A candlelight vigil will be held Friday evening to remember a Bernie teenager who died this week in a one-vehicle crash.

Friends and family of Dalton Tyler Wasson will gather at 9 p.m., Friday, June 24, in the Bernie Park to remember him and mourn their loss. The public is invited to the vigil.

Wasson died Wednesday morning in a single-vehicle accident 3 miles east of Bernie on Route Z. He was the son of Jesse E. Wasson of Bernie and Monica J. Wasson of East Prairie. Dalton was a student at Bernie High School.

A complete obituary is published in the Obituary section of the ShowMe Times.

A ShowMe Times News Report

The blaring sound heard Friday morning in Dexter will be the sound of the community’s emergency sirens being tested.

Dexter Fire Chief Al Banken reports the city’s emergency sirens will tested at 9 a.m. Friday, June 24, weather permitting.

This testing is necessary to ensure that the siren system is working properly. No critical weather is forecast at this time, so please note that the sounding of the sirens in Dexter is a step in the testing procedure.

By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

Missouri Senate Leader Rob Mayer of Dexter has created a special interim committee in the Senate to study various insurance exchange proposals and their compliance with Missouri law.

Mayer said the core focus of the interim committee would be to examine whether or not Missouri should follow federal guidelines and enact a health insurance exchange.

“As the effective date of the federal healthcare legislation approaches and the numerous challenges to the constitutionality of the program make their way through the courts,” Mayer said, “I believe an interim committee is the best way to explore Missouri's options on the establishment of a health insurance exchange and the impact of state law on that exchange.”

Mayer named Sen. Scott T. Rupp, R-Wentzville, as chairman of the committee. Other senators named to the committee include Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield; Sen. Jack Goodman, R-Mt. Vernon; Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah; Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph; Sen. Kiki Curls, D-Kansas City; and Sen. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis.

Legislation was considered by the General Assembly this year that would have established the Show-Me Health Insurance Exchange Act. The legislation, House Bill 609, would comply with requirements of federal healthcare reform legislation, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

But Mayer said some have concerns that complying with federal law and creating a health insurance exchange would be in violation of state law.

Last August, 71 percent of Missouri voters approved Proposition C, known as the “Health Care Freedom Act.” The act, which is now state law, maintains that no federal law shall compel a patient, employer, or health care provider to participate in any government or privately run health care system, nor prohibit a patient or employer from paying directly for legal health care services.

To learn more about the interim committees announced this week, visit www.senate.mo.gov.

Four Southeast Missouri state representatives have been appointed to servce on an interim Missouri House recovery committee.

State Reps. Ellen Brandom of Sikeston, Terry Swinger of Caruthersville, Steve Hodges of East Prairie and Todd Richardson of Poplar Bluff have been appointed to serve on the Interim Committee on Disaster Recovery.

The committee will have a public meeting at 1 p.m., Thursday, June 30, at the Clinton Community Building in Sikeston.

This Committee will look at the continuing efforts in aiding the affected areas of Missouri and research how the State can best aid in the immediate recovery process. The Committee will also submit a comprehensive report to the legislature by July 31, 2011, detailing ways that the State can aid the rebuilding process on a long term scale, as well as ways to be better prepared for future natural disasters.

The public is invited to attend and participate in the hearing.

For additional information you may also visit www.modisasterrecovery.com.

Photo Above: State Rep. Terry Swinger (right) looks over flood damage in the Bootheel with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon. (Submitted photo)

A SMT News Report

BERNIE, Mo. - A Bernie teenager is dead after an early Wednesday morning car crash.

Dalton T. Wasson, 16, of Bernie was killed in a one-vehicle crash Wednesday morning along Route Z, three miles east of Bernie in Stoddard County.

The Missouri Highway Patrol reports the accident occurred at 7:10 a.m. Wednesday, when Wasson was driving a 2003 Chrysler westbound on Route Z. The Patrol reports Wasson ran off the right side of the roadway, overturned, and was ejected from the vehicle.

Wasson was pronounced dead at the scene by Stoddard County Coroner Aaron Mathis.

The patrol reports indicated no passengers were in the vehicle, and that Wasson was not wearing a safety device at the time of the accident.