By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

BLOOMFIELD - Andy Rehmer is a young man from rural Missouri, who has settled in farm country to pursue his professional dream.

The native of Smithton in Pettis County is the new assistant prosecuting attorney in Stoddard County. He began his duties with Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver earlier this summer.

“In law school, I worked for the Audrain County Prosecuting Attorney and then (after law school) I ran for Pettis County prosecutor in 2010,” he said. Audrain County is north of I-70 in Central Missouri and is home to Mexico, Mo. Pettis County is a little further west, is the home of Sedalia and the Missouri State Fair.

After losing that first campaign in 2010, Rehmer went to work for a private law firm in Jefferson City before joining the Stoddard County prosecutor’s office.

“I do a little bit of everything,” he said of his duties in the Stoddard County office. He’s working on a trial brief and he files cases, and argues cases – especially ones that Oliver has “conflicted out” of due to a previous connect with defendant when he was in private practice.

“I have no conflicts down here,” Rehmer said. “I do whatever Russ tells me to do!”

Smithton is a rural community – population in the 2000 census was just 510. But its school district pulls in students from the surrounding rural area – with more than 600 students district wide; 283 in the high school.

So Rehmer feels right at home in Stoddard County. He said when he was looking for a home he settled in Advance a community twice the size of the Pettis County home.

“It actually works out well,” he said “One of my good law school buddies lives in Cape Girardeau, and Advance is halfway between Bloomfield and Cape. So it’s worked out well. I like Advance,” he said.

A basketball fan, Rehmer is looking forward to the season this school year.

“I’ve been told you have some good basketball down here,” he said. Yess, Stoddard County has good high school basketball!

When the young Rehmer started his studies at law school, he had plans to go into plaintiff’s work. But his internship with the Audrain County prosecutor changed his outlook and career path.

“At that point, prosecutor work really became my passion,” he explained. He said in prosecutor work “you have to figure out how everything happened.

The other part of the job that excites Rehmer is the fact that he is helping provide an important service to the community.

“It’s a thankless job, but it’s important,” he said. He recalls his former boss in Audrain County saying how he recalled a handful of times when he had been actually thanked by someone for the job he performed. “But you know you are doing something good for society. That’s reward enough.”

Andrew (Andy) Rehmer

Profession:Stoddard County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
Hometown: Smithton in Pettis County
High School: Smithton High School (class valedictorian)
Bachelor’s Degree: Westminster College
Law School: University of Missouri – Columbia

Photo Above: Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver (left) has welcomed Andrew Rehmer to his office in Bloomfield.

By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

There were “two sides to the coin” at the Dexter Library Board meeting on Thursday evening. The board gave a fond farewell to a long-serving member and also greeted a new member to table.

Thursday evening was the final meeting for long-time member Maxine Daniel, who served the library as a board member since 2002. Daniel served a full tenure on the board – nine years. City ordinance stipulates members can serve a maximum of nine years.

“Maxine has been an active patron and has been a valuable resource through the years,” Library Director Pam Trammell said. “It has been a privilege to work with her.”

Trammell had great praise for the men and women who serve on the Library Board. She noted that board members are volunteers, who give freely of their time, talents and energy to the Keller Library.

“Board members are kind of in the background and don’t get a lot of recognition. But they are the backbone of the library. They reflect what our community wants; they create library the community wants and needs,” she said.

Each board member brings their own area of expertise and talent to the board, she noted.

“It’s really fun to watch their vision for the library,” she said.

Longtime library patron Connie Churchill was welcomed as a new board member. Churchill was appointed to the board earlier this summer to succeed Daniel.

Churchill is a Dexter native and supporter of the library and the Friends of the Library. Trammell noted that for several years Churchill narrated the annual Friends Fashion Show.

Current board members include Dr. Tom Blair, Connie Churchill. Dave Ellinghouse, Annis Fortner, Tracy Gant, Bonita Harrellson, Pam Horton, and Lynda Lovins.

Photo Above: Maxine Daniel (left) was honored Thursday evening for her service to the Dexter Library Board and Connie Churchill joined the board as a new member.







Photo Above: The Keller Public Library Board of Directors includes (from left) Dr. Tom Blair, Pam Horton, Tracy Gant, Lyndia Lovins, retiring member Maxine Daniel, new member Connie Churchill, Annis Fortner, Board President Bonita Harrellson and Dave Ellinghouse.(SMT Photo by Annabeth Miller)

---

Local Link Of Interest

Keller Public Library

A SMT News Report

A portion of a major rural Dexter roadway is closed for a time today.

The section of Three Mile Road (County Road 637) between the South Outer Road and Grant Street is closed Thursday, according to a spokesman for Liberty Township.

Township crews are replacing a culvert under the roadway just north of the railroad tracks. Three Mile Road has been closed to through traffic until the construction work is completed.

The spokesman for Liberty Township said they anticipate the work to be completed and the road re-opened by early Thursday afternoon.

A SMT News Report

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) said today that the financial situation facing the U.S. Postal Service should force many changes in the way the semi-public entity does business, but should not include service reductions that hurt rural communities.

The Postal Service announced on Tuesday that it was “reviewing” a list of more than 3,700 post offices for possible closure, including a number in Southeast Missouri. Included on the list released Tuesday post offices in Greyridge and Brownwood in Stoddard County, as well as the Southeast Missouri communities of Blodgett, Bragg City, Bragadodico, Canalou, Catron, Dutchtown, Gobbler, Tallapoosa, Vanduser and Whitewater.

“Clearly the Postal Service needs to fix its business model, but reducing mail delivery from six days a week to five, or even three, is not going to win them the customers and businesses they need to turn things around. Neither will the closures of a thousand post offices around the country. The combination of these two strategies mean that Americans in rural communities, especially senior citizens and disabled individuals, will have to travel great distances to get to their mail,” Emerson said.

Emerson noted that, under a scheme to eliminate Saturday delivery of the U.S. Mail, nine federal holidays would have caused three-day interruptions in mail service.

“Bills, checks, medicines and cards from loved ones are some of the most important materials to travel regularly through our postal system. I hate to think about the ramifications of a cut-back on postal service on Americans all over the country, but especially in rural areas, where we represent less than one percent of the cost of doing postal business,” Emerson said.

As Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, Emerson included language in her legislation which would both prohibit six day delivery and the closure of rural post offices.

“We rely on our post offices in a way different from people in suburban and urban areas. For instance, our newspapers in rural areas are often delivered by post. I remain extremely opposed to changes and closures that save the post office from being forced to reorganize the things which will truly save money in the longterm.”

By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

The United States Postal Service announced Tuesday that it is reviewing 3,700 retail locations across the country for possible closure, including more than 160 in Missouri.

Included on the list released Tuesday are facilities in Greyridge and Brownwood in Stoddard County, as well as the Southeast Missouri communities of Blodgett, Bragg City, Bragadodico, Canalou, Catron, Dutchtown, Gobler, Tallapoosa, Vanduser and Whitewater.

In a statement, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said customers are not using offices as much as they used to.

"Our customer's habits have made it clear that they no longer require a physical post office to conduct most of their postal business," said Donahoe. "The Postal Service of the future will be smaller, leaner and more competitive and it will continue to drive commerce, serve communities and deliver value."

In the statement, Donahoe said some communities that lose retail locations might get what USPS is calling a Village Post Office, smaller automated stations or a local vendor that sells stamps and flat-rate boxes. “Today, more than 35 percent of the Postal Service’s retail revenue comes from expanded access locations such as grocery stores, drug stores, office supply stores, retail chains, self-service kiosks, ATMs and usps.com, open 24/7,” said Donahoe.

For communities currently without a postal retail office and for communities affected by these retail optimization efforts, the Postal Service introduced the Village Post Office as a potential replacement option. Village Post Offices would be operated by local businesses, such as pharmacies, grocery stores and other appropriate retailers, and would offer popular postal products and services such as stamps and flat-rate packaging.

“By working with third-party retailers, we’re creating easier, more convenient access to our products and services when and where our customers want them,” Donahoe said. “The Village Post Office will offer another way for us to meet our customers’ needs.”