IN NEED OF HELP FOR KATRINA VICTIMS.
Dear Sir,
We have been informed that there are 2,000 people from the New Orleans Disaster area and are coming to the St. Charles City and County area. We are in need of help with providing for all of their needs. We have had places that have been donated for the families to live in but they need to be cleaned. So we need volunteers who will help clean these places so they can move right in. We need clothing and shoes, all sizes and types. Infant clothing, diapers and formula. Also toiletries, towels-wash cloths, pillows and blankets. We will need school supplies for the children when they start school. We need Non- Perishable foods and personal hygiene products. If you would like to make a Money donation you can send it to Regions Bank at 423 First Capitol Dr. St. Charles, Mo and in the Memo area you should put Christ the King Ministry Inc. You can also contact us at (636) 373-2337 or (636) 925-0335. Please help if you can. Thank you very much. God Bless !!!!!!!
Dear Editor:
I’m writing about this ridiculously skewed poll run in the Journal regarding fireworks. I am a fireworks retailer who has lived in this community my entire lift (almost everyone else lives out of the county; some even live out of state). I am writing this letter to show that it is not giving the proper ratio of yes to no votes. The Journal claims that they could not fit all of the votes in their articles. How many “yes” votes were not published versus the “no” votes?
Let’s break it down:
$30,000 for fireworks
$10,000 for labor
$ 7,000 for the property leased to greedy landlords
$ 4,000 to the city of St. Charles for the license (Now they want to raise it to
$ 5,000)
$ 3,000 for the tent rental
$ 8,000 for misc. supplies: electric, port-a-potty, cash registers, tables, bags, baskets, lumber, signs, storage, trash, state fees, gravel, etc.
That comes to a grand total of $62,000 just to break even.
Now let’s say a family spends an average of $30,000 (average based on the last 5 years of sales). That means that we must have 1482 families to break even. Suppose there are 3.5 people per family. That comes to 5187 individuals. Multiply that by 40 fireworks stands that held a license in the city and county, you come up with 207,480 people. The 2000 population census for St Charles County was 283,883. That is 73 percent of the population. Not the 16 percent claimed by the Journals’ poll taken over the last few months. Yes, some people come from other counties but over the last five years, St. Charles County citizens account for 92 percent of our sales. I believe the amount of “no” votes in the poll provided by the Journal, however, I do not believe they are publishing the correct ratios, or the people who are in favor, are not voicing their opinion.
I know in my neighborhood, more people discharge fireworks than those who don’t. If only 16 percent of the people were truly for fireworks, you would have 40 bankrupt fireworks stands.
Dennis Thebeau
St. Charles
Hello,
Just a note of thanks for all the ads you have done for the First Capitol Lions Club.
Thanks a ton
Ed Klenc
2005-2006 President of FC Lions Club
First Capitol News
This is a personal note of compliment for FCN. I appreciate your effort to present all sides of locally important issues. I hope you will continue to preside over an open forum.
I’ve checked a letter and drawing from the City of St. Charles demonstrating the intent of the City to make 30 acres available for marina, restaurant, night club development. Please pass this along to “Charles Hill” along with my thanks for the good words about our business in the July 30 Charles Hill commentary.
Sincerely
George Worthington
To The Editor:
This letter is in response to two articles in the First Capital News (August 27th)
1) Comments & Commentary by Charles Hill
2) Clowns and Friends by Lynndi Lockenour
I have written more than one letter to FCN concerning the survival of Historic Frenchtown, North and South Main St. I read about the closing of shops on South Main St. Crafty Lady and Clowns and Friends, both of them site a number of reasons, 9/11,the casinos and now gas prices.
I am not a shop owner and I do not know the retail business, but it seems to me, if the store owners want to be successful and survive they should ALL STAY OPEN LATER. You can’t expect to make money when your hours are 10 to 5 daily and closed on Monday. 9 to 5 is when most people are working, so how do the shop owners expect to survive if they close at 5? The shop owners need to stick together and ALL STAY OPEN LATER and be prepared to stay open late longer than a month. It will take more than a month to get the word out, that hours have changed in Historic Frenchtown, North and South Main St.
More advertisement is crucial to survival, if gas prices are a problem, advertise to St. Charles and St. Louis customers. If the casinos are offering the tour bus drivers $50 then the shops should offer $75. If the tour bus drivers are letting the people off at the casinos, maybe St. Charles should use the Trolley to take the people to Historic Frenchtown, North and South Main St. I’m sure not all the people on the buses want to gamble.
If the malls are getting the business, maybe the shops should consider their pricing and perhaps different inventory. The shop owners are concerned about the lost of foreign travelers, just how much can foreign traveler carry on an airplane?
Advertising is so very important, the CVB needs to promote Frenchtown, North and South Main St. They need to better educate volunteers and have at least one paid employee at the CVB on weekends and holidays. The CVB should have a meeting once a month, to provide information and promotional ideas, these meeting should be attended by shop owners, restaurants owners, hotel, motel, B&B owners, and representatives from radio and TV stations. These same businesses should put information on their web sites about later hours and up coming events in Historic Frenchtown, North and South Main St.. It wouldn’t cost a penny and just think how many more people we could reach.
We are all in this together. Lets make it everybody's business to promote Historic Frenchtown , North and South Main St., The Art Foundry, The New Convention Center and The Family Arena
Most Sincerely
Rhona Lococo
Lococo House ll Bed & Breakfast
1309 N. Fifth St. 636-946-0619
We are all in this together
Letter to the editor
“…Our nation’s elected officials in Washington have formed a partnership with the corporate supremacists and special interest groups in an effort to drive profits to the bottom line of U.S. multinationals at the expense of hard-working Americans.” This is copied from CNN.Com 8/31/05
I am concerned that this government macrocosm is being replayed as a microcosm right here in St Charles City and throughout the county. I read the First Capital News regularly to stay abreast of how special interest groups are attempting to railroad our elected Councilpersons that are resisting the temptation to form a partnership with the supremacists and special interest groups.
Last night I received two identical cards in the mail soliciting me to recall Mark Brown. I also see roadside signs on Arena parkway with the same message. I asked myself are these concerned citizens sending this message or is it the supremacists and special interest groups that are trying to remove an impediment to their master plan. I believe it is the latter.
I believe this is especially true after I phoned Councilman Brown and asked him what his motive is. In the ten minute conversation, I discerned that he is concerned about representing tax-paying citizens in the community. He told me about the pain his family is enduring even though they are not the elected officials. Also, he told me that on one occasion, he was offered $125,000 if he would vote in favor of a special interest project. He told me that he refused because his integrity is not for sale. There were other topics as well, but that provides a flavor of our phone conversation.
We also wondered together about the motive of Ed Watkins. He doesn’t even live in the community yet he produces a section in another newspaper that is devoted to trashing elected officials that won’t be influenced by the special interest groups.
I want to ask two things in closing. First, I want to ask others who support the Councilpersons who are fighting for us tax-paying citizens to become more vocal. Let’s not allow the special interest groups to take over our community. The second thing is that I want to ask Ed Watkins to publicly state in writing what his motive is for trashing public officials in a community where he is not a tax-paying citizen. Come-on Ed, the face you put on in front of the church community is contrary to the venomous message you are publishing in the newspaper. Which is the real Ed Watkins?
A concerned tax-paying citizen
Veterans and Citizens for Truth
314-544-5000 Fax: 314-544-5260
Benefit for thousands of Wounded Veterans - Many in Missouri & Katrina Hit areas - September 17th
Westin Hotel, St. Louis 811 Spruce Street
6:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Due to the disaster in the Gulf we are hoping you will continue to open your hearts to the desperate wounded soldiers returning everyday from Iraq. $100 gets you into the event but any amount you can afford will be appreciated and we hope some of the larger corporations will donate upwards of $1,000. All donations can be mailed to:
VACT
10241 Tesson Valley Ct.
St. Louis, MO 63123-7901
Non Profit Missouri Organization – All Volunteer – No salaries taken.
The event is bringing in speakers from around the country; Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Illinois as well as entertainment like the wonderful Ms. Jeannie Trevor. We will have a fabulous gourmet dinner complete with wine, gourmet coffees and dessert, cocktail party, LIVE AUCTION with trips and cruises, as well as Silent Auction with Sports and Political Memorabilia and much more. This is how we hope to raise awareness and funding for these wounded men and women and by getting word out of their fight for healthcare.
Sandra Vago
Dear Editor,
One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.
We all have the liberty to be whatever we please, both good and or bad towards our fellowman. We all understand this liberty, as we also understand that there are consequences for our actions both good and bad.
Let’s start with our Mayor and the cesspool she has created at City Hall. Like her executive orders, illegal signing of contracts in secret, calling special meetings to see city property below cost, transferring funds in secret, etc.
It is about control folks. She thinks she is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of all when it comes to this City. Count the City administrators, police chiefs and fire chiefs we have had since she became Mayor.
I would like to suggest to the citizens of Wards 4 & 5, Kneemiller’s and Weller’s wards to watch them real close and you will see them play to the power and deceit this Mayor is all about trying to run this City Patti’s way.
We should take Mr. Weller’s advice and check out the videos of past Council meetings to see if my recall of some of the past meetings have any merit. Maybe they could shed some light on the cesspool she has created.
In Mr. Kneemiller’s letter to the editor in another publication he gave a very good definition of cesspool. Center of Moral Filth & Corruption After attending the Express Scripts hearing and seeing what took place, headed by millionaire TR and the other 74 lackeys I saw how this cover up got off to a good start.
We as citizens really need to get involved and take our City back for all the people and the liberty and justice that we as residents should demand. There has been wrongdoing concerning our tax dollars and favoritism shown to individuals and groups. If you think we have problems now wait till 2007 when we have a full time Mayor. If re-elected, things I mentioned here are minor compared to what it could be.
The vote for the full time Mayor passed by only 302 votes with 600 voters not voting either way. You can see the City is split right down the middle.
Our Mayor evidently thinks in her mind it is really 2007 now and Dr. Williams is just her assistant and she should be running the day-to-day operation of our City. Apparently Dr. Williams sees it that same way.
Pay attention folks. This is our City not just hers.
Bob Bredensteiner
