Poplar Bluff High School Student Council was the only recipient in the state to earn the award of merit in the Special Olympics Missouri School of Character program for working to create an environment of inclusion.

According to the application, the award – the highest of four levels of recognition within the program, is given to a single qualifying school that displays outstanding commitment to individuals with intellectual disabilities, a true understanding of unity, and a passion for raising awareness and funds for local SOMO student-athletes.

“This is PB’s first time earning the School of Character award, and we are so proud to have earned the highest honor this first time,” stated Jennie Randolph, StuCo co-adviser. The statewide award was presented to the student organization on Friday, March 18, during the Missouri Association of Student Councils state convention in Branson.

The award program was established in 2014 as a way to recognize a district’s level of involvement in the SOMO movement through Unified Sports, whole campus engagement and inclusive youth leadership, according to Krista Evans, SOMO health and unified champion schools manager. She noted that six schools applied this time around.

As part of a prerequisite essay, sophomore Grace Neighbors, co-chair of the SOMO committee with classmate Nya Cram, summarizes several fundraisers held to supply prizes for the student-athletes, as well as activities to applaud Poplar Bluff’s participation in the annual games. “They have taught our school about how important it is to bring awareness to these amazing athletes,” she wrote of the efforts.

Featuring representation from one of the student-athletes, the PBHS SOMO committee is charged with “inspiring new ideas and working with students with special needs within our school to find new ways to make them included in all parts of school life,” Randolph wrote in the application.

One such idea, Randolph shared, was when StuCo hand drew posters for each of the 24 student-athletes last year, using school portraits as inspiration to imitate senior banners created in other sports. A letter banquet at the High School will be held following the SOMO spring games this month, announced Mindy Garrett, R-I special services director.

Another good-faith gesture, Grace details, was when the Leadership elective class requested that the student-athletes create artwork reflecting their personalities. A large collage was displayed in the main hallway of the building. “It helped to show the talents and individuality of our SOMO athletes,” Grace continued.

Fundraisers have variously included a series of penny wars featuring grade levels competing to generate over $300 in coins; PowderBuff, a male volleyball competition credited for bringing in another $300+; and a bake sale and a raffle that raised a combined $500, a portion of which went toward the Life Skills class budget. A small group also participated in the recent Polar Plunge in Cape Girardeau, additionally raising nearly $300 directly for SOMO.

Along with a plaque, StuCo will receive $450 toward uniforms, equipment and other expenses related to its student-athletes, one MASC camp scholarship, and numerous Unified Sports shirts, banners and other giveaways.

Above: Displaying their statewide award are StuCo members (back row, left to right) Bryden Fuemmeler, co-sponsor Stephen Patty, Aminah Williams, Aaryn Johnson and Bralin Duckett; and (front row, from left) co-sponsor Jennie Randolph, Jaylee Lovette, Grace Neighbors, Addison Shell and Abby Murphy.

A voluntary group of students and district personnel has begun to remove hundreds of non-native, invasive pear trees from the Poplar Bluff High School campus.

The PBHS Science and Environment Club partnered with the FFA to take on the project on Sunday, March 27, soliciting help from the Maintenance Department, among other individuals.

“It matters to our students,” explained PBHS biology teacher Gretchen Pendley, who sponsors the club. “We can’t fix all the big problems, but we can do some small work.”

Two years ago the Science Club, which concentrated mostly on chemistry, expanded to consider issues related to human impact on the environment, according to Pendley. The new organization decided to start by making a difference in their own backyard, but the pandemic caused the postponement of their first major project.

PBHS agriculture teacher and FFA sponsor Kathryn Clark said that Callery pear trees, better known as Bradfords, have been on her radar since the campus relocation of 2016. “It’s a beautiful campus, but we also want it to be sustainable and environmentally friendly," she said. "Bradfords do more damage than good."

Native to China, the white flowering trees are popular for landscaping because of their “ornamental value,” according to junior Emmalein Pendley, Environment Club vice president, but they have no “wildlife value.” They crowd out habitats needed by birds and wildlife, out-competing native vegetation for light, water and nutrients, according to state conservation experts.

In addition, Bradfords have “no predator” or natural enemy, said Gretchen Pendley. The aggressive Callery pears were made available here in the 1950s because of their resistance to diseases such as fire blight. They became invasive when new cultivars cross-pollinated with the commercial variety, producing trees bearing small fruit with viable seeds that birds such as starlings eat and spread, allowing for escaped trees, according to the University of Missouri Extension.

Lastly, Bradfords are “weak trees,” Clark went on. Since they are known to grow quickly with poor branch angles, the soft-wooded limbs are often split in high winds, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. The expansive root system, partial to soil types common in the Midwest, deems the tree difficult to kill.

R-I Maintenance Supervisor Colt Sievers headed up the eradication last weekend, along with his brother David, PBHS health teacher and football coach, later disposing of the downed trees with a tractor and grappling hook at an approved burn site. Sievers said treating the stumps with herbicide would also be necessary to destroy the root.

“Education and learning to be good stewards” will be essential going forward, since “one day I will be too old to hold a chainsaw,” Sievers pointed out. He joked how his daughter Audrey, a PBHS junior, informed him what he would be doing with his time that day and he simply agreed. “I was volun-told,” he continued.

Incoming president for Missouri FFA Area 16, Audrey Sievers completed a supervised agriculture experiment over the summer involving a pesky weed known as sericea lespedeza also identified on the hillside east of campus, and her father helped her get its spread under control as well. She admitted that prior to educating herself on its ecosystem, she—like many—just thought the Bradfords added some color to campus.

“If it’s not helping, we don’t need it; it serves no purpose,” Audrey Sievers said. “It’s a long process, but if we start working toward a goal now, future generations will benefit.”

Alternative options of flowering trees, the group variously suggested, include Eastern redbuds, dogwoods, tulip poplars, white fringetrees and serviceberries. The Missouri Invasive Plant Task Force, formed several years ago, is collaborating to host buy-back events later this month throughout the state, including in Cape Girardeau, to replace Calleries cut down by property owners with free native trees. Visit moinvasives.org for more information about state invasive species management efforts.

Above: PBHS students drag Bradford limbs cut down around Mules Stadium by David and Colt Sievers to a large pile.

Below: With the supervision of teacher sponsors, students volunteer to collect clipped branches along the Oak Grove Road campus on a recent Sunday afternoon.

A school high of 39 members joined the Technical Career Center National Technical Honor Society during the annual induction ceremony on Tuesday, March 22, at Poplar Bluff High School.

“The goal of the National Technical Honor Society is to see that deserving technical students be recognized,” said TCC Director Charles Kinsey, “and that people of the community become aware of the talents and abilities of the young people and adults who choose technical education pathways to a successful future.”

Criterion for acceptance is based on grade point average, attendance and good citizenship. NTHS Chapter No. 4068 includes 160 members total since its establishment during the 2016/17 school year, according to NTHS advisor Candy Taylor, TCC vocational resource educator and financial aid director.

Above: (Front row, left to right) Kacey Gregory, Kayla Holt, Brianna Tompkins, Summer Worley, Kaileah Shaffer, Abbygail Prewitt, Emily Northern and Grace Teffertiller; (middle row, from left) Jarrett Holloway, Wyatt Miller, Joshua Vest, Rhylee Sprague, Anthony Schmutzler, Michael Smith, Trenton Patterson, Jayden Nicholson and Rylan Roach; (back row, from left) Ethan Gilmore, Camillia Moore, Larry Bennett, Blaine Birdsong, Casey Browning, Caitlin Cash, Serena Davis, Zaden Duncan and Jeremey Fain. Not pictured are Alyssa Bailey, Drake Channell, Ashton Clark, Holden Conner, Jared Gilham, John-Paul Godwin, Brent Jackson, Alexis Keirsey, Elizabeth Ledbetter, Ami Marshall, Braxtyn Massie, Michelle Tripp and Edgar Zapata.

Below: Upon receiving their honor cords, the new inductees recite the NTHS membership pledge.

PBHS, in conjunction with the Technical Career Center, will be hosting a hiring event from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, in an effort to allow outgoing students with resumes to interview for open positions in the community. Employers interested in having representation at the annual event are asked to fill out the form linked here. For more information, call the TCC at 573-785-2248 or email charleskinsey@pb.k12.mo.us.

On Tuesday, March 29, the DAR reported about our annual NTHS induction ceremony.

On Friday, April 1, the DAR recognized our February Athletes of the Month.