter of Billy and Rachel Dawson of Dexter, took time out during a family Labor Day picnic Monday to quench her thirst. While the weekend storms brought some relief from the extreme heat, temperatures are expected to climb into the 90s once again this week...