Stories from Wednesday, April 22, 2015

SIKESTON -- Managing a power plant in this time of uncertain changes in environmental regulations is going to be a challenge -- and one for some new blood to take on. "I'm from the old school; it is time for some new thinking," said Ed Throop, executive director of the Sikeston Board of Municipal Utilities. "I'm at an age that I don't need any new challenges. Thirty-seven years is a long time at one place."...

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today: 1. ITALIAN PREMIER PRESSES EU ON MIGRANT REFORM Matteo Renzi says the European Union must devise a policy to stop the flood of migrants setting out from Libya, including establishing refugee camps in Niger and Sudan...

SIKESTON -- A Sikeston teen is facing a felony drug charge and misdemeanor counterfeiting charge after being pulled over for a minor traffic violation last weekend. Robert D. Mason, 19, is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, which is a class B felony, and two misdemeanors, unlawful use of drug paraphernalia and counterfeiting...

MINER -- With a funding source for the city's fire department approved, the Miner Board of Aldermen have a lot to talk about. Scheduling another meeting at 5:30 p.m. April 28 was one of the first decisions reached by the Board during their regular monthly meeting Tuesday...

CHARLESTON -- The Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston took time on Tuesday to acknowledge crime victims and their rights and address steps to repair harm caused to society. Nearly 100 people gathered to shed light on National Crime Victims' Rights Week, which ends Saturday...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Several residents of a tiny southeast Missouri town said Monday they don't believe the abrupt resignations of five of six members of the police force after the longtime mayor, a white man, lost to a black woman have anything to do with racism...

Editor's note: The following appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch earlier this week and reflects some of the views of Parma's former mayor, Randal Ramsey. It is reprinted with permission from the St. Louis Post Dispatch. PARMA, Mo -- The drugstore is long gone. So, too, are the bank and the barbershop, the opry house and the hardware store...

PARMA, Mo. -- Tyus Byrd says she never really intended to run for mayor of Parma, and she never was fully confident of a win. "I didn't think along that level. I always just knew that God had my back. If He was for me, fine. If not, I knew He'd open another door for me."...

SIKESTON -- David G. Rice, 79, died April 21, 2015, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center. For the complete Standard Democrat obituary log in to our electronic edition.

CHARLESTON -- Emmitt Gillespie Sr., 74, died April 16, 2015, at the Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. For the complete Standard Democrat obituary log in to our electronic edition.

POPLAR BLUFF -- William Wesley Hailey, 57, died April 18, 2015, at St. Louis University Hospital. For the complete Standard Democrat obituary log in to our electronic edition.

DEXTER -- Willa M. Gaede, 80, died April 19, 2015, at her home. For the complete Standard Democrat obituary log in to our electronic edition.

SIKESTON -- James L. Bell, 93, died April 21, 2015, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. For the complete Standard Democrat obituary log in to our electronic edition.

DEXTER -- T.J. "Bud" Stephens Jr., 78, died April 18, 2015, at his home. For the complete Standard Democrat obituary log in to our electronic edition.

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Thelma Sue Schade, 71, died April 20, 2015, at Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau. For the complete Standard Democrat obituary log in to our electronic edition.

The Environmental Protection Agency strikes fear in the hearts of most Americans because of the substantial regulatory power they wield. The current administration has used the EPA as a tool to make an end run around Congress and implement much of the liberal utopian dream of a green society regardless of the cost or impact of those regulations...

My Dad had died sometime ago, and my mother has gone to live in assisted living. As we were going through her stuff today, I found my Dad's journal. And that journal was talking about when he had gone to his Dad and told him that he wanted to marry my mother. ...