The first day of the 2022 Missouri Legislature is Jan. 5.
A topic local law enforcement hopes to see taken up by legislators is a 2021 law they say makes it difficult to pursue federal gun charges.
State Sen. Jason Bean and Reps. Hardy Billington and Darrell Atchison told the DAR in August they want to work toward a solution on the Second Amendment Preservation Act.
Local officials say the law was passed with good intentions, but had unintended consequences, including opening local law enforcement up to civil lawsuits, local officials report.
Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley, Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs and Butler County Prosecutor Casey Proctor first spoke to the Daily American Republic about their concerns in August. They spoke about the matter again in November to ‘60 Minutes.’
The problem with the Second Amendment Preservation Act, signed into law in June, Proctor said, is it can subject local law enforcement officers to fines of $50,000 per offense if it is deemed they worked with federal officials in the enforcement of gun crimes.
“The way it’s written, we are neutered,” said Whiteley, who noted his department has more than a dozen cases “that we would have already forwarded to the ATF for federal prosecution if we were allowed to.
“When it comes down to $50,000 per officer, we can’t afford it.”
Another major project that is on schedule for 2022 is the replacement of the westbound Pine Street bridge over the Black River.
David Wyman of the Missouri Department of Transportation said the project is on track to be put out for bid in February.
Wyman shared with the DAR in August that the project will cost approximately $3.5 million. The 1934 structure has deteriorated to the point that replacement is the only option, according to MoDOT. Work is expected to be complete in the summer of 2023.
Other significant stories in August, September and October included:
Aug. 3
• Poplar Bluff Fire Chief Mike Moffitt is sworn in Aug. 2 at the Poplar Bluff City Council meeting.
• Gov. Mike Parson praises the local Boys and Girls Club of Poplar Bluff, which presented the governor with a copy of Kati Ray’s book on the victims of the 1927 for the state’s bicentennial time capsule.
Aug. 5
• Local law enforcement, including Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley, Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs and Butler County Prosecutor Kasey Proctor speak out against a new state law known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act. They say it opens law enforcement to civil lawsuits if they pursue federal gun charges against offenders.
• Mask orders return to the 36th Judicial Circuit courtrooms after COVID-19 cases increase again.
Aug. 6
• Local schools weigh in on whether or not mask requirements will be in place for the school year, including Three Rivers College, which says masks will be required on campus. Poplar Bluff schools said masks would not be required, but could make a difference in quarantine requirements when contact tracing.
Aug. 7
• Leroy Moss, a Poplar Bluff High School star athlete who went on to play professionally with the Canadian Football League, dies at age 70.
Aug. 10
• Local lawmakers speak at a chamber of commerce luncheon Aug. 9, and share that the Second Amendment Preservation Act has “unintended consequences” which need to be addressed. Speaking at the luncheon were state Sen. Jason Bean and state Reps. Darrel Atchison and Hardy Billington.
• The National Weather Service reports a microburst was responsible for damage to homes Aug. 8 in the Qulin area. Later survey reports reveal the storm also produced an EF-0 tornado.
Aug. 11
• Missouri celebrates its bicentennial with events across the state, including at the Poplar Bluff History Museum.
Aug. 12
• A beam signing is held for Poplar Bluff Police Department as construction progresses at the new Shelby Road location.
• Alex Clinton, 64, is reported badly injured in a house fire Aug. 11 while saving his family at 717 S. C St. Clinton later succumbs to his injuries.
• Ron LeGrand of Dexter captures a world championship title at the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association World Horseshoe Pitching Championships in Winnemucca, Nevada.
Aug. 13
• Health officials report region COVID-19 vaccination rates lag behind the state. Rates for Butler, Carter, Dunklin, Ripley, Stoddard and Wayne counties averaged less than 24% compared to the state’s 49.4%.
Aug. 14
• Ricky Hurt pleads guilty to second degree murder in the 2015 death of Edward Goodwin and is sentenced to 18 years in prison.
• Worker and goods shortages are highlighted when U.S. Rep. Jason Smith tours the region to speak with business owners.
Aug. 17
• Events organized by the Poplar Bluff Heroes team to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital raise $240,000.
• A branch of Poplar Bluff Municipal Library on Kanell Boulevard is dedicated in the memory of Dr. Gus T. Ridgel.
Aug. 18
• Highway officials share that a $3.5 million project will begin with bid lettings in February 2022 for the replacement of the westbound Pine Street bridge.
• Poplar Bluff schools announce bus route changes needed to accommodate a bus driver shortage. The changes extend the area for which students will be required to walk to school.
Aug. 20
• Michelle Hessling is named the 2021 Difference Maker of the Year for her work to help the homeless. The announcement is made at the Daily American Republic’s annual banquet, which honored 10 individuals and groups from the region who volunteer in their communities and have brought about change.
• FosterAdopt Connect receives a $7,450 donation from the Daily American Republic’s Difference Makers event.
Aug. 21
• The Three Rivers College Patron of the Arts announces a new season, following the cancellation of events in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Aug. 24
• Poplar Bluff, Neelyville and Twin Rivers schools return to classes.
• One person is injured after a vehicle crashes into the Black River on Aug. 22 and lands upside down at the end of East Ashcroft Road.
Aug. 25
• One person is injured in a shooting Aug. 23. Butler County deputies were called to the 1300 block of Highway 53 after reports of shots being from a silver Ford Mustang chasing a Ford Crown Victoria from Casey’s on Ditch Road to Highway 53.
• U.S. Census results show declines in region population, including a small 1.6% in Butler County and as much as 24.3% in Ripley County.
Aug. 26
• Poplar Bluff School district announces it will take over the former Bank of Poplar Bluff building at 200 S. Main St., and renovate it for the district’s administrative offices.
• State health officials announce Poplar Bluff has been chosen as one of several sites to host a monoclonal antibodies treatment clinic for COVID-19 patients.
• Poplar Bluff native Kameron Misner is promoted to Double-A with plans to debut with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
Aug. 27
• It is announced that a new bridge will be built along Butler County Road 410, west of Walton Chapel, to replace a structure in poor condition.
Aug. 28
• Union Pacific’s historic steam engine 4014 draws hundreds to Poplar Bluff from across the country for its stop Aug. 27 in Poplar Bluff.
• The Mules open the football season with a 48-10 win against Agape in their first home game of the season.
Aug. 31
• Poplar Bluff firefighters are honored for their efforts to fight an Aug. 11 house fire, but say grandfather Alex Clinton, 64, was the true hero. Clinton was badly injured while saving his family and later succumbed to his injuries.
• Local linemen are sent to southwest Mississippi to help with power restoration after damages by Hurricane Ida.
Sept. 3
• Crews complete work on a runway extension at Poplar Bluff Regional Business Airport that marks the end of Phase 1 of construction. The airport was temporarily closed for the $4 million, grant-funded project that will allow larger aircraft to land at the facility.
Sept. 4
• One person is killed Sept. 3 in a shooting in the 200 block of South E Street. At the time, there were no witnesses and no suspects in the death of Clifton Clyde Reed.
Sept. 8
• Poplar Bluff police report that a rash of shootings Sept. 3 and Sept. 6 were related, and involved two groups fighting. These shootings were not tied by police to the South E Street death of Reed. They involved 15 or more rounds fired in some locations, including Gardner and Adam streets.
Sept. 9
• Butler County officials discuss the need to close the Hargrove swing span bridge on County Road 658 for repairs.
Sept. 10
• The Stage Company announces it will leave its long-time home at the Rodgers Theatre, citing an increase in costs to rent the facility for productions.
Sept. 11
• Area residents recognize the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Sept. 14
• Retired Three Rivers Coach Gene Bess is honored for 50 years in education and coaching, closing his career with a record of wins, 1300-416.
Sept. 15
• Big River Communications breaks ground on a new fiber network in Poplar Bluff.
• David Ryan Troyer Jr. is found guilty of first-degree child molestation in a case involving a 2-year-old child. The case involved a 2018 incident in Stoddard County.
Sept. 16
• A fire destroys The Landing at Van Buren, destroying a restaurant and 41 motel rooms. No injuries are reported.
• Uel Joe Freeman, 60, is arrested Sept. 15 in the May 1987 shooting death of Thomas Ray Rowland, whose body was discovered in the trunk of a car May 14, 1987, at Valley Plaza Shopping Center.
Sept. 17
• Chantelle Becking urges solidarity and honesty while speaking at the Women Aware conference Sept. 16.
Sept. 21
• Poplar Bluff city officials discuss a $147,400 COVID relief grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration that they say will be used to help recover last revenues from the Black River Coliseum’s canceled events.
Sept. 23
• Dawn Alexis Lloyd of Doniphan is sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the July 21, 2019, kidnapping and murder of Daniel L. Richardson of Ripley County.
Sept. 24
• Moark Regional Railroad Museum makes plans to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
Sept. 28
• Gold Star families are honored in an event held at Three Rivers College. The event paid tribute to 15 area soldiers who were killed in Vietnam.
Sept. 29
• Butler County farmer Alex Clark talks about being selected as chairman of the US Rice Producers Association.
Oct. 2
• Poplar Bluff Fire Department marks the promotions of five long-time employees, and the hiring of three new firefighters. Oct. 6
• Joshua Collins, 30, of Poplar Bluff is shot Oct. 4 and later dies from his wounds. One person is arrested in the incident, but Butler County authorities decline to release the name of the suspect.
Oct. 7
• Poplar Bluff Police Patrolman Zachary Tubb is named Peace Officer of the Year for Missouri by the Missouri National Association of Housing and Redevelopment.
• Greenville earns the top seed and Poplar Bluff the third seed in the MSHSAA Softball Championships.
Oct. 15
• Thomas Woodham of Poplar Bluff is found guilty on multiple charges of statutory rape and incest stemming from a 2017 investigation.
• Schylar Alexis Tubbs of Fairdealing receives two concurrent five-year sentences after pleading guilty to charges related to the 2019 murder of Daniel L. Richardson of Ripley County. She was the third of five people charged in the case to plead guilty.
Oct. 19
• The Poplar Bluff City Council votes Oct. 18 to approve 3% temporary raises for city employees. The lump sum payments will be made quarterly to staff for three years using COVID relief money.
Oct. 21
• Terry A. Brown of Coldwater, Mississippi, is sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the 2020 stabbing death of his uncle, Virgil Brown II of Poplar Bluff.
Oct. 23
• Officials announce that pediatricians from Saint Francis Healthcare locations at Kneibert Clinic and Northwest Medical Center will relocate Oct. 25 to 225 Physicians Park Drive.
• Poplar Bluff Police Patrolman Andrew Cleaveland is recognized for his retirement from the department after 26 years of service.
Oct. 29
• The Boys and Girls Club of Poplar Bluff takes on a new name — Boys and Girls Club of the Heartland — as it looks at a new mission to expand beyond Butler County. The group also receives $2.9 million in grants to add additional sites.