By Tony Brockmeyer
Councilman Bob Hoepfner, Ward 10, told the First Capitol News St. Charles Municipal Judge Daniel K. Barklage is in violation of a Missouri State Statute by holding two elective offices concurrently.
In addition to being the Municipal Judge for the City of St. Charles, Barklage is also a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Charles Community College. He is currently serving as secretary of the board. Barklage is serving a six-year term that expires in 2006.
Councilman Hoepfner said, “This is a very embarrassing situation. Here we have the Municipal Judge passing judgment on people every time he holds court and he is in violation of a state statue. I would think he would want to obey the laws rather than ignore them.”
Barklage was appointed to fill the term of Municipal Judge John Briscoe who was elected Associate Circuit Judge for St. Charles County. He then ran for election in April of 2004 and won.In addition to being St. Charles Municipal Judge and a Trustee of St. Charles Community College he also maintains a private practice with offices in St. Charles.
Missouri State Statute – 497.020 section six says: No municipal judge shall hold any other office in the municipality which the municipal judge serves as judge.
Eric Tolen, Special Counsel to the St. Charles City Council told the First Capitol News, “In my opinion by holding both elected positions as Municipal Judge and Community College Trustee, Mr. Barklage is in violation of the state statue and should resign from one of the offices.”
We were unable to contact Judge Barklage prior to our deadline.
Councilman Hoepfner said, “Barklage should resign from both offices. How can he sit on the bench and judge others when he himself is apparently breaking the law?”
Judge Barklage recently filed suit in Circuit Court in an attempt to have the City Council increase overtime pay for the municipal court employees. He blamed the decrease in overtime on retaliation by Councilman Hoepfner. Hoepfner said that he had called the Judge requesting a continuance for a resident of his ward and was told by the Judge that it was his policy to give continuances only if an attorney requested it. That suit is pending in St. Charles County Circuit Court.
Barklage’s law firm had also been handling some individual matters as they arose for the City. The City Council recently stopped that arrangement saying that it appeared to be a conflict of interest and is giving business to other law firms.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
St. Peters Board of Aldermen Accepts Proposal For Lakeside 370 Property
St. Peters Board of Aldermen Accepts Proposal
for Lakeside 370 Property
The St. Peters Board of Aldermen Thursday approved a joint development agreement with Kaplan Development and Investment for the property at the site of the St. Peters Lakeside 370 Business Park project. The agreement is expected to be finalized later this summer. The Board of Aldermen also passed a number of other ordinances related to the project, including an agreement for consulting services for the design of a master concept plan for the Lakeside 370 Park and an agreement for the construction of the levee to protect the Lakeside 370 Business Park project. All the items on tonight’s agenda regarding the Lakeside 370 project passed by a vote of six yes, one no and one absent.
While the final sale of the property is being completed, city officials are anticipating that the city will obtain permit approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to build a levee to protect the property.
Last month, St. Peters officials received two offers to buy the property from 1) Kaplan and 2) the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance (GRHA). This was the second proposal the City received from GRHA, including an offer previously rejected in 2004. Prior to receiving the Kaplan offer, St. Peters officials sent a letter to the GRHA on May 26, 2005 seeking more information regarding their proposal to buy the land, but did not receive any official GRHA response to that inquiry. In addition, earlier this year, numerous developers indicating their support for or interest in involvement with the Lakeside 370 project approached city officials (see City news release dated February 2, 2005).
In April 2000, more than 67% of St. Peters voters approved the bonds for the land purchase and levee construction of the Lakeside 370 project. The project, envisioned as a development similar to Earth City with an adjacent 300-acre public park and 140-acre lake, will take an estimated 15-20 years to completely build out and will bring an estimated 6,000-10,000 permanent jobs, millions of man hours of construction trades jobs and millions of dollars in annual tax revenue to the area taxing districts and the City of St. Peters.
Mayor Shawn Brown and the Board of Aldermen were very pleased with the successful proposal and the return on investment for City taxpayers:
Mayor Shawn Brown
“Leonard Kaplan is our knight in shining armor and I am supporting this deal. Although I never wanted the city to get into the development or real estate
business, I believe this is an excellent outcome for our taxpayers.”
Board President Terry Hawkins-Ward 1
“As I have told the aldermen along the way through this unbelievable battle, good things happen to good people. I feel very proud that we as a Board took the direction that the voters gave us, regardless of the confrontations along the way. We stuck it out and were able to make this outstanding project a great success for our residents. Once again, I would like to thank the voters for their support and for the strength of our fellow aldermen who didn’t waver and were always there for the long haul along with our great City Administrator Bill Charnisky and our staff members who put in so many hours to make this project come together.”
Board Vice President Jerry Hollingsworth-Ward 2
“The residents are going to win with this deal because it’s going to generate a profit for the City and that has been our intent all along—to create revenue for the City of St. Peters. This particular deal is going to make it happen even quicker. Because a professional developer is purchasing the land, we should be able to see the sales tax revenue and property tax revenue come to us quicker than by us selling the property off a little bit at a time over the next 10-15 years as the land parcels are purchased.”
Alderman John “Rocky” Reitmeyer-Ward 1
“I’m glad we’re continuing to move forward with this and I’m excited about this new opportunity for our residents. It’s something we’ve all been looking forward to and it will be great for the future of our city, continuing our outstanding city services and hopefully reducing taxes. I’m excited about the thousands of new permanent jobs that will come to our City and putting construction trades workers to work building the levee and the project, and I can’t wait to go fishing with my kids on our new lake in our new park.”
Alderman David Hayes-Ward 2
“I’m very pleased that we have put together such an outstanding outcome for our residents. This should answer so many of the skeptics who criticized the City calling this a ‘risky scheme,’ demanding we ignore the direction of our voters. We’ve now proved that the voters know what’s right. They approved this project and now the voters are going to reap the benefits of this project over the next two decades and beyond.”
Alderman Bruce Holt-Ward 3
“I am proud that we as Aldermen have had the courage to stand by our convictions in the face of the enormously high-financed and mostly non-resident opposition to this project. Our voters showed their confidence in this project more than five years ago and it has been our challenge as elected officials to get the job done for our residents. I truly appreciate all the phone calls, comments, and e-mails of support I have received from our St. Peters residents. The return on this investment will benefit our citizens for years to come.”
Alderman Len Pagano-Ward 3
“Back in the early 70’s the city flag logo was the rising star of St. Peters. Today, that star is still rising higher due to so many pieces of the puzzle that make our city stand out there and glisten. Now, with the sale of the Lakeside 370 property, this major piece of the puzzle will make me want to shout these words—I am so proud to live in St. Peters!”
Alderman Bob Morrison-Ward 4
“As I said at the time of our last meeting, I was very hopeful that we would have a positive result for our taxpayers and I am very pleased to see our hopes being realized. It looks like our steadfast actions and resolve are benefiting our residents, and that is what this has always been about—serving our City and benefiting our residents.”
for Lakeside 370 Property
The St. Peters Board of Aldermen Thursday approved a joint development agreement with Kaplan Development and Investment for the property at the site of the St. Peters Lakeside 370 Business Park project. The agreement is expected to be finalized later this summer. The Board of Aldermen also passed a number of other ordinances related to the project, including an agreement for consulting services for the design of a master concept plan for the Lakeside 370 Park and an agreement for the construction of the levee to protect the Lakeside 370 Business Park project. All the items on tonight’s agenda regarding the Lakeside 370 project passed by a vote of six yes, one no and one absent.
While the final sale of the property is being completed, city officials are anticipating that the city will obtain permit approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to build a levee to protect the property.
Last month, St. Peters officials received two offers to buy the property from 1) Kaplan and 2) the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance (GRHA). This was the second proposal the City received from GRHA, including an offer previously rejected in 2004. Prior to receiving the Kaplan offer, St. Peters officials sent a letter to the GRHA on May 26, 2005 seeking more information regarding their proposal to buy the land, but did not receive any official GRHA response to that inquiry. In addition, earlier this year, numerous developers indicating their support for or interest in involvement with the Lakeside 370 project approached city officials (see City news release dated February 2, 2005).
In April 2000, more than 67% of St. Peters voters approved the bonds for the land purchase and levee construction of the Lakeside 370 project. The project, envisioned as a development similar to Earth City with an adjacent 300-acre public park and 140-acre lake, will take an estimated 15-20 years to completely build out and will bring an estimated 6,000-10,000 permanent jobs, millions of man hours of construction trades jobs and millions of dollars in annual tax revenue to the area taxing districts and the City of St. Peters.
Mayor Shawn Brown and the Board of Aldermen were very pleased with the successful proposal and the return on investment for City taxpayers:
Mayor Shawn Brown
“Leonard Kaplan is our knight in shining armor and I am supporting this deal. Although I never wanted the city to get into the development or real estate
business, I believe this is an excellent outcome for our taxpayers.”
Board President Terry Hawkins-Ward 1
“As I have told the aldermen along the way through this unbelievable battle, good things happen to good people. I feel very proud that we as a Board took the direction that the voters gave us, regardless of the confrontations along the way. We stuck it out and were able to make this outstanding project a great success for our residents. Once again, I would like to thank the voters for their support and for the strength of our fellow aldermen who didn’t waver and were always there for the long haul along with our great City Administrator Bill Charnisky and our staff members who put in so many hours to make this project come together.”
Board Vice President Jerry Hollingsworth-Ward 2
“The residents are going to win with this deal because it’s going to generate a profit for the City and that has been our intent all along—to create revenue for the City of St. Peters. This particular deal is going to make it happen even quicker. Because a professional developer is purchasing the land, we should be able to see the sales tax revenue and property tax revenue come to us quicker than by us selling the property off a little bit at a time over the next 10-15 years as the land parcels are purchased.”
Alderman John “Rocky” Reitmeyer-Ward 1
“I’m glad we’re continuing to move forward with this and I’m excited about this new opportunity for our residents. It’s something we’ve all been looking forward to and it will be great for the future of our city, continuing our outstanding city services and hopefully reducing taxes. I’m excited about the thousands of new permanent jobs that will come to our City and putting construction trades workers to work building the levee and the project, and I can’t wait to go fishing with my kids on our new lake in our new park.”
Alderman David Hayes-Ward 2
“I’m very pleased that we have put together such an outstanding outcome for our residents. This should answer so many of the skeptics who criticized the City calling this a ‘risky scheme,’ demanding we ignore the direction of our voters. We’ve now proved that the voters know what’s right. They approved this project and now the voters are going to reap the benefits of this project over the next two decades and beyond.”
Alderman Bruce Holt-Ward 3
“I am proud that we as Aldermen have had the courage to stand by our convictions in the face of the enormously high-financed and mostly non-resident opposition to this project. Our voters showed their confidence in this project more than five years ago and it has been our challenge as elected officials to get the job done for our residents. I truly appreciate all the phone calls, comments, and e-mails of support I have received from our St. Peters residents. The return on this investment will benefit our citizens for years to come.”
Alderman Len Pagano-Ward 3
“Back in the early 70’s the city flag logo was the rising star of St. Peters. Today, that star is still rising higher due to so many pieces of the puzzle that make our city stand out there and glisten. Now, with the sale of the Lakeside 370 property, this major piece of the puzzle will make me want to shout these words—I am so proud to live in St. Peters!”
Alderman Bob Morrison-Ward 4
“As I said at the time of our last meeting, I was very hopeful that we would have a positive result for our taxpayers and I am very pleased to see our hopes being realized. It looks like our steadfast actions and resolve are benefiting our residents, and that is what this has always been about—serving our City and benefiting our residents.”
THE CITY DESK - Rory Riddlr City Council President
Letter From Airline CEO
Prompts Flight Of Fancy
Or...Fear Of Flying Coach!
It had been a while since my last airline flight. In fact, I hadn’t been back on a plane since right after 9/11 when I flew to Atlanta for a conference. The National Guard was out then and everyone was a little trigger happy. I remember one younger serviceman drawing his weapon as a woman in “metal studded” black leather pants, threw a tantrum over not being able to get through the metal detectors. All I had to remove this time were my shoes. Fortunately I remembered to put on a pair of socks without holes at 4:30 in the morning as I dressed for my 6:30 flight to Vegas.
Now before you think I went there and bet all your tax money on number ten, remember I could have done that at our own casino. No, I was traveling to Las Vegas for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) annual convention. Here city officials met in whirlwind one-on-one sessions with developers of commercial real estate. The goal was to interest people in doing commercial developments in our city. It was one of the largest conventions I’ve ever been to, in one of the few cities that could handle a convention that large.
I was only there for 48 hours...barely enough time to have one of Sylvester Stallone’s bodyguards tell me to move out of his way on a public sidewalk. Noticing that the star of all those “Rocky” and “Rambo” movies only comes up to about my nose, I figure Stallone needs the protection.
I don’t mean to sound hard on Las Vegas, but they could have picked a spot more capable of sustaining human life. I wasn’t prepared for 105 degrees in May. At the risk of further offending the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Bureau, my other travel tip is don’t turn on the local news. That way the only shootings on the Strip you will hear about are the ones within earshot.
As I mentioned in the lead, this column is really about my return as a passenger to the world of commercial airlines in the Post-TWA Era. For those of us in St. Louis, that often means flying American Airlines. I was surprised by a few of the changes just a couple of years had brought.
One of these was the absence of the flight attendant safety pantomime. I was one of the few passengers that ever paid attention as they pointed out the various exits. Passengers instead are regaled by a slick promotional video on the in-flight movie screens of all the safety features loaded into the plane. How about attaching a spare engine for my safety and comfort?
What really made an impression on me, however, was when they showed passengers demonstrating the proper technique for putting on life preservers. On the front of the bright yellow vests was American Airlines signature double “A” logo. I’m all for product branding, but aren’t life vests the one thing you could probably leave your corporate logo off. After all, how much value is there is catching your company logo on the evening news as they pluck survivors from the water?
Gone too was the curtain separating First Class passengers from those of us riding coach. At 10:30 on the flight back, they started serving some sort of hot brunch to the passengers in First Class. I was only four rows back in coach. We could smell the aroma of the food as it wafted through the plane. We could see the rolls piled high on the cart just ready for butter. Being Third World refugees in the back of the plane, we were offered an optional $2 box of dried fruit snacks. Isn’t that considered cruel and unusual punishment in some countries?
I wasn’t prepared for the change in snack foods either. I miss the honey roasted peanuts. I even miss those tiny pretzels. But through exhaustive research, American Airlines has apparently concluded that what I really need to snack on while flying is...a granola bar (low fat of course). How did they know I was overweight?
Which reminds me of the problem that befell some of my fellow Councilmen who traveled West on an earlier flight. They learned their entire plane was overweight. Rather than make some passengers disembark (or jettison the granola bars), the Captain said they would remove some of the “excess” fuel from one of the tanks. I’m glad this didn’t happen on my flight. I’m one of those who would worry the “excess” fuel was suppose to be there for a reason.
After some time sitting at the gate, their Captain came back on to apologized and explain the crew had removed the fuel from the wrong tank! I’m told they were very late getting off the ground, but fortunately they then had enough fuel to stay in the air.
I passed some of the time on my flight reading AmericanWay, American Airlines self-promotional magazine. There was a fascinating column by Gerard J. Arpey, Chairman & CEO of American Airlines. Here are some of the riveting excerpts and my responses:
“Have you ever paused to consider just how an aircraft weighing hundreds of tons gets itself into the air - and stay there?”
No, but thank you for bringing that problem to my attention while I’m about to take off. I hope I can get to the answer and have some peace of mind before hurtling down this runway.
Here is how he wraps up his article:
“That’s an incomplete description of how and why lift occurs, and I’m sure some erudite American Way readers will come up with ways my explanation could be better. But at the very least, I hope it gives you a little better sense of how we get these giant CONTRAPTIONS WE CALL AIRPLANES up in the air.” [emphasis added]
I realize that in politics it’s considered a positive attribute to connect with the man in the street, Joe six-pack. It made George Bush President of the United States. But George Bush isn’t flying Air Force One. I expect the President & CEO of a major airline to give me the definitive definition of flight, not a self-described incomplete description. Come on! You’re the head of American Airlines. Somebody who works for you has to know how a plane flies. Try looking it up on the internet next time.
Finally, all kidding aside, the flight attendants and front-line staff make or break an airline. The employees of American Airlines couldn’t have been friendlier. Flying may be a lot less glamorous than it use to, but it’s still better than taking a wagon train across the desert.
Prompts Flight Of Fancy
Or...Fear Of Flying Coach!
It had been a while since my last airline flight. In fact, I hadn’t been back on a plane since right after 9/11 when I flew to Atlanta for a conference. The National Guard was out then and everyone was a little trigger happy. I remember one younger serviceman drawing his weapon as a woman in “metal studded” black leather pants, threw a tantrum over not being able to get through the metal detectors. All I had to remove this time were my shoes. Fortunately I remembered to put on a pair of socks without holes at 4:30 in the morning as I dressed for my 6:30 flight to Vegas.
Now before you think I went there and bet all your tax money on number ten, remember I could have done that at our own casino. No, I was traveling to Las Vegas for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) annual convention. Here city officials met in whirlwind one-on-one sessions with developers of commercial real estate. The goal was to interest people in doing commercial developments in our city. It was one of the largest conventions I’ve ever been to, in one of the few cities that could handle a convention that large.
I was only there for 48 hours...barely enough time to have one of Sylvester Stallone’s bodyguards tell me to move out of his way on a public sidewalk. Noticing that the star of all those “Rocky” and “Rambo” movies only comes up to about my nose, I figure Stallone needs the protection.
I don’t mean to sound hard on Las Vegas, but they could have picked a spot more capable of sustaining human life. I wasn’t prepared for 105 degrees in May. At the risk of further offending the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Bureau, my other travel tip is don’t turn on the local news. That way the only shootings on the Strip you will hear about are the ones within earshot.
As I mentioned in the lead, this column is really about my return as a passenger to the world of commercial airlines in the Post-TWA Era. For those of us in St. Louis, that often means flying American Airlines. I was surprised by a few of the changes just a couple of years had brought.
One of these was the absence of the flight attendant safety pantomime. I was one of the few passengers that ever paid attention as they pointed out the various exits. Passengers instead are regaled by a slick promotional video on the in-flight movie screens of all the safety features loaded into the plane. How about attaching a spare engine for my safety and comfort?
What really made an impression on me, however, was when they showed passengers demonstrating the proper technique for putting on life preservers. On the front of the bright yellow vests was American Airlines signature double “A” logo. I’m all for product branding, but aren’t life vests the one thing you could probably leave your corporate logo off. After all, how much value is there is catching your company logo on the evening news as they pluck survivors from the water?
Gone too was the curtain separating First Class passengers from those of us riding coach. At 10:30 on the flight back, they started serving some sort of hot brunch to the passengers in First Class. I was only four rows back in coach. We could smell the aroma of the food as it wafted through the plane. We could see the rolls piled high on the cart just ready for butter. Being Third World refugees in the back of the plane, we were offered an optional $2 box of dried fruit snacks. Isn’t that considered cruel and unusual punishment in some countries?
I wasn’t prepared for the change in snack foods either. I miss the honey roasted peanuts. I even miss those tiny pretzels. But through exhaustive research, American Airlines has apparently concluded that what I really need to snack on while flying is...a granola bar (low fat of course). How did they know I was overweight?
Which reminds me of the problem that befell some of my fellow Councilmen who traveled West on an earlier flight. They learned their entire plane was overweight. Rather than make some passengers disembark (or jettison the granola bars), the Captain said they would remove some of the “excess” fuel from one of the tanks. I’m glad this didn’t happen on my flight. I’m one of those who would worry the “excess” fuel was suppose to be there for a reason.
After some time sitting at the gate, their Captain came back on to apologized and explain the crew had removed the fuel from the wrong tank! I’m told they were very late getting off the ground, but fortunately they then had enough fuel to stay in the air.
I passed some of the time on my flight reading AmericanWay, American Airlines self-promotional magazine. There was a fascinating column by Gerard J. Arpey, Chairman & CEO of American Airlines. Here are some of the riveting excerpts and my responses:
“Have you ever paused to consider just how an aircraft weighing hundreds of tons gets itself into the air - and stay there?”
No, but thank you for bringing that problem to my attention while I’m about to take off. I hope I can get to the answer and have some peace of mind before hurtling down this runway.
Here is how he wraps up his article:
“That’s an incomplete description of how and why lift occurs, and I’m sure some erudite American Way readers will come up with ways my explanation could be better. But at the very least, I hope it gives you a little better sense of how we get these giant CONTRAPTIONS WE CALL AIRPLANES up in the air.” [emphasis added]
I realize that in politics it’s considered a positive attribute to connect with the man in the street, Joe six-pack. It made George Bush President of the United States. But George Bush isn’t flying Air Force One. I expect the President & CEO of a major airline to give me the definitive definition of flight, not a self-described incomplete description. Come on! You’re the head of American Airlines. Somebody who works for you has to know how a plane flies. Try looking it up on the internet next time.
Finally, all kidding aside, the flight attendants and front-line staff make or break an airline. The employees of American Airlines couldn’t have been friendlier. Flying may be a lot less glamorous than it use to, but it’s still better than taking a wagon train across the desert.
THE CONSERVATIVE FACTOR - Alex Spencer
The past six years shall be forever known as “The Reign of Patti I.” It has been anything but benevolent. With a lot of faith, a little luck and a persistent vigilant press, perhaps there will never be a “Patti II.”
Never before in the history of St. Charles have we had such chaos and lack of leadership from the Mayor’s office. Never before have a very few been so richly rewarded by a manipulative ego-driven Mayor at the expense of so many.
We should all strap on our seat belts and prepare ourselves for a bumpy dangerous ride while Queen Patti is behind the wheel for the next two years.
Last Tuesday’s Council meeting lasted for more than five hours, and the Mayor appeared to be red-hot under the collar. Rather than rubber-stamping her appointments to various boards and committees, the Council opted to interview them prior to approval. I was happy to see this because the Mayor has a record of “using”her appointees to go to battle for her personal agendas. Last year she sued one of her own appointees for daring to speak the truth and “failure to fall in line.” The silly suit was quietly dropped, but it most likely intimidated her other appointees.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the Mayor was again labeled “a liar” by a City Council member. As often as this Mayor is accused of lying, there must be some truth to the charge. If York really is a “better christian” than her last opponent, Dan Foust, does she get a free pass for lying and is Mr. Foust held to a higher standard? Has anybody called Foust a liar? If so, I haven’t heard about it.
The most interesting business debated at Tuesday’s meeting was that slick attempt to move all the Convention Center money from Commerce Bank to Premier Bank - a new bank operating out of a storefront. City Councilman Weller accused the majority of the Council of “refusing to change banks because Premier Bank was handling the Mayor’s legal defense fund. Until Weller’s revaluation, nobody knew much about the fund, much less which bank was handling the funds. It has since been reported that Ernie Dempsey will be hosting an affair at Pio’s within the next week to raise funds for the Mayor’s Legal Defense.
Dempsey supported Dan Foust in the last Mayoral race, then when York won, he had a luncheon with moneyed friends to “pay off her campaign debt.” Apparently Dempsey is still “working and paying” to stay in York’s good graces. Is this now a close friendship beneficial to both or just another one of those “seductive dances to the death - winner take all?”
As far as the City’s banking policy - it is determined by our charter and must be approved by the City Council. Some of the Mayor’s movers and shaker friends are involved with Premier Bank and serve on the Board. This attempt to switch City money to Premier from Commerce Bank was clearly an “insider deal” and violated our City Charter. Many months ago, the Council approved placement of the City accounts. There are specific qualifications required by any bank in order to satisfy our charter, state and federal laws. Commerce Bank, Frontenac Bank and New Frontier Bank were approved to serve the City’s banking needs.
Our municipal Judge, Dan Barklage, has apparently declared war on Councilman Bob Hoepfner. It was recently reported in the daily paper that Dan Barklage and Kevin Kast were on a golfing trip to Virginia and Kast hit a hole in one. Both Barklage and Kast are “Queen Patti” supporters. Kast is also a new member on the St. Charles Convention and Sports Facility Authority Board.
Until two months ago, the City sometimes employed the legal services of the Barklage firm. Due to Dan Barklage being the municipal judge, the City Council deemed this to be a conflict of interest and ceased using the Barklage firm for their legal needs.
St. Charles municipal court Judge Dan Barklage, has filed a lawsuit asking the Circuit Court to order the City to pay more money for paying his court staff overtime.
Barklage appears to blame Councilman Hoepfner and accused him of wanting to cut the court’s overtime budget over a continuance Hoepfner sought for one of his constituents. That does not explain why the rest of the Council denied a request for more money in April. Why can’t Mr. Barklage get the other nine council members to see things his way?
There appears to be an organized effort by a few “rich and famous” to thwart or impede every effort by the City Council to save taxpayers’ dollars. In spite of this a good deal of waste has stopped and it appears the new Council has saved the City millions of dollars. So what is really going on with the players and dealmakers to make them feel intensely threatened by this City Council?
Never before in the history of St. Charles have we had such chaos and lack of leadership from the Mayor’s office. Never before have a very few been so richly rewarded by a manipulative ego-driven Mayor at the expense of so many.
We should all strap on our seat belts and prepare ourselves for a bumpy dangerous ride while Queen Patti is behind the wheel for the next two years.
Last Tuesday’s Council meeting lasted for more than five hours, and the Mayor appeared to be red-hot under the collar. Rather than rubber-stamping her appointments to various boards and committees, the Council opted to interview them prior to approval. I was happy to see this because the Mayor has a record of “using”her appointees to go to battle for her personal agendas. Last year she sued one of her own appointees for daring to speak the truth and “failure to fall in line.” The silly suit was quietly dropped, but it most likely intimidated her other appointees.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the Mayor was again labeled “a liar” by a City Council member. As often as this Mayor is accused of lying, there must be some truth to the charge. If York really is a “better christian” than her last opponent, Dan Foust, does she get a free pass for lying and is Mr. Foust held to a higher standard? Has anybody called Foust a liar? If so, I haven’t heard about it.
The most interesting business debated at Tuesday’s meeting was that slick attempt to move all the Convention Center money from Commerce Bank to Premier Bank - a new bank operating out of a storefront. City Councilman Weller accused the majority of the Council of “refusing to change banks because Premier Bank was handling the Mayor’s legal defense fund. Until Weller’s revaluation, nobody knew much about the fund, much less which bank was handling the funds. It has since been reported that Ernie Dempsey will be hosting an affair at Pio’s within the next week to raise funds for the Mayor’s Legal Defense.
Dempsey supported Dan Foust in the last Mayoral race, then when York won, he had a luncheon with moneyed friends to “pay off her campaign debt.” Apparently Dempsey is still “working and paying” to stay in York’s good graces. Is this now a close friendship beneficial to both or just another one of those “seductive dances to the death - winner take all?”
As far as the City’s banking policy - it is determined by our charter and must be approved by the City Council. Some of the Mayor’s movers and shaker friends are involved with Premier Bank and serve on the Board. This attempt to switch City money to Premier from Commerce Bank was clearly an “insider deal” and violated our City Charter. Many months ago, the Council approved placement of the City accounts. There are specific qualifications required by any bank in order to satisfy our charter, state and federal laws. Commerce Bank, Frontenac Bank and New Frontier Bank were approved to serve the City’s banking needs.
Our municipal Judge, Dan Barklage, has apparently declared war on Councilman Bob Hoepfner. It was recently reported in the daily paper that Dan Barklage and Kevin Kast were on a golfing trip to Virginia and Kast hit a hole in one. Both Barklage and Kast are “Queen Patti” supporters. Kast is also a new member on the St. Charles Convention and Sports Facility Authority Board.
Until two months ago, the City sometimes employed the legal services of the Barklage firm. Due to Dan Barklage being the municipal judge, the City Council deemed this to be a conflict of interest and ceased using the Barklage firm for their legal needs.
St. Charles municipal court Judge Dan Barklage, has filed a lawsuit asking the Circuit Court to order the City to pay more money for paying his court staff overtime.
Barklage appears to blame Councilman Hoepfner and accused him of wanting to cut the court’s overtime budget over a continuance Hoepfner sought for one of his constituents. That does not explain why the rest of the Council denied a request for more money in April. Why can’t Mr. Barklage get the other nine council members to see things his way?
There appears to be an organized effort by a few “rich and famous” to thwart or impede every effort by the City Council to save taxpayers’ dollars. In spite of this a good deal of waste has stopped and it appears the new Council has saved the City millions of dollars. So what is really going on with the players and dealmakers to make them feel intensely threatened by this City Council?
RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
Letters to the Editor:
I’ll admit I do not read the Citizen but then don’t read the Journal either, However, since an article in a recent Citizen referring to me by name was called to my attention by a friend I decided it would be a good idea to read it. In response to the suggestion or accusation there was collusion between my letters to the editor of the FCN and any other writer’s letter is ridiculous. Certainly it is not difficult to understand why what happened at the administrative hearing would not elicit protest letters by individual St. Charles City residents.
It has been and will continue to be my hope that my letters express the feelings of many and the fact they saw fit to single me out by name in an accusatory fashion would indicate the letters ARE effective. Believe me, I will continue to write when the occasion presents itself and I feel an occasion coming up very soon.
They indicated I (we) had some sort of advance knowledge of the administrative hearing since our letters appeared only a day or two later. The marvel of the electronic age permitted me to watch the hearings on television, write my letter and with my own fax send it along to the First Capitol News the morning after the hearing, Since I was leaving town for a weeks vacation the next morning it was important for me to act quickly. No advance knowledge of what was going to happen at the hearing was given to me.
Carol Diller
Dear Editor,
In response to the comments regarding the recent Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in St. Charles, we would like to mention several items that may be of hope and healing to the community.
From its very inception, our country has built its foundational principles on our abiding passion for freedom. It has been one of the very pillars of our society. The free exercise of conscience, provided that conscience does not infringe on the rights and liberties of others, is gratefully upheld. The freedom of worship falls in that category, and it is upon that subject that we wish to make a few remarks.
St. Charles County has long been a rather homogonous community. But in recent years we have been witnesses of a remarkable “westward expansion” as significant numbers of people have moved out here from St. Louis county and elsewhere. The increase in population has also brought an increase of diversity. In addition to cultural and ethnic diversity, peoples of varying faiths now make St. Charles County their home, bringing fresh values, vitality and perspectives with them.
The Interfaith Partnership of St. Charles County, (working under the Interfaith Partnership of St. Louis), welcomes those of all faiths. Our mission is to promote peace, respect and understanding among people of all faiths. We promote unity, respect, dignity, and peace through regular dialogue groups, community service, and celebrations of faith. While holding dear the tenants of our own particular faith, we reach out to those who believe differently than ourselves in a spirit of friendship and mutual understanding. To those of all faiths, we would like to say – thank you for making St. Charles County your home. All are welcome here. All are safe here. We are among friends.
We encourage the community of St. Charles County to continue to show respect and dignity to those of all faiths. This is one of the greatest freedoms that our country stands for, and we are grateful heirs to those who sacrificed much so that we may enjoy that freedom today.
For more information about the Interfaith Partnership of St. Charles County, please contact Beth Rodriquez, Project Coordinator of Interfaith Partnership, at bdrodriguez@interfaithpartnership.org
Deborah Coffey, Chairman
St. Charles Chapter of
Interfaith Partnership of St. Louis
Dear Editor:
A group of St. Charles citizens has been circulating a petition for the Recall of Mayor York. Since we are now shifting into high gear, I feel it is time to clear up some misconceptions regarding the recall process. There are no millionaires behind our effort, only plain, ordinary ST. CHARLES citizens. In circulating this petition I have heard many comments from citizens, which indicate a lack of understanding regarding the recall process. The editor of the Mayor’s paper considers our recall activity as an Attack On The Office Of The Mayor. We are not attacking the OFFICE of the Mayor; we are protecting that office from abuse.
Recall is an electoral process, just as much an electoral process as the process, which put the official in office. A recall petition does not remove anyone from office. It is simply a sampling of public opinion to determine whether there is enough public interest to justify a recall election. The petition, when successful, simply puts the matter to a vote. You, the entire St. Charles City electorate, then decide whether to recall or not recall. This is grass roots democracy. If a majority of the voting citizens of St. Charles are sufficiently dissatisfied with their current mayor, then we have not only the right but also the duty to do something about it. If the majority of St. Charles citizens are favorable toward their mayor then she has nothing to worry about, the mechanism of mayoral recall is spelled out in the Charter. Our Charter specifies, “Any official elected by popular vote may be removed by the voters qualified to vote for the official’s successor except as hereinafter provided, such power to be known as recall,” An official may not be recalled during their first six months in office, nor during the last three months of their term. The Charter states, “A recall petition shall be signed by qualified REGISTERED voters qualified to vote for the official’s successor equal to twenty percent of the total number of qualified registered voters registered to vote in the last regular city election.”
When a sufficient number of valid signatures is achieved he City Council sets a date for holding a recall election. If a majority of qualified registered voters voting in the recall election shall vote in favor of recall, then a vacancy in the office shall be declared. An election must be held within thirty days after that for the purpose of electing a new Mayor. Between the time of the vacancy and the installation of a new Mayor the City Council president shall act as Mayor.
Join our fight and help take back our city.
Glen L. Dashner
Letters to the Editor:
I’ll admit I do not read the Citizen but then don’t read the Journal either, However, since an article in a recent Citizen referring to me by name was called to my attention by a friend I decided it would be a good idea to read it. In response to the suggestion or accusation three was collusion between my letters to the editor of the FCN and any other writer’s letter is ridiculous. Certainly it is not difficult to understand why what happened at the administrative hearing would not elicit protest letters by individual St. Charles City residents.
It has been and will continue to be my hope that m y letters express the feelings of many and the fact they saw fit to single me out by name in an accusatory fashion would indicate the letters ARE effective. Believe me, I will continue to write when the occasion presents itself and I feel an occasion coming up very soon.
They indicated I (we) had some sort of advance knowledge of the administrative hearing since our letters appeared only a day or two later. The marvel of the electronic age permitted me to watch the hearings on television, write my letter and with my own fax send it along to the First Capitol News the morning after the hearing, Since I was leaving town for a weeks vacation the next morning it was important for me to act quickly. No advance knowledge of what was going to happen at the hearing was given to me.
Carol Diller
Dear Editor:
“Mr., O’Connor (previous City Administrator) came to work each day with a positive attitude and a huge Irish smile,” said former Director of Human resources for the City of St. Charles, Carrie Caskey. He actually spent his tenure in St. Charles seeking other employment.
Come on Carrie; somebody ought to explain to you what a “Con-man” is if you aren’t one yourself and are so naïve.
Why did you fail to explain what you, this possible con man, and our Mayor attempted to do to this city during Mr. O’Connor’s last few months on the job concerning our police department?
I am referring to the “lock step six,’ Baum, Riggs, Kneemiller, Muensch, Gould and Nieland, plus our Mayor, O’Connor with the Irish smile, and you Carrie. Together you put officer Corley in as interim police chief on the advice of Officer Tommy Mayer, head of the Fraternal Order of Police for the State of Missouri.
In addition, your little group gave the take-home cars back to the officers who choose not to live in this city, as well as the 200 hours pay to officer Mayer for doing union work at the expense of the taxpayers.
Also Ms. Caskey, did you forget about the $40,000 you and Mr. Corley cost the taxpayers with your leather purchases that after they were purchased it was discovered that the weapons would not fit in them?”
Also Ms. Caskey, do you remember the little private ceremony where you and the Mayor pinned the Colonel insignia on interim Chief Corley? Then you paid him full pay as if he were the permanent chief. For six months, the taxpayers paid for two full-time chiefs. Wasn’t it the Mayor who requested Chief Police Corbin to retire six-months early? Why did she do that?
It was Carrie Caskey’s bright idea for the out –of-town, politically active, police chief’s association to come to town and select the new chief for the City of St. Charles. That would have been a sure way to see that Corley received the nod. Our new City Council balked at this as well they should have.
Mr. Bob Lowery, assistant police chief in Florissant, was selected as the most qualified to be our next police chief. It seems that Mayor Patti decided that Lowery just, “Did not fit” the Mayor’s personal agenda. She refused to accept him.
The City Council attempted to correct a flaw in the charter by placing an amendment on the ballot to end the stalemate. This would have given the majority of the Council the authority to override the Mayor.
The CFRG, Committee for Responsible Government teamed with St. Chuck, Officers of the Chamber of Commerce, Elmendorf, T.R. Hughes, and Mayor Patti, etc. to spend a fortune and defeat the charter amendment. We were back to square one in our quest for anew chief.
Last but least, the advertising PR man Jamboretz (Jamby), was hired to spearhead the defeat of the amendment, Jamby, you’re real good at what you do. Save our Mayor? You keep on jammin, jammin, and jammin! You go, PR man. You go! One of our police officers told me that you were as useless as a clothesline in a nudist camp. Go, man go!
Regarding the Mayor’s Defense Fund – The truth does not decompose no matter how long it is covered up; it’s always still there.
These are Honest Issues, fat cat Ed. What actions do you suggest?
An old timer told me long ago – “There is always a way to skin a cat, especially a fat cat who thinks in his own mind and his alone that he has nine lives.
Bob Breidentsteiner
An Open Letter To Council Members
Have you EVER gone by the NEW police station and courts building on a week end?
If not I believe you might take note to the accumulation of DAILY NEWSPAPERS that accumulate on the South side of the building.
Does the Post Dispatch furnish these papers at No CHARGE ?????
IF THEY DON'T I PERSONALLY THINK IT IS HIGH TIME TO DISCONTINUE THE WEEK END DELIVERY. All it takes is a telephone call. Just how many papers ARE really needed there DAILY ?? I know that the amount is minimal, considering the St. Charles Budget.
But I was always told " a penny saved is a penny earned "
It sure would be appreciated that any of you receiving this, would AT LEAST acknowledge.
God Bless
Lee Roy
I’ll admit I do not read the Citizen but then don’t read the Journal either, However, since an article in a recent Citizen referring to me by name was called to my attention by a friend I decided it would be a good idea to read it. In response to the suggestion or accusation there was collusion between my letters to the editor of the FCN and any other writer’s letter is ridiculous. Certainly it is not difficult to understand why what happened at the administrative hearing would not elicit protest letters by individual St. Charles City residents.
It has been and will continue to be my hope that my letters express the feelings of many and the fact they saw fit to single me out by name in an accusatory fashion would indicate the letters ARE effective. Believe me, I will continue to write when the occasion presents itself and I feel an occasion coming up very soon.
They indicated I (we) had some sort of advance knowledge of the administrative hearing since our letters appeared only a day or two later. The marvel of the electronic age permitted me to watch the hearings on television, write my letter and with my own fax send it along to the First Capitol News the morning after the hearing, Since I was leaving town for a weeks vacation the next morning it was important for me to act quickly. No advance knowledge of what was going to happen at the hearing was given to me.
Carol Diller
Dear Editor,
In response to the comments regarding the recent Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in St. Charles, we would like to mention several items that may be of hope and healing to the community.
From its very inception, our country has built its foundational principles on our abiding passion for freedom. It has been one of the very pillars of our society. The free exercise of conscience, provided that conscience does not infringe on the rights and liberties of others, is gratefully upheld. The freedom of worship falls in that category, and it is upon that subject that we wish to make a few remarks.
St. Charles County has long been a rather homogonous community. But in recent years we have been witnesses of a remarkable “westward expansion” as significant numbers of people have moved out here from St. Louis county and elsewhere. The increase in population has also brought an increase of diversity. In addition to cultural and ethnic diversity, peoples of varying faiths now make St. Charles County their home, bringing fresh values, vitality and perspectives with them.
The Interfaith Partnership of St. Charles County, (working under the Interfaith Partnership of St. Louis), welcomes those of all faiths. Our mission is to promote peace, respect and understanding among people of all faiths. We promote unity, respect, dignity, and peace through regular dialogue groups, community service, and celebrations of faith. While holding dear the tenants of our own particular faith, we reach out to those who believe differently than ourselves in a spirit of friendship and mutual understanding. To those of all faiths, we would like to say – thank you for making St. Charles County your home. All are welcome here. All are safe here. We are among friends.
We encourage the community of St. Charles County to continue to show respect and dignity to those of all faiths. This is one of the greatest freedoms that our country stands for, and we are grateful heirs to those who sacrificed much so that we may enjoy that freedom today.
For more information about the Interfaith Partnership of St. Charles County, please contact Beth Rodriquez, Project Coordinator of Interfaith Partnership, at bdrodriguez@interfaithpartnership.org
Deborah Coffey, Chairman
St. Charles Chapter of
Interfaith Partnership of St. Louis
Dear Editor:
A group of St. Charles citizens has been circulating a petition for the Recall of Mayor York. Since we are now shifting into high gear, I feel it is time to clear up some misconceptions regarding the recall process. There are no millionaires behind our effort, only plain, ordinary ST. CHARLES citizens. In circulating this petition I have heard many comments from citizens, which indicate a lack of understanding regarding the recall process. The editor of the Mayor’s paper considers our recall activity as an Attack On The Office Of The Mayor. We are not attacking the OFFICE of the Mayor; we are protecting that office from abuse.
Recall is an electoral process, just as much an electoral process as the process, which put the official in office. A recall petition does not remove anyone from office. It is simply a sampling of public opinion to determine whether there is enough public interest to justify a recall election. The petition, when successful, simply puts the matter to a vote. You, the entire St. Charles City electorate, then decide whether to recall or not recall. This is grass roots democracy. If a majority of the voting citizens of St. Charles are sufficiently dissatisfied with their current mayor, then we have not only the right but also the duty to do something about it. If the majority of St. Charles citizens are favorable toward their mayor then she has nothing to worry about, the mechanism of mayoral recall is spelled out in the Charter. Our Charter specifies, “Any official elected by popular vote may be removed by the voters qualified to vote for the official’s successor except as hereinafter provided, such power to be known as recall,” An official may not be recalled during their first six months in office, nor during the last three months of their term. The Charter states, “A recall petition shall be signed by qualified REGISTERED voters qualified to vote for the official’s successor equal to twenty percent of the total number of qualified registered voters registered to vote in the last regular city election.”
When a sufficient number of valid signatures is achieved he City Council sets a date for holding a recall election. If a majority of qualified registered voters voting in the recall election shall vote in favor of recall, then a vacancy in the office shall be declared. An election must be held within thirty days after that for the purpose of electing a new Mayor. Between the time of the vacancy and the installation of a new Mayor the City Council president shall act as Mayor.
Join our fight and help take back our city.
Glen L. Dashner
Letters to the Editor:
I’ll admit I do not read the Citizen but then don’t read the Journal either, However, since an article in a recent Citizen referring to me by name was called to my attention by a friend I decided it would be a good idea to read it. In response to the suggestion or accusation three was collusion between my letters to the editor of the FCN and any other writer’s letter is ridiculous. Certainly it is not difficult to understand why what happened at the administrative hearing would not elicit protest letters by individual St. Charles City residents.
It has been and will continue to be my hope that m y letters express the feelings of many and the fact they saw fit to single me out by name in an accusatory fashion would indicate the letters ARE effective. Believe me, I will continue to write when the occasion presents itself and I feel an occasion coming up very soon.
They indicated I (we) had some sort of advance knowledge of the administrative hearing since our letters appeared only a day or two later. The marvel of the electronic age permitted me to watch the hearings on television, write my letter and with my own fax send it along to the First Capitol News the morning after the hearing, Since I was leaving town for a weeks vacation the next morning it was important for me to act quickly. No advance knowledge of what was going to happen at the hearing was given to me.
Carol Diller
Dear Editor:
“Mr., O’Connor (previous City Administrator) came to work each day with a positive attitude and a huge Irish smile,” said former Director of Human resources for the City of St. Charles, Carrie Caskey. He actually spent his tenure in St. Charles seeking other employment.
Come on Carrie; somebody ought to explain to you what a “Con-man” is if you aren’t one yourself and are so naïve.
Why did you fail to explain what you, this possible con man, and our Mayor attempted to do to this city during Mr. O’Connor’s last few months on the job concerning our police department?
I am referring to the “lock step six,’ Baum, Riggs, Kneemiller, Muensch, Gould and Nieland, plus our Mayor, O’Connor with the Irish smile, and you Carrie. Together you put officer Corley in as interim police chief on the advice of Officer Tommy Mayer, head of the Fraternal Order of Police for the State of Missouri.
In addition, your little group gave the take-home cars back to the officers who choose not to live in this city, as well as the 200 hours pay to officer Mayer for doing union work at the expense of the taxpayers.
Also Ms. Caskey, did you forget about the $40,000 you and Mr. Corley cost the taxpayers with your leather purchases that after they were purchased it was discovered that the weapons would not fit in them?”
Also Ms. Caskey, do you remember the little private ceremony where you and the Mayor pinned the Colonel insignia on interim Chief Corley? Then you paid him full pay as if he were the permanent chief. For six months, the taxpayers paid for two full-time chiefs. Wasn’t it the Mayor who requested Chief Police Corbin to retire six-months early? Why did she do that?
It was Carrie Caskey’s bright idea for the out –of-town, politically active, police chief’s association to come to town and select the new chief for the City of St. Charles. That would have been a sure way to see that Corley received the nod. Our new City Council balked at this as well they should have.
Mr. Bob Lowery, assistant police chief in Florissant, was selected as the most qualified to be our next police chief. It seems that Mayor Patti decided that Lowery just, “Did not fit” the Mayor’s personal agenda. She refused to accept him.
The City Council attempted to correct a flaw in the charter by placing an amendment on the ballot to end the stalemate. This would have given the majority of the Council the authority to override the Mayor.
The CFRG, Committee for Responsible Government teamed with St. Chuck, Officers of the Chamber of Commerce, Elmendorf, T.R. Hughes, and Mayor Patti, etc. to spend a fortune and defeat the charter amendment. We were back to square one in our quest for anew chief.
Last but least, the advertising PR man Jamboretz (Jamby), was hired to spearhead the defeat of the amendment, Jamby, you’re real good at what you do. Save our Mayor? You keep on jammin, jammin, and jammin! You go, PR man. You go! One of our police officers told me that you were as useless as a clothesline in a nudist camp. Go, man go!
Regarding the Mayor’s Defense Fund – The truth does not decompose no matter how long it is covered up; it’s always still there.
These are Honest Issues, fat cat Ed. What actions do you suggest?
An old timer told me long ago – “There is always a way to skin a cat, especially a fat cat who thinks in his own mind and his alone that he has nine lives.
Bob Breidentsteiner
An Open Letter To Council Members
Have you EVER gone by the NEW police station and courts building on a week end?
If not I believe you might take note to the accumulation of DAILY NEWSPAPERS that accumulate on the South side of the building.
Does the Post Dispatch furnish these papers at No CHARGE ?????
IF THEY DON'T I PERSONALLY THINK IT IS HIGH TIME TO DISCONTINUE THE WEEK END DELIVERY. All it takes is a telephone call. Just how many papers ARE really needed there DAILY ?? I know that the amount is minimal, considering the St. Charles Budget.
But I was always told " a penny saved is a penny earned "
It sure would be appreciated that any of you receiving this, would AT LEAST acknowledge.
God Bless
Lee Roy
Murder Case Remains Open As Hanneken Family Waits For Answers
By Lynndi Lockenour
A year ago a customer entering the office of Storage USA at 1500 First Capitol Drive, discovered the body of a clerk lying behind the counter. That clerk was 27 year-old Chris Hanneken, a resident of St. Charles County, who had been murdered.
Initially The Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad was assigned to the case, but now a year later, detective Mike Harvey has taken over the investigation. Though he was reluctant to speak with First Capitol News himself, he directed us to Community Relations Specialist, Christy Mayer.
Mayer informed First Capitol News that Detective Harvey was indeed actively working on the case. However she said, she is unaware of the inward workings of the case since that is considered to be private information. “I cannot tell you that information even if I knew it,” she said, “because it’s confidential.”
Mayer said Detective Harvey has remained in contact with the Hanneken family since the incident occurred. “I will tell you I’m confident that an arrest will be made in the case,” she said.
Chris’s mother, Debbie Hanneken, said she calls detective Harvey on a regular basis to see if any new information has been found. “I used to call every month,” she said, “but they never had anything new to tell me so now it’s usually more like six weeks.”
Debbie said the night she found out about her son’s murder was comparable to a scene from a movie. “They came to the door at 9:15 p.m. and asked me if we had a son named Chris Hanneken,” she said. “I knew right away that something was wrong.” The police then proceeded to tell Debbie and her husband that their son had been murdered.
Though Debbie has limited information about the current inner workings of the case, she said she does think they are closer to finding the killer. “I have to believe they are closer to finding someone,” she said, “otherwise I don’t know what I’d do.” Debbie said she thinks they are doing what they can to find the person who murdered her son. “It’s frustrating when I watch the news and see that two days after a crime is committed someone is already caught,” she said. “But I understand that some things take more time than others to solve.”
Originally it was thought Chris Hanneken’s murder could be related to a similar robbery at a Self Storage Company in Bridgeton in April of last year. Though this possibility hasn’t been completely eliminated, Debbie said they haven’t heard anymore about it. “We’ve asked them about it and they said they were still checking on leads,” she said. “I haven’t seen anything about the Bridgeton store in the news, but they got a sketch of the guy, so maybe that will help.”
Debbie said the death of her son has changed her life, leaving her with an emptiness she cannot replace. “You have a special love for all your kids,” she said. “Sometimes when the phone rings it’s always like I’m waiting for him to say ‘Hey Mom’ and I really miss that.” Chris was the Hanneken’s only son, though they have two daughters.
Though Debbie said nothing could replace Chris, having a granddaughter to remember him by helps her get through the days. Madelynn, now five-months old, was born a couple of months after Chris’s death. “She’ll never replace Chris, but she gives us something to remember him by,” she said.
Now afraid to leave town for fear new information will break, Debbie said she stays home a lot to ensure the officials could reach her if something does happen. “I don’t want to go on vacation or anything,” she said. “There’s always a sadness and some days are better than others.”
Debbie said she longs for the day her family can finally grieve for the loss of their son. “We had so much anger in us at first,” she said, “We want to be able to move on instead of having to figure out this puzzle of why he was murdered.” She said her family just wants to be allowed to grieve the loss of someone they loved very much.
When Chris’s murderer is finally caught, Debbie is torn on wither or not she would want to speak with the killer. “Part of me asks ‘Do I even want to see that person?’” she said, “But God also tells me to let it go and ask the person why they did something so stupid as to kill my son and take him away from his daughter.” Debbie said her feelings about talking to the killer change daily with her mood.
Along with being divided on talking to the killer, Debbie is also unsure of what punishment would be appropriate. “Sometimes I’d like to see him put to death,” she said, “But other times I’d like to see him serve a lifetime in jail with no possibility for parole.”
Debbie said she was raised a Catholic woman but can’t help feeling maybe he deserves the same fate as her son. “Maybe he needs to sit everyday for the rest of his life and think about he did,” she said, “I just don’t know for sure.”
Debbie said she knows Chris would never have done anything to provoke the killer. “I know my son and he would have handed him the keys,” she said. “That’s why I don’t understand why Chris was murdered.” Debbie said her son avoided conflict at all costs would have allowed the robber to take whatever he wanted with no struggle.
Though Chris’s murder happened a year ago, the Hanneken family remembers him every day. Last week they held a candle light vigil in his honor at his graveside. Debbie said approximately 25 people showed up to remember Chris, reading poetry, letters and speeches. Chris’s girlfriend, Mandi Lewis of Imperial, Missouri, was present with their daughter, Madelynn. “It was just a nice way for all of us to get together and remember Chris,” she said. “Having everyone together helps us get through it until someone is caught.”
A year ago a customer entering the office of Storage USA at 1500 First Capitol Drive, discovered the body of a clerk lying behind the counter. That clerk was 27 year-old Chris Hanneken, a resident of St. Charles County, who had been murdered.
Initially The Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad was assigned to the case, but now a year later, detective Mike Harvey has taken over the investigation. Though he was reluctant to speak with First Capitol News himself, he directed us to Community Relations Specialist, Christy Mayer.
Mayer informed First Capitol News that Detective Harvey was indeed actively working on the case. However she said, she is unaware of the inward workings of the case since that is considered to be private information. “I cannot tell you that information even if I knew it,” she said, “because it’s confidential.”
Mayer said Detective Harvey has remained in contact with the Hanneken family since the incident occurred. “I will tell you I’m confident that an arrest will be made in the case,” she said.
Chris’s mother, Debbie Hanneken, said she calls detective Harvey on a regular basis to see if any new information has been found. “I used to call every month,” she said, “but they never had anything new to tell me so now it’s usually more like six weeks.”
Debbie said the night she found out about her son’s murder was comparable to a scene from a movie. “They came to the door at 9:15 p.m. and asked me if we had a son named Chris Hanneken,” she said. “I knew right away that something was wrong.” The police then proceeded to tell Debbie and her husband that their son had been murdered.
Though Debbie has limited information about the current inner workings of the case, she said she does think they are closer to finding the killer. “I have to believe they are closer to finding someone,” she said, “otherwise I don’t know what I’d do.” Debbie said she thinks they are doing what they can to find the person who murdered her son. “It’s frustrating when I watch the news and see that two days after a crime is committed someone is already caught,” she said. “But I understand that some things take more time than others to solve.”
Originally it was thought Chris Hanneken’s murder could be related to a similar robbery at a Self Storage Company in Bridgeton in April of last year. Though this possibility hasn’t been completely eliminated, Debbie said they haven’t heard anymore about it. “We’ve asked them about it and they said they were still checking on leads,” she said. “I haven’t seen anything about the Bridgeton store in the news, but they got a sketch of the guy, so maybe that will help.”
Debbie said the death of her son has changed her life, leaving her with an emptiness she cannot replace. “You have a special love for all your kids,” she said. “Sometimes when the phone rings it’s always like I’m waiting for him to say ‘Hey Mom’ and I really miss that.” Chris was the Hanneken’s only son, though they have two daughters.
Though Debbie said nothing could replace Chris, having a granddaughter to remember him by helps her get through the days. Madelynn, now five-months old, was born a couple of months after Chris’s death. “She’ll never replace Chris, but she gives us something to remember him by,” she said.
Now afraid to leave town for fear new information will break, Debbie said she stays home a lot to ensure the officials could reach her if something does happen. “I don’t want to go on vacation or anything,” she said. “There’s always a sadness and some days are better than others.”
Debbie said she longs for the day her family can finally grieve for the loss of their son. “We had so much anger in us at first,” she said, “We want to be able to move on instead of having to figure out this puzzle of why he was murdered.” She said her family just wants to be allowed to grieve the loss of someone they loved very much.
When Chris’s murderer is finally caught, Debbie is torn on wither or not she would want to speak with the killer. “Part of me asks ‘Do I even want to see that person?’” she said, “But God also tells me to let it go and ask the person why they did something so stupid as to kill my son and take him away from his daughter.” Debbie said her feelings about talking to the killer change daily with her mood.
Along with being divided on talking to the killer, Debbie is also unsure of what punishment would be appropriate. “Sometimes I’d like to see him put to death,” she said, “But other times I’d like to see him serve a lifetime in jail with no possibility for parole.”
Debbie said she was raised a Catholic woman but can’t help feeling maybe he deserves the same fate as her son. “Maybe he needs to sit everyday for the rest of his life and think about he did,” she said, “I just don’t know for sure.”
Debbie said she knows Chris would never have done anything to provoke the killer. “I know my son and he would have handed him the keys,” she said. “That’s why I don’t understand why Chris was murdered.” Debbie said her son avoided conflict at all costs would have allowed the robber to take whatever he wanted with no struggle.
Though Chris’s murder happened a year ago, the Hanneken family remembers him every day. Last week they held a candle light vigil in his honor at his graveside. Debbie said approximately 25 people showed up to remember Chris, reading poetry, letters and speeches. Chris’s girlfriend, Mandi Lewis of Imperial, Missouri, was present with their daughter, Madelynn. “It was just a nice way for all of us to get together and remember Chris,” she said. “Having everyone together helps us get through it until someone is caught.”
STRAIGHT TALK - Councilman Bob Hoepfner
Hello again out there folks. You know sometimes it’s hard being me. You know what? The more rocks, stones and mud they throw at me, makes me that much more determined to battle for the little guy. I understand another publication in town portrays me in a negative way. I find it interesting the people who have this other publication are taking shots at me and others in town which is fine. Everybody has their own viewpoint, as I said in my column many times, even if you don’t agree with me let me hear from you. However, these people don't put their picture in the paper, they don’t put their address in the paper, they don’t put their telephone number in the paper. However, these self righteous, self anointed phony crusaders try to undermine anybody who stands up for the little guy. I don’t want to have class warfare folks but this is the wine and cheese set attacking me for protecting and defending the little guy. Especially the older retired people in this town. You know, I have been trying to help folks out for three decades now. These people belong to their elite little clubs. Do you see them out on the streets? Do you see them sweating over a bar b que grill? Do you see them slipping and sliding in the winter time to help the average citizens not to mention the disadvantaged citizens. Sure, if you have a lot of money you can throw it at a lot of projects, but they don’t get involved personally to see it from the other persons side of the fence.
Well, I am part of the beer and brats, Saturday afternoon crowd. Even though I am retired, I have never forgotten my humble life style. I am not a person who is privileged.
Now you take this Judge who is trying to throw a little smear at me. You know, I can’t really honestly call him a Judge because I don’t think he measures up to the qualifications of a good judge. He is nothing more than a part time employee elected by the citizens of this City. I really think you need to (Judge?) study the law because if I am not mistaken, you hold two elected positions when the state statues says you can only hold one. Where do you get off not following the law while passing judgement on others? You know I think they once wrote a song about you by Jerry Reeves. In that song he states, “I want to take a little bit of your honor, because after all you got the gold mine and you are giving the citizens the shaft.” Now I think you ought to get off your pompous butt, get out on the street and discover the average mans plight and be able to balance your thoughts and show justice.
Because I had the audacity to stand up for the little guy and because you would have to stop feeding your fellow attorneys, easy money off the backs of the hard working individuals. You give attorneys continuances but won’t do so for the people of this town who elected you to office.I got news for you bud, I will debate you any place any time. Once again I want you to resign from the Jr. College Board of Trustees and/ or if you have any grace at all, being a municipal Judge in the City of St. Charles. Show a little class instead of running your mouth. Other than that my friend I have all the respect that a man could muster for someone like you.
Another subject. Wanting to know who we are voting for on these Mayoral appointments to boards and commissions. There are arguments on both sides. I personally believe that information should be provided to the Council and if the Council wants to interview people that is our right. We have a responsibility of knowing who we are voting for. That happens to be my opinion.
The Mayor likes to quote the Charter saying it says she makes the appointments. However she needs to read further where it says, with the consent of the Council. Just because we wanted to know more about the people she is appointing she gets upset.I am sorry I disagree. Flaws on both side. Brings back the question of the accusation of this fly by night publication who says, they don't know who I am battling for. If they don’t know they should keep their mouth shut. They are welcome to call me, stop by my home, talk to me. Really though, they don't know anything, they don't know jack squat.
Charleytown put your home address and phone number in the paper if you are so fair and balanced. Everyone knows who I am. You can twist it as much as you want. but let me tell you something brother, you can ask anybody in town and they will tell you, Bob Hoepfner has no trouble telling us his position on on any subject at any time. Maybe you are confused. You have no brainpower.I look out for the average guy paying the bills and being short changed every day.
Pay attention! my home address is 425 Nantucket or if you need directions call me at 949-0956 . I would love to have a conversation with you. I think it should be a televised debate on City Cable TV. I am willing to debate anyone who has criticism of me. We can debate before all the taxpayers.
God love you. God bless you all and I love you.
That means I have a lot of space in my heart for everybody including the pompous and the pure.
Well, I am part of the beer and brats, Saturday afternoon crowd. Even though I am retired, I have never forgotten my humble life style. I am not a person who is privileged.
Now you take this Judge who is trying to throw a little smear at me. You know, I can’t really honestly call him a Judge because I don’t think he measures up to the qualifications of a good judge. He is nothing more than a part time employee elected by the citizens of this City. I really think you need to (Judge?) study the law because if I am not mistaken, you hold two elected positions when the state statues says you can only hold one. Where do you get off not following the law while passing judgement on others? You know I think they once wrote a song about you by Jerry Reeves. In that song he states, “I want to take a little bit of your honor, because after all you got the gold mine and you are giving the citizens the shaft.” Now I think you ought to get off your pompous butt, get out on the street and discover the average mans plight and be able to balance your thoughts and show justice.
Because I had the audacity to stand up for the little guy and because you would have to stop feeding your fellow attorneys, easy money off the backs of the hard working individuals. You give attorneys continuances but won’t do so for the people of this town who elected you to office.I got news for you bud, I will debate you any place any time. Once again I want you to resign from the Jr. College Board of Trustees and/ or if you have any grace at all, being a municipal Judge in the City of St. Charles. Show a little class instead of running your mouth. Other than that my friend I have all the respect that a man could muster for someone like you.
Another subject. Wanting to know who we are voting for on these Mayoral appointments to boards and commissions. There are arguments on both sides. I personally believe that information should be provided to the Council and if the Council wants to interview people that is our right. We have a responsibility of knowing who we are voting for. That happens to be my opinion.
The Mayor likes to quote the Charter saying it says she makes the appointments. However she needs to read further where it says, with the consent of the Council. Just because we wanted to know more about the people she is appointing she gets upset.I am sorry I disagree. Flaws on both side. Brings back the question of the accusation of this fly by night publication who says, they don't know who I am battling for. If they don’t know they should keep their mouth shut. They are welcome to call me, stop by my home, talk to me. Really though, they don't know anything, they don't know jack squat.
Charleytown put your home address and phone number in the paper if you are so fair and balanced. Everyone knows who I am. You can twist it as much as you want. but let me tell you something brother, you can ask anybody in town and they will tell you, Bob Hoepfner has no trouble telling us his position on on any subject at any time. Maybe you are confused. You have no brainpower.I look out for the average guy paying the bills and being short changed every day.
Pay attention! my home address is 425 Nantucket or if you need directions call me at 949-0956 . I would love to have a conversation with you. I think it should be a televised debate on City Cable TV. I am willing to debate anyone who has criticism of me. We can debate before all the taxpayers.
God love you. God bless you all and I love you.
That means I have a lot of space in my heart for everybody including the pompous and the pure.
Frenchtown Heritage Museum Offers Variety Of Interesting Collections
By Lynndi Lockenour
As boxes stacked full of photos, receipts and other historical memorabilia sit untouched, the second floor of the Frenchtown Heritage Museum waits to be discovered. Opening three years ago, the museum offers a collection of photos and memorabilia from the Frenchtown and St. Charles areas. A large portion of the museum’s collection belonged to Richard Vinson who passed away in 1998.
During his time in the area, Vinson filled his home on North Second Street with framed letters, pictures, newspaper clippings, certificates, official documents and other interesting items. The walls of his home were completely covered with this memorabilia, which eventually became the Frenchtown Museum Collection.
Although Vinson had always been interested in history, it was his move to Frenchtown in 1975 that sparked his passion for the history of the area, the architecture, the people and special events. Today the collection is on display at “The Old Firehouse” at 1121 North Second Street. The property was purchased by the Frenchtown Heritage Museum, a non-profit organization, as a permanent home for the massive collection. Though the majority of the collection belonged to Vinson, many items have been added in the past three years.
Because of its location in the old firehouse, the museum has a collection dedicated to the firehouses within the area throughout history. This collection includes documents from 1884 and 1886 stating that certain men were exempt from jury duty and military service because of their firemen status. In the center of the main room is a large fire wagon, which was donated to the museum by Gary Pierce. Built in the 1850’s, he restored the wagon to its original condition.
Manager of the museum, Dorthea Boshears, said her favorite part of the museum is the Pinocchio collection. The connection between Pinocchio and St. Charles comes from a man named Cliff Edwards, who lived in the area from 1914-1918. Edwards eventually moved to California, attempting to make it in the music business, where he became the voice of Jiminy Cricket in the Walt Disney version of Pinocchio. On display at the museum is a ukulele Edwards was famous for playing during his time in St. Charles. He worked for the American Car Company by day, but found joy in playing his ukulele at taverns in the evenings, thus earning him the name “Ukulele Ike.”
Some of the oldest items in the museum are receipts and bills of purchases, which date back to the 1830’s and 1840’s. Other collections include dairy items, jewelers, high school memorabilia and church fans. The American Car Foundry, formerly known as the St. Charles Car Company, is also another of the larger displays at the museum. During WWII the factory was used to make tanks, which were then tested by driving them down Main Street.
Boshears said the majority of visitors to the museum are either senior citizens or children. “The older folks like to come in and reminisce,” she said. “They often will see something that triggers a memory and they’ll spend hours just thinking back to when they were younger.” Boshears said they’ve even had visitors who were able to identify people in photographs. “We had a lady come in the other day who was a prominent family in the area and she named off several people in the photos who were completely unknown to us,” she said.
A garden is located behind the museum, housing an old caboose built in 1928 by the American Car Company. Boshears said there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to the place. “We have so much stuff, but not enough room to display everything,” she said. “We do a little at a time, but it’s hard when you only have four or five people to get much done.”
Those people working on the museum are all volunteers. Diane Everman is working with the museum as a consultant on inventory. “This place has a lot of treasures,” she said. Everman says one very unique thing the museum has is a collection of middle-class African American photos dating from between 1880 and 1920. “We see a lot of work photos from that time period, but virtually no personal photos,” she said, “so these are extremely valuable and very hard to find.”
The Frenchtown Heritage Museum is currently working on fixing up their building. These plans are set to include replacing the façade of the building to its original architecture. Before they can begin though, an inner wall must first be built to protect the memorabilia. Boshears said she hopes she’s around to see the entire thing when it’s finished. Eventually she said they would like to renovate the upstairs as well and open it as an addition to the museum. “We could fill the space with items,” she said, “but it’s just a matter of getting the grant money to do it all.”
Though Boshears said it is frustrating when she receives rejection letters when applying for grants, she still said it’s worth it. “I didn’t appreciate history until I hit the age of 40,” she said, “but now I want to know all I can about this area and where I come from.” The museum is open Wednesday thru Saturday from noon until 3 p.m. or by calling 636-946-8682 for an appointment.
As boxes stacked full of photos, receipts and other historical memorabilia sit untouched, the second floor of the Frenchtown Heritage Museum waits to be discovered. Opening three years ago, the museum offers a collection of photos and memorabilia from the Frenchtown and St. Charles areas. A large portion of the museum’s collection belonged to Richard Vinson who passed away in 1998.
During his time in the area, Vinson filled his home on North Second Street with framed letters, pictures, newspaper clippings, certificates, official documents and other interesting items. The walls of his home were completely covered with this memorabilia, which eventually became the Frenchtown Museum Collection.
Although Vinson had always been interested in history, it was his move to Frenchtown in 1975 that sparked his passion for the history of the area, the architecture, the people and special events. Today the collection is on display at “The Old Firehouse” at 1121 North Second Street. The property was purchased by the Frenchtown Heritage Museum, a non-profit organization, as a permanent home for the massive collection. Though the majority of the collection belonged to Vinson, many items have been added in the past three years.
Because of its location in the old firehouse, the museum has a collection dedicated to the firehouses within the area throughout history. This collection includes documents from 1884 and 1886 stating that certain men were exempt from jury duty and military service because of their firemen status. In the center of the main room is a large fire wagon, which was donated to the museum by Gary Pierce. Built in the 1850’s, he restored the wagon to its original condition.
Manager of the museum, Dorthea Boshears, said her favorite part of the museum is the Pinocchio collection. The connection between Pinocchio and St. Charles comes from a man named Cliff Edwards, who lived in the area from 1914-1918. Edwards eventually moved to California, attempting to make it in the music business, where he became the voice of Jiminy Cricket in the Walt Disney version of Pinocchio. On display at the museum is a ukulele Edwards was famous for playing during his time in St. Charles. He worked for the American Car Company by day, but found joy in playing his ukulele at taverns in the evenings, thus earning him the name “Ukulele Ike.”
Some of the oldest items in the museum are receipts and bills of purchases, which date back to the 1830’s and 1840’s. Other collections include dairy items, jewelers, high school memorabilia and church fans. The American Car Foundry, formerly known as the St. Charles Car Company, is also another of the larger displays at the museum. During WWII the factory was used to make tanks, which were then tested by driving them down Main Street.
Boshears said the majority of visitors to the museum are either senior citizens or children. “The older folks like to come in and reminisce,” she said. “They often will see something that triggers a memory and they’ll spend hours just thinking back to when they were younger.” Boshears said they’ve even had visitors who were able to identify people in photographs. “We had a lady come in the other day who was a prominent family in the area and she named off several people in the photos who were completely unknown to us,” she said.
A garden is located behind the museum, housing an old caboose built in 1928 by the American Car Company. Boshears said there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to the place. “We have so much stuff, but not enough room to display everything,” she said. “We do a little at a time, but it’s hard when you only have four or five people to get much done.”
Those people working on the museum are all volunteers. Diane Everman is working with the museum as a consultant on inventory. “This place has a lot of treasures,” she said. Everman says one very unique thing the museum has is a collection of middle-class African American photos dating from between 1880 and 1920. “We see a lot of work photos from that time period, but virtually no personal photos,” she said, “so these are extremely valuable and very hard to find.”
The Frenchtown Heritage Museum is currently working on fixing up their building. These plans are set to include replacing the façade of the building to its original architecture. Before they can begin though, an inner wall must first be built to protect the memorabilia. Boshears said she hopes she’s around to see the entire thing when it’s finished. Eventually she said they would like to renovate the upstairs as well and open it as an addition to the museum. “We could fill the space with items,” she said, “but it’s just a matter of getting the grant money to do it all.”
Though Boshears said it is frustrating when she receives rejection letters when applying for grants, she still said it’s worth it. “I didn’t appreciate history until I hit the age of 40,” she said, “but now I want to know all I can about this area and where I come from.” The museum is open Wednesday thru Saturday from noon until 3 p.m. or by calling 636-946-8682 for an appointment.
MY COLUMN - Mike McMurran Sports Editor
No question about it, the best part of this gig is the interaction I get to have with different high school athletes and coaches. Bob Barton, the gentleman who takes most all of the pictures you see in the sports section, and I had a long drive this past Saturday to Columbia to cover St. Charles High in the State title game. We came to the conclusion there was no way in the world we were objective about the game; we wanted Charlie Meeker’s squad to win. Unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way.
During the course of the season I had the privilege to interview such great kids as Brad Bichel and Brian Randazzo. Worry not about the future ladies and gentlemen. If these two young men are indicative of what the next generation of leaders might look like, we are in fine hands.
If you wish to nominate a team for “Team of the Week” I suggest you do so sooner than later. If this past week is any indication, the column is going to be very popular. Nothing makes me happier to know everyone wishes to read what I might write about their team. Yeah, sure.
I may be slow, but I am still moving. You see I know Barton’s pictures are far more looked at than my words. I found out the hard way you see. This past Spring I was bringing the family vehicle in for a check up; I was referred to Coffey Automotive by my buddy Mark Francis. While I was conducting my business I noticed someone had clipped out one of my first “Athlete of the Week” columns – the basketball player Jeff Coffey from St. Charles West. “Nice article,” I said to the gentleman behind the counter, who turned out to be Jeff Coffey, Sr. “Yeah,” he said, “that’s my son.” Well that I didn’t know, but I did proudly inform him that I had written the article. He then went on to tell me he had heard there was an article in the most recent edition of the First Capitol News covering the High/West basketball game. “Yeah,” I told him, “me and Bob (Barton) covered that game.” Well it seems Coffey didn’t get his copy, so I promised to bring him a copy when I picked up the van.
Now this ain’t a commercial for Coffey Automotive, but rather a narrative to explain how important Mr. Barton is. As promised I brought Coffey a copy of the paper. He knew where the Sports Section was as he turned to the back page – but then he continued turning pages, continued to the center of the paper. I wanted to say “duh, my article always begins on the back page.” But I hadn’t paid yet, so I kept quiet. For those of you who remember that particular issue, the two center pages were covered with color photos of basketball games, both boys and girls, along with a picture or two of dance lines, cheerleaders, pretty much everything that happened. That’s when it hit me: Some people like Barton’s pictures more than my articles. I didn’t, and don’t understand, but am beginning to.
I guess what I am trying to say is “thank you” to Bob Barton and his camera. Luckily for me, both of his children, Jessie and Bobby are grown up and attending college. Jessie recently completed her freshman year at SEMO, while Bobby will be a junior next year at Westminster, in Fulton. As I said, Bob and I had a long road trip this past weekend, and he informed me he had to write a thank you note or two for favors people have done for him. Please consider this a public “thank you” note for all you do for me and the First Capitol News. If you turn out to be half as good of a photographer as you are dad, regular readers of the weekly are in for some exceptional photos.
During the course of the season I had the privilege to interview such great kids as Brad Bichel and Brian Randazzo. Worry not about the future ladies and gentlemen. If these two young men are indicative of what the next generation of leaders might look like, we are in fine hands.
If you wish to nominate a team for “Team of the Week” I suggest you do so sooner than later. If this past week is any indication, the column is going to be very popular. Nothing makes me happier to know everyone wishes to read what I might write about their team. Yeah, sure.
I may be slow, but I am still moving. You see I know Barton’s pictures are far more looked at than my words. I found out the hard way you see. This past Spring I was bringing the family vehicle in for a check up; I was referred to Coffey Automotive by my buddy Mark Francis. While I was conducting my business I noticed someone had clipped out one of my first “Athlete of the Week” columns – the basketball player Jeff Coffey from St. Charles West. “Nice article,” I said to the gentleman behind the counter, who turned out to be Jeff Coffey, Sr. “Yeah,” he said, “that’s my son.” Well that I didn’t know, but I did proudly inform him that I had written the article. He then went on to tell me he had heard there was an article in the most recent edition of the First Capitol News covering the High/West basketball game. “Yeah,” I told him, “me and Bob (Barton) covered that game.” Well it seems Coffey didn’t get his copy, so I promised to bring him a copy when I picked up the van.
Now this ain’t a commercial for Coffey Automotive, but rather a narrative to explain how important Mr. Barton is. As promised I brought Coffey a copy of the paper. He knew where the Sports Section was as he turned to the back page – but then he continued turning pages, continued to the center of the paper. I wanted to say “duh, my article always begins on the back page.” But I hadn’t paid yet, so I kept quiet. For those of you who remember that particular issue, the two center pages were covered with color photos of basketball games, both boys and girls, along with a picture or two of dance lines, cheerleaders, pretty much everything that happened. That’s when it hit me: Some people like Barton’s pictures more than my articles. I didn’t, and don’t understand, but am beginning to.
I guess what I am trying to say is “thank you” to Bob Barton and his camera. Luckily for me, both of his children, Jessie and Bobby are grown up and attending college. Jessie recently completed her freshman year at SEMO, while Bobby will be a junior next year at Westminster, in Fulton. As I said, Bob and I had a long road trip this past weekend, and he informed me he had to write a thank you note or two for favors people have done for him. Please consider this a public “thank you” note for all you do for me and the First Capitol News. If you turn out to be half as good of a photographer as you are dad, regular readers of the weekly are in for some exceptional photos.
Carpenters Welcome the Team of the Week
This week’s First Capitol News/Carpenter’s Local Team of the Week is the St. Cletus Cobras, a group of five year old tee ball players. Led by co-head coaches Matt Fairless and Bill Solomon, the group travels throughout St.Charles and St. Louis Counties participating in CYA competition. “We have a solid group of parents who have as much, if not more fun than the boys,” said Fairless, who lives a double life of youth coach and attorney at law. The team is made up of youngsters who will attend Academy of the Sacred Heart next year as kindergarteners. “They are a bright bunch of boys who like to have fun,” said Solomon, a retired assistant superintendent from the Hazelwood School District. “It is a joy to coach such a group of youngsters, it really is,” Solomon concluded. To nominate a team for FCN Team of the Week honors, contact Mike McMurran at mcmurran@charter.net or 314.280.9189
WIN WOULD GIVE RAGE DIVISION TITLE
WIN WOULD GIVE RAGE DIVISION TITLE
“Nothing short of a championship will be sufficient for this team in 2005”
That was the answer Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt gave to a reporter in early March when asked how he viewed his team’s prospects for the upcoming NIFL season. It’s been the phrase around which the entire season has focused for players, assistant coaches, and other team personnel, and as Wyatt has said many times throughout the season, “it’s a long, haul, it’s 14 games spread out over 16 weeks, with practices, travel, wins and losses, and injuries. I’ve told the guys over and over, don’t get too high or too low over any one game, or even series of games, because it’s too easy to burn out. Right now, we are where I figured we would be, poised and confident, thankfully relatively healthy, and ready for the playoffs. This is a football team ready to slam head-first into the post season.”
The first tangible reward for The River City Rage of the NIFL is on tap for Friday Night at the Family Arena. A Rage victory over the Cincinnati Marshals will give Mike Wyatt’s overachieving troops the division crown in the NIFL’s Atlantic East and home field advantage throughout the conference playoffs. The Rage lead the division with a record of 9-2 on the year and are undefeated in 7 games in 2005 at the Family Arena. It all began in early December of last year with new owners, new uniforms, a new turf, and new outreaches to the fans and the St. Louis metro area media. Along the way, new talent emerged, employed and engrained to mesh as a unit on both sides of the line, guided by a coach who had experienced success at every level of coaching, who earlier in the year achieved his 200th career victory before the home fans in a game that saw his renowned offensive machine put 90 points on the board, and now that new era of indoor football in St. Louis takes the first step towards achieving the goal, the standard of excellence, boldly set by a coach who believed it from the start.
Kick-0ff is slated for 7pm at Family Arena. The game will be broadcast on 1380 ESPN and audio-streamed on both the ESPN and ragefootball.com websites. Friday is Fan Appreciation Nightwill be on hand until 6pm..
Anyone flirting with kick-off time at 7pm had best be warned.
“Nothing short of a championship will be sufficient for this team in 2005”
That was the answer Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt gave to a reporter in early March when asked how he viewed his team’s prospects for the upcoming NIFL season. It’s been the phrase around which the entire season has focused for players, assistant coaches, and other team personnel, and as Wyatt has said many times throughout the season, “it’s a long, haul, it’s 14 games spread out over 16 weeks, with practices, travel, wins and losses, and injuries. I’ve told the guys over and over, don’t get too high or too low over any one game, or even series of games, because it’s too easy to burn out. Right now, we are where I figured we would be, poised and confident, thankfully relatively healthy, and ready for the playoffs. This is a football team ready to slam head-first into the post season.”
The first tangible reward for The River City Rage of the NIFL is on tap for Friday Night at the Family Arena. A Rage victory over the Cincinnati Marshals will give Mike Wyatt’s overachieving troops the division crown in the NIFL’s Atlantic East and home field advantage throughout the conference playoffs. The Rage lead the division with a record of 9-2 on the year and are undefeated in 7 games in 2005 at the Family Arena. It all began in early December of last year with new owners, new uniforms, a new turf, and new outreaches to the fans and the St. Louis metro area media. Along the way, new talent emerged, employed and engrained to mesh as a unit on both sides of the line, guided by a coach who had experienced success at every level of coaching, who earlier in the year achieved his 200th career victory before the home fans in a game that saw his renowned offensive machine put 90 points on the board, and now that new era of indoor football in St. Louis takes the first step towards achieving the goal, the standard of excellence, boldly set by a coach who believed it from the start.
Kick-0ff is slated for 7pm at Family Arena. The game will be broadcast on 1380 ESPN and audio-streamed on both the ESPN and ragefootball.com websites. Friday is Fan Appreciation Nightwill be on hand until 6pm..
Anyone flirting with kick-off time at 7pm had best be warned.
St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment Will Be Closed on Wednesday,
St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment Will Be Closed on Wednesday,
June 15, 2005
The St. Charles County Division of Public Health at 1650 Boone’s Lick Road in St. Charles will only provide minimal services on Wednesday, June 15, 2005. Only birth and death records service will be available from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. that day. Other services will not be available as the division staff will be involved in a full-scale Bioterrorism exercise. During the exercise, St. Charles and other St. Louis metropolitan area counties will demonstrate and assess their public health emergency response plans by operating medication dispensing sites to deal with a simulated release of a biological agent.
All St. Charles County public health services will resume as scheduled at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 16, 2005. The Division of Public Health regrets any inconvenience this may cause. For more information on services offered at the Division of Public Health and the St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment, please visit us online at www.scchealth.org or call 636-949-7400.
June 15, 2005
The St. Charles County Division of Public Health at 1650 Boone’s Lick Road in St. Charles will only provide minimal services on Wednesday, June 15, 2005. Only birth and death records service will be available from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. that day. Other services will not be available as the division staff will be involved in a full-scale Bioterrorism exercise. During the exercise, St. Charles and other St. Louis metropolitan area counties will demonstrate and assess their public health emergency response plans by operating medication dispensing sites to deal with a simulated release of a biological agent.
All St. Charles County public health services will resume as scheduled at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 16, 2005. The Division of Public Health regrets any inconvenience this may cause. For more information on services offered at the Division of Public Health and the St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment, please visit us online at www.scchealth.org or call 636-949-7400.
Star Gazing Scheduled at Quail Ridge Park
Star Gazing Scheduled at Quail Ridge Park
Join the Alliance for Astronomy and the St. Louis Astronomical Society in partnership with St. Charles County Parks Department at Quail Ridge Park for a star-gazing opportunity on Saturday, June 18. Star-gazing experts will provide telescopes or participants are welcome to bring their own equipment. The free program will begin around dusk and end at midnight near the Off-Leash area. Star-gazing opportunities will be available at Quail Ridge Park throughout the year.
Quail Ridge Park is located off Highway 40/61 just south of Interstate 70. Heading west from St. Charles on Interstate 70, turn south on Highway 40/61. At the first stop light, Callahan Road, turn right. Take another immediate right onto Quail Ridge Parkway, which will lead you to the park entrance on the left. Call St. Charles County Parks at 636-949-7535 or visit www.stccparks.org for more information.
Join the Alliance for Astronomy and the St. Louis Astronomical Society in partnership with St. Charles County Parks Department at Quail Ridge Park for a star-gazing opportunity on Saturday, June 18. Star-gazing experts will provide telescopes or participants are welcome to bring their own equipment. The free program will begin around dusk and end at midnight near the Off-Leash area. Star-gazing opportunities will be available at Quail Ridge Park throughout the year.
Quail Ridge Park is located off Highway 40/61 just south of Interstate 70. Heading west from St. Charles on Interstate 70, turn south on Highway 40/61. At the first stop light, Callahan Road, turn right. Take another immediate right onto Quail Ridge Parkway, which will lead you to the park entrance on the left. Call St. Charles County Parks at 636-949-7535 or visit www.stccparks.org for more information.
TUGGING ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI
TUGGING ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI
Celebrate the River: Great Rivers Towboat Festival 2005
Tug your way down to where the Mighty Mississippi and Illinois Rivers meet to celebrate the river at the annual Great Rivers Towboat Festival on Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June 26 on the riverfront in Grafton, Illinois. For one weekend only, the public is invited to come tour a working towboat, enjoy great food, and experience life on the Mississippi River.
This year’s festival will roll down the river in full throttle beginning with the river songs performed by Bill Fowler from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The festivities will continue all weekend long with the Cajun sounds of Paul Jarvis & the Zydeco Crawdaddies from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and the best of New Orleans flavor on the fire at the crawfish & shrimp boil by noted regional chefs Ralph and Gene Smith.
The highlight of the festival will be the free towboat tours. From noon to 4 p.m. each day, festival-goers will have the rare opportunity (weather permitting) to tour two working towboats: the “Twyla Luhr” provided by the Luhr Brothers of Columbia, IL and “Mary Harter” provided by B&H towing out of Paducah, KY, and see how a real towboat workers and crew members live during the long months spent on the river.
The public will also be able to browse historical and educational displays about the Mississippi River. The Seaman Church Institute of Paducah, KY, will have an informational display detailing the work they do to keep families together during the long months towboat workers spend on the river. Jack Simpson of Little River Books in Florissant, MO, will present historic maps, logs and books detailing river traffic. Rose Stauffer, 30 years a cook on towboats, will be presenting several of her cookbooks published by Bean Burner Books. Local musician Jean King and watercolor artist Jim Kreid will be displaying their work for sale, as well as many other vendors displaying art, books, and Port of Grafton souvenir T-shirts and pins. In addition, the Lewis & Clark mobile Exhibit will be in Grafton for both days of the festival on Main Street at intersection of Illinois Route 3 and 100.
Again this year, visitors will be able to try their hand at steering a boat – a radio-controlled boat that is. The St. Louis Admirals Club will be building an 11,000-gallon “pond” in which to display for the public their radio-controlled boats of all kinds. Kids of all ages will be amazed at the handmade replicas of river vessels controlled like the big ones in the palm of your hand.
Great music, great food and great fun can all be found at the Annual Great Rivers Towboat Festival. The festival is free. Festival hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. River conditions permitting, the towboat tours will run from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. For more information on this event, call 618-786-7000 or 1-800-ALTON-IL or go to www.VisitAlton.com.
Celebrate the River: Great Rivers Towboat Festival 2005
Tug your way down to where the Mighty Mississippi and Illinois Rivers meet to celebrate the river at the annual Great Rivers Towboat Festival on Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June 26 on the riverfront in Grafton, Illinois. For one weekend only, the public is invited to come tour a working towboat, enjoy great food, and experience life on the Mississippi River.
This year’s festival will roll down the river in full throttle beginning with the river songs performed by Bill Fowler from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The festivities will continue all weekend long with the Cajun sounds of Paul Jarvis & the Zydeco Crawdaddies from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and the best of New Orleans flavor on the fire at the crawfish & shrimp boil by noted regional chefs Ralph and Gene Smith.
The highlight of the festival will be the free towboat tours. From noon to 4 p.m. each day, festival-goers will have the rare opportunity (weather permitting) to tour two working towboats: the “Twyla Luhr” provided by the Luhr Brothers of Columbia, IL and “Mary Harter” provided by B&H towing out of Paducah, KY, and see how a real towboat workers and crew members live during the long months spent on the river.
The public will also be able to browse historical and educational displays about the Mississippi River. The Seaman Church Institute of Paducah, KY, will have an informational display detailing the work they do to keep families together during the long months towboat workers spend on the river. Jack Simpson of Little River Books in Florissant, MO, will present historic maps, logs and books detailing river traffic. Rose Stauffer, 30 years a cook on towboats, will be presenting several of her cookbooks published by Bean Burner Books. Local musician Jean King and watercolor artist Jim Kreid will be displaying their work for sale, as well as many other vendors displaying art, books, and Port of Grafton souvenir T-shirts and pins. In addition, the Lewis & Clark mobile Exhibit will be in Grafton for both days of the festival on Main Street at intersection of Illinois Route 3 and 100.
Again this year, visitors will be able to try their hand at steering a boat – a radio-controlled boat that is. The St. Louis Admirals Club will be building an 11,000-gallon “pond” in which to display for the public their radio-controlled boats of all kinds. Kids of all ages will be amazed at the handmade replicas of river vessels controlled like the big ones in the palm of your hand.
Great music, great food and great fun can all be found at the Annual Great Rivers Towboat Festival. The festival is free. Festival hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. River conditions permitting, the towboat tours will run from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. For more information on this event, call 618-786-7000 or 1-800-ALTON-IL or go to www.VisitAlton.com.
RESIDENT V.I.P. CARDS AVAILABLE AT PARKS OFFICE
RESIDENT V.I.P. CARDS AVAILABLE AT PARKS OFFICE
The St. Charles Parks and Recreation Department will begin distributing V.I.P. Cards from the Parks office located in Blanchette Park (1900 W. Randolph). The V.I.P. card offers St. Charles City residents a $1.50 discount on the regular pool admission price.
The V.I.P. cards were previously available only from St. Charles City Hall. While City Hall will continue to distribute the V.I.P. cards, the addition of the Parks office will be provide more convenience for residents.
The St. Charles Parks and Recreation Department will begin distributing V.I.P. Cards from the Parks office located in Blanchette Park (1900 W. Randolph). The V.I.P. card offers St. Charles City residents a $1.50 discount on the regular pool admission price.
The V.I.P. cards were previously available only from St. Charles City Hall. While City Hall will continue to distribute the V.I.P. cards, the addition of the Parks office will be provide more convenience for residents.
Saint Charles Pirates finish #2 in State Class 3
Bittersweet finish to remarkable season
By Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
The Webb City Cardinals are known throughout the state of Missouri as a football powerhouse. All those football trophies are going to have to make space for the school’s first baseball title; unfortunately it comes at the expense of head coach Charlie Meeker’s baseball Pirates. “We really had a hard time getting any scouting information on them,” said Meeker after his team had been defeated by a score of 9-1, “not that it would have made any difference. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to take anything away from their win, they earned it,” he said.
Had the Pirates received a scouting report, they certainly would have known outfielder Eric Clark was something special. The 5’9” senior led the state with 41 stolen bases. All he did against the Pirates was go 3 for 5 from the plate, scoring 4 runs, while driving in 2. In one of the two plate appearances Clark failed to hit, he still managed to reach base and score. In the first inning, Pirate starter Brad Bichel struck Clark out. Unfortunately it was a wild pitch, getting past catcher Brian Randazzo and going to the screen. It led to Webb City’s first run.
The game was much closer than the score indicated. The Pirates were down 3-0 in the bottom of the second when third basemen Kyle Boschert doubled in Randazzo making the score 3-1. It stayed that way until the sixth inning when the Cardinals put together 4 hits for 3 runs. That pretty much did the Pirates in. You could almost feel the air leave their sails as they allowed 3 more runs in the 7th for the 9-1 final.
Bichel pitched much better than the final score suggested. “Brad is not a strike out pitcher,” said Meeker, “If you had told me before the game started Brad would strike out 9, I would have thought we would be O.K.” Bichel in fact struck out 9 in 5 and 1/3 innings. However, unfortunately it was not enough.
By Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
The Webb City Cardinals are known throughout the state of Missouri as a football powerhouse. All those football trophies are going to have to make space for the school’s first baseball title; unfortunately it comes at the expense of head coach Charlie Meeker’s baseball Pirates. “We really had a hard time getting any scouting information on them,” said Meeker after his team had been defeated by a score of 9-1, “not that it would have made any difference. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to take anything away from their win, they earned it,” he said.
Had the Pirates received a scouting report, they certainly would have known outfielder Eric Clark was something special. The 5’9” senior led the state with 41 stolen bases. All he did against the Pirates was go 3 for 5 from the plate, scoring 4 runs, while driving in 2. In one of the two plate appearances Clark failed to hit, he still managed to reach base and score. In the first inning, Pirate starter Brad Bichel struck Clark out. Unfortunately it was a wild pitch, getting past catcher Brian Randazzo and going to the screen. It led to Webb City’s first run.
The game was much closer than the score indicated. The Pirates were down 3-0 in the bottom of the second when third basemen Kyle Boschert doubled in Randazzo making the score 3-1. It stayed that way until the sixth inning when the Cardinals put together 4 hits for 3 runs. That pretty much did the Pirates in. You could almost feel the air leave their sails as they allowed 3 more runs in the 7th for the 9-1 final.
Bichel pitched much better than the final score suggested. “Brad is not a strike out pitcher,” said Meeker, “If you had told me before the game started Brad would strike out 9, I would have thought we would be O.K.” Bichel in fact struck out 9 in 5 and 1/3 innings. However, unfortunately it was not enough.
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