BAGRAM AIRBASE, Afghanistan - An Essex man in the Missouri Army National Guard was awarded the Bronze Star Medal during ceremonies last month at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan.

Sgt. 1st Class Robert E. Myers, Jr.  of Essex is assigned to the St. Louis-based 1138th Transportation Company, which is about to conclude a 10-month convoy operations mission throughout Afghanistan.

In the award certificate from Army Secretary John M. McHugh, Myers is cited for his exceptional meritorious service in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and his outstanding performance and dedication to duty and to the success of the unit's mission. 

"The distinct accomplishments of Sgt. 1st Class Myers reflect great credit upon himself, the 1138th Transportation Company, Task Force 142, the 10th Sustainment Brigade, Joint Sustainment Command-Afghanistan and the United States Army," the certificate read.

As part of Task Force 142, the 1138th conducted more than 90 convoy missions covering an individual combined total of 847,000 miles, delivering critical supplies valued at $2.7 billion to forward operating bases across austere and treacherous terrain. In addition, the unit escorted more than 4,900 Afghan national trucks carrying critical vehicles and equipment in support of units throughout eastern Afghanistan and helped dispose of unused ammunition.

Prior to the unit's deployment, soldiers of the 1138th underwent two months of intensive convoy operations and combat training in Missouri, Kansas and Texas.

The 1138th Transportation Company is headquartered at historic Jefferson Barracks in south St. Louis County and is a subordinate unit of the 311th Brigade Support Battalion, based in Lexington.

The unit is now in Texas and is scheduled to return to St. Louis on Saturday. 

By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

He’s a kid who is fighting quite a battle. But Luke Lewis has a whole army of schoolmates who are behind him all the way – a whole army that’s pulling for him, and working hard and pulling for Lewis to have a victory in his battle against cancer.

Lewis is a sophomore at Dexter High School, and since early this year he has battled stage 3 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He’s missed out on a lot – school dances, classes, kidding around in the halls between classes, after-school activities, and the daily camaraderie between friends.

But Lewis has not been far from the minds of his classmates. They have sold lollypops, lime green ribbons and more – all to raise funds and awareness for him. Students huddle in school counselor Jennifer Miller’s office in between classes to work on projects and fundraisers – and the students use the Internet and social media to keep in touch with Lewis.

Luke is the son of Michelle and Stephen Quinton, and the family moved to Dexter from Indiana just before the tart of the 2011-2012 academic year. Since February he has been receiving medical treatment at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. He has gone through some tough treatments – chemotherapy, blood thinners and more. And because of the treatments he has lost his hair, is weak and is susceptible to flu-like symptoms and coughs. There have been trips back-and-forth to St. Louis and long stays in the hospital.

So this Saturday evening, Luke’s classmates and friends are going to “raise the roof” of the DHS gym in a unique and fun fundraising event – Lyrics for Luke.

The event will feature The BUZZ rock-n-roll band and other bands and musicians – all to raise funds for Luke and his family.

The BUZZ includes T.S. Hill Middle School principal Scott Kruse on drums as well as DHS alums John Stewart, Kip Musgrave, and Bobbi Kay Wooley Parker. They still play that “good ‘ol rock and roll,” still have a good time, and still can chase the cows out of the ‘back 40’’.

Some other folks will join the BUZZ Saturday night – they might be called the “younger young generation.

“We’re going to set up in the gym,” Kruse explained and Stewart will do his magic with the band’s equipment. “The (high school) kids will bring their guitars and (drum) sticks and plug into our equipment. We’ve got J.T. Putnam and his band, and we’ve got other kids who are going to sing with us.”

Kruse said The BUZZ has given its song list to a number of high school musicians, and they will sing with his band. High school musical “phenom” Joseph Greer will also join the show.

“The BUZZ has played a lot of fun shows, but nothing is more fun than the feeling of helping out a family in need and having a good time doing it,” he said.  “So proud of the High School STUCO for organizing this event. Let’s celebrate life and show Luke that no one in this community fights alone.”

Kruse also gives the credit for this event and others the students have sponsored to Miller.

“She’s been great – she’s gotten this all together,” he comments.

“It’s going to be a ‘come hang out’ event for a good cause and have a great night,” Kruse said. “They’ll have t-shirts, too. All the money is going to go to this kid’s family. It should be a lot of fun.”

A community effort such as this is, Kruse said, typical of our wonderful community and school system.

“This is typical of our community and schools. The support is there,” he said. Kruse calls Lewis a “hero.” “There are students who have challenges, but not many of them are taking chemo, loosing their hair and fighting like this. It’s a respectable thing that these kids are doing to come together for Luke.”

What’s Happening

• What: Lyrics For Luke
• When: Saturday, May 5, 2012
• Time: 7 p.m.
• Place: Dexter High School Gym
• Cost: $5 minimum donation

ROLLA – Athletes at Missouri S&T offered a helping hand to those in need in the Rolla community, and a Dexter student was part of the effort.

Dexter’s Katelyn Heil was a part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee that challenged Missouri S&T's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee  and held a canned food drive this spring. The effort was a  challenge competition among the university's athletic teams – which resulted in the collection of 1,100 food items which will be donated locally.



Heil is a senior at Missouri S&T and the daughter of Dan and Connie Heil of Dexter. Katelyn and her sister Katherine were standout athletes at Dexter High School and have played basketball at the Rolla university.

The donated items will be donated to GRACE, a local agency in Phelps County, who in turn will make them available for those who need them.

The food drive conducted by the S&T SAAC was part of the Great Lakes Valley Conference's challenge, an annual contest encouraging student-athletes from the league's 16 institutions to be active in their local communities.
Missouri S&T's swimming team collected the most items with over 300 non-perishable food items brought in for donation.  The teams were compared by the ratio of food items to the number of team members.



Photo Above: Pictured above are some of the members of Missouri S&T's SAAC that assisted with the food drive. From the left are Clint Wobbe (baseball), Kim Ekholm (women's soccer), Kassie Osborne (women's track & field), Hayley Wright (volleyball), Filmore Bouldes (men's basketball), Lindsey DeForest (softball), Drew Pyles (baseball), Courtney Kemp (women's basketball), Spencer Brinkmeyer (men's soccer), Jennifer Costello (volleyball), Aaron Viets (men's track/cross country), Katelyn Heil (women's basketball), Andrew Simek (swimming), Mindy Lake (women's track/cross country) and Hayden Price (swimming).



By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

UPDATED,4.21.2012

Saturday evening is a big night in the lives of lots of Dexter High School students. It's glitz and glamour; long, flowing dresses and top hats and tuxedoes; it's an evening to be enjoyed and remembered. It’s prom. 

And this year as they gather for “Enchantment Under the Sea” in their finery, the gymnasium, lobby and auditorium will have been transformed into a unique and special environment. And there are years of tradition and customs that helped shape the evening.

Traditions have evolved with Dexter’s prom.

For instance, a banquet used to be part of the evening.  For a number of years the school cooks prepared the banquet meal. Then in the 1970s it was catered, with the Hickory Log bringing in the meals. Sophomore girls were generally asked to serve the meal to the juniors and seniors.

A photo from the 1975 prom shows long cafeteria tables decorated for the banquet in the gym, with a head table for teachers and school administrators. The tables were adjusted for the dance afterward.

The banquet was eliminated from prom night - and something new added - all in one year:1985.

"We decided to do away with the banquet but decided to add something new in its place," April Isbell of the Class of 1986 said. As juniors in 1986, the Class of '86 planned prom. "So we added Grand March."

Isbell said that neghboring Poplar Bluff had a grandmarch and had received some national media attention for its elaborate march. Deter added itin 1985, and it has been a apopular feature ever since.

Then there is the location. 

In 1962, the gymnasium and the entire high school facility were new, and Judy Evans Rimel was a junior that year.

“The gymnasium was brand new, and they (administrators) didn’t want us in there,” she recalled. So everyone loaded onto school buses and went to catch a boat on the Mississippi River.

“We went for a ride on a boat,” Rimel said as she recalled the prom dance on the river. “It was different; it was fun. But it wasn’t a lot of fun getting on a school bus in your high heals and dress, I can tell you that!”

No other Dexter prom went “on the road” that anyone can recall, but other traditions evolved. 

 This Saturday evening the couples will be introduced and presented on the auditorium stage, where everyone will see – and photos snapped – as they walk across - for Grand March.

Some things, however,  have remained the same. For instance, the junior class continues to plan and prepare the prom, which is presented for the graduating seniors. And the gymnasium – once off-limits – is decorated and transformed into a special place just for prom.

Junior classes raise money for the prom through the annual magazine sale in the fall – and the success of that endeavor often is a measure of the prom’s success.

For Judy Patterson, this is prom number 18.  Attending prom at a student in the early 1980s, Patterson has been thee faculty prom sponsor for 18 years.

"Two more years," she said while sitting down after a long work day. The western wall was just put back in place after a gust of wind from the outside doors toppled them over. All was well. "I will retire from this (prom sponsor) in two more years."

Alana Dowdy and Amy Simmons are also faculty members at DHS today, but were both members of the Class of 1994. Dowdy very proudly points that their class was the first to use “wall boards” to help decorate.

“We painted them all at our house, and we roasted hotdogs while we were working,” Dowdy said.

Dowdy and Simmons are part of the faculty sponsors working with the juniors on prom. Juniors were ‘busy bees’ all day Friday, transforming the gym, auditorium and lobby for the special night. Prom Work Day is a busy day, but one juniors look forward to throughout the year.

Prom committees often kick into high gear in the spring, with any meeting and working evenings. But one set of guys remember prom meetings for an entirely different reason.

A prom committee met on the evening of April 8, 1974, and while the girls on the committee were working diligently in the basement, Mark Becker and other committee members slipped up the stairs, and watched baseball with host Barney Miller. The guys were just in time to see Hank Aaron hit career home run number 715, breaking Babe Ruth’s record. Some things just took priority over prom walls!

The Grand March for the 2012 prom will begin at 7:30 p.m. There will be a “window of opportunity” when parents and friends may view the gym, and they the event is closed to the public.

Photo Above: Juniors Sydney Graves, Samantha Midgett and Kaitlin Viers worked hard Friday on a boat and anchor that stand as a centerpiece in the DHS Gym for Prom 2012. (ShowMe Times photo by Annabeth Miller)