Dexter, Missouri - A recent Active Shooter Training was held inside the halls of Dexter High School with the Missouri Highway Patrol offering the training to local Stoddard County officers.  Dexter PD, Bernie, PD, Stoddard County Sheriff's Department, Missouri Department of Conservation and members of the Highway Patrol participated in the four hour training.  Gavin Miller, Dexter School Assistant Superintendent played the role of the shooter.

Taking a proactive measures to ensure the safety of our students is of the utmost importance these days with several school shooting occurring in the midwest.  It has now become necessary to prepare not only the police departments, but faculty, staff, and teachers of what to do in case of an active shooting inside the the school.

Dexter recently hired an SRO officer to work within the school.  

"We feel it is necessary to have this type of training within our schools to keep both the faculty and students safe," commented Dexter Police Chief Trevor Pulley.  "We now have a SRO in place and he will be allowed to build a relationship with the students throughout the school district."

Officer Don Donner was recently named the new SRO and has received extra training regarding his new duties at Dexter Schools.  It is hoped that having a SRO on campus will be added comfort to parents and students knowing there is someone on campus that could respond to a threat within seconds.

"We have a plan in place and if necessary we will be ready," stated Pulley.  "We brought in Sergeant Dennis Rainey from the Missouri Highway Patrol who has had a multitude of experience training the highway patrol as their firearms instructor and active shooter trainer.  He gave us tons of information and going through scenarios really engaged our officers on what could happen during a real incident."

During an "active shooter" incident there will be a separate area set up for public relations once the shooter has been taken down.  As a parent it will be difficult to wait for news from their child, but it is necessary to allow the police to perform their job and they will as quickly as humanly possible.. 

The ShowMe Times is already working with local police on how to get the word out to parents if an "active shooting" occurs on the campus of any Stoddard County school.

Make sure you have signed up for Text Alerts with your local school if available or Text Alerts on the ShowMe Times.  Follow the ShowMe Times on Facebook and Twitter. During an incident the ShowMe Times will utilize all three to help get word out to the public and the local law enforcement will be in direct contact with the ShowMe Times to keep the information flowing as quickly as possible. There will be a special area near the school set up for a public relations which means parents will be able to go to that area to get information when it's available about their child.  

"As a parent I can't imagine the chaos that will occur if someone enters our school and does such an unfathomable thing, but as a reporter I realize that getting the most accurate information to the public will be important," stated Dee Loflin, manager/editor of the ShowMe Times.  "Just watching the training and the officers and how professional they were gave me a sense that they will do their very best to protect the students"

It is about 4 - 9 minutes of average time the police can be on the scene at any school and for some that is a very long time, but for response time that is good.  Typically 98% of the time it is a single shooter incident so knowing that information can help the officers.  Of course there is the 2% they have to be aware of and will be looking for during their entrance to any school. 

Mass killings at schools have been going on for many, many years the change is the media.  Media can announce or be on the scene within a matter of minutes and broadcast "live" for the entire world to see.  That makes it sometimes more difficult for law enforcement because of crowd control.  It is hoped that Stoddard County schools never have to be involved in any kind of shooting incident.  Teachers throughout the area are also receiving training and students have "active shooter" drills in the classrooms added to the usual tornado and fire drills.  Let's hope everyone is as prepared as possible and these types of training only add to their comfort level of what to do "just in case".

Appreciation is something that is not seen or experienced nearly enough today.  NewWave Communications would like to set aside a special time to say THANK YOU for allowing them to be the provider of choice for your cable, phone and internet needs.

YOU are cordially invited to attend their Customer Appreciation Event at the Kennett office on Friday, August 10, 2018 from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

There will be three events total, one in Kennett, the other two in Poplar Bluff and Dexter.

Poplar Bluff will hold their Customer Appreciation event on Friday, August 17th and Dexter will have their appreciation event on Friday, August 24th from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

There will be FREE grilled hotdogs along with chips and drinks.

NewWave Communications will also have a drawing for a FREE GoPro HERO!

The Kennett office located at 717 Hwy VV.

Please join NewWave Communications in celebration of being your provider for phone, cable, and internet!

"NewWave Communications is a broadband company delivering high-speed Internet, TV and telephone services to residential and business customers in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas. Our growth strategy includes an on-going investment in new technology, our fiber optic network, our employees and the customer experience. We truly care about the communities we serve. We work hard every day to be the best choice for Internet, TV and telephone services. Our promise is exceptional service."

Dexter, Missouri - Stoddard County Farm Bureau board is sponsoring a "Meet the Candidate" Forum at the Church of Christ Fellowship Hall in Dexter on Tuesday, July 31, 2018.

Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and the forum will begin at 6:00 p.m.  The public is invited and encouraged to attend.

Refreshments will be served.

A representative from the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department will be the first to present a powerpoint presentation on Proposition 1 and Proposition 2 that are on the August primary ballot.

Other candidates who have committed to participating are (in no particular order) Paula Yancey, J.T. Howard, Jeff Riddle, Danny Talkington, Sam Huey, Jr., Cecil Weeks, Brock Williams, Herman Morse, and Kay Asbell.

The Church of Christ Fellowship Hall is located at 1014 One Mile Road (across from Burger King)

For more information contact Jana Jennings at Farm Bureau 573-624-9900.