News

Two Stoddard County residents were arrested on drug trafficking charges after authorities conducted a search of a room at the Hickory House Motel in Dexter. According to Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking in Stoddard County led to a search warrant being served on a room at Hickory House Motel in Dexter. ...

The Knights of Columbus made two donations Friday morning. The first was a donation of 24 coats to Southwest Elementary. The school will determine which students will receive the coats. Shown above is the financial secretary for the Knights of Columbus Derek Urhahn presenting the coats to Assistant Principal Felicia Powers. ...

The one and only Grease is coming to Dexter when the Dexter High School Choir Department performs Grease the School Edition on November 20 through November 23. The feature a large cast of choir students. The shows will start nightly at 6:30 p.m. in the DHS auditorium. Tickets for the show will be $5 for adults, $3 for students 5 to 18 and children four and under are free. No early tickets will be sold...

The Puxico School Board approved the creation of a Puxico Hall of Fame at its November meeting. The board hopes to have an inaugural class in place for induction later in the school year. Nomination packets will be prepared and made available for the nomination process for future classes...

BLOOMFIELD — Bids for the construction of the Stoddard County Jail expansion were submitted Thursday during a special county commission meeting. Six companies from Missouri and Illinois presented bids to Presiding Commission Danny Talkington, associate commissioners Carol Jarrell and Steve Jordan and project architect Shawn Harding, of HMN Architects, of Overland Park, Kansas...

On April 20, 2020, Dexter's Scott Kruse will toe the starting line with approximately 30,000 other runners in Boston. Kruse, the principal at T.S. Hill Middle School, is one of 10 people selected by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to run on its marathon team and that team is heading to the Boston Marathon...

Two separate accidents Tuesday resulted in serious injuries for three area teenagers, the first involving a head on crash and the second a rollover accident. A Bernie teen was injured at 1:55 p.m. Tuesday in the first accident, which occurred on County Road 237 in Stoddard County...

Williams Baptist University seniors Melanie McKuin of Dexter, Mo., and C.J. Cara of Bartlett, Tenn., are this year’s Homecoming Queen and King at WBU.  The two were crowned during Homecoming festivities Nov. 2 at WBU. McKuin, an English major, is the daughter of Barry and Kim McKuin.  Cara is the son of Chris and Penny Cara, and he is majoring in liberal arts, with a concentration in biology and psychology...

At the Missouri Veterans Cemetery cold temperatures and rain did not dampen the spirits of those in attendance. The reason they were there outweighed any weather conditions. They were there to thank those veterans who served to ensure freedom and remember those who served and gave their lives for freedom. And finally remember those listed as Prisoners of War (POW) or Missing in Action (MIA) in hopes that they will one day come home...

Ladylike decorum, quiet concentration, and strict adherence to playing rules are NOT what you will find when game night convenes at Patty Shell’s home on Chautauqua Lane in Dexter. From the outset, the cozy kitchen is alive with conversation and laughter. ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Stoddard County Commission asked the Dexter Statesman to publish this article to inform citizens of the changes in the floodplain management office in the past few months. The Stoddard County office of floodplain management has seen a few changes recently...

Three Dexter students have been selected to the Missouri All State Choir. The three students selected are: junior Mattilyn Williams, senior Madeline Parker and junior Tyler Montgomery. They will represent Dexter at the January 2020 MMEA convention held in Osage Beach, Mo. over the course of four days...

Orscheln in Dexter held a ribbon cutting to celebrate its grand reopening after an extensive remodel. Pictured on the front row from left are: Interim Chamber Director Ed Dust, Dexter Mayor Jason Banken; Orscheln representatives Al Osvron, Randy Croney, Tisha Cole, Rebecca Pulley, Destiny Cagle, Jonathon Simmons, Lara Simmons, Angela Rauscher; Dexter Chamber member Maddie Guethle, SouthHEALTH of Stoddard County CEO Sue Ann Williams, Dexter Alderman Jerry Corder, Dexter Chamber member Cecil Haley, Dexter Chamber member Jennifer Whitesell and Dexter Chamber President Alisha Trammell. ...

The Dexter High School Student Council along with Tim Holder, hosted a recent Halloween Dance. The students collected canned goods and $350 to be donated to the Stoddard County Gospel Mission. Pictured making the check presentation from left are: Carter Dorton, Kim Lemons with the Stoddard County Gospel Mission, Magi McBride, Mike Morris with the Stoddard County Gospel Mission, Ellie Dowdy and Destiny Ahrens...

Third Grade Honor Roll Kingston Banken, Kenton Barbour, Lola Barr, Kohen Batchelor, Stacy Bowers, William Busse, Eben Carr, Jaden Carter, Lindsay Lee Christian, Mila Clark, Carter Claussen, Seth Clubb, Grace Cobb, Beau Craft, Makinley Crosby, Ethan Taylor Davis, Ashton Deberry, Taran Deprow, Reed Dodson, Audriana Dukes-Cazares, Eli Earnheart, Kennedy Essner, Lilly Fields, Payden Fowler, Bryan Galloway, Addelyn Gill, Matthew Glore, Miley Gold, Elliott Goldschmidt, Jaxson Goodman, Aaron Gott, Eli Gott, Lilah Grimes, Gabrielle Guethle, Greta Guethle, Gabriel Hammond, Tyler Hankins, Ethan Harris, Harley Haws, Olivianna Hester, Farrah Hofer, Samuel Howard, Ella Hutson, Zachary Jackson, Ada Jarrell, Parker Keena, Aubree Killian-Mcdonald, Kayleen Kingston-Horn, Alexzander Alan Lin, Chase Lowman, Liam Luttrull, Addison Mann, Gunner Matney, Aiden Mcclish, Lily Mccord, Jagger Mcfaddin, Clayton Mcgowan, Dennis Mcintyre, Melora Mckay, Sebastian Mcroy, Addison Meador, Bronsen Menley, Jiles Monroe, Mason Monroe, Hudson Moore, Marlie Morris, Jett Mosier, Trista Murphy, Gracy Neal, Mckendree Neuhaus, Kyle Nichols, Lilly Nugent, Triston Oliva, Korbin Olsen, Robyn Ordway, Ava Parker, Blake Pfeffer, Silas Pfeffer, Hailey Pratt, Lana Rangel, Hayden Redfering, Bryson Rice, Andon Ridenour, Marcus Rios, Elyzabeth Robison, Jacob Rowland, Seth Rowland, Selah Sepulvado, Kamden Shaver, Mason Smith, Zoey Smith, Clarabelle Sok, Hunter Spain, Bailey Stevens, Alison Stonis, Ba Templemire, Sawyer Thurlkill, Hadley Walton, Korben Warner, Emmarie Watkins, Addilyn Williams, Clara Williams, Blake Wilson, Hayden Wilson, Peyton Wright. ...

A rainy Saturday (Oct. 26) moved the Dexter Veterans of Foreign Wars benefit concert indoors but it didn’t dampen the spirits of those involved. The event was originally scheduled to take place in Downtown Dexter across from the VFW building but was moved to the Dexter National Guard Armory. The events included live music, food, bounce houses, face painting, games and trick-or-treating...

BLOOMFIELD — Floodplain manager Joe Pulliam, of Smith and Company, updated the Stoddard County Commission on his progress of accounting for properties in the floodplain during Monday’s meeting. The State Emergency Management Agency requires that each community or county have a certified floodplain manager, who handles the necessary paperwork and notifies residents of changes to the floodplain map...

The Dexter Board of Aldermen passed two ordinances and asked City Attorney Yewell Lawrence Jr. to start writing the wording on a third. The first ordinance addressed was one intending to simplify the wording on harassment. Before the ordinance spelled out more specific acts of harassment such as threatening communications in writing or by telephone. ...

Local authorities continue to search for a Poplar Bluff man who is accused in the weekend shooting of another man in critical condition at a St. Louis hospital. Poplar Bluff Police Lt. Josh Stewart said officers have been searching for Carlos James Wallace, who should be considered armed and dangerous, since Saturday afternoon...

Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dexter will hold its annual turkey dinner this Sunday, November 3, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Turkey and ham with all the trimmings, along with drink and dessert will be served. An adult ticket will be $10, children age 6 to 10 will be $5 and children under 6 eat free. Carry outs are available and require an adult ticket...

“I never thought about living to be 107 years old,” Eldon Stafford remarks matter-of-factly, “but here I am!” Born October 12, 1912, Stafford has been witness to over a century of change and innovation. Reflecting on farm life during his childhood, Stafford observes, “When I was born, and during most of my growing-up years, we had no electricity, no running water, plowed with teams, and used an outhouse to do our business,”...

Editor’s Note: The chamber history is taken from The Dexter Chamber of Commerce 70th Anniversary magazine produced by the Dexter Statesman. The Dexter Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 75th birthday at The Gathering on Thursday, Oct. 24, with a drop-in event consisting of food, games and more...

The Puxico Board of Aldermen used an additional grant to fund the addition of sewer lines to the sewer project. Maintenance Supervisor David Hawthorne gave the board a copy of a change order involving Visu-Sewer’s work on the city’s sewer lines upgrade project. ...

By KYLE SMITH Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD — A representative of Ameren Missouri met with the Stoddard County Commission on Monday morning to discuss natural gas safety and educational opportunities for county officials. Josh Faatz, damage prevention and public awareness specialist for Missouri Gas Operations, mentioned safety programs for water and wastewater operators, law enforcement and first responders...