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Saturday, June 23, 2007
St. Louis Symphony Plays One Hour In Frontier Park - Cost To Taxpayers $27,000
Mayor York Is On The St. Louis Symphony Board
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
On Sunday, June 17th, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra played for one hour in Frontier Park on the St. Charles Riverfront at a cost of $27,000 to the St. Charles taxpayers. This was the first time in approximately 17 years that the St. Louis Symphony has performed in St. Charles. The performance was well attended by the public.
The City Council approved payment of the contract with the Symphony at the June 5, 2007 council meeting . The contract called for a performance fee, and rental of lighting and sound equipment. It was not mentioned at that time that the Mayor was on the Board of the St. Louis Symphony. When some residents in attendance at the performance were told, they remarked they believed it was a conflict of interest and should be investigated.
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
On Sunday, June 17th, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra played for one hour in Frontier Park on the St. Charles Riverfront at a cost of $27,000 to the St. Charles taxpayers. This was the first time in approximately 17 years that the St. Louis Symphony has performed in St. Charles. The performance was well attended by the public.
The City Council approved payment of the contract with the Symphony at the June 5, 2007 council meeting . The contract called for a performance fee, and rental of lighting and sound equipment. It was not mentioned at that time that the Mayor was on the Board of the St. Louis Symphony. When some residents in attendance at the performance were told, they remarked they believed it was a conflict of interest and should be investigated.
Council President Criticized For Going On Mexican Holiday With Millionaire Developer
Kneemiller Says They Paid Their Own Way
By Tony Brockmeyer
St. Charles City Council President, Bob Kneemiller and his wife Elaine, recently took a holiday in Cancun, Mexico. The occasion was the annual getaway sponsored by millionaire developer TR Hughes.
After photographs of Council president Kneemiller and his wife along with TR Hughes and others who were on the trip appeared in a local publication the First Capitol News was contacted by several residents who believed this was a conflict of Interest. They said that even if the Kneemillers paid for their own trip it gave the appearance of impropriety.
Hughes recently spent close to $60,000 to defeat several incumbent members of the city council who opposed his hooking up his county development to city water and sewers.
He was also the leader of a failed effort to recall Councilwoman Dottie Greer and Councilman Mark Brown. An effort that was fraught with forgeries and fraud. Arrests were made and more are expected as County Prosecutor Jack Banas continues his review of the investigation.
When the First Capitol News asked Council President Kneemiller about the trip sponsored by Hughes, he replied:
“My wife and I paid for this trip ourself. The hotel was all inclusive. (That means everything was included in the price). The hotel transfers from the airport was also included which is very common on trips such as this. The one day trip we took we paid for by my wife and I.
I am not sure what you mean by "sponsored". Mr Hughes and some others picked the location and people that went made their own arrangements with the travel agent.”
By Tony Brockmeyer
St. Charles City Council President, Bob Kneemiller and his wife Elaine, recently took a holiday in Cancun, Mexico. The occasion was the annual getaway sponsored by millionaire developer TR Hughes.
After photographs of Council president Kneemiller and his wife along with TR Hughes and others who were on the trip appeared in a local publication the First Capitol News was contacted by several residents who believed this was a conflict of Interest. They said that even if the Kneemillers paid for their own trip it gave the appearance of impropriety.
Hughes recently spent close to $60,000 to defeat several incumbent members of the city council who opposed his hooking up his county development to city water and sewers.
He was also the leader of a failed effort to recall Councilwoman Dottie Greer and Councilman Mark Brown. An effort that was fraught with forgeries and fraud. Arrests were made and more are expected as County Prosecutor Jack Banas continues his review of the investigation.
When the First Capitol News asked Council President Kneemiller about the trip sponsored by Hughes, he replied:
“My wife and I paid for this trip ourself. The hotel was all inclusive. (That means everything was included in the price). The hotel transfers from the airport was also included which is very common on trips such as this. The one day trip we took we paid for by my wife and I.
I am not sure what you mean by "sponsored". Mr Hughes and some others picked the location and people that went made their own arrangements with the travel agent.”
Search is Still On For Killer
By Tony Brockmeyer (C) 2007
St. Charles police are still following leads in the murder of Robert Eldman that occurred on June 8th. Eldman, of St. Peters, was murdered in his insurance agency office on First Capitol Drive near I-70. Eldman was found shot in his office by a postal worker.
The First Capitol News was shown a business card from Detective Morissey of the St. Charles Police by a man who said Detective Morissey was interviewing customers last weekend in a St. Louis Soulard bar frequented by homosexuals. According to the customers, who are credible professionals, Detective Morissey told them he was conducting a murder investigation and showed them a photograph of a very large man and asked if they had seen him in the bar
We attempted to contact Detective Morissey but his voice mail says he will not be in the office until June 25. We do not know the significance of how this large man and a gay bar in St. Louis may be connected to the murder of Eldman. Detectives receive many tips and they have to follow up on all leads.
The Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad was called in to help with the murder investigation and extended their stay for an additional five days but have now ended their participation. They reported they were looking for a four-door car similar to a Ford Focus, light-colored or white apparently the vehicle has not been located.
Any one with information can call the St. Charles Detectives at 636-949-3320 or Crimestoppers at 636-949-3333.
St. Charles police are still following leads in the murder of Robert Eldman that occurred on June 8th. Eldman, of St. Peters, was murdered in his insurance agency office on First Capitol Drive near I-70. Eldman was found shot in his office by a postal worker.
The First Capitol News was shown a business card from Detective Morissey of the St. Charles Police by a man who said Detective Morissey was interviewing customers last weekend in a St. Louis Soulard bar frequented by homosexuals. According to the customers, who are credible professionals, Detective Morissey told them he was conducting a murder investigation and showed them a photograph of a very large man and asked if they had seen him in the bar
We attempted to contact Detective Morissey but his voice mail says he will not be in the office until June 25. We do not know the significance of how this large man and a gay bar in St. Louis may be connected to the murder of Eldman. Detectives receive many tips and they have to follow up on all leads.
The Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad was called in to help with the murder investigation and extended their stay for an additional five days but have now ended their participation. They reported they were looking for a four-door car similar to a Ford Focus, light-colored or white apparently the vehicle has not been located.
Any one with information can call the St. Charles Detectives at 636-949-3320 or Crimestoppers at 636-949-3333.
Veit Uses Play On Words In Attempt To Fool Public
By Tony Brockmeyer
At the St. Charles City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, Councilman Richard Veit tried to pull a mask over the eyes of the public.
In the Column, Rambling With The Editor June 9th edition of the First Capitol News, we commented that Veit was apparently in the running to overtake Councilman Mike Weller’s record for being absent from council meetings. We mentioned that Veit has only been on the council for two months and he has already missed half of the regular meetings.
At Tuesday’s meeting Veit remarked, “I have only missed one council meeting since being sworn in not like what was reported in a local rag.”
This was a typical spin doctor trick by someone who believes they are smarter than the general public and can confuse them or have them believe half truths.
What Veit does not want the public to know is that he was absent from half of the regular council meetings. He missed the regular meeting at which he and the rest of the council were to be sworn in. Veit was on holiday in Sri Lanka. The rest of the council was in attendance and were sworn in.
Editor’s note - We would have expected Veit to be more original in his name calling. The First Capitol News has been called a rag and worse by those whose questionable activities we have been successful in exposing.
At the St. Charles City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, Councilman Richard Veit tried to pull a mask over the eyes of the public.
In the Column, Rambling With The Editor June 9th edition of the First Capitol News, we commented that Veit was apparently in the running to overtake Councilman Mike Weller’s record for being absent from council meetings. We mentioned that Veit has only been on the council for two months and he has already missed half of the regular meetings.
At Tuesday’s meeting Veit remarked, “I have only missed one council meeting since being sworn in not like what was reported in a local rag.”
This was a typical spin doctor trick by someone who believes they are smarter than the general public and can confuse them or have them believe half truths.
What Veit does not want the public to know is that he was absent from half of the regular council meetings. He missed the regular meeting at which he and the rest of the council were to be sworn in. Veit was on holiday in Sri Lanka. The rest of the council was in attendance and were sworn in.
Editor’s note - We would have expected Veit to be more original in his name calling. The First Capitol News has been called a rag and worse by those whose questionable activities we have been successful in exposing.
Charged With Embezzling From Motivational Concepts
Charged With Embezzling From Motivational Concepts
Heather McCoy, 31, of Devondale Place in St. Peters has been charged with embezzling $20,600 from Motivational Concepts where she was employed.
McCoy is free after posting a $5,000 bond. The thefts apparently occurred over a 22-month period.
Motivational Concepts, former St. Peter’s Mayor Tom Brown and his daughter Linda Didion own Motivational Concepts located at 1234 Jungerman Road in St. Peters.
Heather McCoy, 31, of Devondale Place in St. Peters has been charged with embezzling $20,600 from Motivational Concepts where she was employed.
McCoy is free after posting a $5,000 bond. The thefts apparently occurred over a 22-month period.
Motivational Concepts, former St. Peter’s Mayor Tom Brown and his daughter Linda Didion own Motivational Concepts located at 1234 Jungerman Road in St. Peters.
Tolen Charged With Child Molestation and Sodomy
City Physician Dismissed by Mayor on Sexual Complaints
Former United States Attorney and former St. Charles City Council Attorney Eric Tolen has been arrested and charged with 18 counts of child molestation and sodomy.
It was reported that the alleged incidents involved two fifteen year old boys whose mother Tolen had befriended.
Tolen, of Town and Country,was held at the St. Louis County Jail in Clayton until he was able to post a $200,000 bond.
It was reported that the incidents occurred over several years.
Tolen is the second individual employed by the City alleged to have committed sexual misconduct.
Several months ago Mayor York dismissed her appointed city physician because of complaints of sexual impropriety.
Former United States Attorney and former St. Charles City Council Attorney Eric Tolen has been arrested and charged with 18 counts of child molestation and sodomy.
It was reported that the alleged incidents involved two fifteen year old boys whose mother Tolen had befriended.
Tolen, of Town and Country,was held at the St. Louis County Jail in Clayton until he was able to post a $200,000 bond.
It was reported that the incidents occurred over several years.
Tolen is the second individual employed by the City alleged to have committed sexual misconduct.
Several months ago Mayor York dismissed her appointed city physician because of complaints of sexual impropriety.
Kirkwood Man Charged With Vehicular Assault After Leaving Scene of Accident
Lawrence Boehmer, 57, of Kirkwood, Missouri was charged with vehicular assault and leaving the scene of an accident after striking a police officer Saturday evening.
Boehmer, who had apparently been attending the Hank Williams, Jr. concert at the Family Arena was being held in the St. Charles County Jail in lieu of $75,000 cash only bond.
Boehmer was leaving the Family Arena parking lot and was directed to turn right out of the north entrance but turned left instead when he struck the St. Charles County Deputy Sheriff and drug him for a distance of about 25 feet. Boehmer did not stop after striking the deputy and left the scene of the accident.
Police eventually caught Boehmer at which time he refused to take a breath test. Police obtained a warrant and took a blood test two hours later. His blood-alcohol content was 0.07 percent, below the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
The Deputy is recovering from his injuries which were not life threatening.
Boehmer, who had apparently been attending the Hank Williams, Jr. concert at the Family Arena was being held in the St. Charles County Jail in lieu of $75,000 cash only bond.
Boehmer was leaving the Family Arena parking lot and was directed to turn right out of the north entrance but turned left instead when he struck the St. Charles County Deputy Sheriff and drug him for a distance of about 25 feet. Boehmer did not stop after striking the deputy and left the scene of the accident.
Police eventually caught Boehmer at which time he refused to take a breath test. Police obtained a warrant and took a blood test two hours later. His blood-alcohol content was 0.07 percent, below the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
The Deputy is recovering from his injuries which were not life threatening.
EDITORIAL
Editorial Commentary
Beckering Motion Exposes Hypocrisy
Of Do As I Say - Not As I Do - Feldman
Seventh Ward Councilman Dave Beckering recently made a motion to eliminate what was left of the Councilmember’s ward discretionary funds. These were funds that the ward’s councilmember could direct towards projects specifically in that ward. The money initially came from a one-time windfall the city received from permits for the new Ameristar Casino Hotel of $1.4 million.
Councilman Beckering said that earmarking such funds was seen as a way to “buy votes” in some cases. Shortly after being elected, Councilman Beckering received a report that $490,000 was left from the original $1.4 million. But just a month later, only $192,000 was able to be returned to the General Fund.
So what happened to the other money?
In some cases it went to projects already in the pipeline, but in at least one glaring case, a councilmember who had campaigned against the discretionary spending of her predecessor, had no problem turning around and spending the same money herself.
Voters may recall that in running for election this spring, Third Ward Councilwoman Laurie Feldman criticized the past Council for allocating Council discretionary funds. She specifically criticized the incumbent councilman she was running against for using discretionary funds to buy uniform roll-away trash containers for households in the ward.
In fact, it was this Councilman who was criticized for “buying votes” by his detractors.
But in the thirty days or so that it took for the Council to “mull over” Councilman Beckering’s proposal to return what was left of the funds, Councilwoman Laurie Feldman had spent $74,240 for streetlights along South River Road in her ward.
Do as I say – not as I do – can be Laurie Feldman’s reelection slogan.
Councilwoman Feldman had company from Ninth Ward Councilman Ron Stivinson. He spent $43,000 for lights in his own subdivision of Prairie Haute.
Now both of these Council members could have avoided the appearance that they were trying to “buy votes” as Councilman Beckering said, by the fact that they did so after the election. They could have, but for the fact they used as their “excuse” for spending the money already, that they had, according to another area newspaper, “...talked before the May 8 vote with…constituents about their intention to use the money that way.
In other words, or perhaps in Councilman Beckering’s words, they used the money during the election to buy votes. Just two pots calling the kettle black.
Beckering Motion Exposes Hypocrisy
Of Do As I Say - Not As I Do - Feldman
Seventh Ward Councilman Dave Beckering recently made a motion to eliminate what was left of the Councilmember’s ward discretionary funds. These were funds that the ward’s councilmember could direct towards projects specifically in that ward. The money initially came from a one-time windfall the city received from permits for the new Ameristar Casino Hotel of $1.4 million.
Councilman Beckering said that earmarking such funds was seen as a way to “buy votes” in some cases. Shortly after being elected, Councilman Beckering received a report that $490,000 was left from the original $1.4 million. But just a month later, only $192,000 was able to be returned to the General Fund.
So what happened to the other money?
In some cases it went to projects already in the pipeline, but in at least one glaring case, a councilmember who had campaigned against the discretionary spending of her predecessor, had no problem turning around and spending the same money herself.
Voters may recall that in running for election this spring, Third Ward Councilwoman Laurie Feldman criticized the past Council for allocating Council discretionary funds. She specifically criticized the incumbent councilman she was running against for using discretionary funds to buy uniform roll-away trash containers for households in the ward.
In fact, it was this Councilman who was criticized for “buying votes” by his detractors.
But in the thirty days or so that it took for the Council to “mull over” Councilman Beckering’s proposal to return what was left of the funds, Councilwoman Laurie Feldman had spent $74,240 for streetlights along South River Road in her ward.
Do as I say – not as I do – can be Laurie Feldman’s reelection slogan.
Councilwoman Feldman had company from Ninth Ward Councilman Ron Stivinson. He spent $43,000 for lights in his own subdivision of Prairie Haute.
Now both of these Council members could have avoided the appearance that they were trying to “buy votes” as Councilman Beckering said, by the fact that they did so after the election. They could have, but for the fact they used as their “excuse” for spending the money already, that they had, according to another area newspaper, “...talked before the May 8 vote with…constituents about their intention to use the money that way.
In other words, or perhaps in Councilman Beckering’s words, they used the money during the election to buy votes. Just two pots calling the kettle black.
RAMBLING WITH The Editor Tony Brockmeyer
Will it be Green vs Dempsey in Senate Race?
Local Democrats are promoting former State Representative Tom Green as their candidate to face Republican Tom Dempsey in the upcoming state senate race. Dempsey will no doubt be the Republican candidate to fill the unexpired term of Republican Senator Chuck Gross who resigned his seat to be the assistant to St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlman.
The Governor will soon set a date for the special election. The Democrats Central Committee will select the Democrat candidate who will face off with Dempsey.
When contacted Tom Green told the FCN that if the right things fall into place he would be interested in challenging Dempsey.
Kielty Fails In Attempt To Have Devlin Trial Moved But Will Have Out Of County Jury Hear The Case
Michael Kielty, a local attorney, representing Michael Devlin, who has multiple charges of kidnapping, sodomy, child molestation, etc. in multiple counties, failed in his and his co-counsel’s attempt to have Devlin’s trial moved from Franklin County. The motion was denied by Franklin County Judge Stanley Williams.
Devlin, of Kirkwood, is charged in the kidnapping and sexual assault of Ben Ownby. He is also charged in Washington County for the kidnapping and sexual assault of Shawn Hornbeck who was found in his Kirkwood apartment along with Ownby. Hornbeck had been missing since 2002. A hearing is scheduled in Washington County on July 16. Kielty is also attempting to have the trial moved from Washington County. Devlin is facing federal charges for both incidents.
Kielty is a St. Charles attorney and the son of former councilman and political activist Ken Kielty.
Ken Kielty recently lost his bid to be elected St. Charles City Councilman for Ward 8. He was trounced by Michael Klinghammer in the April election.
Kielty along with St. Louis PR guru Glennon Jamboretz was involved with Mayor York in her alleged money laundering of taxpayer dollars. City money was allegedly passed through stealth companies connected with Jamboretz to a political committee started by Jamboretz and Kielty whose intent purpose was to recall St. Charles councilpersons. They then funneled the money to the recall group. After the laundered money was funneled to the recall attempts to remove Councilman Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greer by the Kielty committee, the committee was abandoned. The recall attempts were fraught with fraud and forgeries and arrests were made and more are expected. Jack Banas, St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney, is reviewing the investigative report submitted by the St. Charles police.
Last year a threatening phone call, traced to a phone registered to Ken Kielty, was made to local resident Bob Bredensteiner shortly after Bredensteiner wrote a letter in the First Capitol News regarding a pedophile priest at Borromeo Parish in St. Charles. Kielty was asked to come to the police station to be questioned and agreed. Later he refused to be interviewed on the advice of his attorney son.
Recently a article appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch regarding a pedophile priest who was at Borromeo at the time referred to by Bredensteiner in his letter. The Post article stated that two Bishops had been aware of the priest but had taken no action against him.
The First Capitol News was unable to determine if any threatening calls had been made to the Post reporter after the story appeared in the newspaper.
The Kielty family is known for threats. A candidate who had filed for the Council election for Ward 8 withdrew from the race after he said he received a threatening phone call from Ken Kielty.
Several years ago Attorney Michael Kielty made a threatening call to this newspaper after unflattering stories appeared about his father Ken Kielty. The phone call from Michael Kielty was recorded by our telephone system.
Several businesses have recently received threatening post cart cards because they have ads appearing in the First Capitol News. The threatening post cards have been signed Ken Kielty Family and also Tom Hayden. Hayden is a confidant of the Mayor and was Councilman Michael Weller’s campaign manager.
It has also been alleged that Hayden may be responsible for a vile blog site filled with lies and untruths.
Kielty operated the license office on Raymond Drive until Matt Blount was elected Governor. The office was then turned over to Ernie Dempsey of Pio’s Restaurant who owns the building on Raymond along with Kielty. Dempsey is the father of State Representative Tom Dempsey, majority floor leader of the Missouri House who is expected to be a candidate for Senate to fill the unexpired term of Senator Chuck Gross.
Local political sources have told the First Capitol News Ken Kielty is lining up people to work in the campaign of Attorney General Jay Nixon when Nixon runs for Governor. It is apparent his goal is to reclaim the license office.
We know that Ken Kielty is originally from New York and his girth is approaching that of Tony Soprano, however, someone needs to tell him that Sopranos is a fictional television show and if he continues to threaten and harass people he could be subject to arrest and confinement.
Local Democrats are promoting former State Representative Tom Green as their candidate to face Republican Tom Dempsey in the upcoming state senate race. Dempsey will no doubt be the Republican candidate to fill the unexpired term of Republican Senator Chuck Gross who resigned his seat to be the assistant to St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlman.
The Governor will soon set a date for the special election. The Democrats Central Committee will select the Democrat candidate who will face off with Dempsey.
When contacted Tom Green told the FCN that if the right things fall into place he would be interested in challenging Dempsey.
Kielty Fails In Attempt To Have Devlin Trial Moved But Will Have Out Of County Jury Hear The Case
Michael Kielty, a local attorney, representing Michael Devlin, who has multiple charges of kidnapping, sodomy, child molestation, etc. in multiple counties, failed in his and his co-counsel’s attempt to have Devlin’s trial moved from Franklin County. The motion was denied by Franklin County Judge Stanley Williams.
Devlin, of Kirkwood, is charged in the kidnapping and sexual assault of Ben Ownby. He is also charged in Washington County for the kidnapping and sexual assault of Shawn Hornbeck who was found in his Kirkwood apartment along with Ownby. Hornbeck had been missing since 2002. A hearing is scheduled in Washington County on July 16. Kielty is also attempting to have the trial moved from Washington County. Devlin is facing federal charges for both incidents.
Kielty is a St. Charles attorney and the son of former councilman and political activist Ken Kielty.
Ken Kielty recently lost his bid to be elected St. Charles City Councilman for Ward 8. He was trounced by Michael Klinghammer in the April election.
Kielty along with St. Louis PR guru Glennon Jamboretz was involved with Mayor York in her alleged money laundering of taxpayer dollars. City money was allegedly passed through stealth companies connected with Jamboretz to a political committee started by Jamboretz and Kielty whose intent purpose was to recall St. Charles councilpersons. They then funneled the money to the recall group. After the laundered money was funneled to the recall attempts to remove Councilman Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greer by the Kielty committee, the committee was abandoned. The recall attempts were fraught with fraud and forgeries and arrests were made and more are expected. Jack Banas, St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney, is reviewing the investigative report submitted by the St. Charles police.
Last year a threatening phone call, traced to a phone registered to Ken Kielty, was made to local resident Bob Bredensteiner shortly after Bredensteiner wrote a letter in the First Capitol News regarding a pedophile priest at Borromeo Parish in St. Charles. Kielty was asked to come to the police station to be questioned and agreed. Later he refused to be interviewed on the advice of his attorney son.
Recently a article appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch regarding a pedophile priest who was at Borromeo at the time referred to by Bredensteiner in his letter. The Post article stated that two Bishops had been aware of the priest but had taken no action against him.
The First Capitol News was unable to determine if any threatening calls had been made to the Post reporter after the story appeared in the newspaper.
The Kielty family is known for threats. A candidate who had filed for the Council election for Ward 8 withdrew from the race after he said he received a threatening phone call from Ken Kielty.
Several years ago Attorney Michael Kielty made a threatening call to this newspaper after unflattering stories appeared about his father Ken Kielty. The phone call from Michael Kielty was recorded by our telephone system.
Several businesses have recently received threatening post cart cards because they have ads appearing in the First Capitol News. The threatening post cards have been signed Ken Kielty Family and also Tom Hayden. Hayden is a confidant of the Mayor and was Councilman Michael Weller’s campaign manager.
It has also been alleged that Hayden may be responsible for a vile blog site filled with lies and untruths.
Kielty operated the license office on Raymond Drive until Matt Blount was elected Governor. The office was then turned over to Ernie Dempsey of Pio’s Restaurant who owns the building on Raymond along with Kielty. Dempsey is the father of State Representative Tom Dempsey, majority floor leader of the Missouri House who is expected to be a candidate for Senate to fill the unexpired term of Senator Chuck Gross.
Local political sources have told the First Capitol News Ken Kielty is lining up people to work in the campaign of Attorney General Jay Nixon when Nixon runs for Governor. It is apparent his goal is to reclaim the license office.
We know that Ken Kielty is originally from New York and his girth is approaching that of Tony Soprano, however, someone needs to tell him that Sopranos is a fictional television show and if he continues to threaten and harass people he could be subject to arrest and confinement.
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor,
Attached please find a picture taken at 8:20 in the evening on June 8, 2007. As you know this is the day a murder was committed in the City of St. Charles. This police officer was observed reading a magazine behind the counter of the Convenient Mart at Elm and Elm Point Road. His car was parked along side the building with the engine running.
Is this the new police department under Mayor York’s command? No wonder speeding is rampant and the teens feel free to congregate at in the lot in front of Stefanina’s and It’s A Grind. The day a murder was committed you would think the police would want to make us all feel safe. Watching this officer spend time reading a magazine without noticing this photo being taken doesn’t make me feel safe.
Look at the picture, this is a sergeant, a person who is supposed to lead by example. With the increase in crime in the City, I’m considering moving to St. Peters or O’Fallon. These two cities have mayors who haven’t put politics above public safety and allow for qualified Chiefs to run their departments and not a former stewardess. What qualifications does a flight attendant have in running a police department. This city is in danger of becoming a Riverview with the apathetic way those who swore to protect and
to serve our residents do their jobs. Mayor York promised the union so much and we are all suffering for her need to win.
Name withheld for fear of life and limb.
Picture attached
Dear Police Chief York,
In considering the removal of the seed bumps from Elmhurst, I feel you need to assign some of your patrolmen to patrol Elmhurst. They need to stop the speeders and drag racers and remove their cars from them. Then call their parents to come and get them. I believe from the noise level their curfew must be 12 midnight. Happy hunting patrolmen!!!!
Just a grandparent concerned about her grandsons riding their bikes.
Dear Tony,
As I handed out fliers earlier this week, a man told me that Dennis Hahn, school board prez, told him he particularly wanted to close Benton School to help the Lutheran School’s enrollment.
Do private schools and churches have to disclose who is on their boards and committees to the public?
Thanks so much! People were too discouraged to come to the rally except for a handful, including a little boy and his dad with a letter to the school board.
Dempsey was there. He seemed....surprised ...and somehow struck by my presence
Peggy Whetzel
The Honorable Patti York, Mayor of St. Charles
& St. Charles City Council Members
The South Main Street business district is closed to vehicular traffic for the annual Oktoberfest car show, held on the Sunday of Okotoberfest weekend. As a merchant on South Main, I’m opposed to closing the street for this event for the following reasons.
1. South Main Street businesses are hurt. Closing the street to traffic drastically reduces the number of parking spaces for South Main Street shoppers, resulting in lost business. A thriving business community goes hand-in-hand with preservation of South Main Street.
2. The car show does not fit the historic theme of South Main Street. Most of the cars on display are new or late model vehicles that have no historic interest.
3. The car show presents an unattractive image to visitors. (See attached photos.) South Main Street’s image as a carefully restored and preserved historic district is marred by the car show. Car show participants sitting on aluminum lawn chairs next to plastic coolers is not what we want visitors to remember about South Main Street. Some participants bring their dogs and fail to dispose of their pet’s waste. Others advertise their business concerns in a manner not consistent with South Main Street standards – i.e., with tacky signs on tripods.
While there are events that warrant closing South Main Street, such as Festival of the Little Hills or the Halloween candy give-away, the Oktoberfest car show is not one of them. A crafts festival contributes to South Main’s theme, and the Halloween event is an opportunity for the merchants to give something back to the community. The Oktoberfest car show detracts from South Main Street’s image and would be better off confined to Frontier Park, a more appropriate setting. It would be greatly appreciated if you would deny permission to close South Main Street for the Oktoberfest car show.
Thank you,
James Fairchild, Owner
Little Hills Cottage
335 South Main Street
Dear Editor
My name is Brad Sewell. I am the business manager for Frenchtown Transmission Inc.. I am responding to “Talk Of Charleytown”, John Sonderegger’s article in the Thursday, June 21, 2007, edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Frenchtown Transmission has been located in the Historic Frenchtown District since 1987. We chose this area because of the reasonable price of property suitable for the type of business we operate and the close proximity to a residential area large enough to support our type of business.
The other businesses located around our facility are here because of similar economic reasons.
None of us is here because the buildings are of exceptional beauty but these buildings are not overvalued either.
None are in disarray or a shambles, as some of the proponents of the redevelopment of this area have stated.
The entire idea of the area being “blighted” is a sham and the situation was created by certain members of the city council, who have since been removed from office by the voters of St. Charles.
Development involves an investor acquiring property and installing buildings and fixtures which will attract residents, businesses and a flow of visitors to generate cash flow sufficient to cover the cost to build the buildings and fixtures plus an amount of profit.
Redevelopment is a viable investment when the property can be acquired at a favorable price. That is not the situation in the Frenchtown Historical District. These buildings are still sound, occupied, suitable for their present use and worth a ton of money.
The property owners and business owners in the area surrounding the property being suggested for redevelopment were all for the project because it presented a boon or windfall to them in property values or traffic for their businesses.
When the argument concerning the use of eminent domain was being waged last winter and spring, these people were quite vocal about their support of its use, all the while ignoring that the plan would have been a financial “raping” of the property owners and businesses being “seized”.
The real problem is that certain business owners in the area just south of the Frenchtown Historical District wish that the area in which their businesses are located in was something different than what it is.
Most of them opened their businesses in the area after we all did and now want our area to change in some manner which will benefit theirs.
They do not want much change for their area, just a lot of change for ours.
The area is perfect for our group of business owners located in the Frenchtown Historical District and I am sorry if that is inconvenient for the group located to the south of us.
If they need to be located next to a big-box store to increase the traffic for their respective businesses then they should move their business to a location closer to a big box store.
To rephrase a comment quoted in John Sonderegger’s article, if they didn’t want their businesses to be located next to “Pigs with Lipstick on”, they should have made a different decision about their real estate in the first place.
ttt
Attached please find a picture taken at 8:20 in the evening on June 8, 2007. As you know this is the day a murder was committed in the City of St. Charles. This police officer was observed reading a magazine behind the counter of the Convenient Mart at Elm and Elm Point Road. His car was parked along side the building with the engine running.
Is this the new police department under Mayor York’s command? No wonder speeding is rampant and the teens feel free to congregate at in the lot in front of Stefanina’s and It’s A Grind. The day a murder was committed you would think the police would want to make us all feel safe. Watching this officer spend time reading a magazine without noticing this photo being taken doesn’t make me feel safe.
Look at the picture, this is a sergeant, a person who is supposed to lead by example. With the increase in crime in the City, I’m considering moving to St. Peters or O’Fallon. These two cities have mayors who haven’t put politics above public safety and allow for qualified Chiefs to run their departments and not a former stewardess. What qualifications does a flight attendant have in running a police department. This city is in danger of becoming a Riverview with the apathetic way those who swore to protect and
to serve our residents do their jobs. Mayor York promised the union so much and we are all suffering for her need to win.
Name withheld for fear of life and limb.
Picture attached
Dear Police Chief York,
In considering the removal of the seed bumps from Elmhurst, I feel you need to assign some of your patrolmen to patrol Elmhurst. They need to stop the speeders and drag racers and remove their cars from them. Then call their parents to come and get them. I believe from the noise level their curfew must be 12 midnight. Happy hunting patrolmen!!!!
Just a grandparent concerned about her grandsons riding their bikes.
Dear Tony,
As I handed out fliers earlier this week, a man told me that Dennis Hahn, school board prez, told him he particularly wanted to close Benton School to help the Lutheran School’s enrollment.
Do private schools and churches have to disclose who is on their boards and committees to the public?
Thanks so much! People were too discouraged to come to the rally except for a handful, including a little boy and his dad with a letter to the school board.
Dempsey was there. He seemed....surprised ...and somehow struck by my presence
Peggy Whetzel
The Honorable Patti York, Mayor of St. Charles
& St. Charles City Council Members
The South Main Street business district is closed to vehicular traffic for the annual Oktoberfest car show, held on the Sunday of Okotoberfest weekend. As a merchant on South Main, I’m opposed to closing the street for this event for the following reasons.
1. South Main Street businesses are hurt. Closing the street to traffic drastically reduces the number of parking spaces for South Main Street shoppers, resulting in lost business. A thriving business community goes hand-in-hand with preservation of South Main Street.
2. The car show does not fit the historic theme of South Main Street. Most of the cars on display are new or late model vehicles that have no historic interest.
3. The car show presents an unattractive image to visitors. (See attached photos.) South Main Street’s image as a carefully restored and preserved historic district is marred by the car show. Car show participants sitting on aluminum lawn chairs next to plastic coolers is not what we want visitors to remember about South Main Street. Some participants bring their dogs and fail to dispose of their pet’s waste. Others advertise their business concerns in a manner not consistent with South Main Street standards – i.e., with tacky signs on tripods.
While there are events that warrant closing South Main Street, such as Festival of the Little Hills or the Halloween candy give-away, the Oktoberfest car show is not one of them. A crafts festival contributes to South Main’s theme, and the Halloween event is an opportunity for the merchants to give something back to the community. The Oktoberfest car show detracts from South Main Street’s image and would be better off confined to Frontier Park, a more appropriate setting. It would be greatly appreciated if you would deny permission to close South Main Street for the Oktoberfest car show.
Thank you,
James Fairchild, Owner
Little Hills Cottage
335 South Main Street
Dear Editor
My name is Brad Sewell. I am the business manager for Frenchtown Transmission Inc.. I am responding to “Talk Of Charleytown”, John Sonderegger’s article in the Thursday, June 21, 2007, edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Frenchtown Transmission has been located in the Historic Frenchtown District since 1987. We chose this area because of the reasonable price of property suitable for the type of business we operate and the close proximity to a residential area large enough to support our type of business.
The other businesses located around our facility are here because of similar economic reasons.
None of us is here because the buildings are of exceptional beauty but these buildings are not overvalued either.
None are in disarray or a shambles, as some of the proponents of the redevelopment of this area have stated.
The entire idea of the area being “blighted” is a sham and the situation was created by certain members of the city council, who have since been removed from office by the voters of St. Charles.
Development involves an investor acquiring property and installing buildings and fixtures which will attract residents, businesses and a flow of visitors to generate cash flow sufficient to cover the cost to build the buildings and fixtures plus an amount of profit.
Redevelopment is a viable investment when the property can be acquired at a favorable price. That is not the situation in the Frenchtown Historical District. These buildings are still sound, occupied, suitable for their present use and worth a ton of money.
The property owners and business owners in the area surrounding the property being suggested for redevelopment were all for the project because it presented a boon or windfall to them in property values or traffic for their businesses.
When the argument concerning the use of eminent domain was being waged last winter and spring, these people were quite vocal about their support of its use, all the while ignoring that the plan would have been a financial “raping” of the property owners and businesses being “seized”.
The real problem is that certain business owners in the area just south of the Frenchtown Historical District wish that the area in which their businesses are located in was something different than what it is.
Most of them opened their businesses in the area after we all did and now want our area to change in some manner which will benefit theirs.
They do not want much change for their area, just a lot of change for ours.
The area is perfect for our group of business owners located in the Frenchtown Historical District and I am sorry if that is inconvenient for the group located to the south of us.
If they need to be located next to a big-box store to increase the traffic for their respective businesses then they should move their business to a location closer to a big box store.
To rephrase a comment quoted in John Sonderegger’s article, if they didn’t want their businesses to be located next to “Pigs with Lipstick on”, they should have made a different decision about their real estate in the first place.
ttt
THE CITY DESK - Rory Riddler
Holding The Line On Main Street
What Image Do We Want?
For all the concern individuals and groups have shown for preserving the historic character of Main Street, I’m surprised more concern isn’t being shown when it comes to the image Main Street projects.
Take for example “Tipsy Tuesdays”.
That’s what Mexico On Main is proud to call it’s Tuesday night promotions aimed at younger drinkers. Of course that isn’t the first thing that attracts your attention to their full-color glossy advertising cards that have been making their way around area universities.
I would say the first thing that would attract the attention of any red blooded male would be the rear view of the topless brunet tugging seductively at her thong. Something tells me the ad is promising a little more than it can deliver to those young male patrons, but hey, they have to learn about truth in advertising sometime.
Nothing in the ad promises that what you see is what you’ll find when you get there. Sex sells and after all, they have to compete with all those bars on the East Side.
Every good promotion needs a slogan and Mexico On Main has a great one. Their slogan on this advertising piece is “It Don’t Get Any Cheaper Than This In St. Louis”. Wow, that should attract the kind of customers we want in Downtown St. Charles. There is nothing like advertising yourself as the discount leader of entertainment districts.
In this case, their claim to be cheaper is no will-of-the-wisp scantily clad model. It’s backed up by their Tipsy Tuesday special of “50 Cent” mixed drinks from 8 till 10:30. Nothing says drink to excess to a college student better than a 50 Cent mixed drink special. If you have a hybrid car, be sure to stop by to fill up the tank.
Any good promotion needs a few good sponsors. In the case of Mexico On Main they have 104.1 and stldrunks.com. “Hot” FM 104.1 is the home of St. Louis hip-hop. STLdrunks.com is a web site that posts posed and candid photos of, well, drunks. They promote bars that want to appeal to young people who want to, uhhhh now don’t tell me, oh yeah….get drunk.
If you think I am being too simplistic, just check out stl.drunk.com’s slogan, “There’s A Good Chance I’m Wasted”. It kind of goes right to the point.
Having your photo looking drunk and stupid, posted on stldrunks.com is a good way to stay in touch with Mom and Dad who are paying your college bills. Employers might also find this web site useful. Of course, George Bush and Bill Clinton might not have gotten as far as they did, if everyone had a camera in a cell phone and a place to post the pictures when they were in college.
Another interesting challenge of marketing to young people is you aren’t suppose to be selling alcohol to anyone under 21 years of age. Mexico On Main’s advertising says you must be 18 and older to get in. Hmmm. It must be a terrible responsibility to make sure the 21 year olds aren’t passing 50 cent mixed drinks to the 18 year olds in a place where they are packed in like sardines. Good luck with that.
The responsibility to see that no alcohol is given to those under 21 within an establishment rests solely with the owner and holder of the liquor license. Ordinance 115.03 is even entitled RESPONSIBILITY OF SELLER FOR SALES TO CERTAIN PERSONS. It reads in part:
“ (A) …Intoxicating liquor or non-intoxicating beer shall not be given, sold or otherwise supplied to any person under the age of 21 years.”
In the end it all comes down to what a community, its elected representatives and Police Department will allow.
There are many fine establishments on Main Street and there is nothing wrong with having a variety of entertainment venues and music. But there is a price you pay when the reputation and image of an area changes. It becomes harder to keep places like the St. Louis Bread Company or to attract quality retailers.
Is it worth the short term return to say anything goes? Or is it time to make the tough decisions about the future of our Downtown.
Just as the reputation of a lifetime can be ruined in a moment, the reputation of a wonderful retail, dining and entertainment area can be ruined overnight. There is a line which, once crossed, is hard to move back. It’s time to hold the line on Main Street.
What Image Do We Want?
For all the concern individuals and groups have shown for preserving the historic character of Main Street, I’m surprised more concern isn’t being shown when it comes to the image Main Street projects.
Take for example “Tipsy Tuesdays”.
That’s what Mexico On Main is proud to call it’s Tuesday night promotions aimed at younger drinkers. Of course that isn’t the first thing that attracts your attention to their full-color glossy advertising cards that have been making their way around area universities.
I would say the first thing that would attract the attention of any red blooded male would be the rear view of the topless brunet tugging seductively at her thong. Something tells me the ad is promising a little more than it can deliver to those young male patrons, but hey, they have to learn about truth in advertising sometime.
Nothing in the ad promises that what you see is what you’ll find when you get there. Sex sells and after all, they have to compete with all those bars on the East Side.
Every good promotion needs a slogan and Mexico On Main has a great one. Their slogan on this advertising piece is “It Don’t Get Any Cheaper Than This In St. Louis”. Wow, that should attract the kind of customers we want in Downtown St. Charles. There is nothing like advertising yourself as the discount leader of entertainment districts.
In this case, their claim to be cheaper is no will-of-the-wisp scantily clad model. It’s backed up by their Tipsy Tuesday special of “50 Cent” mixed drinks from 8 till 10:30. Nothing says drink to excess to a college student better than a 50 Cent mixed drink special. If you have a hybrid car, be sure to stop by to fill up the tank.
Any good promotion needs a few good sponsors. In the case of Mexico On Main they have 104.1 and stldrunks.com. “Hot” FM 104.1 is the home of St. Louis hip-hop. STLdrunks.com is a web site that posts posed and candid photos of, well, drunks. They promote bars that want to appeal to young people who want to, uhhhh now don’t tell me, oh yeah….get drunk.
If you think I am being too simplistic, just check out stl.drunk.com’s slogan, “There’s A Good Chance I’m Wasted”. It kind of goes right to the point.
Having your photo looking drunk and stupid, posted on stldrunks.com is a good way to stay in touch with Mom and Dad who are paying your college bills. Employers might also find this web site useful. Of course, George Bush and Bill Clinton might not have gotten as far as they did, if everyone had a camera in a cell phone and a place to post the pictures when they were in college.
Another interesting challenge of marketing to young people is you aren’t suppose to be selling alcohol to anyone under 21 years of age. Mexico On Main’s advertising says you must be 18 and older to get in. Hmmm. It must be a terrible responsibility to make sure the 21 year olds aren’t passing 50 cent mixed drinks to the 18 year olds in a place where they are packed in like sardines. Good luck with that.
The responsibility to see that no alcohol is given to those under 21 within an establishment rests solely with the owner and holder of the liquor license. Ordinance 115.03 is even entitled RESPONSIBILITY OF SELLER FOR SALES TO CERTAIN PERSONS. It reads in part:
“ (A) …Intoxicating liquor or non-intoxicating beer shall not be given, sold or otherwise supplied to any person under the age of 21 years.”
In the end it all comes down to what a community, its elected representatives and Police Department will allow.
There are many fine establishments on Main Street and there is nothing wrong with having a variety of entertainment venues and music. But there is a price you pay when the reputation and image of an area changes. It becomes harder to keep places like the St. Louis Bread Company or to attract quality retailers.
Is it worth the short term return to say anything goes? Or is it time to make the tough decisions about the future of our Downtown.
Just as the reputation of a lifetime can be ruined in a moment, the reputation of a wonderful retail, dining and entertainment area can be ruined overnight. There is a line which, once crossed, is hard to move back. It’s time to hold the line on Main Street.
Comments & Commentary by Charles Hill
Okay, I’ve been pretty patient with the newly elected officials. I wanted to let them get their sea legs before really putting them to the test. Now it’s time to begin to hold them accountable to those who put them in office. Richard Veit, where did you go to law school and where did you learn civics?
After speaking to members of the Frenchtown Association, as well as those who live in the ward, I have to say you have the most warped sense of duty as an elected official I have ever heard. “I’m one member of a greater collective body”, what are you a borg? Of course that is in reference to the borg in the new Star Trek adventures. They were a collective without any individual thought. I guess that’s easier for Richard. Also, Richard you have now missed more meetings in the first three months than former councilman Rory Riddler did in three years. Will you give the taxpayers their money back for missing those meetings or did you cash your check from the city?
Veit has been noted as telling those in his ward that he is the legislative branch so if they have problems with trash pick up or streets, sidewalks, etc.they need to call the administration not him. And he waits several days before he returns their calls to tell them that. Richard, if you earned a law degree one would think you had to take some Political Science courses. In those courses one would hope that you learned your duty as an elected councilman is to represent the people of your ward; not only by enacting laws that help create a higher quality of life, but you are to also act as oversight of the administrative branch. It’s that pesky checks and balance. We see it daily from a very large body of legislature called Congress. Daily they have committee meetings where they question departments on how they are doing.
If I hear one more person on the City Council say something about micro managing I think they should all be kicked out of office. Asking questions and holding the staff accountable is not micro managing. Not standing up to the Mayor and letting her fire the Chief of Police and letting her balloon the administrative budget is dereliction of duty. You sat by and violated the trust the people placed in you to hold the Mayor and the executive branch of government accountable.
Richard, you have a lot of learning to do if you really want to run for Mayor. By the way, remember that those people are pumping your ego for their own gain; they really aren’t in love with you. Also, what about the bar where you had your fundraiser and who is advertising on stlouis drunks.com. Do you think this is what your ward residents feel is appropriate on Main Street? I think you need to take a breath, leave the gentlemen’s club you belong to on Main Street above Rumples, and meet the real people in Ward 1. Those who are used to a councilperson who understood what a government of the people by the people meant.
After speaking to members of the Frenchtown Association, as well as those who live in the ward, I have to say you have the most warped sense of duty as an elected official I have ever heard. “I’m one member of a greater collective body”, what are you a borg? Of course that is in reference to the borg in the new Star Trek adventures. They were a collective without any individual thought. I guess that’s easier for Richard. Also, Richard you have now missed more meetings in the first three months than former councilman Rory Riddler did in three years. Will you give the taxpayers their money back for missing those meetings or did you cash your check from the city?
Veit has been noted as telling those in his ward that he is the legislative branch so if they have problems with trash pick up or streets, sidewalks, etc.they need to call the administration not him. And he waits several days before he returns their calls to tell them that. Richard, if you earned a law degree one would think you had to take some Political Science courses. In those courses one would hope that you learned your duty as an elected councilman is to represent the people of your ward; not only by enacting laws that help create a higher quality of life, but you are to also act as oversight of the administrative branch. It’s that pesky checks and balance. We see it daily from a very large body of legislature called Congress. Daily they have committee meetings where they question departments on how they are doing.
If I hear one more person on the City Council say something about micro managing I think they should all be kicked out of office. Asking questions and holding the staff accountable is not micro managing. Not standing up to the Mayor and letting her fire the Chief of Police and letting her balloon the administrative budget is dereliction of duty. You sat by and violated the trust the people placed in you to hold the Mayor and the executive branch of government accountable.
Richard, you have a lot of learning to do if you really want to run for Mayor. By the way, remember that those people are pumping your ego for their own gain; they really aren’t in love with you. Also, what about the bar where you had your fundraiser and who is advertising on stlouis drunks.com. Do you think this is what your ward residents feel is appropriate on Main Street? I think you need to take a breath, leave the gentlemen’s club you belong to on Main Street above Rumples, and meet the real people in Ward 1. Those who are used to a councilperson who understood what a government of the people by the people meant.
CASE IN POINT by Joe Koester
Live one day at a time emphasizing ethics rather than rules.
Wayne Dyer
Certainly, everyone is aware of the slowdown in the housing market. While the Midwest is probably a little more insulated than the coasts, we still have seen homes for sale take months to move and new housing slow down to the point where developers have been laying off their employees. There are developments that have had the breaks put on due to this slowdown and this is unfortunate for Saint Charles. Things will improve, however, developments have stalled and it is unclear how long we will have to wait before some exciting developments come to fruition.
The Montgomery on South Main Street is reportedly in hiatus. A housing/commercial development at the old First National Bank site on Main has been scrapped (some other issues were at play at this site as well) and developments along First Capitol seemed to have lost steam too.
The Art/Community building at First Capitol and West Clay is moving along slowly but still I think most everyone is happy that this project is underway and helped clear out a run-down section of town.
You have probably read that a plan to put a street car into operation is underway and possible routes are being studied. Regardless what your feelings are on this, there are some clear guidelines that can be employed to help make such a system feasible.
Having worked with developers along West Clay who were putting in senior housing or mixing such usage into their greater development, one idea that came to mind was to truly make a corridor developed for our town’s seniors along West Clay. With no fewer than three senior housing developments in existence or planned for the area, wouldn’t it benefit Saint Charles to go ahead and plan shuttle and bus stops along this route. Furthermore, with hopes of redeveloping the Droste – West Clay – Duchesne business area, certain stores and services could be attracted to this area that would work well with such a development.
When I co-sponsored a bill making it harder for Saint Charles government to use eminent domain, I knew that it could possible make it harder to get a redevelopment along First Capitol Drive or the aforementioned business area. The main thing this ordinance did was help protect homeowners and small businesses. The tools for derelict properties have been left in place and have been implemented to condemn the old County Seat restaurant and the defunct Mulch Masters site.
When Frenchtown redevelopment was in the limelight, I often spoke with residents opposed to eminent domain abuse. Sadly, when my great aunt Marie Hanslick’s house was taken twenty years prior right in Saint Charles, few folks had much to say about it. I understand both sides of this issue and I know it is a complex issue because you are weighing public good against private property rights. I heard of one town that used eminent domain to take Wal-mart’s property! The Wal-mart Corporation screamed, “Unfair!” For too long taking of property was exclusively for large businesses. When used sparingly and appropriately most citizens do not have a black-or-white stance on the issue. Homes and businesses are regularly taken throughout the country for public infrastructure creation. Sometimes condemnation helps improve the community at large and therefore, it can be argued that even condemning certain properties for retail or industrial use could be for the public good. Take, for example, a vacant lot that has remained for ten or twenty years with weeds and trash as its only tenant. A retailer is willing to come into the area but needs the corner lot to for exposure, etc. One could argue that this would be an appropriate condemnation for public good.
Saint Charles has several redevelopment issues but in the long run, I believe St. Charles is in a good position to bring in new retail and clean up some of the pockets that need new life as long as our local government works diligently and we as citizens make it a point to shop in St. Charles and support the local businesses we have now. Also, take the time to write or call retailers whom you’d like to see come to town and let them know that our City wants them here – right here in St. Charles.
A couple final notes:
- I enjoyed the “From the City Desk” in the last FCN about the origins of the name, Missouri. I remember in Missouri history class at St. Charles High reading about an obscure footnote in Missouri History called, “The Honey Wars.” Missouri and Iowa had a little civil war of its own so I wanted to request that Mr. Riddler write a little something about that if he gets time. Not exactly “local” but a quirky history that, I’m sure, he could make interesting and informative.
- Ward 9 residents, a reminder that decorative stop signs were purchased for the entire ward. In fact, there were even some ordered for Ward 10 where intersections came together so that all signs would match. This money has already been spent. Next, money was set aside for the installation of these signs so because the city staff wouldn’t be swamped trying to put them all up. Our ward deserves this improved infrastructure. Please call city hall and Ron Stivison and ask when the installation will begin. Ron’s number is: 946-4030.
- Lastly, in a column in the St. Peters newspaper, Rich Chrismer stated that claims I made regarding the last election would be shown to be wrong. I want to point out for the record, that these claims and problems were made not by me, but by Rich Chrismer. It was the Election Authority who filed a lawsuit seeking a new election claiming that voting irregularities and mistakes made at the polls made it impossible to determine the true outcome of the election. What the Election Authority should have said was, “I will prove the claims I made were wrong.”
Wayne Dyer
Certainly, everyone is aware of the slowdown in the housing market. While the Midwest is probably a little more insulated than the coasts, we still have seen homes for sale take months to move and new housing slow down to the point where developers have been laying off their employees. There are developments that have had the breaks put on due to this slowdown and this is unfortunate for Saint Charles. Things will improve, however, developments have stalled and it is unclear how long we will have to wait before some exciting developments come to fruition.
The Montgomery on South Main Street is reportedly in hiatus. A housing/commercial development at the old First National Bank site on Main has been scrapped (some other issues were at play at this site as well) and developments along First Capitol seemed to have lost steam too.
The Art/Community building at First Capitol and West Clay is moving along slowly but still I think most everyone is happy that this project is underway and helped clear out a run-down section of town.
You have probably read that a plan to put a street car into operation is underway and possible routes are being studied. Regardless what your feelings are on this, there are some clear guidelines that can be employed to help make such a system feasible.
Having worked with developers along West Clay who were putting in senior housing or mixing such usage into their greater development, one idea that came to mind was to truly make a corridor developed for our town’s seniors along West Clay. With no fewer than three senior housing developments in existence or planned for the area, wouldn’t it benefit Saint Charles to go ahead and plan shuttle and bus stops along this route. Furthermore, with hopes of redeveloping the Droste – West Clay – Duchesne business area, certain stores and services could be attracted to this area that would work well with such a development.
When I co-sponsored a bill making it harder for Saint Charles government to use eminent domain, I knew that it could possible make it harder to get a redevelopment along First Capitol Drive or the aforementioned business area. The main thing this ordinance did was help protect homeowners and small businesses. The tools for derelict properties have been left in place and have been implemented to condemn the old County Seat restaurant and the defunct Mulch Masters site.
When Frenchtown redevelopment was in the limelight, I often spoke with residents opposed to eminent domain abuse. Sadly, when my great aunt Marie Hanslick’s house was taken twenty years prior right in Saint Charles, few folks had much to say about it. I understand both sides of this issue and I know it is a complex issue because you are weighing public good against private property rights. I heard of one town that used eminent domain to take Wal-mart’s property! The Wal-mart Corporation screamed, “Unfair!” For too long taking of property was exclusively for large businesses. When used sparingly and appropriately most citizens do not have a black-or-white stance on the issue. Homes and businesses are regularly taken throughout the country for public infrastructure creation. Sometimes condemnation helps improve the community at large and therefore, it can be argued that even condemning certain properties for retail or industrial use could be for the public good. Take, for example, a vacant lot that has remained for ten or twenty years with weeds and trash as its only tenant. A retailer is willing to come into the area but needs the corner lot to for exposure, etc. One could argue that this would be an appropriate condemnation for public good.
Saint Charles has several redevelopment issues but in the long run, I believe St. Charles is in a good position to bring in new retail and clean up some of the pockets that need new life as long as our local government works diligently and we as citizens make it a point to shop in St. Charles and support the local businesses we have now. Also, take the time to write or call retailers whom you’d like to see come to town and let them know that our City wants them here – right here in St. Charles.
A couple final notes:
- I enjoyed the “From the City Desk” in the last FCN about the origins of the name, Missouri. I remember in Missouri history class at St. Charles High reading about an obscure footnote in Missouri History called, “The Honey Wars.” Missouri and Iowa had a little civil war of its own so I wanted to request that Mr. Riddler write a little something about that if he gets time. Not exactly “local” but a quirky history that, I’m sure, he could make interesting and informative.
- Ward 9 residents, a reminder that decorative stop signs were purchased for the entire ward. In fact, there were even some ordered for Ward 10 where intersections came together so that all signs would match. This money has already been spent. Next, money was set aside for the installation of these signs so because the city staff wouldn’t be swamped trying to put them all up. Our ward deserves this improved infrastructure. Please call city hall and Ron Stivison and ask when the installation will begin. Ron’s number is: 946-4030.
- Lastly, in a column in the St. Peters newspaper, Rich Chrismer stated that claims I made regarding the last election would be shown to be wrong. I want to point out for the record, that these claims and problems were made not by me, but by Rich Chrismer. It was the Election Authority who filed a lawsuit seeking a new election claiming that voting irregularities and mistakes made at the polls made it impossible to determine the true outcome of the election. What the Election Authority should have said was, “I will prove the claims I made were wrong.”
The View From The Cheap Seats by Jerry Hafferkamp
The View From The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp
Several years ago, Senator Everett Dirkson of Illinois made a comment concerning government spending saying “A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money”. This quote came to mind while watching the report on the Convention Center at the past council meeting. It was somewhat unnerving to hear our mayor gushing over the Convention Center’s success in that it only lost a half million or so this past year. Even worse was her almost giddiness that it is on target to repeat. And please, don’t even ask how tourism has increased since it was built.
The white elephant that was supposed to bring tourists to our “world class” destination has only 1 percent of its bookings as conventions. While 6 percent of the gross revenue came from conventions, a full 55 percent came from meetings and banquets. Meetings and banquets don’t bring in tourists. These events draw business away from already existing privately owned facilities. There is nothing like a government entity, supported by taxes competing unfairly with private enterprise. It makes one wonder why the supporters of private enterprise, the Chamber of Commerce, supported the construction of the center. I wonder if they would support a government owned, tax financed car dealership that would unfairly compete with our local dealership.
While writing under the banner of “Put St. Charles First” I warned that as it fails, the proponents would say we need to build it bigger. While not directly putting this misconception into play, the point was made several times during the presentation that we lost the booking of many events because we were too small. Hold onto your wallets, folks. I don’t think it will be long before we’re told we can save this sinking ship by making it bigger.
In the meanwhile, just keep paying taxes to continue the support of government undermining private enterprise.
Re: Recall petitions. Is Jack Banas going to do his job? You really think so? To quote Moms Mabley, “Well, give me a hit on whatever that is you are smoking before you step on it”.
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
By Jerry Haferkamp
Several years ago, Senator Everett Dirkson of Illinois made a comment concerning government spending saying “A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money”. This quote came to mind while watching the report on the Convention Center at the past council meeting. It was somewhat unnerving to hear our mayor gushing over the Convention Center’s success in that it only lost a half million or so this past year. Even worse was her almost giddiness that it is on target to repeat. And please, don’t even ask how tourism has increased since it was built.
The white elephant that was supposed to bring tourists to our “world class” destination has only 1 percent of its bookings as conventions. While 6 percent of the gross revenue came from conventions, a full 55 percent came from meetings and banquets. Meetings and banquets don’t bring in tourists. These events draw business away from already existing privately owned facilities. There is nothing like a government entity, supported by taxes competing unfairly with private enterprise. It makes one wonder why the supporters of private enterprise, the Chamber of Commerce, supported the construction of the center. I wonder if they would support a government owned, tax financed car dealership that would unfairly compete with our local dealership.
While writing under the banner of “Put St. Charles First” I warned that as it fails, the proponents would say we need to build it bigger. While not directly putting this misconception into play, the point was made several times during the presentation that we lost the booking of many events because we were too small. Hold onto your wallets, folks. I don’t think it will be long before we’re told we can save this sinking ship by making it bigger.
In the meanwhile, just keep paying taxes to continue the support of government undermining private enterprise.
Re: Recall petitions. Is Jack Banas going to do his job? You really think so? To quote Moms Mabley, “Well, give me a hit on whatever that is you are smoking before you step on it”.
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
Residents Complain About Sidewalk Work & Councilman Veit
Residents Complain About Sidewalk Work & Councilman Veit
By Tony Brockmeyer
Residents in the 1100 block of Third Street are complaining about the quality of concrete work on sidewalks that are being repaired. Jim Dake told the First Capitol News that he had to make several calls to Councilman Richard Veit before any of his calls were returned. When he told Veit about the unacceptable concrete work he said Veit told him he was legislative not administrative. He said when he finally convinced Veit to respond to the site and view the work Veit told him it would be sometime the following week because he was busy.
Residents said that they had complained to a city inspector and were told that he would just have the contractor place another layer of concrete to try to correct the mess.
The First Capitol News attempted to contact Councilman Veit and he returned our calls two days later. Veit told the First Capitol News he was legislative not administrative and the people should call city hall. When we inquired about his statement that it would take a week before he could look at the problem he responded he had driven by after receiving our call.
Prior to Councilman Veit responding to the residents complaints, Deputy Mayor / Fire Chief Rhodes was contacted and addressed the problem for the residents.
By Tony Brockmeyer
Residents in the 1100 block of Third Street are complaining about the quality of concrete work on sidewalks that are being repaired. Jim Dake told the First Capitol News that he had to make several calls to Councilman Richard Veit before any of his calls were returned. When he told Veit about the unacceptable concrete work he said Veit told him he was legislative not administrative. He said when he finally convinced Veit to respond to the site and view the work Veit told him it would be sometime the following week because he was busy.
Residents said that they had complained to a city inspector and were told that he would just have the contractor place another layer of concrete to try to correct the mess.
The First Capitol News attempted to contact Councilman Veit and he returned our calls two days later. Veit told the First Capitol News he was legislative not administrative and the people should call city hall. When we inquired about his statement that it would take a week before he could look at the problem he responded he had driven by after receiving our call.
Prior to Councilman Veit responding to the residents complaints, Deputy Mayor / Fire Chief Rhodes was contacted and addressed the problem for the residents.
First Capitol News Sports - Mike McMurran Sports Editor
I’ve always had somewhat mixed emotions about the baseball-wide retiring of number 42, the number wore by Jackie Robinson of the Dodgers. You see, I can remember the wonderful year of 1982, the year the Cardinals beat the Brewers in 7 games for the teams’ 9th World Championship. Many will remember the nickname Jack Buck gave Bruce Sutter that summer, “Engine Number 42” has entered the game for the Cardinals. I’m not certain they year baseball decided to retire the number, but I am certain I had mixed feelings.
Well, as the Creator of the Universe would have it, Harry Griffitts and his son Derrick invited Joe and me to a Cardinal game last summer. It was an overcast Sunday afternoon that turned into a rainy Sunday afternoon the minute we entered the Stadium. The rain let up long enough to unveil the newest of retired numbers along the left field fence – the number was 42, and it was shared by Jackie Robinson and Bruce Sutter. Once the ceremony was complete, the skies opened up for a solid two hours, and the game was officially rained out. I can proudly say I was at the first rain out in the history of the new stadium.
I shared with Joe how for years to come, probably even after I am dead and buried, he will look at the retired number 42 and always remember that he and I attended the ceremony retiring the number. As sick as it may sound, Joe and I have such conversations. Recently though, Joe wanted to know why black people were not allowed to play major league baseball until Jackie Robinson came along. Not an easy question to answer.
Those familiar with my philosophical background understand my liberal to moderate thought process. That being said, I wanted to make sure I didn’t incorporate my biases into my explanation to Joe. Rather, I focused on the positive.
I explained to Joe that until Jackie Robinson played in the major leagues, seldom were there large numbers of blacks and whites together at the same place. Once he started playing thousands, literally thousand of blacks began attending major league baseball games. At any given game there would be thousands of blacks as well as thousands of whites – something that really never before happened in American Culture. “That’s cool dad, but why was he not allowed to play in the majors?” I could see all the money I was paying for tuition at ASH was paying off. Rather than answer Joe’s question, I danced around it, and he called me on it.
I then went on to explain to Joe that many people in the United States simply didn’t want black people and white people to do things together. They wanted separate schools, churches, baseball leagues – even neighborhoods. As usual, Joe wanted to know if there were any books at the library on Jackie Robinson, so we went and found one on Joe’s reading level. It took him all of three hours to finish the book (he gets his reading habits from me), and he shared with me the following. “Dad, our Country wasn’t always the best place for blacks to live. Not only that, this book says one of the cities that was the most rude to Jackie Robinson was St. Louis. It said the first time he came to St. Louis, Jackie had to stay with an Army buddy of his because he could stay in the same hotel as the rest of the team.” Wow, I thought to myself, reading is really a powerful tool. “You remember don’t you dad?” he then added. “Pardon me Joe?” He repeated, “You remember when Jackie Robinson first came to St. Louis, it says in the book he first played here in 1947, you were alive then, weren’t you?” (His math skills come from his mom)
I then explained to Joe that I really didn’t become a Cardinal fan until some years later, 1964 to be exact, at the age of ten – so no, I wasn’t alive when Jackie Robinson first came to St. Louis.
My point? After talking with my son about the importance of Jackie Robinson’s contribution to not only major league baseball, but to American society, I now understand why his number, number 42, will never be worn by another player. I understand as well as agree. Most importantly, it was a lesson I learned with my son. Thanks Joe, you really are something special.
Well, as the Creator of the Universe would have it, Harry Griffitts and his son Derrick invited Joe and me to a Cardinal game last summer. It was an overcast Sunday afternoon that turned into a rainy Sunday afternoon the minute we entered the Stadium. The rain let up long enough to unveil the newest of retired numbers along the left field fence – the number was 42, and it was shared by Jackie Robinson and Bruce Sutter. Once the ceremony was complete, the skies opened up for a solid two hours, and the game was officially rained out. I can proudly say I was at the first rain out in the history of the new stadium.
I shared with Joe how for years to come, probably even after I am dead and buried, he will look at the retired number 42 and always remember that he and I attended the ceremony retiring the number. As sick as it may sound, Joe and I have such conversations. Recently though, Joe wanted to know why black people were not allowed to play major league baseball until Jackie Robinson came along. Not an easy question to answer.
Those familiar with my philosophical background understand my liberal to moderate thought process. That being said, I wanted to make sure I didn’t incorporate my biases into my explanation to Joe. Rather, I focused on the positive.
I explained to Joe that until Jackie Robinson played in the major leagues, seldom were there large numbers of blacks and whites together at the same place. Once he started playing thousands, literally thousand of blacks began attending major league baseball games. At any given game there would be thousands of blacks as well as thousands of whites – something that really never before happened in American Culture. “That’s cool dad, but why was he not allowed to play in the majors?” I could see all the money I was paying for tuition at ASH was paying off. Rather than answer Joe’s question, I danced around it, and he called me on it.
I then went on to explain to Joe that many people in the United States simply didn’t want black people and white people to do things together. They wanted separate schools, churches, baseball leagues – even neighborhoods. As usual, Joe wanted to know if there were any books at the library on Jackie Robinson, so we went and found one on Joe’s reading level. It took him all of three hours to finish the book (he gets his reading habits from me), and he shared with me the following. “Dad, our Country wasn’t always the best place for blacks to live. Not only that, this book says one of the cities that was the most rude to Jackie Robinson was St. Louis. It said the first time he came to St. Louis, Jackie had to stay with an Army buddy of his because he could stay in the same hotel as the rest of the team.” Wow, I thought to myself, reading is really a powerful tool. “You remember don’t you dad?” he then added. “Pardon me Joe?” He repeated, “You remember when Jackie Robinson first came to St. Louis, it says in the book he first played here in 1947, you were alive then, weren’t you?” (His math skills come from his mom)
I then explained to Joe that I really didn’t become a Cardinal fan until some years later, 1964 to be exact, at the age of ten – so no, I wasn’t alive when Jackie Robinson first came to St. Louis.
My point? After talking with my son about the importance of Jackie Robinson’s contribution to not only major league baseball, but to American society, I now understand why his number, number 42, will never be worn by another player. I understand as well as agree. Most importantly, it was a lesson I learned with my son. Thanks Joe, you really are something special.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Tax Abatement Sought For Vacant Land Described As Blighted
Library District and the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance Indicate Law Suits If Council Approves Abatement
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
The owner of Trinity Products, Robert Griggs appeared before the St. Charles City Council Tuesday evening requesting 10-year tax abatement on a 46-acre tract of land he owns on Truman Boulevard and the Norfolk and Southern railroad line.
Trinity Steel has built a factory on the property that rolls steel into tubing. He has moved his business from O’Fallon, Missouri to this location because of the railroad access. Trinity currently has 50 employees and expect that number to rise to 85 with jobs paying from $15 to $20 an hour. He also intends to add a commercial strip shopping center to the property and additional warehousing.
Griggs, of Trinity Steel, bought the ground and now it's turning out to be more expensive than he thought so he apparently wants the city taxpayers to bail him out.
This ground was not considered blighted when he purchased it. Griggs said he looked at many locations to purchase and decided on this tract because of the railroad access. The access had value to him and now he is saying after just two years the acreage went from valuable to blighted.
Some in attendance at the meeting told the First Capitol News they believed this would be nothing short of a give away to Trinity. They asked why should the city bail out Griggs’s Company for construction costs when his new factory is already operational? The owner of Trinity told the council he expects his company sales are going to triple to $75 million over the next few years.
If approved by the city council, the abatement would take taxes that would go to other taxing districts such as the county library and the county and city. During the public hearing Griggs said Trinity had an agreement to pay the taxing districts 40 percent of what they could have received in taxes for the first five years increasing that amount to 50 percent for the last 10 years.
Speaking in opposition to the tax abatement was John Thoelke representing the St. Charles County Developmental Disabilities Resource Board, Dan Burkemper, executive director for the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance and two representatives from the St. Charles County Library District, Kim Harding and Carl Sandstedt.
Both Sandstedt of the County Library District and Burkemper of the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance indicated their organizations were considering filing suit if the St. Charles City Council approved the abatement.
On a motion by Councilman Jerry Reese, in whose ward the property is located, the council voted to have the legislation for approval of the abatement drawn up and placed on the next City Council agenda.
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
The owner of Trinity Products, Robert Griggs appeared before the St. Charles City Council Tuesday evening requesting 10-year tax abatement on a 46-acre tract of land he owns on Truman Boulevard and the Norfolk and Southern railroad line.
Trinity Steel has built a factory on the property that rolls steel into tubing. He has moved his business from O’Fallon, Missouri to this location because of the railroad access. Trinity currently has 50 employees and expect that number to rise to 85 with jobs paying from $15 to $20 an hour. He also intends to add a commercial strip shopping center to the property and additional warehousing.
Griggs, of Trinity Steel, bought the ground and now it's turning out to be more expensive than he thought so he apparently wants the city taxpayers to bail him out.
This ground was not considered blighted when he purchased it. Griggs said he looked at many locations to purchase and decided on this tract because of the railroad access. The access had value to him and now he is saying after just two years the acreage went from valuable to blighted.
Some in attendance at the meeting told the First Capitol News they believed this would be nothing short of a give away to Trinity. They asked why should the city bail out Griggs’s Company for construction costs when his new factory is already operational? The owner of Trinity told the council he expects his company sales are going to triple to $75 million over the next few years.
If approved by the city council, the abatement would take taxes that would go to other taxing districts such as the county library and the county and city. During the public hearing Griggs said Trinity had an agreement to pay the taxing districts 40 percent of what they could have received in taxes for the first five years increasing that amount to 50 percent for the last 10 years.
Speaking in opposition to the tax abatement was John Thoelke representing the St. Charles County Developmental Disabilities Resource Board, Dan Burkemper, executive director for the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance and two representatives from the St. Charles County Library District, Kim Harding and Carl Sandstedt.
Both Sandstedt of the County Library District and Burkemper of the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance indicated their organizations were considering filing suit if the St. Charles City Council approved the abatement.
On a motion by Councilman Jerry Reese, in whose ward the property is located, the council voted to have the legislation for approval of the abatement drawn up and placed on the next City Council agenda.
Borromeo Cub Pack 351 Wins National Award
Cub Pack 351 St. Charles Borromeo of the Boy Scouts of America won the Gold Medallion for Region 9, which is made up of the states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa at the Cathedral Basilica. The scouts attend school at the Academy of the Sacred Heart and St. Charles Borromeo. They also received a proclamation from St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlman. Ehlman also told the scouts he had once belonged to the cub pack and Boy Scout troop.
This national award recognized the outstanding utilization by Pack 351 as an arm of Youth Ministry under the auspices of the National Catholic Committee on scouting to deepen the Catholic faith of youth. Pack 351 primarily serves the students of St. Charles Borromeo parish school and the Academy of the Sacred Heart. Chris Keesey was the Cub Master when the Cub Pack won the award and Pat Smyers is the current cub master.
Some of the ways the pack has served the parish are: serving monthly as greeters at mass, assist elderly unload their grocery donations for the “Meal-A-Month” program, cleaning up both school grounds three times, working at booths for parish fundraisers, donating time and goods for both dinner auctions and other activities and service projects with the parish and community.
This is the first time in the archdiocese of St. Louis that a troop and a pack have been awarded the Gold Medallion from the entire region.
Bob Baronovic is the Scout Master for Boy Scout Troop 351 at St. Charles Borromeo.
This national award recognized the outstanding utilization by Pack 351 as an arm of Youth Ministry under the auspices of the National Catholic Committee on scouting to deepen the Catholic faith of youth. Pack 351 primarily serves the students of St. Charles Borromeo parish school and the Academy of the Sacred Heart. Chris Keesey was the Cub Master when the Cub Pack won the award and Pat Smyers is the current cub master.
Some of the ways the pack has served the parish are: serving monthly as greeters at mass, assist elderly unload their grocery donations for the “Meal-A-Month” program, cleaning up both school grounds three times, working at booths for parish fundraisers, donating time and goods for both dinner auctions and other activities and service projects with the parish and community.
This is the first time in the archdiocese of St. Louis that a troop and a pack have been awarded the Gold Medallion from the entire region.
Bob Baronovic is the Scout Master for Boy Scout Troop 351 at St. Charles Borromeo.
Ridgecrest Baptist Church Groundbreaking Celebration June 10th
Ridgecrest Baptist Church Groundbreaking Celebration June 10th
Motorcycle Show, Classic Car Display
On June 10th at 2:00 pm, ridgecrest Baptist Church invites the community to the dedication and groundbreaking ceremony for their new 30,000 square foot Church/Family Life Center at 1731 Zumbehl Road.
The groundbreaking celebration will include food, a motorcycle and classic car display, information about the church and its future building phases. There will also be games and amusement blow-up equipment for the kids.
According to Rich Hood the event coordinator; “This is primarily a celebration party for our new neighbors thrown by the people of Ridgecrest. We Are the hosts, and the surrounding neighborhoods are the invited guests.”
In May of 2002, a master plan created by the architectural firm of Aedis, Inc., was presented to the congregation for the construction of their new facility on Zumbehl Road. Soon after, the plans for Phase 1 of construction were drawn and approved at a projected cost of over $4.5 million. In April of 2003, the church selected Wachter Inc., as the general contractor for Phase 1 construction. Actual construction is projected to begin some time in June of this year with completion projected for the summer of 2008.
Ridgecrest Baptist Church has been established in their present location on the corner of First Capitol Drive and Veteran’s Memorial Parkway for over 50 years. Their pastor, Dr. Patrick Campbell, has served the congregation for over 33 years.
Motorcycle Show, Classic Car Display
On June 10th at 2:00 pm, ridgecrest Baptist Church invites the community to the dedication and groundbreaking ceremony for their new 30,000 square foot Church/Family Life Center at 1731 Zumbehl Road.
The groundbreaking celebration will include food, a motorcycle and classic car display, information about the church and its future building phases. There will also be games and amusement blow-up equipment for the kids.
According to Rich Hood the event coordinator; “This is primarily a celebration party for our new neighbors thrown by the people of Ridgecrest. We Are the hosts, and the surrounding neighborhoods are the invited guests.”
In May of 2002, a master plan created by the architectural firm of Aedis, Inc., was presented to the congregation for the construction of their new facility on Zumbehl Road. Soon after, the plans for Phase 1 of construction were drawn and approved at a projected cost of over $4.5 million. In April of 2003, the church selected Wachter Inc., as the general contractor for Phase 1 construction. Actual construction is projected to begin some time in June of this year with completion projected for the summer of 2008.
Ridgecrest Baptist Church has been established in their present location on the corner of First Capitol Drive and Veteran’s Memorial Parkway for over 50 years. Their pastor, Dr. Patrick Campbell, has served the congregation for over 33 years.
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor,
I hope that all the people who voted in “The Best City Government That Money Can Buy” are now happy. But just remember that if you don’t bow down to the queen that you will be in trouble; just look at our police chief to see that.
I thought after the November election that people had enough of the czar system and a rubber stamp congress but I guess not. It seems that $50/$60,000 dollars worth of negative mailings will buy an election.
So now we will have a city that will be run by special interests and big developers along with cronies. I expect that all city committees will be run by out-of-towners (people who don’t live in the city). I only hope people will watch what is happening here, as not they want to stop the freedom of the city residents to read about what is going on in this city. Some groups of people only want to do things in the dark of night and only in closed rooms.
Wake Up People.
Walter Dietz
First Capitol News,
Enclosed is check for $35.
Hope you can continue to keep the people informed on our local politics and hope people will see.
Do you think the post office will smear all of your mailings like the attached front page of your last edition I received?
Thank you for letting us know of some of the things that are going on in our area.
Yours truly,
Laverne Mund
Dear Tony,
We want to offer our most grateful thanks to the First Capitol News for your generous donation of two ads for our 2000 Trivia Night. While this event does help raise funds to support our mission to serve people with disabilities, it does much more than that… when our friends and the public see individuals such as you and your business supporting Willows Way, they recognize the value and importance of our mission in this community, as well as your generous support of this valuable mission. I believe this provides all attending the event a sense of pride in their community, our partnership in this event, and in the good work we do in our community.
As a result of your support of our event, we had a very successful Trivia Night, raising funds to be used to provide additional support services to members of our Willows Way community. We could not do this without your generosity, and we want to express our sincere appreciation.
Thank you for your kind and continued generous support of Willows Way! We hope 007 will be a prosperous year for you and your business!
Sincerely
Linn Porzuczek
Community Relations
Willow Way
PS Thanks to your ads we sold out the event and you helped make it a greater success. Thanks so much.
WHOSE IS TO BLAME?
During the May meeting of the Saint Charles School Board the 2007-2008 financial projections were reported with mixed results. On one hand, thanks to the new tax revenues, the district will be receiving an additional 2.4 million dollars/year. The bad news is that spending is going up almost the same amount, spending it all on the teachers they claim. That’s interesting because when the voters approved the 2.4 million Tax levy transfer in 2006 the board claimed that was all going to the teachers too.
Wait a second; what happened to all that money the board supposedly saved the district by refinancing, reorganizing, and kicking the teacher’s kids out? What did they do with all those millions? Are they going to try to convince us they spent all of that money on the teachers again?
When will the Saint Charles School Board quit pointing the finger of blame at the teachers and acknowledge they are the ones ultimately responsible? When will they finally admit their accountability? Perhaps once they complete training on their fancy new BoardDoc computers the Saint Charles School Board will finally figure out where the taxpayer’s money is really being wasted.
Jim DuMontelle
Tony,
Even tho we don’t vote liberal anything, we do feel we need an opposing view to the Yorkies.
Your agenda should be local politics (not national) and a middle of the road position vs playing politics will serve you best. We resent the outside influences and persons stealing tax dollars and our town. Keep finding answers and printing them.
A. Womack
Dear Editor,
In your May 19, newspaper, our former Ward 9 Councilman Joe Koester wrote an article concerning monies set aside for project’s to benefit his ward. It stated Mr. Koester planned to build a retaining wall at James Dr. and Droste Rd.
Mr. Koester and I had discussed this dangerous entrance and exit to Droste Rd. off James De. He said he would see if he could no anything with this situation.
Now it is my understanding the City of St. Charles may take back the money for some of the wards.
I have lived on James Dr. for 38 years, and I’d be safe to say for at least 30 years I have called the city or the street department every spring and summer. We’ve had an on-going problem here for many years.
Last year, at the suggestion of a city employee, I called code enforcement. I explained that we have a severe problem of getting out on Droste Rd. without driving into the street to check on-coming traffic. We have vines, weeds, and other trash that obscures our view. This created a dangerous situation.
His answer to me was, “Well I have lived around that area for 30 years and it’s always been that way.” Duh! I just told him I had been calling about this for t least 30 years. I tried to explain that 30 years ago you could have shot a cannon down Droste Rd., and likely wouldn’t have hit a thing. However, today you must play dodge and dart just to get your vehicle onto Droste Rd.
He stated that it would cost a half million dollars to fix the problem, so it wouldn’t be done. He said they would make sure the area is kept free of weeds, vines, and trash. I thought well, now they will at least keep it cut and cleaned up. Right now this area needs to be cleaned, but if I have to call him every time, then it won’t change a thing, as that is what I’ve been doing for years. We need a permanent solution.
Please St. Charles city, do something about our problem. We are not asking for a solid gold wall, just a small retainer wall to help us get onto Droste Rd. safely.
Peggy Hooker
A Ward 9 resident
PS I enjoy your newspaper, have enclosed my years subscription.
Dear Editor,
Another aspect of the direct manipulation of the police department you may want to check into, is that certain areas that heavily supported her opponent (namely New Town) in the recent election no longer seem to get much in the way of police patrolling through. Police are too busy to head out to those areas unless somebody is physically hurt. In fact, I believe New Town is hiring a security guard to patrol their area. And something else I heard third hand, so I don’t know if it is true or not, is that New Town Blvd was supposed to be widened or fixed in 2008/2009 and it is now rolled back to 2010 at the earliest.
Ciao
Randy
I hope that all the people who voted in “The Best City Government That Money Can Buy” are now happy. But just remember that if you don’t bow down to the queen that you will be in trouble; just look at our police chief to see that.
I thought after the November election that people had enough of the czar system and a rubber stamp congress but I guess not. It seems that $50/$60,000 dollars worth of negative mailings will buy an election.
So now we will have a city that will be run by special interests and big developers along with cronies. I expect that all city committees will be run by out-of-towners (people who don’t live in the city). I only hope people will watch what is happening here, as not they want to stop the freedom of the city residents to read about what is going on in this city. Some groups of people only want to do things in the dark of night and only in closed rooms.
Wake Up People.
Walter Dietz
First Capitol News,
Enclosed is check for $35.
Hope you can continue to keep the people informed on our local politics and hope people will see.
Do you think the post office will smear all of your mailings like the attached front page of your last edition I received?
Thank you for letting us know of some of the things that are going on in our area.
Yours truly,
Laverne Mund
Dear Tony,
We want to offer our most grateful thanks to the First Capitol News for your generous donation of two ads for our 2000 Trivia Night. While this event does help raise funds to support our mission to serve people with disabilities, it does much more than that… when our friends and the public see individuals such as you and your business supporting Willows Way, they recognize the value and importance of our mission in this community, as well as your generous support of this valuable mission. I believe this provides all attending the event a sense of pride in their community, our partnership in this event, and in the good work we do in our community.
As a result of your support of our event, we had a very successful Trivia Night, raising funds to be used to provide additional support services to members of our Willows Way community. We could not do this without your generosity, and we want to express our sincere appreciation.
Thank you for your kind and continued generous support of Willows Way! We hope 007 will be a prosperous year for you and your business!
Sincerely
Linn Porzuczek
Community Relations
Willow Way
PS Thanks to your ads we sold out the event and you helped make it a greater success. Thanks so much.
WHOSE IS TO BLAME?
During the May meeting of the Saint Charles School Board the 2007-2008 financial projections were reported with mixed results. On one hand, thanks to the new tax revenues, the district will be receiving an additional 2.4 million dollars/year. The bad news is that spending is going up almost the same amount, spending it all on the teachers they claim. That’s interesting because when the voters approved the 2.4 million Tax levy transfer in 2006 the board claimed that was all going to the teachers too.
Wait a second; what happened to all that money the board supposedly saved the district by refinancing, reorganizing, and kicking the teacher’s kids out? What did they do with all those millions? Are they going to try to convince us they spent all of that money on the teachers again?
When will the Saint Charles School Board quit pointing the finger of blame at the teachers and acknowledge they are the ones ultimately responsible? When will they finally admit their accountability? Perhaps once they complete training on their fancy new BoardDoc computers the Saint Charles School Board will finally figure out where the taxpayer’s money is really being wasted.
Jim DuMontelle
Tony,
Even tho we don’t vote liberal anything, we do feel we need an opposing view to the Yorkies.
Your agenda should be local politics (not national) and a middle of the road position vs playing politics will serve you best. We resent the outside influences and persons stealing tax dollars and our town. Keep finding answers and printing them.
A. Womack
Dear Editor,
In your May 19, newspaper, our former Ward 9 Councilman Joe Koester wrote an article concerning monies set aside for project’s to benefit his ward. It stated Mr. Koester planned to build a retaining wall at James Dr. and Droste Rd.
Mr. Koester and I had discussed this dangerous entrance and exit to Droste Rd. off James De. He said he would see if he could no anything with this situation.
Now it is my understanding the City of St. Charles may take back the money for some of the wards.
I have lived on James Dr. for 38 years, and I’d be safe to say for at least 30 years I have called the city or the street department every spring and summer. We’ve had an on-going problem here for many years.
Last year, at the suggestion of a city employee, I called code enforcement. I explained that we have a severe problem of getting out on Droste Rd. without driving into the street to check on-coming traffic. We have vines, weeds, and other trash that obscures our view. This created a dangerous situation.
His answer to me was, “Well I have lived around that area for 30 years and it’s always been that way.” Duh! I just told him I had been calling about this for t least 30 years. I tried to explain that 30 years ago you could have shot a cannon down Droste Rd., and likely wouldn’t have hit a thing. However, today you must play dodge and dart just to get your vehicle onto Droste Rd.
He stated that it would cost a half million dollars to fix the problem, so it wouldn’t be done. He said they would make sure the area is kept free of weeds, vines, and trash. I thought well, now they will at least keep it cut and cleaned up. Right now this area needs to be cleaned, but if I have to call him every time, then it won’t change a thing, as that is what I’ve been doing for years. We need a permanent solution.
Please St. Charles city, do something about our problem. We are not asking for a solid gold wall, just a small retainer wall to help us get onto Droste Rd. safely.
Peggy Hooker
A Ward 9 resident
PS I enjoy your newspaper, have enclosed my years subscription.
Dear Editor,
Another aspect of the direct manipulation of the police department you may want to check into, is that certain areas that heavily supported her opponent (namely New Town) in the recent election no longer seem to get much in the way of police patrolling through. Police are too busy to head out to those areas unless somebody is physically hurt. In fact, I believe New Town is hiring a security guard to patrol their area. And something else I heard third hand, so I don’t know if it is true or not, is that New Town Blvd was supposed to be widened or fixed in 2008/2009 and it is now rolled back to 2010 at the earliest.
Ciao
Randy
THE CITY DESK - Rory Riddler
Rivers Out Of Time
Names Of State’s Two Major Rivers
Got Lost In The Translation
Forget the seemingly endless debate over how to pronounce the name of our state. No one got it right anyway.
The Enigmatic Missouri
French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet in 1673, were the first Europeans to describe the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. They recorded for posterity the original Native American name for the Missouri River: pekitan8i. No, the “8” is not a typo. Early French explorers and missionaries used that symbol to hold the place of a sound they lacked a means to write in their own language. It was alternately substituted for an “oo” as in the word boot, a more enigmatic ou sound or even a w.
Marquette and Jolliet had been among a tribe of Illinois Indians prior to their own “discovery” of the Missouri and this was the likely source of the name they gave it in their journal and Marquette’s map that he drew in the winter of 1673 and 1674 following their expedition. It seems that pekitan8i (also written pekintanoui) meant muddy water, which is exactly what you observe as the swifter muddy waters of the Missouri mix with the less turbid waters of the Mississippi.
So how sure are we that Marquette and Jolliet got the translation right? Fortunately for scholars there are other sources for this name. A Kaskaskian to French Dictionary in manuscript form, survived nearly intact the ravages of time and gnawing of a few mice. It was likely compiled by Jesuit Father Jacques Gravier with the help of other Jesuits as the work is in at least two hands. Father Gravier taught and preached to the Kaskaskians from 1689 to 1706. The 580 page manuscript was rediscovered and painstakingly edited by Carl Masthay and published in 2002.
The Kaskaskians were part of the Illinois confederation, a group of Native Americans who shared a common language base. During this time they alternatively inhabited a missionary at Cahokia, one near the River Des Peres and finally a village near the renamed Kaskaskian River in Illinois. They came to live in these areas with the Jesuits after having been displaced from homelands farther north.
Pekitan8i is listed in this dictionary as meaning “muddy it flows”. Which raises the question, why didn’t the original name as recorded on Marquette’s map stick?
From 1673 till at least 1712 it did. A letter from another Jesuit Father, Gabriel Marest, written in the village of the Kaskaskians on November 9, 1712 mentions two names.
“Seven leagues below the mouth of the Illinois river is found a large river called the Missouri – or more commonly Pekitanoui – that is to say “muddy water”…and is very serviceable to the French who travel in that country.”
I only had access to a translation of his letter in a late 19th Century edition of The Jesuit Relation And Allied Documents – Travels And Explorations Of The Jesuit Missionaries In New France 1610 – 1791. Therefore, I don’t know how Father Marest spelled the word Missouri, but this is the earliest record I found for the word Missouri being applied to the river and not the tribe.
So where did the name Missouri come from and what does it mean?
On Marquette’s original 1673 map, he placed the location of a village of Indians living upstream somewhere along the Pekitanoui and he wrote their name as 8miss8ri and also wrote Oumessourita. On a 1681 map the name is rendered Oumissouri.
Oumissouri is in the Kaskaskian dictionary as miss8ri and its translation (in French of course) is listed as canot or piroque…a canoe or dugout wooden canoe. Missing from the Kaskaskian dictionary entry, however is the first syllable recorded in the name by Marquette which may have modified the word to refer to the tribe and not just the dugouts themselves.
The confusion of having two names for the same river may have begun with French Explorer Pierrre-Charles Le Sueur in 1702. His map simply labeled it as the River des Missouris.
By 1718, famed Royal French cartographer Guillaume de L’Isle was using both names to refer to the river. He drew beautifully detailed maps based on information given to him by various expeditions and explorers and was no-doubt faced with the fact that the same river had been given different names by different explorers.
He chose to reflect both names. Further upstream on his map, it reads “le Missouri ou R. de Pekitanoui” and downstream, perhaps to add clarity that it was all the same river, he wrote “le Missouri R.”
That additional labeling is what I believe lead to the loss of the name Pekitanoui altogether. De L’Isle’s work was often copied or at least referred to by other mapmakers. It would be easy to think the reference closer to the confluence was the main name of the river. Other maps of the period leave off the name Pekitanoui altogether and simply labels it “R. des Missouris” or Riviere des le Missouris. By 1733 Popple, a British mapmaker, had anglicized the French to simply the Missouri’s River. Later mapmakers dropped the possessive form. Aaron Arrowsmith, one of the foremost mapmakers of his day, simply listed the River Missouri on a 1795 map.
Of course this all began with how the Kaskaskians or Illinois Indians referred to the tribe that lived upstream on the Pekitanoui. It wasn’t what the Oumissouri (Missouri) Indians called their tribe. Their name for themselves is Niutachi.
Which brings us to Etienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont. In 1713 he wrote Exact Description of Louisiana, of Its Harbors, Lands and Rivers, and Names of the Indian Tribes That Occupy It, and the Commerce and Advantages to Be Derived Therefrom for the Establishment of a Colony. (talk about your long titles). Bourgmont was fleeing from French authorities for desertion from Fort Detroit when he came to the lower Missouri. Here he married a Native American woman and supposedly spent a great deal of time with the Missouri Indians.
His relationship with the Indians and literary skills helped get him out of hot water and, instead of arresting Bourgmont, he was given a medal by French authorities and, with his son and a Native American Chief, returned to France. In 1723 he returned to North America to establish Fort Orleans near the mouth of the Grand River and the Missouri (near New Brunswick). The fort was positioned there to be near the Missouri and Osage Indian villages and to outreach to other Indian nations for trade and geo-political influence.
The mystery for me is why in his “Exact Description of Louisiana” Bourgmont fails to point out the correct tribal name as Niutachi for the Missouri Indians. In that work, Bourgmont provides only a few surface details of the Missouri Indians he supposedly spent “so much” time with. It appears to me to be a possible case of colonial resume padding.
While the original Indian name of Pekitanoui may have faded from use, we still popularly use the adjective “muddy” when referring to the Missouri River. Perhaps St. Charles could be among the first to help promote greater awareness of the Native American name of the Missouri River – Pekitanoui, in the naming of one of its planned riverfront attractions, trails, overlooks or nature center.
The Mighty Mississippi
The Mississippi River has also seen its share of cartographic name changes. Pierre Marquette in 1673 recorded the name as “Mitchisipi”. The Kaskaskian dictionary lists the name as Missisipi8i when referring to the big river.
In the Illinois Kaskaskian dialect, it appears to be a compound word. Sipi8i is listed as meaning in its French translation riviere (river). Pierrre-Charles Le Sueur’s 1702 map, which I mentioned earlier, also records the name Maramec-Sipi for the Maramec River.
Sipi8nissi is listed in the Kaskaskian dictionary as meaning petite river. Mitcha is one of the forms for large, grand or big. There seemed little doubt among early explorers, missionaries and settlers that the correct meaning was big, large or grand river. As Marquette himself added the words “ou grande” after the name, I prefer the translation grand river…with all due deference to the Rio Grande of course.
Which of course makes saying Mississippi River redundant as you have already said the word river in the Illinois tongue. Otherwise you are saying river twice.
The Mitchisipi spelling of Marquette evolved to the form Mississipi pretty early on. In 1699, Father Julien Binneteau of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) writes about the Mississipi or “great river”. Almost all of the early mapmakers used the term Mississipi.
By now, alert readers may be questioning my spelling abilities. But I am purposefully ignoring spell-check as Mississipi was the correct spelling for over 100 years! But by the 1800s, the spelling had evolved into its modern Mississippi form. How the extra “P” got in the Mississippi (stop laughing) is an ongoing investigation. Aaron Arrowsmith, whom I mentioned as one of the foremost mapmakers of his day, on his 1795 map of North America still used one p.
The earliest map I have found so far with the double p is a map in the Journal of Andrew Ellicott of Philadelphia in 1803. Nicolas King of Paris also used the double p on a map dated 1806. But an 1809 map of New Orleans still used the one p variation. By the publication of the Lewis & Clark Expedition map in 1814, the two p variation of Mississippi had stuck.
I mentioned that almost all maps of the era used the name Mississippi. There is a 1758 map in Le Page du Pratz’s Historie de la Louisiane. On this interesting map the Mississippi is marked as being the Fleuve St. Louis. Perhaps there was an effort to rename the river that never caught on. But I have to wonder if Auguste Chouteau or Pierre Laclede had access to this map prior to founding the City of St. Louis in 1763?
Names Of State’s Two Major Rivers
Got Lost In The Translation
Forget the seemingly endless debate over how to pronounce the name of our state. No one got it right anyway.
The Enigmatic Missouri
French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet in 1673, were the first Europeans to describe the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. They recorded for posterity the original Native American name for the Missouri River: pekitan8i. No, the “8” is not a typo. Early French explorers and missionaries used that symbol to hold the place of a sound they lacked a means to write in their own language. It was alternately substituted for an “oo” as in the word boot, a more enigmatic ou sound or even a w.
Marquette and Jolliet had been among a tribe of Illinois Indians prior to their own “discovery” of the Missouri and this was the likely source of the name they gave it in their journal and Marquette’s map that he drew in the winter of 1673 and 1674 following their expedition. It seems that pekitan8i (also written pekintanoui) meant muddy water, which is exactly what you observe as the swifter muddy waters of the Missouri mix with the less turbid waters of the Mississippi.
So how sure are we that Marquette and Jolliet got the translation right? Fortunately for scholars there are other sources for this name. A Kaskaskian to French Dictionary in manuscript form, survived nearly intact the ravages of time and gnawing of a few mice. It was likely compiled by Jesuit Father Jacques Gravier with the help of other Jesuits as the work is in at least two hands. Father Gravier taught and preached to the Kaskaskians from 1689 to 1706. The 580 page manuscript was rediscovered and painstakingly edited by Carl Masthay and published in 2002.
The Kaskaskians were part of the Illinois confederation, a group of Native Americans who shared a common language base. During this time they alternatively inhabited a missionary at Cahokia, one near the River Des Peres and finally a village near the renamed Kaskaskian River in Illinois. They came to live in these areas with the Jesuits after having been displaced from homelands farther north.
Pekitan8i is listed in this dictionary as meaning “muddy it flows”. Which raises the question, why didn’t the original name as recorded on Marquette’s map stick?
From 1673 till at least 1712 it did. A letter from another Jesuit Father, Gabriel Marest, written in the village of the Kaskaskians on November 9, 1712 mentions two names.
“Seven leagues below the mouth of the Illinois river is found a large river called the Missouri – or more commonly Pekitanoui – that is to say “muddy water”…and is very serviceable to the French who travel in that country.”
I only had access to a translation of his letter in a late 19th Century edition of The Jesuit Relation And Allied Documents – Travels And Explorations Of The Jesuit Missionaries In New France 1610 – 1791. Therefore, I don’t know how Father Marest spelled the word Missouri, but this is the earliest record I found for the word Missouri being applied to the river and not the tribe.
So where did the name Missouri come from and what does it mean?
On Marquette’s original 1673 map, he placed the location of a village of Indians living upstream somewhere along the Pekitanoui and he wrote their name as 8miss8ri and also wrote Oumessourita. On a 1681 map the name is rendered Oumissouri.
Oumissouri is in the Kaskaskian dictionary as miss8ri and its translation (in French of course) is listed as canot or piroque…a canoe or dugout wooden canoe. Missing from the Kaskaskian dictionary entry, however is the first syllable recorded in the name by Marquette which may have modified the word to refer to the tribe and not just the dugouts themselves.
The confusion of having two names for the same river may have begun with French Explorer Pierrre-Charles Le Sueur in 1702. His map simply labeled it as the River des Missouris.
By 1718, famed Royal French cartographer Guillaume de L’Isle was using both names to refer to the river. He drew beautifully detailed maps based on information given to him by various expeditions and explorers and was no-doubt faced with the fact that the same river had been given different names by different explorers.
He chose to reflect both names. Further upstream on his map, it reads “le Missouri ou R. de Pekitanoui” and downstream, perhaps to add clarity that it was all the same river, he wrote “le Missouri R.”
That additional labeling is what I believe lead to the loss of the name Pekitanoui altogether. De L’Isle’s work was often copied or at least referred to by other mapmakers. It would be easy to think the reference closer to the confluence was the main name of the river. Other maps of the period leave off the name Pekitanoui altogether and simply labels it “R. des Missouris” or Riviere des le Missouris. By 1733 Popple, a British mapmaker, had anglicized the French to simply the Missouri’s River. Later mapmakers dropped the possessive form. Aaron Arrowsmith, one of the foremost mapmakers of his day, simply listed the River Missouri on a 1795 map.
Of course this all began with how the Kaskaskians or Illinois Indians referred to the tribe that lived upstream on the Pekitanoui. It wasn’t what the Oumissouri (Missouri) Indians called their tribe. Their name for themselves is Niutachi.
Which brings us to Etienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont. In 1713 he wrote Exact Description of Louisiana, of Its Harbors, Lands and Rivers, and Names of the Indian Tribes That Occupy It, and the Commerce and Advantages to Be Derived Therefrom for the Establishment of a Colony. (talk about your long titles). Bourgmont was fleeing from French authorities for desertion from Fort Detroit when he came to the lower Missouri. Here he married a Native American woman and supposedly spent a great deal of time with the Missouri Indians.
His relationship with the Indians and literary skills helped get him out of hot water and, instead of arresting Bourgmont, he was given a medal by French authorities and, with his son and a Native American Chief, returned to France. In 1723 he returned to North America to establish Fort Orleans near the mouth of the Grand River and the Missouri (near New Brunswick). The fort was positioned there to be near the Missouri and Osage Indian villages and to outreach to other Indian nations for trade and geo-political influence.
The mystery for me is why in his “Exact Description of Louisiana” Bourgmont fails to point out the correct tribal name as Niutachi for the Missouri Indians. In that work, Bourgmont provides only a few surface details of the Missouri Indians he supposedly spent “so much” time with. It appears to me to be a possible case of colonial resume padding.
While the original Indian name of Pekitanoui may have faded from use, we still popularly use the adjective “muddy” when referring to the Missouri River. Perhaps St. Charles could be among the first to help promote greater awareness of the Native American name of the Missouri River – Pekitanoui, in the naming of one of its planned riverfront attractions, trails, overlooks or nature center.
The Mighty Mississippi
The Mississippi River has also seen its share of cartographic name changes. Pierre Marquette in 1673 recorded the name as “Mitchisipi”. The Kaskaskian dictionary lists the name as Missisipi8i when referring to the big river.
In the Illinois Kaskaskian dialect, it appears to be a compound word. Sipi8i is listed as meaning in its French translation riviere (river). Pierrre-Charles Le Sueur’s 1702 map, which I mentioned earlier, also records the name Maramec-Sipi for the Maramec River.
Sipi8nissi is listed in the Kaskaskian dictionary as meaning petite river. Mitcha is one of the forms for large, grand or big. There seemed little doubt among early explorers, missionaries and settlers that the correct meaning was big, large or grand river. As Marquette himself added the words “ou grande” after the name, I prefer the translation grand river…with all due deference to the Rio Grande of course.
Which of course makes saying Mississippi River redundant as you have already said the word river in the Illinois tongue. Otherwise you are saying river twice.
The Mitchisipi spelling of Marquette evolved to the form Mississipi pretty early on. In 1699, Father Julien Binneteau of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) writes about the Mississipi or “great river”. Almost all of the early mapmakers used the term Mississipi.
By now, alert readers may be questioning my spelling abilities. But I am purposefully ignoring spell-check as Mississipi was the correct spelling for over 100 years! But by the 1800s, the spelling had evolved into its modern Mississippi form. How the extra “P” got in the Mississippi (stop laughing) is an ongoing investigation. Aaron Arrowsmith, whom I mentioned as one of the foremost mapmakers of his day, on his 1795 map of North America still used one p.
The earliest map I have found so far with the double p is a map in the Journal of Andrew Ellicott of Philadelphia in 1803. Nicolas King of Paris also used the double p on a map dated 1806. But an 1809 map of New Orleans still used the one p variation. By the publication of the Lewis & Clark Expedition map in 1814, the two p variation of Mississippi had stuck.
I mentioned that almost all maps of the era used the name Mississippi. There is a 1758 map in Le Page du Pratz’s Historie de la Louisiane. On this interesting map the Mississippi is marked as being the Fleuve St. Louis. Perhaps there was an effort to rename the river that never caught on. But I have to wonder if Auguste Chouteau or Pierre Laclede had access to this map prior to founding the City of St. Louis in 1763?
GUEST EDITORIAL
GUEST EDITORIAL
There goes the neighborhood…unless we stand up for our kids
The St. Charles School board puts me in mind of my daughter's computer game, Roller Coaster Tycoon.
I approved of it because, to win, players must balance a budget while building a theme park. They even have to tidy up after customers who get sick on the roller coasters.
But my daughter got bored with just raking in the cash. She created elaborate roller coasters that went so fast, the cars shot off the tracks and crashed, killing all the passengers. You could even hear the screams as they went to their digital deaths.
"It's just a game, Mom," she'd say. "They aren't real people."
That's how the school board must feel about district families. In the most anti-family move, ever – and turning a deaf ear to the screams – admin and the board concocted a financial crisis and spun enrollment figures to Chicken Little extremes, then closed two schools and got rid of good teachers. Word is, even though the district is rolling in money, the administration building – the old Harris School – is to be sold.
To what purpose, if the district doesn't need the money?
It can't be for the kids. The board is callously packing youngsters onto buses for longer rides to, in the case of Coverdell, crowded classrooms. Test scores are going down, for sure.
Again, to what purpose?
Well, where some folks see lousy test scores, other folks see opportunity - to privatize our schools, perhaps. Think that's crazy? Check out these websites:
www.texscience.org/reform.php
www.showmeinstitute.org/
www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/voucher_report/v_seed184.shtml
In the meantime, we've got a chance to speak out. Please rally at the June 14 meeting of the school board (rally at 7 p.m., meeting at 7:30 p.m.) and call a halt to the so-called "reorganization," which looks for all the world like a corporate liquidation. The meeting will be held in the administration building, 1065 Country Club Road, St. Charles 63303. For more information phone admin staff at 443-4000.
And please ask your City Council representative and Mayor York to deny work permits for Benton School.
Because, since the board's facts and figures were misleading, and their agenda unexplained, the public hearings that were held were fraudulent.
Here's a question for the board: Mr. Hahn, why would you want to effect a hostile takeover and move into Benton School, which is surrounded by families who will – if you're unlucky enough to prevail – despise you for lying, for kicking children out of their own school, and for paving over the playground, not to mention lowering property values all around and gutting this unique historic building for the sake of an elevator. A very, very expensive elevator.
For those of us glad of an opportunity to hone our resentment, you, Karen Perrone and Linda Schulte will be a lot more visible when your seats are up for election next spring.
It's entirely your choice.
Sincerely,
Peggy Whetzel
1017 North Third Street
St. Charles,
Missouri 63301
There goes the neighborhood…unless we stand up for our kids
The St. Charles School board puts me in mind of my daughter's computer game, Roller Coaster Tycoon.
I approved of it because, to win, players must balance a budget while building a theme park. They even have to tidy up after customers who get sick on the roller coasters.
But my daughter got bored with just raking in the cash. She created elaborate roller coasters that went so fast, the cars shot off the tracks and crashed, killing all the passengers. You could even hear the screams as they went to their digital deaths.
"It's just a game, Mom," she'd say. "They aren't real people."
That's how the school board must feel about district families. In the most anti-family move, ever – and turning a deaf ear to the screams – admin and the board concocted a financial crisis and spun enrollment figures to Chicken Little extremes, then closed two schools and got rid of good teachers. Word is, even though the district is rolling in money, the administration building – the old Harris School – is to be sold.
To what purpose, if the district doesn't need the money?
It can't be for the kids. The board is callously packing youngsters onto buses for longer rides to, in the case of Coverdell, crowded classrooms. Test scores are going down, for sure.
Again, to what purpose?
Well, where some folks see lousy test scores, other folks see opportunity - to privatize our schools, perhaps. Think that's crazy? Check out these websites:
www.texscience.org/reform.php
www.showmeinstitute.org/
www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/voucher_report/v_seed184.shtml
In the meantime, we've got a chance to speak out. Please rally at the June 14 meeting of the school board (rally at 7 p.m., meeting at 7:30 p.m.) and call a halt to the so-called "reorganization," which looks for all the world like a corporate liquidation. The meeting will be held in the administration building, 1065 Country Club Road, St. Charles 63303. For more information phone admin staff at 443-4000.
And please ask your City Council representative and Mayor York to deny work permits for Benton School.
Because, since the board's facts and figures were misleading, and their agenda unexplained, the public hearings that were held were fraudulent.
Here's a question for the board: Mr. Hahn, why would you want to effect a hostile takeover and move into Benton School, which is surrounded by families who will – if you're unlucky enough to prevail – despise you for lying, for kicking children out of their own school, and for paving over the playground, not to mention lowering property values all around and gutting this unique historic building for the sake of an elevator. A very, very expensive elevator.
For those of us glad of an opportunity to hone our resentment, you, Karen Perrone and Linda Schulte will be a lot more visible when your seats are up for election next spring.
It's entirely your choice.
Sincerely,
Peggy Whetzel
1017 North Third Street
St. Charles,
Missouri 63301
CASE IN POINT by Joe Koester
“Money is the most egalitarian force in society. It confers power on whoever holds it.”
Roger Starr
I had to laugh when I read in the St. Peters’ paper that Bob Hoepfner switched sides because he didn’t like me more than York.
Okay, I wasn’t the only person he disliked; however, it was a little surprising to have him mention me. I rarely had anything to do with Mr. Hoepfner from the very beginning. I thought about what must have made him dislike me so much. If anything, it was I who should have sour feelings towards him....but I don’t. Again, it takes too much effort to hold grudges. Think about it – it was for Battling Bob that we voted to make the changes in seating. It was also after he told us that the mayor was okay with the move! It turned out she wasn’t. What was presented as a change to reflect the county council seating with departments sitting together (administration with administration and legislative with legislative) was soon turned into a personal matter which I had no part in. This was a remnant of conflicts that preceded several of us on council.
Coming from a family of law enforcement, I was really distressed to find myself at odds with the Police Department. I found this out by being targeted by a full-page advertisement which attacked several council members. I am convinced that Councilman Hoepfner (who was on ‘our’ side at the time) making constant negative attacks on the police didn’t help, as far as I was concerned. After all, I supported the police by voting to keep our own SWAT team and by demanding that health insurance coverage include spouses because we had given our word that in our goal to save money for the City we wouldn’t cut coverage. It was, in fact, Mr. Hoepfner who fought hardest to take away such benefits claiming that they were unrealistic in today’s world. I always thought it was odd to hear a union member stand solidly against benefits that provide insurance for working families.
Certainly, Mr. Hoepfner was an advocate for reducing utility taxes for seniors. It was the will of the entire council to do so and it was my goal to focus limited tax rebate dollars to those who most needed the refund. My hope was that by setting an income level of a reasonable amount would help make certain that utility tax breaks weren’t gobbled up by those wishing to lower their utility bills on their 4,000 square foot home while seniors living in small houses or apartments reaped nothing because they applied too late and all the money allotted was already used up! This was a particular sore spot for me too when my opponent’s literature deliberately contorted my attempts at passing fair legislation making it appear in his literature that my efforts were working against seniors when I was really working for the most vulnerable seniors in our community. By the way, it is easy to fight for rebates if you aren’t the one who has to figure out what other services the City will cut to pay for them. That leads me back to my buddy, Bob...
I know that Bob was angry with me because I opposed changing the zoning along West Clay which would have allowed a car dealership to encroach upon Olde Towne Estates. Bob was pushing hard for the business and I was pushing hard for the residents. Our opposition was not anti anyone, it was about protecting property values. Today, the location has seen a beautiful development begin that has retained the old-growth trees as well as kept the proper zoning. I was happy to work together with the developer, John Rice, who is a real asset to Saint Charles and someone the community can trust and believe when he says he wants to do right by his town. Again, I digress....
So, if Mr. Hoepfner doesn’t like me, I can only guess that it was because of such reasons since we had limited business together. My feelings towards him outside of city hall are not negative. Cheryl Primm is a friend of his and mine, if she likes him, I guess I like him too. I just had to chuckle when I read that I played a part in his switching sides....
I never figured that one out; after one of the major components of a “side” has moved – does either side really exist anymore? I didn’t think so – I voted for what I believed was right – which meant I voted along with the majority of the council most of the time. It was rare that real conflicts were battled out but a large share of those conflicts had to do with fights and history that I had no part of. Sadly, when you go to city hall to work for a better town, you have to contend with factions of all sorts. So much of what happens or doesn’t happen in local government is based upon who you know rather than what’s best for our community. Had I not opposed county residents hooking into our sewage without annexing into our town (i.e. opposed the wrong developer) then I would not have been targeted to get removed from office. We all know that in the end, money buys elections and until we change the process we have the best democracy money can buy. Take care Bob and try to let it go...
Roger Starr
I had to laugh when I read in the St. Peters’ paper that Bob Hoepfner switched sides because he didn’t like me more than York.
Okay, I wasn’t the only person he disliked; however, it was a little surprising to have him mention me. I rarely had anything to do with Mr. Hoepfner from the very beginning. I thought about what must have made him dislike me so much. If anything, it was I who should have sour feelings towards him....but I don’t. Again, it takes too much effort to hold grudges. Think about it – it was for Battling Bob that we voted to make the changes in seating. It was also after he told us that the mayor was okay with the move! It turned out she wasn’t. What was presented as a change to reflect the county council seating with departments sitting together (administration with administration and legislative with legislative) was soon turned into a personal matter which I had no part in. This was a remnant of conflicts that preceded several of us on council.
Coming from a family of law enforcement, I was really distressed to find myself at odds with the Police Department. I found this out by being targeted by a full-page advertisement which attacked several council members. I am convinced that Councilman Hoepfner (who was on ‘our’ side at the time) making constant negative attacks on the police didn’t help, as far as I was concerned. After all, I supported the police by voting to keep our own SWAT team and by demanding that health insurance coverage include spouses because we had given our word that in our goal to save money for the City we wouldn’t cut coverage. It was, in fact, Mr. Hoepfner who fought hardest to take away such benefits claiming that they were unrealistic in today’s world. I always thought it was odd to hear a union member stand solidly against benefits that provide insurance for working families.
Certainly, Mr. Hoepfner was an advocate for reducing utility taxes for seniors. It was the will of the entire council to do so and it was my goal to focus limited tax rebate dollars to those who most needed the refund. My hope was that by setting an income level of a reasonable amount would help make certain that utility tax breaks weren’t gobbled up by those wishing to lower their utility bills on their 4,000 square foot home while seniors living in small houses or apartments reaped nothing because they applied too late and all the money allotted was already used up! This was a particular sore spot for me too when my opponent’s literature deliberately contorted my attempts at passing fair legislation making it appear in his literature that my efforts were working against seniors when I was really working for the most vulnerable seniors in our community. By the way, it is easy to fight for rebates if you aren’t the one who has to figure out what other services the City will cut to pay for them. That leads me back to my buddy, Bob...
I know that Bob was angry with me because I opposed changing the zoning along West Clay which would have allowed a car dealership to encroach upon Olde Towne Estates. Bob was pushing hard for the business and I was pushing hard for the residents. Our opposition was not anti anyone, it was about protecting property values. Today, the location has seen a beautiful development begin that has retained the old-growth trees as well as kept the proper zoning. I was happy to work together with the developer, John Rice, who is a real asset to Saint Charles and someone the community can trust and believe when he says he wants to do right by his town. Again, I digress....
So, if Mr. Hoepfner doesn’t like me, I can only guess that it was because of such reasons since we had limited business together. My feelings towards him outside of city hall are not negative. Cheryl Primm is a friend of his and mine, if she likes him, I guess I like him too. I just had to chuckle when I read that I played a part in his switching sides....
I never figured that one out; after one of the major components of a “side” has moved – does either side really exist anymore? I didn’t think so – I voted for what I believed was right – which meant I voted along with the majority of the council most of the time. It was rare that real conflicts were battled out but a large share of those conflicts had to do with fights and history that I had no part of. Sadly, when you go to city hall to work for a better town, you have to contend with factions of all sorts. So much of what happens or doesn’t happen in local government is based upon who you know rather than what’s best for our community. Had I not opposed county residents hooking into our sewage without annexing into our town (i.e. opposed the wrong developer) then I would not have been targeted to get removed from office. We all know that in the end, money buys elections and until we change the process we have the best democracy money can buy. Take care Bob and try to let it go...
The View From The Cheap Seats by Jerry Hafferkamp
The View From The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp
It was typical of the Army. We trained as a company sized unit …in Massachusetts …in the winter …to deploy to Vietnam.
When our training was completed and all slots were filled, the company moved out by ship from Boston Navy Yard. That is, all except five of us who were to stay temporarily. We were to be sure our company areas passed inspection and were turned back to the base property officer. We were the advanced party to Vietnam. Our job was to fly to Vietnam and secure an area as a base camp and make everything ready for the rest arriving by ship. We got on a plane in 60-degree weather and got off in 105 degree, 150% humidity weather. When the plane’s door opened, it felt like someone kicked me in the chest. I couldn’t breathe.
There were five of us. One Lieutenant named Autrey; two Staff Sergeants, Castleberry and Wojokowski; and two Spec 4s, Peters and me. You can guess who did all the work. We flew from Boston to San Francisco where we were to go to Travis AFB for our flight to Vietnam.
As we walked out of the San Fran airport in our jungle fatigues with our M-16s slung over our shoulders, we were easy targets for the anti-war protesters and they converged on us. We were spit on, called some of the foulest names imaginable and branded “Baby Killers”. Lt. Autrey had given us strict orders to not do anything and keep our mouths shut. It was hard to do, but we did.
I expected that from the west coast whackos. A young Cindy Sheehan might have been one of them. I think I recognize some of them now as Democratic Representatives from California.
It is good that the veterans of this also unpopular war are better treated. I missed the parade at St. Peters on Veterans Day. I wanted to be there, but business kept me away. I’m glad my fellow Vietnam vets were honored. We came home, returned to our jobs and our families and asked for nothing, but it feels good to know someone cares about our service.
If we could only stop the politicians in Washington from undermining our troops and micro managing the war, this conflict could end differently from Vietnam. Our soldiers won in Vietnam, but our politicians raised the white flag of surrender. Our present troops deserve better.
They won’t get it from this Congress.
.
That’s the view from the cheap seats.
By Jerry Haferkamp
It was typical of the Army. We trained as a company sized unit …in Massachusetts …in the winter …to deploy to Vietnam.
When our training was completed and all slots were filled, the company moved out by ship from Boston Navy Yard. That is, all except five of us who were to stay temporarily. We were to be sure our company areas passed inspection and were turned back to the base property officer. We were the advanced party to Vietnam. Our job was to fly to Vietnam and secure an area as a base camp and make everything ready for the rest arriving by ship. We got on a plane in 60-degree weather and got off in 105 degree, 150% humidity weather. When the plane’s door opened, it felt like someone kicked me in the chest. I couldn’t breathe.
There were five of us. One Lieutenant named Autrey; two Staff Sergeants, Castleberry and Wojokowski; and two Spec 4s, Peters and me. You can guess who did all the work. We flew from Boston to San Francisco where we were to go to Travis AFB for our flight to Vietnam.
As we walked out of the San Fran airport in our jungle fatigues with our M-16s slung over our shoulders, we were easy targets for the anti-war protesters and they converged on us. We were spit on, called some of the foulest names imaginable and branded “Baby Killers”. Lt. Autrey had given us strict orders to not do anything and keep our mouths shut. It was hard to do, but we did.
I expected that from the west coast whackos. A young Cindy Sheehan might have been one of them. I think I recognize some of them now as Democratic Representatives from California.
It is good that the veterans of this also unpopular war are better treated. I missed the parade at St. Peters on Veterans Day. I wanted to be there, but business kept me away. I’m glad my fellow Vietnam vets were honored. We came home, returned to our jobs and our families and asked for nothing, but it feels good to know someone cares about our service.
If we could only stop the politicians in Washington from undermining our troops and micro managing the war, this conflict could end differently from Vietnam. Our soldiers won in Vietnam, but our politicians raised the white flag of surrender. Our present troops deserve better.
They won’t get it from this Congress.
.
That’s the view from the cheap seats.
Comments & Commentary by Charles Hill
Recently I read an article written by a well meaning but perhaps delusional member of our great city. Archie Scott still believes that our historic district is much more than a regional draw. Every study done says Main Street is a regional draw. Most of the shop owners know it’s a regional draw, so why does Archie think differently. Well, in my opinion his belief comes from a deep love of what he has helped create and that love has in his mind inflated the importance of St. Charles to others in the world. Another reason is Archie wants to construct a visitor’s center at the Mary’s Rent site at Boones Lick and South Fifth St. Now this isn’t a bad idea except for one fact, you and I will once again foot the bill for another tourist attraction that will be empty more than full.
I am very proud of St. Charles and our history. We are truly a regional draw and we should embrace that fact. Archie would have us all believe that people will actually plan a vacation to St. Charles. To that I say good luck finding enough people who will. The truth is the most historically significant event in our history failed to draw anywhere close to the anticipated crowds. I am speaking of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial that was the brainstorm of Steve Powell (former head of the CVB) and Venetia McEntire. That was a flop and we should learn from it. It demonstrates that we know our history, we are proud of it, but most people really don’t care about what Archie believes to be a draw for vacationers.
This city has stood by and supported the failed belief that we are a major tourist attraction. The promise of throngs of conventioneers purchasing goods and services has not happened with our building of the convention center. I took a walk down Main Street for a month asking people where they were from. None were staying at the Embassy Suites or in town for a convention.
What we have is something visitors can see in a day, enjoy our historic area and go home. Why can’t we be satisfied with what we are and embrace it? Once those in charge figure that out, the city and the residents will get what we deserve for our money. We will get a strategic marketing plan that markets those most likely to visit and make more than one trip in a year.
Archie needs to sit back and be proud with what he and many have built and know that they are bringing joy to those who come. Archie needs to understand that just about every city has a historic area and they all believe theirs is the best. We need to know that our future can’t be based off of one person’s never-ending need to spend tax dollars on a vision that is rose colored.
I am very proud of St. Charles and our history. We are truly a regional draw and we should embrace that fact. Archie would have us all believe that people will actually plan a vacation to St. Charles. To that I say good luck finding enough people who will. The truth is the most historically significant event in our history failed to draw anywhere close to the anticipated crowds. I am speaking of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial that was the brainstorm of Steve Powell (former head of the CVB) and Venetia McEntire. That was a flop and we should learn from it. It demonstrates that we know our history, we are proud of it, but most people really don’t care about what Archie believes to be a draw for vacationers.
This city has stood by and supported the failed belief that we are a major tourist attraction. The promise of throngs of conventioneers purchasing goods and services has not happened with our building of the convention center. I took a walk down Main Street for a month asking people where they were from. None were staying at the Embassy Suites or in town for a convention.
What we have is something visitors can see in a day, enjoy our historic area and go home. Why can’t we be satisfied with what we are and embrace it? Once those in charge figure that out, the city and the residents will get what we deserve for our money. We will get a strategic marketing plan that markets those most likely to visit and make more than one trip in a year.
Archie needs to sit back and be proud with what he and many have built and know that they are bringing joy to those who come. Archie needs to understand that just about every city has a historic area and they all believe theirs is the best. We need to know that our future can’t be based off of one person’s never-ending need to spend tax dollars on a vision that is rose colored.
Little Shop could have meant Little Shipment of Horrors
Little Shop could have meant
Little Shipment of Horrors
By Sue Riddler
The opening line of Little Shop of Horrors talks about a September day when unsuspected perils face the main characters of the play. Little did I know how self-fulfilling that prophecy would be!
Last September, as members of Flood Stage Productions were making final arrangements for this season, I was asked if I would go on a road trip to pick up the puppet “Audrey II”. Sure, I thought. How big can a puppet be? And with the image of Oscar the Grouch firmly in my mind, I agreed to go. And drive.
Now, there is a little background to this proposal. Ever since I stunned the Missouri State Trooper who administered the parallel parking test by making a perfect 3-point parking maneuver with a 1978 Ford LTD wagon, I have enjoyed surprising people with a woman competently behind the wheel of a large vehicle.
I was happy to get behind the wheel of a 10-foot box truck from Mary Rents in order to move tents, tables and chairs for the Civil War Living History Weekend. I have cheerfully done the same to move scenery and props for Flood Stage, winding down alleys, between buildings and overhangs… including efficiently and safely moving in reverse.
But as the details of this particular move started to come in, it became evident that this task was growing… literally.
The artist with an approved version of Audrey II was in Springfield. Thankfully, the city in Illinois. Nothing against the Lake, but a two-hour drive was far more appealing than four or five.
Then came the news that Audrey II was really four puppets. Hmm, I thought. That was probably too big for the Jeep. I have enough trouble getting four teenagers in there, so four Oscars seemed to push my view of spacial displacement.
No problem, I’ll just drive a truck.
By Christmas, we knew that the puppets would be in a crate. But in May, that crate had dimensions: 5 feet tall, 6 feet wide and 7 feet deep. And it weighed 900 pounds. Yep. Nine Hundred Pounds. Oscar the Grouch, even four of him, never added up to that much weight as far as I know.
I was going to learn a lot on this trip. First, when you are picking up a crate from a facility with a dock, your truck has to have a bed 48” from the ground. Second, if you are delivering to a site that does not have a dock, you need a lift gate. Third, if you need a truck with a 48” bed and a lift gate, you will be renting a truck that is 24 feet long and 13 feet tall. Fourth, after about a dozen phone calls someone might tell you that in the St. Louis area, there is only one place that rents those.
It dawned on me during the Memorial Day Holiday, that this time the surprised look for finding a woman driver in a 24-foot long, 13-foot tall, diesel powered box truck might actually come from me!
So that Tuesday, I drew a deep breath, and climbed aboard.
I was pleasantly surprised to find automatic transmission (it’s been a while since I drove a stickshift, and that was on the column). Director Lori Gibson had courageously agreed to join me for this educational journey, so the company was good. Once we got used to the bounciness of the ride, and the different sounds of the engine, we were able to relax and talk during the trip.
I proudly and confidently merged, changed lanes, exited, and otherwise motored up I-55 and onto the lot of the storage company where Audrey II was waiting.
Dock 13. Of course. This means backing up. “Fine,” I thought. “I haven’t tried that yet, so this could be fun.” And just to make it interesting, Dock 13 is next to a retaining wall. I gritted my teeth into a smile… I didn’t want Lori to know I was nervous. I carefully and quite successfully put that truck right up to the dock. I was so proud of myself! Then a man from the facility leaned out the door and said “You need to move that over to the left about 6 inches!”
Is he kidding? Doesn’t he know that 30 seconds ago was the first time I had ever moved this truck in reverse? Obviously, this man had seen women truck drivers before, and he was not surprised. In fact, he had expectations.
So I gingerly moved the truck forward a bit and began a slow turn in reverse. The guy knew just where to stand so I could see his arm motions to guide the turn. I kept thinking as he waved me to “c’mon back” about a dozen times that I was going to hit the dock. And I did. And I was supposed to. (told you it was a learning experience). Docks have these bumpers so that when you have a 48” high bed, you can get thisclose to the warehouse floor.
In no time, 900 pounds of crated Audrey II was loaded and strapped into the truck. Inside my head, I was jumping and dancing for joy over my latest vehicular triumph. Homer Simpson’s cheering could not have been louder. Eat your heart out, Oscar the Grouch.
Then came suggestions on how to remove this behemoth without the benefit of a dock. It got very quiet around me, inside and out. Whether we unloaded from the 7 foot side of the box or the 6 foot side, one thing was clear… that 42 inch lift gate was not going to be enough help.
Conversation back to St. Charles was decidedly different than the chit-chat we experienced going to Springfield. How many men would be on hand to unload? What else could we work out? We’ve never moved a 900 pound crate before, much less in a controlled fall with a liftgate four feet from the ground.
So once at the High School, with all of our help assembled, measurements were taken, prayers were said, breath was held, and a plan was hatched.
It took all hands on deck to successfully unload the mighty Audrey II. We employed skills developed by the Egyptians in their building of pyramids, tactics used by the Romans in motivating the workers, and celebrated like Indians around a bonfire as the crate finally touched ground.
Suddenly, driving the truck was not nearly as impressive or satisfying as seeing these wonderful people work so hard.
It will do your heart good to know that no Audrey’s or actors were harmed in the creation of this production. But Audrey still has to go home…
Little Shipment of Horrors
By Sue Riddler
The opening line of Little Shop of Horrors talks about a September day when unsuspected perils face the main characters of the play. Little did I know how self-fulfilling that prophecy would be!
Last September, as members of Flood Stage Productions were making final arrangements for this season, I was asked if I would go on a road trip to pick up the puppet “Audrey II”. Sure, I thought. How big can a puppet be? And with the image of Oscar the Grouch firmly in my mind, I agreed to go. And drive.
Now, there is a little background to this proposal. Ever since I stunned the Missouri State Trooper who administered the parallel parking test by making a perfect 3-point parking maneuver with a 1978 Ford LTD wagon, I have enjoyed surprising people with a woman competently behind the wheel of a large vehicle.
I was happy to get behind the wheel of a 10-foot box truck from Mary Rents in order to move tents, tables and chairs for the Civil War Living History Weekend. I have cheerfully done the same to move scenery and props for Flood Stage, winding down alleys, between buildings and overhangs… including efficiently and safely moving in reverse.
But as the details of this particular move started to come in, it became evident that this task was growing… literally.
The artist with an approved version of Audrey II was in Springfield. Thankfully, the city in Illinois. Nothing against the Lake, but a two-hour drive was far more appealing than four or five.
Then came the news that Audrey II was really four puppets. Hmm, I thought. That was probably too big for the Jeep. I have enough trouble getting four teenagers in there, so four Oscars seemed to push my view of spacial displacement.
No problem, I’ll just drive a truck.
By Christmas, we knew that the puppets would be in a crate. But in May, that crate had dimensions: 5 feet tall, 6 feet wide and 7 feet deep. And it weighed 900 pounds. Yep. Nine Hundred Pounds. Oscar the Grouch, even four of him, never added up to that much weight as far as I know.
I was going to learn a lot on this trip. First, when you are picking up a crate from a facility with a dock, your truck has to have a bed 48” from the ground. Second, if you are delivering to a site that does not have a dock, you need a lift gate. Third, if you need a truck with a 48” bed and a lift gate, you will be renting a truck that is 24 feet long and 13 feet tall. Fourth, after about a dozen phone calls someone might tell you that in the St. Louis area, there is only one place that rents those.
It dawned on me during the Memorial Day Holiday, that this time the surprised look for finding a woman driver in a 24-foot long, 13-foot tall, diesel powered box truck might actually come from me!
So that Tuesday, I drew a deep breath, and climbed aboard.
I was pleasantly surprised to find automatic transmission (it’s been a while since I drove a stickshift, and that was on the column). Director Lori Gibson had courageously agreed to join me for this educational journey, so the company was good. Once we got used to the bounciness of the ride, and the different sounds of the engine, we were able to relax and talk during the trip.
I proudly and confidently merged, changed lanes, exited, and otherwise motored up I-55 and onto the lot of the storage company where Audrey II was waiting.
Dock 13. Of course. This means backing up. “Fine,” I thought. “I haven’t tried that yet, so this could be fun.” And just to make it interesting, Dock 13 is next to a retaining wall. I gritted my teeth into a smile… I didn’t want Lori to know I was nervous. I carefully and quite successfully put that truck right up to the dock. I was so proud of myself! Then a man from the facility leaned out the door and said “You need to move that over to the left about 6 inches!”
Is he kidding? Doesn’t he know that 30 seconds ago was the first time I had ever moved this truck in reverse? Obviously, this man had seen women truck drivers before, and he was not surprised. In fact, he had expectations.
So I gingerly moved the truck forward a bit and began a slow turn in reverse. The guy knew just where to stand so I could see his arm motions to guide the turn. I kept thinking as he waved me to “c’mon back” about a dozen times that I was going to hit the dock. And I did. And I was supposed to. (told you it was a learning experience). Docks have these bumpers so that when you have a 48” high bed, you can get thisclose to the warehouse floor.
In no time, 900 pounds of crated Audrey II was loaded and strapped into the truck. Inside my head, I was jumping and dancing for joy over my latest vehicular triumph. Homer Simpson’s cheering could not have been louder. Eat your heart out, Oscar the Grouch.
Then came suggestions on how to remove this behemoth without the benefit of a dock. It got very quiet around me, inside and out. Whether we unloaded from the 7 foot side of the box or the 6 foot side, one thing was clear… that 42 inch lift gate was not going to be enough help.
Conversation back to St. Charles was decidedly different than the chit-chat we experienced going to Springfield. How many men would be on hand to unload? What else could we work out? We’ve never moved a 900 pound crate before, much less in a controlled fall with a liftgate four feet from the ground.
So once at the High School, with all of our help assembled, measurements were taken, prayers were said, breath was held, and a plan was hatched.
It took all hands on deck to successfully unload the mighty Audrey II. We employed skills developed by the Egyptians in their building of pyramids, tactics used by the Romans in motivating the workers, and celebrated like Indians around a bonfire as the crate finally touched ground.
Suddenly, driving the truck was not nearly as impressive or satisfying as seeing these wonderful people work so hard.
It will do your heart good to know that no Audrey’s or actors were harmed in the creation of this production. But Audrey still has to go home…
Flood Stage Presents: Little Shop of Horrors
Flood Stage Presents:
Little Shop of Horrors
The musical story of a boy and his blood-thirsty plant from outerspace is the latest quality production from Flood Stage Productions. In the full-production tradition that brought Grease and Footloose to the community stage, Flood Stage Productions proudly presents Little Shop of Horrors.
Little Shop of Horrors is a campy, toe-tapping, high-stepping musical following the adventures of Seymour and his would-be girlfriend, Audrey, as they learn more about a mysterious plant that has turned business around for Mr. Mushnik and his Skid Row Florist Shop.
The premise is set by the opening line: “On the 21st Day in the Month of September in an early year of a decade not too long before our own, the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence. And this terrifying enemy surfaced—- as such enemies often do—- in the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places…”
As with other Flood Stage productions, this is a show with full scenery and costumes, live music and high quality performances. Set Designer Tom Kopp and Costume Designer Courtney Gibson, along with their crews, have filled the stage with color and excitement… the perfect compliment to the energy and talent brought by the cast.
The show kicks off with its signature high-power theme song and the energy grows for the next two hours. From “Suddenly Seymour” to “Feed Me”, it’s a show that’s out of this world!
Little Shop of Horrors opens Friday, June 8, running Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10. The following week, shows are Thursday, June 14, Friday, June 15 and Saturday June 16. Shows Thursday through Saturday are at 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm on the stage of St. Charles High School. Reservations can be made on the Reservation Line at 636-578-8301. Leave your name, phone number, number of seats and date of performance. Tickets will be waiting at the door, and you will receive a confirmation call. Tickets are $15 each and $12 for seniors and students.
The Little Shop of Horrors cast includes: Jeff Saunders as Seymour, Eeyan Richardson as the voice of Audrey II, Courtney Gibson as Audrey, Jim Stegemoeller as Mr. Mushnik, Julie La Beau & Virginya Gray & Beth Scheiding as the Ronettes. Also starring: Tom Kopp as dentist Orin Scrivello, Chris Porcelli as a featured Skid Row Bum and Bob Veatch operates Audrey II. Bone Daddy and the Blues Shakers provides the driving beat and live music for Little Shop of Horrors.
The production is Directed by Lori Gibson, with Musical Director Karla Curry and Lighting Designer Stephanie Robinson.
Little Shop of Horrors
The musical story of a boy and his blood-thirsty plant from outerspace is the latest quality production from Flood Stage Productions. In the full-production tradition that brought Grease and Footloose to the community stage, Flood Stage Productions proudly presents Little Shop of Horrors.
Little Shop of Horrors is a campy, toe-tapping, high-stepping musical following the adventures of Seymour and his would-be girlfriend, Audrey, as they learn more about a mysterious plant that has turned business around for Mr. Mushnik and his Skid Row Florist Shop.
The premise is set by the opening line: “On the 21st Day in the Month of September in an early year of a decade not too long before our own, the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence. And this terrifying enemy surfaced—- as such enemies often do—- in the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places…”
As with other Flood Stage productions, this is a show with full scenery and costumes, live music and high quality performances. Set Designer Tom Kopp and Costume Designer Courtney Gibson, along with their crews, have filled the stage with color and excitement… the perfect compliment to the energy and talent brought by the cast.
The show kicks off with its signature high-power theme song and the energy grows for the next two hours. From “Suddenly Seymour” to “Feed Me”, it’s a show that’s out of this world!
Little Shop of Horrors opens Friday, June 8, running Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10. The following week, shows are Thursday, June 14, Friday, June 15 and Saturday June 16. Shows Thursday through Saturday are at 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm on the stage of St. Charles High School. Reservations can be made on the Reservation Line at 636-578-8301. Leave your name, phone number, number of seats and date of performance. Tickets will be waiting at the door, and you will receive a confirmation call. Tickets are $15 each and $12 for seniors and students.
The Little Shop of Horrors cast includes: Jeff Saunders as Seymour, Eeyan Richardson as the voice of Audrey II, Courtney Gibson as Audrey, Jim Stegemoeller as Mr. Mushnik, Julie La Beau & Virginya Gray & Beth Scheiding as the Ronettes. Also starring: Tom Kopp as dentist Orin Scrivello, Chris Porcelli as a featured Skid Row Bum and Bob Veatch operates Audrey II. Bone Daddy and the Blues Shakers provides the driving beat and live music for Little Shop of Horrors.
The production is Directed by Lori Gibson, with Musical Director Karla Curry and Lighting Designer Stephanie Robinson.
First Capitol News Sports - Mike McMurran Sports Editor
I remember the last time we took a major family vacation. All five of us flew to San Diego and stayed on a beachfront condo. We went to the world famous San Diego Zoo, Sea World and of course Lego Land in Carlsbad, California. Of every thing we did while in San Diego, the moment that stuck in my mind had nothing to do with tourist type jaunts. No, it had to do with a little, old blue-haired lady. As the five of us were walking down the beach, out of nowhere this lady came. She was on us before we knew it, and she looked directly into my eyes and said, “Once they have you out numbered, you’re in trouble.” Of course she was referring to Maggie, Joe and Dee (3) versus Lynn and I (2). At the time I somewhat knew what she meant, but for the most part simply thought she was making small talk. As time went on I realized she was in fact sent from heaven, to warn us of an impending hell!
For some reason Lynn and I can get through the soccer, basketball and football season without many conflicts. Such is not the case with baseball and softball. Frankly, the months of April, May and June are a giant pain in the butt. There have been no less than three occasions where Lynn and I have had to be at three places at the same time. For whatever unexplainable reason all three kids’ games all start at 6 p.m. at points all over Saint Charles County. Sure, I’m a teacher and have summers off, but in Jennings that doesn’t start until next Monday. All I can say is thank God for special friends; without them I could never make it happen – and for once I do mean ME. Sure, those of you who are personally familiar with Family McMurran know Lynn is the family manager. Problem is, the family manager doesn’t get off work until anywhere between 5 and 5:30. It takes everything the family manager has to make it to the games by the first pitch. No, the scheduling of transportation falls upon yours truly. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a single parent – it’s hard enough with two of us. The little old blue haired lady was 100% accurate. “Once they have you outnumbered you’re in trouble.”
The older I become the better life. Just to update everyone, Joe is now 9 (going into the 4th grade) and Dee is 7 (2nd grade look out!). Last evening the three of us went to the Cardinal game versus the Reds. When Lynn and I first started taking the kids to Cardinal games we would end in “Kiddy Land,” or whatever they called it, by the 4th inning or so. From there you couldn’t see the game, it stunk from all the kids having their shoes off, and few people were drinking beer and screaming. How things have changed.
Last evening Joe, Dee and myself sat in our seats minutes before the first pitch, and stayed until the very end. Of course it was the game that was won in the bottom of the ninth with a pitch hit home run. My sons have grown to the point they ask some pretty good questions about baseball. I can proudly say I sat through nine full innings of baseball with a single cold adult beverage. Ah yes, life is in fact good.
My sons have grown into such baseball fans we have decided to start an annual family tradition. Starting this June 29, Joe, Dee and I will travel to a different city each summer to see the Cardinals play baseball. Little did we know when we planned this year’s trip the Reds would be in last place. The good side of it is we were able to purchase seats directly behind home plate – something impossible in St. Louis. We will leave on Friday morning, watch Friday and Saturday night’s game, and return to St. Charles via Indianapolis as we visit my nephew.
As I grow older I continue to enjoy Cardinal baseball – maybe more than ever. It’s as if I am returning to my childhood every time I enter the stadium, it makes me feel like I’m 10 years old again. Then I look and see I’m with my two sons – and I say “thank you” to the Creator of the Universe.
Only six weeks left until the O’Fallon Junior Renegades have their annual summer football camp. Joe will move up to the 9 year-old team while Dee will coached by yours truly in the 7 year-old division.
Rumors have it Coach Soderburg has been offered an assistant coaching position at Michigan. If they are true I wish him all the luck in the world. If MSHSAA rules haven’t changed, Kramer will be allowed to complete his senior year at West. That is a good thing. The bad news is, the rest of the family will move north. So much for Duchesne’s power house team in 6 years.
For some reason Lynn and I can get through the soccer, basketball and football season without many conflicts. Such is not the case with baseball and softball. Frankly, the months of April, May and June are a giant pain in the butt. There have been no less than three occasions where Lynn and I have had to be at three places at the same time. For whatever unexplainable reason all three kids’ games all start at 6 p.m. at points all over Saint Charles County. Sure, I’m a teacher and have summers off, but in Jennings that doesn’t start until next Monday. All I can say is thank God for special friends; without them I could never make it happen – and for once I do mean ME. Sure, those of you who are personally familiar with Family McMurran know Lynn is the family manager. Problem is, the family manager doesn’t get off work until anywhere between 5 and 5:30. It takes everything the family manager has to make it to the games by the first pitch. No, the scheduling of transportation falls upon yours truly. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a single parent – it’s hard enough with two of us. The little old blue haired lady was 100% accurate. “Once they have you outnumbered you’re in trouble.”
The older I become the better life. Just to update everyone, Joe is now 9 (going into the 4th grade) and Dee is 7 (2nd grade look out!). Last evening the three of us went to the Cardinal game versus the Reds. When Lynn and I first started taking the kids to Cardinal games we would end in “Kiddy Land,” or whatever they called it, by the 4th inning or so. From there you couldn’t see the game, it stunk from all the kids having their shoes off, and few people were drinking beer and screaming. How things have changed.
Last evening Joe, Dee and myself sat in our seats minutes before the first pitch, and stayed until the very end. Of course it was the game that was won in the bottom of the ninth with a pitch hit home run. My sons have grown to the point they ask some pretty good questions about baseball. I can proudly say I sat through nine full innings of baseball with a single cold adult beverage. Ah yes, life is in fact good.
My sons have grown into such baseball fans we have decided to start an annual family tradition. Starting this June 29, Joe, Dee and I will travel to a different city each summer to see the Cardinals play baseball. Little did we know when we planned this year’s trip the Reds would be in last place. The good side of it is we were able to purchase seats directly behind home plate – something impossible in St. Louis. We will leave on Friday morning, watch Friday and Saturday night’s game, and return to St. Charles via Indianapolis as we visit my nephew.
As I grow older I continue to enjoy Cardinal baseball – maybe more than ever. It’s as if I am returning to my childhood every time I enter the stadium, it makes me feel like I’m 10 years old again. Then I look and see I’m with my two sons – and I say “thank you” to the Creator of the Universe.
Only six weeks left until the O’Fallon Junior Renegades have their annual summer football camp. Joe will move up to the 9 year-old team while Dee will coached by yours truly in the 7 year-old division.
Rumors have it Coach Soderburg has been offered an assistant coaching position at Michigan. If they are true I wish him all the luck in the world. If MSHSAA rules haven’t changed, Kramer will be allowed to complete his senior year at West. That is a good thing. The bad news is, the rest of the family will move north. So much for Duchesne’s power house team in 6 years.
Ameristar Donates $10,000 To Community College Foundation
Ameristar Donates $10,000 To Community College Foundation
Ameristar Casino manager Jim Franke (center) presented a $10,000 donation to the St. Charles Community College Foundation on Wednesday, May 23. The donation was accepted by the president of the SCC Foundation, Ted Dettmer (left), and SCC president Dr. John McGuire (right).
Ameristar Casino manager Jim Franke (center) presented a $10,000 donation to the St. Charles Community College Foundation on Wednesday, May 23. The donation was accepted by the president of the SCC Foundation, Ted Dettmer (left), and SCC president Dr. John McGuire (right).
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