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Clarksdale Happening, Oct 2024

October 01, 2024

Clarksdale Happening

Oct. 2024

"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." – Coretta Scott King

Columbus Day (City Hall Closed)         Oct. 14th

City Council Mtg (6:30pm City Hall)           Oct 15th

Trunk-or-Treat Oct 26th

Election Nov 5th

https://clarksdale-mo.com/ Find this newsletter, pay your bill, official minutes, reports, agendas, news about current projects, and more! 

Coming Soon! Paperless water bills!

DeKalb CountyTreasure Hunt Thank you to all our participants! The winner of the $100 cash drawing was Lana Brinkley. She visited all seven cities on the passport and got their designated sticker!!! Congratulations!!!

Clarksdale Christian Church - Fall Harvest Dinner - Sat. Oct. 19th, 5-7pm, Free-will donation, Raffles and Give-A-Ways. Turkey and Ham with all the fixin’s.

DeKalb County Historical Society of Missouri - Do you or your family members have stories about Clarksdale, it's history, the people you knew, schools, churches, businesses?  The DeKalb County Historical society is hosting a "Clarksdale Stories" day on Oct. 8 at 1pm at the Old Methodist Church which is now the Clarksdale Community Center.  We will look at artifacts from Clarksdale history and share stories and reconnect with Clarksdale history.  Hope you can come and share this time together.  Coffee and snacks.  Tell others, all are welcome and encouraged to come.

Murder Mystery in Clarksdale -  For the month of October, CAF (Clarksdale Advancement Foundation) will be having a fundraiser, to raise money to make the Clarksdale Community Center more handicapped accessible. There will be a flock of Crows (known as a Murder) making their appearance around town. Follow online, and guess where they landed, or are headed to next. Contact CAF for details on where to send them! 

Clarksdale Advancement Foundation  is looking for great people who want to make Clarksdale fantastic and help us achieve our goals. Come to our next meeting Tues., Oct 8th at 6:30pm at City Hall. “Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in”.~Author Unknown

Fresh Mobile Pantry - Second Harvest Community Food Bank - Wed., Oct 16th, 2024. Clarksdale City Park - 10am - 12pm  - While Supplies Last- Open to the Public. Please tell your friends and neighbors. Everyone is welcome. {NOTE: mandate from 2nd Harvest, we have been limited to three families per vehicle.} To sign up for our text alert system email your full name, phone number, and zip code to info@shcfb.org. This is the quickest and most effective way to get information on schedule changes. Visit www.shcfb.org  for more assistance options.The 2nd Harvest Food Pantry, sponsored by the Clarksdale Lions Club and the Clarksdale Christian Church.

The Clarksdale  Lions Club meets every 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month and we welcome anyone to come and hear what our club does for the community and we are always looking for new members.

Coming!  Trunk-or-Treat! Saturday, Oct., 26- Trunks & Helpers needed!

Breakfast with Santa  Saturday, Dec. 14th- Santa’s Helpers needed! Call City Hall to sign up for the Parade of Lights!

HALLOWEEN SAFETY -Make preparations in order to have a safe Halloween and use #HalloweenSafetyMonth to post on social media. Kids and adults alike love the magic of Halloween. From trick-or-treating, to dressing up in elaborate costumes, to festive parties or get-togethers. It's fun to have a good time with your friends and family! But, in order to keep the good times rolling, everyone needs to make sure they stay safe. Here are some tips to remember this Halloween. 

  1. If you're sending kids out trick-or-treating, make sure to fasten reflective tape to their costumes and bags, or give them glow sticks. That way, people driving will be able to see them after dark.
  2. Make sure your child can see! Masks and large hats or wigs can block vision. If you can use makeup instead of a mask, it's not a bad idea.  Always test makeup in a small area first to see if any irritation develops. Remove all makeup before children go to bed to prevent skin and eye irritation.
  3. All costumes should be fire-resistant.There's always a high risk of fire accidents during Halloween parties.
  4. Accompany your little ones on their neighborhood trick-or-treating if they are under 13 years of age. (This can depend on the child, and where you live.)
  5. Tell your kids to stay in large groups, and in as much light as possible if they're out alone after dark.
  6. If possible, allow them to carry a cell phone for quick, easy communication.
  7. Agree on a time that your children should be back at home.
  8. If you are out driving, remember that kids tend to dart across streets, and generally aren't paying as much attention to their surroundings as we hope. Slow down, and keep your eyes peeled. It is important for parents to teach their children basic road rules before they step out for trick-or-treating. Motorists should also take extra precautions on Halloween.
  9. Make sure any Halloween makeup is non-toxic and taken off before bed.
  10. Mainly, remember to stay alert, have a few rules for little ones, and have a fun, safe Halloween night! 

When They're on the Prowl

Here's a scary statistic: Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year. Lack of visibility because of low lighting at night also plays a factor in these incidents.

Keep these tips in mind when your children are out on Halloween night:

  • A responsible adult should accompany young children on the neighborhood rounds
    ● If your older children are going alone, plan and review a route acceptable to you
    ● Agree on a specific time children should return home
    ● Teach your children never to enter a stranger's home or car
    ● Instruct children to travel only in familiar, well-lit areas and stick with their friends
    ● Tell your children not to eat any treats until they return home, and take care to avoid any food allergies and candies may not be safe - After the infamous Candy Man incident in 1972 when a father killed his son by giving him candy laced with cyanide, people have been more careful than ever. An adult should always accompany the kids while they go out for trick-or-treating. Candies must be properly inspected before they are handed over to the children.

Safety Tips for Motorists

NSC offers these additional safety tips for parents – and anyone who plans to be on the road during trick-or-treat hours:

  • Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs
    ● Enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully
    ● At twilight and later in the evening, watch for children in dark clothing
    ● Discourage new, inexperienced drivers from driving on Halloween

Drive Safely as it gets Darker

Daylight Saving Time ends every year on the first Sunday in November, Nov. 3rd this year. This means it starts to get darker earlier. As we set our clocks backward by one hour in most areas of the country, here are some tips for driving at night. 

The Most Dangerous Time to Drive - 'Falling Back' to Shorter Days Means Taking Extra Care on the Road

Fatigue, compromised night vision, rush hour and impaired drivers are some of the risks you could face when you are driving at night. These risks become especially pronounced moving into the weekend, with fatal crashes peaking on Saturday nights, according to NSC analysis of NHTSA data. 

When Daylight Saving Time ends – for 2024, that's 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 – many people will find themselves spending more time driving in the dark. When you are driving at night, depth perception, color recognition and peripheral vision can be compromised in the dark, and the glare of headlights from an oncoming vehicle can temporarily blind a driver.

Why Should You Drive Slower at Night?

Night driving is dangerous because, even with high-beam headlights on, visibility is limited to about 500 feet (250 feet for normal headlights) creating less time to react to something in the road, especially when driving at higher speeds.

What should you do to combat darkness?

  • Aim your headlights correctly, and make sure they're clean
    ● Dim your dashboard
    ● Look away from oncoming lights
    ● If you wear glasses, make sure they're anti-reflective
    ● Clean the windshield to eliminate streaks
    ● Slow down to compensate for limited visibility and reduced stopping time

Compromised Night Vision

Night vision is the ability to see well in low-light conditions. As we age, we have greater difficulty seeing at night. A 50-year-old driver may need twice as much light to see as well as a 30-year-old. At age 60 and older, driving can become even more difficult, according to the American Optometric Association. Some older drivers also may have compromised vision due to cataracts and degenerative eye diseases.

The AOA recommends older drivers:

  • Have annual vision exams
    ● Reduce speed
    ● Take a driving course, like this one offered by NSC; even experienced drivers can benefit from a refresher course
    ● Minimize distractions, like talking with passengers or listening to the radio
    ● Check with your doctor about side effects of prescription drugs
    ● Limit driving to daytime hours if necessary

Fatigue

A National Sleep Foundation poll says 60% of adults have driven while they were tired, and another 37%, or 103 million people, have fallen asleep at the wheel. Of those, 13% say they fall asleep while driving at least once a month, and 4% say they have caused a crash by falling asleep while driving. The reasons are many – shift work, lack of quality sleep, long work hours, sleep disorders – and it doesn't only happen on lengthy trips.

These staggering numbers are backed up by a report by NHTSA that 100,000 police-reported crashes are a result of driver fatigue. Most crashes or near-misses happen at the times you would expect drivers to be tired: 4 to 6 a.m., midnight to 2 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m., according to NSF.

Drowsy driving puts everyone on the road at risk. Losing two hours of sleep has the same effect on driving as having three beers, and tired drivers are three times more likely to be in a car crash if they are fatigued.

The National Sleep Foundation offers this advice:

  • Get seven or more hours of sleep a night
    ● Don't drive if you've been awake for 16 hours or more
    ● Stop every two hours to rest
    ● Pull over and take a nap if you're drowsy
    ● Travel during times you are normally awake

Rush Hour

Evening rush hour (between 4 and 7 p.m. weekdays) is a dangerous time to drive due to crowded roadways and drivers eager to get home after work. In winter, it's dark during rush hour, compounding an already dangerous driving situation.

How can you make it home safely during rush hour?

  • Don't be an impatient driver; slow down
    ● Stay in your lane and beware of drivers who dart from lane to lane
    ● Even though the route may be familiar, don't go on autopilot; stay alert
    ● In unfamiliar areas, consult a map before you go and memorize your route
    ● Don't touch your phone, eat, drink or do other things that are distracting

Impaired Drivers

About one-third of all traffic fatalities involve a driver impaired by alcohol. Drivers impaired by prescription medicines and other drugs increase that number significantly. Impaired drivers are most frequently on the road after dark – particularly between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. on weekends.

In addition to drunk driving, the number of drivers under the influence of other drugs has increased, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA's Crash Risk study estimates the odds of being involved in a crash if a driver is impaired at the time of testing. 

Many states have not yet updated their impaired driving laws to address this growing problem.

Stay Alert, Stay Alive

While we do only one quarter of our driving at night, 50% of traffic deaths happen at night. It doesn't matter whether the road is familiar or not, driving at night is always more dangerous. More than 42,000 people were killed in car crashes in 2020, according to Injury Facts. By taking some extra precautions, we can all contribute to reducing these numbers.

Green Cross Tip: When you change your clocks, it's also a great time to check the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.