Amongst many things going on at Dexter High School during the fall season, a large number of family and friends showed up to the DHS Auditorium this afternoon to listen to the Dexter Choirs perform in their Fall Concert.  

Every year to begin the Fall Concert, the seniors are announced. Choir Director Mrs. Jamie Sepulvado took the microphone and introduced the eighteen seniors who are currently enrolled in at least one of her choir classes. Each senior was announced one by one as they walked down the aisle holding a candle and met to form a senior group on the risers.

Mrs. Sepulvado commented on this year’s seniors, “I’m truly going to miss this class of incredible seniors. I only wish them the very best in the next chapter of their lives. I know their future is bright. My advice to them is to keep their music close. There will be days of rejoicing and days of sorrow but through everything, the music they have inside them will help them through it all. It was an honor to be your director for two years.”

After the recognition of the seniors, the Concert Choir and Women’s Ensemble joined each other on stage as they performed four songs together. Soloists including: Paula Hagy, Jason Killian, Linda love, and Oliver Warren.

Following the Concert Choir and Women’s Ensemble was Chamber Choir. Chamber Choir performed four different songs with soloists including: Rachel Putnam, Jacob Murdock, Shayna Bess, and JT Putnam. Mrs. Sepulvado noted that the Chamber Choir consisted of eighty-one members, who for the most part, are very young but talented members.

Closing the concert, Honors Choir came onto the stage to perform four songs. Their first song was a familiar song to everyone in the crowd as they sang The Star-Spangled Banner.  Soloists among the Honors Choir included: Jon Rodgers, Logan Quertermous, Christin Sitzes, Reale Cook, Noah Raines, Noah Kronk, Emily Long, and Brooks Propst.

Despite how beautiful of a Sunday afternoon it has been outside, there was hardly an empty seat in the Dexter High School Auditorium as these talented choirs took the stage under the direction and accompanist of Mrs. Jamie Sepulvado for the 2012 Fall Choir Concert.

Pictured in the above photo is a number of girl members in the Dexter Choir. In the photo below is the group of seniors enrolled in a choir class this year at Dexter High School.

On October 13^th, many local middle schools and high schools participated in a large marching band competition in Charleston, Missouri. Charleston is one of the largest band competitions in this area that hosts a marching competition and a field competition every year. Multiple bands from Southeast Missouri compete against each other for various awards in each division.

Stoddard County had many bands that entered the competition, including: Dexter, T.S. Hill Middle School, Richland Junior High, Richland, Puxico, Bloomfield, Bell City, and Advance. Each Class, or division, was dependent on the size of the band, so many of the schools from Stoddard County did not compete against each other.

T.S. Hill won first place in the junior high division, defeating five other middle school bands. They played the song ‘Banda Excellante’ and won five out of the six trophies available to win, including highest music score, outstanding percussion, outstanding color guard, and outstanding drum major.

Puxico High School won first place in the Gold Class division, while playing ‘Thriller’. Their majorettes placed first in the Gold Class division and the band was rewarded with the outstanding marching and outstanding music. Puxico also took home the first place trophy for their field show division.

Richland High School won the Blue Class division, while playing ‘Proud Mary’. They were also rewarded with outstanding marching, outstanding music, and outstanding guard. Their three majorettes won first over all the other bands that competed.

Dexter High School played the song ‘Bird Land’ and got second place in their division. They received the highest music score, outstanding marching, outstanding guard, and outstanding drum major. They were awarded third place in their field show division.

The Charleston Parade is the final competition of the marching season for many bands, but a few of them plan to return and finish the season next month at the Dexter Holiday Parade on November 9^th, playing Christmas-themed songs and bringing Holiday cheer.

The local marching bands earned numerous trophies and won many victories and the Charleston Parade gave them a great way to end the competition season. We would like to say congratulations to all the bands that competed and good luck for next season.

 

On March 22, 1915, thanks to the efforts of Mrs. Anna Brosius Korn, the 48^th General Assembly set aside the third Wednesday in October as “Missouri Day.”

Missouri Day was originally set as a time for schools to honor the state and also for the people of the state of Missouri to celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of Missourians.

Many teachers all across the state of Missouri squeeze some Missouri-related history into their lesson plans every year on this day.

People of the state of Missouri including: educational, commercial, political, civic, religious, and fraternal organizations are requested to devote some of their day to the consideration of the products of mines, fields, and even forests throughout the state.

It is also a day to take into consideration all the achievements of the sons and daughters of Missouri in commerce, literature, statesmanship, science and art, and in any other departments in which the state does service to mankind.

For those who weren’t aware of today being Missouri Day, maybe now you will set plans to research some of the achievements of Missourians or even go deeper and visit some of Missouri’s beautiful mines, fields, or forests. How will you celebrate Missouri Day?

Today is a day that we should all feel extra special about living in the Show-Me State. We should all take pride in the accomplishments that many Missourians have achieved, and maybe even hope to get recognized for achieving something ourselves one day.

Happy Missouri Day to all Missourians!

Richland High School is hosting a dinner theater on Friday, October 26^th at 6:00pm, serving a classic country dinner while performing “The Glue of Gopher Gulch”. The actors and actresses are excited and are rearing to go for Richland’s first dinner theater performance.

“The Glue of Gopher Gulch” was written by T.S. Hill’s English teacher, John Stephens. The story includes the classic damsel in distress, played by eleventh grader Kayla Uhles, and the big, bad villain, played by eleventh grader Kannon Qualls. They are accompanied by several other witty characters that will have the crowd laughing. There are thirteen actors that will contribute to the play and they have been working and practicing very hard to make it a wonderful performance.

The story takes place in old west, so the waiters and waitresses will be dressed in costumes so that the guests feel like they are part of the event. Some of the servers will perform small and comedic acts between scenes for the guests’ entertainment. The dinner will be catered by Judy Ackman, serving “country classics” like fried chicken, mashed potatoes, a tasty dessert, and much more.

Many of the students quickly got involved with the play and fell in love with acting and performing. There are twenty-two students that are performing in the play and a few staff members will too. A lot of the students are contributing to this event, whether they are acting, creating props, gathering costumes, waitressing, or helping back stage.

Amber Duley, the school’s music and band director, is coordinating the performance and is proud of the students for working so hard in this short amount of time.

“We’re having a great time,” says Duley, “They’re doing such a good job. We’re having so much fun together and the play is just hilarious.”

All proceeds from the dinner theater will go towards Richland’s Backpack Program, a program put together by the school nurse that gives food to the less fortunate families of the community. The school’s music department is proud to represent and support such a great and fulfilling program.

Hurry and get your tickets because the last day to make a reservation for this divine performance is Thursday, October 18^th. Tickets are now on sale for $15 and a reservation is required, there will be no tickets for sale at the gates. The doors will open at 5:30pm and the play will begin at 6:00pm. You can order your tickets at 573-283-5332, ask for Mrs. Sherman to place an order.

The cast is hoping for a great turnout for this important event, so be sure to stop in and get a big plate of fried chicken while laughing and enjoying a great show.

Downtown Dexter -  The action was fun and exciting in Downtown Dexter this weekend as the Annual Historic Downtown Dexter Fall Fest was in full swing.  The streets were filled with individuals, music groups, local businesses, vendors, and area civic groups providing goods for sale, contests for fun, and lots of laughs for area residents.

The event is sponsored by the Historic Downtown Dexter Association, a group organized to preserve the vitality and beauty of the community's downtown area.  The HDDA has worked for years to maintain local businesses and shoppers connected to the downtown area.  Events such as the Historic Downtown Dexter Fall Fest help to increase the exposure and patronage of these businesses.

The event attracts those downtown businesses as well as others, who set up tents and booths to display their products and to share their products with attendees.

Challenged by rainy weekends throughout the fall of '12, the event was fortunate to catch a beautiful 80 degree day.  Though a busy weekend with many events going on in the community, the crowds responded to the weather and came out in large numbers in support of the event.

From churches to businesses to local high school students, everyone gets involved with the Fall Fest activities.  Pastor Steve Easterwood, pastor at the First Baptist Church, was on hand to share his artistic talents with those passing by as he painted downtown scenes of the event. 

The Heartland Quilt Guild also had their crafts displayed at the event on Saturday.  The club raffled off a beautiful hand quilted piece that was a group project by local members.  A small section of the quilt was assigned to members and then brought together to form one full quilt.  The sale of the raffle tickets went to benefit local charities. 

One of the more exciting events held each year is the infamous 3rd Annual Real Living Pie Eating Contest.  The Young Realty team drafts several local political figures and community leaders to become involved in the contest at high noon.  The contestants then drape themselves in plastic, pin their hair back, and aggressively compete to become the annual pie eating champion. 

This is a serious competition as the winner of the men's and women's division each with $500 toward their favorite charity.  Kim Degney was the women's winner choosing Parents As Teachers as her charity.  The men's winner was Lee Watson, who donated his winnings to the Christmas Toy Fund.



It was certainly easy to see the excitement and fun built around the Fall Fest event.  Be sure to consider next year your chance to get involved with the Historic Downtown Dexter Association.  Your support and involvement with this group helps to keep Dexter strong.

SMT would like to thank Marrianne Bruce for submitting the photos from the event.