Special needs children in Tanya Reiker’s Southwest Elementary School classroom will soon receive the playground equipment they need to safely have fun during the school day.

“The grant is through the Pepsi Refresh Project; they have set aside millions of dollars for ideas with categories for art, education, etc.,” Reiker commented. “The way they set it up, they had May, June and July winners. We submitted the idea in the first part of may; then they tell you if you’re one of the roughly 1000 chosen to be able to be voted on.”


“In the $10,000 category, the top 15 vote getters get the grant,” Reiker added. “All we had to do was finish in the top 15. We haven’t received any official notification yet, but we should have that by July 23.”

Reiker and fellow teacher Peggy Potts‘ idea was simple: to have a playground built for the special needs children that they interact with on a daily basis. Traditional playground equipment is not designed - and therefore unsafe - for children with physical handicaps.


Reiker said part of the reason for the project is the enormous cost of playground equipment for children with special needs - federal, state and district funds would not cover the total cost of such a project. The Southwest program did receive a federal grant to help get the playground process started – first by removing pea gravel in the area and then resurfacing the playground.

“There’s an adaptive swing that we’ve always wanted that is $4,000,” she pointed out. “But all we could do with this federal grant money was resurface the area.”


Reiker noted that the outstanding support her ‘idea‘ received from the community was key in earning the grant.


“The big thing was that we found out that the ‘power voting’ was key. If you went in [to the website] and voted you got one vote,” Reiker explained. “If you had the ‘power voting’ code that came with Pepsi products, it would be anywhere from five to 100 votes, and that was the trick. Once we figured that out, we started doing whatever we could to find those lids!”

Reiker also pointed out support from Dexter Parks & Recreation and the Rib City Shootout basketball tournament.


“DPR let us put out displays at all their facilities - Amy Ellinghouse pestered people down at the little league games to get votes,” Reiker continued. “Chad Allen let us advertise at the Rib City Shootout. You could even text in votes - the high school cheerleading coaches made the girls line up at practice and text in their votes for us!”


After a long journey, with voting ending June 30, Reiker pointed out a few bumps in the road.


“Wednesday we were in seventh place,” Reiker said. “When we woke up Thursday, we were in twelfth. At one point yesterday, we were in 17th. It had just been back and forth like that, but we finished twelfth.”

“Thank you to everybody. To me, it was incredible to see people take this so seriously and get behind this,” Reiker said. “People throughout the community were great - so many people were so supportive, and this wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

A number of local piano and voice students were presented with trophies for accomplishment in music study. The private piano and voice students of MaryRuth Boone were presented in recital Sunday, June 26. Eight students were recognized for reaching milestones in the National Federation of Music Clubs music festival program. Students receiving trophies included (from left) Joe Foster, first cup in Music Theater; Claire Parker, first trophy in Piano Solo; Emily Johns, first trophies in Music Theater and Piano Solo; Lean Noyes, fourth cup in Piano Solo; Brooks Probst, first cups in Music Theater and Junior Concerto; and (in back) Malinda Mayo, third cup in Piano Solo. Not present due to participation in summer music programs were Jessica Lesley, first up in Vocal Solo, and Lauren White, first cup in Piano Solo. (SMT photo by Annabeth Miller)

By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

They traveled to Africa and China and Australia and all sorts of places in between, and they never left the floor in the Community Room at Keller Public Library.

Near 90 children participated this week in the library's summer reading program. With Rita LeBeau as the tour guide and a crew of young men and women and a team of guest readers as guides, the children traveled around the world with stories, songs and dances.

The summer reading program's theme is "One World, Many Stories" and the program was third in this summer's series.

"We have really had a great crowd each week," said Keller Library Director Pam Trammell. And Trammell said great adventures lie ahead for the youngsters.

This next Wednesday, July 6, is Craft Day for the children. There will be a number of different tables with crafts and projects. The most popular Trammell said will most like be the the Ice Cream Sundae table, where kids will work on a "craft project" and build their own ice cream treat.

On July 13 the crew will "travel" to Italy and hear stories, songs and dances from that nation. And to top it off, the children will celebrate with a pizza party!

The Story Hour programs on July 6 and 13 will be from 11 a.m. until 12 noon.

On the final week of the annual summer program, the youngster will get to meet first hand animals from six continents, Trammell said. A special animal program will highlight the final week. This special program will begin at 10 a.m.

The summer reading program for kids is an annual program for the Keller Public Library in Dexter. The Friends of the Library organization underwrites the cost, and all activities are free to all children.

: Photo Above: The Rev. Dr. Larry Colvin reads a story from Africa to the children at Keller Library's Story Hour. (SMT photo by Annabeth Miller)

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Amy Ellinghouse went "dumpster diving" Monday evening for a good cause! Amy was rounding up special yellow caps from Pepsi products in order to collect codes to redeem on behalf of a Dexter project in the Pepsi Refresh Project. Southwest Elementary teachers Tania Reiker and Peggy Potts submitted a grant proposal to build a playground at the school for special needs youngsters. The project is in line to receive a $10,000 grant from Pepsi --- if it remains in the top 15 projects in the program. As of 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, the Dexter project was ranked #7 in the nation! Containers to collect yellow Pepsi caps are at the DPR Sports Complex, the Dexter Aquatic Center and other locations throughout town. The deadline for entering codes at the special Pepsi website is 11:59 p.m., Thursday, June 30. (SMT photo by Annabeth Miller)

By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

In Philadelphia, during the summer of 1776, Thomas Jefferson and four other delegates to the Second Continental Congress drafted and presented to the Congress America’s Declaration of Independence. As June turned into July, the Congress debated, voted upon and finally published what we today know as the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Americans are busy this week, preparing to celebrate the birthday of our nation. Barbecues, picnics, games, and of course fireworks are planned from “sea to shining sea” this weekend.

Celebration in Dexter

In Dexter, the city’s fireworks display will be the evening of Sunday, July 3. The fireworks display will begin after dusk (roughly 8:30 p.m.) in the East City Park. The fireworks display is being held on Sunday evening since most people will be returning to work on the morning of July 5.

Dexter City Administrator Mark Stidham said the fields at the Dexter Sports Complex will be roped off by the Fire Department for the event’s staging. A fire truck will be on hand as a safety precaution, Stidham said. The event is free and open to the public.

The City of Dexter has set July 3-4 for residents to shoot their personal fireworks. By ordinance, the shooting of fireworks is limited to just July 4, but was amended this year to include July 3 because of the city fireworks display, Stidham said. He urged residents to use caution and good sense when shooting fireworks.

‘Water is fine’ for holiday at Wappapello

The Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Wappappello is assuring families prior to the holiday that the “water is fine" at the regional lake. Contrary to some recent information, the water quality at the lake meets all health standards.

“Our waters are fine,” stated Operations Manager Cindy Jackson. “We tested the water to ensure its quality before opening any of our beaches.”

Jackson reports the water at Wappapello Lake is tested regularly regarding its quality, as the safety of visitors is of utmost importance. Rumors spread “like wildfire” this past weekend that Wappapello Lake was contaminated, which is simply not true, Jackson said.

“Your safety is our concern, a mandate we do not take lightly,” she said. “We invite everyone to celebrate Independence Day activities at Wappapello Lake on July 2 which includes Waterfest, magic shows and fireworks. Remember safety this holiday weekend, so buckle up. Life jackets and seat belts save lives.”

Gasoline Up, Travel Down

According to AAA, 39 million Americans are planning to travel this holiday weekend. While that is a lot of travelers, it’s down 2.5 percent from last year. Why? No surprise. It’s because of the high price of gasoline, which is up almost 33 percent from a year ago.

AAA reports the national average of regular unleaded is currently at $3.57 a gallon and $3.93 for a gallon of diesel. That is about a quarter a gallon savings from a month ago, though still up about $.80 from last year.

Local prices have also dropped in recent days, with the price hovering at $3.30 a gallon for regular unleaded. Last year at this time, gas was under $3.00 for regular unleaded.

Overall, 44 percent of travelers say rising gas prices will affect their travel plans, causing them to travel shorter distances, 'penny-pinch' in other ways or find alternative modes of transportation.

Even with the dropping prices, AAA predicts a million fewer people will travel for the Fourth of July weekend.