Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Caruthersville, Missouri - Missouri State Representative Terry Swinger recently attended a special ceremony on December 13, 2012 at the General John Riggs Veterans Park in Caruthersville Missouri, the Wreaths Across America.
Swinger stated, “It was truly a moving sight to watch the Patriot Guard Riders lead the trucks carrying the wreaths.” It was escorted by the Caruthersville fire truck. As they passed the high school, the students came outside to pay their respect and to view the procession. The procession ended at the park. American Legion Post 88 posted the flags and Commander Frank Morgan gave a welcoming speech. The Pledge of Allegiance was read and followed by the Caruthersville High School band playing the national anthem. Representative Swinger was honored to speak and the Rev. Paul Curry said a prayer. Taps was played and a wreath was placed at the Memorial.
The mission of Wreaths Across American is Remember, Honor, and Teach. It is a commitment to remember those veterans who are deceased, honor those who serve and teach our future generation the importance of our veterans.
Wreaths Across American began in 1992 when the owner of a wreath company found himself with an overabundance of wreaths at the end of the holiday season. He decided to honor our country’s veterans and made arrangements to place the wreaths on graves in an older section of Arlington National Cemetery. Today over 400,000 wreaths are placed nationwide in over 800 locations.
“We are fortunate to have organizations such as the American Legion and the VFW for our military and Veterans but also for our communities,” commented Swinger. Each year the American Legion Post 88 in Caruthersville recognizes local public safety officials from law enforcement and volunteer firefighters in Pemiscot County who have gone above and beyond their duties.
On December 13, Law enforcement officials were honored. They are Daniel Adams, Hayti Police Department, John Trimm, Steele Police Department and Dan Kinder, Caruthersville Police Department. Volunteer Firemen honored were Neeley Mitchel Jr, Hayti Department, Ron Warren, Caruthersville Fire Department, Jimmy Barron Wardell Fire Department, TJ Roberson, Cooter Fire Department, and Scott Spence, Steele Fire Department. The American Legion Post 88 also recognized several of their members who were World War II Veterans for their consecutive membership in the American Legion Post 88. Those honored were Ancil Robertson for 68 years, George Cook for 66 years, Robert O Pierce for 60 years and Calvin House for 60 years.
The VFW addressed the General Assembly many times the past couple of years to request new funding for veterans services. The Missouri veteran’s funds were in danger of depletion by 2013 if nothing was done. Swinger said, “My main goal as well as many of my colleagues this past Session was to help find a dedicated funding source. I am happy to say that it was accomplished.”
Swinger went on to say that it is a gratifying feeling to be a part of a solution for a worthy cause. “I have experienced this many times in the serving in the House of Representatives. It has been a privilege to serve District 162 and the great state of Missouri these past 9 years and I thank you for that honor.”
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Bloomfield, Missouri - The Worcester Wreath Company traveled across the country from Columbia Falls, Maine to Bloomfield, Missouri on Wednesday. With a highway patrol escort, the truck arrived at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery just in time for the ceremony to be held on Saturday, December 15th at 11:00 a.m.
Mike Posey volunteered his time to drive the truck owned by Prime, Inc. who also donated the cost of transportation for getting the wreaths to Missouri.
Wreaths will be placed at each grave, as there were enough community sponsor donations. That is five years in a row! Teresa Wright is the fundraising chairperson for the event and what a wonderful job she has done.
Everyone is invited to witness this extraordinary event at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery on Highway 25 in Bloomfield, Missouri. It begins at 11:00 a.m Saturday, December 15th.
REMEMBER HONOR TEACH
Jessica Snider, SMT Writer
Today a number of girls who participate in a weekly Zumba group are traveling around to different places spreading the holiday cheer!
The Zumba group that meets weekly at Fitness Connection was spotted dancing cheerfully at Central Gardens Residential Care in Dexter.
The members in attendance all wore Santa hats as they performed for about twenty minutes. The residents got to see about four or five dances from the group.
Zumba is a dance class that is intended for a work out, but actually results in a lot of fun along the way!
The residents loved the special performances from the group today and it was mentioned that the Zumba group would be back for a few more performances next Tuesday!
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.
