Upcoming holiday events, football roundup and Thanksgiving

By Darla Buckhannon

Happy birthday to Lana McAlister, Randy Spane, Mikylia Daniel, Kenneth Mansker, Brad Daugherty, Morgan Swinford, Sharon Long, Larry Pobst, Dusty Leggett, Lori Meyr, Tom Davenport, Mike Blankenship, Tim Cannon, Tyler Qualls, Terry Lee, John Walker Jr., Kevin Smith, Tristan Foulk, Scott Wachter, Christy VanToll, John Siebert, Lisa Crippen, Ami Crouse, Dr. Thyimous Lambrou, Mary Ann Tierney, Helen Bickings, Marilyn Cook, Beverly Rice and Ron Wooldridge.

Happy anniversary to Richard and Norma Graviett, Rick and June Cobb, Jerry and Anna Williams, Jeremy and Crystal Pobst, Daryl Ross and Norma VanGennip, Ron and Charlotte Dirnberger, Neal and Kori Grossheider and Larry and Kathy Kirn.

Congratulations to Rocky Schultz, whose West Clarman home was chosen by the chamber of commerce as residence of the month.

Holiday happenings

The senior center will serve a Thanks-For-Giving Dinner to honor their volunteers this Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. The center and city hall will be closed Thanksgiving Day and Friday.

The Christmas parade theme is "A Disney Christmas" and is set for Dec. 3. Those interested is setting up a Christmas scene at Circle Park should call Bank of Advance to reserve your spot.

Historical society election results

The Chaffee Historical Society has elected the following officers for 2017: Ronnie Eichhorn, president; Barbara (Eichhorn) Simpson, vice president; Debbie Eichhorn, treasurer; and Barbara Arnold, secretary. Trustees: Jerry Beck, Sue (Bess) Scheffer and Will Hargrobe. The society meets at 10 a.m. the first Saturday of each month at the museum. Memorial bricks are available at a cost of $50 per brick. What a great way to remember family members or to give as a gift. Please call Ronnie Eichhorn at (573) 318-6011 to place your orders.

Carnival king and queen

My sister Jo reminded me that Chaffee Junior High also had Halloween Carnival king and queen candidates. She and Mick Wessel were candidates, as were Tyke (Norman) Finney and I. Beverly Drouet and Gerald Hailey won, but regardless of the loss, I remember how proud I was wearing the green taffeta gown my mother made for me.

Football roundup

How about those Cowboys? I know there are a lot of Cowboy fans in Southeast Missouri, yet anyone remotely interested in football would have been excited about last Sunday's Cowboys road game in Pittsburgh. Ezekiel Elliott scored the winning touchdown in the final seconds of the game. Cowboy games have been fun to watch with quarterback Dak and running backs Ezekiel and Dez. Tony Romo will be suited up as backup quarterback when they host the Ravens today. Dallas will host Washington on Thanksgiving.

Avoiding telephone scams

Now that the election is over, we can appreciate the lessening of those annoying robocalls. Telephone scams, however, still remain, and one of the most prevalent are those intimidating calls from someone posing as an IRS agent. One way to avoid scams is to always check your caller ID before you answer. If the call is important enough, they will leave a message. If you owe back taxes, the IRS notifies you by mail. On the very rare occasion they would call, they come through on caller ID as (800) TAX-1040.

City taxes issued

Tax statements have gone out and Scott County Collector Mark Hensley will be at city hall from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays through Dec. 28. He will accept cash or check. You can pay your city tax any day of the workweek.

Thanksgiving Day hot topics

We will soon gather around the big family table for Thanksgiving dinner and it is always interesting what topics come up. Topics vary and, this year, politics could easily come up. I read an article recently where a young lady said she was the hostess this year and was curious how to handle the heated topic that comes up every four years at Thanksgiving. She was told to announce from the get go that no politics will be discussed. Suggestions for those breaking the rules included having to sit at the children's table, be excused from the table or depositing $20 in a jar, with the total amount being split up at the end of the dinner by those who do not talk politics. One thing on which we can agree: the Republicans have an opportunity to soar!

Final thoughts

We wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and safe travel for those who travel near and far.

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

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

And then ...

Then there was the time of giving thanks.