Dexter, Missouri - The Stoddard County Resource Meeting was held on Wednesday, December 6, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at the Dexter Chamber of Commerce.

This month's program was Melanie Champlin, Business Development and Community Education Coordinator with Visiting Nurses Association (VNA).

Ms. Champlin went over the different services that are available through VNA; attached is the flyer showing all the services. She state the Senior Companion Program is looking for volunteers; this is a service where seniors (60+) help with companionship of VNA consumers so that the caretakers can take the much needed breaks from the constant care/responsibilities of a VNA consumer. Something as simple as having a companion to sit with a VNA consumer so the caretaker can go grocery shopping, or have a hair appointment. 

VNA has also recently implemented a tele-health monitoring system for VNA consumers of COPD and CHF that have had recent hospitalizations. The goal is to keep the consumers from re-entering the hospital. The tele-health monitoring system will have the consumer measure such things as blood pressure and/or other necessary vital signs. If there is a problem, an alert is sent to the monitor at the office. A VNA nurse then contacts the consumer, and follows protocol for if/when to call the doctor and making a home visit. 

January 10th through the end of April Regional Healthcare Foundation will be hosting their Annual Fitness Challenge; flyer with details is coming soon. 

January 25th the Point-in-Time (PIT) homelessness count will be conducted in Stoddard County. This event occurs at night-time. Anyone that is aware of locations in Stoddard County that are frequented by homeless, please contact Becky McDonald at Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, 573-481-0659, before January 25th. 

Crown Hospice is hiring for a nurse position (LPN or RN) that will work in the Dexter/Sikeston area.

VNA is hiring for homemakers and CNAs in all counties, please apply at www.vnahealth.com

Sikeston Job Center currently has funding for adults that need to take the HiSet test.

Regional Healthcare Foundation also offers free Adult Education Literacy classes and funding for HiSet testing. 

Presently, the resource meetings have been held at 9AM. After much discussion, the resource council decided that 10AM is a better time for all parties to meet.

To Our Huddle House Customers and Residents of the Community

My name is Danny Harwell and along with my son, Justin, we are the owners of the huddle house in Dexter, Missouri.

We have been blessed by the city of Dexter and their patronage over the last six months.

Unfortunately we recently had an individual work for us for only seven days that had an illness that Sasha, Justin and myself were completely unaware of.

Two weeks after he left, we were notified of this and inspected and cleared by the state and local health agencies.

We sincerely apologize for the scare in our community.

We took additional steps to protect our employees and customers now and in the future.

Our top priority is the safety of our customers and we feel we are one of the safest places to eat in Dexter.

We humbly and sincerely ask and hope that we may see and serve you in the future.

Thank you, 

Sasha, Justin and Danny

Dear Friends;

Hope International is once again recruiting “Bell Ringers” for the Christmas Holiday Season.

We need bell ringers for shifts beginning at 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, Monday thru Saturday beginning November 25th and ending on December 24th.

There will be two kettles at the Walmart Store, in Dexter, one at each entrance.

The shifts may be 1 or 2 hr increments. Any church, business or organization may fill one whole day or the same day every week or any open shift. Each business or organiztion is welcomed to bring  an 8 ½ x 11 sign and or wear their logo advertisement clothing.

Please keep in mind that EVERY PENNY we collect stays in Stoddard County to help those in need.  The 2016 Red Kettle Campaign in Stoddard County raised  $15,600.00 all this money was spent helping residents of Stoddard County pay utility bills, rent, funeral expense, medical expense including dental and prescriptions and the Back To School Bash for Stoddard County School Children. 

The Lord has blessed this event every year and will continue to bless it.  Last year we had several spots not filled and we believe we have the potential to raise double what we did in 2016.  

If you,  your family or co-workers would like to bless the residents of Stoddard County please contact Ester Wheeler or Michelle Marvel at Lighthouse Church 573-624-2500 and schedule your slot to “Ring the Bell” during the 2017 Red Kettle Event.

May God richly bless you and your family!

National VFW Day is observed annually on September 29, honoring the men and women devoted to this valuable organization and those members who have served our nation. 

Members of the VFW today hold a long-standing history of volunteerism in their communities. Not only have they served their country, but they continue to serve their fellow veterans, families, and communities by sponsoring scholarships, career fairs, mental wellness campaigns, and so many more excellent services.

VFW membership since its inception has been instrumental in the establishment of the Veterans Administration, the creation of the national cemetery system and passage of the GI Bill. Through the VFW, veterans honor veterans and serve their communities.  

On National VFW Day, take a moment to recognize all the VFW does in your community.

Memphis, Tennessee - A milestone is fast approaching for the Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as it prepares to celebrate its 135th anniversary on Aug. 30.

A year-long schedule of events and activities are planned that will highlight the agency's mission and the value it brings to this region.

"We are honored to be a part of this great community of Memphis and the Mid-South and look forward to helping the people we serve learn more about our rich history and what we do today," Col. Mike Ellicott, the Memphis District commander said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers first came to this part of the United States in 1820 when the U.S. Congress appropriated $5,000 for a survey of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. That task fell to the Corps of Engineers.

When a major flood on the lower Mississippi River devastated local levee systems in 1882 and created hundreds of crevasses totaling 56 miles in length, the then newly-formed Mississippi River Commission (MRC) gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers responsible for implementing their flood control plans. 

Part of those plans was the establishment of four administrative districts from Cairo, Ill., to New Orleans, each headed by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officer. The Second District had its headquarters in Memphis. Consolidated with the Cairo office in 1890, it eventually became the Memphis District.

Flood control was the primary mission assigned to the districts in those early years, but in 1891 representatives from several large steamboat companies asked the MRC to improve navigation during low water conditions on the river. In response to this, the Corps constructed the first experimental hydraulic dredge - the ALPHA. It proved to be a great success and by 1901, nine Corps dredges were operating on the river.

Flooding remained the greatest concern however, and enormous floods struck the region in 1897, 1912, 1916 and 1922. Then in 1927 the most destructive flood in U.S. history took the lives of as many as 500 people along the Mississippi River, destroyed 25,000 commercial buildings and homes, and property damage exceeded $236 million (equivalent to more than $3.3 billion today).

More floods came in 1937, 1950, 1973, 1975, 1979, several in the 1990s and the most recent major event in 2011. But with each successive event the people of the Mid-South have seen less and less damage, and more savings from damages prevented by the ongoing work of the Corps of Engineers.

Today, the 450 men and women of the Memphis District work from offices in the Clifford Davis-Odell Horton Federal Building in downtown Memphis, at the Corps' Ensley Engineer Yard on McKellar Lake in south Memphis, from field offices in Wynne, Ark., Carlisle, Ark., and Caruthersville, Mo., and aboard a wide variety of vessels operating on the Mississippi River. Year in and year out, they deliver their mission of flood risk reduction, dependable navigation, environmental stewardship, emergency operations, other authorized civil works and work for others to benefit this region and the Nation.