Jessica McMillan of Bloomfield has been awarded the Velma Foster Memorial Nursing Scholarship by the Three Rivers Endowment Trust.

 

The scholarship, which provides financial assistance for the five semesters McMillan expects to attend Three Rivers College to complete her nursing degree, was set up by Tammy Stocks and Stacy Wood, the daughters of Velma Foster, who died in December 2017.

 

“My family and I are very grateful for this award,” McMillan said. “With five kids, coming to college was a big sacrifice and presented a financial strain. This scholarship helps alleviate some of that burden.”

 

McMillan is a 2000 graduate of Puxico High School. She is married to Toby McMillan.

 

Foster was a nontraditional student who graduated with her associate degree from Three Rivers in 1981 – the same year one daughter graduated college and the other high school. Mrs. Foster went on to receive her BSN and MSN degrees from Southeast Missouri State University. She worked in a variety of roles until she was hired at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, where she worked for more than 20 years in outpatient mental health before she retired.

 

This scholarship represents some of the more than $60,000 awarded to students this fall by the Three Rivers Endowment Trust, a 501(c)(3) organization that receives and manages donations on behalf of Three Rivers College. The Endowment Trust provides a mutually beneficial means for individuals and businesses to partner with the College. For information on donating to scholarships, building projects, or other College needs, contact the Three Rivers Development Office at 573-840-9077.

 

Three Rivers College is committed to contributing to the quality of life in Southeast Missouri with quality, affordable higher education opportunities and community services that support and encourage the economic, civic, and cultural vitality of the region. For more information about college and workforce programs and upcoming events, visit trcc.edu.

 

Pictured: Jessica McMillan, a nursing student at Three Rivers College, accepts the Velma Foster Memorial Nursing Scholarship, established by Mrs. Foster’s daughters. Pictured are, from left, the late Mrs. Foster’s daughter, Stacy Wood; McMillan; Tammy Stocks, daughter; and Michelle Reynolds, Director of Development at Three Rivers College. 

 

Tyson Tibbs of Poplar Bluff has been awarded the Arnold Duncan Memorial Scholarship.

Tibbs, a 2017 graduate of Poplar Bluff High School, is pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Accounting from Three Rivers College. He is the son of Brian and Lori Tibbs of Poplar Bluff.

 

The scholarship is in the memory of Arnold Duncan, who was the COE/MCE coordinator at Poplar Bluff High School for 30 years.

 

This scholarship represents some of the more than $60,000 awarded to students this fall by the Three Rivers Endowment Trust, a 501(c)(3) organization that receives and manages donations on behalf of Three Rivers College. The Endowment Trust provides a mutually beneficial means for individuals and businesses to partner with the College. For information on donating to scholarships, building projects, or other College needs, contact the Three Rivers Development Office at 573-840-9077.

 

Three Rivers College is committed to contributing to the quality of life in Southeast Missouri with quality, affordable higher education opportunities and community services that support and encourage the economic, civic, and cultural vitality of the region. For more information about college and workforce programs and upcoming events, visit trcc.edu.

 Two students at Three Rivers College have received funds from the Till Family Scholarship for the Fall semester.

 

Alexis Campbell, a 2018 graduate of Malden High School, is the daughter of Brian and Megan Campbell of Malden. She is pursuing a degree in Health Sciences.

 

Shelby Hammond is the daughter of Melanie Burnett and Kenny Burnett of Poplar Bluff. A 2017 graduate of Poplar Bluff High School, she is pursuing a degree in Music Performance at Three Rivers College.

 

The Till Family Scholarship, established by Dr. and Mrs. Ben Till, is awarded to students enrolled in pre-medical sciences or music courses, based on need and scholastic achievement.

 

These scholarships represent some of the more than $60,000 awarded to students this fall by the Three Rivers Endowment Trust, a 501(c)(3) organization that receives and manages donations on behalf of Three Rivers College. The Endowment Trust provides a mutually beneficial means for individuals and businesses to partner with the College. For information on donating to scholarships, building projects, or other College needs, contact the Three Rivers Development Office at 573-840-9077.

 

Three Rivers College is committed to contributing to the quality of life in Southeast Missouri with quality, affordable higher education opportunities and community services that support and encourage the economic, civic, and cultural vitality of the region. For more information about college and workforce programs and upcoming events, visit trcc.edu.

 

The Poplar Bluff Board of Education approved a $5.8 million bid, lower than anticipated, for Brockmiller Construction to build a new Early Childhood Center on the Kindergarten site, after carefully planning since December 2016.

 

Vice president Ken Davis made the motion, which was seconded by member Alana Robertson, and affirmed by Dr. Cynthia Brown, Roger Hanner, Jerrod Murphy, Heather Tuggle and John Scott in a unanimous decision on Thursday, Sept. 20, in the Administrative Building.

 

“I’m tremendously excited that the board has authorized us to move forward with this project,” exclaimed R-I Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill afterward. “We have worked collaboratively with the Long-Range Planning Committee and the Board of Education over the course of two years to develop this idea, and ensure that it accomplishes the immediate and the long-term needs of both the Early Childhood Center and the comprehensive educational program for the Poplar Bluff School District.”

 

With extensive experience in the school business, architects reported, the Farmington based construction company intends to mobilize at the Camp Road location on Monday, Oct. 1. The completion date was extended a month and a half to November 2019 so contractors did not have to factor in overtime in the advent of weather delays, potentially driving up the bottom line during the bidding process. A relocation date for the Early Childhood program from the present Mark Twain building will be determined at a later time.

 

Based on input from Early Childhood educators, the 34,000-square-foot facility on the western side of the Kindergarten Center campus will include two separate wings for 3 and 4 year olds, each containing six classrooms. There will also be two extended day classrooms, a sensory room, an intensive needs room, two speech rooms, a suite for the Parents As Teachers program, two large storage areas, a nursing station, administrative offices, a centrally-located library and a multipurpose room designed with storm shelter capabilities, according to architect Aaron Duncan.

 

The state-of-the-art interior design, created by VVELL Studio in Maplewood, will feature a township theme starting with the ‘town hall’ in the lobby accentuated by a cupola skylight and carpeting resembling grass with tulip poplar leaf shapes. The classroom corridors will serve as the ‘streets’ with separate color associations to help young students, complete with a skyline depicted on the walls above the cubby spaces. The floors will be texturized with geometrical shapes to create “learning moments,” according to project manager Mike Pollard, Duncan’s colleague.

 

“Why not go ahead and have fun with it,” asked Pollard of Dille and Traxel Architecture during the August school board meeting. “It’s been probably one of the most fun projects we’ve had in a long time.”

 

The Poplar Bluff architectural firm authorized to oversee the work previously designed the Kindergarten Center, which opened in 2010. The facilities will be aesthetically similar with a connecting link for shared common spaces and teacher collaboration. An open area in between the exterior of the buildings will be designated for an enclosed outdoor playground. A total of 175 parking spaces will be added to the property. The internal roadway will be extended with traffic lanes so each school will have separate entry and exit points. An alternate bid of $72,000 was included for substituting concrete paving in lieu of asphalt.

 

The construction will be paid outright from capital project balances instead of lease financing, saving the district millions of dollars in interest payments, school officials have estimated. The project represents the second and final phase of the district’s long-range plan funded through a single levy measure approved by voters in 2014, which added over 200,000 square feet of modernized classroom space across campus, improving the learning experience for students grades 1-12.

 

Before moving to Mark Twain in 2001, the Early Childhood program was located at the former Kinyon Elementary building on Vine Street and originally – Wheatley School on Garfield Street. While having a preschool-aged specific building for the first time will be a major upgrade for the community, the school board president said, he is even more excited about the opportunity the vacated building on North Main Street opens up.

 

“The new Early Childhood Center will be a vast improvement,” Scott stated. “More importantly, it will allow us to continue development of a comprehensive alternative school.”

 

The last piece of the long-range plan will be to convert the Mark Twain campus into a dedicated non-traditional high school with alternative pathways for earning diplomas, absorbing the credit recovery offerings of the Graduation Center, presently housed at the Technical Career Center. Programming plans by school administration are already underway.

 

The groundbreaking for the new Early Childhood Center has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, at 1200 Camp Road. The ceremony will begin at 9:30 in the Kindergarten Center cafeteria.

Pictured: Contractors interested in the Early Childhood Center project attend a pre-bid meeting led by Dille and Traxel Architecture and school officials on Thursday, Aug. 30, at the Poplar Bluff Kindergarten Center.

Photo and article submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District

Bernie, MO - Bernie Elementary Positive Office Referrals were awarded this week.

Pictured from left to right:

Front Row:

-Rowan worked hard and did not give up.

-Willow is always quick at following directions, respectful and kind to everyone, and works hard in class!

-Renella and Brooklyn decided to stop arguing daily and to be friends and play together at recess.

-Nolan worked really hard when he was asked to fix his writing paper!

Middle Row:

-Abby was super helpful and very polite in art class.

-Kally gave her best effort all week during small group.

-Shawn is always a hard worker.

-Owen is a great helper to the teacher.

-Liam was very polite to his teacher in music class.

-Wyatt is always quiet and works hard.

Back Row:

-Katie is always happy and so nice to everyone!

-Blair and Brooklyn organized bookshelves that were left a mess without being asked.

-Rhemy helped another student pick up their stuff.

-Blaydn always makes sure that all of the chairs are up before his class leaves for special class.

-Jaxon used his own class bloomz points to buy an item that another student was really wanting and gave it to him.

-Mackenzie showed perseverance while solving challenging math problem.

-Cody for awesome note reading!