By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Senate today overwhelmingly voted to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of a bill to reform Missouri’s Workmen’s Compensation System.
The Missouri Senate voted 24 to 9 to override the Nixon’s veto of Senate Bill 572 which would reform the state's Workers’ Compensation System. Both the Senate and House had passed the bill in early March and sent it to the governor’s desk. The governor did not act for a week before he vetoed the legislation.
“Where the governor has been absent in leading in job creation, the Senate has made it one of its major goals,” said Senate Leader Rob Mayer, R - Dexter. “Today’s override signals we will continue to work hard to create jobs for the numerous Missouri workers unemployed, and I hope our colleagues in the House join us in that effort.”
“Spurring job creation is one of our biggest priorities, so it was important for the Senate to act on the governor’s veto,” said the legislation’s sponsor, Senate Majority Floor Leader Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles. “It is vital we are moving forward with fixing the current failed policies in place so businesses will begin to invest and hire more employees.”
A 2010 appeals court decision opened up employees to personal lawsuits by their co-employees for their role in honest workplace accidents. The bill would restore protections for co-employees from these lawsuits.
Dempsey added, “Ending lawsuit abuses and relieving the need for additional insurance to cover honest accidents at work would help employers put more Missourians back to work.”
The legislation also reinstated Workers’ Compensation as the exclusive remedy for workplace accidents and occupational diseases.
The bill now moves to the House for its consideration in overriding the veto.
By Annnabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
Vandals have once again left their calling card at one of Dexter’s parks, and the city’s new video cameras have once again caught the suspects “red handed.”
Dexter Parks and Recreation Supt. Lawson Metcalf reported to the Dexter Board of Aldermen at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday evening. Metcalf reported vandals recently struck at the public restrooms in the East City Park for the second time this spring.
And for the second time the parks’ newly installed surveillance cameras caught the vandals in action. This incident, Metcalf said, involved girls and was not quite as expensive as the incident reported last month.
“They tired to tear a commode off the wall,” he said. They damaged the commode's flush valve and one of the stalls. He estimated the damage at approximately $600.
“We caught them on video coming and going. They were having a great time,” Metcalf said sarcastically. Information from the video was turned over to the Dexter Police Department and that a worker in his department knew the suspects’ names.
The police apprehended the suspects and received a confession from at least one.
Metcalf reported that the Parks and Recreation Department now has surveillance camera systems in the West and East Park, and well as the historical “Old Gym” on Park Lane and the new DPR Gym in the East Park.
By Steve Weinberg,
Special to the ShowMe Times from AARP
When Ilena Aslin retired in 1991, she moved to Cape Girardeau, knowing the intellectual atmosphere from Southeast Missouri State University would suit her. She became an active volunteer, delivering Meals on Wheels and working with groups that help grandparents who are rearing grandchildren.
Today, at 85, Aslin feels good about her mental acuity and believes her community service activities are vital in keeping her brain working at its full potential.
"I'm doing good for others while doing good for myself," said the former executive with the Girl Scouts of the USA.
To help others develop plans for keeping their brains agile, AARP Missouri is organizing a workshop March 29 in Doniphan.
A goal of the "Staying Sharp — Aging Wisely" workshop is to explain the different kinds of memory loss: normal age-related forgetfulness, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. R. Diane Hall, AARP Missouri associate state director for community outreach, said it will also cover help that's available.
The free workshop will feature speakers from the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, the Alzheimer's Association, the University of Missouri Extension and the Ripley County Public Health Center.
A 2011 survey of Missouri residents 50 and older found that 95 percent said staying mentally sharp is important, but fewer than half of them felt they have all the resources they need to accomplish that goal.
The free workshop will feature speakers from the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, the Alzheimer's Association, the University of Missouri Extension and the Ripley County Public Health Center.
Attendees will receive booklets on quality of life, memory loss due to aging, depression, chronic health issues and lifelong learning. The workshop and pamphlets are based on a project created by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and NRTA: AARP's Educator Community. It focuses on understanding how the brain works and how people can maximize brain function and brain health, particularly as they age.
Gary Small, M.D., coauthor of a book on preventing Alzheimer's, said genes are responsible for only about a third of how long and how well people live.
"The lifestyle choices we make every day may be the biggest factor in living better longer and preventing Alzheimer's disease."
Rob Hulstra, community outreach coordinator at the Alzheimer's Association — Southwest Missouri Chapter, will lead two sessions and stress the importance of having social connections.
What's Happening
- WHAT: "Staying Sharp" - tips for a better memory
- WHEN: Ripley County Health Center in Doniphan
- DATE: March 29
- TIME: 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- PLACE: Doniphan Church of God, 506 Pine Street
Doniphan - CONTACT: (573) 996-2181
