Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri - Everyone who joins the military has one thing in common, they must swear in by repeating the enlisted Oath. The Oath is something that every service member must promise and adhere to for his/her entire military career. Once you have taken the Oath you have chosen to defend our Country.
On Monday, January 20, 2014, Trevor Waldner, Dexter Senior High School student was sworn into the Army by General Mark Stammer who also has the distinguished honor of being Trevor’s godfather.
After graduation in May, Trevor will travel to Fort Benning, Georgia in the Fall of 2014 to begin his military career.
Congratulations Trevor! We are very proud of you and thank you for choosing to defend our country and our freedoms!
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Beginning on Monday, February 3rd, 2014 two volunteer preparers, Earl Young and Jack Norman and several greater volunteers will utilize the IRS approved software to complete your tax return FREE of charge.
All returns will be E-filed the day they are prepared. The objective of the program is to assist as many people as possible with completing both the Federal and State tax returns.
The audience they are focusing on are those individuals or couples having incomes of $52,000 or less regardless of age and anyone who is 60 or older may participate.
Volunteers will be available at Cox Corner located at 529 N. Walnut Street in Dexter every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
No appointments are necessary as returns will be completed on a first come first serve basis.
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
United States - Today is January 13, 2014. It is National Amber Alert Awareness Day. Although we see AMBER Alerts on the news from time to time, it is important to be kept up to date so that children can be located immediately. After all, there is strength in numbers. Just this past weekend an Amber Alert was issued for a child in Anderson Missouri and found In Florida safe and unharmed.
AMBER Alert stands for America’s Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response. It was first founded eighteen years ago on January 13th after Amber Hagerman was abducted in Arlington, Texas. After Hagerman’s abduction, her father soon figured out that media could play an incredibly large part in finding missing children. The Dallas police agreed with this idea and it sparked a revolution across the nation, officially creating the AMBER Alert System in 1996.
Back then, alerts were only sent through radio stations and local television stations, along with some local newspapers. Technology has quickly advanced and now AMBER Alerts are able to be sent to cell phones, televisions, faxes, emails, and are often shown on the national news channels.
Nearly 800,000 children under the age of eighteen go missing every year in the United States (that’s 2,185 children nearly every day). With a network of more than twenty AMBER Alert Plans across the nation, almost six hundred children have been safely recovered through the AMBER Alert Program.
The state of Missouri started using the AMBERT Alert system in 2002 and has had nearly fifty children recovered by the use of it. Missouri’s highway patrolmen along with MoDot play an incredibly large part in locating victims that are originally from Missouri or that are passing through.
Broadcasters, wireless cell phone companies, transportation agencies, and law-enforcement officials willingly work together to locate missing children. The whole idea of AMBER Alerts is to spread the word and have people working together as a community. With hundreds or thousands of people working together for one ultimate cause, the missing child’s chances of being found increase phenomenally. Law enforcement officials that have worked with AMBER Alerts before often say, “The more eyes, the better.”
With today’s technology at our very own fingertips, we can play a large part in finding abducted children. Due to the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) Program, you are able to register to receive text messages or emails about local kidnappings or disappearances of small children. If you are not in an area that allows you to use the WEA Program, AMBER Alerts are used often on Facebook, AOL, Yahoo, and Google.
Although the AMBER Alert System resulted from a terrible tragedy many years ago, it has created a nationwide network of people, media, and law enforcers so that future abductions can be prevented or quickly put to a stop. For more information on victims, reports, history, or national or local alerts, you can visit www.amberalert.gov or www.missingkids.com.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Bloomfield, Missouri – Saturday morning every grave at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield will have a wreath. For six years, people, businesses, and churches in Stoddard County have contributed money to make sure each and every gravesite will have a beautiful wreath.
Tomorrow morning beginning at 11:00 a.m. more than 2,000 wreaths will arrive and be placed on the graves. You can participate!
Ken Swearengin, director of the Veterans Cemetery said, “Wreaths Across America will have Randy Dunn as master of ceremonies while ceremonial wreaths for each branch of the military will be placed as memorials. Army, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Merchant Marines and POW/MIA veterans will be honored for their sacrifice.”
Wreath Across America is a non-profit organization and formed as an extension of the Arlington Wreath Project. Arlington will conduct their ceremonies at the same time as Bloomfield.
No matter the weather tomorrow, rain, sleet or snow the wreaths will be placed on veterans’ graves. It will be a powerful image: a veteran’s headstone and an evergreen wreath wrapped in red ribbon. It’s an honor to participate. It’s a time of remembrance and a kind gesture of gratitude.
Please come out and honor those who have given so much. The public is encouraged to attend the ceremony beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Columbia, Missouri - With winter break approaching quickly, the University of Missouri Police Department is advising students, faculty, staff and community members to take extra precautions before traveling for the holidays.
“Millions of people in the U.S. anxiously look forward to spending time with extended family over the holidays each year,” said Mike Laughlin, crime prevention officer with MUPD. “Unfortunately, some criminals are very aware that we may have to be away from our homes while visiting family during this holiday season.”
Laughlin offers the following tips for individuals who are traveling for the holidays:
Before you Leave:
• Stow valuable possessions out of sight or take them home when traveling.
• Be sure to lock windows and doors (including the patio door) before leaving.
• Ask someone who is staying in town to watch your residence and change which lights are on to make it appear someone is home.
• Do not leave bicycles outside.
• Write down the serial numbers of all valuable electronic items. Store those numbers somewhere other than inside the home.
• Visit http://www.mupolice.com/cp/ to register bicycles and laptops, and access the printable form to record the serial numbers of valuable possessions.
If Driving to your Destination:
• Check the car’s fluid levels and tire pressure to ensure safety.
• Try and maintain at least one-half tank of gas while on the road.
• Let someone know when you are leaving and when you are scheduled to arrive.
• Wear your seat belt.
If the weather is bad, allow extra time for getting to your destination. Have provisions in the car in case you get stranded (first aid kit, coat, flashlight, blanket, etc.)
