MY COLUMN - Mike McMurran, Sports Editor
Never have I claimed to be a journalist, nor a columnist – rather I am simply a lowly, certified 7-12 English teacher. During my years of studying to be a teacher I was required to take more literature and grammar courses than I would ever need. You see I am what most would call an “old school” teacher – I know the content, grammar, literary analysis and such, as that is what they taught us. Today’s educators focus more on “how to teach,” how to address different learning styles, how to create an environment conducive to learning. Though professional development old school teachers, like yours truly, are schooled on how to address the different learning styles, etc. Why do I mention this? There are a couple of reasons: 1. I love to write, both formally and informally. When the opportunity presented itself to write for Tony and Phyllis I jumped on it. 2. I love high school sports – nothing pleasures me more than attending a competitive high school contest, and 3. I love my family. Yeah sure, everyone loves their family, but for the longest time I was not sure that I would have a family. I was 41 years old when Margo, my oldest was born.
It seems the correspondence I receive is equally divided between “stick to sports” and “I love reading about your family.” How do I keep everyone happy? Its kinda like dealing with my wife: damned if I do, damned if I don’t. Lets not forget to factor in I occasionally enjoy sharing my political point of view.
It has been one year now since I have been writing this column, and I have learned a few things. I like my narratives to be as “fresh” as possible. My deadline for submitting articles is noon, or so, on Tuesday. No matter how hard I try I cannot bring myself to sitting down and writing until Tuesday morning (presently it is 9 a.m.). This week I had a column written as early as last Thursday – but I threw it away this morning. The “freshness” I speak of is currently throwing me for a loop. You see, I must submit my articles by noon on Tuesday, but at the same time the U. S. Mail doesn’t bother to deliver my FCN until several days latter. This throws my clock off, significantly. Kindly hang in there with me as I become more tuned in with the new schedule.
The column I originally planned on submitting dealt primarily with the Fort Zumwalt School District’s drug and alcohol policy – and how I admired and respected Dr. Bernie DuBray for standing up for what is clearly best for the student athletes. My clandestine informants tell me there is a star athlete from a Class 6 football semifinalist team facing drug charges. It seems the court proceedings are being put off until the conclusion of the season – “he’s innocent until proven guilty – therefore he keeps his eligibility,” I am told. Something tells me this wouldn’t happen in the Zumwalt District.
Speaking of football semifinalists, Charlie Elmendorf’s Duchesne Pioneers are one win away from a date at the Edward Jones Dome and the Show Me Bowl. Since we do not publish next week due to Thanksgiving, we will not be covering the Pioneer’s semifinal game with Affton. Rest assured ladies and gentlemen, should the Pioneers make it to the Dome, Bob and I will be there. Here’s a trivia question: Since the MSHSAA started football playoffs in 1968, Duchesne has made it to the final four, 4 times (82, 83, 99 and this year). Who is the only Gateway Athletic Conference representative to win a football state championship? (answer at the end of column)
Since we do not publish next week, I would like to share what I am most thankful for with you this week. This Thanksgiving, November 24th, will mark the 21st Thanksgiving I have spent with my wife, Lynn. Remember how I earlier said there was a time in my life when I was not sure if I would ever have a family? Well, on Thanksgiving Day in 1985, my first with Lynn and her family, I knew that she was the person I wanted to raise a family with. I also knew that the holiday environment I was experiencing was one I would someday love for my children to experience. You see, cousins in Lynn’s family are closer than many brothers and sisters I have met. This Thanksgiving, Margo, Joe and Dee will share Thanksgiving with at least 7 of their cousins: Phillip, Stevie (his wife Sarah), Tasha, Meghan (home from Rockhurst), Brad, Paige and Mason. Others may pop in from Tennessee and Texas, we never know, but you can be certain those 10 will be at Lynn’s brother Dave’s (and Debby) house on Thursday. I am thankful for the past 20 Thanksgivings with Lynn, 10 of which we have had a family of our own. Here’s to my wife Lynn, I love you and hope the next 20 Thanksgivings are as special as the past 20.
In November of 1982, head coach Jim Williams’ St. Charles Pirates defeated O’Hara 10-3 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, for the Class 4A state football title.
RAGE By Mike Thompson
FALL LEAGUE MEETINGS BRING AWARDS TO RAGE, EXPANSION TO NIFL
By Mike Thompson
By the end of the evening Thursday at the Adam’s Mark Hotel, after the annual NIFL Fall Banquet had been cleared away, I sat with Rage owners Tye Elliott and Scott Wilson, who were seated between Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt. It was hard for me to determine which of the three looked more like the Cheshire Cat who had suddenly swiped the canary out of mid-flight and gulped it down before grinning from ear to ear. I knew how hard everyone had worked in the past two weeks to put together the three most important days in the current off-season, so I had to ask the question, but ask it I did.
‘Well, was it worth all the planning, catering, all the shuttling to and from the airport, all the t-r-o-u-b-l-e to get this baby up and running?” Rolling his eyes, sighing, and with a half-laugh, Tye summed it up. “Hey, I can finally quit holding my breath, and I probably need to be re-introduced to my wife and kids, but yeah, four awards, it was worth every minute.” Then all heads at the table nodded in agreement when he exclaimed, “but I sure wouldn’t want to have to do it again next month!”
A full agenda, a hectic array of meetings, new owners, new teams, plenty of growth for the league fast becoming the biggest in indoor football, and it’s helmets held high to the RiverCity Rage and the City of St. Louis. If I may be allowed to say so myself, we did the NIFL and the best sports city in the USA quite proud! The annual get-together was a success, and League President Carolyn Shiver left on Friday morning with new reason to be excited about the NIFL in 2006. “Expansion was the key focus of these meetings, and we leave St. Louis with eleven new teams ready to excite football fans in their respective cities. Not only does this type of growth help the league and it’s image, but also it will geographically design our divisions to help reduce travel cost while keeping a national footprint in the sports community. It’s the best of both worlds for the NIFL.”
And the world is getting bigger.... or smaller...larger, of course in terms or more teams, more divisions, more fans drawn to the indoor game. Smaller, when you consider the travel between cities will become less. The idea is to align each respective division and conference with teams in relative proximity to each other, so as to reduce the travel costs in the coming year.
So, introducing the new teams and cities ready to step up and be part of the National Indoor Football League in 2006...
Fort Collins, Colorado
Rapid City, South Dakota
San Antonio, Texas
Katy, Texas
Lafayette, Louisiana
Monroe, Louisiana
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Charlotte, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Jacksonville, Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
The 2006 home and away schedule has yet to be finalized for The Rage and the league, but one or more of those teams could be coming to Savvis Center next season. And lest one think expansion weakens the product, remember this....two expansion teams battled for the NIFL Title last year!
RAGE AWARDS
It was a big night for the RiverCity Rage on Thursday when the ‘Maggie’ (management and entertainment awards) trophies were presented. The home team walked away with four of the more prestigious awards up for grabs. Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt was presented the award for Coach of the Year, although he shared that award, and it was thus labeled Co-Coach of the year. Regardless, Wyatt says it’s really a thrill to be honored by one’s peers and the league owners. “To be in the league for two years and to be honored both times (Wyatt was the Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year in 2004) is really exciting. It’s a great feeling to be that well thought of, but it’s also an award, really, for our entire coaching staff. I’ve got top-notch help in every department, and that makes my job a bit easier.”
Wyatt shared the next award with no one as I had the honor to present to him at the podium the trophy for Atlantic Division General Manager of the Year! And again, Coach gave credit to others in the organization in accepting the award. “It’s an honor that is certainly reflective on everyone at the office, a lot of the credit goes to a very active management team, especially Morris Groves, our Director of Operations. He and I work together in making decisions and implementing those directives for the success of the team in regards to ticket sales, marketing and community outreach. For me, it’s an accent, if you would, to doing what I really enjoy best, and that’s coaching football and working towards putting a quality product on the field for our fans. But, hey, this is sweet!”
The Rage also brought home awards for two of the more celebrated ‘game-day’ type awards.....Best Game Day Presentation and the trophy for having the Most Fun Organization.
Rage Operations Manager Morris Groves normally puts in a 12 to 14 hour day at Rage home games, and the hard work is shared by many others, a fact that doesn’t go unnoticed by him.
“From paid personnel, to volunteer’s, to interns, it’s a joint effort to give the fans the exciting pre-game, halftime and post-game presentations that we’ve been honored for. From the moment we get here (usually 4 to 5 hours before a home game) to the time we leave late at night, everyone knows their job, does their job and really puts heart and soul into making a night at Rage football an all-around fun night for fans of all ages.”
Soooo, a huge THANK YOU to......
Kathy Martinez....who handles the script for the game, including everything from the ‘reads’ (PA announcer), to all the promotions, the cheerleaders, lights and music. Kudos to her husband Steve, who assists.
Don Adams, Jr....The Rage photographer
Diane Burkholder...who also assists Kathy Martinez
Jeff Vossenkemper.... our top-notch audio man
Alicia, Lauren and Anna Hollenbeck.... who handle the Rage merchandise table
Ferd Fetch.... our media co-coordinator
Mark Juen and his wife Denise...Rage game-day radio spotters
John Moberly...with help, here, there, and everywhere
Chris Procasky and Mike Kadillac.... otherwise known as ‘Raggie’ (team mascot)
Rodney Gerdes and David Solomon...Stat crew
Kyle Wilkinson.... Video
KFAV Radio’s Brian Richardson.... Rage PA Announcer
T.L. Ricks.... on-field announcer
And finally, a grateful Rage team salutes our Rage Cheerleaders, our Bellboys and Ball girls, and our interns Casy Moran, Emmalee Steiger, Travis Cooper and Mark Luebbert, and anyone else who contributed to the success of the team in 2005...see ya next year!!
FOOTBALL/CLASS 4 QUARTERFINAL
Duchesne tops defending State Champs
By: Mike McMurran Sports Editor
One of the oldest cliches in sports goes something like this: the game was much closer than the score indicated. The opposite might be said in reference to Duchesne’s 7 – 0 Class 4 quarterfinal win at Concordia Seminary over defending Class 4 state champions, Clayton.
“We put the defense in a tough spot, failing to get in the end zone more, but the defense stepped up,” said head coach Charlie Elmendorf. “At the same time you have to give their defense credit,” as they stopped the Pioneers twice inside the 5-yard line.
Even though the winning margin could have been much larger, the outcome was not finalized until the final play of the game. With less than three minutes remaining in the game, and Clayton driving to the end zone, Duchesne defensive end Matt Dalton did what he does best; he sacked the quarterback. “We were nervous, no doubt,” Dalton said. Clayton’s defense had just stopped Duchesne at the 1-yard line, and were putting together one of their best offensive drives of the game. They drove 67 yards to the Duchesne 26-yard line. That’s when the Pioneer’s defense stepped up and took control of the game.
Following Dalton’s sack, the ‘Hounds faced a third and long. Clayton’s quarterback Carter Sapp tried to throw a screen pass, only to have the Pioneer defense smother it. With less than two minutes remaining, facing a 4th and 20, Sapp’s pass was intercepted by Jeremy Elmendorf. “That’s the biggest play I’ve ever made in my life,” Elmendorf said. “I made the interception, but the play was made by the pressure put on the quarterback by the D-line.”
Most of the first half was a game of field position. Slowly, the Pioneers, though a series of punt exchanges, managed to gain some yardage. With just under two minutes remaining in the first half, Mitch Kohnen galloped 37 of his 105 yards to the Clayton 1-yard line. On the next snap Kohnen gave the Pioneers a 7-0 lead with 50 seconds remaining in the half.
Duchesne moved the ball, almost at will in the second half, as the Duchesne offensive line took control of the game. “The O-line did their job, no doubt about it,” said the senior Elmendorf. “We moved the ball up and down the field, but couldn’t get it in the end zone.” Clayton stopped the Pioneers inside the red zone on three separate occasions. “We should have gone up 10-0 on the second to last drive,” said Elmendorf. “I should have gone for the field goal, which would have required Clayton to score twice.” Instead, Collin Magilligan was stopped at the one-yard line.
Duchesne travels to South County to take on the Suburban East tri-champions Affton Cougars Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. kick off. The winner of Saturdays game will play at the Edward Jones Dome on Friday, November 25, at 3 p.m. for the Class 4 state title.
United Hockey League
River Otters Still
Need Consistency
Players Turn to Violence When Frustrated
Finally get their first win at Fort Wayne
By Louis J. Launer
“They’ve got to get this monkey off their backs,” River Otter fan Colleen Cooke said after the team recorded its eighth consecutive loss at Family Arena.
The River Otters did get their first win at Fort Wayne last week, a 4-1 victory, thanks to a new acquired forward Scott Horvath, who got a goal and two assists in the game. Goaltender Kevin Reiter stopped 33 shots and appeared back in what he was last season during the playoffs, ironically against Fort Wayne. It’s only one win, but there are still problems with the team.
The Missouri River Otters are a cellar dweller in the Western Division standings. Fans and sportswriters notice a lack of consistency in every position this season. The River Otter defensive unit has been lackluster and allows the opponent to cross the blue line untouched and appear in the middle in front of the goaltender ready to dump the puck in. The offense can’t control the puck and constantly has the puck knocked away by the opponents’ defense. The team itself cannot play three periods of consistent hockey.
Long-time River Otters fan Nik Woodward noticed a little consistency in the first game of November at Family Arena compared to the previous month.
“If Reiter had gotten the defense that [Cuthbert] got today, we’d win every game,” he said. “I think the problem has just been a lack of cohesion. But we’re getting there now.”
Woodward still has concern about the Otters’ forwards and their lack of making the play. “[Damian] Surma needs to pass more than he did today. He’s a center for [goodness] sake.”
Released this month from the River Otters are center Dan Carney, right winger Bret Peppler and defenseman Jared Newman. J.P. Beilstein was reactivated after being released a week earlier. Dimitri Toupikov is now on the active playing roster. Brad Church has been out of the lineup for three weeks with a very bad bone bruise on his ankle. Church was struck hard in the foot by a slap shot puck in early November.
Players are starting to express frustration over the problems. The River Otters traveled to Kalamazoo, Michigan to open the first weekend of November. In that game in the first period alone, the K-Wings had 20 shots on goal, compared to the Otters’ 6, enroute to an 8-1 loss. Unnecessary penalties also hurt the River Otters. In the first period, left winger Jimmy Callahan became frustrated with the immediate stoppage of play by the officials that he expressed his displeasure. Callahan was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, along with a 10-minute misconduct. That set of penalties cost the Otters two goals by the K-Wings and most likely took the momentum away from the River Otters including a chance for their first win.
Another costly penalty for the River Otters that put the game out of reach (including starting a 4-goal third period by the K-Wings) was Brian Heckendorn’s blatant slash of Kalamazoo’s Joe Seroski, who assisted on the first K-Wing goal in the third period. The referee interpreted it as a cheap shot and gave Heckendorn a 5-minute major for slashing. Heckendorn continued to retaliate and argue with the referee and was given an additional 10-minute misconduct for “abuse of officials.”
When the team returned to Family Arena the next evening, there were questions as to what is really wrong with the River Otters. Some River Otter fans are putting the blame right square at General Manager Frank Buonomo for not getting Head Coach Kevin Kaminski the players needed to win UHL games.
It is also frustrating to welcome 60 Rockford IceHog fans who arrive at Family Arena and find the place much better than their MetroCentre located in downtown Rockford. IceHog fans have reason to celebrate and travel this autumn with their team. The team remained undefeated in the first six weeks of the season—never achieved before since the franchise existed. IceHog fans dream of having an arena like Family Arena in their hometown. But they also appreciate the hospitality of River Otter fans, who are considered the best sportsmanlike of all UHL teams. It’s quite complementary to River Otter fans. But a losing record and positive compliments on the arena really don’t mix well.
Playing Rockford several times during the first five weeks of the regular season could be exciting or devastating. This year, it was the latter. The November 5 game against the IceHogs started as a dull game in the first period, with Rockford scoring two quick goals. Fans and sportswriters had a feeling inside of their heads of “here we go again.”
River Otter retaliation started at 17:19 of the second period when Lars Pettersen stick slapped Rockford defenseman Evgue Nourislamov in the face. The referee saw the entire incident as he skated right next to both of them. Pettersen received a five-minute major plus a game misconduct. Pettersen was finished for the night and took any potential opportunity for the River Otters with him.
River Otter players continued their frustrated rage. At 19:26 of the second period, right winter Frank Littlejohn started a fight with Jason Noterman, where Littlejohn threw continuous right hands at the Rockford left winger. Both linesmen and the referee had to pull them apart and try to restore order. But once Littlejohn skated by the Rockford bench on the way off the ice, Rockford’s Corey Hessler high sticked Littlejohn while sitting on the bench. Littlejohn approached the bench in fighting mode and both benches almost cleared.
At 3:47 of the third period, defenseman Tim O’Connell scored on a Dave Stewart pass, cutting Rockford’s lead in half. The River Otters had a chance to tie and turn around their woes. But unnecessary penalties by Tyler Butler, Mark Lindsay, Jim Murphy and Brad MacMillan put the River Otters two men short for six minutes—at a time when Rockford regrouped and returned their rested players to the ice. The River Otters lack of simple passing, the inability to pick up loose pucks and further inconsistency got the River Otters nowhere.
Late in the game at 18:49, the River Otters pulled goaltender Kevin Reiter for an additional attacker. Rockford’s Evgue Noruslamov cleared a loose puck intended for Dave Stewart. Noruslamov slapped the puck away and it went 125 feet directly into the empty net. That gave Rockford a 3-1 lead and eventually the victory. After that score, the River Otters decided to go all-out on the violence.
At 19:50, Rockford’s Oliver Proulx and Missouri’s Damian Surma roughed up each other along the boards behind the Rockford goal. Both received roughing minors. After the horn sounded ending the game, Rockford’s Robin Big Snake decided to retaliate again, just like what he did two weeks before. This time, Big Snake stick slapped Missouri’s Damian Surma and again drew blood.
Three days after the game, the UHL League Office in Lake Saint Louis announced four players were punished for their actions after the game at Family Arena. Rockford defenseman Corey Hessler was suspended for one game after receiving a match penalty for high sticking. Rockford’s Robin Big Snake was given a three game suspension, which included another game against Missouri in Rockford. The three-game suspension was for being an instigator in the last five minutes of a game and also making contact with the referee.
River Otter players Brad MacMillan and Frank Littlejohn were given one game suspensions by the league office. MacMillan was another instigator in the final five minutes of the game and Littlejohn engaged the Rockford team bench.
Without MacMillan and Littlejohn, the River Otters continued their losing ways, losing to Port Huron, 4-1. By mid-November, the River Otters remain the UHL’s only winless team. Head Coach Kevin Kaminski said scoring is a problem.
“It’s hard to win, too, when you’re only scoring one goal a game,” Kaminski said. “When you score 12 goals in nine games, you won’t win many.”
Fans and the front office are discovering that it is going to be a long season. Being more of a consistent team is a first start to salvaging the season.
First Capitol News High School Athlete of the Week
Logan McGuire, Junior, Duchesne High School
By: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
Duchesne High Junior football player Logan McGuire has been a busy fellow the past six days. All he has done is lead the Duchesne Pioneers into semifinal action of the Missouri Class 4 football tournament.
McGuire seldom leaves the field as he starts at both inside linebacker and running back. All he did against Gateway Athletic Conference – North Division rival Timberland was open the scoring with a 2-yard run, make 5 unassisted tackles on defense, and run the ball 24 times for 88 yards in leading the Pioneers to a 14-6 sectional win.
As the old Bachman, Turner Overdrive song suggested: “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” In Wednesday night’s 7-0 quarterfinal win over defending state champion Clayton, McGuire led the Pioneers with 105 yards rushing in 17attempts. A day’s work for most, but not McGuire, as he also led the defense in tackles with 11 unassisted and 5 assisted.
For his accomplishments on the football field, Logan has been selected the First Capitol News High School Athlete of the Week.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Saturday, November 05, 2005
FRONT PAGE FIRST CAPITOL NEWS - November 5 - 18, 2005
BECAUSE OF VETERANS DAY OUR NEXT EDITION WILL BE ON NOVEMBER 19, 2005.
Check Our Web Log daily for any breaking news. Call with news tips 636 724-1955
THREATENING CALL TRACED TO KEN KIELTY’S PHONE
The threatening phone call allegedly came from a phone registered to KEN KIELTY, former City Councilman, former Chairman of the Convention and Sports Facilities Authority, confidant to Mayor York. First Capitol News File Photo by Tony BrockmeyerBy Tony Brockmeyer
A threatening telephone call made against Bob Bredensteiner on Sunday, October 23, 2005 was traced to a telephone registered to Ken Kielty.
Bob Bredensteiner told the First Capitol News, “I had SBC trap the call and although they would not tell me where the call came from they said they would fax it to the police department. A couple of days latter I was told by the police the call came from a phone registered to Kenneth Kielty.”
According to Bredensteiner he received a threatening telephone call after a letter he had written was published in the First Capitol News. The letter was regarding a former priest at St. Charles Borromeo Church who has since been defrocked because of complaints that had been leveled against him.
Bredensteiner said, “The police told me they talked to Kielty and asked him to come into the Police station to discuss the call. They said he would come in the following day. The police told me the next day they received a call from Kielty’s son, who is an attorney, and he told them his father would not be coming in for an interview. The police told me since I wanted to prosecute they would forward my complaint to the prosecuting attorney.
Bredensteiner has been a frequent writer of Letters to the Editor and has been a very vocal opponent of Mayor Patti York who also serves as a Eucharistic minister at the church. He has been at the front of a movement to recall the Mayor and is a frequent visitor and spokesman at City Council Meetings.
Kielty is a former City Councilman, former owner and operator of the Missouri State License Agency office on Raymond, former school counselor and former Chairman of the Greater St. Charles Convention and Sports Facilities Authority. Kielty is a confidant of Mayor York, one of the founders of the Mayor’s Defense Fund Solicitation Group, a contributor to the Citizens for Responsible Government political mudslinging group headed by Raymond Stone and Carl Maus, a confidant of Adolphus Busch IV and his Greater Habitat Alliance and co-founder with Glennon Jamboretz of St. Charles Citizens for Responsible Government a group that is working on the recall of City Councilman Mark Brown and Council woman Dottie Greer.
When Kielty was replaced on the County Convention and Facilities Board by Governor Blount he attempted to have the board hire him as a consultant. Failing that he is now trying to have County Executive Orthwerth appoint him to the office of County Collector. The County Collector has resigned and the County Executive has to appoint a member of the same party, Democratic, to fill the position until the next election. The FCN has been told that the St. Charles County Democratic Committee has sent a letter to the County Executive asking that Kielty not be considered for the interim appointment as collector.
Councilman Jerry Reese Votes NO On Resolution Urging Benton, Lincoln, Blackhurst Schools Be Kept Open
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
At the City Council meeting Tuesday evening, Councilman Jerry Reese, Ward 6 voted no on a Council Resolution urging the St. Charles School Board to keep Benton, Lincoln, and Blackhurst Schools open. The School Superintendent, Dr. James Cale and the Board have been going over their options and it has been reported they are considering closing those schools. All of those schools are neighborhood schools and a great deal of money was spent recently in making upgrades to the buildings.
The Resolution of the City of St. Charles, Missouri Encouraging the St. Charles City Board of Education to Keep Benton, Lincoln and Blackhurst Schools open was passed by the Council with Reese’s NO vote being the lone dissenting vote.
Reese told the Council members Dr. Cale had asked him to have the Council hold off on passing the resolution until such time he and the Board of Education made their final decision.
Councilman Larry Muench, Ward 2, told the Council members he had attended some of the recent meetings held by the School Board and the residents in attendance were outspoken in their desires to keep the neighborhood schools open.
Councilman John Gieseke, Ward 8 told the First Capitol News, “We have been elected to represent our wards and protect our investments in the Community. We are not here to cater to Dr. Cale and his wishes. This resolution demonstrates our resolve to protect our neighborhood schools and the integrity of our property values.”
Councilman Mark Brown said, “It is imperative we keep our schools open. The parents should not have to transport their children any further than necessary and we don’t need to overcrowd our classrooms. It is sad to have one Council member who wants to take the administration’s side over the parents and students of St. Charles.?
RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
NEXT EDITION
NOVEMBER 19th
Because of the Veterans Day Holiday next week our next edition will be published on Saturday, November 19, 2005. If there is any breaking news we will publish it on our web log at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. Each week we publish the First Capitol News online at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com.
DELIVERY BY MAIL
Each Saturday over 20,000 copies of the First Capitol News is delivered to the homes in St. Charles by the United States Postal Service. Since delivery by mail is a new venture for us at First Capitol News we are still experiencing some snags. If you know of anyone who is not receiving the First capitol News by mail every Saturday please let us know their address so we can make sure they are placed on the mailing list.
The cost of mailing the First Capitol News is about double that of delivery by newspaper carrier we believe it is worth the added expense. No longer do our readers have to venture outside during all types of weather to retrieve the most read newspaper in St. Charles. We are working on fine tuning our system and we will soon have all the snags eliminated.
SEVERAL INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTS UNDER DEVELOPMENT
We would like to thank our readers for all the news tips they have been calling in. We have several investigative reports under development and will be making them public shortly. If you have not yet seen a story about your news tip on the pages of the First Capitol News please be patient. We will eventually get to all of them.
INCIDENT AT LIBRARY
Every Saturday members of the Committee to Recall the Mayor are at the Library at Elm and Duchesne, sitting at a table collecting signatures of registered voters. We were told that this past Saturday a man became upset when the librarians refused his request to have them removed. He became angry and threw a book at the committee members and was then escorted from the library. First telephone threats and now attempted assault with books. I wonder what they have in store next.
MAYOR MAY BE BACK ON DAIS
There are indications the Mayor may soon return to the DAIS. Shortly after the last election, and at the insistence of Councilman Bob Hoepfner, the Mayor was moved off the DAIS and was seated on the floor next to the City Administrator and the City Attorney. Council President Riddler suggested moving her back during discussion at Tuesday’s meeting. Even though Hoepfner had engineered her move off the DAIS he evidently proffered no objections at Riddler’s suggestion. Since Hoepfner recently moved to the Mayor’s side he has been awfully quiet and says little about his earlier claims to be battling for the rights of the ‘citizen taxpayers’.
Hoepfner has been trying hard to be elected as City Council President and maybe he hoped by switching his allegiance to the Mayor and her cronies he might achieve his goal.
Rumor has it that Councilman Mike Weller has made the remark that as long as he is there Hoepfner can forget about ever being Council President. Weller, with the help of his campaign manager, Tom Hayden, has been trying to maneuver himself into a position of power on the Council. Even though he has missed a great majority of the City Council meetings he evidently thinks he should be in charge.
ANONYMOUS LETTERS
We have recently received several letters to the editor that were unsigned and we were unable to identify the author. If you write a letter to the editor and want your name withheld we will be happy to comply. However, your letter must be signed so that we can identify the writer before we can print the letter. Thank you for reading the First Capitol News.
NOVEMBER 19th
Because of the Veterans Day Holiday next week our next edition will be published on Saturday, November 19, 2005. If there is any breaking news we will publish it on our web log at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. Each week we publish the First Capitol News online at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com.
DELIVERY BY MAIL
Each Saturday over 20,000 copies of the First Capitol News is delivered to the homes in St. Charles by the United States Postal Service. Since delivery by mail is a new venture for us at First Capitol News we are still experiencing some snags. If you know of anyone who is not receiving the First capitol News by mail every Saturday please let us know their address so we can make sure they are placed on the mailing list.
The cost of mailing the First Capitol News is about double that of delivery by newspaper carrier we believe it is worth the added expense. No longer do our readers have to venture outside during all types of weather to retrieve the most read newspaper in St. Charles. We are working on fine tuning our system and we will soon have all the snags eliminated.
SEVERAL INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTS UNDER DEVELOPMENT
We would like to thank our readers for all the news tips they have been calling in. We have several investigative reports under development and will be making them public shortly. If you have not yet seen a story about your news tip on the pages of the First Capitol News please be patient. We will eventually get to all of them.
INCIDENT AT LIBRARY
Every Saturday members of the Committee to Recall the Mayor are at the Library at Elm and Duchesne, sitting at a table collecting signatures of registered voters. We were told that this past Saturday a man became upset when the librarians refused his request to have them removed. He became angry and threw a book at the committee members and was then escorted from the library. First telephone threats and now attempted assault with books. I wonder what they have in store next.
MAYOR MAY BE BACK ON DAIS
There are indications the Mayor may soon return to the DAIS. Shortly after the last election, and at the insistence of Councilman Bob Hoepfner, the Mayor was moved off the DAIS and was seated on the floor next to the City Administrator and the City Attorney. Council President Riddler suggested moving her back during discussion at Tuesday’s meeting. Even though Hoepfner had engineered her move off the DAIS he evidently proffered no objections at Riddler’s suggestion. Since Hoepfner recently moved to the Mayor’s side he has been awfully quiet and says little about his earlier claims to be battling for the rights of the ‘citizen taxpayers’.
Hoepfner has been trying hard to be elected as City Council President and maybe he hoped by switching his allegiance to the Mayor and her cronies he might achieve his goal.
Rumor has it that Councilman Mike Weller has made the remark that as long as he is there Hoepfner can forget about ever being Council President. Weller, with the help of his campaign manager, Tom Hayden, has been trying to maneuver himself into a position of power on the Council. Even though he has missed a great majority of the City Council meetings he evidently thinks he should be in charge.
ANONYMOUS LETTERS
We have recently received several letters to the editor that were unsigned and we were unable to identify the author. If you write a letter to the editor and want your name withheld we will be happy to comply. However, your letter must be signed so that we can identify the writer before we can print the letter. Thank you for reading the First Capitol News.
THE CITY DESK - City Council President Rory Riddler
Where Are Flags On The Play
As Greer Gets Face Masked?
Welcome back sports fans to Tuesday Night Political Football. At least it seems like a football game when people are piling on you at the end of a tackle.
Have you ever wondered why professional football players can’t seem to remember its illegal to grab another player by his face mask? Here’s a hint. It isn’t because they are that forgetful. “Gee coach, I know you’ve told me every game not to do that, but as an overpaid professional athlete in the NFL, you can’t expect me to remember every little rule (wink).”
No, they do it because they think they can get away with it.
Tuesday night, Councilwoman Dottie Greer got face masked. The good news is, a lot of people saw it.
The other team calls themselves the “Citizen Empowerment Committee.” I think that’s because the name “Front Group For Rich Special Interests” was already taken.
This is the committee that has raised and spent the ungodly sum of $32,000 so far trying to recall two members of the Council. The group that had to pay workers $5 per signature to go door to door collecting signatures on the recall petition. The group who used workers from Belleville and Cahokia, Illinois, Berkeley, St. Louis, Ferguson, Florissant, St. Peters, Rolla and Wright City because they had no grassroots organization in Dottie Greer’s ward willing to get out and collect the signatures themselves.
Their paid lawyer was the only person to address the Council. He doesn’t live in the 7th Ward. Neither do the two co-chairs of the committee which loaned the Citizen Empowerment Committee $7,500. Nor does millionaire home builder Tom Hughes, who was the single largest contributor to their effort.
It is hard to find anyone associated with this effort who can even vote in the 7th Ward. But the millionaires and their paid mercenaries all piled on one lone Councilwoman to try to drag her down.
You can watch it when they replay the Council meeting on Channel 20. You can even tape it and play it back in slow motion. As local television personalty Uncle Leonard would say hawking his big screen tv, “It’s like having your own fifty yard line right there in your own home there.”
Word went out on their official website for everyone to show up in mass to press for the recall. The City Administrator even left me a message he was going to make sure there was extra security because he had been told they were going to “pack the Council chambers”.
It turned out to be more hype than Disney is giving the new Chicken little movie. Only about eight people showed up sporting green “Recall Dottie Greer” stickers. Sitting among them was Tom Hayden, Councilman Mike Weller’s campaign manager.
Hayden doesn’t live in Ward 7 either.
Of course he might have been there to support Councilman Weller who was helping the recall group by “fast tracking” the introduction of an ordinance to set the recall election in February. He called the City Clerk to sponsor the bill before she had even certified the results to the Council.
If the ordinance hadn’t been introduced that night the election would most likely be in April, not February. Why should Councilman Weller care so much when the election is held? Because they don’t want a lot of Ward 7 voters going to the polls. A February election draws about 10% to 15% turnout. Snow and ice tends to dampen turnout that time of year. April elections get 25% to 30% turnout on average when there is more to vote on than a single issue.
Again, why should Councilman Weller want to go out of his way to try to insure a low turnout election? Why was his hand stuck in Dottie Greer’s face mask?
The obvious answer is that the Dottie Greer recall doesn’t have a lot of popular support among people who actually live in the 7th Ward. They can’t risk a higher turnout of those voters.
A judge may ultimately decide when this election will be held. Other questions I’ve raised about possible violations of State Laws are in the hands of the proper authorities. But the fate of representative democracy, as always, is in the hands of the people. Will big money special interests succeed in overturning the will of the people? Will officials who work hard and have committed no crime be kicked out of office for offending people with money?
Or as one exasperated 7th Ward woman wrote me, will we start recalling officials for wearing the wrong color tie? Guess I better check my closet.
These are important issues. The famed Roman author Virgil once penned these immortal words:
Facilis descensus Averno; sed ad auras evadere est labor. (Aeneid, VI,126)
For those whose Latin is as rusty as mine the translation is roughly:
Going to Hell is easy; it’s coming back that’s hard.
Likewise, undermining our democracy is easy...it’s putting it back together that’s hard.
CASE IN POINT By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9
A short chronology of City Hall Since 2004
The Saint Charles City Council elections of April 2004 resulted in a new make-up of council. There was some anger due to the mayor actively trying to oust Bob Hoepfner and due to letters going out against certain candidates signed by Tom Hughes. The new majority worked together for a short time but allegiances change, sands shift, and that’s part of politics. I would even argue it’s an important part of politics that helps keep any one side from becoming too entrenched.
One contentious issue that was inherited by the new council was the vacancy of the police chief’s position. This one issue would do more to splinter the new council than any other issue.
In an attempt to end the stalemate, the question was placed on the ballot whether the council should be able to override the mayor’s decision on department head appointments with a supermajority of eight votes because the charter was silent on the question of what would happen if no agreement could be met. A couple of deep pockets in town created a campaign to fight the proposed change and framed things as a power grab by the new council. Remember, the problem being faced by council had never happened before and the change called for eight votes to override the mayor! This so-called power grab would have required 80% council approval – a difficult task even when the council is on the same page!
Early on, I didn’t even know what the “sides” were. As far as I could tell, Larry Muench had always seemed quite a friend of Rory’s. Jerry Reese, I didn’t know. I knew that Mr. Kneemiller was a strong backer of the mayor’s, and Mike Weller I had also just met. To continue, I didn’t know Mark Brown and I had only met Dottie Greer once before the election. Even prior to the election each councilman was pigeonholed into his or her side by a clandestine group of movers and shakers. Their actions were a self-fulfilling prophecy because those of us who were targeted as not worthy of their support definitely felt a common bond!
A slow-talkin’ Southerner with a brief history in our City was called to try and save the day and become the city administrator for the next couple of years. He would receive one hell of a pay package and lifetime benefits for his trouble. We were told that he would be fair and that he would also be allowed to choose the chief of his choice with a pledge from the mayor to allow him his pick without interference if we would just approve him. Williams was approved and after a few interviews with several candidates he chose Bob Lowery to fill the chief’s position. I thought a great Missouri compromise had just been struck and that a new spirit of cooperation was prevailing, but it was not to be. The mayor chose to renege on her part and refused to approve William’s pick.
I still never felt that there were solid sides as was claimed by the papers that anointed us the “Magnificent Seven.”
One thing I knew was that some senior council members had some definite goals and wishes for the newly elected council and Bob Hoepfner was front and center with his laundry list of wishes if our “team” was to stay together. Ever wary of Mr. Hoepfner, I wasn’t thrilled to make him the council vice-president but there was a spirit of positive change that was present in the early days and I had no history with which to judge most Council members. My caution came from the fact that I considered Bob to be somewhat of a curmudgeon. I was, however, hopeful that our loose knit group of council would stand up to waste at City Hall, work to take money from studies and put into infrastructure, clean up some of the eye-sores in town, and had our group been 5, 9, or 10 strong, I would have welcomed them into this role. Our role as council is to be a check and balance of the administrative branch and a little friction, in my opinion, is a good thing. One thing for sure, I had no intention of fighting the Police department – this too was a Battle brought to us by Battling Bob himself. I soon learned that Bob was less interested in battle and more interested in bounty!
Throughout all of our battles, however, politics was pretty much per usual with special interests commanding large sums of money to promote their political viewpoint.
This all changed on November 1st when Mike Weller became the mouthpiece on the council for the recall of Dottie Greer.
If you haven’t been following things since April 2004 this may seem odd to you – why would a councilman actively involve himself with a fellow councilman’s recall? Why would a councilman join force with outsiders who have spent thousands to recall a citizen who is upstanding and is doing the best she can for her city? Talk about abuse of power! Isn’t it rich that this recall is coming from the same people who accused council of abuse of power for proposing a charter change that would have ended stalemates at City Hall with eight votes?
The problems that existed between council members were routine, but the level to which Mike Weller stoops in actively attempting to recall a fellow council member shows where his allegiance is – too bad Dottie doesn’t have deeper pockets, maybe she could buy back some council support!
CONSERVATIVE FACTOR Alex Spencer
To the far right and the radical left, presidential political races matter mainly because of the office’s role in picking Supreme Court Justices. Because of their lifetime tenures, nothing impacts the culture wars more than who sits on that Court.
On his first chance, President Bush replaced Chief Justice Rehnquist with Judge John Roberts (who was so perfect a duplicate of his predecessor that I wondered if he wasn’t actually the first example of human cloning).
Then to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the President tried to promote from within by selecting his own White House Counsel—Harriet Miers. But the legal conservatives in the Federalist society and conservative pundits started taking shots at Ms. Miers for not really being a conservative.
Did my conservative brethren honestly believe that the President was unclear on Ms. Miers’ views on important issues? Maybe, thought the White House, someone needed to vouch for her. So leading Christian conservatives James Dobson and Pat Robertson (after apparently speaking with Karl Rove) endorsed Ms. Meirs. That was supposed to be the “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” to us conservatives that Ms. Miers was one of us and we should calm down.
But in classic Goldwaterian style (i.e., we’d rather be “Right” than win), the conservative pundits wouldn’t drop it. The Democrats smelled blood and came up with the cleverest way to kill Ms. Miers’ nomination: they spoke well of her. And if Democrat Senators Harry Reid and Dianne Feinstein liked her, then she couldn’t be what the conservatives had fought for. So the conservatives started complaining that she wasn’t qualified (as if serving as White House Counsel wasn’t a fair indication that she was a talented lawyer), and she withdrew herself from consideration.
Now, our own Governor Matt Blunt should take a lesson from the President’s misstep in judicial selection: make sure your own base thinks your pick is on your team.
Because of our growing population, St. Charles County is scheduled to get a new judge. But the legislature had to agree to fund it. And at the eleventh hour during the budget process, St. Charles State Senator Chuck Gross (Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee) saw to it that appropriations would find their way to fund the new position.
So in January, Governor Blunt will have the opportunity to appoint a new Associate Circuit Judge here in St. Charles County. But according to the Republican rumor mill, Chuck Gross figures that since he funded the position, he should get to pick the nominee.
Now Governor Blunt has already been very good to Senator Gross. Senator Gross’ good friend, Julie Eckstein, was appointed Director of the Department of Health and Senior Services at the Senator’s request. And the Senator’s wife is reportedly drawing a salary from one of the largest Motor Vehicle Licensing Offices in the state.
But Senator Gross’ state-sponsored “friends and family” rewards program may not be cashed out yet. Senator Gross is reportedly pushing to force the Governor to appoint his cousin, Rick Zerr, to the new bench.
Now, Rick Zerr used to be a judge here in St. Charles County. But when he served as an elected judge, he ran as a DEMOCRAT.
It gets worse. Rick Zerr’s wife is the Circuit Clerk for the St. Charles Court. The judges supervise the Circuit Clerk. So we have a nepotism question in husband being in charge of wife.
It gets worse. Rick Zerr wants the job because when he was on the bench before, he fell just short of getting the twelve years time in service to qualify for the judicial pension system in this state. Governor Blunt’s appointment (which would last a year before the next election) would qualify Zerr for the pension. And the rate of the pension would be set based off the current judges’ salary, which is much higher than it was when Rick Zerr served. So Senator Gross is not just trying to get his cousin a job for a year: he is getting his cousin a pension worth a fortune.
It gets worse. When he was on the bench, Judge Rick Zerr got in trouble. His court clerks embezzled a bunch of money from his court—$195,000. The Missouri Supreme Court thought Judge Zerr had been negligent in failing to supervise the clerks. The Supreme Court suspended Zerr for three weeks. Hey you don’t suppose that those missing three weeks is the reason that Zerr doesn’t already have his twelve years for the pension, do you?
It gets worse. Virtually every time Governor Carnahan and Governor Holden considered appointing someone to a St. Charles judicial vacancy, Zerr was on the Democrats’ short list. But it seems that the Democrat Governors always balked at appointing Zerr given his ethical challenges. I hate to think that Governors Carnahan and Holden set a higher ethical bar for judicial nominees than Governor Blunt.
And finally, it gets worse—much worse. When Matt Blunt ran for Governor, he made political hay off Governor Holden appointing Holden’s buddy Senator Ken Jacob to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission. Remember, Holden appointed Jacob for a couple weeks so that Jacob could get his pension based off a much higher salary, thus scoring thousands more in retirement benefits from the public treasury. Candidate Blunt rightly criticized the practice and promised that he wouldn’t engage in similar shenanigans. Will Governor Blunt allow his relationship with Senator Gross to cause him to back slide on that pledge?
Justice may be blind but she is politically savvy. And so is the Republican base in St. Charles County. Recent national polling shows that Matt Blunt has the highest disapproval rating (61%) of any Governor not embroiled in criminal investigations. Upsetting his conservative base by appointing to the bench an ethically-challenged DEMOCRAT in a scam to enrich a key Senator’s family with a taxpayer pension may prove to be the proverbial nail in his political coffin. By comparison, the Miers nomination doesn’t smell quite so bad.
On his first chance, President Bush replaced Chief Justice Rehnquist with Judge John Roberts (who was so perfect a duplicate of his predecessor that I wondered if he wasn’t actually the first example of human cloning).
Then to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the President tried to promote from within by selecting his own White House Counsel—Harriet Miers. But the legal conservatives in the Federalist society and conservative pundits started taking shots at Ms. Miers for not really being a conservative.
Did my conservative brethren honestly believe that the President was unclear on Ms. Miers’ views on important issues? Maybe, thought the White House, someone needed to vouch for her. So leading Christian conservatives James Dobson and Pat Robertson (after apparently speaking with Karl Rove) endorsed Ms. Meirs. That was supposed to be the “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” to us conservatives that Ms. Miers was one of us and we should calm down.
But in classic Goldwaterian style (i.e., we’d rather be “Right” than win), the conservative pundits wouldn’t drop it. The Democrats smelled blood and came up with the cleverest way to kill Ms. Miers’ nomination: they spoke well of her. And if Democrat Senators Harry Reid and Dianne Feinstein liked her, then she couldn’t be what the conservatives had fought for. So the conservatives started complaining that she wasn’t qualified (as if serving as White House Counsel wasn’t a fair indication that she was a talented lawyer), and she withdrew herself from consideration.
Now, our own Governor Matt Blunt should take a lesson from the President’s misstep in judicial selection: make sure your own base thinks your pick is on your team.
Because of our growing population, St. Charles County is scheduled to get a new judge. But the legislature had to agree to fund it. And at the eleventh hour during the budget process, St. Charles State Senator Chuck Gross (Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee) saw to it that appropriations would find their way to fund the new position.
So in January, Governor Blunt will have the opportunity to appoint a new Associate Circuit Judge here in St. Charles County. But according to the Republican rumor mill, Chuck Gross figures that since he funded the position, he should get to pick the nominee.
Now Governor Blunt has already been very good to Senator Gross. Senator Gross’ good friend, Julie Eckstein, was appointed Director of the Department of Health and Senior Services at the Senator’s request. And the Senator’s wife is reportedly drawing a salary from one of the largest Motor Vehicle Licensing Offices in the state.
But Senator Gross’ state-sponsored “friends and family” rewards program may not be cashed out yet. Senator Gross is reportedly pushing to force the Governor to appoint his cousin, Rick Zerr, to the new bench.
Now, Rick Zerr used to be a judge here in St. Charles County. But when he served as an elected judge, he ran as a DEMOCRAT.
It gets worse. Rick Zerr’s wife is the Circuit Clerk for the St. Charles Court. The judges supervise the Circuit Clerk. So we have a nepotism question in husband being in charge of wife.
It gets worse. Rick Zerr wants the job because when he was on the bench before, he fell just short of getting the twelve years time in service to qualify for the judicial pension system in this state. Governor Blunt’s appointment (which would last a year before the next election) would qualify Zerr for the pension. And the rate of the pension would be set based off the current judges’ salary, which is much higher than it was when Rick Zerr served. So Senator Gross is not just trying to get his cousin a job for a year: he is getting his cousin a pension worth a fortune.
It gets worse. When he was on the bench, Judge Rick Zerr got in trouble. His court clerks embezzled a bunch of money from his court—$195,000. The Missouri Supreme Court thought Judge Zerr had been negligent in failing to supervise the clerks. The Supreme Court suspended Zerr for three weeks. Hey you don’t suppose that those missing three weeks is the reason that Zerr doesn’t already have his twelve years for the pension, do you?
It gets worse. Virtually every time Governor Carnahan and Governor Holden considered appointing someone to a St. Charles judicial vacancy, Zerr was on the Democrats’ short list. But it seems that the Democrat Governors always balked at appointing Zerr given his ethical challenges. I hate to think that Governors Carnahan and Holden set a higher ethical bar for judicial nominees than Governor Blunt.
And finally, it gets worse—much worse. When Matt Blunt ran for Governor, he made political hay off Governor Holden appointing Holden’s buddy Senator Ken Jacob to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission. Remember, Holden appointed Jacob for a couple weeks so that Jacob could get his pension based off a much higher salary, thus scoring thousands more in retirement benefits from the public treasury. Candidate Blunt rightly criticized the practice and promised that he wouldn’t engage in similar shenanigans. Will Governor Blunt allow his relationship with Senator Gross to cause him to back slide on that pledge?
Justice may be blind but she is politically savvy. And so is the Republican base in St. Charles County. Recent national polling shows that Matt Blunt has the highest disapproval rating (61%) of any Governor not embroiled in criminal investigations. Upsetting his conservative base by appointing to the bench an ethically-challenged DEMOCRAT in a scam to enrich a key Senator’s family with a taxpayer pension may prove to be the proverbial nail in his political coffin. By comparison, the Miers nomination doesn’t smell quite so bad.
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor
An open letter to
Mr. Watkins,
The readers of the “Citizen” need to know where you stand on the recall effort regarding Dottie Greer.
While it seems to be apparent that you would like to see any and all Councilpersons that truly represent their residents removed, you muddy the waters by printing (complete with cute little checkmarks) the reasons she should NOT be recalled.
Telling the members of the Beautification Committee that they need to follow our states LAWS when holding meetings. (Or do you prefer illegal proceedings?)
Fighting the constant cost overruns, including the Boones Lick corridor, that were “business as usual” with the previous council.
Refusing to be sworn in by the mayor. There was nothing like letting her know that the “business as usual” was about to end.
Removing the mayor from the dais. (Why don’t you report that the mayor thought it a good idea when she had her former “rubber stamp” council?)
Refusing to meet with the mayor? Maybe that was because Dottie doesn’t have a “bodyguard”.
Opposing the Convention Center. Although Dottie usually makes good decisions, this was undoubtedly one of her best.
Leading the charge to change the charter. See item 6 above.
You really need to stop praising Dottie or you may make Linda and her gaggle of giggling hens angry.
It might also be a good idea to put the words “Editorial Fantasy” that you use in your ego box on page three directly under the large “Citizen” on page one. You might even change the name to “Non-Citizen”. That way you really could be “Honest”.
I do always read your tabloid. I haven’t laughed so much since Laugh-In was on T.V. Keep up the comedy.
Jerry Haferkamp (A REAL citizen)
St. Charles, MO.
I sent this letter to the non-Citizen over a week ago and for some reason Mr. Watkins chose to print only the letters supporting the recall effort. I wonder why.
In this week’s edition he even has a letter from Mrs. Meyer taking Dottie to task for living up to her oath of office and attending a council meeting. Dottie swore to represent her constituents in CITY matters. She, unlike Jerry Reese, knows the difference between the school board and the city council. From her association with our mayor, Mrs. Meyer apparently thinks an oath of office means nothing, but to Dottie Greer it is obvious that hers does.
Jerry
To The Editor,
Story has it back about 30 years ago two young ladies from our town relieved (embezzled) the taxpayers of this county of about $190,000 from one of the divisions of this court system. From what I remember there was a pretty good case against these two ladies. “Guess what?” The charges were never brought forward into a court of law – seven years passed and the statute of limitations ran out. These two ladies had lost their jobs with the County government and when they weren’t prosecuted, one of these ladies sued the County government to get her job back. My memory is that I believe she won the suit and she was awarded an undisclosed amount to settle this suit.
Pretty good deal, got paid to relieve the taxpayers of this county of their hard earned money.
I wonder who was at fault? How about you? There are still a lot of people working in County and City government who could probably shed some light on this case if they only would for some of their political newcomers in our fine town to weigh in on our past.
Lets look at what is going on in our town for the past six years under the reign of Patricia York as Mayor. I’m referring to all the allegations of wrongdoing that has surfaced against her and some of her cronies that have helped her to deceive us the taxpayers.
Let’s just talk about two wrongdoings of hers’ for now. Express Scripts Gate and Jamboretz Gate and his laundry business particularly.
When she has five councilmen, Muench, Weller, Kneemiller, Reese and maybe Hoepfner vote not to allow the subpoenas for witnesses in the Express Script wrong doing to see that Patti receives the justice that is due everyone, we have a big problem for us the taxpayers.
Now we have Jamboretz’s laundry business that is eating up our tax money to help recall Council persons Greer and Brown from office so she can regain her power and maybe sell an old police station or two before 2007.
We all know about Ken Kietly and Jamboretz and their recall committee they started to help everyone out so Patti can rule with her six – four or maybe even a seven – three vote. Hell, who knows, anything can happen as we all have seen so far, deceit, deceit, deceit, Patti’s style.
When the auditor finds there are problems with bidding procedure and sales of city owned real estate and maybe grant monies and the way they are disbursed and she has the audacity to say she could not find anything legally wrong with the procedures, I believe she should step back and give it to the prosecutor and let him decide if it’s all legal or maybe illegal. Then we could see where the money ends up and whom it benefited. Makes sense to me. How about you the taxpayers?
For whatever it’s worth Mayor York and your legal defense fund and all your political soldiers etc. I urge you to ponder the consequences of your decisions, because God’s forgiveness never relieves you of the consequences of your wrongdoing. You are stuck with them. A friend of mine gave me that advice years ago. Makes sense to me for the last 13 years of my life.
Bob Bredensteiner
Dear Editor,
I would like to share a few words with your readers regarding recall. This seems to be a live topic these days. The views expressed here are my own and not necessarily those of our recall group. Early this year I joined a group circulating a petition to recall Mayor York. Before I share a few thoughts on that subject let me state a few facts.
Our group has no major funding. We don’t need any. We are not inundating the population of St. Charles with hateful literature. We are simply a group of St. Charles City registered voters circulating a petition. Most of us are up in years and we are longtime residents. No one active in the circulation of our petition is pad to do so. I don’t believe citizenship should be hired out.
When I first decided to immerse myself in this activity I had to do some soul searching. I had to ask myself a few questions. What right did I have to attempt to unseat a public official, our top local public official, who had been placed in that position by a majority of the St. Charles citizenry? The Mayor is reported to be a fine Christian woman, a woman active in her church. It is right for one Christian to put themselves against another Christian? What is the morality of a recall action? I thought about these issues.
The legal right to take such an action was no problem. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution speaks “of the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances”. Our City Charter spells out the right of the people to recall a local public official and gives explicit instructions for doing so.
What about the fact that our Mayor was chosen by a majority of the electorate? Is our recall group attempting to subvert the will of the majority? Not at all. We are attempting to determine what is the current will of the majority. Do people feel the same about her, her actions, and the people behind her, as they did when she was first elected? The temperament and preferences of the electorate may have changed. The temperament and actions of the Mayor may have changed. Situations in our City may have changed. I think the electorate has remained fairly constant in their desires and expectations but I think the Mayor and the political scene in our City has changed considerably. A recall petition, and a recall election should things progress that far, are simply a sampling of public opinion to determine whether the public still feels as they did when that official was first elected. If the majority is proven to still support the Mayor, nothing changes, and nothing should change. In our country the majority rules. On the other hand, if the majority is proven to desire change, then we have not only the right but the duty to pursue this recall activity.
What about the morality of a recall action? I had a problem with this. I attempted to find a biblical parallel. I couldn’t find one, or more accurately, I didn’t recognize one. I was discussing this issue with a friend, telling her of my concern. It didn’t take her very long at all. She said, “We are chasing the money changers out of the temple”. I felt she was right on. We are indeed chasing the moneychangers out of the temple of our City government. Moneychangers? Yes! Organizations of home builders and developers have circled the wagons around our Mayor and are now desperately trying to change the composition of our City Council so they can have a City government which will do their bidding; so they can have a free hand in the control of our government; so they can get sweetheart deals from City Hall; so they can build homes and subdivisions outside our boundaries to standards less than our City standards and then expect to bring them into our confines; so they can devise huge projects for our City, with the blessing of the Mayor and the council, which we don’t want, don’t need, and can’t afford. They are indeed moneychangers, changing our money into their money. We need a Mayor who does not answer to these groups. I feel the only way to drive the money changers from the temple is to find a new Mayor – if a majority of the St. Charles electorate agrees.
If you share these views, drop by the library any Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm and add y our name to our petition. The library is not involved in our group or its activities but merely furnishes a place for petitioners to circulate petitions – any duly authorized petition.
Join our fight; help us take back our City.
Glen Dashner
Mr. Watkins,
The readers of the “Citizen” need to know where you stand on the recall effort regarding Dottie Greer.
While it seems to be apparent that you would like to see any and all Councilpersons that truly represent their residents removed, you muddy the waters by printing (complete with cute little checkmarks) the reasons she should NOT be recalled.
Telling the members of the Beautification Committee that they need to follow our states LAWS when holding meetings. (Or do you prefer illegal proceedings?)
Fighting the constant cost overruns, including the Boones Lick corridor, that were “business as usual” with the previous council.
Refusing to be sworn in by the mayor. There was nothing like letting her know that the “business as usual” was about to end.
Removing the mayor from the dais. (Why don’t you report that the mayor thought it a good idea when she had her former “rubber stamp” council?)
Refusing to meet with the mayor? Maybe that was because Dottie doesn’t have a “bodyguard”.
Opposing the Convention Center. Although Dottie usually makes good decisions, this was undoubtedly one of her best.
Leading the charge to change the charter. See item 6 above.
You really need to stop praising Dottie or you may make Linda and her gaggle of giggling hens angry.
It might also be a good idea to put the words “Editorial Fantasy” that you use in your ego box on page three directly under the large “Citizen” on page one. You might even change the name to “Non-Citizen”. That way you really could be “Honest”.
I do always read your tabloid. I haven’t laughed so much since Laugh-In was on T.V. Keep up the comedy.
Jerry Haferkamp (A REAL citizen)
St. Charles, MO.
I sent this letter to the non-Citizen over a week ago and for some reason Mr. Watkins chose to print only the letters supporting the recall effort. I wonder why.
In this week’s edition he even has a letter from Mrs. Meyer taking Dottie to task for living up to her oath of office and attending a council meeting. Dottie swore to represent her constituents in CITY matters. She, unlike Jerry Reese, knows the difference between the school board and the city council. From her association with our mayor, Mrs. Meyer apparently thinks an oath of office means nothing, but to Dottie Greer it is obvious that hers does.
Jerry
To The Editor,
Story has it back about 30 years ago two young ladies from our town relieved (embezzled) the taxpayers of this county of about $190,000 from one of the divisions of this court system. From what I remember there was a pretty good case against these two ladies. “Guess what?” The charges were never brought forward into a court of law – seven years passed and the statute of limitations ran out. These two ladies had lost their jobs with the County government and when they weren’t prosecuted, one of these ladies sued the County government to get her job back. My memory is that I believe she won the suit and she was awarded an undisclosed amount to settle this suit.
Pretty good deal, got paid to relieve the taxpayers of this county of their hard earned money.
I wonder who was at fault? How about you? There are still a lot of people working in County and City government who could probably shed some light on this case if they only would for some of their political newcomers in our fine town to weigh in on our past.
Lets look at what is going on in our town for the past six years under the reign of Patricia York as Mayor. I’m referring to all the allegations of wrongdoing that has surfaced against her and some of her cronies that have helped her to deceive us the taxpayers.
Let’s just talk about two wrongdoings of hers’ for now. Express Scripts Gate and Jamboretz Gate and his laundry business particularly.
When she has five councilmen, Muench, Weller, Kneemiller, Reese and maybe Hoepfner vote not to allow the subpoenas for witnesses in the Express Script wrong doing to see that Patti receives the justice that is due everyone, we have a big problem for us the taxpayers.
Now we have Jamboretz’s laundry business that is eating up our tax money to help recall Council persons Greer and Brown from office so she can regain her power and maybe sell an old police station or two before 2007.
We all know about Ken Kietly and Jamboretz and their recall committee they started to help everyone out so Patti can rule with her six – four or maybe even a seven – three vote. Hell, who knows, anything can happen as we all have seen so far, deceit, deceit, deceit, Patti’s style.
When the auditor finds there are problems with bidding procedure and sales of city owned real estate and maybe grant monies and the way they are disbursed and she has the audacity to say she could not find anything legally wrong with the procedures, I believe she should step back and give it to the prosecutor and let him decide if it’s all legal or maybe illegal. Then we could see where the money ends up and whom it benefited. Makes sense to me. How about you the taxpayers?
For whatever it’s worth Mayor York and your legal defense fund and all your political soldiers etc. I urge you to ponder the consequences of your decisions, because God’s forgiveness never relieves you of the consequences of your wrongdoing. You are stuck with them. A friend of mine gave me that advice years ago. Makes sense to me for the last 13 years of my life.
Bob Bredensteiner
Dear Editor,
I would like to share a few words with your readers regarding recall. This seems to be a live topic these days. The views expressed here are my own and not necessarily those of our recall group. Early this year I joined a group circulating a petition to recall Mayor York. Before I share a few thoughts on that subject let me state a few facts.
Our group has no major funding. We don’t need any. We are not inundating the population of St. Charles with hateful literature. We are simply a group of St. Charles City registered voters circulating a petition. Most of us are up in years and we are longtime residents. No one active in the circulation of our petition is pad to do so. I don’t believe citizenship should be hired out.
When I first decided to immerse myself in this activity I had to do some soul searching. I had to ask myself a few questions. What right did I have to attempt to unseat a public official, our top local public official, who had been placed in that position by a majority of the St. Charles citizenry? The Mayor is reported to be a fine Christian woman, a woman active in her church. It is right for one Christian to put themselves against another Christian? What is the morality of a recall action? I thought about these issues.
The legal right to take such an action was no problem. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution speaks “of the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances”. Our City Charter spells out the right of the people to recall a local public official and gives explicit instructions for doing so.
What about the fact that our Mayor was chosen by a majority of the electorate? Is our recall group attempting to subvert the will of the majority? Not at all. We are attempting to determine what is the current will of the majority. Do people feel the same about her, her actions, and the people behind her, as they did when she was first elected? The temperament and preferences of the electorate may have changed. The temperament and actions of the Mayor may have changed. Situations in our City may have changed. I think the electorate has remained fairly constant in their desires and expectations but I think the Mayor and the political scene in our City has changed considerably. A recall petition, and a recall election should things progress that far, are simply a sampling of public opinion to determine whether the public still feels as they did when that official was first elected. If the majority is proven to still support the Mayor, nothing changes, and nothing should change. In our country the majority rules. On the other hand, if the majority is proven to desire change, then we have not only the right but the duty to pursue this recall activity.
What about the morality of a recall action? I had a problem with this. I attempted to find a biblical parallel. I couldn’t find one, or more accurately, I didn’t recognize one. I was discussing this issue with a friend, telling her of my concern. It didn’t take her very long at all. She said, “We are chasing the money changers out of the temple”. I felt she was right on. We are indeed chasing the moneychangers out of the temple of our City government. Moneychangers? Yes! Organizations of home builders and developers have circled the wagons around our Mayor and are now desperately trying to change the composition of our City Council so they can have a City government which will do their bidding; so they can have a free hand in the control of our government; so they can get sweetheart deals from City Hall; so they can build homes and subdivisions outside our boundaries to standards less than our City standards and then expect to bring them into our confines; so they can devise huge projects for our City, with the blessing of the Mayor and the council, which we don’t want, don’t need, and can’t afford. They are indeed moneychangers, changing our money into their money. We need a Mayor who does not answer to these groups. I feel the only way to drive the money changers from the temple is to find a new Mayor – if a majority of the St. Charles electorate agrees.
If you share these views, drop by the library any Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm and add y our name to our petition. The library is not involved in our group or its activities but merely furnishes a place for petitioners to circulate petitions – any duly authorized petition.
Join our fight; help us take back our City.
Glen Dashner
LOCAL NEWS NOTES
FIRST BANK EMPLOYEE, CORPORATE GIVING CONTINUES TO SOAR
Bank steps up for American Heart Association, United Way, Katrina victims
First Bank and its employees continue to help people in need with fund-raising and donation efforts totaling nearly $400,000 for the American Heart Association, the United Way, and Hurricane Katrina victims.
“Our employees deserve special thanks for their generous contributions and outstanding support in helping so many in need,” said Terry McCarthy, chairman, president and chief executive officer for First Bank. “Giving for us means a year-round commitment, not just during the holiday season. We could not be more proud of our efforts.”
Through a company match donation and by encouraging community and employee donations at First Bank locations, First Bank employees in September helped raise $82,000 for American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.
Earlier this year, First Bank employees raised more than $111,300 during the 2005 American Heart Association Heart Walk campaign. The event culminated in early May with the annual Heart Walk in Forest Park and at Frontier Park in St. Charles.
First Bank and its employees have also pledged more than $187,983 to date for the United Way.
First Bank is one of the largest privately owned banks in the country with over $9 billion in assets and over 175 locations in Missouri, Illinois, California and Texas.
Local Resident
Re-enlists in Missouri Army National Guard
By Katherine L. Collins,
Missouri Army National Guard
JEFFERSON BARRACKS— St. Charles resident, James D. Skidmore, re-enlisted in the Missouri Army National Guard on Sept. 15 for a period of one year. After Skidmore completes his one year, he will be eligible for the $15,000 re-enlistment bonus. Skidmore previously served six years in the MOARNG. He was currently serving in the inactive ready reserve when he re-enlisted. Skidmore re-enlisted as a specialist and will serve as a military policeman with the 2175th Military Police Company in St. Clair. Skidmore said he joined the Guard because he missed the experience and benefits, particularly the camaraderie.
Skidmore is currently employed with Ford Motor Company in Hazelwood. He is the son of Wendy Hester of St. Charles and James Skidmore of Russellville, Al. Skidmore’s brothers, James Skidmore and Joe Hester, and sister, Cassandra Hester, also live in St. Charles.
For more information about the Missouri Army National Guard, please call 1-888-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.
EMILE PANDOLFI TO PERFORM LIVE AT THE FOUNDRY ART CENTRE
Premier pop pianist Emile Pandolfi will perform live in concert at the Foundry Art Centre, 520 North Main Center in Historic St. Charles on November 5, at 8 p.m. Concert tickets are $25, and special concert tickets that include an after-performance reception to meet Pandolfi are $50.
Pandolfi is best known for his arrangements of familiar music, applying his classical technique to both Broadway and popular songs. He is the top-selling artist in the alternative music industry, and is known as one of today’s finest pianists.
BEAD YOUR OWN FALL BRACELET AT THE FOUNDRY ART CENTRE
The Foundry Art Centre in Historic St. Charles is offering an adult beading class in which students will create a fall-color bracelet using glass beads, crystals and a beaded embroidery technique. The class is on Wednesday, November 16 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The cost is $45 and all supplies are included. To register or for more information, call (636) 255-0270 or visit www.foundryartcentre.org.
LOCAL ARTIST TEACHES DOMINO ART CLASS
AT THE FOUNDRY ART CENTRE
The Foundry Art Centre in Historic St. Charles will offer a domino art class for adults on Wednesday, December 14 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Local artist Cathy Flesher will demonstrate how to design, stamp, and color dominos for use in creative art and jewelry. Students will create domino broaches using alcohol inks and rubberstamps. Cost of the class is $25 for non-Foundry members and $22.50 for Foundry members. To register or for more information, call 636-255-0270 or visit www.foundryartcentre.org.
PARENTS AND CHILDREN INVITED TO A JOINT ART CLASS AT THE FOUNDRY ART CENTRE
The Foundry Art Centre in Historic St. Charles is offering a clay art class for both parents and children between the ages of four and eight. This two-day “Clay Time” class from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 12 and Saturday, November 19 will include pinch, coil, roll and molding techniques. The cost is $40 for non-Foundry members and $36 for members. To register or for more information, call (636) 255-0270, or visit www.foundryartcentre.org.
The Foundry Art Centre is a fine arts gallery overlooking the Missouri River at 520 North Main Center, in the Frenchtown district of Historic St. Charles. The Foundry features a Smithsonian-caliber art gallery
hosting juried exhibitions plus 20 working artist studios where visitors can watch the creative process and buy art directly from the artists. This nonprofit organization also has community meeting rooms,
event space and a children’s art gallery. Hours are Tuesday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., Wednesdays from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 4
p.m. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. For more information, call (636) 255-0270 or visit www.foundryartcentre.org.
Bank steps up for American Heart Association, United Way, Katrina victims
First Bank and its employees continue to help people in need with fund-raising and donation efforts totaling nearly $400,000 for the American Heart Association, the United Way, and Hurricane Katrina victims.
“Our employees deserve special thanks for their generous contributions and outstanding support in helping so many in need,” said Terry McCarthy, chairman, president and chief executive officer for First Bank. “Giving for us means a year-round commitment, not just during the holiday season. We could not be more proud of our efforts.”
Through a company match donation and by encouraging community and employee donations at First Bank locations, First Bank employees in September helped raise $82,000 for American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.
Earlier this year, First Bank employees raised more than $111,300 during the 2005 American Heart Association Heart Walk campaign. The event culminated in early May with the annual Heart Walk in Forest Park and at Frontier Park in St. Charles.
First Bank and its employees have also pledged more than $187,983 to date for the United Way.
First Bank is one of the largest privately owned banks in the country with over $9 billion in assets and over 175 locations in Missouri, Illinois, California and Texas.
Local Resident
Re-enlists in Missouri Army National Guard
By Katherine L. Collins,
Missouri Army National Guard
JEFFERSON BARRACKS— St. Charles resident, James D. Skidmore, re-enlisted in the Missouri Army National Guard on Sept. 15 for a period of one year. After Skidmore completes his one year, he will be eligible for the $15,000 re-enlistment bonus. Skidmore previously served six years in the MOARNG. He was currently serving in the inactive ready reserve when he re-enlisted. Skidmore re-enlisted as a specialist and will serve as a military policeman with the 2175th Military Police Company in St. Clair. Skidmore said he joined the Guard because he missed the experience and benefits, particularly the camaraderie.
Skidmore is currently employed with Ford Motor Company in Hazelwood. He is the son of Wendy Hester of St. Charles and James Skidmore of Russellville, Al. Skidmore’s brothers, James Skidmore and Joe Hester, and sister, Cassandra Hester, also live in St. Charles.
For more information about the Missouri Army National Guard, please call 1-888-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.
EMILE PANDOLFI TO PERFORM LIVE AT THE FOUNDRY ART CENTRE
Premier pop pianist Emile Pandolfi will perform live in concert at the Foundry Art Centre, 520 North Main Center in Historic St. Charles on November 5, at 8 p.m. Concert tickets are $25, and special concert tickets that include an after-performance reception to meet Pandolfi are $50.
Pandolfi is best known for his arrangements of familiar music, applying his classical technique to both Broadway and popular songs. He is the top-selling artist in the alternative music industry, and is known as one of today’s finest pianists.
BEAD YOUR OWN FALL BRACELET AT THE FOUNDRY ART CENTRE
The Foundry Art Centre in Historic St. Charles is offering an adult beading class in which students will create a fall-color bracelet using glass beads, crystals and a beaded embroidery technique. The class is on Wednesday, November 16 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The cost is $45 and all supplies are included. To register or for more information, call (636) 255-0270 or visit www.foundryartcentre.org.
LOCAL ARTIST TEACHES DOMINO ART CLASS
AT THE FOUNDRY ART CENTRE
The Foundry Art Centre in Historic St. Charles will offer a domino art class for adults on Wednesday, December 14 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Local artist Cathy Flesher will demonstrate how to design, stamp, and color dominos for use in creative art and jewelry. Students will create domino broaches using alcohol inks and rubberstamps. Cost of the class is $25 for non-Foundry members and $22.50 for Foundry members. To register or for more information, call 636-255-0270 or visit www.foundryartcentre.org.
PARENTS AND CHILDREN INVITED TO A JOINT ART CLASS AT THE FOUNDRY ART CENTRE
The Foundry Art Centre in Historic St. Charles is offering a clay art class for both parents and children between the ages of four and eight. This two-day “Clay Time” class from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 12 and Saturday, November 19 will include pinch, coil, roll and molding techniques. The cost is $40 for non-Foundry members and $36 for members. To register or for more information, call (636) 255-0270, or visit www.foundryartcentre.org.
The Foundry Art Centre is a fine arts gallery overlooking the Missouri River at 520 North Main Center, in the Frenchtown district of Historic St. Charles. The Foundry features a Smithsonian-caliber art gallery
hosting juried exhibitions plus 20 working artist studios where visitors can watch the creative process and buy art directly from the artists. This nonprofit organization also has community meeting rooms,
event space and a children’s art gallery. Hours are Tuesday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., Wednesdays from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 4
p.m. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. For more information, call (636) 255-0270 or visit www.foundryartcentre.org.
“Money Talks” By Kevin Daniels, Vice President, Main Street Financial
Kevin Daniels
Vice President,
Main Street Financial
Give Them A Gift They Don’t Throw Away In April.
The Problem: As we chisel away at the days before Christmas, my children (and children everywhere) wind themselves up for Christmas, presents, and pure ‘ole anticipation of gift-wrap flying through the air. We all enjoy seeing those little eyes wild with excitement…anxious to see what’s in the next package. Pure exhilaration and thrills with each gift.
Then comes April of the following year. The batteries are dead, Barbie® is missing one leg and both arms, the doll whose has hair that is supposed to grow is now bald, their favorite book has the last nine pages ripped out, the new paints are dried up, the game dice are missing and the dog chewed Cuddly Bear’s head off!
Life note: Inexpensive toys can be great fun, but are usually forgotten quickly.
A Solution: There’s no replacement for opening toys, and I’m not suggesting that there is. Kids love fun, and toys are fun…for a while anyway. But this year why not supplement those toys with something long lasting? Why not give someone that has lots of time (i.e. a child), a gift that needs time. Enter the Internal Revenue Code Section 529. Typically called a “529 Plan”. These plans have many, many variations depending where the assets are invested, what state they are sold in, etc. In a nutshell a 529 plan is used to save Federally TAX FREE for technical school, college or qualified higher education expenses. There have always been ways to gift money to children but this is certainly new and improved over earlier vehicles.
Say for example Grandma/Grandpa, Mom/Dad, Aunt/Uncle or some other family member decides to open a “529” for little Joshy. The money can be invested in multiple different choices and is allowed to grow Federally tax free. Behind the scenes, the donor makes investment decisions for little Joshy while he’s busy riding his bike. Then let’s say 16 years later little Joshy, (now called Josh) decides he is not interested in higher education even a little bit. The donor/custodian can change the beneficiary to Josh’s sister, or his brother, or even take the money back! The donor has retained control of the funds, and protects Josh at the same time.
I often see clients that have Uniform Gift To Minor’s Act Accounts (UGMAs). Then they realize their Josh has no interest in higher education and wants to use his UGMA money (which in Missouri is theirs at age 18) to buy a diamond ring for his new girl friend the mud wrestler. These lavish expenditures with mom and dad’s hard saved money might be better gifted to someone with more vision. 529 plans allow the donor to retain control, as long as necessary. All of the benefits of a 529 plan are well beyond this article, but at least you have the idea.
Few children are going to be ecstatic about opening an envelope labeled “Your 529 Gift”, but it won’t be thrown away!
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BBB Urges Extreme Caution Dealing with ‘What Don’t We Do’ General Contractors
BBB Urges Extreme Caution Dealing with ‘What Don’t We Do’ General Contractors
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) urges consumers in need of home remodeling to use extreme caution when dealing with What Don’t We Do General Contractors, P O Box 4175, St. Louis. The business also has used an address of 11014 Sugar Pine Ct., Ste. A, St. Charles, Mo.
In the past 10 months, the BBB has received four complaints against What Don’t We Do. This firm has an unsatisfactory record with the BBB for failure to respond to complaints.
Three BBB complainants said they paid What Don’t We Do a combined $7,100 and no work was started. Complainants also said they had difficulty contacting a representative of the firm.
The Missouri attorney general’s office has received three complaints concerning this firm. Two are pending. One was closed as unresolved.
On March 15, 2005, Dan Paulette was registered as the owner of the fictitious name, What Don’t We Do General Contractors, according to the Missouri secretary of state’s Web site.
A St. Louis complainant said that she paid What Don’t We Do $1500 to repair her basement in January 2005. She said the firm came out on March 14, 2005, collected another check for $2000, and said they would be back in four days to begin the work. The firm failed to return and when the consumer contacted Dan Paulette, he informed her that he “had some delays and had started another project,” she said. The consumer said she was unable to contact the firm to schedule a time for them to start the work and finally left a voicemail asking for a refund, which has not been provided, she said.
A Florissant, Mo., complainant said that he paid this company $2100 down to remodel his bathroom and the work was to be completed by Thanksgiving 2004. When the work was not started, the consumer contacted Paulette who informed the consumer that he “was having trouble getting the materials from the supplier,” he said. The consumer said that he contacted a police detective and that Paulette informed the detective that he had been in the hospital and was therefore unable to start the work. The consumer left messages for Paulette asking for a refund, but has been unable to contact him since, he said.
The BBB suggests that consumers interested in home repair or maintenance work should consider the following general information tips:
* Check for a permanent place of business, telephone number, tax ID number, certificate of insurance, bonding information and (where required) a business license.
* Look for a company with a proven track record that readily offers customer references and a list of completed projects. Call these consumers to determine whether they were satisfied.
* Insist on a written proposal and examine it for complete descriptions of the work and specifications, including starting and completion dates and warranty information. Make sure all oral promises are included in the proposal.
* Never pay a contractor for the entire job in advance and avoid paying in cash whenever possible.
* Obtain a lien waiver. By giving you a signed lien waiver, a supplier of materials or services for your home repair project acknowledges that he or she has no right to file a mechanic’s lien against your property. In other words, the supplier acknowledges having been paid in full for those materials or services.
* Contact the BBB at (314) 645-3300 or www.contactbbb.org for a customer experience report on a company with which you are considering doing business.
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The Better Business Bureau (BBB) urges consumers in need of home remodeling to use extreme caution when dealing with What Don’t We Do General Contractors, P O Box 4175, St. Louis. The business also has used an address of 11014 Sugar Pine Ct., Ste. A, St. Charles, Mo.
In the past 10 months, the BBB has received four complaints against What Don’t We Do. This firm has an unsatisfactory record with the BBB for failure to respond to complaints.
Three BBB complainants said they paid What Don’t We Do a combined $7,100 and no work was started. Complainants also said they had difficulty contacting a representative of the firm.
The Missouri attorney general’s office has received three complaints concerning this firm. Two are pending. One was closed as unresolved.
On March 15, 2005, Dan Paulette was registered as the owner of the fictitious name, What Don’t We Do General Contractors, according to the Missouri secretary of state’s Web site.
A St. Louis complainant said that she paid What Don’t We Do $1500 to repair her basement in January 2005. She said the firm came out on March 14, 2005, collected another check for $2000, and said they would be back in four days to begin the work. The firm failed to return and when the consumer contacted Dan Paulette, he informed her that he “had some delays and had started another project,” she said. The consumer said she was unable to contact the firm to schedule a time for them to start the work and finally left a voicemail asking for a refund, which has not been provided, she said.
A Florissant, Mo., complainant said that he paid this company $2100 down to remodel his bathroom and the work was to be completed by Thanksgiving 2004. When the work was not started, the consumer contacted Paulette who informed the consumer that he “was having trouble getting the materials from the supplier,” he said. The consumer said that he contacted a police detective and that Paulette informed the detective that he had been in the hospital and was therefore unable to start the work. The consumer left messages for Paulette asking for a refund, but has been unable to contact him since, he said.
The BBB suggests that consumers interested in home repair or maintenance work should consider the following general information tips:
* Check for a permanent place of business, telephone number, tax ID number, certificate of insurance, bonding information and (where required) a business license.
* Look for a company with a proven track record that readily offers customer references and a list of completed projects. Call these consumers to determine whether they were satisfied.
* Insist on a written proposal and examine it for complete descriptions of the work and specifications, including starting and completion dates and warranty information. Make sure all oral promises are included in the proposal.
* Never pay a contractor for the entire job in advance and avoid paying in cash whenever possible.
* Obtain a lien waiver. By giving you a signed lien waiver, a supplier of materials or services for your home repair project acknowledges that he or she has no right to file a mechanic’s lien against your property. In other words, the supplier acknowledges having been paid in full for those materials or services.
* Contact the BBB at (314) 645-3300 or www.contactbbb.org for a customer experience report on a company with which you are considering doing business.
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St. Charles Chamber of Commerce Awards the Ring of Excellence and Trailblazer
From left: Dr. Dave Wallace, Chairman of the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce Education Committee; Lorna Frahm, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce; Grayce Perkinson, St. Charles West High School; Theresa Bowles, Hackmann Early Childhood Center; Linda Nagle, Lincoln Elementary School; Greg Spalding, General Motors; Robin Steinhoff, Orchard Farm Middle School; Jaqueline Gray, St. Charles Community College; Claire Felder, St. Charles Chamber of Commerce, Membership Director.
St. Charles Chamber of Commerce
Awards the Ring of Excellence and Trailblazer
The St. Charles Chamber of Commerce presented the Trailblazer Award and The Ring of Excellence Award at their general membership luncheon at the Banquet Center of the Little Hills on Wednesday, October 19, 2005.
The St. Charles Chamber of Commerce established the Trailblazer Award in 1990 to recognize the efforts of business in education and to encourage other businesses to provide appropriate support to the educational systems in our county. This year Lorna Frahm of the Frahm Law Firm and Chairman of the St. Charles Chamber Board of Directors presented the Trailblazer Award to General Motors - Truck Assembly Plant in Wentzville.
Greg Spalding, GM Personnel Director, accepted the Trailblazer on behalf of GM leadership and engineers who developed the Robotics Challenge. The four-week challenge is a real-world project, building a working robot to GM specifications with Lego‚ Mindstorm‰ Kits. On three consecutive demonstration days, student teams travel to GM to present their robots for evaluation by industry inspectors. The students tour the plant and discuss the skilled trade opportunities available there. General Motors sponsors various other education related programs including Non-Traditional Career Day for Young Women, the St. Charles County 8th Grade career Fair, and the Practicum in Business/:Labor for Skills Development for Educators.
The Ring of Excellence Award was established by the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce in 2000 to recognize excellence in the teaching profession. Through the award the chamber hopes to raise public awareness of the exceptional quality of instruction in the greater St. Charles area and show the business community’s appreciation for the tremendous resource we have in our teaching professionals.
The following educators were presented with the Ring of Excellence:
Jacqueline Gray, St. Charles Community College, Professor of English
Grayce Perkinson, St. Charles West High School, History
Robin Steinhoff, Orchard Farm Middle School, Physical Education
Linda Nagle, Lincoln Elementary School, General Studies
Theresa Bowles, Francis Howell Early Childhood Education, Pre-School/Kindergarten
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PATT HOLT SINGERS PERFORM FOR GOVERNOR'S HALLOWEEN PARTY
The Patt Holt Singers two youth groups, ‘The Connection” and “Just Kids”, were invited to perform for Governor and Mrs. Blunt at their Halloween party and open house at the Governor’s Mansion. The Governor went as Ichabod Crane and Mrs. Blunt was dressed as Katrina Van Tassel holding W. Branch dressed as a pony. ‘The Connection’ was costumed as Disney characters for their Disney Spectacular show and “Just Kids” were costumed in poodle skirts and bobby socks performing their back to the fifties show. Not in costume were the group’s newest members in their groups t-shirt.The Patt Holt Singers are hosting their fifth annual “Tribute To Veterans” dinner show, November 13 at St. Peters Parish Center, 300 First Capitol Drive. They would like veterans, their families and families of current military to enjoy this tribute dinner catered by Dan Felder, Chef-On-Call. Dinner is $12.50 per person. Doors open at 4:30 pm. For reservations call (636) 947-1020. Photo furnished by Patt Holt
Main Street Visitors Survey Results
Main Street Visitors Survey Results
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
VISITORS TO MAIN STREET SURVEY
During the summer THE FIRST CAPITOL NEWS had our intern conduct a survey of visitors to Main Street. Although this was an unofficial, unscientific survey we believe the merchants on Main Street would be interested in the results.
Over a period of two months, on different days and times, she interviewed over 100 visitors on Main Street and asked a series of questions. THE FIRST CAPITOL NEWS tabulated their responses and would like to share our conclusions with you.
WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
The majority of the visitors either resided here or within 50 miles or they were visiting friends or family members who resided here. A small number of those interviewed were visiting from further than 50 miles.
WHY DID THEY COME HERE?
Their visit to Main Street was due to a suggestion from a friend or family member. The recommending friend or family member usually accompanied them on their visit to the street.
HOW LONG WERE THEY HERE AND WHERE DID THEY STAY?
Most of the visitors were here for the day. Most of them were residing as guests with their friend or family member. The average number in their party on the street was four.
WHY WERE THEY HERE?
The majority of the visitors were here to shop. Coming in second was viewing the historical buildings and enjoying the ambience of the area.
WHAT WOULD THEY LIKE TO SEE HERE?
Foremost in what they would like to see on the street was more restaurants and antique shops.
WHAT DID THEY DISLIKE?
Their dislikes included the lack of available strollers, difficult parking, and stores not being open during evening hours.
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By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
VISITORS TO MAIN STREET SURVEY
During the summer THE FIRST CAPITOL NEWS had our intern conduct a survey of visitors to Main Street. Although this was an unofficial, unscientific survey we believe the merchants on Main Street would be interested in the results.
Over a period of two months, on different days and times, she interviewed over 100 visitors on Main Street and asked a series of questions. THE FIRST CAPITOL NEWS tabulated their responses and would like to share our conclusions with you.
WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
The majority of the visitors either resided here or within 50 miles or they were visiting friends or family members who resided here. A small number of those interviewed were visiting from further than 50 miles.
WHY DID THEY COME HERE?
Their visit to Main Street was due to a suggestion from a friend or family member. The recommending friend or family member usually accompanied them on their visit to the street.
HOW LONG WERE THEY HERE AND WHERE DID THEY STAY?
Most of the visitors were here for the day. Most of them were residing as guests with their friend or family member. The average number in their party on the street was four.
WHY WERE THEY HERE?
The majority of the visitors were here to shop. Coming in second was viewing the historical buildings and enjoying the ambience of the area.
WHAT WOULD THEY LIKE TO SEE HERE?
Foremost in what they would like to see on the street was more restaurants and antique shops.
WHAT DID THEY DISLIKE?
Their dislikes included the lack of available strollers, difficult parking, and stores not being open during evening hours.
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A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY by Clara Scott
A Little Bit of History
By
Clara E. Scott
In observance of Veterans’ Day, this article will deal with the making of “IN FLANDERS FIELDS”
John McCrae composed the poem in May 1915 after witnessing the death of young friend and former student, Lt. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa during the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915. This poem remains to this day, one of the most memorable war poems ever written and may be one of the famous of the Great War.
Lt. Helmer had been killed by a shell burst on May 2, 1915 and was buried later that same evening in the little cemetery (called Essex Farm). McCrae performed the funeral ceremony in complete darkness for security reasons as it was forbidden to make light.
Although John McCrae had been a doctor and served in the Boer War in South Africa, it was impossible to get used to the suffering, screams, and the blood here, and Major John McCrae had seen and hear enough in his dressing station to last him a lifetime. As a surgeon attached to the Canadian 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Major McCrae, who had joined the McGill faculty in 1900 after graduating from the University of Toronto, had spent sixteen days treating injured men – Canadians, British, Indians, French, and Germans – in the Ypres salient.
As you will see in the poem, there is significance to this.
Flanders is the name of the whole western part of Belgium. It is flat country where people speak Flemish. Flanders holds old and famous cities like Antwerp, Bruges, and Ypres. It is ancient battleground. For centuries the fields of Flanders have been soaked with blood.
“In Flanders Fields” is also the name of an American War Cemetery in Belgium where 368 Americans are buried, and is situated near the village of Waregem. This cemetery got its name from the poem though.
Poppies, why? Wild poppies flower when other plants in their direct neighborhood are dead. The seeds can be on the ground for years and years, but only when there are no more competing flowers, these seeds will sprout. When McCrae was sitting writing this poem the poppies blossomed like no one had ever seen before. The possibility of using ‘poppy’ in the poem is known as a symbol of sleep. Some kinds of poppies can be used to derive opium from which morphine can be made. Morphine is one of the strongest painkillers and was often used to put a wounded soldier to sleep.
The poem was initially called We Shall Not Sleep. McCrae was dissatisfied with it, tossed it away, but Lt. Colonel Morrison retrieved it and sent it to newspapers in England.
The following is taken from Lt. Colonel Edward Morrison, who was the commanding officer on the scene.
“This poem was literally born of fire and blood during the hottest phase of the second battle of Ypres. My headquarters were in a trench on the top of the bank of the Ypres
Canal, and John had his dressing station in a hole dug in the foot of the bank. During periods in the battle men who were shot actually rolled down the bank into his dressing station. Along from us a few hundred yards was the headquarters of a regiment, and many times during the sixteen days of battle, he and I watched them burying their dead whenever there was a lull. Thus the crosses, row on row, grew into a good-sized cemetery. Just as he describes, we often heard in the mornings, the larks singing high in the air, between the crash of the shell and the reports of the guns in the battery just beside us. I have a letter from him in which he mentions having written the poem to pass away the time between the arrival of batches of wounded, and partly as an experiment with several varieties of poetic metre.”
AND NOW THE POEM:
IN FLANDERS FIELDS
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead, Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
MY COLUMN - Mike McMurran Sports Editor
Sports challenge: Can anyone match the pictures to the names of the four most recent high school athletes of the week? You can even use your copies of The First Capitol News; yeah, like that might help you! As Sports Editor I take full and complete responsibility for the mishaps. Names and pictures have been so messed up I won’t confuse you more by trying to fix the mistakes. I cannot even promise you it won’t happen again (I never make promises I cannot keep), but I will promise to do my best to insure it doesn’t happen again.
Talk about stroking one’s ego; this past Sunday my family attended 10:00 a.m. Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Dee had a noon soccer game, Joe a 1:30 – so the three men of the family drove in one car and the ladies in another. As we approached the entrance of the church, Dee, being ever aware of his surroundings, pointed out “that person is reading your paper!” Sure enough, sitting in the first parking spot next to the entrance of the church, sat a regular reader of The FCN – and they were turned to the sports section. There I was, in all my glory – my beautiful mug shot. No kiddin’! To think, someone was sitting in a church parking lot, waiting to enter the church, preparing, if you will, for a religious experience by reading my column. Wow!
A casual observation and comment on Rams’ interim head coach Joe Vitt. It seems Mr. Vitt was diagnosed, and successfully treated for testicle cancer when he was twenty-something. As unlucky, and possibly unlikely as it might seem, he was diagnosed with the same aliment some twenty years later. That certainly explains his calm demeanor on the sidelines during crucial situations; the man has iron…, well, the man knows what his priorities are. Fumble, interception, holding call – how can he get too upset over such petty stuff when he is a cancer survivor, twice!
A couple of personal notes, if I may: Two years ago when we took National Lampoon’s McMurran Family vacation to San Diego, the five of us (do I have to name them?) were walking along the beach one beautiful sunny day. As we passed these two little old, blue hair ladies, one of them said to Lynn and I: “Once they have you outnumbered, you’re in serious trouble.” I took the information and filed it in my memory banks under useless information. Recently it surfaced, big time! It seems that with the current soccer season(s), there are times Lynn and I are literally expected to be three places at the same time. Thank God for special help – one person in particular has been a blessing for Lynn and I, Annie Oberle. Twice last week she bailed Lynn and I out of rough situations.
On a related note, Annie and Dr. Dan Coogan had to be bursting with pride, when their second grade son, Sean Coogan, made a kick save in goal last Sunday against St. Charles Borromeo that would have made the highlight tape of any sports broadcast. The save secured Dr. Richard Heise’s fighting Falcons 3-2 victory, and may have just won them the Division title. Richard and Mary O’Connor, likewise must be overwhelmed with pride with their son Ethan O’Connor. Ethan is not as a prolific of a goal scorer as some of his teammates, but he sure has a knack for timing; his goal gave the Falcons an early 1-0 lead.
Local football roundup
Local football roundup
St. Charles 2005 Football District Standings
By: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
According to the Missouri State High School Activities Association, the high schools playing football are divided into six classes. The largest 32 schools, according to the official MSHSAA enrollments (with private school multiplier) are placed in Class 6, the largest class in Missouri. The next 32 largest are placed in Class 5. The following 64 largest schools are placed in Class 4, and so on, until all schools have been placed in a class.
Once placed in classes, the schools are assigned districts – determined largely by geographic location and conference affiliation. District winners qualify for the State Tournament.
District games are generally the final three regular season games. District winners are decided by using the following criteria:
The team with the best win/loss percentage as determined in district games.
If three teams are tied, the following steps are used to break the tie and determine the qualifier. If only one of the teams is eliminated by a given tie breaker, then the remaining teams refer to step 2.
The 13-point tie breaker system will be used. The margin of victory or loss in district games, up to 13 points shall be recorded (a 56-0 win counts the same as a 14-0 win; this is designed to prevent teams from “running up the score”). The total number of marginal points for t he district games will then be determined by adding those for each district game won and subtracting those for each district game lost. The team totaling the largest number of marginal points shall be ranked above the other team(s).
If three teams remain tied the qualifying team will be determined by totaling the tied teams’ won/loss record against common opponents.
If three teams remain tied, the qualifying team shall be the one with the greatest win/loss percentage during the current season.
If three teams remain tied, the qualifying team shall be determined by taking the overall win/loss records of all opponents played during the current season. The qualifying team will be the team that has played against opponents having the highest wining percentage.
If thee teams remain tied, the tie shall be resolved by a coin toss.
St. Charles Football District Standings
Class 2; District 4
Team W L PTS
Wright City 2 0 +12
Orchard Farm 1 1 +12
Winfield 1 1 -12
Lutheran-SC 0 2 -12
Week 1
Wright City 27 – Orchard Farm 20 (OT)
Winfield 13 – Lutheran-SC 7 (OT
Week 2
Orchard Farm 38 – Winfield 15
Wright City 26 – Lutheran-SC 15
Week 3
Orchard Farm at Lutheran-SC
Winfield at Wright City
Class 4; District 7
Duchesne 2 0 +26
Parkway North 2 0 +14
St. Charles West 0 2 -14
St. Charles 0 2 -26
Week 1
Duchesne 31 – St. Charles West 7
Parkway North 38 – St. Charles 7
Week 2
Parkway North 21 – St. Charles West 20
Duchesne 22 – St. Charles 0
Week 3
Parkway North at Duchesne
St. Charles at St. Charles West
Class 6; District 5
DeSmet 2 0 +10
Howell North 1 1 +11
Zumwalt South 1 1 -8
Howell Central 0 2 -13
Week 1
DeSmet 38 – Howell Central 30
Howell North 33 – Zumwalt South 20
Week 2
DeSmet 20 – Howell North 18
Zumwalt South 33 – Howell Central 28
Week 3
Howell Central at Howell North
DeSmet at Zumwalt South
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St. Charles 2005 Football District Standings
By: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
According to the Missouri State High School Activities Association, the high schools playing football are divided into six classes. The largest 32 schools, according to the official MSHSAA enrollments (with private school multiplier) are placed in Class 6, the largest class in Missouri. The next 32 largest are placed in Class 5. The following 64 largest schools are placed in Class 4, and so on, until all schools have been placed in a class.
Once placed in classes, the schools are assigned districts – determined largely by geographic location and conference affiliation. District winners qualify for the State Tournament.
District games are generally the final three regular season games. District winners are decided by using the following criteria:
The team with the best win/loss percentage as determined in district games.
If three teams are tied, the following steps are used to break the tie and determine the qualifier. If only one of the teams is eliminated by a given tie breaker, then the remaining teams refer to step 2.
The 13-point tie breaker system will be used. The margin of victory or loss in district games, up to 13 points shall be recorded (a 56-0 win counts the same as a 14-0 win; this is designed to prevent teams from “running up the score”). The total number of marginal points for t he district games will then be determined by adding those for each district game won and subtracting those for each district game lost. The team totaling the largest number of marginal points shall be ranked above the other team(s).
If three teams remain tied the qualifying team will be determined by totaling the tied teams’ won/loss record against common opponents.
If three teams remain tied, the qualifying team shall be the one with the greatest win/loss percentage during the current season.
If three teams remain tied, the qualifying team shall be determined by taking the overall win/loss records of all opponents played during the current season. The qualifying team will be the team that has played against opponents having the highest wining percentage.
If thee teams remain tied, the tie shall be resolved by a coin toss.
St. Charles Football District Standings
Class 2; District 4
Team W L PTS
Wright City 2 0 +12
Orchard Farm 1 1 +12
Winfield 1 1 -12
Lutheran-SC 0 2 -12
Week 1
Wright City 27 – Orchard Farm 20 (OT)
Winfield 13 – Lutheran-SC 7 (OT
Week 2
Orchard Farm 38 – Winfield 15
Wright City 26 – Lutheran-SC 15
Week 3
Orchard Farm at Lutheran-SC
Winfield at Wright City
Class 4; District 7
Duchesne 2 0 +26
Parkway North 2 0 +14
St. Charles West 0 2 -14
St. Charles 0 2 -26
Week 1
Duchesne 31 – St. Charles West 7
Parkway North 38 – St. Charles 7
Week 2
Parkway North 21 – St. Charles West 20
Duchesne 22 – St. Charles 0
Week 3
Parkway North at Duchesne
St. Charles at St. Charles West
Class 6; District 5
DeSmet 2 0 +10
Howell North 1 1 +11
Zumwalt South 1 1 -8
Howell Central 0 2 -13
Week 1
DeSmet 38 – Howell Central 30
Howell North 33 – Zumwalt South 20
Week 2
DeSmet 20 – Howell North 18
Zumwalt South 33 – Howell Central 28
Week 3
Howell Central at Howell North
DeSmet at Zumwalt South
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First Capitol News High School Athlete of the Week Collin Magilligan, Senior, Duchesne High School
Andi Neff, Sophomore, Duchesne
By: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
Photo by Bob Barton
AGE, HT., WT.: 16, 5’8”, 120
FAMILY STATUS: Lives with parents, Mary and Doug Neff; one sister, Jessie, 19 years old
PEOPLE WHO INFLUENCED ME THE MOST/WHY? My parents and my sister – they have always supported me, and given me my personal space. Sometimes that was scary, but in the end I know it was best. I am what I am because of them.
BEST ADVICE ANYONE EVER GAVE YOU: My parents have stressed to me, for as long as I can remember to keep a positive attitude, no matter how bad things might seem.
HOBBIES: Basketball and volleyball pretty much take up all of my free time.
CAR: 2003, yellow, Ford, Escape
FAVORITE ACTOR: Brad Pitt
FAVORITE MOVIE: Goonies
FAVORITE MUSIC: I like anything, really, I guess my favorites are Rap and Pop.
FAVORITE PROFESSIONAL SPORTING TEAM: St. Louis Cardinals, how can it be any other team?
BEST TIME OF MY LIFE: High school, I am living the best time of my life.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN LIFE: Playing Incarnate Word this year and not winning – that was tough.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE FRESHMEN: Work your hardest at what ever you do; never, ever accept less than your best. If you do you are only cheating yourself and those around you.
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River Otters Make Changes Early
River Otters Make Changes Early
A Former Player Returns for the Opposition
River Otters Lose to Flint, Rockford and Muskegon
By Louis J. Launer
To most loyal Missouri River Otter fans, it is not time to circle the wagons yet. There are concerns that the Otters started out slower than normal and player changes have already been made. Gone are St. Louis native J.P. Beilstein and Jared Newman.
Before the second week of UHL games began, forward Dave Stewart came to the Missouri River Otters from the Quad City Mallards. He was exchanged for future considerations. Also acquired were forwards Jimmy Callahan (played at UHL Kansas City last season) and Bret Peppler. Peppler was in this year’s Richmond Riverdogs training camp before his release at the beginning of this season.
Head coach Kevin Kaminski is hoping that the newly acquired players can increase the team’s scoring potential, especially for Peppler, a UHL rookie.
“We’re hoping he can contribute to the team offensively,” Kaminski said.
The three new players played last week in their first game at Family Arena against the Flint Generals. Jimmy Callahan scored his first goal of the season at the 1:27 mark. Later on in the second period, Flint’s Jason Selleke took advantage of a loose puck lost by an Otter defenseman and not watched by goaltender Brendan Cuthbert. Selleke fired one slap shot and it easily made the goal.
In the third period, Flint took advantage of a power play, with River Otter right winger Bret MacMillan in the penalty box. Forward Taras Foremski scored the game-winning goal for Flint with 6:23 left in the game. It gave the Generals a 2-1 victory and the River Otters their third straight loss in the early season.
Even with the new players, the ability of setting up plays and taking shots is lacking with this year’s River Otter team. In the game against Flint, the Generals outshot the River Otters 20-14. However, in the third period, Missouri outshot Flint 11-4. Most of the shots took place after the second Flint goal and it was too little, too late. Flint Goaltender Jason Saal had one of his best games. It was also the first win for Generals coach Bobby Reynolds, who helped coach last season’s Michigan State hockey team to an NCAA championship.
A former River Otter made his presence known at Family Arena last week as a member of the Flint Generals. For Flint’s right-winger George Cantrall, the trip to St. Charles was a homecoming. Most of his hockey career has been spent with St. Louis area teams. He played his Junior “A” hockey with the St. Louis Sting in 1999-2000. His first three seasons as a pro were with the River Otters. Halfway through last season, Cantrall suffered a leg injury that ended his season.
The River Otters did not want him back this season. Cantrall quickly found a team this summer with the Flint Generals. The fans and sportswriters in the UHL are not expecting much out of Flint. It is a rebuilding year for the central Michigan team. But Cantrall can provide excitement if he stays healthy.
“They’re a good group of guys here,” Cantrall said. “We have a chance to play some good hockey.”
In the last two seasons as a River Otter, Cantrall portrayed the role as an enforcer, someone who will put pressure on opposing players and deliberately receive penalties just to keep players from scoring or getting possession of the puck. Enforcers have reputations to hit extremely hard and pick fights with opponents. There’s an art to be an enforcer. They have to make sure that the referee isn’t looking.
“Sometimes, you pay the price by going into the [penalty] box,” Cantrall said. “But that’s how the game is played.”
Cantrall credits former Boston Bruin John Wensink for his converted role.
“John [Wensink] is a great coach,” he said. “He was my coach when I played youth hockey and with the River Otters.”
Wensink was the assistant coach for the River otters during the 2003-04 season. It was also Cantrall’s best season, if you considered 321 penalty minutes as an accomplishment.
Cantrall’s biggest problem as an enforcer for the River Otters was that he was a successor to all-time fan favorite enforcer Marty Melnychuk. Melnychuk played in 2002-03, a season that Cantrall sat out. Although Cantrall is 6’ 3” and 215 pounds, he looked a bit small as a River Otters’ enforcer, compared to the behemoth Melnychuk.
Cantrall in the game against the River Otters did get into one fight and also committed a double-minor penalty after trying to intimidate any of the players that got into his way. He wants to play in nobody’s shadow and continues to be serious about his role in hockey. He respects his new teammates in Flint. Although fans in Flint have been quite vocal about the team’s lack of depth and inexperience, George Cantrall could provide some excitement in a very hockey-starved working-class city.
The River Otters are still on their losing ways as they lost 9-1 on Friday night in Rockford. Rockford’s Preston Mizzi recorded his first hat trick this season. The following night, the River Otters maintained a 3-3 tie in Muskegon against defending Colonial Cup champion Muskegon Fury. The Fury scored five goals in the third period and defeated the River Otters 8-3. The River Otters remain winless this season.
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A Former Player Returns for the Opposition
River Otters Lose to Flint, Rockford and Muskegon
By Louis J. Launer
To most loyal Missouri River Otter fans, it is not time to circle the wagons yet. There are concerns that the Otters started out slower than normal and player changes have already been made. Gone are St. Louis native J.P. Beilstein and Jared Newman.
Before the second week of UHL games began, forward Dave Stewart came to the Missouri River Otters from the Quad City Mallards. He was exchanged for future considerations. Also acquired were forwards Jimmy Callahan (played at UHL Kansas City last season) and Bret Peppler. Peppler was in this year’s Richmond Riverdogs training camp before his release at the beginning of this season.
Head coach Kevin Kaminski is hoping that the newly acquired players can increase the team’s scoring potential, especially for Peppler, a UHL rookie.
“We’re hoping he can contribute to the team offensively,” Kaminski said.
The three new players played last week in their first game at Family Arena against the Flint Generals. Jimmy Callahan scored his first goal of the season at the 1:27 mark. Later on in the second period, Flint’s Jason Selleke took advantage of a loose puck lost by an Otter defenseman and not watched by goaltender Brendan Cuthbert. Selleke fired one slap shot and it easily made the goal.
In the third period, Flint took advantage of a power play, with River Otter right winger Bret MacMillan in the penalty box. Forward Taras Foremski scored the game-winning goal for Flint with 6:23 left in the game. It gave the Generals a 2-1 victory and the River Otters their third straight loss in the early season.
Even with the new players, the ability of setting up plays and taking shots is lacking with this year’s River Otter team. In the game against Flint, the Generals outshot the River Otters 20-14. However, in the third period, Missouri outshot Flint 11-4. Most of the shots took place after the second Flint goal and it was too little, too late. Flint Goaltender Jason Saal had one of his best games. It was also the first win for Generals coach Bobby Reynolds, who helped coach last season’s Michigan State hockey team to an NCAA championship.
A former River Otter made his presence known at Family Arena last week as a member of the Flint Generals. For Flint’s right-winger George Cantrall, the trip to St. Charles was a homecoming. Most of his hockey career has been spent with St. Louis area teams. He played his Junior “A” hockey with the St. Louis Sting in 1999-2000. His first three seasons as a pro were with the River Otters. Halfway through last season, Cantrall suffered a leg injury that ended his season.
The River Otters did not want him back this season. Cantrall quickly found a team this summer with the Flint Generals. The fans and sportswriters in the UHL are not expecting much out of Flint. It is a rebuilding year for the central Michigan team. But Cantrall can provide excitement if he stays healthy.
“They’re a good group of guys here,” Cantrall said. “We have a chance to play some good hockey.”
In the last two seasons as a River Otter, Cantrall portrayed the role as an enforcer, someone who will put pressure on opposing players and deliberately receive penalties just to keep players from scoring or getting possession of the puck. Enforcers have reputations to hit extremely hard and pick fights with opponents. There’s an art to be an enforcer. They have to make sure that the referee isn’t looking.
“Sometimes, you pay the price by going into the [penalty] box,” Cantrall said. “But that’s how the game is played.”
Cantrall credits former Boston Bruin John Wensink for his converted role.
“John [Wensink] is a great coach,” he said. “He was my coach when I played youth hockey and with the River Otters.”
Wensink was the assistant coach for the River otters during the 2003-04 season. It was also Cantrall’s best season, if you considered 321 penalty minutes as an accomplishment.
Cantrall’s biggest problem as an enforcer for the River Otters was that he was a successor to all-time fan favorite enforcer Marty Melnychuk. Melnychuk played in 2002-03, a season that Cantrall sat out. Although Cantrall is 6’ 3” and 215 pounds, he looked a bit small as a River Otters’ enforcer, compared to the behemoth Melnychuk.
Cantrall in the game against the River Otters did get into one fight and also committed a double-minor penalty after trying to intimidate any of the players that got into his way. He wants to play in nobody’s shadow and continues to be serious about his role in hockey. He respects his new teammates in Flint. Although fans in Flint have been quite vocal about the team’s lack of depth and inexperience, George Cantrall could provide some excitement in a very hockey-starved working-class city.
The River Otters are still on their losing ways as they lost 9-1 on Friday night in Rockford. Rockford’s Preston Mizzi recorded his first hat trick this season. The following night, the River Otters maintained a 3-3 tie in Muskegon against defending Colonial Cup champion Muskegon Fury. The Fury scored five goals in the third period and defeated the River Otters 8-3. The River Otters remain winless this season.
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RAGE ROLLING’ AT OFFSEASON HALFWAY MARK
RAGE ROLLING’ AT OFFSEASON HALFWAY MARK
By Mike Thompson
Whoever said it first wasn’t lying....time DOES fly, especially when you’re having fun. And here at Rage Headquarters, things are huffin’ and puffin’ right along at what now is the halfway point in the offseason for the team. Yep, seems like just yesterday, but in fact it was four months ago that the team was upset in the playoffs by the Cincinnati Marshals at the Savvis Center. And after stating that we sure don’t plan on something like that happening in 2006, let’s chart the course for the next four months leading up to the mid-March home opener at that same scene of the crime, our new home for next season, the St. Louis Savvis Center! We’re playing with the big boys now, the Blues, St. Louie U basketball and the aura of sharing the same downtown area as the Rams and Cards. We’re excited and are doing things now to insure success at all 7 (and probably more!) home games in 2006.
Here’s what’s up.....first of all, we need to look at players. After losing Hurtis Chinn and Brue Blue to the AFL, Coach Wyatt and his staff are gearing up for the only open tryout of 2005 scheduled for Saturday, November 19th, 1PM, at the Velocity Sports Performance Center in Chesterfield.I’ll begin by stating this is not for the weekend athlete, the Walter Mitty’s of the football world, or anyone who did not establish himself in some form of post high-school play. That said, if you or someone you know might have what it takes to make the Rage roster in the coming season, check our website at ragefootball.com for the registration form. Kickers excluded, players will be tested in the 40 and 20 yard dash, the 20 yard pro-shuttle, the standing broad jump, the vertical jump, the 225lb bench press, and THEN be ready to play some football. Individual position drills will be spearheaded by Rage coaches. Good luck!!
And there’s sideline fun on tap the next day. Hey girl, wanna be a RiverCity Rage Cheerleader? Then be ready for the open auditions being held on Sunday, November 20th, 11AM, at the St. Louis Mills Mall in Hazelwood. Rage dance team leader Kathy Martinez will be looking for young ladies age 18 and over who have dance background and an outgoing personality for all Rage home games in 2006. Team functions also offer a chance for Rage cheerleaders to get out and meet and greet the public during the entire year as well, do if that’s you, again check the Rage website or contact the team at 636-916-0132.
In a previous article, I wrote concerning the team’s devotion to worthy community and charity type causes, and on Friday, November 11th, the team will again lend a hand to help benefit a great cause. It’s the first RiverCity Rage Semi-Annual Children’s Charities Golf Tournament to be held at the St. Peter’s Golf Course, with a 10AM Shotgun Start. The Four Person Scramble-Best Ball Tourney will benefit The Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Charles County, the St. Louis Sports Commission’s ‘Sports for Kids’ program, and the Boy Scouts of America. The entry fee is $40 per person and $150 per foursome and includes lunch, a goodies bag, golf, free beverages on the course, and dinner. Entry deadline is Thursday, November 10th. If you or your group want to play with the Rage, have a great time, and help these charities, again, check our website or call us at the Rage office.
And the Raggie Kid’s Club now has an official sponsor! Kudo’s to Chevys Fresh Mex Restaurant for stepping up to show kids a great time with all the fun the club has to offer. Join the Kid’s Club for your youngster by downloading the application found on line at ragefootball.com....you’ll get a Rage t-shirt, a color activity book, two tickets to a Raggie Birthday Party, an autographed picture of Raggie, and an autograph party with Raggie and selected Rage players.....and V.I.P membership for 20% off Rage merchandise. John Whicker of Chevys says it best, “Chevys Fresh Mex is a family Restaurant, and we are always happy to support a fun kid’s program like the RiverCity Rage ‘Raggie’s’ Kid’s Club.” On behalf of our beloved mascot we say thanks to Chevys Fresh Mex....and hey guys, join up...it’s fun!!
Finally, I’ve got to say thanks on behalf of our team to First Capitol News Sports Editor Mike McMurran. Mike called me last week to give me a ‘heads up’ on an idea that he had for our Offensive Line Coach J.T. Thompson. If you’ve seen our website or the BullSheet put together by Coach Mike Wyatt, you know that J.T. suffered a bilateral stroke in late September while coaching football at Trinity High School. Mike is an assistant coach at Trinity and has known J.T. for years. Last Saturday afternoon, Berkeley High played Trinity. J.T. Thompson had coached at Berekely until this season. Mike arranged for the players to meet at midfield before the game, join hands and offer a moment of silence, and if desired, silent prayer for the recovery our our coach and friend. Kids who had played under J.T. and even perhaps some who had not known him at all came together to show support, and give a great example of what sports and sportsmanship and caring are all about. I can’t tell you how much it meant to a man who only a month ago was literally fighting for his life. The good news is that the long range prognosis for J.T. is remarkably better. He’s undergoing daily re-hab on an out -patient basis, his speech has improved dramatically, and he’s working hard to get better for himself, his family and his team. Thanks, Mike, I know it meant a lot to us as an organization and for J.T., my roommate on the road when the team is away, it meant everything at a time when so called ‘little things’ really mean a lot.
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By Mike Thompson
Whoever said it first wasn’t lying....time DOES fly, especially when you’re having fun. And here at Rage Headquarters, things are huffin’ and puffin’ right along at what now is the halfway point in the offseason for the team. Yep, seems like just yesterday, but in fact it was four months ago that the team was upset in the playoffs by the Cincinnati Marshals at the Savvis Center. And after stating that we sure don’t plan on something like that happening in 2006, let’s chart the course for the next four months leading up to the mid-March home opener at that same scene of the crime, our new home for next season, the St. Louis Savvis Center! We’re playing with the big boys now, the Blues, St. Louie U basketball and the aura of sharing the same downtown area as the Rams and Cards. We’re excited and are doing things now to insure success at all 7 (and probably more!) home games in 2006.
Here’s what’s up.....first of all, we need to look at players. After losing Hurtis Chinn and Brue Blue to the AFL, Coach Wyatt and his staff are gearing up for the only open tryout of 2005 scheduled for Saturday, November 19th, 1PM, at the Velocity Sports Performance Center in Chesterfield.I’ll begin by stating this is not for the weekend athlete, the Walter Mitty’s of the football world, or anyone who did not establish himself in some form of post high-school play. That said, if you or someone you know might have what it takes to make the Rage roster in the coming season, check our website at ragefootball.com for the registration form. Kickers excluded, players will be tested in the 40 and 20 yard dash, the 20 yard pro-shuttle, the standing broad jump, the vertical jump, the 225lb bench press, and THEN be ready to play some football. Individual position drills will be spearheaded by Rage coaches. Good luck!!
And there’s sideline fun on tap the next day. Hey girl, wanna be a RiverCity Rage Cheerleader? Then be ready for the open auditions being held on Sunday, November 20th, 11AM, at the St. Louis Mills Mall in Hazelwood. Rage dance team leader Kathy Martinez will be looking for young ladies age 18 and over who have dance background and an outgoing personality for all Rage home games in 2006. Team functions also offer a chance for Rage cheerleaders to get out and meet and greet the public during the entire year as well, do if that’s you, again check the Rage website or contact the team at 636-916-0132.
In a previous article, I wrote concerning the team’s devotion to worthy community and charity type causes, and on Friday, November 11th, the team will again lend a hand to help benefit a great cause. It’s the first RiverCity Rage Semi-Annual Children’s Charities Golf Tournament to be held at the St. Peter’s Golf Course, with a 10AM Shotgun Start. The Four Person Scramble-Best Ball Tourney will benefit The Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Charles County, the St. Louis Sports Commission’s ‘Sports for Kids’ program, and the Boy Scouts of America. The entry fee is $40 per person and $150 per foursome and includes lunch, a goodies bag, golf, free beverages on the course, and dinner. Entry deadline is Thursday, November 10th. If you or your group want to play with the Rage, have a great time, and help these charities, again, check our website or call us at the Rage office.
And the Raggie Kid’s Club now has an official sponsor! Kudo’s to Chevys Fresh Mex Restaurant for stepping up to show kids a great time with all the fun the club has to offer. Join the Kid’s Club for your youngster by downloading the application found on line at ragefootball.com....you’ll get a Rage t-shirt, a color activity book, two tickets to a Raggie Birthday Party, an autographed picture of Raggie, and an autograph party with Raggie and selected Rage players.....and V.I.P membership for 20% off Rage merchandise. John Whicker of Chevys says it best, “Chevys Fresh Mex is a family Restaurant, and we are always happy to support a fun kid’s program like the RiverCity Rage ‘Raggie’s’ Kid’s Club.” On behalf of our beloved mascot we say thanks to Chevys Fresh Mex....and hey guys, join up...it’s fun!!
Finally, I’ve got to say thanks on behalf of our team to First Capitol News Sports Editor Mike McMurran. Mike called me last week to give me a ‘heads up’ on an idea that he had for our Offensive Line Coach J.T. Thompson. If you’ve seen our website or the BullSheet put together by Coach Mike Wyatt, you know that J.T. suffered a bilateral stroke in late September while coaching football at Trinity High School. Mike is an assistant coach at Trinity and has known J.T. for years. Last Saturday afternoon, Berkeley High played Trinity. J.T. Thompson had coached at Berekely until this season. Mike arranged for the players to meet at midfield before the game, join hands and offer a moment of silence, and if desired, silent prayer for the recovery our our coach and friend. Kids who had played under J.T. and even perhaps some who had not known him at all came together to show support, and give a great example of what sports and sportsmanship and caring are all about. I can’t tell you how much it meant to a man who only a month ago was literally fighting for his life. The good news is that the long range prognosis for J.T. is remarkably better. He’s undergoing daily re-hab on an out -patient basis, his speech has improved dramatically, and he’s working hard to get better for himself, his family and his team. Thanks, Mike, I know it meant a lot to us as an organization and for J.T., my roommate on the road when the team is away, it meant everything at a time when so called ‘little things’ really mean a lot.
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