Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri – Due to inclement weather in the state of Missouri, many cities have rescheduled the statewide tornado drill for Thursday, March 7th at 1:30 p.m. However, the Alert did broadcast throughout the state as planned.
There were some cities who could not activate their Outdoor Warning Sirens as the temperature was at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This cold weather could damage the sirens. Illinois decided to postpone their statewide drill until Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m. due to the snow storms in their region.
Many area schools also postponed their drill, including Dexter Public Schools. The City of Dexter will also activate their sirens on Thursday. The weather just did not cooperate with us today. We will try again on Thursday.
Missouri’s www.stormaware.mo.gov website includes detailed videos showing how to take shelter in specific types of buildings, houses with and without basements, mobile homes, schools and important information about tornado sirens and weather alert radios. This site also includes links to free severe weather texting services that can alert people across Missouri to upcoming severe weather.
The National Weather Service provides safety tips and educational information about each day of Severe Weather Awareness Week on the St. Louis Forecast Office site: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=severeweek.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri – It doesn’t seem like it’s that time of the year already, but it’s time to set our clocks forward, time to start preparing our Springtime activities and it’s time to test area tornado sirens and have drills in our schools and businesses.
Missouri will conduct the 39th annual Statewide Tornado Drill on Tuesday, March 5th at 1:30 p.m. However if severe weather is in the forecast, the drill will be moved to Thursday, March 7th at 1:30 p.m.
The National Weather Service, the State Emergency Management Agency and Missouri’s local emergency management offices urge Missourians to use Missouri Severe Weather Awareness Week, March 4th – 8th, as an opportunity to plan and prepare for how they will react and shelter in response to severe weather.
“Severe Weather Awareness Week is a perfect opportunity for school, families and businesses to revisit what they will do if severe weather hits while at school, home or work,” said State Emergency Management Agency Director Donald L. King. “As we all know, tornadoes are a common threat across Missouri, and advance planning and preparation for what you will do when a warning is issued are essential to reacting quickly and sheltering properly.”
On Tuesday, the Missouri outdoor sirens and weather alert radios will sound; indicating Missourians should seek shelter during the statewide tornado drill.
The Dexter Public School System and the City of Dexter will be participating in the Statewide Tornado Drill.
The City of Dexter’s Outdoor Warning System test will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 5th and a second test will be at 7:00 p.m.
The outdoor warning system test will use the “Westminster Chimes” sound during the test. After the test, an all-clear message will be sent.
Missouri’s Stormaware.mo.gov website includes detailed videos showing how to take shelter in specific types of buildings, houses with and without basements, mobile homes, schools and important information about tornado sirens and weather alert radios. This site also includes links to free severe weather texting services that can alert people across Missouri to upcoming severe weather.
The National Weather Service provides safety tips and educational information about each day of Severe Weather Awareness Week on the St. Louis Forecast Office site: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=severeweek.
Monday is “Preparedness Day”
Tuesday is “Tornado Safety Day”
Wednesday is “Flash Flood Safety Day”
Thursday is “Severe Thunderstorm Day”
Friday is “NOAA Weather Radio Day”
Tornado Myth: “Opening the windows in your home before a tornado will reduce damage by balancing the pressure inside and outside the structure.”
FALSE! Homes are damaged and destroyed by the extremely strong winds in a tornado, not pressure.
Tornado Myth: “Tornadoes never strike the same area twice.”
FALSE! Tornadoes can strike any area at any time, regardless of past history. For instance, Cordell, Kansas was hit by tornadoes on the same day, May 20th, three years in a row. Also, three different tornadoes hit the same church in Guy, Arkansas on the same day.
There's no time like the present to get prepared and with this week being Severe Weather Awareness Week, there is a lot of information out there on the internet. Stay safe!
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri – VFW Post 2659 is having a Membership Drive during the month of March and would like you to join!
“Any new member that joins during March 2013 will get their membership dues and fees paid,” commented Steve Rahm, Commander of the Dexter VFW Post 2659. “After that membership dues are $25.00.”
Currently there are 63 members from the Dexter area, including folks from Puxico, Bloomfield and Bernie.
They take pride in their organization and their eligibility qualifications. There are three primary requirements to join the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. One is you must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national, second you must have had honorable service in the Armed forces of the United States and third you must have had service entitling you to the award of a recognized campaign medal or as set forth in the Congressional Charter and By-Laws and Manual of Procedure and Ritual. This means if you have received a campaign medal for overseas service; have served 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days in Korea; or have ever received hostile fire or imminent danger pay, then you are eligible to join.
Why should you join the VFW? There are so many businesses across this great country of ours that support and appreciate your service. They have teamed up with the VFW to offer wonderful family discounted pricing on many services and it’s their way of saying “thank you for what you have done to protect our freedom.”
There are scholarships, travel discounts, financial services, real estate services, insurance programs, health care services, prescription discount cards, computer assistance and even identity theft protection assistance.
You can get an application card from the Commander, Steve Rahm or Senior Vice Commander, Jim Bland. You may also contact Jack Mathis at 573-624-2936.
The Dexter VFW Post 2659 meets the fourth Thursday of each month and their next meeting is March 28th at 6:00 p.m. They are located on Highway 25 North next to the Eagles Lodge.
You may also go to their website, www.vfw.org and learn more about how “Veterans Are Serving Veterans” all over the state of Missouri. Once you are a member you will receive the latest news about veterans, a membership car, and you can become a Life Member or even a Legacy Life Member.
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri - Chrisman Tire would like to announce an Open House on Tuesday, March 5th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
They will have discounts on tires and services. There will also be drawings on the hour, but you have to be there to win!
You might even win a free set of Toyo Extenzas. These tires provide all-season handling and extended tread life for a wide range of passenger cars and minivans. So don't forget to register while you are there.
Chrisman Tire is located at 301 W. Business US Highway 60. For more information about their open house or services, call 624-7446.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri – You were introduced to little Drew Albritton in a previous ShowMe Times article called, “Voice of Praise Evening of Music for Drew" and what a wonderful event this turned out to be.
Drew is a three year old little boy who has to undergo his next procedure, a stem cell transplant. Hopefully this will be the next step towards being cancer-free. His parent, Elizabeth and Mike, are so very grateful to the Dexter community for all that they have done, for each and every prayer, for all the love and support that has been sent their way. They cannot express their gratitude enough.
This Saturday, March 2nd, there will be a Used Book Sale and Bake Sale at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church fellowship hall from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
If you would like to contribute, Amy Moon is the “Gal in Charge” and she is asking for any used books, magazines, DVDs, and CDs to be donated by Friday afternoon and you can bring them to the Corner Cottage in Dexter.
The items will be sold extremely reasonable and there will also be a yummy bake sale.
As a specialty item, they have a whole truckload of brand new Williams-Sonoma cookbooks called “Holiday Favorites” for just $5 each. These normally retail for $24.95 and everyone could use another good cookbook. What a great idea for a stocking stuffer for Christmas this year.
There will be a limited number of Drew bracelets available for sale as well.
Three great door prizes will be offered and there will also be a quilt raffle. What a great way to raise some money for a wonderful little boy.
Elizabeth Carroll Albritton, originally from Dexter (Class of ’97) and her husband, Mike, also have a new baby girl that's about three months old. Mike is gonna have his hands full with her while mom is with Drew in isolation.
Drew was unfortunately diagnosed with ganglioneuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer in children. He has already undergone several rounds of chemotherapy, and he had a surgery in which the doctors were able to move about 90% of the tumor that is attached to his spine. This latest treatment, a stem cell transplant, will help Drew to re-grow bone marrow. Drew and his mother, Elizabeth will be in isolation for about a month following the procedure.
This is an awful lot for such a little boy to have to endure at such a young age. Please stop by and find a bargain book and a yummy treat and offer your kindness to a family that surely could use the support and your prayers.
A mother can never imagine having to go through something like this with her child, but with support, prayers, friends and family, a mother's spirit can be uplifted.
Here is an excerpt from Elizabeth's Albritton's Facebook page from today as so many folks want to know how little Drew is doing. Elizabeth writes, "I've gotten so many text messages about Drew today, I thought I'd just update on Facebook. I can't get back to each and every person, there have been so many, but I know you are thinking about Drew."
"We admitted to the bone marrow transplant unit this afternoon. We spent a long period of time sanitizing everything we brought. Food and my clothes must be kept outside his room. His clothes and toys can be in his room with rules. His clothes had to be packed in ziploc bags by outfit after they were washed in hot water and dried for a long period of time."
"I cannot use his bathroom at all so I have to go down the hall. A lot of people have sent well wishes for a surgery. It's actually not that kind of transplant. He will get two high dose chemo drugs over the next 5 days that will be so potent it will kill all of his bone marrow in an attempt to kill any rogue cancer cells. In order to restart its functioning, he needs a "transplant" of his own stem cells. His stem cells were harvested back in September and have been frozen ever since"
"On Tuesday, after all of his chemo is done, they will thaw his stem cells and push them through his central line. It's just a small syringe of what looks like blood. It will take just a second to push it through his line and it is done. After that, it's just a matter of waiting for his counts to recover and the cells to en-graft and start working again. It could take a few days or several and during that time he has absolutely no immune system, that is the dangerous part."
"That is why he is in isolation and can't leave his room. His biggest enemy is his own body as he has nothing to keep his natural bacteria at bay. He will take a lot of antibiotics and other things to try to prevent an infection as the slightest thing could become life-threatening."
"That's the short explanation of his transplant! Keep him in your thoughts and prayers as it will be very difficult for him over the next couple of weeks as the chemo makes him feel bad. He is doing well now, watching movies and relaxing! Thanks for all the well-wishes!"
Our thoughts and prayers to the Albritton family. We wish Drew a safe and quick recovery. Everyone will be praying for your family!
