Stories from Friday, January 3, 2014

The National Weather Service is forecasting snow late Saturday night and during the day Sunday, but even worse for Stoddard County residents will be the brutal cold temperatures that follow. Don Seymore, Fire Chief and Emergency Management Agency Director in Dexter, said the latest word he received was that the area would get four to six inches of snow. ...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Another weekend, another chance for snow. Missouri Department of Transportation crews are used to this kind of schedule, and they'll be out in force to plow and treat state roadways no matter when the snow hits. The weekend forecast adds a level of difficulty for MoDOT's snowplow...

The accomplishments by Stoddard County athletes were unprecedented and at times unheard of at their respective programs before 2013. Other accomplishments represented continued success of traditional powerhouses in Stoddard County. The success continued for the Dexter Bearcats girls basketball program from the start of the calendar year until the end of 2013 under head coach Chad Allen. ...

Ruth O. Lane, daughter of the late Lesley James and Mary Finna Garrison Edwards, was born in Gideon, Mo., on March 21, 1930, and died at The Bluffs Nursing Center in Columbia, Mo., on Dec. 31, 2013, at the age of 83. She had grown up in the Frisco area moved to Dexter after retirement. She was a member of the Church of Christ, the Eastern Star and the Elks Lodge #2439...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis leaders are pursuing changes to the operations of the city-owned Soldiers Memorial Military Museum. The downtown museum's collection of war letters, weapons, uniforms and other artifacts has been neglected for years. The museum also needs more than $6 million in repairs. The city has tried several times to find another caretaker for the memorial...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. --Rodie Rainey of Lowndes is just 18 years old, but the Missouri Lottery has already played a big role in her life. The rodeo rider and student uncovered a $100,000 prize on a ticket she purchased last week. Rainey said she "had a feeling" when passing Arab Station, Highway 51, in Zalma...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- A look at visitors in Cape Girardeau during 2013 shows leisure travel as the No. 1 reason people visit the city, though construction, amateur sports and entertainment also brought many to town. The list of eight primary market drivers was compiled and included in an annual summary of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau using information shared by Drury Hotels, which has three hotels in town, and Midamerica Hotels Corp., which has two hotels and a future Hampton Inn being built in Cape Girardeau. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (SMNS) -- A local quarry owner is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever stole about $20,000 worth of copper wire from him earlier this week. J.W. Strack, owner of Strack Stone Co. on Highway 74, said the copper was in front of his house at the quarry when it vanished sometime Sunday or Monday night...

BENTON, Mo. -- Money spent on capital improvements by Scott County in 2013 will provide benefits for years to come, according to county officials. While county officials won't have exact figures until the budget year is closed, roughly $550,000 was put into capital improvements, Presiding County Commissioner Jamie Burger estimated during Tuesday's regular County Commission meeting...

A new investment of resources aimed at Delta small business owners, entrepreneurs, families and communities is designed to grow the region's economy and create jobs, the Delta Regional Authority and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon have announced. Two area projects and the amount of DRA funds are:...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A pair of men are behind bars following a December 2013 burglary on County Rd. 524 in rural Bloomfield. Kyle Hargrave, 23, of Dexter, has been arrested and charged with the Class C felony of burglary in the second degree and the Class C felony of stealing...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Colonel Ron Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, notes that Missouri has experienced a strong reduction in traffic fatalities since 2005. Preliminary statistics indicate that Missouri recorded 741 traffic fatalities in 2013. ...

Through a cooperative effort involving American Express in the late fall of 2013, residents across the country were urged to "Shop Small." The Shop Small initiative encouraged and even challenged consumers to remain in their own small communities to shop throughout the holiday season. Local residents may have seen the "Shop Small" door mats and giveaway shopping bags that promoted the effort...

New lawsuit seeks to force his hand

Tim Lee Jenkins of Hermitage, TN age 51, passed away Sunday, December 29, 2013. He was preceded in death by his mother, Mrs. Joyce DeAnn Jenkins and his grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Roy Jenkins and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Birchfield all of Dexter, MO. He is survived by his wife, Roana Jenkins; sons, Jaden Nash Jenkins, Colton Cash Jenkins; step-daughter, Torri Vance; father, Mr. ...

Brinda Wallis, daughter of the late Peter Tandski and Mabel Gillis Ferguson, was born on Aug. 28, 1939, at Pontiac, Mich., and died at her residence in Dexter on Jan. 1, 2014, at the age of 74. Mrs. Wallis was of the Christian faith, was a home-maker and a resident of Dexter...

NOREEN HYSLOP photo A Friday morning fire destroyed a rural Dexter home. The home, owned by Todd Wood, was unoccupied at the time of the fire, but was undergoing a remodeling project. When a passerby spotted flames coming from the home around 10:10 a.m., the home was already engulfed in flames. It was a total loss, according to Fire Chief Don Seymore. Seven firefighters responded to the fire. Additional photos appear on page 14 of today's Daily Statesman...

Staff Reports With the onslought of frigid temperatures, the Humane Society of Missouri urges all pet owners to bring their pets inside and exercise the utmost caution when exposing pets to the cold. While Dexter has its own humane officer who works keep animals in the city limits safe from abuse, cities like St. Louis have gone so far as to issue an ordinance that okays the confiscation of pets found left outside without proper shelter...