In 1974, decades before the show “Breaking Bad” introduced its chemistry teacher gone rogue, a Dunklin County science instructor took the day off to rob a bank. Other school headlines from this date include county-wide academic contests and new district maps.
100 years ago
April 5, 1924
• The County Intellectual Meet wrapped up today with awards for top-performing local students. Qulin won first prize for the best all-around exhibit, and Qulin students Opal Losh and Bernice Heffner received high honors in athletic contests. Tying with Losh for most athletic awards was Nona Stenson of Big Island.
Contest categories included history, agriculture, penmanship, art, basketball and potato sack races.
75 years ago
April 5, 1949
• A former Shannon County treasurer faces embezzlement charges after the county books came up at least $40,000 short. Wright S. Brawley served as treasurer for 8 years until he resigned in February because he couldn’t acquire the bond — a type of insurance — required to hold office after he was reelected in 1946. Auditors going through the books after he was resigned discovered the missing money. The total amount is still being calculated.
The prosecuting attorney on the case said Brawley told his successor the money was taken from Shannon County capital and the common school fund.
• The Butler County Board of Education approved plans to redistrict and consolidate the school system during a meeting last night. Under the 117-page plan, dozens of districts will be arranged into the Poplar Bluff, Broseley, Fisk, Neelyville and Qulin jurisdictions. The plan recommends elementary schools in the redrawn districts continue operations until weatherproof road paving is finished.
The redistricting plan will be submitted to the State Department and local voters.
50 years ago
April 5, 1974
• A science teacher at Holcomb Junior High School called in a day off on April 1. But instead of taking a sick day, Lindell A. Taylor was planning an ill-fated heist. He’s now hospitalized in Little Rock, Arkansas, and facing federal bank robbery charges. His ex-wife, Betty Taylor Rains, was arrested as an accomplice.
Around 1:40 p.m. April 1, Taylor donned a mask and held up Citizens National Bank at Jacksonville, ordering a teller at gunpoint to fill a paper bag with cash. He fled with $7,050 in a pickup, later found to be stolen from a nearby parking lot, and was quickly spotted by a cruising policeman. Pursued, Taylor pulled off the road and dashed toward a waiting car while shooting at officers, who returned fire and struck him in the abdomen. The driver of the car, identified as Rains, tried to drive away but was forced to stop when police fired on her vehicle and hit her in the shoulder. Taylor managed to return to the stolen truck and drive onto the highway. The chase continued until a police car forced the truck off the road and it crashed, flipping several times. Taylor was arrested and transported to the hospital.
The entire incident from robbery to arrest lasted only 14 minutes, according to officers. The money was recovered at the scene.
Taylor was a first-year teacher at Holcomb and previously taught at other schools in Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas. Holcomb School Superintendent Clyde Johnston told the Daily American Republic a substitute had been brought in.