RIVER RADIO NEWS 061115
ROBBIE MYERS CHOSEN AS BUTLER COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY DIRECTOR
Robbie Myers will be staying on as Butler County Emergency Management Agency Director.
Myers became the permanent director on June 1st. He had been serving on an interim basis since the resignation of Jeff Shawan. According to the Daily American Republic, no interviews were conducted for the position.
POLICE BREAK INTO VEHICLE IN ORDER TO REMOVE CHILD
A baby had to be rescued from a hot vehicle Tuesday afternoon after it reportedly locked itself in.
According to KAIT, the incident occurred at a business in Jonesboro. The one year old child was playing with its mother’s keys while the mom was putting her in a car seat. As the mother circled around to the driver’s side of the vehicle, the child accidently locked the doors.
Due to the temperature, Jonesboro Police officers had to break one of the vehicle’s windows to get into the car and unlock it.
TWO FACING CHARGES FOLLOWING BUTLER COUNTY WRECK
Two people who were involved in a wreck Wednesday in Butler County are facing charges.
According to the Highway Patrol, the wreck occurred Wednesday morning on Route T, north of Poplar Bluff. A vehicle driven by 41 year old Kathy Pearce, of Malden, ran off the road and struck an embankment.
Pearce suffered minor injuries, while a passenger in her vehicle, 52 year old Timothy Cobb, of Bernie, was seriously injured.
The Highway Patrol’s online arrest database has arrests listed for both Pearce and Cobb later on Wednesday.
Pearce is facing felony charges of second degree vehicular assault and distribution of a controlled substance.
Cobb has been charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance.
FORMER ARKANSAS JUDGE SENTENCED IN MAIL FRAUD CASE
(AP) - A former Arkansas district judge convicted of drug charges has been sentenced in an unrelated mail fraud case involving American Indian artifacts.
Bob Castleman, who was a judge in Pocahontas over a decade ago, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison and must pay nearly $16,800 in restitution.
The Jonesboro Sun reports that Castleman had claimed to an insurance company in 2012 that Native American arrowheads were stolen from his residence. FBI agents later found the arrowheads in 2013.
Castleman's sentence will run concurrently with a 40-year prison term he received in the drug case. He was convicted in late 2013 of conspiracy to make meth and maintaining a drug premises.
THREE ARRESTED DURING BUTLER COUNTY CHECKPOINT
Three people were arrested recently during a sobriety checkpoint in Butler County.
According to Captain George Ridens, with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a total of 145 vehicles were stopped during the four-hour operation which began at 11 pm on June 5th.
During the checkpoint, three arrests were made, one for driving while intoxicated, one for driving while revoked, and one for a felony warrant. 17 summonses and 30 warnings were also issued during the operation.
MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL TO PARTICIPATE IN OPERATION DRY WATER
The Missouri State Highway Patrol will be participating in a national campaign to keep waterways safe from boaters operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
For Operation Dry Water, troopers will focus their efforts over the weekend of June 26th to 28th to detect and apprehend intoxicated operators.
In 2014, Missouri troopers arrested a total of eight people for boating while intoxicated and issued 72 boating violation summonses and 390 warnings on Missouri waterways.
PIPE REPLACEMENT TO CAUSE DELAYS TODAY IN RIPLEY COUNTY
Route 142 in Ripley County will be reduced to one lane today as Missouri Department of Transportation crews replace a pipe under the roadway.
The work zone is located between County Roads 142-24 and 142-26.
Work will take place today from 9 am to 3 pm.
ARKANSAS SEEKING REHEARING IN 12-WEEK ABORTION BAN CASE
(AP) - The Arkansas Attorney General's Office is seeking a rehearing before the U.S. appeals court that agreed last month with a lower court that a state law unconstitutionally burdens women by banning abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy if a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat.
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed a 19-page petition Wednesday seeking a rehearing before the entire 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The court sided May 27 with doctors who challenged the law, ruling that abortion restrictions must be based on a fetus' ability to live outside the womb, not the presence of a fetal heartbeat that can be detected weeks earlier.
Rita Sklar of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said the petition for rehearing is "more waste of Arkansas taxpayer money."
