Dexter Fire
Dept. adds
ladder truck
January
* 3 Dexter's Ed Gargas was unanimously elected vice president of the SEMO Board of Regents. Gargas was appointed by then Gov. Jay Nixon to the Board of Regents in September 2015 with his term expiring on Jan. 1, 2022. ... The Dexter boys basketball team won the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament for the second straight year, defeating Hayti 54-41.
* 17 Stoddard County comes to a standstill as over 6 inches of unexpected snow blanketed the area. The forecast called for 1-2 inches. ... Authorities locate the body of a missing Bloomfield man.
* 31 A new ladder truck became the Dexter Fire Department's newest addition. The truck is equipped with a 78-foot ladder and is capable of pumping 1,500 gallons of water a minute. ... Third-seeded Bernie upset top-seeded Dexter 53-50 to win the SCAA boys basketball tournament.
February
* 7 Students from Richland High School joined four other schools in St. Louis to build a website for the U.S. Women's Sled Hockey team.
* 14 Nicole Guethle was honored at the Chamber Awards Banquet as the 2017 Educator of the Year. ... Dexter's Chaylea Mosby scored 49 points against Poplar Bluff to set the school's single-game scoring record.
* 21 A 45-year-old Dexter man was charged with the Valentine's Day armed robbery of Dexter's Break Time Convenience Store at 302 W. Business Highway 60. ... Dexter's Travis Waldner finished third in the 126-pound division of the Class 2 state wrestling tournament.
March
* 7 SoutheastHealth of Stoddard County dedicated its new Harty Pavilion. The new addition houses an emergency room and adult voluntary behavioral health unit. A large crowd turned out for the dedication and open house. ... Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis announced he will not run for re-election. "I didn't feel I was giving the job of presiding commissioner as much time as I should have," Mathis said, citing demands at his business, Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home. ... Two Bloomfield Middle School students were placed in custody by Bloomfield authorities after the city's Public Safety Department received a phone call Sunday evening, March 4, concerning threats of violence toward the school. ... The Dexter girls basketball team won its eighth straight Class 4, District 1 title, defeating Notre Dame 64-44.
* 14 A Poplar Bluff man died when he pulled into the path of a southbound Union Pacific train just south of Bernie. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Kenneth L. Simpson, 50, was westbound on Zimmerman Lane just east of Highway 25 shortly before 8 a.m. and failed to yield to the train. Simpson was driving a trash truck for Republic Services of Dexter. He was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the wreck. ... The Stoddard County Courthouse will soon see cupola repairs thanks to a partial grant from the Mis- souri Department of Natural Resources and state historic preservation office. The county was awarded a grant for $60,000 while putting in $40,000 for cupola repairs including sheet metal cladding restoration and application of an elastomeric finish coating, sealant replacement and painting.
* 28 After nearly 36 years in law enforcement with the Dexter Police Department, Police Chief Sammy Stone submitted his formal resignation after being placed on paid administrative leave several days ago -- a decision of Dexter's Board of Aldermen. ... Within days following the February meeting of Dexter's Board of Education at which about 30 concerned parents voiced their concerns regarding the safety of their school aged children, Assistant Superintendent Gavin Miller became involved in a recently formed statewide group called the Missouri School Safety Association. ... Dexter's Chaylea Mosby repeated as the most outstanding player of the SEMO Conference at the 60th annual Poplar Bluff Letter Club Basketball Banquet March 21.
April
* 11 Another shake-up has transpired within the Dexter Police Department for the second time in less than three weeks. Speaking on behalf of City Administrator Mark Stidham late Tuesday, April 10, City Attorney Bud Lawrence revealed that Larry Patterson, who was named interim police chief just weeks ago, has been placed on paid administrative leave.
* 18 Stoddard County Commissioners decided to reject the one bid received from R.L. Persons Construction of Poplar Bluff for Phase II of the courthouse cupola repair project, which was substantially over the grant amount awarded to the county. ... The newly reorganized Dexter School Board swore in incum-bents Rick Williams and Jim Reiker in a special meeting on Thursday, April 12.
* 25 A Malden man, Floyd Mantel Young Jr., 25, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection to the 2015 shooting death of Dustin Greer, of Bloomfield.
May
* 2 There seems to be no better fit for Tammy Smith than to serve as director of the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield. Prior to being named to the top post at the cemetery, Smith served for 15 years under the former director, Ken Swearengin. ... Once friends Sophia Wunderlich and Sydney Booker decided that their school needed a Buddy Bench on the playground, there wasn't any stopping them. The girls are second-grade students of LeeAnn Nelson at Southwest Elementary, and last winter they came up with a plan that would serve to make certain every child at Southwest would have a friend when they needed one.
* 9 Nearly $70,000 was raised for cancer research through May 4's 15th Annual Stoddard County Relay for Life event at Dexter's East City Park. Hundreds of guests converged on the park area to celebrate life and to honor the memory of those whose lives have been claimed by cancer. ... A Puxico father and son are to stand trial in February 2019 in connection with an apparent high-speed crash that left a pedestrian dead. Wesley Faries was charged with the Class C felony of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
* 16 In a special meeting of the Board of Aldermen Monday, May 14, Trevor Pulley was named as Dexter's new Chief of Police. Pulley, who prior to his appointment on April 6 to acting chief, most recently carried the rank of Detective Captain with the Dexter Police Department. ... Members of the Bloom- field Board of Education on Monday, May 14 approved a raise for its certified staff and an increase in the salaries of non-certified staff members. ... A 20-year-old Bernie man was charged with the March 29, 2018, burglary of H&R Block on Business 60 in Dexter, and according to authorities, further charges were pending. Nearly 30 burglaries had taken place within Dexter's city limits in recent months. ... Dexter High School graduated 153 seniors in a ceremony May 11 at the Bearcat Event Center. Jonni Hill was the 2018 valedictorian. The salutatorian was Emily Ladd.
* 23 Dexter R-XI Schools announced it would become a one-to-one computing district at Monday, May 21's regular monthly meeting. The Board of Education unanimously approved a lease agreement for Chromebooks to be used at the middle school. The one-to-one initiative allows students access to the internet, digital course materials and digital textbooks.
*30 Richland Elementary was one of eight schools across the state to be named a 2018 Missouri Gold Star School by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. ... Beginning in June, Stoddard County Sheriff's Department personnel will be paid monthly for any overtime hours worked and no comp time will be accumulated.
June
* 6 A weekend boat collision on Black River left a Poplar Bluff teenager dead and five others injured. The crash happened at about 7:25 p.m. Sunday, June 3, on a "straighter stretch" of the river about one mile upstream from the Hendrickson boat ramp, said Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. J.T. Wilson.
* 13 Stoddard County 911 beaome the first agency in Missouri set to roll out new public safety software from Zuercher Technologies to integrate many agencies within the county to one system. ... Steps are being taken at the recently restructured Dexter Police Department to increase safety throughout the schools and community. "We now have two captains; you have a captain (Hank Trout) that runs the detective division, which is associated with the SRO (school-resource officer)," explained Police Chief Trevor Pulley.
* 20 In an effort to establish a healthier and safer environment for residents in public housing, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandated the development of smoke-free policies for public housing agencies. ... Korie Fish was welcomed as the new Dexter Chamber of Commerce Executive Director.
* 27 Dexter Public Schools' annual school bus inspection rating saw a dip this year after the district received a state award in 2017. Results of the Missouri State Highway Patrol's 2018 school bus inspection program were released in June, and the reports show Dexter Schools earned an 88.5 percent. The rating is 3.5 percent lower than last year's score of 92 percent.