It’s that time of year again to increase awareness regarding school bus stop arm safety! Dexter Police Department reminds all drivers to be extra cautious when driving during morning and afternoon hours when school buses are on the road.
Displayed yellow flashing lights on school buses does not mean hurry up to beat the red lights! The yellow lights mean the school bus is approaching a bus stop to load or unload children. Be alert, there could possibly be little brothers and/or sisters at the bus stop waiting for their siblings to get home from school and they are not watching for you. Please be prepared to stop!
Displayed red flashing lights, crossing arms, and/or stop signs, on school buses mean all drivers MUST stop and yield to all pedestrians. It's the law and you will receive a ticket if you do not stop.
"Dexter School buses are equipped with digital cameras that record in a high clear resolution," commented Sergeant Forshee, Dexter Police (SRO) School Resource Officer. "Those cameras and recordings are used in identifying vehicles, drivers, and used for prosecution of offenders who fail to stop for school buses."
"At the beginning of 2022 school year, the Dexter Police Department issued approximately 30 tickets for failure to stop for school buses while loading/unloading students in the school’s first semester alone," continued Sergeant Forshee. "This is a big safety concern for our children! We will be on patrol and you will get a ticket if caught failing to stop for any school buses while loading/unloading children."
Further, be cautious of all pedestrian traffic in and around the schools when travelling in the area.
"We have two new crosswalks near Dexter Public Schools this year to help with the pedestrian traffic," stated Sergeant Forshee. "One is located at the corner of One Mile Rd and Brown Pilot Rd. The second is located on Grant Street in front of the high school."
"Our student’s safety is our number one priority! Please do your part to help keep our children safe as they travel to and from school this year."
Dexter Public Schools begin their 2023-2024 academic year on Thursday, August 24, 2023.
"Please allow extra time to get to and from school during the morning and afternoon hours," commented Tim Fowler, Dexter R-XI Schools Transportation Supervisor, "Also slow down as the speed limit is 20 mph around the school campus."
Every day when law enforcement officers pin on their badges, they make an extraordinary commitment to the American people: to rush toward danger regardless of the risk and to faithfully stand up for the rule of law. Across our neighborhoods, towns, and cities, they put themselves in harm’s way, hoping to return home safely to their families. On Peace Officers Memorial Day and during Police Week, we celebrate the remarkable courage of our law enforcement community and honor the fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their fellow Americans.
As a Nation, we expect a lot from our law enforcement officers. They save lives by keeping our roads, subways, and highways safe and responding to domestic violence incidents and natural disasters. We ask them to ensure public safety, build trust within our neighborhoods, and protect the well-being of our communities. Too often, they are also called upon to respond to mass shootings, drug overdoses, mental health crises, and more. Being a law enforcement officer is not just what they do; it is who they are.
The same is true for their families, who sacrifice alongside these heroic Americans. It takes a special person to marry or be the child of a law enforcement officer — knowing the uncertainty as their loved one walks out the door and dreading the possibility of receiving that phone call.
No memorial can ever fill the void left in the hearts of those who have lost a loved one in the line of duty. But their sacrifices in full service to their communities and to our Nation will never be forgotten. We will continue to honor their memories with actions that help keep our law enforcement officers and communities safe from harm.
When I took office at the height of the pandemic, State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement budgets were shrinking. Some agencies were facing their lowest staffing levels in decades, undermining their ability to perform their jobs. That is why we provided crucial funding to help police departments build new training facilities, recruit new personnel, and give officers a raise. I also expanded benefits for first responders who were disabled in the line of duty and their families. And I signed laws improving officer wellness by expanding critical mental health resources to address the physical and emotional trauma that so many members of our law enforcement community experience.
Meanwhile, I have taken steps to keep law enforcement officers safer on the job by signing the most sweeping gun safety law in nearly three decades. It helps keep more guns out of the hands of dangerous people, including by broadening restrictions on domestic abusers, which is critical because domestic violence calls can often turn deadly for police. This law also supports crisis interventions, including extreme risk protection orders, and provides a billion dollars to address the mental health crisis in America. We are also strengthening background checks for 18 to 20-year-olds trying to purchase guns, helping prosecutors crack down on illegal gun sales, and reining in ghost guns that police across the country are increasingly finding at crime scenes.
As I have often said, when it comes to keeping our communities safe, the answer is not to defund the police. It is to fund them with the resources and training they need to protect and serve our communities and to build trust with the American public. My Safer America Plan calls on the Congress to invest in recruiting, hiring, and training more than 100,000 additional officers for effective, accountable community policing, consistent with the standards of my policing Executive Order. My plan also invests in programs that send social workers and other professionals to respond to calls that should not be the responsibility of law enforcement. And it invests $5 billion in proven crime-prevention strategies like community violence interruption. We must not accept the false choice between public safety and public trust; they are two sides of the same coin.
At the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C., there is a quote engraved on the wall that reads, “It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived.” Today, during this week, and year-round, we express our gratitude for the courageous women and men of our Nation’s law enforcement community. We honor the memory of the members who made the ultimate sacrifice and pray for their families. And we recommit ourselves to the sacred task of creating a safer and more just Nation for all Americans.
By a joint resolution approved October 1, 1962, as amended (76 Stat. 676), and by Public Law 103-322, as amended (36 U.S.C. 136-137), the President has been authorized and requested to designate May 15 of each year as “Peace Officers Memorial Day” and the week in which it falls as “Police Week.”
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 15, 2023, as Peace Officers Memorial Day and May 14 through May 20, 2023, as Police Week. I call upon all Americans to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities and salute our Nation’s brave law enforcement officers and remember their peace officer brothers and sisters who have given their last full measure of devotion in the line of duty. I also call on the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day. I further encourage all Americans to display the flag at half-staff from their homes and businesses on that day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-seventh.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
2022 Stoddard County Coroner's report.
"While not a requirement for the office, I plan to continue releasing this report annually to keep the public informed and provide transparency."
"I would like to say thank you to our Stoddard County Funeral homes, Mathis Funeral Home, Watkins Funeral Home, and Morgan Funeral Home for their assistance and professionalism. I would also like to thank all of our county first responders for their assistance."
While there are never any positives in a report like this, it is encouraging that our county did not have a homicide in 2022. It is also important to note that suicides were down nearly 75% from 2021. I will continue to encourage mental health and suicide awareness in hopes that number will someday be 0.
The Coroner's office is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Have a safe and blessed 2023
Sincerely,
Brent Stidham, Stoddard County Coroner
2022 budget information Total budgeted: $73,022.85
Total actual: $61,792.00
2022 case information
The following information is in regards to Coroner’s Office cases only and does not include deaths occurring under the care of a physician such as hospice.
Total cases investigated and certified by the Coroner’s office: 105 Scene responses: 78
Natural Causes: 86
COVID-19: 2
Homicide: 0
Suicide: 3
Motor vehicle accident: 4 Overdose: 4
Accident (drowning): 1 Accident (other): 2 Cases pending: 3
Age groups
0-18: 3
19-45: 9
46-70: 49
70 and over: 44
Many residents of Southeast Missouri were rattled on Wednesday evening when a 4.0 magnitude earthquake struck the area.
The quake occurred at 8:53 p.m. and was centered five miles south-southeast of Williamsville according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
According to USGS data this was the largest earthquake in the region since a 3.9 magnitude quake hit the Bertrand area in February of 2012.
Andrew Bohnert, Stoddard County EMA Director stated, "We have not heard of any damage to homes or building in the Stoddard County area, but some residents reported pictures falling off walls." He went on to say that more damage was reported in the Butler County area including some drywall cracks and maybe some windows broken.
The USGS initially reported the earthquake as a magnitude 3.7 but later upgraded it to a 4.0.
Many residents across Stoddard County and surrounding area reported hearing a loud boom just before the earthquake hit. The ground shook for several seconds. One person reported her bird felt it before she did and alerted her to something coming.
City Administrator, Trevor Pulley, contacted the ShowMe Times within minutes to let people know he and Dexter's EMA Director, Don Seymore, were out checking buildings downtown. They found some wind damage as the winds picked up right around the time of the earthquake. They both have reported no major damage.
If you felt the earthquake the USGS would like to hear from you. Here is a quick survey that will help them with data! Click HERE.
Bloomfield, MO - It has been reported by the Stoddard County Health Department and the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department that several inmates at the Stoddard County Jail have tested positive with COVID-19.
According to Ben Godwin, Stoddard County Health Department Director, "They are in the process of testing all inmates with Covid-19 Rapid Tests as we have had positive cases among the inmates in the jail yesterday and today."
Carl Hefner, Stoddard County Sheriff commented, "As of Monday, July 26th we have confirmed there are active COVID-19 cases in the Stoddard County Jail. Since the COVID outbreak began we at the Stoddard County Jail have taken precautions in preventing COVID from being in our jail. Even with the precautions taken it was inevitable that COVID would get in our jail facility. We have been very fortunate to this point to not have had any cases in our jail."
The Stoddard County Sheriff's Department is currently working on a testing plan for the inmates and staff.
Hefner would like to reassure the public that if you are in need of law enforcement, please do not hesitate to contact them.
"We will continue to offer our services regardless of the situation in the jail," continued Hefner. "We will strive to keep our community safe from a law enforcement standpoint as well as keeping our citizens safe from COVID. Any of our staff that are showing any signs or symptoms of COVID are required to obtain a COVID test before returning to work so the citizens can feel safe."
