Stories from Tuesday, July 1, 2014

BENTON -- A Benton man is in custody for domestic assault, after reportedly choking a woman. Travis Huckabay, 41, was arrested by Cpl. Justin Wooten of the Scott County Sheriff's Office at 6 a.m. Monday. According to Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter, Wooten was called to a residence shortly after 5:30 a.m. During an interview, the victim showed the deputy injuries that were sustained when she was choked by Huckabay...

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today: 1. GOP DECLARES VICTORY IN BIRTH CONTROL RULING But crowing too loudly could cause trouble for Republicans, who for years have tried to make inroads with two groups most likely to be displeased with the ruling: women and younger voters...

PADUCAH, Ky. - The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for portions of Southeast Missouri. Heat index values will top out near 100 degrees this afternoon generally south of a line from Evansville, Indiana, to Poplar Bluff, Missouri...

Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1 a.m. with a low around 70. Mostly sunny on Wednesday with a high near 84 then becoming mostly clear Wednesday night with a low around 60. ...

DEXTER -- A vacant home burned late Sunday evening in Dexter. The home, located at 909 N. Sassafras, was vacant at the time of the fire. Dexter Fire Chief Don Seymore said a neighbor reported the fire at 10:09 p.m. Sunday night. Firefighters remained on the scene for two hours before returning to the station. They were called back to the scene later in the night for a flare up...

SIKESTON - Missourians who wish to share their thoughts about a draft list of regional transportation projects have only a few more days to do so. The list was released June 13 by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission and was created with the help of local planning agencies and transportation groups. It is a requirement of Constitutional Amendment 7, a three-quarter-cent transportation tax that awaits voter approval in the Aug. 5 election...

PUXICO - Donald E. Melton, 82, died June 30, 2014, at his home. Memorial services will be conducted at 1 p.m. Saturday at Puxico Christian Church with Wakins and Sons Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. For the complete obituary, see the Wednesday edition of the Standard Democrat...

POPLAR BLUFF -- Troop E officers will take part in the "20-Mile Trooper" project in an effort to promote safety and to reduce the number of traffic crashes in the Troop E during the Fourth of July holiday. According to Capt. George E. Ridens, commanding officer of Troop E at Poplar Bluff, on Thursday and Sunday, Troop E will assign a trooper every 20 miles on Interstates 55 and 57, and on other selected secondary roads...

scottw@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- The city of Sikeston will soon be set to take administrative action on liquor license violations. A new city ordinance, read for the first time during Monday's special City Council meeting, will if approved by the Council enable the city to punish liquor law violations in a way that gets the attention of business owners...