Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri – Southeast Health hosted a Cardinals Day at Central Gardens Residential Care Facility. Heather Waddle and Tracy Hedrick’s community bible school study group of 7th graders helped with serving popcorn, nachos and beverages to the Cardinal fans!
Tracy Hedrick is also a physical therapist with Southeast Health and her partner, Krystal McGowan, put together a very nice afternoon for the more than 25 residents who attended.
Robin Stanfield, Personal Care Supervisor at Central Gardens, escorted resident after resident into the media room decked out with baseball themed decorations. Each resident received a red beaded necklace and most were wearing their Cardinal red or white shirts!After a short rain delay, Amy Ellinghouse of Southeast Health wearing her favorite Cardinal outfit popped the popcorn and cheered as the Cardinals scored their first run.
Gordan Hill, Central Gardens Resident and great grandpa to Drew Albritton, couldn’t wait for the game to get started. He is a true St. Louis Cardinal fan! Even resident Barbara Harper made her way in and clapped for the boys in red and ate her nachos.
Everyone seemed to have a great time eating and cheering for the St. Louis Cardinals as they played the Mets in New York. Drawings were held and prizes were awarded. Southeast Health graciously donated all the prizes, including Cardinal t-shirts and other Cardinal mementos. Residents didn’t go away empty handed, each was given a treat bag form Southeast Health as well to take home.
Thank you to everyone who made this a special day for the residents at Central Gardens. They appreciated the exhilarating afternoon and wonderful memories.
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Missouri - Gov. Jay Nixon today signed two bills into law to allow older youth who have exited foster care to return to foster care if reentry would be in the young person's best interests. The Governor signed Senate Bill 205 and Senate Bill 208 at the Boone County Courthouse, home to Missouri's 13th Judicial District. Currently, there are 356 foster children in Missouri's 13th Judicial District.
"Young people who exit foster care at age 18 without a strong support system are at greater risk of homelessness and poverty," Gov. Nixon said. "Being on your own at 18 may sound like a good idea, but sometimes older foster youth need to be able to return to that safety net to make sure they get started on the path to a healthy adulthood and successful life."
"Children in foster care deserve the same opportunities as their peers to grow up knowing that people care for them and are committed to helping them reach their full potential," said State Senator Jolie Justus, sponsor of Senate Bill 208. "I have worked with and represented many foster children in my career, and I was proud to support them again in sponsoring this legislation. I appreciate the Governor's commitment to this issue and his signing of the legislation today."
"Missouri is a state that has made tremendous strides in supporting, encouraging and providing for our older foster youth," said State Senator David Sater, sponsor of Senate Bill 205. "I was proud to put forward this legislation to continue our deep commitment to helping foster children in southwest Missouri, and all across the state, succeed. I applaud the work of Governor Nixon and my colleagues in the General Assembly to make this bipartisan legislation a reality."
Senate Bills 205 and 208 contain language raising the maximum age from 18 to 21 at which an older youth who has been released from foster care can return to foster care if reentry would be in the youth's best interests. As in current law, the petition to reenter foster care can be initiated by the Department of Social Services, the juvenile officer, or directly by the youth.
This change was among the recommendations made by a 2009 Blue Ribbon Task Force on youth aging out of foster care. Research shows that youth who remain in care beyond their 18th birthday have better outcomes than youth who are released from care when it comes to employment, health, education, incarceration and homelessness.
"When a young person exits foster care around their senior year of high school, their next steps can be difficult to navigate without someone there to point them in the right direction," said Vince Hillyer, President and CEO of Great Circle, an organization that provides treatment, education, prevention and support services to foster children. "This legislation is critical to ensuring that these young people, like most young people, have a support system that they can rely on beyond their eighteenth birthday. We applaud the Governor for his actions today and for his longstanding commitment to Missouri children and families."
"As an organization that represents 10,000 vulnerable children in Missouri and over 50 non-profit organizations who care for those children, we applaud the Governor and the Missouri General Assembly for passing this important piece of legislation," said Mary Chant, CEO of Missouri Coalition of Children's Agencies. "By extending this safety net for young people in foster care by just a few years, we can make sure they stay healthy, safe and successful as they become young adults."
Additionally, Senate Bill 205 provides assistance to older youth in foster care or a Division of Youth Services program with visiting a state university, community college, technical college or with a military services recruiter prior to the youth exiting state custody.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri - Students at the Southwest Elementary Summer School program learned about Flag Day this week. They crafted their own red, white and blue firecracker hats after reading the story of how our Nation’s Flag was adopted. They also wanted to commemorate tomorrow’s national day of celebration known as Flag Day.
June 14th is celebrated each year to commemorate the adoption of the flag of the United States of America, which happened in 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day and it wasn't until August of 1949 that National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.
Though Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, one state does recognize the date as a state holiday and that state is Pennsylvania.
The Boy Scouts of Dexter, Missouri will line Business 60 with American Flags to remind us what Flag Day represents to millions of Americans throughout our great nation.
Please show your respect by flying an American Flag on June 14th!
Shown in the picture are Alyssa Freeman, Alexis Forkum, Harley Malone, Nicholas Jones, Randall Beck, and Koa Mithcell.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri – Do you FACEBOOK? If so, ShowMe Times has a Facebook page. We upload all of our favorite articles and pictures to https://www.facebook.com/showmetimes.
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Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri - Every year schools, libraries and parent/teacher organizations across the country hold Book Fairs to not only raise money, but to offer books to parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians, and of course students. While fundraising is a definite benefit, so is uniting children with literature and bringing the community together to honor that mission.
The Dexter Parents as Teachers Organization (PTO) will be sponsoring a SUMMER READING BOOK FAIR on Wednesday, June 12th in the Southwest Elementary Gym from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.
Everyone is encouraged to attend. Children do not have to attend summer school to attend this book fair!
