• It seems nearly impossible to fathom that someone as brilliant and funny as Robin Williams could be so tortured emotionally that he takes himself out of the human race. Yet, last week, one by one, each of us across the whole globe, fixed our attention on the sad news of this beloved actor’s suicide. Sometimes, a blip of news in the vast sea of information we are bombarded with daily, seems to slap us so hard in the face that we can almost hear the collective groan rippling through space and time. Then we all try our best to reckon with reality. And what a devastating reality Robin Williams’ death reveals - that someone who, by his very nature, brought

    Aug 26,
  • Perhaps certain people are instinctively well-suited to the soldier's life. Perhaps some such individuals are aware of this suitability early on. But even after 22 years of service, First Sergeant Jeffrey Pennington, 1137th Military Police Company, Missouri National Guard, remembers having sensed no such calling as a teenager at Neelyville High. "When I was in high school," he says, "I had no desire for military service. I was more interested in computers". So how did Pennington find himself in the National Guard? "In the mid-'80s, during the Reagan administration, there was a serious anti-communist ideology spreading through the country," recalls Pennington. "The news media, television, movies all painted a picture of 'the red threat'. "At the time I saw that

    Oct 29,
  • Information. We're awash in it. Info sources are vying for our attention at every turn. But for people who are looking expressly for information on Poplar Bluff and its goods, services, and happenings, there's a one-stop cache of resources you'll want to check out---that's the Poplar Bluff City Guide online. This ambitious website is filled with material on local businesses, dining out, healthcare, current events, leisure, real estate, and other topics linked to quality living in Poplar Bluff. Too, the Guide boasts a strong creative, user-centric element, inviting reader participation in everything from writing content to establishing photo galleries.

    Oct 26,
  • He was reared in the Episcopalian tradition, and he knows it well. It is easy for him to acknowledge the role his church has played in his personal and cultural growth from birth. That is why, of all the religious traditions he has come to find wanting over the years, this one holds a special place in his heart. He declares it "my own 'Thing That I Don't Believe In'", as opposed to the many other Christian assemblies and world faiths to which he feels no connection at all. Growing up in Poplar Bluff, he visited churches with friends, perhaps less in a pointed quest to find a spiritual home, and more in search of the answer to three key questions

    Oct 24,
  • Rosie Glass leans back in her swivel chair behind the counter and does a leisurely spin, scanning the expansive yet crowded space that is G & R Back Forty, the new hunting supply shop she and husband Gary just opened on Highway 53. Glass says she's got more camouflage gear than she has places to store it, but says "that's the way you buy, then you can pass the savings on to someone else". Glass may be engaging in shop talk at the moment, but overall, she is simply holding court; a few friends are seated nearby, and the atmosphere is one of ease and good cheer. Glass and her husband have opened their doors in good time for hunting

    Oct 19,

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