Year in Review - March/April 2019: PB elects first African American mayor, $120K awarded to food pantry

The selection of Poplar Bluff’s first African American mayor, the move of fourth grade students from the Qulin elementary to middle school and a $120,000 grant for the Three Rivers College Food Pantry are just some of the events that marked March and April 2019.

March 1

Dexter lost the Class 4 District 1 championship for the first time in eight years. The team played against Notre Dame in Cape Girardeau in a game that went into overtime. Notre Dame won 44-40.

Poplar Bluff R-I Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill, left, presents District Teacher of the Year Amanda Summers with her award in April during the annual TOY Luncheon for being recognized among her peers. DAR/Archive

March 2

Jackson Bostic retired from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources after 29 years of public service. Bostic stepped down from his position as director of the Southeast Regional Office, a position he’d held since 2012.

March 5

Jerry Wills votes at the Karen West polling location in April. DAR/Archive

The Lady Raiders won the Region XVI title in Jefferson City against Moberly Area after a rough start. Despite Moberly Area scoring the first 11 points of the game, Three Rivers College came out on top 88-79.

March 9

The viral Momo Challenge caused national concern about what students are seeing online. Local school districts took the opportunity to discuss with both students and parents about Internet risks and how to monitor what their students are seeing online.

Carol Comer, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, congratulates Southeast Region Director Jackson Bostic on his retirement after 28 years with the agency during a ceremony Friday.DAR/Paul Davis

The Lady Raiders advanced to the national tournament for the first time since 2004 with a 77-59 win against Iowa Western.

March 12

Then Associate Superintendent of Finance Rod Priest retired at the end of the 2018-19 school year. The board voted to approve Dr. Amy Jackson, then associate superintendent of school’s human resource director, to take over the position.

March 19

Poplar Bluff businessman Eddy Justice, 46, announced his intention to file for the District 25 seat in the Missouri Senate. The seat is currently held by Sen. Doug Libla. Official filing started in February.

Former state Rep. Steve Cookson, of Poplar Bluff, also announced his intention to file for the same seat. Both are Republicans.

The Lady Raiders lost 88-84 to No. 9 Jones County in the first round of the NJCAA Tournament.

March 20

Lake Road Elementary School hosted a community event to celebrate being named as a National Blue Ribbon School.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program sets a standard for excellence for all schools striving for the highest level of achievement.

The Poplar Bluff baseball team won against Kennett 6-4.

March 21

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office neared completion of additions to its office.

Construction started the prior fall and added approximately 2,300 square feet. It added a kitchen, laundry room, storage room and small “polycom” room.

Dexter senior Chaylea Mosby became the first three-time winner of the Bob Gray Award as the most outstanding girls basketball player in the SEMO Conference. Poplar Bluff’s Kiley Bess shared the award. Dominique Hardimon was Poplar Bluff’s first winner since 2006 of the John Gibbs Award as the top player in the conference.

March 23

The Poplar Bluff Industrial Park overpass neared the homestretch of the project.

The overpass is expected to carry about 2,000 vehicles a day and was estimated to cost $3.4 million.

March 28

The Three Rivers College Food Pantry received additional support in the form of $120,000 grant from rootEd Alliance.

It also saw extra support from the Student Nursing Association, the Student Government Association and Phi Theta Kappa. The organizations hosted a food drive that went toward the pantry.

March 29

Malden teen Jalen Dashawn Miller, 18, pleaded guilty to assaulting another teen, resulting in his death.

Malcomb Townsend McBride, 19, of Malden and Jordan Paul Morgan, 19, of Bernie also pleaded guilty to the Class E felony of third-degree assault two weeks earlier. Each was sentenced to four years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

April 2

Poplar Bluff police officer Corey Mitchell was named Elk’s Officer of the year.

Poplar Bluff’s City Council tabled an $18.2 million upgrade to the city’s wastewater treatment plant due to concerns the bid was “unbalanced.”

April 3

Residents of every county turned out to vote for a variety of issues including city council seats, school board members and tax issues.

Dexter School District voters approved a bond measure with 77% of the vote. The bond issue is going toward at $15 million site improvement.

April 5

Kindergarten teacher Amanda Summers was named teacher of the year for the Poplar Bluff R-I District.

The district also recognized 10 outstanding teachers at the Teacher Luncheon.

Lady Raiders coach Jeff Walk announced intentions to retire after the 2019-20 season. Walk will have been with the programs for 12 years with a total career record of 406-179.

April 16

Ward 5 representative Robert Smith was unanimously selected by council members to serve as Poplar Bluff mayor. Smith is the first African American mayor. He has served on the council for 14 years.

April 20

Local law enforcement and bail bond agents met to discuss changes to the criminal justice system caused by the state Supreme Court.

One of the changes is requiring judges to first consider non-monetary conditions for pretrial release. The goal of the change is to reduce court costs that can derail the lives of low-income defendants.

April 23

Dexter School Board president Kevin Bishop offered his resignation from the board effective May 31. Bishop’s term will be up in 2020. The seat has been filled and Jim Reiker started serving as president after Bishop’s resignation.

The Neelyville softball team won its third Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament. East Carter topped Doniphan for third place.

April 25

The Twin Rivers R-X school board approved the move of fourth grade students at Qulin Elementary to the Qulin Middle School campus.

The move allowed for freed up space in the elementary school to expand and created a more traditional middle school schedule for the sixth through eighth grade students. The fourth and fifth grade students share a schedule that includes rotating classes in the morning and an extended English Language Arts period in the afternoon.