By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
In Executive Session Tuesday evening the St. Charles City Council authorized City Attorney, Mike Valenti, to file for a Restraining Order to stop East Central Missouri Water and Sewer Authority (ECM) from making any sewer connections to the City system. This would affect new homes in the T.R. Hughes St. Andrews development.
The City had placed a moratorium on connections in October of 2004. The Hughes’ St. Andrews development had 58 homes connected to the City system through ECM prior to the moratorium. The development is approximately 110 acres and 339 single family homes are planned.
ECM, calling the City’s moratorium illegal, allowed Hughes to resume hooking up last week.
ECM has been providing sewer service to County residents for many years, using their connections to the City system. Last year members of the City Council discovered a flow valve, used to measure the flow from County residents, was inoperable and had not been working for a good number of years. The Council also discovered ECM was paying rates much lower than those being paid by City residents.
The flow valve was repaired and ECM began arguing with the City about the amount of flow and charges the City wanted to apply. An evaluation of ECM was considered for possible purchase by the City but it was thought the system was in disrepair.
The Public Works Committee of the Council recommended a moratorium be placed on any additional hookups and ECM was notified.
Although Developer T.R. Hughes worked in opposition to a number of Council candidates who were elected, they say this is not a political matter. Their problem is not with T.R. Hughes. Their problem is with ECM.
Hughes had an opportunity to have his subdivision annexed into the City but choose not to. He evidently did not want to comply with restrictions, such as storm water, the City was insisting on.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
City Council & City Staff Held Town Hall Meeting
By Tony Brockmeyer
This past Monday five Councilmembers brought City Hall to the people. City Councilmembers Rory Riddler, Mark Brown, Dottie Greer, John Gieseke and Joe Koester hosted a town hall meeting at Our Savior Lutheran Church on Elm Street. Each of the City’s departments had representation to answer questions about the City.
The meeting began with brief introductions of the Council and department heads and then a question and answer session. The audience was anxious to hear from City Administrator Alan Williams. They wanted to know when the City is going to have a permanent police chief. The crowd applauded when Major Robert Lowery’s name was mentioned. Williams explained he made every effort to convince Mayor Patti York to compromise on his candidate for Chief but was not successful. “I called Major Lowery to let him know the Mayor refused to approve him. He then asked to have his name removed,” Williams told the audience. This was an agreement Williams said he had made with Lowery to insure Lowery would not once again become a political football.
Councilman Joe Koester was critical of Williams for not keeping his word to bring Lowery’s name forward, no matter how the Mayor felt. Koester was more critical of York stating, “We were swindled.” This was in response to the comments made by York about her giving some Councilmembers her word to appoint Lowery if his name was brought forward by Williams. Koester made it perfectly clear he was not impressed by either York or Williams. The crowd applauded loudly with those statements showing support for Koester.
Councilwoman Greer hosted the meeting and arranged the use of the facilities with church officials. Greer made it a point to thank the church in her opening statements. Greer had the opportunity to speak of one of her projects; litter. Mrs. Donna Poeling asked why the City was not going after those who litter the streets and poles on the City right away with signs? Greer told the group, “ I have taken down over 3000 signs and the code enforcement department has fined those habitual offenders. One owner has been fined $200, $400 and if he continues to advertise his vacancies he will face another fine. The goal is to make sure those who think they can litter realize it will cost them.”
At one point in the meeting an open and frank discussion took place regarding the 73 police officers who signed hostile work environment complaints with language that had some in the audience wondering if these officers were fit for duty. The discussion began with audience members voicing their opinion that these officers need to be taken off the street. Williams told the crowd, “We have hired a lawyer to interview the officers and determine who needed help and those who did not. Those who did received it.”
Acting Police Chief Larry White was asked by Councilman John Gieseke, “There are 30 officers who did not sign the complaints and they are looking to the administration for leadership. What is the City going to do to demonstrate to those officers that this will not be tolerated?” White stood and told the crowd since this was an ongoing investigation he was unable to comment. As he sat down he used an (expletive deleted) to describe Gieseke. It was audible to some in the audience. One member of the audience told the First Capitol News they were disappointed to hear the acting Chief say such a thing when asked a simple leadership question.
Questions ranged from the police to littering. With over 100 residents in attendance some of the questions were not addressed. One question addressed by Councilman Mark Brown was, why the City Council needed Eric Tolen as their special counsel? Brown told the audience, “The council needed to have the ability to get legal opinions without the interference of the Mayor and the administration’s agenda.”
The meeting closed with Council President Riddler giving a brief overview of the personalities of those Councilpersons present.
This past Monday five Councilmembers brought City Hall to the people. City Councilmembers Rory Riddler, Mark Brown, Dottie Greer, John Gieseke and Joe Koester hosted a town hall meeting at Our Savior Lutheran Church on Elm Street. Each of the City’s departments had representation to answer questions about the City.
The meeting began with brief introductions of the Council and department heads and then a question and answer session. The audience was anxious to hear from City Administrator Alan Williams. They wanted to know when the City is going to have a permanent police chief. The crowd applauded when Major Robert Lowery’s name was mentioned. Williams explained he made every effort to convince Mayor Patti York to compromise on his candidate for Chief but was not successful. “I called Major Lowery to let him know the Mayor refused to approve him. He then asked to have his name removed,” Williams told the audience. This was an agreement Williams said he had made with Lowery to insure Lowery would not once again become a political football.
Councilman Joe Koester was critical of Williams for not keeping his word to bring Lowery’s name forward, no matter how the Mayor felt. Koester was more critical of York stating, “We were swindled.” This was in response to the comments made by York about her giving some Councilmembers her word to appoint Lowery if his name was brought forward by Williams. Koester made it perfectly clear he was not impressed by either York or Williams. The crowd applauded loudly with those statements showing support for Koester.
Councilwoman Greer hosted the meeting and arranged the use of the facilities with church officials. Greer made it a point to thank the church in her opening statements. Greer had the opportunity to speak of one of her projects; litter. Mrs. Donna Poeling asked why the City was not going after those who litter the streets and poles on the City right away with signs? Greer told the group, “ I have taken down over 3000 signs and the code enforcement department has fined those habitual offenders. One owner has been fined $200, $400 and if he continues to advertise his vacancies he will face another fine. The goal is to make sure those who think they can litter realize it will cost them.”
At one point in the meeting an open and frank discussion took place regarding the 73 police officers who signed hostile work environment complaints with language that had some in the audience wondering if these officers were fit for duty. The discussion began with audience members voicing their opinion that these officers need to be taken off the street. Williams told the crowd, “We have hired a lawyer to interview the officers and determine who needed help and those who did not. Those who did received it.”
Acting Police Chief Larry White was asked by Councilman John Gieseke, “There are 30 officers who did not sign the complaints and they are looking to the administration for leadership. What is the City going to do to demonstrate to those officers that this will not be tolerated?” White stood and told the crowd since this was an ongoing investigation he was unable to comment. As he sat down he used an (expletive deleted) to describe Gieseke. It was audible to some in the audience. One member of the audience told the First Capitol News they were disappointed to hear the acting Chief say such a thing when asked a simple leadership question.
Questions ranged from the police to littering. With over 100 residents in attendance some of the questions were not addressed. One question addressed by Councilman Mark Brown was, why the City Council needed Eric Tolen as their special counsel? Brown told the audience, “The council needed to have the ability to get legal opinions without the interference of the Mayor and the administration’s agenda.”
The meeting closed with Council President Riddler giving a brief overview of the personalities of those Councilpersons present.
McCarrick Now Interim Chief - White Calls Councilman A________
On Monday evening five members of the City Council held a joint Ward Meeting at Our Savior Lutheran Church on Elm Street. Numerous department heads were in attendance including Interim Police Chief Larry White. Residents in attendance told the First Capitol News, during the question and answer section Councilman John Gieseke Ward 8, asked White a question regarding leadership that should be provided to the 30 plus police officers who did not sign a letter claiming emotional stress. They said White mentioned it was a personnel problem and he could not respond. As White returned to his chair they overheard him say, “Gieseke is an A______.” City Council President Rory Riddler also heard White’s comment about Councilman Gieseke. The residents said Riddler leaned over to White and they heard him tell White he could not refer to a City Councilman in such a manner in a public meeting . Riddler told White if he could not control himself he should leave. White then got, up spoke briefly to City Administrator Alan Williams and left the meeting.
Although Williams had earlier told the City Council he wanted to extend White’s Contract beyond it’s $20,000 minimum, White was gone Tuesday morning.
White and Ron Battelle had been hired by Williams, at the urging of the Mayor, as Interim Chief and Consultant and others were given contracts of about $20,000, the maximum Williams can authorize without City Council approval. Battelle’s contract had expired earlier.
Captain Pat McCarrick Appointed Interim Chief of Police
Captain Pat McCarrick, a 31 year veteran and former Chief, was named St. Charles Interim Police Chief Tuesday morning.
McCarrick will head the department until such time as a permanent Chief is named.
McCarrick is the 6th person to serve as interim chief or consultant since former Chief Paul Corbin’s contract was not extended in September 2003.
When Corbin was forced out, Lt. Dennis Corley was appointed and served until the City Council ordered him removed. Then Major Gooch served until he retired in January. Larry White and Ron Battelle both served with $20,000 contracts and former Chief Dave King is currently serving as a consultant with a $20,000 contract.
Although Williams had earlier told the City Council he wanted to extend White’s Contract beyond it’s $20,000 minimum, White was gone Tuesday morning.
White and Ron Battelle had been hired by Williams, at the urging of the Mayor, as Interim Chief and Consultant and others were given contracts of about $20,000, the maximum Williams can authorize without City Council approval. Battelle’s contract had expired earlier.
Captain Pat McCarrick Appointed Interim Chief of Police
Captain Pat McCarrick, a 31 year veteran and former Chief, was named St. Charles Interim Police Chief Tuesday morning.
McCarrick will head the department until such time as a permanent Chief is named.
McCarrick is the 6th person to serve as interim chief or consultant since former Chief Paul Corbin’s contract was not extended in September 2003.
When Corbin was forced out, Lt. Dennis Corley was appointed and served until the City Council ordered him removed. Then Major Gooch served until he retired in January. Larry White and Ron Battelle both served with $20,000 contracts and former Chief Dave King is currently serving as a consultant with a $20,000 contract.
THE CITY DESK Rory Riddler CIty Council President
Tourism Tempest Brewing
Over Control Of Tax Dollars
Drive through any McDonalds and you’re contributing your share to the effort to lure tourists to the City of St. Charles. We have a tax on hotels, which most communities with tourism efforts employ, but we also extend our tourism tax to restaurants. Since the restaurant portion of the tax brings in far more than the hotel portion, those of us who choose to eat in our own town help generate over $1.3 million per year to promote St. Charles.
In theory, that’s a good thing. If you spend money promoting St. Charles, you attract more people who spend money in our town. That’s good for business, employment and our tax base. Besides, we have a lot to offer visitors in our fair city…real historic sites, a beautiful riverfront, new convention center and a downtown filled with specialty shopping and unique dining establishments.
If you think about it a little longer, you would probably also name Bass Pro as an attraction. The big one in Springfield is one of Missouri’s largest tourist attractions. Ours has outpaced the company’s own projections. The day after Thanksgiving, the line waiting outside for the doors to open took twenty minutes to get everyone inside. There were guys at the end holding signs, “Will Work For Ammo”.
But don’t stop with Bass Pro. The nature of what St. Charles has to offer visitors is expanding and we have to expand the more traditional definition of tourism to keep pace. We are now the proud home of The Foundry Arts Center. The “opening” parties for new exhibits are drawing upwards of a thousand people and the Friday Night Bistro is drawing its own loyal following. St. Charles as a cultural showcase is about to get another boost from Lindenwood University. They want to break ground on a performing arts center at West Clay and First Capitol. It will be larger than the Touhill Center at UMSL and promises to host diverse avant garde and classical entertainment.
Another major source of visitors to our community is sports. We may not have a Major League franchise, but high school, college and amateur sports tournaments bring tens of thousands of people to our community every year.
There is a lot more to St. Charles as a destination for tourist, visitors and shoppers than meets the eye. We need to be flexible and respond to new trends and new opportunities. I would never trade our position as the start of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but let’s remember when Lewis and Clark visited St. Charles, they didn’t come back for three years. Businesses in our historic districts are, first and foremost, businesses. They need a steady flow of customers to keep their doors open.
This has caused somewhat of a “tourism tempest” between various interests in the community. At issue is whether our tourism tax dollars should be used primarily to fill hotel rooms (heads on beds in the vernacular of the industry) or to tap a larger share of the discretionary spending of consumers in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.
The heads on beds crowd believe tourism dollars are best spent luring traditional tourists and conventions. They argue that people who stay here for a few days spend more on average. As someone who has survived my share of family vacations and conventions, I’ll attest to that. This faction supports the status quo which has been to spend the majority of our resources targeting those more than fifty miles away to make St. Charles a destination.
The tap St. Louis gang point outs the metro area has over two million people who can come here to shop, dine, attend festivals or discover St. Charles on day trips. They say traditional tourists are too seasonal and they need customers year round. They want to see far more tax dollars spent within our fifty mile radius.
I like to see our community written up in national magazines. I like to encounter out-of-state visitors on South Main. But statistics supplied by the Missouri Division of Tourism probably made more of the case for local spending than those who invited them in to justify the status quo would have liked. Our largest source of tourists, as a State, is our neighbor Illinois. The numbers then drop off rapidly for other surrounding states and become infinitesimal for the East and West Coasts. Less than 2 percent of Missouri’s tourists come from California, the most populous State in the Nation.
It’s not that we don’t have great things to offer. We do. It’s simply a matter of location and logistics. I don’t vacation much in the Napa Valley. There are great historic towns in Missouri like Arrow Rock and Lexington. But they don’t get a fraction of the visitors we do because we’re blessed with being within a major metropolitan area.
This debate on the focus of our tourism effort has been going on behind the scenes for some time. But two things have brought it into sharper focus recently. First, the City Council, at my suggestion, set up a review committee for spending by the Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). Councilman John Gieseke is chairman of the committee and they’ve started to question how some of the money is being spent.
Example: the committee recently questioned $17,000 the CVB was going to spend to be in the magazine Oprah. With all due deference to the Queen of daytime television (I’d be popular too if I gave away new cars at Council meetings), the magazine only has 38,000 subscribers in Missouri. I’m not one to peruse the ads or inserts in national magazines much myself. But if I did, I’m not sure that would be enough to entice me to book a flight to St. Charles for my next vacation. If 10% of the subscribers even saw our ad that would reach only 3,800 people in our prime market area for $17,000.
Needless to say the defenders of the status quo had their toes stepped on that anyone would dare question how any of the $1.3 million tourism budget is spent. I simply feel we need more consideration of the return on investment for our advertising dollars.
The debate has come into even sharper focus with a bill I’m cosponsoring. It would reduce the size of the Tourism Commission from 13 members to 11 and add the City Administrator as a voting member to provide more oversight of spending. Among other things the bill would finally spell out the role of the commission, allow the Chairman to vote, strengthen the voice of business and district representatives and reduce from two to one the number of hotel representatives.
Currently, hotels and restaurants have three votes on the commission. Now even though the change I proposed would only reduce their influence from 3 members out of 13 to 2 out of 11 (23% to 18%) it’s been enough to elicit some loud protest from the status quo lobby. In support of that group, one of my fellow Councilmen on Tuesday questioned the bill, and stated hotels and restaurants deserved more votes on the commission because they pay the tax. I quickly pointed out they don’t “pay” the tax…they “collect” the tax. We pay the tax and visitors to our community pay the tax.
If approved by the Council, the new make-up of the Tourism Commission should help provide a more balanced group to recommend where and how we should be marketing St. Charles. We’ve been given a wonderful marketing resource in the form of the tourism tax. We just need to remember it’s a gift from the taxpayers of St. Charles who expect a return on their investment. Sorry Oprah, but can I still get a new car? Just to drive through McDonalds?
Over Control Of Tax Dollars
Drive through any McDonalds and you’re contributing your share to the effort to lure tourists to the City of St. Charles. We have a tax on hotels, which most communities with tourism efforts employ, but we also extend our tourism tax to restaurants. Since the restaurant portion of the tax brings in far more than the hotel portion, those of us who choose to eat in our own town help generate over $1.3 million per year to promote St. Charles.
In theory, that’s a good thing. If you spend money promoting St. Charles, you attract more people who spend money in our town. That’s good for business, employment and our tax base. Besides, we have a lot to offer visitors in our fair city…real historic sites, a beautiful riverfront, new convention center and a downtown filled with specialty shopping and unique dining establishments.
If you think about it a little longer, you would probably also name Bass Pro as an attraction. The big one in Springfield is one of Missouri’s largest tourist attractions. Ours has outpaced the company’s own projections. The day after Thanksgiving, the line waiting outside for the doors to open took twenty minutes to get everyone inside. There were guys at the end holding signs, “Will Work For Ammo”.
But don’t stop with Bass Pro. The nature of what St. Charles has to offer visitors is expanding and we have to expand the more traditional definition of tourism to keep pace. We are now the proud home of The Foundry Arts Center. The “opening” parties for new exhibits are drawing upwards of a thousand people and the Friday Night Bistro is drawing its own loyal following. St. Charles as a cultural showcase is about to get another boost from Lindenwood University. They want to break ground on a performing arts center at West Clay and First Capitol. It will be larger than the Touhill Center at UMSL and promises to host diverse avant garde and classical entertainment.
Another major source of visitors to our community is sports. We may not have a Major League franchise, but high school, college and amateur sports tournaments bring tens of thousands of people to our community every year.
There is a lot more to St. Charles as a destination for tourist, visitors and shoppers than meets the eye. We need to be flexible and respond to new trends and new opportunities. I would never trade our position as the start of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but let’s remember when Lewis and Clark visited St. Charles, they didn’t come back for three years. Businesses in our historic districts are, first and foremost, businesses. They need a steady flow of customers to keep their doors open.
This has caused somewhat of a “tourism tempest” between various interests in the community. At issue is whether our tourism tax dollars should be used primarily to fill hotel rooms (heads on beds in the vernacular of the industry) or to tap a larger share of the discretionary spending of consumers in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.
The heads on beds crowd believe tourism dollars are best spent luring traditional tourists and conventions. They argue that people who stay here for a few days spend more on average. As someone who has survived my share of family vacations and conventions, I’ll attest to that. This faction supports the status quo which has been to spend the majority of our resources targeting those more than fifty miles away to make St. Charles a destination.
The tap St. Louis gang point outs the metro area has over two million people who can come here to shop, dine, attend festivals or discover St. Charles on day trips. They say traditional tourists are too seasonal and they need customers year round. They want to see far more tax dollars spent within our fifty mile radius.
I like to see our community written up in national magazines. I like to encounter out-of-state visitors on South Main. But statistics supplied by the Missouri Division of Tourism probably made more of the case for local spending than those who invited them in to justify the status quo would have liked. Our largest source of tourists, as a State, is our neighbor Illinois. The numbers then drop off rapidly for other surrounding states and become infinitesimal for the East and West Coasts. Less than 2 percent of Missouri’s tourists come from California, the most populous State in the Nation.
It’s not that we don’t have great things to offer. We do. It’s simply a matter of location and logistics. I don’t vacation much in the Napa Valley. There are great historic towns in Missouri like Arrow Rock and Lexington. But they don’t get a fraction of the visitors we do because we’re blessed with being within a major metropolitan area.
This debate on the focus of our tourism effort has been going on behind the scenes for some time. But two things have brought it into sharper focus recently. First, the City Council, at my suggestion, set up a review committee for spending by the Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). Councilman John Gieseke is chairman of the committee and they’ve started to question how some of the money is being spent.
Example: the committee recently questioned $17,000 the CVB was going to spend to be in the magazine Oprah. With all due deference to the Queen of daytime television (I’d be popular too if I gave away new cars at Council meetings), the magazine only has 38,000 subscribers in Missouri. I’m not one to peruse the ads or inserts in national magazines much myself. But if I did, I’m not sure that would be enough to entice me to book a flight to St. Charles for my next vacation. If 10% of the subscribers even saw our ad that would reach only 3,800 people in our prime market area for $17,000.
Needless to say the defenders of the status quo had their toes stepped on that anyone would dare question how any of the $1.3 million tourism budget is spent. I simply feel we need more consideration of the return on investment for our advertising dollars.
The debate has come into even sharper focus with a bill I’m cosponsoring. It would reduce the size of the Tourism Commission from 13 members to 11 and add the City Administrator as a voting member to provide more oversight of spending. Among other things the bill would finally spell out the role of the commission, allow the Chairman to vote, strengthen the voice of business and district representatives and reduce from two to one the number of hotel representatives.
Currently, hotels and restaurants have three votes on the commission. Now even though the change I proposed would only reduce their influence from 3 members out of 13 to 2 out of 11 (23% to 18%) it’s been enough to elicit some loud protest from the status quo lobby. In support of that group, one of my fellow Councilmen on Tuesday questioned the bill, and stated hotels and restaurants deserved more votes on the commission because they pay the tax. I quickly pointed out they don’t “pay” the tax…they “collect” the tax. We pay the tax and visitors to our community pay the tax.
If approved by the Council, the new make-up of the Tourism Commission should help provide a more balanced group to recommend where and how we should be marketing St. Charles. We’ve been given a wonderful marketing resource in the form of the tourism tax. We just need to remember it’s a gift from the taxpayers of St. Charles who expect a return on their investment. Sorry Oprah, but can I still get a new car? Just to drive through McDonalds?
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor:
How revealing that Steve Ehlmann has hired John Hancock to run his recently announced campaign for County Executive, even as Hancock is still cleaning up the GOP’s slimy mess from Sally Faith’s 2004 campaign for State Representative (R-15). It just goes to show that the Republicans in this county make no apology for employing dishonesty in their bids to take public office.
What Faith’s campaign did to the two-term, incumbent Representative Tom Green in the November election was a travesty. In mid-October, the state Republican Party committee, for which Hancock is the spokesman, sent at least two mailings to Green’s constituents, including me. The pieces were designed to look like picture postcards, complete with land and seascapes of an exotic locale. These attractive but counterfeit greetings states that “Liberal Tom Green” had spent wads of taxpayer money to go on a paid vacation to Alaska where he enjoyed such lavish perks a gourmet cuisine, deep sea fishing, and whale-watching aboard a charter boat.
As voters later found out, after Green secured a court order forcing the Republicans to stop these lies, the faked “vacation” concocted by the GOP had actually been a planned annual conference that was to have been hosted by the Council of State Governments. In other words, it was going to be a convention for officials of various state governments across the country. Even more outrageous than misrepresenting the nature of the conference and the reasons a decent and committed state legislator might attend, the Republican committee completely failed to mention that the conference never took place. That’s right. Green never went to Alaska. In fact, the entire Alaskan conference was scrapped as early as 2001 due to security concerns in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
And just last month, the state Republican committee spokesman and Ehlmann campaign manager, John Hancock, explained all of this to the Post –Dispatch by stating the committee believed the information it mailed out about Green was true when it sent out the fake postcards. I, for one, am not stupid enough to believe that. Whether the Republican committee deliberately deceived it by purposely avoiding the truth or it simply offers this feigned ignorance as a flimsy pretense to cover up deliberately deceiving the voters, the committee perpetrated a fraud.
Considering that almost three years elapsed between the cancellation of the Alaskan conference and the mailing of the “Alaskan vacation” postcards by the Republican committee, it is clear that Hancock and his party leaders are very comfortable playing fast and loose with the truth. And the closer we get to election time, the faster and looser you can expect them to play in order to win.
I thought honesty was a conservative value, however it appears that Hancock and his Republican state committee not only bore false witness against our neighbor Tom Green, they did it in order to steal the election from him. (See, Commandments VIII and IX). And apparently, Steve Ehlmann doesn’t mind any of this one bit.
Gracie White
Dear Editor
The House of Elohim would like to express their appreciation to Jim Swinney at City Hall of St. Charles and Paul at T.G.B. We thank you for working so diligently on the septic problems at 912 N. Second Street, St. Charles, Mo.
Thank you,
Pastor Donna Dake
How revealing that Steve Ehlmann has hired John Hancock to run his recently announced campaign for County Executive, even as Hancock is still cleaning up the GOP’s slimy mess from Sally Faith’s 2004 campaign for State Representative (R-15). It just goes to show that the Republicans in this county make no apology for employing dishonesty in their bids to take public office.
What Faith’s campaign did to the two-term, incumbent Representative Tom Green in the November election was a travesty. In mid-October, the state Republican Party committee, for which Hancock is the spokesman, sent at least two mailings to Green’s constituents, including me. The pieces were designed to look like picture postcards, complete with land and seascapes of an exotic locale. These attractive but counterfeit greetings states that “Liberal Tom Green” had spent wads of taxpayer money to go on a paid vacation to Alaska where he enjoyed such lavish perks a gourmet cuisine, deep sea fishing, and whale-watching aboard a charter boat.
As voters later found out, after Green secured a court order forcing the Republicans to stop these lies, the faked “vacation” concocted by the GOP had actually been a planned annual conference that was to have been hosted by the Council of State Governments. In other words, it was going to be a convention for officials of various state governments across the country. Even more outrageous than misrepresenting the nature of the conference and the reasons a decent and committed state legislator might attend, the Republican committee completely failed to mention that the conference never took place. That’s right. Green never went to Alaska. In fact, the entire Alaskan conference was scrapped as early as 2001 due to security concerns in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
And just last month, the state Republican committee spokesman and Ehlmann campaign manager, John Hancock, explained all of this to the Post –Dispatch by stating the committee believed the information it mailed out about Green was true when it sent out the fake postcards. I, for one, am not stupid enough to believe that. Whether the Republican committee deliberately deceived it by purposely avoiding the truth or it simply offers this feigned ignorance as a flimsy pretense to cover up deliberately deceiving the voters, the committee perpetrated a fraud.
Considering that almost three years elapsed between the cancellation of the Alaskan conference and the mailing of the “Alaskan vacation” postcards by the Republican committee, it is clear that Hancock and his party leaders are very comfortable playing fast and loose with the truth. And the closer we get to election time, the faster and looser you can expect them to play in order to win.
I thought honesty was a conservative value, however it appears that Hancock and his Republican state committee not only bore false witness against our neighbor Tom Green, they did it in order to steal the election from him. (See, Commandments VIII and IX). And apparently, Steve Ehlmann doesn’t mind any of this one bit.
Gracie White
Dear Editor
The House of Elohim would like to express their appreciation to Jim Swinney at City Hall of St. Charles and Paul at T.G.B. We thank you for working so diligently on the septic problems at 912 N. Second Street, St. Charles, Mo.
Thank you,
Pastor Donna Dake
Put St. Charles FIrst
By Jerry Haferkamp
Well, from reading the last issue of FCN, it seems we have a candidate for Chief of Police I’m sure the Mayor will support. His background has all her essentials. He served in Peoria for a short time (before he was apparently told to get out of Dodge) during which it is reported anonymous letters were sent to harm the reputations of innocent people and police were apparently used to spy on some of the opposition. He has also been away from Police work long enough that he probably isn’t capable of wrenching control of the our Police Department from the F.O.P. Sounds like Patti found her perfect “fit”.
All are welcomed to attend the gala at the Convention Center showcasing the new facility. No, this is not the same “invitation only” event that was held some time ago so the “losers and takers” could pat themselves on the back for building a building. Also, it is not going to be the next one they use to pat themselves on the back for the same thing. Not the one after that, either. Actually, it will be the fourth such event, where the folks who are footing the bill get to come in and pat the contractors on the back for doing what they were paid to do. How many of you “commoners” out there have had your employer throw you a party every time you completed a task you were hired to do?
It seems strange there couldn’t be a one time, all invited gala so we could all rub elbows with the folks who are benefiting from our spending. By doing four separate events, the Convention and Sports Authority, hand in hand with the equally inept Convention and Visitors Bureau, will spend nearly one half of a million dollars to pat themselves on the back for getting a building built. This also comes out of a budget that even the “losers and takers” say won’t be in the black the first 10 years.
This is just the beginning, folks. I’m sure it will follow the Convention and Sports Authority’s other venture, the enormously successful Family Arena. They’re off to a great start. Half a million in the hole is a great resume enhancement for the type of people who are “in charge” of your money. I think the ability to blow literally millions of your money with no feelings of remorse is a prerequisite for the job. It wouldn’t surprise me if they threw themselves a party every month to celebrate the fact the building hadn’t fallen down in the previous month. This party throwing is the epitome of how Ronald Reagan described government when he said government is like a baby—a voracious appetite on one end and no sense of responsibility on the other.
The structure has been described as “beautiful” and “warm”. It, unfortunately, has never been described as “profitable”. Nor, in the opinion of most who have read the studies on centers of this size, will it ever be.
Jay Underdown of the NICE organization has asked that I mention he could use some helping hands at the polls next election to get signatures on the petitions to recall Mayor York. Judging by the public outcry at the recent combined ward meeting concerning her bullheaded actions and lack of honor in the matter of not getting the best candidate appointed Police Chief, there should be plenty of folks willing to volunteer. If you want to help clean up the mess at City Hall and get this City back into the hands of the people who pay the freight, call Jay at 723-4200. Bad government occurs when good people do nothing.
While Stevie may not be able to be fired, one resident at the multi-ward meeting suggested making his salary low enough that he would quit.
I’ll drink to that!
Well, from reading the last issue of FCN, it seems we have a candidate for Chief of Police I’m sure the Mayor will support. His background has all her essentials. He served in Peoria for a short time (before he was apparently told to get out of Dodge) during which it is reported anonymous letters were sent to harm the reputations of innocent people and police were apparently used to spy on some of the opposition. He has also been away from Police work long enough that he probably isn’t capable of wrenching control of the our Police Department from the F.O.P. Sounds like Patti found her perfect “fit”.
All are welcomed to attend the gala at the Convention Center showcasing the new facility. No, this is not the same “invitation only” event that was held some time ago so the “losers and takers” could pat themselves on the back for building a building. Also, it is not going to be the next one they use to pat themselves on the back for the same thing. Not the one after that, either. Actually, it will be the fourth such event, where the folks who are footing the bill get to come in and pat the contractors on the back for doing what they were paid to do. How many of you “commoners” out there have had your employer throw you a party every time you completed a task you were hired to do?
It seems strange there couldn’t be a one time, all invited gala so we could all rub elbows with the folks who are benefiting from our spending. By doing four separate events, the Convention and Sports Authority, hand in hand with the equally inept Convention and Visitors Bureau, will spend nearly one half of a million dollars to pat themselves on the back for getting a building built. This also comes out of a budget that even the “losers and takers” say won’t be in the black the first 10 years.
This is just the beginning, folks. I’m sure it will follow the Convention and Sports Authority’s other venture, the enormously successful Family Arena. They’re off to a great start. Half a million in the hole is a great resume enhancement for the type of people who are “in charge” of your money. I think the ability to blow literally millions of your money with no feelings of remorse is a prerequisite for the job. It wouldn’t surprise me if they threw themselves a party every month to celebrate the fact the building hadn’t fallen down in the previous month. This party throwing is the epitome of how Ronald Reagan described government when he said government is like a baby—a voracious appetite on one end and no sense of responsibility on the other.
The structure has been described as “beautiful” and “warm”. It, unfortunately, has never been described as “profitable”. Nor, in the opinion of most who have read the studies on centers of this size, will it ever be.
Jay Underdown of the NICE organization has asked that I mention he could use some helping hands at the polls next election to get signatures on the petitions to recall Mayor York. Judging by the public outcry at the recent combined ward meeting concerning her bullheaded actions and lack of honor in the matter of not getting the best candidate appointed Police Chief, there should be plenty of folks willing to volunteer. If you want to help clean up the mess at City Hall and get this City back into the hands of the people who pay the freight, call Jay at 723-4200. Bad government occurs when good people do nothing.
While Stevie may not be able to be fired, one resident at the multi-ward meeting suggested making his salary low enough that he would quit.
I’ll drink to that!
The Conservative Factor by Alex Spencer
It appears we need to bring in a few more clowns in order to hire a permanent Chief of Police. The last group of clowns got used and duped by the Mayor, and together they made fools out of the majority of the City Council.
They deserve to look foolish. Knowing full well the Mayor lies on a regular basis, they took her at her word and agreed to hire her choice of City Administrator in order to hire a top-notch Chief selected by that administrator. Again, Lowery was the choice. Again, the Mayor said, “No way.”
This has raised even more alarms in the public mind regarding the strange hold Tommy Mayer has on Patti York. She will not approve any candidate who does not meet the approval of her “top cop.” The Councilmen have been besieged with questions about this strange relationship which has stopped City Government in its tracks. What has her “top-cop” done for her that she does not want the public to know?
It would be wise for the City Council to move swiftly and efficiently in investigating the Mayor’s disregard of our laws and our Charter for her own personal whims.
York has not only made fools out of the Council, she has made fools of the taxpayers. Since the loss of her previous rubber-stamping Council, she has methodically created incidents, set the Council up repeatedly, then carried it to the newspapers, the police department and an advertising executive to help her attack the newly-elected Council members.
The majority of this new Council has rolled up their sleeves and worked hard at City business. In less than one year, they have reviewed, changed, and saved the City hundreds of thousands of dollars.
People who are legitimately performing their jobs to the best of their abilities do not have time for games, scheming and feminine manipulation. This is City Government, not a stage production to satisfy vanity. Spending $500,000 on parties to be hosted by the Mayor is but one more example of ego and vanity out of control.
If the City Council does not have the backbone to impeach this Mayor so we can get on with City business, then the Mayor should have the decency to willingly step down and stop this charade. York has served Tommy Mayer admirably at the expense of an entire city and any credibility she may have actually had. They deserve each other, but this city deserves neither.
They deserve to look foolish. Knowing full well the Mayor lies on a regular basis, they took her at her word and agreed to hire her choice of City Administrator in order to hire a top-notch Chief selected by that administrator. Again, Lowery was the choice. Again, the Mayor said, “No way.”
This has raised even more alarms in the public mind regarding the strange hold Tommy Mayer has on Patti York. She will not approve any candidate who does not meet the approval of her “top cop.” The Councilmen have been besieged with questions about this strange relationship which has stopped City Government in its tracks. What has her “top-cop” done for her that she does not want the public to know?
It would be wise for the City Council to move swiftly and efficiently in investigating the Mayor’s disregard of our laws and our Charter for her own personal whims.
York has not only made fools out of the Council, she has made fools of the taxpayers. Since the loss of her previous rubber-stamping Council, she has methodically created incidents, set the Council up repeatedly, then carried it to the newspapers, the police department and an advertising executive to help her attack the newly-elected Council members.
The majority of this new Council has rolled up their sleeves and worked hard at City business. In less than one year, they have reviewed, changed, and saved the City hundreds of thousands of dollars.
People who are legitimately performing their jobs to the best of their abilities do not have time for games, scheming and feminine manipulation. This is City Government, not a stage production to satisfy vanity. Spending $500,000 on parties to be hosted by the Mayor is but one more example of ego and vanity out of control.
If the City Council does not have the backbone to impeach this Mayor so we can get on with City business, then the Mayor should have the decency to willingly step down and stop this charade. York has served Tommy Mayer admirably at the expense of an entire city and any credibility she may have actually had. They deserve each other, but this city deserves neither.
Straight Talk by Councilman Bob Hoepfner
Hello out there folks. Got some issues coming up here. First of all the County is trying to do us a favor by consolidating the fire departments. I say do us a favor because it will save us some money. That’s probably why the Mayor and Mr. Riddler are opposed to it. It will save us approximately $5 million dollars of the cost the City has imposed against us, the resident taxpayer. Eighty-eight firefighters and their civilian counterparts cost the City approximately $10 million plus annually. Once again its time to think of the resident taxpayer and save them some money and quit playing politics.
The next issue is Senator Gross’s bill that would require cities with casinos to spend the money they get from the casino on improving and rebuilding the City’s infrastructure, not spend it on city employees salaries. The excess money is required to go against the property tax so the residents would have to pay less. Once again, the Mayor and Mr. Riddler are opposed to this. No surprise here huh folks?
Community Center. How many do we need? Right now we don’t have any. Pretty soon we could have five. Why should the City build a community center when in fact you are going to have two YMCAs, one Boys and Girls Club and the Show-Me Aquatics facilities. Here again $12 million that somebody has to spend for another unneeded, unnecessary facility. Why don’t we take that $12 million and get rid of the utility tax? Why don’t we take the $5 million that could be saved from the fire department and provide trash service for the residents?
Once again folks, the resident taxpayers are getting it put to us. Let your Councilman know how you feel about this. Speaking of cost, why should we give the fire department a two percent pay raise based on the fact they might get into good physical shape and they know how to install a baby seat in a car? Doesn’t sound like justification. What do we tell the rest of the City employees? They can’t get a raise only, the fire department gets a raise.
Out of 465 city employees only 131 of them live in the City. Why is the emphasis on hiring non-city residents? Do you ever get the feeling you are second best according to some folks in City government? Pay attention folks. Let your Councilman know how you feel on this and all issues. 949-0956.
The next issue is Senator Gross’s bill that would require cities with casinos to spend the money they get from the casino on improving and rebuilding the City’s infrastructure, not spend it on city employees salaries. The excess money is required to go against the property tax so the residents would have to pay less. Once again, the Mayor and Mr. Riddler are opposed to this. No surprise here huh folks?
Community Center. How many do we need? Right now we don’t have any. Pretty soon we could have five. Why should the City build a community center when in fact you are going to have two YMCAs, one Boys and Girls Club and the Show-Me Aquatics facilities. Here again $12 million that somebody has to spend for another unneeded, unnecessary facility. Why don’t we take that $12 million and get rid of the utility tax? Why don’t we take the $5 million that could be saved from the fire department and provide trash service for the residents?
Once again folks, the resident taxpayers are getting it put to us. Let your Councilman know how you feel about this. Speaking of cost, why should we give the fire department a two percent pay raise based on the fact they might get into good physical shape and they know how to install a baby seat in a car? Doesn’t sound like justification. What do we tell the rest of the City employees? They can’t get a raise only, the fire department gets a raise.
Out of 465 city employees only 131 of them live in the City. Why is the emphasis on hiring non-city residents? Do you ever get the feeling you are second best according to some folks in City government? Pay attention folks. Let your Councilman know how you feel on this and all issues. 949-0956.
SSM St. Joseph opens “Healing Presents”
Five area business owners helped find a cure for the gift shop at SSM St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles. Each of them attended today’s grand re-opening ceremony to help “unwrap” the store.
The gift shop’s name, “Healing Presents,” also is new. It was selected to compliment the mission of SSM St. Joseph, which is: “Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God.”
The gift shop underwent significant renovations during the past week. The glass windows and doors were covered while the renovations were being completed, and the shop was officially “unwrapped” during the ceremony.
“We’ve expanded our gift shop to provide even more unique and affordable gift items for our patients, employees and visitors,” Lisa Norwine, director of fund development for SSM St. Joseph. “We now have just the right gift you’re looking for – from crystal to designer jewelry, children’s gifts to collector’s dolls, inspirational gifts to seasonal items, and much more.”
“The community support for this project has been absolutely fantastic,” she continued. “We are pleased to be able to offer so much more in quality merchandise. We feel the entire community will really appreciate this expansion.”
Among the guests at the ceremony were five local merchants who gave of their time to assist hospital staff with the shop’s transformation, including Dana Rufkahr-Crenshaw, Golf Headquarters in O’Fallon; and Don Thebeau, The Flower Petaler; Jasper Noto, J Noto Fine Italian Confections; and Mary Fran Rash, Main Street Books all located along Historic Main Street St. Charles.
Thebeau assisted hospital staff by providing his design expertise to help reorganize the space to more adequately display stock items. The other vendors provided goods from their own stores, allowing the hospital’s gift shop to offer a wider variety of merchandise.
“This is such a good cause, and we are all happy to do what we could to help,” Rash said. “I think of this as my book store up the hill. There will be more than 100 books from my store on Main Street available for patients, families or employees who need an escape.”
Also in attendance during the re-opening ceremony was St. Charles County’s Director of Administration Steve Ehlmann, who signed copies of the book he published late last year, "Crossroads: A History of St. Charles County, Missouri.”
The gift shop is staffed by hospital volunteers from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Saturdays; and, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Those interested in volunteering in the Healing Presents gift shop, or in any of the various areas available, should contact the Volunteer Department at 636-947-5466.
Proceeds raised in the gift shop are used to support the SSM St. Joseph Foundation, which provides financial support for special medical programs and improvement initiatives, such as assisting with the purchase and maintenance of sophisticated, state-of-the-art equipment.
The gift shop’s name, “Healing Presents,” also is new. It was selected to compliment the mission of SSM St. Joseph, which is: “Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God.”
The gift shop underwent significant renovations during the past week. The glass windows and doors were covered while the renovations were being completed, and the shop was officially “unwrapped” during the ceremony.
“We’ve expanded our gift shop to provide even more unique and affordable gift items for our patients, employees and visitors,” Lisa Norwine, director of fund development for SSM St. Joseph. “We now have just the right gift you’re looking for – from crystal to designer jewelry, children’s gifts to collector’s dolls, inspirational gifts to seasonal items, and much more.”
“The community support for this project has been absolutely fantastic,” she continued. “We are pleased to be able to offer so much more in quality merchandise. We feel the entire community will really appreciate this expansion.”
Among the guests at the ceremony were five local merchants who gave of their time to assist hospital staff with the shop’s transformation, including Dana Rufkahr-Crenshaw, Golf Headquarters in O’Fallon; and Don Thebeau, The Flower Petaler; Jasper Noto, J Noto Fine Italian Confections; and Mary Fran Rash, Main Street Books all located along Historic Main Street St. Charles.
Thebeau assisted hospital staff by providing his design expertise to help reorganize the space to more adequately display stock items. The other vendors provided goods from their own stores, allowing the hospital’s gift shop to offer a wider variety of merchandise.
“This is such a good cause, and we are all happy to do what we could to help,” Rash said. “I think of this as my book store up the hill. There will be more than 100 books from my store on Main Street available for patients, families or employees who need an escape.”
Also in attendance during the re-opening ceremony was St. Charles County’s Director of Administration Steve Ehlmann, who signed copies of the book he published late last year, "Crossroads: A History of St. Charles County, Missouri.”
The gift shop is staffed by hospital volunteers from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Saturdays; and, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Those interested in volunteering in the Healing Presents gift shop, or in any of the various areas available, should contact the Volunteer Department at 636-947-5466.
Proceeds raised in the gift shop are used to support the SSM St. Joseph Foundation, which provides financial support for special medical programs and improvement initiatives, such as assisting with the purchase and maintenance of sophisticated, state-of-the-art equipment.
A DAZZLING EVENING BENEFITS CRISIS NURSERY CHILDREN
A sell-out crowd of over 500 enthusiastic supporters of the Crisis Nursery gathered amongst the Wizard of Oz décor at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet for the Razzle Dazzle Ball: Somewhere Over the Rainbow! The gala held on February 19, far surpassed the Nursery’s goal bringing in an astounding $200,000; all for the benefit of the children and families helped by the Crisis Nursery.
Event Co-Chairs, Karen & Steve Reese (US Bank) and Bee (Citigroup) & Tom Morrell (US Bank Dealer Services), along with Vice Chairs, Noah Griggs (Hardee’s Food Services); Karen Prideaux (Barnes Jewish St. Peters Hospital); and Michael Staenberg (THF Realty) were delighted with the evening consisting of gourmet dinner and dancing to the up-tempo beat of Contemporary Productions MoTown Revue. An inspiring awards presentation recognized those who did so much to help the Crisis Nursery carry out its mission, while the auctions and the ever-popular Champagne and Dazzling Diamond Extravaganza raised additional funds.
“This is truly a community that generously supports child abuse prevention and we are so grateful for that,” said DiAnne Mueller, Executive Director of the Crisis Nursery.
Emcee extraordinaire, John Carney, who keeps the late night KMOX radio audience amused, used his humor to keep the auction and the evening moving along, while Honorary Chairs, David & Thelma Steward (World Wide Technology), welcomed guests in equally capable style. Special Guest, our very own Wizard of Oz, Ozzie Smith, brought excitement to the room by greeting guests and thanking them for their support. Don Wolff, renowned attorney and host of KMOX’s Saturday evening, The Jazz Show, further touted the Crisis Nursery by the live remote broadcast of his Jazz show on-site at the event.
The Crisis Nursery presented its prestigious H.U.G.S. & K.I.S.S.E.S. Awards, sponsored by Tiffany & Co., to Roberta Cohen as Woman of the year. Anthony, Allan & Quinn received the Distinguished Corporate Citizen of the Year Award.
And as is always the case, after the live and silent auctions were closed, everyone waited anxiously to hear who would win the gorgeous 1.1 Carat Diamond from the Champagne & Dazzling Diamond Extravaganza sponsored by Copernicus Fine Jewelers. John Heusler of Copernicus, who generously donated the diamond, announced ,the diamond went to the delighted Dr. Mark & Tammy Belcher of St. Charles.
Crisis Nursery- St. Charles is a non-profit agency committed to the prevention of child abuse and neglect by providing a temporary, emergency safe haven to children, birth through age ten, whose families are in crisis. The Nursery’s three residential care locations are open to children in St. Charles, St. Louis and surrounding counties 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Crisis Nursery St. Charles has cared for more than 6,700 children and provided support and counseling to nearly 10,000 families since opening its doors in 1992.
For more information about the Razzle Dazzle Ball, please contact Ashley Bendoff at 314-768-3000 Ext. 2032 or ashley@crisisnurserykids.com.
For more information about volunteer opportunities or the Crisis Nursery and its services, please call Angie Osborne, Program Coordinator, at 636-947-0610.
Event Co-Chairs, Karen & Steve Reese (US Bank) and Bee (Citigroup) & Tom Morrell (US Bank Dealer Services), along with Vice Chairs, Noah Griggs (Hardee’s Food Services); Karen Prideaux (Barnes Jewish St. Peters Hospital); and Michael Staenberg (THF Realty) were delighted with the evening consisting of gourmet dinner and dancing to the up-tempo beat of Contemporary Productions MoTown Revue. An inspiring awards presentation recognized those who did so much to help the Crisis Nursery carry out its mission, while the auctions and the ever-popular Champagne and Dazzling Diamond Extravaganza raised additional funds.
“This is truly a community that generously supports child abuse prevention and we are so grateful for that,” said DiAnne Mueller, Executive Director of the Crisis Nursery.
Emcee extraordinaire, John Carney, who keeps the late night KMOX radio audience amused, used his humor to keep the auction and the evening moving along, while Honorary Chairs, David & Thelma Steward (World Wide Technology), welcomed guests in equally capable style. Special Guest, our very own Wizard of Oz, Ozzie Smith, brought excitement to the room by greeting guests and thanking them for their support. Don Wolff, renowned attorney and host of KMOX’s Saturday evening, The Jazz Show, further touted the Crisis Nursery by the live remote broadcast of his Jazz show on-site at the event.
The Crisis Nursery presented its prestigious H.U.G.S. & K.I.S.S.E.S. Awards, sponsored by Tiffany & Co., to Roberta Cohen as Woman of the year. Anthony, Allan & Quinn received the Distinguished Corporate Citizen of the Year Award.
And as is always the case, after the live and silent auctions were closed, everyone waited anxiously to hear who would win the gorgeous 1.1 Carat Diamond from the Champagne & Dazzling Diamond Extravaganza sponsored by Copernicus Fine Jewelers. John Heusler of Copernicus, who generously donated the diamond, announced ,the diamond went to the delighted Dr. Mark & Tammy Belcher of St. Charles.
Crisis Nursery- St. Charles is a non-profit agency committed to the prevention of child abuse and neglect by providing a temporary, emergency safe haven to children, birth through age ten, whose families are in crisis. The Nursery’s three residential care locations are open to children in St. Charles, St. Louis and surrounding counties 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Crisis Nursery St. Charles has cared for more than 6,700 children and provided support and counseling to nearly 10,000 families since opening its doors in 1992.
For more information about the Razzle Dazzle Ball, please contact Ashley Bendoff at 314-768-3000 Ext. 2032 or ashley@crisisnurserykids.com.
For more information about volunteer opportunities or the Crisis Nursery and its services, please call Angie Osborne, Program Coordinator, at 636-947-0610.
REPUBLICANS CELEBRATE LINCOLN DAY
REPUBLICANS CELEBRATE LINCOLN DAY
The annual Lincoln Day Celebration was held at the Columns Banquet Center on Friday evening and played to a “sold-out” crowd. After sweeping at the local, state and national levels in November, there was much to celebrate.
Governor Matt Blunt cancelled at the last moment due to the nearness of the birth date of his first child. The primary speakers were Senator Jim Talent, Senator Kit Bond, Representative Tod Akin, and Representative Kenny Hulschof.
County Administrator Steve Ehlmann was given unlimited time to talk about his book, “Crossroads to the History of St. Charles County.”
Lincoln Day provides the opportunity for Republicans to meet and greet the politicians they voted for and elected. Nearly all the elected officials who represent us locally, and many from the state level, were in attendance.
For the past three years, this event has been chaired by Roland and Dee Wetzel. The format has been changed from that of Barbara Flagg and Penny Bennett who previously chaired the event.
Rather than give all elected officials a brief introduction from the podium, Roland and Dee travel the room with microphones introducing the people who were not allowed to speak from the podium.
Although they got high marks for turning out a full house, there was much grumbling about the traveling microphones—from both guests and elected officials. With hundreds of people talking, it was nearly impossible to pay attention to the introductions. Also, people complained about a microphone showing up at their table while they were eating.
Jeff Morrison and David and Rhonda Hayes were also in attendance. They were seated at the farthest table at the perimeter of the room. If one wants a good seat at Lincoln Day, one does not make enemies of the Wetzels. Lincoln Day is clearly “The Roland and Dee Show.”
The annual Lincoln Day Celebration was held at the Columns Banquet Center on Friday evening and played to a “sold-out” crowd. After sweeping at the local, state and national levels in November, there was much to celebrate.
Governor Matt Blunt cancelled at the last moment due to the nearness of the birth date of his first child. The primary speakers were Senator Jim Talent, Senator Kit Bond, Representative Tod Akin, and Representative Kenny Hulschof.
County Administrator Steve Ehlmann was given unlimited time to talk about his book, “Crossroads to the History of St. Charles County.”
Lincoln Day provides the opportunity for Republicans to meet and greet the politicians they voted for and elected. Nearly all the elected officials who represent us locally, and many from the state level, were in attendance.
For the past three years, this event has been chaired by Roland and Dee Wetzel. The format has been changed from that of Barbara Flagg and Penny Bennett who previously chaired the event.
Rather than give all elected officials a brief introduction from the podium, Roland and Dee travel the room with microphones introducing the people who were not allowed to speak from the podium.
Although they got high marks for turning out a full house, there was much grumbling about the traveling microphones—from both guests and elected officials. With hundreds of people talking, it was nearly impossible to pay attention to the introductions. Also, people complained about a microphone showing up at their table while they were eating.
Jeff Morrison and David and Rhonda Hayes were also in attendance. They were seated at the farthest table at the perimeter of the room. If one wants a good seat at Lincoln Day, one does not make enemies of the Wetzels. Lincoln Day is clearly “The Roland and Dee Show.”
First Capitol Counseling
Divorce American Style
Dr. Howard Rosenthal
Dear Dr. Rosenthal,
My 21- year old son is getting married to a young woman who is approximately the same age. They fight constantly and disagree about nearly everything. I am truly worried that the marriage will end in divorce. My son says that things will get better after they are married. Maybe I just worry too much. What do you think? Joy
Dear Joy,
Since I don’t know your son or the young lady I can only respond from a statistical vantage point . . . but believe me it won’t be positive!
First, the U.S. divorce rate began to soar in the mid-1970s. Today, the odds of getting divorced are equal to flipping a coin. Simply put, about 50% of all first marriages fail in about seven years. The odds for a second marriage soar to about 64 or 65%.
Worse yet, young marriages have an even more dismal track record since there is often a discernable change in the personality around age 24 or 25.
My take is at odds with your son on another issue: I have rarely, if ever, seen a problem that got better after a couple got married. Indeed, my vast experience doing marriage counseling has taught me that such problems get worse after the couple signs on the dotted line!
My advice is to haul the couple in to see a counselor before they decide to get married. Otherwise (as I have stated in past columns) my crystal ball tells me that this is not a marriage made in heaven but rather another that will battle it out in divorce court.
Dr. Howard Rosenthal is Professor and Program Coordinator of Human Services at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. He is the author of numerous books and audio series. You can secure his book Help Yourself to Positive Mental Health by calling 1-800-634-7064 ext. 4. His newest website is www.counselingshop.com.
Dr. Howard Rosenthal
Dear Dr. Rosenthal,
My 21- year old son is getting married to a young woman who is approximately the same age. They fight constantly and disagree about nearly everything. I am truly worried that the marriage will end in divorce. My son says that things will get better after they are married. Maybe I just worry too much. What do you think? Joy
Dear Joy,
Since I don’t know your son or the young lady I can only respond from a statistical vantage point . . . but believe me it won’t be positive!
First, the U.S. divorce rate began to soar in the mid-1970s. Today, the odds of getting divorced are equal to flipping a coin. Simply put, about 50% of all first marriages fail in about seven years. The odds for a second marriage soar to about 64 or 65%.
Worse yet, young marriages have an even more dismal track record since there is often a discernable change in the personality around age 24 or 25.
My take is at odds with your son on another issue: I have rarely, if ever, seen a problem that got better after a couple got married. Indeed, my vast experience doing marriage counseling has taught me that such problems get worse after the couple signs on the dotted line!
My advice is to haul the couple in to see a counselor before they decide to get married. Otherwise (as I have stated in past columns) my crystal ball tells me that this is not a marriage made in heaven but rather another that will battle it out in divorce court.
Dr. Howard Rosenthal is Professor and Program Coordinator of Human Services at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. He is the author of numerous books and audio series. You can secure his book Help Yourself to Positive Mental Health by calling 1-800-634-7064 ext. 4. His newest website is www.counselingshop.com.
MY COLUMN Mike McCurran Sports Editor
It is often times said that timing is everything. Personally I know such to be true in reference to real estate and romance; it seems such is true in newspaper deadlines. It would have been great to cover the Missouri State High School Basketball Sectional action held Wednesday evening, but in order to meet deadline such was an impossibility. Both the boys and girls of St. Charles West traveled to Hannibal to take on Saint Francis Borgia. The girls’ season ended and the boys’ will continue until at least this Saturday. Details are unavailable at press time. What I can assure you is we will have coverage of the St. Charles West/Westminister quarterfinal action in next week’s issue. Should the Warriors win that match up they will be traveling to the final four in Columbia the following weekend.
The following is an explanation, not an apology. If you go back twelve editions to when I started this, I explained to you that I was it when it came to covering sports. Now, the wonderful action photos you have seen recently have been taken by Robert Joseph Barton, but as far as the written words and coverage, I am it. Oh sure, I could fill the pages with second hand press releases from all sorts of sources, but the philosophy of this weekly is to print news, first hand covered news. It is a philosophy that seems to be working by the number of e-mails, comments and letters I have received.
One such letter came from Tom Yockey, Jr., who wished to discuss everything from River Otters hockey to Classic Pro Wrestling (those last three words might just be a great example of the term paradox). Yockey compared the St. Charles/West rivalry to that of McCluer/North in the 70’s. Tom old buddy, I am even older than that. Before McCluer North even existed the real rivalry, at least in football, was between Riverview and McCluer. Was it my imagination or did a number of their games end with a 2-0 score? This was before there was a state championship in football. The winner was often times called the “unofficial state champion.”
The winter season of high school sports is just about over. As mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago, the state championships in basketball will be held next weekend. The spring season will bring baseball, girls’ soccer and boys’ and girls’ track. I will do my best to cover St. Charles High, West and Duchesne in these sports. At the same time it is becoming crunch time in the United Hockey League with the playoff right around the corner. Finally, the River City Rage will begin their first season under new ownership in just a few short weeks.
The following is an explanation, not an apology. If you go back twelve editions to when I started this, I explained to you that I was it when it came to covering sports. Now, the wonderful action photos you have seen recently have been taken by Robert Joseph Barton, but as far as the written words and coverage, I am it. Oh sure, I could fill the pages with second hand press releases from all sorts of sources, but the philosophy of this weekly is to print news, first hand covered news. It is a philosophy that seems to be working by the number of e-mails, comments and letters I have received.
One such letter came from Tom Yockey, Jr., who wished to discuss everything from River Otters hockey to Classic Pro Wrestling (those last three words might just be a great example of the term paradox). Yockey compared the St. Charles/West rivalry to that of McCluer/North in the 70’s. Tom old buddy, I am even older than that. Before McCluer North even existed the real rivalry, at least in football, was between Riverview and McCluer. Was it my imagination or did a number of their games end with a 2-0 score? This was before there was a state championship in football. The winner was often times called the “unofficial state champion.”
The winter season of high school sports is just about over. As mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago, the state championships in basketball will be held next weekend. The spring season will bring baseball, girls’ soccer and boys’ and girls’ track. I will do my best to cover St. Charles High, West and Duchesne in these sports. At the same time it is becoming crunch time in the United Hockey League with the playoff right around the corner. Finally, the River City Rage will begin their first season under new ownership in just a few short weeks.
Crunch time for the River Otters
Crunch time for the River Otters as they travel to take on Central Division opponents in 3 key contests
Compiled by: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
Despite suffering two losses last week, the Missouri River Otters remain one of the hottest teams in the United Hockey League. The Otters are 9-2-1 in their last 12 contests and are only six points out of first place behind Fort Wayne and Rockford in the Western Division.
Frank Littlejohn’s three-point night led the Missouri River Otters to a 6-5 shootout victory against the Motor City Mechanics Sunday night at the Great Lakes Arena.
The Mechanics scored the game’s first goal, and it came on the power play. Blair Manning sent a puck at the net from the right point, and David Bonk re-directed it behind Kevin Reiter for his 11th goal of the season. The River Otters came right back with a goal of their own, as George Cantrall banged home the rebound of a Glenn Detulleo shot. Motor City regained the lead 17 seconds later when Jason Reimers blasted a slap-shot behind Reiter from the left point.
The second period featured five goals, three from Missouri and two from Motor City. Littlejohn, Jim Montgomery, and Lars Pettersen scored the goals for the River Otters, while Brad Smith and Reimers scored for the Mechanics.
Littlejohn scored his second goal of the game twelve minutes into the third period to give the River Otters the lead. Motor City came back strong, however, and Joe Burton’s power-play goal sent the game into the shootout tied at five.
In the shootout, Montgomery, Moore, and Riku Varjamo scored for the River Otters, while only Blair Manning and Burton scored for Motor City. Reiter made 25 saves for the victory while Cory Campbell made 24 saves in defeat.
Despite tying the game with a late two-goal rally, the Missouri River Otters lost 5-4 in regulation to the Muskegon Fury Saturday night at the L.C. Walker Arena.
The Fury scored the game’s first goal, and it resulted from a River Otters turnover. Rustyn Dolyny intercepted a pass and was robbed by Kevin Reiter on a shot, but Jon Insana slid the rebound between Reiter’s pads to give his squad the lead. The River Otters tied it up with four minutes remaining in the opening period. Frank Littlejohn found a puck to the left of the Fury net and rifled a wrist-shot that beat Sylvain Daigle over his right shoulder.
Despite outshooting the Fury 12-10 in the second period, the River Otters gave up the period’s only two goals. Todd Nelson scored the first on a quick wrap-around, while Todd Robinson fired home the second on an accurate one-timer. Fury defenseman Jon Insana was given a game misconduct in the second period for tripping referee Mike Mondalek with his stick.
Missouri scored first in the final period when Jim Montgomery banged home the rebound of a Mat Snesrud shot in front of the net. 23 seconds later Scott Hollis made it a 4-2 Fury lead on a two-on-one with Nelson. It stayed that way until late in the period, when Lars Pettersen perfectly deflected a Mike Dombkiewicz shot behind Daigle. Less than a minute later, Dombkiewicz beat a screened Daigle to tie the game at four. Unfortunately for the River Otters, they gave up a breakaway with less than a minute remaining in the game to Robinson. The Fury center made no mistake, beating Reiter with a top-shelf wrister. Daigle made 32 saves in the victory, while Reiter 25 saves in defeat.
The Otters play in Flint Friday evening, Detroit Saturday evening and Port Huron Sunday afternoon before returning home to the Family Arena on Sunday, March 13.
United Hockey League
Western Division
W L SL PTS
Fort Wayne 38 18 4 80
Rockford 36 22 6 79
River Otters 34 22 6 74
Quad City 25 24 9 59
Kansas City 22 35 3 47
Note: Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a shootout loss. Shootout losses are only denoted in the SL column, not the loss column.
Compiled by: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
Despite suffering two losses last week, the Missouri River Otters remain one of the hottest teams in the United Hockey League. The Otters are 9-2-1 in their last 12 contests and are only six points out of first place behind Fort Wayne and Rockford in the Western Division.
Frank Littlejohn’s three-point night led the Missouri River Otters to a 6-5 shootout victory against the Motor City Mechanics Sunday night at the Great Lakes Arena.
The Mechanics scored the game’s first goal, and it came on the power play. Blair Manning sent a puck at the net from the right point, and David Bonk re-directed it behind Kevin Reiter for his 11th goal of the season. The River Otters came right back with a goal of their own, as George Cantrall banged home the rebound of a Glenn Detulleo shot. Motor City regained the lead 17 seconds later when Jason Reimers blasted a slap-shot behind Reiter from the left point.
The second period featured five goals, three from Missouri and two from Motor City. Littlejohn, Jim Montgomery, and Lars Pettersen scored the goals for the River Otters, while Brad Smith and Reimers scored for the Mechanics.
Littlejohn scored his second goal of the game twelve minutes into the third period to give the River Otters the lead. Motor City came back strong, however, and Joe Burton’s power-play goal sent the game into the shootout tied at five.
In the shootout, Montgomery, Moore, and Riku Varjamo scored for the River Otters, while only Blair Manning and Burton scored for Motor City. Reiter made 25 saves for the victory while Cory Campbell made 24 saves in defeat.
Despite tying the game with a late two-goal rally, the Missouri River Otters lost 5-4 in regulation to the Muskegon Fury Saturday night at the L.C. Walker Arena.
The Fury scored the game’s first goal, and it resulted from a River Otters turnover. Rustyn Dolyny intercepted a pass and was robbed by Kevin Reiter on a shot, but Jon Insana slid the rebound between Reiter’s pads to give his squad the lead. The River Otters tied it up with four minutes remaining in the opening period. Frank Littlejohn found a puck to the left of the Fury net and rifled a wrist-shot that beat Sylvain Daigle over his right shoulder.
Despite outshooting the Fury 12-10 in the second period, the River Otters gave up the period’s only two goals. Todd Nelson scored the first on a quick wrap-around, while Todd Robinson fired home the second on an accurate one-timer. Fury defenseman Jon Insana was given a game misconduct in the second period for tripping referee Mike Mondalek with his stick.
Missouri scored first in the final period when Jim Montgomery banged home the rebound of a Mat Snesrud shot in front of the net. 23 seconds later Scott Hollis made it a 4-2 Fury lead on a two-on-one with Nelson. It stayed that way until late in the period, when Lars Pettersen perfectly deflected a Mike Dombkiewicz shot behind Daigle. Less than a minute later, Dombkiewicz beat a screened Daigle to tie the game at four. Unfortunately for the River Otters, they gave up a breakaway with less than a minute remaining in the game to Robinson. The Fury center made no mistake, beating Reiter with a top-shelf wrister. Daigle made 32 saves in the victory, while Reiter 25 saves in defeat.
The Otters play in Flint Friday evening, Detroit Saturday evening and Port Huron Sunday afternoon before returning home to the Family Arena on Sunday, March 13.
United Hockey League
Western Division
W L SL PTS
Fort Wayne 38 18 4 80
Rockford 36 22 6 79
River Otters 34 22 6 74
Quad City 25 24 9 59
Kansas City 22 35 3 47
Note: Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a shootout loss. Shootout losses are only denoted in the SL column, not the loss column.
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