Special To The ShowMe Times

By Paige McCormick,
The Rebel Yeller
Richland High School

ESSEX, Mo. - Saying goodbye is never easy; especially to someone you have known nearly your entire life. This is the case for almost every Richland student. Ms. Addie Rasche, secretary of 45 years, has decided to enter the life of retirement. For those 45 years, she has always been the cheerful greeting face in the high school office.

Students have come and gone through these halls, and sweet Ms. Addie has surely made an impact on each and every one of them. As Principal Rost has said, “Everyone loves Ms. Addie.” Anyone who has ever spoken to her knows she will do anything she can to help an individual.

“She has proven that dedication and hard work can reap so many benefits,” adds Mrs. Rost, “She will be sorely missed.”

Since her first day as secretary in November of 1965, Ms. Addie has seen three generations of some families pass through this school. She is also the second of her own generation to serve as faculty in Richland following in the steps of both her parents. In all this time, she has never missed a beat; she has taken a moment to learn a little about each and every student and faculty member, making everyone feel welcome.

Student Sloan Adkins is a member of one of these generations.

“She is very dependable and no matter what she is always there. She seems to know just what you need before you even ask her,” Sloan said.

Looking back on these years, she cannot fathom that it is coming to an end so soon.

“The time has gone by so quickly. There have been so many memories and this school will always be in my heart. Each and every one of [the] kids will always be in my heart,” says Addie. “It is just like a family here.”

In recognition of her hard work, faculty members decided to hold an assembly to give thanks from the entire school. Grades K-12 filled the west-side bleachers and chanted, “Addie! Addie!” as Mr. Calvin led Ms. Addie down the hallway, to what she thought was an issue with the graduation set-up.

“They pulled one over on me this time! I honestly never had an inkling this was going on. It was a total surprise, it was wonderful,” Ms. Addie said. Nothing ever slips by her, but somehow the entire school managed to keep quiet about the event and she was in total shock.

“This is the one time!” adds Addie.

During the ceremony, Mrs. Rost, Superintendent Mr. Kiehne, and math teacher, Mr. Gisi shared a few words about their time with her at Richland. Mr. Gisi attended high school with Ms. Addie as a Grayridge Panther (before the merge of Essex and Grayridge). He shared a few of their good times together and reminded everyone of her kind and loving heart. Although he was sure to include he isn’t much of a speech-giver, he had the entire crowd’s eyes a little watery.

The entire faculty pitched in to get a present for her to present during the assembly; a large flat-screen television. They believed it would come in handy during the relaxing retirement life.

Ms. Addie is not yet sure what to do after the “big R”, but she is sure of one thing.

“I will visit people I know who are sick and in need. I want to help anyone whom is in need; because one day I may need help myself,” says Addie.

She has once mentioned returning to her former night job at the Call of the Wild. Her humor has always added light in Richland Schools.

Photo Above: Addie Rasche (right) is retiring this summer after serving at Richland Schools for 45 years. With Miss Addie is Norma Corlew, who organized a recent tribute to Miss Addie at the school. (Photo by SMT Reader and Richland Librarian Karen Lane ... Thanks, Karen!) Editor's Note: Richland High School's Journalism Class produces the Rebel Yeller an online high school newspaper.

What do you do with the multiple choice of phone book options we have in our regional area? Dial back 20 years and many people would say "I can't live without my telephone directory". But times have certainly changed.

Then if you turn the dial back only 10 years, a change began to take place as more an more people began to move to the Internet for their "lookup service". So, maybe you would put a phone book in your car or keep one handy for the "Just In Case" scenario.

Now we have the advent of smart phones, address books and the further expansion of lookup service through Google and other sites on the Internet, the phone book has continued to become less and less valuable. As a society, we no longer are letting our fingers do the walking.

Recently, the latest edition of the local Yellow Pages arrived at our office and a team member promptly began to distribute these throughout the office. The "Just In Case" Crowd tucked them nicely into a desk drawer. I immediately put it in the recycle bin. I can't remember the last time I looked up anything using the Yellow Pages.

A recent study showed that nearly 70% of adults in the United States "rarely or never" use the phone book, and instead opt to use Web-based search tools. These tools are somewhat generational, but are infinitely becoming more convenient, efficient and common in our daily lives.

Fortunately, there is now a way for businesses and individuals to opt out of receiving paper-based phone books, using a new website - the National Yellow Pages Consumer Choice & Opt Out Site.

The new opt-out site was created by Yellow Pages Association, the trade organization that represents the publishers of phone books in the United States, signaling an acknowledgement that printing and distributing paper phone books to every household is no longer a good practice.

To opt out of receiving the phone book on your door, go to www.yellowpagesoptout.com and register. The registration process requires you to enter your address and phone number, but a note on the page promises that this information won't be used for any purpose other than to opt out.

Once registered, you'll receive an email with your auto-generated password, which you can then use to login to the site. From there, you can select which phone books you would like to receive (wishful thinking on their part?) or click the gray "Opt Out of All" button in the lower left and then click "Save Changes." After opting out, you'll get a confirmation email listing which phone books you'll be receiving moving forward, if any.

If you don't use phone books, opt out today -- and help save a few trees.

National Yellow Pages

Consumer Choice & Opt Out Site

http://www.yellowpagesoptout.com

This article contains exerts from Steve Anderson's TechTips. (http://steveanderson.com/)

A SMT News Report

A very special concert will be held Sunday, May 29 honoring retiring Dexter music educator MaryRuth Boone.

The concert will feature a choir of more than 140 alumni from Boone’s 30 years as choir director at Dexter High School. The alumni will gather during the weekend for a reunion and tribute to Boone. The concert will be at 4 p.m., at the First Baptist Church in Dexter. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

A reception will follow the concert honoring Boone and her family.

For nearly 30 years there has been friendship, fun times, achievements, and dedication within the Dexter High School Choirs. And now, as she prepares to step down and retire, MaryRuth Boone’s students have something they would like to say to the DHS choral music director: Thank you.

The Choir Reunion weekend is a time for former and current Dexter High School choir students to gather back together to pay tribute to their former choir director and to do that thing that she taught them – to sing!

DHS Choir alumnus Eric Mathis is spearheading this effort along with a committee of individuals in the community. According to Mathis, the weekend’s focus will bAlumni Choir concert – a large multi-generational chorus of Boone’s students.

“Given the decline of music and arts education programs in public schools systems across the country, Dexter is fortunate to have a music educator like Mrs. Boone who has maintained a choral program in the junior and senior high schools for 30 years,” Mathis said. “We need to celebrate this tradition. This is an event that no one will want to miss!”

Planning Committee member Mark Snider said the weekend is, of course, no longer a complete surprise for Boone.

“MaryRuth has asked that she be able to ‘relax and enjoy’ the weekend, so the musical leadership for this event is falling in the hands of the next generation,” Snider said. “Eric Mathis will be directing the mass choir during the concert, and Delisa Stites has agreed to accompany the choir on the piano. This is going to truly be a time for everyone to sit back and enjoy the musical tradition MaryRuth has established in our community.”

Mathis and the planning committee announced plans for the weekend prior to the Christmas holiday on Facebook, the Internet social networking site. A special website was created early this year. Alumni who have not registered or who want additional information may go to the event’s website at www.dexterchoir.com.

Community planning committee members include Mathis, Laveda Banken, Julie Lancaster. Melisa Mayo, Lisa Mathis, Annabeth Miller, Brandy Mouser, Toni Pyle, Patti Shell and Mark Snider.

Photo Above: A special concert honoring retiring Dexter choir teacher MaryRuth Boone will be held at 4 p.m., Sunday, May 29 at the Dexter First Baptist Church. Boone (left) chats with evening planning committee chair and DHS Choir alumnus Eric Mathis. (SMT photo by Annabeth Miller)

It's time to celebrate! Celebrate spring, the end of the school year, the beginning of summer! Celebrate! And to make the celebration complete, the Miller Family Amusements will be offering thrills and fun this Thursday through Saturday. Rides and booths are ready for kids of all ages in the East City Park. The gates will open Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 5:30 p.m.(SMT Photo by Annabeth Miller)

A SMT News Report

A special prayer service is being planned to remember in the Dexter community to pray for the victims and survivors, and to seek comfort and guidance following the devastating tornado in Joplin and Southwest Missouri.

The members of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are planning a an "Ecumenical Prayer Service For Recent Disaster" at 6 p.m., Wednesday, May 25 at the church on Stoddard Street in Downtown Dexter.

The service will include songs of faith, readings from the Bible, and prayer. The evening’s prayer service will include three parts – prayer of confession, prayer of need and prayer of commitment.

Church members participating and helping to lead this special service include Lisa Thrower, Nona Robinson, Bill Boesen, Tommy Horton, Kellie Reese, and Jim Putnam. Hymns will include “Amazing Grace,” “O God Our Help In Ages Past,” and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”

The community is invited to join the First Christian Church family for this special service as they remember and pray for the victims and survivors of this week’s tragic storms in the state.