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It’s hard to beat a combination of great food and a great cause. The American Legion BBQ Cook-Off in Sikeston scheduled for May 30 promises to be just that. Jimmy Cantrell, one of the organizers of the event, notes this is the third year for the competition, and it will be held rain or shine. “This event has just grown bigger every year,” said Cantrell. Part of the reason for the growth is the BBQ, but a big part of the reason is the cause. The entire weekend of events raises money for the Bloomfield, MO Veterans Cemetery. “A lot of people have the misconception that the cemetery is funded 100 percent by federal and state funds,” explained Cantrell. “That

“You’re going to have to find a job, or get married,” he said in a firm, but kind voice. That was her father’s advice upon learning she wanted to major in art at Ole Miss. Yes, admits artist Melanie Dame Withrow, life is not easy for an artist. She’s wrestled with that desire to create art her whole life. Art can be an addiction. Art supplies are expensive, but the pull of the desire to create is like nothing else. How did she get here? She often asks herself the same question. “I wasn’t born with a silver paintbrush in my hand. That’s for sure,” said Withrow. “And I wasn’t reared with fine art all around me. But I was

There was a time when 4-H Club was a “country kids” club. As a matter of fact, there was a time when the whole country was divided basically into two classes of people: town and city folk, and country folk. That’s no longer the case with society, and it certainly is no longer the case with 4-H. “The organization has really changed a lot,” explained Monie Jackson Bremer, who has been a leader of the Star Banner 4-H of Dexter for 16 years. “It’s no longer just about farming and farm animals.” Now the organization has become more urban, to fit the changing demographics of rural and urban America. “Now we also teach kids about entrepreneurship, and technology. We even

May 16 is the date for the biggest fishing event of the year, as far as I am concerned. That is the date of the annual Southeast Missouri Sportsmen’s Association’s Fish and Fun Day. This is the big event of the year for the association. The SEMO organization is the second oldest conservation organization in the state of Missouri. This organization started more than 70 years ago by a few men who felt that the area needed an organization devoted to the conservation efforts for the region. I believe that John McMullin senior was the first president and the annual membership dues was set at $1 per year. The fee was used for conservation efforts such as planting food plots

Three Rivers College is reducing the cost for many veterans and their family members to attend the college. The college’s Board of Trustees recently approved altering the college’s tuition policy to charge “in-district” tuition to all veterans, their spouses and children. “Our veterans and their families have been willing to make unfathomable sacrifices for our country, and it’s only right that we do our best to support them when they return home,” said Dr. Wesley Payne, President of Three Rivers College. “This new program will ensure that all of our region’s veterans will have the most affordable access to higher education that we can give them.” “In-district” tuition is the lower rate charged to residents of the college’s four-county taxing