Pineville Marshal’s Office Is Community-Oriented

“There are six full-time and eleven part-time reserve officers,” Pineville Marshal Chris Owens said.

Owens has been in law enforcement for 17 years and has been marshal at Pineville since June of last year.

Owens said a variety of calls are received at the marshal’s office. “We get a lot of traffic complaints, accidents, and domestic problems.”

“Two of the most difficult cases we handled this past year were two children fatalities. One was a drowning and the other was a suffocation. We worked with the Fire Department on these cases and it was hard for all of us.”

When Owens was asked about the availability of equipment to adequately do their job, he said the marshals have some of the best equipment in the county. “We have ample equipment to protect our community.”

“We maintain our equipment as best we can,” Owens said. We recently ordered a new vehicle and when it arrives, we’ll have three vehicles, a CV, and a hummer.”

The staff at the marshal’s office is paid with city taxes.

Since we are approaching the foggy, rainy, and inclement weather season, Owens said he wants to remind everyone to turn their headlights on when driving in this type of weather.

Owens said the marshal’s office is community oriented and has a good relationship with the public.

There are two full-time and four reserve Goodman police officers. Police Chief Curt Drake has been with the department a little over a decade.

Drake provides excellent leadership to the Goodman police department and is well-respected by the community.

Drake said, of the many calls received at the station, most involve domestic problems and complaints about animals on the loose. Drake said some of the dogs roaming in Goodman come in from rural areas.

“When extra help is needed, our department is fortunate to be able to call upon the McDonald County Sheriff’s Department,” Drake said, “surrounding towns such as Anderson help out, and the Highway Patrol, as well.”

Drake said the Goodman Police Department has sufficient equipment to do their jobs and at times they receive grants which is used to purchase needed items. “Last year,” Drake said, “we received a block grant which enabled us to purchase gun racks for two of our vehicles.”

When asked what can be improved upon at the police department, Drake the communication systems used — technical problems, radio issues in certain places and static on the system.

Drake said drug problems such as meth labs are not a big problem in the Goodman area. He said Goodman is comparable to other small towns regarding drug issues.

The Goodman police department officers receive ongoing training. The required training is available at Law Enforcement Training, Missouri State Southern University in Joplin or at Crowder College in Neosho.

“There are some new events coming up in Goodman,” Drake said, “the Ozark Orchard Festival in October and the Christmas train is coming in December. We are happy about these events and the kids getting involved. We are expecting large crowds and may be calling upon law enforcement from surrounding areas to assist us.”