Saturday, August 06, 2005
This building is owned by Mayor Patti York and husband Lionel
According to neighbors, the window on the right at 218 N. Main has been boarded up with black painted plywood since November of 2003 in apparent violation of City ordinances. We brought this matter to the attention of the City Administration several months ago. Nothing has been done. It is unknown if any summons have been issued to the Mayor. WHY? Hmmmmmmmmm
First Capitol News Photo by Tony Brockmeyer
Knight Darkens County Politics
By Tony Brockmeyer
Early Friday morning an anonymous envelope was placed in the mailbox of the First Capitol News. It contained an arrest report from the Garland, Texas Police Department regarding an arrest that occurred on November 26, 2000 at 1:40 am.
The person arrested, identified himself as, Jeffrey Morrison of St. Peters, Missouri. The police report states the subject was in an intoxicated state and was alone. When asked by police what he was doing he replied, “Looking for my wife.” Since the subject was alone and did not have anyone to take care, custody or control of him the report says he was placed under arrest for public intoxication and transported to the Garland Jail. He was released with a summons when he was sober.
The accompanying documents related that on December 21, 2000 the subject plead guilty and was sentenced by the judge to time served.
We contacted St. Charles County Councilman and St. Peters Prosecuting Attorney, Jeff Morrison and asked if he was the individual who had been arrested. Morrison told the First Capitol News, “I was attending a wedding, drank too much, I was drinking Budweiser at the time, was arrested, plead guilty and sentenced to time served. I haven’t touched alcohol since.”
Under normal conditions this would not be a story and we would have ignored something like this that happened five years ago. What made this newsworthy is that St. Charles Attorney; Claude Knight of the Knight Tomich Law Firm was the person who was seen placing the envelope in our mailbox.
Claude Knight is the attorney for St. Charles Mayor, Patti York and represented her in her recent lawsuit against a member of the City’s Personnel Board. Claude Knight is also the attorney who represents Adolphus Busch IV and his Great Rivers Habitat Alliance in their attempts to remove Morrison as St. Peters Prosecuting Attorney. Claude Knight is the attorney who claimed several of Morrison’s votes on the County Council were a conflict of interest and Knight threatened legal action against the County if Morrison was allowed to vote.
On June 21, 2005 Knight wrote to County Counselor Joann Leykam claiming that Morrison’s vote in regard to Bill No. 2707 in which the Economic Development Center received funds from the County of approximately $75,000 was a conflict of interest. Morrison rents office space at the EDC.
On June 21, 2005 Knight also wrote Morrison accusing Morrison of a conflict of interest if he voted on the EDC bill.
Leykam ruled that Morrison’s vote on the EDC bill would not be a conflict of interest.
At that time Morrison told the First Capitol News, “Adolphus Busch IV is using Claude Knight to bully elected officials. This is the strategy of Great Rivers Alliance as outlined in the memo that St. Peters discovered. Beating up elected officials to get them to change their vote. When fishing junkets to the Florida Keys don’t work they attempt to bully them through their high priced lawyer.” Morrison was referring to a junket to the Florida Keys that Councilman Joe Brazil of the County Council went on with Busch.
At a County Council meeting the end of July, Busch, chairman of Great Rivers Habitat Alliance said the group, “Will use every resource at its disposal to stop St. Charles County from expanding Smartt Airport. Busch was talking about a bill introduced by Morrison proposing that the county obtain federal grant money to extend the airport runway 600 feet.
Busch also said, “Expanding Smartt Field would be a gross mishandling of both the public’s trust and money. If this council insists on pursuing such an obviously flawed plan, Great Rivers will stop you.”
Joshua Knight, the son of Claude Knight and a member of the Knight Tomich Law Firm, was present at the St. Peter’s City Council Meeting on July 28 and made a presentation asking for Morrison to be removed as the Prosecuting Attorney for the City. Also making presentations were Adolphus Busch IV, Charles Hager, and Greg Freeman, all of Great Rivers Habitat Alliance.
Great Rivers Habitat Alliance has been described as a group of wealthy duck hunters form St. Louis. They are attempting to stop the development of 1600 vacant acres near Highway 370 and Interstate 70. St. Peters recently sold the property to Leonard Kaplan for development for $450 million. Great Rivers had offered to purchase the property from the City for $5 million and later increased it to $12 million. A secret document discovered by the City during legal discovery proceedings during a lawsuit filed by Great Rivers against the City contradicted years of public statements by the group and its officers that the land should be sold to them and they would keep the property for park development with half going to the City of St. Peters with the balance to St. Charles County and the State of Missouri. The secret document was described by St. Peters Board President, Terry Hawkins as, “A sneak attempt by Great Rivers Habitat Alliance to gain millions of dollars for its operations if it were to obtain control over the Lakeside 370 Business Park property. It’s clear from the secret memo that Great Rivers has been planning this buyout for some months. Great Rivers appears to be prepared to continue the deceptions even after the proposed purchase of the property. One of the most disturbing and alarming parts of this secret memo is Mr. Freeman’s description of a scenario where he says how Great Rivers will try and pull the wool over the public’s eyes by using advertising to try and put the blame on St. Peters, telling the public they could only make this deal if development on the land after the salt to Great Rivers. “
“I have always felt the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance was not what it seemed to be,” said St. Peters Alderman David Hayes. “It is now clear from documents recently discovered during litigation that they have been considering their own commercial development of the Lakeside 370 land once they acquired the land under the guise of environmental protection.”
ATTEMPTED MURDER
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
Shots rang out on quiet Tompkins Street in Historic St. Charles at approximately 12:24 am early Thursday morning.
Memoree VanMeer, 30, a resident of the 300 block of Tompkins was just getting out of her car when a former co-worker drove up and fired five shots at her in an apparent attempted murder. Multiple shots hit the woman in the leg and hip area. The shooter then drove off.
VanMeer’s husband heard the shots and pulled his wife from her vehicle. Police were called and Mrs. VanMeer was rushed to an area hospital where she is expected to recover from the gunshots she suffered during the attack. She is in serious but stable condition.
Warrants have been issued for the suspected shooter, Michael William Schreiner, 45, whose last known address was in New Haven, Missouri in Franklin County. Warrants have been issued by the office of St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney, Jack Banas, charging Schreiner with; Assault First Degree, Armed Criminal Action and Shooting from a vehicle. When apprehended bond has been set at $1 million cash only.
It was reported Schreiner was driving a gray 2003 Ford Escort ZX2 with Missouri state license 884-EHA. He is considered armed and dangerous. St. Charles Police Detectives could not locate the subject at the address in New Haven. Police sources say apparently it has been some time since he has been there.
VanMeer was returning home from work at the time of the shooting. She is employed at KV Pharmaceutical in Maryland Heights. Schreiner was also employed at KV Pharmaceutical until about seven months ago when he was dismissed. It was reported VanMeer had served on a committee at work that was responsible for Schreiner being fired.
St. Charles Police Chief Tim Swope said, “We’re not sure what the motive was but anybody who comes in contact with Schreiner, especially other former co-workers need to be especially careful while the suspect is still on the loose. We contacted anyone we thought might be involved or have some contact with this subject.”
Schreiner has an arrest record dating back some 20 years for assault and harassment.
Mayor Shawn Brown Accused of Corruption
By Tony Brockmeyer
At the St. Peter’s Board of Aldermen’s meeting on July 28th Mayor Shawn Brown called for St. Peter’s Prosecuting Attorney, Jeff Morrison to be removed from office. Morrison also served as a St. Charles County Councilman.
Brown said citizens have been contacting him asking for Morrison’s removal. “I think we should hire a new prosecuting attorney,” Brown said.
The First Capitol News has learned Morrison wrote to St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas asking that an investigation be started of Mayor Shawn Brown and his dealings with home developers in St. Peters.
Four days after the letter was sent Mayor Shawn was calling for Morrison’s removal.
The letter Morrison sent to Banas reports Aldermanic President Terry Hawkins told Morrison, Rich Kipper of Esteem Homes complained Brown had threatened to stop Esteem Homes’ project in St. Peters if Kipper did not buy electrical supplies from Brown.
Hawkins also told Morrison he thought St. Peters City Administrator Bill Charnisky had additional information. Morrison in his letter said Charnisky indicated there have been several similar allegations.
At the Board meeting Brown denied the allegations and said, “This letter is worth nothing. I hope Jack is investigating.”
Alderman David Hayes on July 29th wrote a letter to Banas. In his letter Hayes indicated to Banas he has also heard multiple rumors and inappropriate innuendo regarding the business dealings between Mayor Shawn Brown, representing his electrical supply company and vendors within the City of St. Peters. He told Banas in his letter he was personally present during a meeting of the City of St. Peters Planning and Zoning Commission during which a presentation was given by Esteem Homes and he also heard the Mayor explicitly suggest (during the televised meeting) that Esteem Homes should purchase the electrical supplies for this project from him.
Hayes also wrote Banas, I respectfully request that your office commence this investigation as soon as possible, if you have not already done so, including an examination of the factors leading to Mayor Brown’s call for the removal of our City Prosecutor.
Banas was not available for comment.
At the St. Peter’s Board of Aldermen’s meeting on July 28th Mayor Shawn Brown called for St. Peter’s Prosecuting Attorney, Jeff Morrison to be removed from office. Morrison also served as a St. Charles County Councilman.
Brown said citizens have been contacting him asking for Morrison’s removal. “I think we should hire a new prosecuting attorney,” Brown said.
The First Capitol News has learned Morrison wrote to St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas asking that an investigation be started of Mayor Shawn Brown and his dealings with home developers in St. Peters.
Four days after the letter was sent Mayor Shawn was calling for Morrison’s removal.
The letter Morrison sent to Banas reports Aldermanic President Terry Hawkins told Morrison, Rich Kipper of Esteem Homes complained Brown had threatened to stop Esteem Homes’ project in St. Peters if Kipper did not buy electrical supplies from Brown.
Hawkins also told Morrison he thought St. Peters City Administrator Bill Charnisky had additional information. Morrison in his letter said Charnisky indicated there have been several similar allegations.
At the Board meeting Brown denied the allegations and said, “This letter is worth nothing. I hope Jack is investigating.”
Alderman David Hayes on July 29th wrote a letter to Banas. In his letter Hayes indicated to Banas he has also heard multiple rumors and inappropriate innuendo regarding the business dealings between Mayor Shawn Brown, representing his electrical supply company and vendors within the City of St. Peters. He told Banas in his letter he was personally present during a meeting of the City of St. Peters Planning and Zoning Commission during which a presentation was given by Esteem Homes and he also heard the Mayor explicitly suggest (during the televised meeting) that Esteem Homes should purchase the electrical supplies for this project from him.
Hayes also wrote Banas, I respectfully request that your office commence this investigation as soon as possible, if you have not already done so, including an examination of the factors leading to Mayor Brown’s call for the removal of our City Prosecutor.
Banas was not available for comment.
THE CITY DESK - City Council President Rory Riddler
Web Site Offers Haven For
Anonymous Hate Mongers
I hadn’t thought about Harold Messler for some time. He died approximately twenty years ago. He lived in a small three room home in the North End. It didn’t have a foundation, the wooden floor joists sitting right on the earth. It was covered in brown tar paper shingles that had seen better days. Like Harold, it leaned a little to the right and creaked a little in the wind.
It was one of the original hardscrabble homes that popped up on the edge of town during the Great Depression. They were built by the families who needed them out of whatever material was at hand. They weren’t much to look at, but they had a character all their own and sheltered many a family through those hard times.
Back then, as today, the people who lived in the North End helped each other. I remember talking to a woman whose father used to write-off some of the mounting charges at his grocery, to help people make it through. In later years this sense of community manifest itself in the formation of the North End Association, which raised money to help people with utility bills or food baskets when someone was laid off or sick.
When my wife and I were dating, she was going to college and rented a small apartment in the North End. Everyday the neighbor across the street, an elderly gentleman by the name of Mr. Burkhardt, would wave and tell her the news of day of the neighborhood. He knew the comings and goings, the births, the deaths and anything else you wanted or had time to hear. People in the North End knew their neighbors and watched out for them.
This area of our community has seen many changes over the years and the overall standard of living has improved. New homes are now being built on empty lots as substandard structures are torn down. The trailers and small homes that hugged the river are gone now, bought out and converted to park land with the help of Federal grants. New businesses are being built. The Fifth Street Extension is under construction and engineering is moving forward on a round-a-bout where Tecumseh, North Third and North Fourth meet.
New people are moving in, but the old family names survive, carried on by second and third generations. Some trace their families back even further and a sprinkling of French surnames hint at their ancestors being some of the first settlers in St. Charles. I won’t do justice to all the fine North End families I’ve gotten to know over the years, but among them are such names as Wright, Kristiansen, Bales, Shelton, Regot, House, Conrey, Pallardy, Civy, Morris, Aubochon, Burkhardt, Johnson and, of course, Messler. I apologize for those I failed to mention here in the press for time of writing my column.
What made me think of Harold Messler after all these years was an anonymous letter I was sent this week. The Council routinely receives threatening letters, always mailed from St. Louis and bearing fictitious names and addresses. I’ve gotten in the habit of simply throwing them away, but this latest one included a print out of a chat room page or blog from a web site set up to make attacks on Council members. Like the letters, the posted messages are anonymous.
Here is a taste of what these people sit around and write to each other and I will warn you that it is somewhat graphic:
“Rory has a history of surrounding himself with people from the dark side and thugs. Some may remember a man from the north end that would come to the Council meetings to harass staff and other members of the council on Rory’s behalf. The man’s name was Harold Messler. According to the newspapers at the time, Messler was murdered by his girlfriend, who apparently was a prostitute, and her boyfriend. Messler had his throat slashed from ear to ear. So it does not surprise me the caliber of people with whom Rory associates.”
Wow. Attacking dead people. That takes a lot of class. Harold Messler never belonged to a Country Club. He didn’t associate with all the movers and shakers. He was a senior citizen with a little too much time on his hands, who liked to call me up once a week because I would listen. I remember when his wife passed away and how lonely he was.
He liked to follow what went on at City Hall, just like people do today. He probably would have loved reading The First Capitol News. This so-called “thug” was probably seventy-eight years old when I knew him and he was no more threatening than the man in the moon. He was probably killed because he took in a stray. Speculation at the time was the attacker was looking for money for drugs.
Harold Messler wasn’t an evil person and he didn’t deserve to be murdered. I remember going to his funeral. It was a sunny day as we drove to the graveyard. I didn’t talk much to anyone. I just couldn’t get the words to come out.
Harold Messler spoke up for his neighbors and other residents of the North End to make sure they weren’t treated like second class citizens. I was proud to stand up for them as well. If “harassing staff” means asking for what is right…for your fair share, then I guess we were all guilty of “harassing staff”. But remember there was a time when the North End didn’t have paved streets, or sidewalks, or sewers or street lights. They do now.
And I just want to say that all the people I have known through the years from that neighborhood, have had more substance and more character than any of the nameless idiots who make up lies by the pale glow of a computer monitor. Those who hide behind the unsigned letters and the anonymous web site posts are people whose own lives must not have mattered for very much. I pity them.
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MARK BROWN ADDRESSES "CESSPOOL & DEVELOPERS"
Mark Brown Addresses
“Cesspool” and “Developers”
The big builders and developers Make Mark Brown their main target
Mark Brown took a stand and has fought The Big Builders and Developers who have been taking advantage of the taxpayer in the City of St. Charles for the last several years. They donated thousands of dollars to attempt to defeat him in the election of 2004 but were unsuccessful. Now it appears they are making a desperate attempt to quiet him.
They started by hiring PR firms who use their influence with certain reporters to slant their news article to manipulate the true facts and destroy anyone who challenges their agenda or who makes public their horrific actions. Their first problem was they could not buy off the First Capital News, so they started their own publication to target anyone who challenges them. Most recently they used the three papers they have influence with to go After Mark Brown for describing the problems in the St. Charles Public Works Administration as a cesspool.
Mark Brown says, “I stand by my statement that our public works administration is plagued with a cesspool of problems. This statement was in no way directed towards the street workers and city employees at large, it was simply an assessment of some serious problems we have such as; plans being drawn up for projects that we don’t even have the funds to complete. These studies and plans done by preferred vendors and never put to use. These expenditures line the pockets of the preferred vendors without any benefit to the taxpayers. If and when we get around to the projects, it is necessary to re-engineer everything because the plans are now obsolete. The city needs to take care of sewers, streets, and infrastructure before engineering more paper projects that benefit no one but the select engineering companies who get the contracts. We have six full time city engineers who subcontract out all of their work including the simplest things like designing sidewalks! With millions and millions of dollars being subcontracted you wonder what we pay six full time engineers for. Ninety percent of our projects have costly overruns and numerous change work orders requiring additional tax dollars given away to the preferred vendors. I think professional engineers should be more competent and not make so many miscalculations.
After discussing my concerns with the City Administrator Allen Williams, he decided to hire Mike Miners of St. Charles Engineering to act as our Public Works Director and assess why we have so many problems in that department. St. Charles Engineering unanimously received the backing of the city council and the city administrator to run the public works department until the end of the year. Then they were to give a report and make recommendations for improvements within the department.
Prior to our last council meeting, I spoke with Mr. Miners and he indicated that there are many problems within the department and it would take a long time to straighten things out. Mr. Miners told me that there is definitely a need for some of the engineers to be let go. With initial support from all sides, I questioned the reason for the Mayor’s sudden decision to veto the contract with St. Charles Engineering. Councilmen Weller and Kneemiller had previously supported Mr. Miners, however, when it appeared that Mr.Meiners was going to upset business-as-usual they felt threatened, They then became quite irate and voted along with Councilmen Muench, Hoepfner, and Reese to sustain the politically motivated veto. I realize that Mr. Reese, Mr. Kneemiller and Mr. Weller received both campaign money and endorsements from large developers like T.R. Hughes and they don’t want to upset the applecart.
MY INTEGRITY IS NOT FOR SALE! Mr. Reese, Mr. Kneemiller and Weller may think it’s okay to continue wasting taxpayers’ money by paying engineers who don’t engineer; to allow developers to force high density development down our throats; hand out huge contracts with no intention or funding to ever complete; to provide protection for the big spenders who continue to feed at the public trough.
I will continue to stand against the above-mentioned activities and will rely on the voters’ intelligence to see through the smoke screens and half-truths that are being spun and are shamelessly targeting my wife, my brother and me. They are spending thousands of dollars and even going so far as to start organizations to begin recall. if I don’t quiet down and get out of their way. In spite of their dirty efforts, I will continue to serve as “Your Watchdog At City Hall!”
Mark Brown
Councilman Ward 3
PS If you have any questions or if I can ever be of any service do not hesitate to call me
at my office 314 426-0419 or my home 636 896-9977.
THE CONSERVATIVE FACTOR - Alex Spencer
Last week, I wrote about Adophus Busch IV, heir to the Budweiser brewery fortune, threatening political retribution on any County Council member that supported the expansion of Smartt Field. The Council is currently considering a proposal, backed by Ortwerth and co-sponsored by Councilmen Foust, Morrison and Schnur.
Adolphus made his threat on public access cable T.V. at the last County Council meeting. Four days later at the St. Peters Board meeting, again on T.V., Adolphus made good on his threat.
At that meeting, St. Peters Mayor Shawn Brown called for the removal of Jeff Morrison from his day job as City Prosecutor for St. Peters. Interestingly, Shawn appointed Morrison to the position in March, a mere four months ago. And the Board of Aldermen unanimously approved the appointment.
Shawn called for Morrison’s removal, not because Shawn admits that he did anything wrong in making the appointment, but because he had been getting calls from “people” upset about the appointment.
Remember, last year Shawn beat the twenty-year incumbent St. Peters mayor, Tom Brown. And Adolphus, who hated Tom over St. Peters’ proposed 370 Lakeside development, spent tens of thousands of dollars of his virtually limitless fortune on Shawn’s race.
So I can guess who made the call to Shawn that got him to flip his position on the appointment. His old benefactor Adolphus called in a favor. Well, more probable given Adolphus’ threatening manner, he simply reminded Shawn that he had bought the position of St. Peters mayor—fair and square. Isn’t it nice the things one can buy with old family money?
But at the meeting, Alderman David Hayes provided another explanation for Shawn’s sudden flip on the appointment. Apparently Morrison had sent a letter to County Prosecutor Jack Banas telling him that Alderman Terry Hawkins spoke with a builder who says he was extorted by Mayor Shawn.
Hayes then brought up a historical parallel that Republicans generally try to forget—Richard Nixon. When faced with an independent prosecutor asking for the White House tapes, President Nixon tried to fire the prosecutor. Back in October of 1973, the press called it the “Saturday Night Massacre” because three prosecutors ended up losing their jobs. Nixon was never actually directly tied to the Watergate break-ins. What he did wrong was the cover up.
I grant you that the analogy between Nixon and Shawn may have merit. It certainly is colorful. But all the Republicans need to still remember that though we have chased the Democrats into a hole in this county, all this in-fighting may lead the Yellow Dogs to rise again.
So excuse me dear readers while I pass along a message to Alderman Hayes, a noted devoted Republican, in our Republican code: lease-pay, ix-nay the tuff-say on ixon-nay.
Now, back to the issue of Shawn, Hayes is questioning whether Shawn is motivated by Morrison’s letter rather than Adolphus’ money. It is an interesting question, but neither reason justifies removing a prosecutor. In fact, I wonder if trying to remove a prosecutor for such blatantly political reasons might not be enough for the Board to impeach Shawn.
Before we have impeachment hearings, however, at the next St. Peters Board meeting, the Board must vote on Morrison’s removal. The unanswered question is how many of the Aldermen, who just approved Morrison’s appointment, can Adolphus flip with his millions.
The coming meeting may prove to be a very lucrative time to be a St. Peters Alderman with beer barrels of cash up for grab. And remember, if Adolphus can’t buy your vote, he may just get you fired.
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Adolphus made his threat on public access cable T.V. at the last County Council meeting. Four days later at the St. Peters Board meeting, again on T.V., Adolphus made good on his threat.
At that meeting, St. Peters Mayor Shawn Brown called for the removal of Jeff Morrison from his day job as City Prosecutor for St. Peters. Interestingly, Shawn appointed Morrison to the position in March, a mere four months ago. And the Board of Aldermen unanimously approved the appointment.
Shawn called for Morrison’s removal, not because Shawn admits that he did anything wrong in making the appointment, but because he had been getting calls from “people” upset about the appointment.
Remember, last year Shawn beat the twenty-year incumbent St. Peters mayor, Tom Brown. And Adolphus, who hated Tom over St. Peters’ proposed 370 Lakeside development, spent tens of thousands of dollars of his virtually limitless fortune on Shawn’s race.
So I can guess who made the call to Shawn that got him to flip his position on the appointment. His old benefactor Adolphus called in a favor. Well, more probable given Adolphus’ threatening manner, he simply reminded Shawn that he had bought the position of St. Peters mayor—fair and square. Isn’t it nice the things one can buy with old family money?
But at the meeting, Alderman David Hayes provided another explanation for Shawn’s sudden flip on the appointment. Apparently Morrison had sent a letter to County Prosecutor Jack Banas telling him that Alderman Terry Hawkins spoke with a builder who says he was extorted by Mayor Shawn.
Hayes then brought up a historical parallel that Republicans generally try to forget—Richard Nixon. When faced with an independent prosecutor asking for the White House tapes, President Nixon tried to fire the prosecutor. Back in October of 1973, the press called it the “Saturday Night Massacre” because three prosecutors ended up losing their jobs. Nixon was never actually directly tied to the Watergate break-ins. What he did wrong was the cover up.
I grant you that the analogy between Nixon and Shawn may have merit. It certainly is colorful. But all the Republicans need to still remember that though we have chased the Democrats into a hole in this county, all this in-fighting may lead the Yellow Dogs to rise again.
So excuse me dear readers while I pass along a message to Alderman Hayes, a noted devoted Republican, in our Republican code: lease-pay, ix-nay the tuff-say on ixon-nay.
Now, back to the issue of Shawn, Hayes is questioning whether Shawn is motivated by Morrison’s letter rather than Adolphus’ money. It is an interesting question, but neither reason justifies removing a prosecutor. In fact, I wonder if trying to remove a prosecutor for such blatantly political reasons might not be enough for the Board to impeach Shawn.
Before we have impeachment hearings, however, at the next St. Peters Board meeting, the Board must vote on Morrison’s removal. The unanswered question is how many of the Aldermen, who just approved Morrison’s appointment, can Adolphus flip with his millions.
The coming meeting may prove to be a very lucrative time to be a St. Peters Alderman with beer barrels of cash up for grab. And remember, if Adolphus can’t buy your vote, he may just get you fired.
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CASE IN POINT By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9
Case In Point By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9
5 + 2 + 1 = -3,700. Well, math never really was my strong point, but in this case I’m referring to the number of jobs Missouri is scheduled to lose with base closings announced by the Pentagon: 3,700 good paying jobs! So, what about the other figures in the equation? Those represent our GOP friends who dropped the ball making Missouri the number one state in base closings in the Midwest: five Congressmen, two Senators, and one Governor. Now, to be fair, our governor did hire a lobbyist (no, it wasn’t a brother, sister, or any other relative of his) two days after the closings list was made public!
Why isn’t this Administration showing this GOP majority of Missouri any love?
To make a point, Illinois by comparison, has staved off large cuts – a state with a majority of Democrats at the helm. Thanks to swift action by Congressman Jerry Costello, Scott will not be closed. Let’s be Blunt, it shouldn’t have taken much Talent for the Republican Bond between Washington D.C. and Missouri to have helped us save these good jobs, instead our leaders have failed the St. Louis area and now we will be Aiken for years to come!
Switch gears with me now to a local issue. In the 15th District, the state GOP sent out a shameful campaign mailer that blatantly lied about State Representative Tom Green. They told the good people of the 15th District that Tommy Green used the public’s dime to pay for a trip to Alaska. Fact of the matter is Tom Green has never even been to Alaska. Hey, the GOP isn’t worried about facts getting in the way! If you remember, they learned this trick back in their own primary election when it looked as if Senator John McCain was going to walk away with his Party’s nomination. The Bush folks simply asked the people of South Carolina a loaded question that suggested that Senator McCain had an illegitimate child….of color! I was surprised to see them use this strategy since Dixie’s very own Senator Jesse Helms led the fight for Senators begetting children of color out of wedlock! I declare! All of this lie telling and cheating isn’t at all Christian!
Recently, I learned of another such candidate who the GOP made out to be a vegetarian in cattle country, Missouri. That may not seem like a big deal to you or me, then again, we aren’t making a living by raising cattle. This pattern looks like a dangerous one for fair elections!
So, what’s the answer to all of this? Election reform is a start. We need to refrain from telling lies to win elections, but really, we need to hold these folks accountable when they do stoop to such unethical levels! The Missouri Ethics Commission should have the ability to fine and punish politicians and a Party that is willing to lie to win votes!
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RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
BE CAUTIOUS OF FRIENDS
I was going to start this column writing about Bob Hoepfner, Councilman Ward 10, But then I decided the editorial cartoon said it all. Suffice it to say yes, we would not allow Bob Hoepfner to trash other members of the City Council in the column he wrote for this paper. What Bob fails to mention is we also would not allow other members of the Council to trash Bob Hoepfner in this paper. Bob went to Germany with the Mayor and Councilman Reese. When he returned he was never the same. It seemed to us he lost interest in being the watchdog for the resident taxpayers and was more concerned in wheeling and dealing and the resident taxpayer be dammed. We resisted a lot of pressure to remove Bob from our paper and believe life would have been easier for us if we had. But, we considered him our friend and he would often tell us he was our friend. But Bob showed he was not our friend and had found people other than the resident taxpayers he was interested in.
BASS PRO WANTS $30 million to stay
The First Capitol News has been told Bass Pro has told some City officials for them to remain in St. Charles they would have to receive at least $30million in taxpayer subsidies. Hmmmmmm
David vs Goliath
Some in the City blame the Council, some blame the Mayor others blame the press. and many can’t figure out what is going on in the City. It is really pretty simple, David vs. Goliath. David is the average City resident who goes to work everyday just trying to make ends meet. Goliath is the special interest money that have had a strangle hold on the City of St. Charles for as long as most can remember. In the days of old, Goliath used to be able to stroll in City Hall schmooze the City Staff and get anything they wanted. This was business as usual. David used to walk in City Hall and get the run around, sent from place to place, never feeling important. Keep in mind, that Davids pay the salaries of those in City Hall.
A new council was elected, some of the old stayed, some of the old got beat. Some of the old decided to go on to greener pastures. They might be the smartest of all. Why anyone runs for office any more I do not understand.
The newly elected council got down to business to change the City and create an environment where the many Davids are treated with the respect of the moneyed Goliaths. They knew the fight would be hard. They knew that Goliath is a formidable foe. They have made some changes but now it appears the City Administrator has other plans and wants the Goliaths back in the City Hall and wants staff to be the point persons for special treatment and deals.
While it might sound good to say, let professional staff do their jobs and have the council just approve what ever they say, it is a recipe for corruption and abuse. The normal David can’t touch a staff member, but they can vote an elected official out of office for abuse and corruption.
This David and Goliath story goes on in cities across the country. There are many areas where Councils are rubber stamps. This Council is far from being a rubber stamp. They hold feet to the fire on a daily basis.
Case in point was a recent letter in another publication about someone not getting appointed to a board or commission. The Council approved over 90 percent of the names the Mayor presented but they decided to hold the Mayor to her word.
At an open meeting the Mayor told us all she does not appoint people to more than one board. Some on the Council took her to task on one of her proposed appointees, Gene Carrol. Gene, in a letter, blamed the Council for not getting appointed but places none of the blame on the Mayor. This Mayor has a tremendous amount of Teflon, she never seems to be held responsible for her statements. Well, the Council picked one of the many to make an example of. This City has over 60,000 Davids that can serve yet the Mayor keeps a closed circle. York has refused numerous resident’s requests to be appointed, yet Gene decided that only he was qualified. It appears York has once again been held to a different standard and she has no accountability for her statements or actions.
ttt
I was going to start this column writing about Bob Hoepfner, Councilman Ward 10, But then I decided the editorial cartoon said it all. Suffice it to say yes, we would not allow Bob Hoepfner to trash other members of the City Council in the column he wrote for this paper. What Bob fails to mention is we also would not allow other members of the Council to trash Bob Hoepfner in this paper. Bob went to Germany with the Mayor and Councilman Reese. When he returned he was never the same. It seemed to us he lost interest in being the watchdog for the resident taxpayers and was more concerned in wheeling and dealing and the resident taxpayer be dammed. We resisted a lot of pressure to remove Bob from our paper and believe life would have been easier for us if we had. But, we considered him our friend and he would often tell us he was our friend. But Bob showed he was not our friend and had found people other than the resident taxpayers he was interested in.
BASS PRO WANTS $30 million to stay
The First Capitol News has been told Bass Pro has told some City officials for them to remain in St. Charles they would have to receive at least $30million in taxpayer subsidies. Hmmmmmm
David vs Goliath
Some in the City blame the Council, some blame the Mayor others blame the press. and many can’t figure out what is going on in the City. It is really pretty simple, David vs. Goliath. David is the average City resident who goes to work everyday just trying to make ends meet. Goliath is the special interest money that have had a strangle hold on the City of St. Charles for as long as most can remember. In the days of old, Goliath used to be able to stroll in City Hall schmooze the City Staff and get anything they wanted. This was business as usual. David used to walk in City Hall and get the run around, sent from place to place, never feeling important. Keep in mind, that Davids pay the salaries of those in City Hall.
A new council was elected, some of the old stayed, some of the old got beat. Some of the old decided to go on to greener pastures. They might be the smartest of all. Why anyone runs for office any more I do not understand.
The newly elected council got down to business to change the City and create an environment where the many Davids are treated with the respect of the moneyed Goliaths. They knew the fight would be hard. They knew that Goliath is a formidable foe. They have made some changes but now it appears the City Administrator has other plans and wants the Goliaths back in the City Hall and wants staff to be the point persons for special treatment and deals.
While it might sound good to say, let professional staff do their jobs and have the council just approve what ever they say, it is a recipe for corruption and abuse. The normal David can’t touch a staff member, but they can vote an elected official out of office for abuse and corruption.
This David and Goliath story goes on in cities across the country. There are many areas where Councils are rubber stamps. This Council is far from being a rubber stamp. They hold feet to the fire on a daily basis.
Case in point was a recent letter in another publication about someone not getting appointed to a board or commission. The Council approved over 90 percent of the names the Mayor presented but they decided to hold the Mayor to her word.
At an open meeting the Mayor told us all she does not appoint people to more than one board. Some on the Council took her to task on one of her proposed appointees, Gene Carrol. Gene, in a letter, blamed the Council for not getting appointed but places none of the blame on the Mayor. This Mayor has a tremendous amount of Teflon, she never seems to be held responsible for her statements. Well, the Council picked one of the many to make an example of. This City has over 60,000 Davids that can serve yet the Mayor keeps a closed circle. York has refused numerous resident’s requests to be appointed, yet Gene decided that only he was qualified. It appears York has once again been held to a different standard and she has no accountability for her statements or actions.
ttt
COMMENTS & COMMENTARY by CHARLES HILL
Usually I speak to issues on Main Street and some of the ways we spend our tourism dollars. Today I would like to address an issue that was raised by another paper. A columnist in the other publication asked, “Couldn’t our leaders be more civil?”
That columnist should look to himself when asking about civility, I believe our City Council leaders have been under constant attack by him and now he asks for civility. Columnists that have degraded elected officials and now ask about civility are less than genuine in their intent. That columnist can be credited with the phrases “Pretty Patti” and “The Riddler.” That columnist calls City Hall, Silly Hall on a consistent basis. So where is the civility in his writing.
As someone who is a novice to writing for print, I realize I have ruffled feathers and have been critical, but I am not being hypocritical and asking for civility. I find it most intriguing that we are calling for civility over a comment about a “cesspool” yet when Councilman Mike Weller was using words our kids would be punished for using, civility did not come to the forefront.
I think this does show a double standard that is being applied and the arrogance that the rich and famous seem to exude. It is okay for them, but if one of the little people dare speak out, it must be wrong. To think that it is not okay to identify problems and name them as one believes, without the pouncing effect that has been so deftly demonstrated by a well oiled public relations, plan is wrong.
Our city leader, namely the Mayor, has a number of surrogates that do her bidding so she can look clean. These men like Ken Kielty, Ed Watkins, Glennon Jamboretz, take on the fight so she can appear to be above the fray. The Mayor is considered the leader of the City and look at what this leader has done.
This Mayor has divided, destroyed and placed herself above all. True leaders are able to forge ahead even when they don’t like those they have to deal with. Case in point, two great leaders, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. Those two could work from a minority standpoint, build consensus, and move the country ahead. This Mayor and her unwillingness to compromise on any issue has created a City divided.
So to Mr. Columnist if you truly want civility, create room in your mind to allow for opposing thoughts without having to destroy those who disagree. Look for those who can work towards a goal. Never in the City’s history have we seen such poor leadership demonstrated by a Mayor.
ttt
That columnist should look to himself when asking about civility, I believe our City Council leaders have been under constant attack by him and now he asks for civility. Columnists that have degraded elected officials and now ask about civility are less than genuine in their intent. That columnist can be credited with the phrases “Pretty Patti” and “The Riddler.” That columnist calls City Hall, Silly Hall on a consistent basis. So where is the civility in his writing.
As someone who is a novice to writing for print, I realize I have ruffled feathers and have been critical, but I am not being hypocritical and asking for civility. I find it most intriguing that we are calling for civility over a comment about a “cesspool” yet when Councilman Mike Weller was using words our kids would be punished for using, civility did not come to the forefront.
I think this does show a double standard that is being applied and the arrogance that the rich and famous seem to exude. It is okay for them, but if one of the little people dare speak out, it must be wrong. To think that it is not okay to identify problems and name them as one believes, without the pouncing effect that has been so deftly demonstrated by a well oiled public relations, plan is wrong.
Our city leader, namely the Mayor, has a number of surrogates that do her bidding so she can look clean. These men like Ken Kielty, Ed Watkins, Glennon Jamboretz, take on the fight so she can appear to be above the fray. The Mayor is considered the leader of the City and look at what this leader has done.
This Mayor has divided, destroyed and placed herself above all. True leaders are able to forge ahead even when they don’t like those they have to deal with. Case in point, two great leaders, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. Those two could work from a minority standpoint, build consensus, and move the country ahead. This Mayor and her unwillingness to compromise on any issue has created a City divided.
So to Mr. Columnist if you truly want civility, create room in your mind to allow for opposing thoughts without having to destroy those who disagree. Look for those who can work towards a goal. Never in the City’s history have we seen such poor leadership demonstrated by a Mayor.
ttt
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - LETTERS TO The Editor
Dear Editor:
I believe all people are good people and that includes myself even if I did spend time in jail. That’s what we have jails for. Good people that get caught doing bad things. I got caught and paid the consequences of my actions. Today I look at life a little different than I used to.
We all know about the so-called columnist for the other publication and his take on city politics that we have lost some good people working for the city. Namely, Carrie Caskie, Steve Powell, Mike Pratt and Carolyn Rouse and I would guess “TOP COP” Mayer, best friend of our Mayor.
He also tells us we are all blessed to have a man like Henry Elemendorf among us. He was the treasurer for the Mayor’s re-election and was quick to promote her, saying things like – “Patti York gets things done.” I’ll be the first to say she can get things done and she doesn’t care whom she steps on getting things done. She also does not care how unethical or morally wrong it may be, just so it goes her way. I would say without a doubt Mr. Elemendorf has done a lot of good for this town but for a community leader as he is professed to be and as active as he is in politics in this town I do not see how he can sit quietly by and let this Mayor try to regain control of this Council as she had with the last one.
Mayor Patti pulled some pretty sleazy deals right before this council was seated. If you missed any of these, Henry, I would be happy to discuss them with you with the Mayor present on Channel 20 for the whole city to participate. We could have an open line like on Donnybrook for her to answer questions.
If you watch the Council meetings, these good people the columnist speaks of, the department heads that no longer work for the city you would know whey they no longer work for the City. Especially Mr. Pratt and his $850,000 study etc. with EMC that has finally went by the wayside just like Mr. Pratt.
Even you should know after reading all of Ms. Caskies lies in her article about employment with our city and her involvement with Mr. O’Connor the “Smiling Irishman and her idol” when it comes to involvement in City government. Ms. Caskie flew the coop.
And then we had CVB Director Steve who said his only reason for leaving was the council was going in a different direction than him. And Patti’s words, “He made St. Charles what it is.”
And for some people when they think they have arrived like “TOP COP” Mayer did. He hadn’t even got a good start. This is along the Mayor’s way of thinking when dealing with anyone, Tommy. It goes “Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got.” That’s the way she plays. Get used to it. Someone told me they heard Jamboretz say that about one of these good people who left our City.
Henry, if you really want to be a good community leader for all the people and not just the moneyed friends of the Mayor, let me give you a little advice.
Remember how Patti tried to undermine the Park Board and how the citizens were rallied by people like Mel Wetter and how the amendment passed. It was a vote of the people to make the Parks Department autonomous from the rest of City government.
Remember the Veterans Memorial and how she was hell bent on putting it in McNair Park? Remember how the people stopped her after she tried to sway other park board members to vote her way.
We need a community leader to serve all the people. Open your eyes Henry and stand up for what is right for all not just the people who see nothing but dollar signs.
Bob Bredensteiner
PS Always tell the truth and you don’t have to remember what you said.
An Open Letter To Councilman Bob Hoepfner:
Mr. Hoepfner! How could you? How could you turn your back on your constituents like this? We, sixty percent of the voters in Ward 10, voted you back into office expecting you to continue the battles you so valiantly waged during your first term. As your second term progressed your behavior became less and less explainable. Now you have abandoned us completely. It was becoming more and more painful to sit at council meetings and watch you nearly every week find some excuse to vote against your former compatriots, sometimes on significant issues. By doing so you are throwing us, the “little guys” you claim to be working for, into the jaws of the developer conglomerate, which has been trying desperately to sink its claws into our city.
Why are you doing it? Are you scared? I don’t think so. Your previous performance would indicate that the word “scared” is not in your vocabulary. Are you tired? Yes, you would seem so. You certainly look tired on the Council floor, even when the meetings don’t go to midnight, and your column this year often sounds tired. However, I don’t think tiredness is your problem.
I think you perceive yourself as getting even. The Mayor isn’t the only one who can play that game. In a phone conversation in May you informed me that Mr. Riddler at the beginning of the term promised you that at midterm you two would switch leadership roles and you would be Council president during the second half. It didn’t happen. You were very upset about it. In fact you were angry just telling me about it. It has been said that hell has no fury like a woman scorned. That seems to apply to men as well.
There may still be time, Bob. It may not be too late to reverse course, to straighten up and fly right, and become once again the “Battling Bob” of old, fighting for the little guy. It is not too late to return to what you were elected to do. Perhaps some of us could even forgive you for your most recent transgressions should you reform.
Rejoin our fight and help us take back our city.
Glen Dashner
Ward 10
To All Americans:
As a child born while my father was aboard the USS Missouri during WWII, a wife whose husband was in the “Bay of Pits,” a friend who lost many good friends in Vietnam, an aunt whose two nephews were in “The Gulf War” & “The Invasion of Iraq” respectfully and now a future mother-in-law of a young man returning to Iraq for the third time, I feel that it is my duty to bring attention to the cost in human lives, disabled and traumatized veterans and their horrendous struggle for health care.
Since I have lived with or been part of the lives of veterans my entire life, I know the struggle. When I founded Veterans and Citizens for truth a year ago, I received many letters; phone calls and had numerous conversations with veterans from all walks of life. They all share one common problem, getting their healthcare needs met. Now, over the past few years, their benefits have been either drastically cut or in some cases, completely eliminated. A letter from one veteran told me that he couldn’t receive VA care or Medicaid because he makes $12,000 a year. A woman whose husband served in Korea and is in a nursing home from illnesses there, is paying for it herself since these benefits were cut. My daughter’s finance is returning to Iraq for the third time and he already suffers from nightmares. My friend’s grandson is haunted by the fact that he had to shoot a 14-year-old boy in Baghdad. “Brain Trauma” has become the signature injury of the war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq due to continuous bombing. And yet, the current administration orchestrating the attacks that should be held accountable for this as well as the injuries and illnesses to our troops; for sending them to “protect America” and then letting them fall through the cracks when they return.’’
I have begun a quest to raise a million dollars in St. Louis to be given to those who need it most – our veterans. I am organizing a fundraiser at the Westin Hotel St. Louis on September 17th and I am asking for sponsors, donations, and speakers to appear on behalf of the veterans to lend the public recognition and education that this issue so deserves. We have had tremendous response from national figures around the country.
We cannot allow this to become another Vietnam, where the men and women fighting are those blamed for the deaths of innocent civilians. That falls on the heads of those in command. These men and women are our brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers. Those who sent them to war are not ensuring that they be cared for when they return and even in many cases, while they are there. They need our help now. Guest $200 – Patron $500 – Sponsor - $1000. It will include silent auction items, dinner at the Westin Hotel, cocktail party, National Speakers and entertainment. We can do this with your help!
Sandra Marie Vago, Playwright, Activist, Director, Veterans & Citizens for Truth
John T. Kerry, Secretary Veterans and Citizens for Truth
314 544-5000
I believe all people are good people and that includes myself even if I did spend time in jail. That’s what we have jails for. Good people that get caught doing bad things. I got caught and paid the consequences of my actions. Today I look at life a little different than I used to.
We all know about the so-called columnist for the other publication and his take on city politics that we have lost some good people working for the city. Namely, Carrie Caskie, Steve Powell, Mike Pratt and Carolyn Rouse and I would guess “TOP COP” Mayer, best friend of our Mayor.
He also tells us we are all blessed to have a man like Henry Elemendorf among us. He was the treasurer for the Mayor’s re-election and was quick to promote her, saying things like – “Patti York gets things done.” I’ll be the first to say she can get things done and she doesn’t care whom she steps on getting things done. She also does not care how unethical or morally wrong it may be, just so it goes her way. I would say without a doubt Mr. Elemendorf has done a lot of good for this town but for a community leader as he is professed to be and as active as he is in politics in this town I do not see how he can sit quietly by and let this Mayor try to regain control of this Council as she had with the last one.
Mayor Patti pulled some pretty sleazy deals right before this council was seated. If you missed any of these, Henry, I would be happy to discuss them with you with the Mayor present on Channel 20 for the whole city to participate. We could have an open line like on Donnybrook for her to answer questions.
If you watch the Council meetings, these good people the columnist speaks of, the department heads that no longer work for the city you would know whey they no longer work for the City. Especially Mr. Pratt and his $850,000 study etc. with EMC that has finally went by the wayside just like Mr. Pratt.
Even you should know after reading all of Ms. Caskies lies in her article about employment with our city and her involvement with Mr. O’Connor the “Smiling Irishman and her idol” when it comes to involvement in City government. Ms. Caskie flew the coop.
And then we had CVB Director Steve who said his only reason for leaving was the council was going in a different direction than him. And Patti’s words, “He made St. Charles what it is.”
And for some people when they think they have arrived like “TOP COP” Mayer did. He hadn’t even got a good start. This is along the Mayor’s way of thinking when dealing with anyone, Tommy. It goes “Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got.” That’s the way she plays. Get used to it. Someone told me they heard Jamboretz say that about one of these good people who left our City.
Henry, if you really want to be a good community leader for all the people and not just the moneyed friends of the Mayor, let me give you a little advice.
Remember how Patti tried to undermine the Park Board and how the citizens were rallied by people like Mel Wetter and how the amendment passed. It was a vote of the people to make the Parks Department autonomous from the rest of City government.
Remember the Veterans Memorial and how she was hell bent on putting it in McNair Park? Remember how the people stopped her after she tried to sway other park board members to vote her way.
We need a community leader to serve all the people. Open your eyes Henry and stand up for what is right for all not just the people who see nothing but dollar signs.
Bob Bredensteiner
PS Always tell the truth and you don’t have to remember what you said.
An Open Letter To Councilman Bob Hoepfner:
Mr. Hoepfner! How could you? How could you turn your back on your constituents like this? We, sixty percent of the voters in Ward 10, voted you back into office expecting you to continue the battles you so valiantly waged during your first term. As your second term progressed your behavior became less and less explainable. Now you have abandoned us completely. It was becoming more and more painful to sit at council meetings and watch you nearly every week find some excuse to vote against your former compatriots, sometimes on significant issues. By doing so you are throwing us, the “little guys” you claim to be working for, into the jaws of the developer conglomerate, which has been trying desperately to sink its claws into our city.
Why are you doing it? Are you scared? I don’t think so. Your previous performance would indicate that the word “scared” is not in your vocabulary. Are you tired? Yes, you would seem so. You certainly look tired on the Council floor, even when the meetings don’t go to midnight, and your column this year often sounds tired. However, I don’t think tiredness is your problem.
I think you perceive yourself as getting even. The Mayor isn’t the only one who can play that game. In a phone conversation in May you informed me that Mr. Riddler at the beginning of the term promised you that at midterm you two would switch leadership roles and you would be Council president during the second half. It didn’t happen. You were very upset about it. In fact you were angry just telling me about it. It has been said that hell has no fury like a woman scorned. That seems to apply to men as well.
There may still be time, Bob. It may not be too late to reverse course, to straighten up and fly right, and become once again the “Battling Bob” of old, fighting for the little guy. It is not too late to return to what you were elected to do. Perhaps some of us could even forgive you for your most recent transgressions should you reform.
Rejoin our fight and help us take back our city.
Glen Dashner
Ward 10
To All Americans:
As a child born while my father was aboard the USS Missouri during WWII, a wife whose husband was in the “Bay of Pits,” a friend who lost many good friends in Vietnam, an aunt whose two nephews were in “The Gulf War” & “The Invasion of Iraq” respectfully and now a future mother-in-law of a young man returning to Iraq for the third time, I feel that it is my duty to bring attention to the cost in human lives, disabled and traumatized veterans and their horrendous struggle for health care.
Since I have lived with or been part of the lives of veterans my entire life, I know the struggle. When I founded Veterans and Citizens for truth a year ago, I received many letters; phone calls and had numerous conversations with veterans from all walks of life. They all share one common problem, getting their healthcare needs met. Now, over the past few years, their benefits have been either drastically cut or in some cases, completely eliminated. A letter from one veteran told me that he couldn’t receive VA care or Medicaid because he makes $12,000 a year. A woman whose husband served in Korea and is in a nursing home from illnesses there, is paying for it herself since these benefits were cut. My daughter’s finance is returning to Iraq for the third time and he already suffers from nightmares. My friend’s grandson is haunted by the fact that he had to shoot a 14-year-old boy in Baghdad. “Brain Trauma” has become the signature injury of the war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq due to continuous bombing. And yet, the current administration orchestrating the attacks that should be held accountable for this as well as the injuries and illnesses to our troops; for sending them to “protect America” and then letting them fall through the cracks when they return.’’
I have begun a quest to raise a million dollars in St. Louis to be given to those who need it most – our veterans. I am organizing a fundraiser at the Westin Hotel St. Louis on September 17th and I am asking for sponsors, donations, and speakers to appear on behalf of the veterans to lend the public recognition and education that this issue so deserves. We have had tremendous response from national figures around the country.
We cannot allow this to become another Vietnam, where the men and women fighting are those blamed for the deaths of innocent civilians. That falls on the heads of those in command. These men and women are our brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers. Those who sent them to war are not ensuring that they be cared for when they return and even in many cases, while they are there. They need our help now. Guest $200 – Patron $500 – Sponsor - $1000. It will include silent auction items, dinner at the Westin Hotel, cocktail party, National Speakers and entertainment. We can do this with your help!
Sandra Marie Vago, Playwright, Activist, Director, Veterans & Citizens for Truth
John T. Kerry, Secretary Veterans and Citizens for Truth
314 544-5000
YOUTH DETENTION
By Lynndi Lockenour
From the security guard and metal detectors at the front door, to the automated locks and numerous cameras, the St. Charles Juvenile Detention Facility is one of the most secure of its kind. The center was opened in November 2002 and administrator of 30 years, Ray Grush said other correctional facilities visit St. Charles to acquire information on how to make their centers better.
The center originally began in 1989, with the capacity to accommodate 15 youth. Today’s facility can house 32 if need arises, but is usually run as if it had the capacity of only 16 youths. Because the state standard says there must be one staff member for every eight young people, Grush said running on the 16 person capacity allows the center to prevent overstaffing, but still run at the most efficient level possible. “We can bring in additional staff if there are more than 16 residents here,” he said, “but on the average day we have around 12 youth in the facility, so there is no need to staff the building as though there were 32.”
The Process
The most typical offense of young people at the center is violating the rules of a program with which they are involved. “Usually the people we see in here are kids who committed a crime, but where either put into one of our programs or on parole because it wasn’t very serious,” he said. “But then when they violate that parole or the rules of the program, they land in here.” However, Grush said if a youth commits a felony crime involving sexual assault, weapons, distribution of drugs or assault, then those crimes are serious enough to place them in detention from the beginning.
There is no bail or bond in the juvenile system because Grush said it is assumed that the child’s parents can be responsible for the child and will bring them to program meetings and conferences. For this reason, Grush said detention is only used for short-term holding while awaiting court action. “Detention is not a form of treatment,” he said. “We put a priority on a kid when they are in detention.” This priority comes in the form of a detention hearing, which must be held within three business days of a youth’s arrival to the center. “Our job is to prove that the youth is a risk to the community if that is the case,” Grush said. However, he said a youth is usually released to their parents if they are present and want to take them home. “If the youth needs treatment for a particular thing, then they are committed to Youth and Family Services to receive that treatment.
Youth and Family Services then classify the youth according to their history and social ability, putting them in the appropriate programs based on this assessment. With the longest stay of a resident being nine months at the old facility, Grush said quickness is something they strive for. “We’ve tried to make it a priority to get them through the system as quickly as possible,” he said.” Two commissioners and one judge allot one day a week specifically for juvenile cases and because they all work on separate days, it allows the three day waiting period to be met.
A Typical Day
Usually a day at the center would include school, with a teacher provided by the St. Charles County School District. Grush said the youth at the facility attend school when St. Charles County schools are in session. “If they have a vacation, then we do too,” he said. The day would also include meals, which are prepared at the Department of Corrections and then transported to the juvenile facility. “They aren’t home cooking,” Grush said, “but they are wholesome and nutritious.”
The residents are also provided with around two hours of structured recreational time every day. The center is equipped with both a gymnasium and an outdoor activity area. “Even when it’s too hot for you and I, the kids would rather be outdoors for some period of time instead of sitting around,” Grush said. Residents are also responsible for keeping their area clean, so the average day may involve a certain amount of cleaning.
Residents are allowed visits from their parents and lawyer. The center usually does not allow visits from other families, but Grush said exceptions could be made in certain situations. “Say we had a young person who’s brother or sister was in the military and they just got back on a 30 day leave,” he said, “then we might make an exception so that they could see them.” Grush said the reason they encourage parental visits is in the hope of building a relationship. “Hopefully their relationships will improve once they go home,” he said, “which we hope will keep the kid from getting in trouble again.”
The Level System
At the juvenile detention center, a level system, ranging from one to five, is established from the time a youth arrives to the facility. For every good thing a youth does to stay on track, they receive points and the more points they receive allow them to move up to the next level. With each level comes more privileges, but the residents can never gain enough points or climb enough levels to leave the facility.
One privilege is the type of visitation a youth receives. Once they reach level three, a youth is allowed visits in the contact visiting room. This is a room where, though the parents and child enter separately, they are allowed to touch, hold hands and talk face-to-face. For those still at level one or two, visits are facilitated in secure visiting rooms. The parents and children enter in separate doors and are separated by a panel of glass. They use phones and an intercom system to communicate through the glass.
Though Grush said there isn’t an abundance of privileges the center can give and take away, they are enough that the kids learn once they earn the points, they want to do what they have to keep them. “The design of the system allows the kids to move up the system quickly because the average length of stay here is between 10 and 14 days,” he said. “If they were going to be at level one for a month, then the kids would never see the light at the end of the tunnel.” With the current system, a resident can go from level one to level three in one week if they maintain good behavior. “The whole idea behind the levels system is teaching the kids that they, themselves, control their own behavior.”
The Set Up
Grush said all staff members at the facility are trained in self-defense in case a situation was to arise where they would need it. “Our principle responsibility is to provide public safety by keeping the young people in here secure,” he said. “Then, secondly, to keep residents safe in their person while they are in here.
To facilitate keeping the residents safe, individual rooms are used, which Grush said makes management much easier. “Young people are driven by impulse, lack of control and lack of self-esteem,” he said. “We never put anything past the imagination or creativity of young people.” The individual rooms also give more privacy and security to the residents, which Grush said helps them make progress.
The 32 individual rooms are divided into three pods on two levels. Each pod is assigned to one of three categories: young males, older males and females. Though they use this tentative plan, if more residents were to come in, the arrangement would change. Each pod is equipped for handicapped people incase a youth were handicapped or hurt themselves somehow. Each pod also has a shower where residents bathe once a day and receive a fresh set of clothes. Upon arrival to the center, residents are given uniforms so that everyone matches. “Some kids come in here wearing rags and others brand names,” Grush said. “We don’t want that to be an issue between them, so everyone wears the exact same thing.”
The pods are arranged in this way because there tend to be considerably fewer females detained than males. “I’d say for every one female that is processed through our system, we get three males,” Grush said. The youngest child to come through the center was 10, and the oldest was 18 years old. Though the detention center takes children up until the age of 18, it is possible for someone 17 or older to be committed to the Department of Corrections if their crime is a criminal offense.
The Money
Grush said he would guess that it costs an average of $100 a day to keep a resident in detention. Other communities can send youth to the St. Charles facility, but they are charged a fee of $82 per day to do so. Grush said this happens either when a district doesn’t have a juvenile center or their center is full. “If we didn’t allow other residents, then that bed would be vacant,” he said. “That means it would cost even more to run the center, so allowing others offsets our cost.”
When planning the design for the current facility, Grush said they wanted a large gymnasium in case more residents come to the center. This large gymnasium became a reality with the help of nearly a million dollar federal grant. “Altogether I think we received around $1,000,050 of federal money for this center.”
Though most people think crimes committed by youths would increase in the summer, Grush said they see fewer kids during the summer months. He attributes this to school being a major problem with many kids, leading them to violent behavior. “School is one area of conflict in their lives they don’t have to deal with in the summer,” he said. “If a youth feels less conflict, then they are less likely to act out.” He also said children often spend more time with their families during the summer, which might prevent the violence.
One third of all people in St. Charles County are under the age of 18, which means the potential need for a bigger center in the future. This need was addressed with the architectural design of the new building. The land surrounding the building can be used for expansion if it is ever needed. Because the holding chambers are designed on a curve, the exact layout could be replicated to double the number of rooms to 64. Grush said even though he knows the growth will be incremental; he doubts he will ever see the need for a facility that large.
The Programs
Though Grush mentioned several times that the detention center is not a treatment facility, youth who appear to need treatment are referred to Youth and Family Services where they can then be entered in a combination of 16 different programs. The first of which is Diversion Services. It provides a juvenile and their family with a way to resolve conflicts that might be leading to the youth’s negative behavior. Family Assessment and Therapy is for the entire family based upon the juvenile’s presenting problem, family situation and the family’s activeness to treatment.
Community Service can be assigned to youth with a relatively minor history. A juvenile must be at least 14 to be assigned to community service projects. Pay Back Incorporated is a non-profit organization that raises funds privately to be paid to victims of acts committed by juveniles when and if the youth performs a prescribed number of hours of community service.
NOW (No Offense and Win) uses a classroom format to present and discuss issues like self-esteem, conflict resolution, and peer pressure with the objective of teaching problem solving skills and making responsible choices. This program is designed for youth between the ages of 10 and 13. Tracker is an intensive supervision program, which involves a tracker who has daily contact with each youth. The tracker assists and reports to the juvenile if they violate probation or have other problems. The tracker can also recommend additional services if they are needed.
Street Law is a program, which consists of a two-hour class presented one night a week for eight consecutive weeks. The class deals with issues such as self-concept, authority, crime, consequences, family court, police/community relations, legal relations and personal relationships, drug/alcohol abuse and attitude formation. This program is designed for youth between the ages of 14 and 16. Guest Day Treatment is a program, which focuses on individual counseling, group discussion and family therapy.
F.A.C.E. (Facing the Problem, Acting Appropriately, Concentrating on Solutions, Ending the Violence) is a 10-week program designed to train juveniles on the skills necessary to handle conflicts and disagreements responsibly, without losing control and resorting to violence. A.S.A.P. (Adolescent Sexual Adjustment Program) is a therapy program in the form of individual, group and family for juveniles found to have engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior.
3-D (Dummies Do Drugs) is a program consisting of two-hour classes presented one night a week for four consecutive weeks. The class deals with issues such as: the addiction properties of alcohol and drugs, the genetic impact influencing use/abuse, decision making and the impact of the choices, treatment and a drug-free lifestyle. JFSI (Juvenile Fire Setter Intervention Program is an early intervention program to identify juveniles at risk for fire play or fire setting to prevent the reoccurrences of such incidents by using short-term evaluation, education and referral for services.
Juvenile Drug Court is a program that combines juvenile justice services with alcohol/drug treatment with a strong emphasis on judicial oversight of participants. The parents and the youth are required to participate in educational programming as well as family counseling. Psychological Services is an outpatient-testing program ranging from brief screening through complete battery of psychological testing.
Supervision is a program where a Deputy Juvenile Officer through the informal adjustment process may place a juvenile on informal supervision. Assignment to this service is by mutual consent and may be terminated by either party. Residential Placement is a program where private placement is contingent upon funding availability and acceptance of the juvenile by a respective agency. Continued placement and length of stay is dependant upon individual performance.
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From the security guard and metal detectors at the front door, to the automated locks and numerous cameras, the St. Charles Juvenile Detention Facility is one of the most secure of its kind. The center was opened in November 2002 and administrator of 30 years, Ray Grush said other correctional facilities visit St. Charles to acquire information on how to make their centers better.
The center originally began in 1989, with the capacity to accommodate 15 youth. Today’s facility can house 32 if need arises, but is usually run as if it had the capacity of only 16 youths. Because the state standard says there must be one staff member for every eight young people, Grush said running on the 16 person capacity allows the center to prevent overstaffing, but still run at the most efficient level possible. “We can bring in additional staff if there are more than 16 residents here,” he said, “but on the average day we have around 12 youth in the facility, so there is no need to staff the building as though there were 32.”
The Process
The most typical offense of young people at the center is violating the rules of a program with which they are involved. “Usually the people we see in here are kids who committed a crime, but where either put into one of our programs or on parole because it wasn’t very serious,” he said. “But then when they violate that parole or the rules of the program, they land in here.” However, Grush said if a youth commits a felony crime involving sexual assault, weapons, distribution of drugs or assault, then those crimes are serious enough to place them in detention from the beginning.
There is no bail or bond in the juvenile system because Grush said it is assumed that the child’s parents can be responsible for the child and will bring them to program meetings and conferences. For this reason, Grush said detention is only used for short-term holding while awaiting court action. “Detention is not a form of treatment,” he said. “We put a priority on a kid when they are in detention.” This priority comes in the form of a detention hearing, which must be held within three business days of a youth’s arrival to the center. “Our job is to prove that the youth is a risk to the community if that is the case,” Grush said. However, he said a youth is usually released to their parents if they are present and want to take them home. “If the youth needs treatment for a particular thing, then they are committed to Youth and Family Services to receive that treatment.
Youth and Family Services then classify the youth according to their history and social ability, putting them in the appropriate programs based on this assessment. With the longest stay of a resident being nine months at the old facility, Grush said quickness is something they strive for. “We’ve tried to make it a priority to get them through the system as quickly as possible,” he said.” Two commissioners and one judge allot one day a week specifically for juvenile cases and because they all work on separate days, it allows the three day waiting period to be met.
A Typical Day
Usually a day at the center would include school, with a teacher provided by the St. Charles County School District. Grush said the youth at the facility attend school when St. Charles County schools are in session. “If they have a vacation, then we do too,” he said. The day would also include meals, which are prepared at the Department of Corrections and then transported to the juvenile facility. “They aren’t home cooking,” Grush said, “but they are wholesome and nutritious.”
The residents are also provided with around two hours of structured recreational time every day. The center is equipped with both a gymnasium and an outdoor activity area. “Even when it’s too hot for you and I, the kids would rather be outdoors for some period of time instead of sitting around,” Grush said. Residents are also responsible for keeping their area clean, so the average day may involve a certain amount of cleaning.
Residents are allowed visits from their parents and lawyer. The center usually does not allow visits from other families, but Grush said exceptions could be made in certain situations. “Say we had a young person who’s brother or sister was in the military and they just got back on a 30 day leave,” he said, “then we might make an exception so that they could see them.” Grush said the reason they encourage parental visits is in the hope of building a relationship. “Hopefully their relationships will improve once they go home,” he said, “which we hope will keep the kid from getting in trouble again.”
The Level System
At the juvenile detention center, a level system, ranging from one to five, is established from the time a youth arrives to the facility. For every good thing a youth does to stay on track, they receive points and the more points they receive allow them to move up to the next level. With each level comes more privileges, but the residents can never gain enough points or climb enough levels to leave the facility.
One privilege is the type of visitation a youth receives. Once they reach level three, a youth is allowed visits in the contact visiting room. This is a room where, though the parents and child enter separately, they are allowed to touch, hold hands and talk face-to-face. For those still at level one or two, visits are facilitated in secure visiting rooms. The parents and children enter in separate doors and are separated by a panel of glass. They use phones and an intercom system to communicate through the glass.
Though Grush said there isn’t an abundance of privileges the center can give and take away, they are enough that the kids learn once they earn the points, they want to do what they have to keep them. “The design of the system allows the kids to move up the system quickly because the average length of stay here is between 10 and 14 days,” he said. “If they were going to be at level one for a month, then the kids would never see the light at the end of the tunnel.” With the current system, a resident can go from level one to level three in one week if they maintain good behavior. “The whole idea behind the levels system is teaching the kids that they, themselves, control their own behavior.”
The Set Up
Grush said all staff members at the facility are trained in self-defense in case a situation was to arise where they would need it. “Our principle responsibility is to provide public safety by keeping the young people in here secure,” he said. “Then, secondly, to keep residents safe in their person while they are in here.
To facilitate keeping the residents safe, individual rooms are used, which Grush said makes management much easier. “Young people are driven by impulse, lack of control and lack of self-esteem,” he said. “We never put anything past the imagination or creativity of young people.” The individual rooms also give more privacy and security to the residents, which Grush said helps them make progress.
The 32 individual rooms are divided into three pods on two levels. Each pod is assigned to one of three categories: young males, older males and females. Though they use this tentative plan, if more residents were to come in, the arrangement would change. Each pod is equipped for handicapped people incase a youth were handicapped or hurt themselves somehow. Each pod also has a shower where residents bathe once a day and receive a fresh set of clothes. Upon arrival to the center, residents are given uniforms so that everyone matches. “Some kids come in here wearing rags and others brand names,” Grush said. “We don’t want that to be an issue between them, so everyone wears the exact same thing.”
The pods are arranged in this way because there tend to be considerably fewer females detained than males. “I’d say for every one female that is processed through our system, we get three males,” Grush said. The youngest child to come through the center was 10, and the oldest was 18 years old. Though the detention center takes children up until the age of 18, it is possible for someone 17 or older to be committed to the Department of Corrections if their crime is a criminal offense.
The Money
Grush said he would guess that it costs an average of $100 a day to keep a resident in detention. Other communities can send youth to the St. Charles facility, but they are charged a fee of $82 per day to do so. Grush said this happens either when a district doesn’t have a juvenile center or their center is full. “If we didn’t allow other residents, then that bed would be vacant,” he said. “That means it would cost even more to run the center, so allowing others offsets our cost.”
When planning the design for the current facility, Grush said they wanted a large gymnasium in case more residents come to the center. This large gymnasium became a reality with the help of nearly a million dollar federal grant. “Altogether I think we received around $1,000,050 of federal money for this center.”
Though most people think crimes committed by youths would increase in the summer, Grush said they see fewer kids during the summer months. He attributes this to school being a major problem with many kids, leading them to violent behavior. “School is one area of conflict in their lives they don’t have to deal with in the summer,” he said. “If a youth feels less conflict, then they are less likely to act out.” He also said children often spend more time with their families during the summer, which might prevent the violence.
One third of all people in St. Charles County are under the age of 18, which means the potential need for a bigger center in the future. This need was addressed with the architectural design of the new building. The land surrounding the building can be used for expansion if it is ever needed. Because the holding chambers are designed on a curve, the exact layout could be replicated to double the number of rooms to 64. Grush said even though he knows the growth will be incremental; he doubts he will ever see the need for a facility that large.
The Programs
Though Grush mentioned several times that the detention center is not a treatment facility, youth who appear to need treatment are referred to Youth and Family Services where they can then be entered in a combination of 16 different programs. The first of which is Diversion Services. It provides a juvenile and their family with a way to resolve conflicts that might be leading to the youth’s negative behavior. Family Assessment and Therapy is for the entire family based upon the juvenile’s presenting problem, family situation and the family’s activeness to treatment.
Community Service can be assigned to youth with a relatively minor history. A juvenile must be at least 14 to be assigned to community service projects. Pay Back Incorporated is a non-profit organization that raises funds privately to be paid to victims of acts committed by juveniles when and if the youth performs a prescribed number of hours of community service.
NOW (No Offense and Win) uses a classroom format to present and discuss issues like self-esteem, conflict resolution, and peer pressure with the objective of teaching problem solving skills and making responsible choices. This program is designed for youth between the ages of 10 and 13. Tracker is an intensive supervision program, which involves a tracker who has daily contact with each youth. The tracker assists and reports to the juvenile if they violate probation or have other problems. The tracker can also recommend additional services if they are needed.
Street Law is a program, which consists of a two-hour class presented one night a week for eight consecutive weeks. The class deals with issues such as self-concept, authority, crime, consequences, family court, police/community relations, legal relations and personal relationships, drug/alcohol abuse and attitude formation. This program is designed for youth between the ages of 14 and 16. Guest Day Treatment is a program, which focuses on individual counseling, group discussion and family therapy.
F.A.C.E. (Facing the Problem, Acting Appropriately, Concentrating on Solutions, Ending the Violence) is a 10-week program designed to train juveniles on the skills necessary to handle conflicts and disagreements responsibly, without losing control and resorting to violence. A.S.A.P. (Adolescent Sexual Adjustment Program) is a therapy program in the form of individual, group and family for juveniles found to have engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior.
3-D (Dummies Do Drugs) is a program consisting of two-hour classes presented one night a week for four consecutive weeks. The class deals with issues such as: the addiction properties of alcohol and drugs, the genetic impact influencing use/abuse, decision making and the impact of the choices, treatment and a drug-free lifestyle. JFSI (Juvenile Fire Setter Intervention Program is an early intervention program to identify juveniles at risk for fire play or fire setting to prevent the reoccurrences of such incidents by using short-term evaluation, education and referral for services.
Juvenile Drug Court is a program that combines juvenile justice services with alcohol/drug treatment with a strong emphasis on judicial oversight of participants. The parents and the youth are required to participate in educational programming as well as family counseling. Psychological Services is an outpatient-testing program ranging from brief screening through complete battery of psychological testing.
Supervision is a program where a Deputy Juvenile Officer through the informal adjustment process may place a juvenile on informal supervision. Assignment to this service is by mutual consent and may be terminated by either party. Residential Placement is a program where private placement is contingent upon funding availability and acceptance of the juvenile by a respective agency. Continued placement and length of stay is dependant upon individual performance.
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MY COLUMN - Mike McMurran Sports Editor
As most know, I fancy myself a football guy. That is, football is my favorite sport; to me, football is more than a sport, football is a way of life. With that said, I would be denying my childhood if I did not stay loyal to baseball. Football may be my passion, but my first professional game was baseball.
That being said, I cannot understand baseball’s, Major League Baseball at that, ability to look the other way when dealing with their steroid problem – and it is a problem! The most recent suspension of Baltimore’s Rafael Palmeiro really does rub me the wrong way. Was it not just a few short months ago when Palmeiro testified on Capitol Hill that he “never” used steroids? According to my research, he waved his finger at those congressmen and responded: “I have never used steroids. Period.” This means, according to my scorecard, Palmeiro is not only a liar, but he is a cheating liar.
This is not to suggest Palmeiro is the only professional baseball player I have these feelings for. More so than he, I despise Mark McGwire. You see my children were growing up when McGwire was doing all those things he was doing; he is their first memory of baseball. That is terrible! When I was growing up they argued about Roger Maris’ single season home run record. Ultimately they decided to put an asterisk next to the number 61. Even as a child I thought that was an injustice. Sure, living through the McGwire era was exciting. Some even suggest the battle between he and Sosa was single handedly responsible for the rebirth of baseball in this land. On the other hand, I knew McGwire was not really “Cardinal Nation” worthy in the way he chose to retire. Remember that? A fax! That is not the way St. Louis Cardinals retire, Mr. McGwire. We have a tradition here. I was too young to remember Stan Musial’s final game; and I really regret I was serving over-seas at Bob Gibson’s. Lou Brock’s and Ozzie Smith’s both were almost like Holy Days. Maybe it is a good thing McGwire slipped out the back door. He barely belongs in the same article, let alone same paragraph as Musial, Gibson, Brock and Smith. And how about his grand return to St. Louis. Anyone remember that? It of course was a media frenzy, but ultimately it was a commercial for a hamburger. Even that was kept a secret until the last minute. Originally it was billed as the farewell for McGwire that he never received. In reality it was the farewell that lined his pockets with hamburger money.
Riddle me this Batman: do you think there is any coincidence in mandatory steroid testing and Barry Bonds failure to make it out of the gate? I for one think they go hand in hand.
As long as I am on this bandwagon, why isn’t Roger Maris in the Hall? Bonds, Sosa, McGwire and Palmeiro are all “shoo-ins” from what I read. At worst they are going to be punished and not elected on the first ballot. Ladies and gentlemen, they are liars and cheaters!
Possibly the biggest injustice of all is that Pete Rose, possibly the greatest player to ever play the game of baseball has been banned for life. His original sin was gambling; his mortal sin was lying. Can someone point out for me the difference between his sins and those of Palmeiro, Bonds, Sosa and McGwire? To the casual observer, like myself, there are none.
On a positive note I would like to thank those who contacted me about last week’s column. It is easy to write stuff like that when you are writing from the heart – and anyone who knows me knows you cannot get much closer to my heart than baseball and my daughter.
Things around the McMurran house are about to become very hectic. Maggie, who will be entering the fourth grade will continue her weekly rehearsals with Patt Holt’s Just Kids, will also be playing soccer for her fifth consecutive year. Both Joe and Dee will not only be playing for ASH, but both decided to try out for a local select team, which practices for 1 ? a week, in addition to their weekly contest. Yes, they both made the final cut – they get their athletic ability from their mom, who ran the 300 meter hurdles, which most will tell you is the hardest race there is, while in high school. In addition to my continuing cutting edge coverage of the high school sporting scene here in St. Charles City, I will be the offensive coordinator of Trinity High School’s rebirthing season.
Welcome to Mike Thompson of the River City Rage, who starting this week will write first hand stories on coaches and players of the Rage. It was Thompson’s idea, to keep the Rage in the News during their off season. All I had to do was run it by Tony Brockmeyer, whose only question was, “Doesn’t he like your writing?” That Tony, always fooling around. Tony agreed, and now Rage fans will have their weekly dose of Rage news.
Week number one of the high school football season will present an interesting match-up. Saint Charles High School’s new head coach, Corey Nesslage, will host Jennings and their new head coach Ryan Wallace. Nesslage is a graduate of St. Charles High and Wallace is a resident of St. Charles City. Both Nesslage and Wallace are fine young coaches and will do well with their respective programs.
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That being said, I cannot understand baseball’s, Major League Baseball at that, ability to look the other way when dealing with their steroid problem – and it is a problem! The most recent suspension of Baltimore’s Rafael Palmeiro really does rub me the wrong way. Was it not just a few short months ago when Palmeiro testified on Capitol Hill that he “never” used steroids? According to my research, he waved his finger at those congressmen and responded: “I have never used steroids. Period.” This means, according to my scorecard, Palmeiro is not only a liar, but he is a cheating liar.
This is not to suggest Palmeiro is the only professional baseball player I have these feelings for. More so than he, I despise Mark McGwire. You see my children were growing up when McGwire was doing all those things he was doing; he is their first memory of baseball. That is terrible! When I was growing up they argued about Roger Maris’ single season home run record. Ultimately they decided to put an asterisk next to the number 61. Even as a child I thought that was an injustice. Sure, living through the McGwire era was exciting. Some even suggest the battle between he and Sosa was single handedly responsible for the rebirth of baseball in this land. On the other hand, I knew McGwire was not really “Cardinal Nation” worthy in the way he chose to retire. Remember that? A fax! That is not the way St. Louis Cardinals retire, Mr. McGwire. We have a tradition here. I was too young to remember Stan Musial’s final game; and I really regret I was serving over-seas at Bob Gibson’s. Lou Brock’s and Ozzie Smith’s both were almost like Holy Days. Maybe it is a good thing McGwire slipped out the back door. He barely belongs in the same article, let alone same paragraph as Musial, Gibson, Brock and Smith. And how about his grand return to St. Louis. Anyone remember that? It of course was a media frenzy, but ultimately it was a commercial for a hamburger. Even that was kept a secret until the last minute. Originally it was billed as the farewell for McGwire that he never received. In reality it was the farewell that lined his pockets with hamburger money.
Riddle me this Batman: do you think there is any coincidence in mandatory steroid testing and Barry Bonds failure to make it out of the gate? I for one think they go hand in hand.
As long as I am on this bandwagon, why isn’t Roger Maris in the Hall? Bonds, Sosa, McGwire and Palmeiro are all “shoo-ins” from what I read. At worst they are going to be punished and not elected on the first ballot. Ladies and gentlemen, they are liars and cheaters!
Possibly the biggest injustice of all is that Pete Rose, possibly the greatest player to ever play the game of baseball has been banned for life. His original sin was gambling; his mortal sin was lying. Can someone point out for me the difference between his sins and those of Palmeiro, Bonds, Sosa and McGwire? To the casual observer, like myself, there are none.
On a positive note I would like to thank those who contacted me about last week’s column. It is easy to write stuff like that when you are writing from the heart – and anyone who knows me knows you cannot get much closer to my heart than baseball and my daughter.
Things around the McMurran house are about to become very hectic. Maggie, who will be entering the fourth grade will continue her weekly rehearsals with Patt Holt’s Just Kids, will also be playing soccer for her fifth consecutive year. Both Joe and Dee will not only be playing for ASH, but both decided to try out for a local select team, which practices for 1 ? a week, in addition to their weekly contest. Yes, they both made the final cut – they get their athletic ability from their mom, who ran the 300 meter hurdles, which most will tell you is the hardest race there is, while in high school. In addition to my continuing cutting edge coverage of the high school sporting scene here in St. Charles City, I will be the offensive coordinator of Trinity High School’s rebirthing season.
Welcome to Mike Thompson of the River City Rage, who starting this week will write first hand stories on coaches and players of the Rage. It was Thompson’s idea, to keep the Rage in the News during their off season. All I had to do was run it by Tony Brockmeyer, whose only question was, “Doesn’t he like your writing?” That Tony, always fooling around. Tony agreed, and now Rage fans will have their weekly dose of Rage news.
Week number one of the high school football season will present an interesting match-up. Saint Charles High School’s new head coach, Corey Nesslage, will host Jennings and their new head coach Ryan Wallace. Nesslage is a graduate of St. Charles High and Wallace is a resident of St. Charles City. Both Nesslage and Wallace are fine young coaches and will do well with their respective programs.
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RIVER CITY RAGE by Mike Thompson
Tri-Cities Fever Capture 2005 NIFL Indoor Bowl
By Mike Thompson
The Tri-Cities Fever of the NIFL are the new champions for 2005 and River City Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt on Monday morning summed up the feelings of the entire Rage organization when he said “I have nothing but the greatest respect for what they were able to achieve this season. To overcome some early season problems, turn things around, put together a seven game win streak towards the end of the regular season, and then defeat two previously undefeated teams on the road in the playoffs, well, I know from experience, that takes some doing. They deserve to be champions.” Then with a smile, he mused, “hey, they even managed to beat us in the forth game of the season up at their place. So, they had something going on.”
That ‘something’ got up and moving for The Fever after a 67-62 victory over The Rage on April 16th in Kennewick, Washington. It was the first game for new Head Coach Dan Whitsett and the first for new Fever quarterback Doug Coleman, a NIFL veteran. With an even record of 2-2 at that point, Tri-Cities then won 7 of its next 10 regular season games to finish the regular season with a mark of 9-5.
Saturday night’s sell-out crowd at the Three Rivers Coliseum saw The Fever win the coveted NIFL Indoor Bowl trophy by defeating the Rome Renegades 47- 31. With just under 5 minutes to play, on 3rd and 13 from their own 2 yard line, Fever QB Coleman hit wide receiver Donte Wong with a pass over the middle of the field, good for a 48 yard touchdown and a 16 point lead that held up for the rest of the game.
The Renegades entered the playoffs with a season record of 7-7, but came on strong to defeat Lakeland and Montgomery before upsetting the Cincinnati Marshals at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati to win the Atlantic Conference Championship. However, the Tri-Cities Fever rush to the title was too much for the Rome team to overcome and so, it’s congratulations and helmets held high to the Tri-Cities Fever, the first Pacific Division team to win the National Indoor Football League Championship!
Mike Thompson is the Director of Media Relations for the RiverCity Rage. Although this article comes from his weekly press release, he has agreed to write Rage related articles exclusively for The First Capitol News.
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