Here is a picture of a Safe Haven Baby Drop Box in Indiana. Photo is credited to Debbie Encalada from the blog Complex.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes
As of right now, there are currently 191 Safe Haven Baby Drop Boxes here in the US. This method is a way of allowing parents who are not capable of raising a child to drop their baby safely and anonymously in a designated box. Most of the time, these boxes are installed at facilities such as Fire Departments and Hospitals. The Safe Haven organization oversees the construction and installation of the box. From there, they will train and educate the staff on what they need to know. There are three silent alarms that will go off when a baby is surrendered to the box.
The rules can vary a little based on state, but most drop box locations accept infants that are 72 hours old or younger. All retrievals have occurred in under 1-2 minutes of a baby being surrendered.
Kelly Westbrook is a resident of Advance, MO, a mother of three, and a proponent of the boxes. She has been working with the City of Cape to secure a location for the box.
“After a baby is surrendered in a Safe Haven Baby Box, they are taken to the hospital to be evaluated in the ER. Then they are turned over to the children’s services where the adoption process is started after parental rights are relinquished by the biological parents who remain anonymous if they wish,” Westbrook said.
When it comes to the personal identification of the baby, there is an orange packet provided for the parent to fill out the information as they wish. This could include a birth date and any family health history. The parent can choose what information they want included.
Drew St. John is the Fire Marshall for the Cape Girardeau Fire Department. There are still some provisions that will need to be put in place before a baby box can be successfully installed.
“Logistically, we are trying to figure out where the best place to do this where we can make sure we are providing the service somewhere here in town. We want the child to receive the best care they can get too,” St. John said.
Earlier this year, a Florida firefighter and his wife decided to adopt a baby named Zoey who was dropped off. The man and his wife had been trying to have a child for over 10 years before they were finally blessed with adopting baby Zoey. This heartwarming story is just one instance of a child being saved by these Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
Miss SEMO 2023
Jaclyn Sexauer recently won the Miss Semo 2023 award at the SEMO District Fair. She decided to enter in the running after seeing a social media post by Aubrey Sullivan who was last year’s winner. Sexauer is originally from Columbia, Missouri. She is currently a junior here at Southeast and is a SEMO Sundancer. Sexauer has participated in pageants since she was a senior in high school. There are 6 different pageant divisions at the fair each year. Girls between the ages of 2 and 22 are eligible to be in the running.
“Pageants are a very rewarding experience when you are successful. You go through a process, you go through preparation and put in the work,” Sexauer said.
The three categories that are a part of the SEMO District Fair pageant include a personal interview, a sportswear component, and formal wear. Aubrey Sullivan won Miss SEMO last year, “The personal interview consists of each contestant meeting privately with the judges and asked a series of questions, similar to a job interview,” she said.
“I am so proud to pass down the title to such a well deserving, genuine queen. I know that Jaclyn will do a fabulous job as Miss Semo 2023,” Sullivan said.
Sydney Aleksick was there to support her friend, Jaclyn, at the fair. “Through the past few years, Jacky has shown me how much preparation, philanthropy work, and dedication goes into one of her pageants,” Aleksick said.
At this year’s pageant, Sexauer saw one of the younger girls who looked very nervous for the competition. “Pretend that the judge’s are your favorite food,” Sexauer told the young girl. She lightened up after hearing Sexauer’s words of encouragement.
“If you put your mind to something, you’re able to do it, you just have to put in the effort and believe in yourself,” Sexauer said.
Horticulture Community Gardens at SEMO
The Nemanick Garden has been around for over 10 years consisting of nearly six acres. Students here at Southeast who take a horticulture course learn how to operate and maintain a greenhouse. About an acre and a half of the Nemanick Garden is dedicated to native plants including fruit trees and vegetable crops.
Dr. Sven Svenson is a professor in the Agriculture department here at SEMO. “It works as a laboratory for a lot of the horticulture classes,” Svenson said.
The department has put up a mesh perimeter around the garden to prevent wildlife, especially deer, from consuming their produce.
“We also use that space for the students to practice how to do things like landscape installation, how you put down block patios and how you put down block walls,” Svenson said.
The community is allowed to visit the Nemanick Garden too. Dr. Svenson offers wildflower walks in the spring and general tours in the fall.
Lily Horstmeyer is a horticulture graduate of Southeast. “When you walk through the garden, you can see projects at various stages of completion,” Horstmeyer said.
Students that take a plant identification course are able to work with the plants that they are learning about in class with hands-on experience.
SEMO has a Horticulture Club for individuals who are interested in getting involved with the program. “Anyone in the community who has an interest in plants can join the club. Being a student is not a requirement,” Horstmeyer said.
From plant identification, to landscape installation and greenhouse management, the Agriculture department has a variety of courses that utilizes the community garden.
Carlson parts ways with Fox News
“It is nice to be around people who think differently than you. They challenge your ideas and keep you from being complacent.” ~Tucker Carlson
From 2016 to 2023, Tucker Carlson was the host of Fox News’ Prime Time television show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” During this time, Carlson set the record for most viewed cable news show in television history. His show averaged over 5 million viewers per night. Carlson was never afraid to speak his mind. He often times challenged government corruption and was never afraid to debate with a variety of individuals that he brought on his show. Carlson voiced support for our constitution and its amendments many times on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Carlson has written three books in his career: Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites (2003), Ship of Fools (2018), and The Long Slide (2021). He also co-founded “The Daily Caller,” a conservative news website. Without a doubt, Tucker Carlson was a prominent and influential figure in the news media during his run on Fox.
On April 24, 2023, Fox News announced that they would be parting ways with Tucker Carlson. This seemed very unexpected, not only for Fox’s viewers but also for Tucker himself. Based on an article by Newsweek, Carlson’s last show on Fox was aired Friday, April 21st. At the end of his show, Tucker said he’d “be back on Monday.” To this date, Fox News has not provided a reason for dismissing Carlson as their Prime Time host.
Many people have speculated that Carlson was just too “polarizing” for the network. Tucker was outspoken against modern day left-wing politics. He is pro-life, as well as a staunch defender of our second amendment. President Donald Trump said he was “shocked” to hear of Carlson’s departure from Fox, adding he is a “very good man.” According to Newsmax, former NFL quarterback Brett Favre said he plans to boycott Fox News after releasing Tucker Carlson from their network. The NFL hall of famer told Newsmax he does enjoy some of the other shows on Fox, but he thinks “we need to make a stand” and move on from Fox News. Prior to Fox, Tucker also worked for CNN, PBS, and MSNBC.
On May 9th, 2023, Tucker Carlson announced in a video that he plans to relaunch his show on Twitter. Within 24 hours, the video had over 106 million views. According to The Verge, “Twitter’s monetizable daily user (mDAU) growth has accelerated to more than 20 percent” since Elon Musk took over as owner and CEO of the social media platform. In his video, Tucker states that Twitter is the only platform where free speech is still allowed.
Credible Sources:
Tucker Carlson Speaks Out After Leaving Fox News (newsweek.com)
Brett Favre to Newsmax: Take a Stand for Tucker Carlson | Newsmax.com
Twitter tells advertisers that users are growing under Elon Musk - The Verge
Redhawks Gymnastics Win Friday Night Tri-Meet at Houck Field House
The SEMO Redhawks scored a total of 195.625 points Friday night to defeat Talladega College (190.175) and Winona State (189.025). The Redhawks performed for a sold out crowd at Houck Field House. It was their 2nd home meet of the season which marked the first time where SEMO, Talladega College, and Winona State were all three involved in the same tri-meet.
SEMO kicked off the night on the vault with an impressive 49.000. Ailey Kuehn and
Janelle Lopez recorded season-highs with a 9.825.
Sophomore Taylor Ingle finished in first place in the all-around category with a 39.225. “We really came together as a family and carried that momentum into tonight. Every week we go into the gym after the competition. Our goal is to get one-tenth better,” Sophomore Taylor Ingle said.
Junior Madison Greene scored 9.475 from the second spot in rotation. “We accomplished our goals that we set in the gym on Monday. Now we go back to practice and get to work again…continue to build so we can keep improving on what we want to do,” Junior Gymnast Madison Greene said.
Last week, Senior Lydia Webb set the SEMO gymnastics all-time record for most points in the all-around competition. She scored a total of 39.575 in the all-around at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic.
“When we do what we love and we’re having fun, everything kind of falls into place. Still much more to do and a lot more to give and grow on. But I’m very pleased with where we are and what is ahead for the rest of the season,” Coach Lawson said.
Next up, the Redhawks will travel to Illinois State on Wednesday, January 31st at 6:00 pm.
Redhawks Bounce Back With a Big Win Over Tennessee Tech
SEMO improved to 8-16 on the season after defeating Tennessee Tech 88-69 on Thursday night. The Redhawks made a season-high of 59% from the field. Sophomore Evan Eursher was named Player of the Game with a career-high of 16 points.
“It felt like we were clicking on all cylinders. I think one thing that helped us was that we came out and punched first,” Eursher said.
Eursher hit a 3-pointer from just inside the mid-court line as time expired to put the Redhawks up 49-28 at the half.
The Redhawks went on another run to start the second half, amplifying their lead to 32 points with just under 9:00 left to play. SEMO went a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line.
This 19-point victory by SEMO marked their largest win in OVC conference play this season. Sophomore Rob Martin scored 16 points with 3 assists and 1 rebound.
“We played great for 40 minutes and we gotta keep it going. Just staying together and lifting each other up. We’re gonna need that again on Saturday,” Martin said.
Coming off a 4-game losing streak, there is certainly a lot the Redhawks can reflect upon positively from this matchup.
Freshman BJ Ward was on the floor for 29 minutes on Thursday night where he scored a career-high of 13 points.
“There really wasn’t a faucet of the game that we didn’t play well in today. They should feel very proud of themselves because we played well….it was a total team effort,” Coach Brad Korn said.
The Redhawks look to continue that success as they host Tennessee State at the Show Me Center on Saturday, February 10th at 3:45 pm.