POPLAR BLUFF WOMAN KILLED IN BUTLER COUNTY WRECK
An area woman was killed Friday morning in a head on collision in Butler County.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the wreck occurred when two vehicles collided on County Road 452.
One of the drivers, 59 year old Devora Kingery, of Poplar Bluff, was pronounced dead at the scene by Butler County Coroner Andy Moore.
The other driver, 25 year old Daniel Hendrickson, also of Poplar Bluff, suffered moderate injuries and was taken to a Poplar Bluff hospital.
MISSOURI GOVERNOR ERIC GREITENS SPEAKS IN POPLAR BLUFF
Missouri Governor Eric Greitens made a trip to Southeast Missouri over the weekend which included a stop in Poplar Bluff.
Greitens spoke on Saturday at the Black River Coliseum first about the state and community’s response to the recent flooding.
"We were down, we’re down in Carter County, saw what happened to the Carter County Courthouse, went through Van Buren, this is a town that was hit hard.
What we saw in Van Buren, and we saw throughout Southern Missouri, is we saw people come out. We did this differently than we had done before, when we got the warning that a flood was about to happen, we went out and ahead of time we put out our swift water rescue teams and we let them know, be ready to save lives, be ready to save lives. And the fire and mutual aid, the state emergency management agency, we went out there, and what we saw.
Even after these tremendous floods, we saw resilience, we saw strength, we saw power, we saw people who in the face of hardship and the face of difficulty said we are going to come back even stronger."
Greitens also spoke about the special session of the Missouri Legislature that he called last week.
"Now here’s the situation we’ve got right now, and it’s really straightforward. Right now, we have a company that wants to come to Southeast Missouri and make steel. And they are willing to bring hundreds of quality jobs here. And this is the thing, if we do this right, steel is just the beginning. It is a tremendous opportunity here, we were just down at Noranda, how would you like to open the Noranda plant again?
But what we had, what we had and Don explained this situation perfectly, we had a couple of politicians who for their own personal, pitiful, petty, political reasons, their own political privileges, wanted to put that ahead of jobs for the people. And what they did, was they ran out the clock.
So what I did, talked with a couple of folks about this, said you know what, they figured they could run out the clock and go home and go on vacation, so what we did is we cancelled their vacations and we’re bringing them back to work so they can do their job."
Greitens called the special session for the steel mill bill, which had stalled when the legislative session ended.
The proposal would allow the state Public Service Commission to approve special electric rates for aluminum smelting and steel-works facilities, which require a lot of electricity.
Some senators expressed concerns about creating special exemptions for particular companies.
ONE IN CUSTODY FOLLOWING CHASE IN NORTHEAST ARKANSAS
One person has been taken into custody following a pursuit early Sunday morning in Northeast Arkansas.
Clay County Sheriff Terry Miller tells KWOC News that the incident began at around 12:35 Sunday morning when a vehicle refused to stop for a routine traffic stop in Piggott.
Piggott Police continued to pursue the vehicle until it wrecked on County Road 344. The occupants of the vehicle then fled on foot through a wooded area.
One subject, 33 year old Larry Green, of Malden, was found and taken into custody. Officers were not able to locate the second occupant of the vehicle
Miller says that Green is being held at the Clay County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing on charges of fleeing, possession of a controlled substance, and reckless driving, along with other charges.
TIPS FOR SECURING YOUR HOME WHILE ON VACATION
With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, that means vacation season is here. Today we are beginning our five part series on how to keep you, your family, and possessions safe while on vacation.
Today and tomorrow we are going to focus on how to secure your home while you are away.
Officials with the Poplar Bluff Police Department say that residents need to make sure all of the locks on the doors and windows in your home function properly. You should also leave the shades and blinds on doors and windows in a position that you would normally have them.
Officials say that you should try to shades and blinds on doors and windows in a position that you would normally have them and also have timers for lights, television, or radios so they turn on and off at the appropriate times.
You can also consider taking valuables that you cannot live without to a safety deposit box.
Coming up tomorrow we will go over how you can have your neighbors assist you with home security while you are on vacation.
PEDESTRIAN INJURED FOLLOWING HIT AND RUN NEAR CAMPBELL
A Portageville man was injured in a hit and run incident Friday afternoon in Dunklin County.
Officials with the Missouri State Highway Patrol tell KWOC News that the incident occurred 2 miles north of Campbell on Missouri Highway 53 at approximately 2:30 pm Friday.
A vehicle struck 38 year old Allen Summers on the shoulder of the Highway and then left the scene. Summers suffered moderate injuries and was flown to a St. Louis hospital.
No information was available about the vehicle that struck Summers.
RIDESHARING APP UBER ANNOUNCES EXPANSION TO POPLAR BLUFF
A popular ridesharing company has expanded to Poplar Bluff.
Uber announced on Friday that that it will begin operating in the city following the passage of a statewide ridesharing regulation earlier this year.
Riders use the Uber app to connect to a driver and request a ride.
The company says they partner with pre-screened local drivers who use their own personal vehicles to transport riders.
PAVEMENT REPAIRS TO BEGIN TODAY IN STODDARD COUNTY
Route WW in Stoddard County will be reduced to one lane through the end of the month as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform pavement repairs.
The work zone is located from Route J to Route 60.
Weather permitting, work will take place today through Thursday, June 1st from 6 am to 5 pm daily.
ROAD CLOSURE SET FOR TODAY IN NEW MADRID COUNTY
Route UU in New Madrid County will be closed today so crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation can perform pavement repairs.
The section of roadway to be closed is located from Route D to County Road 784.
Work is scheduled to be done today from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm.
