Memphis Democrat Newspaper

After seven years with the Scotland County R-I football program Troy Carper is ascending to the head coaching job to lead the Tigers in the 2017 season.

Carper, a special education instructor at SCR-I High School, has moved into the head post after serving the past two years as the team’s defensive coordinator.

“I’ve worked in just about every possible football coaching capacity since I started here,” said Carper. “I coached at the junior high and junior varsity levels as well as the past two years with the varsity program and it all has been great experience.”

The Tigers’ new leader came to the program from his hometown of Palmyra, where he was an all-state offensive lineman for the Panthers before moving on to play at Culver-Stockton College.

Former Coach Mikel Gragg took the head coaching job at California, to move back closer to his home.

Carper will take over a Tigers team that is coming off back-to-back winning seasons, but one with plenty of holes to fill after graduating a talented senior class.

“There are some big shoes to fill for sure, but we have some really talented players returning that should make this a fun season,” he said. “If we can stay healthy I think we’ll be a lot of fun to watch.”

Carper feels a special bond with his senior class, which he coached to an undefeated season as the head junior high coach.

Fans will get their first look as the Tigers this Friday in a pre-season jamboree at Monroe City where SCR-I will play a series of offense and defense versus the Panthers, as well as Schuyler County and Van Far. The action kicks off at 6 p.m.

After riding the talented class of 2017 to back-to-back winning seasons, the Scotland County football program has big shoes, or in this case sets of cleats, to fill heading into the 2017 season. That is not to say that the Tigers don’t have their fair share of talent returning, making a third straight winning season a distinct possibility.

If the Tigers can reach the goal, it will guarantee Coach Troy Carper will have a career mark over .500. Carper enters his first year at the helm of the SCR-I program with his work cut out for him. The first-year head coach will have to replace two all-state stalwarts from his top performing defense a season ago.

As defensive coordinator of last year’s 7-4 squad, Carper witnessed standout performances from defensive back Ryan Slaughter and linebacker Aaron Blessing. The Missouri Football Coaches Association named Slaughter First Team All State after he led the team with 109 tackles and added two interceptions. Blessing earned second taem all-state accolades, finishing second on the squad with 104 tackles.

“Obviously those two are going to be difficult to replace,” said Carper.  “We graduated a very talented class of kids. I’m not sure everyone totally grasps how special that group was.”

But Carper said he has had a talented group of athletes in camp ready to fill those voids.

“We have some really good players, some of them who may have been stuck behind that Class of 2017, who are now going to get a shot to shine,” said Carper.

The problem is, that while the kids who are now stepping up, provided necessary depth in previous seasons, the 2017 Tigers don’t currently have that kind of depth.

“Numbers are going to be an issue,” said Carper. “I like what we are putting on the field, but we are going to have to stay healthy. Our roster is small but it’s dedicated.”

While the new coach says that there are definitely some kids walking the hallways at SCR-I that would have helped the program, he couldn’t be more pleased with the dedication demonstrated by the band of players who have been there since day one.

“Several of the kids came to me and said they wanted to play both offense and defense and that they didn’t want to come out of the game,” said Carper.

The coach explained to the players that his first job was to keep them safe and healthy, and in order to do that, they were going to have to demonstrate a state of conditioning that would allow him to be comfortable to play them more.

“It started right away,” Carper said. “Those kids stayed after practice for voluntary extra conditioning. Then I see them out running around town. Not driving around hanging out, but really running to get into even better shape.”

It’s that type of dedication that has lent itself to hope the Tigers can continue their recent winning ways and maybe even get back to the district title game to erase the sour taste of last year’s 44-42 defeat to Mark Twain.

Quarterback Will Fromm said that loss, which came down to a failed last-second two-point conversion, after a big comeback by SCR-I, is serving as motivation for the current squad.

The junior will take over as the team’s primary signal caller, after seeing time last year at both quarterback and receiver. Fromm completed 43 of 77 passes for 554 yards and seven TDs.

SCR-I’s receiving corps is going to have to develop some new threats after graduating the top three threats. Slaughter led the squad with 24 catches for 432 yards and six TDs. Also gone are Ian See and his 14 grabs for 203 yards, and Aaron Buford, who caught 11 passes for 187 yards and two scores.

Gage Dodge will be the top returning receiver. The senior was third on the team with 12 receptions for 133 yards.

Carper is expecting Brett Monroe and Jace Morrow to step up. Both saw limited time a season ago when Monroe caught five passes for 50 yards and a TD while Morrow had two grabs for 24 yards and a TD. Matthew Woods will also factor into the rotation.

“They are going to be a key to our success,” said Carper. We’re going to have to catch the ball.”

Carper said he hopes to have a balanced attack, passing as much as 50% of the time, with a lot of motion out the pistol sets to move the defensive ends and linebackers around into coverage to try and open up some running lanes.

A veteran offensive line will also play a big part in the team’s success. Starters Stephen Terrill, Bryson Orton and Mason Kliethermes return to anchor the squad, which gelled last year after losing starting center Will Pickerell for the year with a pre-season knee injury. After staring on the defensive line last year, Grant McRobert will move into a starting role on the offensive line as well. Dylan Karch played at various spots on the line a season ago and will take over as a starter in 2017 to replace Blessing.

The rushing attack will have a new look as top rushers Buford and Austin Day have graduated, taking with them a combined 1,450 yards and 18 TDs.

Jayden Payne has been tabbed the starting tailback after being forced into duty in last year’s playoffs due to injuries. He carried the ball 12 times for 57 yards and scored two TDs in the playoffs.

Dodge ran the ball 39 times a year ago for 168 yards and two TDs while Fromm ran the ball 70 times for 273 yards and two TDs.

On the other side of the ball, Terrill will return at defensive end where he amassed 83 tackles as well as three quarterback sacks. Orton is back as the run stopper up the middle where he anchored the defensive line from his tackle spot. McRobert and Karsh will round out the front four in Carper’s base 4-3 defense.

While Blessing’s departure leaves a hole at middle linebacker, Carper said he likes what he has seen thus far in practice from Payne who will slide into that spot, leaving Kliethermes at the outside backer spot where he made 72 tackles a year ago. Luke Triplett and Branton Burrus are battling for the other starting spot.

The defensive backfield is going to be another key to the Tigers’ 2017 outcomes. Carper has to replace all-starter Slaughter as well as Buford and Griffin Kerkmann, Dodge is the lone starter returning.

“The secondary is going to be crucial,” said Carper. “We have a lot of new faces back there, and they are just going to need to get more and more reps to help them identify and make the right reads.”

Monroe and Woods are in the mix with Parker Triplett at the cornerback slot opposite of Dodge, who also could see time at one of the safety spots. Fromm likely will start at one of the safety positions, with Morrow and Kayden Anders also expected to see time there.

Carper said in addition to Anders, fellow freshman Preston Sanchez has been impressive in early workouts, as has newcomer Conner Harrison, as the team works to develop the next wave of talent.

SCR-I will open the season Friday night at home versus Marceline in a Lewis & Clark Conference matchup. The visiting Tigers made it to the second round of the state playoffs a year ago, posting a 12-2 record with a conference title and a perfect 8-0 mark in league play in 2016.

On Monday, August 21st, the state of Missouri will get to experience something the Show-Me State hasn’t seen in nearly a century and a half, a solar eclipse.

Scotland County lies just outside the approximately 70-mile swath the total eclipse will travel across Missouri, entering the state near St. Joseph, crossing Columbia and Jefferson City before hitting Farmington and Cape Girardeau as the phenomenon travels west to east across the United States.

NASA predicts the lunar shadows will start in Oregon at 9:05 a.m. PDT before it exits the U.S. in South Carolina after 4 p.m. EDT. In the middle, Hopkinsville, KE will view the greatest eclipse, at the point where the sun, moon and earth line up the most precisely.

According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, this will be the first time since August 7, 1869 (148 years ago) a total solar eclipse will be witnessed in Missouri, and that one only crossed the northeast corner of the state.

The last total eclipse in the United States was viewed February 26, 1979, with the last total eclipse to cross the entire U.S. dating back to June 8, 1918, according to NASA.

“This is the first eclipse in almost 100 years that’s covering the entire country and that’s going to be a game changer for eclipse science – both for studying the sun and what’s happening here on Earth,” said Alex Young, Solar Scientist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

The national space agency explains that a total solar eclipse happens when the sun, moon and Earth are perfectly aligned, so that the moon blocks all the sun’s light to part of Earth’s surface.

“Total solar eclipses are only possible on Earth because of a celestial coincidence: The moon and the sun both appear to be about the same size from our vantage point on the ground,” explains the NASA press kit. “The sun is about 400 times wider than the moon, but it is also about 400 times farther away. That geometry means that when they line up just right, the moon blocks the sun’s entire surface, creating a total solar eclipse.”

The geometry plays out even further through the two concentric cones that form the moon’s shadow as it passes between the Earth and the sun.

The penumbra is the moon’s faint outer shadow. Observers in the penumbra experience a partial solar eclipse, because the sun is only partially blocked by the moon from their perspective.

The umbra is the moon’s dark inner shadow. Observers in the umbra see a total solar eclipse. The path of the umbra across Earth’s surface, called the path of totality, usually stretches for about 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers), though it is only about 70 miles (113 kilometers) wide.

It is within this umbra where a total eclipse can be observed. While Scotland County falls just outside the umbra’s path, NASA predicts that Memphis and the surrounding towns in adjoining counties will experience up to 97% obstruction of the sun, beginning around 11:45 a.m. and lasting until after 2:30 p.m. with the highest level of obstruction expected to occur between 1:10 – 1:15 p.m.

“The hair on the back of your neck is going to stand up and you are going to feel different things as the eclipse reaches totality,” said Brian Carlstrom, Deputy Associate Director of the National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate. “It’s been described as peaceful, spiritual, exhilarating, shocking. If you’re feeling these things, don’t worry, you’re experiencing the total eclipse of the sun!”

But it won’t last for long, considering the umbra will be traveling some 3,000 mph when it hits Oregon before steadily slowing down as it crosses the U.S. with an exit speed of 1,500 mph in South Carolina.

Experts estimate that more than 12 million Americans live in the path of the eclipse, but are expecting much more people to travel to the region to view the rare occasion. Missouri officials are expecting an influx of more than 1 million tourists for the event and the Missouri Department of Transportation is advising motorists to expect heavy traffic. That number may be even larger than anticipated considering the fact experiencing a solar eclipse where you live happens once every 375 years according to NASA experts.

“This will be like Woodstock 200 times over—but across the whole country.” said Young.

Viewing Safety

The only safe way to look directly at an uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special purpose solar filters, such as eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are NOT safe for looking at the sun. It is safe to look at a total eclipse with your naked eyes, ONLY during the brief period of totality, which will last just a minute or two during the Aug. 21 eclipse.

It is NOT safe to look at the sun through the viewfinder of a camera or an unfiltered telescope. You may, however, safely look at the screen of your smart phone or digital camera focused on the eclipse, though you are unlikely to get a good view.

An alternative method for safe viewing of the partially eclipsed sun is pinhole projection. In this method, you don’t look directly at the sun, but at a projection on a piece of paper or even the ground. For example, cross the outstretched, slightly open fingers of one hand over the outstretched, slightly open fingers of the other. Do not look at your hands, but at the shadow of your hands on the ground. The little spaces between your fingers will project a grid of small images, showing the sun as a crescent during the partial phases of the eclipse. See the appendix for ways of making projectors out of readily available materials such as a cereal box. 3-D printable pinhole projectors of each state available at: https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/3dprintable-pinhole-projectors

Tenderloins and BBQ Chicken and Funnel Cakes…Oh My! The 2017 Scotland County Antique Fair will kick off a five-day festival on Wednesday, August 23rd on the Memphis Square.  The theme for this year’s event is “A Walk Down Memory Lane”.

Everyone is invited to attend the Vesper Service at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday and then stick around for the SCR-1 Tailgate Party at 6:30.  The Country Showdown starts at 7:30 p.m.

All displays will open at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, August 24th and stay open until 8:00 p.m.  Displays will be available Thursday thru Saturday and will feature various church and community group stands along with many others.  The Wiggins Museum will also be open every day, ALL day, where the Pheasant Airplane will be on display. Also on Thursday, guests will be able to walk around and view window displays and visit food stands.  The Downing House Museum will be open from 1-4 p.m.  Quilt entries are from 3-7 p.m.

The Thursday evening line-up starts at 6:00 with the crowning of the Antique Fair King and Queen, Baby Show, crowning of the Prince and Princess, and the opening of the Bingo tent.  At 7:30, NO APOLOGY, from Greentop, MO, will provide music on stage.  The evening raffle drawing of $100 will take place at 10:00 p.m.

The fun continues Friday, August 25th with the Show Me Dog Club at 6:00 p.m. and Tractor and Small Engine Judging at 7:00 p.m.  NO APOLOGY will make an encore appearance on stage at 7:30 p.m. and another $100 raffle drawing will take place at 10:00 p.m.  Additionally, a Quilt Show will be available from 2:00-7:00 p.m. in the Coffrin Building and window display results will be announced at 5:30.

You’ll want to get up early Saturday morning and enjoy the Fireman’s Breakfast at the Memphis Fire Station starting at 6:00 a.m.  The 5K Walk/Run and 1.5 Leisure Walk, sponsored by Scotland County Hospital, starts at 8:00 a.m. on the east side of the square, and the Parade will begin at 10:00 a.m.

The Downing/Boyer Houses, Railroad Depot, Barnett WWI Monument and Original Courthouse will all be available to view and tour from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Kiddies’ Sanction Pedal Tractor Pull will take place at 11:30 a.m. on the east side of the square.

Immediately following the parade, food stands, including Rotary pork chops and chicken, along with vendors and the Wiggins Museum will be open.

The Car Show begins at 12:30 p.m. and a Tractor Poker Run will start at 1:00.  At 3:00, Tractor Games with prizes sponsored by Farm Bureau, and the Bingo tent will open.

Saturday evenings music on the Stage will feature COUNTRY TIME, from Warsaw, IL and will start at 7:30 p.m.  The final raffle drawing will take place at 10:00 p.m. with two $100 winners.  The quilt raffle will also take place at this time.

On the final day of this year’s Antique Fair, Sunday, July 27th, activities will move to the Scotland County Fairgrounds with an Antique Tractor Pull beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Everyone is invited to come out and enjoy a weekend of entertainment, fabulous food, homemade crafts, and a bit of Scotland County history!

The Scotland County R-I Board of Education met on August 10th. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. with five members present.  Trinity Davis and Gary Miller were absent.

Superintendent Ryan Bergeson reported the school district closed out the 2016-17 fiscal year in solid shape.

“We closed the 2016-2017 fiscal year with revenue of $6,829,887.76 and expenditures of $6,497,125.78 for a total surplus of $332,761.98,” he told the board.

The first month into the new year also is off to a good start financially for the district. Year to date, the district has received $233,785.17 in revenue.  Expenditures total $153,677.11 for a current surplus of $80,108.06.

Prior to the meeting, a special public tax rate hearing was held to hear comments on the proposed levy rate for the 2017-18 school year.

The board voted 5-0 to accept the following resolution and to set the school district’s tax rate for the 2017 tax year at $3.5376.

“It is resolved that the Scotland County R-1 School District in consideration of the educational opportunities and expenses for the students, the maintenance and care of facilities, and operational needs of the school district will set the tax rate at 3.5376, the approved State Auditor’s rate for the 17-18 school year.

This tax rate is under the voter approved ceiling of $3.69.

The levy will rise slightly from 2016, when it was set at $3.500. The move is expected to generate $2,427,934 in local tax revenue, up from the $2,158,435 estimated in 2016 under the $3.50 levy rate, an increase of nearly $270,000 in additional revenue for the district.

Consent Agenda

The board voted 5-0 to approve the following items on the Consent Agenda:

*Minutes – from July 18^th and July 25^th meetings

*Updated Sub List

*Assign At-Risk, Migrant/Homeless, ELL and Safety Coordinators – At-Risk- Christina Fulk and Dani Fromm; Migrant/Homeless- Erin Tallman; ELL- Elizabeth Carper; Safety Coordinators- Erin Tallman and Kirk Stott

* Procedural Evaluations –

Elementary Secondary Summer School – Mrs. Tallman

High School Summer School – Mr. Stott

Transportation – Bryan Chance

*Preschool Handbook

*Local Compliance Plan

*Personal Day Request

*MACC Dual Credit Agreement

Career Ladder

The board voted 5-0 to approve the 17-18 Career Ladder Handbook. 

September Meeting

The board voted 5-0 to schedule the September Board Meeting for Wednesday, September 13th, 2017 in the Elementary Art Room.

Open session adjourned at 7:33 p.m.

Executive Session

In closed session the following items were approved:

Closed session minutes, July 18, 2017. 5-0

Hire Amy Carleton as a Library Aide, 5-0.

The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

Charles Downing said his time in the military helped lead him into a career in civil service and he couldn’t have been happier about his career path.

“Chick” as most folks call him, has spent the past 28 years as a rural mail carrier for the Memphis Post Office. For the first time in more than two decades, the United State Postal Service customers on Rural Route 2 in Memphis had a new full-time carrier in August as Downing officially retired on August 1st.

“The United States Postal Service is a very wonderful employer,” said Downing. “The pay, the benefits, and the retirement, in my opinion they just can’t be beat. You may have to start at the bottom, like I did, and work your way up, but I would encourage anyone out there looking for a career to give them a shot.”

Back in June of 1989, that is exactly what Downing did, as he started working as a substitute carrier. For nearly five years he worked in that capacity before finally taking over as the full-time carrier for Rural Route 2.

He got his start under Post Master Dwight DeRosear at a time when the USPS looked quite a bit different.

“It was a challenge trying to hand sort the mail,  remembering the names and the box numbers, and correctly casing the mail into the appropriate sorting slots,” said Downing.

Technology changed much of that, but Downing confessed for him some of the advancements were nearly as stressful.

“Times changed and we went to electronic sorting of mail, with tracking numbers for customers, confirmed delivery times for customers and different classes of packages, like Priority Mail,” he said.

Some things didn’t change during his more than quarter century of service.

“I’m not sure I ever really got used to driving from the center of my vehicle,” he said of the delivery style that allowed the driver to reach both sides of the car for mail boxes.

Said delivery points also posed their own hazards for the rural carrier.

“Believe it or not, the mail boxes themselves are a challenge, as they are all different, and open and close in a variety of ways,” he said. “Then of course come winter time, road conditions can simply make it a challenge to try not to run over them at times.”

As a rural carrier, road conditions proved to be one of the biggest “roadblocks” for his mail delivery.

“Let’s just say I spent plenty of time changing flat tires over the years, not to mention working hard to stay out of the ditches when fighting the snow or ice,” he said.

Despite the many challenges, Downing said his customers as well as his coworkers made it all worth it.

“I cannot say enough about by fellow carriers and the rest of post office staff I’ve worked with over the years,” said Downing. “Their advise and their help was greatly appreciated. I also thank God most of all for the customers. I loved working with them and took great joy in getting to know their friendly ways over the years.”

The Happy Red Hatters of Downing, MO had lunch at the Scotland County Nutrition Center in Memphis on August 10, 2017.

 The hostess was Carolyn Schmitter, Those present were Bette Herbert, Marilyn Blessing, Betty Anderson, Arlene Stice, Carolyn Schmitter, Margaret Mobley, Louise Newland, Rosalie Kinney, and Maudie Oliver.

 The September 7, 2017 meeting will be held at the Downing Appreciation Days Building.

Breakfast

Monday, August 21 – French Toast Sticks, Choice of Cereal, Toast/Jelly, Fruit Medley, Juice/Milk

Tuesday, August 22 – Donuts, Choice of Cereal, Toast/Jelly, Fruit Medley, Juice/Milk

Wednesday, August 23 – Bacon/Egg/Cheese Sandwich, Choice of Cereal, Toast/Jelly, Orange Half, Juice/Milk

Thursday, August 24 – Breakfast Burrito, Choice of Cereal, Toast/Jelly, Orange Wedge/Grapes, Juice/Milk

Lunch

Monday, August 21 – Hot Dog/Bun, Bar BQ Ribb/Bun, 5th/6th Grade Chef Salad, Potato Rounds, Pork and Beans, Mandarin Orange Slices, Fresh Fruit

Tuesday, August 22 – Cheeseburger/Bun, Tenderloin/Bun, 5th/6th Grade Taco Bar, Oven Ready Fries, Buttered Corn, Sliced Peaches, Fresh Fruit

Wednesday, August 23 – Pork Choppette, Chicken and Noodles, 5th/6th Grade Potato Bar, Whipped Potatoes/Gravy, California Blend Vegetables, Dinner Roll, Sliced Pears, Fresh Fruit

Thursday, August 24 – Spaghetti/Meat Sauce, Chicken Fajitas, Hamburger Bar, Green Beans, Garlic Bread, Sliced Peaches, Fresh Fruit

Kathryn Mary Howard of Memphis was among the 2017 spring graduates at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Howard graduated with Cum Laude honors with a Bachelor of Health Science degree.

Jeremy Wiggins of Kahoka graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, BSBA with an emphasis in management as well as an undergraduate certificate and multicultural studies certificate.

Avery Shultz, a member of the Memphis FFA chapter in Memphis, Missouri will be on stage and in the spotlight Oct. 25-28 during the 2017 National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis.

Shultz, a sophomore and the daughter of Trent and Amy Shultz, has been selected to play flute in the National FFA Band.

Shultz submitted an audition tape and was selected to help bring full instrumental balance to the band from a pool of applicants nationwide.

The National FFA Band will perform several times during the national convention and expo.

Shultz will join fellow band members in Indianapolis for rehearsals three days before the convention and expo begins. Dow Agrosciences sponsors the National FFA Band.

The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 649,355 student members who belong to one of 7,859 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The organization is also supported by 225,891 alumni members in 1,934 alumni chapters throughout the U.S.

About National FFA Organization

The National FFA Organization is a national youth organization of 649,353 student members as part of 7,859 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The organization is supported by 225,891 alumni members in 1,934 local FFA Alumni chapters throughout the U.S. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The National FFA Organization operates under a federal charter granted by the 81st United States Congress and it is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Education provides leadership and helps set direction for FFA as a service to state and local agricultural education programs. For more, visit the National FFA Organization online at FFA.org and on Facebook, Twitter and the official National FFA Organization blog.

The National FFA Foundation builds partnerships with industry, education, government, other foundations and individuals to secure financial resources that recognize FFA member achievements, develop student leaders and support the future of agricultural education. Governed by a 19-member board of trustees composed of educators, business leaders, individual donors and FFA Alumni, the foundation is a separately registered nonprofit organization. About 82 percent of every dollar received by the foundation supports FFA members and agricultural education opportunities. For more, visit FFA.org/Give.