Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Dexter, Missouri - The City of Dexter would like to announce that their offices will be closed on Monday, February 18th in observance of Presidents' Day.
Did you know that this holiday is actually designated as “Washington’s Birthday” and is a Federal Holiday according to section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that specifies holidays for Federal employees? Though states and local governments and even private businesses may use other names, such as Presidents’ Day, it is the U.S.’s policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law. It was made a federal holiday in 1885; however the District of Columbia did start celebrating Washington’s Birthday in 1880 which is February 22nd.
In 1968 Congress enacted the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. They moved Washington’s Birthday to the 3rd Monday in February each year. This meant it would fall between February 15th and February 21st each year and never actually land on Washington’s true birthday. As for the state of Missouri, we have designated it as Washington’s Birthday and all federal, state, local municipalities and schools are closed. Of course there are always exceptions.
So how did we end up calling it President’s Day? When the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was enacted it created three-day holidays for Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Washington’s Birthday. Some states were already celebrating Lincoln’s Birthday and Washington’s Birthday and when they made the holiday on the third Monday, many folks thought they were combining the two. Some states dropped Lincoln's Birthday as a holiday and it became known as Presidents’ Day. As society became more tv and radio savvy with advertising, the Presidents’ Day Sales began emerging.
There is still much controversy in the political ranks as to what the day should be called and what day we should celebrate. Even this week, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) reintroduced legislation calling for George Washington’s birthday to be celebrated on his actual birthday of February 22nd. He is a longtime admirer of Washington’s life and leadership and has advocated for moving the date of this holiday for years. He even testified on the topic at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in 2012.
So whatever day we call it or whatever day we actually observe, we should remember that George Washington was our first President of the United States and since that inauguration we have had a long line of presidents in a country that we are so very proud of and free to vote as we so choose. Like a marriage, for better or worse, until death do we part, we should be proud to be Americans and living in the greatest nation on this earth. Who knew that after 200 years we would still be discussing George Washington's Birthday and when to celebrate it.
Happy Presidents' Day and Happy Birthday George!
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Dexter, Missouri - Tracy Horton and Christy Dorton were the guests readers for this week's Children's Story Hour at the Keller Public Library on Tuesday.
The theme of this week’s library hour was “Roses and Valentines”. Tracy Horton read the book, “Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink” by Diane de Groat.
The book is about poor little Gilbert who had to eat lunch by himself and everyone seemed to ignore him at recess. Gilbert’s problems all came about because of something he did. He wrote mean Valentine’s cards to two of his classmates and then did not sign his name, but sign their name to the cards.
Once his friends, Margaret and Lewis, figured out that it was Gilbert who wrote the cards, everyone got mad at him. Gilbert finally told them that he only did it because Margaret teased him about his glasses and Lewis was mean to him.
Margaret and Lewis never knew that the things they did hurt poor little Gilbert’s feelings. Now that everyone knew how each other felt, they all said they were sorry to each other and had a wonderful Valentine’s Day party!
The children enjoyed the book and listening to Tracy read. The children sang songs too. "Five Little Valentines at the Store" sung to the tune of "Five Little Monkeys Jumpin' on the Bed", and Ten Little Valentine sung to "Ten Little Indians".
They stood in a circle and sang "Pass the Heart" as each child handed a heart to the next. When the music stopped the one with the heart could enter Valentine's Land.
After singing a few songs and stretching, they made crafts. There were big hearts and little hearts, red ones and pink ones...lots of hearts for all the boys and girls.
Each child decorated their hearts with sprinkles, cute little owls and tiny purple and pink hearts. They even had marshmallow treats shaped like hearts.
Next week on Tuesday, February 12th at 10:15 a.m. Belinda Worley will be the guest reader with "Valentines and Hearts".
Check out the ShowMe Times Facebook page for more pictures of the Story Hour event and the wonderful children.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Dexter, Missouri – February is Earthquake Awareness Month in Missouri and the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut Earthquake Drill is set for today at 10:30 a.m. CST.
Most area schools including the Dexter Public School system and several local businesses will be participating in this annual drill. According to the website, www.shakeout.org/centralus. Over 350,000 Missourians are registered to participate in the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut Drill.
Missouri is only one of nine states taking part in this “DROP, COVER, HOLD ON” technique that will last about 60 seconds. Students will be taught to DROP to the ground, take COVER by getting under a sturdy desk or table, HOLD ON to it until the shaking tops.
Today is the 201st anniversary of the largest earthquake to ever occur in Missouri, the famous New Madrid Earthquake. Many folks from southeast Missouri know the history of the earthquake, some even have heard of many tales passed down from grandparents and great-grandparents. There are many stories of how the Mississippi River flowed backwards for days and how our local fishing holes were created.
Even a few local residents remember the The Great Non-Event of 1990 as it is known today. A prediction of a major earthquake was set for December 3, 1990 and New Madrid, Missouri became the center of attention in the news media. But what did come out of all that was "AWARENESS". People learned about being prepared for an earthquake, whether they lived in Southeast Missouri or on the coast of California.
Earthquake Awareness Month is a great opportunity for schools and families to practice and discuss preparedness so that they know what to do before, during and after an earthquake.
The New Madrid Seismic Zone, centered in southeast Missouri, is the nation’s most active earthquake zone east of the Rocky Mountains. You can visit the Department of Natural Resources’ website for information about the science and history of earthquakes in the state at http://dnr.mo.gov/geology/geosrv/earthquakes.htm.
Also, SEMA is using Facebook (www.facebook.com/MissouriShakeOut) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/MOShakeOut) to provide additional information about earthquakes, earthquake preparedness and updates about the ShakeOut. This will continue through the month of February.
Written by
Beth Farrar, SMT Writer
With today’s technology, things that we would think to be impossible are now easy to achieve. With computers, the internet, and cell phones, our world has drastically changed throughout the past few years. These devices have become an important part of every day life and even people who didn’t even dream of owning a cell phone during the turn of the century are finding themselves saying “There’s an app for that”.
On Super Bowl Sunday, most of our cell phones will be buzzing with the latest news, scores, and jokes about the commercials that will be played while the Baltimore Ravens battle it out against the San Francisco Forty-Niners. Many of us will be enjoying the company of our friends and family on this ultimate American “holiday”, whether we are hosting a gathering or driving to a friend’s house to be a part of one.
Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after having a few alcoholic drinks with your friends during the game could be a lot more dangerous than you think. To make Super Bowl Sunday and all other days of the week safe, MoDot has recently launched an app called “Show Me My Buzz”. This app evaluates you on your age, gender, weight, and alcohol consumption so it can give you an approximation on your blood alcohol consumption (BAC). Although the app only gives the user an estimation, the app will help the user make responsible choices by averaging the blood alcohol consumption.
MoDot made the app free to use and easy to download from either the iPhone App Store or the Google Market for Androids. The app is so simple yet so important to have. Once downloaded, you can simply enter your weight, how many hours you’ve been drinking, how many beers (12 oz.) you’ve consumed, how much wine (5 oz.) you’ve consumed, and how much liquor (1.5 oz). Individuals vary when it comes to their alcohol tolerance, but in Missouri (along with all the other states), the legal limit for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is .08% BAC.
If a person’s alcohol level is any higher than .08%, they will be arrested and charged with a DUI. If a person is driving while under the influence and they are also under the legal age of twenty-one, they will also be arrested and charged. In Missouri in 2011, 867 people were severely injured while 218 people were killed due to drivers that were on the road while under the influence. Due to those numbers, it is easy to know why MoDot along with the police and servicemen of our state take drinking and driving so seriously.
“Show Me My Buzz” is not an app that will end drunk driving, but hopefully it will deduce the numbers. It’s an app made easy, simple, and it’s at the touch of your fingertips. If the calculator senses that your average is over the practical BAC limit, it will flash yellow, saying that you might be buzzed and that you should find a designated driver to take you home. If the app finds your estimated average even higher than that, then it will flash red and say that you must find a designated driver or will be charged with a DUI if you decide to drive yourself.
Luckily, MoDot thought of everything when creating this useful app. If the “Show Me My Buzz” app asks to use your current location, do not be alarmed. It is only asking for your permission so that if the calculator finds your BAC a little too high, then the app will search for phone numbers of local cabs near your current location so that you will be able to arrive safely at your destination.
