Article Submitted by
SMT Contributing Writer
Beth Farrah
The annual Stoddard County Parade will take place on Tuesday, September 18th, in downtown Dexter. The parade will kick off the Stoddard County Fair that also begins on September 18th and ends on September 22nd. There are numerous additions to both the fair and parade this year that the community will find beneficial and entertaining.
The Stoddard County Parade has many new entries, including different political floats. Just like recent years, the parade will host a marching band competition that bands across Stoddard County can participate in. The Puxico Rhythm Steppers will be leading this year’s parade after winning first place in the band competition in 2011.
The fair offers a lot of new events that will take place at 7:00pm each night (September 18th-22nd): The Robinson Chainsaw Wood Carvers, Magic Mike (a magician), and a puppet show. The fair also has new performers including two local talents and three others performers.
The Chris Welch Band will kick off this year’s entertainment on Tuesday, September 18th. The local band The Walker Brothers, gospel and country singers, will play on Wednesday night, September 19th. Six Appeal, an acappella group, will perform on Thursday night, September 20th. Rickie Lee Tanner will return to the fair this year, performing in Friday night, September 21st. Keith Morrison will perform on Saturday, September 22nd. All performances will take place at 8:00pm in the amphitheater.
Right after the parade finishes on Tuesday, there will be a Queen’s Contest for high school girls who wish to participate in the local pageant. The “Chicken Scramble” and other games for the youth will be held after the pageant. The amusement park rides and game booths will also officially open.
On Wednesday, the sheep and goats will be judged. Church services will also be held at 6:00pm in the amphitheater.
Thursday night is Bracelet Night. You can purchase this bracelet for $20 and it will allow you to ride all the carnival rides from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Thursday is another big night with three events taking place at 8:00pm: the FFA Tractor Rodeo, Six Appeal concert, and Karaoke.
Friday’s events include the Antique Tractor Pull, Karaoke, and the Robinson’s Chainsaw Wood Carvers Auction.
Saturday’s events begin bright and early at 8:00am for the 4H Buyer’s Breakfast. The 4H and FFA Livestock Auction will take place right after breakfast. The Stoddard County Youth Pageant will be held in the amphitheater at 11:00am. There are also youth events that allow kids of all ages to divide up into different teams and compete against each other in many fun games. The Wild Horse Fiddlers, a group of local musicians, will perform in the amphitheater. The Demo Derby will also take place on Saturday night. The Stoddard County Fair will end this year with a big firework show that will begin at 9:00pm on September 22nd. Tickets are currently available at Gary’s Quick Stop in Dexter.
Mark your calendars and be sure not to miss this great and exciting week!
Below are pictures from last years 2011 Stoddard County Parade! See it live this year by attending.
Over the past weekend Methodist churches all across Missouri participated in a very special event.
Throughout the whole day Saturday, many Methodist church members were a service to others in what was called Serve 2012.
All ages participated in the good deeds throughout the day. The Dexter Methodist Church participated in many different services on Saturday.
To start off the day of servicing others, the church had the “blessing of the pets.” Pets were brought into church that morning, and had a blessing said over them. This is not something you may hear of happening every day, but it’s something that touches the hearts of a lot of people.
One of the other things the church did during the day was serving lunch to the local police officers, the firefighters, and ambulance workers.
Men of the church washed windows at a local gas station. The youth collected food for the Stoddard County Gospel Mission to help provide food for needy families in the local area.
The Methodist Church of Dexter has a very active, and very talented choir. The choir is under the direction of Mary Ruth Boone. On Saturday the choir traveled to Cypress Point, Crowley Ridge, Golden Living Center, and ended their day by singing to the residents at Central Gardens Residential Care Facility. The residents at each facility enjoyed a variety of songs delivered by the choir.
Members of the choir singing who participated in Serve 2012 were the following: Mayor Joe Weber, Wayne Freeman, Dee Wamble, Anna Beth Miller, Floyd Polsgrove, Shirley Alexander, Joan Lee, Loretta Reed, Jerry Overall, Jonny and Don Martin, Sandy Cazee, Matthew and Emma Cazee, Jamie Jackson, Tammy Bird, Kaye Plummer, Karen Lane, and Michelle Lane. All in which were under the direction of Mary Ruth Boone.
The group participating in Serve 2012 could have been spotted Saturday wearing their bright orange shirts with the words “Serve 2012” on the front of them.
Anyone who happened to be affected by this great event Saturday, whether just seeing them from a distance, or by being directly serviced from them, was sure to have a smile on their face at least for a little bit.
This is a wonderful way to positively affect not only just our community, but also the whole state of Missouri. Hopefully this is a tradition that will continue throughout many years.
Not only were the people receiving the services in good spirits, but everyone participating in Serve 2012 did each of the services with a smile on their face.
Serve 2012 was definitely a blessing to many people all across the state of Missouri.
Pictured in the photo are members in the choir singing at Central Gardens in Dexter, Missouri.
The league has broadened the age categories into a Varsity and a Junior Varsity program. The Varsity level has youngsters that are currently in both the 5th and 6th grades, with the JV group in the 3rd and 4th grade. Many of these changes have been brought about by the changes at T. S. Hill Middle School that now has both 7th and 8th grade football in their program.
Sign ups were held on August 20th with over 110 kids registered. If the young athlete played in previous years, they will remain on the same team while all newcomers are divided up among the teams. As in previous seasons, the group is broken down into 4 teams, each having a varsity and junior varsity group. These young men will play six games throughout the season, with the opening games to be this coming Saturday, September 15th.
The coaches are busy preparing each Tuesday and Thursday evening for the season to begin. With these changes, the need for coaches has doubled for the league. Where there were only four teams before, Dexter Park & Rec now has eight teams. 
"We feel that having the four age categories divided into eight teams is far better for the kids to receive a more individualized instruction from their coaches," stated Jamie Rowe of DPR. "We were fortunate this year to have a great group of coaches come forward to help us."The DPR Little League Football Program has been a part of the Dexter community since the late 70's and early 80's. Initially started as a group effort by local civic organizations in the community, the program has continued to provide an opportunity for young people to learn the fundamentals of football.
"At this age, we start with the very basics," noted Black Team coach Brett Dorton. "We just want them to have fun and someday to become a Bearcat we root for on Friday nights."
Dorton participated in the little league program from 1983 to 1984 and is now coaching his son, Carter Dorton.
The DPR football games will begin this coming Saturday at Charles "Seed" Bland Stadium. The junior varsity games will be played first followed by the varsity games.
Come out and support the young Bearcats of the future. Action will begin at 9:30 in the morning when the BLACK Team will take on the RED Team in Junior Varsity action.
Article by SMT
Writer Jessica Snider
Dexter, Missouri - Recently it was announced that the nation’s largest 4G network would be getting larger for customers in Dexter, Missouri.
AT&T activated a new 4G mobile Internet cell site in Dexter that will enhance the coverage for all area residents and businesses. 4G provide speeds up to four times faster than 3G. 4G speeds can be enjoyed by customers in the southern part of Dexter, along State Highway 25 and Worley Road, including the Dexter Municipal Airport.
The ribbon cutting for the new tower was held this morning around 9:30 A.M. immediately following the Industrial Appreciation Week Proclamation signing in the Chamber Building.
The 4G tower has been named the Mayer-Wright Tower in honor or Senator Rob Mayor and Representative Billy Pat Wright in appreciation for all their hard work in making Missouri a better place for people to live and work.
Senator Rob Mayer and Representative Billy Pat Wright are shown in the photo being presented picture of the new 4G Tower by Marsha Haskell. Marsha is the regional Director for External Affairs for AT&T.
