BREAKING NEWS

The Dexter High School baseball and softball games scheduled for this afternoon, Monday, April 11, have been cancelled due to weather conditions

According to DHS Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Chuck Powers, the softball team will practice this afternoon in the high school gym from 3:15-44:30 p.m. The baseball infield players will practice in the Bearcat Event Center and outfielders at Southwest Elementary.

The softball game will not be rescheduled; the baseball can has been rescheduled for 4 p.m., Friday, April 15 at Sikeston.

Report Provided By Missouri Department of Conservation

MDC offers turkey hunting safety tips
Turkey hunting is getting safer, thanks to the efforts of volunteer hunter-education instructors.

JEFFERSON CITY–When hunters head out for the opening day of Missouri’s spring turkey season April 18, they will have a lot on their minds, including weather, equipment and of course gobblers. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) wants them to add one more item and put it at the top of their lists – safety.

Safety clearly has moved up on turkey hunters’ priorities in the past 25 years. In 1986, MDC recorded 31 firearms-related incidents during the spring turkey season. Two were fatal. Contrast that to last year, when only six hunters were injured during the season, and none died.

The difference, according to MDC Hunter Education Coordinator Tony Legg, is hunter education, which became mandatory in Missouri in 1987. Since then, the number of safety-trained hunters has increased by approximately 30,000 annually. The results have been dramatic.

“From 1985 through 1994, we averaged a little more than 17 firearms-related incidents per year during the spring turkey season,” said Legg. “Over the past 10 years, the average has been just six a year, and over the last five years, the average has been fewer than five per year. That is amazing progress.”

Amazing or not, Legg says spring turkey hunters still are more likely to be hurt in firearms-related incidents than those who pursue other species, including deer. Only two deer hunters were injured by other hunters during the 2010 firearms deer season, compared to six during the spring turkey season. Furthermore, deer hunters outnumber turkey hunters approximately four to one. If firearms deer hunters were hurt at the same rate as spring turkey hunters, Missouri would have had 25 deer hunting injuries.

Legg said hunter education instructors will not be content until the number of turkey hunting injuries falls to zero. However, he said it is important to keep the dangers of turkey hunting in perspective.

“Last year, only one of every 20,000 spring turkey hunters was injured in a firearms incident,” said Legg. “That’s a one in .00005 chance. It is a small risk, much like the risk we take when driving or riding in a car, knowing that thousands of people die in traffic accidents every year.”

Legg said smart motorists wear seatbelts and practice defensive driving techniques to reduce their risk of injury. In the same way, wise turkey hunters wear hunter orange clothing and practice defensive hunting.

“Turkey hunters most often are injured when another hunter mistakes them for game or does not know they are in his or her line of fire,” said Legg. “Decades of deer-hunting experience have proven that wearing hunter orange reduces the frequency of such incidents dramatically.”

Legg said turkey hunters don’t need to wear hunter orange all the time to reap safety benefits. Instead, he recommends wearing an orange vest and hat when moving between hunting spots, then hanging the garments on a tree when calling. This alerts other hunters to your presence.

Legg said hunters should always wrap turkeys in hunter orange when carrying them out of the woods.

“Walking through the woods in camouflage clothing while carrying a gobbler in plain sight is asking for trouble,” he said.

Other defensive hunting tips include:

• Choose calling locations that offer a clear view to the front and sides so you know if other hunters approach.
• Sit with your back against a tree at least as wide as your shoulders for protection if a hunter behind you shoots at a turkey and catches you in his line of fire.
• Remain in the immediate company of hunting partners. Accidents often occur when hunting partners separate and lose track of one another’s locations.
• Never assume you are the only hunter in the area. Legg says most turkey hunting accidents occur on private property, where hunters don’t expect to meet other hunters.
• Use gobble calls with extreme caution, since these make you sound like a target.
• Don’t wear clothing or take any item to the woods that is white, blue or red. These colors are associated with the head of a turkey gobbler.

Missouri’s lifesaving hunter education program is staffed almost entirely by unpaid volunteer instructors. Legg calls them “the unsung heroes of hunting.”

“These dedicated men and women save lives every year and spare Missourians the heartache of hurting friends and family members or being hurt in hunting accidents. It’s impossible to thank them adequately for what they do. Fortunately, they do it for the love of hunting. Knowing their work makes a difference is all the thanks they need.”

For more information about hunter education classes, visit
" onclick="target='_blank';">http://mdc.mo.gov/node/3477.

MDC also has programs to help aspiring hunters and encourage hunting mentorship. For more information, visit" onclick="target='_blank';">http://mdc.mo.gov/node/10054.

Report Provided By Missouri Department of Conservation

First Fishing Report of the Season



In most streams south of the Missouri River, black bass season will open May 28, 2011, until that date all black bass in those streams must be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught. For details see Chapter 6 of the Wildlife Code.

PLEASE CHECK REGULATIONS CAREFULLY: Special regulations may apply to designated portions of water bodies; some baits and lures may not be legal for all portions.

----------------------

OZARK REGION (417) 255-9561
LAKES

Bull Shoals (East): 58 degrees, low, clear; white bass fair on jigs and minnows; crappie fair on jigs and minnows; all other species slow.

Norfork: 57 degrees, low, clear; white bass fair on jigs and minnows; crappie fair on jigs and minnows; walleye fair on worms and stickbaits; all other species slow.

RIVERS

Big Piney (lower, Pulaski Co.): 58 degrees, high, dingy; smallmouth bass catch-and-release fishing good on soft plastic baits and jigs; goggle-eye good on small jigs and Beetle Spins.

Big Piney (Upper): 60 degrees, normal, clear; all species slow.

Bryant Creek: 56 degrees, low, clear; walleye fair on worms and stickbaits; all other species slow.

Current: 60 degrees, low, clear; all species slow.

Eleven Point: 58 degrees, low, clear; rainbow trout good on corn and prepared baits; all other species slow.

Gasconade (middle, Pulaski Co.): 58 degrees, high, dingy; smallmouth bass catch-and-release fishing good on soft plastic baits and jigs; goggle-eye good on small jigs and Beetle Spins.

Gasconade (upper): 61 degrees, high, dingy; all species slow.

Jack's Fork: 59 degrees, low, clear; all species slow.

North Fork: 55 degrees, low, clear; all species slow.

----------------------

SOUTHEAST REGION (573) 290-5858
LAKES

Clearwater Lake: 57 degrees, normal, dingy; crappie fair while trolling using a jig; all other species slow.

Council Bluff: 53 degrees, normal, clear; largemouth bass fair on dark colored soft plastics and jerkbaits; crappie fair on minnows and jigs near brush piles and beaver lodges; all other species slow.

Cypress Lake: 56 degrees, normal, dingy; crappie and largemouth bass slow in depths of 2'-3' using minnows and jigs; bluegill slow in depths of 2'-3' using jigs.

Duck Creek: 59 degrees, clear; all species slow.

Lake Girardeau: normal, clear; crappie fair on minnows and jigs; all other species slow.

Perry County Lake: 54 degrees, dingy; all species slow.

Robert DeLaney Lake: Crappie fair on jigs, especially black and chartreuse, live minnows and goldfish; all other species slow.

Wappapello: low, crappie good on minnows and jigs; all other species slow. Anglers should note the 9" minimum length limit for crappie.

RIVERS

Black River (near Annapolis): 53 degrees, normal, clear; all species slow.

Castor River (above Zalma): normal, clear; all species slow.

Lower Black River (Clearwater Dam): 57 degrees, high, dingy; crappie fair on minnows and jigs around structures; walleye fair on creek chubs and jigs on the shoals; paddlefish fair; all other species slow.

Mississippi (below Charleston): falling, dingy; catfish fair on worms; all other species slow.

Mississippi River (Cape Girardeau): high, muddy; all species slow.

St. Francis (above Wappapello): high, dingy; all species slow.

St. Francis (below Wappapello): 58 degrees, high, dingy; all species slow.

----------------------

ST. LOUIS REGION (636) 300-1953
LAKES

Busch Memorial Conservation Area Lake 33: 52 degrees, normal, dingy; bluegill fair on worms; black bass slow on minnows and other live baits; catfish slow on stinkbait and chicken liver; limit 4; crappie fair on plastic jigs worked slowly; please remove litter.

Busch Memorial Conservation Area Lakes 3, 4, 5, 7, and 24: 72 degrees, normal, dingy; channel catfish slow on stinkbait and chicken liver; limit 4; stocking will begin in early May; please remove litter.

RIVERS

Big River: 59 degrees, falling, dingy; catfish slow on live bait and worms; smallmouth bass catch-and-release fishing fair on minnows and crayfish; crappie fair on white jigs with minnows; all other species slow.

Bourbeuse (middle, lower, Franklin Co.): 61 degrees, normal, clear; channel catfish fair on worms, blood baits and cut bait; crappie fair on minnows and jigs; black bass catch-and-release fishing slow on spin and crankbaits; all other species fair on natural baits.

Meramec (above Sullivan, Crawford Co.): 60 degrees, normal, clear; catfish fair on prepared bait; catch & release black bass fair on plastic worms; crappie good on jigs; goggle-eye good on worms.

Meramec (below Eureka): 61 degrees, normal, clear; channel catfish fair on worms and goldfish; carp good on corn; black bass catch-and-release fishing fair on crankbaits; crappie good on jigs with Crappie Nibbles; all other species fair on worms.

Missouri (below New Haven): 51 degrees, high, muddy; channel catfish fair on cut and blood baits; bluegill fair on worms and crickets; all other species slow.

----------------------

TROUT PARKS

Bennett Spring State Park: 56 degrees, the spring level is slightly above normal and off colored; Zone 1 and 2 best lures: red and green Cracklebacks, white floss mini jig, white colored, pink and white colored and yellow and black marabou jigs, tri-colored and pink and peach colored glo balls; Zone 3 best lures: yellow, white and cheese Power Baits, Trout Nip, and minnows. April fishing hours are 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Our annual kids fishing day is scheduled for Saturday May 7. Activities will start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m.

Maramec Spring Park: 56 degrees, normal, fishing is good; the water is clear with good flow; doughbaits and putty baits are producing good numbers of fish; feather jigs in black, yellow, olive and white are also good choices. Fishing hours are 7:00 a.m to 7:30 p.m.

Montauk State Park: 56 degrees, the river level is normal for this time of year and steady as of 8:30 a.m. on April 7th. The water is clear. Fishing is good on all baits with the best fishing in the morning and evening hours.

For up-to-date stream conditions check http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?07064440.

Roaring River State Park: 57 degrees, the stream is normal and clear; orange, chartreuse and black spinners and small crankbaits are good; marabou jigs and micro jigs are still working; black, yellow, white, dark brown, tan and olive Power Bait worms and eggs are working; white, brown and fluorescent yellow eggs, white and orange worms are working; in Zone 3, nightcrawlers, corn and small Power Bait nuggets are working very well.

All reports made on April 7, 2011.


Make sure to check back with the ShowMe Times for up-to-date reports before you plan your next fishing getaway!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

DEXTER, Mo. - Coming off a huge win at Richland on Thursday (April 7), the Lady ‘Cats faced a tough Twin Rivers team on Friday (April 8) at home. The ‘Cats’ bats weren’t very hot in the contest, and coupled with a great opposing pitcher, led to a 9-2 loss.

Twin Rivers’ starting pitcher, Chelsea Crain, racked up 13 total strikeouts on the day - 10 of which were struck out looking, and didn’t give up a walk.


Kendra Stevenson got the start for Dexter, but initially lasted only one and a two thirds innings. Alec Jackson came in and finished out the second inning, and Stevenson was reinserted in the third inning. Stevenson had five K’s and 16 walks in the contest.


The Lady ‘Cats started out great in the first inning, not giving up a run in the top of the inning. In the bottom, Alec Jackson hit a leadoff double and was driven in by Whitney Leyton. The next three batters struck out, but the ‘Cats still held a 1-0 lead. In the second, back-to-back walks were issued by Stevenson. The next batter grounded out, followed by another pair of walks. Jackson was put on the mound to try to lessen the damage, but the Lady Royals were still able to put up three runs in the inning.


Twin Rivers put up four runs in the fourth inning and two in the fifth to increase their lead to 9-1. Stevenson, Jackson, and Layton were the only Dexter players to get a until the sixth inning, when a double from Tiffany Watson drove in Ashley Brown, who got a single earlier in the inning.


The Lady ‘Cats held the Lady Royals scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings. Layton hit a double in the seventh, but got caught trying to steal third for the last out of the contest.


The Lady ‘Cats will be in action again on Monday (April 11) when they travel to New Madrid to face the NMCC Lady Eagles in a 4:00 p.m. game.


Photo above Taylor Owens fouls off a pitch during Friday’s 9-2 loss against Twin Rivers at home. Owens was 0-3 in the contest.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

DEXTER, Mo. - Daniel Fitts had one heck of a birthday. The Bearcat left-fielder hit a deep three-run home run in the bottom of the second inning and made an outstanding throw from deep in left field to pick off a Scott City runner at home for the third out of the sixth inning. Fitts’ effort helped push the Bearcats to a much-needed 3-1 victory over Scott City.

“Today’s Daniel Fitts’ birthday, and I don’t know who’s happier, him or me,” head coach Brian Becker said after the game. “He hit that three-run blast for all our runs, and made that huge throw to the plate. DJ Dowdy made a heck of a play there during his first game behind the plate on the varsity level, and it got us out of the inning, which we’ve struggled with lately. Hopefully this win today will lead to bigger and better things in the future.”


Sophomore Brad Potts made the start for the ‘Cats today, picking up his second win of the season. Despite limited run support, the youngster had a great outing, striking out three batters, forcing three groundouts, and picking off a runner at first base. Potts struggled to find the strike zone in the first inning, walking three batters, but was able to get out of the jam without giving up a run.

“Pitching and defense, we had both today. We haven’t had that a lot this spring, but when you have those two things you can win ballgames. [Potts] had a three walks in the first inning, and getting out of that inning was huge without letting them score a run; it picked our ball club up and gave us some momentum,” Becker said. “We played solid defense with the exception of two errors. Today was [Jordan Miller’s] first game not behind the plate, but with Josh Overall out, we had to shift some people around, and Jordan made some good plays on defense. I brought Miller in during the seventh (Potts’ pitch count was just over 100 pitches) and he did a good job.”



Josh Overall had surgery on Thursday (April 7) to correct a broken collarbone, and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

The ‘Cats only had three hits in the contest, and Becker credited Scott City’s pitching staff.

“[Scott City’s] pitcher had a nasty little slider and had pretty decent pop on the ball,” Becker added. “He did a good job of shutting our offense down, but he made a mistake on that pitch to Fitts, and Daniel made him pay for it.”


The Bearcats move to 4-3 on the season, and will face the Sikeston Bulldogs on Monday (April 11) afternoon at Sikeston.


“We’ve got Sikeston on Monday(April 11),” Becker said, “and they have a good ball club. We’ll have to come out Monday and play similar to how we played today to get the win."

The 'Cats have yet to name an official starter for Monday's contest. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m.

Photos above Top Photo: Daniel Fitts threw a rocket from left field straight into the glove of catcher DJ Dowdy to save a run and get the third out of the sixth inning in Thursday’s 3-1 win against Scott City.
Bottom photo: Brad Potts picked up his second win of the season against Scott City.