OUR NEXT EDITION MARCH 4, 2006

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FRONT PAGE - FIRST CAPITOL NEWS, February 18, 2006

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York, Williams, Kneemiller, Weller Charged With Conspiracy In Lawsuit Filed Against Them

By Phyllis Schaltenbrand

The First Capitol News has learned that Eric Tolen, the special counsel to the St. Charles City Council has filed a lawsuit in St. Louis County Circuit Court charging Conspiracy, Breach of Contract and Tortious Intereference With A Business Relationship against St. Charles Mayor Patti York. City Administrator Allan Williams, City Councilman Bob Kneemiller and City Councilman Mike Weller. York and Williams are being charged in their official capacity and individually. Kneemiller and Weller are being charged only individually.

The lawsuit seeks damages in the amount of $100,000 on conspiracy and nine different counts of alleged premedicated, malicious conduct.

Tolen’s lawsuit alleges the actions of York and Williams are in violation of his contract and of section 7.8 of the St. Charles City Charter in that only the City Council has the authority to employ special legal Counsel as it deems necessary and the compensation of Special Counsel shall be determined by City Council.

On July 27, 2004 the Mayor and the City Council authorized a three year contract for legal services with Tolen.

On January 3, 2006, Council president Rory Riddler, during an open Council meeting, told the defendants that the Special Counsel position was appropriately funded in the 2006 budget under the line item for Outside Legal Services, as it has been in the past. Moreover, the Council President instructed the defendants that they should pay Tolen for the work he has performed pursuant to the contract and Ordinance No. 04-195.Council President Riddler also told the Mayor and Administrator at several budget meetings that putting a line item in the City budget for Special City Council Counsel with a zero amount was in violation of the Charter and City Ordinances.

The First Capitol News contacted Tolen in reference to the lawsuit and he said, “I take my duties with the Council of the City of St. Charles very seriously. I have lived up to every aspect of my contract and I have always acted professionally and in the best interest of the City of St. Charles. All I want is to do my job and I wish the Mayor and City Administrator would put their hatred aside and stop interfering with my legal obligations to the City Council. I spend a lot of time working for the City of St. Charles and it troubles me deeply to have to go to this extent to get paid for the professional services I have performed. I have not been paid for my legal services since early last fall. On December 29, 2005 I sent a formal demand for payment and it was ignored even though Council President Rory Riddler had warned them they were legally obligated to pay for my services and that the money was available. I believe it is not my work performance that concerns them, they voted against my contract before they knew anything about me.”

Tolen told the First Capitol News he respected every member of the Council and the Mayor and City Administrator and would still continue to provide them with the best legal services possible.

Councilman Joe Koester at the February 7th City Council meeting warned the Administration not to allow this claim to get to a point where the City would have to expend taxpayer dollars due to incompetent management practices.

Councilman Weller responded, “Mr. Tolen don’t you understand, we don’t like you. I don’t want you here.”

Several Council members expressed hope that this matter could be cleared up before the City spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal expenses to fight this matter.

The City has not yet been served with the Suit papers and once they have been served they have 30 days to file an answer.

Tolen also claims in his lawsuit the Mayor, Weller, Williams and Kneemiller from the inception of his contract had a meeting of the mind, and conspired with malicious and aforethought to break the Council’s valid contract with Plaintiff and intentionally caused him undue financial hardship by not paying for services authorized by them. In addition, Tolen claims the defendants knew and had knowledge that by having him perform such services and duties as instructed and requested by him that each activity would and did in fact occupy his time, thereby preventing him from taking on additional work, outside the City of St. Charles government, resulting in financial loss and hardship.
The petition also claims since the time of Kneemiller and Weller refusals to vote in favor of Tolen’s contract with the City and Ordinance 04-195, they have acted in bad faith and maliciously interfered with his contract by attempting to prohibit the City and the City Council from utilizing its Special Counsel, as provided in the contract and the City charter, and have attempted to prevent payment of Tolen’s contract by the City.

Councilman Mark Brown told the First Capitol News, “There is a lot more to this matter and I believe the citizens of St. Charles will be embarrassed when all the facts are revealed in court. There is a lot of outside political influence involved. I can’t discuss the matter further because of the pending litigation.”

Check our daily web log for updates on this matter. You can view the First Capitol News Today by logging onto
firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com
Our entire edition can be found at
firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. Our editions are archived from November 2004.




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Recall Committee Fears Depositions

Mayor York, Mayor's Father, Glennon Jamboretz, Mike Kielty subpoenaed to give Depositions In Alleged Voter Fraud

By Tony Brockmeyer

The First Capitol News has learned that Mayor Patricia York, her father John Sinclair, the Mayor's Political hit-man Glennon Jamboretz, and Attorney Mike Kielty have been subpoenaed to give depositions in State of Missouri ex rel Eugene P. Carroll vs City of St. Charles. The lawsuit was filed by Eugene Carroll in an attempt to have the recall of Councilman Mark Brown placed on the April ballot. The suit was filed by Eugene Carroll after the City Council refused to place the recall on the ballot because of many alleged discrepancies and evidence of fraud.

Carroll is on the City's cable commission and became angry when the City Council declined to reappoint him to the Fourth of July Riverfest Committee.

Others who were subpoenaed were:
Linda Meyer, Melissa Root, Matthew Root, Keith Meyer, Mike McClean, Tara Hart, Cheryl Paxton, David Paxton, Gary L. Robinson, Kevin McCreary, Christy Dickerson, Bernard Bax, Casey L. Scism, Dawn Behrens Bettman, Matt LaMora, Rebecca Star, and Richard Chrismer the director of elections for St. Charles County.

A hearing was to be held on Tuesday, February 14 on the lawsuit. Attorney Chet Pleban, representing Councilman Mark Brown filed a motion to disqualify Circuit Judge Nancy Schneider. The judge sustained the motion and a new date will be set. In the meantime Chuck Knight, representing Carroll and the Citizens Empowerment Committee filed a motion for a 10 day moratorium preventing the scheduled depositions and suggested Carroll drop the suit. A source close to the situation told the First Capitol News, "They don't want those people to give depositions under any circumstances because if they do all the information about fraud, forgery and skull duggery will come out."

Councilman Mark Brown told the First Capitol News, “More important than the recall getting the facts concerning the voter’s fraud to be heard before a judge. The people who organized and funded these unlawful acts are just as guilty as the paid workers who committed the acts and filed the false affidavits. They acted and conspired to commit fraud, and they need to pay the consequences, even if it means jail. I would like to see justice for the many deceitful acts this ruthless clan put my family and me through. I expect members of the committee as well as those who planned and funded their scheme to be indicted for their unlawful actions. When asked if he had it to do over again, would you look at it differently? Brown replied, “No. This all started over the millionaire developers, and I will continue my battle to make them comply with the laws and ordinances of our city. I believe the residents of St. Charles come before the demands of the millionaire developers.”

Fired Ex Police Sgt. Mayer’s Lawsuits Against City Over

Status Changed to Retired

By Tony Brockmeyer

The First Capitol News has learned that a $104 million lawsuit filed against the City of St. Charles and the City Council has been settled.

Former St. Charles Police Sergeant Tommy Mayer had filed the lawsuit in Federal Court after he was fired. Mayer was fired shortly after a traffic stop in which he forced the City Administrator to the ground by gun point. Mayor York, who was not named in the law suit, wrote two letters on behalf of Tommy Mayer, saying she thought he was a wonderful individual and he had been mistreated by the City Council. She also wrote any City should be proud to have an officer like Mayer who she often referred to as “Missouri’s Top Cop.”

The First Capitol News has learned that the City agreed to change the record of Mayer’s employment from fired to retired. However they refused to give Mayer any of the benefits of receiving his badge and gun as other retired officers are provided for by ordinance. the City agreed to pay Mayer $57,500, an amount that would be far less than the legal fees and depositions that would have been incurred. The City agreed to these conditions because the attorneys advised it would cost the CIty more than that amount to try the case in court. The attorneys for the City were extremely they would have won if the matter was put before a jury.


This also settles the recent lawsuit Mayer filed in St. Charles County Circuit Court.

EDITORIAL CARTOON February 81, 2006

RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmmm

Is there trouble right here in River City?

The Mayor is cracking down on the bars on Main Street. She especially wants to get rid of the Main Street Bistro and Lloyd and Harry's. There are no more licenses available on North Main Street for bars. They have reached their limit. If you want a liquor license on North Main now you must have 50 percent of your income from food. I have noticed she has her building on North Main for lease. I wonder if maybe someone wants to lease her building and put in a bar? Do you really believe she would do that?

We don’t condone underage drinking or urinating in public but these matters are being handled adequately by our fine police department. But She is concerned with girls dancing on the bars and $1 beers. Mayor, it doesn’t matter what the bars charge for their beers or if then even give them away, the bar owners still have to pay Adolphus IV the same amount. If you really want to turn North Main into a desolate area after dark like South Main you might consider not having any liquor establishments on Main Street at all. But no, Adolphus IV would never allow you to do that. If he had been close to you when you barred brats and beer from the Fourth of July Riverfest he would have stopped you.

I wonder what happened to the entertainment district on North Main the Mayor has been planning for those who attend conventions in St Charles?

It can’t be that the Mayor just hates bars on North Main.. Maybe they are okay for her special interests. Rich Andrews Pub on Mexico road recently changed hands. A special closed session City Council meeting was held last Monday evening to discuss legal matters. During the session the Mayor presented a liquor license application for approval for the new owners of Rich Andrews. Normally an applicant would have to wait for approval at the next regularly scheduled Council meeting. That is unless.... Our interest was peeked so we delved in the special treatment someone was being afforded. The registered agent for the LLC taking over the pub is Daniel Barklage our municipal judge. He is also listed on the documents in the office of the Missouri Secretary of State as the organizer. Since the City does not pay enough for a full time Judge, Judge Barklage has every right to represent clients such as this. With the many arrests being made at the bars on Main Street don’t you think Judge Barklage should recuse himself from hearing any of those cases. Hmmmmmmmmm

THE CITY DESK - City Council President Rory Riddler

Not As Think As You Drunk I Am…

You Want To Go Where Nobody
Knows Your Name

A front-page photo last week helped highlight both the serious and sometimes hilarious side of having a popular entertainment area on North Main Street. The photo showed a man on North Main dancing with his arms out and his posterior in close relationship to the hindquarters of a Police horse. The Mounted Patrol Officer sat stoically astride his horse, watching for trouble in the window of a popular nightspot, unaware of the young male’s inability to distinguish appropriate dance partners.

Not that the horse would have danced with him. After all, the horse was on duty.

I try not to pass judgment on the social habits of others, but I can’t help wondering if the man, whose face is clearly shown in the photo, hasn’t sworn by now to lead a better life. Like all those Congressmen and other elected public officials who get charged with drunk driving. Nothing seems to sober them up faster than being on the front page of a newspaper.

There is also a serious side to this story. Recently, a few of the drinking establishments on Main Street have come under increasing scrutiny by elected officials. Over six months ago, as Councilman for this ward, I called for tougher penalties when a brawl inside one business resulted in injuries to two officers.

This resulted in an increased Police presence on the street. A few months later, a fight, outside of a different establishment was caught on camera. Someone turned the footage over to the City to investigate if the Police had used excessive force. As a courtesy to me as Council President and the representative of the ward, I was allowed to review the film with the City Administrator.

What I saw was a couple of men down on the ground, still struggling with officers. One officer was using a nightstick, but with seemingly appropriate short jabbing thrusts. A woman who was pushed back, then came up behind a Police Officer who turned around and hit her. We played that section several times just to make sure what we saw happening. As it turned out, you could see the woman grab the officer’s belt from behind with two hands. Any of us would have reacted the same way. The officer didn’t know who had grabbed him from behind and if they were trying to get his gun.

What I witnessed were trained professionals trying to deal with a bad situation made worse by too much alcohol. Pour alcohol on a fire or a fight and the result is the same.

What’s happening is nothing new and seems to come in cycles. In my early years on the Council I was almost run out of town by some for daring to threaten the liquor license of a bar on North Second Street. It was the old Bell Tower Bar and I was upset that an underage girl was killed on the sidewalk in front of the establishment.

When I first got on the Council, I was told about a rough bar that burned down in the North End. They had lots of problems with their neighbors who all “saw nothing” the night it was burned. A mysterious fire also leveled the Blue Lounge that used to grace the corner of Fifth and Morgan.

The difference with some of the places we have today, is that these were blue-collar establishments, with an older demographic of local residents. There are many good bars in town that fill that role and still manage to keep the peace. But Main Street today caters to a younger crowd with more money and apparently less need than I did in college to be awake for class in the middle of the week. For some reason, Tuesday night after ten is one of the busier nights.

Not every place on Main Street deserves a bad reputation. There are some great places to enjoy yourself and plenty of great food. St. Charles needs an entertainment district for the people who will be coming to conferences at our multi-million dollar Convention Center and filling local hotels. The most boring place in the Universe, I’m told, is Plano, Texas, where conventioneers go to the local grocery store for the bright lights.

Those who complain about some of our current crop of bars say they are concerned with underage drinking, reports of “girls gone wild” flashing themselves for drinks, dancing on bars and increased acts of violence. I don’t condone underage drinking and we should demand better checks of IDs, but I’m not sure I can tell by just looking how prevalent underage drinking is. I’m at an age now that most of the people going in these places look like they’re around twelve.

What bothers me is violence. Patrons need to feel secure and fights need to be defused quickly before they become general brawls.

I have three major things on my “zero tolerance” list.

First, drive the drug dealers out. They are there and the Police need to get a handle on it ASAP.

Second, establishments need to keep an orderly place of business. The Police need to respond when things are getting out of hand, but owners need to make sure they don’t get out of hand in the first place. They need to know when to cut some people off, identify those prone to violence or getting in shouting matches, separate and/or eject them from two different entrances. If one bouncer or doorman can’t handle the crowds, hire a second or a third. I have no tolerance for violence and situations that put the lives of our Police or innocent patrons at risk.

Third, we should have no tolerance for vandalism to public or private property. Some, when their senses are impaired from too much alcohol, think it’s “fun” to break things or throw glass beer bottles. The increased Police presence has reduced these incidents, but we need to apprehend and prosecute those who destroy property.

It isn’t the bar owners’ fault if individuals make wrong choices. Someone caught urinating in public, for instance, can be dealt with as individuals. Those caught committing acts of vandalism, while their thinking is probably impaired by their drinking, they have to be held personally responsible for their actions.

But we can and should hold owners of bars and bar/restaurants accountable if they fail to control violence, knowingly violate liquor laws, fail to cut-off patrons who need cut-off, or are aware of or tolerate drug sales inside their establishments without notifying the police.

We need the cooperation of responsible business owners. Working together we can make sure that North Main Street is a safe environment for visitors, known for good food, good music and a fun night life. Those owners who can’t or won’t cooperate need to find another line of work or another community.

Finally, here is some sound advice for customers of our Main Street’s entertainment venues who choose to drink. Always drink responsibly. If you do drink…don’t drive. Call a cab. It’s cheaper than losing your license. And never…ever dance with a police horse or the police pink elephant might just follow you home.

CASE IN POINT By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9

“Charleytown calls me ‘Sweet Cynthia.’ What can you say about somebody who runs a Christian bookstore?”
R-19th District Missouri State Representative.

Often a quote starts things off and I couldn’t resist a very recent line from a local character who gave this quote after the Missouri Ethics Commission fined her $1,000. What I have gathered from following this story is that Mrs. Cynthia Davis finds it difficult to know whether or not you can buy yourself a truck and pay property taxes with campaign money or not.

Not only the fact that you should have an inherent feeling that using campaign money for your own personal use is wrong, but the fact that the usually lenient Missouri Ethics Commission felt strongly enough about the matter to actually fine a candidate was a shocker! What remained unclear was whether Mrs. Davis actually came out ahead in the matter. The information available states that property taxes in the amount of $1,084 were paid and that campaign money was used to buy a personal vehicle. Furthermore, the legal fees of $740 were taken from her campaign funds which is apparently allowed. Without knowing the details off hand about the pickup truck, the other two dollar amounts equal $1,824 with a fine of $1,000. Was the $824 repaid? For now, only “Sweet Cynthia” knows.

Where this really gets interesting for us here in Saint Charles is in wondering if the Missouri Ethics Commission will take action regarding campaign reports filed by, “St. Charles Citizens For Responsible Government and Citizens Empowerment Committee.” You remember these groups — the ones that may have chosen their names because, “Committee for Government Directed by PR Firms and Owned by Developers” wouldn’t rest well with the locals.

If the Ethics Commission would look into the campaign to ouster those on council that this group does not agree with, they would find that each time the City Council questioned certain matters in meetings, or whenever the First Capitol News published stories raising questions of the same group, it seems that sudden amendments were filed with the state in response. Do not forget that those running the SCCFRG and CEC Committees have been involved in many elections and certainly know how to file the necessary paperwork. The Ethics Commission might also ask about the funding of an airplane towing a “recall Mark Brown” banner that flew for hours over Brown’s house during a block party. Who paid for this portion of the developer’s recall efforts has never been disclosed. Add to the developer-driven recall campaign “paid political inserts” in a local advertisement/newspaper and the dollar amount of undisclosed campaign funds reaches huge amounts!

It looks like Saint Charles can keep the Ethics Commission busy for years to come! The only question remaining is, “What can you say about someone who runs a PR firm; or a local developer; or a local sports team; or ...”

CONSERVATIVE FACTOR Alex Spencer

It seems that this time of year is all about award shows. I think I’ve dozed through the Golden Globes, the SAG awards and the People’s Choice awards. (Mrs. Spencer is a big fan of the award shows). Well, the granddaddy of them all will be on soon, and hopefully, after the Oscars, award show season will slow down a bit and I can return to the mindless entertainment of reality shows.

That sets me to thinking. We should have an awards show here in St. Charles County. We can hold the event at the St. Charles Convention Center and televise it on any of the cable access networks dedicated to government/public service programming. I’d recommend a more “Golden Globes” like atmosphere. Kind of like a dinner party with folks spread out around the room. It should definitely be open bar, and elected officials can be seated by city, which should lead to some fairly sparky conversation. We probably should have someone other than Mayor York do the seating chart, since she has a tendency to seat everyone else in the back of the room (as we saw at last year’s All-Mayor’s Charity Ball).

So, dear readers, I propose the First Annual St. Charles County Chuckie Awards. Let’s get down to business.

Best Actress in a Political Drama - The nominees are Representative Cynthia Davis for maintaining her crown as “Queen of the Nutballs” advancing ridiculous legislation about intelligent design and midwives, all the while committing serious violations of campaign finance laws; St. Charles Councilwoman Dottie Greer who has held her head high while Mayor York and her supporters pathetically attempt to remove her from office; O’Fallon Mayor Donna Morrow for deftly blaming all of her mistakes on the past administration and/or imaginary monsters, and her trademark “investigations”; St. Charles Mayor Patti York for her unabashed greed for money and power, as well as her efforts to remove elected officials who happen to disagree with her. The Chuckie goes to Mayor Patti York for her arrogance and ability to “recruit” wealthy men to finance her evil plots.

Best Actor in a Political Drama – The nominees are St. Peters Mayor Shawn Brown whose efforts to “govern” are pure slapstick comedy; O’Fallon Alderman Randy Hudson who got caught with a tape recorder and proudly announced that he was just “protecting himself”; County Executive Joe Ortwerth who has joined with the Great White Duck Hunters to further his crusade against the City of St. Peters; St. Charles Councilman Rory Riddler who is attempting to advance the interests of the taxpayers in the face of blatantly unethical conduct on the part of Mayor York and her supporters. The Chuckie goes to Alderman Randy Hudson for inspiring St. Charles County’s latest dance craze, the Aldermanic “pat down.”

Worst Dressed – The nominees are Adolphus Busch IV for wearing the same “prep-school” uniform with a cloth belt to most meetings; Linda Meyer for her circa 1980’s, low budget, Linda Evans, Dynasty-era hairstyle and bad sweatshirts; Brandy Pedersen for her roadkill-like fake hairpieces, Tammy Faye Baker make-up and excessive sequins; Sandy Waters for her excessive drugstore make-up, old-lady reading glasses, and ugly sweatshirts. And the Chuckie goes to Linda Meyer for paying no attention to her appearance before each “performance” in front of the City Council.

Worst Performance by a “Alleged” Republican – The nominees are County Councilman Joe Brazil for his obsession with stopping all growth at the expense of businesses throughout the County; Senator Chuck Gross for trying to take advantage of his clout as budget chair and “holding up” the funding for the new judge’s bench in St. Charles County until the Governor’s Office gave him a commitment to appoint Rick Zerr, the “ethically challenged” former judge who is related to Gross and needs one year of service to pad his pension and then insisting that no one be appointed when his plan was uncovered; Brandy Pedersen for attempting to recall a Republican elected official, encouraging spoiler candidates in special elections to ensure victory for the Democrats and general acts of craziness that seem to damage the Republican Party; and Dee and Roland Wetzel who have embroiled themselves in the St. Charles City Recalls, the 370 TIF Lawsuit against St. Peters and other efforts that are clearly “unrepublican.” The Chuckie goes to Brandy Pedersen (aka the Democrats’ best friend in St. Charles County).

Cutest Couple Award – The nominees are Adolphus Busch and Charlie Hager for their carefully choreographed “spoiled little rich boy” speeches to “save the ducks” and tandem “not-so-veiled” threats against elected officials; Ken Kielty and Tom Hughes for their “stop at nothing” effort to buy a St. Charles City Council for Mayor Patti York; Carl Maus and Ray Stone for their “Brokeback Mountain” like bond and their unabashed arrogance as they attempt to take over the entire County and stop all growth; Mayor Patti York and Glennon Jamboretz for their incredibly creative methods of fleecing the taxpayers and lining their own pockets with taxpayer funds. The Chuckie goes to Carl Maus and Ray Stone because they are just so cute together.

Best Supporting Actor (otherwise known as the ones who would kill to be Mayor) – The nominees are St. Charles Councilman Bob Hoepfner who has switched teams so many times he’s forgotten what team he’s on and his pathetic attempts to accomplish anything he can herald during next year’s Mayoral election; St. Peters Alderman Jerry Hollingsworth for his “rah-rah” attempts to make everyone get along and his transparent efforts to generate press on “feel-good” issues like red-light cameras and reducing elected official salaries; St. Peters Alderman Len Pagano who has sold himself to Great Rivers for an amount TBD and perfected his “doddering old fool” act in an attempt to disavow any vote that seems unpopular; and O’Fallon Alderman Lynn Schipper who clearly thinks he is the Mayor of O’Fallon and thinks its okay to micromanage City staff. The Chuckie goes to Alderman Len Pagano for his pathetic portrayal of a “regular joe” who is in touch with the people.

Well, I hope you found the St. Charles County Chuckies as fun as I did. With the elections coming up this April and next April, I look forward to next year’s awards.

I hope you tune into the Oscars next month. After all, I just can’t get enough of that red carpet action.

The View From The Cheap Seats BY Jerry Haferkamp

The View From The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp

I received two correspondences this week, one by phone and one by e-mail that may be of interest to our readers.

The phone call was from a woman who wanted to know if groups like “Do The Right Thing” have to pay $5.00 to park at the Convention Center, as she was asked to do at the craft fair. I told her that I doubted if anyone attending a small gathering there would be required to pay the fee. Like callers to the St. Peters paper, she was also unaware that our city has nothing to do with the fees. They are under the control of the Convention and Sports Authority, who have to answer to no one. Our City had to fight like Hell to even get a seat on the oversight of the Convention Center.

The e-mail was from a businessperson in Frenchtown asking for my support in defeating the proposal to restrict the usage of eminent domain. While this person and I see eye to eye on most issues, I responded that this was an issue on which we would have to agree to disagree.

I am completely in agreement that Frenchtown has serious problems with unsightly properties. I also feel that we, as a City, cannot let this area go downhill. Our disagreement is over the use of eminent domain to force owners out of “seriously blighted” properties. First, eminent domain should not be used to take property from one owner just to financially benefit another. Tossing someone out may improve a neighborhood, but it is morally wrong. Next, who decides what is “serious blight”? The proliferation of used car lots and junk vehicles are surely eyesores, but so are the piles of “junque” piled on the sidewalks in front of some of the shops.

I grew up on South Main. My grandfather owned the house that is presently the New Mother-in-Law House and the two-story home next door. The next home was a duplex owned by my uncle. Our home was next, but is no longer there due to a fire years after we moved. Many areas of South Main were deteriorating at that time. Look at South Main now. It is a restored and beautiful area and I don’t recall the use of eminent domain to achieve these results.

I’m sure there are business owners on both sides of the issue in Frenchtown. If you will financially benefit, I’m sure you would be for eminent domain. If you are threatened with the loss of a business you worked hard to establish, you probably aren’t. I guess it just depends on whose ox is getting gored.

The use of eminent domain may also end up with a result like that in St. Louis County where the developer and city tell folks they have to move. These people then purchase a home with the understanding that theirs is sold, only to have the developer back out and leave them with two mortgages, one on a home that no one in their right mind would buy.

Even if the developer signs a contract, can we expect a City Administrator to enforce it when he won’t even enforce his own?

I feel safe in saying, given the outcry across America, that an overwhelming majority doesn’t want eminent domain used to victimize one individual to increase the bank account (or property value) of another.

As I was preparing to send this column to the FCN, I heard Paul Harvey’s 11:45 news and comment decrying the use of eminent domain to confiscate farmland in the West to enrich those who will mine the copper under it. Land that had been in families for generations is no longer theirs, confiscated by the government to enrich others who had no claim to it. Wrong is wrong, no matter how you paint it.

SPORTS - First Capitol News Sports Section - MIKE MCMURRAN Sports Editor

Good thing I did a lot of writing last week on sports – ‘cause I think I feel one of those political commentaries stewing in my belly. I can’t help it.

It seems more than one person contacted me in reference to my most recent article wondering, “why I hate Republicans?” Frankly, I do not think I hate anyone. You see a long time ago I learned that the opposite of the word love, contrary to what most might think, was not hate. No, the opposite of the word love is indifference. So much though for etymology.

I do not hate republicans. In previous articles I have written about golf outings with some of my closer friends: Henry Kruse (Republican), Mark Francis (Republican) and Mike Lemke (Republican). Then there was the time I played with Jeff Strickland (Republican) and Rob Stumpf (biggest and most obnoxious Republican I know) – frankly, for the most part, my social life is saturated with Republicans.

Back to my letters. One e-mail went so far as to suggest, no, suggest is not a strong enough word, went so far as to inform me “Democrats support homosexuality. And homosexuality undermined the sanctity of marriage.” I understand I am in the minority here, but still I do not understand how two gay people getting married is a threat to the marriages of people like myself. Was I going to walk down the street, see two men holding hands, and go home and tell Lynn, “Hey, that looks great. Maybe I could marry a guy who likes football (see last week’s article), watch the game with him, and then come home and sleep with you.”

No, the biggest threat to marriage is divorce. Now I realize this is a radical thought for the right leaning St. Charles County, but I am in a position where I have the freedom to speak my mind. And as long as there are left thinking Democrats out there, I will continue to have just such rights.

There is an issue brewing in St. Charles City dealing with a redevelopment proposal for the north end of Frenchtown possibly involving eminent domain. It seems the owner of one of the businesses that may be blighted, Doug Medley (Republican), owner of Frenchtown Transmission, is greatly concerned that he is going to “get the short end of the stick.” In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that Doug and I have played golf together, smoked cigars together, and have had scores of adult beverages together. Doug is concerned, very concerned, that he might just loose his business. He has some valid points. “Location is everything,” he shared with me, “people aren’t going to drive out of their way to have their transmissions repaired. If they want to replace my property with one of equal value, and pay for the installation of equipment, and the moving of everything, then I have no problem with it. But that is not what they are talking about. I guess the first clue that they were going to ‘put it to me.’ was when I could not get anyone to return my phone calls. I made no less than 30 phone calls – not one was returned.”

As in every issue, there are two sides of the story. According to Council President Rory Riddler, in an article published in the Post-Dispatch, “Had this area on its own been economically viable enough to attract a major developer, it would have by now.” Let’s face it, I am about as far from being an economist as one can get, but it seems to me this is a case of big money taking away the property of little money (no offense, Doug). Doesn’t common sense dictate that Griffey Construction, the would-be-developer, simply purchase the land from Doug (and others). If they want it so badly, let them pay for it. Make Doug an offer he can’t refuse. One thing I am certain about, someone is going to make lots and lots of money off this deal, why shouldn’t Doug be one of them. Buy Doug out, or at least purchase his property at a price that will allow him to continue doing business. That’s all he really wants – to continue working, doing what he loves, and providing for his family. To deny him is as un-American as you can get.

Finally, as long as I am on the subject of politics, has anyone besides me heard the rumors regarding Sally Faith. Rumors they may be, but should they turn out to be true, well, irony raises its head in the strangest of places.



High School Hockey Playoffs

St. Charles West Moves to Different Tournament
Francis Howell Central Earns Higher Challenge at Expense of SCW

By Louis J. Launer

Playoff hockey can be brutal. For St. Charles West, their quest for a St. Louis Blues Challenge Cup in the Mid-States Club Hockey Association came to a quick end last weekend. They did wind up playing their next round in the Wickenheiser Cup, the MSCHA’s consolation tournament.

The Ice Warriors regular season screeched to a halt when they lost to the Francis Howell Central Spartans, 7-3. Ironically, the same Spartans were the Warriors’ opponent in the first round of the Challenge Cup tournament.

The first round was a two-game series with the first game taking place last Friday and the second game last Saturday. Both games were held at the St. Peters RecPlex. Although St. Charles West finished with a 15-4-1 record, Francis Howell Central was the Warriors’ worst nightmare this season.

The Spartans scored first with 12:32 remaining with a goal by senior Kody Lowe. Junior forward David Rey scored two more goals in the first period within one minute between each goal. Rey did get his hat trick and Spartan fans did throw their hats on the ice.

Freshman Johnny Kraus scored two goals for the Warriors and senior Andrew Hill scored one goal. But it was too little, too late. Francis Howell Central won Game 1 with an 8-3 final.

Game 2 belonged to the Spartans as well. They kept St. Charles West off the scoreboard and sent to the Warriors to the Wickenheiser Cup bracket by taking the first round. The Game 2 final score was 8-0.

Francis Howell Central advanced to the second round to take on CBC, a hockey club undefeated in four years. They have dominated the St. Louis Blues Challenge Cup throughout this decade. Several CBC alumni are now playing in Junior B and Junior A hockey throughout North America. If they are lucky, a few could play professional and might be seen in a game either at Family Arena or Savvis Center in the future.

St. Charles West played Whitfield in the second round of the Wickenheiser Cup. The Warriors remain to have a favored chance to make the finals of this tournament.

FRESHMAN HAS A FUTURE: Although senior goaltender Andrew Phillips started both games in the series for the Warriors, Chris Powell took over for Phillips in the third period of both games. Powell had a strong showing in game 1, stopping 7 out of 9 shots in the third period. Powell is a freshman and has lots of promise for SCW’s future on the ice. Watch for his presence next season.


RAGE
RE-UNITED…AND IT’S LOOKING GOOD!!

By Mike Thompson

RiverCity Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt will tell you up front, no hesitation at all. “It’s great to be reunited with Sven Hack after an absence of several years. The one thing I’ve always appreciated about him both as a player and coach is the fact that he is a real student of the game of football, a guy who not only knew his assignment, but everyone else’s too. As a person, he’s a lot like me in the sense that he doesn’t let his ego get in the way of doing what’s necessary to get the job done. I think that’s something we both learned over in Germany. You have to wear a lot of hats, there’s not the infrastructure of a team here in the USA overseas so everyone has to pitch in, and no job is beneath you. Simply put, Hack gets it.”

And get it, he did. After working for Wyatt’s Show-Me Believers in 2004, Hack (pronounced ‘Hock’) is now once again teaming up with the coach he credits with “teaching me so much about the game of football and more importantly, holding fast to the friendship we’ve developed over the years. I watched him turn the team around when we worked together in the German Football League, I saw him do it here in the NIFL, and now I get the chance, again, to be part of what I know will be a championship calibre team this year.” Newly appointed by Wyatt to be the Rage Offensive and Defensive Line Co-ordinator in 2006, Hack says he “can’t wait to get working with these players, practices and games, both giving me a chance to see who’s ready to step up and make the big play for the Rage game after game. I never pre-judge anyone, so it’s a level playing field when we hit the turf for the first time later this month. I’m excited, I’m getting to do once again what I love most and I’m doing it for a coach I respect and believe in.” When asked what he foresaw for the RiverCity Rage in 2006, Hack had the ready answer. “What we all see, a championship trophy lifted high at Savvis Center come end of summer.”

A lofty goal for the 28-year-old Raunheim, Germany native who didn’t play high school or college football, and who’s coaching career was filled with peaks and valleys until this recent reunion with his mentor.

“Germany doesn’t offer high school football, so I played in a Pop Warner type league from the ages of 14 to 18, mostly on the defensive line and a little fullback from time to time. The school structure there is such that when you graduate from high school, you leave with the equivalent of an Associates Degree in junior college here in the USA. I actually went straight from high school to playing for Coach Wyatt.”

That was in 1998, when along with attending automotive trade school in Frankfurt, Hack labored on the defensive line for the Raunlheim team in the GFL, and got his first taste of coaching later that year helping Wyatt developed the Junior team in the highly popular German league. “That was the first time anyone ever called me ‘coach’, although I did work as a 16 year old bellboy in the NFL Europe. Coach Wyatt was there, too, and I got great experience helping to run the player tryouts for the nationals (local players in the NFL Europe) as well as attending clinics and finally ending up on the Team Services Staff. It was instrumental in getting me focused on the coaching aspect of the game, because the playing days were numbered.”

After a 4 year run in the GFL, Hack’s dream of playing in NFL Europe came to a sudden, jolting halt. A torn Achilles tendon, an injury he says may have been mis-diagnosed, and an on-going romance with the team’s female trainer, gave him new perspective and direction. “It was tough to give up playing football, we had been to the playoffs every one of my 5 years, but I met my wife Anika overseas in this league. She was a volunteer trainer for Coach Wyatt’s team, and in the military at the time we were married in the year 2000, but even that proved to be a means of destiny for coach and myself.”

Funny sometimes how things work out for the best….out of football for the first time in years, Hack worked at a golf course and held various other jobs while stationed at his wife’s barracks in Arizona, yet he and Coach Wyatt “always stayed in touch. Coach was still running teams overseas and when he finally came back to the USA to take over the Believers in 2004, I actually came to St. Louis to work for 6 months on his coaching staff. I stayed all season at the Holiday Inn- Riverport and it was great and for the first time, that NIFL team had a winning season. I know in my heart it was primarily due to the efforts of Coach Wyatt.”

Staying just one season, Hack returned to Arizona to be with his family and again threw himself into the coaching game at the middle-school level. He coached youngsters on the military base and says, “I had a great time, it was a throwback to the German Football League Junior League days. The kids were quick learners and very receptive to new techniques and really wanted to learn how to play the game. For me, it was therapeutic, because once again I felt like a coach.”

The final chapter was written just months ago when Anika was selected by the Army to be a recruiter and was scheduled to be transferred to Oklahoma City. Just five days before that was to take effect, new orders came through, and Hack, Anika and their two children were on their way to St. Ann, Missouri. Close enough to warrant a call from Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt. The wheels were soon in motion to once again bring the two together. Again!!


MSHSAA CLASS 4 DISTRICT 7
BOYS ROUNDUP
St. Charles West to travel to Duchesne, twice

Conference crown at stake Friday; District semifinals February 22

By: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor

In what might just be the biggest boys’ basketball game played in decades at Duchesne High School, the Pioneers will host cross-town rival St. Charles West for the Gateway Athletic Conference – North Division title Friday night (tip off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.). The winner will have little time to celebrate as the two squads will go at it again the following Wednesday (Feb. 22) in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 7 State tournament, with the winner advancing to the Championship game.

Duchesne, fresh off their emotional 1 point overtime win against St. Charles, is led by junior Zach Plackemeier, who is averaging 24.5 points per contest, which puts him in third place in the Region scoring contest. Both Duchesne (20-2) and West (19-6) will enter the contest with perfect 5-0 conference marks.

Not to be outdone, West has the region’s sixth leading scorer in sophomore guard Kramer Soderberg (23.4).

At the District seed meeting, held prior Duchesne’s 49-48 overtime win against the Pirates, West received the number 3 seed, Duchesne number 2 and St. Charles High number 1. Ironically, both West and Duchesne have topped High (19-6) this season in conference play, hence High’s 3-2 conference mark.

The Class 4 District 7 Championship game is scheduled for Friday, February 24, with a 7:30 tip off.

GIRLS ROUNDUP
As surprising as the boys’ seeding turned out, the girls’ side of the ledger was even more of a surprise. St. Dominic (16-6) who sits atop the Archdiocesan Athletic Association standings with a 9-1 conference record, was surprised to receive the number 2 seed.

The number 1 seed went to St. Charles High (13-10), who will have an easier road to the championship game, much easier. While St. Dominic is scheduled to take on host Duchesne (12-12) in semifinal action on Tuesday at 5:30, the Pirates will play the winner of the St. Charles West (8-14)/Trinity Catholic (8-14) contest.

High has defeated West twice this season, 52-39 in the annual Thanksgiving eve season opener, and 56-51 on January 20. They topped Trinity in semifinal action of the Trinity Catholic Classic 48-40 back in late November.

Duchesne fell to St. Dominic 53-41 at St. Dominic in early December. The championship game will be played February 24 at 6 p.m.


GAC Basketball
GIANT KILLERS
St. Charles West Defeats Zumwalt West
In a Come-From-Behind Victory
Zumwalt North Also Loses to Warriors

SPECIAL TO THE FIRST CAPITOL NEWS

Do not take the St. Charles West Warrior basketball team lightly. Also, play all 60 minutes of basketball. That’s what the Warriors have done all season.

A little under a month ago, the Warriors defeated cross-town rival St. Charles High School in quite an eye-opener to all of the local basketball experts. This past week, St. Charles West took their calm and focused game plan to Fort Zumwalt West, a Class 5 team positioned to take its district.

In its previous game, the Zumwalt West Jaguars won a nail-biting 71-64 game against their cross-town rival Fort Zumwalt South. Zumwalt West’s coach expected the momentum from that victory to carry over to the St. Charles West game.

In the first half, Zumwalt West had a team shooting percentage of 68 percent. The result was a 29-23 lead for the Jaguars at halftime.

Despite being down by six going into the second half, Terry Hollander’s St. Charles West Warriors remained focused and consistent on the game, while the Jaguars ran on emotion. Josh Branch of Zumwalt West carried the emotion to a third quarter high with 1:26 left. Branch shot from three-point range to give the Jaguars a 42-29 lead.

St. Charles West was just getting started. After two free-throws by Branch early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors rallied to score nine unanswered points. Zach Ring of the Warriors scored from three-point range to make the score 45-44. Although down by 1 and less than four minutes remaining in the game, the Warriors turned up the heat.

Sean Stratton and Kramer Soderberg scored two back-to-back 3-point shots giving the Warriors a 52-50 lead with 1:21 left. Also taking advantage of a bonus situation and Jaguar players who fouled out, the Warriors scored all six of their free throws to give the Warriors an upset victory over Fort Zumwalt West, 58-54.

The Warriors were perfect 14 for 14 on free throws in the game. Kramer Soderberg led the game with 28 points. Sophomore Brian Maurer is a Warrior to watch for the future as he scored 15 points in the game. The Warrior defense was able to keep Jaguar leading scorer Mike Graham to only 14 points.

SODERBERG, RING AND MAURER STRIKE AGAIN: After doing damage earlier in the week to Zumwalt West, the Warriors went north, to Fort Zumwalt North to take on the Panthers in a rivalry dating back 30 years. Kramer Soderberg scored 32 points in this game and was 4 for 6 in 3-point shots enroute to a 65-50 victory. Zach Ring and Brian Maurer had twelve points each for the Warriors.

FRONT PAGE - FIRST CAPITOL NEWS, February 11, 2006

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PEARL RIDGE – NOT OUT FROM UNDER THE WATER YET

By Phyllis Schaltenbrand

Despite numerous attempts by City Administrator Allan Williams and Councilman Mike Weller, Ward 5, the Pearl Ridge Subdivision flooding problem received a 8 – 1 vote of the City Council to proceed with a contract to install a storm water drain, Weller being the only dissenting vote. This project has been in the news for over three years due to the enormous safety hazard it poses to the children of nearby Harvest Ridge Elementary School.

After a storm the fast rising water raises quickly to levels, which sometimes submerge the subdivision’s electric station during heavy rain and floods, several new homes in the subdivision along with the City streets. The Pearl Ridge Subdivision backs up to the Harvest Ridge Elementary Schools Playground/Baseball field and neighbors have taken photos of the children often times playing and swimming in the storm water which can take up to two days to drain. The subdivision’s development was accepted by the City of St. Charles several years ago, despite the fact it did not provide a storm water drain required by City ordinance. This issue was further complicated because in 2000, the city staff not only allowed the developer to violate the city ordinance, but allowed the developer to disregard a Missouri State Statute, which prohibits developments from using sinkholes to drain storm water. The Department of Natural Resources has recently cited the City of St Charles, informing them that this matter needs to be corrected.

Councilman Brown of Ward 3 lives in the Pearl Ridge subdivision and has been a strong advocate for the residents he represents. Brown recently voted not to renew City Administrator Williams’ contract with the City of St. Charles and has challenged Williams for his close ties with developers doing business in St. Charles. This subject led to a debate, which lasted almost an hour as City Administrator Allan Williams attempted to block the Council’s affirmative vote to repari the Pearl Ridge flooding problem.

On October 18, 2005, the Mayor received the final approval from the Council on a budget amendment, in which she allocated and transferred funds to repair the storm water flooding project. Allan Williams informed the Council he had removed the funds, which they had already approved, from the new 2006 operating budget. Council President Riddler took Allan Williams to task concerning the lack of authority to remove the money. Riddler told Williams the money, which was approved by the Council, could not be transferred after the contract had been authorized and construction started. Williams left the Council chambers several times to get answers from someone in the hallway to reply to Council President Riddler’s questioning. Williams, after returning from one of his short sessions in the hallway came back in and said the City attorney had told him the Mayor should veto this bill because the city failed to have the money budgeted before passing the bill.

In the end, Councilman Bob Kneemiller of Ward 4 indicated that despite the fact that many of his allies would be mad at him for moving ahead with this project, he would vote in favor of it because it was the right thing to do. Kneemiller went on to say that he was not on the Council when this project was approved, and he felt the developer was the one responsible for the situation and urged the Council to fight the developer vigorously to recoup the taxpayers’ money and to fix the problem.

Councilman Weller begged and pleaded and admonished his allies on the board to join him in voting against resolving the problem. Weller said he would rather buy the homes that were affected than to fix a problem even though he acknowledged its affect was far reaching beyond the Pearl Ridge Subdivision. Weller said he knew it wasn’t a popular stance, but he indicated he felt he should protect the County residents before helping residents who live in the City. The Council discussed the fact that other neighborhoods were affected because they could not tie in to the City’s sewer system due to flooding caused by this project.

Councilman Brown told the First Capitol News, “In every city government you have politics and in some, political fighting. The residents of St. Charles can be proud their Council, with the exception of Weller, put the safety of the children and our community before petty politics. I could not believe Weller, earlier he had publicly announced his support for this project and took the time to write the residents. He told them he was a strong supporter of the project. Weller gave his word to the Council he would support the project. Instead, he turned around and voted no because of a big money developer he has become closely associated with.

On the other hand, I have great admiration for Councilman Kneemiller who said I am not going to let politics stand in the way of doing what’s right for the residents of St. Charles. I know he and Councilman Muench will receive a lot of pressure for their support, but they will sleep much easier at night. I want to assure every resident in our great city, that I, too, will always put the health and safety of our community before politics. I want to apologize to the residents for Councilman Weller’s childish, unprofessional, and hateful behavior.”

Williams informed the Council that this issue was not over yet and that he would urge the Mayor not to sign the contract until the proper monies were retransferred to the budget and this would take the Council’s approval. Williams said that until this matter is addressed, “We will not proceed with any construction.” Williams and Weller also discussed getting St. Charles County Executive Joe Ortwerth to intercede with this project. Williams has placed this budget item for discussion on the next regularly scheduled meeting’s agenda.

$500,000 In Liens Filed Against City and Convention Center Hotel

$500,000 In Liens Filed Against City and Convention Center Hotel

Copyright © 2006 First Capitol News

By Tony Brockmeyer

The First Capitol News has learned that liens totaling close to $500,000 have been filed against he City of St. Charles and John Q. Hammons Revocable Trust U/T/A of Springfield, Missouri. John Q. Hammons is the operator of the Embassy Suites Hotel that is adjacent to the St. Charles Convention Center.

The land under the hotel is owned by the City and is leased to John Q. Hammons Revocable Trust U/T/A of Springfield the owner and operator of the Embassy Suites Hotel. The hotel is located at 1051 Veterans Memorial Parkway in St. Charles.

The construction manager for the construction of the Embassy Suites Hotel was KCC Contractor, Inc. of Springfield, Missouri.

The First Capitol News discovered that a mechanics lien in the amount of $214,198.24 plus interest was filed in St. Charles County Circuit Court on December 13, 2005. Crown Reinforcing, Inc. of St. Louis County filed the lien.

On December 21, 2005 Grau Contracting of St. Charles filed a mechanics lien against the City of St. Charles in the amount of $265,784 plus interest. The lien was for work Grau performed in the construction of the Embassy Suites Hotel.

The First Capitol News has been told that more liens totaling over approximately $1 million are expected to be filed aoon against the City and John Q. Hammons Revocable Trust U/T/A.

We have not yet been able to contact any of the parties involved. Our investigation is in the process but we decided to move forward with our story when we heard Councilman Mark Brown mention the liens during the City Council meeting Tuesday evening.

More to come.
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RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer

A Fairy Tale?

Once upon a time in a Village I will call St. Chuck there lived an evil Queen. The Queen reminded many of Cruella Deville in appearance and in action. The Queen of St. Chuck had a court jester whose name was Willy. She had legal representation named Val and henchmen named Huey, Kev, Glen, Kenny K, Kneel and Wellman. The goal of this group was to control all the lands and taxes that were collected in St. Chuck.

The Queen’s group was outraged when a friendly band of seven began to rain on there reign. This band of seven started off with many accomplishments that immediately created a void in the pockets of Huey and the Queen. The Queen called for a special meeting of her dastardly gang to discuss how the band of seven could be defeated. Huey, Kev, Glen, Kenny K all thought that going after the weakest link would be the best way to foil the marvelous band of seven. This plan along with the court jester’s efforts to divide and conquer the fabulous seven would surely bring control of the treasury back in the hands of the Queen to dole out to her faithful servants.

Huey, Glen and Kenny K went to work on trying to remove the Dot from the band of seven. The Dot was considered weak because of where and how she came to power. They said she was too old and they would tell people she was senile. They enlisted the help of numerous minions who decided by hook or crook they would deliver the Dot’s head to the Queen. The minions received riches for their efforts doled out by the Queen using the precious tax dollars that had been collected from the subjects who populated the Village of St. Chuck. The minions felt they had arrived because they were rubbing elbows with the rich and famous of St. Chuck.

Little did they know that a High Sherifft known as the White Knight had arrived in the Village, sworn to uphold the laws of the land and he would not be bullied by the henchmen or take illegal orders from a jester. The Queen was upset that one of her subjects would dare defy her in their efforts to destroy any and all opposition.

The White Knight enlisted the rest of his ethical round table to investigate the crimes committed under the direct orders of Huey, Kenny K, Glen and the Queen. This investigation was called political and they cried and shouted that Whit Knight should not be in charge of the investigation. Never before had this been said regarding issues in the Village of St. Chuck.

Before the arrival of the High Sheriff, when one of the Queen’s brood broke into a house and beat another, the henchmen gathered but they Had the Black Knight handle it but did not consider their actions political. Many believed the Queen used her relationship with the Black Knight, who worked for St. Chuck, to help sweep many of like incidents under the carpet.

The Black Knight was empowered by the Queen because many of the activities of her brood took place at night when the Black Knight roamed. The Queens cell phone number was given to many of the Black Knights crew and instructions were given to call the queen if any of her offspring were caught violating the laws of St. Chuck. From potential check fraud to selling drugs from a local gym to beating mailboxes with baseball bats, the Black Knight and his crew made sure the Queens kids were protected. The Queen and her round table never thought the covering up of those incidents should be called political. Now when there is something that the White Knight refuses to sweep under the carpet for the Queen, it is called political by her and her band of merry henchmen and they would like to expel him from the Village..

But the Black Knight has been banished to the Lou and can no longer provide protection for the Queen and her family.

This fairy tale would make for a great movie but why rent the movie when you can live it daily?

EDITORIAL CARTOON

THE CONSERVATIVE FACTOR - Alex Spencer

In light of all the excitement in the news about government reform, I think it might be time for us to revisit the founding of our democracy.

Our founding fathers believed in democracy, but wisely recognized that it had its limits. They had just fought against English tyranny. They fought for a government where the “people” had a vote. But they also feared that unbridled democracy would devolve into rule by the whim of the angry mob. In short, they didn’t trust anyone having unlimited power—even the majority. Majority rule is mob rule.

So when drafting the U.S. Constitution, they set up a system of government based on elected officials with staggered terms. And they varied the lengths of the terms. The House stood every two years, so it had to be very conscious of public opinion. But Senators served six year terms with only one third of the Senate up for election every election (and originally, they didn’t even trust the people to elect them directly—they let the state legislatures do it). The idea was that the Senate could stop the whims of the majority and would only be forced to reflect longer held public opinions. And they gave the President a veto that required a supermajority to be overridden. The system brilliantly balanced the public’s need to have a government that quickly responds to public opinion without being overwhelmed by it.

According to Alexander Hamilton’s notes of the discussions, they considered whether the people should have some type of right to recall politicians they didn’t like. The founding fathers decided that they wanted the leaders to govern according to their conscience instead of governing by polling. They gave each elected official a term of office. The only recall was on the day of the next election.

The drafters of the Missouri Constitution (and virtually every other state constitution) basically mimicked the founding fathers wisdom. They have representatives elected to terms of varying and staggered lengths without any recalls. And the state legislature, when setting up the rules for city governments, followed the same model. They made Councils elected to staggered terms without recalls.

But the St. Charles City fathers thought they knew better than John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Our City fathers created a rather interesting balance of power with ten city council members elected to three-year terms. The ten council members are up for election at the same time. In addition, the Mayor serves a four-year term and occasionally, the Mayor is up for election at the same time as the entire City Council. For good measure, they threw in the right of recall. In St. Charles City, elected officials are basically off limits during their first six months in office and six months after they survive a recall. Also, they are “safe” during the last three months of their term. Apparently this is the only window of time during which they have the opportunity to govern. There really aren’t many restrictions on the process, how signatures are collected, the timeframe during which signatures can be collected or anything else that might be important. It strikes me that our City fathers envisioned recalls would only be used in extreme circumstances or in instances of official misconduct. Unfortunately, they were wrong.

So, we find ourselves today facing the first such recall elections in our City’s history. Some folks are wondering how we got here. The most troubling aspect of these recall elections is the manner in which they have been pushed forward. As is often the case, “owning” a Mayor is rarely sufficient to accomplish anything (i.e., St. Peters and O’Fallon). Instead, if a special interest group wants to push a particular agenda, they do much better to finance a majority of the legislative body. Basically some rich Ladue duck hunters decided that they needed a community leader to “front” for them in St. Charles County. They cut a deal with Tom Hughes, a local home builder who is high profile and well-connected in the community. Tom Hughes had his own agenda and it involved St. Charles City. At the behest of Perilous Patti, Tom Hughes financed a slate of candidates in the last City Council elections. Tom Hughes tried his best to win a majority during the regularly scheduled elections in 2004. He was unsuccessful. As a result, Perilous Patti, and she had some trouble funneling money to her friends, hiring her cronies and otherwise diverting taxpayer funds inappropriately. That didn’t really sit well with Perilous Patti or her benefactors. The duck hunters decided that they needed to change leadership of the City Council. They wanted a do-over. The recall effort was born.

Now, this effort has a name – the Citizens Empowerment Committee and a leader in Linda Meyer. Basically, the Citizens Empowerment Committee is a front for Tom Hughes and the duckboys. Linda Meyer is well compensated for her efforts and has taken the reigns of this sham operation. She hired a collection of thugs from all over the St. Louis region who have collected signatures to recall Darling Dottie and Mark Brown for the trumped up offenses of merely addressing an issue raised by constituents and an unfortunate comment taken out of context, respectively. She also appears to be the mastermind behind the bounty program which netted the signature gatherers a dollar amount per signature (dead or alive). As the litigation progresses, stories of signature gatherers who were coerced into affirming signatures they did not witness are certainly troubling. It’s ironic that Linda Meyer has been whining in any publication that will quote her that she has been harassed and ridiculed. She also admits to being paranoid. Well, Linda, I might be paranoid too if I was responsible for this circus. Get a clue – you are being used by the duckboys. You’ll be abandoned too, just ask Shawn Brown. Besides, if you can’t stand the heat…

It remains to be seen how this unfortunate chapter in our City’s history will end. With the entire council up for election next year and a Mayoral election to boot, the people will have a chance to be heard. Hopefully, the people will also have a chance to bring some meaningful reform to the recall process which was so badly abused by the duck boys this past year. Regardless of anyone’s feelings on the idea of a recall election, I think we can all agree that the circus we have experienced is not what our City fathers intended.

On a lighter note, I want to send a special greeting to my sweetheart, Mrs. Spencer and all my readers…Happy Valentine’s Day!

CASE IN POINT By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9

Conservatives and Liberals Unite!

Do you want to help get people off of welfare? Force corporations off of welfare!

For too long, corporate welfare has been painted as something that is okay because it creates jobs, whereas, social welfare, it is claimed, creates dependence. To put it frankly — that’s hogwash!

Quite honestly, I think this is a pretty simple issue — put investment back into the local market and remove the biased tax breaks that now go to the very corporations who need it least. So, if it is so simple, then why is it so difficult to implement? Currently, corporations are ruling the roost on a global level! Empty Main Streets and vacant factories tell the story from coast to coast. The corporate welfare handed to the competition of all those shop keepers and business people who make up our towns has resulted in the shuttering of stores not powerful enough for the corporate handouts and not large enough to demand rock-bottom wholesale prices!

How do these mega-corps rule? They know that their limited resource (retail/sales tax generation on large scale) is something that people are willing to fight over. Cities compete against cities for the likes of Lowe’s while states battle it out against other states for the corporate headquarters of the same. Countries battle countries in order to land the multinational factory that will pump the shelves full of cheap junk we in America seem to be so enamored with or to manufacture some over-processed food that is so void of nutrition that our American youth are now, on average, shorter than their European counterparts by as much as three inches.

Why not just make our whole area a corporate-welfare free zone? In an instant we then become disadvantaged to our neighboring towns, regions, and states. What if we march to Congress and begin lobbying our representation there for an end to these tax giveaways by the power of federal law? No city, region or state could take tax dollars and give them to corporations who have become dependent on this source of financing (after all, our taxes are a much better deal than bank loans to do such). Several things would happen: cities, counties and schools would begin receiving the taxes these property holders and businesses owe them. Small business would have a better chance to enter the market. In turn, ownership would be moved from Wall Street to Main Street and so would a great deal of income!

New businesses would invest in infrastructure and improve standing buildings. This would create jobs — lots of jobs! Think of one Walmart representing three local grocers, three pharmacies, two tire and muffler shops, a couple of sporting goods stores, a few clothes retailers, a candy store, a news stand, a book store, an electronic store, and a few other small shops like a pet store and an eye glasses shop. If we take Sam’s Club into account too, these two strip-box retailers could easily represent 40 stores that would be spread throughout our town. Forty shops with forty owners raising forty families and putting 140 children through school and college! To continue, forty families depositing forty paychecks into local banks. Forty stores hiring 240 workers who are making a living wage, are provided with health insurance, who maybe have a rapport with the customers and if service isn’t up to par, you only have to step up to the owner and tell him firsthand your complaint! You can also tell the owner that you are willing to pay a little more for better quality or maybe an American made item!

One day, a mega-store threatens to leave your town unless you give them another twenty year tax break! Your city gives in because they cannot afford to lose the sales tax. Imagine the same threat coming from one of those forty shops spread throughout town! One shop leaving could easily be absorbed and a new entrepreneur found who wants to enter into business.

So, what about the global competition? Wouldn’t we lose our industry to China and the cheaper markets in the East? Japan and Germany are the second and third largest world economies respectively. Japan and Germany out produce and out export the United States. In fact, Germany was the world’s largest exporter until reunification. They are both very expensive markets to work in and have very high living standards. Germany and Japan still value manufacturing and know that quality can compete against quantity (see the automobile industry for further details). Certainly, they have seen their share of factories go to China, but we have come out far worse in this migration of means of production!

We still have much going for us that would prevent multinational corporations from being able to pull out altogether — a market of 300 million with a good amount of disposable income; a stable democracy where business can be safely conducted; and many large American owned companies willing to do right by their own country — companies for whom the bottom line doesn’t mean absolutely everything!

I have heard that it is for the best that we no longer manufacture shoes in the States because we don’t want such factories. Instead, we want computer factories! Well, at zero unemployment, maybe we wouldn’t want a shoe factory, but take a drive to rural parts of most states and I guarantee a shoe factory paying a living wage with some benefits would be welcomed with open arms! Also, bad news about that computer — read the box of your next computer purchase and I will bet you it says, “Made in China.”

Maybe it’s a little like biology in the sense that bio-diversity increases the health of an ecosphere and likewise, economic diversity creates a more healthy community for many reasons (not the least of which is an eclectic market place for shoppers) as mentioned above.

I want to point out that “corporation” does not automatically equal “bad.” Anyone who worked for McDonnell Douglas knows that good companies existed and some still exist! Corporations are just taking advantage of what “we the people” have allowed to happen for these many years. The time has come for Liberals and Conservatives to stand up and fight a battle that we can all unite behind — stopping corporate welfare; helping move citizens off of social welfare and into ownership in their community; providing opportunities for Americans regardless of race, creed, or socio-economics by investing in a playing field that stands up to the abuses of the mega-corps rather than helping them decimate jobs and local ownership! While the lower and middle classes fight about “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” the wealthiest corporations are literally laughing with glee at record profits that come at our communities’ expense!

If you support pro-life and pro-family, then support your neighbor, support social justice beyond the single issue, support putting families and towns back in control of their own economic well-being! Right or Left we can all agree to end corporate welfare from sea to shining sea!

THE CITY DESK - City Council President Rory Riddler

Western Culture Owes Much
To “Imagining” The Divine

One of my passions in life is history. I’ve spent many enjoyable hours reading about ancient cultures and discovering what we owe those men and women who helped forge the foundations of Western Civilization. While we tend to teach history as one long succession of wars, there were many other struggles…clashes of ideals, of values and the triumph of reason. These struggles often produced their own heroes, whose names are not as widely known or as frequently remembered in the collective consciousness.

One of these amazing individuals is Saint John of Damascus. If you already know who he is, give yourself ten bonus points.

You can probably also answer today’s question. What do rioting Muslim extremists in Denmark, the Taliban, a Byzantine Emperor, a Saint raised in a Muslim country, the Renaissance, Da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper and concrete Statues of the Virgin Mary you see in yards have in common? Sounds like the plot of a good mystery novel.

The answer is: they all relate to the issue of portraying religious images in works of art.

Around the world, deadly riots are taking place by extremist Muslims over an editorial cartoon in an obscure Danish newspaper which incorporated a likeness of the Prophet Mohammed. The fact that they may have found the cartoon’s message offensive is a secondary issue. The great “sin” committed by those who reproduced the cartoon was simply to embody an image of the divine.

Unlike our Western Culture, with its great reserves of tolerance for those who step beyond the bounds of good taste in exercising freedom of the press or freedom of speech, Muslims participating in these riots believe that governments should be held responsible for what private newspapers print. Further, they take personal umbrage from one image of the central religious figure of their faith being produced thousands of miles from where they live. Just how far is Denmark from Indonesia anyway?

Because of this key prohibition against religious icons, some Muslim groups have on occasion committed acts of “iconoclasm” against the devotional images of other religions. Yes, “iconoclasm” is a real word. It literally refers to the destruction of religious icons for religious or political motives. A horrific example of iconoclasm was the destruction five years ago of frescoes and monumental statues of the Buddha at Bamiyan by a then little known radical Muslim sect…the Taliban.

What people may not know is how close Christianity came to a similar intolerance for artistic expressions of the divine. In the early years of Christianity, iconoclasm was motivated by a literal interpretation of the second commandment, which forbids the making and worshipping of “graven images”. The Byzantine Emperor Leo III, in the year 726, banned the veneration of religious images and their display in public places. Like the Taliban, his soldiers and followers destroyed priceless works of art and persecuted those who disagreed with the Emperor.

Which is where Saint John of Damascus comes in. Though brought up under Muslim rule in the City of Damascus, there was a certain degree of religious tolerance afforded the Christian community in that city. John’s family were not persecuted and, from all indications, their Muslim countrymen held the family in high esteem. His father held an important hereditary public office as the chief financial advisor for all of Syria under the Caliph Abd al-Malik. John of Damascus succeeded his father in this position and was appointed chief councilor of Damascus after his father’s death.

John’s father had made sure his son was well prepared for his future responsibilities. When John was twenty-three, his father wanted John to have a Christian tutor to continue his studies. He found a Sicilian monk by the name of Cosmas, who had been taken prisoner in a raid on the Italian coast. John’s father had the man freed in exchange for teaching his son.

The Sicilian monk turned out to be a brilliant tutor and under his instruction, John made great advances in the fields of music, astronomy and theology. His biographer would write that John soon equaled the most learned of men in the study of algebra and geometry as well.

But John of Damascus was to have a higher calling…one that would have a profound impact on the way we view the world, ourselves and God. John was a talented and prolific writer. He wrote three treatises “Against Those Decrying The Holy Images”. He was able to attack the Emperor safely from his position in the Caliph’s court. His simple writing style also made his works more popular and widely circulated among common people, which in time incited a revolt against the harsh edicts of the Emperor.

I probably can’t do justice to summarizing his writings, but I’ll try. Basically it is that images of religious subjects are justified on the ground that while God is “without form,” God became visible in the Logos, which was made flesh. Therefore an image of the flesh of God, which has been “seen” by man, can be made.

John also wrote that “worship”, as a sign of reverence, has many forms. The highest is due to God alone. But Christians could also worship, as an expression of their reverence, those things connected with salvation…the cross, altar, religious statues, paintings, etc. John wrote, “I worship not the material, but I worship the fabricator of the material, the one who…through the material has wrought my salvation.” Pictures of God, Christ and the Saints were seen as reflections of the originals and not idols in their own right.

John was persecuted, for his teachings and one story is that the evil Emperor (this is starting to sound like Star Wars), even had papers forged to try to make it appear to his Syrian overlords that he had been disloyal. One story has it that his hand was cut off. The story has a fortunate ending. John’s writings helped influence public and religious thought leading to his vindication and another Emperor overturning the prohibition against religious icons. John of Damascus would later attain Sainthood.

Had the views of Byzantine Emperor Leo III prevailed in the East, it might have spread to the emerging kingdoms of Western Empire. It might have been imposed militarily on a later Pope. The great artists of the Renaissance would have had no commissions to create the religious masterpieces we so cherish today. Without the funding of the Church and wealthy religiously inspired patrons, would the world have ever heard of Michaelangelo? Would DaVinci have been just an eccentric inventor?

We can’t even begin to imagine a world where a group of our neighbors, driven by religious zeal, would go from house to house smashing concrete and plaster statues of the Virgin Mary or Jesus. While it is good to remember that those rioting represent only a small percent of the tens of millions of devout Muslims, religious extremism stands as the single greatest impediment to peace.

While it is heartening to see democratic elections taking place in Iraq, I have to wonder if the “foundations” for long term success have been laid. Our nation is founded on a Bill of Rights. Freedom of speech and of religion are central to those rights. Religious extremists believe in neither.

Perhaps somewhere in Damascus, Baghdad, Kabul or Cairo there is another man of reason. Someone with the courage to challenge the extremists. Someone with a gift for communicating those thoughts and inspiring a majority of their fellow Muslims to condemn violence and religious intolerance. The world needs another John of Damascus.

VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS by Jerry Haferkamp

First, here are the answers to the quiz at the end of the last column. Actually, Bart Simpson uses the phrase “I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can’t prove anything.” Those of you who guessed that it was the head of the petition drive to disenfranchise voters in wards 3 and 7 lose 1 point.

The next answer to the statement, “It doesn’t matter how they got the signatures, all that matters is that they have the signatures.” (May not be verbatim) was of course, Petty Patty. Although it may have sounded like the fictional Mafia boss Don Vito Corlione or the real life Al Capone, it was our own Patty. You should have figured that one out since there were no severed horse heads left in anyone’s bed. Not yet, anyway.
For those of you who, like me, are missing that magnificent missive of malcontent and misinformation, The Citizen, don’t despair. I’m sure the editor and his $$$$ backers are just saving up to present you with a blast of glossy, professionally printed mailings just prior to election time. Unfortunately, the various column and letter writers in the FCN don’t have millions to spend on getting the truth out. Then again, we are not looking for financial gain like they are. All we have to gain with your support is good government. We do need YOU to speak out.

Speaking of spending, have you ever put an ad in the St. Peters ad rag. Not very cheap, is it? Just think how much a multi-paged insert must cost to run every other week. Think how much it costs to rent rooms at the Convention Center to have meetings. Think of how much (thousands) was spent to get signatures by the “Astroturf” recall organizations (For those who missed last week’s column, Astroturf designates groups whose “grass roots” are artificial, like Astroturf). What would possibly be the reason Astroturfers would spend so much money to get their majority on the Council? Could it possibly be that developers don’t ever want to hear the word “no”’ again? Since they never heard it prior to this Council, when they finally did hear it they probably had to look up the meaning.

The two Councilpersons being attacked are working in the best interests of their constituents. Unlike some previous council members, they aren’t there to get future contracts from the city. They aren’t voting “aye” on every request from Lindenwood in order to get (or keep) a job there. Unlike their predecessors, both attend almost every meeting and question what effect each act will have on their constituents.

Ward 3 and ward 7 voters, think about it. Do you want to revert to the type of representation, or actually the lack thereof, that you had before?

When it gets nearer to the election, I’ll get into the REAL reasons for these recall efforts. I want them to be fresh in your mind when you step into the voting booth. Believe me, it has nothing to do with cell phone towers, fireworks or the word “cesspool”. The reasons these anti-resident groups exist is completely self-serving and not for the good of our citizens. Actually the many groups are all the same group, financed by the same people. They keep coming up with more names for themselves to make you think there is a real citizen’s recall effort out there. Don’t be fooled. There isn’t.

Ward 3 and ward 7 voters can take the For Sale sign off City Hall. The rest of us can only stand by and watch and hope they do. Don’t help in making our electoral process a joke.

CITY ISSUES by R.L. Greer

CITY ISSUES by R. L. Greer
In January 1903, McClure’s magazine ran three articles that followed the same theme. That of big corporations and its executives contempt for the law, another concerning union committing and excusing crimes, and then another regarding city officials knowingly breaking the law. This disregard for the law was stated by McClure in his writing, “We have to pay in the end, every one of us. And in the end the sum total of the debt will be our liberty.” Their crusading journalists targeted injustices, and everyone knows today there are numerous injustices. McClure’s writers wrote that democracy wrongs can be righted by an informed voting citizenry. They developed a new kind of journalism called investigative journalism. One of his writers published a remarkable story about John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil. She wrote, “…it was not capitalism but an open disregard of decent ethical business practices that lay at the bottom of the story, a thing won by breaking the rules of the game is not worth winning. It is regarded as a portrait of greed, secret dealings and brazen contempt for the law.” The prior paragraph is written for the sole purpose of encouraging you, the city residents, to get in touch with your council representative, with your city governments practices, attend council meetings in person, ask questions, and read the First Capitol News weekly. They do investigative reporting. Reporting the facts not rumors, not untruths but genuine information to help you make conscious informed decisions.

There appears to be a movement underfoot to consider some charter amendments to be voted on prior to April 2007. Apparently the reason given for the changes is resulting from the Charter change approved in April 2004. During the 2004 campaign, Council Representative Dottie Greer was the only candidate who publicly stated she did not favor that amendment. Remember folks the original charter and its subsequent change was spearheaded by an attorney who was a member of the interview committee for the 2004 candidates. A very interesting column was reprinted in last weeks FCN that had been written in April 2004. If you did not read it you need to.

The entire situation we the resident/taxpayers of ward 3 and 7 find ourselves in 2006 follows very closely with the events of the Book of Esther. If you have not read it yet, please do. See if you find any correlation. It appears our society does not want to acknowledge their individual responsibility and accountability for their actions. Remember the day when a person gave his/her word, it had value. When a person did something wrong or out of character they suffered the consequences. Now its blame someone else for his/her mistake or violation of the law by concocting reasons he/she did what he/she did. They attempt to discount the severity of the action but saying its something less than it really is.

The truth is you may fool some of the people some of the time but not all the people all the time. Truth does have a real way of revealing itself. It is found in the character and integrity of the individual. The tenacity to continue on even through the toughest times knowing you have done everything possible to the best of your ability for the residents your were elected to represent.

I wrote previously in an article about the value of our name and signature. We are finding out how that value had been taken away from some folks. And how misinformation was given to obtain a signature. Truth does have a way of revealing itself.

Just heard that since the city needed more space and moved out the fire department they are now going to locate the Allied Waste office in City Hall. I have nothing against Allied Waste but why should the City spend $25,000 over the next 3 to 4 years plus installation costs to move the Fire Department into the old County Administration building but not consider remodeling the old firehouse on Booneslick and Fairground Blvd ? Parking is a premium around city hall and looks like it will be more difficult for residents to transact business with Allied than the previous convenient location on Booneslick. Especially if the parking fee increases to $3 and you park in the garage it will cost a total of $16.50 for 6 yard waste bag stickers or $2.75 each. Maybe this idea should be reconsidered for the benefit of the residents.

“The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
not so the minds of fools” Proverbs 15:7 NASB

THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters to the editor

Dear Editor

At a church service as a teenager I made a solemn pledge never to use, serve or sell alcoholic beverages. For fifty-seven years I have kept that pledge. Had I taken a job as a waitress in a restaurant which served wine would it have been acceptable for me to neither take the customer’s beverage order nor to send another waiter to take it? Should I have told the customers to enjoy their meal but to go elsewhere for a glass of wine?

As a checker at a supermarket should I have rung up all purchases except beer and told the customer to get in another line to pay for that? Should the customer have had to guess if any of the other checkers felt as I did and how many lines he would have to go through?

In each of these situations should my employer have been prohibited from firing me or from not hiring me in the first place? After all, just as a pharmacist who refuses to fill an order for Plan B, I would have been acting according to my deep personal beliefs.

Many will say that there is no comparison between this belief and abortion but I disagree. Alcoholism has ruined countless lives and the use of alcohol is responsible for the deaths of many. Besides, the issue is my personal belief, not those of the customer.

By permitting a pharmacy to refuse to fill a lawful prescription we are opening a can of worms. A man may believe that all women should have their heads covered. If that man drives a bus should he be permitted to refuse entry to women with uncovered heads. We could go on and on with examples of unintended consequences should we continue down this road.
Shirley Bryan
O’Fallon

To The Editor

In response to Mr. Sonderegger’s column of February 2, I don’t think the storm over Linda Meyer’s petition drive has anything to do with her right to petition or her longevity as a resident of St. Charles. No one questions her right to petition. It is her tactics which have come under fire. If Mrs. Meyer thinks Mrs. Greer has committed some crime for which she deserves recall, perhaps she should have found people with similar viewpoints in Ward 7, and together they should have gathered signatures. Red flags were raised all over the place when thousands of dollars, most of which came from outside sources, started flowing into the coffers of the campaign treasury (check their campaign report which is on-line at the MO Ethics web site at MO.gov.org), and people who are not part of the voting Ward were paid to collect signatures.

Another bothersome issue about this recall drive is that it was first initiated one month after Mrs. Greer was elected, long before she had committed the “crimes” of not voting the way some people wanted. I don’t believe recall was ever meant to overturn a legitimately elected official just because the election didn’t turn out the way the opposition wanted. If the Ward 7 people object to Mrs. Greer, there is another election next year and they can vote her out of office. That’s the way our democracy runs.
It cheats us citizens when a duly elected official has to keep campaigning for his office during his term of office rather than tending to the duties for which he was elected. I sincerely hope this situation will bring the issue of recall to light and that our city and state officials will re-examine the purposes and appropriateness of when a recall should be instituted.

As far as the Recall Committee’s consternation about the negative publicity they are receiving, perhaps they should have remembered the words of another Missouri politician before they entered the political arena, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”.

Eleanor McCune

To The Editor

While the President continues wearing his rose colored glasses and attempting to mesmerize Americans into seeing through them, the State of The Union is disintegrating around us. We have a Government ready to continue the “War on Terrorism” by ignoring the real problems of border security, poor intelligence, threats from the actual terrorist who really did attack the U.S. rather than giving them a training ground to practice their skills on our troops and innocent Iraqi’s or giving us a real plan to deal with countries that truly do have armies and WMD like North Korea and Iran. We heard more about tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy being permanent, more about keeping America safe; how, by taking away our civil liberties, making sure a right wing conservative be made a Supreme Court Justice and spying on us secretly and praising Anti-Abortion protesters while ignoring the millions of women who protest for women’s rights over their own bodies? We heard rhetoric about education and today the House votes on bills that will make education nearly impossible for many with tuition going higher; we heard about the great economy without any mention of the highest national debt in our country’s history and it continues to climb (he never includes the debt caused by the invasion of Iraq) and all the while the oil company Exxon Mobile has made the highest profits in history as our gas prices soar. And we heard that 82 Billion dollars was allocated to help New Orleans and Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina when in reality most of that money, 62 Billion, has been tied up in bureaucracy and red tape with very little remaining for the victims and FEMA still has 65,000 people waiting for help with home trailers and over 200,000 are still spread out around the country without homes to return too. But there was one really impressive moment yesterday, the Police arrested and jailed Cindy Sheehan, an invited guest, for wearing a Tee Shirt not supporting the President’s “War On Terror”. Now that’s the America and the state of this broken union we are becoming accustomed to, makes you wonder, doesn’t it? If it doesn’t, it should.

Sandra M. Vago

Dear Editor

Last night I had a strange thing happen to me. I went to a council meeting. Meeting is a mild word to describe this. I took a copy of the agenda for the night’s meeting. Five or six sheets. The City Council is supposed to cover this(!) during the night. This agenda does not involve the back biting, yelling, screaming, arguing, pontificating that goes with each item.
It seemed endless!!!!

I went to the speakers podium to speak on some of the findings I found in the petitions. I would look up at the councilmen-two were talking to each other, the Council President was diligently writing something, Mrs. York was involved with something for the first minute. The others were attentive. I felt this was rudeness personified by some of the members. I had two more items when the buzzer went off but Mr. Riddler would not let me finish. SO THERE!!!!! At the end of the meeting they decided, rather Mr. Weller decided, this was a political matter and the city should not hear anymore speakers of this issue. I wonder if this applies to Mrs. Meyer or members of “Do the right thing.”

I can see why the city is so tired of this mess. They need to apply the brakes to a lot of this. The council members should be allowed to talk for only 5 minutes once on any subject. If you can’t say what you want to say in five minutes don’t talk until you get your thoughts together. Shorten the agenda. It is way too long for one meeting. A councilperson needs to be appointed to oversee that those meetings that were supposed to explain issues coming up happen. You need follow through. Packets of paper (looked like 100 sheets or more need to be given out four days in advance so people don’t have to waste time asking questions because they missed the meeting or didn’t have time to read the packet.

Ward 7 Constituent
Jane Horning

Dear Editor,

City Council got a surprise at this week’s meeting with the turnout of many Frenchtown business owners and residents opposing a bill brought forward by John Gieseke legislating eminent domain. Because of this being a hot topic lately in the news I think that John thinks perhaps this is the time to get rid of eminent domain entirely. There were several people there speaking against this bill, so council decided it best to table it.

This legislation has been on hold for awhile, so it’s perplexing why all of a sudden there is a pressing need for final passage just prior to Frenchtown’s request for a Chapter 353 plan. We now have a private developer who wants to come in and re-develop from French St. to Tecumseh. Part of a Chapter 353 plan we are seeking for this area would include implementing eminent domain where necessary. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a proponent for wholesale eminent domain, but if there was ever a case for it this is it. For years we have tried it on our own and we can’t do it. We have to have private monies to get the job done. We don’t want or expect the city to do it for us. What we do want and expect from the city though is to recognize and act upon this wonderful opportunity. We implore the city council to retain the tool of eminent domain in areas of serious blighting, which these blocks on N. Second St. qualify for on almost every count, and to implement the Chapter 353 designation. It is not likely that any developer will risk their money without this tool in place in case they need it. I would invite all interested people to come to council work session meeting Feb 13th at 7 p.m in council chambers. I don’t believe there will be an opportunity to speak at this meeting, but there will be a huge turnout there in support of the Chapter 353 plan, come on down, supporters will all be sporting red shirts, and perhaps you can be educated as to why this is needed for Frenchtown.

By the way, when I presented this letter to FCN, Tony asked me if I would sell my property if I were in the proposed blighted area and I said ABSOLUTELY! In fact, I wish I were in the blighted area, ( I have 2 commercial buildings in the 800 block of N. Second St.) I would love to have an easy and fast way to sell my property to get, in all likelihood, more than market value, I would consider it a good opportunity. To those of you in the affected area I would like to say this, Frenchtown is in trouble and I don’t see it getting better, we are heading towards becoming a bona fide slum area if something isn’t done and fast. I know some feel they don’t like being told what to do and that is understandable, but do consider that no one is trying to steal your property. I am sure the developer will do the best they can for you even to helping you find a suitable spot to relocate, and you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you helped a truly depressed area to blossom. I believe there are only a total of about 9 affected businesses, 65% of this area is vacant or abandoned. This is truly a prime area for re-development.

Delores Barton

Editor First Capitol News

I am sending this email to you to clear up some misleading comments made by residents at the Feb 7, Council meeting. I have enclosed the email that was sent as well as my response. It obviously got the administrators attention and the problem was resolved before the Feb 7th meeting. I appreciate the entire Councils support in this matter and on behalf of the resident of ward three, we appreciate their unanimous vote to direct staff to install the privacy fence in which I requested.

Dear Ms. Scoville,

First, let me address the breakdown in communication on my part because that is in my control. My office does a tremendous amount of business and on occasion, messages do get misplaced. I have a message dated April 25th from you and that message indicated that you would be sending me a fax. There is a follow up by my staff that states no fax had arrived by the end of business hours. So I did not respond because I was under the impression that you had something in writing for me to respond to. There is no record of the May 5th call in the phone log.

I am sorry if this caused a lack of communication. I have always taken pride in being easily accessible to the residents of my ward, and I apologize for the mix up. I was not invited to your last homeowners association meeting, and I understand that you lead a discussion about my lack of follow-up. I would have been at your meeting if invited and would have been able to address the issue. In the future so you, any resident of Southern Oaks, and I can communicate please call my office at 314-426-0419, home 636-896-9977, cell phone (636) 368-8359. This will take any message out of the equation. Anyone who has worked in an office place should understand that at times, messages get misplaced or misinterpreted. I have three phone numbers listed and only two phone calls to my office are referenced. There appears to be no communication from your board after the meeting with Mayor York and Dr. Williams.

I have been aware of the vines and the problems the association has been enduring because Dr. Williams had informed me of the meeting. Our City Charter requires me to go through the City Administrator with complaints and concerns. Since Dr. Williams had been aware of the concerns after the meeting scheduled with the Mayor and himself, I was under the impression that he was acting on it. After that meeting I have not received any follow up from him or your homeowners association regarding the issue so I thought it had been dealt with. After all Dr. Williams is in charge of these issues. It appears he did not place this issue very high on his to-do list.

Ms. Scoville, this is one of many instances in which the City Administrator has ignored the residents of Ward 3 and their needs. In your letter you state, “I am not pointing blame”, but you should be. You met and spoke with the administrator of the City of St. Charles. He and Mayor York both represent the executive branch of government and are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the City. Williams has a responsibility to address this problem and he did not. I hope now you realize my frustration as a councilman with Dr. Williams at the helm. He selectively picks where and who gets the services we all deserve. Southern Oaks is a beautiful neighborhood and you all pay your taxes. You deserve the services and a City Hall that cares about you. I am placing this item on the agenda for the Tuesday, Feb. 7th meeting for discussion. This will create a public record and hopefully this will move the city along.

As far as taking this to the oversight committee, Dr. Williams alone can get this cleaned up with a simple phone call to public works. The City is the owner of the property, not the oversight committee.

As you are aware I am in the midst of a recall. The Mayor and Williams have been active in the process. They have made it difficult for the residents of Ward 3 to obtain city services in an effort to create negative feelings toward me. I hope this helps the residents of Southern Oaks understand what kind of politics is being played.
I am sending your e-mail and this response to all the residents in Southern Oaks. I believe that this will go a long way in rallying the troops to call the Mayor and Dr. Williams to get this done.
Mark Brown,
St. Charles City Councilman Ward 3

E-mail sent to Councilman Mark Brown follows:
Dear Mark Brown,

I am president of the homeowners association for Southern Oaks Villa Homes. I have talked to you before and you have attended our annual homeowners meetings. On April 13, 2005 I sent a letter to the mayor and cc you in regards to the vines and trash on the side of our development that backs up to the convention center. I also called you and left a message at your work on April 25th and May 5th. I never heard from you. When Dan Nieland was our council member he and the mayor had worked with us on the convention center before it was built so that is why I started with her and sent you a copy also. The mayor called me back and set up a meeting with herself, the city administrator, myself and one of my board members (Armin Cassel). The meeting was on June 27th however the mayor had something come up at the last minute so we met with the city administrator. We walked the back of the convention center property and showed him the vines, trash, etc. that was along the chain link fence. The fence was put there by the prior owner of the convention center property (it is not our fence). We had a survey done of our property and showed him the property line. We want the fence cleaned up. The vines and so on are killing our trees. Also in the future we want the city to put up a privacy fence like the one that the other properties have that back up to the convention center. We were very cooperative with the city when they were building the convention center and we think that should count for something The city administrator said he would take this information back to the Oversight Committee (I understand you are on that committee) and get back to us with an answer. I called the mayor’s office on October 18th and again on October 26th. I still do not have an answer. I am not pointing blame on anyone I would just like this addressed. Can you help us with this?? Please let me know.

Sincerely,
Carol Scoville
President of Southern Oaks Homeowner Association