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SEMOTIMESWWW.SEMOTIMES.COM
The Most Important News of your Week 2.3.12
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Yoga gym popular in Doniphan
Sonic gets a makeover
Bloomfield girl releases first EP
City pulls no punches to advance Eight Points
TDDs
tifsEEZs
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Current Events
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Current Events
The Week in Review
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About USEstablished in 2008, the SEMO Times
reports the most important news of your week. In addition to our online archives, plus our popular iPhone and Droid apps, the free publication is available in print at over 60 distribution locations throughout Butler County.
With our primary coverage area center-ing in Poplar Bluff, our mission is to be the mouthpiece for our community. Our opinion section regularly features dozens of contributing columnists—voluntary writers that have included leaders of the business community and regional legisla-tors.
Made in Poplar Bluff, we are Butler County’s only 100 percent locally owned alternative newsweekly. We cover human interest stories, arts, entertainment, educa-tion and business, but our primary focus is bigger picture news. We report ‘The Why’ rather than ‘The What.’
Get with the Times!
Semotimes
2 .3.12Volume 4 Issue 4
2725 N. Westwood BlvdSuite 17
Poplar Bluff, MO573-785-2200
Staff
PublisherScott R. Faughn
Managing EditorTim Krakowiak
ReporterLiz Ellis
Ad DesignerNicole Malinowski
[email protected] 1. Who do you have winning the Super Bowl Sunday, the Giants, Patriots or the commercials?
2. Would you support a one-cent sales tax increase if it went toward tens of millions of dol-lars in road projects that would alleviate traffic congestion on Westwood Boulevard and poise Poplar Bluff for anticipated commercial growth?
1. Giants
2. Yes. 2. YES!!! 2. Yes
KatinaWayne-Scott
KimMcMullin
Brandi Smith
1. Commercials1. The commercials
It was a bad week for cancer. We recently lost two Poplar Bluff ladies in their 30s, Sarah White and Lavon-
da Redd. Your smiles will be missed.
It was a good week for David and Doug Libla for being named citizens of the year – that’s certainly
something to be proud of. They could have earned the honor in year’s past, but Mid Continent Nail Corp has been donating to a lot of causes lately. Not to mention the whole Senate thing. Hey, gotta support your own.
It was a bad week for ‘Soul Train’s’ Don Cornelius, our smooth talking brother,
who reportedly shot himself to death Wednesday.
It was a good week for City Cable. No, not because they defeated the ACLU in a law-
suit. Because they are getting Fuel TV this month, which is now airing UFC coverage, since Zuffa inked a deal with FOX, shifting live MMA events from SPIKE TV! City Cable Technical Man-ager David Presley was very responsive to a complaint from our managing editor Tim Krakowiak, stat-ing he will expedite the launch of Fuel TV in the city’s digital
100s package. Now that’s what we call customer service.
It was a good week for Re-bekah Northern, who will finally see the release of her first self-titled album, featur-
ing six of her own songs, this Friday. Her debut into the music world is looking bright. Good luck Rebeckah!
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More incentives to make Eight Points commercially attractive
Sales taxes may go up
Tim Krakowiak Managing Editor
Poplar Bluff City Council is pursuing a sales tax increase for infrastructure, despite
coming off a record year in sales tax revenue, and city officials are antici-pating another request for tax credits in order to secure commercial growth.
Up to a one percent sales tax increase would be imposed at most retail busi-nesses located on Westwood Boule-vard from Larry Hillis southward just past Blackwell Baldwin, including Walmart, Mansion Mall and future retailers that may locate to the west in Cripple Creek and the Eight Points Commercial Development. (See map on page 11).
If a majority vote in the spring favors what is being touted as the Poplar Bluff Regional Development District, the additional sales tax revenue will go to-ward the acceleration of several neces-sary road improvement projects, creat-ing a new commercial corridor running
parallel to Westwood Boulevard. “I view it as one of the best oppor-
tunities the businesses and residents of Poplar Bluff have ever been presented with,” City Manager Doug Bagby said.
Bagby compared the prospect to when citizens approved the half-cent sales tax in 2005 to help four lane Highway 67 to Fredericktown, the dif-ference being that only the property owners within the TDD will decide on this overhaul, getting one vote per acre they own, according to the Missouri
Business and Community Services Di-vision.
“While I’m sure there will be some opposition to this because it has the word tax in it, and everyone including me has some fear of that w o r d , ” continued B a g b y , “ w h e n you weigh w h a t w e ’ r e g e t t i n g for one penny on the dollar, I certainly don’t understand the rationale for opposi-tion, unless it comes from groups or individuals who simply don’t want to see Poplar Bluff expand into a regional destination, or at least an area that has more choices for its existing base of
customers.”Of several property owners within
the proposed district boundaries that were asked whether they would sup-port or oppose the TDD, only one per-son chose to take a public stance.
“I’m all for improvement and think this is a monumental time for Poplar Bluff and commend all those who have brought us to this point, knowing we will all benefit from the new develop-ments and secure our city as a hub for the region,” Jamze Hampleman said. “It’s hard for me to get excited about a retail tax to businesses within a pro-posed district, [except] when the entire county will benefit.”
With the exception of vehicles, trail-ers, boats, o u t w a r d m o t o r s and utility bills, the tax hike will affect all sales w i t h i n the TDD, including gas and groceries.
“When I’m look-ing to buy
something, I look at the ticket price, not sales tax, unless it’s a big ticket item like an automobile,” Mayor Ed DeGaris said. “Better infrastructure at-tracts larger retailers, and it’ll be fund-ed through sales tax within the district,
>> Cover Story, pg 13
“While I’m sure there will be some opposition to this because it has the word tax in it, and everyone
including me has some fear of that word, when you weigh what we’re
getting for one penny on the dollar, I certainly don’t understand the
rationale for opposition.”
-Doug Bagby,City of Poplar Bluff
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Local press releases emailed to Managing Editor Tim Krakowiak at [email protected] also appear at www.semotimes.com, and are shared on the SEMO Times’ Face-book and Twitter pages.
Poplar Bluff woman claims almost $50,000 jackpot
A Poplar Bluff woman’s dedication to buying a Missouri Lottery Lotto and Show Me Cash ticket once a week has paid off. Anna Amrhein bought one Quick Pick ticket for each game on Jan. 21. Her Show Me Cash ticket matched all five winning numbers that night to give her a share of the $97,000 jackpot – $48,500.
“I didn’t even know how much it (the jackpot) was, I just bought one,” Amrhein recalled. “I usually get a Lotto, and then I’ll get a Show Me Cash, too.”
The Quick Pick ticket Amrhein bought at Huck’s Food Store was one of two tick-ets to match all five winning numbers. The winning Show Me Cash numbers were: 19, 23, 27, 35 and 39. The other winning ticket was sold in Raymore. Each store will receive a $500 bonus for selling a winning jackpot ticket.
Amrhein found out she was a winner after scanning her ticket on a Check-A-Ticket machine.
“I was in shock,” she explained. “I thought there must be a glitch in the ma-chine, so I took it out and scanned it again. It said, ‘$48,500 winner. See Lottery.’ I thought, ‘This can’t be true!’”
Amrhein said she quickly left the store and drove to her daughter’s house, where her granddaughter helped her look up the numbers on www.Molottery.com.
“I’m still in shock,” she added.Amrhein traveled to the St. Louis Lot-
tery office on Jan. 24 to claim her prize
and made a day out of it. She visited her son who lives in the area, and she was joined by her sister, Melissa. She said they were going to “the Olive Garden, and then we’re going shopping.”
The formerly-retired pharmacy tech-nician said she would pay bills and “try to hold on to a little.” The 67-year-old is working part time again to help ends meet. She said she would keep playing the Lot-tery.
“Don’t give up,” Amrhein suggested. “I really was doubtful, but it does happen.”
Nixon applauds Doniphan Senior High for earning
A+ designationDONIPHAN, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon
visited Doniphan High School Wednes-day to congratulate the school on achiev-ing the state’s A+ Schools designation, and to encourage students there to take ad-vantage of the program, which offers two years of free tuition and academic fees at Missouri’s community colleges.
“For graduates to be successful in to-day’s economy, they need much more than a high school diploma,” Nixon said. “The students at Doniphan High have demon-strated with this A+ designation that they are on the right path to higher education.”
Under the A+ program, Missouri stu-dents can earn a scholarship to cover the cost of tuition and academic fees for two years at any public community college or technical school in the state. To be eli-gible for the program, students must meet academic achievement, conduct and atten-dance requirements, and perform 50 hours of tutoring or mentoring service.
Missouri students have received more than $250 million in A+ scholarships since 1997. Since Nixon took office, 110 schools have earned the A+ designation, bringing the state total to more than 360 public high schools in Missouri. Doniph-an was one of more than 50 schools that earned the designation in 2011.
During an extensive, multi-year desig-nation process, schools seeking A+ status must develop strategies to address a num-ber of key issues, including dropout pre-vention, student achievement and college
and career preparation. Schools receive the A+ designation after review and final approval by the state Board of Education.
Participation by Missouri students in the A+ program has grown by 30 percent during Nixon’s tenure in office. Projec-tions for fiscal year 2012, which began in July, estimate that 12,500 students will be taking advantage of the scholarships this year. Approximately 14,000 students are expected to be A+ scholars next year.
Nixon has ensured that continued state funding is available to provide these schol-arships for the record number of students participating in A+. For FY13, the budget proposed by Nixon makes more than $29 million available to fund the A+ program.
“The A+ program continues to be a real asset for our state by helping to provide a college education for those young people who are willing to work hard, play by the rules and give back through volunteer-ing,” Nixon said. “My budget ensures that more young people from throughout Mis-souri will have the opportunity to reach their potential.”
Booths on sale for 33rd annual Merchants Showcase
Preparations are under way at Three Rivers College for this year’s Merchants Showcase, sponsored by Collegiate DECA and coordinated by business and marketing students.
The 33rd annual showcase will be held April 27-28. Booth sizes and prices are 5-by-8 foot for $160 and 10-by-10 foot for $210 for indoor booths; outdoor booths are $135 for 18-by-18-foot. Area mer-chants are invited to purchase a booth to display and sell their products in or out-side the Bess Activity Center.
An estimated 6,000 people attend the Merchants Showcase every year to shop with local businesses, and enjoy food and activities. Cost of admission is $1; senior citizens, Three Rivers faculty/staff and students will be admitted free from 2-4 p.m. Friday. Proceeds from the event sup-port students in Collegiate DECA at Three Rivers, overseen by Dr. Martha Kirkman.
For more information, or to purchase a booth, call 573-840 9636 or email mkirk-
UCAN fundraising walk slated for May
On May 19, cancer survivors, along with their family and friends will come togeth-er to walk through the streets of Poplar Bluff. The inaugural walk will be to show support for the United Cancer Assistance Network, and to honor the forever inspir-ing Sarah White.There are no sponsorship levels. There
is no fee to walk. UCAN is encouraging businesses and individuals to form teams to participate by raising money and walk-ing the day of the walk.Businesses and individuals can also make
donations in honor of employees, friends or family members who are bravely bat-tling cancer, or in memory of employees or loved ones who have lost their fight. Anyone who wants to participate is wel-come. Raise as much money as UCAN… and then join over 1,000 others from the community to walk together, and stand up against this devastating disease.Check in will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the
parking lot to the west of the UCAN of-fice located on 1419 Maud St. Join others for a doughnut and a cup a coffee, meet survivors and hear their amazing stories.The three-mile walk will begin at 10
a.m. Local businesses, churches and orga-nizations will be set up along the clearly marked route with water stations, bath-room breaks and resting spots. The walk will end back at the west parking lot of the UCAN office. Once all walkers have completed the walk, a balloon release will take place to remember those lost in the battle.Pre-registration is strongly encouraged
so that teams can receive their “walk” shirts and other promotional items prior to the event.Registration forms and donation forms
are available at the UCAN office, on Facebook (UCAN page) or by emailing [email protected] or [email protected] more information, call the UCAN of-
fice at 573-776-1892.
BusinessPage 6
www.semotimes.com Business
Liz Ellis Reporter
The renovation bug has been go-ing around Poplar Bluff, and yet
another business was caught up in the remodeling—the Sonic restaurants on Westwood Boulevard and on Broad-way have been remodeled and both are open for customers.
“Real glad it’s finally happened,” said C.J. Davis, assistant manager at the South Westwood Sonic. “They’ve been talking about it forever, and I’m glad it’s finally happened.”
The renovations began with the branch on Broadway in August, fol-lowed by the South Westwood loca-tion in November. The two projects together totaled more than $1 million in renovations.
“You have to remember… especially when [the Westwood Boulevard] store was built, all Sonic had was hamburg-ers, hot dogs, coneys and fries… and now our menu is extensive,” managing partner Randy Hale said. “The [old] building was jammed tight, and it was just disorganized because we didn’t have enough room for everything.” Hale said that the Westwood location was built in 1986 and needed the up-grade for better service.
The buildings at both locations re-ceived a facelift and new equipment. The Westwood location, however, un-derwent a far more drastic remodeling process, and was closed for a month to expand the restaurant and furnish it with state-of-the-art technology.
“About 90 percent of our equipment is new, and it allows us to get the food and drinks out quickly,” Hale said. “That’s our philosophy: service, speed and quality is always the most impor-tant thing. I’d rather get something out a little later than send something out that isn’t as good quality.”
“I haven't been there since the re-model, but it looks really nice,” said Melissa Hare of Poplar Bluff.
“The change is just dramatic from what it used to look like. It’s a totally different environment,” Davis added.
“The atmosphere is great with all of the new stuff. It’s like having a new car—you just can’t wait to get in it and drive,” Hale said. “The employees are happier too.”
Liz Ellis can be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 573-785-2200
Poplar Bluff Sonics get faceliftBoth locations in town expanded, reopened
Photos by Liz Ellis
Britney Rollins of Poplar Bluff takes her drink from carhop Lee Abrahams at the newly reopened Sonic on South West-wood Boulevard.
Photo by Liz Ellis
The renovations of the South Westwood location (above) and the location on Broadway cost more than $1 million together. Both restaurants have been expanded and given a new exterior. The Westwood location interior also underwent heavy renovations.
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Instructor turns Doniphan on to yoga over the last decade
Liz Ellis Reporter
DONIPHAN, Mo. – Doniphan’s very own yoga gym, Active Kat Yoga, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
The gym is located at 106 S. Grand St., the same space it occupied when it opened in 2002.
“I started doing yoga because my son went to basic training, and it kept me focused and grounded and kept me from being a basket case while he was gone,” owner Kat Robinson said. “And then [later] I was able to spread that to other people. It’s been a tremendous gift; a blessing.”
Robinson has been doing yoga for 15 years total. Her family also practices because, as she ex-plained, it is partially an exercise and partially a way of life.
“[Robinson is] knowledgeable and very interested in continuing education,” said Alice Mickey, one of Robin-son’s pu-pils. “She keeps her-self aware of what’s h a p p e n -ing in the yoga world and the health world. She likes to include
information about nutrition, positive mental attitude as well as physical well being.”
The classes are not meant to be health courses, and they do not have any spiritual beliefs commonly associ-ated with yoga.
“Really, what I teach is the exercise,” Robinson said. “What I teach is dog-matic—there is no religion part to it all.” That religious association caused some problems when she first started, Robinson explained, and she received criticism and scrutiny from the com-munity at first. Now she is an active part of the community, and not only offers yoga as therapy, but also has
hosted classes for young mothers and parents.
Robinson also has a DVD out, and has been the subject of many articles about a technique she invented called Sewing Yoga, meant for people who enjoy all types of sewing crafts. She also recently published a book titled, “I Almost Died! Reinventing Yourself with Yoga and Meditation after Trau-matic Illness or Injury.” The book was published a year ago.
“For a town this size to have a yoga class on this level, and such a qualified instructor like [Robinson]… well, I just think it’s great,” said Liz McGonigal, a five-year student at Active Kat Yoga.
Photos submitted by Kat Robinson
(From left) Students Sam Leroux, Loretta O’neal, Sue Stewart and Angela Calloway hold the pidgeon pose during a yoga class at Active Kat Yoga gym.
Yoga Instructor Kat Robinson(left) owner of Active Kat Yoga
News Page 9
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Down
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Crossword of the Week
Solution on pg 16
Across
1. After John in the NT5. Bore9. Breathes fast and hard14. Circular band15. Abominable snowman16. China’s Zhou ___17. “Hard ___!” (sailor’s yell)18. Star-shaped20. No-goodnik22. “Hold On Tight” band23. For one
24. Capital of Calvados, in NW France26. Lacking28. Capital of Moldova32. Observe36. Cornerstone abbr.37. Large cat39. Artist Rousseau40. First Arabic letter42. Aromatic wood44. Call for45. Informs47. Home movie medium49. Hwy.50. Takes by theft52. Real estate register
54. Castle ring56. Routine57. Longfellow’s bell town60. Assist62. Risky66. Artist’s pencil69. Former French colony of north-western Africa70. Icon71. Actress McClurg72. Take ___ from me73. Big name in printers74. Clairvoyant75. Uh-uh
The Book ShopPresented by
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Crossword puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com Used with permission www.bestcrosswords.com
Robinson teaches seven classes a week and teaches 30-40 students total in her small studio. The type of yoga that Robinson teaches is hatha yoga, and her classes range from a chair class for elderly students and students with health conditions or who have not exercised for a long time, to a hatha vinyasa class for advanced stu-dents, which exercises and strength-ens the body.
“Yoga is very person specific. It’s not a one type fits all exercise,” Rob-inson stated. “If it doesn’t feel right for your body, it probably isn’t.” Many of Robinson’s students have been with her since she opened, and have worked their way up the classes. Some of them even take several dif-ferent classes throughout the week.
“I really enjoy the classes, and my husband does too,” McGonigal said. “We both really feel the benefit, and anyone who comes in would benefit as well, if they try it.”
“So many people think that when they come into a yoga class, they’ll have to put their foot behind their head or stand on their head… [but]
yoga is not a place where people come in to show off their flexibility. It’s a place to come when you’ve lost flexibility over the years, or you’ve never had flexibility and want to get it,” Robinson said.
Much of the technique, she con-tinued, is about body awareness and relaxation. But the best part about it, Robinson said, is knowing how it can help others.
“The rewards for me were great, but seeing the rewards for other peo-ple outshined everything,” Robinson said. “There are people who have big challenges in their lives and when they leave, they feel better. It’s a big thing to see that transformation in the people if they stick with it.”
For more information about Ac-tive Kat Yoga gym, visit www.active-katyoga.com/index.html.
Liz Ellis can be contacted by emailing [email protected] or by calling 573-785-2200
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Poplar BluffRegional Transportation Development District
Eight Points Commercial Development
Cripple Creek
Shelby Road
Larry Hillis
Oak Grove Road
Walmart
K-Mart
Three Rivers College
Home Depot
Mansion Mall
Valley Plaza
Poplar Bluff Square
Hefner’s
Kroger
Pack’s
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rather than the whole town.”DeGaris and the council unanimous-
ly approved a resolution in December to establish the new TDD that will join the Cripple Creek TDD, which has agreed to repeal its half-cent sales tax that was put in place to fund the first phase of Shelby Road completed in late 2010. The debt will be retired with the establishment of the multi-jurisdictional TDD.
A petition was filed for the new political subdivision in Butler County Circuit Court last month, a hearing will be set in the near future, ballots will be mailed out after 60 days of the decree and quali-fied voters will then have six weeks to take action before the results are certi-fied.
If passed, bonds would be issued and paid back with an anticipated $30-40 million in revenue generated from the additional sales tax over 20 years, according to Bagby. The Poplar Bluff Regional TDD will have six oversee-ing directors, with representation from Cripple Creek, the city and county.
Road Plan
Major road projects planned include creating a public road system within Eight Points and Cripple Creek, widen-ing Oak Grove Road from the elementa-ry school to Westwood Boulevard, con-structing a new access road from Shelby Road to Three Rivers College, five-laning Kanell Boulevard from Shelby to Westwood, extending Shelby from
Kanell t o H i g h -w a y 53, cre-a t i n g a new f o u r -l a n e b r idge
over Pike Creek, and various other improvements such as green space en-hancements, sidewalks and bike lanes.
Last March, the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce Transpor-tation Committee presented a similar road plan to the Butler County Com-mission that would have required a citizen vote every five years for a half-cent county sales tax, but the issue nev-er made it on the November ballot.
“They were asking to get a state statute, if voters approved, to run all the funding through the commission, even though it included state and city transportation projects,” explained Ed
Strenfel, presiding commissioner. While the commission was reported-
ly concerned about raising taxes at the time, Strenfel noted Tuesday he does believe the proposed road improve-ment projects will “expedite” commer-cial and residential growth.
RETAIL ALLUREAn official from K2 Commercial
Group, which has partnered with THF Realty on developing Eight Points, previously stated he would announce the first string of retailers this past fall, a time that has come and gone.
Rumored anchors of the site include Kohl’s, Menards and Sam’s Club. When asked by the SEMO Times if the businesses were considering locating in Poplar Bluff, company spokesper-sons variously replied they had nothing yet to report.
Jeanne Ludington, corporate com-munications manager for Cracker Bar-rel Old Country Store headquartered in Lebanon, Tenn., stated: “We have looked at the area and we do not have plans to locate in Poplar Bluff at this time.”
In August, City Council granted a 100 percent 25-year tax abatement for Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center to locate its $173 million replacement hospital in Eight Points, and construc-tion is well under way for early 2014
completion. PBRMC volunteered to pay more than $10 million in lieu of taxes over the first seven years for the city to purchase the right-of-way of Oak Grove Road from K2, as well as paying 50 percent in property taxes over the last 18 years of the Enhanced Enterprise Zone.
While a request has not yet been made for a tax increment financing district at Eight Points, allowing the development to forego a portion of the increased sales tax revenue generated by the new economic development to invest in infrastructure improvements, Bagby said he would be “shocked” if developers did not ask for a TIF.
“I think the city is very fortunate to see the development we’ve seen in the past and avoid using tax incentives for the most part; however, we have never been presented with a $300 million development before, and I know if we don’t make it as attractive as possible, some other city will,” Bagby said. “It has been estimated that there will be 1,000-1,400 new jobs as a result of the new hospital and the Eight Points De-velopment. This comes at a time when the economy is struggling in most ar-eas.”
Tim Krakowiak can be contacted by emailing [email protected], or fol-low him on Twitter: @TimKrakowiak.
Cover story, from pg 4
Tax incentives for Eight Points
“Better infrastructure attracts larger retailers.”
-Ed DeGaris,Poplar Bluff City Council
Arts & Events Page 14
www.semotimes.comArts & Events
Bloomfield native releases albumRelease party Friday at The Wine Rack Liz Ellis Reporter
don’t even know how old I was when I start-ed singing… prob-ably however old I was
when I started talking,” said Rebekah Northern of Bloomfield.
Sixteen-year-old Northern will be re-leasing her first EP online and at Hast-ings on Friday. The self-titled album has six tracks written by Northern, and produced in Bernie at The Walker Bros. studio. The album is an indepen-dent release, paid for by Northern and her family.
“She saved up her lifeguarding money and her birthday and Christmas money and [helped pay] for some of it,” said JoAnn Westbrook, Northern’s mother. “I mean, we helped a lot, but she’s worked really hard on it and done a lot of it too.”
Northern has been putting on local performances since 2008, with appear-ances at the Black River Coliseum, Rodgers Theatre, the Drury Event Cen-ter in Cape Girardeau and the Crowly Ridge Country Club. This, Westbrook said, was simply the next step in her daughter’s promising career.
First Big Step“To get a record deal, they want you
to be established a little bit and have a fan base and a market and stuff like that,” Westbrook said. This EP is meant to do exactly that, and the family has high hopes for where it will go. “The goal would be for her to get a record deal, or get a publishing writer’s deal.”
Northern said that they are planning
on pitching her CD to a few record la-bels in the next couple of months and maybe even do a showcase in Nash-ville. But she is not picky—as long as it is something in the music business, she will be happy.
“We’re just going to see where it goes,” Northern said. “…If I could get a publishing writer’s deal, I could probably pay for my college.”
The music for this CD was recorded in September, but the songs are much older than that.
“I have a big old book of songs that I wrote,” Northern said. “[For the CD] I played them for my producers and we talked about which ones should be in-cluded and then went from there.”
“It was funny, when we were doing the album and they sat down and she played everything for the guys at the studio … and I had my ideas about
what I thought was going to be on it, but they weren’t all on there,” West-brook said.
In fact, some of the album choices surprised and pleased both Northern and her mother, especially the first and most publicized song, “Hey Baby.”
“I wasn’t even going to play it for them, because it was embarrassing… it was just sort of a goofy song,” North-ern said with a smile. “But I played it, and they stopped me halfway through and said they loved it.”
The end result, Northern and West-brook agreed, is a good representative sample of the young artist’s unique style and mix of influences.
“I just wanted people to get a sense of who I am,” Northern said. “Some of the songs are more country, and some are more rock or pop. It’s a wide vari-ety, but that’s just who I am. I’m a mix
of all three. I want to be able to take this and later as I grow as an artist, if I want to go all rock or completely coun-try or even pop, I can do that because it’s a mixture of everything.”
Passion for MusicNorthern has always had a passion
for music, even when she was a child. She taught herself the guitar and is now learning the mandolin.
“I can tell it was her passion,” West-brook said. “I can see it in her face. She loves it… Some kids will go play volleyball for hours, she’ll go sit in her music room/office for hours and write and play and practice. It’s her thing.”
Since the age of 12, Northern said that all she ever wanted to do was music, and she began writing her first songs and practicing and listening to as much music as she could.
“I don’t know what I would do with-out music,” Northern exclaimed. “It’s just part of me, and I like how music can take you somewhere else, and how it touches people’s lives in different ways. One song can relate to different situations in people’s lives.”
Her biggest fan has always been her mother, though. As a former mu-sic teacher, Westbrook said she never pushed music—it was something Northern decided to do on her own, and she does it well.
“She has a gift for writing song hooks. Her choruses and tunes and things are great… the chorus of, ‘Hey Baby,’ is catchy, and it’s something you want to sing in your car,” Westbrook said. “This has been a challenge [to go solo], but she really wanted to do it and I support her completely.”
“I
Photo submitted by Rebekah Northern
The young artist, Rebekah Northern will be releasing her first CD this Friday at Hastings and on the Internet.
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Events
Events
Rebekah Northern’s first EP will be released Friday on iTunes, Amazon and other online sites, as well as at Hast-ings. The professional-looking album features the young art-ist herself on the cover, giving you a good feel for who you are listening to. The CD is self-titled and all six songs are pre-sented as if Northern is sing-ing out her diary to listeners. The lyrics are a mix of original takes and more traditional ver-sions of various kinds of love songs.
All of her songs have a solid country flair to them, although songs such as “Is It The Way” and “Enough” have more country to them than the other songs. Many of the songs feature interesting harmo-nies, a spirited attitude, great sound and energy, and all of the songs have good use of the guitar and a balance between the vocals and accompaniment.
Several of the selections, in-cluding “Jack and Jill,” “Does That Remind You of Me” and
“Hey Baby,” are very upbeat and fast, with a great mix of Northern’s three genres: coun-try, pop and rock. The subject matter of many of the songs are aimed at high school ages, but would easily translate to even those in their 20s.
However, as with all artists, Northern’s CD does have a few downsides. A few of the song lyrics border on completely unoriginal, and the last song on the CD, “Enough” is down-right depressing. It is obvious that Northern, while quite talented in both singing and songwriting, is still growing as an artist and deciding what her style is going to be.
Overall, the CD has a more modern feel to it than many country-influenced artists, and features honest singing and well thought out tunes. For such a young musician, North-ern shows great promise. This EP will, hopefully, be the first of many to come.
Music Review
Release PartyThe hardest part for Northern is wait-
ing for the CD to release and waiting for the reactions of the audience.
“It’s definitely a process, and it’s hard to be patient,” Westbrook said. “You get the recording done, then you want the CD, then you want it to be released, then you want people to love it… It’s like hurry up and wait. It’s been a learning process and a great ex-perience.”
There will be a release party for the
EP at 8 p.m. Friday at The Wine Rack. Northern will be performing some songs from the CD, as well as a few others that did not make the cut as well as some cover songs. She will also be mingling and talking with people about her release, which will be on sale for $10 at the party. There is also a $5 cov-er fee at the door.
For more information about North-ern, visit her website at hwww.re-bekahnorthern.com.
Liz Ellis can be contacted by emailing [email protected]
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Opinion & EditorialPage 18
www.semotimes.com Opinion & Editorial
I am not real big on dressing for holidays. I got rid of all my Christ-mas sweaters when I stopped teaching full time. Kids love Christmas sweaters. So it was chic for teaching first grade, but not so much otherwise.
And… sure… I’ll probably wear something green for St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t like green beer… or beer of any kind… so it’s the least I can do I guess to honor my Irish heritage.
But I do love Valentine’s Day. I’m in the jewelry business, after all. I have to believe in love in or-der to do my job. You can’t very well sell engagement rings to cou-ples if you don’t believe in love. I can’t ever promise them that love will last, but I can tell them it is worth the trying.
And I think a day of honoring love is an admirable thing. Be-sides, who doesn’t love roses? Hint… hint… hint… Kevin.
So I’ve been thinking about how to honor a day of love.
I say honor love with the way you dress for the day.
No… guys… that does not mean she should wear a mini skirt and stiletto heels for the day. Again… we are talking about love, not lust. Many people confuse them, but they are as different from one an-other as the moon and the stars.
So how does one dress in order to honor the idea of romance and love?
Think about the characteristics of true love. True love is soft. True love is enduring. True love sends your heart aflutter. It can be flirta-tious, but it is not over-bearing.
So… if I were to show love through wardrobe, I don’t think I would choose the red siren dress and platform shoes.
No… I’m thinking lace that floats like a butterfly. I’m thinking soft, muted colors that are more Monet than Picasso. And I think in this case, flowing is better than re-vealing, just as candlelight is more effective than neon.
I’m thinking lustre of pearls and small flashes of light around the face.
I’m thinking this is the time for all to treat love as if it is something precious.
Because it is.Dress for love. Light a candle.
Smell the roses.
Tammy Hilderbrand is the owner of Hilderbrand Diamond Compa-ny in Poplar Bluff, which can be found online at www.hilderbrand-diamondcompany.com. You can reach her by emailing [email protected].
Romance is in the air
Let's be honest here, the goal is to sell your house. That's why I'm here. And if you are a potential real estate customer, I hope my brutal honesty doesn't turn you off. After all, don't you want the real estate agent who works harder for you and, in turn, increases the chances of you selling your home?
And for that reason, I am constantly looking for new ways to accomplish this. Websites, better pics, videos, Facebook, blogs. You name it. I am open to anything. But today I realized that I am going about this all wrong. I don't need to work harder or do all that stuff. I just need to bury a saint.
You may have already heard about this. The idea is to get a statue of St. Joseph and bury it near your ‘For Sale’ sign. After the house sells, you dig up "St. Joe" and sit him is a place of honor in your new home. The whole concept goes back to a 16th Century nun. Leg-end has it that St. Teresa of Avila bur-ied a St. Joseph medal and prayed for his assistance as she was hoping to se-cure land for a convent. It worked! And now, some 500 years later, the tradition lives on.
I found an article on CNN.com that filled me in on the whole thing. It's called, "Hardest-Working Saint in Real Estate".
I have to admit that I found it humor-ous. The article tells the story of Joe Iannacone who had a home for sale in Dallas. His grandfather told him about the St. Joseph statue. He checked it out on the web and says, "It was less than $10. So, I said, 'Why not?'" Six hours after the burial, a young lady walked in and made an offer on the home. He was shocked.
Still skeptical? Then how do you ex-plain Dawn Hoernemann? Her Minne-apolis one-bedroom home sat for four months. Open house after open house left her with no results. Then she lis-tened to Mom and planted St. Joseph head first, facing the street. The next week... three offers... and SOLD!
One real estate agent in the article was quoted as saying, "What a crock! As a realtor, I think it's ridiculous." He says that it's nothing more than super-stition. And I agree. Selling real estate is all about working hard. Being vis-ible. Making connections. Pricing a house at a fair price. That's how you sell houses. Not by burying a statue of a saint in the front yard.
But… just in case... I ordered three. I'm gonna give it a shot. Just for fun, of course! Keep an eye on this col-umn... I'll be letting you know soon if it worked!
Let's bury a saint!(Disclaimer: I’m writing this column late on Sunday night,
and I’m a little punchy. So if you’re in a serious mood, skip me for now and come back later. It’s time to have a little fun and lighten up. On second thought, if you’re in a serious mood, read on. Maybe this is what you need).
Advice Page 19
www.semotimes.com Advice
Dear Joy,My girlfriend and I often have trouble compromising, especially recently.
I often want to do one thing, and she very much wants to do another, and neither of us are very good at giving. Whenever I give, I can’t help but feel resentful, and when she gives in, I can tell she feels the same way. We have tried meeting in the middle, but neither of us like to bend enough to get there, as we are both very stubborn and tend to have firm and solid opinions. I’m worried that it is going to come between us. What would be a good way for us to learn to compromise without being resentful about it?
Sincerely,Stubborn,
Poplar Bluff
Dear Stubborn, We all want our own way. That is just human nature. I personally
think “MY WAY” is always the best. But... we are adults and we know we can’t always expect to get our on way. I have seen people in relationships in which one person always dominates or bullies his or her partner around until they get their own way. In most of these cases, the one that always wants their way and gets upset when they don’t get it usually is dealing with some insecurity issues. That always leads to one of you in the relationship being miserable and will eventually destroy the relationship. So… don’t be that extreme.
A good friend asked me a question once and I have never forgotten it. IS HAVING MY OWN WAY MORE IMPORTANT THEN HAVING PEACE IN MY HOME? Now I definitely am not saying you should never have an opinion or always give in. There are certain values and issues in life that are either Right or Wrong. Never give in on your core beliefs just to keep someone else happy. That is your character and it makes you who you are.
If she wants pizza and you want steak, is that worth a big blow up? Both of you must respect each other enough to give and take on issues such as these. A relationship will never work, (I should say never work happily) if both of you can’t respect each other equally in this relationship. Neither of you should try to MAKE each other change. If there is not a mutual respect for each other’s opinions then one or both of you are being selfish and immature. As I have said before, life is short, don’t go through it unhappy. My way or peace. Think about it!!!
Best of luck,Joy
A weekly advice column from a local romance expert, Ask Joy is our own version of the nationally syndicated Ask Abby. To ask Joy a relationship question, email her at [email protected], or befriend her on Facebook at Ask Joy. Names are kept confidential.
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