The View
From
The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp
“To be, or not to be? That is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them”. (From Shakespeare’s Hamlet)
People sometimes ask why I write this column. I don’t get paid to do it. I don’t do it to get my name in print. I only put my name in after some complaints were made about columns with anonymous writers. The answer lies in Hamlet’s soliloquy written above. Whenever government commits acts against the general good, someone has to take arms and oppose them. I chose to do that.
My current topic is the St. Charles School Board’s decision to prove to this city that their word means nothing. They broke a promise that was given to employees and adhered to for years. This was no small promise. Homes were purchased and lives were planned based on this promise. The present board has shown that their promises are but dust in the wind.
Several speakers challenged this action at the last Board meeting. I was one. All the speakers were opposed to the new policy that doesn’t allow non-resident employees to have their children attend our schools. The Board again displayed their arrogance by a gunshot quick motion to approve the evening’s agenda before Dr. Towers had the opportunity to amend the agenda to address this issue.
The best thing that can be said of this act is that it was committed after several young students left the meeting. One was a student who had been recently honored on the “Do The Right Thing” program. She alerted family and neighbors to a fire, possibly saving lives. It is disturbing that we have children that can “do the right thing” and four adults on the Board that can’t even grasp the concept. I’m glad the young girl didn’t have to witness the behavior of these four.
Board member Wayne Oetting took several minutes of the meeting trying to convince people that by removing one student from a classroom the district would save about $8,000. I’m not sure if he was trying to convince himself that we are stupid enough to believe that or just trying to show us that he is.
It is time that those of you who want to restore employee confidence in this board to call or write to the Board members who have betrayed your trust and encourage them to live up to their word. Those Board members who have betrayed our trust are Karen Perrone, Wayne Oetting, Mary Darting and Dennis Hahn.
It is time these Board members honored the promises made to our employees. They have shown that they won’t do this unless forced. It is up to you to force them. You can sit around and be part of the problem, or you can take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them.
Get involved! Don’t expect someone else to do it for you. The ball, as they say in tennis, is in your court. It is of no use for me to write these columns to alert you to the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” if you only agree with me but fail to act. I’m calling on you to help these employees of our schools, your employees. It’s time for you to act. Your employees are counting on you.
If you want to help, write “Honor Your Promises” on a sheet of paper and mail to:
Dennis Hahn, President
St. Charles Board of Education
1025 Country Club Road
St. Charles, Mo. 63303
Or if you want to be part of the problem, just sit there.
That’s the view from the cheap seats
Saturday, March 17, 2007
ComMENTS & COMMENTARY by Charles Hill
COMMENTS
AND
COMMENTARY
Charles Hill
How can you tell it’s election time? Simple, anything that might look good ready or not needs to be announced. Mayor York held a press conference recently to announce the potential move of the Post Office to the proposed Lindenwood commercial area at First Capitol and West Clay and the expansion of St. Joseph’s Health Center. St. Joe would build a parking garage on the post office property. Keep in mind this would be great but the announcement went something like this. York announced the expansion and movement; the President of St. Joe’s basically said that the board hasn’t discussed the plan. The Post Office is on record saying they can’t afford to move unless it is paid for by St. Joes. Both have signed a non-binding agreement to keep talking.
Now I realize York has little to hang her hat on since the Convention Center is old news, but to call a press conference over a remote possibility of this project demonstrates just how little she has done. Once again this project does require you and I to kick in 5 acres of taxpayers ground. It appears that once again it’s not a real project unless you and I kick in. When will York have something that you and I don’t have to pay for?
I long for the good ol’ days of a city actually paying for what they are supposed to, the basics. I am hopeful that might happen if things go right in April. I wonder if John Gieseke can dream up a project and host a press conference. I remember reading once that Walt Disney had plans to create the first Disneyland in St. Louis. Maybe Gieseke can announce that Disney has come back from the grave and wants to build a Disneyland in New Town. Both Disney and the Mayor can compare notes as to the chances of their projects happening. My money is on Disney.
AND
COMMENTARY
Charles Hill
How can you tell it’s election time? Simple, anything that might look good ready or not needs to be announced. Mayor York held a press conference recently to announce the potential move of the Post Office to the proposed Lindenwood commercial area at First Capitol and West Clay and the expansion of St. Joseph’s Health Center. St. Joe would build a parking garage on the post office property. Keep in mind this would be great but the announcement went something like this. York announced the expansion and movement; the President of St. Joe’s basically said that the board hasn’t discussed the plan. The Post Office is on record saying they can’t afford to move unless it is paid for by St. Joes. Both have signed a non-binding agreement to keep talking.
Now I realize York has little to hang her hat on since the Convention Center is old news, but to call a press conference over a remote possibility of this project demonstrates just how little she has done. Once again this project does require you and I to kick in 5 acres of taxpayers ground. It appears that once again it’s not a real project unless you and I kick in. When will York have something that you and I don’t have to pay for?
I long for the good ol’ days of a city actually paying for what they are supposed to, the basics. I am hopeful that might happen if things go right in April. I wonder if John Gieseke can dream up a project and host a press conference. I remember reading once that Walt Disney had plans to create the first Disneyland in St. Louis. Maybe Gieseke can announce that Disney has come back from the grave and wants to build a Disneyland in New Town. Both Disney and the Mayor can compare notes as to the chances of their projects happening. My money is on Disney.
First Capitol News Sports - Mike McMurran Sports Editor
Have you ever wondered how and why I write about what I write about in my column? There were a few of you out there last week who suggested that the Councilman from ward one and I were conspiring last week when we both wrote about the UMSL name change – nope, pure coincidence. The fact is I never know what I am going to write about until I sit down at the keyboard. Oh sure, sometimes I have an idea, but for the most part the closer it gets to deadline the faster my brain works.
As is true in most endeavors in life, good things come to those who wait. No sooner than I received my weekly phone call from Tony telling me the deadline was drawing near, I received a phone call from Saint Charles resident Ryan Wallace. As regular readers know, Ryan is the head football coach at beautiful Jennings High School. He is a graduate of Zumwalt South, played college ball and graduated from Missouri Valley, and has a Master’s degree from Lindenwood University. He and I served as assistant coaches at Jennings for a couple of years and struck up a rather odd friendship. Ryan is some 22 years younger than I, but other than chronological age out measures me in most areas – most, I remind you.
You see Ryan has the intelligence to know when to keep his mouth shut – something I’m still learning. He has an uncanny ability to always have the politically correct response – even though what he might be thinking is as incorrect, if not vulgar, as can be. What we have in common is the love of football, in particular the love of offensive line play. It’s something one has to experience to fully understand. No matter how angry Wallace gets at me for one of the many, many stupid things I might say, he knows I know how to teach the proper technique for a three point stance. He knows I know the proper footwork for a pulling guard. He knows that I know good offensive linemen have (a) big heads (literally), (b) big butts, (c) are organized almost to a fault, (d) think in a concrete and structured manner, and (e) have a high tolerance for pain – at least think they do.
This past season at Jennings was undeniably the most successful football season in the school’s history. The team finished with a 9-2 record and won their first Suburban East title in the school’s history. They won their district rather easily, and almost pulled off what would have been the biggest upset of the year against Parkway North. I should modify the last sentence: the only one’s who wouldn’t have called it an upset would have been Wallace, his coaching staff and his players. They knew they were going to win – which is the only way to go into a game.
Anyway, as I was sitting down to write this week’s column, Wallace called and we chatted ever so briefly. I mentioned to him I would love to have a “Jennings football tee shirt” he had designed to commemorate the season. “You like those, do you?” he asked in his satirical, condescending manner. “Yes,” I replied, “they remind me of the shirts I designed the second year you and I coached together – the color scheme and all.” “Oh yeah,” he yelped, “I’ve been waiting 20 years to design a tee-shirt with the schedule on the back depicting a conference title. All through high school, college, and my first five or six years at Jennings I never was part of a conference champion to this year.” I shared with him how I understood his excitement – as I too had recently experienced something very similar.
You see this past summer my son Joe’s baseball team won their division in the Atom I league at St. Peter’s Athletic Association – and what did we do? We had tee shirts made with the schedule and results printed on the back. Not only that, we had our team e.r.a. of 4.00 (the lowest out of 25 teams) and our winning streak of 10 games (the longest out of 50 teams) printed right below the schedule just like Wallace did with his football team.
Why do I make mention of all this? The answer is in the last sentence of the second paragraph and the last sentence of the third paragraph of this narrative. You see (a) I had the honor of designing my tee shirts some 5 months prior to Wallace and (b) offensive linemen are highly, highly competitive – no matter what the competition might be.
See you next week.
As is true in most endeavors in life, good things come to those who wait. No sooner than I received my weekly phone call from Tony telling me the deadline was drawing near, I received a phone call from Saint Charles resident Ryan Wallace. As regular readers know, Ryan is the head football coach at beautiful Jennings High School. He is a graduate of Zumwalt South, played college ball and graduated from Missouri Valley, and has a Master’s degree from Lindenwood University. He and I served as assistant coaches at Jennings for a couple of years and struck up a rather odd friendship. Ryan is some 22 years younger than I, but other than chronological age out measures me in most areas – most, I remind you.
You see Ryan has the intelligence to know when to keep his mouth shut – something I’m still learning. He has an uncanny ability to always have the politically correct response – even though what he might be thinking is as incorrect, if not vulgar, as can be. What we have in common is the love of football, in particular the love of offensive line play. It’s something one has to experience to fully understand. No matter how angry Wallace gets at me for one of the many, many stupid things I might say, he knows I know how to teach the proper technique for a three point stance. He knows I know the proper footwork for a pulling guard. He knows that I know good offensive linemen have (a) big heads (literally), (b) big butts, (c) are organized almost to a fault, (d) think in a concrete and structured manner, and (e) have a high tolerance for pain – at least think they do.
This past season at Jennings was undeniably the most successful football season in the school’s history. The team finished with a 9-2 record and won their first Suburban East title in the school’s history. They won their district rather easily, and almost pulled off what would have been the biggest upset of the year against Parkway North. I should modify the last sentence: the only one’s who wouldn’t have called it an upset would have been Wallace, his coaching staff and his players. They knew they were going to win – which is the only way to go into a game.
Anyway, as I was sitting down to write this week’s column, Wallace called and we chatted ever so briefly. I mentioned to him I would love to have a “Jennings football tee shirt” he had designed to commemorate the season. “You like those, do you?” he asked in his satirical, condescending manner. “Yes,” I replied, “they remind me of the shirts I designed the second year you and I coached together – the color scheme and all.” “Oh yeah,” he yelped, “I’ve been waiting 20 years to design a tee-shirt with the schedule on the back depicting a conference title. All through high school, college, and my first five or six years at Jennings I never was part of a conference champion to this year.” I shared with him how I understood his excitement – as I too had recently experienced something very similar.
You see this past summer my son Joe’s baseball team won their division in the Atom I league at St. Peter’s Athletic Association – and what did we do? We had tee shirts made with the schedule and results printed on the back. Not only that, we had our team e.r.a. of 4.00 (the lowest out of 25 teams) and our winning streak of 10 games (the longest out of 50 teams) printed right below the schedule just like Wallace did with his football team.
Why do I make mention of all this? The answer is in the last sentence of the second paragraph and the last sentence of the third paragraph of this narrative. You see (a) I had the honor of designing my tee shirts some 5 months prior to Wallace and (b) offensive linemen are highly, highly competitive – no matter what the competition might be.
See you next week.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
FRONT PAGE - FIRST CAPITOL NEWS - March 10 - 16, 2007
(Click on image to enlarge) Scroll down to read other articles from this edition.
Gieseke Winner Of Mayoral Debate - Mayor Will Say Anything To Win
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
Last week there was a debate between the candidates for mayor of St. Charles. St. Charles City Councilman John Gieseke, Ward 8, is facing off against two term Mayor Patti York in the Tuesday, April 3, 2007 general election. All 10 City Council Wards are also up for grabs.
It was obvious from those in attendance and from those who have since watched the debate on the City Cable Channel 20, that Councilman John Gieseke successfully trounced Mayor York.
York came out swinging and made some comments against Gieseke. We offered him the opportunity to respond.
In her opening remarks the Mayor commented she was sharing the podium with a member of a college debate team. Some in the audience believed she made this remark to cover any of her inadequacies in the event she falters during the debate. Have you ever been a member of a college debate team?
JOHN GIESEKE: I looked around and thought is there someone else debating her this evening. I did have classes in which we debated issues, but I was never on a debate team. I do appreciate the thought though.
The Mayor said, “Over the past eight years I have rolled back taxes 12 percent, while increasing city services and getting rid of nuisance taxes.”
My opponent has supported a tax increase as recent as six months ago.
JOHN GIESEKE: I did not support a tax increase; I supported placing a use tax on the ballot. Saying I supported a tax demonstrates that it’s easy to say anything to get elected. In this city the belief is if you say it enough it must be true. The tax would have been used to fund the operation of the community center and would have been only on items purchased on the Internet. The people would have been able to vote to decide if they wanted the tax.
The Mayor said, “I have a history of bringing good businesses to our community such as Bass Pro, Coca Cola, our own Starbucks and I am so looking forward to having an Old Navy here in town.”
JOHN GIESEKE: All I can say to that is take a drive down First Capitol Drive. It takes diligent planning and hard work to achieve sustained economic development and it isn’t being done. The old K-Mart site is still vacant, Bally’s building is vacant, the old police headquarters, that she rushed to sell for less than the appraised value with a higher bid on the table, is vacant. We have many empty stores in shopping centers. Several former fast food restaurants are closed and the buildings allowed to deteriorate. Businesses are leaving Main Street at a record number. We are far from saying we have a successful economic development record.
The Mayor said, “My opponent has shown a history of voting against economic development such as tourism which is an $11 million dollar industry right here in our community. He has also voted against the Convention Center, which is a $70 million project, which brought in hundreds of jobs.
JOHN GIESEKE: Once again she will say anything to get elected. To leap from voting against the convention center and saying I’m against tourism is a pretty big leap to make. I am very much in favor of tourism, but not the way we have been doing it. We have failed in marketing our city and growing the tourism industry. We do not need to be spending our tourism dollars in Canada, Europe, etc. We need to spend them in places where they will do us the most good. I pushed to get kiosks placed at the soccer fields so those who are here enjoying tournaments from out of town can see that we have more to offer. I believe tourism is important to our city if handled properly. But not at the expense of our residents. If you get right down to it, the condition of our streets and infrastructure has a direct affect on our abiltiy to convince people to visit. Once again the basics are ignored and the residents suffer because of lower tax revenues.
In regards to the Convention Center which was supposed to bring millions of dollars to our City with conventioneers spending at our hotels, restaurants, and other shops, well, it leaves a lot to be desired. It has been filled with gun and knife shows, craft fairs, bridal fairs and just recently it is being touted and advertised for wedding receptions. If not corrected it will be a big drain on our taxpayers.
The Mayor said, “I feel my opponent is truly a Johnny come lately when it comes to economic development.”
JOHN GIESEKE: Saying that spending your money to build a convention center is economic development is a little misguided. The private sector is who we should be depending to grow our economy. We wouldn’t have to build these buildings if the City would get back to basics and invest in our infrastructure.
If being a Johnny come lately means getting over $1.3 billion in investment in my ward then I proudly say I’m a Johnny come lately.
The Mayor said, “I have been in the trenches for 8 years leading the growth by leaps and bounds while John has just recently started talking about economic development.”
JOHN GIESEKE: If we have been growing by leaps and bounds then why hasn’t the sales tax income to the city grown? Last year the city council had to adjust the budget in midyear to make up for poor sales tax results. That’s not growing by leaps and bounds.
The Mayor said, “I know what it is to be the mayor. It’s commitment, it takes hard work but most importantly it takes sound decision-making. I stand by the tough decisions I have made in the past. We cannot afford to have a mayor who buys decorative stop signs rather than investing in our streets such as Elm Street. We cannot afford to have a mayor who gives away discretionary money to a private business rather than ensuring that our police are properly funded, that our streets are sound, that our parks are beautiful.
I am running for reelection because I am the best person for this job. I have a proven track record of lowering your taxes, increasing economic development and making those sound decisions that have made our city to live, work, and raise a family.
JOHN GIESEKE: I find her comment amusing. I voted against dividing the money 11 ways and somehow now spending that money on something the average resident wanted in their neighborhood it is wrong. The decorative signs are something the residents wanted. These signs cost about $4,000. Compare that to the Mayors plan to spend over a million dollars to make the overpass on Interstate 70 at Highway 94 look good for the people passing through. I think the taxpayers would agree they would rather see their tax dollars spent in the city neighborhoods and not on trying to impress the drivers passing through on Interstate 70. As far as paying a private company, that money was for a fuel surcharge for trash service. If we had not paid this, residents would be paying much more with the next contract for trash hauling. The city could pay the surcharge or the residents would have to pay more for trash. It wasn’t a difficult choice to make.
When the new Mayor takes office in April we will have a much different form of government. The residents voted to have a strong Mayor form of government. This is much different from what we now have. My education, business background and experience makes me more qualified to lead St. Charles as it’s mayor. My business experience offers far more value to the taxpayers.
The mayor has had eight years to present a budget that focused on the residents, it hasn’t happened. As far as her saying she lowered taxes that was a roll back based off the property values increasing and the state Hancock Amendment requiring the reduction. I was the first to get a lower utility tax for every household. I took Councilman Hoepfner’s senior tax relief proposal and made it a reality.
I am not going to say just anything to get elected. This election is about what the residents want from their city. Do they want a city that puts their interests behind every special interest, or one that puts the residents first?
I appreciate you calling to ask me about some of the issues that were brought up in the debate. It would have taken a lot more time that we were given in the debate to really set the record straight. I refuse to say just anything to get elected. When I make a promise I keep it.
Last week there was a debate between the candidates for mayor of St. Charles. St. Charles City Councilman John Gieseke, Ward 8, is facing off against two term Mayor Patti York in the Tuesday, April 3, 2007 general election. All 10 City Council Wards are also up for grabs.
It was obvious from those in attendance and from those who have since watched the debate on the City Cable Channel 20, that Councilman John Gieseke successfully trounced Mayor York.
York came out swinging and made some comments against Gieseke. We offered him the opportunity to respond.
In her opening remarks the Mayor commented she was sharing the podium with a member of a college debate team. Some in the audience believed she made this remark to cover any of her inadequacies in the event she falters during the debate. Have you ever been a member of a college debate team?
JOHN GIESEKE: I looked around and thought is there someone else debating her this evening. I did have classes in which we debated issues, but I was never on a debate team. I do appreciate the thought though.
The Mayor said, “Over the past eight years I have rolled back taxes 12 percent, while increasing city services and getting rid of nuisance taxes.”
My opponent has supported a tax increase as recent as six months ago.
JOHN GIESEKE: I did not support a tax increase; I supported placing a use tax on the ballot. Saying I supported a tax demonstrates that it’s easy to say anything to get elected. In this city the belief is if you say it enough it must be true. The tax would have been used to fund the operation of the community center and would have been only on items purchased on the Internet. The people would have been able to vote to decide if they wanted the tax.
The Mayor said, “I have a history of bringing good businesses to our community such as Bass Pro, Coca Cola, our own Starbucks and I am so looking forward to having an Old Navy here in town.”
JOHN GIESEKE: All I can say to that is take a drive down First Capitol Drive. It takes diligent planning and hard work to achieve sustained economic development and it isn’t being done. The old K-Mart site is still vacant, Bally’s building is vacant, the old police headquarters, that she rushed to sell for less than the appraised value with a higher bid on the table, is vacant. We have many empty stores in shopping centers. Several former fast food restaurants are closed and the buildings allowed to deteriorate. Businesses are leaving Main Street at a record number. We are far from saying we have a successful economic development record.
The Mayor said, “My opponent has shown a history of voting against economic development such as tourism which is an $11 million dollar industry right here in our community. He has also voted against the Convention Center, which is a $70 million project, which brought in hundreds of jobs.
JOHN GIESEKE: Once again she will say anything to get elected. To leap from voting against the convention center and saying I’m against tourism is a pretty big leap to make. I am very much in favor of tourism, but not the way we have been doing it. We have failed in marketing our city and growing the tourism industry. We do not need to be spending our tourism dollars in Canada, Europe, etc. We need to spend them in places where they will do us the most good. I pushed to get kiosks placed at the soccer fields so those who are here enjoying tournaments from out of town can see that we have more to offer. I believe tourism is important to our city if handled properly. But not at the expense of our residents. If you get right down to it, the condition of our streets and infrastructure has a direct affect on our abiltiy to convince people to visit. Once again the basics are ignored and the residents suffer because of lower tax revenues.
In regards to the Convention Center which was supposed to bring millions of dollars to our City with conventioneers spending at our hotels, restaurants, and other shops, well, it leaves a lot to be desired. It has been filled with gun and knife shows, craft fairs, bridal fairs and just recently it is being touted and advertised for wedding receptions. If not corrected it will be a big drain on our taxpayers.
The Mayor said, “I feel my opponent is truly a Johnny come lately when it comes to economic development.”
JOHN GIESEKE: Saying that spending your money to build a convention center is economic development is a little misguided. The private sector is who we should be depending to grow our economy. We wouldn’t have to build these buildings if the City would get back to basics and invest in our infrastructure.
If being a Johnny come lately means getting over $1.3 billion in investment in my ward then I proudly say I’m a Johnny come lately.
The Mayor said, “I have been in the trenches for 8 years leading the growth by leaps and bounds while John has just recently started talking about economic development.”
JOHN GIESEKE: If we have been growing by leaps and bounds then why hasn’t the sales tax income to the city grown? Last year the city council had to adjust the budget in midyear to make up for poor sales tax results. That’s not growing by leaps and bounds.
The Mayor said, “I know what it is to be the mayor. It’s commitment, it takes hard work but most importantly it takes sound decision-making. I stand by the tough decisions I have made in the past. We cannot afford to have a mayor who buys decorative stop signs rather than investing in our streets such as Elm Street. We cannot afford to have a mayor who gives away discretionary money to a private business rather than ensuring that our police are properly funded, that our streets are sound, that our parks are beautiful.
I am running for reelection because I am the best person for this job. I have a proven track record of lowering your taxes, increasing economic development and making those sound decisions that have made our city to live, work, and raise a family.
JOHN GIESEKE: I find her comment amusing. I voted against dividing the money 11 ways and somehow now spending that money on something the average resident wanted in their neighborhood it is wrong. The decorative signs are something the residents wanted. These signs cost about $4,000. Compare that to the Mayors plan to spend over a million dollars to make the overpass on Interstate 70 at Highway 94 look good for the people passing through. I think the taxpayers would agree they would rather see their tax dollars spent in the city neighborhoods and not on trying to impress the drivers passing through on Interstate 70. As far as paying a private company, that money was for a fuel surcharge for trash service. If we had not paid this, residents would be paying much more with the next contract for trash hauling. The city could pay the surcharge or the residents would have to pay more for trash. It wasn’t a difficult choice to make.
When the new Mayor takes office in April we will have a much different form of government. The residents voted to have a strong Mayor form of government. This is much different from what we now have. My education, business background and experience makes me more qualified to lead St. Charles as it’s mayor. My business experience offers far more value to the taxpayers.
The mayor has had eight years to present a budget that focused on the residents, it hasn’t happened. As far as her saying she lowered taxes that was a roll back based off the property values increasing and the state Hancock Amendment requiring the reduction. I was the first to get a lower utility tax for every household. I took Councilman Hoepfner’s senior tax relief proposal and made it a reality.
I am not going to say just anything to get elected. This election is about what the residents want from their city. Do they want a city that puts their interests behind every special interest, or one that puts the residents first?
I appreciate you calling to ask me about some of the issues that were brought up in the debate. It would have taken a lot more time that we were given in the debate to really set the record straight. I refuse to say just anything to get elected. When I make a promise I keep it.
MILLIONAIRE DEVELOPERS ATTEMPT TAKE OVER OF CITY HALL AGAIN
By Tony Brockmeyer
The First Capitol News has learned that a number of people who were associated with the failed attempt to recall Councilman Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greer have joined together once again to make another attempt to take over St. Charles City Government and the $100 million budget.
This group was financially backed by millionaire developers who spent over $107,000 three years ago in an attempt to buy their candidates seats on the City Council. They were unsuccessful in their attempt to gain control of the City Council. After fourteen months they decided to start a recall effort against Councilman Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greer because of their strong stance to hold the developers accountable. The group spent more than $87,000 in their attempts to remove Greer and Brown because they were outspoken against them. The recall campaign was filled with lies, fraud, and forgeries and resulted in arrests and numerous charges still pending in the office of the Prosecuting Attorney. The First Capitol News exposed their scheme and discovered that when this group fell short of the necessary signatures, the recall group started paying up to $10 per signature in an effort to seek the recall elections. They spent money flying airplanes trailing banners around block parties calling for Mark Brown’s recall.
This group attempted to deceive the public by hiding their identities and forming several different committees to which money was funneled and laundered through these newly formed committees.
Committee treasurer and one of the main organizers of the St. Charles Citizens for Responsible Government was Ken Kielty who is now a candidate for Ward 8 city council seat.
Kielty, an organizer of the recall committee demonstrated his close ties with millionaire developer and builder T.R. Hughes where a large amount of the $87,000 came from and was put into the recall effort.
The police were called in after the First Capitol News exposed the fraud. Ken Kielty had his son, attorney Michael Kielty, defend numerous suspects throughout the criminal investigation involving the recall fraud and forgeries.
The First Capitol News has learned Ken Kielty has contacted several candidates now running for city council seats throughout the city. Kielty has offered them financial support and help in their campaign.
A candidate who had filed to run against Kielty for the Ward 8 City Council seat said that he withdrew from the race because of several threatening phone calls he had received from Kielty.
This is not the first time Kielty has been associated with threatening phone calls. A threatening phone call made to resident Bob Bredensteiner several months ago was traced by the police to a phone number registered to Kielty. His son, an attorney, had also made a threatening phone call to the First Capitol News. Stories on both of these incidents can be found in our archives at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com.
Kielty is closely aligned with Mayor York. He is also a close ally of Glennon Jamboretz another confidant of the Mayor.
York allegedly funneled City tax dollars to a fictitious company that was in the name of an employee of Jamboretz. The money then found it’s way to Jamboretz and then to St. Charles Citizens for Responsible Government which was started by Kielty and Jamboretz with the express purpose of recalling St. Charles City Councilmen. The money then went from Jamborertz and Kielty directly to the recall effort.
Kielty was also chairman of the County Sports and Convention Authority for a short time. Kielty served on the Convention Committee with Mayor York when the $37 million in contracts were handed out to numerous firms. After the convention center was built he then left the committee and attempted to have the authority hire him to develop a golf course even though he apparently had no experience for such a position.
When the city council attempted to remove the Mayor from the Convention Oversight Committee, Kielty had the Authority file a lawsuit against the council in an attempt to overturn their action and have the Mayor returned.
It is also thought by several public officials that Kielty is responsible for several vicious and malicious campaign pieces that have been mailed in recent campaigns.
Councilman Mark Brown told the First Capitol News that he has been threatened and warned that if he filed for re-election that the vicious lies and rumors they put out the last time would be insignificant compared to what they had in store for him in this election. Brown went on to say, “This group will go to any level in their attempt to seize control of the City’s $100 million budget and to receive special treatment for their developments at the expense of the taxpayers.”
Brown told the First Capitol News he was aware that Ken Kielty was involved with his opponents and his opponents were financially supported by the same people who attempted to recall him. Brown stated, “The same people are strong supporters of Mayor York and Mayor York was a member of their team. In fact she contributed $2300 to them several months ago.” Brown went on to say that other candidates who are not favored by these developers can probably expect vicious and malicious mailings to be sent out by this group against them.
The First Capitol News has learned that a number of people who were associated with the failed attempt to recall Councilman Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greer have joined together once again to make another attempt to take over St. Charles City Government and the $100 million budget.
This group was financially backed by millionaire developers who spent over $107,000 three years ago in an attempt to buy their candidates seats on the City Council. They were unsuccessful in their attempt to gain control of the City Council. After fourteen months they decided to start a recall effort against Councilman Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greer because of their strong stance to hold the developers accountable. The group spent more than $87,000 in their attempts to remove Greer and Brown because they were outspoken against them. The recall campaign was filled with lies, fraud, and forgeries and resulted in arrests and numerous charges still pending in the office of the Prosecuting Attorney. The First Capitol News exposed their scheme and discovered that when this group fell short of the necessary signatures, the recall group started paying up to $10 per signature in an effort to seek the recall elections. They spent money flying airplanes trailing banners around block parties calling for Mark Brown’s recall.
This group attempted to deceive the public by hiding their identities and forming several different committees to which money was funneled and laundered through these newly formed committees.
Committee treasurer and one of the main organizers of the St. Charles Citizens for Responsible Government was Ken Kielty who is now a candidate for Ward 8 city council seat.
Kielty, an organizer of the recall committee demonstrated his close ties with millionaire developer and builder T.R. Hughes where a large amount of the $87,000 came from and was put into the recall effort.
The police were called in after the First Capitol News exposed the fraud. Ken Kielty had his son, attorney Michael Kielty, defend numerous suspects throughout the criminal investigation involving the recall fraud and forgeries.
The First Capitol News has learned Ken Kielty has contacted several candidates now running for city council seats throughout the city. Kielty has offered them financial support and help in their campaign.
A candidate who had filed to run against Kielty for the Ward 8 City Council seat said that he withdrew from the race because of several threatening phone calls he had received from Kielty.
This is not the first time Kielty has been associated with threatening phone calls. A threatening phone call made to resident Bob Bredensteiner several months ago was traced by the police to a phone number registered to Kielty. His son, an attorney, had also made a threatening phone call to the First Capitol News. Stories on both of these incidents can be found in our archives at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com.
Kielty is closely aligned with Mayor York. He is also a close ally of Glennon Jamboretz another confidant of the Mayor.
York allegedly funneled City tax dollars to a fictitious company that was in the name of an employee of Jamboretz. The money then found it’s way to Jamboretz and then to St. Charles Citizens for Responsible Government which was started by Kielty and Jamboretz with the express purpose of recalling St. Charles City Councilmen. The money then went from Jamborertz and Kielty directly to the recall effort.
Kielty was also chairman of the County Sports and Convention Authority for a short time. Kielty served on the Convention Committee with Mayor York when the $37 million in contracts were handed out to numerous firms. After the convention center was built he then left the committee and attempted to have the authority hire him to develop a golf course even though he apparently had no experience for such a position.
When the city council attempted to remove the Mayor from the Convention Oversight Committee, Kielty had the Authority file a lawsuit against the council in an attempt to overturn their action and have the Mayor returned.
It is also thought by several public officials that Kielty is responsible for several vicious and malicious campaign pieces that have been mailed in recent campaigns.
Councilman Mark Brown told the First Capitol News that he has been threatened and warned that if he filed for re-election that the vicious lies and rumors they put out the last time would be insignificant compared to what they had in store for him in this election. Brown went on to say, “This group will go to any level in their attempt to seize control of the City’s $100 million budget and to receive special treatment for their developments at the expense of the taxpayers.”
Brown told the First Capitol News he was aware that Ken Kielty was involved with his opponents and his opponents were financially supported by the same people who attempted to recall him. Brown stated, “The same people are strong supporters of Mayor York and Mayor York was a member of their team. In fact she contributed $2300 to them several months ago.” Brown went on to say that other candidates who are not favored by these developers can probably expect vicious and malicious mailings to be sent out by this group against them.
RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
THE MAYOR WILL SAY ANYTHING TO GET RE-ELECTED
Ronald Reagan used to say “Well, there you go again,” when his political foes began to say anything against him to get elected. It appears that Mayor York didn’t learn from this. She will say anything to get elected, She’ll tell you what she thinks you want to hear. If you really look at her last eight years you see a tenure that is without merit to re-elect. The Mayor was quoted as saying that she’s been tested. Well Mayor you have and your grade is a F. An F stands for failure Mayor. The Mayor failed to gain consensus through three city councils. The mayor failed to understand the law and signed a contract that has caused Express Scripts to file suit against the city for $200,000. The Mayor is more interested in helping her special friends than caring about the residents. The Mayor has failed to improve our quality of life in the city.
So when you hear the rumors, the negativism, the stories, the lies, remember the Mayor is running scared and will say anything to get elected
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO Hmmmmmm
I believe the Art Foundry was a great idea and is an asset for the residents of St. Charles. However, I do not understand why the Foundry group uses a catering company from St. Louis County at their functions.
They held a very formal ball on New Years Eve. The function received rave reviews from those in attendance. But they used a St. Louis County catering company. We have a number of great catering companies in St. Charles and St. Charles County. Why do they not use one of them instead of giving the business to companies who are not contributing to our St. Charles tax base?
St. Charles taxpayers contributed approximately $1.9 million in tax dollars of the approximately $2.2 million total spent on the Foundry Arts Center. It is time the Art Foundry Board stopped spending money in St. Louis County and begin spending it in St. Charles.
DOWN AND DIRTY
Filings on record at the St. Charles County Board of Election reveal Venetia McEntire, a candidate for City Council in Ward 2 has Tom Hayden as her Election Committee treasurer.
Hayden, of the 2000 block of Autumn Wood Drive is a confidant of the Mayor and was the campaign manager for Councilman Mike Weller. He was also involved in the failed recall campaigns against Councilman Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greer. You remember those recall attempts. They were filed with forgeries, fraud and misinformation. Arrests were made and charges were filed.
With Hayden as her treasurer, I would expect McEntire’s campaign to be negative. To incumbent Councilman Larry Muench, I recommend that you come out fighting.
MONEY FOR WASTEWATER
The United States House of Representatives approved legislation to spend $1.7 billion over five years on federal grants to states and cities to modernize wastewater systems and to control overflows of sewage. The matter is now being taken up by the Senate. Representative Todd Akin, (R) opposed the bill.
It is probably too late for St. Charles. I believe that contracts for millions and millions of dollars have been let to repair our sewage systems. The White House is opposing the bill.
IT IS TOO BAD THEY DON’T HAVE TOM DEMPSEY
Davis Street Land Company has filed suit against the City of O’Fallon because the City has refused to provide a new shopping center Davis is building in Lake St. Louis with sewer srvice. The developer wants the court to order O’Fallon and a Public Water Supply District 2 to provide sewer service for the development.
According to City Manager Robert G. Lowery, Jr. the city also refused requests for a shopping center and condominium complex at Mexico Road and Highway K because the City believes their plant is operating at capacity.
If Davis Land Company contacts Representative Tom Dempsey maybe they can convince him to pass legislation in the Missouri House to require O’Fallon to allow them to hook up. That is what he did for his friend, T.R. Hughes in St. Charles. He had the legislation passed in one day. The Supreme Court has ruled such legislation is illegal. Every time the City Council passes legislation to have Dempsey’s bill declared unconstitutional the Mayor vetoes the legislation. It pays handsomely to have friends in high places.
Don’t forget to vote for JOHN GIESEKE for Mayor on April 3.
Ronald Reagan used to say “Well, there you go again,” when his political foes began to say anything against him to get elected. It appears that Mayor York didn’t learn from this. She will say anything to get elected, She’ll tell you what she thinks you want to hear. If you really look at her last eight years you see a tenure that is without merit to re-elect. The Mayor was quoted as saying that she’s been tested. Well Mayor you have and your grade is a F. An F stands for failure Mayor. The Mayor failed to gain consensus through three city councils. The mayor failed to understand the law and signed a contract that has caused Express Scripts to file suit against the city for $200,000. The Mayor is more interested in helping her special friends than caring about the residents. The Mayor has failed to improve our quality of life in the city.
So when you hear the rumors, the negativism, the stories, the lies, remember the Mayor is running scared and will say anything to get elected
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO Hmmmmmm
I believe the Art Foundry was a great idea and is an asset for the residents of St. Charles. However, I do not understand why the Foundry group uses a catering company from St. Louis County at their functions.
They held a very formal ball on New Years Eve. The function received rave reviews from those in attendance. But they used a St. Louis County catering company. We have a number of great catering companies in St. Charles and St. Charles County. Why do they not use one of them instead of giving the business to companies who are not contributing to our St. Charles tax base?
St. Charles taxpayers contributed approximately $1.9 million in tax dollars of the approximately $2.2 million total spent on the Foundry Arts Center. It is time the Art Foundry Board stopped spending money in St. Louis County and begin spending it in St. Charles.
DOWN AND DIRTY
Filings on record at the St. Charles County Board of Election reveal Venetia McEntire, a candidate for City Council in Ward 2 has Tom Hayden as her Election Committee treasurer.
Hayden, of the 2000 block of Autumn Wood Drive is a confidant of the Mayor and was the campaign manager for Councilman Mike Weller. He was also involved in the failed recall campaigns against Councilman Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greer. You remember those recall attempts. They were filed with forgeries, fraud and misinformation. Arrests were made and charges were filed.
With Hayden as her treasurer, I would expect McEntire’s campaign to be negative. To incumbent Councilman Larry Muench, I recommend that you come out fighting.
MONEY FOR WASTEWATER
The United States House of Representatives approved legislation to spend $1.7 billion over five years on federal grants to states and cities to modernize wastewater systems and to control overflows of sewage. The matter is now being taken up by the Senate. Representative Todd Akin, (R) opposed the bill.
It is probably too late for St. Charles. I believe that contracts for millions and millions of dollars have been let to repair our sewage systems. The White House is opposing the bill.
IT IS TOO BAD THEY DON’T HAVE TOM DEMPSEY
Davis Street Land Company has filed suit against the City of O’Fallon because the City has refused to provide a new shopping center Davis is building in Lake St. Louis with sewer srvice. The developer wants the court to order O’Fallon and a Public Water Supply District 2 to provide sewer service for the development.
According to City Manager Robert G. Lowery, Jr. the city also refused requests for a shopping center and condominium complex at Mexico Road and Highway K because the City believes their plant is operating at capacity.
If Davis Land Company contacts Representative Tom Dempsey maybe they can convince him to pass legislation in the Missouri House to require O’Fallon to allow them to hook up. That is what he did for his friend, T.R. Hughes in St. Charles. He had the legislation passed in one day. The Supreme Court has ruled such legislation is illegal. Every time the City Council passes legislation to have Dempsey’s bill declared unconstitutional the Mayor vetoes the legislation. It pays handsomely to have friends in high places.
Don’t forget to vote for JOHN GIESEKE for Mayor on April 3.
The PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor
Dear Tony,
It has come to my attention that we may lose our Police Chief Swope if our current Mayor is reelected. It seems she is lonely for the Fraternal Order of Police. Who can forget the trouble Mayor York caused this town because of the FOP? One of the members of the FOP put our city administrator on the ground with a gun to the back of his head. What a mess! That officer is now gone, and I for one am glad.
St. Charles waited for over a year for a new Police Chief. Those who applied and interviewed were vetoed by our mayor because they “didn’t fit”. Maybe a new seamstress could have helped our present mayor.
Tim Swope grew up here and has been an excellent Police Chief. We now have a police chief who is a “home-grown” man and who knows the city and its’ residents. There is no more congregating at the QT by the police. Instead the police are in the neighborhoods patrolling and waving to the people who are outdoors. I feel so much better about letting my grandsons ride their bikes around the block because I know there is a policeman nearby.
Chief Swope has solved a multitude of problems and crimes. It used to be interesting reading in bed and at the same time hearing the drag racing on 370. That’s stopped—the racing not the reading.
Chief Swope has started new programs that will benefit the town including a program for the elderly to register with the department so that in another power outage the police can check on them. Chief Swope is making a profound difference in this town, and we need to keep him as our chief. Mayor York apparently wants him gone.
The bottom line is VOTE FOR JOHN GIESEKE. He is not a loose canon like our present mayor. CHIEF SWOPE WILL STAY ON THE JOB!
Jane Horning
First Capitol News
I can’t believe what I just read…. if that had been written by a 10th-grader, it would have been given an F….bad spelling, bad punctuation, miserable grammar…I don’t live in his ward, but I’d be embarrassed to admit it if I did….if that’s the caliber of politician in St. Charles, we are in trouble.
Ken.Kuhlenschmidt1@emotors.com
Dear Editor
I was interested in Mayor York’s comments at the Mayoral debate last week in which she noted how many times she’s been at the openings of new businesses in town this year. My question is, “Where are they?” I’ve been waiting for many years to see some new retail come into St. Charles City rather than going out to St. Peters and O’Fallon, but I haven’t noticed floods of businesses opening here in the last few months. There is one new retailer on Main Street. Where are the others?
Take a drive around town and you will see one empty building after another. There are the empty buildings which used to house such businesses as Home Supply, the fabric store and several other stores in St. Charles Plaza, Wendy’s on Truman Road, the old Best Buy Store in Cave Springs, the former K-Mart building, the former police station, the Sears Hardware store, the former Jack-in-the Box on West Clay, many empty buildings on Main Street (apparently the Convention Center has not been the promised boon to Main Street’s tourist industry), three buildings which used to house Preston’s Furniture as well as other empty buildings on Second Street. There are new retail spaces in Mark Twain Mall as well as across from Starbucks on Fifth Street, but they remain empty. If Schnucks moves out of its’ present location on Duchesne Street, we can add yet another empty building to that part of town. Between the closing of schools, the dilapidated buildings, and the emergence of check-cashing stores and manpower employment agencies along First Capitol Drive, our town is beginning to resemble an old inner-city area. All this on the present mayor’s watch.
The one part of town which is growing and vibrant is the commercial area on north Elm Street which is in John Gieseke’s Ward. John is committed to economic growth in our city, and the work he’s done in his ward is evidence of that commitment. This city needs a new direction—one that will restore our businesses, build our population, and re-establish the City of St. Charles as the leader in St. Charles County. John is dedicated to these goals. That’s why he has my vote on April 3rd.
Eleanor McCune
First Capitol News,
During reorganization the Saint Charles School Board stated on more than one occasion that it would take at least a million dollars a year to keep each of our elementary schools open. Thanks to the efforts of this great city and community the unbelievable has happened. Even with all our schools still open, this district acknowledged an excess of more than three million dollars this past year. This does not include the million in one time TIF donations or the Lewis and Clark grant; it was a surplus in the recurring tax base, a phenomenon that will be sustained year after year after year.
The Saint Charles School board now has the task to decide what they should do with this windfall, and the possibilities are profound. There are some on the board that have adamantly stated that they should ignore this fact and simply “Stay the Course”. Despite the outcries of this community, they feel their efforts over the last several years must be justified with a sacrifice of our neighborhood schools.
I prefer to look at this money as the greatest opportunity imaginable. It is a chance to stop and reassess what they are doing. Here is the money they said they needed. Here is the prospect to save our schools. They asked, and they received; it is the miracle that we were all hoping for. This reorganization has caused such terrible discontent in our community and this money is indeed the answer to all of our prayers.
I am begging this School Board; please recognize this gift as a sign. Please take this opening to heal our community. Please show this city the compassion that we need so badly. Please take this very last golden opportunity and use this money to save our schools. Please don’t let this miracle go to waste…
Vicki DuMontelle
It has come to my attention that we may lose our Police Chief Swope if our current Mayor is reelected. It seems she is lonely for the Fraternal Order of Police. Who can forget the trouble Mayor York caused this town because of the FOP? One of the members of the FOP put our city administrator on the ground with a gun to the back of his head. What a mess! That officer is now gone, and I for one am glad.
St. Charles waited for over a year for a new Police Chief. Those who applied and interviewed were vetoed by our mayor because they “didn’t fit”. Maybe a new seamstress could have helped our present mayor.
Tim Swope grew up here and has been an excellent Police Chief. We now have a police chief who is a “home-grown” man and who knows the city and its’ residents. There is no more congregating at the QT by the police. Instead the police are in the neighborhoods patrolling and waving to the people who are outdoors. I feel so much better about letting my grandsons ride their bikes around the block because I know there is a policeman nearby.
Chief Swope has solved a multitude of problems and crimes. It used to be interesting reading in bed and at the same time hearing the drag racing on 370. That’s stopped—the racing not the reading.
Chief Swope has started new programs that will benefit the town including a program for the elderly to register with the department so that in another power outage the police can check on them. Chief Swope is making a profound difference in this town, and we need to keep him as our chief. Mayor York apparently wants him gone.
The bottom line is VOTE FOR JOHN GIESEKE. He is not a loose canon like our present mayor. CHIEF SWOPE WILL STAY ON THE JOB!
Jane Horning
First Capitol News
I can’t believe what I just read…. if that had been written by a 10th-grader, it would have been given an F….bad spelling, bad punctuation, miserable grammar…I don’t live in his ward, but I’d be embarrassed to admit it if I did….if that’s the caliber of politician in St. Charles, we are in trouble.
Ken.Kuhlenschmidt1@emotors.com
Dear Editor
I was interested in Mayor York’s comments at the Mayoral debate last week in which she noted how many times she’s been at the openings of new businesses in town this year. My question is, “Where are they?” I’ve been waiting for many years to see some new retail come into St. Charles City rather than going out to St. Peters and O’Fallon, but I haven’t noticed floods of businesses opening here in the last few months. There is one new retailer on Main Street. Where are the others?
Take a drive around town and you will see one empty building after another. There are the empty buildings which used to house such businesses as Home Supply, the fabric store and several other stores in St. Charles Plaza, Wendy’s on Truman Road, the old Best Buy Store in Cave Springs, the former K-Mart building, the former police station, the Sears Hardware store, the former Jack-in-the Box on West Clay, many empty buildings on Main Street (apparently the Convention Center has not been the promised boon to Main Street’s tourist industry), three buildings which used to house Preston’s Furniture as well as other empty buildings on Second Street. There are new retail spaces in Mark Twain Mall as well as across from Starbucks on Fifth Street, but they remain empty. If Schnucks moves out of its’ present location on Duchesne Street, we can add yet another empty building to that part of town. Between the closing of schools, the dilapidated buildings, and the emergence of check-cashing stores and manpower employment agencies along First Capitol Drive, our town is beginning to resemble an old inner-city area. All this on the present mayor’s watch.
The one part of town which is growing and vibrant is the commercial area on north Elm Street which is in John Gieseke’s Ward. John is committed to economic growth in our city, and the work he’s done in his ward is evidence of that commitment. This city needs a new direction—one that will restore our businesses, build our population, and re-establish the City of St. Charles as the leader in St. Charles County. John is dedicated to these goals. That’s why he has my vote on April 3rd.
Eleanor McCune
First Capitol News,
During reorganization the Saint Charles School Board stated on more than one occasion that it would take at least a million dollars a year to keep each of our elementary schools open. Thanks to the efforts of this great city and community the unbelievable has happened. Even with all our schools still open, this district acknowledged an excess of more than three million dollars this past year. This does not include the million in one time TIF donations or the Lewis and Clark grant; it was a surplus in the recurring tax base, a phenomenon that will be sustained year after year after year.
The Saint Charles School board now has the task to decide what they should do with this windfall, and the possibilities are profound. There are some on the board that have adamantly stated that they should ignore this fact and simply “Stay the Course”. Despite the outcries of this community, they feel their efforts over the last several years must be justified with a sacrifice of our neighborhood schools.
I prefer to look at this money as the greatest opportunity imaginable. It is a chance to stop and reassess what they are doing. Here is the money they said they needed. Here is the prospect to save our schools. They asked, and they received; it is the miracle that we were all hoping for. This reorganization has caused such terrible discontent in our community and this money is indeed the answer to all of our prayers.
I am begging this School Board; please recognize this gift as a sign. Please take this opening to heal our community. Please show this city the compassion that we need so badly. Please take this very last golden opportunity and use this money to save our schools. Please don’t let this miracle go to waste…
Vicki DuMontelle
The City DESK - Rory Riddler, Councilman Ward 1
Faded Glory: UMSL Rivermen
Go The Way Of Chief Illiniwek
Chief Illiniwek was recently sacrificed to the gods of political correctness. The University of Illinois didn’t want to offend Native Americans with a mascot famous for his feathered headdress and war paint. I personally feel that erasing such popular imagery actually hurts Native Americans more, because you are also erasing historic references from popular culture. What you are left with is a future population that will have even less knowledge and interest in American Indian culture.
My own alma mater, UMSL (excuse me, I mean University of Missouri St. Louis no hyphen), is about to do in their own Rivermen team name and mascot. Here was a completely non-descript team name and mascot that nobody cared about. Were there groups of Riverboat pilots lodging complaints I didn’t know about? Had they inadvertently offended the Society of Mark Twain impersonators?
At first I decided it must be the implied sexism in the use of the term Rivermen that had spurred UMSL to swift action, albeit some thirty years after the height of the feminist movement. “Gender neutering” the mascot not only sounds painful, but wasn’t really an available option. Riverpeople sounds like an Irish line dancing group. As a stopgap, UMSL simply referred to its female sports teams as the UMSL Riverwomen.
Riverwomen? What the Illiniwek does that even mean? At least with the Rivermen you could conger up a mental image of a brave steamboat pilot, burly flat boatman or roustabout. But all Riverwomen ever brought to mind were the ones of low morals, plying their trade among the drunken gamblers of some floating pleasure palace of the 1800s. The only thing the other team would be scared of was catching some social disease.
I recently found out that UMSL had conducted voting among students and faculty on a shortlist of replacement team names. Unfortunately most of the list was even lamer than the team name they might replace. There was The UMSL Hurricanes – frightening to teams from the Gulf Coast perhaps, but really not a meteorologically correct name for a team from the Midwest.
Students could also vote for the UMSL Jets. Given Boeing’s prominence in the community that had possibilities, but not if you get into a debate over whether you mean commercial or military jets. Also, how would you like to be the poor schmuck that has to put on an airplane costume and zoom around a basketball court?
Also making the shortlist was the UMSL Revolutionaries. One can only hope they have some sort of 1776 Continental soldier in mind and not a cigar smoking Che Guevera with lots of red banners.
Yale University claims to have adopted the first college mascot in the United States back in 1889. It was “Handsome Dan” the bulldog. It set the standard for choosing a name and mascot with equal parts of strength and likeability. Our own Benton School Bulldogs, now on the endangered species list thanks to the St. Charles School District, also had a catchy slogan the students put on shirts a few years ago. They said Benton Bulldogs – We Will Win So Don’t You Try. It had an utterly demoralizing effect on other grade schools. Maybe the St. Louis Rams should try it.
There are some other College and University team names and mascots I would have to put on my endangered species list. Temple University, a Christian College, has Hooter, a costumed owl. I can’t even imagine a stadium of Christian students yelling “Go Hooters!” They might as well borrow Wake Forest University’s mascot, the Demon Deacon!
Then there is Chip, the buffalo mascot of the University of Colorado. Get it? Buffalo chips? Besides, buffalos were animals sacred to Native Americans. It has to be on the endangered species list of school mascots.
Colonel Reb of the Ole Miss Rebels was recently “demoted” to the “unofficial” mascot category. That’s just one chair closer to the stadium exit. And finally, Pee Dee the Pirate from East Carolina will no doubt succumb one day to those he has offended with bladder control issues.
Of course not every good team name or mascot is taken.
With 7.2 million teens in this country reportedly binge drinking, what about a college team calling themselves The Drunken Hamsters - Frightening behind the wheel of a car, but adorable when passed out.
“Scooter” seemed more like a team mascot name than the top aide to a Vice-President. He won’t be using the name in public for a while anyway.
Of course they could always borrow “retired” commercial mascots. The Frito Bandito is still looking for work and is guaranteed to offend a large minority of the population. Joe Camel is also in the unemployment line and ready to be rehabilitated.
My favorite would have to be The Rabid Bats. Surprisingly no college or university I could find wanted to be associated with rabid bats. The name has great intimidation value. No one wants to tangle with the Rabid Bats…or get them tangled in your hair for that matter.
Too bad the Piasa Bird is from Illinois.
Go The Way Of Chief Illiniwek
Chief Illiniwek was recently sacrificed to the gods of political correctness. The University of Illinois didn’t want to offend Native Americans with a mascot famous for his feathered headdress and war paint. I personally feel that erasing such popular imagery actually hurts Native Americans more, because you are also erasing historic references from popular culture. What you are left with is a future population that will have even less knowledge and interest in American Indian culture.
My own alma mater, UMSL (excuse me, I mean University of Missouri St. Louis no hyphen), is about to do in their own Rivermen team name and mascot. Here was a completely non-descript team name and mascot that nobody cared about. Were there groups of Riverboat pilots lodging complaints I didn’t know about? Had they inadvertently offended the Society of Mark Twain impersonators?
At first I decided it must be the implied sexism in the use of the term Rivermen that had spurred UMSL to swift action, albeit some thirty years after the height of the feminist movement. “Gender neutering” the mascot not only sounds painful, but wasn’t really an available option. Riverpeople sounds like an Irish line dancing group. As a stopgap, UMSL simply referred to its female sports teams as the UMSL Riverwomen.
Riverwomen? What the Illiniwek does that even mean? At least with the Rivermen you could conger up a mental image of a brave steamboat pilot, burly flat boatman or roustabout. But all Riverwomen ever brought to mind were the ones of low morals, plying their trade among the drunken gamblers of some floating pleasure palace of the 1800s. The only thing the other team would be scared of was catching some social disease.
I recently found out that UMSL had conducted voting among students and faculty on a shortlist of replacement team names. Unfortunately most of the list was even lamer than the team name they might replace. There was The UMSL Hurricanes – frightening to teams from the Gulf Coast perhaps, but really not a meteorologically correct name for a team from the Midwest.
Students could also vote for the UMSL Jets. Given Boeing’s prominence in the community that had possibilities, but not if you get into a debate over whether you mean commercial or military jets. Also, how would you like to be the poor schmuck that has to put on an airplane costume and zoom around a basketball court?
Also making the shortlist was the UMSL Revolutionaries. One can only hope they have some sort of 1776 Continental soldier in mind and not a cigar smoking Che Guevera with lots of red banners.
Yale University claims to have adopted the first college mascot in the United States back in 1889. It was “Handsome Dan” the bulldog. It set the standard for choosing a name and mascot with equal parts of strength and likeability. Our own Benton School Bulldogs, now on the endangered species list thanks to the St. Charles School District, also had a catchy slogan the students put on shirts a few years ago. They said Benton Bulldogs – We Will Win So Don’t You Try. It had an utterly demoralizing effect on other grade schools. Maybe the St. Louis Rams should try it.
There are some other College and University team names and mascots I would have to put on my endangered species list. Temple University, a Christian College, has Hooter, a costumed owl. I can’t even imagine a stadium of Christian students yelling “Go Hooters!” They might as well borrow Wake Forest University’s mascot, the Demon Deacon!
Then there is Chip, the buffalo mascot of the University of Colorado. Get it? Buffalo chips? Besides, buffalos were animals sacred to Native Americans. It has to be on the endangered species list of school mascots.
Colonel Reb of the Ole Miss Rebels was recently “demoted” to the “unofficial” mascot category. That’s just one chair closer to the stadium exit. And finally, Pee Dee the Pirate from East Carolina will no doubt succumb one day to those he has offended with bladder control issues.
Of course not every good team name or mascot is taken.
With 7.2 million teens in this country reportedly binge drinking, what about a college team calling themselves The Drunken Hamsters - Frightening behind the wheel of a car, but adorable when passed out.
“Scooter” seemed more like a team mascot name than the top aide to a Vice-President. He won’t be using the name in public for a while anyway.
Of course they could always borrow “retired” commercial mascots. The Frito Bandito is still looking for work and is guaranteed to offend a large minority of the population. Joe Camel is also in the unemployment line and ready to be rehabilitated.
My favorite would have to be The Rabid Bats. Surprisingly no college or university I could find wanted to be associated with rabid bats. The name has great intimidation value. No one wants to tangle with the Rabid Bats…or get them tangled in your hair for that matter.
Too bad the Piasa Bird is from Illinois.
Case In Point By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9
An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.
Plato
Very recently a shift in the discussion of outsourcing occurred in the media. The national news has run stories with experts questioning the downside to outsourcing. Where have the media been? Americans have been having this discussion for a long time now. Citizens have watched their income stagnate and erode for the past six years. Costs have risen and wages have not kept pace with inflation. For the first time in scores of years, there has been “job growth” and a downturn in home sales. Prognosticators are long-windedly telling us why this is. All of us already know the answer – this so-called job growth came after years of job loss. The current “growth” is the re-employment of millions of Americans only at lower wages with fewer and fewer benefits. Ascending health care costs have eaten away any real potential pay raises for millions of Americans, but the CEOs have done just fine, thank you. They have enjoyed grandiose salaries and benefits and staggering bonuses and stock options. All the while, the national news has sheepishly went about its business not wanting to do the hard-hitting news stories that confront these corporate raiders and corporate sell outs who tell us that our country doesn’t want the jobs that have been sent overseas anyhow. The news media do not want to upset their advertisers, after all.
After the Katrina debacle in New Orleans and Mississippi the media found their voice if only for a moment. Americans watched as reporters asked tough questions and pushed the bureaucrats and criticized the Administration. If the national news networks had paid attention they may have realized that people listened, tuned in, and cared about the news. The news was real, it was poignant and it was reminiscent of how news used to be. I think many people hoped that this new take on national news would stick, but it was not to be.
It wasn’t long before the oft-over jovial morning news casts and the evening talking heads were back to telling us very little about politics, the war in Afghanistan or Iraq, much less investigating the hordes of possible stories that have surrounded the current Administration. Once again our national news was in a race to the bottom by spending time telling millions of viewers stories of actors and their babies. The public again renewed their disdain for the lack of serious news brought you by ABC, NBC, and CBS.
I wish I could ask the news the following question, “How will you end your promotion of meaningless harmony with corporations and the Administration?” I got this question from a recent public forum – I have altered it slightly.
This leads me to address the Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum from February 28, 2007. All that you were supposed to learn from the forum was that the current council is disharmonious. Over and over again, the Chamber asked, “How would you promote harmony among council and the mayor.” Did you wonder who came up with this question?
Other City Issues: An issue that has been thrown out by a local columnist made me smile. It was stated that we each are using dollars allotted for our wards to win votes right before the election. Money came available from building permits a few months back and each ward received an equal share to spend on issues that they felt were important. Anyone familiar with the pace of getting things done through government realize that most every project begun takes months to achieve; even simple tasks to have to go through a bid process that can take weeks on end. Projects that I wish would have been done last year might be done by April. In fact, I’m not even certain if any of the projects using this allotted ward money will be begun, much less completed by the April elections. I also was glad we got money that we could spend in our wards for some things that we see as important. We are elected to represent our wards and we should have a general idea of some things that need to get done. This is why one of the projects planned is a retaining wall that will help residents more safely exit their neighborhood. I was glad that this money came available and I could use it to enhance public safety in the ward as well as upgrade some infrastructure.
Finally, It has been refreshing to see Congress bring up several matters that, well, matter. One recent issue that sticks out is the fees and fines that credit card companies charge their customers. They seem to be able to charge whatever they choose and have answered to no one. Long forgotten are most usury laws that prevented such arbitrary increases in interest rates and fines that often do not jibe with the offense. Congress passed laws lowering interest rates on student loans. Finally some oversight has entered the picture in D.C.! Scooter Libby has indicted his old boss and now there is talk of a presidential pardon. Don’t believe for one moment that this is not a possibility and if this man does receive a pardon, listen for deafening silence coming from Fox News and other critics who screamed about presidential pardons six years ago…
To Wrap up:
Let the workers organize. Let the toilers assemble. Let their crystallized voice proclaim their injustices and demand their privileges. Let all thoughtful citizens sustain them, for the future of Labor is the future of America
John L. Lewis
Plato
Very recently a shift in the discussion of outsourcing occurred in the media. The national news has run stories with experts questioning the downside to outsourcing. Where have the media been? Americans have been having this discussion for a long time now. Citizens have watched their income stagnate and erode for the past six years. Costs have risen and wages have not kept pace with inflation. For the first time in scores of years, there has been “job growth” and a downturn in home sales. Prognosticators are long-windedly telling us why this is. All of us already know the answer – this so-called job growth came after years of job loss. The current “growth” is the re-employment of millions of Americans only at lower wages with fewer and fewer benefits. Ascending health care costs have eaten away any real potential pay raises for millions of Americans, but the CEOs have done just fine, thank you. They have enjoyed grandiose salaries and benefits and staggering bonuses and stock options. All the while, the national news has sheepishly went about its business not wanting to do the hard-hitting news stories that confront these corporate raiders and corporate sell outs who tell us that our country doesn’t want the jobs that have been sent overseas anyhow. The news media do not want to upset their advertisers, after all.
After the Katrina debacle in New Orleans and Mississippi the media found their voice if only for a moment. Americans watched as reporters asked tough questions and pushed the bureaucrats and criticized the Administration. If the national news networks had paid attention they may have realized that people listened, tuned in, and cared about the news. The news was real, it was poignant and it was reminiscent of how news used to be. I think many people hoped that this new take on national news would stick, but it was not to be.
It wasn’t long before the oft-over jovial morning news casts and the evening talking heads were back to telling us very little about politics, the war in Afghanistan or Iraq, much less investigating the hordes of possible stories that have surrounded the current Administration. Once again our national news was in a race to the bottom by spending time telling millions of viewers stories of actors and their babies. The public again renewed their disdain for the lack of serious news brought you by ABC, NBC, and CBS.
I wish I could ask the news the following question, “How will you end your promotion of meaningless harmony with corporations and the Administration?” I got this question from a recent public forum – I have altered it slightly.
This leads me to address the Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum from February 28, 2007. All that you were supposed to learn from the forum was that the current council is disharmonious. Over and over again, the Chamber asked, “How would you promote harmony among council and the mayor.” Did you wonder who came up with this question?
Other City Issues: An issue that has been thrown out by a local columnist made me smile. It was stated that we each are using dollars allotted for our wards to win votes right before the election. Money came available from building permits a few months back and each ward received an equal share to spend on issues that they felt were important. Anyone familiar with the pace of getting things done through government realize that most every project begun takes months to achieve; even simple tasks to have to go through a bid process that can take weeks on end. Projects that I wish would have been done last year might be done by April. In fact, I’m not even certain if any of the projects using this allotted ward money will be begun, much less completed by the April elections. I also was glad we got money that we could spend in our wards for some things that we see as important. We are elected to represent our wards and we should have a general idea of some things that need to get done. This is why one of the projects planned is a retaining wall that will help residents more safely exit their neighborhood. I was glad that this money came available and I could use it to enhance public safety in the ward as well as upgrade some infrastructure.
Finally, It has been refreshing to see Congress bring up several matters that, well, matter. One recent issue that sticks out is the fees and fines that credit card companies charge their customers. They seem to be able to charge whatever they choose and have answered to no one. Long forgotten are most usury laws that prevented such arbitrary increases in interest rates and fines that often do not jibe with the offense. Congress passed laws lowering interest rates on student loans. Finally some oversight has entered the picture in D.C.! Scooter Libby has indicted his old boss and now there is talk of a presidential pardon. Don’t believe for one moment that this is not a possibility and if this man does receive a pardon, listen for deafening silence coming from Fox News and other critics who screamed about presidential pardons six years ago…
To Wrap up:
Let the workers organize. Let the toilers assemble. Let their crystallized voice proclaim their injustices and demand their privileges. Let all thoughtful citizens sustain them, for the future of Labor is the future of America
John L. Lewis
The View From The Cheap Seats BY Jerry Haferkamp
The View From The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp
As our readers know, the First Capitol News investigates and informs. No other paper brings you the information you deserve. Therefore, I am going to disclose something that I’ve never told even my relatives. I am the real father of Anna Nichole Smith’s baby. Now that that’s settled, we can get on with local issues.
It was interesting to discover that Mayor York has exceeded John Gieseke in the amassing of campaign funds. This comes as no surprise to me as Mr. Gieseke is more interested in securing decent government than he is in securing wealth. After all, he is the only one giving up a good job if he wins the election. He obviously thinks your well being and mine is worth the sacrifice, or he wouldn’t run.
That brings up an assessment of statements by some council members that said that the mayoral salary needed to be higher to attract good candidates. Are they suggesting that a former mayor, the present mayor and a multi-term councilman aren’t “good candidates”? This just goes to show how wrong that hypothesis was and still is. I’m glad the salary was set at the level it was.
Mr. Gieseke should have to outspend the mayor since his campaign starts from “scratch”, but I doubt he will. The mayor conserved since she recycled old campaign signs. The bottom right of these signs have her former “paid for by’ marked out and a new name put on with what looks like magic marker. Since someone else paid for these signs during her last campaign, is it legal to say these signs were now paid for by someone different? She wouldn’t sell her old signs to her campaign and pocket the money, would she?
Mayor York obviously will need more campaign funding than Mr. Gieseke due to her basic tenet that elections go to the highest bidder. You tried to educate her in the fraud laced recall election but she may not have been a good student. You have the opportunity to show her once and for all that St. Charles is not for sale. Maybe this time she’ll listen.
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
ttt
By Jerry Haferkamp
As our readers know, the First Capitol News investigates and informs. No other paper brings you the information you deserve. Therefore, I am going to disclose something that I’ve never told even my relatives. I am the real father of Anna Nichole Smith’s baby. Now that that’s settled, we can get on with local issues.
It was interesting to discover that Mayor York has exceeded John Gieseke in the amassing of campaign funds. This comes as no surprise to me as Mr. Gieseke is more interested in securing decent government than he is in securing wealth. After all, he is the only one giving up a good job if he wins the election. He obviously thinks your well being and mine is worth the sacrifice, or he wouldn’t run.
That brings up an assessment of statements by some council members that said that the mayoral salary needed to be higher to attract good candidates. Are they suggesting that a former mayor, the present mayor and a multi-term councilman aren’t “good candidates”? This just goes to show how wrong that hypothesis was and still is. I’m glad the salary was set at the level it was.
Mr. Gieseke should have to outspend the mayor since his campaign starts from “scratch”, but I doubt he will. The mayor conserved since she recycled old campaign signs. The bottom right of these signs have her former “paid for by’ marked out and a new name put on with what looks like magic marker. Since someone else paid for these signs during her last campaign, is it legal to say these signs were now paid for by someone different? She wouldn’t sell her old signs to her campaign and pocket the money, would she?
Mayor York obviously will need more campaign funding than Mr. Gieseke due to her basic tenet that elections go to the highest bidder. You tried to educate her in the fraud laced recall election but she may not have been a good student. You have the opportunity to show her once and for all that St. Charles is not for sale. Maybe this time she’ll listen.
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
ttt
First Capitol News Sports - Mike McMurran Sports Editor
A couple of things I believe warrant attention this week. The first topic deals with the University of Missouri at Saint Louis – more popularly know as UMSL. My wife and I are both graduates of UMSL, her degree is in Business and mine in Education. The years Lynn and I attended UMSL there seemed to be an identity crisis. Mizzou was the University of Missouri, SLU was of course Saint Louis University, Wash U was Washington University – I think most of you get the picture by now. It seems that someone with far, far too much spare time on their hands felt that the term “UMSL,” wasn’t projecting the image the University wanted. After months and months of studies, which cost thousands and thousands of dollars, the committees came to the conclusion that UMSL would forever be known as UM – Saint Louis. God only knows how much more money was spent on changing signs, stationary, billboards – once again, I think you get the idea.
Was the money well spent and was the change viewed positively? That I’m not sure of, but to this day I’ve not heard a single person say they graduated from “UM – Saint Louis,” have you? Nope, everyone I’ve ever talked to is a proud graduate of UMSL.
Well it seems history repeats itself, because my alma mater is once again experiencing an identity crisis. From what I have been able to gather from reading the weekly student newspaper, The Current, the students are up in arms over the nickname of the university. Quickly – for ten thousand dollars and a round trip ticket to Country Club Hills, MO, what is the nickname for UMSL? Time’s up – the answer is The Rivermen, unless of course you play on a female team, then it’s of course the Riverwomen. I suspect I could relay some of the quotes the students have made, but as far as I’m concerned they are all lame! Who cares what they think? I don’t want to sound like an angry old man here, but believe it or not there is some tradition in the name, the Rivermen. How about in 1973 when the Rivermen were the National Division II Soccer Champions? The years Lynn and I attended UMSL were the hey day of the basketball program. Their current head coach was the star player, and the team drew crowds that rocked the Mark Twain Auditorium (Mark Twain and Rivermen – anyone besides me see something here).
Presently UMSL is spending tens of thousands of dollars to find out (a) if the name needs to be changed at all, and (b) if so, what should it be changed to. To those who argue there is no history to the name, I say not yet, the school is still in its adolescence.
Topic two: Scottrade Center needs to do everything they possible can to insure the Men’s Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Tournament remains in downtown St. Louis. As I’ve stated here before, I’ve been attending the tournament since the days it was held at the old Arena. Back in those days they would take a giant black curtain and curtain off half of the Arena to make it look like the place was filled. Slowly but surely, year by year, the tournament has grown, and grown and grown. This past weekend the Scottrade Center had over 22,000 paying customers in the seats for both the semifinals and the finals. Counting Friday’s semifinals and Thursday’s first round games, the tournament attracted over 85,000 fans. One simple question: how many Blues’ games (this year) would it take to draw 85,000 fans?
Lastly, and probably most importantly, good luck to Coach Wacker and his Saint Charles High Pirates as they travel to Columbia this weekend to play in the finals of the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s Class 4 basketball tournament. By the time most of you read this column, Friday’s contest will be over and we will know if the Pirates are playing for third place or the title. No matter what happens, it has been a great ride for everyone. Congratulations Coach Wacker on your retirement. What a way to go out, sir.
Was the money well spent and was the change viewed positively? That I’m not sure of, but to this day I’ve not heard a single person say they graduated from “UM – Saint Louis,” have you? Nope, everyone I’ve ever talked to is a proud graduate of UMSL.
Well it seems history repeats itself, because my alma mater is once again experiencing an identity crisis. From what I have been able to gather from reading the weekly student newspaper, The Current, the students are up in arms over the nickname of the university. Quickly – for ten thousand dollars and a round trip ticket to Country Club Hills, MO, what is the nickname for UMSL? Time’s up – the answer is The Rivermen, unless of course you play on a female team, then it’s of course the Riverwomen. I suspect I could relay some of the quotes the students have made, but as far as I’m concerned they are all lame! Who cares what they think? I don’t want to sound like an angry old man here, but believe it or not there is some tradition in the name, the Rivermen. How about in 1973 when the Rivermen were the National Division II Soccer Champions? The years Lynn and I attended UMSL were the hey day of the basketball program. Their current head coach was the star player, and the team drew crowds that rocked the Mark Twain Auditorium (Mark Twain and Rivermen – anyone besides me see something here).
Presently UMSL is spending tens of thousands of dollars to find out (a) if the name needs to be changed at all, and (b) if so, what should it be changed to. To those who argue there is no history to the name, I say not yet, the school is still in its adolescence.
Topic two: Scottrade Center needs to do everything they possible can to insure the Men’s Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Tournament remains in downtown St. Louis. As I’ve stated here before, I’ve been attending the tournament since the days it was held at the old Arena. Back in those days they would take a giant black curtain and curtain off half of the Arena to make it look like the place was filled. Slowly but surely, year by year, the tournament has grown, and grown and grown. This past weekend the Scottrade Center had over 22,000 paying customers in the seats for both the semifinals and the finals. Counting Friday’s semifinals and Thursday’s first round games, the tournament attracted over 85,000 fans. One simple question: how many Blues’ games (this year) would it take to draw 85,000 fans?
Lastly, and probably most importantly, good luck to Coach Wacker and his Saint Charles High Pirates as they travel to Columbia this weekend to play in the finals of the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s Class 4 basketball tournament. By the time most of you read this column, Friday’s contest will be over and we will know if the Pirates are playing for third place or the title. No matter what happens, it has been a great ride for everyone. Congratulations Coach Wacker on your retirement. What a way to go out, sir.
Friday, February 23, 2007
FRONT PAGE - FIRST CAPITOL NEWS - February 24, 2007
(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE) To read this edition please scroll down/
Pirates win district title; Rudy Harper hits shot with 4 seconds remaining – sends the Pirates to Hannibal
By: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
The evening ended the same way it began, with the St. Charles High fans chanting: “Can’t beat Wacker!” It’s what happened in between that will have high school basketball fans talking for years.
St. Charles High and St. Charles West tipped off at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening – from 7 till 8:30 the capacity crowd experienced something very special. A cross-town, intra-district rivalry that had the 2007 GAC North co-champions playing each other for the fourth time this season.
Down 19-10 at the end of the first quarter, the Pirates did everything they could to scratch and claw their way back into the contest. By half time they had a single point lead.
The teams traded the lead back and forth the entire second half. With 1:43 remaining in the contest the score was tied 43-43. After a couple of turnovers by both squads it was time for the Rudy Harper show.
Senior guard Rudy Harper drove the lane, banked his shot off the backboard, and gave the Pirates a 2-point lead. West called a time out and the officials adjusted the clock putting 3 seconds on it. For the Pirates faithful it was the longest 3 seconds of the season.
Harper’s shot sends the Pirates to Hannibal for Sectional play Wednesday evening for a 6 p.m. contest against an opponent to be determined. It looks like Coach Wacker’s attempt to retire will have to wait a little longer.
Sports Editor
The evening ended the same way it began, with the St. Charles High fans chanting: “Can’t beat Wacker!” It’s what happened in between that will have high school basketball fans talking for years.
St. Charles High and St. Charles West tipped off at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening – from 7 till 8:30 the capacity crowd experienced something very special. A cross-town, intra-district rivalry that had the 2007 GAC North co-champions playing each other for the fourth time this season.
Down 19-10 at the end of the first quarter, the Pirates did everything they could to scratch and claw their way back into the contest. By half time they had a single point lead.
The teams traded the lead back and forth the entire second half. With 1:43 remaining in the contest the score was tied 43-43. After a couple of turnovers by both squads it was time for the Rudy Harper show.
Senior guard Rudy Harper drove the lane, banked his shot off the backboard, and gave the Pirates a 2-point lead. West called a time out and the officials adjusted the clock putting 3 seconds on it. For the Pirates faithful it was the longest 3 seconds of the season.
Harper’s shot sends the Pirates to Hannibal for Sectional play Wednesday evening for a 6 p.m. contest against an opponent to be determined. It looks like Coach Wacker’s attempt to retire will have to wait a little longer.
WELLER BLASTS MAYOR
Councilman Mike Weller, upset with the lack of snow removal from the streets in his ward, sent a blistering e-mail to City Administrator Allan Williams and Mayor Patti York with a copy to the First Capitol News. While we do not usually agree with Councilman Weller we can understand his distress and concern for the safety of the residents of his ward. The e-mail he sent is presented here with no editing…..
From: mtweller@sbcglobal.net
To: markbrown476@hotmail.com
To: Allan.Williams@stcharlescity.com
To; bkneemiller@yahoo.com
To: Debbie.Aylsworth@stcharlescity.com
To: firstcapitolnews@aol.com
To: JHG426@HOTMAIL.COM
To: JKoesterMO@aol.com
To: lmuench@stcharlescity.com
To: mediamagic@primary.net
To: Patti.York@stcharlescity.com
To: rhoepfner@stcharlescity.com
To: RJMREESE@aol.com
To: Brent.Schulz@stcharlescity.com
To: Mike.Valenti@stcharlescity.com
Allan & Mayor, What the Hell is going On, my Ward, that’s is WARD 5 has not seen a Dam Snow Plow since the Snow storm began. The Only Road that has been plowed is Muegge Road.
HACKMANN ROAD and COUNTRY CLUB ROAD HAS NEVER BEEN TOUCHED... My phone is RINGING OFF THE DAM HOOK. THESE ARE TWO OF MY ONLY THREE PRIMARY ROADS.
NOT ONE OF MY SUB-DIVISIONS HAVE BEEN PLOWED.....
I RECEIVED ONE CALL FROM A RESIDENT THAT THE ONLY SNOW PLOW ON MUEGGE ROAD WAS A MODOT TRUCK.......
THIS KIND OF CRAP PISSES ME OFF.....
WHEN I GET HOME THIS AFTERNOON, I BETTER BE ABLE TO SEE CONCRETE IN MY ENTIRE DAM WARD OR I AM GOING TO RAISE MORE CRAP THAN YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE.
I WANT EVER DAM STREET PLOWED...
USE ONE OF THOSE BIG TRUCKS THAT HAVE A THING ON THE FRONT, IT’s CALLED A SNOW PLOW, AND THEY CARRY STUFF CALLED SALT, YOU PUT IT ON THE ROADS WHEN THE WEATHER IS BAD....... HAS ANYONE SEEN ONE OF THOSE BEFORE.
I BET THE NORTH SIDE OF HWY 70 IS COMPLETELY DRY........
MY RESIDENTS ARE SICK AND TIRED OF BEING IGNORED, EVERYTIME WE HAVE A CRISIS, WE ARE THE LAST TO GET SERVICE, EVERY DAM TIME
FORGET THE PARK MONEY I ASSIGNED TO WAPPLEHORST LAKE, I WANT TO PURCHSE A TRUCK AND SNOW PLOW FOR WARD 5... I’LL KEEP THE DAM THING IN MY STORAGE PLACE ALONG SIDE MY MOTOR HOME, AND WHEN IT SNOWS I’LL DRIVE IT MYSELF.... AND THEN I’LL HIRE SOMEONE TO PICK UP MY TRASH WITH IT TWICE A WEEK.... AND I’LL MALKE SURE THAT DAM THING WILL NOT LEAK CRAP ALL OVER MY STREETS.....
I SENT AN EMAIL YESTERDAY MORNING REGARDING THIS SAME KIND OF POOR SERVICE.
WILL SOMEONE PLESE EXPLAIN WHY???
YOU’VE NOT HEARD FROM LAST OF ME YET.... I’N FAR FROM FINISHED...
Regards, Mike Mike Weller 314-322-7686
Councilman Mark Brown Ward 3 was also having the city administration clear the streets of snow and ice in his ward. A copy of an e-mail Brown sent to the Mayor, Administrator and fellow Council members was attached to the e-mail we received from Councilman Weller. Brown wrote…
It is really a shame that the county, with all the miles and roads they have to cover has been able to hit their residential areas twice and our city has yet to arrive. It really shows our residents how little this administration cares about the small taxpayer.
That is exactly what I am telling the residents and they all certainly agree. I don’t know about you guys, but my phone at the office has been ringing off the hook. I have also been receiving calls from other wards so I know I am not alone. We need to take swift action at the next meeting.
Councilman John Gieseke told the First Capitol News that several areas of his ward were also in need of snow and ice removal and that he had received complaints from residents of Ward 8.
From: mtweller@sbcglobal.net
To: markbrown476@hotmail.com
To: Allan.Williams@stcharlescity.com
To; bkneemiller@yahoo.com
To: Debbie.Aylsworth@stcharlescity.com
To: firstcapitolnews@aol.com
To: JHG426@HOTMAIL.COM
To: JKoesterMO@aol.com
To: lmuench@stcharlescity.com
To: mediamagic@primary.net
To: Patti.York@stcharlescity.com
To: rhoepfner@stcharlescity.com
To: RJMREESE@aol.com
To: Brent.Schulz@stcharlescity.com
To: Mike.Valenti@stcharlescity.com
Allan & Mayor, What the Hell is going On, my Ward, that’s is WARD 5 has not seen a Dam Snow Plow since the Snow storm began. The Only Road that has been plowed is Muegge Road.
HACKMANN ROAD and COUNTRY CLUB ROAD HAS NEVER BEEN TOUCHED... My phone is RINGING OFF THE DAM HOOK. THESE ARE TWO OF MY ONLY THREE PRIMARY ROADS.
NOT ONE OF MY SUB-DIVISIONS HAVE BEEN PLOWED.....
I RECEIVED ONE CALL FROM A RESIDENT THAT THE ONLY SNOW PLOW ON MUEGGE ROAD WAS A MODOT TRUCK.......
THIS KIND OF CRAP PISSES ME OFF.....
WHEN I GET HOME THIS AFTERNOON, I BETTER BE ABLE TO SEE CONCRETE IN MY ENTIRE DAM WARD OR I AM GOING TO RAISE MORE CRAP THAN YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE.
I WANT EVER DAM STREET PLOWED...
USE ONE OF THOSE BIG TRUCKS THAT HAVE A THING ON THE FRONT, IT’s CALLED A SNOW PLOW, AND THEY CARRY STUFF CALLED SALT, YOU PUT IT ON THE ROADS WHEN THE WEATHER IS BAD....... HAS ANYONE SEEN ONE OF THOSE BEFORE.
I BET THE NORTH SIDE OF HWY 70 IS COMPLETELY DRY........
MY RESIDENTS ARE SICK AND TIRED OF BEING IGNORED, EVERYTIME WE HAVE A CRISIS, WE ARE THE LAST TO GET SERVICE, EVERY DAM TIME
FORGET THE PARK MONEY I ASSIGNED TO WAPPLEHORST LAKE, I WANT TO PURCHSE A TRUCK AND SNOW PLOW FOR WARD 5... I’LL KEEP THE DAM THING IN MY STORAGE PLACE ALONG SIDE MY MOTOR HOME, AND WHEN IT SNOWS I’LL DRIVE IT MYSELF.... AND THEN I’LL HIRE SOMEONE TO PICK UP MY TRASH WITH IT TWICE A WEEK.... AND I’LL MALKE SURE THAT DAM THING WILL NOT LEAK CRAP ALL OVER MY STREETS.....
I SENT AN EMAIL YESTERDAY MORNING REGARDING THIS SAME KIND OF POOR SERVICE.
WILL SOMEONE PLESE EXPLAIN WHY???
YOU’VE NOT HEARD FROM LAST OF ME YET.... I’N FAR FROM FINISHED...
Regards, Mike Mike Weller 314-322-7686
Councilman Mark Brown Ward 3 was also having the city administration clear the streets of snow and ice in his ward. A copy of an e-mail Brown sent to the Mayor, Administrator and fellow Council members was attached to the e-mail we received from Councilman Weller. Brown wrote…
It is really a shame that the county, with all the miles and roads they have to cover has been able to hit their residential areas twice and our city has yet to arrive. It really shows our residents how little this administration cares about the small taxpayer.
That is exactly what I am telling the residents and they all certainly agree. I don’t know about you guys, but my phone at the office has been ringing off the hook. I have also been receiving calls from other wards so I know I am not alone. We need to take swift action at the next meeting.
Councilman John Gieseke told the First Capitol News that several areas of his ward were also in need of snow and ice removal and that he had received complaints from residents of Ward 8.
Gieseke Is Leading In Race For Mayor
Gieseke
is Leading
In Race For Mayor
St. Charles Councilman John Gieseke was the big winner in the mayoral primary election held Tuesday, February 6th. According to a recent survey, Gieseke is the favorite for those planning to vote in the April 3rd municipal election.
In the primary election, 7219 voters cast ballots or 16.74 percent. This is a higher than the 10 percent turnout predicted by the election authority.
Gieseke received 2747 votes or 38.85 percent of the votes cast. Mayor Patti York came in second with 2254 votes or 31.88 percent. Former Mayor Grace Nichols with 2070 votes or 29.27 percent came in last and will not be in the general election.
Gieseke was the winner in 23 of the 31 precincts.
Gieseke ran a grass roots campaign and was out spent by the other two candidates by almost two to one. “I am very proud and thankful for the residents of St. Charles who worked very hard to help me in this election,” Gieseke told the First Capitol News. “I have pledged to return the city government to the people and will continue to work towards that goal.
Gieseke and York, will face each other in the general election on April 3rd. The winner will then be the full time Mayor.
is Leading
In Race For Mayor
St. Charles Councilman John Gieseke was the big winner in the mayoral primary election held Tuesday, February 6th. According to a recent survey, Gieseke is the favorite for those planning to vote in the April 3rd municipal election.
In the primary election, 7219 voters cast ballots or 16.74 percent. This is a higher than the 10 percent turnout predicted by the election authority.
Gieseke received 2747 votes or 38.85 percent of the votes cast. Mayor Patti York came in second with 2254 votes or 31.88 percent. Former Mayor Grace Nichols with 2070 votes or 29.27 percent came in last and will not be in the general election.
Gieseke was the winner in 23 of the 31 precincts.
Gieseke ran a grass roots campaign and was out spent by the other two candidates by almost two to one. “I am very proud and thankful for the residents of St. Charles who worked very hard to help me in this election,” Gieseke told the First Capitol News. “I have pledged to return the city government to the people and will continue to work towards that goal.
Gieseke and York, will face each other in the general election on April 3rd. The winner will then be the full time Mayor.
THANK YOU FROM JOHN GIESEKE
I want to thank all of you who volunteered, worked, put a yard sign up, made phone calls and most important voted for me. This election is about you and the direction the city will take.
I see a city that focuses on the needs of the residents first and foremost. Streets that are repaired in a timely manner, sidewalks that are installed and fixed. St. Charles needs to get back to the basics.
That focus has been lost on the "big projects". While the “big projects” are fun to talk about and cut the ribbons at openings, these projects have little to do with improving our quality of life. You, the residents of St. Charles, deserve to be thought of first. Something as simple as paying your water bill with a debit card isn't a consideration now, but it can be. The City staff tells you what you are going to do instead of asking how the City can do things better.
My mayoral campaign will continue to speak to the issues and you will not see any negative ads or personal attacks coming from me. This type of behavior has plagued our city for too long and I am not going to be a party to it. Many times political candidates try to hide behind third party attacks upon their opponents. Who else but a person running in a spirited campaign would want to attack their opponent. This happened in the last election when an organization called "Citizens for a Responsible Community" flooded mailboxes with negative mailers. I can only hope that my opponent will also take the high road during this mayoral campaign.
The residents of the City of St. Charles have the unique opportunity to break free of the political machine that has ruled St. Charles for years and move into the future.
Grace Nichols had that vision as well as myself. Mrs. Nichols ran a clean campaign and cares about the City. My vision of the future and her understanding of municipal law can make for a positive start to the new "Strong Mayor" form of government. Mrs. Nichols has been a tremendous asset to our community and I am hopeful that she will continue her involvement with our city.
Once again I thank you. If anyone would like to become involved in my campaign for Mayor of St. Charles by volunteering, telephoning, putting a sign in the yard or by contributing I can be reached at 636-946-0877 or johngieseke.com or at home, 3340 Shutten Street, St. Charles, 63301.
If anyone has had your yard sign stolen or damaged please go to johngieseke.com and click on signs and leave your address so we can bring you a new sign or call me at 636-946-0877.
John Gieseke
Councilman Ward 8
I see a city that focuses on the needs of the residents first and foremost. Streets that are repaired in a timely manner, sidewalks that are installed and fixed. St. Charles needs to get back to the basics.
That focus has been lost on the "big projects". While the “big projects” are fun to talk about and cut the ribbons at openings, these projects have little to do with improving our quality of life. You, the residents of St. Charles, deserve to be thought of first. Something as simple as paying your water bill with a debit card isn't a consideration now, but it can be. The City staff tells you what you are going to do instead of asking how the City can do things better.
My mayoral campaign will continue to speak to the issues and you will not see any negative ads or personal attacks coming from me. This type of behavior has plagued our city for too long and I am not going to be a party to it. Many times political candidates try to hide behind third party attacks upon their opponents. Who else but a person running in a spirited campaign would want to attack their opponent. This happened in the last election when an organization called "Citizens for a Responsible Community" flooded mailboxes with negative mailers. I can only hope that my opponent will also take the high road during this mayoral campaign.
The residents of the City of St. Charles have the unique opportunity to break free of the political machine that has ruled St. Charles for years and move into the future.
Grace Nichols had that vision as well as myself. Mrs. Nichols ran a clean campaign and cares about the City. My vision of the future and her understanding of municipal law can make for a positive start to the new "Strong Mayor" form of government. Mrs. Nichols has been a tremendous asset to our community and I am hopeful that she will continue her involvement with our city.
Once again I thank you. If anyone would like to become involved in my campaign for Mayor of St. Charles by volunteering, telephoning, putting a sign in the yard or by contributing I can be reached at 636-946-0877 or johngieseke.com or at home, 3340 Shutten Street, St. Charles, 63301.
If anyone has had your yard sign stolen or damaged please go to johngieseke.com and click on signs and leave your address so we can bring you a new sign or call me at 636-946-0877.
John Gieseke
Councilman Ward 8
RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
THANK YOU
We would like to thank our loyal readers for braving the cold weather and voting in the St. Charles mayoral primary election. We would also like to thank those of you who voted for John Gieseke.
John Gieseke will face Mayor Patti York in the April 3rd general election as she attempts a third term.
St. Charles voters will have the opportunity on Tuesday, April 3rd to decide if they want to continue with what they are currently experiencing with York or if they want to move forward with a professional, efficient, progressive government with John Gieseke as Mayor.
YORK FAILED THE TEST
There was an interesting statement in another paper from York. In it she said Gieseke was, “untested.” What she failed to mention is that she was tested and she failed the test.
The most important lesson I learned covering York over the past seven years is that she lies. And when you catch her in a lie she attempts to lie her way out of the lie.
WHAT SHE WANTS YOU TO THINK SHE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR
York’s campaign literature lists a number of accomplishments she claims are hers when in reality those accomplishments became reality because of the efforts of a lot of people.
She wants the public to believe that she is responsible for the Convention Center & Hotel, Justice Center, Arts Center, Veterans Memorial, Dog Park, New Town, Bass Pro, Commercial & Industrial Boon of the 370 Area, the Casino expansion & Hotel, upgraded interchanges and school resource officers. That is not true.
She also wants you to believe that she is responsible for the best police department, best fire department, best emergency medical, best parks & recreation, low tax rate, etc. Again not true.
WHAT SHE IS REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR
What is she responsible for? She is responsible for calling a special meeting to sell the old police headquarters for $150,000 less than the highest bid. If you drive by that building on West Clay you will see a York for Mayor sign on the property. That sign location has cost the taxpayers at least $150,000.
She is responsible for delaying the appointment of a Police Chief for over a year because she could not get the votes for her favorite candidate.
She is responsible for illegally signing a contract, without City Council approval, with Express Scripts. A lawsuit is now pending against the City with a demand of more than $200,000 in damages.
She is responsible for allegedly diverting over $15,000 in taxpayer money to the recall efforts of Councilman Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greer.
A story in another publication quotes the mayor as saying she was never involved in those recall efforts. Another lie. She was heavily involved with those recall efforts in which the police discovered fraud and forgeries and in which arrests have been made and charges brought forward.
She is also responsible for the infighting and bitterness between members of the City Council.
I could go on and on with her actual accomplishments that she doesn’t want you to know about until I would probably bore you. However, if you would like additional information you can research York in the archives of the First Capitol News at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. Just type York or Mayor in the search area.
Who Is Funding Phone Calls
For Candidate Deep In Debt?
The First Capitol News has learned that just one week after filing for the St. Charles City Council, attorney Richard Veit filed paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission creating a debt committee. Veit is one of two candidates facing First Ward City Councilman Rory Riddler in April. Two months before filing to run for the council, papers on file with the State show that Veit ended his campaign for the Republican nomination for Circuit Judge (Division 4) with a debt of $12,260,94. Veit lost the primary to now Circuit Judge Rick Zerr.
Rather than requiring that Veit pay off his debts from one campaign before starting another, Missouri law allows him to form yet another campaign committee. A persistent rumor in political circles has been that Veit was promised that his previous campaign debt would be paid off in exchange for running for the Council. Several people were approached to run by Republican Party leaders, despite the fact that City Council seats are suppose to be non-partisan.
Meanwhile, the First Capitol News received calls from several residents who said they received electronic phone calls this week that asked questions about the candidates for Mayor, but also about their preference in the race for City Councilman in the First Ward. The First Capitol news has been told that the phone calls are being made by a company owned by Tom Smith, whose home address on Monroe Street was used to funnel over a million dollars in campaign money on behalf of Republican State Representative Tom Dempsey and various partisan campaign committees last year.
Tom Smith is a State employee as well, working for State Representative Tom Dempsey. Tom Smith is also considered a political ally of incumbent Mayor Patti York. Veit’s campaign reports, which were due on Thursday, do not show any expenditure for these phone calls.
Here we go again folks.
Secret campaign committees are already starting to funnel money to a select slate of candidates on behalf of the good old boy network.
In the weeks ahead, the First Capitol News will help our readers connect the dots and follow the money trail. We will investigate if there is a secret slate of candidates who were drafted to run and, if so, what political or financial favors they may have received. We also promise to keep a close eye on Richard Veit’s debt committee to see who is willing to pay off his $12,000 debt.
We would like to thank our loyal readers for braving the cold weather and voting in the St. Charles mayoral primary election. We would also like to thank those of you who voted for John Gieseke.
John Gieseke will face Mayor Patti York in the April 3rd general election as she attempts a third term.
St. Charles voters will have the opportunity on Tuesday, April 3rd to decide if they want to continue with what they are currently experiencing with York or if they want to move forward with a professional, efficient, progressive government with John Gieseke as Mayor.
YORK FAILED THE TEST
There was an interesting statement in another paper from York. In it she said Gieseke was, “untested.” What she failed to mention is that she was tested and she failed the test.
The most important lesson I learned covering York over the past seven years is that she lies. And when you catch her in a lie she attempts to lie her way out of the lie.
WHAT SHE WANTS YOU TO THINK SHE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR
York’s campaign literature lists a number of accomplishments she claims are hers when in reality those accomplishments became reality because of the efforts of a lot of people.
She wants the public to believe that she is responsible for the Convention Center & Hotel, Justice Center, Arts Center, Veterans Memorial, Dog Park, New Town, Bass Pro, Commercial & Industrial Boon of the 370 Area, the Casino expansion & Hotel, upgraded interchanges and school resource officers. That is not true.
She also wants you to believe that she is responsible for the best police department, best fire department, best emergency medical, best parks & recreation, low tax rate, etc. Again not true.
WHAT SHE IS REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR
What is she responsible for? She is responsible for calling a special meeting to sell the old police headquarters for $150,000 less than the highest bid. If you drive by that building on West Clay you will see a York for Mayor sign on the property. That sign location has cost the taxpayers at least $150,000.
She is responsible for delaying the appointment of a Police Chief for over a year because she could not get the votes for her favorite candidate.
She is responsible for illegally signing a contract, without City Council approval, with Express Scripts. A lawsuit is now pending against the City with a demand of more than $200,000 in damages.
She is responsible for allegedly diverting over $15,000 in taxpayer money to the recall efforts of Councilman Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greer.
A story in another publication quotes the mayor as saying she was never involved in those recall efforts. Another lie. She was heavily involved with those recall efforts in which the police discovered fraud and forgeries and in which arrests have been made and charges brought forward.
She is also responsible for the infighting and bitterness between members of the City Council.
I could go on and on with her actual accomplishments that she doesn’t want you to know about until I would probably bore you. However, if you would like additional information you can research York in the archives of the First Capitol News at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. Just type York or Mayor in the search area.
Who Is Funding Phone Calls
For Candidate Deep In Debt?
The First Capitol News has learned that just one week after filing for the St. Charles City Council, attorney Richard Veit filed paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission creating a debt committee. Veit is one of two candidates facing First Ward City Councilman Rory Riddler in April. Two months before filing to run for the council, papers on file with the State show that Veit ended his campaign for the Republican nomination for Circuit Judge (Division 4) with a debt of $12,260,94. Veit lost the primary to now Circuit Judge Rick Zerr.
Rather than requiring that Veit pay off his debts from one campaign before starting another, Missouri law allows him to form yet another campaign committee. A persistent rumor in political circles has been that Veit was promised that his previous campaign debt would be paid off in exchange for running for the Council. Several people were approached to run by Republican Party leaders, despite the fact that City Council seats are suppose to be non-partisan.
Meanwhile, the First Capitol News received calls from several residents who said they received electronic phone calls this week that asked questions about the candidates for Mayor, but also about their preference in the race for City Councilman in the First Ward. The First Capitol news has been told that the phone calls are being made by a company owned by Tom Smith, whose home address on Monroe Street was used to funnel over a million dollars in campaign money on behalf of Republican State Representative Tom Dempsey and various partisan campaign committees last year.
Tom Smith is a State employee as well, working for State Representative Tom Dempsey. Tom Smith is also considered a political ally of incumbent Mayor Patti York. Veit’s campaign reports, which were due on Thursday, do not show any expenditure for these phone calls.
Here we go again folks.
Secret campaign committees are already starting to funnel money to a select slate of candidates on behalf of the good old boy network.
In the weeks ahead, the First Capitol News will help our readers connect the dots and follow the money trail. We will investigate if there is a secret slate of candidates who were drafted to run and, if so, what political or financial favors they may have received. We also promise to keep a close eye on Richard Veit’s debt committee to see who is willing to pay off his $12,000 debt.
THE CITY DESK - Rory Riddler, Councilman Ward 1
Mardi Gras Parade Was One
Cold Day In You Know Where
There are few times I am happy to say, that I’ve felt my life was in mortal danger. One of those came last Saturday when my wife and I joined a hardy Krewe for the annual Mardi Gras Parade in Soulard. Mardi Gras is how St. Louis celebrates its French heritage. In this case that would be the heritage of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.
It wasn’t that we didn’t know it would be cold. We had more layers than the paint on my house. My wife even tested her costume the day before by standing outside…in the shade. A lot of time and effort went into perfecting the perfect pirate costumes. I just think people weren’t use to seeing pirate Eskimos.
Hundreds of man hours had gone into the construction of the pirate ship that served as our float. It was a three masted affair, complete with sails and menacing cannon bristling from gunports. There was even a crows nest on a third level where fair damsels could take refuge and a skeleton lashed to the ship’s wheel. It was a beautiful float, built by the Bone Daddy & The Blues Shaker’s Krewe. Had the cannons been loaded and our swords cold steel instead of plastic, we might have even persuaded the judges to give us the first place trophy.
Instead the top honors for best float and best costumes went to our now sworn enemies the Mystic Knights of the Purple Haze. I thought on their name alone the police should have pulled their float over and done a random drug search. The theme of the parade this year was “novels” and our Piratical entry was for Captain Blood. The Mystic Knights of the Purple Haze (sorry, I can’t stop laughing when I have to write that) chose George Orwell’s 1984.
I didn’t see the latest remake of 1984 packing them in like Pirate’s of the Caribbean. We were the crowd favorite, not a bunch of guards trying to look menacing in jump suits and yellow hardhats telling people war is peace. We all know that if peace broke out in the world we wouldn’t know what to call it. Aaargh! Just wait till next year Mystic Knights!
Now the Mardi Gras Parade in Soulard has a reputation for going on rain or shine. But with the early date for the start of Lent this year, they can now add “blizzards” to the list of meteorological disasters that don’t stop the parade. We arrived at the staging area at 8:30 in the morning to wind gusts of 30 miles per hour, driving snow and a wind chill factor so low they use it to describe temperatures on Pluto.
When you are twenty years old, you don’t feel the cold. When you are thirty years old, you walk it off. When forty, you open another beer. But when you’re fifty years old, you huddle in front of the truck as a wind break and try to gather as much warmth from the engine as you can. I now know why the show Survivor only films in tropical locations. You can’t survive in temperatures this cold without killing your own tantaun and climbing inside like Han Solo.
You have three hours to kill or be killed waiting for our section of the parade to pull out. At one point Sue and I found ourselves huddled on the deck, our backs to boxes of beads. Looking up at the pirate flag flapping in the wind, the shouts of the crewmembers lashing down the sails and the costumed characters scurrying about the decks, I began to think what a great novel I could write about some crazed pirate captain forcing his desperate crew ever northward to bury his treasure in the snows of Greenland.
Then I looked out at the float across from us. Through the blinding snow I could just make out the Hooter’s bikini swimsuit issue float. Unfortunately the Hooter’s “models” standing around the float looked more like MoDOT workers in their insulated orange jumpsuits. My day was starting to turn into a Russian novel.
Once the parade started, throwing five gross of beads helped warm me up a bit. Crowds were down from the cold, but there were still seas people around the heart of Soulard. Surprisingly, given the cold, there seemed to be just as many “costume failures” among those in the crowd as last year, though most looked like they had a little natural insulation to spare.
It seems to be the goal of parade organizers to keep the crowd as far away from the floats as possible with the way they set up the barricades. This made it nearly impossible for those throwing beads from the windward side of the ship to reach the crowd. It took my best angled Frisbee style pitch to reach the front rows. Many beads thrown by others simply blew back onto the boat or fell tantalizing close, but out of reach, of those stuck behind the barricades.
It would seem that in an event, where the primary purpose seems to be to put beads and people together, that Soulard Mardi Gras organizers would figure this out. The situation did help one of the more hardy walkers with our Krewe to become an instant celebrity. Dressed in a billowing red silk pirate shirt, he used his plastic sword to deftly flick the fallen booty to the screaming throngs.
My near freezing to death experience gave me renewed respect for all of those professions that work outside. As we hung on to rails for the chilly ride back to the hotel, one person quipped, “Well, at least it can’t be any worse next year.” We all rolled our eyes to the clouded skies. Lent, and therefore the Soulard Parade, is a week earlier next year! Pass the word to the crows nest to keep a sharp eye out for icebergs! Aaargh!
Cold Day In You Know Where
There are few times I am happy to say, that I’ve felt my life was in mortal danger. One of those came last Saturday when my wife and I joined a hardy Krewe for the annual Mardi Gras Parade in Soulard. Mardi Gras is how St. Louis celebrates its French heritage. In this case that would be the heritage of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.
It wasn’t that we didn’t know it would be cold. We had more layers than the paint on my house. My wife even tested her costume the day before by standing outside…in the shade. A lot of time and effort went into perfecting the perfect pirate costumes. I just think people weren’t use to seeing pirate Eskimos.
Hundreds of man hours had gone into the construction of the pirate ship that served as our float. It was a three masted affair, complete with sails and menacing cannon bristling from gunports. There was even a crows nest on a third level where fair damsels could take refuge and a skeleton lashed to the ship’s wheel. It was a beautiful float, built by the Bone Daddy & The Blues Shaker’s Krewe. Had the cannons been loaded and our swords cold steel instead of plastic, we might have even persuaded the judges to give us the first place trophy.
Instead the top honors for best float and best costumes went to our now sworn enemies the Mystic Knights of the Purple Haze. I thought on their name alone the police should have pulled their float over and done a random drug search. The theme of the parade this year was “novels” and our Piratical entry was for Captain Blood. The Mystic Knights of the Purple Haze (sorry, I can’t stop laughing when I have to write that) chose George Orwell’s 1984.
I didn’t see the latest remake of 1984 packing them in like Pirate’s of the Caribbean. We were the crowd favorite, not a bunch of guards trying to look menacing in jump suits and yellow hardhats telling people war is peace. We all know that if peace broke out in the world we wouldn’t know what to call it. Aaargh! Just wait till next year Mystic Knights!
Now the Mardi Gras Parade in Soulard has a reputation for going on rain or shine. But with the early date for the start of Lent this year, they can now add “blizzards” to the list of meteorological disasters that don’t stop the parade. We arrived at the staging area at 8:30 in the morning to wind gusts of 30 miles per hour, driving snow and a wind chill factor so low they use it to describe temperatures on Pluto.
When you are twenty years old, you don’t feel the cold. When you are thirty years old, you walk it off. When forty, you open another beer. But when you’re fifty years old, you huddle in front of the truck as a wind break and try to gather as much warmth from the engine as you can. I now know why the show Survivor only films in tropical locations. You can’t survive in temperatures this cold without killing your own tantaun and climbing inside like Han Solo.
You have three hours to kill or be killed waiting for our section of the parade to pull out. At one point Sue and I found ourselves huddled on the deck, our backs to boxes of beads. Looking up at the pirate flag flapping in the wind, the shouts of the crewmembers lashing down the sails and the costumed characters scurrying about the decks, I began to think what a great novel I could write about some crazed pirate captain forcing his desperate crew ever northward to bury his treasure in the snows of Greenland.
Then I looked out at the float across from us. Through the blinding snow I could just make out the Hooter’s bikini swimsuit issue float. Unfortunately the Hooter’s “models” standing around the float looked more like MoDOT workers in their insulated orange jumpsuits. My day was starting to turn into a Russian novel.
Once the parade started, throwing five gross of beads helped warm me up a bit. Crowds were down from the cold, but there were still seas people around the heart of Soulard. Surprisingly, given the cold, there seemed to be just as many “costume failures” among those in the crowd as last year, though most looked like they had a little natural insulation to spare.
It seems to be the goal of parade organizers to keep the crowd as far away from the floats as possible with the way they set up the barricades. This made it nearly impossible for those throwing beads from the windward side of the ship to reach the crowd. It took my best angled Frisbee style pitch to reach the front rows. Many beads thrown by others simply blew back onto the boat or fell tantalizing close, but out of reach, of those stuck behind the barricades.
It would seem that in an event, where the primary purpose seems to be to put beads and people together, that Soulard Mardi Gras organizers would figure this out. The situation did help one of the more hardy walkers with our Krewe to become an instant celebrity. Dressed in a billowing red silk pirate shirt, he used his plastic sword to deftly flick the fallen booty to the screaming throngs.
My near freezing to death experience gave me renewed respect for all of those professions that work outside. As we hung on to rails for the chilly ride back to the hotel, one person quipped, “Well, at least it can’t be any worse next year.” We all rolled our eyes to the clouded skies. Lent, and therefore the Soulard Parade, is a week earlier next year! Pass the word to the crows nest to keep a sharp eye out for icebergs! Aaargh!
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor
My name is Brad Sewell. I am the business manager for Frenchtown Transmission Inc., located at 1718 North 2nd Street, St. Charles, Missouri.
I am responding to an article posted on STLtoday.com, under the subject, “Frenchtown developer is in for the long haul”. In the article, Kim Paris, who represents Griffey Homes and has been quite vocal for her position in a redevelopment plan for the Frenchtown Historic District, suggests the reason the redevelopment has stalled is because the present property owners all “want to become millionaires”, and are asking unreasonable prices for the properties.
I have become quite familiar with Kim Paris during the time this redevelopment plan has been debated by the St. Charles City Council and its constituents. I would like to commend Kim for her work. She has represented her group admirably.
The neighborhood Kim Paris is referring to consists mostly of homes built during the 1940’s and 1950’s and includes a few recently built homes. The businesses are all professional people and their offices or garages. No liquor stores or taverns. There is a half-block area with mobile homes. There are no falling down, dilapidated buildings. There are a few buildings currently vacant, but no eyesores.
Frenchtown Transmission Inc. occupies a building situated on property which fronts on North 2nd Street, a main thoroughfare, and is less than 50 yards from scenic Missouri River levee, to the rear. The property is surrounded on three sides by small, flat, vacant, grassy lots, which the City of St. Charles owns and maintains. One is a park complete with benches and B-B-Q grills. The building is a mostly metal building, which will withstand the elements for many generations to come, and is more than suitable for the purpose of repairing car and light duty truck transmissions. The fire department and city code enforcement crews have performed their annual inspections and until recently have never found any infractions. This year we received a letter from the city regarding some loose soffit panels, a simple problem to repair.
What Kim does not mention, when she accuses people of “Wanting to be millionaires”, is that no good faith dollar offers were tendered for any of the properties in the “Frenchtown Historic District” before the city council began proceeding to have the area declared blighted or the parties involved in redeveloping began proceedings to use eminent domain to acquire the properties. Their early efforts focused on getting the property on the cheap.
Eminent Domain is a tool which governing bodies use to acquire properties needed for public works projects when there is an impasse in the negotiations for an amount to be paid for the property. The City Council took the use of eminent domain out of the redevelopment plan after much protest.
When Kim and her group finally did discuss dollars with the business owners, the offers were for less than a normal appraisal value.
The real issue in the debate is the replacement cost for the properties they wish to acquire. The properties they wish to acquire are not recent development and the market value of the properties is not near enough to the cost to replace the properties to make it feasible for the Sellers to move.
Normal thinking people and people who do not wish to get into financial trouble, do not attempt to purchase property they cannot afford. Some of the people she is referring to already are millionaires and got that way by not spending more than they needed to.
Kim and her people want all the people in the redevelopment district to accept offers for the value they appraised the properties at, which was far lower than the appraisal we got, and then move to a different location and bear the cost difference out of our pocket. That would have these business owners spending more than they desire to spend for the roofs over their head. They are located where they are located because of the real estate price.
The complaint all along is that the people here are satisfied with their properties. If Kim and her group wish to own them, they will have to put up the money the people need to move away and we will go gladly.
They do not want to pay and prefer to malign us in the newspapers and on the radio.
I wish Kim and her group well in their endeavors, but they are the ones who “want to be millionaires”, and they want to get there at our expense.
Mr. Haferkamp
View From The Cheap Seats,
I was so glad to read your recent View from the Cheap Seats questioning the Saint Charles School Board’s recent decision to kick kids out of our school district. You really hit the nail on the head when you asked how this could possibly Save the district money. It doesn’t SAVE any money. They calculated that theoretical savings based on the average cost per student and when they kick these kids out the Average cost per student is simply going to increase. They are still going to spend that money, just on fewer kids. The real truth is that kicking these poor kids out of our school isn’t going to SAVE it is really going to COST us money, more than $70,000 in state funding we will not receive.
So, if this decision is not really about the money, why don’t they have the decency and compassion to honor their promise to these teachers and students? It really all comes done to what I told them two years ago, “an average of 27 kids per classroom is not 100% capacity”. Go ahead and do the math. If you take any of their capacity numbers for any of the schools and divide it by the number of classrooms you will get 27 kids per classroom.
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidelines, http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/sia/msip/faq&answers.html) do not recommend an average of 27 children/classroom in K-4, it is not even the recommended maximum in K-2. Our School Board knows this fact but they decided to ignore everyone and based their entire reorganization on this ridiculous number.
The only way they figured out how to close two elementary and stay within the DESE guidelines was to dump the fifth graders into the middle school, pack them in like the elementary schools. But once again they did not use the right numbers, they let Laidlaw (the bus company) try to figure it all out. But Laidlaw didn’t get all the numbers right, they forgot to count all the kids.
So to cover up how they have botched this reorganization, the Saint Charles School Board has to kick these kids out, not for the reasons they give, but to cover up their own incompetence. They simply don’t want to admit that closing down two elementary schools is a big mistake.
What is most disheartening is the only reason they are cramming this reorganization down our throats is because of their “Project Financial Deficit” in 2010. A projection made back in 2005 that has also proven to be flawed. I want to point out that this past year, with all the schools still open I might add, this school district has done remarkably well financially. At the January meeting, their financial officer reported that the district received $3,000,000 more than it expected. That project supposedly included the tax levy transfer; that surplus was due to their “Conservative” projections, (some might call that way too conservative). Lets also not forget that at the beginning of this school year they paid off an additional $2,000,000 in debt. A very sound financial move I might add that will save the district a significant amount of interest over the course of the next several years.
Just counting those two examples (and there are quite a few more) total up to 5 million dollars. That’s about 10% of their total annual budget of 50 million they underestimated, and quite frankly I don’t care how conservative you are, that isn’t the “Break even” point they predicted back in 2005.
That’s the sad truth of it all, and this school board is still trying to cover it all up. They want to cram kids in like sardines, try to convince us of nonexistent savings, (the busing nightmare is their next shell game), all the while they waste money on new administration offices and fancy laptop computers for themselves. Their ultimate goal (as foolishly verbalized during the Jan. meeting) is to attempt another tax levy transfer. I am certain it will include another threat of reorganization, this time I predict at the high school level. It truly sickens me the way this board likes to hold our children hostages over us. That’s the view from my seat. Keep up the good work Mr. Haferkamp!
Parent and Citizen
DUMONET@worldnet.att.net
Dear Editor
The answer is an average of 27 children per classroom. What does the Saint Charles School Board believe their capacity is? That’s right, an average of 27 children per classroom. If you take any of their school capacity numbers and divide it by the number of classrooms you will get an average of 27 children per classroom. Whenever they talk about their percent capacity, its based on an average of 27 children per classroom. Don’t get fooled by that number; it is not the maximum number of children allowed in a classroom; it is an average. They are using an AVERAGE of 27 children per classroom. What do you get when you have 30 kids in one classroom and 24 in another? According to our school board that is okay because it’s still an average of 27 children per classroom.
But it is not okay. It is not okay with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. They don’t like it when you cram more than 27 children per classroom especially in the elementary schools. Our school board is just now figuring that out, and that’s why they are frantically looking for ways to kick kids out of our schools. After all their posturing about declining enrollment numbers, they are turning around and kicking children out because they completely botched the reorganization using that 27 children per classroom as an average.
So now try to answer these questions. What is the best way to drive good teachers out of this district? What is the best way to make parents pull even more children out of our schools? What is the best way to drive down the academic performance of our students? What is the best way for this district to fail the MAP test resulting in the federal mandate to fire all of our teachers (like Saint Louis)? The answer is simple; it’s an average of 27 children per classroom. And it is all brought to you by the Saint Charles School Board who seem to have average IQ of 27.
Jim DuMontelle
My name is Brad Sewell. I am the business manager for Frenchtown Transmission Inc., located at 1718 North 2nd Street, St. Charles, Missouri.
I am responding to an article posted on STLtoday.com, under the subject, “Frenchtown developer is in for the long haul”. In the article, Kim Paris, who represents Griffey Homes and has been quite vocal for her position in a redevelopment plan for the Frenchtown Historic District, suggests the reason the redevelopment has stalled is because the present property owners all “want to become millionaires”, and are asking unreasonable prices for the properties.
I have become quite familiar with Kim Paris during the time this redevelopment plan has been debated by the St. Charles City Council and its constituents. I would like to commend Kim for her work. She has represented her group admirably.
The neighborhood Kim Paris is referring to consists mostly of homes built during the 1940’s and 1950’s and includes a few recently built homes. The businesses are all professional people and their offices or garages. No liquor stores or taverns. There is a half-block area with mobile homes. There are no falling down, dilapidated buildings. There are a few buildings currently vacant, but no eyesores.
Frenchtown Transmission Inc. occupies a building situated on property which fronts on North 2nd Street, a main thoroughfare, and is less than 50 yards from scenic Missouri River levee, to the rear. The property is surrounded on three sides by small, flat, vacant, grassy lots, which the City of St. Charles owns and maintains. One is a park complete with benches and B-B-Q grills. The building is a mostly metal building, which will withstand the elements for many generations to come, and is more than suitable for the purpose of repairing car and light duty truck transmissions. The fire department and city code enforcement crews have performed their annual inspections and until recently have never found any infractions. This year we received a letter from the city regarding some loose soffit panels, a simple problem to repair.
What Kim does not mention, when she accuses people of “Wanting to be millionaires”, is that no good faith dollar offers were tendered for any of the properties in the “Frenchtown Historic District” before the city council began proceeding to have the area declared blighted or the parties involved in redeveloping began proceedings to use eminent domain to acquire the properties. Their early efforts focused on getting the property on the cheap.
Eminent Domain is a tool which governing bodies use to acquire properties needed for public works projects when there is an impasse in the negotiations for an amount to be paid for the property. The City Council took the use of eminent domain out of the redevelopment plan after much protest.
When Kim and her group finally did discuss dollars with the business owners, the offers were for less than a normal appraisal value.
The real issue in the debate is the replacement cost for the properties they wish to acquire. The properties they wish to acquire are not recent development and the market value of the properties is not near enough to the cost to replace the properties to make it feasible for the Sellers to move.
Normal thinking people and people who do not wish to get into financial trouble, do not attempt to purchase property they cannot afford. Some of the people she is referring to already are millionaires and got that way by not spending more than they needed to.
Kim and her people want all the people in the redevelopment district to accept offers for the value they appraised the properties at, which was far lower than the appraisal we got, and then move to a different location and bear the cost difference out of our pocket. That would have these business owners spending more than they desire to spend for the roofs over their head. They are located where they are located because of the real estate price.
The complaint all along is that the people here are satisfied with their properties. If Kim and her group wish to own them, they will have to put up the money the people need to move away and we will go gladly.
They do not want to pay and prefer to malign us in the newspapers and on the radio.
I wish Kim and her group well in their endeavors, but they are the ones who “want to be millionaires”, and they want to get there at our expense.
Mr. Haferkamp
View From The Cheap Seats,
I was so glad to read your recent View from the Cheap Seats questioning the Saint Charles School Board’s recent decision to kick kids out of our school district. You really hit the nail on the head when you asked how this could possibly Save the district money. It doesn’t SAVE any money. They calculated that theoretical savings based on the average cost per student and when they kick these kids out the Average cost per student is simply going to increase. They are still going to spend that money, just on fewer kids. The real truth is that kicking these poor kids out of our school isn’t going to SAVE it is really going to COST us money, more than $70,000 in state funding we will not receive.
So, if this decision is not really about the money, why don’t they have the decency and compassion to honor their promise to these teachers and students? It really all comes done to what I told them two years ago, “an average of 27 kids per classroom is not 100% capacity”. Go ahead and do the math. If you take any of their capacity numbers for any of the schools and divide it by the number of classrooms you will get 27 kids per classroom.
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidelines, http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/sia/msip/faq&answers.html) do not recommend an average of 27 children/classroom in K-4, it is not even the recommended maximum in K-2. Our School Board knows this fact but they decided to ignore everyone and based their entire reorganization on this ridiculous number.
The only way they figured out how to close two elementary and stay within the DESE guidelines was to dump the fifth graders into the middle school, pack them in like the elementary schools. But once again they did not use the right numbers, they let Laidlaw (the bus company) try to figure it all out. But Laidlaw didn’t get all the numbers right, they forgot to count all the kids.
So to cover up how they have botched this reorganization, the Saint Charles School Board has to kick these kids out, not for the reasons they give, but to cover up their own incompetence. They simply don’t want to admit that closing down two elementary schools is a big mistake.
What is most disheartening is the only reason they are cramming this reorganization down our throats is because of their “Project Financial Deficit” in 2010. A projection made back in 2005 that has also proven to be flawed. I want to point out that this past year, with all the schools still open I might add, this school district has done remarkably well financially. At the January meeting, their financial officer reported that the district received $3,000,000 more than it expected. That project supposedly included the tax levy transfer; that surplus was due to their “Conservative” projections, (some might call that way too conservative). Lets also not forget that at the beginning of this school year they paid off an additional $2,000,000 in debt. A very sound financial move I might add that will save the district a significant amount of interest over the course of the next several years.
Just counting those two examples (and there are quite a few more) total up to 5 million dollars. That’s about 10% of their total annual budget of 50 million they underestimated, and quite frankly I don’t care how conservative you are, that isn’t the “Break even” point they predicted back in 2005.
That’s the sad truth of it all, and this school board is still trying to cover it all up. They want to cram kids in like sardines, try to convince us of nonexistent savings, (the busing nightmare is their next shell game), all the while they waste money on new administration offices and fancy laptop computers for themselves. Their ultimate goal (as foolishly verbalized during the Jan. meeting) is to attempt another tax levy transfer. I am certain it will include another threat of reorganization, this time I predict at the high school level. It truly sickens me the way this board likes to hold our children hostages over us. That’s the view from my seat. Keep up the good work Mr. Haferkamp!
Parent and Citizen
DUMONET@worldnet.att.net
Dear Editor
The answer is an average of 27 children per classroom. What does the Saint Charles School Board believe their capacity is? That’s right, an average of 27 children per classroom. If you take any of their school capacity numbers and divide it by the number of classrooms you will get an average of 27 children per classroom. Whenever they talk about their percent capacity, its based on an average of 27 children per classroom. Don’t get fooled by that number; it is not the maximum number of children allowed in a classroom; it is an average. They are using an AVERAGE of 27 children per classroom. What do you get when you have 30 kids in one classroom and 24 in another? According to our school board that is okay because it’s still an average of 27 children per classroom.
But it is not okay. It is not okay with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. They don’t like it when you cram more than 27 children per classroom especially in the elementary schools. Our school board is just now figuring that out, and that’s why they are frantically looking for ways to kick kids out of our schools. After all their posturing about declining enrollment numbers, they are turning around and kicking children out because they completely botched the reorganization using that 27 children per classroom as an average.
So now try to answer these questions. What is the best way to drive good teachers out of this district? What is the best way to make parents pull even more children out of our schools? What is the best way to drive down the academic performance of our students? What is the best way for this district to fail the MAP test resulting in the federal mandate to fire all of our teachers (like Saint Louis)? The answer is simple; it’s an average of 27 children per classroom. And it is all brought to you by the Saint Charles School Board who seem to have average IQ of 27.
Jim DuMontelle
Case In Point By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9
Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings.
Heinrich Heine
A Post column from John Sonderegger dated February 4th, 2007 did a good job trying to make the City the bad guys when a car dealership decided to move to O’Fallon; you know, the one under the water tower. John Gieseke did a good job clarifying the facts of the matter; however, I wanted to respond here to some things quoted in the piece.
First of all, the concerned residents of Olde Towne Estates didn’t see the jovial, humorous Trenary as seen on TV. Residents were treated as annoyances in the way of what a businessman wanted to do. The neighboring residents wanted to protect their property values and the current zoning laws for the adjacent property. Any one of us can appreciate this. Simply put, had Trenary been at the West Clay site and then a subdivision put in that in turn complained about the dealership as a neighbor, it would make sense to defend the business. When the opposite is true, it makes sense to defend the neighborhood. Trenary stated, “We’ll try to take our sense of humor out that way.” Sadly, had more humor and humility been afforded the working men and women who are his customers right from the start, perhaps an early compromise could have been reached regarding the relocation of the dealership. Several alternative locations with highway frontage were offered up, but for the auto dealership, it was this spot or no spot at all.
A further quote continues, claiming that the current City Council legacy will be that, “they ran another auto dealer out of town.”
I’m thinking....no, I’m quite certain that not only did we not run Trenary out of town, this council has not run any dealership out of town. It is true that our City does not wish to allow any more used car lots in town. Could that be what he meant? You see, by “running out of town” the dealership owner meant “didn’t allow a blank check to a powerful businessman.” By the way, if you doubt his power, just see the aforementioned column – eleventh paragraph. It reads:
Now, if you eat lunch at Pio’s and you hold court there with Ernie Dempsey and his pals, you’d think the local pols would treat you with more respect than Trenary was afforded a couple of years ago when he wanted to buy property along West Clay Street...”
This sentence tells you that the columnist is taken with such power and connections to even mention this and it also lets you know that Trenary was well connected to the good-old-boy network that runs much of our government. I can say that I was glad that John Gieseke resisted the awe that a Pio’s-eating, local celebrity brings to the table and instead he chose to do the right thing (“do the right thing” - those words have been forever altered in the local vocabulary). John chose to support the local homeowners who like their quiet streets and want to keep them that way. These homeowners are our neighbors and live among us – not in Town and Country. For many, their home’s value means a safer retirement and for our town’s future, favorable neighborhoods mean new families who will call our town home.
Today, a beautiful development inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright is being constructed on the West Clay site where, had it not been for concerned residents, a sea of cars would have taken out old-growth trees and a well-built building. Today, several new businesses already call the building home and work continues to add more businesses and towards the back of the property housing - including senior housing.
Where Trenary’s business is departing underneath the water tower, a developer is interested in developing new retail. Our City has an opportunity to clean up First Capitol Drive which should be our main objective for the next three years.
It needs to be said too that Trenary stated, “I’m still a friend of St. Charles.”
I’m glad to hear that – I’m no enemy of Trenary. His plan couldn’t get through planning and zoning. That’s all there really is to the matter. I wish Trenary continued success at his new location. I pray that the American car manufacturers can stabilize their market so that down the road, Trenary still has a product to sell. I know I have been happy with my GM product for years now.
Heinrich Heine
A Post column from John Sonderegger dated February 4th, 2007 did a good job trying to make the City the bad guys when a car dealership decided to move to O’Fallon; you know, the one under the water tower. John Gieseke did a good job clarifying the facts of the matter; however, I wanted to respond here to some things quoted in the piece.
First of all, the concerned residents of Olde Towne Estates didn’t see the jovial, humorous Trenary as seen on TV. Residents were treated as annoyances in the way of what a businessman wanted to do. The neighboring residents wanted to protect their property values and the current zoning laws for the adjacent property. Any one of us can appreciate this. Simply put, had Trenary been at the West Clay site and then a subdivision put in that in turn complained about the dealership as a neighbor, it would make sense to defend the business. When the opposite is true, it makes sense to defend the neighborhood. Trenary stated, “We’ll try to take our sense of humor out that way.” Sadly, had more humor and humility been afforded the working men and women who are his customers right from the start, perhaps an early compromise could have been reached regarding the relocation of the dealership. Several alternative locations with highway frontage were offered up, but for the auto dealership, it was this spot or no spot at all.
A further quote continues, claiming that the current City Council legacy will be that, “they ran another auto dealer out of town.”
I’m thinking....no, I’m quite certain that not only did we not run Trenary out of town, this council has not run any dealership out of town. It is true that our City does not wish to allow any more used car lots in town. Could that be what he meant? You see, by “running out of town” the dealership owner meant “didn’t allow a blank check to a powerful businessman.” By the way, if you doubt his power, just see the aforementioned column – eleventh paragraph. It reads:
Now, if you eat lunch at Pio’s and you hold court there with Ernie Dempsey and his pals, you’d think the local pols would treat you with more respect than Trenary was afforded a couple of years ago when he wanted to buy property along West Clay Street...”
This sentence tells you that the columnist is taken with such power and connections to even mention this and it also lets you know that Trenary was well connected to the good-old-boy network that runs much of our government. I can say that I was glad that John Gieseke resisted the awe that a Pio’s-eating, local celebrity brings to the table and instead he chose to do the right thing (“do the right thing” - those words have been forever altered in the local vocabulary). John chose to support the local homeowners who like their quiet streets and want to keep them that way. These homeowners are our neighbors and live among us – not in Town and Country. For many, their home’s value means a safer retirement and for our town’s future, favorable neighborhoods mean new families who will call our town home.
Today, a beautiful development inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright is being constructed on the West Clay site where, had it not been for concerned residents, a sea of cars would have taken out old-growth trees and a well-built building. Today, several new businesses already call the building home and work continues to add more businesses and towards the back of the property housing - including senior housing.
Where Trenary’s business is departing underneath the water tower, a developer is interested in developing new retail. Our City has an opportunity to clean up First Capitol Drive which should be our main objective for the next three years.
It needs to be said too that Trenary stated, “I’m still a friend of St. Charles.”
I’m glad to hear that – I’m no enemy of Trenary. His plan couldn’t get through planning and zoning. That’s all there really is to the matter. I wish Trenary continued success at his new location. I pray that the American car manufacturers can stabilize their market so that down the road, Trenary still has a product to sell. I know I have been happy with my GM product for years now.
The View From The Cheap Seats BY Jerry Haferkamp
The View From The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp
Before you read this, I don’t like calling people liars. So instead of the word “lied”, you will see the word (misrepresented). That way I won’t offend the members of the St. Charles School Board who deserve more than just their feelings hurt.
Several months ago I started a column with the question, “Who do you trust”? I referenced an old game show by that name.
Well, I’m not sure whom you do trust, but I can tell you whom you can’t trust. You, and certainly the teachers they employ, can not trust the four members of the St. Charles School Board that didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to reverse the policy change that will harm the district.
As I stated in my last published column, several teachers were told, prior to accepting employment in the district, that their children could attend schools in the district even if they resided outside the district. Well, the board (misrepresented). They (misrepresented) to their employees and they (misrepresented) to you and me.
These teachers bought homes, enrolled their children and settled in. This was the policy for years. Now the board has jerked the rug from under these employees, disrupted their lives and traumatized some of the children. For what?
This brings up how they (misrepresented) to us. They said it would save money. That is not true and they know it. It will cost the loss of the States per-student subsidy while not lessening the expenses one dime. One member stated that there was a public outcry to eliminate this benefit. Baloney! (Or bologna if you prefer)
Many of these teachers stayed after hours to supervise extracurricular activities. They may no longer be able to do this because instead of having their children with them, they will have to beat a fast path home to meet their children after their bus drops them off across town. Extracurricular activities that are already stressed will suffer further.
These teachers should be grandfathered and the new policy should only apply to new teachers entering employment in the district. It would still be harmful to the district, but if these four members still feel the need to harm teachers and the district’s finances, the teachers and the taxpayers would at least have been warned.
The Board had a chance to overturn this action at the last meeting, but on a four to three vote decided to leave their integrity in the gutter. If they don’t overturn this action, the gutter is where it will stay.
That’s the view from the cheap seats.
By Jerry Haferkamp
Before you read this, I don’t like calling people liars. So instead of the word “lied”, you will see the word (misrepresented). That way I won’t offend the members of the St. Charles School Board who deserve more than just their feelings hurt.
Several months ago I started a column with the question, “Who do you trust”? I referenced an old game show by that name.
Well, I’m not sure whom you do trust, but I can tell you whom you can’t trust. You, and certainly the teachers they employ, can not trust the four members of the St. Charles School Board that didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to reverse the policy change that will harm the district.
As I stated in my last published column, several teachers were told, prior to accepting employment in the district, that their children could attend schools in the district even if they resided outside the district. Well, the board (misrepresented). They (misrepresented) to their employees and they (misrepresented) to you and me.
These teachers bought homes, enrolled their children and settled in. This was the policy for years. Now the board has jerked the rug from under these employees, disrupted their lives and traumatized some of the children. For what?
This brings up how they (misrepresented) to us. They said it would save money. That is not true and they know it. It will cost the loss of the States per-student subsidy while not lessening the expenses one dime. One member stated that there was a public outcry to eliminate this benefit. Baloney! (Or bologna if you prefer)
Many of these teachers stayed after hours to supervise extracurricular activities. They may no longer be able to do this because instead of having their children with them, they will have to beat a fast path home to meet their children after their bus drops them off across town. Extracurricular activities that are already stressed will suffer further.
These teachers should be grandfathered and the new policy should only apply to new teachers entering employment in the district. It would still be harmful to the district, but if these four members still feel the need to harm teachers and the district’s finances, the teachers and the taxpayers would at least have been warned.
The Board had a chance to overturn this action at the last meeting, but on a four to three vote decided to leave their integrity in the gutter. If they don’t overturn this action, the gutter is where it will stay.
That’s the view from the cheap seats.
Councilman John Gieseke Speaks Out on AT&T Proposal To St. Charles
The City of St. Charles has the opportunity to introduce competition in the field of cable television delivery. AT&T has asked the City to permit them access under our master cable franchise ordinance in competition with Charter Cable. While I am in favor of the competition our City Attorney, Mike Valenti, made it clear in his brief that this would be far from fair competition.
One provision that is worrisome to me is that AT&T does not have to guarantee that they will cover the same area as Charter Cable. In other cities, AT&T has engaged in a practice called “cherry picking”. In the insurance field they call this practice red lining. This unfair business practice will leave many in our city without access to the new AT&T product. If AT&T wants to be part of the city I welcome them, but all parts of the City should be served and have the AT&T product available.
Secondly, the contract does not ask for any check and balance of customer complaints. This is required under the Charter contract and has allowed the city to monitor the lack of service we all have endured. Without this check and balance the City will not have first hand knowledge if AT&T is living up to the same service level as Charter. Having one company that is poor with service is bad enough, having a second that refuses transparency to customer service issues will compound the issue.
I believe that competition is the foundation of buyer’s rights. Lack of competition often results in service levels we are experiencing with other utilities. The same will hold true if we allow an unleveled playing field to a company the size of AT&T. They can lower rates in select areas and run Charter out of business. This will leave us once again with one carrier that refuses examination of their service levels.
In your business how would you react if the City decided to give unfair advantage to the competition? I am hopeful that AT&T will allow for just a few minor changes in their contract that will allow for fair and open competition. One would have to question AT&T’s true motives if they refuse.
One provision that is worrisome to me is that AT&T does not have to guarantee that they will cover the same area as Charter Cable. In other cities, AT&T has engaged in a practice called “cherry picking”. In the insurance field they call this practice red lining. This unfair business practice will leave many in our city without access to the new AT&T product. If AT&T wants to be part of the city I welcome them, but all parts of the City should be served and have the AT&T product available.
Secondly, the contract does not ask for any check and balance of customer complaints. This is required under the Charter contract and has allowed the city to monitor the lack of service we all have endured. Without this check and balance the City will not have first hand knowledge if AT&T is living up to the same service level as Charter. Having one company that is poor with service is bad enough, having a second that refuses transparency to customer service issues will compound the issue.
I believe that competition is the foundation of buyer’s rights. Lack of competition often results in service levels we are experiencing with other utilities. The same will hold true if we allow an unleveled playing field to a company the size of AT&T. They can lower rates in select areas and run Charter out of business. This will leave us once again with one carrier that refuses examination of their service levels.
In your business how would you react if the City decided to give unfair advantage to the competition? I am hopeful that AT&T will allow for just a few minor changes in their contract that will allow for fair and open competition. One would have to question AT&T’s true motives if they refuse.
Crescendo Concert Series Presents Baltimore Consort
On Sunday March 4th, at First United Methodist Church, 801 First Capitol Drive, Crescendo Concert Series presents Baltimore Consort, an Early Music Ensemble of viols, lutes, recorders, flutes, and vocalists that have delighted audiences on both sides of the Atlantic while touring all regions of the USA and appearing frequently in Europe. Performing early music from England, Scotland, France, and Italy has led the Consort to delve into the rich trove of traditional balladry and dance tunes preserved in the Appalachian mountains and Nova Scotia. Their St. Charles concert will include new repertoire of songs from the Iberian peninsula with a particular emphasis upon early Spanish music from the fifteenth century. The ensemble¹s performances on syndicated radio programs like Performance Today and Onstage (CBC) have broadcast their music far and wide. Twelve recordings on the Dorian label have earned their CDs a place on the Billboard Magazine Top-Ten list.
Crescendo Concert Series president George Morris explained, ³We hope that this concert will appeal to a wide variety of audience interests including persons who might be especially glad to hear this music of an earlier age of Hispanic culture. Baltimore Consort is a favorite group among music lovers up and down the east coast where they are heard frequently. We were delighted to receive a letter recently from the Arts and Education Council informing us of the awarding of a $1,000 grant to help support our series presentation of this ensemble. We believe this will be a very special concert appearance and very much hope our growing audience will appreciate the opportunity to hear this renowned ensemble in St. Charles. This grant will go a long way toward assuring that our eighth year of concerts is successful financially as well as artistically.”
The Concert Series has also been supported for the past seven years through generous grants by the Arts and Culture Commission of the City of St. Charles. Additional funding by corporate sponsors such as Target Stores, Inc., by individual donors, and by advertising space purchased by local businesses and merchants combine to further assist bringing this recognized group to St. Charles.
“Crescendo Series is also grateful for generous gifts from individuals and from co-sponsors of some concerts. We encourage lovers of fine music to support our efforts,² Morris explained. Concertgoers who wish to help can send tax-deductible donations to the Crescendo Concert Series, P.O. Box 1613, St. Charles, MO, 63302-1613. Donors will be recognized in concert programs at the following levels: ³Forte² for donations up to $100; Fortissimo² for donations of $100 to $500; and ³Sforzando² for donations of
more than $500.
³Ticket revenue is only a small part of the income needed to present a concert series even when conducted entirely by volunteers. We are fortunate that members of the Crescendo Concert Series Board of Directors donate generously of their time, talents, and efforts. For instance, each event begins with a pre-concert talk at 2:30 p.m. conducted by musicologist Nancy Rubenstein, PhD, who has taught music history and appreciation at local universities and now serves on the Crescendo Concert Series Board of Directors. This is one reason we are able to provide so much quality music for so little money. Our Board Members are doing all the work that requires paid employees in many organizations.²
Morris stated that, ³Good music is an essential element in a good life. For many the definition of Œgood music¹ applies perfectly to the works performed by those artists the Crescendo Concert Series brings to St. Charles city and county. Most of our performers are classical musicians, but folk music and innovative modern music are included in their repertories as are lightclassical works.²
The final concert for this season will be a return performance by Stephen Porter, widely recognized pianist specializing in Romantic era music, at Immanuel Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall on May 20, 2007.
Individual adult tickets for $12 and student tickets for $5 can be purchased by sending a check or money order and a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Crescendo Concert Series, P.O. Box 1613, St. Charles, MO, 63302-1613 or at the door. Group rates are available by calling (636) 724-2507. For directions and additional information such as past and future concerts, visit their website at
Crescendo Concert Series president George Morris explained, ³We hope that this concert will appeal to a wide variety of audience interests including persons who might be especially glad to hear this music of an earlier age of Hispanic culture. Baltimore Consort is a favorite group among music lovers up and down the east coast where they are heard frequently. We were delighted to receive a letter recently from the Arts and Education Council informing us of the awarding of a $1,000 grant to help support our series presentation of this ensemble. We believe this will be a very special concert appearance and very much hope our growing audience will appreciate the opportunity to hear this renowned ensemble in St. Charles. This grant will go a long way toward assuring that our eighth year of concerts is successful financially as well as artistically.”
The Concert Series has also been supported for the past seven years through generous grants by the Arts and Culture Commission of the City of St. Charles. Additional funding by corporate sponsors such as Target Stores, Inc., by individual donors, and by advertising space purchased by local businesses and merchants combine to further assist bringing this recognized group to St. Charles.
“Crescendo Series is also grateful for generous gifts from individuals and from co-sponsors of some concerts. We encourage lovers of fine music to support our efforts,² Morris explained. Concertgoers who wish to help can send tax-deductible donations to the Crescendo Concert Series, P.O. Box 1613, St. Charles, MO, 63302-1613. Donors will be recognized in concert programs at the following levels: ³Forte² for donations up to $100; Fortissimo² for donations of $100 to $500; and ³Sforzando² for donations of
more than $500.
³Ticket revenue is only a small part of the income needed to present a concert series even when conducted entirely by volunteers. We are fortunate that members of the Crescendo Concert Series Board of Directors donate generously of their time, talents, and efforts. For instance, each event begins with a pre-concert talk at 2:30 p.m. conducted by musicologist Nancy Rubenstein, PhD, who has taught music history and appreciation at local universities and now serves on the Crescendo Concert Series Board of Directors. This is one reason we are able to provide so much quality music for so little money. Our Board Members are doing all the work that requires paid employees in many organizations.²
Morris stated that, ³Good music is an essential element in a good life. For many the definition of Œgood music¹ applies perfectly to the works performed by those artists the Crescendo Concert Series brings to St. Charles city and county. Most of our performers are classical musicians, but folk music and innovative modern music are included in their repertories as are lightclassical works.²
The final concert for this season will be a return performance by Stephen Porter, widely recognized pianist specializing in Romantic era music, at Immanuel Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall on May 20, 2007.
Individual adult tickets for $12 and student tickets for $5 can be purchased by sending a check or money order and a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Crescendo Concert Series, P.O. Box 1613, St. Charles, MO, 63302-1613 or at the door. Group rates are available by calling (636) 724-2507. For directions and additional information such as past and future concerts, visit their website at
FIRST CAPITOL NEWS SPORTS - Mike McMurran Sports Editor
I’m not certain what changes have taken place in regards to whom is making the scheduling at Family Arena, but something is clearly up! It really is hard to tell what event is at the Family Arena as the marquis still has more lights burned out than working, but the crowds are picking up. You can tell by driving by and looking at the parking lot and how full it is.
On Wednesday of this past week the Missouri Valley Conference announced it would be moving its women’s basketball tournament to the Family Arena starting in 2008. Mike Kern, the media guy for the MVC said he hopes the tournament will move there for a number of years that is presently under negotiations. When the tournament moves to St. Charles, it will be the first neutral-site women’s tournament in league history.
The MVC holds its men’s tournament annually at Scottrade Center, or Savvis Center, I can even remember when they held it at Kiel Center. Before that they held it at the old Arena. Anyway, Bob Barton and I have been covering it for the FCN for the past three years – believe me, it is a first class event. Frankly, it is the only time big time college basketball comes to town.
Saint Charles and the Family Arena have really caught on to something here. I can picture the Convention Center hotel packed with people from Bradley, Evansville, Illinois State, Carbondale, Indiana State and from all over Iowa. The format will remain the same as has been the past two years, since the league expanded its tournament to 10 teams in 2006. It begins with two games on Thursday, March 13, continues with four quarterfinal games on Friday, March 14, two semifinal games on Saturday, and concludes with the championship game on Sunday, March 16. That means Friday and Saturday night Main Street should really be busting at the seams.
“Saint Charles is delighted to have the opportunity to showcase our community to the teams, coaches and fans of the Missouri Valley Conference’s Women’s 2008 Basketball Tournament,” said David Rossenwasser, director of the Saint Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau. “This exciting event will find a level of hospitality and service in St. Charles that will no doubt match the level of play from these outstanding student athletes.” Well-said Dave old boy.
Everybody had something nice to say on Wednesday. “Bringing our women’s basketball championship to a neutral site is a natural progression and something we’ve been working toward for several years,” said Commissioner Doug Elgin, now in his 19th season with the MVC. “We are indebted to the continuing commitment of our sponsors, namely State Farm Insurance, who have made this possible. We anticipate the Saint Charles community will embrace our women’s championship and help it grow.”
I don’t know about the rest of the community, but I for one am very excited. Our little ole hometown just landed a big one folks! Job well done to all involved.
On Wednesday of this past week the Missouri Valley Conference announced it would be moving its women’s basketball tournament to the Family Arena starting in 2008. Mike Kern, the media guy for the MVC said he hopes the tournament will move there for a number of years that is presently under negotiations. When the tournament moves to St. Charles, it will be the first neutral-site women’s tournament in league history.
The MVC holds its men’s tournament annually at Scottrade Center, or Savvis Center, I can even remember when they held it at Kiel Center. Before that they held it at the old Arena. Anyway, Bob Barton and I have been covering it for the FCN for the past three years – believe me, it is a first class event. Frankly, it is the only time big time college basketball comes to town.
Saint Charles and the Family Arena have really caught on to something here. I can picture the Convention Center hotel packed with people from Bradley, Evansville, Illinois State, Carbondale, Indiana State and from all over Iowa. The format will remain the same as has been the past two years, since the league expanded its tournament to 10 teams in 2006. It begins with two games on Thursday, March 13, continues with four quarterfinal games on Friday, March 14, two semifinal games on Saturday, and concludes with the championship game on Sunday, March 16. That means Friday and Saturday night Main Street should really be busting at the seams.
“Saint Charles is delighted to have the opportunity to showcase our community to the teams, coaches and fans of the Missouri Valley Conference’s Women’s 2008 Basketball Tournament,” said David Rossenwasser, director of the Saint Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau. “This exciting event will find a level of hospitality and service in St. Charles that will no doubt match the level of play from these outstanding student athletes.” Well-said Dave old boy.
Everybody had something nice to say on Wednesday. “Bringing our women’s basketball championship to a neutral site is a natural progression and something we’ve been working toward for several years,” said Commissioner Doug Elgin, now in his 19th season with the MVC. “We are indebted to the continuing commitment of our sponsors, namely State Farm Insurance, who have made this possible. We anticipate the Saint Charles community will embrace our women’s championship and help it grow.”
I don’t know about the rest of the community, but I for one am very excited. Our little ole hometown just landed a big one folks! Job well done to all involved.
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