North Middle School teacher's arrest, Bruce Speck, lawsuit against Joplin police officer included in Top 10 posts

There was never any doubt about what the most visited post this week for the Turner Report would be the minute this blog broke the story that North Middle School reading teacher Amanda Schweitzer had been arrested on a felony statutory rape charge.
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Since that time, in less than 36 hours, the post became the second most-visited post in the 14-year history of the Turner Report with more than 45,000 visitors and is still drawing more readers.

Without the arrest story, the 24-hour period between 7 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday would still have been a high-traffic time for the blog with more than 11,000 visitors, approximately twice the usual amount. Add in those who came specifically for the arrest story and that number swelled to 52,000, the second biggest 24-hour period in the blog's history.

Obviously, a story of this nature, when a teacher allegedly violated her trust is one that shocks the community and in this case raised many questions in the comments section about the teacher, if the large turnover of teachers in the Joplin R-8 School District has made it more likely that some teachers do not belong in the classroom will be hired, and many people who are skeptical of the police department that investigated the case.

The initial investigation of Schweitzer, though her name had not been revealed at that point, for allegedly sending nude photos of herself to three male students was the number two post for the week.

The high traffic for the post on Schweitzer's charges continued a 2017 trend for the Turner Report. Partly because of the nature of the posts, and partly because of the steadily increasing readership of this blog, five of the top 10 posts of all time have been published in the first three months of this year.

In addition to the charges against Schweitzer landing in the number two position, the following posts have also made the top 10:

5. Joplin doctor pleads not guilty to statutory rape, sodomy charges

6. Betsy DeVos and the Blunt connection

8. Former Joplin pediatric surgeon facing trial on child porn charges had nude photos of boys in hospital setting

9. Gunshot reported at Northpark Mall unconfirmed, but arrests are made

This week's Turner Report Top 10 also features an unusual entry. For some reason that I still haven't been able to fathom, an August 7, 2009 post about former Missouri Southern State University President Bruce Speck landed at number eight and there have been weeks where the number of visitors it received would have landed it in the top three.

Another post that would likely have been number one in other weeks, a lawsuit against Joplin police officer Seth Lugenbell for his role in a shooting, only made it to number four and yet another post that would have easily been in the top 10 in almost any other week- the news revealed first on this blog that the Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the City of Joplin and upheld its win over Wallace-Bajjali- did not even make it into the top 10.

The top posts and links are featured below:


The Turner Report

1. Probable cause statement- North Middle School teacher, 37, had sex with 13-year-old boy

2. Report: North Middle School teacher placed on leave, allegedly sent nude photos to three students

3. Elevated tornado risk this afternoon, tonight for Joplin area

4. Lawsuit claims Joplin police officer shot man four times for no reason

5. Former Washington Education Building to serve as outreach center

6. Three storm chasers, including two from SW Mo, killed in Texas car crash

7. Closed session minutes, 10 teachers leave Joplin R-8 District, one hired

8. MSSU president entertains Rotary with "Pink Slip Blues

9. One hundredth anniversary of U. S. entry into World War II to be commemorated in Kansas City

10. Accused felon linked to Dankelson campaign contributions bound over for trial

Inside Joplin

1. Riverton man killed, Joplin woman seriously injured in head-on crash near Neosho
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2. "Suicidal" Joplin man charged with DWI, resisting arrest, seven misdemeanors, airlifted to St. Joseph hospital

3. Jasper County Dissolution of Marriage Petitions

4. Joplin Police Department Weekend Arrests

5. Joplin man arrested for failure to rggister as sex offender, Sarcoxie man arrested for domestic assault

6. Joplin Police Department Arrests March 28-29

7. Joplin Police Department Arrests March 30-31

8. Joplin Municipal Court plans Amnesty Day

9. Three injured in two-car crash on 43

10. Have you seen this tortoise?

Inside Joplin Obituaries

1. Brandon Pennington

2. Darcy O'Brien

3. Kelley Williamson

4. Randy Yarnall

5. Melissa Landreth-Stillions

6. Kevin Owen

7. Phillip Baldwin

8. Jessie Brewer

9. Tucker Divine

10. Brian Fox

Inside Carthage

1. Accused killer of two-year-old: I was too scared to call the hospital

2. Carthage Police: Do you know these suspects?

3. Carthage Police arrests Ace Mohr for DWI, motion to revoke bond filed

4. Confessions of Carthage Middle School teachers

5. DWI checkpoints, saturations planned in Jasper, Greene counties

6. Sarcoxie residents arrested for Carthage armed robbery

7. Gatehouse CEO rakes in $2.1 million a year, will make $2.2 million if he loses his job

8. 64-year-old man victim of armed robbery on Cedar Street in Carthage

9. Miller man killed, six-year-old injured in head-on crash on 96

10. Avilla residents injured in two-vehicle accident near Republic