Jessica Snider SMT Writer
In the state of Missouri, we have something that is called Share the Harvest. Share the Harvest gives deer hunters a way to donate venison to the needy.
Share the Harvest is supported by Missouri Department of Conservation and Conservation Federation of Missouri.
Share the Harvest makes donating venison to the less fortunate very easy. Any hunter who wishes to participate in the good deed can take their deer to an approved meat processor. From there, the hunter must tell the processor how much venison they would like to donate.
There is no limit to how much you can donate. Many donate a few pounds while some donate the whole deer. It is solely up to the hunter who is donating.
Only venison from white-tailed deer legally taken in the state of Missouri will be accepted for donation.
The meat is then packaged by the processor, picked up by the local sponsoring organization and taken to a participating charitably agency for distribution. The meat is delivered to the families frozen.
There are a large number of people in Missouri who can benefit from this program. Families or individuals can contact a participating distribution agency and the agency will then allocate the venison according to the supply.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon strongly encourages all hunters to donate venison to Share the Harvest. “I thank all the hunters who have made Share the Harvest so successful over the past two decades, and I encourage even more Missouri hunters to get involved this year to help our neighbors in need,” Nixon said.
Nixon is planned to visit three cities to push Share the Harvest. He was expected to visit Columbia, Independence, and St. Charles to speak at Bass Pro Shops to further encourage deer hunters to donate their venison.
During the 2011 deer seasons, 6,191 hunters donates 317,882 pounds of venison to families in need all across Missouri.
Meat processors must be licensed by the Conservation Department to process deer and be subject to government health inspection, or be approved by the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Meat Inspection Program.
To get information on participating meat processors within your county, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation website.
J&G Meat Processing in Puxico is a participating processor for Stoddard County.
We’d like to encourage everyone to get involved in an easy way to help provide meat for needy families or individuals in Missouri!
Jessica Snider SMT Writer
This year the Dexter FFA sponsored an FFA tractor rodeo at the Stoddard County Fair.
The tractor rodeo is a test of an FFA member’s tractor driving skills and knowledge of the safety rules. Participants had to drive a tractor pulling a twelve-foot blade through half of a figure-eight course and then back it through the other half of the course.
Six different FFA chapters had members participate in the contest. Placing first was Hayden Riley of the Bernie FFA chapter. Second place went to Cordell Stewart of Puxico FFA. Nathan Sadler of the Dexter FFA chapter took third place.
The CaseIH 95 tractor used was donated by Baker Implement. The FFA Survivor t-shirts worn by all the participates were sponsored by Greenway Equipment Co. Mr. Gary Wyman was the official judge with Mr. Chad Upchurch assisting. The Dexter FFA would like to thank all those who helped make this event possible.
The FFA members in participation at the Tractor Rodeo were from Bernie, Shane Oliver, Zach Tanner, and Hayden Riley. From Couch FFA, Keller Rader, Keenan Rader, and Jacob Null. From Dexter, Nathan Sadler, Brandan Mitchell, and Garrett Kyle. Representing Richland FFA was Nick Daniels. From Bloomfield, Hunter Frymire and Zane Huddleston. Cordell Stewart and Cody Taylor represented the Puxico FFA.
Jessica Snider SMT Writer
It’s that time of year again where homecoming candidates are nominated from each fall sports team.
Every year at Dexter High School, every fall sport nominates two girls to be homecoming candidates who are announced prior to a home football game.
This year’s homecoming candidates and their escorts will be announced at 6:30 P.M. prior to this Friday’s game against Charleston.
The candidates can be in any grade and the whole student body will vote on the competition sometime this week.
The girls nominated are show in the photo above. Front row left to right: Shyann Jines, Sydney Graves, Katelynn Frazier, Taylor Owens, and Hannah Noe. Back row from left to right: Bethany Christian, Kelsey Frederick, Hailee Hubbard, Katie Justice, and Kelsi Wood.
Good luck to each of the homecoming candidates this Friday! Remember that the crowning will be held around 6:30 P.M. prior to the football game at Charles Bland Stadium.
This event is packed full of entertainment. If you have seen the movie "Dodgeball" with Ben Stiller you will know what I mean. The game is played by putting one team on each side of the basketball court with rubber balls at half court. When the whistle blows both teams race to the middle, grab the balls and try to hit the opposing team. If a player gets hit they are eliminated. The last team with at least one player left wins the match.
Last years tournament was lots of fun for the players and the spectators alike.
On top of financial donations to the school, the club also sponsors several events during the year. All sports banquets are put on by the club, as well as several fundraising events throughout the year.
The Booster Club is a big part of this community, and has given so much to the Dexter Public Schools.
This outstanding organization is different from other booster clubs because it isn’t just for the school’s athletics department. This organization benefits multiple extracurricular programs within the Dexter Public School system. This means that the Bearcat Booster Club has been able to help out with several organizations such as Band, Chorus, Science Fair, Special Olympics, and many others.So leave your schedule open for a great time on Saturday October 6th at 5 P.M. to come out and support the Bearcat Booster club in their efforts to give back to the Dexter School System. This is a great way to ensure that our community can keep all of the great programs that educate our children.
Jessica Snider SMT Writer
Recently, members of the Dexter FFA Chapter attended the 2012 Area Leadership Conference held in Holcomb, Missouri.
The Leadership Conference is held for chapter officers and first year FFA members, or greenhands. This is usually the greenhands’ first exposure to FFA activities outside their local chapter.
Over 200 FFA members, advisors, and guests were in attendance for this year’s conference. The Area 16 officers conducted workshops for the chapter FFA officers.
Christin Sitzes, Dexter FFA member and Area 16 Reporter, was one of the area officers conducting the workshops.
The greenhands were presented a workshop by Kenneth Quick, who is the Western Region National Vice-President from New York. Quick is one of six national FFA officers who serve over 550,000 FFA members nation wide.
Shown in the above photo are the Dexter FFA members in attendance for the conference. Pictured in front row left to right: Lindsey Parsons, Karaline Keirsey, Kristen Copeland, Karlee Wright, Garrett Kyle, Alex Whitehead, Alexis Tankersley, Trevor Link, Chelsey Cox, Chelsey Massey, Cody Pullum, Brianna Madigan, Shelby Edwards, and Moriah McClard. Pictured in second row left to right: Aylah Goss, Hannah Craft, Zach Alsup, Kyle Ward, Ethan Ward, Colton Averett, Jackson Hubbard, and Derek Felker.
