Stories from Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Stoddard County July 21, 2015 Christopher Robert Kopp, 47, of Walnut Ridge, Ark., was arrested on a warrant for possession of a controlled substance. Bond was set at $20,000, and he remains in jail at this time. Stacy Jo Coffee, 35, of Advance, was arrested on a warrant for possession of a controlled substance. Bond was set at $25,000, and she remains in jail at this time...

BLOOMFIELD, MO. -- With one eye on the future and the other on the present, the Bloomfield Board of Aldermen had much discussion at their regular meeting on Monday night. Prior to the meeting, the board held a public hearing concerning the budget for the fiscal year 2016-2016...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stoddard County Board of Equalization (BOE) had no one present to appeal property tax assessments in the county at their meeting Monday, but did receive two written appeals of assessments. Ameren Missouri and Ameren Natural Gas filed a written appeal as did Savage & Browning, LLC, of Overland Park, Kan...

Two rural homes were burglarized on Friday, July 17, and an anonymous tip paid off in a big way. According to Stoddard County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Tommy Horton, while investigating the burglaries, law enforcement received an anonymous tip that named three women as being directly involved...

Bobby and Candice Garner returned to their hometown of Dexter in December 2014 from Uganda, after having spent seven years there ministering to natives of some of the most impoverished areas in the civilized world. Serving others has played a major role in the couple's young lives. ...

Two of Dexter's own were honored last week at the start of the Senior Babe Ruth state tournament at Hillhouse Park in Charleston. Bruce and Pat Miller threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of the Charleston Fighting Squirrels-Mineral Area Minerals game July 15...

Mayor Carl "Pete" Ritter and Advance Senior Community Center Board Chairman Chester Powers announced Friday that the senior center could no longer remain in operation. "So many of our patrons have died or gone into nursing homes, that we can no longer maintain a large enough crowd to support the center," said Powers in a phone interview Friday. ...

As storm warnings riddled the area, the Advance Board of Aldermen listened to Kent Polsgrove, Stoddard County Emergency Management Director, outline plans to make the entire county storm-ready. The county's Emergency Operations Center is based in the Stoddard County Ambulance Station in Dexter. Polsgrove is the one who pushes the button that operates the county's emergency sirens...

On Monday, July 13, 2015, Advance RIV School Board members learned that the district was one of 17 in the state to be awarded a Missouri Preschool Project grant, which will give the district $480,000 over the next four years. More than 250 schools applied for the grant. The Advance district will use the funds to operate a preschool program in the building formerly occupied by the Advanced Learning Center...