Daily Dunklin Democrat: News

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School Spirit (02/09/10)
"It gives me chills to see this, it is so exciting." were the words Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson used to describe the new Caruthersville Middle School Cafeteria and the progress on building the new High School, "It speaks so well of the administration and the people in Caruthersville for their perseverance and spirit," she told a class during a visit to the High School and Middle School last week...

MSBA releases video for school board candidates (02/09/10)
The Missouri School Boards' Association (MSBA) has recently made a new resource available for school board candidates -- an informative video titled "Board Services for Student Learning: A Guide to School Board Candidates." The four-part video is hosted by MSBA's Chief Communications Officer, Brent Ghan, with assistance from MSBA members...

Annual Blue and Gold banquet (02/09/10)
100 years of Boy Scouts

Missouri Highway Patrol offers winter weather driving tips (02/08/10)
Following several accidents in the area due to the winter weather conditions, Missouri State Highway Patrol officials remind individuals to slow their vehicle speeds. Sgt. Dennis Rainey, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, noted that the department had already worked several "slide-offs" by 10 a.m., on Monday, due to the winter weather...

Two individuals arrested by BDTF and Steele officers on meth charges (02/08/10)
Two individuals, one who admitted to selling meth in Steele, Mo., for the past four years, were recently arrested for Manufacturing of a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) after an investigation by Steele police officers and agents of the Bootheel Drug Task Force (BDTF)...

Helping in Haiti (02/07/10)
More than 5,000 kits of hygiene supplies donated from area schools were shipped from Cape Girardeau, Mo., on Friday afternoon as part of the Kits 4 Kids project to help needy children in Haiti. According to the Department of Education, state education officials, along with an international relief organization based in Springfield, Mo., kicked off the statewide project to involve Missouri schoolchildren in relief efforts for Haiti, following the devastating earthquake...

Emerson, officials look at project to increase Hwy 412 to 4 lanes (02/07/10)
Several area officials from Kennett, Senath, Mo.; Arbyrd, Mo.; Cardwell, Mo.; Paragould, Ark.; the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT); and Bootheel Regional and Economic Development joined U.S. Representative JoAnn Emerson in discussing a plan of action in completing a project to expand Highway 412 to four lanes from the City of Kennett down to the Arkansas and Missouri State line...

Area districts say possible cuts result in underfunded formula, over $40M in the red (02/07/10)
As information begins to slowly trickle to schools from the state government, local superintendents are saying the cuts could be worse than what was presented by Missouri Commissioner of Education Chris Nicastro late last month. According to Kennett Superintendent Jerry Noble, although some modifications are being made to the funding formula, it looks as if the current year will be underfunded by more than $40 million...

DDD launches live webcast of KHS b'ball games (02/07/10)
A new era of technology makes its debut Tuesday night, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m., with the live webcast of the Kennett High School Indians' basketball game against the Gosnell Pirates. The Daily Dunklin Democrat is collaborating with school officials to do a streaming video live from the gymnasium of the junior varsity and varsity basketball games...

Celebrating 'Scout Sunday' in the community (02/07/10)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Today, Lt. Governor Peter Kinder honored the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Scouting. "Today, I am proud to honor the Boy Scouts of America on this tremendous milestone," Kinder said. "Missouri has a rich history with Scouting and with the corporate and civic leaders who once wore the uniform of a Scout. Today, many of us are reminded of our solemn oath: duty to God and country, duty to others, and duty to self."...

Community Awareness (02/05/10)
Members of the American Red Cross visited the Kennett High School on Thursday morning to present a Community Awareness assembly to the students in an effort to show them what services are provided by the organization. As the assembly kicked off, Principal Ed Siebenhuener gave a brief introduction to the presentation...

Hornersville hosts public forum on proposed $1.7m waste water bond issue (02/05/10)
HORNERSVILLE, Mo. -- A special Town Hall meeting was held at the Hornersville Community Building on Thursday evening as a way to provide more information on a proposed $1.7 million bond issue to fund the city's new waste water treatment facility. The bond was proposed during the city's meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19...

Task force agent reviews meth statistics in Missouri, Bootheel region (02/05/10)
Corresponding with the recent statistics from El Paso Intelligence Center, which showed an increase in meth incident throughout the nation, Lt. Tim Trowbridge, of the Bootheel Drug Task Force (BDTF), noted that labs in Dunklin County have approximately tripled since 2008...

Kennett to hold town hall meeting covering (02/05/10)
Coinciding with February being earthquake awareness month, a "Get Your Home Ready for Earthquakes" town hall meeting will be hosted in Kennett on February 11, which will be offered through the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) and co-hosted by the City of Kennett State Emergency Management Agency, the Missouri Geological Survey, and the Missouri Seismic Safety Commission...

Manac develops timeline to start production at Kennett (02/04/10)
Manac's Kennett plant is looking to start production and hire and re-hire employees following a reduction in assembly beginning in 2009. General Manager of the company's U.S. Operations, Lisa Mills, noted that the company would begin production in the next few weeks...

Facing Education Cuts (02/04/10)
Schools across the state have been hearing about possible budget cuts for some time. When the Missouri General Assembly went back into session in January, anxiety in the districts grew as they prepared for the unknown. In the local area, both large and small districts began to prepare to cut programs, positions, and anything they could in anticipation of the state funding cuts they had heard about...

Caruthersville man gets 20 years in death of child (02/04/10)
CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. (AP)� �-- A southeast Missouri man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter. KZIM Radio reports that 23-year-old Matthew Taylor of Bragg City was sentenced Tuesday, the same day he entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder in the 2008 death of Lillian Fowler...

Area state representatives discuss proposal to drug test welfare recipients (02/04/10)
Area state representatives see a need in stopping drug use of all kinds, but find some issues with currently proposed legislation to drug test work-eligible welfare recipients. The proposal, recently outlined by Republican senators, is to direct the Missouri Department of Social Services to set up a drug-testing program for work-eligible welfare recipients...

Pemiscot County man runs from police following domestic assault (02/04/10)
A Pemiscot County resident was arrested for Domestic Assault, and Unlawful Use of a Weapon, following a police chase on Wednesday. According to the Pemiscot County Sheriff's Department, deputies were called to Portageville Police Department just before 9 a.m., on Wednesday, concerning a 17-year-old female, who reported that her father, Michael Wayne Spencer, had assaulted her early in the morning...

City engineer applying for matching federal grant to replace city culverts (02/03/10)
The Kennett City Council approved City Engineer Metz Skelton to complete an 80/20 Federal Grant Application through MoDOT to replace culverts in five streets in the City of Kennett during the council meeting on Tuesday. Alderman Tony Crawford sat in as Mayor Pro-tem during the meeting, due to Mayor Roger Wheeler, Sr.'s absence, and explained that the approval would be for the application process only...

Local orthopedic surgeon offers a helping hand in Haiti (02/03/10)
A local orthopedic surgeon recently took time away from his schedule to travel to the disaster-stricken lands near Haiti to assist a local faith-based hospital with the medial needs of the injured. Dr. Ed Landry, who landed in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 19, arrived back in the United States on Jan. 23, spending nearly a week dealing with crushed bones, gaping wounds, and serious burns...

Ordinance in effect (02/03/10)

Winter weather conditions keep KPD busy on the road (02/03/10)
The Kennett Police Department (KPD) responded to a total of five motor vehicle accidents from January 29 until February 1, during and following the winter weather snow and ice storm. On January 29, KPD responded to a minor accident at the intersection of Compress and Frisco...

Sowers stops in Kennett (02/02/10)
During his "Boots on the Ground" deployment, Tommy Sowers, candidate for Missouri's 8th Congressional District, recently made several stops in the Bootheel, visiting cities like Kennett, Braggadocio and Holcomb. According to Sowers, the goal for putting "Boots on the Ground" is to not simply visit each county but to "highlight both the challenges the district faces, and listen to ideas from people across its 28 counties."...

Charges filed in Senath molestation case (02/02/10)
Charges have been filed by the Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney's office against a convicted State of Missouri Sexual Offender in association with a recent case of sexual assault to a juvenile in Senath, Mo. Steven Ray Abbott, 27, of Dunklin County, who was convicted of 1st Degree Sexual Misconduct in 2002, was recently arrested following an investigation by the Senath Police Department...