By Annnabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
Vandals have once again left their calling card at one of Dexter’s parks, and the city’s new video cameras have once again caught the suspects “red handed.”
Dexter Parks and Recreation Supt. Lawson Metcalf reported to the Dexter Board of Aldermen at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday evening. Metcalf reported vandals recently struck at the public restrooms in the East City Park for the second time this spring.
And for the second time the parks’ newly installed surveillance cameras caught the vandals in action. This incident, Metcalf said, involved girls and was not quite as expensive as the incident reported last month.
“They tired to tear a commode off the wall,” he said. They damaged the commode's flush valve and one of the stalls. He estimated the damage at approximately $600.
“We caught them on video coming and going. They were having a great time,” Metcalf said sarcastically. Information from the video was turned over to the Dexter Police Department and that a worker in his department knew the suspects’ names.
The police apprehended the suspects and received a confession from at least one.
Metcalf reported that the Parks and Recreation Department now has surveillance camera systems in the West and East Park, and well as the historical “Old Gym” on Park Lane and the new DPR Gym in the East Park.
By Steve Weinberg,
Special to the ShowMe Times from AARP
When Ilena Aslin retired in 1991, she moved to Cape Girardeau, knowing the intellectual atmosphere from Southeast Missouri State University would suit her. She became an active volunteer, delivering Meals on Wheels and working with groups that help grandparents who are rearing grandchildren.
Today, at 85, Aslin feels good about her mental acuity and believes her community service activities are vital in keeping her brain working at its full potential.
"I'm doing good for others while doing good for myself," said the former executive with the Girl Scouts of the USA.
To help others develop plans for keeping their brains agile, AARP Missouri is organizing a workshop March 29 in Doniphan.
A goal of the "Staying Sharp — Aging Wisely" workshop is to explain the different kinds of memory loss: normal age-related forgetfulness, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. R. Diane Hall, AARP Missouri associate state director for community outreach, said it will also cover help that's available.
The free workshop will feature speakers from the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, the Alzheimer's Association, the University of Missouri Extension and the Ripley County Public Health Center.
A 2011 survey of Missouri residents 50 and older found that 95 percent said staying mentally sharp is important, but fewer than half of them felt they have all the resources they need to accomplish that goal.
The free workshop will feature speakers from the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, the Alzheimer's Association, the University of Missouri Extension and the Ripley County Public Health Center.
Attendees will receive booklets on quality of life, memory loss due to aging, depression, chronic health issues and lifelong learning. The workshop and pamphlets are based on a project created by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and NRTA: AARP's Educator Community. It focuses on understanding how the brain works and how people can maximize brain function and brain health, particularly as they age.
Gary Small, M.D., coauthor of a book on preventing Alzheimer's, said genes are responsible for only about a third of how long and how well people live.
"The lifestyle choices we make every day may be the biggest factor in living better longer and preventing Alzheimer's disease."
Rob Hulstra, community outreach coordinator at the Alzheimer's Association — Southwest Missouri Chapter, will lead two sessions and stress the importance of having social connections.
What's Happening
- WHAT: "Staying Sharp" - tips for a better memory
- WHEN: Ripley County Health Center in Doniphan
- DATE: March 29
- TIME: 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- PLACE: Doniphan Church of God, 506 Pine Street
Doniphan - CONTACT: (573) 996-2181
Missouri's annual statewide tornado drill will be held at 1:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, March 13.
Participants will practice taking cover in their designated shelter locations. The three short videos below will show you how to protect yourself at school, in a home, and in a mobile home.
At 1:30 p.m., NOAA Weather Radios will alert listeners that the tornado drill has begun. Tornado sirens will also sound across Missouri. At this time, participants should practice taking cover in their designated shelter. If there is a threat of severe weather in any part of Missouri on March 13, the drill will be postponed until Thursday, March 15 at 1:30 p.m.
Schools, businesses and families are all encouraged to participate in the statewide tornado drill. Schools can also use the tornado drill as an educational tool for students by incorporating tornado facts and meteorological information and safety tips into their lesson plans.
Missouri’s annual Statewide Tornado Drill is part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which includes:
The state agency has also launched new videos demonstrating tornado sheltering in schools, houses and mobile homes in preparation for severe weather season and the March 13 Statewide Tornado Drill.
Tornado Safety At School
Tornado Safety At Home
NEW MADRID – In February of 1862, Union troops under Brig. General John Pope occupied New Madrid and set up headquarters in the Hunter-Dawson home. The Union troops occupied the city until early April of that year.
This weekend, 150 years after the events during the Civil War, visitors to Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site in New Madrid will experience first-hand what a town under occupation may have been like during the Civil War.
Sponsored by Missouri State Parks, The Occupation of New Madrid living history event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday. The event is free and open to the public.
Re-enactors will portray Company C of the 47th Illinois Infantry, which served as Union Gen. John Pope’s escort company. According to Hunter family tradition, Pope used the Hunter home as his headquarters after the fall of New Madrid in March of 1862. Part of the 47th Illinois Infantry served as his escort and bodyguard. Other re-enactors will portray the mostly pro-Confederate residents of New Madrid who were affected by the battles in the area and were not happy about the occupation of the town.
Visitors will be led by interpreters through the historic site and given the opportunity to see a variety of events and scenarios as soldiers and civilians go about their daily activities. The schedule on Saturday will include several drills, fatigue duty, patrols and inspections. Sunday’s schedule begins with church call followed by an inspection. Throughout the event, guests will learn what life may have been like for the people involved in these historic events and gain a better understanding of life in Missouri during the Civil War.
New Madrid was an important Confederate stronghold during the early part of the war and was fortified to help protect the Mississippi River from Northern advances. Combined with the fortifications at Island No. 10 just upstream, the defenses blocked the river and were needed by the Union as part of its strategy to split the Confederacy in two. Army and Navy units set out to capture the town and the island in early 1862. New Madrid fell in March, and troops on Island No. 10 finally surrendered about a month later.
Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site is located at 312 Dawson Rd. in New Madrid. For more information about the event, contact Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site at 573-748-5340. For more information on Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Missouri Department of Natural Resources Video
