In some ways District 14, Sikeston, has been the hub for many activities that have occurred over the years in the Southeast Region, or recently known as Region V.
Many people have NO idea where Sikeston is located. It is about a 2 and 1/2 hour drive south of St. Louis. It is flat, windy, and we have huge cotton fields. It is home to the Sikeston Jaycee Rodeo, which is on the national rodeo circuit, AND we have the Cotton Carnival Parade, which, if you didn't know, is the longest parade in the state of Missouri. Many have heard of the New Madrid Fault. Our district is fortunate enough to sit on this well-known earthquake fault.
Our district has not always been named District 14. It actually began as District 2 and was established in February of 1948. At that time the office was located in Dexter. Howard M. Morman was the officer in that office. In 1949 the Dexter and Cape Girardeau offices were combined into one district, and served 21 counties. Dexter was still the site of the district office. When the position of Regional Administrator was created, Mr. Morman was promoted and Ferd Sturm became the district supervisor. Mr. Sturm later became a Board Member and a Parole Analyst. I will note that even after his retirement, Mr. Sturm continued to serve our division in a variety of ways and was highly respected by all.
Glen Duckworth replaced Mr. Sturm as the district supervisor in April 1969. He saw the district through a lot of change as years passed. It should be noted that Naomi Stewart was employed as the only clerical position in August 1950 and eventually became clerical supervisor for the district until her retirement in October of 1986. Stories are still being told about Ms. Naomi and it is my understanding she kept the officers AND supervisors in line. I guess it really is true about who runs the office!
Time Marches On ... Howard Morman retired as Regional Administrator in October, 1969 and was replaced by Bruce L. McClintock. At that time the regional office was housed in this district office. Finally, in 1973 the Dexter office, now titled District #14, was subdivided and two new districts were formed, one in Cape Girardeau and one in Kennett. In 1979 another district was formed, with headquarters in Poplar Bluff. More importantly, the "Dexter" office moved to Sikeston and encompassed three counties, Scott, New Madrid, and Mississippi.
Mr. Duckworth retired in 1992 and was replaced by Martin Lingle. Mr. Lingle served as District Administrator until his retirement in June of 2000.
Over the years, many dedicated officers, clerical staff and supervisors have been a part of District #14. Some remain, others have transferred and several have retired. Each has left their stamp on the office. Here are but a few of these folks. Do you remember any? Karen Comfort, (SOSA), Barbara Brown (SOSA), Laura Walker, (OSA), Bill Fischer (PO and US), Debbie Collins, (currently DA at #25), Ellen Hufty (now PO in #18), Kim Williams (PO), Willard Edwards (current DA at #22), Russ Little (current US at #22), Tony Walker (PO), Steve Unterriener (retired DA from #22), and Larry Shy (PO and Lead US at the New Madrid Satellite office).
AND NOW I PROUDLY PRESENT DISTRICT 14 AS IT IS TODAY ....
Currently, District #14 is comprised of two counties, Scott and New Madrid. Mississippi County split off in June 2006 and became a district. The District office is located at 102 Arthur in Sikeston. The New Madrid Satellite recently moved and is now at 350 US Highway 61 South, New Madrid.
For only 2 counties, our office is quite large. We supervise a total of 1,351 clients. In total we have 20 officers, 2 Unit Supervisors, and 4 clerical. Our district has not had specialized cases for a couple years, and consequently, everyone has a mixture of supervision levels.
I will start with Scott County. 15 officers make their home in the district office. Jeannie Lejeune is the Unit Supervisor in Sikeston and supervises 10 of the Sikeston officers. Jeannie is also the Chairperson for the Southeast Region, (Region V) Celebrating Success Committee. The remaining staff are supervised by Darrin Tipton who is the Lead Unit Supervisor in New Madrid. Melinda Priebe, our most tenured officer, and Lori Murrell supervise the north Scott County area. Craig Pennington covers another portion of north Scott County. Greg Dohogne is the SAR writer for Scott County. He also supervises parolees released on EM and a small caseload of regular cases. Greg is also our Drug Testing Coordinator. Tom Liebeknecht, Missy Sanges, Kim Tuttle, Denise Wheeler, Gina Essner, Jenny Rukstad, Mary Ann Castillo, Shelley Carter, and Kim Crumley supervise regular cases in the Sikeston area. Most of these officers have additional duties. Gina Essner is the Associate Circuit Court Liaison for Scott County. Jenny Rukstad and Kim Crumley are Court Liaisons for Scott County Circuit Court. Tom Liebeknecht facilitates Financial Management and Substance Abuse Education classes. Missy Sanges is the current facilitator for Pathways to Change. However, she will be relieved of this duty in the near future. She will be replaced by Mary Ann Castillo and Shelley Carter. Denise Wheeler is the primary facilitator for Impact of Crime on Victims classes. Craig Pennington works closely with Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston and coordinates the OOA program. Effective October 1, David Stevenson will be transferring from WERDCC and will begin supervising the Automated Minimum caseload for the district. Cody Fuchs is the Sex Offender Specialist and supervises clients in Scott and New Madrid County. Cody is the Chairperson for the Regional Sex Offender Liaison committee and participates in the Division's Sex Offender Committee.
Our office is fortunate to have 3 hardworking and "know how to get it done" clerical. Kim McClard is the SOSA. Peggy Beeson is our most tenured OSA, and our receptionist is Melissa Jackson.
Not to be forgotten is the New Madrid Satellite Staff. Darrin Tipton is newly promoted and is the Lead Unit Supervisor for that office. Darrin supervises 5 officers in that office, along with 5 staff in the Sikeston office. Officers include the following. Lynn Kellams is the Court Liaison awhile also supervising a caseload in the Portageville area. Her partner in Court is Dymisha Wilburn who also supervises a regular caseload in the area. Drew Hess supervises clients in such areas as Gideon, Parma, Risco, and even Tallapoosa. He is also the SAR writer for New Madrid County. Michelle Odom supervises clients in New Madrid and Lilbourn and is also the Interstate Compact Liaison for the satellite office. Amy Shimon supervises clients in the New Madrid area. Linda Mays is the Lead Clerical at this site. I would also like to add that Darrin Tipton is on the statewide Technology Committee.
Along with all of the day to day activities, staff are involved in community endeavors too. We participate in the Adopt-A-Highway program, Victim Awareness Week, act as GED Liaisons, and serve on the New Madrid County Human Resource Council. Our office also participates in the Fathers For Life project. In July 2006 we established the Scott/New Madrid MRP team. Although relatively new, this team is working on county resource manuals, holding job fairs, and partnering with many local resources. We hope this will benefit the clients that we supervise in this area.
The staff of District 14 are to be commended for their hard-work and their dedication. I am very proud of this district and feel fortunate to work with such quality staff on a day to day basis.