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BUTLER COUNTY - SEMO TIMES spoke with Butler County Clerk Tonyi Deffendall on Monday to find out the details of counting votes when there is a write-in candidate. Here are the bullet points of that conversation: Votes cast must include both the write-in name and the arrow must be connected to the right of that name Any ballots with a write-in candidate marked (every contest has a write-in listed on the ballot) are automatically separated by the voting machine for later counting The only race where a candidate has registered to be a write-in is the County Collector race, no other write-ins are allowed At 7pm and at each of the 26 polling stations the write-in ballots will be tallied Each polling station will

POPLAR BLUFF - Monday night’s meeting of the Poplar Bluff City Council was largely a house-keeping session, other than an announcement at the end of the meeting by City Manager Heath Kaplan that he intends to begin publication of a newsletter from his office in order to get accurate information to the people of Poplar Bluff. He said the purpose of the newsletter will be to “line out all the information regarding financial decisions” he has made, addressing each of the issues raised in a recent editorial published by the Daily American Republic. “There are 11 items that I will address that were concerns of the DAR. I hope they will also publish this information,” said Kaplan. If not, he

JEFFERSON CITY - State Budget Director Linda Luebbering announced today that 2015 fiscal year-to-date net general revenue collections increased 4.3 percent compared to 2014, from $2.48 billion last year to $2.59 billion this year. Net general revenue collections for October 2014 increased by 6.1 percent compared to those for October 2013, from $530.9 million to $563.0 million. GROSS COLLECTIONS BY TAX TYPE  - Download the Excel Spread Sheet Individual income tax collections • Increased 5.8 percent for the year, from $1.74 billion last year to $1.84 billion this year. • Increased 6.4 percent for the month. Sales and use tax collections • Increased 3.3 percent for the year, from $644.8 million last year to $666.0 million this year. • Increased

Three Rivers College’s Music Department will host its Annual Music Technology Day on Nov. 13, 2014, in the Tinnin Fine Arts Center on the college’s Poplar Bluff campus. The event will feature a day of music technology master classes for college, high school and junior high music students, followed by an evening concert by area jazz groups. “This annual event brings many area music students and top-notch educators to our campus to both improve and display their talents,” said William White, Band Director at Three Rivers College. “The evening concert in particular features some of the finest jazz performers in the region.” The concert is open to the public and will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Tinnin Fine Arts

Three Rivers College’s Testing Services department now offers the MEGA test for students completing their four-year education degree. The test will replace the Praxis II exam for determining competency in areas of instruction. “We’re pleased to be partnering with Pearson Vue to offer this exam in Poplar Bluff,” said Diane Patterson, Testing Coordinator at Three Rivers. “Previously, students had to go to Cape Girardeau or Jonesboro to take the MEGA exam, so we feel like this is a great service for students in our region.” According to Patterson, the next test date will be offered in January, with test dates following in March, June, August, and October of each year. The length and cost of the test varies depending on