By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
Two ladies with more than 25 years of service to the Keller Public Library were recognized at Monday evening’s meeting of the Dexter Board of Aldermen.
After 17 years of service, Connie Hutchcraft is retiring from the library at the end of this year.
“We appreciate the many years you’ve given,” said Mayor Joe Weber in making a presentation of a plaque from the City to Hutchcraft.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with everybody and being a part of the City and part of the library and I’ve enjoyed meeting some wonderful people. I won’t forget you,” Hutchraft said.
Blanche Dinsmore was also recognized Monday evening for 10 years of service to the library.
“Best job I’ve ever had,” Dinsmore said cheerfully.
Library Director Pam Trammell said both ladies have been a part of the library in some important days.
“They’ve both seen the library through a lot of transitions, and it is certainly the better for it,” Trammell said. “Connie certainly has a following at the library and she’s going to be missed by a lot of people.”
The ladies received a standing ovation from the aldermen in appreciation for the years of service to the community.
Trammell said that Wednesday, June 6 will be “Connie’s Day” at the library with a drop-in reception from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Library patrons and area residents are invited to visit the library and wish Hutchcraft well as she begins retirement.
Later in the aldermanic meeting, Trammell said that she has made some personnel moves in light of Hutchcraft’s retirement. Assistant Librarian Rita LeBeau has gone from two days a weeks to four, and former Dexter High School Librarian Pam Horton will be joining the librarian staff and will be at the library three days each week.
Alderman Jerry Corder, who is chairman of the city Tourism Committee, reported during Monday’s meeting that the River Heritage Association will meet in Dexter Wednesday. The tourism group will have the opportunity to tour Dexter’s Heritage House, the Welcome Center/Old Depot, and have the opportunity to see Pete Parysek’s model train collection. A dinner meeting will also be held while the group is in Dexter.
Corder also had great praise for the Rib City Shootout, and how it brings families to Dexter for four weekends each summer.
“To me, this is really a boost to tourism,” Corder said. The basketball extravaganza involves more than 250 teams of young people from throughout the mid-south region. Corder praised organizer and Dexter schools coach Chad Allen.
The department chiefs offered updates on projects and programs in the city:
- Water Superintendent Tom Espey report his department would be working on a fire hydrant at Castor and West Elk streets on Wednesday
- Police Chief Sammy Stone report that the parking lot at the newly renovated Police Station has been complete, the lot striped and completed. Stone said this is the final step in the project at the police headquarters and he appreciates the public’s patience during the remodeling and construction.
- The work on the downtown rainwater sewer is nearing a completion, said department chief Jeff Myers. Mayor Weber commended the Street Department for its work on the program.
- Parks and Recreation Supt. Lawson Metcalf reported the pool has experienced good attendance since it opened for the season Memorial Day weekend. The average daily attendance thus far is 184.
- Fire Chief Don Seymore report that the department is nearing completion on its annual testing of the City’s fire hydrants, and should complete testing of fire hoses this week.
- Aldermen unanimously approved an ordinance approving a bid of $30,000 from Jethero Gater Construction for the closing of the West Lagoon cell.
By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
It was a combination of reunion, community festival, and a family gathering. As more than 500 people jammed into the Dexter Elk’s Lodge for Friday evening’s Ben Kruse Fore Life banquet there was a sense of joy and excitement at the annual event.
“We welcome from literally all over the United States,” said event organizer Scott Kruse in his opening remarks. He rattled off a list that included Oregon, California, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Illinois, Kansas, Georgia, Colorado Oklahoma, Virginia and more. “We thank you for choosing to be here and it’s great to see you show up in Dexter.”
Kruse also thanked the folks who attended from the region, who have through the years “embraced a grassroots charity like this one and grow it into something that would make an impact.”
The annual banquet is held the evening before than annual 18 Fore Life Golf Tournament, and gather golfers and non-golfers alike in a celebration that exemplifies the motto of the Ben Kruse 18 Fore Life Foundation – Celebrate, Give, Remember.
In recognizing the many individuals and groups who helped make the event a reality, Kruse relate a unique telephone call he received on his way to the banquet. The caller asked how much the banquet cost to host – from the rental of the lodge to the food served.
“Doug Libla was wanting to be here and could not make it. He is paying for the facility and the food to everyone’s ticket money will go directly to families. That’s just one bill we won’t have to pay and it’s kind of overwhelming to get a call like that,” he said.
Kruse paid tribute to local Elks for the “teamwork and hospitality” each year with the banquet.
“We are constantly amazed at the compassion and generosity of this community and beyond,” he said.
Incredible volunteers who put heart and soul in the organization are the reason for it’s success, Kruse said.
“They are the reason why we gave $153,000 in love offerings,” he said. “They are the reason why we’ve given away $753,000 over the last 11 yeas. And it’s just going to be a year or two, and we’ll give away our one-millionth dollar. And that’s overwhelming.”
Kruse explained that the first group of golfer tee off at 7 a.m., the other 1:30 p.m.
“The only reason we stop is because it gets dark,” he said as the crowd chuckled. “We have 86 four-person teams and that’s 386 golfers on one golf course in one day. And I’m still trying to find another event can do that, because I’ve never heard of it. I’m searching and if anyone finds one that big I want to know about. And if they’re bigger, then we will try to be bigger!”
The 18 Fore Life charity now encompasses more than the golf tournament and banquet. Through the years, Kruse recounted how other events have joined the 18 Fore Life “family” of events, including
- 10 Pins for Life bowling event that raises funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital;
- Birdies for Breast Cancer;
- Ben Kruse Crappie Tournament;
- Hits for Hope volleyball;
- Swing Pink softbll tournament;
- Claus for a Clause;
- 4H t-shirts;
- Becky Dennington’s book, “Me and the Ugly C”
Photo Above: Organizer Scott Kruse speaks at this weekend's Ben Kruse 18 Fore Life Banquet, held at the Dexter Elks Lodge. (ShowMe Times photo by Andrew Cato)
June: the beginning of summer, cool ice tea on the porch, baseball, vacations, and fun times. And it's birthday time for Rachel Putnam, the ShowMe Spotlight girl for the month. Rachel will turn 15 on June 23, and she is a busy young lady. Not only is Rachel a member of the Dexter Show Choir and will leave this weekend on the show choir's concert tour in Branson, she is a member of a number of activities at Dexter High School as well. Rachel is a member of the DHS Dance Team, is a Varsity Football Cheerleader, a member of the DHS Student Council, Family, Career & Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, was selected as a member of the All District Choir and is in the Top Ten Percent of her class. Rachel is the daughter of Denny and Shannon Putnam of Dexter. The ShowMe Spotlight is a monthly feature of the ShowMe Times, featuring one of the Top 12 finalists in the annual Miss Dexter Pageant. (Photo by SMT Reader Shannon Putnam. Thanks, Shannon, for everything!!)
By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
BLOOMFIELD - While many area residents marked Memorial Day with a family cookout or a trip to the beach, the mood was poignantly somber at the hallowed burial grounds of fallen soldiers and decorated war veterans.
At the Missouri Veterans Cemetery, the area’s military cemetery, hundreds of tiny flags waved in the breeze - each beside an identical headstone, and larger American flags placed alongside the roadway in the cemetery snapped at attention in the afternoon wind.
A large crowd of veterans, survivors, family members and friends, and Patriot Guard Riders gathered for the early afternoon ceremony at the Committal Shelter in the Cemetery. For the for time, several large tents were erected to shelter the audience from the heat and sunshine.
The ceremony was marked by speeches, a presentation of the POW/MIA Table Ceremony a 21-gun salute and the sounding of taps. The Stoddard County Honor Band provided music.
The importance of Memorial Day – at home and around the world – was the focus of remarks by U.S. Rep Jo Ann Emerson. She noted that while Memorial Day is a somber day in America, it is a day that is actually observed throughout the world.
“In every state in our country, gatherings like this are being held, family members are remembering loved ones, veterans are remembering their brothers in arms, and communities are remembering the patriots who laid down their lives for our liberty,” Emerson said. “On foreign shores, a great debt of gratitude is being paid to American heroes who sacrificed everything so those folks, too, might have a taste of the freedom that we strive to make possible in the world. In a cemetery in Normandy, there is a gathering amid a field of white crosses, in a community merely miles from the DMZ in South Korea, a wreath is being laid, and in Afghanistan, American soldiers have a fallen comrade in their thoughts today.”
Emerson noted that the sacrifice and impact of America’s veterans ripple through generations and nations.
“They were the vanguard of our commitment to freedom, they were the best essence of our communities here at home, they were the unwavering guardians of the light of liberty in some of the darkest places in the world, in some of the darkest corners of history. They are, and will forever be, the deepest inspiration for every aspect of Americans lives and services. Our hearts break for the sacrifices these Americans made in line of duty for their families but also feel the awe they inspire and the greatness of our country, our constitution, of our great God-given fortunes in the world. All of these are worth defending with our very lives,” Emerson said.
She noted that one week ago, the Rolla community saluted the return of Army Pfc. Richard Lewis , who was killed in service on May 13 in Bowri Tana, Afghanistan when the vehicle he was driving hit an improvised explosive device.
“We have men and women who wake up every day knowing they may pay the price for our liberty. Yet they keep doing it. They volunteer, they put their honor, they leave their families and some don’t return. And yet still more go – year after year, generation after generation,” she commented. She noted that they don’t serve with a political agenda, or to “show off their daring”, or without thought of the sacrifices they make. “Without them there is no guarantee of freedom for any of us. Without them there is no safeguard for liberty. Without them America is not what we know it must be for each of us.”
State Rep. Billy Pat Wright of Dexter said that one of the “proudest” things he did during his last eight years as a member of the Missouri General Assembly was serving on the Veterans Committee.
“We are here to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice and also to the living veterans,” Wright said.
State Senators Rob Mayer of Dexter noted that in the cemetery were heroes of great American battles of the last century – from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“As we gather our thoughts are not on that of tombs or graves or deceased veterans but of standing on hallowed ground. Today, in this cemetery, are great American heroes,” Mayer said.
The ceremony concluded with a rifle salute and the sounding of “Taps.”
Photo Above: U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson chats with World War II veteran L.E. Caudle of Dexter following the Memorial Day service at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield on Monday. (ShowMe Times photo by Annabeth Miller)
