8.11.11 SEMO TIMES

August 11, 2011Vol. 3 Issue 36

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE

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8.11.11 Volume 3 Issue 362725 N. Westwood

Suite 17 Poplar Bluff, MO

573-785-2200

Scott R. Faughn, publisher

scottfaughn@ semotimes.com

Tim Krakowiak, managing editor

[email protected] Ellis, reporter

[email protected] Lowry

creative director [email protected]

Inside this edition

Thumbs - 3The Social Network - 3

Black River Coliseum - 4News Briefs - 5Local Expert - 6

Op/Ed - 7Make-A-Wish - 10

Social Calendar - 11Hooked on Science - 14

+Bluffee Event Calendar - 15Take the Times with You - 16

The Week in ReviewIt was a bad week for Lt. Gov.

Peter Kinder, who had a photo published of him palling with a for-

mer Penthouse pet. The lesbian stripper later spilled the beans in an interview. FiredUp-Missouri.com, a website dedicated to seeing that Kinder does not become governor, along with sabotaging other likeminded rightys, has done a thorough job keeping most of us abreast (pun unintended), including Kind-er’s cameo on MSNBC lackey Keith Olber-mann’s “worst person in the world” segment. Probably not the best week to place Kinder above the fold in an entirely unrelated story. But hey..

It was a good week for our online readership, which hopefully now gets to enjoy

an overdue user-friendly experience on our .com, thanks to handyman Chris Lowry AKA Christopher Business for functionalizing all our tabs, and stuff

like that. Next up: revamping our App.

It was a good week for reporter extraordinaire Liz Ellis, who re-cently got engaged to Rob Burson.

Cheerio!

It was a bad week for String-town, a place where car doors were once left unlocked, for allowing

thieves into the Garden of Eden, robbing one of their own many success stories. This can’t be life.

&

# 2 What was the last event you attended at the Black River Coliseum?

Grace Brooks

Cheryl Berry

RoyWard

Current Events Section www.semotimes.com

Cover art: Subrina BergerCover design: Chris Lowry



Tim KrakowiakManaging Editor

News Section www.semotimes.com

The last two Black River Coliseum directors moved on to greener pastures, now managing larger venues in other states. With the intent of putting a stop to the musical chairs, a Poplar Bluff native will leave his own green pastures to lead the big orange building that an-chors historic down-town. Manager of Ozark Ridge Golf Course, Bobby Godwin, who turned 47 in recent weeks, will begin his new job Aug. 29. “A month ago, if you asked what I’d be doing [for] the rest of my career, I’d say, ‘Managing a golf course,’” God-win admitted. “My wife [Beth] and I read that he [former coliseum director Randy Mathews] was leaving, and I wanted to do what’s better for my fam-ily, like anybody else, so I put my name in the hat.” Prevailing over 34 applicants, God-win was hired last week at a salary of $55,000 by a panel of city officials. He will succeed Mathews, a Kansan, who resigned in May after less than two years on the job, following Jason Dav-enport of Illinois, whose three-and-a-half-year tenure at the coliseum began in 2005. “Bobby’s strengths are his educa-tion—with a degree in finance, owner-ship in our community, knowledge of

the people he will deal with for local use of the facility, great work ethic and a solid reputation,” said Doug Bagby, city manager. “He will be a great ad-dition to our staff, and hopefully bring some longevity to the position.” Godwin received an associate de-gree from Three Rivers College and

a bachelor’s from Arkansas State Univer-sity in Jones-boro. He spent several years as a local in-surance man and nearly 17 years run-ning the city-owned golf course with his father, Buddy.

Together, Godwin and Beth, a coun-selor at Three Rivers, are raising four children: Aaron, 18, Austin, 16, Syd-ney, 14, and John Paul, 8. Having known Godwin all his life, president of the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce Steve Halter said he believes one of God-win’s strongest qualities is his friendly personality, which will be the key to his success in a business that centers around forming relationships. “I am also glad to see one of our own local guys get the opportunity to promote within our community,” Hal-ter said. “He has a great pulse on the citizens of Poplar Bluff, who mainly utilize this facility, and [he] has done a phenomenal job with the local golf course.”

JOB RESPONSIBILTIES

Godwin will be charged with over-seeing a more than $1 million operat-ing budget at his new gig. While the coliseum has never been shown to be a direct moneymaker, the budget oper-ates closer to the black than all other city departments, with the exception of Municipal Utilities, Bagby said. Moreover, the coliseum is one of the main selling points for individuals looking to locate in the community, ac-cording to officials. Chamber chairman Mike Burcham Sr., Poplar Bluff Medi-cal Partners chief executive officer, noted that the coliseum plays a role in recruiting physicians.

With regard to visitors, Halter added, every dollar spent in Poplar Bluff by out of towners is turned over six times locally. “The average person who travels to Poplar Bluff for an event at the Black River Coliseum is not going to just go to the show and then travel back without spending additional money, whether it be on gas, food, lodging or shopping,” Halter explained. “These visitors also pay our local sales and ho-tel taxes, which help to fund very im-portant operations within our city such as police and fire protection, and trans-portation infrastructure like four lane improvements to Highway 67 north.”

Poplar Bluff Native Hired to Bring Continuity in Managing the Black River Coliseum

“The city has done a good job improving with each director, and it’s been a

privilege learning under each.”

-Subrina Berger,Black River Coliseum



@ semotimes.comThree Rivers College Rolls Out New

Criminal Justice OfferingsCriminal justice courses at Three Rivers

College are expanding rapidly to meet an ever-increasing need.

Register for Fall Classes at Three Rivers Ends Today

Registration for classes at Three Rivers College continues through Friday for the fall semester, which begins Monday.

Rural Development Celebrates with Self-Help Housing Program Partici-

pants from Poplar BluffLast week, Anita J. Dunning, Missouri

state Director for USDA Rural Develop-ment, participated in a ground-breaking celebration with six individuals and families in Poplar Bluff. These individuals and families are in the beginning stages of constructing their own homes, working through the self-help housing program administered through Rural Development and Ozark Foothills Development As-sociation.

Patrol Announces Sobriety CheckpointCapt. George E. Ridens, commanding

officer of Troop E, Poplar Bluff, an-nounced that sometime during the month of August, Troop E will conduct a sobriety checkpoint and a driving while intoxicated saturation. The sobriety checkpoint will be in Cape Girardeau County, and the saturation will be in Stoddard, Dunklin, Pemiscot and New Madrid counties. The operation will be conducted by the Mis-souri State Highway Patrol in cooperation with other local area law enforcement agencies.

Poplar Bluff Garden Clubs MeetsThe Poplar Bluff Garden Club, FGCM,

met recently at the Poplar Bluff Public Library with 12 members present.

Angela Cochran, horticulturalist for the Parks and Recreation Department, spoke concerning the different types of gardens that she plants and develops in the city of Poplar Bluff.

To read the full story, visit the .com.


On top of hosting several big con-certs each year, the secondary market venue hosts private celebrations, busi-ness meetings, trade shows, sporting events and has unfortunately served as an evacuation shelter during times of catastrophic weather over the past few years. The 115,000-square-foot structure with a seating capacity of up to 5,000 also houses an aquatic and fit-

ness center. “In recent years, the space has seen a dramatic increase in local events, and I think the former director did a great job of balancing the community’s needs for both high profile concerts and en-tertainment with the local charitable events,” said Dr. Amber Richardson, coliseum advisory board member. “As a member of the advisory board, I look

forward to working with Bobby.” The coliseum was built in 1999 through a $12.8 million bond issue. On Mathews’ watch, a major in-vestment was made at the start of this year marketing the coli-seum online through the revamped web-site, www.blackriver-coliseum.com, created by Relentless Media Productions of Poplar

Bluff. A television commercial cam-paign is slated to kick off on city cable next month. “This 11-year-old building has had to overcome years of anonymity with-in the [entertainment] industry,” said Subrina Berger, coliseum marketing and box office manager. “Jason began booking with promoter K-Square of St. Louis, getting our foot in the door with industry monsters, and Randy was re-ally able to build off of that. The city has done a good job improving with each director, and it’s been a privilege learning under each.” Godwin joked about the diversity of shows booked, how he will go from hosting the Carnival of Madness hard rock tour in September, later followed by Poplar Bluff’s first Disney produc-tion in November. “Times are tough, it’s no secret, but what we’re after is getting the public to come out and get some release from that, and leave that work week be-hind,” Godwin said. “The coliseum has a dedicated staff working to make the best decisions for Poplar Bluff and the surrounding area, and I look forward to going in and doing the right thing for everyone involved, so we can get the max out of what we’ve been blessed with.”

Tim Krakowiak can be reached by emailing [email protected].



Picture FramingLiz EllisReporter

Business Section www.semotimes.com

When you think about art, no doubt numerous famous paintings or pho-tographs come to mind—Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, or Van Gogh’s Starry Night, for example. Most people know such paintings and admire them for their beauty and craftsmanship. But how many people stop to look at the frames protecting and displaying this artwork?

For Barbara Pelton, master certified picture framer of Artfully Framed on Westwood Boulevard, picture frames are as much an artwork as the artwork they frame.

“One thing that separates us from other framers is that we use good quality materials…” Pelton said. “Ev-erything we carry is acid-free, lignin free, doesn’t fade, doesn’t yellow and doesn’t stain your art. We are not using the decorative stuff.”

Pelton has been mastering the ins and outs of custom framing for around 20 years, first out of her home and then through her business. While she began simply to supply her husband, Mark, with photos for his photography, her

business quickly began to expand and grow, as did Pelton’s skillset.

Pelton has competed at state and in-ternational picture framing contests, where framers from all over the world compete in a challenge to frame things in creative and innovative ways. Over the last eight years, Pelton has won the mid-America professional picture framing competition six times.

She has also won three trophies on the international level for design and has completed her masters in picture framing, an eight year study program. There are, Pelton estimated, only about 75 people in the world who have their masters in picture framing.

“I have sort of taken the approach to be the best I can be…” Pelton said.

That perfectionist attitude has served her well in her profession, and has car-ried over to her business quite notice-ably. Artfully Framed specializes in custom framing, and carries frames in all shapes, sizes, colors and styles. Their prices range from $3.50 a foot for high-grade aluminum for poster frames, to a few thousand dollars for 23 karat hand-carved gilded frames.

“If you bring in your items or your posters or your pictures we will help you pick out what complements it the

best,” Pelton said. “Whatever your ob-jective is: if it’s really showing it off, if you want to make it into a piece you will have for the rest of your life, if

you want to preserve it or if you want to frame it as inexpensively as possible and still have it be structurally sound.”

The store also carries home décor items, military flag cases, acrylic cases for sculptures or collectibles and some artwork from eight local artists. They also do photo restoration and sell some pre-cut frames in common sizes.

In addition to a variety of frames, Artfully Framed also will cut materials to go along with artwork.

The store dabbles in a little bit of everything, much like Pelton herself. But, she said, she has truly found her niche with picture framing.

“It’s terribly ad-dicting,” Pelton said. “I love art, and I love design, so it’s a lot of fun. I like making things. It’s a good combination of art and technical, because you have to be very precise and technical with the things that you

do at this level. It’s not just cutting four pieces of wood and a matte.”

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

Photo by Liz EllisBarbara Pelton, owner of Artfully Framed, has won three interna-tional awards for her picture framing prowess.



Columns & Opinions Section www.semotimes.com

To the editor:

In the nearly 20 years it occurred, there has been a great deal written about the McDonald’s coffee case. You know it: 79-year-old grandmother Stella Liebeck spilled her cup of Mc-Donald’s coffee, burned herself, sued and received a lot of money. The case has been cited repeatedly as the best example of a “frivolous lawsuit.”

The truth, however, is that very few Americans know the real story of Stel-la Liebeck; why the case generated so much news coverage (and how it was funded); and how corporate special in-terests seized the case to advance a po-litical agenda. That story is the focus of Hot Coffee, a documentary that opened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and

began airing to a nationwide audience June 27 on HBO.

The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages, but this was reduced to $160,000 since jurors found that she was 20 percent at fault. The jury awarded $2.7 million in pu-nitive damages because McDonald’s intentional conduct. The judge later reduced the punitive damage award to $480,000. But why are the facts not known? That’s the other subject tack-led in the groundbreaking Hot Coffee documentary. Susan Saladoff, who produced and directed the film, expos-es the multi-million dollar corporate public relations campaign to spread urban myths about frivolous lawsuits.

There are even the so-called “Stella Awards” given every year to outra-

geous lawsuits. The so-called “frivo-lous” award winners are fictional. The Internet website Snopes.com dedicated an entire page debunking the list of “fake” cases.

So who benefits from this scare tac-tic? Corporate front groups like the American Tort Reform Association and Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse have successfully promoted “tort reform” to address the ghost of frivolous lawsuits. Their goal is to modify the American jury trial system.

Trial by jury is our birthright. It is the means by which we hold our govern-ment accountable. It ensures that all men and women are equal under the rule of law and entitled to a redress for wrongs done by others. As John Adams once said about jury trials, “We have

not envisioned a better fortification from being ridden like horses, fleeced like sheep, worked like cattle and fed like hounds.” We stake our honor jeal-ously safeguarding this truly American institution.

Ask your neighbor to name a frivo-lous lawsuit other than the McDon-ald’s case. Then, watch Hot Coffee on HBO and reach your own, informed, conclusion. Facts are stubborn things. You will be stunned and enlightened about the misconceptions shared about the McDonald’s case in particular, and civil lawsuits in general.

Roy E. Williams Jr., attorneyWest Plains

McDonald’s Hot Coffee Documentary on HBO




Make-A-Wish Foundation Expands Local ImpactSince 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foun-

dation has been granting the wishes of children with life threatening illnesses. Nationwide, they are made up of near-ly 25,000 volunteers who have donated their time to give more than 200,000 sick children the experience of a life-time.

“We just go in and whatever the child wants to have, we make sure that that happens for them,” Amanda Hoy, a volun-teer wish granter for the founda-tion said. “If they want a play set, we build them a play set. If they want to meet the presi-dent, we will have them meet the president. If they want an elephant, we will take them to the circus and have them have their own elephant for a day. It’s really neat.”

The Southern Missouri chapter of Make-A-Wish is based in Springfield and made up of 150 volunteers. How-ever, there are only about 10 volunteers

in the Southeast Missouri region. Hoy said that she is hoping to organize some fundraisers to increase awareness and help raise money for local children. All of the money, she said, goes back to youth in this area.

“I don’t think people in this area know much about the program,” Hoy said. “And as far as I know, there are no other wish granters in Poplar Bluff.”

Wish granters, she explained, are vol-unteers who get to go meet the children and figure out what wish the organiza-

tion can fulfill. They act as li-aisons between the family and the foundation.

“The expres-sion on a child’s face when you tell them, ‘I’m going to send you to go some-place,’ is price-less,” Hoy ex-plained. “There is nothing in

the world that can compare to that… I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to get involved.”

“Some of these kids—they are sick their whole lives—and if they can leave for a day or two and just forget about it… It’s a temporary fix but, for some,

it’s a lifesaver,” said JoAnn Pierce, a wish granter in Ellsinore.

Even so, not everyone is cut out to be a wish granter. There are other op-tions for people wanting to volunteer, including helping with recruiting, fun-draising, events or becoming a com-mittee member or chairing a specific chap-ter.

“My goal is to get people aware of what they can do,” Hoy said. “All we are is a phone call away. And I would love to get more volunteers involved. I think it’s the most amazing thing to be able to give a child something to hope for. It’s so awesome.”

“It’s the little things,” Pierce added. “Everything adds up, no matter how small or how big it is, it takes every-body working together to make this work.”

According to the annual report from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, about 75 percent of the revenue comes from donations and contributions from in-dividuals and businesses. Nearly 77 cents of every dollar donated goes di-rectly to funding a child’s wish. Most wishes cost an average of $5,000 for all

expenses, and families are not respon-sible for any of that cost.

“The families don’t contribute any money whatsoever, because we know they already have to spend a ton of money on their children trying to get them better,” Hoy said.

“It’s about the family too,” Pierce said. “If it’s a wish to travel, [the or-ganization] provide[s] everything for the whole family—the fuel, the ex-penses, lodging, food—they provide everything.” Pierce has volunteered for Make-A-Wish for about 17 years and said that with every year, the organiza-tion improves and strives to help more children.

“What we do is nothing compared to what these kids and families go through every day. What we do is so minor, and they are all so thankful,” Pierce said.

“When you do something for a child who is so innocent, it’s totally different because they haven’t gotten a chance to live life yet, and you are giving them

“I once saw a little girl, and all she wanted was to come home from the hospital in

a red vehicle. That’s all she wanted… I mean, it can be

the littlest, tiniest wish to the biggest wish.”- Amanda Hoy,

Make-A-Wish Foundation

Liz EllisReporter

a reason,” Hoy said.To be eligible for a wish, a child must be

between 2 ½ and 18 years old, must be di-agnosed with a life-threatening condition and may not have received a wish from another wish-granting organization.

Most of the children, Hoy said, choose to go to Disney World. However, some of them ask for simpler things.

“I once saw a little girl, and all she want-ed was to come home from the hospital in a red vehicle,” Hoy recalled. “That’s all she wanted… I mean, it can be the littlest, tiniest wish to the biggest wish.”

For Hoy, knowing that she helped is the best part of volunteering.

“… While they’re sitting there and they’re going through chemo therapy, they can be flipping through pictures of Disney World and maybe it doesn’t make them so sick. Maybe it makes them want to fight a little harder. Maybe it saves their lives,” Hoy said.

For more in format ion about the Make-A-Wish Foundat ion , visit www.mo.wish.org. For people looking to vol-unteer in the Poplar Bluff area, contact Hoy via email at [email protected].

Liz Ellis can be contacted via email at li-zellis@semo-t i m e s . c o m , or by phone at 573-785-2200.









To submit an event go to www.semotimes.com and click on the +Bluffee tab

Nowhere Fast10:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Aug. 12Whisky Down

Watermelon Festival10 a.m.-11 p.m. Aug. 13Maine StreetLeachville, Ark.

Bryan Dodge Seminar12:30 p.m. Aug. 13Gamma HealthCare Conference Center

Fundraiser Auction for Betty Badford4-11 p.m. Aug. 13Centerville Community Building

Community Appreciation for Rescue Mission1-5 p.m. Aug. 14Mansion Mall Parking Lot

Nick Norman & Lewis Brice Concert8 p.m. Aug. 19Whiskey Down

Parenting Seminar9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Aug. 20Agree Fellowship Church

11th Annual Trunk Show8 a.m. Aug. 22Dr. Troy Bell’s Family Eyecare

Starting a Small Busi-ness Workshop6-9 p.m. Aug. 24Ripley County Area Chamber of Commerce, Doniphan

NRA Banquet5 p.m. Aug. 27Black River Coliseum

Activity Section www.semotimes.com

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8.11.11 SEMO TIMES