support@semo.net
1573 686-9114​​​​

5-year-old Brock Murphy with a big Kentucky Lake crappie he caught with his dad, Kevin   There is no greater time of year for us outdoor-folk than fall. The deer are moving about, the squirrels are cutting, the ducks are preparing for their migration down the Mississippi Fly Way, and the fish are gorging themselves! I've seen plenty of posts from people on Facebook about fall bringing hoodies, campfires, and football, and while I’m a proponent of all three, my thoughts are drawn more towards big bucks, mallard ducks, and plucking crappie from Reelfoot stumps! (The rhymes are free, you’re welcome.) Alright, I may have regurgitated that opening paragraph from last year’s column, but when you hit the nail on

When I was growing up in Southeast Missouri, there were no cultural events to attend. If one wanted to see a concert, stage play, and certainly something as unique as a ballet, travel as far as St. Louis or Memphis was in order. Once I moved away to college, I understood what a huge disadvantage that was for me. In order to be truly educated, one must have some background in the arts. Thankfully, that is changing. In Poplar Bluff, that change has, in large part, been brought about by Three Rivers College's building of the Tinnin Fine Arts Building in 1997 and the more recent productions sponsored by the Patrons of the Arts Society. Since its inception, the Patrons

I've always wanted to live in a fairytale. Not for the handsome prince, the magic apples, the seven dwarves nor even the castles. I've always wanted to live in a fairytale for the little house hidden in the woods. It's the kind of house that will only fit me and a few really special people I invite into my magical world. I finally found my magical fairytale land and you'll never guess how close it is: near Pocahontas, Ark., on the Eleven Point River. It’s a place called Shady River Getaway, a 120-acre paradise owned by Linda and David Bowlin. There are three little houses on their property, each less than 500 square feet. The beauty of a tiny house is that it is ingeniously planned

Even as we're kicking off football season, we can all recognize that one area in which we shouldn't just be tossing the ball back and forth is policy-making. Unfortunately, instead of putting the necessary polices into place to keep boosting jobs and businesses, some members of Congress have once against turned a traditionally nonpartisan issue into the next controversial political football. As I traveled around Missouri in recent weeks, I saw signs of our country's economic recovery everywhere. Businesses are thriving, companies are hiring, and construction is booming. But we have more work to do. To keep us on this path to recovery, we've got to make sure we're using every available resource at our disposal to continue boosting jobs

With the approach of the fall hunting seasons, the weather has done a good thing for anyone who enjoys outdoor activity.  There are plenty of hunting seasons open and more to open in the near future. In our neighborhood there are some hunters who chose not to wait for the legal seasons and bag their deer before season.  Some just take the choice cuts from a deer and leave the rest for coyotes, while others just leave a carcass where it lies and drive away. Two game wardens to take care of the enforcement of the hunting laws are not enough to enforce the conservation laws in any county in the state. We had a case in the neighborhood early