Every minute of every day, someone needs blood – and blood can only come from a volunteer donor.

A special Red Cross Blood Drive will be sponsored Saturday, May 12 at Wesley Hall of the First United Methodist Church in Dexter. The Blood Drive will be held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

“The Red Cross tells me their blood supply is low already and it isn't even summer yet,” said Loretta Reid, outreach coordinator of the church. “When you make a blood donation, you join a very select group. Currently only three out of every 100 people in America donate blood.”

From its beginning, the American Red Cross has formed a community of service, of generous, strong and decent people bound by beliefs beyond themselves. The American Red Cross blood donor embodies this principle. 

For additional information about the Blood Drive, contact Kristi Williams at the First United Methodist Church at 573-624-3344.

The First United Methodist Church is located at 501 South Walnut Street in Dexter.

By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

The students in Shannon Putnam’s first grade class at Center learned all about changes, growth, and letting go recently, as the class watched a group of butterflies grow, mature and then freed.

The class watched as butterflies travelled through their life cycle from larva, pupa, and finally adults. The class this year had the Painted Lady variety of butterflies, and studied the life cycle and butterflies as they developed.

“We learned some butterflies are poisonous,” said Putnam. “We didn’t know that! And some butterflies taste with their feet!”

Putnam said it was a tad chilly outside and the “day of freedom” when the class set the butterflies free. But that didn’t deter the students or dampen their spirits as the butterflies flew away.

“The first one we called ‘Lucky’,” she said. Seems the Lucky was knocked a bit as a chrysalis, but was the first butterfly to hatch. It only seemed natural that he should be the first to experience freedom.

Photo Above: Students in Shannon Putnam's first grade watched as butterflies grew and were then ready to be set free. The students learned about the cycle of life and some interesting facts about butterflies. (Photo by Shannon Putnam ... Thanks, Mrs. Putnam!)

By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

One of the oldest and most unique historical sites in Missouri will host a special day to explore early Native American life during May.

Discover the secrets of the Mississippian Period of Native American culture at an event May 12 at Towosahgy State Historic Site near East Prairie in Mississippi County.

The event, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will include activities throughout the day and storytelling by a Native American actor and teacher. Larry Sellers, an actor, educator and Osage tribal member, will be at Towosahgy throughout the day. Sellers portrayed Cloud Dancing on the television show “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” in the 1990s. Sellers will tell traditional Native American stories as well as stories of Osage history.

Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the many aspects of the mound-building culture that flourished in the area 1,000 years ago. They will be able to tour the site where the village once stood and see various pre-historic artifacts from the area. Visitors can make arrowheads, learn how to make cordage (small rope) from native plants, and test their aim and skill with an atlatl and longbow.

Towosahgy State Historic Site is located 14 miles southeast of East Prairie on County Road 502 in Mississippi County. For more information about the event, call Big Oak Tree State Park at 573-649-3149 or Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site at 573-748-5340.

To get to Towosahgy State Historic Site, take State Highway 77 south towards Dorena and turn west on CR 502 (look for signs near CR 502). Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Sponsored by Missouri State Parks, the event is free and open to the public.

Photo Above: A bald cypress tree at sunset at Towosahgy State Historic Site in Mississippi County. (ShowMe Times archive photo by Annabeth Miller)

By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

One year after the intentional breach of the Birds Point levee flooded thousands of prime Missouri farm land, Sen. Roy Blunt is criticizing the Army Corps of Engineers for the slow pace of efforts to rebuild the levee.

On Tuesday Blunt sent a letter to the acting commander of the Corps of Engineers, urging fast restoration of the levee to, its original height.  Blunt calls the pace of the rebuilding effort “unacceptable.”

“As communities across Missouri attempt to rebuild after a year of unprecedented flooding, it’s critical that the Corps prioritizes its limited resources to protect local farmers, families, and job creators that have been impacted by disaster,” Blunt said today.

“One year after the Birds Point Levee breach, it is simply unacceptable that full restoration still remains months away. Flood protection for people and property should always be the primary goal in river policy. Our communities cannot return to normal until we fully restore what was lost and rebuild stronger,” he said.


Blunt introduced an amendment to the FY2013 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill that would move $40 million from the Missouri River Fish and Wildlife Recovery Program (MRRP) to emergency streambank and flood control projects. Unfortunately, the amendment failed by a vote of 14-15 in last week’s Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the bill.

The corps has temporarily rebuilt the levee to 55 feet and plans to get it back to 62.5 feet by the end of the year. Spokesman Bob Anderson says the corps is also rebuilding many other levees at the same time.

Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh of the Corps of Engineers announced on May 1, 2011 that the Corps would “activate the project” and would begin on May 2 to blow three holes in more than 30 miles of levee system near Birds Point. The actions flooded more than 130,000 acres of land, mostly in Mississippi and New Madrid counties.

Letter From Senator Blunt

• Letter to General Temple