FORMER KENNETT DEPUTY CITY CLERK ARRESTED FOR STEALING ALMOST $80,000 FROM THE CITY

A former Kennett deputy City Clerk has been taken into custody after being accused of stealing almost $80,000 from the city.

Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Nicholas Jain tells KWOC News that 37 year old Leslie Osorio, now of Paragould, Arkansas has been charged with stealing after a fraud investigation by the Missouri State Auditor’s Office.

In 2022, the City requested the Missouri State Auditor’s office conduct a fraud investigation when the City realized that Osorio’s 2021 Form W-2, reported more than $140,000 in wages.

OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE ROAD DIET PLAN CANCELLED FOR PINE STREET IN POPLAR BLUFF

The road diet planned for Business Highway 60 and Pine Street in Poplar Bluff will not be going forward.

According to Poplar Bluff city manager Robert Knodell, after discussions with the Missouri Department of Transportation, the City of Poplar Bluff has agreed to increase the law enforcement presence along Business 60/Pine Street instead of MoDOT reconfiguring the roadway with a road diet.

The original plan would have changed Pine Street from a four lane road to a three lane road including a center turning lane from Route B through 10th street. The plan was later reduced to just being east of the Black River.

MULTIPLE INCHES OF SNOW FALLS ON SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AND NORTHEAST ARKANSAS

Area residents are waking up this morning to what some may consider a winter wonderland.

According to the National Weather Service, multiple inches of snow fell late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning in Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas.

Officials say that roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, have become slick and hazardous. Travel could be very difficult during your morning commute.