Adornments at Circle Park, alumni return, and so does Matheny

While strolling, I wondered whatever happened to Carolyn Anderson.

Happy birthday to Cletus Lux, Laura Craigmiles, Melanie Spane, Vona Baker, Tom Lambrou, Mike Mitchell, Abby Walter, Opal Kiefer, Vicky Martin, Marcie Fuller, Lori Sadler, Kristen Bridwell, Cassie Eichhorn, Debbie Simmons, Al Kern, Nicole Poe, Emily Eichhorn, Henry Kirn, Michael Proctor, Mike Hinkebein, David Hooker, Jerry Schlitt, Ashlyn McKinley, Ray Fisher, Tonyua Townsend, Kirk Whitaker, Charles McDonald, Sandra Bollinger, Christine Benton, Donny McCarty, Charlie Vickery, Jamie Nix, Judy Ralph, Perry Rice, Gail Siebert, Douglas Hargrove, Lacie Pobst, Laura Russom, Dusty Grissom, Mike Uhrhan, Forrest Davis, Amy Reischman, Casey Nolen and Taylor Kirchdoerfer. Also, Mary Hennrich, Janice Hopkins, Ali Hornback, Kathleen Lagrand, Joseph Scott, Elmer Seyer, Karlee Seyer, Lola Thomason and Virginia Williams

Happy anniversary to Jim and Barb Tyler, Terry and Peggy Lee, Martin and Jeanette Eftink, Paul and Diane Keller, David and Laura Halter, Jack and Gayle Dragoni and Donnie and Mary Ann Kiefer.

October is American Pharmacist Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Clergy Appreciation Month, Cookie Month, National Popcorn Month and Fire Prevention Month.

In honor of

We can thank Ruth Anne Glency for the colorful ribbons adorning the gazebo at Circle Park. She would like to challenge residents to put up red and yellow ribbons to honor our firemen and blue ribbons for our policemen.

We thank Mrs. Jo Buckhannon Rutz and her husband, Don, of Chicago for the beautiful new United States flag at Circle Park. They donated the flag in memory of Ronald G. Dobbs (Class of 1965), a gentle soul and loved by all. Cpl. Dobbs made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country as a Marine and is further honored on the Vietnam Veterans Virtual Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

We welcome the Chaffee High School Alumni and hope everyone had a grand time catching up with former classmates. We wish everyone safe travel to their respective homes. The Class of 1965 celebrated its 50th year, so today we are wondering about Carolyn Anderson, who was home economics teacher that year.

The Chamber of Commerce recently welcomed Mo's Flea Market with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Sands of time

We occasionally like to wonder about a non-Chaffee person while strolling. Last week it was Tommy Sands. He was a teen idol in the 1950s, and, at age 78, still sings and writes songs. He was once married to Nancy Sinatra, and after their five years of marriage, some believe his career stalled out in the 1960s when poppa Frank had him blacklisted.

Few know that at age 15, Colonel Tom Parker, of Elvis fame, signed him with RCA Records. Resembling Elvis with his black pompadour hair, guitar and a following of frenzied teenage fans, he became an overnight heartthrob after appearing on the Kraft Television Theater. His song "Teen-Age Crush" hit No. 2 on Billboard charts and No. 1 on Cashbox.

A person who is a role model for many young people and an inspiration to all is St. Louis Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny. Presented by First Missouri State Bank and benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri, he will be at the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus in Cape Girardeau on Dec. 2. Tickets go on sale this Wednesday online at semissourian.com/Matheny, by calling (573) 388-2761 or in person at the Southeast Missourian office on Broadway. General admission is $20. Matheny spoke in Cape last year, and we have another terrific opportunity to see and be enlightened by this man of whom we are all so proud.

Be responsible, report

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and also Residents' Rights Month, with the 2015 theme being CARE Matters. A resident, regardless of the level of care in a facility, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and receive the best of care. Anything less than that -- and as much as some nursing home personnel may downplay concerns -- we each have the responsibility of reporting the issues to an ombudsman of that facility or the state agency of aging. Report it so the situation will be checked out and remedied before it becomes life-threatening.

Special words

Remember to tell those special people in your life that your love them -- those three words mean so very much.

Our sincere condolences go out to the families and friends of Brian Ourth and Bernice Pennington.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are missing loved ones, our homebound, those in hospitals and nursing homes and those undergoing cancer treatments.

Email your news and comments to darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at (573) 887-6430 or (214) 207-7839.

And then ...

Then there was the veterinarian's sign: "Don't litter; spay and neuter."