Thursday, May 26, 2005

St. Charles Police Apprehend Suspect / Dog Shot

The St. Charles Police Dept responded to the 2700 block of Veterans Memorial PPkwyto the Travelodge Hotel to investigate a stolen car. Upon arrival it was determined what room the suspect was in and contact was made. After being advised he was under arrest the suspect slammed the door and started to barricade himself in the room.. The officers were able to force entry and were met with resistance from the suspect. A taser was deployed and upon deployment a pit bull lunged at the officer actually biting the taser. The dog continued to attempt to get to the officer at which a backup officer fired four rounds at the dog, killing the dog. Suspect was then subdued and placed under arrest.

Suspect will be charged with Felony stealing of a motor Vehicle, Felony Resisting arrest. He also had an outstanding warrant from St. Charles County Sheriff's Deprtment. Suspcet's name will be released upon formal charges being issued.

Saturday, May 21, 2005

GRAND JURY INDICTS ST CHARLES POLICE OFFICER FOR SEXUAL ABUSE AND SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

Officer Richard Fischer, 37, a ten year veteran of the St. Charles police department has been indicted by a St. Charles County Grand Jury on charges of Sexual Abuse and Sexual Misconduct, in reference to an incident that occurred in July of 2004.

Fischer turned himself into authorities at the St. Charles County Jail, where he was booked and released after posting a $30,000 bond.

Fischer has been suspended from duty without pay pending adjudication of these charges.

On July 27, 2004 the First Capitol News learned that an 18-year old girl and her parents had filed a Criminal Sexual Complaint against Fischer.

They alleged that the Officer took sexual liberties with the girl, the previous week at around 2:30 am behind a building, while he was on duty. They further alleged that he threatened the victim against telling anyone about the incident.

The parents found out and filed a complaint with the police department and requested action be taken. At that time we were told the officer was still on active duty while the matter was being looked into.

The First Capitol News contacted City Councilman Mark Brown. At that time Brown said, "I was not aware of the complaint and I have a hard time believing one of our officers would do such a thing. A lot of time accusations of an untrue nature are made against police officers and I hope a complete investigation is made so the officer can be exonerated if he is innocent." Brown then contacted Acting City Administrator Mike Vallenti. Vallenti would release no details of the investigation but told Brown, the Missouri State Highway Patrol would conduct an investigation into the charges. He also told Brown that the officer was still on active duty.

On July 30, 2004 we were notified by the St. Charles Police Department, through a news release, an internal and criminal investigation into the allegations was being conducted. The officer was then suspended from duty with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation.

An assistant circuit attorney from the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's office was brought into to handle the matter because St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney, Jack Banas, a former Captain with the St. Charles Police Department, knew Fischer and excused his office from the case.

Fischer is a close associate of former St. Charles Police Sergeant Tommy Mayer, president of the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, who was recently fired from the police department. Fischer worked under Mayer on the midnight shift. Mayer is a close confidant of Mayor Patti York who traveled the state with him promoting the FOP. The FOP also supported York in her reelection campaign and she worked hard in an attempt to return 200 hours of comp time to Mayer to use for working on FOP business and also to have a take home car to use to go back and forth to his home in Richmond Heights in St. Louis County. The City Council had taken the hours and take home police vehicle away from Mayer.

Mayer also has a $104 million lawsuit pending against the members of the City Council and former Acting City Administrator Mike Vallenti. York was not named in the suit.

Mayer and York were also in the forefront in attempts to keep Major Robert G. Lowery, Jr., Assistant Chief of Police in Florissant and the Commander of the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad from being appointed Chief of Police in St. Charles.

Second Opinion Study Helps City Council Save City Taxpayers Twelve Million Dollars

By Phyllis Schaltenbrand

Donohue & Associates, Inc. recently completed a second opinion Study of the Wastewater Collection and Treatment Facilities Plan Report and they have good news for the City of St. Charles. A previous study by CMT said the city needed to spend $40 Million on upgrades and improvements to the system. Donohue & Associates was able to reduce that number by $12 Million and perhaps even more.

That’s good news for the City Council which had insisted on getting a second opinion before committing to such a major rebuilding of the City’s sanitary treatment facilities. “Through value engineering and experience in the industry, Donohue & Associates were able to save us a vast sum,” explained City Council president Rory Riddler, adding, “Without their help, the Administration was prepared to take what CMT proposed on face value. Sewer rates would have skyrocketed. While we will still need to make major investments in the system, the numbers are more manageable. They have also recommended a phasing program where some of the system upgrades won’t have to take place if growth doesn’t reach the very optimistic goals everyone has set. Long term, there may be even more savings from the CMT plan.”

Councilman John Gieseke, Ward Eight, led the fight for the second opinion study. “If you had a contractor give you a very high estimate on work you were doing to your own home or business, you would get a second opinion. That’s why I pushed to get us a second opinion on these major projects,” Gieseke stated.

Under the previous City Council, CMT (an engineering firm) was hired to do a comprehensive analysis of the City’s sewage treatment system. The contract was somewhat controversial at the time. The firm originally wanted over $900,000 for the study. Councilman Rory Riddler opposed the contract as being out of line with similar studies he said were done in other communities for far less. The contract was shaved by over $500,00 and brought back to the Council, but Councilman Riddler still opposed the hiring of a firm that he said wanted to overcharge the City so badly.

“Donohue & Associates has provided us with these tremendous savings and their contract (less than $30,000) was a fraction of the original cost for the CMT study. Any time you can spend a little to save millions, is a good day for the average citizens who pay the bills,” quipped Riddler.

Representative Tom Dempsey Forces City To Treat Sewage From Private Sewer Company

By Tony Brockmeyer

State Representative Tom Dempsey (R), whose district is mainly the City of St. Charles north of Interstate 70, added a last minute amendment to Senate Bill 462 in the closing days of the 2005 legislative session. The bill, if signed into law by Governor Blunt, would force the City of St. Charles to treat sewage from a private sewer firm outside of the City limits for at least the next two years.

Immediately City Administrator Allan Williams pointed out flaws in the legislation to local elected officials. One of these is that if East Central Missouri (ECM), the private sewer firm in question, stopped paying its bill to the City, the City would be restricted in shutting them off for two years under Dempsey’s proposal. “Essentially what the Administrator told me is the City would have to provide thousands of county residents with free sewer service for two years and pass those costs on to City residents if ECM refused to pay their bills,” explained Council President Rory Riddler.

Currently ECM has no contract with the City of St. Charles. The City explored the option of buying ECM out, but abandoned that option when it was discovered how bad the sewer lines are that serve ECM customers. “We would have taken on a tremendous liability for our citizens and customers had we done that,” explained Councilman Mark Brown, a member of the Council Public Utilities Committee, adding,” St. Peters bought a portion of ECM’s service area west of here and has had constant complaints and problems.”

It was discovered ECM did not have a current contract with the City when developer Tom Hughes began hooking up new homes in his subdivision development at St. Andrews. The City had attempted to stop any more homes from being connected until the issue was resolved. While the legal issue has been between ECM and the City, Hughes has been highly critical in the press of Council members he actively opposed for re-election as out to oppose his project. Hughes spent thousands of dollars in the April 2004 elections both opposing and supporting Council candidates. Recently he announced he was helping to set up a legal defense fund for Mayor Patricia York, raising money to pay the Mayor’s legal bills over her signing of a contract with Express Scripts.

The State legislation would only affect the City of St. Charles. “This is special interest legislation, trying to force the citizens of St. Charles to serve an ailing sewer system outside our corporate boundaries. In my opinion it has serious legal flaws. I just don’t see why the State of Missouri needs to be meddling in contracts on behalf of a private profit making company to the detriment of the taxpayers,” said Councilman and Public Utilities Committee member Dottie Greer.

Missouri Republican State Committee Loses Round To Tom Green

By Tony Brockmeyer

On April 28, 2005 St. Charles County Associate Circuit Judge Jon A. Cunningham denied the Missouri Republican Committee’s motion to dismiss the suit filed against them by former State Representative Tom Green. The matter will now be set for trial. Judge Cunningham, acting as a Circuit Judge, made the ruling after the case was assigned to him. The reassignment came about because the Republican State Committee requested a change of Judge from Judge Lohmar’s Court.

Several days prior to the general election in 2004 The Missouri Republican State Committee mailed a post card to residents in Representative Tom green’s District. One side of the card displayed a travel poster type scene of ALASKA with a banner, “Thinking of You.” The other side of the card contained a photo of green and an alleged message thanking his constituents for sending him on a taxpayer funded, all expenses paid vacation to Alaska. In addition to other information there was a PS allegedly from Green asking the voters to send him back to the State House because he wanted to go to Hawaii the next year.

Another pot card was sent to the residents of his district with another Alaska travel type poster on one side and on the other side a photo go Green and information that he went to Alaska on taxpayer fund. Both post cards indicated they were paid for by Missouri Republican State Committee, Harvey Tettlebaum, Treasurer

On October 26, 2004 Green filed a motion for a Temporary restraining order to be granted and order to show cause why permanent injunction should not issue. On May 4, 2004, two days after the genera election, St. Charles County Circuit Judge William Lohmar granted the motion.

Green was defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate. Green lost his reelection race by 276 votes out of 17,130 votes cast.

Green then filed an Amended Petition in his suit against the Missouri Republican State Committee. In his amended petition he alleges that the State Republican Committee sent the two previously mentioned post cards. He further alleges that he did not sign, write or in anyway authorize or approve the false letter, which contained false, untrue libelous statements. He further alleges that he was falsely accused of using taxpayer funds belonging to the State of Missouri for a Vacation. That he was taking or going on a taxpayer funded, all expenses paid, vacation or using taxpayer dollars for a vacation and that it would be illegal and a crime under federal and state law for him to do so. Tom Green alleges he never took a vacation to Alaska and has not even been in the State of Alaska. That the purpose and intent of the mailings was t convince the voters to whom the post cards were sent they should not vote for Tom Green for state Representative and that the cards falsely accuse him of a crime, impute a lack of fitness suitable for a holder of public office and conduct incompatible with seeking public office. That the Republican State Committee knew that the statements were libelous, defamatory and showed reckless disregard. He asks in his petition for damages in an amount in excess of Twenty Five Thousand dollars and also that he be awarded punitive damages and any other relief that the Court deems fit.

Green also filed Count II alleging Slander. In Count II he asks for a judgment in excess of Twenty Five Thousand Dollars and also punitive damages to deter the Defendant and others from such similar conduct and any other relief that the Court deems fit.

The Missouri Republican State Committee then filed a motion with the Court to dismiss Green’s suit. It was that motion that Judge Cunningham denied.

Green told the First Capitol News, “I was thrilled that the motion to dismiss by the Missouri Republican State Committee was denied by the Judge and I am looking forward to presenting my case in Court before a jury. It was wrong and illegal what the Republicans did to get their candidate elected. They used their mailings to provide false, libelous and slanderous information to the voters of the 15th District of the State of Missouri in order to get their candidate elected. This goes against everything that this country stands for. I am appalled at their actions. This is not about money. This is about righting a wrong and returning the elective process to the voters.”

New Park Director Ready To Stay Here The Rest Of Her Life

By Lynndi Lockenour

Becoming the new Parks and Recreation Director didn’t come without a price for Maralee Britton. She moved her husband, Chuck, and two children from their home in Indiana where she had lived her entire life. Maralee said she lives a double life between the professional world and having a family. “My husband was extremely supportive of us making the move to Missouri,” she said. Maralee said her husband works in sales and was able to relocate within the company so that he could move to the area also.

She began her position as director in December of last year, even though previous director, Richard Ash, did not officially resign until January. “Having that time to work with Richard allowed me to learn from him and become more acquainted with the department,” she said, “so it was a huge benefit for me.”

Maralee attended college at Indiana State University where she received a degree in recreation management. She said her love for recreation developed after having a summer job in high school as concession stand worker for the swimming pool. While in college, Maralee was required to complete a 600-hour internship, which she did with the Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department. When the internship ended, Maralee then walked into an internship with the department where she remained for 12 years. After spending years as a Hoosier, Maralee was ready for something new.

“Looking to broaden my horizons and expand outside the local area is what brought me Missouri,” she said. “I wanted to not only enhance my career, but also give my husband and children more opportunities as they get older.”

Coming into the position, Maralee said she tried not to have preconceived notions about how things should run. “I’m fortunate that I’ve taken a position with this department because it’s a well oiled machine already,” she said.

As director, one of Maralee’s main focuses is publicity. “Because I have such a great staff working behind me, I feel like I can focus on other things outside the daily routine,” she said, “I want to look at the big picture.”

As an extension of local government, Maralee said she thinks listening to the citizens and residents is extremely important. “We can build facilities or plan programs,” she said, “but if it’s not what the residents want, then it’s not useful.”

As the new director, Maralee welcomes comments, suggestions, or thoughts from the public. “That’s how we know what the residents want,” she said, “So I welcome any new ideas.”

Maralee said her goal, as director is to maintain the system and work on long-term goals for the department. A few of these include the development of an Eco Park (ECO) and Webster Park. Also Maralee is hoping the department will have their website up and running in the next year and a half, which will eventually include online registration for departmental programs.

In the next year the department will also be completing what Maralee calls a “Comprehensive Plan.” It is set to include a roadmap for the future of the department, with input from residents, community stakeholders, and local government. Maralee said it is important for everyone to experience the beauty of a park. “It is absolutely necessary for people, both young and old, to have the ability to come out and enjoy a park,” she said. “It’s wonderful to get away from everyday to life come take pleasure in things with friends and family.”

Though she enjoys her job, Maralee said there are always things, which present a challenge. “It doesn’t scare me though,” she said, “because I see challenges as opportunities for growth and expansion.”

Maralee said she considers herself to be an optimistic person which allows her to not become discouraged if things aren’t going as planned. Though she is relatively new to the area, Maralee said she loves it here. “There are so many things to go do and see that we could probably spend the next 15 years doing that,” she said.

Maralee is prepared to make the transformation from Hoosier to Missourian. “My family and I are set,” she said. “We are prepared to live here the rest of our lives.”

Council Overrides Mayor’s Vetos

Council Overrides Mayor’s Vetos
FIREWORKS NOW LEGAL IN CITY ON JULY 3, 4, 5th

By Phyllis Schaltenbrand

Tuesday evening by a vote of 7-2 the St. Charles City Council overrode three of the Mayor’s vetos relating to fireworks. The Council overrode the Mayor’s veto on Bill 8564 which allows fireworks to be set off on July 3rd, 4th and 5th between the hours of 11am and 11pm for those 16 years of age and older. The bills call for no warnings and for the fireworks to be confiscated if a violation occurs.

A veto of Bill 8565 was also overridden. It calls for fines of up to $500 or up to 3 months imprisonment or both for violations. It also requires fireworks sale stands to post signs regarding the fireworks law in St. Charles and for the operators to distribute flyers to their customers relating the St. Charles ordinance.

Bill 8566 which would require one half of all license fees collected be used to put additional officers on the street to enforce the fireworks ordinance was also overridden.

Previously, fireworks ordinance violations were not responded to by city police.

Council Overrides Mayor’s Vetos

Council Overrides Mayor’s Vetos
FIREWORKS NOW LEGAL IN CITY ON JULY 3, 4, 5th

By Phyllis Schaltenbrand

Tuesday evening by a vote of 7-2 the St. Charles City Council overrode three of the Mayor’s vetos relating to fireworks. The Council overrode the Mayor’s veto on Bill 8564 which allows fireworks to be set off on July 3rd, 4th and 5th between the hours of 11am and 11pm for those 16 years of age and older. The bills call for no warnings and for the fireworks to be confiscated if a violation occurs.

A veto of Bill 8565 was also overridden. It calls for fines of up to $500 or up to 3 months imprisonment or both for violations. It also requires fireworks sale stands to post signs regarding the fireworks law in St. Charles and for the operators to distribute flyers to their customers relating the St. Charles ordinance.

Bill 8566 which would require one half of all license fees collected be used to put additional officers on the street to enforce the fireworks ordinance was also overridden.

Previously, fireworks ordinance violations were not responded to by city police.

St. Charles Optimist Club Awards Five Area Students Scholarships

Lynndi Lockenour

Five local high school seniors were each awarded $1000 scholarships at a luncheon held by the St. Charles Optimist Club on Tuesday. The scholarship committee received 24 applications, choosing only five as what they called the best of the best.

“These students demonstrated excellence and are role models for other young people today,” said Chairman of the scholarship committee, Roger Deppe.

Students were evaluated on extra curricular activities, an essay, recommendations from teachers, community service and required to have a grade point average of 3.2 or higher.

The first recipient was Laura Droste of Lutheran High School, St. Charles. Laura will be attending the University of Missouri Columbia in the fall and though she is undecided about her major, she eventually plans on going to law school.

She says she isn’t scared of leaving home. “I’m ready to go,” she said. “I want to meet new people and further my education.”

Laura is the daughter of Jim and Debbie Droste who say they are excited for her. “She is our third child to leave for college,” Debbie said. “We’ll get through it, but it will be challenging to say goodbye again.”

Emily Friedel, of Duchesne High School was the second recipient. She has also received a scholarship from the American Legion Auxiliary. Emily will be attending the University of Missouri, Columbia and plans on majoring in nursing.

“I love children,” she said, “so I’d like to be a pediatric nurse.”

Emily said she is most excited about the freedom college will bring her. “I cannot wait to get to college,” she said. “I’m most excited about the chance to start are over and meet new people.”

Emily is the daughter of Jim and Judy Friedel. Judy is sad about her daughter leaving. “She is the oldest of four children,” she said. “So this is a first of us, but it’s only an hour and a half away so we can visit.”

St. Charles High School student, Adam Henningsen also received a $1000 scholarship. Adam said his favorite part of high school was having the opportunity to play sports. He has also received scholarships from the St. Charles High School Alumni Association and the University of Missouri Excellence Award Committee.

Adam will be attending the University of Missouri where he will major in political science and someday hopes to attend law school. He graduates May 31 and is counting the days.

“I’m excited about graduation, but my only plans for the summer are getting a job and saving up some money for school,” he said. Adam is the son of Blaine and Cheryl Henningsen.

Orchard Farm High School was also represented at Tuesday’s luncheon as Laura Liston took home a scholarship. She will be majoring in marketing, with a possible minor in Spanish as a freshman at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri.

Laura is the daughter of Keith and Jeanne Liston who say they are apprehensive about about their daughter moving so far away. “We love having her around the house,” Keith said, “But this just means we’ll be taking more trips to Kansas City.”

He said the ceremony was a nice way to celebrate his daughter’s achievements. “It feels good to have my daughter recognized, but I would have been proud of her no matter what,” he said.

Logan Phillips, representing St. Charles West High School was the final recipient. He says he is most proud of his time management skills. “My greatest accomplishment has been being able to manage everything during my senior year,” he said. “I’m involved in lots of things, so it was difficult at times.”
Logan will attend West Point Military Academy and hopes in ten years to be leading a group of men and women through a jungle somewhere.

Logan’s father isn’t worried about sending him to the academy. “I retired from the air force,” he said, “so I know Logan will do fine.”

Logan is the son of Jim and Debbie Phillips who have a daughter who will be attending law school at the University of Missouri this fall. “It’s nice to see your children succeed,” Jim said.

Lindenwood ROTC Graduation and Commissioning of Officers

Lindenwood ROTC Graduation and Commissioning of Officers

Pictured above on the left is Dr. Dennis Spellmann, President of Lindenwood University. Dr. Spellmann is administrating the oath to 2nd. Lieutenant Ronald Vinyard as he graduates from Lindenwood University with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and goes on active duty with the United States Army assigned to Military Intelligence, Detailed Infantry. Looking on are Lieutenant Vinyard’s girl friend and mother. Standing in the background is Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Wilson, Commander of the Gateway Army ROTC Battalion.

Five graduating students from Lindenwood University were commissioned at the Lindenwood University Cultural Center on Friday, May 13th along with graduates from St. Louis University and Webster University.

Each graduate to be commissioned was allowed to choose who would administer the oath and Lt. Vinyard chose Dr. Spellmann.

Other ROTC Commissionees graduating from Lindenwood University were: Daniel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice who will be going on active duty in the U.S. Army Transportation Corps; Adam Klipp with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Services/Religion who is entering the Army Reserves Quartermaster Corps; Tamir Middleton with a Bachelor of Science in Management information entering the Army Reserves Quartermaster Corps; and Adam West with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice entering Active Duty with the U.S Army Armor Corps.

Remarks were given by Brigidar General King Sidwell, Missouri Adjutant General who received a presentation from Dr. Spellmann. This is the first time that the Annual Commissioning Ceremony was held in St. Charles at Lindenwood University.

THE CITY DESK - Rory Riddler City Council President

Missouri
Legislature Is Best
Government Money Can Buy

Part I: How Many Backdoors Does The State Capitol Need?

He spoke in hushed tones so no one around him could hear. To protect his identity, let’s just call him John. John works in Jefferson City and has observed Missouri politics for many years. “Everything is for sale now. If you have the money any rule, regulation or law can be changed just like that,” and he snapped his fingers for emphasis.

I promised to keep John’s job title and political affiliation secret to make it harder for those who might expose his identity. Those who know me, are aware I routinely stay in contact with a wide range of elected and appointed officials in the State Capitol of both political parties. The source of the quote above is in a position to know what’s going on and I believe him.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think our State Officials are personally pocketing huge sums of cash. There are still men and women of conscience in both political parties to be found. But there are many others, too many, who are abusing their power and selling out our interests.

Let us suppose there was a certain State Senator who wanted to take money from a variety of special interest groups and not have to worry about those pesky “limits” on how much those interests can donate to his political campaign. “Oooh, call on me, I know, I know!” I have to learn to control my enthusiasm for investigative journalism.

What this State Senator does is tell them to donate to his “leadership” fund. These are the special committees that State Representatives and Senators set up to fund their campaigns for positions of leadership within their respective bodies. These are not formal campaign committees so the campaign laws of the State don’t apply.

They use these funds to give donations to other State Representatives and State Senators, or to the House or Senate Republican and Democratic Campaign Committees, to gain the allegiance of other members. They can also justify entertainment expenses and flying around the State for events.

It use to be that only a few of these committees existed. Then someone figured out it is a great way to take huge sums of money from special interest groups and individuals who had already given the maximum allowed by State Law or didn’t want their names to show up on public campaign spending reports.

Yes that violates the spirit of the law, but it is the “backdoor” by which those with money buy influence in Jefferson City. Unlike the house you or I live in, there are many “backdoors” in Missouri’s State Capitol. The problem for average taxpayers is they’re all marked “Private: Millionaires Only”.

The State Senator who is the subject of the first part of this column has such a fund. I’m told he has amassed over $100,000 in his leadership fund, though I wouldn’t say he is a likely candidate among his peers to be elected to it. You can’t go on-line and look up who donated to him like you can his campaign spending reports. Try calling the Campaign Finance people and they refer you to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State’s Office refers you to the House Clerk. The House Clerk is out.

These funds are self-regulated and kept out of the public eye. But you can tell a lot about who donates to them by the peculiar actions and great lengths some of our friends in the Missouri General Assembly will go to protect and advance the cause of certain special interests.

Recently a telecommunications bill was passed by the House and Senate that dismisses those “pesky” law suits municipalities had filed to try to get back taxes owed to those local communities from the telecommunications giants. It also forgave these multi-billion dollar industries for any back taxes they may have owed. They can’t seem to lower property taxes for most Seniors. They can’t fund medicaid for the working poor. They can’t fully fund the School foundation formula for our kids. But they can forgive millions of back taxes owed to cities by giant telecommunications giants.

One local State Representative was recently featured in a glossy two page full-color spread in a county magazine. It is the kind of publicity most politicians only dream of. It was a total fluff piece that read like the kind of newsletters people send to their relatives at Christmas to tell them everything the family has been up to for the last year. It is probably framed by now and hanging on the wall of the State Representative in question.

What the casual reader may not have noticed was a full-page ad that appeared earlier in the magazine. It was from Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC) one of the biggest backers of the special interest legislation to benefit the telecommunications companies in Missouri.
The ad congratulated this State Representative and probably cost a couple of thousand dollars. If SBC wanted to give a campaign donation to the State Representative in question, State Law would have limited them to donating just $300 per election. In this one ad, SBC was able to exceed the limit by several times.

Further, there is the value of the two-page feature the State Representative received from this magazine. It is hard to imagine that SBC placed this ad on their own, without knowing the State Representative would be featured. If they were told by the State Representative or encouraged to do so by the magazine, then their ability to pay for the ad may have “leveraged” the good coverage and have been worth even more.

In Part II of this expanded column we will look at two specific special interest laws our legislators passed as I take you through more of the backdoors of Missouri’s State Capitol. Be sure to bring your signed permission slips and try to dress like millionaires.

RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer

MEMORIAL DAY

Memorial Day is next week so therefore we will not have a publication on May 28th. Our next publication will be on June 4th. Any breaking news in the meantime may be found on our web log on the internet: firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com

DAN GOULD ON HOLD

A request by former City Councilman Dan Gould for a liquor license for his Oliver’s Restaurant on North Main Street was postponed to the next City Council meeting.

The motion, made at Tuesday’s meeting, was made by City Councilwoman Dottie Greer. Greer, prior to being elected to the City Council, appeared at a City Council meeting complaining that her representative, Councilman Gould, was not helping with problems in the ward. At that meeting Gould admonished Greer and told her, “If you think you can do a better job why don’t you run for the Council?” Greer accepted the challenge and was the winner in a five person race in which Gould finished last.

Gould then became involved in a recall campaign in an attempt to remove Greer from office led by the wives of St. Charles police officers and supporters of the Mayor. Gould is a member of the committee that had to sign an affidavit to start the recall campaign.

Gould, a paramedic with the Maryland Heights Fire Department, was arrested by the St. Charles Police for DWI while serving on the Council. He was coming from the Mayor’s Charity Ball when the incident occurred. It was reported that he was belligerent and obnoxious to the arresting officer. It was also reported that while confined, he threatened and cursed the officers and then offered to give them a take home police car. Gould later plead guilty to the charges.

One Council member told the First Capitol News that he had grave concerns about issuing a liquor license to someone who had been charged with a DWI and who shows aggression and rage towards police officers.

Local restaurant operators are also angry. They told the FCN that it appears Gould and his partner(s) are operating the restaurant without a liquor license or occupancy permit. They told the FCN they believed it was against the law for Gould and partner(s) to be using the liquor license of the previous owner. They also told us the previous owner was allowed to operate the restaurant without a hood in the kitchen. They believe that the kitchen is in the basement and that the hood is a safety item that has been ignored in the past. According to them, a hood is required by city and county codes and that if Gould is allowed to operate without one they are planning on taking action and demanding that the restaurant be brought up to code.

Police Chief Tim Swope and Gould are or were good friends. They grew up together and attended the same schools.

The First Capitol News was told that after the Council meeting on Tuesday evening the Mayor and Councilman Kneemiller met with Gould and gave him the news that his license request had been placed on hold. Gould allegedly told them that Chief Swope had told him he should consider dropping his name from the committee that was formed to recall Councilwoman Greer. Allegedly Swope told Gould he did not think it was wise to apply for a liquor license while attempting to recall a Council member. Gould allegedly told the Mayor and Kneemiller he believed Chief Swope was encouraged by Councilman John Gieseke to make those comments. Gieseke also grew up and went to school with Swope and Gould. A source also told us that Gould was talking to Councilman Muench, a supporter of his, and told Muench he was going to the newspapers and dish dirt on everyone on the council and he didn’t care if it was true or not.

We were told that Gould went into one of the angry rants he is famous for and threatened to get even with everyone involved.

Evidently the Mayor and Kneemiller went running to City Administrator, Dr. Allan Williams, who is considering what action to take if any against the Chief.

In the meantime the restaurant is open and other restaurant operators believe it is being operated by Gould and they want the city or state liquor control to take action to stop these apparent violations of law.

It appears the Mayor and Kneemiller are pushing hard to help Gould get a liquor license. Because of their efforts, by running to the City Administrator, they are making overtures and threats about Chief Swope’s job.

Swope has been a friend of Gould’s and was only trying to help a friend understand life. It is a shame Gould would place his friend’s job in jeapordy in a fit of rage. It is obvious the Mayor is trying to grasp for anything to get the focus off her own shortcomings.

We spoke to several Council members who said they do not believe this will cause any trouble for Chief Swope or affect his job. One member said this is just another rant by Gould and that Gould is always chasing uniforms.

THIS JUST IN
POWELL TO PEORIA?

At press time a source told us Steve Powell, former CEO of the CVB will be going to work in Peoria, Illinois.

THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor

Dear Editor:

Last week, the British press made public a memo leaked by British Intelligence. That memo is getting next to no coverage in the American press.

This memo, dated July 23, 2002, quotes Richard Dearlove, then-head of Britain’s M-16, briefing Tony Blair on the Bush Administration’s plans to launch war on Iraq was “justified by the conjunction of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.” He also states that “the intelligence and facts are being fixed around the policy.” In other words, Bush planned to make war on Iraq no matter what the intelligence said! And, he planned to cook the books to make sure it said there were WMDs and a link to the World Trade Center terrorists!

This story deserves coverage in the mainstream American press for the benefit of the American people. Where’s the coverage?

Howard P. Hoskins
St. Charles, MO 63303

Charles Hill
First Capital News
Dear Charles Hill;

This Letter is in response to your May 14-20 article. I think we should look to the future, Mr. Powell is history. I own and operate Lococo House ll Bed & Breakfast and when prospective guests call to make reservations the first question is, where is the closest shopping and what are the hours of operation.

My first thoughts for St. Charles Tourism success are to unite North Main, South Main and Frenchtown. We need the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) to be as interested in North Main and Frenchtown as they are in South Main. If we could unite, we would have many more times the ideas and more creative energy, to help us be more successful.

Let’s provide our volunteers at the CVB who work on the weekends, holidays and Festivals with more training and information, and once again, let’s promote North Main St. And Frenchtown. I’m looking forward to a successful and evolving Historical shopping area in St. Charles Mo.

Another area we need to improve, let’s make it more appealing for local residence to shop on Main St. and Frenchtown. I am very proud of St. Charles and look forward to its growth and unity.

Rhona Lococo
Lococo House II
1309 N. Fifth St.
St. Charles, MO. 63301

Tony,

My name is Albert Hamann. I enjoy your paper very much and can’t go from week to week without it. I am sending you this sheet that I thought it would be something for you to print in the paper. I am one of those lucky ones that got to return. Lots of my friends didn’t.

I have a cap that says “American Vet & Proud of It” the only one I have ever seen and get a lot of comments when people see it. They have also bought my meal when at a restaurant. I thank them for their thoughtfulness.

Keep up the good work.

Thank you very much,
Albert Hamann

Editor’s Note
You will find your message about veterans above..
Dear Tony,

Your recent column stated there are five members of the st. Charles City Council who represent the interests of the citizens of st. Charles.

As a City Council meeting in April, Jerry Reese, our Councilman presented a bill to change the ordinances that governs noise and nuisances. These five Councilmen that you refer to voted against this change which in effect supported out of town truck drivers as opposed to city taxpayers. I just wanted to point out that these people do not always represent the citizens of the City of St. Charles.
Sincerely ,

Larry Regan

Editor’s response

The bill that Mr. Reese introduced would have made the truck drivers responsible for the noise you are experiencing. Experience has shown that truck drivers from all over the United States are delivering in your area and when ticketed they do not bother to pay the fine or even show up for court. On a matter such as this the City is not going to the expense to attempt to extradite them. The five Council members you mention did not believe that the stop gap ordinance introduced by Mr. Reese would have any effect. Councilman John Gieseke then introduced an ordinance that would make the property owner, Wal-Mart responsible for the noise and they would have to stop it or suffer being ticketed. Unlike the drivers who may never venture back into St. Charles, Wal-Mart is there and will have to make sure that the trucks no longer bother your neighborhood. This bill will be voted on at the first Council meeting in June.

New Zoning Means Changes For Business Owners In Frenchtown

Lynndi Lockenour

The recent rezoning of Second Street in historic Frenchtowne has business owners worried that redevelopment will follow. Rory Riddler, president of the city council and member in charge of the district, says this is not the case. “Rezoning doesn’t mean redevelopment,” he said. “It means that the area went from being commercial-industrial zoned, to commercial-residential zoned property.”

Under the new zoning ordinance, all current businesses will be grandfathered in, with most properties on the north end of Second Street falling under the category of legal non-conforming properties. This means that the business currently in operation could close for up one year and any new business that takes its place would follow the same zoning distinctions as the business that left.

Riddler says the city takes a long view at what the change means for the area. “Rezoning in the city of St. Charles is a way of controlling the area throughout time so that eventually the districts all match one another,” he said.

Repeating it several times throughout the interview, Riddler says that the zoning change has nothing to do with the redevelopment. Developing an ECO Park on the riverside of Kathy Trail Park and the possibility of a river overlook are ideas being discussed as what Riddler calls redevelopment. “There is also money set aside to create a round about at the intersection of Third, Fourth and Tecumseh Streets,” he said. “It will bring a focal point to the area.”

Riddler wants to see the area grow and improve itself. He was one of many supporters of the Foundry Art Centre, established a year ago, and also helped to get them the money they needed. “I hope this brings more artsy businesses into the area,” Riddler said.
Riddler also had a hand in creating the Façade Improvement Grant which matches up to $12,500 in improvements a business owner makes to redo the front of their property.

As a result of wanting to make improvements, redevelopers have become interested in the area, specifically Griffey Company Home Builders. Though they have not submitted a development plan, Riddler says the company currently has a lawyer who is studying the area. “I’m not sure how long it will take them to get a plan ready,” he said. “They could walk away from the entire thing tomorrow if they wanted because nothing is set in stone.”

Riddler says he hopes the company continues to show interest in the area. “There is so much potential for the properties on Second Street and it means so much for the residential area nearby that doing nothing is not an option,” he said.

Riddler says he has given the company guidelines about staying away from old buildings and keeping their plans manageable. He says some business owners are upset about the possibility of rezoning, yet they would be eventually be willing to sell their properties. “Some of them are really irate upfront,” he said, “but if you talk to them, you find out they already have a price in mind to propose to the redevelopers.”
Business owner, Jim Wetter, says he can understand both sides of the debate. Wetter owns Moore Oil Company, which has been in business since 1932. For this reason, Wetter says he sympathizes with Second Street business owners who are worried about losing their businesses. “I’m in favor of cleaning up the area,” Wetter said, “but it’ll never be a South Main Street because too many of the building were built in the last 40 years and currently house businesses.”

Wetter organized a meeting May third to discuss the problem after hearing rumors from concerned business owners in the area. Tammy Lawing, president of the Historic Frenchtowne Association, was invited to the meeting to explain what the zoning ordinance change means for business owners.

At the meeting Lawing said she talked to business owners about the difference between redevelopment and zoning. “The zoning change doesn’t automatically mean a developer is coming into the area,” she said. “For redevelopment to occur, a plan would have to be submitted and we haven’t seen anything on paper yet.”

Wetter has made improvements to his business in the last year, which he said should constitute redevelopment. “If the work I’ve done on my place is considered redevelopment, then I think business owners should be willing to spruce up their area,” Wetter said, “especially since they can receive grants from the city to do so.”

Lawing said it is only natural for the city to want business owners to keep their places looking nice. “The city is making a financial investment in the area, so it follows that they would want business owners to make private investments to clean-up their properties,” she said.

Lawing said the reason many business owners are confused about the zoning change is because they chose not to be involved in the process. “I, as a member of the Historic Frenchtowne Association, would be more than happy to inform them of what’s going on if they want to know.”

Lawing said she hopes her discussion with the business owners was helpful, but fears that might not be the case. “Most of them had preconceived notions about what’s going on,” she said, “so I doubt they listened to anything I had to say.”

St. Charles has what Lawing calls an “Economic Enhancement Strategy Plan” which calls for all business owners on Second Street to eventually be under the same zoning laws. “Every business that currently exists will be grandfathered into existence within the new plan,” she said. “This means all current businesses will remain as long as they continue to do the types of work currently in progress.”

Dorothy Boshears, treasurer of the Historic Frenchtowne Association, spoke at the city council meeting in favor of the zoning change. “Frenchtowne has its own character and we want to bring positive attention to the area,” she said. The ordinance will not change any of the current business, so I’m not sure why the business owners are so upset.”

Ken Mathews, owner of Mathew’s Technological Services Inc., said he has plenty of reasons to be upset with the actions that have been taken. Though he said he feels there is definitely some dynamic to change the scenery, he said the process is wrong. “I would agree that there are some business owners on the street who need to redo their store fronts,” he said, “But taking our property away is not the way to do it.”
Mathews said he’s afraid to see a redeveloper move into the area. “I’m scared that it will turn in to a ‘make your deal or taste the blade’ situation,” he said.

Like several business owners, Mathews said he’s spent time improving his building since he first bought it. He said he was invited to move his business to the Second Street area by Dorothy Boshears and her husband. However, after the invitation, Mathews said he feels as though it was for nothing. “Why invite me out here if this organization [Historic Frenchtowne Association] was a rubber stamp on the document of plans which already exists to eliminate us?”

Mathews said no matter what happens, he and his wife intend to carry on with their business. “This is how we make our living,” he said. “But I guess we’ll all get to see what happens soon.

He said members of the association told him he should have attended the meetings if he wanted to be informed as to what was happening. “I own a business here and I think I should be notified more than the legal 10 days before something is suppose to happen.”

Mathews said there is inertia in the area to be dirty and rotten. “We’ve gone from being the funky north end people to prime real-estate that’s worth money,” he said.

Mathews is afraid of what may be around the corner. “I can’t be sure if they are going to sell us out to developers or actually work with us,” he said.

Another concerned business owner is Jerry Kelly. Having lived in St. Charles for 40 years, he owns four buildings on the street, with his main air-conditioning business located at 800 North Second Street.

Kelly said though the changes seem minor now, but he thinks there is something larger to come. “They say everything currently here will be grandfathered in, but expansion is another issue,” he explains. “If I want to make changes to my property, it’s possible someone will be able to stop me.”

Kelly said he thinks there is a rush to get the laws changed based on a similar situation the Supreme Court is currently set to hear involving rezoning and redevelopment in Virginia. “If the supreme court rules that all this is illegal, then we’ll all have ourselves in a pickle,” he said.

Kelly said he thinks there is more going on than the city is telling the business owners. “When someone is knocking on my door wanting to buy my property, then something is going on that they aren’t telling us,” he said.

Like Mathews, Kelly said members of the Historic Frenchtowne Association told him he should have attended more meetings and been involved. “My contribution comes in the form of a $40,000 a week payroll to my 38 employees,” he said. “It takes a lot of time to make that happen and there are only so many hours in the day.”

Doug Medley, owner of Frenchtowne Transmission, says he too is worried about the possibilities, which could emerge from the rezoning. “I’m afraid it’s going to affect my business,” he said. “I’m the sole source of income for my family and I have two young children at home to support.”

Medley fears his current consumer base will drop if he’s forced to move to another location. “People are only going to drive so far,” he said, “especially if they have a broken down car.”

Florence Bommarito Receives Adobe Expert Instructor Certification

Florence Bommarito Receives Adobe Expert Instructor Certification

Florence A. Bommarito has received an Adobe Certified Expert, Illustrator CS and Adobe Certified Instructor, Illustrator CS.

On Adobe.com - solutions - partners - trainers - she is listed as one of the two listings in Missouri for Certified instructors.

Mrs. Bommarito has been a computer graphics instructor with the St. Louis Community College District for 17 years. She has been a freelance artist/trainer for over 20 years. Her business is FAB Graphics and can be reached by e-mail at flobomm@yahoo.com.

COMMENTS & COMMENTARY by Charles Hill

Steve Powell willed the convention center out of the ground. Come on. I do believe the voters of the City willed the convention center out of the ground when they voted to build it. This is typical of the CVB to overstate their importance. So let us once again revisit Steve Powell’s accomplishments the Mayor bragged on:

The Miniature Museum cost the taxpayers over $500,000 and is closed because nobody went to it.

The Goldenrod Showboat cost the taxpayers over $5,000,000 and is closed and was given away..

The Lewis and Clark Rendezvous was suppose to have one million people and had less than 100,000. There are rumors that the Foundation, headed by Powell and Venetia McIntyre, are in default to a number of the vendors. Keep in mind Powell rented a barge hotel, parking lots and buses to transport the predicted onslaught of people from The UMB (Riverport) parking lot to St. Charles. I am told the buses carried just under 1000 people that weekend. If you do the math, we could have paid less to have limos driving them.

To inflate the accomplishments of Powell is a disservice to all of us who actually have invested our own money in Main Street. You see, Powell never had to worry about making rent payments/mortgage payments. Powell really never had to worry about where his money was going to come from because the people of St.Charles graciously pay a tax on every meal they eat at a restaurant or fast food place to support the tourism effort. Powell, and a select few on South Main, believe they are entitled to spend that money as they please. For this reason, I believe Powell is gone. The City Council saw the abuse and started to place controls on Powell and he didn’t like it. A great example is Hartmann Design, Powell created a way that Hartmann would get any, and all, business from him.

I didn’t want to have to call Powell’s performance out, but when you have a less than truthful statement from the Mayor of the City someone has to set the record straight.

I am beginning to understand why this City has the problems it does. No one can tell the truth and if they lie enough, then it must be the truth. The biggest oversell of fact is Powell’s assertion that the Convention Center is a success. Thanks to a tip received today, I checked the web site for the Convention Center and found there are no, I repeat no events, scheduled for the next four months. Maybe we can get Powell to will people into the Convention Center. Hopefully he can do a better job than he did willing people to Main Street.

Foundry Art Centre Celebrates First Year In St. Charles

Lynndi Lockenour

The Grand Hall glistens on the canvases as the sun pours through the windows of the Foundry Arts Centre and onto the artwork lining its main corridor. Celebrating its first year in existence only a few weeks ago, the center opened May 9, 2004.

Once home to the St. Charles Manufacturing Company, the plant was founded in 1873 and was used to make railroad cars. Though most of the remnants have been eliminated with the recent $2.2 million renovation, the large industrial crane used to lift the rail cars can still be seen hanging from the ceiling near the back of the main gallery.

Joyce Rosen, executive director for the Foundry, said the design for the center
came from a torpedo factory she visited in Alexandria, Virginia. The old factory was converted into an arts center in 1974. “After going to see the factory in Virginia, I decided we needed something like this in the area,” she said.

Construction for the Foundry began in October of 2003 and was completed in April of 2004, a week ahead of schedule. Rosen said the project ended up just as she wanted it to.
“It’s everything I thought it would be and more,” she said.

Rosen first explored the St. Louis area as a possible site for the center, but found that at the time, the artists didn’t feel safe in the area. After finding the current location, she said the artists were more comfortable with the St. Charles area and said felt it induced the creative processes.

The Foundry currently has 27 artists working in 20 of the 21 studios upstairs. The last studio is left open for rentals and as a space for teaching classes. The artists work in a variety of mediums, including painting, digital imaging, sculpture, pottery and beading. Several of the individual artists work in multiple mediums as well.

Natalie Toney is one artist who uses different techniques to create her work. Graduating with her BFA in painting, and returning in the fall to WashU to earn her MFA, Natalie works with glass, Plexiglas, wood, and a variety of other materials. She then mixes chemicals like iodine and paints, applying them to the previous materials to create unique circular designs. She said the majority of her pieces go through at least 10 layers of painting and chemical applications before being completed. “With this type of artistry it’s difficult to know when I’m finished,” she said. “But after leaving it alone for four or five weeks, then I come back to see if there is something I feel needs improvement.”

The center is also home to the St. Charles County Symphony who holds practice every Tuesday night. “By also incorporating music into the Foundry, we truly are an arts center and not just another gallery,” Rosen said.
She said visitors have been happy with the center thus far. “The center has been phenomenally received,” she said. “The first word out of most people’s mouth when they come in is ‘Wow!’”

Rosen said the building has been nicknamed the “the building of happy light” because it is a more open space than most galleries, especially with it’s countless windows. “The artists upstairs say the light is wonderful to paint by,” she said.

Tony Schnabel said his studio in the Foundry has been a create place to work. Though he now creates digital art, he began his work as an artist in photography 30 years ago. “It’s better for me to work with natural light,” he said. “This is also a great space because it’s such an inspired environment and that allows my creative processes to flow.”

Rosen said she finds having the artists upstairs is something new for the patrons who visit the center. “They can see the artists at work and I think it allows people to see and understand the artistic process more,” she said, “especially with how the artwork is created.”

Rosen said even those who don’t think they will enjoy art might find something of interest within the center. “Creativity comes in many ways,” she said. “We are getting people in the door who never thought they would enjoy art, but if they are creative in some fashion, they find something they can relate with.”

For those interested in beads and jewelry, Kate Valleroy’s studio is a sight to see. Though she graduated with a BFA in metalworking and sculpture, she found a love for beads. “Sometimes I’m motivated by nature and other times by the color of something,” she said. “The materials are usually what tell me how something is suppose to look.”

Rosen said she thinks starting artistic activities at an early age is good for children. “Studies have shown that it helps with creative thinking and solving problems,” she said.

She said a lot of parents discourage the arts and schools cut art programs first when budgets are tight. “You hear stories all the time of young children who might not do very well in school,” she said, “but creatively they are brilliant and we should work with that.”

The center offers a children’s gallery, which showcases the artwork of children in schools throughout the county.

Rosen herself began as an artist. She said as a child she loved to draw and found a passion in creating art from an early age. She became involved with artists organizations, serving multiple positions within them throughout the years. “My interest has always been in the arts,” she said, “and finding ways to bring it the public. For me, creating this center was just another way to do that.”

Owner Of Phoenix Title Indicted By Federal Grand Jury

A federal grand jury has indicted the owner of Phoenix Title on wire and bank fraud charges connected to a $3.9-million mortgage fraud scheme.

41-year-old James Andrew Thurman, 41, of the 2600 block of Hampton in St. Charles, was indicted on nine felony counts of wire fraud and one felony count of bank fraud

Federal prosecutors say that, beginning in 2002 and continuing until April 2005, Thurman defrauded Phoenix Title's customers of approximately $3,840,000 and defrauded First Bank of St. Charles of approximately $100,000.

They say Thurman fraudulently transferred approximately $3.84 million from Phoenix Title's customers' escrow funds to either a second company he owned, James Andrew Properties, Inc., or to his own personal bank account.

Phoenix Title, Inc. was formed in 1996 and was located at 324 N. Main Street in St. Charles. The company conducted real estate closings and loan closings for its customers. Prosecutors say Phoenix Title was obligated to receive money from lenders for a particular loan, hold the money in escrow, receive and hold a customer's earnest money deposit, and then use these monies to make payments in accordance with the particular loan's settlement statement. Phoenix Title also sold title insurance policies while acting as an agent for two underwriting title insurance companies, Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, Jacksonville, Florida and Guarantee Title Insurance Company, Creve Coeur, Missouri.

In January, Thurman allegedly ordered his employees to delay disbursements of customers' escrow funds for ten days in order to mask shortages in the customers' escrow funds. Phoenix Title's underwriter at the time, Fidelity National Title, learned of the delay and contacted Thurman to schedule an audit.

Prosecutors say Thurman then borrowed nearly $2-million from his parents and deposited it into Phoenix Title's accounts in odd amounts in order to make the deposits appear as normal business receipts.

WHAT IS A VETERAN?

WHAT IS A VETERAN?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day and making sure the armored personnel carriers didn’t run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel. She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Dab Nano.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn’t come back AT ALL.

He is the Quantico drill instruction who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other’s backs. He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand. He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by. He is the three anonymous heroes in the Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of al the anonymous heroes whose valor died unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean’s sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravating slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life’s most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs. he is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known. So remember each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. that’s all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, “THANK YOU”.

It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who served beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.

As we think about Memorial Day, we thank all of our military men and women - our veterans and those currently serving al over the world - for the sacrifices they made, and are making, so that we might enjoy the freedoms and the way of life we treasure.
THANK YOU!

By Father Dennis Edward O’Brien United States Marine Corps

Role Players Needed For Emergency Exercise

he St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment is seeking volunteers to role play as victims in a Bioterrorism exercise on June 15, 2005.

During the exercise, St. Charles and other Region C counties, will demonstrate and assess their emergency response plans by operating medication dispensing sites.

A medication dispensing site would be used, in the event of a Bioterrorism attack or widespread disease outbreak, to distribute medication to large numbers of people as efficiently and quickly as possible.

On the day of the exercise, volunteers will attend an orientation, receive lunch, be assigned a role playing card and then proceed through the medication clinic as a “victim”. Volunteer orientation will begin at 11:30am and the exercise will conclude at 3:00pm.

To volunteer or get more information please contact Hope Woodson, Public Health Response Planner at
636-949-7554.

Police Conduct Liquor Compliance Checks

St. Charles Police Conduct Liquor Compliance Checks

On Wednesday, May 18, 2005, the St. Charles Police Department School Resource Officers in cooperation with State Liquor Control conducted Liquor Compliance checks at business in St. Charles that sell liquor.

The officers, made up of three teams, conducted 36 attempts to have underage minors attempt to purchase liquor at various stores throughout the City. Of these 36
attempts, nine minors were able to purchase the alcohol relating to violations at 25 percent of the checks.

The employees that sold the liquor to the minors were issued summonses to appear in St. Charles Municipal Court.

Funding this operation was provided by a three-year grant, State Department of Mental Health grant, to help reduce underage drinking.

Further compliance checks are scheduled for the future. These upcoming checks will include businesses that sell alcoholic beverages by the drink

Sheriff's Deputy Charged With Drug Sale

The First Capitol News learned as we were going to press that a St. Charles County Deputy Sheriff had been arrested for drug sales.

The Deputy, Adrian Warner, was arrested by members of the St. Charles County Drug Enforcement Unit.

The Deputy was assigned to civil process in the Sheriff’s office.

STRAIGHT TALK - Bob Hoepfner Councilman Ward 10

To The Editor
St. Charles County Post Dispatch
Fred Erlich

On Monday, May 16, 2005 the St. Charles County Post printed a column written by John Sonderegger and titled, Charleytown. In that column there were statements and quotes attributed to me that were not made by me.

As an example, the column quoted me as saying The First Capitol News censored my weekly columns. I categorically deny that I said that. The First Capitol News has limits, as does the Post, on what can be said. I believe we like to call that responsible journalism.

Another example is quotes regarding Councilman John Gieseke. While I may have disagreement with Mr. Gieseke on certain issues that verbiage used in the column belongs totally to Mr. Charleytown.

After the column was published, I called Sonderegger and took exception to the quotes and statements attributed to me and he admitted that I never said them. I am bringing this to your attention and the public's’ attention so that you can take the proper action to see that this matter is corrected. I would appreciate it if you would have a correction published. Things like this, misquotes, mistatements of fact is what causes the public to be skeptical of what they read in your publication.

Bob Hoepfner
Councilman Ward 10

FIRST CAPITOL NEWS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

First Capitol News Athlete of the Week

“The greatest risk is to not take any risk at all.”

Amanda Butz, Sophomore, St. Charles High School

By: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor

Imagine the excitement one might feel knowing they had qualified to compete in the State finals of their respective sport. Factor in the fact that the achievement was made during their first year of high school competition, and then factor in the amazing fact that the individual qualified in not only one, but five, yes five events, and you have the story of St. Charles High sophomore swimmer Amanda Butz.

Getting Amanda to talk about herself is about as hard as giving a cat a bath. She specializes in giving one, two, at most three word answers. Thankfully her head swimming coach at High, Tammy Orrick, has volumes to say about Amanda. “She is an amazing athlete,” said Orrick. “She is a great student, conscientious, makes friends very easily, just an all around great kid.” Wondering how someone as quiet as Amanda could be a team leader, Orrick suggested, “The other girls look at her and want to achieve some of what Amanda has achieved. She has pulled this swim team together and made it what it is today.” One cannot stress how shy Amanda really is. Orrick begged to offer, “She is really coming out of her shell.”

This is Amanda’s first year competing at the high school level. Prior to this year Missouri State High School Activities Association rules prevented swimmers from competing in both Club and high school competition. Many of the really good swimmers, such as Amanda, stayed with their Club team. The change in rules allow such athletes as Amanda to “swim both Club and high school, and they are allowed to participate, and qualify for as many events as they wish,” explained Orrick. Amanda’s times have qualified her to compete in five events. They are: the 200 meter freestyle, the 500 meter freestyle, the 200 meter individual medley, the 100 meter freestyle and the 50 meter freestyle. Amanda’s favorite race the “200 free style.”

Amanda lives with her mom and dad, Jim and Karen Butz. Her older brother, Matt attends St. Charles Community College. Her 11-year-old brother Timmy is following in his sister’s footsteps in that he too is a swimmer. Her primary motivator is her “grandpa, Jim Flanagan. He is at every one of my swim meets. It means everything to me looking into the crowd and knowing he is there for me.” Finally Amanda was able to respond to a question with more than three words.

Amanda’s favorite eating establishment is Fazoli’s, where if I were buying, she would order “ a bunch of different types of spaghetti.” She may be shy, but she is clearly knows what she likes, as she would finish her meal off “with something chocolate.”

To nominate an athlete contact Mike McMurran at mcmurran@charter.net or 314.280.9189

MY COLUMN - Mike McMurran Sports Editor

First a little house cleaning. St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Spanish Lake is not yet closed. The final Mass will be said on Saturday, June 25th. I am not yet certain what time the Mass is scheduled to begin, but I do know the old school and Parish Hall will be open to visit for one final time.

Secondly, to those of who you pointed out that the past three “Athletes of the Week” were all baseball players – I have a question: Have any of you nominated someone for the award? I happen to know the answer is “no.” Feel free to nominate someone; time is running out as most high school spring district competition is over, meaning the State Championships are right around the corner. On a related note, upon the conclusion of the spring season we will be recognizing a “Team of the Week.” It could be anything from a first grade baseball team to an amateur slow pitch softball team.

Special thanks to Amy Higgins for pointing out to Paul Higgins that the tie in to last week’s column and sports was the fact the incident took place at a softball game. The Family Higgins teamed up with the McMurran Family this past Saturday at the Moose Lodge’s trivia night. After nine rounds we were tied for second place, due largely to our perfect score, the only one of the evening mind you, in round #9; of course the category was sports. In round ten we fell apart and finished in 5th place. A special thank you to all who chimed in and sang Happy Birthday to Paul, who was celebrating his 41st that evening.

One would think that a graduate of the University of Missouri at Rolla would know the difference between a “left” thinking and “right” thinking newspaper. Such is not the case. It seems Randy Hunt, a graduate of UMR, wanted to know exactly how I came associated with such a radical “right wing paper.” After a brief lesson in Civics, Randy understood that if anything, the FCN leaned to the left. He wanted to know why some of the stories he saw in this fine weekly never appeared in other St. Charles publications. That was question I could not answer for him.

“Left, Right,” its all relative. To most of my friends I am considered too far left. To most of my colleagues in the Jennings School District I am considered too far right. While we are on the subject, my wife considers me a necessary evil, and my children consider me “the world’s greatest dad.” The only one that matters to me is the last.

Very quickly, I wish to comment on a certain web site that claims to look out for St. Charles. It seems that some old newspaper press clippings about me have been discussed and tossed about. Fine, they didn’t concern me ten years ago and they surely do not concern me now. Politics can be, and usually are dirty. The smaller the community the worse it seems to be. Back to the web site. I used to read the comment posted, and sometimes even posted my own comments. Once, whomever runs the site, changed everything I said and completely turned around my argument. Talk about censorship – no, censorship is not a strong enough word. How about blatant lies!

Remember, start thinking now about which teams you wish to nominate for “Team of the Week.” If you do not contact me, don’t complain.

Any way, I wonder how Amy will explain to Paul how this one merits being in the Sports Section.

Rage are for real; looking down at rest of division

Rage are for real; looking down at rest of division
The River City Rage of the NIFL were on the alert Saturday night at The Family Arena; The Dayton Warbirds were flying in, loaded with plenty of Division-I college talent, a number of former Ohio State players, and even a few ex-NFL names gracing the roster. An upstart team, on a 3 game winning streak, led by former St. Louis Ram Steve Bellisari at quarterback. They also boasted the NIFL’s number three overall scoring offense; Bellisari, the NIFL’s leading rusher; a team averaging 59 points per game and ready to challenge for the top spot in the Atlantic East Division.
But poised and ready on the turf of Family Arena was a defense that is fast becoming the talk of the NIFL. A revamped, determined and merciless “D” that lately has used a first quarter sack or interception to set the tone for the rest of the game. Facing a hyped- up array of offensive firepower last weekend, The Rage defended it’s turf and employed a few long range weapons of it’s own to bring down the Warbirds 48-37 in front of a roaring crowd to improve it’s home record to 5-0 on the 2005 season!
“From the opening kick-off, we came to play football, while they seemed to come into the game with a bit of a chip on their shoulder,” stated Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt. “Dayton’s focus may have been off a bit due to the problems regarding their Head Coach being suspended. But hey, I don’t make the rules, but the rules are made to be followed. If they’re not, you have nothing but anarchy; the league did the only thing it could do in a situation like that.”
That “situation” was prompted by the fact that The Rage did not receive game tape on the Warbirds/Cincinnati game played on Monday. League rules stipulate that the teams send out game tape by next-day air the next working day following the game. By Wednesday late afternoon, The Rage had not received the game tape and after approaching the league with a complaint, Coach Wyatt and his assistants were notified that Warbird’s Head Coach Matt King would be suspended, the team fined $500, and King would forfiet one game check. Matt King chose not to make the trip to St. Louis and Assistant Coach Carl Allen was tapped to serve as Acting Head Coach in his stead.
So in a game already stirred up by controversy and perhaps hard feelings from the start, Dayton’s loss of focus was evident from it’s first play from scrimmage. Operating from the shotgun formation, Bellisari fired a 21-yard pass that was picked off by Rage Defensive Back Maurice McClain at the River City 3 yard line, who returned the ball 15 yards to the River City 18. Five plays later, the Rage were on the scoreboard. Quarterback Clay Groefsema rifled a 14-yard scoring strike to Wide Receiver Moses Regular; newly returned kicker Jerry Lakin split the uprights and the Rage got the jump on Dayton 7-0.
Early in the game, with plenty of football yet to be played, the entire scope of this divisional showdown may well have been scoped out on two plays about 10 seconds apart. Facing second and 10 at the Rage 12 yard line and looking to go even up, Bellisari’s pass was intercepted by Brandon Gregory at the goal line. And on the first play from scrimmage, Rage quarterback Clay Groefsema aired out a 45-yard rainbow that wide receiver Hurtis Chinn caught on the run at the 10 yard line and took into the end zone. A failed P-A-T, but the dye was cast for both teams on that one series of downs.
Dayton regrouped, and finally put a drive together that resulted in a 26 yard field goal from kicker Justin McClain and the first quarter ended with The Rage in front, 13-3.
The Rage secondary managed to shut off Bellisari from his primary wide receivers Maurice Lee and Sonte Wong during several drives in the first quarter, but good teams find the groove after a while and Dayton proved no exception. At 12:49 of the second quarter, Bellisari hooked up with Anthony Tyus on a 30-yard pass play that found paydirt. McClain booted it through, and suddenly it was a ballgame at 13-10.
A Rage drive was stalled when Jerry Lakin missed a 48 yard field goal attempt, Dayton’s McClain was wide right on a 57 yard shot, and The Rage got a break when a Groefsema interception by Demetrius Ross was offset by a roughing the passer penalty against the Warbirds. But Wyatt’s pre-game admonition to his team regarding turnovers was evident just 3 plays later when Running Back Sha-Ron Edwards was hit at the 6 yard line, coughed up the ball, and an almost certain Rage touchdown was suddenly a 44 yard return for a TD by Dayton lineman Brandon Tisdale. McClain’s extra point through the uprights gave the Warbirds a 17-13 lead with just under 3 minutes to play in the half.
While Elvis impersonators waited in the wings for the halftime contest, there was more rock and roll to be played out on the field before both teams surrendered the turf to the King-like Wannabe’s.
Rage return man Brandon Gregory took the ensuing kick-off at the goal line and returned it 18 yards. A Groefsema to Scott Pingel pass play was good for 24 and a first down, and on first and goal, Groefsema scrambled 8 yards into the end zone and The Rage regained the lead.
The lead was short lived, however. A 20-17 Rage advantage evaporated in a hurry when a 7-play drive by Dayton was rewarded with a 3 yard TD pass from Bellisari to former Ohio State Buckeye Maurice Lee. McClain’s kick was good as time expired and the half ended with the Warbirds flying high, re-loaded and in the lead at 24- 20.
“We needed to focus on not hurting ourselves in the second half,” said Wyatt, “as far as defensive adjustments, we really didn’t need to do anything different. The fumble by Sha-Ron was a 14-point swing and you can’t do that against a team like Dayton and expect to win the game. So, that was the extent of our re-vamping, so to speak, avoiding the fumble, the interception, the penalty that could end up biting us in the end.”
Two third quarter scores and an air tight defense with constant pressure on a , now rattled, Bellisari proved to be the difference in the second half. Taking the opening second half kick-off, The Rage used only 3 plays to go 31 yards and regain the lead. It was an 18 yard touchdown pass from Groefsema to Scott Pingel that gave the team a lead it would never relinquish!
Beset by a Rage defensive line determined to shut him down, Bellisari was unable to show the form that had seen him come into the game Saturday as the NIFL’s leading rusher. After throwing three straight incompletions, Bellisari gave way to kicker Justin McClain who was wide right on a 36 yard field goal try.
Six plays later, The Rage hit the jackpot again, this time on a Groefsema bootleg play from 2 yards out. Kick up, kick good, and The Rage had a commanding 34-24 lead.
Four plays into the final quarter, the game was iced! On third and goal from the 3-yard line, Groefsema showed the type of versatility that has been his forte all season long, and why from this point on, he is worthy of the type of pre-game hype that had been showered on Steve Bellisari. Taking the center snap, and then behind blocking from an offensive line that has been solid and steady all year, Clay dove into the end zone with the score that accented 21 unanswered points and sent the Dayton Warbirds sputtering to the ground.
End of story, end of controversy, and late in the forth quarter, the end of Bellisari’s unimpressive night as he was replaced by reserve quarterback Kerrick Cooper. Bellisari completed just 9 of 23 passes for 90 yards, was picked off twice and left the game having rushed for only 23 yards. He did manage to throw 2 touchdown passes.
The Groefsema to Pingel combination hooked up later in the quarter for another score, this one an 8-yard TD strike. That score was offset by 2 Dayton touchdowns, one a short, 2 yard pop from Cooper to Wide Receiver Brandon Pedraza, the other a 9 yard rush from former San Francisco 49’er Pepe Pearson with just over a minute to play.
“This defense deserves a lot of credit,” said Wyatt after the game, “Dayton came in averaging 59 points per game and we all but shut them down.” “Yeah, they score 37 on us, but 7 of those points came on an offensiv e fumble that was returned for the TD, so that’s not on the “D”. I’m happy with the play of the secondary, especially Clarence Jones. He was all over the field and may have played his best game of the season, and at just the right time.”
With the win, the Rage put some distance between themselves and the Dayton Warbirds. The Rage currently lead the Atlantic East with a record of 7-1, Dayton fell to 5-3, Cincinnati is 4-3 on the year and hapless New Jersey is still waiting for it’s first victory of 2005.
The Rage play the Fayetteville Guard on Saturday night in Fayetteville, North Carolina. That game is a rematch of the season opener for both teams some 8 weeks ago, when the Rage got the year underway with a close 46-43 win. The game can be heard on 1380 ESPN Radio in St. Louis and audio-streamed on both the ESPN and Ragefootball.com websites. Kick-off is slated for 6:05 pm, St. Louis time.
 

Saturday, May 14, 2005

LEWIS & CLARK HERITAGE DAYS - MAY 21 & 22

The Lewis & Clark Heritage Days will be held on Saturday May 21 and Sunday May 22 in Frontier Park on the St. Charles Riverfront.

There will be a parade on Main Street beginning at 11 AM on Saturday May 21st.

ST PETER PARISH PICNIC & AUCTION

The St. Peter Catholic Parish Picnic & Auction will be held on May 14 and 15 at the Parish on First Capitol and Second Street. The auction will be on Sunday afternoon about 4 pm. One of the items to be auctioned will be a 1993 Plymouth Voyager mini van.

NEW TOWN GETS BIGGER

Whittaker Homes’ New Town at St. Charles development off Hwy. 370 and New Town Blvd has already planned to have the largest number of homes in the entire metro area. Now, this traditional neighborhood development will be even bigger.

The St. Charles City Council recently approved an additional 1,400 homes and 108 acres in this community. With this new tract of land, The New Town at St. Charles will have approximately 5,700 homes on nearly 750 acres.

The new land, known as Phase 10, is southwest of the current New Town site. According to Greg Whittaker, president of Whittaker Homes, “as with the rest of New Town, the new tract will have a variety of housing types interspersed with commercial and civic uses. Water will be an important focal point in Phase 10 as it is within all the other phases in New Town. In fact, some of the units will be on an island.”

According to Marina Khoury, project manager from Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ), the foremost new urbanism planners in the country, “The design of this latest phase follows the predominant concept for The New Town at St. Charles; to create a compact, diverse and walkable town set in an inspiring and beautiful setting.”

She continues, “Phase 10 is organized around a canal loop that opens up into a large central lake that is itself punctuated by a smaller picturesque island set into it. A system of useful public spaces including formal squares, plazas, informal parks, pedestrian paths and linear greens connect this neighborhood and extends out to the lakes and canals. The water system has a fronting drive such that its frontage becomes part of the public realm, making it accessible to all residents and allowing water views to extend further into the neighborhood.”

Even though the new tract is known as Phase 10, Whittaker said that it is planned to be built after Phase 2 and Phase 3.

Whittaker Homes has sold over 400 units in The New Town at St. Charles and there are over 5,000 people interested on a mailing list. The first closings were in April and there are many more scheduled for the coming months. In addition, over 30 live work units have been sold and a general store, a town hall, St. Charles Christian Church and a 47,000-square-foot YMCA are planned for the first phase.

The New Town amphitheater also is nearly completed. Whittaker has scheduled its first play for the outdoor amphitheater, Shakespeare in the Park 2005. Romeo & Juliet will debut the second, third and fourth weekends of June. According to Whittaker, this is just the beginning of a wide range of cultural events that are planned for New Town.

Whittaker also is having a New Town Grand Opening on June 25 and 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the outdoor amphitheater. According to Whittaker, the displays will be open and new sites will be unveiled in Phase II, which has approximately 500 lots total.

“Phase 10 is simply a progression of what we’re already creating at New Town. With the response we’ve had, this new phase makes sense. Of course, it will only add to the economic impact on The City of St. Charles. According to an economic impact analysis prepared by Rubin, Brown, Gornstein & Co. LLP (RBG & Co.), New Town’s direct construction costs are the equivalent of constructing two St. Charles Convention Centers each year for a period of 12 years. This report was based on New Town’s original 638 acres and 4,300 homes, so this new phase will help generate even more income for the region.

Ultimately, The New Town at St. Charles, a $1.3 billion project will be a thriving town with approximately 5,700 residences in ten phases, with a carefully planned mix of homes in addition to a large town center and four neighborhood centers.

To reach New Town at St. Charles, take Hwy. 370 to north on New Town Blvd., 1 ? miles to the entrance on the right. The sales center is open from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily. For information, call 636-949-2700 or visit www.newtownastcharles.com.

RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR Tony Brockmeyer

SHE’S BUSTED

I am amazed at the actions of certain individuals in their attempts to keep the residents from finding out what is going on in this city and their attempts to keep this newspaper from publishing the news. Some of our advertisers have received anonymous e-mails and threatening letters because of their advertising in the First Capitol News. Usually they just ignore them. However, one of our clients became upset that anyone would do such a thing. Being a computer expert he decided to track the e-mail back to discover who was the author. Lo and behold he tracked it. He determined that the e-mail he received was sent from an e-mail account registered to PAULA EBERHARD listed as Effective Communications Training, Inc. 1202 Country Club, St. Charles, MO 63303. The registration also contained the wording, “29 Dispatching Years of Experience, instructor at Police Academy and the Community College, Supervisor Dispatch and Records.

PAULA EBERHARD is also a close friend of the Mayor and was appointed by her to the City’s Fourth of July Committee. She is also listed as the Assistant Publisher in Tom Hughes’s publication.

KEN KIELTY WANTS $50 AN HOUR FROM CONVENTION
& SPORTS AUTHORITY

A source told us that at a recent meeting of the County Convention and Sports Facilities Authority, outgoing Chairman Ken Kielty asked the Authority to hire him as a consultant for $50 an hour to plan a golf course on property owned by the City on the North end. We were told the property being referred to is the property St. Charles County gave the city after the 1993 flood buy-out from the federal government. The property is in a flood plain and members of the City Council are discussing use of the property. Their plans do not include a golf course. We were not aware that Kielty, a former City Councilman, former operator of the State License office on Raymond Drive, and a confidant to the Mayor, had any experience regarding golf courses. We believe no action was taken on his request at the meeting but it will probably come up again, according to our source.

Kielty is being replaced on the committee. Governor Blunt is appointing Kevin Kast and Tom Wapplehorst to the Authority.

When Governor Holden removed Roger Pryor from the Committee, the members voted to hire Pryor as a consultant until he was reappointed to the board. Now maybe it’s Kielty’s turn.

STEVE POWELL THE CEO OF THE CVB SUBMITS HIS RESIGNATION

At an executive meeting of the City Council Tuesday evening, the Council members were told Steve Powell, the CEO of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, submitted his resignation contingent upon receiving nine months severance pay. The City Council voted to accept the resignation and authorized six months severance pay instead of nine months..

FRIDAY NIGHT FLICKS
IN FRENCHTOWN

Bring a lawn chair or your and enjoy a movie under the stars. Beginning on May 27th and on the 4th Friday of each month through September, the Historic Frenchtowne Association will be offering Friday Night Flicks at the Blanchette Landing. The Landing is on the river and can be reached from the corner of Second Street and Olive.

Music & refreshments start at 7:00PM. The Movie Starts at dark. Admission is FREE, They are planning on showing family friendly movies. To find out the title of the movie that will be showing each month you can go on the internet to HistoricFrenchtown.com.

Proceeds go to the Historic Frenchtowne Association and they always welcome donations.

THE CITY DESK - Rory Riddler City Council President

Public Art Initiative Has
Something For Everyone

And Says A Lot About Our Town!

There are reports that Daniel Boone liked to sing and talk to himself when he was alone on extended hunting trips. He did so despite the danger of revealing his location to any hostile Indians, just to hear another voice. Like any of us under similar circumstances, he was probably lonely. Sometimes it’s these little anecdotes that help us remember our larger than life-size heroes were also human.

St. Charles is blessed with having been home to many such famous people. I felt it was time we honored a few of these individuals, but in a way that reminds us they were real people…that there was a time when you could walk up to a man like Daniel Boone and shake his hand.

Tuesday night the City Council gave preliminary approval to a two pronged public art initiative. The first part of the initiative is a multiyear project to recognize at least six of our hometown heroes. Over the next six years, the City will commission one life-size bronze statue per year of various individuals from our early history.

A national hero like Daniel Boone seemed a good place to start. While the Nathan Boone Home has been the focus of Daniel’s life in our county, the elderly Boone was a familiar sight in our village as well. Boone could be seen transporting prisoners here as syndic (a combination Justice of the Peace and militia officer under the Spanish), moving furs downstream by boat to sell and coming here to pick up supplies. Boone also lived in St. Charles for a time, though the location of the residence is unknown. In 1809, one of his grandsons by Nathan, James Boone, was sent to school in St. Charles and boarded here in the home of a Frenchman. The young boy got so homesick that Daniel Boone and his wife rented a room in the village and had their grandson stay with them while he attended the school.

The concept is for the statue to be just as you would have seen Daniel Boone on the streets of St. Charles at that time. The series of statues aren’t meant to be placed on a pedestal, but eye level and approachable. The fourteen-foot tall statues of Lewis & Clark are perfect for their setting, but not every work of public art has to be of monumental size. We want visitors to be able to imagine what life was like when men and women like Boone brushed the dust from their clothes, wiped the sweat off their brow and sat down in the shade of tree.

The first commission will take close to a year to complete. A preliminary list for future years would include, Jean Baptist du Sable, Saint Phillipine Duchesne, Mary Easton Sibley, Alexander McNair and James McKay. Others could be honored in later years.

I mentioned the public art initiative was two pronged. The second part is to sponsor an annual outdoor art competition for sculptors through the Foundry Art Center. Ten winners would be selected and after an initial showing at the Foundry, the works would be put on display at ten public places around town for a year.

During that year the works would be listed on the Foundry’s web site for sale, but can not be removed until the end of the year, when a fresh batch of winners will replace them. The winners will be juried and appropriate safeguards against anything offensive will be in place. This same model is being used successfully in a town in Michigan, which has gained quite a reputation as a center for the arts with its “Art Round Town” program.

In that community, over the years, favorite pieces were bought by local businesses and philanthropists to grace other sites. Councilman John Gieseke has suggested that pieces could also be purchased and donated to an eventual sculpture park somewhere in the community. Through the year, residents and visitors would be able to vote on their favorite through the web site or in person at the Foundry. A “People’s Choice” award could then be given out at the end of the year, perhaps with prize donations from sponsoring businesses.

I’m excited about the prospects for these two programs. Public art says a lot about a community. It is also one of the great traditions of Western Culture. Greek sculptor Polyclitus was hailed by a famed Roman writer as having “perfected” the art four hundred years after his death. He also apparently knew how to handle the art critics of his day.

One story goes that Polycritus set the critics up by working on two statues at the same time. One he finished according to his own tastes, not listening to the numerous suggestions he was given from visitors to his workshop. For the other statue he took the advice of everyone, and made it conform to their suggestions. When the finished statue was widely panned, especially in comparison with the first, he pointed out (probably with a good measure of satisfaction) how trying to please everyone ended up pleasing no one.

Boone probably would have enjoyed the little joke. “Better mend a fault than find a fault,” he used to say.

THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor

Dear Editor

An Open Letter To The Citizens of Wards 2, 4, 5, 6:

“These are the times that try men’s soul’s.”

Yes indeed! Very true. These words could have been written here in our town the evening of Wednesday, May 4th. They do indeed apply, and have applied many times in the history of our civilization. These are the opening words of the first of Thomas Paine’s “Crisis” pamphlets, which was distributed to Washington’s men just before he crossed the Delaware for his surprise attack on Trenton. The writings of Thomas Paine were a significant factor in rallying the ragged, starving, freezing army at Washington's winter quarters and in bringing many British sympathizers over to the American cause. The pen is indeed mightier than the sword. We are still finding that out today. Edmund Burke, an English statesman and political philosopher around the same time wrote, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” There are some people here in our town today who are heeding this warning and are trying to do something, trying to get at the truth. A beloved itinerant preacher 2000 years ago said, “The truth shall make you free.” The man who condemned this beloved itinerant preacher 2000 years ago asked, “What is the truth?” There are people in our town today who are asking the same question and who are searching for the truth. There are also people in our town, people in high places, and people of wealth, who are working hard to obstruct the search for truth. People who do not live in our city and do not care about it’s residents. The truth shall make you free. THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO FEAR THE TRUTH ARE THE GUILTY!

I have lived in this town for thirty-three years in two separate periods. I had the fortune (or perhaps the misfortune) to be living in Washington D.C. all during the Watergate era. I was happy and pleased to watch my hometown newspaper do daily battle against the powers of corruption and cover-up in the White House. I would ask ALL the citizens of St. Charles to consider that it was two dedicated and unflinching news reporters and a newspaper called the Washington Post that brought a power hungry president to his knees.

We are facing similar evils in our town today, and after Wednesday night’s hearing the scene is beginning to resemble my days in Washington. While it is not the Washington Post, we are fortunate to have a newspaper which makes up for in courage what it lacks in size. We have another newspaper in town but it is not our paper. Although it is called the Post, it bears no resemblance to the Washington Post of the early ‘70s, and is working against us in our fight for truth and freedom.

Our newspaper, the First Capitol News, is homegrown, St. Charles born and bred, and has for some years now been waging war on the side of, “Truth, justice and the American way.” Read it! Support It! And if the spirit moves you, express yourself within it’s pages. It costs nothing to do so except your time and effort.

Our town is being invaded, in fact has been invaded, by powerful interests outside our boundaries. Their agenda is not your agenda. Don’t let them fool you. All that glitters is not gold. One convention center does not a city make. These ringleaders who headed up the Mayor’s cheering section at last Wednesday’s hearing are trying to take over your city. Help us drive them beyond our borders to where they came from so we can once again have a government of the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE, and for the PEOPLE of St. Charles.

People of Wards 2, 4, 5, 6: wake up! Remember, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Do Something! You CAN do something! Ask yourself, “Is my City Councilman representing my interests? Or is he representing those foreign interests?” Do you really approve of the actions of your Councilman Wednesday night? Tell him what you want. You elected him. You’re paying him. He’s supposed to be working for you. If he is not, you have the option of removing him and replacing him with someone who WILL work for you.

Join our fight and help us take back our city.

Glen Dashner

TONY:

After reading the article about the firing of Officer Mayer in the First capitol News, I later read the article about his firing in the “other” paper.

If one did not know the true details about this incident, as you have reported it, one could think there were two different incidents being reported on.

In my opinion, in the other paper, one is lying and the other is swearing to it. Amazing how the truth can be twisted to fit their purpose.

Keep their feet to the fire by keeping us informed to the truth as it really is, not as they want us to perceive it.

An avid reader
PJ

Dear Tony:

I hope you can publish this in your “Letters” section.

I think the City of St. Charles should be ashamed of the actions of one of our so-called “Movers and Shakers”, Tom Hughes. Where does this pious “Pray-every-morning-in-the-shower” Christian come off boycotting the “National Day of Prayer” breakfast by declining to emcee the function and cancelling the two tables his company paid for at the event? His behavior is despicable and exposes this so-called “Christian” for the person he is in real life: A diversity intolerant and a religious bigot. Your public relations firm has a lot of work to do to spin you out of this one, T.R.

Mr. Hughes has based his success and wealth on a life in Christian faith. He needs to come down from the heavens that he feels he occupies currently and return to Earth where there are many religions and races that pray everyday to their God for strength. You need to understand Mr. Hughes, “National Prayer Day” was founded years before you probably were born. It was not set aside for your personal promotion and aggrandizement. And by the way, the word “Christian” does not exclusively appear anywhere in the denotation of this special day.

An ashamed St. Charles citizen.

Dear Editor:

I have heard that ex-Councilman Dan Gould is one of the new owners of Oliver’s Restaurant on North Main Street. You remember Dan Gould. He is one of the people who dis your newspaper and has been trying for several years to keep the First Capitol News from informing the citizens about what is going on in OUR CITY.; Didn’t he or his friends send out threatening boycott letters to your advertisers? Now is your chance. Let him have it. Maybe you can do like the labor paper and have a do not patronize section and run it each week. You can have Dan Gould’s Oliver's Restaurant in the do not patronize list. Go to it!

Rod McGomery

Editor’s note:

Sorry Rod. That is not our style. Other people may get off doing things like Dan Gould and his friends, but not us.

If Dan wants to invest his money in Oliver’s Restaurant we wish him well.

However, if he wants the Restaurant to be a success we would suggest that he advertise in the First Capitol News. Since we are the most read newspaper in St. Charles, it would be a wise decision. We would be happy to accept his advertising and help him grow his client base..