Sikeston, Missouri - The Missouri Highway Patrol is joining the effort to find a missing New Madrid County teen.

According to the missing person report, 14-year-old Christian Burton was last seen at her home in Sikeston, Missouri.

The missing person report said she was left alone at the home when her dad left for work at 6:50 Monday morning. She is home-schooled, and when her mom returned from work, she found Burton and her cell phone were missing.

She is about 5-foot tall, 90 pounds, with brown eyes and fair complexion. She has brown hair with blue and green highlighted tips. She was last seen wearing pajamas, but may now be wearing a black Pokemon shirt, blue jeans and black Converse tennis shoes.

Her mom told police that she had an online relationship in 2015 with an unknown 40-year-old man.

Police said they pinged her cell phone which placed it about 17 miles outside Lowry City in Western Missouri.

Anyone with information is asked to call the New Madrid County Sheriff's Department at (573) 748-2516.

MDC reminds dove hunters of 20 more hunting days this year and of numerous conservation areas for hunting.

Jefferson City, Missouri - With dove hunting season in Missouri opening Sept. 1, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds dove hunters of its more than 180 conservation areas around the state that allow dove hunting, including nearly 100 planted in crop fields that attract the popular game birds. Crops include sunflower, corn, millet, wheat, and buckwheat.

MDC is offering hunters 20 more days of dove hunting this fall. Mourning doves, Eurasian collared doves, and white-winged doves may be taken from Sept. 1 through Nov. 29 from one half hour before sunrise to sunset with a combined daily limit of 15 and a combined possession limit of 45 for all three species.

Get more information on dove hunting – including permit requirements, places to hunt, recipes, and more -- online at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/dove. Information on dove hunting is also available through MDC's "2016 Migratory Bird Hunting Digest" available starting in mid-August where hunting permits are sold.

FROM DEXTER POLICE DEPARTMENT!

UPDATE: 08/25/2015 3:35PM

Thanks to your tips, the subject has been identified as Edward Lusk. It was then determined that Lusk already had an active parole absconder warrant issued for his arrest.

After a manhunt that lasted most of the early afternoon, Lusk was apprehended at a residence in Dexter. Again, it was tips from citizens that allowed us to locate and arrest Lusk.

Cape Girardeau, Missouri - Saint Francis Healthcare System Foundation and the Saint Francis Auxiliary awarded healthcare scholarships to 23 local students on August 5. Each student received $1,250 in scholarships toward a degree in a healthcare-related profession.

The Saint Francis Healthcare Scholarship Program was created in 1980. Saint Francis Foundation and the Saint Francis Auxiliary fund the program. Since its inception, the program has provided more than $579,000 in education scholarships to college students in an effort to encourage participation in professional healthcare careers. Scholarship recipients must have completed at least one year in an accredited healthcare program and be currently enrolled, maintain a minimum of 3.0 GPA and complete the application and essay requirements by the scheduled deadline. They must also reside within the Saint Francis service area, as defined in the application.
 
The 2016 Saint Francis Healthcare Scholarship Program Recipients are:
Abigail Breite, Cape Girardeau – Bernadean Campbell Memorial Scholarship
Danielle Childers, Cape Girardeau – Raymond A. and Lillian K. Ritter Scholarship
Angela Dickinson, Zalma – Edythe M. Davis Scholarship
Alexis Engelhart, Jackson – Raymond A. and Lillian K. Ritter Scholarship
Joshua Friess, Jackson – Bess Estes Healthcare Scholarship
Jenna Hawkins, Portageville – Evalyn and S. David Nunley Scholarship
Rachel Hearnes, Charleston – Joseph and Harriette Hunter McCrate Scholarship
Morgan Hileman, Cape Girardeau – Christen Joyel Aufdenberg Memorial Scholarship
Abigail Kenney, Cape Girardeau – Susan E. Hinkebein Memorial Scholarship
Cody Likens, Cape Girardeau – Carrie Suedekum Memorial Scholarship
Brianna Lueders, Cape Girardeau – Mark F. Scully Nursing Scholarship
Anna Miller, Jackson – Huttegger-Scherer Nursing Scholarship
Stephanie Nanney, Whitewater – Sisters of Saint Francis Nursing Scholarship
Ryan O’Rear, Jackson – Saint Francis Auxiliary Physician Honor Scholarship
Sara Pilsner, Cape Girardeau – Ken Hayden Memorial Nursing Scholarship
Olivia Renner, Jackson – Lee George and Katherine Jane Cochran Memorial Scholarship
Shea Scholl, Jackson – Saint Francis Foundation Scholarship
Morgan Schumer, Cape Girardeau – Earl Jr. and Lori Wills Memorial Scholarship
Ethan Seyer, Oak Ridge – Mamie Hall Memorial Scholarship
Emma Steffens, Jackson – Saint Francis Auxiliary Healthcare Scholarship
Dana Thiele, Leopold – Saint Francis Auxiliary 125th Anniversary Scholarship
Katy Weston, Glen Allen – Lucy Ellen Towse Memorial Scholarship
Adam Young, New Madrid – Clara D. Newnam Memorial Scholarship
    
The members of the 2016 Scholarship Committee include: B.J. Bowman, Nicole Chance, Cheryl Mothes, Lisa Newcomer, Jessica Riley and Debra Schumer.

For more information about the Saint Francis Healthcare Scholarship Program, call 573-331-5790.

Saint Francis Foundation is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization that supports Saint Francis Medical Center by strengthening the institution overall and reaffirming its mission of supporting the community and the people it serves. Formally organized in 1976, its mission reflects the Medical Center’s priorities through fundraising efforts that support the community. The Foundation sponsors several annual events, including golf tournaments, and philanthropic activities such as annual appeals, memorials, endowment funds, planned giving, grants and major gifts. Through the generosity of the community, staff and volunteers, the Foundation accepts contributions each year to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, provide patient and employee assistance, create new programs that help patients in the region, and improve facilities at the Medical Center.

Saint Francis Foundation and the Saint Francis Medical Center Auxiliary awarded healthcare scholarships to 23 area students on August 5. Each student received $1,250 in scholarships toward a degree in a healthcare-related profession.

Pictured: Back row, from left: Abigail Breite, Ethan Seyer, Cody Likens, Joshua Friess and Dana Thiele. Middle row, from left: Angela Dickinson, Rachel Hearnes, Shea Scholl, Alexis Engelhart, Emma Steffens and Brianna Lueders. Front row, from left: Katy Weston, Morgan Hileman, Jenna Hawkins, Olivia Renner, Morgan Schumer, Ryan O’Rear and Sara Pilsner.

Hunting feral hogs will be prohibited on Conservation Department lands effective Sept. 30.

Jefferson City, Missouri -  At its meeting on June 24, the Missouri Conservation Commission approved changes to the Wildlife Code of Missouri that would prohibit the hunting of feral hogs on conservation areas and other lands owned, leased, or managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). The new regulation prohibiting hog hunting on MDC areas does not apply to private property.

The Commission’s decision followed consideration of feedback received during a public comment period on the topic that ended in May. The effective date of the regulation change will be Sept. 30. Potential penalties for illegal hog hunting could include fines and the loss of hunting privileges.

MDC discourages feral hog hunting in Missouri. Research from other states shows that hog hunting increases feral hog numbers and locations because it provides incentives for illegal releases of hogs for future hunting. Releasing hogs to non-enclosed areas or to the wild is illegal in Missouri. MDC encourages the public to report these types of illegal activities to local conservation agents.

Instead of hunting hogs to help reduce their numbers, MDC encourages hunters and others to report feral-hog sightings to their local conservation agents or MDC offices. Staff can then confirm local numbers and locations, and determine how best to capture and eliminate the entire group of feral hogs.

MDC owns or manages about 1,000 conservation areas around the state with about 30 known to have feral hogs, mostly in southern Missouri. According to MDC Wildlife Division Chief Jason Sumners, hog hunting on conservation areas interferes with efforts by MDC staff to trap and eliminate entire groups of feral hogs, called sounders.

"The regulation change prohibiting hog hunting on conservation lands is a direct result of some misguided individuals disrupting trapping efforts by MDC staff," Sumners explained. "MDC staff set large, corral-type traps on areas where there are known feral hogs. They then bait the area with corn for several days or weeks to attract the targeted group of hogs, get them used to the surroundings, and get them concentrated in the trap before triggering it. This work takes weeks, with the goal being to trap the entire group of hogs. After weeks of work to catch the sounder of hogs, we then get an individual who finds out about the site, shows up at some point, and shoots a hog or two. The rest of the group then scatters and moves to a new location. As a result, weeks of work have been wasted and new areas now have feral hogs."

Feral hogs are an invasive, nuisance species in Missouri and are not wildlife.  They cause significant damage to wildlife habitats, compete with native wildlife such as deer and turkey for food, prey upon native wildlife such as turkey and quail, destroy natural areas along with agricultural lands, pollute ponds and streams, and spread diseases to domestic livestock and people. For more information on feral hogs, visit the MDC website at mdc.mo.gov/feralhog