We would like to thank our readers and our advertisers for their support and wish them and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It has been a tradition that we do not publish between Christmas and New Years. The next edition of the First Capitol News will be available on Saturday, January 6, 2006. In the meantime, if there are any breaking stories that we believe our readers will be interested in, we will place them on our web log, firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com.
If you are not checking our web log, firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com on a daily basis you might be missing out on some breaking stories. When we get a story we believe our readers will be interested in we place it on our daily web log. The entire edition of the First Capitol News, including all the ads, can be found each week on our web site; firstcapitolnews.com. When we experienced the recent ice and snowstorm our readers were able to read that week’s edition at firstcapitolnews.com.
Shortly after the first of the year there will be some exciting changes coming to the First Capitol News. Watch for them. Reading habits are changing. People are going to the Internet to get their news. We are very excited about the number of people who are using our web site to read the First Capitol News. Some time after the first of the New Year we are going to charge a nominal fee for home delivery. The First Capitol News will be available free at many business locations throughout the area. We will also be increasing the number of red curbside paper boxes where you will be able to obtain a copy of the First Capitol News for free. You can read it free on the internet at firstcapitolnews.com. We will still have our daily web log with breaking stories at firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com. Our archives dating back to November of 2004 are available free at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. If you would like to have home delivery and would like to subscribe the cost for six months will be $20 and the cost for one year will be $35. You can mail your check to First Capitol News, 336 A South Main St., St. Charles, MO 63301. Any questions you can call us at 636 724-1955 or e-mail us at firstcapitolnews@aol.com or editor@firstcapitolnews.com.
The Mayoral primary election will be held in February. The two candidates receiving the largest number of votes will face each other in the April municipal elections. All ten City Council seats will also be up for election. It looks like Mike Weller might be planning on running for reelection. Now that the salary will be $10,000 plus expenses he seems to be interested. I wonder if he will be interested enough to start attending the meetings. He has the worst attendance record of any of the council members. Councilmen Larry Muench, Rory Riddler, Joe Koester, Mark Brown and Bob Hoepfner have indicated they will be running for reelection. Councilman John Gieseke has entered the race for Mayor.
And would you believe, Ken Kielty has indicated his desire to run for Councilman in Ward 8. John Gieseke is the current councilman but he has filed to run for Mayor so the field is open. Kielty is a former Councilman who got involved in politics and was able to secure the state license office when the Democrats were in power. He lost it when the Republicans took over. Then he tried to get the County Convention and Sports Authority to hire him to design a golf course. He was also active in the campaigns that attempted to recall Councilwoman Dottie Greer and Councilman Mark Brown. Both campaigns were fraught with fraud, forgeries and lies. People were arrested and charged and more arrests may be forthcoming. A threat made against St. Charles resident Bob Breidensteiner was found to have been made from Kielty’s cell phone. No charges were brought and Kielty refused to cooperate with the police investigation. If you want to read more about Ken Kielty you can go to our archives at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com and in the search area type in Kielty.
St. Charles businessman Erv Emerling has taken out petitions to run against Councilman Bob Hoepfner. Emerling is the president of the Festival of the Little Hills and serves on the Arts and Culture Committee and the Fourth of July Committee.
Word on the street is that the Mayor does not like the new Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau and plans on replacing him if she is reelected. We were told she is still working hard to get rid of Chief of Police Tim Swope. Do you think she may be planning on bringing Steve Powell back as director of the CVB? Since he was asked to leave Peoria he may be available.
Venetia McEntire has taken out petitions to run against Larry Muench for City Council. She upset a great number of people during the Los Pasadas procession on South Main. Actors portraying Mary and Joseph travel the street asking for a room at the Inn. As they neared First Capitol a young lady had the microphone and when Joseph asked if there was room at the Inn she was to reply that there was none. Her family was very proud and had come for the ceremony. They were planning on video taping her performance. As Mary and Joseph approached with about 1000 people following them, McEntire grabbed the microphone from the hands of the young woman and launched into a commercial for a new business she is planning on opening. The young man who was in charge of the ceremony later approached McEntire to voice his displeasure and was told that the Mayor was attending a party with McEntire and told her she could do what she wanted because, “They are only hired help.”
We were also told that a residency challenge may be filed against McEntire. She was also in charge of the Lewis & Clark fiasco held in 2004. You can read more about McEntire and Steve Powell in our archives.
