Stories from Thursday, January 30, 2014

BERNIE, Mo. -- Now with his National Letter of Intent signed, all Josh Stevens needs to worry about is having a good spring season with the Bernie Mules and perhaps winning a district title. Stevens signed Tuesday morning with Mineral Area College, and brings some hitting and versatility to the field for the Cardinals...

Well, here we are again, right dab in the middle of another "polar vortex". Great. The two worst times of the year for an outdoor writer are when it's 100+ degrees and when it's 0- degrees, because very few people are spending any time outdoors if they can help it, myself included! I've gathered a bunch of tidbits and whatnots to hopefully tide you over until someone catches or kills something!...

David S. Wheeler, son of the late Sherman Edward Wheeler and Reva Jones Wheeler, was born on July 10, 1931, in St. Louis, Mo., and died at his residence in Dexter on Jan. 27, 2014, at the age of 82. Mr. Wheeler was the owner and operator of Wheeler Refrigeration, a veteran of the United States Army serving in the Korean War, a 50-year member of the Belleview, Ill. Elks Lodge, and a recent member of the Dexter Elks Lodge...

The 8th Annual Ten Pins for Ben bowling event is slated for Superbowl Saturday, Feb. 1 at Dexter Bowl. Proceeds from this annual event go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. Over the past seven years, thetournament has netted over $49,000 for the hospital...

Dexter Police Jan. 29, 2014 Police arrested Brandon L. Younger, 23, of Advance at 3:13 a.m. Wednesday on N. Lewis Street for probation violation and for passing bad checks. He was transported to the Stoddard County Jail where he remains under a $2,500 bond...

By MIKE MCCOY Statesman Staff Writer "Southeast Missouri has some of the most progressive farmers in the world," said Dr. Anserd Julius (A.J.) Foster at his desk in the University of Missouri Extension Office in Bloomfield. Foster is the newest agronomist in the Southeast Region, beginning his job Jan. 13, 2014. He covers Stoddard, Butler, Wayne and Reynolds Counties...

Managing Editor By NOREEN HYSLOP It all starts with a problem or a question. A hypothesis follows, and then begins an experiment. Eventually, results emerge from that experiment. When the procedure is followed and results are explained and illustrated -- and a conclusion is reached and stated -- you have yourself a Science Fair exhibit...

By COREY NOLES Statesman Staff Writer City workers have had a difficult time regulating certain levels within one of the department's wastewater lagoons in recent months. The problem lies in the city's east lagoon. It began shortly after a project that was aimed at increasing aeration to handle a higher volume of waste coming from the Tyson Foods plant in the southeast section of Dexter was completed...

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON -- After years of setbacks, a nearly $100 billion-a-year compromise farm bill cleared the House on Wednesday despite strong opposition from conservatives who sought a bigger cut in food stamps. The five-year bill, which preserves generous crop subsidies, heads to the Senate, where approval seems certain. The White House said President Barack Obama would sign it...