Joe in the 573 - SEMO TIMES

news & opinion section www.semotimes.com
semo times
Scott R. Faughn, publisher
scottfaughn@semotimes.com
1901 N. Westood Blvd.
Laura Isaacs, editor
Poplar Bluff, Missouri
lauraisaacs@semotimes.com
Joe Clark
(573) 429-5770
joe@semotimes.com
inside this edition
page 2
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE
Feature... Page 5
Jim Lee: Local legend
opinion...Page 7
Joe in the 573
t.V. Review ... Page 10
The Walking Dead on AMC
entertainment... Page 13
Rachel Pearl and Kristin Porter at the
Wine Rack
Fork in the Road ... Page 14
Saffron Bistro in Cape Girardeau
the semo times
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Thumbs up, Thumbs down: The week in review
It was a
good week
for outdoor
sports enthusiasts.
More than
100,000 deer were
harvested during the
first weekend of deer
season.
It was a bad
week for
smokers
in Cape
Girardeau. A group
called Breathe Easy
Cape Girardeau
reached a goal for collecting
signatures, and
that brought them one
giant step closer to
banning indoor smoking
in public buildings.
While Thumbs
understands why some
health conscious folks
might support this idea, seems awfully
invasive to our individual rights. What do
business owners think?
It was a bad week for Ben
Bernanke. You know, the way
Thumbs sees it, it’s the Fed’s
job to protect our dollars… not
bleed them dry. Know what we mean?
It was a good week for Prince
William and Kate Middleton.
The heir to the throne and his
model-pretty girlfriend announced
their engagement this week, and
in doing so, telling little girls all over the
world that fairy tales DO come true.
Thumbs up to the person who painted
this on their truck. We saw this in Poplar
Bluff last week and couldn’t agree more.
It was a good week for corporate
behemoth Walmart. According
to reports, the
nation’s largest
retailer saw
profits rise despite
struggling sales.
Thumbs questions
struggling sales…
Whoever said that
obviously hasn’t
been to the Poplar
Bluff store around
5 p.m. on a weekday
or around
noon on a Saturday
afternoon…
Just sayin’…
It was a bad week
for the St. Louis
Rams. Losing in
overtime to the
49ers? Really?
Thumbs thinks
they lost because
all the cheerleaders
were out hunting
during dear season…
It was a good week for Thumb’s
second-favorite Palin woman. Bristol
Palin is in the final four on the hit TV show
Dancing With The Stars. We’re a week away
from finding the winner, and well, Thumbs
doesn’t know what Mama Grizzly
would do if her little cub lost.
It was a good week for the SEMO
Times. Thumbs doesn’t like to toot
his own horn, but being a part
of the fastest growing (or only
growing, depending on how you
look at it) print news source in
the area for the past two years
has been a real pleasure. The folks here had
a great time celebrating with readers and
advertisers at Las Margaritas on Wednesday
night, and they’re ready to keep good things
coming your way.
It was a bad week for passengers on the disable
Carnival cruise ship, Splendor.
Could you imagine setting
sail on a relaxing tour of paradise
only to get stranded at sea within
a couple days of taking off? Thankfully
everyone was safely returned to shore.
It was a bad week for Apple fans.
Steve Job’s big announcement this
week was that Beatles’ music will
now be available through iTunes.
Really, Steve? All the suspense for the Beatles?
Maybe it’s because Thumbs is more of
a Stones fan, but it just doesn’t seem to be
worth the hype for us. Why wasn’t Steve announcing
the launch of the SEMO TIMES
app? It’s available now in the App Store.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE
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Jim Lee: A Straight Shooter with a Little English
Westwood Billiards isn’t your
typical local hangout. Bustling
with regular customers and dedicated
players even on a blustery
Monday morning, owner Jim Lee
has turned Westwood into a pool
player’s paradise.
Though the interior is dimly lit
despite the bright morning sun and
cigarette smoke hangs in the air,
this small town pool hall is known
nationwide.
“There isn’t a pool player on the
national circuit who hasn’t heard
of us or been through those doors
themselves,” manager Dwayne
Coursey said.
District general manager
Amanda Hastings agrees. “We’ve
housed some of the biggest names
in pool,” she said. Hastings then
rattled off a near-endless list of
players who’ve come to Westwood
including Chuck Ralston, Buddy
Hall, Scott Frost, Tony Fargo,
David Mattlock and more. Coursey
said that many of the national players
come for a piece of the action
the pool hall is known for.
“We have a huge tournament
base,” Hastings said. “We’ve
sponsored national players at the
pro level and we’ve seen other
local players, most recently Gabe
Owen, win the U.S. Open. We’ve
seen players come here from as
far away as England and Sweden
because they’ve heard of the action
here. Our reputation as a prestigious
pool hall brings them in.”
Hastings started her career with
Lee shortly after Westwood Billiards
opened.
“Jim came to Poplar Bluff in
the mid-1980s. He always played
pool here, and he finally opened
Westwood Billiards, his very own
hall, in the summer of 1998,” she
explained. Hastings started working
for Lee that same summer, and
the rest has been history.
“Every bar you go to has a pool
table, but we’re fundamentally
based on billiards,” she said.
Lee recently purchased and
took over operations at the Billiard
Center in Cape Girardeau. His new
center is the second-largest pool
hall in the state and boasts 10,000
square-feet, 23 pool tables, a large
kitchen with a full menu, sport centers
and a newly renovated bar. Lee
is also currently scouting out a new
location in
Kennett.
“It just
seems like
every businessventure
Jim
has started
has succeeded,”
Coursey
said.
While he may own several successful
businesses, these days, Lee
is more interested in other pursuits,
including cattle ranching.
At age 71, Lee seems young for
a septuagenarian. Dressed casually
in fashionably distressed blue
jeans, cowboy boots and a matching
western hat, even while he
struggles to switch the settings on
his iPhone, Lee speaks with a boyish
charm.
“My main
interest used
to be pool,
but I raised
horses when
I was young.
My dad had
a farm,”
Lee said. “I
guess I’ve
reverted
back to that.
My staff
allows me to spend a lot of time at
my ranch. I’ve got a great staff of
honest, friendly folks. They’re real
reputable.”
Bar manager Eddie Sipes said
Westwood Billiards draws a crowd
on the weekends.
“I’d say 150 to 200 people pass
through here on a Saturday night,”
Sipes said. “We can stay open all
night after we stop serving alcohol,
so a lot of people come here for a
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE
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page 6
Terrah Stratton: Hunting chic
from last week
Terrah Stratton has masterfully
achieved success in a male dominated
sport, and she’s passionate about sharing
what she loves to do with others.
A petite blond with long wavy hair, a
sunny complexion and perfectly-applied
red nail polish on her manicured
hands, one might be surprised to learn
Stratton received her first .22 hunting
rifle at age 3 as a gift from her father.
Stratton almost immediately shot her
first rabbit, and has been hooked on
hunting and the outdoors ever since.
“My childhood was pretty diverse I
suppose,” Stratton said. “Dad would
wake me up at the crack of dawn on
Saturday mornings to go rabbit hunting.
We would clean them for mom
to cook up and right after breakfast it
was off to the tub and shortly after, my
mom would be setting my hair with
hot rollers for a beauty pageant. ”
Now, a “Momtrepreneur” in her
mid-20s, Stratton is an accomplished
hunter, a full-time mother and the
proprietor of the Boot Den in Poplar
Bluff. Stratton’s shop specializes in
few games of pool or a bite to eat
before heading home from a night
out.”
In addition to billiards and a
bar, Westwood offers patrons a full
menu of food. Coursey said the
kitchen serves up anything from
ham and cheese omelets to steak
and baked potatoes. However, he
speaks most fondly of the burgers.
outfitting folks with footwear for
safety, hunting, riding and casual
wear. Located on West Maud Street,
the interior of the shop juxtaposes
both sides of Stratton’s personality:
Scented candles waft welcoming
scents through the air; her desk is
adorned with old photographs, a stray
tube of pink Beauty Rush lip gloss and
her Mason jar of sweet tea; and fresh
fall floral arrangement provide sharp
contrast to the rugged footwear and
camouflage apparel ornamenting her
shop’s walls and merchandising areas.
“I always preferred hunting to the pageants
but my mom was nice enough to
let them announce my favorite color
was camo,” Stratton said about her
childhood with a chuckle.
Though Stratton has hunted a variety
of animals in a variety of settings,
including a recent trip to the Mississippi
River where she shot Asian Carp
out of the air with her bow, she’s most
passionate about sharing her sport
with others now.
“Getting folks, especially children,
involved with the outdoors in general
is something I absolutely love to do,”
Stratton said.
She has sponsored numerous archery
and outdoors events involving children,
but is most proud of her involvement
with Dream Pursuit; a nonprofit
organization dedicated to giving kids
with life-threatening illnesses what
Stratton calls “the hunting experience
of a lifetime.” As an ambassador, she
led a wheelchair-bound child suffering
from a rare form of muscular dystrophy
on a hunting trip where he was
successful in harvesting a Whitetail
Deer that scored 135. “I knew this
hunt would be an amazing experience
but I never knew just how much
it would touch my life, as well as all
Westwood
Billiards
won a Readers’
Choice
Award for
Best Burger
in a recent
573 Homes and Lifestyles magazine
poll.
“Fuddrucker’s ain’t got anything
the others involved,”
Stratton said. She now
serves as a board member
of Dream Pursuit
and looks forward to
helping make kid’s hunting
dreams come true.
Stratton is working
actively to bring more
outdoors sporting events
of this kind to Southeast
Missouri.
Even though Stratton is
passionate about local
deer hunting, she’s got a
“hit list” of more exotic
animals she’d like to
kill.
“I wanna to stick everything
from a Gator
to a Mountain Lion. If it’s an animal
most folks are scared of, you can bet I
wanna hunt it” Stratton said excitedly.
In December, Stratton is planning a
trip to Texas for hog hunting out of a
helicopter and has quite a few exciting
hunts booked for the upcoming year.
Stratton is dedicated to ethical enjoyment
of outdoor sports
and is a member of
organizations including
Missouri Bow Hunters
Association, National
Rifle Association, Quality
Deer Management
Association, Women
Bowhunters Association
and is a proud member
of the New Breed Nation,
HunTTrader and
Muck Boots Pro-Staff.
“Hunting has spanned
from generations-togenerations
and you can
guarantee I will help
keep it going,” Strat-
on us,”
Coursey
said with a
chuckle.
Pool
enthusiasts
can also
count on
Westwood
Billiards for supplies and accessories.
The pool hall’s small shop
has put them on the map for being
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE
ton said as she walked out the door in
her signature camo Muck Boots with
diamonds and her New Breed bow in
hand.
For more information about Stratton,
visit the Boot Den’s fan page on Facebook.
The Boot Den is located at 2227
West Maud Street in Poplar Bluff. Call
(573) 776-7463.
a leading seller of cues, accessories,
tip shapers, apparel and more.
The staff can also special order any
billiards product not in their inventory.
For more information about
Westwood Billiards, visit the pool
hall at 2207 South Westwood Boulevard
in Poplar Bluff. Hours are
10 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily. Call (573)
686-4880.
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Opinion Page
Joe in the 573: !!!!!!!!!!
YOU AND YOUR DOLLARS
I grew up with idealistic parents
who taught me that the government
is a wonderful thing and is
here to protect us. I grew up loving
my country but as an adult I have
learned to be suspicious of the government.
There are so many things
happening on many levels in our
country that it is difficult and even
impossible to make sense of a lot of
them. Come on, folks, do we really
believe that Uncle Sam is a kind
old gentleman looking out for our
best interests or is he only a marionette
on strings pulled by people
who have a hidden agenda and are
simply looking for more power.
Because I am a classically trained
economist I do have some unique
perspectives on what happens in the
financial world which I am happy
to share with anyone, readers alike.
Take our Federal Reserve System
(Fed) recently taking steps to cause,
yes intentionally cause inflation in
our economy. Here’s how it works.
When you hear that the Fed raised
or lowered interest rates there is not
a magic button they push to make
that happen. When the Fed lowers
interest rates they are actually buying
back government-issued bonds.
Our interests rates are already at
historically low levels and Uncle
Ben Bernake (Federal Reserve
Chairman) wants to buy billions in
US Bonds and flood the economy
with currency. More cash in the
system, cool……not! Every time
they do this it reduces the value
of our dollar. Do you remember
when you could go to McDonalds
on $3.50? This is inflation. Your
dollars are worth less today than
they were yesterday and the more
cash (freshly printed) that is shoved
at the economy the worse it gets.
Here’s more, we borrow a tremendous
amount of money from China
which has its currency based on US
Dollars. When we pay them back
its worth far less than what we borrowed.
Are we still borrowing to
pay bills? Yes. Do we expect them
to keep loaning us money if we are
going to pay them back in devalued
dollars? Its kind of like doing
the cannonball into a swimming
pool. Everybody gets soaked and
the ripples go on for a long time.
My friends, this is bad economic
policy. More as this develops
You can reach Joe Clark by
emaling joe@semotimes.com
This week, you elected your representatives
to the 96th General Assembly
and there is no doubt they will be
faced with extraordinary economic
times. Missouri’s past two state fiscal
years have seen major revenue declines
of -6.9% ($585 million) in 2009
and -9.1% ($676 million) in 2010
and next year our state faces a projected
budget deficit of possibly $900
million. With Missouri’s economic
circumstances, now is the time to take
a long look at where we are, where we
are going, and what must be done to
ensure that your tax dollars are used
effectively and efficiently.
This is an opportunity to reshape
state government to behave exactly as
you and other Missourians are; looking
carefully at their budgets to see
where their money is going and how
they can balance their finances. The
bottom line is, you are making less
and spending less. And just as you
are finding ways to live within your
means, Missouri’s government should
do the same.
In my opinion, one area in need of
reform is tax credits. Tax credits are
one of Missouri’s economic development
and social engineering tools.
The state offers many tax credits for
a diverse list of causes, including historic
preservation, low-income housing,
livestock breeding, job development,
and on and on. If you can name
it, there is probably a tax credit for it.
Tax credits are an indirect appropriation
of tax payer dollars to another
and have grown by 266 percent in the
last eleven years in large part because
there is no oversight and accountability
in how these tax credits are issued.
Last year alone, $521.5 million in
tax credits were redeemed and budget
experts predict that number to increase
to $698.4 million this year. This
explosion in tax credits has created an
Rightsizing Government to
Live within its Means
unfunded (issued but yet redeemed)
tax credit liability to you of $1.5 to
2 billion. To put it in perspective, in
SFY 2009, Missouri was first in the
nation for historic preservation tax
credits ($186 million) and second for
low-income housing tax credits ($106
million). Yet, Missouri was 45th in
per capita funding of higher education
and 32nd in per capita funding for
K-12.
I believe we must change our use
of tax credits and I am calling for
fundamental reform. All tax credits
should be required to be approved like
every other state expenditure of your
tax dollars; through the appropriations
process.
The appropriations process is where
Missourians, through their elected representatives,
have the ability to decide
their priorities. By treating tax credits
just like every other state expenditure,
the General Assembly could weigh
the benefit of a tax dollar spent on a
credit against other state services. In
this process, advocates of their tax
credits will have to present their case
why your tax dollars should fund tax
credits over say education or access
to healthcare; now they don’t because
tax credits come off the top as entitlements.
I believe that you put in the hard
work and therefore the money you
earn is yours; not the government’s.
Therefore, government needs to be
fully accountable for taxpayer dollars
and the new General Assembly needs
to take this opportunity to scrutinize
how state government is spending
your hard earned money. In this environment,
as you are painstakingly prioritizing
where you spend your limited
amount of money, so too should your
state government.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE
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Does he
really know
what you
want?
1939 N. Westwood Blvd.
785-6178
Ladies, join us for house
Christmas party where you can
make your own list - wine and
cheese will be served.
NO BOYS ALLOWED
December 2nd 5-8pm
Men, you’ll get your chance December 9th
12 Months
Same As Cash
subject to special terms and conditions
Whitworth’s
Jewelers
Wal Mart is next to us.
333 S. Westwood Blvd. Suite 21
Poplar Bluff, MO
(573) 785-2023
1-877-785-2023 toll free
TheYES STORE
Diamond Company
573-712-2393
2016 North Westwood Blvd.
Suite 1
Next to China Garden in the Images building
HILDERBRANDDIAMONDCOMPANY.COM

El Acapulco
Authentic Mexican
restuarant and cantina
2260 North Westwood Blvd., Poplar Bluff. Call (573) 776-7000.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE
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Entertainment section www.semotimes.com
Saffron Bistro:
Modern and amazing
Next time the fork in the road leads you
into Cape Girardeau, don’t leave without
checking out Saffron Bistro, at 1610 North
Kingshighway, Suite 101. Though the restaurants
interior is sleek, modern and minimalistic,
opening the menu will blow you away and
transport you to another world.
Specializing in Pan-Asian cuisine, the
menu at Saffron includes everything from
fresh sushi, nigiri and special rolls to Thai specialties
to other Asian-influenced delicacies.
A sushi lover, I started my meal with a
small plate of seaweed
salad. Fresh and flavorful,
it was the perfect
preface to the Nigiri
Deluxe sushi entrée I
ordered. Other appetizers
on the menu -- including
sautéed calamari,
chicken sate and tom
yum shrimp – also
looked delightful. My
sushi entrée included
several pieces of fresh
fish over rice, including
salmon, tuna, yellowtail,
mackerel and hirami (a
buttery white fish). The
sushi was accompanied by what Saffron calls
a St. Louis roll, tuna, rice, avocado and roe in a
seaweed wrapper. My date isn’t as big of a sushi
eater as me, but definitely dish he ordered.
The green curried seafood medley included
scallops, shrimp and calamari with fresh sweet
peppers, green beans and basil in a spicy-yetsweet
curry sauce. All of the ingredients tasted
fresh and all of the flavors blended perfectly.
For dessert, we opted for a small trio of petite
chocolate treats. Though small, this was a
perfect way to end our meal.
Service at Saffron Bistro was exemplarily.
The staff was prompt, courteous, kind, helpful
and always at the ready when my water glass
needed refilled. Throughout our meal, the
restaurant’s staff maintained a professional
attitude and welcoming demeanor.
Saffron Bistro is located at 1610 North
Kingshighway, Suite 101, in Cape Girardeau.
For more information, call (573) 651-1398
or visit www. bistrosaffron.com. Owner Su
Hill and general manager Bryan Suntrup will
ensure your dining experience is outstanding.
Should you decided to visit Saffron
Bistro, I also highly
recommend you
visit an adorable
wine shop in the
same plaza called
Primo Vino. The
wine boutique has
a limited-yet-varied
selection of wines,
beers, other spirits
and gourmet food
products. They
staff there is very
knowledgeable and
will take the time
to make sure wine
connoisseurs and
newbies alike are pleased with their selections.
The shop also offers frequent tastings
and often hosts special events. For more
information, including location, hours and
phone number, visit www.primovinowine.
com.
--Semo Times staff report
Television review:
The Walking Dead walks thin line
THE WALKING DEAD
Airs at 9 p.m. Sunday
on AMC.
Viewers are already halfway in to this
zombiefied AMC series, and for some of
us, we’re asking ourselves a simple, oneword
question: Why?
Why do people treat each other so
badly during hard times? Why was Rick
Grimes just left in the hospital? Why are
the dead walking, anyway? Why are zombies
so “trendy” now? And perhaps most
importantly, why are we still watching the
show?
A promising premise based on critically-acclaimed
graphic novels, The Walking
Dead reminds me in many ways of the
dearly departed ABC series, LOST. Not
only do both shows characters dealing
with themselves, nature and some kind
of creepy, other-worldly force (the island
for LOST and zombies for The Walking
Dead), but they both feature lead characters
that are so selfless they’re almost
stupid. Jack Shephard, from LOST, totally
reminds me of The Walking Dead’s Rick
Grimes: Both men were kinds of saviors
in their previous life (a surgeon and a
sheriff’s deputy); both are dedicated to
their families (as indicated by Jack’s
frequent visions of his fathers and Rick’s
zombie-defying attempts to locate his
wife and son); both men were rugged
and capable of leading others through an
apocalyptical tragedies; and clearly, both
men put the needs of others before their
own.
Rick Grimes selflessness climaxed in
the episode aired this past Sunday, when
after being briefly reunited with his family,
he and a couple other survivors decided
to head back to the zombie-infested
city to save an ignorant bully who’d been
left behind when the rest of the group
returned to camp.
Why didn’t he realize how lucky
he was that his family was one of the
handfuls of survivors of the zombie-pocalypse?
Why does he think he’ll have the
same luck again? Why wasn’t his wife’s
protest of his decision stronger? And why
was he willing to take such a big risk to
help a practically worthless member of
their group?
I doubt we’ll find the answers to any
of the “why” questions posed above in
this week’s episode, as according to The
Washington Post, the folks at AMC have
decided to renew the show for a second
season. Obviously our hero, Deputy Rick
Grimes, is a survivor and won’t fall victim
to any flesh eating zombies anytime
soon. Of course, we also know how all
of our LOST questions were answered…
Hopefully the same won’t hold true for
The Walking Dead.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE
www.semotimes.com page 11

Entertainment section www.semotimes.com
POPLAR BLUFF MOVIE TIMES
WHERE N EED TO BE THIS WEEK
Rachel Pearl
brings jazz,
sass & pizazz
to Poplar Bluff
Stopping in Poplar Bluff this weekend
before heading to Nashville, swingy
jazz-style singers Rachel Pearl and Kristin
Porter will be performing at 8 p.m., on
Friday, Nov. 19 at the Wine Rack and
Java Stop Café.
Singer Rachel Pearl is pictured above.
Promotional photo from www.myspace.
com/rachelpearl.
According to the Wine Rack’s web site
(www.pbwinerack.com), the duo will be
signing original songs and covers of jazzy
favorites. Ear Candy Mag has praised
Pearl: “Rachel Pearl’s sweet sultry vocals
bring back memories of jazz classics. She
is an old soul, bringing back the music
from the past and giving it a future.”
For more information, visit www.
pbwinerack.com or call (573)785-0999.
AMC Showplace Poplar Bluff 8 -- (888) 262-4386
Due Date
‎1hr 35min‎‎
- Rated R‎‎
- Comedy/Drama‎
12:10 2:35 4:50 7:20 9:40 p.m.
Unstoppable
‎1hr 38min‎‎
- Rated PG-13‎‎
- Action/Adventure/Drama/Suspense/Thriller‎
11:50 a.m. 2:10 4:30 7:00 9:30 p.m.
Morning Glory
‎1hr 42min‎‎
- Rated PG-13‎‎
- Comedy‎
11:30 a.m. 2:00 4:40 7:10 9:45 p.m.
Megamind
‎1hr 36min‎‎
- Rated PG‎‎
- Animation/
Comedy/Family‎
11:45 a.m. 2:05 4:20 6:30 9:00 p.m.
For Colored Girls
‎2hr 0min‎‎
- Rated R‎‎
- Drama‎
10:30 a.m. 1:20 4:10 6:50 9:35 p.m.
Red
‎1hr 51min‎‎
- Rated PG-13‎‎
- Action/Adventure/Comedy‎
11:00 a.m. 1:30 4:00 6:40 9:10 p.m.
Skyline
‎1hr 40min‎‎
- Rated PG-13‎‎
- Suspense/
Thriller/Scifi/Fantasy‎
12:00 2:30 5:00 7:30 10:00 p.m.
Paranormal Activity 2
‎1hr 31min‎‎
- Rated R‎‎
- Horror‎
12:30 2:50 5:10 7:40 9:55 p.m.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE
www.semotimes.com page 13

www.semotimes.com News & Entertainment Section
Exploring SEMO: Meet Mark Cozart
Many people like to talk about
their travels throughout the
U.S. and the world. I usually
listen to these tales of swimming in
blue Caribbean water or driving around
a hill dotted Italian countryside. The
conversation always starts with “ I love
to travel,” and I ask if they have seen the
bluest and clearest water in Missouri (called
Blue Spring) or stood on top of Taum Salk
Mountain in Cascadia, Missouri.
This column is to enlighten readers on
the sights and wonders from hilltop hikes
in Van Buren to urban museums in Poplar
Bluff and Sikeston. I live in Neelyville, in
a place I like to call “ Swamp-east Missouri”
with my wife and children. To
some, the area is nothing more than
farms, but I find it to be a thread in
the fabric of what makes our region so
great. When others see an old barn, I
see an ageless beauty built with Cypress
(Cypress logging being Neelyville’s first
industry).
page 14 14
I graduated Neelyville High School in
2004 with hopes of leaving for Washington
D.C. and to take the political world
by storm. Then after setback of my own
doing, I started to realize that SEMO is
my real dream. Why would I live in a
concrete jungle when there is the open
sky of Southeast Missouri? I have shared
some of my favorite local places with
the love of my life, my wife Stacey and
I cannot wait to share these experiences
with my two sons. Fathers like to throw
the ol’ pigskin around or maybe work on
an old car with their children, but I cannot
wait to show them around Butler, Ripley,
Carter, and Wayne counties.
I hope you will find this column not
only entertaining but useful when planning
your next adventure. You may
know some of these places better than
I do, but this is not a competition. It’s
me, Mark Cozart, sitting down on top of
a bluff overlooking Black River telling
a tale worth telling.
Mark Cozart poses for a
photo on a recent adventure.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE
www.semotimes.com

News & Entertainment section www.semotimes.com
Real Estate Section
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI’S NEWS-MAGAZINE OF POLITICS AND CULTURE
www.semotimes.com page 15

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