On the morning of Dec. 18, the Farmington Wal-Mart store will be crowded with excited children shopping the toy, electronics and clothing aisles for their own Christmas presents.

A Farmington man was sentenced to seven years in prison for assaulting his bail bondsman.

DESLOGE — Many people drive up and down State Street every day and never notice a little piece of history on the side of the road.

The Potosi R-3 School District called off classes Oct. 30 due to high water, and Valley R-6 dismissed classes early that day for the same reason.

VFW E&J Victory Post 4320 will honor all veterans at 11 a.m. Wednesday on the south lawn of the Madison County Courthouse at the Veterans Day ceremony.

Cordia-Humphrey, American Legion Post 265, in conjunction with Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6996 will have a flag ceremony honoring veterans of all wars at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 at the Washington County Courthouse.

Justin Ray Potthoff was sentenced to 51 months in prison on federal charges of possession of child pornography, according to Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap.

The Community Beautification Committee has announced it is time to begin work on holiday decorations for lamp posts in the downtown area.

The Iron County Commission is looking at selling, leasing or conveying the Iron County Hospital.

Two Jefferson County people were sentenced on federal methamphetamine charges, according to Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap.

DESLOGE — The Desloge Pound has two dogs needing to be reunited with their owners or find new homes. A male English Setter was picked up on Friday on S. Harry Jr.  Street. The animal control officer said he knows who the dog belongs to, but has been unable to contact the owner.

Planting now for a showy payoff in the spring, Mineral Area College student Jacie Evans of Desloge, joined nine other horticulture students who planted almost 1,500 bulbs around the Park Hills campus on Oct. 26. The bulbs came from ColorBlends in New York, and included tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and wolf bane. Horticulture Instructor Chad Follis said the students planted the bulbs primarily in high visibility areas on campus or in locations where the Hyacinth's aroma can be experienced nearby. - Submitted photo

Route 32 in St. Francois County will be reduced while MODOT crews perform pavement repairs.

Christmas will be coming to Farmington this weekend with the annual Christmas Open House for downtown businesses. Stores will open their doors on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in most cases.

The Bonne Terre City Council will have its regular monthly meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall.

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Noor Faleh Almaleki just wanted to be a normal American woman.

The 13 people killed when an Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, included a pregnant woman who was preparing to return home, a man who quit a furniture company job to join the military about a year ago, a newlywed who had served in Iraq and a woman who had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Here is a look at some of the victims.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — A robot powered by a ground-based laser beam climbed a long cable dangling from a helicopter on Wednesday to qualify for prize money in a $2 million competition to test the potential reality of the science fiction concept of space elevators.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just when it was beginning to look a little better, the economy relapsed Friday with a return to double-digit unemployment for only the second time since World War II and warnings that next year will be even worse than previously thought.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal lawsuit settlement agreed to by the city of St. Louis in 2005 may have been violated when city park rangers, considered park police, destroyed all of the possessions of a camp of homeless people on Thursday morning, according to court records.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid intense lobbying by the Obama administration, House Democratic leaders struggled Friday for the final votes needed to pass sweeping health care legislation, weighing fresh concessions to abortion opponents and working to ease concerns among Hispanic holdouts.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (AP) — The future of education from preschool to beyond graduate school united four state senators and top state educators for a hearing at the University of Central Missouri.

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Two years after the remains of a toddler who came to be known as “Baby Grace” were dumped in Galveston Bay, the child’s stepfather was convicted of capital murder in her beating death.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama signed a $24 billion economic stimulus bill into law Friday, giving tax incentives to prospective homebuyers and additional jobless benefits to those idled by the business slump.

The Board of Trustees from the Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital received an update on improvements at the hospital on Oct. 26. CEO Tom Keim said the front exterior and interior lobby project is in its final stages. Flooring, lighting and painting is expected to be completed by Nov. 15.

BISMARCK — Two people died in an early morning accident Friday.

FARMINGTON — Police responded to a duplex on Potosi Street where two residents died in separate apartments of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

WASHINGTON (AP) — His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.

Should a St. Francois County man charged with serious crimes be represented by the public defender’s office or should he be denied a public defender because he was represented by a private attorney at one point in his case?

DESLOGE — A  41-year-old Park Hills man was arrested last week after a traffic stop turned into what police call a methamphetamine-related arrest. The traffic stop occurred at 1:40 a.m. on Highway 67 near Desloge.