The Top Ten

the basics

Name: Jonathan Foels
Age: 15
Class at DHS Sophomore
Hobbies: Tae Kwon Do,Jiu Jitsu, play football and sing in DHS Chamber Choir
Hometown: Dexter

the questions

1. What do you like best about Dexter?
I like the schools, and I like the size of Dexter - it's not too small and it's not too big.

2. What does the future hold for Jonathon after high school?
I think I want to go to college, major in history and be a teacher.

3. What is your favorite book?
The Cry of the Ice Mark by Stuart Hill

4. Who is your role model?
My dad - Mark Foels. He's a really nice guy, always friendly to others and has taught me a lot about life.

5. When you are 30, where do you want to be?
I want to be married and starting a family, live in a nice house and be financially okay.

6. What are three goals for this school year?
I want to be in the Top Ten Percent of my class academically, letter in football, run track this spring.

7. What is your favorite song?
Have You Forgetten? by Darryl Worley

8. Email or text?
Text.

9. Who is your hero?
Ray Carrillo.

10. Favorite Word?
"Nifty"

By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

The new Miss Dexter for 2011-2012 was crowned in a pageant Saturday night at the Bearcat Event Center.

Miss Madison McGowan is the new Miss Dexter. Madison, 15, is the daughter of Todd and Kriste McGowan of Dexter. She is a member of the DHS Volleyball team, Club Volleyball and is a varsity basketball cheerleader. The best things about Dexter, Madison says, are “nice people, good schools and it’s home.”

Kelsey May is the first alternate. Kelsey is the 17 year-old daughter of Patty and Perry May.

Second alternate is Hannah Noe, the 15-year-old daughter of Jonas and Jo Noe.

Miss Congeniality of this year’s Miss Dexter Pageant is Tori Seabaugh, 17, and the daughter of Steve and Heather Foster and Jeff and Alicia Thomas. Miss Congeniality is chosen each year by a vote the all of the young ladies in the Miss Dexter Pageant. It is second only in importance to the Miss Dexter crown. The recipient reflects the respect and admiration of the her peers, who vote her as the most respectful , positive, congenial, and charismatic.

The top 12 finalists, who will be featured throughout the next year as the ShowMe Times’ Miss Dexter Calendar Girls include (in pageant order):

• Madison McGowan
• Leah Noyes
• Jessica Snider
• Miranda Warner
• Morgan Cliff
• Whitney Layton
• Megan Trewatha
• Tori Seabaugh
• Stephanie Gee
• Rachel Putnam
• Kelsey May
• Hannah Noe

Mistress of Ceremonies for the pageants was Malinda Mayo; assisting on stage throughout the evening’s pageants was the retiring Miss Dexter for 2010-2011, McKenzie Mitchell.

In other pageants Saturday evening:

Little Mister Dexter

• Little Mister Dexter – Sebastian Webb, 5-year-old son of Ashley Hunsaker and James Webb
• First Alternate – Levi Cole Seyer, 3-year-old son of Kayla Durham and Tyler Seyer
• Second Alternate – Cash Murphy, 3-year-old son of Carrie and Gary Murphy

Little Miss Dexter

• Little Mister Dexter – Averee Diane Ackman, 4-year-old daughter of Trey and Amanda Ackman
• First Alternate – Katie Carrillo, 4-year-old daughter of Bobby and Christi Carrillo

Young Miss Dexter

• Young Miss Dexter - Bailey Porter, 6-year-old daughter of Mark and Samantha Porter
• First Alternate – Addyson Atherton, 7-year-old daughter of Kim and Amy Lemons and Shannon Atherton
• Second Alternate - Mia Kaylyn Williams, 7-year-old daughter of Randy and Jodie Williams

Petite Miss Dexter

• Petite Miss Dexter – Alexa Mae Werneck, 10-year-old daughter of Chad and Amber Werneck
• First Alternate – Margo Nea , 10-year-old daughter of Mark and Amber Nea
• Second Alternate – Blair Rogers, 9-year-old daughter of Robin Northern and the late Aaron Rogers

Junior Miss Dexter

• Junior Miss Dexter – Lauren Leigh Thrower, 13-year-old daughter of Lori Hawkins and Bob Thrower
• First Alternate – Ashlynn Wyman, 12-year-old daughter of Steve and Jana Wyman
• Second Alternate – Lexi May, 12-year-old daughter of Patty and Perry May

The Miss Dexter Pageants are hosted annually by the Dexter High School Choral Music Department.

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By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

When you first meet McKenzie Mitchell you see a typical teenage young woman: starting her senior year in high school, excited about cheerleading competition, a vigorous and important part of the varsity volleyball squad, in the stands cheering her team on to victory on Friday nights, active in church and community groups, has a good time with her friends. If you would ask McKenzie to write the typical essay, “What I Did For Summer Vacation,” you would then see something special and unique.

Since she was a young girl, McKenzie has shined in front of a camera, and she always dreamed of modeling professionally. She has had incredible opportunities – such as being on the cover of a brochure for Busch Gardens, on billboards, in specialty clothing catalogs and other ventures. As a teen, those opportunities expanded to a much larger stage.

In the last year, McKenzie received a pair of prestigious national modeling honors: In September 2010 she was one of only 10 girls in the country selected to be in the 2011 Varsity cheer catalog. Then, earlier this year, the international designer Jovani named the Dexter teen the 2011 “Face of Jovani” – a once in a lifetime experience.

“I love travelling and meeting new people,” McKenzie said. And this was the summer of travel, meeting new people, and unique experiences. “I’ve always wanted to do this and I love modeling. It’s my greatest passion.”

Varsity is the top cheer uniform company in the country – if not the world – and their catalog has more of the look and feel of a high-end quality magazine than just the run-of-the-mill catalog. The girls modeling are photographed “in action” – just like any cheerleader in high schools and colleges across the country. Varsity is the world’s largest designer and manufacturer of cheer and dance team uniforms; and schools and colleges look to Varsity for the latest and greatest trends in the sport.

McKenzie was one of 12 young ladies chosen by Varsity to be featured in this year’s catalog – 12 out of more than 1,200 who originally submitted applications for the honor. In October the girls gathered in Dallas for a weeklong photo shoot.

McKenzie explained that not all the girls were able to come together at one time due to their individual school commitments, but the Varsity personnel treated them royally while they were in Dallas. They stayed at a 5-star hotel, had their own chef, and could order room service when they wanted ... quite an experience!

“It was an experience of a lifetime,” McKenzie said. “It was an incredible experience. I still keep in touch with all the girls.”

Varsity called the Dexter teen on Christmas Eve 2010 with an incredible “Christmas gift” – Varsity selected McKenzie as one of two cheer models to fly to Orlando, Fla., for a national convention unveiling of the 2011 catalog. The convention was the first of February, and McKenzie and the other girls modeled the Varsity clothing at the convention.

This summer, McKenzie and her mother, Ann-Marie, got to fly to California to work with the Jovani team as the 2011 Face of Jovani. Jovani is one of the world’s premiere designers of prom and evening wear. “The photo shoot for Jovani was in Los Angeles, because that’s where the photographer is,” she said.

So in June, McKenzie and her mother flew west for the Jovani photo shoot. This upcoming prom season, when girls all across America pick up the 2012 Jovani book, McKenzie will be featured.

“She’s shot six dresses so far,” Ann-Marie said. “As he (Jovani) designs the dresses he ships them out there (to California). She’s seen those six, then there are other girls who are also in the book.”

The book will be on the Jovani website, on Facebook, and in every Jovani retailer’s store.

In addition to Varsity and Jovani, McKenzie works with a modeling agency in St. Louis, West Model & Talent Management, and through West she landed a job with Life Uniform - she worked at a photo shoot for Life Uniform in June, which adds another element to McKenzie’s modeling portfolio.

“As a model you have to ‘range’ ,” she said. ‘Range’ is the ability to adapt from one situation to the next, and in McKenzie’s case ranging in age from possibly a young teen to a mature-looking professional young woman. She said she enjoyed the challenges and opportunities with Life Uniform as well.

“You get to meet new people and see their experience and where they’ve been and learn from them too,” she said.

This summer also found McKenzie working for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a bathing suit feature in the metropolitan newspaper. The theme was “swim suit that fits your body”, and the “swimsuits were so fancy you could almost wear them anywhere.” The feature had McKenzie in some places that – well, you might not see someone in a bathing suit. She was shown in locations like a grocery store and a theater performance.

“I was in a grocery store and people were coming in, and some were taking pictures of me on their iPhone,” she said. “In the theater, people were all around and they were acting like they were watching a show and I was trying to find my seat but I was in a bikini.”

It was a large feature in a Sunday edition of the Post-Dispatch, and then two weeks later the feature was published again in the Chicago Tribune.

The summer also included showroom modeling for Jovani and video production shoot for the dressmaker in Atlanta.

“Mr. Jovani has been watching her all this time on Facebook, and he has been so impressed with her and how she’s representing his company, “ Ann-Marie said. “He wired her a $1,000 check for her to spend on herself in Los Angeles – to buy herself something special for herself.”

“I’ve been so blessed,” McKenzie said. “I have been given so many opportunities – it’s a dream come true!”

By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

“The Times They Are A-Changin'."

That could be said of things at Dexter’s Keller Public Library as they prepare to enter the age of eBooks this Wednesday (Sept. 1).

According to Library Director Pam Trammell, the technology is in place and ready to be activated, the staff has been trained and ready to help patrons “check-out” eBooks to their personal readers.

“Mid-morning on Wednesday our link to Missouri Libraries 2 Go will be activated and I will hit that link on the library’s website,” said Trammell. Patrons will be able to click on that link and from there they will go to the library consortium’s website.

“It is very self-explanatory and there are a lot of self-help tools,” she said. Once on the Missouri Library 2 Go website, patrons have some easy steps to follow:

• Find your electronic device (Nook, iPad, Sony eReader, etc.) and download the appropriate software. This will only need to be downloaded once and it is free.
• Go to the dropdown menu at the top of the page and find “Keller Public Library.”
• Login with your Keller Library card number.
• Begin browsing!

Trammell said patrons have to have a Keller Library card number to get into the system.

“If they’ve lost they card and don’t know their number they can call us” she added.

Once setup with a reader is complete you are ready to begin browsing books titles. Trammell said the Missouri Libraries 2 Go program offers a wealth of information on books.

“It gives you so much information about every book – there’s a little synopsis,” she said. “You can search by title, author or subject; you can search just ‘new releases’. You can see how many “holds” there are on a title. You place your hold, and they will send you an e-mail when the title is available to check out.”

There can be about a week wait once you place a “hold” on a new title, and once checked out, the title can be in your device for up to 2 weeks before it expires. She said there is a wide range of material available, including fiction, non-fiction and children’s and young adult books.

“There is no charge at all to our patrons – this is free,” Trammell said. “And there are no late fees.”

The addition of the eBooks program is not a replacement for Keller Library’s hard copy material, Trammell stressed.

“This is an addition – an extra service we will have because we think electronic reading is here to stay. We know the world is changing. We want to get in on this now; our patrons have been asking about this for some time. We are glad the Friends of the Library helped us out in getting our system ready. I hope people are pleased. It will take us all a while to get used to it.”

Trammell said people who have a slow Internet connection could come into the library and download a book and then transfer it to their own device.

“It’s a great addition to all our other services,” she said. “We want to encourage reading in any format – that’s out mission.”

Local Link Of Interest

Keller Public Library

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Photo Above: Library Director Pam Trammell (left) talks to patron Lydia Lancaster about the new eBooks program. (SMT photo by Annabeth Miller)

By - Joseph Schneider,
ShowMe Times Contributing Writer

As the nose of the plane broke through the clouds, I saw the single most beautiful sight that in my sixteen years have ever been lucky enough to come across. The sun, hung just above cloud line, gave everything a pink tint that seemed to warm from the inside out, despite the chilly altitude. The wispy clouds dreamily refracted the incandescent light. I regret not having my camera. My ears popped. My hands started to shake. All I could hear was the incessant, never-ending drone of the engines—the rotors were so close to us in the small plane that my stomach churned with fear when I looked near them. I hadn’t flown before, and even though this was the worst day of my life, this moment was perfect. I took one last look at the gorgeous display before I shut my eyes and allowed repressed emotions to run freely. My eyes filled with salt and tears began to pour like the proverbial “leaky faucet,” my shoulders heaved up and down. “Are you okay?” The pilot noticed me politely. Am I okay? I nodded my head and looked behind me; she was still there, I grabbed her outstretched hand.

Thirty minutes earlier, I was asked the same question: “Are you okay?” I nodded my head but didn’t mean it. I hugged my sister, the inquirer. This was, easily, the strangest hug of my life. Casey, my sister, whom I barely knew, loosely wrapped her arms around my torso and lingered uncomfortably. It was similar to hugging an overly affectionate relative whom you haven’t talked to in years at a family reunion . The wind tingled my skin. A large lump painfully formed in my throat. We silently hugged at the Maryville, Missouri airport, watched by my Director of Enrollment, Robert Bryant, the pilot, whose name I cannot recall, and Maddie, my sister’s best friend. A family friend had provided the private plane; Maddie accompanied us to provide whatever emotional support she could. From Maryville, we headed southeast to Jackson, Missouri, our home.

Months before the plane ride, my brother, Jacob taught me one of the most unimportant, yet important lessons of my life. “You take your glasses and put them under piping hot water for about ten seconds, then rub them with socks,” My brother scolds. I had tried to clean glasses with a Kleenex and received a verbal backlash. This was Jacob’s way. The matters of minutia could not mean more to anyone. I didn’t believe him. I ran to the bathroom, excited at the prospect of a new, fancy way to clean my glasses. It worked. Shortly thereafter, he imparted more wisdom, “Take a pair of socks out of your drawer, clean your glasses, and hang them on your drawer so you have a pair ready in the morning.” In his ridiculously yellow room he had figured out many great mysteries of life like this. Still hanging in Jacob’s room are Casey’s Christmas lights, full-body mirror, and posters. These feminine accessories didn’t even phase him, he truly did not care about superficialities. I now respect him greatly for this. This girly room had held discussions of politics, women, philosophy, video games, movies, our parents, television shows, music (he described Bob Dylan as a musical genius, a matter that we could never agree on), family, future plans, cars, funny videos, and, without words or actions, we expressed our love of one another. Jacob’s sock trick now defines him for me. He cared entirely too much about the smallest things that most people wouldn’t think twice about. These little things are what I now remember him by.

“Jacob died!” My sister lamented. We slept in the same bed for those first few nights. It was somewhat awkward as my sister is seven years older than myself and before then we had never been that interested in one another. Even so, it helped immensely, having someone so close. There’s really nothing better than someone to cry with, I now know. “I have to keep reminding myself that it happened.” She admitted. I don’t have to remind myself as much anymore, but at the same time I wish I did. I wish that I never had to think of my brother as dead again.

My father has lost his mother, his brother, his father, his stepmother, and now his son. “I called Dad the other day and he was laying in his bed crying. What am I supposed to do about that?” Casey asked me after she had talked to Dad. I didn’t realize he was so emotional until he cried whenever I moved into the Academy. He cried for several minutes. Hugging him while he cries is like being in the ocean. There are waves of emotion and feeling that somehow wash through him and through the other person. My father is portly; I am an inch or so taller, when we hug he puts his head on my shoulder and I grab all the way around him and squeeze and he does the same. Needless to say, he’s gotten more emotional. Growing up, I thought that he had very little emotion because he tends to push away whenever people reach out for support. I think he’s had so much loss that he doesn’t want to be emotional, so he tries to avoid it.

Casey and I found ourselves alone again during another seven hour road trip, but we talked the majority of the way to and from home on the Labor Day drive. I plugged my iPod in and was playing the part of DJ and, through my music, we bonded. Casey is cool. I would never have guessed. It turns out that we have similar tastes in television, music, movies, and somewhat similar personal beliefs. Regardless, I do not like that she loves country and some rap. Casey had always been a big sister in all respects. She was never bad to me, but we had never taken the time to get to know one another. We aren’t best friends yet, but we’re right on track, we only need time.

Similarly, if I was asked what I thought of my parents two months ago I would have answered pessimistically. Now, they are the bravest people I know.

“Global Warming is a myth,” my brother said in the most factual manner possible. This was a true statement. I laughed. I looked into his eyes and saw complete honesty, I laughed again. My brother was an idiot—worse yet—a conspiracy theorist. Then again, at 15, you think that everyone is an idiot. We were playing ping pong, some of the best memories I have of my brother. We would volley the ball back and forth for hours, long past the point of boredom. Except it wasn’t, we held conversation in a way that I’ll never be able to replicate. We would fight, agree, disagree, insult each other (he recognized my gender incorrectly at least once a day), and then fight some more. It is impossible to find a more perfect example of sibling rivalry.

Jacob was found deceased in his room at about 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009. He had never been late to class; he went to Southeast Missouri State University. His alarm was buzzing and he was lying halfway out of bed, my mother found him. He had had a seizure that ended his life. His drawer had socks hanging out of it, waiting for him to get up.

Jacob Schneider will be forever loved and missed. Jacob's brother, Joe, a student at University of Missouri School of Journalism, composed this emotional essay as a 16 year old student. It is printed today for the first time in honor of Jacob, who passed away on August 25, 2009.

Our hearts are with the Schneider family, Steve (DHS '74) and Judy of Jackson, MO; Casey (an architect in Denver); and our exceptionally talented Contributing Writer, Joseph.