135 state phones stolen

Daily Dunklin Democrat

KENNETT, Mo. -- Things are nearly back to normal at the office of the Division of Family Services, Division of Aging and Division of Workforce Development.

The agencies had tried to do business with only a limited number of telephones after someone had stolen 135 telephones from the three agencies over the weekend.

"All of our phones have been replaced and everything is back like it should be," Pat Moore, a supervisor at Workforce Development, said Wednesday. The phones were replaced Tuesday.

"We were never out of business," she said. "Things were just hectic with only four telephones available." It was just inconvenient.

Authorities said 85 Northstar telephones were stolen from Division of Family Services, 30 from the Division of Workforce Development and 20 from the Division of Aging.

The telephones are valued at $37,125.

The thefts were reported Saturday morning when a Workforce Development employee came into the office and discovered the telephones were missing.

State offices in Kennett weren't alone in having to cope with missing telephones. Phones were also stolen over the weekend at state office buildings in Sikeston, Mo., and West Plains, Mo.