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SEMO TIMES WWW.SEMOTIMES.COM The Most Important News of your Week 3.23.12 Page 6 Page 17 New barber shop opens downtown ACS Gala fundraiser scheduled for next weekend Headline Newcomers look to upset incumbents on Poplar Bluff School Board

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SEMOTIMESWWW.SEMOTIMES.COM

The Most Important News of your Week 3.23.12

Page 6

Page 17

New barber shop opens downtown

ACS Gala fundraiser scheduled for next

weekend

HeadlineNewcomers look to upset incumbents on Poplar Bluff School Board

2

3The Week in Review

the social network

how to join our social network:

1. Become a friend of SEMO Times on Facebook2. Reply to our questions for a chance to be

featured with your profile pic in the newspaper

from our friends at:

It was a bad for Briggs & Stratton, which announced more than 200 layoffs Thurs-day, causing the permanent

positions of Poplar Bluff’s largest em-ployer to be reduced to 840.

It was a good week for Stan Schultz of Shultz and Sum-mers Engineering and Greg Carda of Poplar Bluff Re-

gional Medical Center (officially Pop-lar Bluff’s largest employer now) for making the Southeast Missourian’s ‘Who’s Who’ list. Pretty dramatic pho-tography too.

It was a good week for our managing editor’s former

co-worker Rudi Keller, now of the Co-lumbia Tribune, for making Fired Up! Missouri’s journamalist brackets. He “rips through press conferences like a Jerry Garcia guitar solo,” they wrote. Unfortunately for Keller, he did not make it past the first round.

It was a good week for 1 6 - yea r-

old Lauren White of Poplar Bluff, the daughter of Three Rivers music gurus Buddy and Cindy White, for getting accepted into the

Interlochen Arts Camp.

It was a good week for South-ern Bank for celebrating its 125th anniversary Thursday. You can count on another

thumbs up from us in the year 2137.

1. With April 3 around the corner, what do you think is the most important local election?

2. Do you believe in climate change after an usually mild winter, or do you just feel Mama Nature has al-ways been unpredictable?

Joe Dicken

Cassie Hancock

RobBurson

1. I’m not lo-cal enough to know any longer!

2. No question in my mind climate change, now argue whose fault it is.

1. Without a doubt, the sher-iff’s race is the most important this cycle.

2. I don’t think there can be much doubt about climate change, at this point.

1) I don’t really keep up with local politics... so all of them?

2) Climate change generally occurs after any extreme, mild or harsh. But Nature is, at it’s core, unpredictable..

StaffPublisher

Scott R. [email protected]

Managing EditorTim [email protected]

ReporterLiz Ellis

[email protected]

Semotimes

“The most important news of your week”

3.23.12Volume 4 Issue 10

100 S. Main StPoplar Bluff, MO

573-785-2200

Cover

Designed byLiz Ellis

Story byTim Krakowiak

Photo byScott Faughn

Cover Story SEMO Times4

oplar Bluff R-I has the largest school district in Southeast Missouri and the 37th largest out of

561 school systems across the state, according to Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education enrollment data from last year.

With residential growth being pro-jected for Poplar Bluff, factored in with continued cuts in state education fund-ing, the next few years will no doubt require careful planning from school officials.

During the April 3 election, challeng-ers Kent Eyler and Dr. Robert Row-land will vie for two three-year terms against incumbents Dr. Mike Price and Hardy Billington on the Poplar Bluff School Board.

(Editor’s note: Responses from can-didates are in the order in which they appear on the ballot).

SEMO Times: What is your desire to run for re-election, and what quali-fies you to better serve the board than your challengers?

Hardy Billington: The people in this community have been extremely good to me, in both my business and in my personal life. I care a great deal for the people in our community, and in the last six years I had the opportunity to give back. I believe you should nev-er give up, and that has been my motto in life. If I could only accomplish one thing, it is to instill in our children that philosophy. Our greatest treasure is our children, and they are our future.

I have already taken 87 different classes and have done four different essays which entitled me to become a certified master board member. That knowledge has given me the opportuni-ty to be a better board member. Just be-ing a board member for six years gives

you an amazing amount of knowledge that a non-member would not have. I have been a businessman for about 30 years. During that time I had been a heating and cooling contractor, which gave me insight on any kind of work needed to be done on a new building, or remodeling an old building. On one occasion, when we remodeled the Se-nior High, I helped saved the taxpayers over $1 million.

Mike Price: I’ve been on the board for six years. It is a learning experi-ence. I think I probably learn some-thing every month about the Poplar Bluff School District and the Missouri Department of Education. I think I’ve done a good job on the board maintain-ing a working relationship with other board members, teachers and adminis-trators. I don’t have any specific agen-da. When people contact me, I try to listen and be the go between with them and school administrators. I’ve tried to be a good listener to people.

Times: What is your desire to run for the board at this time, and what qualifies you to better serve over the incumbents?

Robert Rowland: My desire for a better future for our community and common sense make me the right choice.

Kent Eyler: As the father of two ex-isting R-1 children, I have a personal interest in providing our children with an education for their future. While I support many of the decisions of the

past, I find that our school is lacking in many areas. Through my children, I have personally seen some of the prob-lems that exist in our schools, which gives me the unique opportunity to help raise awareness and then do some-thing about it.

Times: What do you consider a few of your major accomplishments as a board member?

by SEMO Times Staff Reports

Newcomers look to upset incumbents on Poplar Bluff School Board

>>School board, pg 8

Name: Kent EylerAge: 48Birthplace: KirksvilleEducation: Some college at Northeast Missouri State Univer-sity and University of Missouri at ColumbiaOccupation: City employee for Municipal Utilities; cattle rancherCurrent Affiliations: Elk’s Lodge; Poplar Bluff R-I Mentor Program; youth sports coachWife: BeckyChildren: Sara and Joseph

Name: Robert RowlandAge: 40 Birthplace: Poplar BluffEducation: University of Missouri at Columbia; Southern Illinois School of Dental Medi-cineOccupation: DentistWife: TaraChildren: Stephen, Lauren and Nikolas

P

semotimes.com

HigHligHts

5

Will the rollercoaster ride in the 25th continue?

With one week remaining until the close of filing, the political scuttlebutt in local political circles has been that Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver is contemplating a last minute run for the Republican nomination of Missouri’s 25th Senatorial District.Calls to Oliver’s office were not imme-

diately returned. However, a source close to the prosecutor would not deny that a wrench might be thrown into the program prior to Tuesday’s filing deadline.The race is presently between Poplar

Bluff businessman Doug Libla and state Rep. Billy Pat Wright of Dexter. The win-ner of the primary will face Democrat state Rep. Terry Swinger of Curthersville in November.

‘SportsCenter’ anchor Linda Cohn to speak at Three

Rivers commencementLinda Cohn, longtime anchor for ES-

PN’s “SportsCenter,” will deliver the commencement address at the graduation ceremonies for Three Rivers College, the college announced Thursday.“I want the college and its students to be

affiliated with impactful personalities,” said community college President Dr. Devin Stephenson. “I look for a person who can inspire and motivate our gradu-ates. Linda tells people that you can get to where you want to be if you are willing to push obstacles and hurtle boundaries, and I think our students will relate well to that.”Commencement will be held at 4 p.m.

May 20, as a free event open to the com-munity. This is a change from the origi-nally scheduled date of May 18.As one of the first full-time female sports

anchors, Cohn is recognized for her 20-year career with ESPN, and has appeared regularly on the show “SportsCenter” since 1992. According to her online biog-raphy, she is considered a pioneer among

professional women sportscasters in America.December 2011 and May 2012 graduates

wishing to participate in this year’s com-mencement exercises must apply for grad-uation either in the enrollment services of-fice or online at www.trcc.edu/academics/graduation.Additional event information about this

year’s ceremony will be posted at www.trcc.edu/commencement.

Southern Bank named among top community banks

Southern Bank announced Wednesday that it was included in SNL Financial’s listing of top 100 community banks for 2011. Among all publicly-traded commu-nity banks in the United States, Southern Bank’s performance was ranked ninth. Among all public and privately owned community banks in the listing, Southern Bank was ranked 25th. Southern Bank is a subsidiary of Southern Missouri Ban-corp, Inc., which trades under the ticker “SMBC” on the NASDAQ Global Mar-ket.Thursday marks Southern Bank’s 125th

anniversary of its founding as a building and loan association. Today, Southern Bank has grown to a full-service commer-cial bank focused on pairing community bank service with the latest technology in delivering financial services to its valued customers. The bank operates 18 branches in Missouri and Arkansas.

Local young artist will attend re-nowned Interlochen Arts Camp

INTERLOCHEN, Mich. – Lauren White, 16, of Poplar Bluff has been ac-cepted and will attend Interlochen Arts Camp, the world’s premier summer arts program for aspiring artists grades 3-12. White, the daughter of Buddy and Cindy White, will study oboe at the Oboe Insti-tute Camp in June. This year marks the camps 85th season at the forefront of arts education.

Business SEMO Times6

“I

New Barber Shop & Salon

Downtown

by Liz Ellis, Reporter

Staff includes massage therapist

want to cater to not just one—but everyone—black, white, green, yellow… doesn’t matter,” said Chris

Jones, owner of Cutting Edge Barber Shop & Salon. “My card says, ‘equal opportunity barber,’ and I mean it, because in this area, [people] tend to go only to cer-tain places, and you should be able to go anywhere.”

Jones’ barber shop is located at 104 S. Main St. and it offers far more than simply haircuts. In fact, the shop not only has two resident barbers, but a cosmetologist and a massage therapist.

“It would have been a whole lot cheaper if I had just done a bar-ber shop, but I didn’t want to leave any-body out,” Jones said.

Although originally his plan was to have a more tradition-al barber shop, when the op-portunity for more came, he jumped on it.

“I really like what I do. I like to make peo-ple excited about coming to get a haircut,” Jones said.

Cutting Edge Barber Shop & Salon has all the services offered at a barber shop—including men’s haircuts, shaving and trimming—as well as everything offered at a salon—such as wom-en’s haircuts and hairstyl-ing, shampoo, perms, relax-ers, highlights, lowlights, dyes and eyebrow waxing. And on the first and third weekend every month, the massage therapist offers her services to clients for $1 a minute, or $55 an hour.

“I didn’t plan on having a massage therapist either,”

Jones said. “But opportunity knocked.”However, even with full services,

there are always a few challenges with opening a new business—namely, get-ting noticed.

“Things are picking up, and we’re getting a good steady stream of people most of the time,” Jones said. “But, it’s a little challenging.”

Jones has wanted to cut hair since he was a teenager, he said, and he first learned on his own head. But he was not truly entranced until he saw his brother shave an Adidas sign into the back of his own hair.

“It looked perfect,” Jones said with a laugh. “I didn’t know how he did it, and to this day, I still don’t know how he did it.” In high school, Jones branched out to cutting his friends’ hair.

“It was a long process,” Jones said.

“I worked a few jobs… and got laid off, and decided I was going to go to barber school. Now, I’ve been licensed for about two years.”

The barber shop and salon is open from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. They take both appointments and walk-ins.

“Everyone should come check us out,” said Heather Fuenneler, Cutting Edge cosmetologist. “We’ve got a lot going on, including monthly specials. This month it’s 10 percent off my ser-vices.”

For more information about Cutting Edge Barber Shop & Salon, check out their Facebook page.

Liz Ellis can be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 573-785-2200.

Owner and professional barber Chris Jones trims the hair of regular customer Jonovan Stricklend. The shop offers haircuts and trims, coloring options, shaving as well as massages by the minute or hour. Photo by Liz Ellis

7

News SEMO Times8>>School board, from pg 4

Billington: Before I was president of the board, they weren’t doing the Pledge of Allegiance at Senior High for about 16 years. The board members and I passed in our by-laws that every student would have the opportunity to do the Pledge of Allegiance at least once a week as well as have 30 sec-onds to reflect. We have made a lot of different improvements in our district, but the latest had been a new Kinder-garten Center with no tax increase. Our dropout rate has decreased and all of our test scores have improved. I have also insisted that we hire a police of-ficer full time at Junior High. We need to make sure that our children are safe during school hours. Also I have insist-ed that we maintain a balanced budget.

Price: I do not want to take individ-ual credit for anything, but I will say

the board itself built a new kindergar-ten building, we’ve done remodeling on the senior and junior high building and we’ve made additions to Eugene Field, Oak Grove and O’Neal. The for-mer superintendent Ernie Lawson had a long-range plan and we’re working on a long-range plan with current su-perintendent Chris Hon. I think you got to have a five and 10-year plan. I’m not going to be on the board for that long, but I’d like to leave the next board a working plan.

Times: What might you have done differently than the incumbents this past term, for instance, do you agree with the board’s unanimous support of Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center’s tax abatement that will have a significant impact on the school dis-trict?

Rowland: Under the circumstances, I would have supported the hospital’s tax abatement.

Eyler: First of all, I do not have any significant problems with the board’s past decisions. In reference to the tax abatement, the board had no control over this matter. Also, I would like to point out that I do not agree with any type of funding cuts to education on any level. However, I feel there are some tough issues that our board has not recognized and taken on adequate-ly. For instance: 1) We need more advanced learning programs for our gifted children and our special needs children; 2) We also need to find com-pensation for our teachers that haven’t had a significant raise in years.

Times: While the school district has a healthy reserve built up, millions in

deficit spending has taken place over the past years in order to complete multiple building projects. Do you feel you have been fiscally conserva-tive with the taxpayer’s money?

Billington: Yes, I do feel that I have been extremely fiscally conservative. I have made sure that we have a bal-anced budget on the bills that come in on a monthly and yearly basis. The only time we take money out of our re-serves is a building project or an emer-gency, which would come out of our savings one time.

Price: I think we have been very conservative. We still have a healthy reserve. When I have gone to MSBA meetings, we have a very strong per-centage of reserves compared to some

>>School board, pg 13

Four vie for two school board seats

9

10

11

12

13school officials I meet that don’t even have 2-3 percent. We are still at 18-20 percent, when the state has only been funding the formula at 92 percent for the last four years. The state has un-derfunded our 500 school districts by $400 million of what they prom-ised, so we’ve had to spend some of our reserves. If the state managed its money as well as Poplar Bluff did, we wouldn’t be in the situation.

Times: Are you generally satisfied with the job R-I leadership has done in managing the taxpayer’s money, for example, the millions in deficit spending in order to complete mul-tiple building projects?

Rowland: Yes, I support borrowing money for overdue building improve-ments. I would definitely support bor-rowing money for a new Junior and Senior High School.

Eyler: No. It appears that our board needs to hire a specialist to look into the abilities of our district to raise fund-ing for special projects, such as a new

high school. I think that this process is currently under way, but it should have taken place years ago.

Times: Some difficult decisions have recently been made such as re-structuring administration, eliminat-ing a superintendent, and carrying out layoffs. How will you maintain a balance of offering competitive sala-ries in light of continuing cuts in state allocations?

Billington: Most schools in our sur-rounding area have financial difficul-ties. Most are in a lot worse shape than we are. During the majority of the time that I have been a board member, we have given the teachers in our district increases in pay. We have some fan-tastic teachers in our district and they know that we will always do the best we can on their salaries.

Price: We downsized with people re-tiring or moving away, and have only had one or two layoffs that weren’t brought back. As for the superinten-dent job, it was Mr. Hon’s idea to try to consolidate administrative duties be-cause he thought, if we’re asking oth-ers to endure cuts, we should start at the top and tighten the administration’s belt. We’re trying this for three years and we’ll see how it goes.

Rowland: Statewide funding projec-tions are trending downward. We have to do the best we can with what we are given. Competitive salaries are a must for our teachers.

Eyler: I believe, with well thought out decisions and a long-term plan in place, this can be accomplished. But, I do realize that state and federal cuts in funding are a continuous obstacle.

Times: What would you like to ac-complish over the next three years?

Billington: My main goals are to continue to have a balanced budget, to make sure our children are safe, to continue to work on our dropout rate, make sure all of our buildings are maintained, make sure every child in

the district—rich or poor—has equal opportunities, and to continue to im-prove our children’s test scores.

Price: I would like to see our gradu-ation rate go up, meaning our dropout rate will go down. Quality teachers are retiring and I want to see that they are replaced with high quality teachers that we recruit. We’re still going to be very fiscally conservative with our money. Poplar Bluff is going to grow with the new hospital and shopping center, and the school is going to have to grow with it.

Rowland: With Poplar Bluff’s cur-rent projected growth, I would like

to see plans enacted for a new high school.

Eyler: I would like to see our curric-ulum improved and find a way to build a new high school, although its con-struction will likely be farther out than three years. I would like to see our food service become more nutritionally bal-anced, and find a way to compensate our teachers to a level that is competi-tive with districts such as Jackson.

Name: Hardy BillingtonAge: 59Birthplace: Los Angeles, Calif.Education: Basic Institute of Technology at St. LouisOccupation: Owner of about 27 rental propertiesCurrent Affiliations: Deacon at Faith Baptist Church; state committeeman of the 25th Senatorial District; commit-teeman for the Butler County Republican Party; Poplar Bluff Handicap and Heating & Cool-ing advisory boards; Poplar Bluff School Board; delegate for Mis-souri School Boards’ Association; member of the MSBA Region 11 school board advocacy committee. Wife: Dianne Children: Brenda, Christine and Jessica

Name: Mike PriceAge: 58Birthplace: Poplar BluffEducation: Associate from Three Rivers College; bachelor’s in biology and dental degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas CityOccupation: DentistCurrent Affiliations: First Methodist Church; Kiwanis Club; Missouri Dental Associa-tionWife: SandieChildren: Sheldon and Taylor

>>School board, from pg 8

Arts & Entertainment SEMO Times14

Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship

Fundraiser

Comedy for a Cure

Ed Strenfel Fish Fry Fundraiser

ACS Denim and Diamonds Gala

March 277 - 10 p.m.

Gordonville GrillCape Girardeau

March 308 p.m.

Port CapeCape Girardeau

March 313 - 6 p.m.

Gamma Lab BuildingPoplar Bluff

March 316 - 11 p.m.

Holiday InnPoplar Bluff

The Pulse Events from PoplarBluffLive.com in the 573 area

Annual fundraising ball for ACS next weekend

his year’s annual Butler Coun-ty Ball, Denim and Diamonds, will be a change of pace from previous years’ formality. Par-

ticipants are encouraged to wear com-fortable casual clothes to the event, which will start at 6 p.m. on March 31.

“Last year was a masquerade and this is pretty much the complete opposite,” said Brittany Ruopp, community man-ager of development for the American

Cancer Society, and event organizer. “Last year we tried to put in a lot of mystery and it was very formal. This year, there is no mystery: it’s going to be a fun time.”

“It’s harder to get people in this area, especially men, to do tux and every-thing,” said event sponsor Tammy Hilderbrand of Hilderbrand Diamond Company, “so we’re going to make it more casual and try and get more peo-

ple.”The ball will be held at

the Holiday Inn and will last until 11 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $50 per per-son, or $700 for a reserved table of 10. Tickets are not guaranteed at the door the night of the event, but may be purchased ahead of time by calling the ACS office at 573-334-9352, or

by visiting www.butler-countyball.org.

The event will feature several games and activi-ties including a live auc-tion of six items valued at around $300, a silent auc-tion of about 30 items val-ued between $25 and $200, a wine toss through which participants toss a ring over a bottle to win the bottle, mystery boxes for sale, and champagne and diamonds in which one lucky winner will receive a piece of jew-elry designed and donated by Hilderbrand.

Matt Stell and the Crash-ers will provide live enter-tainment throughout the night and Tasteful Cre-ations will cater the buffet-

by Liz Ellis, Reporter

T

The annual Butler County Ball for ACS will have a casual theme this year. Photo submitted by ACS

15Arts & Entertainment SEMO Times

March 318:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Global

Earth Hour Carry the Cross Benefit Yard Sale Lending a Hand 5k Run & 1 Mile Run/Walk

April 67 - 11 a.m.

Hwy 60 W & Hwy 63 NCheck FB for details

April 76 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Family Video/Radio Station parking lot

Poplar Bluff

April 711 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Van Buren City ParkVan Buren

How it Works:1. Create a Facebook event

2. Invite the SEMO Times to your event on Facebook3. The event will automatically be updated on poplarblufflive.com

4. Your event will appear in the paper!

style dinner. Several cancer survivors will tell their survival story, and ACS speakers will explain what the event is for and what the money donated will go toward.

“It’s a great cause,” Hilderbrand said. “You have to have money go to-ward research, because that’s where a cure to cancer is going to come from.”

Besides research, other areas the money will go toward in-clude advocacy at the state and national level, educa-tion about cancer and pa-tient programs and servic-es in Butler County.

“It’s going to be a fun night, a good time and it’s for a good cause. Ev-erybody knows somebody who has been touched by cancer, so it’s definitely something that can relate to everybody,” Ruopp said.

Last year’s ball had 50 participants and raised about $10,000. This year, the goal is to get 100 peo-

ple and raise $15,000.For more information, check out the

American Cancer Society Annual Gala in Butler County page on Facebook.

Liz Ellis can be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 573-785-2200.

16

17Opinion & Editorial SEMO Times

I am once again writing an entry from my iPhone. I still do not have a computer, so this should be interesting. Root beers all around if I don't de-velop carpal tunnel from this.

I feel like an inadequate blogger because my posts late-ly have been few and far be-tween. When people tell me "I love your blog!" I always feel as if I have to explain, "Well, my house got broken into. I can't afford a new computer right now... Blah blah blah" to justify it. I've got soooo many things on my mind that I wanna release, so I'm going about this the hoodrat way by writing this on my phone. I'm cool.

I don't know if I would con-sider myself a "mommy blog-ger," because I don't do re-views on car seats and I don't give recipes for organic tod-dler smoothies. I don't always talk about potty training habits (we still haven't grasped the concept of peeing on the potty yet anyway), and most of the time I just ramble about what-ever I feel like at the moment. I don't post links to etsy web-sites for organic hair bows be-cause I don't know how to. I am a mommy, I'm a blogger(ish), and I am sad to say I've beat myself up over not being more of a mommy blogger, because in my warped mind, I feel like I'm a terrible unloving mother.

That was the biggest crock of crap my mind has ever thought of.

I am constantly working on not comparing myself to other mothers, the super "born to breed" mommys that actually dress their kid up every day, and feed their kids homemade graham crackers they made themself, from the wheat they grew themself, from the ground they purchased by selling crafts they made at a big craft fair. In Paris. Their hair is always done, house is spotless, and when they show-er - they wash their hair AND shave their legs in the same setting.

Sorry, I'm not "that" mom. I give Stevie-Rae Great Val-

ue fruit snacks that are $1.98 a box. We drink off brand or-ange juice. Some days, she's in a large T-shirt and a pull-up. We go to the park, take walks around our neighborhood, and jam out to Alabama's greatest hits. I constantly find furry mold friends from hidden pieces of food she decides to save. In super mom land, I am the Fern Mayo of mothers. Don't know who Fern Mayo is? What the heck did you do with your adolescent years if you've never seen “Jawbreak-er?”

As long as you are putting your child first, not letting them cake up in filth, meeting their needs, and giving them love and attention, then hey - you're doing your job. Don't feel guilty if your kids’ clothes come from Target (personal favorite.) Guess what - they

don't care! What I've come to find is that "those moms" are overcompensating by doing the things they do, because they are trying to prove to oth-ers, but more so themselves, that they are good moms. If you know you're a good mom, be satisfied with that. It's a hard freaking job, and I dare someone to say otherwise.

Now, not all of you have children, and some of you are even dudes. My advice to you is to not judge or try to dictate what a mother does. Never EVER try to give out parent-ing advice, because all that will do is piss us off, for lack of a better word. Once upon a time, we all said "well when I have kids..." and I promise you that changes when you actually do.

Stevie-Rae Scarlett has a strange, generic grocery buy-ing, music loving, disorga-nized, not-really-a-mommy-blogger for a mother, who loves her more than anything in this world.

Sorry, I'm not sorry.Love you.

RJW

A Naylor native, Rachel Joy Woolard was named Miss Mis-souri Teen in 2005 and went on to become first runner up to Miss Arkansas, around the same time she entered single motherhood. Read more of her blogs by visiting www.rachel-joywoolard.com.

Sorry, I'm not "that" mom. Sorry I'm not sorry.

From

Beauty Queen to Baby Mama

Stop giving me THE LOOK!We discuss it every Tuesday

morning in our staff meeting. Every time you run into anoth-er real estate agent, the subject comes up. Nothing could be more factual or more real. Yet when we tell someone who is not in the real estate market, they give us THE LOOK. It's the "Yeah Right" look. What am I talking about? It's the fact that we badly need listings.

We all watch CNN or ABC or whatever evening news pro-gram. We see the headlines in the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times. You've read or heard it all: "The real estate market is tough. It's a buyer's market. Foreclosures have flooded the market. Home prices are plummeting." And we assume that's true. After all, it was on the news. But we forget that we don't live in New York, or California, or even St. Louis. The real estate market in Poplar Bluff is so differ-ent from many of the markets around the country... and we are glad!!!

One of our agents just re-turned from a state Realtor's meeting. He reported back that less than 5 percent of the homes on the market right now in Missouri are foreclo-sures. And that rate is most likely even lower in Poplar Bluff. We are very fortunate in that respect. Our market is not flooded with homes that banks and mortgage companies own and are needing to get off their books.

The developments on Oak Grove Road are bringing jobs to town. Poplar Bluff's Indus-trial Park has survived rumored job losses. The rental market is off the charts. Our office gets half a dozen calls every day from people looking for a home to rent... and we just don't have any available.

If you are looking for a home in the $80,000-$130,000 range, there just isn't much "invento-ry" out there. Go to any real es-tate office in Poplar Bluff. They all have various ways of show-casing the homes they cur-rently have listed. Many have pictures hanging on a board in their office lobby. Those walls aren't empty, but they are much closer than they have been in years in many cases.

One disclaimer I will throw out right now is that the homes that are selling are priced right. Not discounted, but priced where they need to be. Where they will appraise out. The market is not some kind of bubble where you can price your house way above what you know it is worth. Pricing is still key. But buyers are out there. And they are looking.

So if you have recently con-sidered selling your home, PLEASE believe me when I tell you that the market in Pop-lar Bluff is very good. There is demand for homes. This just might be the time to call a local real estate agent and talk about putting your home on the mar-ket!

18 Opinion & Editorial SEMO Times

Earlier this year Powder Mill played an acoustic show at the Avenue Theatre in West Plains, a nice change of pace that I hope they do more often. The unplugged format really allows their country roots to show. Besides fine, sit-down versions of their own songs, there was a folk rock version of West Plains native Porter Wagoner’s “Satis-fied Mind,” and an earnest “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” Multi-instru-mentalist Scott Shipley provided some welcomed variety and texture. Powder Mill doesn’t really do harmony sing-ing, and that’s the one thing missing in this format; a little Keith-Richards-style high lonesome would pull it all together.

Speaking of country roots, by chance I recently discovered the origin of the title of Powder Mill’s last album. “Money, Marbles, and Chalk” is a song recorded by Patti Page in Nashville in 1949 (Joseph Lanza, Vanilla Pop). I don’t know why they borrowed this title for their album, but it’s further evidence that their influences go back further than Lynyrd Skynyrd.

A lot of contemporary country seems to be a celebration of binge drinking or a self-conscious argument for the supe-riority of rural values. Love of Carter County is at Powder Mill’s core, but they do not sugar-coat reality. In one song, the singer vows to quit huffing paint thinner behind the barn because, “it ain’t worth it if it makes you cry.” I don’t think you’ll be seeing the video on GAC any time soon.

Also on the bill was the Ozark Mountain Daredevils’ bassist Michael

‘Supe’ Granda doing a solo acoustic set. A prolific songwriter, the band only recorded a couple of his songs—the best known being “It Probably Always Will” from their second album—so he has always done side projects. His songs are kind of goofy, so the fact that they’re also well-crafted may go unno-ticed. One song is about a guy trying to get his wife out of a night club after she’s had too much tequila. The chorus goes: “It’s been a wonderful evening / Now let’s call it a night.”

The Daredevils are celebrating their 40th year with a rare tour, including a stop at the West Plains Civic Center April 21. Also on the bill is Spring-field’s Big Smith. The “best hillbilly band in the land” recently announced their breakup as soon as they fulfill current commitments, so this may be your last chance to see a great band at its peak. Now that Powder Mill has been added to the bill, I’m anticipating a truly historic event.

When I started college at SMS in Springfield in 1974, the fall semester free concert (yes, free—times have def-initely changed) was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Everybody sat on the floor, wine was passed freely, and for the en-core, members of the Daredevils and their ladies joined the band for—what else?—“Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” If something even half this magical oc-curs when these three great bands con-verge on the 21st, I’ll go home happy.

Gordon Johnston is the director of li-brary services at Three Rivers College. He can be reached by emailing [email protected].

The Ramblerwith Gordon Johnston

Will the circle be unbroken?It has been heartening to read the

feedback from the March 9 cover story about the proposed closing of Hill-view Elementary. In full disclosure, more people probably know I am from Stringtown than they know of my cou-ple laps as mayor of Poplar Bluff, but I live in the district. Living in String-town also gives you bragging rights as a Hillview Hawk.

Last weekend I had the chance to visit with a teacher who is located at the Neelyville campus. She was an extremely intelligent, well-spoken, young lady, but more than anything, she was passionate about her students. She was also in favor of the bond is-sue to close Hillview. Like most teach-ers and students, she drives past the Hillview campus each day to teach at Neelyville, and felt the campus prob-ably should be at Hillview, but knows firsthand the situation the kids are in and knows firsthand improvements are needed now. Even if it weren’t true, hearing her testament would convince you.

In the end, we agreed to disagree on closing Hillvew, but it made me think about how it came to this illogical situation. It led me to the conclusion that the real fault in the situation isn’t Neelyville-based board members, or poor planning, or simply typical inef-ficient government, but the neglect of people living north of V Highway to be actively involved in the school system.

People north of V Highway never set foot on the campus the second after their kids graduate; it’s out of sight and out of mind, tucked in a corner near

Arkansas. We never run for the board, and vote less than those south of V Highway. In fact, I am told there have been four bond initiatives to refurbish the Hillview campus, but they were all defeated.

How else, but through years of ne-glect, could a public policy be intro-duced that effectively takes the school system to the southeastern most point in the district, with the fastest decline in population? As one state legislator told me, it would be like placing the state Capitol in Caruthersville. The fault of the situation we find ourselves in truthfully lies north of V Highway.

Common sense dictates that the bond initiative to close Hillview must be de-feated, but the next day the community of people in and around the school must come together to organize and support a bond initiative to place the entire K-6 at Hillview. I am told the state may be forced to condemn Hillview unless something is done. It shouldn’t come to this, but something bold is needed now. The children deserve a first-class school, and they deserve for it to be lo-cated in the best possible location.

If the Hillview community does not come together and pass the funding for the improvements, then maybe the improvements should be made to the Neelyville campus. At least the few people who still live there are commit-ted.

Scott R. Faughn is the publisher of the SEMO Times, former commissioner of WWCW Wrestling, a grape farmer and a Capricorn. You can holler at him on Twitter @scottrfaughn.

The fault lies north of V Highway

From the corner of

Main & Vineby Scott R. Faughn

19Advice SEMO Times

Dear Joy,My boyfriend says I look fine. That I’m just

his type. However, I have found out that he has been telling other girls how hot and attractive they are. These are the same types of girls that he tells me he finds unattractive and would never want to be in a relationship with. When I talk to him about tanning, dying my hair, dieting and doing those things that those other girls do, he tells me I don’t need to. I’m really confused. If I’m his type then why is he telling these other girls how beautiful they are?

~Insecure in Poplar Bluff

Insecure,

I can’t tell you exactly why he is telling other girls how beautiful they are. Could be he sees himself as a ladies man! Sounds to me like he is not being the kind of guy for you to get in a serious relationship with. If he is a player, you will always be suspicious of him. If you want to tan, diet or change your hair, do it

because YOU want to for yourself, NOT because you think that is the type of woman he would want. Please don’t waste your time on a guy that makes

you even question why he is telling other girls things. It sounds like high school drama to me. Grow up! Dump him. Move on to someone you can trust.

~Joy

A weekly advice column from a local romance expert, Ask Joy is our own version of the nationally syndicated Ask Abby. To ask Joy a relationship question, email her at [email protected], or befriend her on Facebook at Ask Joy. Names are kept confidential.

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