USE TAX MEASURES DEFEATED IN BOTH POPLAR BLUFF AND BUTLER COUNTYUse tax measures were defeated in both Poplar Bluff and Butler County on Tuesday.
The Butler County measure was soundly defeated with 1,502 no votes compared to 1,017 yes votes. The city of Poplar Bluff vote was much closer however, with only 12 more no votes than yes votes. The tally in Poplar Bluff was 448 no votes and 436 yes votes.
KWOC News caught up with Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs after the results were announced and got his thoughts on the results.
MARK DOBBS:
It’s no doubt very disappointing, you work daily, yearly, to try to pull a rabbit out of the hat funding wise to try to keep up with an ever-shrinking tax base, an ever shrinking 911 tax base. Every year it's just a little harder to make ends meet. The sum total of it is people get laid off, services get lost, and it's as simple as really as simple as that. I mean, I get both sides of it, that taxes are tough, nobody likes taxes, I don't like taxes, but you know it cost money for services so it's disappointing for us, but we're all professionals, so we’ll go back to the drawing board and do what we've always done and continue to do a good job. You know as far as Butler County I wasn't all that surprised in the numbers there. It’s certainly disappointing for the city only to miss it by 12, that’s tough. There are so many professionals, who work hard and you want to see keep their job you want to see them keep working. You want to be able to deliver the services that people need, but you can't do it with no funds. It's like always you just have to find a way to do more with less and less becomes more. Less grows every day, just every time you turn around there's less to get things done with but we'll just have to make do like we always have, whatever that takes.
STUDENTS TO RETURN TO SCHOOL TODAY IN BELL CITY Students across Southeast Missouri are preparing to return to school, with some schools beginning class today.
Only a handful of school’s are opening today including Bell City R-2.
Many more are scheduled to start classes tomorrow, including Bernie, Chaffee, Dexter, and Neeylville.
MAN ARRESTED IN CONNECTION TO BURGLARY IN POPLAR BLUFF AREA A man has been arrested in connection to a burglary in the Poplar Bluff area.
K9 Officer Bo Skinner with the Butler County Sheriff’s Department said that the man was found Tuesday afternoon.
BO SKINNER:
On Tuesday afternoon at approximately 2:30 in the afternoon I Deputy Skinner was dispatched to a residence near Highway 67 and M in Butler County in reference to a suspicious subject. I was advised that the subject had entered a residence and the homeowner contacted him as he was entering the residence. She inquired as to why he was there and he said he was coming into the residents to charge his cell phone. The suspect was contacted later north of the location on South Westwood Boulevard. Suspect was identified as 32 year old Nicholas Beros. Upon initial contact with Mr. Beros, I began speaking with him. While conducting a once warrants check, he granted permission to search the camouflage backpack that he had on his back. At that time I located two hypodermic syringes and a marijuana pipe with burnt residue inside the pipe. Mr. Beros was placed in custody at that time for possession of narcotics paraphernalia. I was then advised that a city investigator was en route to the location to make contact with Mr. Beros. I continued searching inside the bag at which time I located numerous cell phones, a laptop computer, and other electronic items. There were zip drives. I also located a key from the Butler County highway department that had an individual vehicle number on the key ring. It was later discovered that this item was possibly related to a burglary that had occurred inside the city limits and that the Poplar Bluff City Police Department was currently investigating. Mr. Beros was then transported and booked in the Butler County jail for the charges of burglary first, possession of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics paraphernalia.
We also spoke with Detective Andy Cleaveland with the Poplar Bluff Police Department who says that Beros was possibly connected to several area burglaries.
ANDY CLEAVELAND:
The Poplar Bluff Police Department's been looking at the suspect Nicholas Beros as possibly being involved in several burglaries in the downtown Poplar Bluff area. I heard the suspect's name Nicholas Beros come across the radio as being part of a pedestrian check that he was being checked by Butler County Sheriff Department. I proceeded to the area they were at. When I arrived there at the scene Mr. Beros had actually been found to be in possession of some drug paraphernalia and several other items. One of those items that was in his possession was a bag that had stolen property from the veterans commission where we just had a burglary on Monday afternoon. We had looked at that property determined that to be stolen property in that incident. We determine that Nicholas Burroughs was in possession of stolen property. He was brought to the Butler County Sheriff's Department where I conducted an interview on him, Subsequent to that interview he confessed to the burglary at the Juvenile Center, the veterans commission there at 614 Lindsay Street in Poplar Bluff. As a result of this investigation and the subsequent confession from Mr. Beros he will be charged with second-degree burglary for this offense.
THREE INJURED, ONE SERIOUSLY, IN WRECK NEAR POPLAR BLUFF Three people were injured in a wreck Tuesday evening near Poplar Bluff.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the wreck occurred shortly before 5:30 pm on Business 60, two miles east of Poplar Bluff.
A vehicle, driven by a 17 year old Poplar Bluff male, had reportedly failed to yield and was struck by a vehicle. The second vehicle was driven by 52 year old Steven McLaughlin, of Poplar Bluff.
McLaughlin was seriously injured in the wreck and taken to a Poplar Bluff hospital.
The teenage driver received moderate injuries and a child passenger in his vehicle suffered minor injuries during the wreck.
BRIDGE REPAIRS TO CAUSE DELAYS TODAY IN DUNKLIN COUNTY Route 153 in Dunklin County will be reduced to one lane today as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform bridge repairs.
MoDOT officials tell KWOC News that the bridge involved is located between Main Street and Marsh Street.
Work is scheduled to take place today from 8 am to 3 pm.
