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By Abby Callard  ¦   Demonte Gaines, a fourth-grader at Field Elementary, shops in Target's game aisle with Columbia police Officer Melvin Buckner on Saturday.

By ANN HERMES  ¦   Bin Wu salsa dances with Susan Cass on the dance floor at Club Tropicana on Friday. Both are ballroom dancers who wanted to experience Club Tropicana before it closes on Saturday.

By ANN HERMES  ¦   Steve Anzo, above, disc jockeys at at Club Tropicana. Anzo has been working at the club for a year and a half. “I’m sad to see it go, but I’m hopeful that we’ll find a new spot, because it’s an incredible atmosphere,” he said.

By ANN HERMES  ¦   Bogdan Barz, left, spins Renee Holzhauser at Club Tropicana.

By ANN HERMES  ¦   Curtis Kukal, right, was joined by fiance Brittany Robinson, center, and Laurie Robinson after the Honors Graduation ceremony Saturday. He obtained a B.A. in Fisheries and Wildlife.

By RYAN GIBBONS  ¦   Drae Cox, left, practices a pin during Hickman's wrestling practice Thursday. Cox, one of three team captains, placed fourth in last year's state championships.

By Emily Wax/Washington Post  ¦   Ashish Sharma Pawan, 28, a priest in Haridwar, northern India, records in a 144-year-old book the genealogies of families visiting the ancient city to pay homage to their dead.

By TYSON ANDERSON  ¦   Bob and Mary Lu Parks retired to Columbia frm Brmingham, AL fourteen years ago. They decided to move to Columbia so they could be closer to family.

By MARY ELLEN POFF  ¦   Alice Montagino looks out her kitchen window at the snow while her husband, Frank, reads the newspaper. The couple moved to Columbia after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their home in New Orleans.

By RYAN GIBBONS  ¦   Kathy Freeman is currently training for her second-degree black belt.

By J.J. GILMORE/Missourian  ¦   Scott Williams, right, jokes with Douglass players Mikhail Williams, left, and Keondre Carthron during Wednesday’s practice.

By Brian Hamman  ¦  

By SUZY LAFFERTY/Missourian  ¦   Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe proposes lowering Columbia's unposted speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph, including the neighborhood on Falcon Drive where this sign is posted.

By AMANDA LUCIER/Missourian  ¦   Jenean Thompson, right, discusses possible sentences with Vanessa Bennett, at the Boone County Jail on Thursday. "Everyone has a constitutional right to adequate legal representation," Thompson said about the rising caseloads of public defenders. "But 'adequate' just isn't good enough for me."

By AMANDA LUCIER/Missourian  ¦   Jenean Thompson comforts Philandra Robinson, the girlfriend of one of her clients who faces years in jail on a series of state and federal charges. "When I talked to him on the phone, you could tell he was one of those fathers who really cared about his kids, " says Thompson. "When he gets out, I hope they hang in there and have a good life."

By AMANDA LUCIER/Missourian  ¦   The scene of an arson is one of the many stops Jenean Thompson, a Columbia public defender, made Thursday. Thompson stopped to consider the location of witness's window before returning to the office for an afternoon in court.

By AMANDA LUCIER/Missourian  ¦   Jenean Thompson, a public defender, approaches the Boone County Courthouse for an afternoon of arraignment hearings. Public defenders, like other governmental employees, get time off on federal holidays but says that "even on those Mondays we have off, you'll see public defenders in the office and visiting their clients in jail."

By AMANDA LUCIER/Missourian  ¦   Jenean Thompson, a Columbia public defender, carries case documents on her way to court on Thursday. According to Thompson, an experienced public defender can handle up to 150 cases a year, though the public defenders in Columbia may face many more next year because of staff transfers and medical leave.

Kirk Jones

By KYLE WAYNE STEWART/Missourian  ¦   Claire Schaeperkoetter has been an All-District selection her first three seasons with the Bruins.