District 37-Dexter PPO Paula Kelley shared the following client success story:

"Chuck, Seth’s father, was in DWI Court at the time that Seth got into trouble and was in jail. Chuck asked if I would go talk to him. I did and at that time Seth had zero interest in Drug Court. On 2/13/14, Seth pled guilty and was placed on regular probation supervision. In December of 2014, Seth received a violation for drinking alcohol and using drugs. It was recommended that he be screened for drug court. He was screened and placed into the program in January of 2015.

Seth did not have a perfect record as he incurred four citations, two of which included drug use (and many times of suspected use), while in Drug Court but he did manage to graduate in August of 2016. With ECC he was set to complete probation in November of 2016 and he already had a plan in motion for when his probation was over. He had a sober friend that was a lineman in a different state. The friend had agreed for Seth to come live with him, attend school, and be roommates; however, those plans came to a screeching halt. In September of 2016, Seth was arrested for DWI. His probation was revoked and he was sent to a 120 day treatment program. He was released back onto probation on 1/24/17. Upon his release, Seth seemed to be at his worst. He looked horrible and his attitude was horrible, compared to his typical behaviors prior to the 120. Unfortunately, he went back to his “old life” and in July of 2017, Walters was arrested for his second DWI. This time, while speaking with him in jail, Walter’s entire demeanor had changed, not that he had a horrible attitude or terribly negative behaviors before, but something was completely different. It’s like a light had been switched on and he was tired of living the way he had been living. He requested to go to a program called John 3:16 in Arkansas. He was given the opportunity to complete this program on 8/1/17. In March of 2018, he graduated from that program. At this time, he chose to go to the program’s “halfway house” in Poplar Bluff. Once his probation was re-instated, his probation was transferred to District 25. He did plead guilty to the 2^nd DWI and was placed on private probation. Additionally, he had to serve 10 days in jail. I believe he dubbed it, “his last time in jail.” Seth moved back to Stoddard County in July of 2018. In October 2018, Seth hired an attorney and petitioned the court for a hardship license after completing SATOP. On 11/18/2018, the court granted the hardship license.

Seth has three half-siblings that are teenagers. On 12/12/2018 a warrant was issued for the children’s father and he was charged with felony child abuse. Seth petitioned the court for guardianship and guardianship was granted to Seth on 01/03/2019. Seth is raising his siblings without any support from either parent. On 03/20/2019, Seth obtained employment at WW Wood. Seth is currently attending church at Assembly of God in Bloomfield.

When discussing Seth's past criminal history recently, he stated that he felt bad for the way he tried to manipulate things while he was being supervised by PPO Smothers. He said he was sorry for his past actions and bad behaviors. Seth currently has an Earned Discharge date of 4/3/2020 with an Optimal Discharge date of 1/1/2020. He has come a long way as can be ascertained by all of the aforementioned."

District Administrator Rich Ruch commented, " I want to take a moment to recognize all of the officers who supervised Seth, as I personally observed some of their efforts. The impact of the hard work put forth by good officers cannot be underestimated as it relates to client success and ultimately the sheer number of additional people impacted by the success of one client. The agency computer system reveals that since 2/14/2014, Seth was supervised at some point by the following officers (Seth is currently supervised by District #37 Officer Paula Kelly)."

• Cindy McGhee
• Kelly Smothers
• Brenda Moore (Recently promoted to Unit Supervisor)
• Paula Kelly

Project Homeless Connect is a yearly event in Cape Girardeau where volunteers are the vital link between concerned community members and the homeless in the community. The goal of the event is to create a welcoming environment that will help the homeless connect with services that will bring them one step closer to becoming stable and securing adequate housing. On October 4, 2019, District 22-Cape Girardeau staff participated at this event. District 22 assisted with providing employment opportunity information, verifying client photos so the individual could obtain their birth certificate, assisting an individual in locating his SATOP completion certificate, and making referrals to other providers in the area. District 22 staff were also on hand assisting their clients by ushering them to the different providers. 

Great Job District 22!

Jamie Liakos, Deputy Director for the Western Zone, delivered the Probation and Parole Divisional Employee of the 3rd Quarter-2019 Award to District 32 Probation and Parole Officer Andy Starner. The nomination was submitted by District 32 Unit Supervisor Misty Anderson, in recognition of the extra effort Andy puts forth in addition to his assigned duties. The nomination stated:

Andy Starner is the epitome of a team player. Andy is always one of the first people to step up and offer help when an issue occurs. He is always willing to take the extra step around the office and be our local "handy man" when the need arises. He is always willing to assist management and his fellow staff. Andy is a dedicated employee and rarely takes time for himself, as he wants to do a good job and it is important to him that he "get his work done". On November 2, 2018,  we learned that we had two female clients being released from the institution the following day that were homeless. Due to a communication error, this supervisor had to go meet with our local sheriff to discuss the situation. Andy volunteered to come with this supervisor without having to ask, and helped this supervisor with the situation throughout the day. When this supervisor made the decision to come into the office on November 3, 2018, which was a Saturday, Andy stepped right in and volunteered to come in and assist as well. Andy came in on the weekend and helped this supervisor throughout the day with trying to get housing placement for the two female clients. Andy did not have to help with any of this, but did it of his own accord, and was extremely helpful to this supervisor. His willingness to provide support and jump in to help was greatly appreciated. Andy should be recognized for his dedication, worth ethic, and his willingness to always lend a helping hand. 

Pictured Left to Right:  Regional Administrator Ed Bestgen, PPO II Andy Starner, District Administrator Monica Lamphier and Western Deputy Director Jamie Liakos. Congratulations Andy!

The P&P North Central Region Employee of the Month for September 2019, was District 32-Lexington Probation and Parole Officer Laurel Massey. The nomination was submitted by District 32 District Administrator Monica Lamphier, in recognition of the extra effort Laurel puts forth in addition to her assigned duties. The nomination stated:  

"I would like to nominate Laurel Massey as Employee of the Quarter. Since her inception as a Probation and Parole Officer, Laurel has been the Sex Offender/DV officer for Saline and Carroll Counties.  Besides handling this ever changing caseload, Laurel has also attended Job Coaching and is a Job Coach at her work-site. She is a Pathway to Change Facilitator and Intake Coordinator and recently volunteered to be the Liaison to the Offenders Offering Alternatives program at Jefferson City Correctional Center. Most notably, Laurel stepped in to help the district office that was two officers down by taking a primary caseload in Lafayette County as well as keeping her assigned caseload in Saline and Carroll Counties. She has also volunteered to help by taking a few regular cases in Marshall once the new officers in Lafayette County are trained and can take their caseloads. Laurel can be depended upon to step up and volunteer to help in situations that others have backed away from.  She is dependable and an asset to the office."  

Pictured from Left to Right:  Regional Administrator Ed Bestgen, PPO II Laurel Massey, District Administrator Monica Lamphier and Western Deputy Director Jamie Liakos. Congratulations Laurel!

Interstate PPO's Shelby Hunsaker and Trevor Harrison were chosen as the P&P Central Office Employees of the 3rd Quarter, 2019. Director Kempker wrote, " I want to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation for the excellent work you have done in the Interstate Compact Unit. On May 22, 2019, a tornado hit Jefferson City causing significant damage to many buildings in town and restricting travel. As a result, Governor Parson closed state offices in Cole County on May 23rd and 24th, which included the Probation and Parole Interstate Compact Unit. After Memorial Day, staff returned to work on May 28th with a significant workload to catch up with due to the remainder of the state and country working two days the office was closed. This was compounded for the Probation and Parole Officers in the Interstate Compact Unit due to other circumstances that had staffing reduced to 50% at the end of May and the first couple weeks of June.

You have shown exceptional teamwork and dedication during this time to ensure all tasks were completed in a timely manner and Missouri remained compliant with Interstate Compact rules and time frames. While you were given general caseload assignments to cover, you took it upon yourself and decided which of them would complete tasks that were missed and not specifically assigned by the supervisor. You worked overtime to ensure our office was able to get the work in and out as required. Without this level of teamwork, professionalism and dedication, the office would have struggled to keep up. This would not only have impacted Missouri's compliance with the Interstate Compact, but also affected the lives of those offenders whose paperwork would have been submitted late.

Please accept our appreciation for the contributions you have made to this organization. We are proud to have you as a member of the Central Office team and wish you much continued success."

Congratulations Shelby and Trevor and!

Vincent Rost, District Administrator at District 27-Jefferson City, shared that Moniteau County PPO's Karen Ferguson, Rick Kusick, and Chris Cade meet with their clients in a building across from TCC (Tipton) in Moniteau County. Currently, TCC is  doing some improvements/maintenance on the building. Vince stated, "We have a great working relationship with the prison (DAI) staff who are very good hosts. My officers are wearing these hard hats when the maintenance guys are present doing work.  I love it that these officers use levity to deal with their less-than-perfect environment to deal with the stressful work we do. Their faces show it all. . . they are having fun while they work."