Leadership in Southeast Missouri saw changes and celebrations in August.
The month began with Donna Hillis winning the local election to become the new Butler County clerk.
“The citizens of our county have spoken and I am so proud to be their county clerk. Rest assured that I will do a good job and continue Tonyi (Deffendall’s) wonderful office,” Hillis said at the time.
Just a few weeks later, Poplar Bluff Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill announced his intention to step down at the end of the school year. He cited a need to recover from the “fatigue and burnout” of the pandemic as a primary reason for his decision, but said he would rejoin the education community in the future.
The DAR also held its annual Difference Makers Banquet and named Jessica Billings the 2022 Difference Maker of the Year. Billings is director of the Current River Sheltered Workshop.
In accepting the award, Billings said whatever happens in life, just keep going.
“When I go to work every day, I don’t go to work just to get a paycheck. I go to work to give somebody hope,” she said.
In September, the new Hilliard bridge north of Poplar Bluff was completed and demolition began on Pine Street bridge in town. Officials also held a groundbreaking ceremony for the next stage of the future I-57 corridor — expanding Highway 67 south to four lanes — even though construction began in July.
As the summer ended, Southeast Missouri was not all sunshine and rainbows. Poplar Bluff saw a spate of structure fires, and other conflagrations damaged or destroyed two small-town landmarks: a historic building in Malden and Patsy’s Journeyman Restaurant in Doniphan.
August
Aug. 3
• It is reported that Donna Hillis won a three-way race for the Butler County clerk’s office. Longtime Butler County Clerk Tonyi Deffendall had announced her retirement earlier in the year.
Aug. 4
• Poplar Bluff Patrolman Zachary Tubb is recognized as the Regional Peace Officer of the Year for a seven-state region by the Regional National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.
Aug. 5
• Poplar Bluff R-I welcomes three new staff: Assistant High School Principal Jason Down, Assistant Director of Special Education Jamie Busch and Transportation Director Jon McKinney.
Aug. 6
• The Missouri State Highway Patrol begins an investigation into an incident at the Butler County jail after a video is released on social media that appears to show a prisoner being kicked and struck by jail staff.
Aug. 10
• It is reported work will begin soon to replace the westbound Pine Street bridge over the Black River and on the first phase of the Highway 67 south four-lane project.
Aug. 12
• The Big Springs Medical Association in Ellington receives a $65,000 federal grant to improve its data collection capabilities.
Aug. 13
• The Stoddard County Children’s Home breaks ground for the new Harty House facility.
Aug. 16
• A banquet held by Poplar Bluff Heroes raises $280,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
• Six people are arrested on burglary and drug charges after an investigation in Ripley County.
Aug. 19
• Current River Sheltered Workshop Director Jessica Billings is named the Daily American Republic’s 2022 Difference Maker of the Year at the annual banquet. The event also raises $11,000 for Haven House.
Aug. 20
• Poplar Bluff Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill announces he is stepping down.
Aug. 23
• It is reported the public was able to tour the new Poplar Bluff Police Station on Shelby Road, with departments slated to begin moving in the coming weeks.
Aug. 24
• A fire heavily damages Patsy’s Journeyman Restaurant, a longtime Doniphan business.
Aug. 26
• Michael W. Hon is apprehended by deputies after a high-speed chase along county roads and through a cornfield. Copper wire, suspected to have been stolen from local farms, is found in his truck.
• Butler County firefighters battle five structure fires in Poplar Bluff over the course of one week.
Aug. 31
• It is reported Andrea Cox was named Teacher of the Year for Butler County as well as District Teacher of the Year. She received a congressional resolution from Rep. Darrell Atchison.
September
Sept. 2
• It is reported the Twin Rivers R-X District decided to give all full-time staff a 19% raise.
Sept. 3
• Demolition and reconstruction of the Pine Street bridge in Poplar Bluff begins.
Sept. 6
• It is reported nine-year-old Kruz Harty of Dexter was recognized by multiple state government officials for her successful poultry farm.
• It is reported three people died and several others were injured in Labor Day Weekend crashes.
Sept. 7
• Champion longbow archer Joshua Miller of Poplar Bluff competes in the 3D World Archery Championship in Italy. He progresses to the quarter-finals.
• Police in East Ridge, Tennessee collaborate with the Poplar Bluff Police Department to rescue a kidnapped Poplar Bluff woman and arrest her kidnapper.
Sept. 8
• Rob Brown is named Twin Rivers School District superintendent.
Sept. 10
• Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley retires after 22 years on the force.
Sept. 13
• A fire razes a historic, mid-nineteenth century building in Malden.
• AmeriCorps volunteers clean up approximately 1,900 pounds of trash from the Current River.
Sept. 14
• Ozark Foothills Regional Community Foundation awards a total of $2,000 to area charities.
Sept. 15
• The new Hilliard bridge is completed and Highway W reopens.
Sept. 17
• It is reported Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kacey Proctor was awarded the State’s Attorney of the Year award by the Missouri Bar Association.
Sept. 20
• The 33rd Annual Haven House Trail Ride raises $22,000 for Haven House.
Sept. 21
• Threats distributed on social media prompt PBPD officers to patrol Poplar Bluff High School.
Sept. 23
• Local officials hold a groundbreaking for the next phase of the future I-57 corridor, which expands Highway 67 to four lanes all the way to the Arkansas border. Work on the highway had already begun.
Sept. 28
• The combined total assets of the Poplar Bluff-based Southern Bank reach $4.5 billion after a merger with Citizens Bank and Trust Company.
• Carter County Health Center announces it will unveil a mobile clinic at the Carter County Fair.
Sept. 30
• The new Butler County Emergency Operations Center is dedicated. It is located within the Poplar Bluff Police Department.
• It is reported that a tanker truck hauling gasoline on Highway 60 caught fire after a two-vehicle wreck. Firefighters spend six hours containing the fire. The only injuries are minor.
• PBPD seeks witnesses to a shooting that injured one person and ended in a car chase. Two of the three passengers in the suspect vehicle are arrested after it crashes into a police cruiser. The third escapes.