POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KFVS) - The Missouri Angels Pageant will be Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Tinnin Fine Arts building at 11 a.m.

The pageant is for special needs children in the community and surrounding communities. Organizers say every child will receive a crown, sash and goodie bag and the king and queen will receive a slightly larger crown and a different color sash but they will not upstage the other children.

Organizers say every child gets to choose the title he or she will be crowned with.

One participant, Ashlee is 17 years old. She was born a healthy baby girl on June 10, 1994, when at 18 months old she contracted viral spinal meningitis that left her with brain damage. Her mother, Kimberly Thompson, says for days they didn't know if Ashlee would ever speak, walk or even smile again. Now, her mother says Ashlee will graduate in one and a half years and plans to attend Three Rivers College.

Ashlee chose to be Ms.

Heartland News has taken dozens of calls from concerned employees and their families stating Fortis Plastic LLC informed them the operation would shut down in a few weeks.

From the front office in Poplar Bluff, to the corporate headquarters in South Bend, Indiana - no one with the company would confirm the shut down as of 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.

However, employees we spoke with say their supervisors sat them down this week to inform them they'd soon be out of a job.

"It's going to be hard," said Violet Sullivan. Sullivan worked for five years as a machine operator.

She and another operator, Donna Nelson, both say they had a feeling the days of Fortis could be numbered.

"We didn't have enough material," said Nelson. "There were just a lot of rumors."

Nelson, Sullivan, and other employees say they got the news during regular meetings at the beginning of their shifts.

POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KFVS) - The Missouri Department of Transportation says they will hold an open-house community briefing on Thursday, Oct. 20 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The community briefing will be about upcoming improvements to the Route PP bridge over Cane Creek in Butler County. It will be held at the Schultz and Summers office, located at 4800 West Boulevard in Poplar Bluff.

"Visitors can stop-by anytime between 4 and 6 p.m. to discuss the details with a member of the project team and provide their comments," said Project Manager Eric Krapf.

MoDOT says the project will include replacing the bridge with a wider structure and as work is underway, the road will stay closed. A contract for the project is expected to be awarded in December 2011.