by Bob Roberts New Madrid, Mo. – A crowd of over 50 gathered Sunday afternoon at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in a demonstration billed as a show of solidarity with the Ferguson community. “We are here to show support for our brothers and sisters in Ferguson and for them to know we are praying for justice for Michael Brown, and praying for peace for the community,” said Ted Maltbia, one of the organizers of the event. This event was held outside on the street in front of the church and it was clear there was a great deal of compassion for the community and the Brown family. “I hope everyone can come together and demand justice for Michael Brown. Our

According to the City of Poplar Bluff, a public hearing will be held on Monday, April 18 at 6:45pm to discuss: The City Council of the City of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, will conduct a Public Hearing to receive citizens input relative to the property tax rates proposed to be set by the City Council of the City of Poplar Bluff, a political subdivision. The Tax Rate shall be set to produce the revenues, which the budget for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2015, show to be required from the property tax rate. The Public Hearing specifically states that the need for this tax hike is based on "the budget for the fiscal year beginning Jan 1, 2015." However, SEMO

SEMO TIMES has learned that Gov. Nixon is set to appoint Chris Michel next week to finish out the remainder of the term of Butler County Collector due to the passing of the current Collector, Brenda Fox. SEMO TIMES contacted Michel and asked about the appointment, he had no comment. That is not necessarily uncommon for an appointee before it is made official. Michel did respond when asked about the upcoming November election, he was recently nominated by the Democratic Convention to be on the ballot for the upcoming election. Michel said he was excited about the campaign. He already has a campaign website.  

You know them for mud, but did you know that Brick’s Offroad Park built the largest jet sprint boat track in the world?  They are getting ready to take the extreme sports world by storm with water. The USSBA Jet Sprint World Series comes to Brick’s this weekend, August 15-17, with over 30 sprint boat teams from all over the world coming to southeast Missouri. “We’ll have boats from New Zealand, Australia, and Canada, as well as from all over the U.S.,” explained Jay Brickell, owner of Brick’s Offroad Park. Jet Sprint racing is fast becoming one of the world’s fastest growing motorsports in the country. It’s a sport that gets the heart racing, whether racer or spectator, where 15-foot boats with 1200HP motors glide over the water at breath-taking speeds. “These boats take off.

Smith will visit each of the 30 counties in the Eighth Congressional District on his Farm Tour WASHINGTON – Today, Friday, August 15, 2014, Congressman Jason Smith announced the schedule for his 2nd Annual Farm Tour.  Smith’s tour throughout the 30 counties of Missouri’s Eighth Congressional District will start on Tuesday, August 19th and will run through Friday, August 29th. Agriculture is the number one industry in our Eighth Congressional District and it is essential to the health of our rural economy. Our district is one of the most diverse agriculture districts in the country growing everything except sugar and citrus fruits. I am looking forward to being on my Farm Tour and meeting the families who farm the land and raise livestock

Like you, I have watched and read news reports on the surge of unaccompanied children from Central America who are arriving in record numbers in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. These young people are making this dangerous passage through Mexico assisted by smugglers and then entering the United States. Make no mistake about it, the crisis at our southern border is directly connected to President Obama’s refusal to enforce current immigration laws. On July 31, 2014 the House of Representatives was scheduled to be out of session. However, House Republicans were committed to passing thoughtful, but firm legislation to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into our country. The United States Senate had already left Washington for the August