Stories from Friday, June 21, 2013

Ben Worley and Becky Edmonds of the financial services firm Edward Jones in Dexter area recently received the firm's Client Service Excellence award for being the No. 1 client service provider in their region and in the top 25 percent of client service providers in the country...

A $500 grant was presented to the Regional Healthcare Foundation this week to be utilized for the foundation's programs that promote wellness-the Fitness Challenge program and the Walkers for Wellness program. Store Manager Debbie Juden, at left, made the presentation to Fitness Challenge Coordinator LeVeda Scates, at center, and RFH Executive Director Lisa Thrower...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- There are many reasons to look forward to warmer weather, but gnats probably aren't on anyone's list. Buffalo gnats, also called black flies, have swarmed the area since the first hints of spring weather arrived in May. Missouri Department of Conservation officials last month predicted that approaching windy and sunny weather would bring an end to the gnats' life cycle in two weeks or less. But a month later, the problem remains...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Members of George Joseph's investment club could face serious repercussions if they failed to notify the Internal Revenue Service of dividends Joseph paid to them, a local financial expert said. "They could have a tax nightmare ..." said Richard Cuba, certified wealth strategist and certified financial planner at First Allied Securities...

WASHINGTON, -- Again, the battle for a new federal farm bill was lost in Congress on Thursday as the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a version that would have cut food stamps by $2 billion a year among creating other reforms. The half-trillion-dollar bill, if it were combined into a full version with a Senate bill passed last week, would have paid for crop and livestock insurance and subsidies over the next five years but cut funding for the food stamp stamp program. ...

Dexter sophomore Chandler Young (left) battles for a rebound with a Caruthersville player during action at the Rib City Shootout at the Bearcat Event Center Thursday. The second installment of the boys Rib City Shootout was to conclude today. Next Thursday and Friday the Rib City Shootout will feature volleyball for the first time...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Having repeatedly rejected a Medicaid expansion, Missouri's Republican-led Legislature now plans to study -- and study, and study -- whether to revamp the health care program for the poor before it convenes again in 2014...

A Dexter man is behind bars following a fight on the 900 block of N. Sassafras. At 10:45 a.m., police received a phone call from a neighbor who spotted two men fighting in a driveway on Sassafras. Dexter Police Chief Sammy Stone said the caller stated the pair was still fighting as they were making the report...

Ryan Carter-Bishop and little sister, Aubrie, enjoy some fun in the sun at Dexter Aquatic Center. The pool is open to the public from 1 to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $6 per person, with children two and under allowed in free. Friday marks the first full day of summer and is the longest day of the year...

ADVANCE, Mo -- A drug bust on a West Gabriel St. apartment in Advance led to the arrest of four individuals on drug-related charges. According to the Advance Police Department, a search warrant was executed at the residence on Tuesday, June 18 following an investigation by the department...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Three Rivers College expects to spend more than $16 million on building construction and renovation in the Missouri towns of Sikeston, Poplar Bluff, Willow Springs and Kennett during the next two fiscal years. The board of trustees discussed the plans during a workshop Wednesday on a proposed fiscal year 2014 budget that would total more than $34 million...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Route 60 in Stoddard County will be reduced to one lane as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform pavement repairs. This section of roadway is located from Route 25 to One Mile Road. Weather permitting, work will take place Monday, June 24 through Thursday, June 27 from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A benefit bake sale will be held at the Town & Country market on Hwy. 25 in Bloomfield on Wednesday, July 3 to help with medical and travel expenses incurred when a vehicle accident left two Bloomfield residents seriously injured...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Captain George E. Ridens, commanding officer of Troop E, Poplar Bluff, has announced July 3, and on Sunday, July, 7, 2013, Troop E officers will take part in the 20-Mile Trooper project in an effort to promote safety and to reduce the number of traffic crashes in the Troop E area...

The following story has been corrected. In reference to transportation funding, the issue was tax credits, not tax breaks cited in the quote attributed to Rehder. Also the bill to reduce state income taxes if certain growth levels are achieved was vetoed by Gov. ...

George "Leon" Cherry, 86, of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, June 21, 2013, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 1, 1926, in Mason Hall, Tenn., son of R.C. Cherry and Mary Collins Cherry. He and Lola Barnett were married Oct. 3, 1948, in Piggott, Ark...