Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri – The Rotary Club of Dexter met for their noon meeting. Danny Talkington, 1st District Commissioner introduced the sheriff of Stoddard County, Carl Hefner.
His topic was basically “What Happens When We Go Out of the Country” as he discussed his recent trip overseas. “Thank you for having me here today,” he stated, “It was quite an experience for me on my vacation.”
He noted that he and a few friends traveled on the Queen Elizabeth II from New York and took the same route as the Titanic did over 100 years ago, but in reverse of course. They even went over the exact spot where the Titanic lays at the bottom of the ocean.
They traveled England; saw Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard, which takes a couple of hours and is performed daily. “You have to be extremely aware of your surroundings while in that crowd. People picking pockets and steeling your wallets happens to be how many make a living there. They steel from the tourists.”
He continued by stating he never saw much law enforcement and if he did they were walking. They carry no firearms. While there he was in a department store and a man started screaming at another customer and then him. The girls working quickly ducked behind a counter. “It was kind of scary,” he said. “It seemed he screamed forever before a manager came over to find out the problem and even longer before they took him away.”“At 2 pm daily the entire country shuts down to have tea and the American dollar isn’t worth much at all. People love the USA and want to come to America,” he stated.
William Wallace is still a national hero in Scotland and in September of 2014 the Scottish people will vote to become independent and break away from England.
Sheriff Hefner spoke of how the airport security was definitely more difficult to get through as he was “strip” searched four times down to his underwear. They even rubbed litmus like paper over his body to see if he had been around explosives. He almost missed his flight home and the tickets of course were non-refundable!
He then changed subjects and told the Rotary they had a population of 64 offenders in the Stoddard County Jail. They only have 35 beds, so some of the incarcerated have to sleep on mats on the floor in the day rooms. The Stoddard County Jail typically processes 3,700 inmates per year. “This is still the best county in Southeast Missouri to live in and perhaps the state of Missouri,” commented Hefner.
The Rotary Club of Dexter appreciated Sheriff Hefner taking the time out of his very busy day to come and talk to them. Ken Harris, President of the local Rotary Chapter thanked Carl for his enlightening story of traveling overseas.
The Dexter Rotary Club meets each Tuesday at the American Steakhouse. Twice each month at 7:00 a.m. and twice at noon. If you would like more information or would like to join Rotary, please contact Jack Rodgers at 624-5762 or if you would like to be a guest speaker send an email to [email=jrod63841@yahoo.com.
