Jessica Snider, SMT Writer
Throughout the past few weeks, Dexter Schools have been participating in ”Stuff A Bus” competition. The competition consisted of each school collecting cans to be delivered to the Mission. After being delivered to the Mission, the cans then get ready to be delivered to needy families throughout the area.
On Friday, December 7th, the competition came to an end and the cans were collected from each school. The cans were collected school to school and were delivered on a bus drove by Santa!
Thanks to Brett Miller from First State Bank and Trust for donating the use of the bus and also for dressing as Santa to make the deliveries.
At the end of the day, over 7,000 non-perishables had been collected by the Dexter School District! The school with the most cans collected had been promised an ice cream sundae party for the entire school compliments of the OPAA food service.
Even though the competition is what got many kids interested in bringing in cans to be collected, many kids saw the real reason for “Stuff A Bus” on Friday.
“This is definitely the largest single donation of canned goods that the Mission has ever had,” commented Kim Slavings, the director at the Stoddard County Gospel Mission.
Kim Slavings continued by saying, “It was so awesome to look out the window of my office and see Santa driving a school bus into the Mission parking lot, stopping the bus, and seeing several students jumping out to help unload the huge amount of food. Thank you for the greatest Christmas gift of all!”
Another thank you goes out to Judy Patterson for organizing this successful event along with the staff she had helping her to get the students of Dexter Public Schools motivated to participate.
If they didn’t know before, the students are well aware now of what a huge difference they made by participating in this event. Even though “Stuff A Bus” may have started as a competition, it ended with making a lot of families’ holidays a lot better this season. So many families will be positively affected through this event that collected over 7,000 non-perishable items!
Throughout the Christmas Season, it’s a time when many people realize how fortunate they are and also realize how some families are in need year after year. Throughout the area there are many ways to give back this time of year, but the “Stuff A Bus” event was such a hit that the schools hope to keep participating for many years.
Judy Patterson commented, “Next year the schools hope to make it an even bigger event!”
We should feel proud to live in such a community that is always willing to give back any chance we can. We hope to see the “Stuff A Bus” event continue to positively affect many families for as long as possible.
There will be two seatings for the event: a noon luncheon and a 6 p.m. dinner. Both will feature a holiday meal and musical Christmas show featuring college President Dr. Devin Stephenson and band, Three Rivers Choral Ensemble, and narration by Bill and Connie Hampton.
Tickets are $30 each, and seating is limited to 110 people per seating. To reserve tickets by credit card, call 573-840-9662. Reserved tables of six or eight are available.
“Three Rivers is fortunate to have so many talented people,” said Tinnin Center Director Robert Cook. “This event will show off that talent while raising funds for scholarships and the college music and theatre programs.”
He said guests will be greeted with a cup of hot holiday cider, then proceed to a traditional holiday dinner catered by Rebecca Sharp.
Bill and Connie Hampton, coordinators of the Three Rivers Centers at Dexter and Malden, respectively, and known for their media voices and quick wit, will be narrators telling the story of Christmas and holiday tales, Cook said.
Three Rivers music students will be featured in the Choral Ensemble.
“Our students love performance opportunities and this is especially important to them since it will raise money for the music department,” said Choral Instructor Cindy White.
Dr. Stephenson will perform music from his new CD, "The Gift 2", which is the third album in a project to raise funds for scholarships. Dr. Stephenson will play piano backed by musicians who performed on the CD.
“This will be a wonderful, entertaining event that will be a holiday treat with the added advantage of raising money for Three Rivers students, through a scholarship program and the theater and music programs,” Stephenson said.
As part of this event, Center Stage, which is the Three Rivers theatre program, will be donating 10 Christmas trees that will be adopted and decorated by Three Rivers student clubs and organizations. After the “Christmas Miracles” event, the trees will be donated to area families in need through the Boys & Girls Club in Poplar Bluff.
“This is our way at Center Stage to give back to the families who come to our productions and support the theatre programs here at Three Rivers,” Cook said.
Three Rivers College is committed to contributing to the quality of life in Southeast Missouri with quality, affordable higher education opportunities and community services that support and encourage the economic, civic and cultural vitality of the region. For more information about college and workforce programs and upcoming events, visit trcc.edu.
Jessica Snider, SMT Writer
In the month of December where the temperatures drop and Christmas shopping begins, Rachel Putnam has the spotlight as she is the ShowMe Calendar Girl.
Rachel was an attendant in the 2012 Miss Dexter Pageant which is sponsored every year by the Choral Music Department at Dexter High School.
Rachel is the fifteen-year-old daughter of Denny and Shannon Putnam. Rachel is the sophomore class president and also a member of the Showstoppers of Southeast Missouri.Rachel Putnam is a Varsity Football Cheerleader, a member of the Kickin’ Cats Dance Team, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and FCCLA. The top twelve girls from the pageant are featured monthly as the Calendar Girls.
Photo courtesy of Shannon Putnam
Written by
Jessica Snider, SMT Writer
Joseph Greer has been playing the piano since he was nine years old. Greer has an amazing musical talent that has been recognized by many people who know him.
From playing in talent shows, private events, and now being the number one piano player in the state of Missouri, Greer’s talent and love for music has only grown.
He started taking piano lessons when he was just nine years old. Greer moved from Nashville, Tennessee to Dexter the same year his teacher from San Jose, California moved here. It didn’t take long for Greer to get the hang of making music out of the piano keys.
Greer has been very active in Jazz Band at school and his freshman and junior years of high school he made second at state. Greer was determined to be first his senior year.
Once one makes the district jazz band from their area, they are then qualified to compete for the state jazz band. The state band is made up of highly talented high school students.
Only one piano player can be taken for the state band, and there were a larger number of hopefuls. The judges do call backs after everyone auditions. It is narrowed down to the top four piano players, and then they are put into combos made up of drums, bass, guitar, and piano. The call back audition was made up of two songs that they were supposed to have prepared and then they were also asked to sight-read.
Greer noted, “You’re given four songs and you’re free to interpret them however you want as long as you don’t change them too much.”
It was about four hours of waiting after callbacks when Greer realized that his goal had been accomplished. Greer was pretty confident in his performance, but it was still a nerve-racking wait for him. He knew he wanted to make first, but it wasn’t until he saw his name that he really believed it.
Not only did Joseph Greer want first for himself, but he also wanted to make his father proud. Right before Greer went into the audition, his father sent him a text message that said, “I’m proud of you.”
Greer has stated that he’s not sure what he would like to do in the future. He wants to do law or maybe medical field. Greer even joked about bringing the grand into the courtroom or hospital.
Joseph Greer’s talent is truly one of a kind and has blessed many ears that have heard him play.
We want to congratulate Joseph on an awesome job and also wish him good luck in all his future endeavors!
Written by
Jessica Snider, SMT Writer
Saturday, December 1st, a few members of the Heartland Strings went around to various nursing homes and played for the residents at the facilities.
The group is directed by Miriam Brehmer and she teaches her students Suzuki Strings. Her main focus of teaching within the group is the violin.
The Heartland Strings could be spotted out and about on Saturday as they traveled to Cypress Point and also made it to Central Gardens Residential Care Facility in Dexter.
When the group arrived at Central Gardens, it was just around lunch time so they had a large audience as they performed. The group’s performance consisted of Christmas music that almost everyone knows. The residents enjoyed this special visit very much and loved getting to hear the music being played from the violins.
Miriam Brehmer has twenty students that she teaches. Although not all were present Saturday, there were still enough to make a joyous sound!
The members of Heartland Strings that were present on Saturday were: Tony Wood, Lauren Wood, and Anthony Wood from Campbell; Allison Statler from Bloomfield; and Sarah Grummert, Stacy Grummert, Tatiana Cox, and Dakota Cox all of Dexter.
The group known as “Heartland Strings” consists of many local talented musicians. It takes a special talent for one to be able to pick up a violin and make beautiful music, but these people can do just that!
They are a joy to listen to and made the days of a lot of residents with their visits on Saturday!
