Dexter, Missouri - James Kalata's message, “Give what you can, take what you need!."

Kalata earned his Eagle Scout by building a new Blessing Box next to the Welcome Center/Train Depot in downtown Dexter.  

Eagle Scout projects are done with the intention of community betterment.  Approximately 62 hours went into this project.  The Historic Downtown Dexter Association helped fund the project.  Busy B Lumber donated the plexiglass for the doors.

He hopes that people will utilize the Blessing Box by not only taking food for their needs, but to give back to the community as well.

"Whenever you go to the grocery store just grab a couple of extra cans of vegetables or cereal and drop off on  your way home," stated Kalata.

The purpose of the Blessing Box is to help those in need.  Anyone can donate nonperishable foods.

The Blessing Box is located next to the depot at the corner of W. South Main and Walnut.

Pictured from left to right: City Administrator Mark Stidham, Dexter Police Chief Trevor Pulley, Kalata, Troop 200 Leader Kyle Gillespie, and Dexter Chamber Executive Director Korie Fish.

Dexter, Missouri - Bob Coffey's Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church in Dexter donated to the Mother-to-Mother program.

This donation will help keep Mother-to-Mother's baby boutique and food pantry well stocked.

"We are truly blessed to have such a caring community that supports our program," commented Teresa Overall, Program Director for Mother-to-Mother Program.

Pictured are Shirley Tucker, representing the Sunday School class and Teresa Overall.

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".