Stories from Friday, January 16, 2015

As people everywhere settle into the new year, many are patiently awaiting the paperwork necessary to file their taxes; and, while it can be a time of great anticipation for some, it can also be a time for many to be the target of scams. According to Dexter Police Detective Trevor Pulley, this time of year brings with it different types of scams...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri State Board of Education this week moved forward with plans to test school children using national Common Core educational standards, approving a new minimum standardized test score that will be used to determine students' proficiency...

Seven people have filed for positions on the Castor Township Board and six have filed for positions on the Liberty Township Board as of Thursday, Jan. 15. The candidates will be on the April 8 election ballot. Candidates have until Jan. 20, 2015, to file for a township or special road district office. All positions are two-year terms...

Bradley E. Massingill, 16, of Bloomfield sustained serious injuries in a wreck at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. According to the Highway Patrol, Massingill was eastbound on Route OO, four miles south of Advance when he reportedly ran off the right side of the roadway, overcorrected, struck an embankment and overturned. ...

Jeremy Fowler and Tali Akin of Dexter are the proud parents of the first baby born of Stoddard County parents in 2015. Cecily Fowler was born at 4:40 a.m. at Poplar Bluff Regionalal Medical Center. She weighed 5 pounds, 15 oz., and was 19" long. Cecily's family will receive a number of gifts from local merchants for being the premiere baby of 2015...

Some concerns were expressed by Stoddard County school administrators following this week's ruling regarding standardized testing over Common Core Standard, but they feel that they are ready for the challenge of the newly mandated standardized testing...

NEELYVILLE, Mo. - The Dexter Bearcats went toe-to-toe with the state-ranked Neelyville Tigers Thursday night but were unable to generate a clutch score in the closing seconds of a tie game. Neelyville got a defensive stop with 10 seconds remaining and made a transition layup six seconds later to secure a 59-57 home victory against Dexter...

Dexter Police Jan. 14-15, 2015 Dylan Patrick Wiseman, 18, of Dexter was arrested on a Dexter municipal warrant for failure to appear. Bond was set at $255. Police were summoned to the 700 block of N. Elm Street on Tuesday at 2:40 p.m. to investigate a report of property damage to a parked vehicle...

Alma Lorene Coffey, age 80, died Jan. 15, 2015, at St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. She was born Feb. 15, 1934, in Tallapoosa, Mo., the daughter of Otto and Alice Bean. She was a graduate of Gideon High School where she was a varsity cheerleader for four years. Alma attended Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., where she was a proud member of the All-Star All-Sport cheerleading squad...

Hazel Christine Robey Reed was born Oct. 6, 1916, in Avert, Mo., the daughter of the late Mart V. and Eliza M. (Bowlin) Robey and died in Flushing Mich., on Jan. 9, 2015, at the age of 98. On Dec. 25, 1936, she married Julian Forrest Reed in Bell City. He preceded her in death on Aug. 8, 1991...

Clifford C. "Bud" Shell of Dexter died Jan. 15, 2015, at SoutheastHEALTH Center in Cape Girardeau at the age of 78. Visitation will be held Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. Funeral services will be conducted Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, at 2 p.m. in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel...