POPLAR BLUFF CITY MANAGER PRESENTS BUDGET CUTS TO SAVE CITY $300,000
Poplar Bluff City Manager Matt Winters announced on Monday decisions have been made that will save the city more than $300,000 in budget cuts.
These include a hiring freeze that will have multiple jobs, including the city planner position, four street department positions, a police officer position, and a part time position at the Black River Coliseum unfilled for the rest of the year.
More cuts include reducing the hours for the Black River Coliseum pool and fitness center, as well as the art museum. Schedules reflecting the new hours will be announced in the future.
SIX NEW CASES OF COVID-19 REPORTED IN BUTLER COUNTY; MISSOURI TOTAL CONTINUES TO RISE
Six additional cases of the coronavirus were reported in Butler County, while Missouri has continued to see an increase in cases.
According to the Butler County Health Department, the County now stands at 156 total cases, and the six new patients have been self isolated. The Department will be working with the CDC to contact anyone who may have been exposed to the virus while the patients were active and infectious.
In Missouri, as of Monday, there are a total of 33,642 cases of the virus in the state, and 1,132 deaths have been directly linked to the disease.
If you are showing any symptoms of the virus, including fever, shortness of breath, or persistent coughing, you are advised to contact your primary healthcare provider before visiting any hospital or emergency room.
ROADWAY IN WAYNE COUNTY CLOSED DURING MAINTENANCE
A roadway in Wayne County will be closed while going through maintenance.
According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, a section of Route B, 1 mile from Route U, will be closed while MODOT crews replace a few culverts underneath the roadway.
The work will begin today at 8 am, and is expected to be completed by 2 pm.
POPLAR BLUFF WOMAN ORDERED TO STAND TRIAL IN 2018 DEATH
A Poplar Bluff woman will be standing trial in Butler County in relation to a 2018 death.
Officials with the Butler County Sheriff’s Department tell KWOC News that Shanesha Burns has been ordered to stand trial on a 1st degree murder charge, as well as a charge on armed criminal action.
These charges stem from an incident in 2018, where 32 year old Jermaine Johnson was found dead in a ditch on County Road 612 with multiple gunshot wounds.
An investigation into his death concluded that he was killed in a failed drug transaction, and that Burns is suspected to have made threats to kill, or have Johnson killed, around 10 hours before he was shot.
Burns admitted to authorities that she was at the scene of Johnson’s death, and will be appearing in court today at 1 pm.
DRIVER INJURED FOLLOWING VEHICLE CRASH IN WAYNE COUNTY
A driver was injured in a vehicle crash in Wayne County on Monday.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a vehicle was traveling on Route D, north of County Road 531, where it over-corrected and ran off the roadway, striking an embankment.
The driver suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash, and was transported to a Poplar Bluff hospital for treatment.
FORMER PRIEST CHARGED ON ADDITIONAL SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CHARGES
A former priest from Springfield has been charged on additional sexual misconduct charges.
According to officials with the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, former priest Gary Carr, who was previously taken into custody on sexual misconduct charges involving minors, has been charged with three additional cases of physical/sexual misconduct.
Two of these allegations come from two men who told authorities that Carr had made inappropriate physical contact with them while he was working in Butler County in the early 1990s.
The third comes from a report from a man who stated that Carr made inappropriate contact with him in Jasper County in 1987.
The allegations are currently under review by officials with the Butler County and Jasper County Prosecuting Attorneys.
TWO EARTHQUAKES RECORDED IN DUNKLIN AND NEW MADRID COUNTY
Two earthquakes were reported in Dunklin and New Madrid Counties.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the first quake was recorded on Sunday in Dunklin County, about two miles north of Malden. It struck with a magnitude of 1.7.
The second hit around 4 miles east of Marston in New Madrid County, and registered at a magnitude of 2.1.
