Stories from Wednesday, February 15, 2012

A prisoner who had been housed at the Stoddard County Jail escaped custody just before noon Wednesday from a courtroom in the Stoddard County Justice Center. The call of the escape was received by dispatch at 11:27 a.m. Jason Stroup, 34 of Puxico, was at the Justice Center following his appearance before Judge Stephen Sharp when he apparently walked out of the facility...

By MIKE McCOY Statesman Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - The Bloomfield School tabled action on awarding a contract for construction of a safe room after all the bids received on the project were above the amount budgeted. The board instructed Dr. ...

By COREY NOLES Statesman Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - Sheriff's Deputy Travis Stafford uncovered an illegal drug operation Monday while investigating a copper theft on County Road 793. According to a release by Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner, during the investigation Stafford came upon a truck bearing a license plate reported to have been stolen from Portageville...

By COREY NOLES Statesman Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - A Poplar Bluff man arrested near Bloomfield in October for possession of precursors to the manufacture of methamphetamine has been sentenced to serve 13 years in prison. The trial against Hershel B. Deaton, a.k.a. Hershel Huff, took place in Poplar Bluff following a change of venue request out of Stoddard County...

By NOREEN HYSLOP Managing Editor Kindergarten students in Southwest Elementary's Enrichment Program are helping the environment and earning money for their school -- one cell phone at a time! It's all part of a program at Southwest through which children are learning about the value of recycling. Students in Katrina Prance and Amy Pixley's Enrichment...