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Bob Thrower of Dexter, Mo., a longtime military man and former small business owner, said he wants to see major changes in the education system, better management of money spent in prisons and make Missouri a "business-friendly state." Problems he sees with non-accredited school districts, the costs associated with housing prisoners and state and regional economies he calls "stagnant" are major concerns to him, he said.
Thrower served 20 years in the Army and retired from active service as a lieutenant colonel and is a former federal employee who was assigned to the Department of Defense. He also used to co-own Dexter Queen, a small burger and ice cream restaurant in Dexter.
His opponent in the upcoming primary, Dennis Fowler of Advance, Mo., is well known in Southeast Missouri's law enforcement community. Supporters of Fowler point to his record as evidence he is a skilled problem solver -- as he is known for coming down hard and fast on methamphetamine-related crimes for years as a Stoddard County Sheriff's deputy. He now serves as superintendent of the Juvenile Detention Center in Stoddard County. He is also a Navy veteran.
"There is just so much going on right now that I would like to change," Fowler said of his decision to enter the race.
Two changes he said he would like to see would be to create a better pay system for law enforcement officers and make sure farmers in his district are "better taken care of by taking a hard look at programs they are using to see if those programs are working," he said.
Fowler calls himself a "second amendment man" who opposes abortion and said he wants to see more done at the state level to overturn so-called "Obamacare."
The 151st District covers Stoddard County and a small part of Scott County. It is a new district that, before lines were redrawn earlier this year, consisted of most of Stoddard County, the southwestern third of Cape Girardeau County and a small portion of Wayne County, and was represented by Billy Pat Wright, who is vacating the seat due to term limits.
Both Republicans are raising and spending a bit more than their Democratic opponents in the race.
Ryan William Holder of Advance, Mo., a field representative for the Laborers International Unit local No. 1104, will face Gary Gaines of Dexter, Mo., a former regional director for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, in the Democratic primary. Both primaries are set for Aug. 7.
Thrower has more than $11,000 on hand as of the last report to state election officials earlier this month. As of Friday, however, he said, he has received additional contributions, bringing his amount on hand to around $17,500. His opponents trail signficantly, with Fowler's amount on hand earlier this month at $6,320. Gaines has said he is not fundraising on purpose and loaned $4,000 to himself to fund his campaign, while Holder's total receipts as of the most recent report to state election officials were at $1,200.
Thrower said he believes he is receiving more contributions because he said he has a lot of support in Dexter and many people like that he is ex-military.
Fowler said even though his financial support isn't as significant as Thrower's, he sees himself with an advantage in the race because he has lived his entire life in the area and has a "pretty good reign on what people around here need."
388-3627
Pertinent address:
Advance, MO
Dexter, MO
Comments
I do have the same concerns as both gentlemen listed above, but I am also concerned about people without access to affordable health care. We do need a system similar to medicaid that employed (and unemployed if they don't have a job, but can afford it), people can buy into. If they opt not to buy into it and they incur hospital bills that they do not pay, yes, they should be penalized. When they don't pay the hospital, it comes out of our taxes. They also usually end up costing us a lot more because they put off going to seek health care until the situation is dire and costs us a whole lot more than a simple clinic visit would cost.
I am also concerned that we are encouraging people to have additional children to get additional money through AFDC. If we don't pay them additional money, they will more than likely not have additional children unless they can afford them. No one else gets a raise when they have an additional child. Family planning services should be available to all. Those on AFDC should also HAVE to work and their children should HAVE to go to daycare. If we are paying them money, we should be getting something out of it. Even if it is nothing more than cleaning the trash off the sides of the road. There is something to be said for teaching good work ethic. If children see their parents not working, they don't plan on it either(Ask a few of the kindergarteners and 1st graders what they want to be when they grow up! You will be surprised with some of the answers). The only exemption from working is if they are going to school full time and making good effort. Poor grades or poor attendance would not qualify.
We are also encourageing people to file for disability and "work the system" for multiple reasons. Some legitimate. Some not. If they can't afford health care or afford their medicines, that is one thing. If they are doing it because they don't want to work, that is a whole different story. We have plenty of people who move here from other states just to get on disability and Missouri medicaid. Give them a medicaid program they can buy into. If they are not truly disabled where they truly phyiscally or mentallly cannot work, then they can buy into it, but they don't get the disability check unless they are truly disabled.
A child doesn't need a disability check unless their care is so extensive that a parent has no choice but to stay home with them because no child care for that particular child is avaiable. A child who is disabled has medicaid that pays for all their medical needs. It pays for their transportation. It pays for their durable medical equipment. There is very little that medicaid does not pay for if they truly need it. They get WIC, up to a certain age. It even pays for diapers for older children and adults who need them. There is no additional cost in raising a child with ADHD that the school or medicaid does not cover.
Obviously, there are lots of ways we can contain our costs, but we need to look at where we are wasting our dollars.
We need to rebuild our infrastructure that we have allowed to deteriorate over the years. That would also put people back to work. There are still some farm jobs available, but for most, it is still seasonal, can be very hot and back breaking. People here don't want those jobs because they can get AFDC. It is a lot easier. Oh, and if you are thinking that only women and children get AFDC, you are wrong. Not only can men get it, even if they are capable of working, but they can also get paid monthly by their child's mother as long as the child is on AFDC(not legally, but....). Look around, there are lots of areas to change where our tax dollars go that would help us tremendously. I would much rather pay someone to rebuild infrastructure than to pay them to sit at home, sleeping in, and not doing an honest days work.
Nice job stumping for the republicans only.
Yes, this is obviously an article for the republicans, but I am a democrat and I do expect to be represented by whoever goes to represent "us". I don't expect a republican to only represent the republicans in their district or the democrats to only represent the democrats. When you go to Jeff City or Washington DC, you should lose your partisanship and represent all of us. Not just those who think like yourself. By the way, I don't believe lobbyists should be allowed anywhere around any legistlative body, or even be able to make contact with them. And Newt Gingrich, a lobbyist by any other name is still a lobbyist.
Well said BWM81 I wish more would feel the same way.
Mudflopper and BWM81:
We wrote about the Democrats in the race last week:
http://www.semissourian.com/story/187477...