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You've got eMule!
Vol. 14 No. 4
Welcome back to The eMule! Below is the latest news from the Poplar Bluff R-I School District.
Click here to view our pep rally album! Special congratulations to our 2025 Football Homecoming Queen, Wren Cotrell. To keep up-to-date on the district’s long-range planning efforts over the past year, please visit our informational page here.
| PBHS alum sponsors Robotics Club for third consecutive year | |
An alumnus has donated a total of $6,500 to the Poplar Bluff High School Robotics Club over the past three years, having more than doubled his portion of the contribution with matching funds through his employer, Boeing.
Bill Burton of the Class of 1978 presented $2,000 to the Iron Mules last month, with half of the amount underwritten by the aerospace company. Burton has been submitting an annual request via YourCause since becoming aware of the Iron Mules in 2023. Boeing generously increased their match by an additional $500 last year.
“I am interested in making sure that we maintain a focus on STEM, so when I learned that PBHS has a team, I went to the Boeing gift matching site and found the high school,” Burton said.
He explained how he learned about the Robotics Club by happenstance when he encountered an individual in Williamsville with a connection to the team donning an Iron Mules T-shirt. Boeing is a strategic partner of the FIRST Tech Challenge, under which the Iron Mules have competed for over a decade. First stands for: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.
As an incoming senior at PBHS, Burton recalls participating in a one-week summer course at what is now the Missouri University of Science & Technology, where he learned the “very basics” of Fortran programming language. His path was solidified when instructor Dr. David Fisher took the Math Club on a campus tour during his senior year.
“That pretty much sealed my desire to be a comp sci major there,” Burton stated. Graduating from the University of Iowa, the Poplar Bluff native began his career at the McDonnell Douglas Corporation in the greater St. Louis area in 1985 until its merger with Boeing 12 years later. “I just passed my 40th service anniversary and still work in information technology,” Burton noted.
The funds will cover registration fees and robot kit parts as the Iron Mules prepare for their 12th season of the FIRST Tech Challenge, set to begin next month, according to sponsor Chris Wheat. The team began competing in 2014, winning several awards over the years, ranking as high as second place in the Southeast League.
Above: Robotics Coach Chris Wheat displays a matching donation from alum Bill Burton and his company Boeing on Friday, Sept. 5, with Iron Mules members Gage Sikes (left) and Cody Grobe.
| FACS teachers awarded $500 for farm-to-table project | |
A $500 Agriculture in the Classroom grant has been awarded to a pair of Poplar Bluff High School teachers partnering on a food sustainability and waste management project involving Family and Consumer Science students.
FACS instructors Missy Cox and Candace Hovis were presented with the funding from the Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation of Agriculture on Thursday, Aug. 28, at the Butler County Farm Bureau office on Kanell Boulevard.
“Our country throws away approximately 40 percent of our food supply; however, by providing this opportunity, students will learn about zero-waste cooking through food preservation methods and composting,” the successful grant proposal stated. “This will foster a better understanding of the farm-to-table concept.”
Project materials include two 50-gallon rain barrels, two heavy-duty raised garden beds, and one galvanized bed with a covered greenhouse combination. Additionally, there is a 43-gallon dual-chamber outdoor compost tumbler, a 50-foot water hose and topsoil purchased locally.
Thus far, the faculty duo has reported using the composting bin as of the end of September, with plans for guttering and a downspout to be installed by district maintenance in a courtyard area of the campus behind the FACS classroom, so that the rain barrel watering system can be established.
The goal of the project, as outlined in the proposal, is to equip students with the knowledge and skills requisite to plant, grow and harvest fresh produce; prepare healthy meals and snacks using the produce from the garden; and learn composting methods for zero-waste cooking.
The foundation’s classroom mini-grant program has allocated a total of $12,000 in competitive funds across the state, aiming to share the message of agriculture in K-12 classrooms. Applications solicited through May were evaluated by a panel of judges composed of educators and agricultural leaders.
Above: (From left) Missy Cox and Candace Hovis pick up an Agriculture in the Classroom grant award earlier this school year at the Butler County Farm Bureau insurance office.
| Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025 inducted | |
A group of record-setting individuals were honored Thursday, Oct. 2, during the 37th induction banquet of the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame as Justin Alford, Rena Brown, Stephanie Faith and Slug Hefner became the newest members.
The dinner at the Black River Coliseum featured the four honorees, who were later introduced during the Mules Football Homecoming game the following evening at Mules Stadium.
“This is a unique class in that every person being honored holds a record in their discipline and we’re honoring individuals in sports that have not previously been included,” said Brian Rosener, president of the Sports Hall of Fame.
Alford is the first soccer player to be honored while Hefner, owner and driver of Dirty Duck Racing, becomes the first person recognized for motorsports. Brown and Faith, who were both multi-sport athletes that helped the Poplar Bluff girls basketball program reach a final four, will bring the total number of women in the Hall to 13.
There are now 104 individuals and 12 teams honored in the Sports Hall of Fame room located in the Poplar Bluff Museum, in the original Mark Twain School on Main Street. It features uniforms, pictures, trophies and related sports memorabilia.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Mules becoming the mascot of Poplar Bluff High School. The Mules first appeared in the 1925 Thanksgiving Day football game, which PBHS won 13-0 over Paragould after the student-athletes voted to honor Coach E.T. Peters, who was among the inaugural class of the Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.
To be eligible for election into the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame, a person must have reached the age of 35, be a native of Poplar Bluff who has participated in or contributed to sports locally or elsewhere, or, a person who came to Poplar Bluff and distinguished themselves here. A person must clear a preliminary ballot of selectors from the community before receiving a minimum of 75 percent of votes by the Board of Directors in order to be elected.
In advance of last week’s inauguration, the E.E. “Bus” Carr Memorial Golf Tournament was held at the Ozark Ridge Golf Course. The event raises funds for the banquet.
The Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame, Inc. is supported entirely by contributions received from individuals, businesses, service organizations and memorials. Anyone desiring to make a contribution may mail it to: Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame, Inc., P.O. Box 1022, Poplar Bluff, MO 63902-1022.
Above: (Clockwise, top left) Justin Alford, Rena Brown, Slug Hefner and Stephanie Faith of the Poplar Bluff Hall of Fame Class of 2025 all attended PBHS. [Provided by the PB HOF].
| Bonus: Eighth grader puts PBJHS Mule Barn on map | |
The Poplar Bluff Junior High School Mule Barn Instagram page has gone viral as a result of a video of eighth grade football player Connor Schuchardt leading his teammates to a victory over Charleston on Thursday, Sept. 11.
As of this report, the reel of the Nick Saban-inspired speech, a sportscaster and former coach, received 28,200 likes and 1,278 comments on the student-run page, which has just north of 500 followers.
“Friday, after school, Connor’s dad called me and said ESPN had messaged the page to get details and permission to post,” Junior High Principal Candace Warren recalled. “I told him if the Kelces reach out for their podcast, I’m doing it with him,” she exclaimed, jokingly referring to the popular sports podcast "New Heights," hosted by NFL's Jason and Travis Kelce.
Connor’s post was shared to two million combined followers between the SportsCenter Next Instagram and Facebook pages, designed to promote ‘all things high school and youth sports from ESPN’. According to Connor, his goal with helping to operate the PBJHS Mule Barn page is to “bring back the school spirit this town once had in the ‘80s and ‘90s.”
Above: Displayed is a screenshot of Connor Schuchardt’s motivational speech to the PBJHS Mules Football team shared by SportsCenter Next.
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Sock-Tober
The Poplar Bluff High School Beta Club is collecting socks for adults and children through the month of October. Please drop off new socks in the labeled box located in the cafeteria stage at PBHS: 3209 Oak Grove Road.
Halloween
School will be dismissed for students on Friday, Oct. 31, and will resume on Monday, Nov. 3
Veterans Day Parade
The Poplar Bluff Middle School is seeking veterans to participate in its annual Veterans Day Parade beginning at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 1300 Victory Lane. Click here to RSVP or call 573-785-5566.
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On Thursday, Sept. 25, KBSI Fox23 reported about the $30K+ donation from Pitsco Education to our Kindergarten Center.
KWOC reported about the TCC’s re-opening of the Mules Café.
On Friday, Sept. 26, the DAR also reported about the opening day of the Mules Café for the school year.
KWOC also reported about the most generous Pitsco donation toward tornado relief.
On Thursday, Oct. 2, KWOC reported about the Poplar Bluff Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
On Friday, Oct. 3, the DAR also reported about the Poplar Bluff Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025.
KWOC reported about our 2025 Homecoming court.
On Saturday, Oct. 4, the DAR also spotlighted our Homecoming royalty.
On Monday, Oct. 6, KWOC announced our 2025 Football Homecoming queen.
On Tuesday, Oct. 7, the DAR reported about our students participating in Construction Career Day.
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