Jamerson: Bearcat FB can serve as a 'reprieve' for distraught community

DEXTER – Chad Jamerson may not be an expert in microeconomics, however, as an educator, he has the intellect to grasp the magnitude of the city of Dexter being negatively impacted by the announcement on Monday that Tyson Foods would be shuttering its doors of the Dexter facility.

“No doubt,” Jamerson said, “Dexter was dealt bad news and a bad hand.”

Jamerson is entering his second season of leading the Dexter High School football program, and his team ran through drills Monday evening at the magnificent Charles Bland Stadium, perhaps getting a “reprieve,” as Jamerson used the description, from the economic reality that seared through Stoddard County earlier in the day.

In a community of just over 7,000 citizens, the Tyson plant employed nearly 10 percent of that number, and that figure doesn’t include the employees in related industries, such as farmers, truck drivers, suppliers, and those in logistics who are tied to the plant.

“We’ve seen people calling and checking on one another,” Jamerson continued, “and putting their arms around each other. Just trying to lift each other up.”

Jamerson has spent his entire life living in small burgs in the Show Me State, and he has spent that time around the game of football, whether it be as a fan, a player, and for his professional life, as a coach. He understands community, and he knows full well how the local high school football program plays a role in places like Dexter.

“High school football for any community,” Jamerson said, “especially a tight-knit community (like Dexter), is a release for a lot of people.”

There aren’t many better ways to spend an autumn evening than to sit in the stands at Charles Bland Stadium watching SEMO Conference football, and Jamerson hopes that his Bearcat program can serve as a cathartic activity, as the stress on those tied to the Tyson facility grows with each passing sunrise.

“Football games are an opportunity to get away from everyday monotony,” Jamerson said, “and go experience something special.

“If you have played this game, or if you have played with the Bearcat name on your jersey, in Dexter, this is more special for you. Everybody has some type of connection to the game, (Fridays) will give you an opportunity to get away from your everyday life and give you that reprieve.”

It is being estimated by some at Dexter Schools, that perhaps as much as 18 percent of the Bearcat students will be impacted in some way by the company’s decision to close four plants (two in Missouri, one in Arkansas, and one in Indiana).

“The other thing about this community, and its kids,” Jamerson said, “this shows you how tight-knit everyone is, and how close everyone is.

“That is what community is, and football brings the community together even more, especially in hard times. We are able to band together and focus our attention on something that we love, even when we get news, that obviously, we didn’t want.”

Dexter city leaders said in a release that Tyson plans to close the facility by October 13.

The Bearcats will open the 2023 regular season with a home game against Scott City on August 25 at 7 p.m.