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Saturday, March 24, 2007
YORK PLEDGES TO FIRE POLICE CHIEF TIM SWOPE
York Promised To Fire Chief Swope, Major Boerding, Captain Pollard & Chief’s Secretary If She Is Re-elected
By Tony Brockmeyer
The First Capitol News has learned that at a recent meeting of the board of directors of the St. Charles Police Officers Association, Mayor York promised the association she would fire Police Chief Tim Swope if she is re-elected to a third term. York will face Councilman John Gieseke in the general election on Tuesday, April 3.
Swope, the former elected St. Charles County Sheriff, took over as St. Charles Police Chief on March 14, 2005. He was appointed after the position had been open for over a year because the Mayor, City Administrator and City Council could not agree on a chief. Although the appointment was to be made by the City Administrator, York had made several attempts to have people appointed as chief who had close ties to the Fraternal Order of Police. When those efforts failed, she then wanted her son’s commander (her son is a St. Louis police officer) appointed. She tried to appoint a former chief of Peoria, Illinois who had come under heavy fire because of his actions in that city. York also refused to accept any appointees made by the City Administrator including that of Major Robert G. Lowery, Jr. who was the head of the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad.
York has close ties to Tommy Mayer, the former president of the FOP. Mayer, a former St. Charles Police Sergeant, was fired by Swope shortly after Mayer ordered the St. Charles City Administrator from his car, at gun point, on the parking lot of police headquarters.
Mayer filed a $100 million law suit against the City for remarks Councilman Hoepfner had made; and because the City had taken away his drive-home police vehicle which he took home to St. Louis County. He was also upset because the new city council had refused to allow him to perform FOP duties while he was on duty as a St. Charles Police Officer. After Mayer was fired and still had the lawsuit pending, York wrote a letter to St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa lavishing praise on Mayer and telling Mokwa she felt Tommy Mayer would be successful in his lawsuit against the City of St. Charles. The lawsuit was later settled for a little over $50,000.
It is believed that, if re-elected, Mayor York intends to bring Tommy Mayer back to the St. Charles Police Department after she fires Chief Swope.
The First Capitol News contacted Chief Swope regarding the pledge to fire him that York had made to the police association. Chief Swope confirmed that he had heard the Mayor had made the statement that she would fire Swope, Major Bob Boerding the assistant Chief, Captain Gary Pollard and the Chief’s secretary. Swope said he was disappointed and refused to comment further because of this being a personnel matter. Swope is under contract with the City and if fired the city would have to buy out his contract. It is unknown if the others the association wants fired are under contract.
Sources at police headquarters have told the First Capitol News that Chief Swope is extremely frustrated that the Mayor would attempt to undermine his authority to manage the police department and that she would make those promises to the police association. They also told us that by the Mayor making that promise, it has made it extremely difficult for Swope to keep control of the police department putting the safety of the residents in jeopardy.
Tim Swope has three children. Swope is a 1984 graduate of St. Charles High School and attended college at Central Missouri State University – Warrensburg on a baseball scholarship. He played peewee football at J.F.L. and the Boy’s Club. In 1982-83 he was a member of the St. Charles High School Pirates who won the State Championship in football. He also played baseball and coached for American Legion Post 312 in St. Charles. Swope’s education includes thousands of hours of training with the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration; Cook County Sheriff’s Department; Chicago Police Department; Atlanta, Georgia Metro PD; Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; Indianapolis PD; Arkansas State Police; Illinois State Police; Los Angeles PD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He also attended Lindenwood University. Chief Swope has numerous commendations for exemplary performance in the line of duty, including the Sheriff’s “Award of Excellence”. The Sheriff promoted him in February 1997, to Sergeant over the highly successful Drug Unit, having served as an undercover investigator. He was appointed Team Leader for the St. Charles County SWAT Team and in August of 2000 was appointed acting Lieutenant within the patrol division. He was deputized by the U.S. Department of Treasury and served on a Federal Task Force, which investigated organized crime in the metropolitan area. Sheriff Swope received a meritorious service award for his work on the task force.
By Tony Brockmeyer
The First Capitol News has learned that at a recent meeting of the board of directors of the St. Charles Police Officers Association, Mayor York promised the association she would fire Police Chief Tim Swope if she is re-elected to a third term. York will face Councilman John Gieseke in the general election on Tuesday, April 3.
Swope, the former elected St. Charles County Sheriff, took over as St. Charles Police Chief on March 14, 2005. He was appointed after the position had been open for over a year because the Mayor, City Administrator and City Council could not agree on a chief. Although the appointment was to be made by the City Administrator, York had made several attempts to have people appointed as chief who had close ties to the Fraternal Order of Police. When those efforts failed, she then wanted her son’s commander (her son is a St. Louis police officer) appointed. She tried to appoint a former chief of Peoria, Illinois who had come under heavy fire because of his actions in that city. York also refused to accept any appointees made by the City Administrator including that of Major Robert G. Lowery, Jr. who was the head of the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad.
York has close ties to Tommy Mayer, the former president of the FOP. Mayer, a former St. Charles Police Sergeant, was fired by Swope shortly after Mayer ordered the St. Charles City Administrator from his car, at gun point, on the parking lot of police headquarters.
Mayer filed a $100 million law suit against the City for remarks Councilman Hoepfner had made; and because the City had taken away his drive-home police vehicle which he took home to St. Louis County. He was also upset because the new city council had refused to allow him to perform FOP duties while he was on duty as a St. Charles Police Officer. After Mayer was fired and still had the lawsuit pending, York wrote a letter to St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa lavishing praise on Mayer and telling Mokwa she felt Tommy Mayer would be successful in his lawsuit against the City of St. Charles. The lawsuit was later settled for a little over $50,000.
It is believed that, if re-elected, Mayor York intends to bring Tommy Mayer back to the St. Charles Police Department after she fires Chief Swope.
The First Capitol News contacted Chief Swope regarding the pledge to fire him that York had made to the police association. Chief Swope confirmed that he had heard the Mayor had made the statement that she would fire Swope, Major Bob Boerding the assistant Chief, Captain Gary Pollard and the Chief’s secretary. Swope said he was disappointed and refused to comment further because of this being a personnel matter. Swope is under contract with the City and if fired the city would have to buy out his contract. It is unknown if the others the association wants fired are under contract.
Sources at police headquarters have told the First Capitol News that Chief Swope is extremely frustrated that the Mayor would attempt to undermine his authority to manage the police department and that she would make those promises to the police association. They also told us that by the Mayor making that promise, it has made it extremely difficult for Swope to keep control of the police department putting the safety of the residents in jeopardy.
Tim Swope has three children. Swope is a 1984 graduate of St. Charles High School and attended college at Central Missouri State University – Warrensburg on a baseball scholarship. He played peewee football at J.F.L. and the Boy’s Club. In 1982-83 he was a member of the St. Charles High School Pirates who won the State Championship in football. He also played baseball and coached for American Legion Post 312 in St. Charles. Swope’s education includes thousands of hours of training with the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration; Cook County Sheriff’s Department; Chicago Police Department; Atlanta, Georgia Metro PD; Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; Indianapolis PD; Arkansas State Police; Illinois State Police; Los Angeles PD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He also attended Lindenwood University. Chief Swope has numerous commendations for exemplary performance in the line of duty, including the Sheriff’s “Award of Excellence”. The Sheriff promoted him in February 1997, to Sergeant over the highly successful Drug Unit, having served as an undercover investigator. He was appointed Team Leader for the St. Charles County SWAT Team and in August of 2000 was appointed acting Lieutenant within the patrol division. He was deputized by the U.S. Department of Treasury and served on a Federal Task Force, which investigated organized crime in the metropolitan area. Sheriff Swope received a meritorious service award for his work on the task force.
Editorial Endorsements
The Best & The Brightest
For Mayor Of The City Of St. Charles
We are proud to recommend City Councilman John Gieseke to be our next Mayor. John has a real vision for the future of our City. One not tied to the whims of wealthy special interests.
John Gieseke will see that your money is spent wisely.
Despite the infusion of tens of thousands of dollars of special interest money from outside the City…
Despite all the money millionaire developers could throw at this election…
Despite those same special interests paying to bring high priced political consultants in from Kansas City and Chesterfield to organize a campaign of distortions and lies…
Despite incessant polling and misleading surveys, wanting to know how people feel on divisive issues in an attempt to drive wedges into our community…
John Gieseke has been building momentum in his grassroots campaign to be your Mayor. His business experience, sincerity and new ideas stand in stark contrast to failed policies, a lack of leadership and no clear direction from the current Mayor. The choice is clear. Vote for JOHN GIESEKE for Mayor.
For City Council
Ward One
City Councilman Rory Riddler is by far the better choice in this three-way contest. He is one of the brightest and hardest working members to serve on the City Council. He excels at coming up with creative solutions and finding ways to get things done. The beautiful Mel Wetter Parkway, Foundry Art Center, residential facade grants, decorative wrought iron stop signs, the new Wellness Commission, improvements to North Second Street and many other projects would not have occurred without Rory’s efforts.
Peggy Whetzel, to her credit, has run a clean campaign, but cannot offer the experience Councilman Riddler brings to the job. She also appears a bit too intense to be able to build consensus.
Also challenging Riddler is Richard Veit, a single Attorney with offices on North Main Street. He ended his Republican campaign for judge this past August $12,700 in debt. There may be a pattern of fiscal irresponsibility voters would be best to avoid.
Ward Two
Here the nod goes to City Councilman Larry Muench. He is a personable and engaging gentleman with few political enemies. We may not always agree with where his vote falls, but he accepts our constructive criticism and takes it to heart. Larry Muench has also been instrumental in setting up a neighborhood association in his ward, working to bring a supermarket to his ward and responding to constituent complaints in a timely manner.
Larry Willis has run a strong campaign and given voters a clear platform, but experience is the key factor for Second Ward voters to consider. We would hope to hear from Mr. Willis in the political arena again.
Neighborhood gadfly Venetia McEntire had visions of seizing the reigns of power at City Hall for herself and close business partner, former St. Charles Director of Tourism Steve Powell. Her campaign seems to have stalled out at Second Street as she may not realize there is more to the City than South Main Street.
Ward Three
City Councilman Mark Brown withstood efforts by millionaire developers to oust him in a recall. The effort fell short of collecting the required valid signatures as residents learned who was bankrolling the effort and the corruption uncovered in the recall effort against Dottie Greer by the same group.
Mark Brown is one of the toughest Councilmen on developers and homebuilders, requiring quality and that they not cut corners. He is fighting with several over the condition they have tried to turn over subdivisions with homes built on the edge of a creek bed. They also have cracked streets, broken sidewalks and lights dangling from entrance signs. He fought other projects he felt would lessen property values or overtax our public streets and sewers. At the same time, Mark Brown has supported developments he feels would enhance the City, such as the redevelopment of the old Noah’s Ark property, which will finally remove this embarrassing eyesore at the front door of the city. Brown has stepped up efforts to protect the residents from the increasing large blasts coming from the quarry.
Now those developers are out to get Mark Brown again. This time their candidate appears to be Laurie Feldman. Rather than campaigning on her own merits, Feldman seems bent on smearing Councilman Brown. She just requested all of Mark Brown’s cell phone records for the past three years. Not once did he exceed his allotted minutes, but Feldman apparently has nothing better to do with her time than pour through hundreds of phone calls to see when citizens may have called their Councilman. Feldman is on an obvious witch hunt.
There are two other candidates in this four-way race. David Burney, who has been a regular attendee at Council meetings for over a year and Eric Frank, whose name appears first on the ballot, and is angry over treatment by developers as well.
Ward Four
Michael McMurran is running a spirited race against Councilman Bob Kneemiller. McMurran is a regular contributor to the pages of the First Capitol News, as a local sports writer. Mike is also an experienced public servant, having served as Mayor of a small community in St. Louis County.
He is sincere and honest in his desire to serve the residents of the Fourth Ward and the City of St. Charles. We are proud to endorse and recommend Michael McMurran for the City council.
Ward Seven
Zack Smithey seems to be the breath of fresh air that people always say they want to see elected. He is not accepting any campaign donations and has been running a door-to-door grassroots campaign. Young, energetic and full of idealism, Zack Smithey could be just what the Seventh Ward needs.
It’s harder to tell the difference between the remaining three candidates for the seat now held by Councilwoman Dottie Greer, who is retiring. Dave Beckering has run before and hopes this one’s the charm. Joseph Kloeppel seems a bit too angry and lost twice before for School Board. Don Borgmeyer may benefit from familiarity with his name, but otherwise hasn’t campaigned much. In the Seventh Ward we recommend Zack Smithey.
Ward Eight
Michael Klinghammer is the clear choice in this contest pitting two former City Councilmen. Michael has a solid platform, wonderful family, is active in the community, Borromeo Parish and serves as Chairman of the Beautification Committee for the City of St. Charles. He has the best interests of the entire community at heart.
In contrast, Ken Kielty was helping to launder money in the Dottie Greer recall effort through a bank account in Jefferson City. He is actively involved in running smear campaigns against other candidates for the council in other wards. On several occasions, Kielty has threatened people in the community with whom he disagreed. As a weird footnote his son, local attorney Michael Kielty, who defended the people involved in the questionable local recall efforts, calling our Police Nazis, has taken up the high profile case of child kidnapper Michael Devlon.
Michael Klinghammer has what it takes to be a great Eighth Ward Councilman and we recommend him without reservation.
Ward Nine
Councilman Joe Koester has set a high standard for responding to constituent concerns. He has also worked to put together a plan for improving the appearance of West Clay and Droste. He has ordered decorative new street and stop signs for his entire ward that will soon be installed. He worked to make sure an old medical building in his ward got a new lease on life as an upscale office complex. Joe Koester has also been working to bring a much needed and modern Senior housing complex to his ward. He also supported efforts to get the old County Seat restaurant and other eyesore trailers and concrete block buildings removed from the corner of First Capitol and West Clay.
His opponent, Ron Stivinson, touts that he was a former State Representative in the 1980s. But the district he represented wasn’t the area that now comprises the Ninth Ward. Beyond that, he has failed to offer any alternative plans to the good works already being done by the incumbent Councilman. Joe Koester has earned reelection.
Ward Ten
Erv Ermeling has been a long-time community volunteer, whose name has been associated with the Festival of the Little Hills. This past Christmas he helped Veterans decorate the KATY Depot and trees in Frontier Park for their special display of the kind of Christmas returning World War Two veterans would have experienced. It was a moving a beautiful tribute. Erv Ermeling also serves as Chairman of the Arts & Culture Commission for the city of St. Charles.
The Ermeling family learned a lot about serving the needs of customers with Jehling’s Hardware. Erv may help to transfer that same dedication to customer service to City Hall.
For the numerous shortcomings of incumbent Councilman Bob Hoepfner you can refer to our feature of last week. The First Capitol News is proud to endorse Erv Ermeling for City Council from the Tenth Ward.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE ON TUESDAY APRIL 3
THE FUTURE OF YOUR CITY IS IN YOUR HANDS
The Best & The Brightest
For Mayor Of The City Of St. Charles
We are proud to recommend City Councilman John Gieseke to be our next Mayor. John has a real vision for the future of our City. One not tied to the whims of wealthy special interests.
John Gieseke will see that your money is spent wisely.
Despite the infusion of tens of thousands of dollars of special interest money from outside the City…
Despite all the money millionaire developers could throw at this election…
Despite those same special interests paying to bring high priced political consultants in from Kansas City and Chesterfield to organize a campaign of distortions and lies…
Despite incessant polling and misleading surveys, wanting to know how people feel on divisive issues in an attempt to drive wedges into our community…
John Gieseke has been building momentum in his grassroots campaign to be your Mayor. His business experience, sincerity and new ideas stand in stark contrast to failed policies, a lack of leadership and no clear direction from the current Mayor. The choice is clear. Vote for JOHN GIESEKE for Mayor.
For City Council
Ward One
City Councilman Rory Riddler is by far the better choice in this three-way contest. He is one of the brightest and hardest working members to serve on the City Council. He excels at coming up with creative solutions and finding ways to get things done. The beautiful Mel Wetter Parkway, Foundry Art Center, residential facade grants, decorative wrought iron stop signs, the new Wellness Commission, improvements to North Second Street and many other projects would not have occurred without Rory’s efforts.
Peggy Whetzel, to her credit, has run a clean campaign, but cannot offer the experience Councilman Riddler brings to the job. She also appears a bit too intense to be able to build consensus.
Also challenging Riddler is Richard Veit, a single Attorney with offices on North Main Street. He ended his Republican campaign for judge this past August $12,700 in debt. There may be a pattern of fiscal irresponsibility voters would be best to avoid.
Ward Two
Here the nod goes to City Councilman Larry Muench. He is a personable and engaging gentleman with few political enemies. We may not always agree with where his vote falls, but he accepts our constructive criticism and takes it to heart. Larry Muench has also been instrumental in setting up a neighborhood association in his ward, working to bring a supermarket to his ward and responding to constituent complaints in a timely manner.
Larry Willis has run a strong campaign and given voters a clear platform, but experience is the key factor for Second Ward voters to consider. We would hope to hear from Mr. Willis in the political arena again.
Neighborhood gadfly Venetia McEntire had visions of seizing the reigns of power at City Hall for herself and close business partner, former St. Charles Director of Tourism Steve Powell. Her campaign seems to have stalled out at Second Street as she may not realize there is more to the City than South Main Street.
Ward Three
City Councilman Mark Brown withstood efforts by millionaire developers to oust him in a recall. The effort fell short of collecting the required valid signatures as residents learned who was bankrolling the effort and the corruption uncovered in the recall effort against Dottie Greer by the same group.
Mark Brown is one of the toughest Councilmen on developers and homebuilders, requiring quality and that they not cut corners. He is fighting with several over the condition they have tried to turn over subdivisions with homes built on the edge of a creek bed. They also have cracked streets, broken sidewalks and lights dangling from entrance signs. He fought other projects he felt would lessen property values or overtax our public streets and sewers. At the same time, Mark Brown has supported developments he feels would enhance the City, such as the redevelopment of the old Noah’s Ark property, which will finally remove this embarrassing eyesore at the front door of the city. Brown has stepped up efforts to protect the residents from the increasing large blasts coming from the quarry.
Now those developers are out to get Mark Brown again. This time their candidate appears to be Laurie Feldman. Rather than campaigning on her own merits, Feldman seems bent on smearing Councilman Brown. She just requested all of Mark Brown’s cell phone records for the past three years. Not once did he exceed his allotted minutes, but Feldman apparently has nothing better to do with her time than pour through hundreds of phone calls to see when citizens may have called their Councilman. Feldman is on an obvious witch hunt.
There are two other candidates in this four-way race. David Burney, who has been a regular attendee at Council meetings for over a year and Eric Frank, whose name appears first on the ballot, and is angry over treatment by developers as well.
Ward Four
Michael McMurran is running a spirited race against Councilman Bob Kneemiller. McMurran is a regular contributor to the pages of the First Capitol News, as a local sports writer. Mike is also an experienced public servant, having served as Mayor of a small community in St. Louis County.
He is sincere and honest in his desire to serve the residents of the Fourth Ward and the City of St. Charles. We are proud to endorse and recommend Michael McMurran for the City council.
Ward Seven
Zack Smithey seems to be the breath of fresh air that people always say they want to see elected. He is not accepting any campaign donations and has been running a door-to-door grassroots campaign. Young, energetic and full of idealism, Zack Smithey could be just what the Seventh Ward needs.
It’s harder to tell the difference between the remaining three candidates for the seat now held by Councilwoman Dottie Greer, who is retiring. Dave Beckering has run before and hopes this one’s the charm. Joseph Kloeppel seems a bit too angry and lost twice before for School Board. Don Borgmeyer may benefit from familiarity with his name, but otherwise hasn’t campaigned much. In the Seventh Ward we recommend Zack Smithey.
Ward Eight
Michael Klinghammer is the clear choice in this contest pitting two former City Councilmen. Michael has a solid platform, wonderful family, is active in the community, Borromeo Parish and serves as Chairman of the Beautification Committee for the City of St. Charles. He has the best interests of the entire community at heart.
In contrast, Ken Kielty was helping to launder money in the Dottie Greer recall effort through a bank account in Jefferson City. He is actively involved in running smear campaigns against other candidates for the council in other wards. On several occasions, Kielty has threatened people in the community with whom he disagreed. As a weird footnote his son, local attorney Michael Kielty, who defended the people involved in the questionable local recall efforts, calling our Police Nazis, has taken up the high profile case of child kidnapper Michael Devlon.
Michael Klinghammer has what it takes to be a great Eighth Ward Councilman and we recommend him without reservation.
Ward Nine
Councilman Joe Koester has set a high standard for responding to constituent concerns. He has also worked to put together a plan for improving the appearance of West Clay and Droste. He has ordered decorative new street and stop signs for his entire ward that will soon be installed. He worked to make sure an old medical building in his ward got a new lease on life as an upscale office complex. Joe Koester has also been working to bring a much needed and modern Senior housing complex to his ward. He also supported efforts to get the old County Seat restaurant and other eyesore trailers and concrete block buildings removed from the corner of First Capitol and West Clay.
His opponent, Ron Stivinson, touts that he was a former State Representative in the 1980s. But the district he represented wasn’t the area that now comprises the Ninth Ward. Beyond that, he has failed to offer any alternative plans to the good works already being done by the incumbent Councilman. Joe Koester has earned reelection.
Ward Ten
Erv Ermeling has been a long-time community volunteer, whose name has been associated with the Festival of the Little Hills. This past Christmas he helped Veterans decorate the KATY Depot and trees in Frontier Park for their special display of the kind of Christmas returning World War Two veterans would have experienced. It was a moving a beautiful tribute. Erv Ermeling also serves as Chairman of the Arts & Culture Commission for the city of St. Charles.
The Ermeling family learned a lot about serving the needs of customers with Jehling’s Hardware. Erv may help to transfer that same dedication to customer service to City Hall.
For the numerous shortcomings of incumbent Councilman Bob Hoepfner you can refer to our feature of last week. The First Capitol News is proud to endorse Erv Ermeling for City Council from the Tenth Ward.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE ON TUESDAY APRIL 3
THE FUTURE OF YOUR CITY IS IN YOUR HANDS
COUNCILMAN MARK BROWN PROVIDES WARD 3 RESIDENTS WITH FREE TRASH CONTAINERS
lick on image to enlargeThursday, March 22 marked the day the Third Ward’s new trash containers arrived in St. Charles.
Councilman Mark Brown purchased 1100 trash containers for the residents of his ward with the discretionary money that was allocated from the Casino’s building permit fees on their new hotel.
Brown and others on the Council had tried to purchase containers citywide in early 2005. That plan was squashed by the administration. With the upcoming change in government and a full time Mayor, that plan could be resurrected. Brown said, “The overwhelming response from the residents of Ward 3 should send a clear message that St. Charles residents care about beautifying their neighborhood. A small group of people don’t like the fact that for the first time the city council is giving something back to the taxpayers of Ward 3. They are upset because we are not spending the money on their friends, the millionaire developers. I think it is time we start giving back to the people not just special interests groups.”
Residents who ordered the cans will start receiving them on Monday, March 25. Councilman Brown was assisted by mayoral candidate John Gieseke for the better half of Thursday doing inventory of the cans and making sure they all arrived. Gieseke was one of the Council members who joined Brown in bringing this concept forward citywide in September 2005.
EDITORIAL Cartoon February 6, 2007 - FIRST CAPITOL NEWS
FIRST CAPITOL NEWS BROKE THE STORY
REPRESENTATIVE DEMPSEY INTRODUCES THE LAW
This past week Representative Tom Dempsey introduced legislation that would make it illegal to pay workers to circulate petitions in the State of Missouri. I have to say that Tom Dempsey listened and took action and he should be commended. The past three years of our City’s history have been stained with corruption in not one but two petition drives. Both these drives were funded by developers, businessmen and council candidates in an effort to recall two sitting council members. Dempsey is doing something Jack Banas has not, take action against those who threaten our democratic process by trying to buy elections.
The fact that he is taking action should stand as a testitmonial to those on the council who wouldn’t succumb to the lure of the rich and famous and stood up to the millionaires, businessmen and council candidate. Tom Dempsey knew that many of the victims of forgery were constituents of his, he knew they had the right to be protected from those who would pay for signatures. Those who paid for the signatures knew that they were illegally gotten when they placed the petitions in the hands of the city clerk and yet nothing has been done by the prosecuting attorney who has taken an oath to uphold the laws.
This paper broke the story and introduced the evidence for all of St. Charles to see. Those who broke the law tried to discount the forgery and fraud. They hired a crack pot attorney to yell at the council. They did everything except take responsibility for their illegal behavior. The First Capitol News has taken a vow to keep you informed. This editorial is letting you know there is hope that our government is listening and trying to protect our interest. It is also letting you know that your government is failing to prosecute those who broke the law. Let Tom Dempsey know that you appreciate his efforts, let Jack Banas know his legacy could be “the one who allowed our democracy to be tarnished”.
REPRESENTATIVE DEMPSEY INTRODUCES THE LAW
This past week Representative Tom Dempsey introduced legislation that would make it illegal to pay workers to circulate petitions in the State of Missouri. I have to say that Tom Dempsey listened and took action and he should be commended. The past three years of our City’s history have been stained with corruption in not one but two petition drives. Both these drives were funded by developers, businessmen and council candidates in an effort to recall two sitting council members. Dempsey is doing something Jack Banas has not, take action against those who threaten our democratic process by trying to buy elections.
The fact that he is taking action should stand as a testitmonial to those on the council who wouldn’t succumb to the lure of the rich and famous and stood up to the millionaires, businessmen and council candidate. Tom Dempsey knew that many of the victims of forgery were constituents of his, he knew they had the right to be protected from those who would pay for signatures. Those who paid for the signatures knew that they were illegally gotten when they placed the petitions in the hands of the city clerk and yet nothing has been done by the prosecuting attorney who has taken an oath to uphold the laws.
This paper broke the story and introduced the evidence for all of St. Charles to see. Those who broke the law tried to discount the forgery and fraud. They hired a crack pot attorney to yell at the council. They did everything except take responsibility for their illegal behavior. The First Capitol News has taken a vow to keep you informed. This editorial is letting you know there is hope that our government is listening and trying to protect our interest. It is also letting you know that your government is failing to prosecute those who broke the law. Let Tom Dempsey know that you appreciate his efforts, let Jack Banas know his legacy could be “the one who allowed our democracy to be tarnished”.
RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
THE MUDSLINGING HAS STARTED
In our last edition we predicted that mudslinging in the political campaigns would start soon. In the First Ward incumbent Councilman Rory Riddler is being challenged by Richard Viet. A mudslinging piece against Riddler is being distributed to voters in the Ward.
In the third Ward where Incumbent Councilman Mark Brown is being challenged by Laurie Feldman the voters in the Ward are also being barraged with malicious pieces.
The pieces are being sent anonymously, probably because if the senders could be identified they could face civil and possible criminal charges.
We were also told that Citizens for Responsible Government headed by Raymond Stone and Carl Maus have already had mudslinging pieces printed and are getting ready to distribute them to your mail box. Moss and Stone have been involved in races in St. Charles, St. Peters and O’Fallon. In the past their group has been funded by millionaire developers like TR Hughes along with millionaire duck hunter Adolphus Busch. Their claim to fame is their participation in the last St. Peters mayoral election were they claimed responsibility for the victory of Shawn Brown over long time Mayor Tom Brown. Shawn Brown was recently convicted of taking a bribe and is in or enroute to a federal prison.
Maus is also the assistant to O’Fallon Mayor Donna Morrow.
Another contributor to their malicious attacks on candidates they do not favor has been St. Charles Mayor Patti York.
Stone and Maus are expected to attack Mayoral candidate John Gieseke and Councilman Mark Brown. Maus and a couple of other investors own property at Highway 94 and Heritage Landing. They applied to the St. Charles City Council for a permit to put a service station on the property. Both Gieseke and Brown voiced opposition to the proposal which was later withdrawn.
Maus also failed in his attempt to take over the Board at Heritage.
More information on Maus and Stone and their suspect organization can be found in our archives at
firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com
Because of a shortage of red bags the First Capitol News will be delivered in blue bags temporarily. Watch for the blue bags. The red will return when they become available.
Remember to Vote on April 3 for JOHN GIESEKE for Mayor.
In our last edition we predicted that mudslinging in the political campaigns would start soon. In the First Ward incumbent Councilman Rory Riddler is being challenged by Richard Viet. A mudslinging piece against Riddler is being distributed to voters in the Ward.
In the third Ward where Incumbent Councilman Mark Brown is being challenged by Laurie Feldman the voters in the Ward are also being barraged with malicious pieces.
The pieces are being sent anonymously, probably because if the senders could be identified they could face civil and possible criminal charges.
We were also told that Citizens for Responsible Government headed by Raymond Stone and Carl Maus have already had mudslinging pieces printed and are getting ready to distribute them to your mail box. Moss and Stone have been involved in races in St. Charles, St. Peters and O’Fallon. In the past their group has been funded by millionaire developers like TR Hughes along with millionaire duck hunter Adolphus Busch. Their claim to fame is their participation in the last St. Peters mayoral election were they claimed responsibility for the victory of Shawn Brown over long time Mayor Tom Brown. Shawn Brown was recently convicted of taking a bribe and is in or enroute to a federal prison.
Maus is also the assistant to O’Fallon Mayor Donna Morrow.
Another contributor to their malicious attacks on candidates they do not favor has been St. Charles Mayor Patti York.
Stone and Maus are expected to attack Mayoral candidate John Gieseke and Councilman Mark Brown. Maus and a couple of other investors own property at Highway 94 and Heritage Landing. They applied to the St. Charles City Council for a permit to put a service station on the property. Both Gieseke and Brown voiced opposition to the proposal which was later withdrawn.
Maus also failed in his attempt to take over the Board at Heritage.
More information on Maus and Stone and their suspect organization can be found in our archives at
firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com
Because of a shortage of red bags the First Capitol News will be delivered in blue bags temporarily. Watch for the blue bags. The red will return when they become available.
Remember to Vote on April 3 for JOHN GIESEKE for Mayor.
The PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor,
May I be so bold as to provide your columnist, “Charles Hill”, with a grammatical “tool” that he may employ before he submits his column to future editions of the First Capitol News?
His column that appeared in the March 17-23 edition includes the sentence “Once again this project does require you and I to kick in 5 acres of taxpayers ground.”
If Charles Hill would use the following method of checking his usage of the English/American language, similar mistakes more than likely won’t be repeated. “Once again this project does require you and I to kick in 5 acres of taxpayers ground.” (Omit the words “you and” and say the sentence aloud. Then ask, “Does this sound right?” — …this project does require I to kick in…)
(Also, he may wish to include the oft-misused apostrophe in the word “taxpayers” to read “taxpayers’” since he is indicating group ownership of those 5 acres of ground.)
I must compliment your “Editor’s Eye” regarding recent First Capitol News editions, as you have progressed by leaps and bounds concerning the extensive misspellings, misuse of the ubiquitous apostrophe and publication of extremely poor grammar that used to appear throughout the early issues. I realize you may have been publishing articles and opinions “as they are received” from your columnists, but I would wonder if any of them have little tools named “Spell Check” and/or “Grammar Check” residing within
their software programs.
Again, I am so grateful for the news and insights provided by your publication – especially articles forewarning the public of ugly political moves such as the hiring of the “Goon Squad”. I’m not surprised, but perhaps some of the uninformed public/voters will become aware of such underhanded political moves by reading the First Capitol News.
Thank you!
Sandy Fernstrom
Slf40@charter.net
Editor’s note
Thank you for being a reader of the First Capitol News. Our agreement with our columnists is that as long as their articles do not contain misinformation or libelous statements we print them as written. However we do correct grammatical errors when we catch them. I am forwarding your comments to Charles Hill for his review.
To the Editor:
As a longtime citizen and former Mayor of St. Peters, I am deeply concerned with some of the attributes of one of our mayoral candidates. Alderman Len Pagano is running his campaign on the basis of trust and his accomplishments during his tenure. What has Alderman Pagano done? First of all, he has outright taken credit for being involved in the many endeavors the City has made, beginning with the St. Peters Senior Center. I was there from the conception of the idea to the finished product, and not once was he there to pound one nail or put up a 2x4. The same may be said for the Rec-Plex. While fundraising was going on for this wonderful development, many people who already had full time jobs gave their all to make this happen for the citizens of St. Peters. Again, Mr. Pagano was no-where to be found during this time and spent no effort to aid in this project. In addition, he is never seen at the ribbon cuttings for the small businesses he claims to support, and where was he when the City was trying to pass the last 3 bond issues?
Now let’s talk about what Len Pagano has done. He has sold himself to the Great River Habitat Alliance and Adolphus Busch. This is the same man who put in the entire O’Fallon board of Aldermen and Mayor in power as well as our felonious Mayor Shawn Brown. Ironically, Len Pagano has also credited himself for taking Mayor Shawn Brown and Aldeman Michelle Steins under his wings; his protégés if you will. He has also blamed the city for letting houses be built close to the pipelines, though he’s the only one who was there when whose votes for it were taken! Finally, as far as his campaign is being conducted, there are some questionable billboard donations from Drury sign company totaling $5,000. Alderman Pagano has been heard beginning most of his comments with “I’m really not quite sure”. Well Mr. Pagano, there’s your campaign slogan.
Tom Brown
Former Mayor St. Peters
Dear Editor,
During the March 8th Saint Charles School Board Meeting President Dennis Hahn made this quote, “I think our intent really for the non-resident situation was to try to keep the smaller…Um…the lower grades, smaller class sizes.” He made this comment after Dr. Tower chided the rest of the board about using the money they were suppose to be saving by kicking those children out of our district. Dennis Hahn has backpedaled from his position in February and now what is he telling us. In a district with about 2,000 elementary school students, they are afraid to allow less than 20 additional children because it will “compromise class sizes”? If Dennis Hahn thinks we can’t tolerate a meager 1% increase at the elementary school level, then this district is not ready to close down two elementary schools.
The worst part is that they don’t need to do it. In January their financial update included the new “Assessment Evaluations” which projected next year that they would be receiving a significant increase from the city in tax revenue. The amount stated in January of 4-5 million was not repeated in February or March, but I encourage everyone to look into this, as it is nearly twice the amount of money the board claimed they needed to keep our schools open.
It was no surprise for me to hear that Mr. Weinrich, the Treasurer of the School Board, (one of the three that has been going against the Gang of Four) suddenly backed out of his re-election bid after the board’s closed session meeting on March 15th. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dr. Towers followed suit after her efforts against the fearsome foursome.
Dennis Hahn and his gang are railroading this district to the same end we see happening in Saint Louis. They too started by shutting down schools, which didn’t save any money, and then they lost good teachers, lost their accreditations, and now face a state take-over. Is that what Dennis Hahn is trying to do to our district?
The city is handing our school district all the money they asked for and still Dennis Hahn is willing to sacrifice young lives in his vain effort to “Stay the Course”. I find his disrespect for the teachers, the children and the wishes of this community intolerable.
Jim DuMontelle
May I be so bold as to provide your columnist, “Charles Hill”, with a grammatical “tool” that he may employ before he submits his column to future editions of the First Capitol News?
His column that appeared in the March 17-23 edition includes the sentence “Once again this project does require you and I to kick in 5 acres of taxpayers ground.”
If Charles Hill would use the following method of checking his usage of the English/American language, similar mistakes more than likely won’t be repeated. “Once again this project does require you and I to kick in 5 acres of taxpayers ground.” (Omit the words “you and” and say the sentence aloud. Then ask, “Does this sound right?” — …this project does require I to kick in…)
(Also, he may wish to include the oft-misused apostrophe in the word “taxpayers” to read “taxpayers’” since he is indicating group ownership of those 5 acres of ground.)
I must compliment your “Editor’s Eye” regarding recent First Capitol News editions, as you have progressed by leaps and bounds concerning the extensive misspellings, misuse of the ubiquitous apostrophe and publication of extremely poor grammar that used to appear throughout the early issues. I realize you may have been publishing articles and opinions “as they are received” from your columnists, but I would wonder if any of them have little tools named “Spell Check” and/or “Grammar Check” residing within
their software programs.
Again, I am so grateful for the news and insights provided by your publication – especially articles forewarning the public of ugly political moves such as the hiring of the “Goon Squad”. I’m not surprised, but perhaps some of the uninformed public/voters will become aware of such underhanded political moves by reading the First Capitol News.
Thank you!
Sandy Fernstrom
Slf40@charter.net
Editor’s note
Thank you for being a reader of the First Capitol News. Our agreement with our columnists is that as long as their articles do not contain misinformation or libelous statements we print them as written. However we do correct grammatical errors when we catch them. I am forwarding your comments to Charles Hill for his review.
To the Editor:
As a longtime citizen and former Mayor of St. Peters, I am deeply concerned with some of the attributes of one of our mayoral candidates. Alderman Len Pagano is running his campaign on the basis of trust and his accomplishments during his tenure. What has Alderman Pagano done? First of all, he has outright taken credit for being involved in the many endeavors the City has made, beginning with the St. Peters Senior Center. I was there from the conception of the idea to the finished product, and not once was he there to pound one nail or put up a 2x4. The same may be said for the Rec-Plex. While fundraising was going on for this wonderful development, many people who already had full time jobs gave their all to make this happen for the citizens of St. Peters. Again, Mr. Pagano was no-where to be found during this time and spent no effort to aid in this project. In addition, he is never seen at the ribbon cuttings for the small businesses he claims to support, and where was he when the City was trying to pass the last 3 bond issues?
Now let’s talk about what Len Pagano has done. He has sold himself to the Great River Habitat Alliance and Adolphus Busch. This is the same man who put in the entire O’Fallon board of Aldermen and Mayor in power as well as our felonious Mayor Shawn Brown. Ironically, Len Pagano has also credited himself for taking Mayor Shawn Brown and Aldeman Michelle Steins under his wings; his protégés if you will. He has also blamed the city for letting houses be built close to the pipelines, though he’s the only one who was there when whose votes for it were taken! Finally, as far as his campaign is being conducted, there are some questionable billboard donations from Drury sign company totaling $5,000. Alderman Pagano has been heard beginning most of his comments with “I’m really not quite sure”. Well Mr. Pagano, there’s your campaign slogan.
Tom Brown
Former Mayor St. Peters
Dear Editor,
During the March 8th Saint Charles School Board Meeting President Dennis Hahn made this quote, “I think our intent really for the non-resident situation was to try to keep the smaller…Um…the lower grades, smaller class sizes.” He made this comment after Dr. Tower chided the rest of the board about using the money they were suppose to be saving by kicking those children out of our district. Dennis Hahn has backpedaled from his position in February and now what is he telling us. In a district with about 2,000 elementary school students, they are afraid to allow less than 20 additional children because it will “compromise class sizes”? If Dennis Hahn thinks we can’t tolerate a meager 1% increase at the elementary school level, then this district is not ready to close down two elementary schools.
The worst part is that they don’t need to do it. In January their financial update included the new “Assessment Evaluations” which projected next year that they would be receiving a significant increase from the city in tax revenue. The amount stated in January of 4-5 million was not repeated in February or March, but I encourage everyone to look into this, as it is nearly twice the amount of money the board claimed they needed to keep our schools open.
It was no surprise for me to hear that Mr. Weinrich, the Treasurer of the School Board, (one of the three that has been going against the Gang of Four) suddenly backed out of his re-election bid after the board’s closed session meeting on March 15th. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dr. Towers followed suit after her efforts against the fearsome foursome.
Dennis Hahn and his gang are railroading this district to the same end we see happening in Saint Louis. They too started by shutting down schools, which didn’t save any money, and then they lost good teachers, lost their accreditations, and now face a state take-over. Is that what Dennis Hahn is trying to do to our district?
The city is handing our school district all the money they asked for and still Dennis Hahn is willing to sacrifice young lives in his vain effort to “Stay the Course”. I find his disrespect for the teachers, the children and the wishes of this community intolerable.
Jim DuMontelle
Case In Point By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9
“Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.”
Corrie Ten Boom
The first First Capitol News of Spring 2007. Spring being a time for renewal, hope and faith; I thought a quote from Corrie Ten Boom would be timely. If ever a story of faith and hope were written, Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place was it. Anyone who has not yet read Ten Boom’s book about her family’s resistance to the Nazi in Holland can call your favorite book store and order a copy to compliment the arrival of spring.
Recently, State Representative, Tom Dempsey introduced legislation that would prohibit collectors of signatures for recall petitions from being paid. I want to thank Rep. Dempsey for taking this step in an attempt to keep the recall process from being a tool of a few wealthy citizens who create a “grassroots” movement by using a lot of “green”. Citizens still hold the right to remove an elected official from office for malfeasance but a resident in, Town and Country cannot pay someone from Sikeston to collect signatures on an official in St. Charles County.
Rep. Dempsey is responding to a recall effort against councilman Mark Brown and councilwoman Dottie Greer where people were paid per signature collected that opened up the recall to corruption that brought charges on some of the people involved in the endeavor. Again, thanks to Rep. Dempsey for taking action to safeguard the election process.
By chance that Tom Dempsey is reading this here are a couple more areas where we can use your help:
¨Help us outlaw payday loan shops (legislate stricter usury laws and lets drive these predatory lenders out of business)
¨Stop/Reverse legislation that prohibits only St. Charles from certain action (starting with control over our own sewer system)
¨Help keep elections statewide clean by banning paperless, touch-screen voting machines.
¨Help St. Charles City residents along I-70 obtain sound abatement by securing funding for buffers (currently the State won’t help with sound walls unless I-70 is widened; however, it was widened from its original four lanes)
¨Introduce legislation that demarks Lindenwood University’s boundaries at their current extent so that any new property they purchase does not fall under their tax-exempt status (as it stands, the university can continue to buy up property and remove each piece from our town’s tax rolls).
I think it will be beneficial if our city officials meet regularly in the coming years with our state officials. Sometimes communication breaks down without anyone realizing it. We all can take the lesson of a new start that spring brings with it. Again, I really am thankful for the attention paid to cleaning up recall efforts!
Another thing we have to think about with the coming of spring is thunderstorms and tornadoes. More specifically, we have to wonder how many times our power might be out for extended periods. Should I buy a generator or not...? Folks in Illinois had to be slack-jawed when their latest Ameren bills arrived and had doubled and tripled. It is spring and we are supposed to remain hopeful – so, here’s to hoping Mother Nature goes easy on us this Spring so we can read, The Hiding Place and other good books this season by electric light and not candlelight.
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
Anne Bradstreet
Corrie Ten Boom
The first First Capitol News of Spring 2007. Spring being a time for renewal, hope and faith; I thought a quote from Corrie Ten Boom would be timely. If ever a story of faith and hope were written, Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place was it. Anyone who has not yet read Ten Boom’s book about her family’s resistance to the Nazi in Holland can call your favorite book store and order a copy to compliment the arrival of spring.
Recently, State Representative, Tom Dempsey introduced legislation that would prohibit collectors of signatures for recall petitions from being paid. I want to thank Rep. Dempsey for taking this step in an attempt to keep the recall process from being a tool of a few wealthy citizens who create a “grassroots” movement by using a lot of “green”. Citizens still hold the right to remove an elected official from office for malfeasance but a resident in, Town and Country cannot pay someone from Sikeston to collect signatures on an official in St. Charles County.
Rep. Dempsey is responding to a recall effort against councilman Mark Brown and councilwoman Dottie Greer where people were paid per signature collected that opened up the recall to corruption that brought charges on some of the people involved in the endeavor. Again, thanks to Rep. Dempsey for taking action to safeguard the election process.
By chance that Tom Dempsey is reading this here are a couple more areas where we can use your help:
¨Help us outlaw payday loan shops (legislate stricter usury laws and lets drive these predatory lenders out of business)
¨Stop/Reverse legislation that prohibits only St. Charles from certain action (starting with control over our own sewer system)
¨Help keep elections statewide clean by banning paperless, touch-screen voting machines.
¨Help St. Charles City residents along I-70 obtain sound abatement by securing funding for buffers (currently the State won’t help with sound walls unless I-70 is widened; however, it was widened from its original four lanes)
¨Introduce legislation that demarks Lindenwood University’s boundaries at their current extent so that any new property they purchase does not fall under their tax-exempt status (as it stands, the university can continue to buy up property and remove each piece from our town’s tax rolls).
I think it will be beneficial if our city officials meet regularly in the coming years with our state officials. Sometimes communication breaks down without anyone realizing it. We all can take the lesson of a new start that spring brings with it. Again, I really am thankful for the attention paid to cleaning up recall efforts!
Another thing we have to think about with the coming of spring is thunderstorms and tornadoes. More specifically, we have to wonder how many times our power might be out for extended periods. Should I buy a generator or not...? Folks in Illinois had to be slack-jawed when their latest Ameren bills arrived and had doubled and tripled. It is spring and we are supposed to remain hopeful – so, here’s to hoping Mother Nature goes easy on us this Spring so we can read, The Hiding Place and other good books this season by electric light and not candlelight.
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
Anne Bradstreet
The City DESK - Rory Riddler, Councilman Ward 1
The Inconvenient Truth
About Inconvenience
Driving down Elm Street the other day, I saw the electronic reader boards the City had put up to notify drivers of the pending reconstruction of portions of Elm. Along with information that the long awaited project would start “sometime” in April, was an emoticon. You know, those funny faces :-) people like to tack onto e-mails, text messages and the like.
At first I wanted to make sure it wasn’t winking, ;-), like this was an inside joke. Sure, we’ll start construction in April…wink, wink. Perhaps it was simply wishing me a nice day, or was it more like saying, good luck…you’ll need it. I was also wondering if they could rig these signs to receive and display text messages from drivers? That could get interesting.
I think it took a few people by surprise because you don’t expect those in government to have a sense of humor, but believe me, it is there…just below the surface. Personally, I applaud the person that added the smiley face to the message. You especially have to have a sense of humor when you work for the Public Works Department. That’s because a lot of what they have to do to reconstruct vital infrastructure like roads, bridges, water and sewer lines ends up creating dust, noise, traffic jams and, well, general inconvenience for neighbors, businesses and the driving public.
Inconvenience is somewhat like pain. Different people have different levels of tolerance. No one was happy the last time Elm Street was torn up for construction, hence the frequent references to the Nightmare On Elm Street.
What we hope makes this experience a better one, is the proactive attitude I have seen demonstrated by Public Works Director Mahesh Sharma and his staff. He came to the Street Committee of the Council months ago, with plans for the use of reader boards, frequent updates on the web site and other ideas of how to keep motorists apprised of the work.
We were candid with him about the type of problems people find infuriating. For instance, the days and sometimes weeks that go by, with no one on the job site and no explanation as to why work was seemingly abandoned. They may still be well within their deadlines for completion, but it is still maddening to not see progress being made every day.
Since contractors work on numerous projects at once, they move men and equipment around to other sites as they wait for ground conditions to be right, materials to arrive or utilities to be moved (a real problem at times getting cooperation from utility companies). One way to get the contractors to want to finish sooner and not push the deadline, is to offer incentives. We have been doing that lately on all major projects and a good example is the Mel Wetter Parkway, which was able to be opened months ahead of schedule.
Our Street Committee suggested adding even further incentives to the Elm Street project by extending the target period in which the contractor could achieve incentives. Incentives may add a $100,000 or so to a seven or eight million dollar project, but it is well worth it for the aggravation it avoids.
Another suggestion I made to city staff, is to never let a road get in as bad a shape as some portions of Elm Street. Those sections that jar you and your car’s suspension, should have been cut out and relaid. Instead, there was a reluctance to do anything to a street that everyone knew would just be torn up for major reconstruction a year or two later. Deferring maintenance that adds to frustration levels on the part of motorists is never a good idea.
Having a great Public Works Department is two-thirds perspiration and one-third public relations. I hope the smiley face is a positive sign of good things to come from a department that seems more committed than ever to public service.
Let me make this point clear, a major reconstruction project is going to be inconvenient no matter what we do. Unless the City flew a helicopter to their house to ferry them to work each day, we are going to make some people very angry and a lot of people somewhat frustrated over the next year with the Elm Street project.
But to the extent they can, I think that Mahesh Sharma and his department, will listen to your concerns and do everything in their power to accommodate and relieve problems as they come up. Don’t be hesitant to contact them with questions or concerns.
For everyone else, I would recommend switching to decaffeinated coffee, finding an easy listening music station and start planning alternative routs. It’s almost time to grin J and bear it.
About Inconvenience
Driving down Elm Street the other day, I saw the electronic reader boards the City had put up to notify drivers of the pending reconstruction of portions of Elm. Along with information that the long awaited project would start “sometime” in April, was an emoticon. You know, those funny faces :-) people like to tack onto e-mails, text messages and the like.
At first I wanted to make sure it wasn’t winking, ;-), like this was an inside joke. Sure, we’ll start construction in April…wink, wink. Perhaps it was simply wishing me a nice day, or was it more like saying, good luck…you’ll need it. I was also wondering if they could rig these signs to receive and display text messages from drivers? That could get interesting.
I think it took a few people by surprise because you don’t expect those in government to have a sense of humor, but believe me, it is there…just below the surface. Personally, I applaud the person that added the smiley face to the message. You especially have to have a sense of humor when you work for the Public Works Department. That’s because a lot of what they have to do to reconstruct vital infrastructure like roads, bridges, water and sewer lines ends up creating dust, noise, traffic jams and, well, general inconvenience for neighbors, businesses and the driving public.
Inconvenience is somewhat like pain. Different people have different levels of tolerance. No one was happy the last time Elm Street was torn up for construction, hence the frequent references to the Nightmare On Elm Street.
What we hope makes this experience a better one, is the proactive attitude I have seen demonstrated by Public Works Director Mahesh Sharma and his staff. He came to the Street Committee of the Council months ago, with plans for the use of reader boards, frequent updates on the web site and other ideas of how to keep motorists apprised of the work.
We were candid with him about the type of problems people find infuriating. For instance, the days and sometimes weeks that go by, with no one on the job site and no explanation as to why work was seemingly abandoned. They may still be well within their deadlines for completion, but it is still maddening to not see progress being made every day.
Since contractors work on numerous projects at once, they move men and equipment around to other sites as they wait for ground conditions to be right, materials to arrive or utilities to be moved (a real problem at times getting cooperation from utility companies). One way to get the contractors to want to finish sooner and not push the deadline, is to offer incentives. We have been doing that lately on all major projects and a good example is the Mel Wetter Parkway, which was able to be opened months ahead of schedule.
Our Street Committee suggested adding even further incentives to the Elm Street project by extending the target period in which the contractor could achieve incentives. Incentives may add a $100,000 or so to a seven or eight million dollar project, but it is well worth it for the aggravation it avoids.
Another suggestion I made to city staff, is to never let a road get in as bad a shape as some portions of Elm Street. Those sections that jar you and your car’s suspension, should have been cut out and relaid. Instead, there was a reluctance to do anything to a street that everyone knew would just be torn up for major reconstruction a year or two later. Deferring maintenance that adds to frustration levels on the part of motorists is never a good idea.
Having a great Public Works Department is two-thirds perspiration and one-third public relations. I hope the smiley face is a positive sign of good things to come from a department that seems more committed than ever to public service.
Let me make this point clear, a major reconstruction project is going to be inconvenient no matter what we do. Unless the City flew a helicopter to their house to ferry them to work each day, we are going to make some people very angry and a lot of people somewhat frustrated over the next year with the Elm Street project.
But to the extent they can, I think that Mahesh Sharma and his department, will listen to your concerns and do everything in their power to accommodate and relieve problems as they come up. Don’t be hesitant to contact them with questions or concerns.
For everyone else, I would recommend switching to decaffeinated coffee, finding an easy listening music station and start planning alternative routs. It’s almost time to grin J and bear it.
First Capitol News Sports - Mike McMurran Sports Editor
Lately I’ve been meeting a large number of new faces, I’m sure you understand where and why, and one of the big questions I get is, “What are your hobbies? I can tell a lot about people by their hobbies,” more than one person has said to me. My honest response is usually, “I don’t have any hobbies, I’ve got three kids under the age of 11.” The strangest thing is no one believes me when I say that – but it’s true.
Since no one believes me when I say that, I had to come up with some type of hobbies; without lying of course. So I did a self-evaluation and really did monitor what I did with my spare time. Now my response is, “I am a youth coach. I coach my kids’ teams.” If you know anything about grammar you will notice I used the plural possessive form of the word kid. I have three children and I coach one of each of their sports.
From January until late March I am Maggie’s basketball coach. She and 9 of her classmates play in the CYA league representing their school, Academy of the Sacred Heart. I was somewhat drafted into the position by Dr. Richard Heise, who was the girls’ assistant coach last season, and serves as my assistant this season. Last season was the girls first season of playing basketball – and it showed. They finished with a 2-8 record, and it was sometimes painful to watch them play. I sat in the stands and kept my comments to myself, but thought that with just a little instruction the girls could be pretty good. I’m not the best basketball coach in the world, but quiet honestly I have hung out with some pretty darn good ones. Remember ladies and gentlemen, I teach in Jennings, and for 6 year I was the high school athletic director. One of my responsibilities was to supervise, which means attend all athletic contests – both boys and girls. For 6 years I would attend well over 100, yes one hundred high school basketball games. When you factor in varsity, junior varsity and freshmen teams, boys and girls, not to mention tournaments that I hosted, the number was probably closer to 150. I watched and I learned. These names won’t mean much to the average person, but I’ve watched such successful high school coaches as, Randy Carter, Lance Hash, Danny Thomas and Tom Burniski. Anyone of the 4 gentlemen has forgotten more about basketball than the average person will ever know.
Any way, Maggie’s team began practicing over the Christmas Holiday, I think we practiced about 5 or 6 times. The parents wondered why we were practicing so much and I told them, “We have to learn the offense and the defense if we are going to be successful.” “Offense and defense,” they questioned. “Please remember these girls finished 2-8 last season. Don’t get their expectations too high,” I was told. Anyone who knows me knows if I am going to do something I give it all I have; I might not always accomplish my objective, but never is it due to lack of hard work and effort. Not only did we learn an offense and defense, we learned two offenses: one to attack a zone defense, one to attack a man-to-man defense. Every Friday afternoon from 3:15 until 5:00 you would find Dr. Heise and myself in the gym with 10 5th grade girls, bouncing basketballs, practicing free throws, and learning silly sayings like: “My side, I pick.” Now, please remember where I started – talking about my hobbies and such. On almost every single one of these Fridays we were practicing, the teachers and beautiful Jennings Junior High School, or at least many of them, would go out to happy hour and discuss with each other how they got through the previous week. Each week I would be invited, and each week I would have to tell them, “Can’t, I have basketball practice.”
I’m not sure of the gratification others receive from their hobbies, but if you could see the look on my girls’ faces when they score a basketball. Remember please, they have all been taught that unlike last season, when they score, act as if they have scored before – even though many had not. Last week after Emily Holloran banked in a jump shot, she immediately looked over to the bench to see if her coach had witnessed her success. Of course I did – we made eye contact as she smiled from ear to ear. You see last season when the girls scored, their celebration would make a Super Bowl winning touchdown celebration look mild. I’ve taken a page from the Notre Dame philosophy – act like you’ve scored before. This year I have at least 5 girls who have scored more points in a single contest than all of last year. I know this to be true because my favorite daughter, Maggie Kurtz McMurran is one of them. I have two players, Grace Schwendemann and Isabella Tambone, who are unstoppable when they get the ball down low. Last season they didn’t even know what “down low,” meant. We really don’t have any star players, but the flip side of that is we have lots of depth. When Grace and ‘Bella take a breather we simply substitute Madison Flynn and Kayla Simon – I still don’t know which combination would be first string or second string. We call our guards, “wings,” and that is where Paige Theby and Hillary Padavan do their damage – simple little jump shots or passing the ball down low – whatever the other team gives us. On defense, if we are looking for a quick turnover, I simply put our pit bull, Sarah Heise on the opposing team’s point guard. If you ever saw Sarah play defense you would know why we call he our “pit bull.” Speaking of point guards, our point guard, Elizabeth Francis, is faster dribbling the ball down the court than most are simply running. She has scored countless times on a fast break.
The team will play their final game of the season Saturday against All Saints. Presently we are sitting on a 6-3 record, and no matter what happens Saturday will have improved greatly over last season. I guess what I really want to do here is thank all 10 girls for a wonderful three months. And while I’m at it, a thank you to their parents for trusting me to coach their daughters. I know there was some question at the beginning of the season as to whether or not I knew what I was doing.
Well it looks as if I have run out of space – I was going to write about Joe’s baseball and Dee’s soccer teams. Maybe I should add “writing” to my list of hobbies. See ya next week.
Since no one believes me when I say that, I had to come up with some type of hobbies; without lying of course. So I did a self-evaluation and really did monitor what I did with my spare time. Now my response is, “I am a youth coach. I coach my kids’ teams.” If you know anything about grammar you will notice I used the plural possessive form of the word kid. I have three children and I coach one of each of their sports.
From January until late March I am Maggie’s basketball coach. She and 9 of her classmates play in the CYA league representing their school, Academy of the Sacred Heart. I was somewhat drafted into the position by Dr. Richard Heise, who was the girls’ assistant coach last season, and serves as my assistant this season. Last season was the girls first season of playing basketball – and it showed. They finished with a 2-8 record, and it was sometimes painful to watch them play. I sat in the stands and kept my comments to myself, but thought that with just a little instruction the girls could be pretty good. I’m not the best basketball coach in the world, but quiet honestly I have hung out with some pretty darn good ones. Remember ladies and gentlemen, I teach in Jennings, and for 6 year I was the high school athletic director. One of my responsibilities was to supervise, which means attend all athletic contests – both boys and girls. For 6 years I would attend well over 100, yes one hundred high school basketball games. When you factor in varsity, junior varsity and freshmen teams, boys and girls, not to mention tournaments that I hosted, the number was probably closer to 150. I watched and I learned. These names won’t mean much to the average person, but I’ve watched such successful high school coaches as, Randy Carter, Lance Hash, Danny Thomas and Tom Burniski. Anyone of the 4 gentlemen has forgotten more about basketball than the average person will ever know.
Any way, Maggie’s team began practicing over the Christmas Holiday, I think we practiced about 5 or 6 times. The parents wondered why we were practicing so much and I told them, “We have to learn the offense and the defense if we are going to be successful.” “Offense and defense,” they questioned. “Please remember these girls finished 2-8 last season. Don’t get their expectations too high,” I was told. Anyone who knows me knows if I am going to do something I give it all I have; I might not always accomplish my objective, but never is it due to lack of hard work and effort. Not only did we learn an offense and defense, we learned two offenses: one to attack a zone defense, one to attack a man-to-man defense. Every Friday afternoon from 3:15 until 5:00 you would find Dr. Heise and myself in the gym with 10 5th grade girls, bouncing basketballs, practicing free throws, and learning silly sayings like: “My side, I pick.” Now, please remember where I started – talking about my hobbies and such. On almost every single one of these Fridays we were practicing, the teachers and beautiful Jennings Junior High School, or at least many of them, would go out to happy hour and discuss with each other how they got through the previous week. Each week I would be invited, and each week I would have to tell them, “Can’t, I have basketball practice.”
I’m not sure of the gratification others receive from their hobbies, but if you could see the look on my girls’ faces when they score a basketball. Remember please, they have all been taught that unlike last season, when they score, act as if they have scored before – even though many had not. Last week after Emily Holloran banked in a jump shot, she immediately looked over to the bench to see if her coach had witnessed her success. Of course I did – we made eye contact as she smiled from ear to ear. You see last season when the girls scored, their celebration would make a Super Bowl winning touchdown celebration look mild. I’ve taken a page from the Notre Dame philosophy – act like you’ve scored before. This year I have at least 5 girls who have scored more points in a single contest than all of last year. I know this to be true because my favorite daughter, Maggie Kurtz McMurran is one of them. I have two players, Grace Schwendemann and Isabella Tambone, who are unstoppable when they get the ball down low. Last season they didn’t even know what “down low,” meant. We really don’t have any star players, but the flip side of that is we have lots of depth. When Grace and ‘Bella take a breather we simply substitute Madison Flynn and Kayla Simon – I still don’t know which combination would be first string or second string. We call our guards, “wings,” and that is where Paige Theby and Hillary Padavan do their damage – simple little jump shots or passing the ball down low – whatever the other team gives us. On defense, if we are looking for a quick turnover, I simply put our pit bull, Sarah Heise on the opposing team’s point guard. If you ever saw Sarah play defense you would know why we call he our “pit bull.” Speaking of point guards, our point guard, Elizabeth Francis, is faster dribbling the ball down the court than most are simply running. She has scored countless times on a fast break.
The team will play their final game of the season Saturday against All Saints. Presently we are sitting on a 6-3 record, and no matter what happens Saturday will have improved greatly over last season. I guess what I really want to do here is thank all 10 girls for a wonderful three months. And while I’m at it, a thank you to their parents for trusting me to coach their daughters. I know there was some question at the beginning of the season as to whether or not I knew what I was doing.
Well it looks as if I have run out of space – I was going to write about Joe’s baseball and Dee’s soccer teams. Maybe I should add “writing” to my list of hobbies. See ya next week.
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