STATE CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING BASKETBALL COACH AND MISSOURI SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE PASSES AWAY
A Missouri state championship winning basketball coach and member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame has passed away.
Carroll Cookson died on May 1st at the age of 88.
Cookson coached in both Arkansas and Missouri, winning state championships in 1972 and 1975 while coaching in Advance.
DATE ANNOUNCED FOR 8TH ANNUAL ST. JUDE VIP BANQUET
The date has been announced for the 8th Annual St. Jude VIP Banquet in Poplar Bluff.
The event, put on annually by Poplar Bluff Heroes, is scheduled for Friday, August 11th at the Black River Coliseum.
Officials say that doors will open at 5 pm for social hour, with dinner beginning at 6:30 pm.
TWO BUTLER COUNTY SCHOOLS TO RECEIVE SIX-FIGURE SCHOOL SAFETY GRANTS
Two Butler County School Districts have been selected to receive six-figure grants from the state.
On Monday, Governor Mike Parson announced 169 school districts and charter schools have received grants from the newly created School Safety Grant Program.
The Twin Rivers R-10 School District was selected for an $150,000 grant, while Neelyville R-4 will receive a $100,000 grant.
ENDANGERED PERSON ADVISORY ISSUED FOR MISSING BABY OUT OF FREDERICKTOWN
The Madison County Sheriff’s Department has issued an endangered person advisory for a missing newborn baby.
The advisory was issued Friday night for 8 day old Kai Noel Joseph Gutierrez Nickel, who was supposed to have been taken into protective custody.
Officials say that the baby’s biological mother, 28 year old Sarah Jane Diggs, is believed to have him and has not been located.
RIVER RADIO TO HOST ST. JUDE RADIOTHON THIS WEEK
This week River Radio will be devoting 24 hours of air time to help the kids at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
The River Radio St. Jude Radiothon will be held Thursday and Friday from 6 am to 6 pm each day.
During the radiothon, call in to become a partner in hope and help the kids at St. Jude.
On Friday during the Radiothon, PB Realty will be making hotdogs in the River Radio parking lot. They will also be accepting donations that will go to St. Jude. Last year PB Realty raised over $5,700.
ELLSINORE WOMAN FLOWN FROM THE SCENE OF A BUTLER COUNTY CRASH
An Ellsinore woman was flown from the scene of a side by side wreck Sunday afternoon in Butler County.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 33 year old John Miller, of Poplar Bluff, was driving the vehicle on private property when it traveled into a ravine.
A passenger in the vehicle, 22 year old Mariah Pinnell, of Ellsinore, was seriously injured in the crash and flown to a St. Louis hospital.
CORNING WATER DEPARTMENT TO BE FLUSHING LINES THIS WEEK
Residents in Corning should not be alarmed if they see discoloration in their water this week.
According to city officials, the Corning Water Department will be flushing lines beginning today, which may cause a discoloration in the water.
Officials are hoping the operation will be completed by the end of the week.
DONIPHAN DONETTES WIN OFC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Doniphan is celebrating their first conference softball championship.
The Donnettes defeated the Neelyville Lady Tigers Thursday afternoon, 11-10, to win the 2023 Ozark Foothills Conference Softball tournament at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff.
Doniphan used a seventh inning comeback to avenge their loss to Neelyville in last year’s OFC Championship Game.
DONIPHAN TO FACE NEELYVILLE FOR OFC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
The final is set for the 2023 OFC Softball Tournament.
The top seed Doniphan Donettes will challenge the #2 seed Neelyville Lady Tigers in the championship game today on the campus of Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff.
The Donettes advanced to the final following their 7-4 win over the Greenville Lady Bears on Wednesday. Neelyville edged rival Twin Rivers 9-6 in the other Semi Final.
MOCK CAR CRASH TO BE HELD TODAY AT GREENVILLE HIGH SCHOOL
Greenville residents are being reminded to not be alarmed if you see emergency vehicles today at Greenville High School.
Greenville R-II School Resource Officer and Wayne County Deputy Donnie Robinson tells KWOC News, the High School will be hosting a mock car crash today at 10 am in the parking lot.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, East Wayne County Ambulance District, and Greenville Fire District have all taken part in planning this demonstration. Students will be watching the "crash" and aftermath in hopes that it helps them think carefully about choices.
During the event, there will be emergency vehicles, with lights and sounds directly around the school, and a "mock" drunk driving arrest.
OFC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT TO BEGIN TODAY
The Ozark Foothills Conference softball tournament is scheduled to begin today.
The tournament, featuring seven area schools, will start today with three games at McLane Park in Poplar Bluff.
Today’s action will start with Twin Rivers taking on Naylor, and Neelyville facing East Carter, both at 4:30 pm. The final game of the quarterfinals will be a matchup between Clearwater and Greenville at 6 pm.
Top seeded Doniphan received a bye to the Semi-finals where they will play the Clearwater-Greenville winner on Wednesday.
The OFC Softball Tournament will be broadcasted live on the Today’s Talk KWOC Facebook page at facebook.com/TodaysTalkKWOC and the River Radio Youtube page at youtube.com/RiverRadioPB.
POPLAR BLUFF WOMAN INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGE
A Poplar Bluff woman was indicted on a murder charge.
Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs tells KWOC News, officers with the Butler County Sheriff Department and SEMO Drug Task Force took 31 year old Ruthie Johnson of Poplar Bluff, into custody on a warrant for felony murder and possession of a controlled substance.
The charges stem from an incident which occurred in April 2022, in which Johnson caused the death of another by giving the victim illegal narcotics.
It is believed that Johnson provided the victim with what she thought was prescription pain medication, however it was a counterfeit fentanyl pill.
Johnson was transported to the Butler County Justice Center where she is being held on $150,000 cash bond.
OLD GREENVILLE RENDEZVOUS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN TODAY
An annual tradition returns this weekend to Greenville.
The 44th Annual Old Greenville Rendezvous, presented by the Crowley’s Ridge Blackpowder Club and the US Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Wappapello, will be held today through Sunday at the Old Greenville Campgrounds.
There will be multiple events and entertainment options available and admission is free to the public.
For more information, call 573-222-8562.
SPRING JOB FAIR SET FOR TODAY IN POPLAR BLUFF
A Job Fair has been scheduled for today in Poplar Bluff.
According to the Butler County Community Resource Council, the Parents Working Committee will host the Spring Job Fair and Career Expo from 10 am to 2 pm at the Libla Family Sports Complex on the campus of Three Rivers College.
There will be several vendors ready to share their open positions with job seekers and some will be doing on-site interviews.
For more information, contact the Community Resource Council at 573-776-7830.
AREA POLICE CELEBRATE NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS WEEK
This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators week and multiple area police departments are celebrating their communications departments.
The event, honoring telecommunications personnel in the public safety community, is held every year during the second week of April.
You can find more information about National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week online at www.npstw.org.
WORLD RECORD SIZED FISH CAUGHT IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
A new world record brown bullhead has been caught in Southeast Missouri.
Officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation tell KWOC News that Mitchell Dering, of Fairdealing, shot the third state record fish recorded in 2023 – a 4-pound brown bullhead.
Dering shot the fish while bowfishing at Duck Creek Ditch #105 on March 14th. The previous state record brown bullhead was a 2-pound, 7-ounce fish caught in 1994 from Wappapello Lake.
PRELIMINARY SURVEY RELEASED FOR BOLLINGER COUNTY TORNADO
A survey of damage was conducted Wednesday from the tornado that struck the Grassy and Glenallen areas in Bollinger County.
According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, the tornado had a maximum width of 150 yards and was on the ground from 3:30 to 3:57 am along a 22.3 mile long path.
The tornado has been given a preliminary EF-2 rating due to 130 mile per hour estimated peak winds.
FIVE CONFIRMED DEAD FOLLOWING TORNADO IN BOLLINGER COUNTY
Multiple people have been confirmed dead in connection to an early Wednesday morning Tornado in Bollinger County.
According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, a damaging tornado was confirmed near Glenallen at around 3:45 am Wednesday morning.
Bollinger County Sheriff Casey Graham has confirmed that there were five fatalities and names are being withheld until family members have been notified.
USE TAX ISSUE DEFEATED IN POPLAR BLUFF
An attempt at getting a use tax enacted in the city of Poplar Bluff has failed.
The proposition was defeated in Tuesday’s election by a 608-423 vote. Use tax questions were also rejected in Portageville and Steele. Morehouse residents approved a local use tax 55-44.
A Sales Tax increase of one percent was approved in Williamsville, 53-10.
