Attack on preacher prompts neighborhood meeting on crime in Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — After a man of the cloth was recently attacked, area clergymen decided it was time to fight back against crime in Poplar Bluff.

Pastor John McCain of Conley Grove and New Life Missionary Baptist churches and a U.S. postal worker by profession, was picking up his teenage daughters from a birthday party at Operation Off Street on the corner of 5th and West Harper streets on Jan. 24 when he observed an altercation involving his children. He tried to stop the violence, he said, but was blindsided by four unidentified young men who punched and kicked him and didn't allow him to get back to his feet.

The confrontation was addressed during an impromptu town meeting last week between community leaders, law enforcement officials, concerned citizens and young people at the old Wheetley School building on Garfield Street.

"I'd rather it happen to me than my daughters, but why?" asked McCain as he stood with a black eye before an audience of about 40 people. "My children want to go out and have a good time. Why can't they do so?"

Several speakers reacted with various reasons given — mainly that unproductive people with nothing to do are intimidating others and there seems to be a code of silence among witnesses.

"I'm concerned about the mentality of this assault," said Pastor Keith Frye of Central Missionary Baptist Church. "We're seeing the birth of gangs in Poplar Bluff. This was a strategic assault against a man of God."

Christopher Mattox, a concerned citizen originally from New York City, said the offenders whom he called "thugs, hoodrats and thundercats" need to be made an example of before something worse happens.

Frye, who organized the meeting, said that when he moved to the area from Chicago four years ago he successfully ran some drug dealers away from his church, but it apparently was not a permanent solution.

Problems on "the hill," or the north part of town, have persisted for years, according to Pastor Leroy Williams of the Emmanuel House of Praise, who claimed he once had gunshots fired right outside of his house. Pastor Charles Buck of the United Methodist Church added that a church security man was robbed while attempting to lock the building around Christmas time.

Poplar Bluff chief of police Danny Whiteley pointed out that a few years ago a similar meeting about the crime rate was held and it was mostly law enforcement in attendance. The officer noted that there was a large drug raid over the summer on that very block.

"We have the assets and manpower to deal with these problems, and if you give us something to work with, we will handle it," said Whiteley. "It takes a neighborhood to identity where and what is happening."

Pastor Ronnie Webb of Mt. Calvary Power House Church of God brought up an issue regarding unsupervised young people getting together in large groups.

The out-of-control party that resulted in the beating of the pastor was held at the Operation Off-Street facility. Although the gathering wasn't sponsored by the youth organization, the latest incident happened to occur at its headquarters.

Robert Smith, the founder of Operation Off-Street, explained that he rented the building to a woman who requested to hold a party for her daughter. The organization rents out the building since the after school program only operates under a $5,000 annual budget, according to Smith, and hiring security is simply unfeasible.

"This program has been an asset to the community," Smith reminded the audience. "I've had the organization for 18 years and this is the first time, to my recollection, that any incident like this has happened."

The program founder offered to hold a special meeting with his board of directors to reach a resolution for additional uses of the building. In the meantime, he said, it would be opened to the public strictly for structured activities.

Frye said he thought Operation Off-Street was a good concept if more people volunteered to help, and with several churches in the area such programs should have more financial backing.

Poplar Bluff Deputy Chief Jeff Rolland offered to provide needs assessments for monitoring particular events. Sometimes, he said, all it takes is an adult's presence.

Parents have to understand that they are accountable for their children's behavior, stated the victim's cousin, Gary McCain. "A lot of time you miss the opportunity of being a good parent and doing what's right when you try to be your child's best friend instead," he said.

When problems are beyond control witnesses not only have to come forward with names, but they also have to be willing to testify in court, according to Bill Gresham, an assistant prosecuting attorney for Butler County. "The justice system is slow, but I assure you we treat every one of these incidents very seriously," he said.

Bill Turner, a board member of the Wheetley Historic Preservation Association, said windows had been broken at the former school building in the past, and police resolved the issue by lighting up the parking lot.

Meetings are held at the museum across from Rattlers Grocery every so often but very few community members show up, another board member, Colvin McDonald, pointed out. He let everyone know that the building is available for productive community activities.

Attendees challenged one another to remain involved, including the reinstatement of a neighborhood watch system.