8.25.11 semo times

August 24, 2011Vol. 3 Issue 37

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SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE

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It was a good week for our hero, former city manager Tom Lawson, who will be recognized Friday for help-ing to lead the way in getting U.S. 67

four laned.

It was a bad week for Nate Ken-nedy, who apparently is a ‘Social Net-work’ snob. Kidding! We love you,

man. Your constructive criticism on our segment shall be taken into consideration. We truly wel-come our reader’s input.

It was a good week for Doug Libla, co-owner of Mid Continent Nail, who announced he is running for 25th

District of the Missouri Senate.

It was a good week for State Farm Insurance Agent Eddy Justice, for standing up for his

friends. We salute you!

It was a bad week for the daily for unapologetically run-

ning a picture of a dead body on its front page Monday. We highly recommend a media law & ethics class.

It was a bad week for the St. Louis Cardinals. Now that the season is over, there is nothing to look forward to, ex-

cept meangingless September games and the hope of spring training.

It was a bad week for Lt. Gov. Pe-ter Kinder. While we here at Thumbs believe that everyone is entitled to a pri-

vate life, Rep. Kevin Elmer of Nixa feels Kinder has disqualified himself for running for governor.


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8.24.11 Volume 3 Issue 382725 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

The Week in Review - 3The Social Network - 3

Cover Story - 4News Briefs - 5

Expert - 6Op/Ed - 6

Subfeature - 10Social Calendar - 11

Hooked on Science - 14+bluffee Event Calendar - 15Take the Times with You - 16

The Week in Review

&

# 2 What do you feel the completion of the four laning of U.S. 67 will mean for Poplar Bluff?

GaryFeatherston

JoeDicken

MarkCozart

Current Events Section www.semotimes.com

Cover art: Cover design: Chris Lowry

On Monday, the Daily American Republic printed a photo of the recov-ered body of a Poplar Bluffian who drowned in the Black River, offering no apologies to the family—includ-ing his 10-year-old daughter—for ex-ercising such appalling judgment in a community newspaper. The picture, at-tributed to the publisher Don Schrieber himself, is a textbook example of the type of sensationalism taught to be un-ethical in Journalism 101.

The previous day’s DAR didn’t show such signs of apparent desperation for selling newspapers. The local article about the early completion of the four laning of U.S. 67, credited for leading

the way to the proposed medical and retail development known as Eight Points on Oak Grove Road, was pre-dictable.

But it’s kind of difficult to rewrite history once the DAR is archived. Our alternative newsweekly beginning Jan. 27, under our professional edito-rial leadership, is available for viewing on our free website. We have tried our best to report news in such a way that the uncovered facts of the day consis-tently stand the test of time.

With that in mind, we encourage our readership to take a look back at our unbiased coverage regarding Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center’s re-placement hospital—we make sure our journalism shows respect for your intel-ligence. In stark contrast, visit the DAR

office and t h u m b through their spiral bound edition, or scan the e l e c t r o n i c m i c r o f i l m of the daily n e w s p a p e r at the Poplar Bluff Public Library. You will notice a different tone.

W e ’ v e never felt it was our place to weigh in on where a pri-vate corpora-tion, Health Management Associates—P B R M C ’ s Florida-based parent com-pany, locates its $173 million state-of-the-art hospital. Then again, we have a different mission than the DAR, and thus haven’t felt compelled to ever di-rectly address their coverage… that is until an editorial published Aug. 17 went so far as to advocate that local opponents to the hospital’s relocation should be hanged, creating a backlash among community leaders.

This hate-mongering tirade begins Aug. 16 when the DAR chastised Poplar Bluff School Board members for signing a letter to halt a Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee teleconference that would have decid-ed on PBRMC’s site change from PP Highway to Oak Grove Road without a full, face-to-face hearing.

In the Aug. 19 DAR, the school board

responded with a letter to the editor explaining how the daily newspaper “misrepresented [their] motives.” The members were never opposed to the hospital project, as the daily news-paper claimed, but are simply doing their due diligence as an elected board, considering that a tax abatement at the Oak Grove site means the school dis-trict would receive less property taxes directly from the hospital for 25 years.

Four DAR articles within about a month’s time—the July 10, July 17, Aug. 2 and Aug. 16 editions—each serve to justify the enhanced enterprise zone at the Oak Grove site. The daily newspaper editorial that concludes “somebody oughta be strung up” spares us the math, stating they have already gone into it “ad nauseam.” Glad they can still laugh at themselves.



SEMO Times

News Section www.semotimes.com

Editorial: DAR Suggests Enemies get Lynched

SEMO Times PhotoWe have not witnessed this level of editorializing from the DAR since 2002, when they Photoshopped gags on the faces of the Poplar Bluff City Council in a front page opinion piece.

Don’t get us wrong, we don’t dis-pute in the least bit the benefits for the community from Eight Points, we just remember that the DAR ap-peared more interested in seeing the destruction of the hospital’s project when it came to the PP Highway site. When a family cemetery on the site was brought to public attention, the daily newspaper gave the de-scendants back-to-back above-the-fold play, on March 22 and 24.

According to PBRMC’s site change request, working around the cemetery would have required the hospital to acquire another 30 acres, which would be more costly, and would have delayed the project sev-eral months, as they worked with the Missouri Department of Transporta-tion on road alterations.

Besides rallying against the school board for representing their govern-ing interest—the students—the DAR’s Aug. 17 editorial attempts to make a point about how private enterprise should not be impeded. Yet in the same breath, they hone in on Steve and Patty Boyers of Poplar Bluff, only one set of three property owners of the previ-ously approved PP Highway site that the hospital was able to select based on cost, thanks to that very free market.

From Aug. 15-18, the DAR consecu-tively proceeded to single out the Boy-ers, who own Boycom. The first article of the string reported that nine people made phone calls to the MHFRC chair-man to oppose the project, including other local business owners, yet the daily newspaper only chose to mention the Boyers by name, later running the married couple’s photo that they pre-viously took for a family business tab. Seems that somebody on Poplar Street has a score to settle.

It should be noted that the DAR did do some solid investigating in there, if you believe articles without quotes from the subject whom the author per-forms a hit job on is in fact reporting. On July 13 and Aug. 18, the DAR wrote how the Boyers made a political contri-bution to one of the committee mem-

ber’s political campaign, and hired the son of another member as a lobbyist for their company. When the SEMO Times actually took the time to follow up by calling the lobbyist Rodney Hubbard

for an interview, he denied having any influence on the committee’s decision, saying the DAR was giving him “more credit than [he] deserved.”



@ semotimes.com

Poplar Bluff Business Man Enters Republican Primary for Senate

Citing growing concern for the direction of our state and nation and at the urging of area and state busi-ness leaders, farmers and educators, Poplar Bluff businessman Doug Libla Monday announced his intention to run as a conservative Republican for the Missouri State Senate in the 25th District.

Area Leaders Urge Crowell to Con-sider Run for Governor

While the rumor mill buzzes with speculation that Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder will forgo a run for governor next year, several area Republicans are looking to State Sen. Jason Crowell to consider throwing his hat in the race.

Department Emergency Respond-ers Oversee Fuel, Fertilizer Cleanup Following Crop Duster Crash in New Madrid County

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Mis-souri Department of Natural Resourc-es is overseeing the cleanup of fuel and fertilizer following the Monday afternoon crash of a crop duster in New Madrid County.

Three Rivers College Celebrates Record Enrollment

Three Rivers College has crossed the 4,000 mark in its enrollment, a number that has never before been reached in the history of the institu-tion.

To read the full story, visit the .com.


> Continued on pg 11

SEMO Times PhotoFrom Friday up until today, the DAR has received disapproval from an area legislator, two local business owners and the Poplar Bluff School Board for the daily newspaper’s recent yel-low journalism.

Since Facebook’s conception in 2004, it has grown into a worldwide network of people and businesses, allowing for more far-reaching con-nections than ever before. Millions of businesses, both local and internation-al, have a presence on the popular site.

Robert “Bookstore Bob” Jansen was one of the pioneers who used Facebook in 2007, before businesses had much of a presence on the social site. Now, however, he says that the site may have grown too large for its own good.

“Facebook is not what it used to be,” Jansen said. “It is more diluted now… The messages are spread out more, there are more things coming at people and there are more distractions. And I think the more people are distracted, the harder it is to reach out to them.”

Jansen is the manager of the book-store at Three Rivers College, and over his 15 years of experience in the field, has become an expert in the use of so-cial media to improve business. How-ever, he has become convinced that increasingly, Facebook, Twitter and other digital networking sites are not

the way to go.“I see social networking as only one

vehicle, and I don’t even see it as the most powerful vehicle anymore,” Jan-sen said.

Businesses, he said, should rely on face-to-face contact, or do what the bookstore is now working toward—funneling all traffic through their web-site and interacting with customers on a slightly more personal level.

“Friends are very suspect as to really being friends [on Facebook],” Jansen said. “There is not a lot of commitment in being a friend.” No commitment means no interaction. And no interac-tion means it isn’t going to benefit any-one. After all, that is what networking is all about.

“If you can create events that pull people into your business, then it works,” Jansen said. “But you have to be able to take a digital engagement and bring it into real-time experience within a store or engagement within a business.”

That becomes harder and harder as Facebook tightens regulations and rules for businesses. Some of the things that Jansen did to garner such success with his first bookstore in Vermont are now against Facebook policy.

So if not Facebook, what’s the next step? Jansen said he is hop-ing to start networking with other businesses in Poplar Bluff to con-nect people through-out the community to local businesses that they may or may not be familiar with.

“Basically, it will connect people and businesses together on a real level that will benefit everyone,” Jansen explained. This new networking is called a digital vor-tex, but the college is still working out the details of when and how to begin.

For now, Jansen said he doesn’t think businesses should worry as much about social network-ing, because the opportunities simply aren’t as numerous as they were.

“I don’t think any business here in town needs Facebook,” Jansen said. “I mean, sure, you engage some people [via Facebook], but the people who

walk in the door… that’s really who matters, and that’s who we pursue. The people we can engage through our website or through email, that’s who we engage.”

Liz Ellis can be contacted via email at [email protected] or by phone at 573-785-2200.



Social NetworkingLiz EllisReporter

Business Section www.semotimes.com

Photo by Liz EllisRobert Jansen, manager of the Bookstore at TRC, has a long background in social networking, especially with Facebook.



Columns & Opinions Section www.semotimes.com

I’ve been a vegetarian for a couple of years now. Mostly it’s going pretty well. For a couple of weeks I was crav-ing bologna and cheese sandwiches. I managed to stare that down, but then last Friday morning I had double cheeseburger on the brain. Double cheeseburger would definitely require some kind of sign. I read my horo-scope that morning—three stars. No-body ever gets fewer than that. The text of the horoscope made absolutely no sense, but the low rating suggested to me that I might need a burger just to make it to tomorrow. Not that it’s re-lated—but a couple of weeks ago, I got five stars and the message “Tonight: Go exotic!” I would have too, if I had

had a little more information.That afternoon I was involved in a

project at work that required loading 200 boxes onto a truck. I felt a bit quea-sy the rest of the day and was thinking that a cheeseburger might be needed to build my strength back up. Then on the way home I heard on the radio that the West Memphis Three had been freed. Somehow, the desire to celebrate, along with the other signals, came to-gether with a mystical logic that fairly shouted, “Cheeseburger!”

I’ve followed the West Memphis Three case since seeing the documen-tary, “Paradise Lost.” I have no inside information, but here’s what happened as I understand it. In 1993, three young

boys were found dead in some woods in West Memphis. Three young men who were known to dress in black and listen to heavy metal music were ar-rested for the murders. No evidence linked them to the crime scene, but one of the young men, perhaps a bit dim in the light bulb department, was intimi-dated into confessing. All three later pled not guilty. The prosecution pro-duced an expert who testified that bite marks on the victims’ bodies were con-sistent with satanic rituals. That’s all it took to send all three to prison and one to death row. DNA evidence has since been discovered that does not match any of the defendants’. Also, the bite marks were pretty clearly made by an

animal. I guess no one wanted to risk another trial; anyway, through a plea bargain the defendants pled guilty and were released with time served. Be-cause of the plea bargain, I doubt there will be further investigation.

In the late ‘80s I spent a Thanksgiv-ing weekend with family in a small Nebraska farming town of maybe 300. One evening, we went to a program on Satanism presented by their minister. This was when Goth style was becom-ing visible, and people were playing al-bums backwards to hear demonic mes-sages. We heard about the evils of the Ouija board, and the minister even told

“Paradise Regained”The Ramblerwith Gordon Johnston





Liz EllisReporter

Three Rivers New Theater Department Director Wants to Work with Community

Three Rivers College’s first ever the-ater program launches this year with an exciting lineup of plays as well as a musical. Director Tim Thompson said that he is quite excited about kicking off this upcoming season.

“I’ve got a lot of energy. You gotta hit the ground running because if you don’t, then you don’t get that momen-tum and that energy and that interest going,” Thompson said.

That interest, both in the commu-nity and on campus, Thompson said, is of the utmost importance to him. The Three Rivers Theater Department hopes to work with the other produc-tions in town rather than competing with them.

“It is not an effort to take the place of any kind of a community theater ef-fort, because they have a great group,” Thompson said. “But when they cast a show, they may not be able to use ev-eryone who has an interest. So, during that time, they might want to come par-ticipate with us and vice versa.”

Three Rivers theater productions, Thompson explained, are open to stu-

dents, faculty and staff as well as the public. Volunteers are needed for posi-tions on stage and off.

The first show of the year will be “…And I Stood Still,” a play written by Thompson in memory of 9/11. The per-formance will be 2 p.m. Sept. 11. Admission is free.

“It’s kind of an outreach for us to try and pay tribute to 9/11 and invite the com-munity free of charge to see a show and see what we are going to be capable of producing,” Thompson said.

This show is the only production this year that will be free, although prices are not set for future shows. Thompson said the prices should be around $10.

“I think movies are terribly expen-sive and I think live theater should be more expensive,” Thompson said. “Because you’re getting an experience

that you won’t get at a movie theater.”Other shows this year include:

“The Nerd,” a com-edy about love from Nov. 10-13;“Jerry Finnegan’s Sister,” a romantic comedy on Feb. 14; and “Do Not Go Gentle,” a story about family dynam-ics, from April 12-15. The theater will also have a musical May 2-4, but a show has not yet been decided upon. Open Audi-tions for “The Nerd” will be on Sept. 15 from 6 – 9 p.m.

“I hope that what we do here is complimentary to what else is being done in town and what … the Patron group [is doing],” Thompson said. His goal is to help the arts com-munity of Poplar Bluff bring a wide variety of shows to its members and the surrounding communities.

“I believe what we can expect to see is a solid mix of comedy, musicals, drama and multi-cultural productions that appeal to all ages of audience,” Wes Payne, vice president for learning,

said. “…adding a theater component [to the college] allows [us] to offer a full complement of fine arts education to our students and creates a synergy that would not have been possible oth-erwise.”

“We are an educational theater facil-ity… It’s not just about educating your students; it’s about enriching your au-dience; making them smarter audience members,” Thompson said.

While this year’s shows are already set, Thompson said he is looking for input from the community for future performances. He encourages commu-nity members to send him an email or come in and talk to him so he can get a feel for the theater tastes of Poplar Bluff.

“Theater should be a reflection of so-ciety, and your community is your so-ciety,” Thompson said. “I want to see what they want. I am always interested in what the public likes.”

For more information about the up-coming season, or to give input about the theater program, send an email to [email protected] or call Thomp-son’s office at 573-840-9648

Liz Ellis can be contacted via email at [email protected].

Photo by Liz EllisTim Thompson, the first theater director at Three Rivers, is lookin for community feed-back for the new theater program.



News Section www.semotimes.com> Editorial, from pg 4The DAR shifted gears in Sunday’s edition, seem-

ingly attempting to strong-arm several politicians to support the Oak Grove site in another editorial, which included headshots of the politicians wearing Photoshopped construction worker helmets that said ‘jobs.’

We believe that it is indeed the role of the media to hold our elected officials accountable. That’s why we contacted Gov. Jay Nixon’s office in our July 15 edition to ask if he would intervene when the MH-FRC tabled a motion to approve the hospital’s site change, but didn’t receive a response. At least we were honestly able to report that we tried.

Above all, it’s the media’s responsibility to get the facts right. The DAR’s latest editorial with the sub-

headline that read “All talk no action,” called out Rep. Todd Richardson of Poplar Bluff for supposed-ly remaining silent on the hospital’s relocation. We reported in July how Richardson introduced House Bill 685 last session that—if passed—would have eliminated the certificate of need process in Mis-souri because, he stated, “there’s no bigger impedi-ment on business.”

When we covered the CON hearing for the hospi-tal’s previous PP Highway site May 9, we witnessed Richardson’s major persuasion on the committee’s decision to approve both PBRMC and Poplar Bluff Medical Partners’ dueling hospital projects. After-ward, the legislators on the committee commented




News Section www.semotimes.com> The Rambler, from pg 7

how eloquent Richardson was for a freshman legislator.

In a letter to the editor the DAR published Monday, Richardson explains how he will continue to support PBRMC no matter where it chooses to locate. Poplar Bluff businessman Eddy Justice, the chairman of the House Republican Central Committee, expressed a similar sentiment in a letter printed Tuesday, pointing out how the DAR was unfair in putting Richardson on blast.

Maybe the reason why the school board still doesn’t understand all the implications of the tax abatement is because the DAR has been pushing Eight Points’ marketing company’s press releases as news since April 25, 2010, all the way up until as recent as Sunday’s newspaper (see the article with no byline—that’s al-

ways the dead giveaway). When we run a press release on our website, we identify it as such, because PR and reporting serve two totally dif-ferent purposes, and we’re not out to mislead the public with a self-serving agenda.

When we first worked with K2 Commercial Group, the driving force behind Eight Points, in our March 12 edition, we had multiple lengthy interviews with partner Ryan Kiser. Like anyone who cares about our community, we’re excited about the prospect of a $400 million development that brings 1,400 new jobs and $20 million in infrastruc-ture improvements, but our job is to ask questions about the project.

The DAR’s conclusion Sunday was simply that “politics really stinks.” They say that the Boy-ers only care about money, not

the school system. We question whether the daily newspaper would have dragged the Boyers through the mud like that if Boycom was a major advertiser. We all know how the good ol’ boy system works at the DAR—you pay to play. That’s not how we conduct business at the SEMO Times—we represent the in-terests of the people—and intend on sticking around as a true watchdog for our community.

In publishing this editorial, our sincere hope is that the MHFRC doesn’t think the same thing about Poplar Bluff that they have been accused of in the DAR—that we’re bringing our petty politics to Jeffer-son City come Sept. 12, when the hospital’s new project—which we still support unwaveringly—is up for final approval.

> Editorial, from pg 11us he had participated in an exorcism. (!) He also said that anyone who dressed all in black was unquestionably a devil wor-shiper and should be shunned.

That kind of hysteria led to the West Memphis situation. The truth is there are really evil people walking around, most of them looking fairly normal.

As for the cheeseburger, the only ques-tion was—BK double-cheese or double quarter-pounder? I went with the latter because it was bigger. The first few bites were pretty outrageous, but then the grease began to congeal, and the rest was like swallowing ground up cardboard. The next day I drove to Campbell and bought a peck of peaches and then on to Holcomb for a $2 watermelon. Righteous again.

Gordon Johnson is the director of library services at Three Rivers College. He can be reached by emailing [email protected].



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

NRA Banquet5 p.m. Aug. 27Black River ColiseumPoplar Bluff

Fitness Challenge with Caleb Conover5:30 p.m. Sept. 1Ozark FitnessPoplar Bluff

Comedian/Impersonator Dennis Swanberg Live7 p.m. Sept. 2Rodgers TheatrePoplar Bluff

5k Run for Rich7 a.m. Sept. 3Bacon ParkPoplar Bluff

Madisyn in Concert6 p.m. Sept. 3Melody TheatreLeachville, Ark.

Bach to the Future7 p.m. Sept. 3Tinnin Fine Arts CenterPoplar Bluff

Bloom Heavy’s Grassy Grumble4 p.m. Sept. 8Arrowhead CampgroundsGrassy

Matt Stell and The Crashers8 p.m. Sept. 9Whisky DownPoplar Bluff

9/11 Memorial Banquet5:30-8 p.m. Sept. 10Gamma Conference CenterPoplar Bluff

Women Aware Conference8 a.m. Sept. 15Black River ColiseumPoplar Bluff

Activity Section www.semotimes.com

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8.25.11 semo times