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POPLAR BLUFF –Thursday marks the 27th year for Poplar Bluff’s Women Aware Conference being held at the Black River Coliseum. Rozette Little, one of the organizers of the event, says Women Aware is designed to help both women and men network with other area business people, sharing ideas and helping to build the local economy through the things they learn from one another. Featured speaker this year is Jeanne Robertson of North Carolina, who is a highly sought speaker because of her use of humor in her messages. In addition, there will be many breakout sessions for attendees to learn more about specific areas of interest. The cost for the event is $40, and includes a continental breakfast, and a

POPLAR BLUFF - In a letter dated September 19, the City Manager informed council that his estimate to bring the city hall structure into code compliance and building repair is $2M. Kaplan stated in his letter that staff was cataloging all of the code violations the building is currently in violation, "to hold governmental structures to the same standard as other structures when enforcing code compliance." Kaplan wrote, "I am currently preparing a plan to continue government activities by temporarily relocating City Hall, Police Department and Municipal Court to other locations since the costs of renting will be significantly lower than the anticipated costs of repair." The full letter is below:

POPLAR BLUFF - Almost $20,000 was raised Friday night at Poplar Bluff’s Relay For Life hosted at the Black River Coliseum. Shanna Gilberto, Relay for Life Specialist, said about 54 Butler County cancer survivors participated in this year’s event, with many attending the annual Cancer Survivor’s Dinner the evening before. Ten teams raised money throughout the year, and several area businesses also made donations to the effort. “The unique thing about this event is that 100 percent of the proceeds actually goes to the American Cancer Society in funding its mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing the suffering that comes from cancer. The money goes to research, education, advocacy, and service,”

Det. Bryce Colvin of the Poplar Bluff Police Department served as a guest speaker for the new popular Forensic Science elective at Senior High on Friday, Sept. 12, demonstrating fingerprint analysis. Earlier this month Colvin became a certified crime scene investigator from the International Association for Identification. Colvin has served as a criminal investigator in Afghanistan for the United States Army Reserve. He has been a detective for four years in his tenure with the police department and a cop for 10 years prior. “I used to have a poster that said, ‘Science is a verb,’ and I want students to see that it holds true,” said instructor Kathy Miller, explaining why she had a desire to start a Forensic

[From left] Rotarian Sheldon Tyler, PBHS assistant principal; StuCo president Lydia Keller and vice president Trevor Asher; and Rotary Club president-elect Matt Winters. On Thursday, Sept. 11, the Rotary Club of Poplar Bluff funded Voting 4 Schools software for Senior High Student Council to use for elections, including the Mock Election, student body and the homecoming court as well as the senior personality awards. The web-based application will save teachers time and make voting more efficient for students allowing for additional data analysis, according to Poplar Bluff R-I educators. In years past, paper ballots were used which high school staff had to hand count. Leaders from the Rotary Club said underwriting the online software subscription was a “no-brainer,” considering all