This is a large image and make take time to open. To enlarge image click twice on it. TO READ ENTIRE EDITION JUST SCROLL DOWN.
Friday, February 03, 2006
FIRST CAPITOL NEWS FRONT PAGE - February 4, 2006
This is a large image and make take time to open. To enlarge image click twice on it. TO READ ENTIRE EDITION JUST SCROLL DOWN.
First Capitol News Goes Daily On The Internet
Daily News will be available in our e-edition
Effective, Monday, February 6th, the First Capitol News will be providing daily local news on the Internet. Readers will be able to obtain the latest local news that occurs in and around St. Charles by logging onto the newspaper’s e-edition daily news web log at firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com.
First Capitol News publisher, Phyllis Schaltenbrand said, “We are entering our six year of weekly publication and there have been tremendous changes in our industry. One of the most prevalent is the use of the Internet to reach our readers. Since November of 2004 we have provided the full edition of the weekly First Capitol News on our web log, firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. We will still be offering the full weekly edition on that web log but now we are adding a daily news update on firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com. St. Charles is an exciting community and we are proud to be a part of it and hope our readers continue to enjoy our newspaper either in the print edition on our e-edition.”
Previous editions of the newspaper are archived on the web log, firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com back to November of 2004. A reader can read a complete edition of the net just by scrolling down the page.
“Some of the files for the photos and graphics on our web logs are large and may take a few moments to open,” said Phyllis. “We are continually trying to improve our newspaper and are open to suggestions and recommendations from our readers.”
The First Capitol News welcomes any suggestions on how we can improve our product.
Read the First Capitol News weekly edition on the Internet........archived to November 2004
firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com
Read daily breaking news in St. Charles, Missouri as provided by the FIRST CAPITOL NEWS
firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com
Effective, Monday, February 6th, the First Capitol News will be providing daily local news on the Internet. Readers will be able to obtain the latest local news that occurs in and around St. Charles by logging onto the newspaper’s e-edition daily news web log at firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com.
First Capitol News publisher, Phyllis Schaltenbrand said, “We are entering our six year of weekly publication and there have been tremendous changes in our industry. One of the most prevalent is the use of the Internet to reach our readers. Since November of 2004 we have provided the full edition of the weekly First Capitol News on our web log, firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. We will still be offering the full weekly edition on that web log but now we are adding a daily news update on firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com. St. Charles is an exciting community and we are proud to be a part of it and hope our readers continue to enjoy our newspaper either in the print edition on our e-edition.”
Previous editions of the newspaper are archived on the web log, firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com back to November of 2004. A reader can read a complete edition of the net just by scrolling down the page.
“Some of the files for the photos and graphics on our web logs are large and may take a few moments to open,” said Phyllis. “We are continually trying to improve our newspaper and are open to suggestions and recommendations from our readers.”
The First Capitol News welcomes any suggestions on how we can improve our product.
Read the First Capitol News weekly edition on the Internet........archived to November 2004
firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com
Read daily breaking news in St. Charles, Missouri as provided by the FIRST CAPITOL NEWS
firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com
City Council Addresses Eminent Domain
“This is the opposite of Robin Hood, with Eminent Domain its taking from the poor and giving to the rich.”, John Gieseke
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
The St. Charles City Council has a bill for final passage on the agenda that limits the ability to use Eminent Domain for Economic Development. Eminent Domain has become a hot topic across the nation since the Supreme Court ruled the local municipalities could take private property and give it to developers for economic development. Councilman John Gieseke sponsored the original bill and brought it forward after the local owner of the Dairy Queen spoke at a council meeting. The owner voiced concerns that he as well as any other business owners could lose their business at the whim of the local officials and developers.
Gieseke said, “If you have a viable business then eminent domain should not be an option.” Gieseke told the FCN, “I think it is important to let the small business owners know that we value them as much as the big developers. In the past we have seen numerous benefits given to large companies but when it comes to the businesses owned and operated by local small businessmen we fall short. In fact we penalize them because we see them as dispensable when large developers come to town wanting to build.”
Councilman Joe Koester, Ward 9, and Councilman Bob Kneemiller, Ward 4, made amendments to the bill. Eminent Domain has been on the agenda for over 3 months waiting for discussion at the January work session. “The bill is designed to protect the little guy when these big money developers come in and want to take their business,” said Councilman Mark Brown, Ward 3. The bill will limit the use of eminent domain for economic development. The use of eminent domain when buildings are in disrepair for a period of time, when it will take over 50 percent of appraised value to repair or when the building is rental property will still be available.
Councilman Joe Koester, says “This bill will allow for the use of eminent domain in cases where we have blight. It is important not to take the positives of this tool away but it shouldn’t be used at the detriment of our small business owners.”
Councilman Gieseke stated, “This is the opposite of Robin Hood, its taking from the poor and giving to the rich. The big developers have deep pockets and they have numerous lawyers and the little guy just has to give up. That’s not what America is about.” According to those in favor of the bill, they feel that this memorializes the resolution that prevents the taking of someone's home as well as protecting the businesses that have helped make St. Charles what it is today.
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
The St. Charles City Council has a bill for final passage on the agenda that limits the ability to use Eminent Domain for Economic Development. Eminent Domain has become a hot topic across the nation since the Supreme Court ruled the local municipalities could take private property and give it to developers for economic development. Councilman John Gieseke sponsored the original bill and brought it forward after the local owner of the Dairy Queen spoke at a council meeting. The owner voiced concerns that he as well as any other business owners could lose their business at the whim of the local officials and developers.
Gieseke said, “If you have a viable business then eminent domain should not be an option.” Gieseke told the FCN, “I think it is important to let the small business owners know that we value them as much as the big developers. In the past we have seen numerous benefits given to large companies but when it comes to the businesses owned and operated by local small businessmen we fall short. In fact we penalize them because we see them as dispensable when large developers come to town wanting to build.”
Councilman Joe Koester, Ward 9, and Councilman Bob Kneemiller, Ward 4, made amendments to the bill. Eminent Domain has been on the agenda for over 3 months waiting for discussion at the January work session. “The bill is designed to protect the little guy when these big money developers come in and want to take their business,” said Councilman Mark Brown, Ward 3. The bill will limit the use of eminent domain for economic development. The use of eminent domain when buildings are in disrepair for a period of time, when it will take over 50 percent of appraised value to repair or when the building is rental property will still be available.
Councilman Joe Koester, says “This bill will allow for the use of eminent domain in cases where we have blight. It is important not to take the positives of this tool away but it shouldn’t be used at the detriment of our small business owners.”
Councilman Gieseke stated, “This is the opposite of Robin Hood, its taking from the poor and giving to the rich. The big developers have deep pockets and they have numerous lawyers and the little guy just has to give up. That’s not what America is about.” According to those in favor of the bill, they feel that this memorializes the resolution that prevents the taking of someone's home as well as protecting the businesses that have helped make St. Charles what it is today.
Their Goal- Complete Control Of City Government & $100 Million of Taxpayer Funds
The Secret Society
Citizens For Responsible Community
St. Charles Citizens For Responsible Government
Citizens Empowerment Committee
Do The Right Thing
My Opinion
By Tony Brockmeyer
In April of 2004 a City Council election was held in St. Charles. A number of St. Louis Developers spent $107,000 in an apparent effort to buy City Council Seats (see FCN April 5, 2004). The Mayor of St. Charles Patti York helped fund a Mudslinging Campaign against candidates she opposed and she gave $2,300 to a group who sent out negative mailers (see FCN April 5, 2004) A Secret Society That Selects Council Candidates interviewed candidates to select those they felt worthy (see FCN April 5, 2004).
It appears that for several years a group of select individuals had maintained control of City Government and the $100 million City budget. Many of these individuals belonged to a loose knit group that we (FCN) referred to as the Secret Society. We don’t know who all the members of the Secret Society are but members included, John Deal, Hyatt Bangert, Ed Pundmann, Tom Hughes, Bill Weber, Nancy Matheny, Don Boehmer, Ernie Dempsey, Kevin Kast, and Ray Harmon (deceased).
The Secret Society apparently liked to meet in member’s basements and worked diligently to stay out of the public eye and keep their group closeted. In the April 2004 election several of their candidates were defeated and their control slipped away. This was evidently more than they could handle. They apparently had to do something about it. We will probably never know the full extent of their activities but we have been able to piece together some of them. Their evident goal, regain control of the City Council and with that the $100 million in taxpayer funds.
Then along came Citizens for Responsible Community with Carl Maus, Raymond Stone, Richard Blalock and others. They started a petition drive, started attending St. Charles City Council meetings, tried to berate Council members, became friendly with Mayor York and her husband, used her private office in City Hall while Council Meetings were being conducted, attended functions with the Mayor and generally got involved in City business and became a nuisance to City Council members who they opposed. This was the group that the Mayor gave $2,300 to and who sent out vicious mailings against City Council candidates during the election. And they don’t and didn’t even live in St. Charles.
These political hit men evidently caught the attention of several wealthy developers from St. Louis County who provided them with a great deal of money. They became attached to the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance headed by Adolphus Busch, Don Musick and Glennon Jamboretz. Jamboretz brought Ken Kielty along as his gofer.
They then became involved in elections in St. Peters were they were successful in defeating Mayor Tom Brown in favor of their candidate Shawn Brown. Thousands of dollars were spent in a court challenge to keep Shawn’s name on the ballot.
They jumped into O’Fallon with both feet and got the pipe lady, Donna Morrow, elected Mayor and were also successful in electing several aldermen.
Along came St. Chuck Watch, a vicious web log that was used to defile everyone who dared speak out against the Mayor or any of her favorite Councilmen, Kneemiller, Muench, Weller and Reese. Tom Hayden, a confidant of the Mayor and the campaign manager for City Councilman Mike Weller, allegedly headed St. Chuck Watch. Several meetings were held in the public meeting room in police headquarters and Hayden reserved the rooms in his name for St. Chuck Watch. City Council Special Counsel. Eric Tolen, recently filed suit against Hayden for remarks about Tolen that were published on St. Chuck Watch. A motion to dismiss the suit claiming Hayden was not responsible for the web log was filed by high priced lawyers who were representing Hayden. The Judge presiding over the suit denied their motion to dismiss and the suit is moving forward.
The next voice heard was Linda Meyer, the wife of a St. Charles Police Officer who had been the president of the St. Charles Police Officers Association. Paula Eberhardt joined with her along with former Councilman Richard Baum, former Councilman Dan Gould, former Council candidate Gary Robinson (who was defeated by Mark Brown) and they called their group, Citizens Empowerment Committee. They immediately started recall efforts against Councilwoman Dottie Greer and later against Councilman Mark Brown.
Citizens Empowerment Committee began spending money like they had an endless supply. They hired people to go out and collect voter signatures on recall petitions. Money was seemingly funneled to them from the City in what amounted to the Mayor paying City funds to Lafayette Partnership, a fictitious name company, as per a contract to Sarah Collins and Associates, both evidently owned by Jamboretz who then passed the funds to his and Kielty’s group the St. Charles Citizens for Responsible Government, who then passed it onto Linda Meyer and the Citizens Empowerment Committee. It appeared that the recall efforts were being funded with taxpayer funds.
Because of what appeared to be discrepancies in the recall signature collection and petitions Council President Rory Riddler requested a police investigation. The investigation into Council woman Greer’s recall is about to be wrapped up and according to our sources will be presented to St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas.
People have been taken into custody and allegedly forgeries have been discovered. Others, whose names were on the petitions claim they never signed them. Petition solicitors have been paid as much as $3,750 on a per signature basis. Meyer and Eberhardt have been paid for soliciting signatures as well as Meyer paying herself $1,000 for signature collecting and $1,100 for bookkeeping for the group (FCN January 28, 2005)
As soon as the investigation on Dottie Greer’s recall is completed, one will begin involving the recall of Councilman Mark Brown. Additional information and verification of this information can be found in the last several issues available on the Internet at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com
It has also been reported that Meyer is planning on running for Greer’s Council seat in the event she (Meyer) is successful in having Greer recalled.
It wasn’t long after the birth of the Citizens Empowerment Committee before Glennon Jamboretz and Ken Kielty started St. Charles Citizens For Responsible Government. It’s stated purpose was for the recall of St. Charles officials. The money they reportedly received to date came from Jamboretz and could have been the City money Lafayette Partnership received from the Mayor (FCN October 8, 2005). Tom Hughes also provided this group with funds. Kielty is a former Councilman and owned the St. Charles State License Office. He also deals in the adoption of babies from Russia. According to St. Charles police, a threatening call to Bob Bredensteiner after a letter from Bredensteiner was published in the First Capitol News came from a telephone registered to Kielty (FCN November 5, 2005). During the police investigation Kielty refused to answer any questions or meet with the police on the advice of his attorney, Mike Kielty. Probably fearing the possible damage to the Citizens Empowerment Committee that could result from the police investigation and expected arrests, another committee was formed. They chose to call this one, Do The Right Thing. Headed by Tom Hughes, Tom Hayden and Kevin Kast, the former head of St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, Do The Right Thing members began in earnest attempts to bully and embarrass Council members who have steadfastly refused them access to the City Treasury or have denied them special favors. Do The Right Thing members attended recent council meetings, they were loud and obnoxious, shouting and trying to interrupt the Council and acted worse than spoiled children.
The members of this group, along with the Mayor and our current City Administrator Allan Williams, who refuses to leave office after his contract was not renewed, need to be investigated and made to answer for their actions and sweet heart deals.
The members of these associated groups have apparently attempted to harass and embarrass and according to one Councilman, even bribe members of the City Council who do not agree with their wishes.
They have a goal. That goal is complete control of St. Charles City Government and the $100 million of taxpayer money. They want to be able to return St. Charles to the way it was before the City had Council members who were truly watching out for the interests of the taxpayers. These associated and intermingled members of these groups, along with the Mayor, believe they can achieve their goal by recalling members of the Council and replacing them with their puppets who will follow in lockstep.
In April of 2007, if the City Charter is not changed, it appears they plan to elect Kevin Kast to the office of Mayor. In order to succeed they have to have the Mayor’s salary raised to more than $125,000 so their candidate will feel worthy of the office.
There is only one thing standing in their way. The voters of St. Charles. What will you do?
Please read “The Secret Society” a reprint of the Conservative Factor by Alex Spencer from the April 6, 2004 edition of the First Capitol News. Starts on Page 12.
Citizens For Responsible Community
St. Charles Citizens For Responsible Government
Citizens Empowerment Committee
Do The Right Thing
My Opinion
By Tony Brockmeyer
In April of 2004 a City Council election was held in St. Charles. A number of St. Louis Developers spent $107,000 in an apparent effort to buy City Council Seats (see FCN April 5, 2004). The Mayor of St. Charles Patti York helped fund a Mudslinging Campaign against candidates she opposed and she gave $2,300 to a group who sent out negative mailers (see FCN April 5, 2004) A Secret Society That Selects Council Candidates interviewed candidates to select those they felt worthy (see FCN April 5, 2004).
It appears that for several years a group of select individuals had maintained control of City Government and the $100 million City budget. Many of these individuals belonged to a loose knit group that we (FCN) referred to as the Secret Society. We don’t know who all the members of the Secret Society are but members included, John Deal, Hyatt Bangert, Ed Pundmann, Tom Hughes, Bill Weber, Nancy Matheny, Don Boehmer, Ernie Dempsey, Kevin Kast, and Ray Harmon (deceased).
The Secret Society apparently liked to meet in member’s basements and worked diligently to stay out of the public eye and keep their group closeted. In the April 2004 election several of their candidates were defeated and their control slipped away. This was evidently more than they could handle. They apparently had to do something about it. We will probably never know the full extent of their activities but we have been able to piece together some of them. Their evident goal, regain control of the City Council and with that the $100 million in taxpayer funds.
Then along came Citizens for Responsible Community with Carl Maus, Raymond Stone, Richard Blalock and others. They started a petition drive, started attending St. Charles City Council meetings, tried to berate Council members, became friendly with Mayor York and her husband, used her private office in City Hall while Council Meetings were being conducted, attended functions with the Mayor and generally got involved in City business and became a nuisance to City Council members who they opposed. This was the group that the Mayor gave $2,300 to and who sent out vicious mailings against City Council candidates during the election. And they don’t and didn’t even live in St. Charles.
These political hit men evidently caught the attention of several wealthy developers from St. Louis County who provided them with a great deal of money. They became attached to the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance headed by Adolphus Busch, Don Musick and Glennon Jamboretz. Jamboretz brought Ken Kielty along as his gofer.
They then became involved in elections in St. Peters were they were successful in defeating Mayor Tom Brown in favor of their candidate Shawn Brown. Thousands of dollars were spent in a court challenge to keep Shawn’s name on the ballot.
They jumped into O’Fallon with both feet and got the pipe lady, Donna Morrow, elected Mayor and were also successful in electing several aldermen.
Along came St. Chuck Watch, a vicious web log that was used to defile everyone who dared speak out against the Mayor or any of her favorite Councilmen, Kneemiller, Muench, Weller and Reese. Tom Hayden, a confidant of the Mayor and the campaign manager for City Councilman Mike Weller, allegedly headed St. Chuck Watch. Several meetings were held in the public meeting room in police headquarters and Hayden reserved the rooms in his name for St. Chuck Watch. City Council Special Counsel. Eric Tolen, recently filed suit against Hayden for remarks about Tolen that were published on St. Chuck Watch. A motion to dismiss the suit claiming Hayden was not responsible for the web log was filed by high priced lawyers who were representing Hayden. The Judge presiding over the suit denied their motion to dismiss and the suit is moving forward.
The next voice heard was Linda Meyer, the wife of a St. Charles Police Officer who had been the president of the St. Charles Police Officers Association. Paula Eberhardt joined with her along with former Councilman Richard Baum, former Councilman Dan Gould, former Council candidate Gary Robinson (who was defeated by Mark Brown) and they called their group, Citizens Empowerment Committee. They immediately started recall efforts against Councilwoman Dottie Greer and later against Councilman Mark Brown.
Citizens Empowerment Committee began spending money like they had an endless supply. They hired people to go out and collect voter signatures on recall petitions. Money was seemingly funneled to them from the City in what amounted to the Mayor paying City funds to Lafayette Partnership, a fictitious name company, as per a contract to Sarah Collins and Associates, both evidently owned by Jamboretz who then passed the funds to his and Kielty’s group the St. Charles Citizens for Responsible Government, who then passed it onto Linda Meyer and the Citizens Empowerment Committee. It appeared that the recall efforts were being funded with taxpayer funds.
Because of what appeared to be discrepancies in the recall signature collection and petitions Council President Rory Riddler requested a police investigation. The investigation into Council woman Greer’s recall is about to be wrapped up and according to our sources will be presented to St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas.
People have been taken into custody and allegedly forgeries have been discovered. Others, whose names were on the petitions claim they never signed them. Petition solicitors have been paid as much as $3,750 on a per signature basis. Meyer and Eberhardt have been paid for soliciting signatures as well as Meyer paying herself $1,000 for signature collecting and $1,100 for bookkeeping for the group (FCN January 28, 2005)
As soon as the investigation on Dottie Greer’s recall is completed, one will begin involving the recall of Councilman Mark Brown. Additional information and verification of this information can be found in the last several issues available on the Internet at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com
It has also been reported that Meyer is planning on running for Greer’s Council seat in the event she (Meyer) is successful in having Greer recalled.
It wasn’t long after the birth of the Citizens Empowerment Committee before Glennon Jamboretz and Ken Kielty started St. Charles Citizens For Responsible Government. It’s stated purpose was for the recall of St. Charles officials. The money they reportedly received to date came from Jamboretz and could have been the City money Lafayette Partnership received from the Mayor (FCN October 8, 2005). Tom Hughes also provided this group with funds. Kielty is a former Councilman and owned the St. Charles State License Office. He also deals in the adoption of babies from Russia. According to St. Charles police, a threatening call to Bob Bredensteiner after a letter from Bredensteiner was published in the First Capitol News came from a telephone registered to Kielty (FCN November 5, 2005). During the police investigation Kielty refused to answer any questions or meet with the police on the advice of his attorney, Mike Kielty. Probably fearing the possible damage to the Citizens Empowerment Committee that could result from the police investigation and expected arrests, another committee was formed. They chose to call this one, Do The Right Thing. Headed by Tom Hughes, Tom Hayden and Kevin Kast, the former head of St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, Do The Right Thing members began in earnest attempts to bully and embarrass Council members who have steadfastly refused them access to the City Treasury or have denied them special favors. Do The Right Thing members attended recent council meetings, they were loud and obnoxious, shouting and trying to interrupt the Council and acted worse than spoiled children.
The members of this group, along with the Mayor and our current City Administrator Allan Williams, who refuses to leave office after his contract was not renewed, need to be investigated and made to answer for their actions and sweet heart deals.
The members of these associated groups have apparently attempted to harass and embarrass and according to one Councilman, even bribe members of the City Council who do not agree with their wishes.
They have a goal. That goal is complete control of St. Charles City Government and the $100 million of taxpayer money. They want to be able to return St. Charles to the way it was before the City had Council members who were truly watching out for the interests of the taxpayers. These associated and intermingled members of these groups, along with the Mayor, believe they can achieve their goal by recalling members of the Council and replacing them with their puppets who will follow in lockstep.
In April of 2007, if the City Charter is not changed, it appears they plan to elect Kevin Kast to the office of Mayor. In order to succeed they have to have the Mayor’s salary raised to more than $125,000 so their candidate will feel worthy of the office.
There is only one thing standing in their way. The voters of St. Charles. What will you do?
Please read “The Secret Society” a reprint of the Conservative Factor by Alex Spencer from the April 6, 2004 edition of the First Capitol News. Starts on Page 12.
St. Charles Police Pursue Stolen Vehicle Into St. Louis And Apprehend Two Subjects
At approximately 2:40 am on February 1st, a St. Charles Police Sergeant observed a blue mini van leaving the Time Centre Apartments in St. Charles with its headlights off.
The Sergeant attempted to stop the vehicle for investigation. However the driver of the vehicle refused to stop and entered Interstate 70 traveling east. The St. Charles Police communications division was able to run the license plate of the vehicle and then contact the owner who confirmed the mini van had been stolen from St. Louis City.
The St. Charles police pursuit of the stolen vehicle continued east on Hwy 70 until the suspects hit a sign with the vehicle at Kingshighway and Martin Luther King Blvd. causing it to come to a stop.
Both suspects fled from the vehicle on foot and were apprehended minutes later by the St. Charles police sergeant with assistance from the St. Louis City Metropolitan Police Department. The two subjects, who were the occupants of the stolen vehicle, are in custody at the St. Louis Police Department. After their arrest it was learned they were wanted on a variety of charges.
The Sergeant attempted to stop the vehicle for investigation. However the driver of the vehicle refused to stop and entered Interstate 70 traveling east. The St. Charles Police communications division was able to run the license plate of the vehicle and then contact the owner who confirmed the mini van had been stolen from St. Louis City.
The St. Charles police pursuit of the stolen vehicle continued east on Hwy 70 until the suspects hit a sign with the vehicle at Kingshighway and Martin Luther King Blvd. causing it to come to a stop.
Both suspects fled from the vehicle on foot and were apprehended minutes later by the St. Charles police sergeant with assistance from the St. Louis City Metropolitan Police Department. The two subjects, who were the occupants of the stolen vehicle, are in custody at the St. Louis Police Department. After their arrest it was learned they were wanted on a variety of charges.
RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
MAHESH SHARMA APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
At a special meeting of the City Council called by the Mayor on Saturday evening at 6pm, Mahesh Sharma was given a contract as the new Director of Public Works. The vote was 9-0 with Councilman Hoepfner absent. A starting date has not been set.
COUNCIL BALKS AS MAYOR SCHEDULES A SATURDAY ST. CHARLES CITY COUNCIL MEETING IN ST. LOUIS COUNTY
The Mayor had called a special City Council meeting for 10 am Saturday morning, January 28th to be held in Councilman Hoepfner’s hospital room in Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis County. It was to be for the appointment of Mahesh Sharma as director of public works. That was promptly changed when several members of the Council balked and refused to hold a St. Charles City Council meeting in St. Louis County. Apparently the Mayor thought she did not have enough votes for the appointment and would need Councilman Hoepfner’s vote. I believe that determining the number of votes prior to a meeting is a violation of the sunshine law.
WILL KIELTY BE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY IN ST. PETERS?
A rumor running rampant throughout the County Courthouse is that Mayor Shawn Brown of St. Peters is planning on appointing Attorney Mike Kielty as the city’s prosecuting attorney. St. Peters is without a permanent prosecuting attorney since former St. Charles County Councilman and St. Peters prosecuting attorney Jeff Morrison resigned about a month ago. The appointment of Kielty will have to be approved by the St. Peters Board of Aldermen. Kielty is representing Citizens Empowerment Committee and the paid petition gatherers who solicited signatures on recall petitions in attempts to have St. Charles Councilwoman Dottie Greer and Councilman Mark Brown recalled. His father, Ken Kielty, a confidant of Mayor York, is a former St. Charles Councilman, former head of the St. Charles License Bureau until Governor Blount replaced him. He was the chairman of the St. Charles County Convention and Sports Facilities Commission until Blunt replaced him there. According to St. Charles police, a threatening phone call made to St. Charles resident Bob Bredensteiner was traced to a telephone belonging to Ken Kielty (FCN Volume 5 of 35 November 5, 2005). Ken Kielty along with St. Louis PR guru Glennon Jamboretz, also a confidant of Mayor York, started the St. Charles Citizens for Betterment Government Committee with a stated purpose of recalling St. Charles City Council persons. It is also believed that the Mayor diverted funds to several fictitious named companies under the control of Jamboretz, that was used in the recall efforts against Brown and Greer (see FCN Volume 5 Number 32, October 8, 2005). Jamborez and Kielty are also involved with the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance headed by Adolphus Busch IV who is fighting with the City of St. Peters over the 370 project.
FIRST CAPITOL NEWS-TODAY
Effective immediately the First Capitol News will be providing our readers with a daily dose of local news on the internet. We suggest you check our new web log frequently for updates on a daily basis. The internet address of our web log is firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com.
Our weekly edition can still be found each week at our other web log which is firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. Our weekly newspapers are archived at that address from November 2004.
We hope you enjoy reading the daily First Capitol News-Today with news of St. Charles and St. Charles County. Special offers will be made to our readers from time to time and will only be available on the First Capitol News-Today web log.
At a special meeting of the City Council called by the Mayor on Saturday evening at 6pm, Mahesh Sharma was given a contract as the new Director of Public Works. The vote was 9-0 with Councilman Hoepfner absent. A starting date has not been set.
COUNCIL BALKS AS MAYOR SCHEDULES A SATURDAY ST. CHARLES CITY COUNCIL MEETING IN ST. LOUIS COUNTY
The Mayor had called a special City Council meeting for 10 am Saturday morning, January 28th to be held in Councilman Hoepfner’s hospital room in Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis County. It was to be for the appointment of Mahesh Sharma as director of public works. That was promptly changed when several members of the Council balked and refused to hold a St. Charles City Council meeting in St. Louis County. Apparently the Mayor thought she did not have enough votes for the appointment and would need Councilman Hoepfner’s vote. I believe that determining the number of votes prior to a meeting is a violation of the sunshine law.
WILL KIELTY BE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY IN ST. PETERS?
A rumor running rampant throughout the County Courthouse is that Mayor Shawn Brown of St. Peters is planning on appointing Attorney Mike Kielty as the city’s prosecuting attorney. St. Peters is without a permanent prosecuting attorney since former St. Charles County Councilman and St. Peters prosecuting attorney Jeff Morrison resigned about a month ago. The appointment of Kielty will have to be approved by the St. Peters Board of Aldermen. Kielty is representing Citizens Empowerment Committee and the paid petition gatherers who solicited signatures on recall petitions in attempts to have St. Charles Councilwoman Dottie Greer and Councilman Mark Brown recalled. His father, Ken Kielty, a confidant of Mayor York, is a former St. Charles Councilman, former head of the St. Charles License Bureau until Governor Blount replaced him. He was the chairman of the St. Charles County Convention and Sports Facilities Commission until Blunt replaced him there. According to St. Charles police, a threatening phone call made to St. Charles resident Bob Bredensteiner was traced to a telephone belonging to Ken Kielty (FCN Volume 5 of 35 November 5, 2005). Ken Kielty along with St. Louis PR guru Glennon Jamboretz, also a confidant of Mayor York, started the St. Charles Citizens for Betterment Government Committee with a stated purpose of recalling St. Charles City Council persons. It is also believed that the Mayor diverted funds to several fictitious named companies under the control of Jamboretz, that was used in the recall efforts against Brown and Greer (see FCN Volume 5 Number 32, October 8, 2005). Jamborez and Kielty are also involved with the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance headed by Adolphus Busch IV who is fighting with the City of St. Peters over the 370 project.
FIRST CAPITOL NEWS-TODAY
Effective immediately the First Capitol News will be providing our readers with a daily dose of local news on the internet. We suggest you check our new web log frequently for updates on a daily basis. The internet address of our web log is firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com.
Our weekly edition can still be found each week at our other web log which is firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. Our weekly newspapers are archived at that address from November 2004.
We hope you enjoy reading the daily First Capitol News-Today with news of St. Charles and St. Charles County. Special offers will be made to our readers from time to time and will only be available on the First Capitol News-Today web log.
THE CITY DESK - City Council President Rory Riddler
Will Professionals Survive Switch
To Patronage Based Appointees?
With few exceptions through the years, St. Charles has enjoyed having professional, experienced and dedicated Department Directors and city employees. We have been able to attract and retain some of the best in their respective fields. That job is getting harder, however, as the deadline for transition to a patronage based system in April of 2007 nears.
That date marks the change to a full-time Mayor and one with the sole power to fire and direct on a day-to-day basis Department Directors without the approval of a City Administrator or the consent of the Council. A new Mayor could literally replace all Department Directors with those they considered political supporters…in other words the very definition of a political patronage system.
There is a distinct line between those who consider themselves professionals in their field and seek advancement with communities where there is a minimum of politics and those who seek appointment based on their political affiliations, fundraising abilities and ongoing political loyalty. Our current system insulates Department Directors by restricting the Mayor from “interfering in the day to day operations” of the City and by restricting individual Councilmembers from giving direction to city employees, except through the City Administrator.
But in April of 2007, the Office of City Administrator ceases to exist and the Mayor assumes most of those powers and duties directly. The unintended consequence of that change, however, is to trade the professional “arms length” administration we have known since the original passage of the Charter for a political patronage system not unlike the City of St. Louis.
When the Police Chief, Fire Chief, Public Works Director, Finance Director, Community Development Director and entire Department of Administration owe their jobs directly to one elected public official, expect to see those individuals under tremendous pressure to raise campaign funds for and do political favors for that one individual. It is a fact of life that this occurs in the City of St. Louis, so we shouldn’t say it simply couldn’t happen here. Once the checks and balances that prevented it are gone, a political patronage system comes into play no matter how it may be camouflaged or disguised from public view.
This past weekend, the City Council had to meet on a Saturday for the first time I can remember. The Special City Council meeting was called by the Mayor to approve the appointment of a new Public Works Director. The need to move quickly on this appointment was due to competition from other communities who were also making offers to the person we ultimately hired.
Based on his outstanding credentials, the City Council unanimously (a rare, but not impossible feat) agreed with the Mayor, City Administrator and acting City Administrator that he was the best for the job. But it was complicated by the applicant’s concerns for what would happen to his position after the change in government. Part of the negotiated contract had to be a six months golden parachute if he were to be terminated by a new Mayor after the April 2007 election.
Hiring Department Directors is not an easy task. I was recently part of the screening process for a new Director of Tourism as liaison to the Tourism Commission. Commission members, the Mayor and I were asked by the City Administrator to be part of the screening and interview process.
We began by reading through 144 resumes. We then short-listed these to twenty-one who were given phone interviews. From there the list was narrowed to seven who were brought in for face-to-face interviews, each lasting about ninety minutes. Altogether I spent about seventeen hours participating in this process. This weekend, our number one choice is being further interviewed by my fellow members of the City Council. I believe we have presented them with an outstanding applicant and hopefully they will agree.
After all that work to build consensus, the thought that the next Mayor could summarily dismiss them without cause, perhaps to try to appoint their second cousin’s brother’s roommate, doesn’t seem like such a good idea. True, the Council will continue to have to approve appointments, but those appointments will be made directly by the Mayor and not the City Administrator. However, it is the power to fire and to direct those Department Directors that will ultimately dictate where their loyalties lie.
Another concern is would such political appointees fairly serve all the residents? If you backed the wrong candidate for Mayor would you get the same treatment from someone who owed his or her job directly to that one individual?
Let me also stress that these observations are in no way a slight to the current administration, but the changes that will occur in April of 2007, will do so irrespective of who is elected Mayor. It is one thing to have faith your particular choice for Mayor wouldn’t fire someone for political reasons and quite another to have faith that no one else elected to the position ever would.
The Council recently agreed to do a review of the City Charter and a sub-committee made up of myself and Councilmembers Joe Koester and Bob Kneemiller, will be drawing up a list of areas to be considered by the full Council and that may need voter attention. High on my list will be looking for ways to retain professionalism in the selection and retention of Department Directors.
Surrounding oneself with a political cronies and yes men, may boost the ego of some future Mayor, but it won’t serve the needs of the people. We’ve known better and deserve better.
THE CONSERVATIVE FACTOR by Alex Spencer
With the only “regularly scheduled” elections on the books, I wanted to venture out west this week to peruse the political landscape. My wife wanted to check out the new drive-thru St. Louis Bread Company in Wentzville, so we headed westward to Wentzville.
Wow. There is a lot to see in Wentzville. I am ashamed to admit that I rarely make it “out west” – an affliction shared by many of us in St. Chuck. Wentzville is a city that has embraced growth and all of its exciting consequences, not least of which is sales tax income.
The Wentzville Mayoral contest is a re-run of sorts reminiscent of some of the old St. Charles City grudge matches. Immediate Past Mayor Vickie Boedeker wants a rematch against the current Mayor, Paul Lambi, who defeated her by the slimmest of margins (17 votes to be exact) in 2004. This should prove to be a fairly spirited contest among two pro-growth candidates and may go either way. Although, it is worth noting that Mayor Lambi’s (he prefers to be called Mr. Mayor as opposed to Paul) shameless self-promoting (the radio show, the press releases, traveling with the Governor, etc.) have likely raised his name i.d. dramatically, and he is a much more formidable opponent for Vickie than he was two years ago. In addition, the people will also be electing three aldermen. The “musical chairs” among the Board of Aldermen and Darrel Lackey leaving his seat to run for County Council may prove interesting as well. The only real question that remains is whether Adolphus and gang will decide that that they want to add some Wentzville politicians to their ever-growing “flock” of duck politicians.
Writer’s note: In an effort to stave off the corrections on their way in from crossword puzzle aficionados, I know that it’s actually a “brace” of ducks, but “flock” is the correct term when the ducks are in flight, which is when they usually get shot down by the Great White Duck Hunters, so that seemed more appropriate.
As we migrate back toward St. Charles, we enter O’Fallon. My goodness, what can you say about O’Fallon? What a mess. The puppet regime installed by the Great White Duck Hunters is on the verge of collapse. Just last week, an Alderman was caught taping meetings with a hidden tape recorder because he felt the need to protect himself. Ironically, Alderman Hudson is (or maybe was?) part of the ruling “brace” of anti-growth ducks in O’Fallon. After the debacle in St. Peters (and thousands of dollars in legal fees to get Shawn Brown back on the ballot because he neglected to pay his property taxes), Adolphus and his band of merry idiots realized that in order to control a city, what they really needed was a Board of Aldermen for their flock. Oh, a mayor would be nice too, but as the duckboys learned with Shawn Brown, an idiot mayor is not all that useful. So, they started pouring their money into the O’Fallon aldermanic races and emerged from the 2005 race with a majority of the Board of Aldermen, and an idiot mayor for good measure. Chaos, craziness and conspiracy theories followed and that brings us to where we are today…the O’Fallon Board President, Alderman Lynn Schipper, is engaged in quite a power struggle with Mayor Donna Morrow and her hand-picked City Administrator (the infamous Robert Lowery). The city staff is completely demoralized and considerably leaner as Morrow and the ducks have littered the landscape with city employees terminated for reasons ranging from petty to stupid. The people are treated to the Board’s crazy antics and seem to regret their electoral decision, and O’Fallon has been effectively “closed for business” since last Spring.
The 2006 election landscape in O’Fallon changes daily. Apparently there is dissention among the ducks, and this could spell trouble for Adolphus and his cronies who have pledged to stop growth at all costs. Kuehn withdrew from the race, and the duckboys will have to defend Patek and Schipper in head-to-head races against a single candidate, Mark Powell (Donna Morrow’s ex who seems to know where some of the skeletons are buried) is mounting a viable write-in campaign, and the wealthy home builders have had enough of the wild and unsubstantiated allegations of wrongdoing which have become a hallmark of the Morrow administration. Adolphus can’t be all that happy with how things are going in O’Fallon. Maybe he should send Glenn Jamboretz out there to see what can be salvaged for the Great White Duck Hunters.
There are also two special elections on the April ballot that impact our neighbors out west. Wentzville Alderman Darrel Lackey (the Republican candidate) is running for the open District 1 County Council seat. He is being challenged by former O’Fallon Alderman Cheryl Hibbeler (the Democratic candidate) and St. Paul “pain-in-the-you know where” Joe Cronin (the duckboy-sponsored anti-growth candidate). Cronin claims to be a Republican and vied for the Republican nomination, but he did not receive even a single vote and filed a thoroughly stupid lawsuit (at the urging of the Democrats’ best friend in St. Charles County – Brandy Pedersen) against Rich Chrismer to try and change the outcome. The more likely reason for his legal action was good old-fashioned politics. He keeps getting press attention and increasing his name i.d. I fear I am guilty of increasing his name i.d. as well, oops. Depending on how much money Adolphus and the Great White Duck Hunters want to sink into the race, Cronin may be a spoiler and the end result may be that the Democrats win a second County Council seat. I certainly hope not, but since Adolphus prefers to give his money to Democrats anyway, I don’t think he’ll be all that broken up.
Last but not least, State Representative Scott Rupp (the Republican candidate) is running for former State Senator Jon Dolan’s vacant seat. His partisan opposition is in the form of State Representative Wayne Henke (the Democratic candidate from Troy). So far (as of my deadline), this will be a heads-up race, but we will not know for sure until filing closes. Duckboy favorite son, Councilman Joe Brazil, has already declared his intention to run against Scott Rupp in the August Republican primary. It remains to be seen what Adolphus and gang will want to do with the State Senate race. Apparently, they desperately need an advocate in Jefferson City to push their anti-development agenda. Adolphus and his cronies
were recently handed a crushing blow in Cole County Circuit Court when Judge Tom Brown (now that’s karma) ruled in favor of the City of St. Peters on ten of eleven counts (the eleventh was dismissed as moot) in the “hail mary” attempt by the duckboys to stop the 370 project.
As the April elections grow closer, one thing is for certain: Adolphus and his cronies will be looking to purchase additional politicians for their “flock.” It remains to be seen how many they will find out west.
Wow. There is a lot to see in Wentzville. I am ashamed to admit that I rarely make it “out west” – an affliction shared by many of us in St. Chuck. Wentzville is a city that has embraced growth and all of its exciting consequences, not least of which is sales tax income.
The Wentzville Mayoral contest is a re-run of sorts reminiscent of some of the old St. Charles City grudge matches. Immediate Past Mayor Vickie Boedeker wants a rematch against the current Mayor, Paul Lambi, who defeated her by the slimmest of margins (17 votes to be exact) in 2004. This should prove to be a fairly spirited contest among two pro-growth candidates and may go either way. Although, it is worth noting that Mayor Lambi’s (he prefers to be called Mr. Mayor as opposed to Paul) shameless self-promoting (the radio show, the press releases, traveling with the Governor, etc.) have likely raised his name i.d. dramatically, and he is a much more formidable opponent for Vickie than he was two years ago. In addition, the people will also be electing three aldermen. The “musical chairs” among the Board of Aldermen and Darrel Lackey leaving his seat to run for County Council may prove interesting as well. The only real question that remains is whether Adolphus and gang will decide that that they want to add some Wentzville politicians to their ever-growing “flock” of duck politicians.
Writer’s note: In an effort to stave off the corrections on their way in from crossword puzzle aficionados, I know that it’s actually a “brace” of ducks, but “flock” is the correct term when the ducks are in flight, which is when they usually get shot down by the Great White Duck Hunters, so that seemed more appropriate.
As we migrate back toward St. Charles, we enter O’Fallon. My goodness, what can you say about O’Fallon? What a mess. The puppet regime installed by the Great White Duck Hunters is on the verge of collapse. Just last week, an Alderman was caught taping meetings with a hidden tape recorder because he felt the need to protect himself. Ironically, Alderman Hudson is (or maybe was?) part of the ruling “brace” of anti-growth ducks in O’Fallon. After the debacle in St. Peters (and thousands of dollars in legal fees to get Shawn Brown back on the ballot because he neglected to pay his property taxes), Adolphus and his band of merry idiots realized that in order to control a city, what they really needed was a Board of Aldermen for their flock. Oh, a mayor would be nice too, but as the duckboys learned with Shawn Brown, an idiot mayor is not all that useful. So, they started pouring their money into the O’Fallon aldermanic races and emerged from the 2005 race with a majority of the Board of Aldermen, and an idiot mayor for good measure. Chaos, craziness and conspiracy theories followed and that brings us to where we are today…the O’Fallon Board President, Alderman Lynn Schipper, is engaged in quite a power struggle with Mayor Donna Morrow and her hand-picked City Administrator (the infamous Robert Lowery). The city staff is completely demoralized and considerably leaner as Morrow and the ducks have littered the landscape with city employees terminated for reasons ranging from petty to stupid. The people are treated to the Board’s crazy antics and seem to regret their electoral decision, and O’Fallon has been effectively “closed for business” since last Spring.
The 2006 election landscape in O’Fallon changes daily. Apparently there is dissention among the ducks, and this could spell trouble for Adolphus and his cronies who have pledged to stop growth at all costs. Kuehn withdrew from the race, and the duckboys will have to defend Patek and Schipper in head-to-head races against a single candidate, Mark Powell (Donna Morrow’s ex who seems to know where some of the skeletons are buried) is mounting a viable write-in campaign, and the wealthy home builders have had enough of the wild and unsubstantiated allegations of wrongdoing which have become a hallmark of the Morrow administration. Adolphus can’t be all that happy with how things are going in O’Fallon. Maybe he should send Glenn Jamboretz out there to see what can be salvaged for the Great White Duck Hunters.
There are also two special elections on the April ballot that impact our neighbors out west. Wentzville Alderman Darrel Lackey (the Republican candidate) is running for the open District 1 County Council seat. He is being challenged by former O’Fallon Alderman Cheryl Hibbeler (the Democratic candidate) and St. Paul “pain-in-the-you know where” Joe Cronin (the duckboy-sponsored anti-growth candidate). Cronin claims to be a Republican and vied for the Republican nomination, but he did not receive even a single vote and filed a thoroughly stupid lawsuit (at the urging of the Democrats’ best friend in St. Charles County – Brandy Pedersen) against Rich Chrismer to try and change the outcome. The more likely reason for his legal action was good old-fashioned politics. He keeps getting press attention and increasing his name i.d. I fear I am guilty of increasing his name i.d. as well, oops. Depending on how much money Adolphus and the Great White Duck Hunters want to sink into the race, Cronin may be a spoiler and the end result may be that the Democrats win a second County Council seat. I certainly hope not, but since Adolphus prefers to give his money to Democrats anyway, I don’t think he’ll be all that broken up.
Last but not least, State Representative Scott Rupp (the Republican candidate) is running for former State Senator Jon Dolan’s vacant seat. His partisan opposition is in the form of State Representative Wayne Henke (the Democratic candidate from Troy). So far (as of my deadline), this will be a heads-up race, but we will not know for sure until filing closes. Duckboy favorite son, Councilman Joe Brazil, has already declared his intention to run against Scott Rupp in the August Republican primary. It remains to be seen what Adolphus and gang will want to do with the State Senate race. Apparently, they desperately need an advocate in Jefferson City to push their anti-development agenda. Adolphus and his cronies
were recently handed a crushing blow in Cole County Circuit Court when Judge Tom Brown (now that’s karma) ruled in favor of the City of St. Peters on ten of eleven counts (the eleventh was dismissed as moot) in the “hail mary” attempt by the duckboys to stop the 370 project.
As the April elections grow closer, one thing is for certain: Adolphus and his cronies will be looking to purchase additional politicians for their “flock.” It remains to be seen how many they will find out west.
CASE IN POINT By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9
There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.
Johann von Goethe
Goethe never read the Journal or Post!
Once a week a paper comes out in town and brings in its pages news from our town. Two other papers are printed and thrown in town - one daily, and one about four times a week. Lee Enterprises owns the latter two.
Combined, the papers of Lee have a huge staff and still the First Capitol News scoops them again and again! Sometimes the big guys will go ahead and print a little story after the First Capitol News has scooped them and other times they simply ignore the story that FCN beats them to — so, you can figure that that means most of the time!
Papers certainly do have a bias, no doubt about it and this has been made clear time and again by the editorials of the Suburban Journal. An advertisement publication by nature, rarely these guys have much to say about local politics with the exception of the occasional attack on some of the Council in St. Charles. I hope that the FCN has a bias of working for better local government! Many people in town put their trust in this paper for stories that mean something to our residents.
Take a look out onto the horizon. Do you see it? Right there in front of you! It’s our friends of the local ad sheets preparing to do battle with the “bad guys” on the Council. You can already read the editorials - “Clean House at City Hall”; “Recall ‘em All”; or “Support our advertisers - fight the ‘Fab Five.” You probably won’t see that last one, but it would be a lot more accurate than some of the lousy editorials we have seen from these folks the past two years.
I cannot blame Lee Enterprises for standing up for their advertisers and as far as advertisers go, our City isn’t small peanuts! We spend enough money each year with these guys to build a pretty decent house for someone up in Iowa...or maybe even someone out in O’Fallon! I just wish they’d figure out that the Council is part of the City and maybe give us a fair shake once in a while. I’m not sure if other gargantuan advertisers would actually allow that though!
Did you read the story in one of the big papers (chances are you didn’t) that claimed that Mr. Banas (St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney) said that Brown should be on the ballot come April since the City Clerk certified the recall petitions? If the papers had bothered to print both sides of the story, they would have had to include that Mr. Banas also asserted that neither Brown nor Greer should have been placed on the ballot with so many serious questions at hand and the petitions should not have been certified. First, the apparent conflicts should have been investigated instead of rushing to certify them. If you watched the meetings many months back, you will remember several Council members making this very argument! We asked in vain, “If neither the County Clerk (now the ELECTION AUTHORITY) nor the city clerk have any obligation to oversee questions of election fraud, then who does?”
We all know the importance of a watchdog press and when government fails to do its duty, it’s the role of the press to call them on it. If you were standing in one of the Lee Enterprise publications you would probably hear the chirping of crickets right about now. In a little office on Main Street a tiny staff at First Capitol News has picked up the banner and become the watchdog press that Saint Charles had been without for many, many years before FCN came onto the scene!
Just remember, when the fully expected litany of editorials come our way in a few months from our friends at Lee, don’t blame them - they are just printing what they have to in order to keep favor with the folks paying their bills!
Election Equipment Demonstrations Scheduled
Election Equipment Demonstrations Scheduled
Saint Charles County Director of Elections Rich Chrismer will conduct demonstrations on the new optical scan voting machines and will be available for questions at 15 different locations throughout the county in February and March.
The optical scan voting systems will replace punch card voting; and will be used for the first time in St. Charles County during the April 4, 2006 municipal election. During the demonstration, sample ballots will be available for anyone wishing to cast a sample ballot on the new machines.
“The Election Authority has already trained the majority of Election Day judges and believes that, as we transition to a new way of voting, voters should have an opportunity to see and use the new equipment, even just for demonstration purposes. They will feel more comfortable at the polls on Election Day in early April,” said Mr. Chrismer.
Ten senior and community centers and five city halls have agreed to participate in these hands-on demonstrations. The demonstrations will be conducted on the following dates, times, and locations:
February 2nd St. Peters Senior Center, 108 McMenamy Rd. 10:00 A.M.
February 7th Wentzville Green Lantern Senior Center, 506 S. Linn Av. 9:00 A.M.
February 9th Brentmoor Oak Tree Village, 363 Jungermann Rd. 2:30 P.M.
February 10th St. Peters City Hall 10:00 A.M. till 2:00 P.M.
February 17th Lake St. Louis City Hall 10:00 A.M. till 2:00 P.M.
February 22nd Twin Oaks Estates, 707 Emge Rd. O’Fallon, 1:30 P.M.
February 23rd O’Fallon City Hall 10:00 A.M. till 2:00 P.M.
February 24th Wentzville City Hall 10:00 A.M. till 2:00 P.M.
February 28th Rivers Edge Senior Living, 600 Rivers Edge Dr., 10:00 A.M.
March 3rd St. Charles O’Dell Center, 1455 Fairgrounds Rd., 9:45 A.M.
March 6th O’Fallon Senior Center, 106 N. Main, 10:00 A.M.
March 8th Parkside Meadows Senior Center, 2150 Randolph 2:00 P.M.
March 9th Lake St. Charles Senior Center, 45 Honey Locust Ln. 2:30 P.M.
March 10th St. Charles City Hall 10:00 A.M. till 2:00 P.M.
March13th Breeze Park Senior Living Community, 600 Breeze Park Dr. 3:30 P.M.
For more information contact the St. Charles Election Authority at 949-7550
Saint Charles County Director of Elections Rich Chrismer will conduct demonstrations on the new optical scan voting machines and will be available for questions at 15 different locations throughout the county in February and March.
The optical scan voting systems will replace punch card voting; and will be used for the first time in St. Charles County during the April 4, 2006 municipal election. During the demonstration, sample ballots will be available for anyone wishing to cast a sample ballot on the new machines.
“The Election Authority has already trained the majority of Election Day judges and believes that, as we transition to a new way of voting, voters should have an opportunity to see and use the new equipment, even just for demonstration purposes. They will feel more comfortable at the polls on Election Day in early April,” said Mr. Chrismer.
Ten senior and community centers and five city halls have agreed to participate in these hands-on demonstrations. The demonstrations will be conducted on the following dates, times, and locations:
February 2nd St. Peters Senior Center, 108 McMenamy Rd. 10:00 A.M.
February 7th Wentzville Green Lantern Senior Center, 506 S. Linn Av. 9:00 A.M.
February 9th Brentmoor Oak Tree Village, 363 Jungermann Rd. 2:30 P.M.
February 10th St. Peters City Hall 10:00 A.M. till 2:00 P.M.
February 17th Lake St. Louis City Hall 10:00 A.M. till 2:00 P.M.
February 22nd Twin Oaks Estates, 707 Emge Rd. O’Fallon, 1:30 P.M.
February 23rd O’Fallon City Hall 10:00 A.M. till 2:00 P.M.
February 24th Wentzville City Hall 10:00 A.M. till 2:00 P.M.
February 28th Rivers Edge Senior Living, 600 Rivers Edge Dr., 10:00 A.M.
March 3rd St. Charles O’Dell Center, 1455 Fairgrounds Rd., 9:45 A.M.
March 6th O’Fallon Senior Center, 106 N. Main, 10:00 A.M.
March 8th Parkside Meadows Senior Center, 2150 Randolph 2:00 P.M.
March 9th Lake St. Charles Senior Center, 45 Honey Locust Ln. 2:30 P.M.
March 10th St. Charles City Hall 10:00 A.M. till 2:00 P.M.
March13th Breeze Park Senior Living Community, 600 Breeze Park Dr. 3:30 P.M.
For more information contact the St. Charles Election Authority at 949-7550
THE CONSERVATIVE FACTOR - Alex Spencer
With the only “regularly scheduled” elections on the books, I wanted to venture out west this week to peruse the political landscape. My wife wanted to check out the new drive-thru St. Louis Bread Company in Wentzville, so we headed westward to Wentzville.
Wow. There is a lot to see in Wentzville. I am ashamed to admit that I rarely make it “out west” – an affliction shared by many of us in St. Chuck. Wentzville is a city that has embraced growth and all of its exciting consequences, not least of which is sales tax income.
The Wentzville Mayoral contest is a re-run of sorts reminiscent of some of the old St. Charles City grudge matches. Immediate Past Mayor Vickie Boedeker wants a rematch against the current Mayor, Paul Lambi, who defeated her by the slimmest of margins (17 votes to be exact) in 2004. This should prove to be a fairly spirited contest among two pro-growth candidates and may go either way. Although, it is worth noting that Mayor Lambi’s (he prefers to be called Mr. Mayor as opposed to Paul) shameless self-promoting (the radio show, the press releases, traveling with the Governor, etc.) have likely raised his name i.d. dramatically, and he is a much more formidable opponent for Vickie than he was two years ago. In addition, the people will also be electing three aldermen. The “musical chairs” among the Board of Aldermen and Darrel Lackey leaving his seat to run for County Council may prove interesting as well. The only real question that remains is whether Adolphus and gang will decide that that they want to add some Wentzville politicians to their ever-growing “flock” of duck politicians.
Writer’s note: In an effort to stave off the corrections on their way in from crossword puzzle aficionados, I know that it’s actually a “brace” of ducks, but “flock” is the correct term when the ducks are in flight, which is when they usually get shot down by the Great White Duck Hunters, so that seemed more appropriate.
As we migrate back toward St. Charles, we enter O’Fallon. My goodness, what can you say about O’Fallon? What a mess. The puppet regime installed by the Great White Duck Hunters is on the verge of collapse. Just last week, an Alderman was caught taping meetings with a hidden tape recorder because he felt the need to protect himself. Ironically, Alderman Hudson is (or maybe was?) part of the ruling “brace” of anti-growth ducks in O’Fallon. After the debacle in St. Peters (and thousands of dollars in legal fees to get Shawn Brown back on the ballot because he neglected to pay his property taxes), Adolphus and his band of merry idiots realized that in order to control a city, what they really needed was a Board of Aldermen for their flock. Oh, a mayor would be nice too, but as the duckboys learned with Shawn Brown, an idiot mayor is not all that useful. So, they started pouring their money into the O’Fallon aldermanic races and emerged from the 2005 race with a majority of the Board of Aldermen, and an idiot mayor for good measure. Chaos, craziness and conspiracy theories followed and that brings us to where we are today…the O’Fallon Board President, Alderman Lynn Schipper, is engaged in quite a power struggle with Mayor Donna Morrow and her hand-picked City Administrator (the infamous Robert Lowery). The city staff is completely demoralized and considerably leaner as Morrow and the ducks have littered the landscape with city employees terminated for reasons ranging from petty to stupid. The people are treated to the Board’s crazy antics and seem to regret their electoral decision, and O’Fallon has been effectively “closed for business” since last Spring.
The 2006 election landscape in O’Fallon changes daily. Apparently there is dissention among the ducks, and this could spell trouble for Adolphus and his cronies who have pledged to stop growth at all costs. Kuehn withdrew from the race, and the duckboys will have to defend Patek and Schipper in head-to-head races against a single candidate, Mark Powell (Donna Morrow’s ex who seems to know where some of the skeletons are buried) is mounting a viable write-in campaign, and the wealthy home builders have had enough of the wild and unsubstantiated allegations of wrongdoing which have become a hallmark of the Morrow administration. Adolphus can’t be all that happy with how things are going in O’Fallon. Maybe he should send Glenn Jamboretz out there to see what can be salvaged for the Great White Duck Hunters.
There are also two special elections on the April ballot that impact our neighbors out west. Wentzville Alderman Darrel Lackey (the Republican candidate) is running for the open District 1 County Council seat. He is being challenged by former O’Fallon Alderman Cheryl Hibbeler (the Democratic candidate) and St. Paul “pain-in-the-you know where” Joe Cronin (the duckboy-sponsored anti-growth candidate). Cronin claims to be a Republican and vied for the Republican nomination, but he did not receive even a single vote and filed a thoroughly stupid lawsuit (at the urging of the Democrats’ best friend in St. Charles County – Brandy Pedersen) against Rich Chrismer to try and change the outcome. The more likely reason for his legal action was good old-fashioned politics. He keeps getting press attention and increasing his name i.d. I fear I am guilty of increasing his name i.d. as well, oops. Depending on how much money Adolphus and the Great White Duck Hunters want to sink into the race, Cronin may be a spoiler and the end result may be that the Democrats win a second County Council seat. I certainly hope not, but since Adolphus prefers to give his money to Democrats anyway, I don’t think he’ll be all that broken up.
Last but not least, State Representative Scott Rupp (the Republican candidate) is running for former State Senator Jon Dolan’s vacant seat. His partisan opposition is in the form of State Representative Wayne Henke (the Democratic candidate from Troy). So far (as of my deadline), this will be a heads-up race, but we will not know for sure until filing closes. Duckboy favorite son, Councilman Joe Brazil, has already declared his intention to run against Scott Rupp in the August Republican primary. It remains to be seen what Adolphus and gang will want to do with the State Senate race. Apparently, they desperately need an advocate in Jefferson City to push their anti-development agenda. Adolphus and his cronies
were recently handed a crushing blow in Cole County Circuit Court when Judge Tom Brown (now that’s karma) ruled in favor of the City of St. Peters on ten of eleven counts (the eleventh was dismissed as moot) in the “hail mary” attempt by the duckboys to stop the 370 project.
As the April elections grow closer, one thing is for certain: Adolphus and his cronies will be looking to purchase additional politicians for their “flock.” It remains to be seen how many they will find out west.
Wow. There is a lot to see in Wentzville. I am ashamed to admit that I rarely make it “out west” – an affliction shared by many of us in St. Chuck. Wentzville is a city that has embraced growth and all of its exciting consequences, not least of which is sales tax income.
The Wentzville Mayoral contest is a re-run of sorts reminiscent of some of the old St. Charles City grudge matches. Immediate Past Mayor Vickie Boedeker wants a rematch against the current Mayor, Paul Lambi, who defeated her by the slimmest of margins (17 votes to be exact) in 2004. This should prove to be a fairly spirited contest among two pro-growth candidates and may go either way. Although, it is worth noting that Mayor Lambi’s (he prefers to be called Mr. Mayor as opposed to Paul) shameless self-promoting (the radio show, the press releases, traveling with the Governor, etc.) have likely raised his name i.d. dramatically, and he is a much more formidable opponent for Vickie than he was two years ago. In addition, the people will also be electing three aldermen. The “musical chairs” among the Board of Aldermen and Darrel Lackey leaving his seat to run for County Council may prove interesting as well. The only real question that remains is whether Adolphus and gang will decide that that they want to add some Wentzville politicians to their ever-growing “flock” of duck politicians.
Writer’s note: In an effort to stave off the corrections on their way in from crossword puzzle aficionados, I know that it’s actually a “brace” of ducks, but “flock” is the correct term when the ducks are in flight, which is when they usually get shot down by the Great White Duck Hunters, so that seemed more appropriate.
As we migrate back toward St. Charles, we enter O’Fallon. My goodness, what can you say about O’Fallon? What a mess. The puppet regime installed by the Great White Duck Hunters is on the verge of collapse. Just last week, an Alderman was caught taping meetings with a hidden tape recorder because he felt the need to protect himself. Ironically, Alderman Hudson is (or maybe was?) part of the ruling “brace” of anti-growth ducks in O’Fallon. After the debacle in St. Peters (and thousands of dollars in legal fees to get Shawn Brown back on the ballot because he neglected to pay his property taxes), Adolphus and his band of merry idiots realized that in order to control a city, what they really needed was a Board of Aldermen for their flock. Oh, a mayor would be nice too, but as the duckboys learned with Shawn Brown, an idiot mayor is not all that useful. So, they started pouring their money into the O’Fallon aldermanic races and emerged from the 2005 race with a majority of the Board of Aldermen, and an idiot mayor for good measure. Chaos, craziness and conspiracy theories followed and that brings us to where we are today…the O’Fallon Board President, Alderman Lynn Schipper, is engaged in quite a power struggle with Mayor Donna Morrow and her hand-picked City Administrator (the infamous Robert Lowery). The city staff is completely demoralized and considerably leaner as Morrow and the ducks have littered the landscape with city employees terminated for reasons ranging from petty to stupid. The people are treated to the Board’s crazy antics and seem to regret their electoral decision, and O’Fallon has been effectively “closed for business” since last Spring.
The 2006 election landscape in O’Fallon changes daily. Apparently there is dissention among the ducks, and this could spell trouble for Adolphus and his cronies who have pledged to stop growth at all costs. Kuehn withdrew from the race, and the duckboys will have to defend Patek and Schipper in head-to-head races against a single candidate, Mark Powell (Donna Morrow’s ex who seems to know where some of the skeletons are buried) is mounting a viable write-in campaign, and the wealthy home builders have had enough of the wild and unsubstantiated allegations of wrongdoing which have become a hallmark of the Morrow administration. Adolphus can’t be all that happy with how things are going in O’Fallon. Maybe he should send Glenn Jamboretz out there to see what can be salvaged for the Great White Duck Hunters.
There are also two special elections on the April ballot that impact our neighbors out west. Wentzville Alderman Darrel Lackey (the Republican candidate) is running for the open District 1 County Council seat. He is being challenged by former O’Fallon Alderman Cheryl Hibbeler (the Democratic candidate) and St. Paul “pain-in-the-you know where” Joe Cronin (the duckboy-sponsored anti-growth candidate). Cronin claims to be a Republican and vied for the Republican nomination, but he did not receive even a single vote and filed a thoroughly stupid lawsuit (at the urging of the Democrats’ best friend in St. Charles County – Brandy Pedersen) against Rich Chrismer to try and change the outcome. The more likely reason for his legal action was good old-fashioned politics. He keeps getting press attention and increasing his name i.d. I fear I am guilty of increasing his name i.d. as well, oops. Depending on how much money Adolphus and the Great White Duck Hunters want to sink into the race, Cronin may be a spoiler and the end result may be that the Democrats win a second County Council seat. I certainly hope not, but since Adolphus prefers to give his money to Democrats anyway, I don’t think he’ll be all that broken up.
Last but not least, State Representative Scott Rupp (the Republican candidate) is running for former State Senator Jon Dolan’s vacant seat. His partisan opposition is in the form of State Representative Wayne Henke (the Democratic candidate from Troy). So far (as of my deadline), this will be a heads-up race, but we will not know for sure until filing closes. Duckboy favorite son, Councilman Joe Brazil, has already declared his intention to run against Scott Rupp in the August Republican primary. It remains to be seen what Adolphus and gang will want to do with the State Senate race. Apparently, they desperately need an advocate in Jefferson City to push their anti-development agenda. Adolphus and his cronies
were recently handed a crushing blow in Cole County Circuit Court when Judge Tom Brown (now that’s karma) ruled in favor of the City of St. Peters on ten of eleven counts (the eleventh was dismissed as moot) in the “hail mary” attempt by the duckboys to stop the 370 project.
As the April elections grow closer, one thing is for certain: Adolphus and his cronies will be looking to purchase additional politicians for their “flock.” It remains to be seen how many they will find out west.
THE SECRET SOCIETY
THE SECRET SOCIETY
Reprinted from the April 6, 2004 edition of the First Capitol News
THE CONSERVATIVE FACTOR BY ALEX SPENCER
In reference to the opinion article Tony Brockmeyer that starts on page one of this edition of the First Capitol News we have decided to re-print a Conservative Factor article by Alex Spencer that first appeared in the First Capitol News on April 6, 2004.
“We’re here for the city because ‘the people’ are not qualified to make decisions.” This is a direct quote from a “good old boy” interviewing candidates for the upcoming city council election. He further stated that approximately 20 years ago, he and nine other men organized to select candidates for public office and get them elected. They do not meet in a public forum and fairly present all the candidates to the public so that the public can make an informed decision. They meet in the basements of their homes. They select their slate of candidates, then issue summons to all the candidates. The candidates who are listed on their slate leave with an envelope containing donations collected from their friends. The candidates who are not on their slate are intimidated and insulted. One candidate was asked, “Who do you think you are to run for this office?” He was also asked to leave by the “back door.” Did these pompous, self-serving individuals believe the man to be a servant or something even less? That candidate had entered through the front door, and much to his credit, he refused to leave by the back door.
As insidious and undemocratic as this may appear, I would like to assure everybody that they do not wear sheets, pointed hats, or disguise themselves in any way other than attempting to convince others that they are smarter than anyone else, especially the stupid voters, and that they are THE POWER behind everything. They have never burned anything in anybody’s yards and are legends only in their own minds, not the voting public. If they had real power, they would not attempt to intimidate and demand why certain people would dare run for a public office. They would simply inform the candidates that they would not be permitted to run for office and they would be obeyed.
Now that would be real power. I believe that throughout history this brand of power has been called a dictatorship. Obviously, these good old boys do not understand that this is a democracy which guides our future.
In recent years, the original group of 10 good old boys have allowed a few more individuals to join their ranks and three of them are women. This was most likely a token act to accommodate the changing times and not appear “chauvinistic”. But they are all “good old boys” regardless of their anatomy. They do not have a name for their group and they do not file as a political action committee with the state. For clarification, I will give them a name and will refer to them as the “Secret Society.” Although their activities have never been a secret to political pundits and business people these past 20 years, the voting public is totally unaware.
The Secret Society allegedly told the candidates whom they interviewed that the current St. Charles City Council is “a laughing stock and an embarrassment to the city.”
Gould, Kneemiller, Baum and Muench are now city councilmen and are a part of the slate and received donations from this group. The Secret Society also gave us Mayor York, not once, but twice. Do they also believe these individuals to be an embarrassment or only the candidates who do not obey them? The members of this group work as Realtors, Developers, CPA’s, Lawyers, and “Consultants”. Some were very involved in the Fountain Lakes Project.
The Secret Society has backed every losing project which has sucked away our tax dollars. They led the charge to convince the voters to approve the new Convention Center. Their latest project is the Aquatic Center. The state auditors need to take a hard look at who earns money and benefits from these projects and why certain zoning changes are approved which make little if no sense.
The Secret Society has individually written letters to editors to sway us to vote for a change in the City Charter to give the Mayor more money and more power. They have gotten everything their hearts desired from this mayor and the majority of the current city council. Where has the mayor failed them and why do they want the next mayor to have more power? The Secret Society is putting forth extreme effort to change our City Charter.
Are these individuals truly community leaders or are they merely fleas who hop from one host to another? One apparent constant here is that they always land on the host with the fattest blood supply, whether it be fellow business people or the City.
Most of us do not object to their using business people and their moneyed friends for whatever. That is their business and a private matter between the users and the used. However, when their activities become a liability to the taxpayers, it is time to give them a reality check and rein them in. This city simply can no longer afford to continue to support the Secret Society.
Some of this little gang of important people who do not think we have enough sense to vote without their direction are as follows: Hyatt Bangert, Bill Weber, Tom Hughes, John Deal, Ed Pundmann, Nancy Matheny, Ray Harmon, Ernie Dempsey and Don Boehmer. And guess what, some of them do not even live in the City of St. Charles. Their slate of candidates whom they want us to vote for are as follows: Larry Muench, Gary Robinson, Bob Kneemiller, Michael Weller, Richard Baum, Tom Kuypers, Dan Gould, Pat Porterfield, Rod Herrmann, and Bo Hagen.
The candidates whom these people do not want us to vote for are as follows: Bob Hoepfner, John Gieseke, Joe Koester, Dottie Greer, Paul Corbin, Robert Dodd, Bob Scherr, Rory Riddler, Jerry Reese, and Mark Brown.
Are you going to let this secret society make your decisions for you? I’m not!
Reprinted from the April 6, 2004 edition of the First Capitol News
THE CONSERVATIVE FACTOR BY ALEX SPENCER
In reference to the opinion article Tony Brockmeyer that starts on page one of this edition of the First Capitol News we have decided to re-print a Conservative Factor article by Alex Spencer that first appeared in the First Capitol News on April 6, 2004.
“We’re here for the city because ‘the people’ are not qualified to make decisions.” This is a direct quote from a “good old boy” interviewing candidates for the upcoming city council election. He further stated that approximately 20 years ago, he and nine other men organized to select candidates for public office and get them elected. They do not meet in a public forum and fairly present all the candidates to the public so that the public can make an informed decision. They meet in the basements of their homes. They select their slate of candidates, then issue summons to all the candidates. The candidates who are listed on their slate leave with an envelope containing donations collected from their friends. The candidates who are not on their slate are intimidated and insulted. One candidate was asked, “Who do you think you are to run for this office?” He was also asked to leave by the “back door.” Did these pompous, self-serving individuals believe the man to be a servant or something even less? That candidate had entered through the front door, and much to his credit, he refused to leave by the back door.
As insidious and undemocratic as this may appear, I would like to assure everybody that they do not wear sheets, pointed hats, or disguise themselves in any way other than attempting to convince others that they are smarter than anyone else, especially the stupid voters, and that they are THE POWER behind everything. They have never burned anything in anybody’s yards and are legends only in their own minds, not the voting public. If they had real power, they would not attempt to intimidate and demand why certain people would dare run for a public office. They would simply inform the candidates that they would not be permitted to run for office and they would be obeyed.
Now that would be real power. I believe that throughout history this brand of power has been called a dictatorship. Obviously, these good old boys do not understand that this is a democracy which guides our future.
In recent years, the original group of 10 good old boys have allowed a few more individuals to join their ranks and three of them are women. This was most likely a token act to accommodate the changing times and not appear “chauvinistic”. But they are all “good old boys” regardless of their anatomy. They do not have a name for their group and they do not file as a political action committee with the state. For clarification, I will give them a name and will refer to them as the “Secret Society.” Although their activities have never been a secret to political pundits and business people these past 20 years, the voting public is totally unaware.
The Secret Society allegedly told the candidates whom they interviewed that the current St. Charles City Council is “a laughing stock and an embarrassment to the city.”
Gould, Kneemiller, Baum and Muench are now city councilmen and are a part of the slate and received donations from this group. The Secret Society also gave us Mayor York, not once, but twice. Do they also believe these individuals to be an embarrassment or only the candidates who do not obey them? The members of this group work as Realtors, Developers, CPA’s, Lawyers, and “Consultants”. Some were very involved in the Fountain Lakes Project.
The Secret Society has backed every losing project which has sucked away our tax dollars. They led the charge to convince the voters to approve the new Convention Center. Their latest project is the Aquatic Center. The state auditors need to take a hard look at who earns money and benefits from these projects and why certain zoning changes are approved which make little if no sense.
The Secret Society has individually written letters to editors to sway us to vote for a change in the City Charter to give the Mayor more money and more power. They have gotten everything their hearts desired from this mayor and the majority of the current city council. Where has the mayor failed them and why do they want the next mayor to have more power? The Secret Society is putting forth extreme effort to change our City Charter.
Are these individuals truly community leaders or are they merely fleas who hop from one host to another? One apparent constant here is that they always land on the host with the fattest blood supply, whether it be fellow business people or the City.
Most of us do not object to their using business people and their moneyed friends for whatever. That is their business and a private matter between the users and the used. However, when their activities become a liability to the taxpayers, it is time to give them a reality check and rein them in. This city simply can no longer afford to continue to support the Secret Society.
Some of this little gang of important people who do not think we have enough sense to vote without their direction are as follows: Hyatt Bangert, Bill Weber, Tom Hughes, John Deal, Ed Pundmann, Nancy Matheny, Ray Harmon, Ernie Dempsey and Don Boehmer. And guess what, some of them do not even live in the City of St. Charles. Their slate of candidates whom they want us to vote for are as follows: Larry Muench, Gary Robinson, Bob Kneemiller, Michael Weller, Richard Baum, Tom Kuypers, Dan Gould, Pat Porterfield, Rod Herrmann, and Bo Hagen.
The candidates whom these people do not want us to vote for are as follows: Bob Hoepfner, John Gieseke, Joe Koester, Dottie Greer, Paul Corbin, Robert Dodd, Bob Scherr, Rory Riddler, Jerry Reese, and Mark Brown.
Are you going to let this secret society make your decisions for you? I’m not!
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters to the editor
People Speak
Wake up you “Silent Majority.” Wake up. All you see on TV and read about in the newspapers (even the one sided ones) is about the greed, cronyism, bribes and fraud in the Federal, State and City government. Laws being passed for big business, special interest and the rich. Like the “Health Care”, “Energy” and the biggest joke of all called “Deficit Reduction”. These laws were passed and even written by the “K” street lobbyist by perks, bribes and arm-twisting. They think the average person is stupid when they call laws deficit reduction. When they cut $50 billion dollars from education, health care, school lunches, care for elderly and the poor, while adding $70 billion for tax cuts for very rich people and special interest and call this deficit reduction. While I don’t have a college education I can see this adds $20 billion to the deficit and is not a reduction.
Now we also have constitutional liberties being ignored. This system is being played out in the State and City Governments.
Mr. Sonderegger of the Post calls the City Council the Silly Council. He has the name right but has named the wrong people. This system was going on in the City for years and is why we changed some Council members in the last election, so there would not be a “rubber stamp” for the administration. We just didn’t change enough members. The taxpayers wanted some responsibility for their actions. Now we have recall petitions against two members of the Council. Let us see for what reasons.
One wanted fireworks to be used over the 4th of July holiday. Another said some City department was like a “cesspool.” This is really terrible isn’t it? The City wants the money from the fireworks stand permits but doesn’t want the people to use them in the City. Most people want to use what they buy. As far as Mr. Brown, he is right. Could have used a different word than “cesspool” but this is his job to see that the taxpayer’s money, and this is the taxpayer’s money not the City’s or the old boys network, is being legally and properly spent.
As far as these groups, whatever they call themselves these days, Do the Right Thing, Citizens Empowerment Committee, Citizens for Responsible Government (All who are interlocked) and are paying for and running these recall efforts and going to Council meetings and yelling, ranting and waving their arms about. Where were you when “no bid” and “No Council Approval” contracts were signed for the health care for City employees costing hundred of thousand of dollars more for the City. Or when the old police station on West Clay was sold for thousands less than what it is appraised for. Or when subdivisions are being built outside the City limits but want to hook up to City sewers when we are being told our sewer lines are old and need work. Or when letters are sent to St. Louis Police Department for a “Top Cop” who was fired in St. Charles and who has a million dollar lawsuit against the City. I did not see you on TV at Council meetings then.
I personally think that if this “Top Cop” lawsuit is won and if that letter was in anyway help for that lawsuit, the taxpayers of this City should file suit against the writer of that letter for our loss. For as I stated earlier, that this is taxpayer’s and not the city’s money. This “good ole boy” system is what we wanted changed in the last election. But it seems like some people don’t like it. Why don’t we read or hear about the recall petition (for the Mayor) that was at the library. Maybe we can get the Mayor’s husband to round up signatures for this one like he did for the other two. Who knows, stranger things have happened.
And for ‘Battlin Bob’ who used to be for the City to do the right thing, what happened? I was a union man all my working life and when co-workers who worked beside you told you what they thought and felt about things and if they were made a supervisor by the company, his talk then was 180 degrees from what it used to be. We called him a turncoat then.
So I call on all you “Silent Majority” if you want to “Stay the Course”, just sit in your easy chair. But if you want change in your City, State and Federal Government, get up and get out and VOTE in all of the City, State and Federal Elections. It’s time to be mad as hell and don’t take it anymore.
Walter Dietz
Tony: This is a copy of a Letter to the Editor of the Journal that I e-mailed earlier this evening.
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Editor, St. Charles Journal:
In his letter in the January 29 Journal, Mr. Richard Blalock, of St. Charles County, takes Mr. Riddler to task for proposing some realistic rules for filing recall petitions, and suggests that politicians fear those petitions because they may be removed from office. This is quite true in the present situation in St. Charles. However, the recall petitions currently filed in the Third and Seventh Wards are not quite what the recall process is meant to be. These are not grass-roots efforts sponsored by ordinary citizens with no agenda or ulterior motives other than dissatisfaction with the way they are being represented. This is more in the nature of political assassination. Look at the names on the affidavit forming the committee to circulate the petitions; do you see some familiar names? You do if you follow politics in St. Charles and St. Charles County. Look at the reasons given for the recall; Ms. Greer sponsored a bill to find a better way to handle the annual fireworks fiasco; Mr. Brown called a city department a cesspool. That’s it? Give me a break! I’ve only lived in St. Charles for 50 years, but almost every one of them included at one time or the other some attempt to appease everyone concerning fireworks stands and the discharge of fireworks within the city, and no one was ever recalled for such a frivolous thing. And while I don’t condone Mr. Brown’s words, I hardly consider them grounds for removing him from office. No, what we’re witnessing here is the first phase of a blatant attempt to take control of the city by a dedicated group of movers and shakers, heavily funded, cleverly orchestrated and implemented for the most part by a paid group of people who have no concern for the residents they are collecting signatures from, other than the dollars on their paycheck for each one they manage to coerce, cajole, pressure or harass into signing their petition. Why would they be concerned about the people they’re soliciting? Most of them are from some other municipality; some are not even from St. Charles County! There’s more to this story, but I’m approaching my 300-word limit or over it so it will have to wait. Watch this space.
Gene Jones
St. Charles
Dear First Capitol News
I agree with the writer in tonight’s paper to inform St Charles residents what happens at council meetings. As I understand, only slightly more than 50% of our residents have cable tv. Sometimes we take for granted everyone can afford cable. The paper is free, as is the coffee at Hardees (for seniors). This is how they get informed for free. Unfortunately, they don’t get the whole picture.
I would also like to see a restaurant review started. Not so much to review the food as the BATHROOMS & cleanliness & service! I’ve lived in St Charles for over 35 years and eat out quite regularly & see some of the worst bathrooms, dirty silverware & dishes. Remember the saying....if the bathrooms are clean so is the kitchen. On the health dept website, they give a score only....so if some restaurant gets an 80 (out of 100) you have no idea what the 20 deficiency was for. Not to mention names but the restaurant bathroom near an old bowling alley is disgusting. This info would at least improve cleanliness in restaurants. I’m amazed at the servers in our local establishments...they have limited social skills, dress like bums and these kids are going to Lindenwood ? to get an education. Some of them look like they come from 3rd world countries. It’s time we, as a city, say this is enough! Since the owners of the restaurants give little pre-training, probably due to fast employment turnovers, we are becoming complacent to bad service,
uncleanliness & a strange code of common decency. We were at a restaurant on Main St., well known, and I asked for hot tea as my drink. I was given a cup of hot water with a tea bag string hanging over the edge of the cup. No spoon. no saucer, no cream (and yes it was asked for - but should be standard service). What do they expect us to do with the tea bag? Throw it on the floor or eat it? St Charles Restaurants have the most laid back way of serving customers I have ever experienced. And their prices are no lower than St Louis County/City.
Tonight we went to dinner, again on Main Street, and the silverware was really dirty. We asked for clean ware & were given 2 new sets of wrapped silverware & that was dirty also. My drink of water had a black speck floating in the water & I had to ask for a new drink. Let the buyer beware in this town! We were served by an exposed “belly dancer”.
We are accepting bad service & unclean conditions as a way of life. Not all the restaurants in town are bad, BUT, all of them have something that needs attention. Last summer we went to OB on 94S. They had a major toilet problem & no matter where one sat in the restaurant the smell lingered. Two or three weeks later the smell still lingered. We haven’t returned. We used to go there regularly. I don’t know what kind of liability is involved with writing a review on a restaurant but it would definitely clean them up if they knew they were going to be in the paper.
I noticed the Post’s website has a restaurant review copied from their paper. They use an A,B, C method, whereas St Charles County uses the 100% method. Just in case you ever need a clean bathroom??? Hands down, any Target in America! They are so clean and LARGE! And if you ever go to ______, don’t use the bathroom or you may get sick! Check them out. Back to Main Street..it’s beginning to remind me of Laclede's Landing, dark & dirty. As I understand, the restaurants on Main are hurting for business. Maybe they need to be reviewed by some outside source. Surely there is a business that will point out problems that turn away customers. Having lived in this town for over 35 years I can see the difference in the over all quality and its not going up. Our schools teach everything but good manners & respect for each other. Its a me, me, me mentality.
I would like you to cover the potential permit being considered for a resident to open an open outdoor bar-b-queue grill & separate trailer on a parking space (no less) at Lyons Ice Cream. It will be open until 8pm every night, every day. I would like the residents of the Wards close to the affected area to know about this before the vote is taken at the next city council meeting. This type of business belongs in Frontier Park, not in a residential area with 3 schools very close(by). It reminds me of 2 years ago when some man wanted to open a couple of covered wagons on Main Street to sell jellies & such dealing with foods of the past. Main St merchants had a hissy fit and it was promptly thrown out. The P&Z members voted to approve the bar-b-queue by 100%. Don’t the resident’s opinions count for anything, only Main St merchants? How can the council vote no on the covered wagons & yes on an open fire until 8pm every night? Wards 7,8, 9 & 10 are most affected. Your paper needs to branch out on new topics. Sooner or later these controversies will end(or will they). Your addition of a sports department was well received. Its time to add new departments to keep the readers interested in picking up that little red paper. In the past you reviewed the shops on Main Street. There are many new shops now. I was in one the other day & it was really nice, a step above. Its called the Shepard’s Corner. I appreciate your listening to me rant & rave and next week you will think of me when you open an envelope.
Have a good year & please stay in business.
NJP
Editor’s response
Thank you for reading the First Capitol News. You have some excellent suggestions and we will see what we can do to implement them. As you can understand we did delete the name of the restaurant with the bad bathroom. We wanted an opportunity to contact them to see what could be done. If you have any further ideas on how we can improve the First Capitol News please send them to us. They are always welcome.
Wake up you “Silent Majority.” Wake up. All you see on TV and read about in the newspapers (even the one sided ones) is about the greed, cronyism, bribes and fraud in the Federal, State and City government. Laws being passed for big business, special interest and the rich. Like the “Health Care”, “Energy” and the biggest joke of all called “Deficit Reduction”. These laws were passed and even written by the “K” street lobbyist by perks, bribes and arm-twisting. They think the average person is stupid when they call laws deficit reduction. When they cut $50 billion dollars from education, health care, school lunches, care for elderly and the poor, while adding $70 billion for tax cuts for very rich people and special interest and call this deficit reduction. While I don’t have a college education I can see this adds $20 billion to the deficit and is not a reduction.
Now we also have constitutional liberties being ignored. This system is being played out in the State and City Governments.
Mr. Sonderegger of the Post calls the City Council the Silly Council. He has the name right but has named the wrong people. This system was going on in the City for years and is why we changed some Council members in the last election, so there would not be a “rubber stamp” for the administration. We just didn’t change enough members. The taxpayers wanted some responsibility for their actions. Now we have recall petitions against two members of the Council. Let us see for what reasons.
One wanted fireworks to be used over the 4th of July holiday. Another said some City department was like a “cesspool.” This is really terrible isn’t it? The City wants the money from the fireworks stand permits but doesn’t want the people to use them in the City. Most people want to use what they buy. As far as Mr. Brown, he is right. Could have used a different word than “cesspool” but this is his job to see that the taxpayer’s money, and this is the taxpayer’s money not the City’s or the old boys network, is being legally and properly spent.
As far as these groups, whatever they call themselves these days, Do the Right Thing, Citizens Empowerment Committee, Citizens for Responsible Government (All who are interlocked) and are paying for and running these recall efforts and going to Council meetings and yelling, ranting and waving their arms about. Where were you when “no bid” and “No Council Approval” contracts were signed for the health care for City employees costing hundred of thousand of dollars more for the City. Or when the old police station on West Clay was sold for thousands less than what it is appraised for. Or when subdivisions are being built outside the City limits but want to hook up to City sewers when we are being told our sewer lines are old and need work. Or when letters are sent to St. Louis Police Department for a “Top Cop” who was fired in St. Charles and who has a million dollar lawsuit against the City. I did not see you on TV at Council meetings then.
I personally think that if this “Top Cop” lawsuit is won and if that letter was in anyway help for that lawsuit, the taxpayers of this City should file suit against the writer of that letter for our loss. For as I stated earlier, that this is taxpayer’s and not the city’s money. This “good ole boy” system is what we wanted changed in the last election. But it seems like some people don’t like it. Why don’t we read or hear about the recall petition (for the Mayor) that was at the library. Maybe we can get the Mayor’s husband to round up signatures for this one like he did for the other two. Who knows, stranger things have happened.
And for ‘Battlin Bob’ who used to be for the City to do the right thing, what happened? I was a union man all my working life and when co-workers who worked beside you told you what they thought and felt about things and if they were made a supervisor by the company, his talk then was 180 degrees from what it used to be. We called him a turncoat then.
So I call on all you “Silent Majority” if you want to “Stay the Course”, just sit in your easy chair. But if you want change in your City, State and Federal Government, get up and get out and VOTE in all of the City, State and Federal Elections. It’s time to be mad as hell and don’t take it anymore.
Walter Dietz
Tony: This is a copy of a Letter to the Editor of the Journal that I e-mailed earlier this evening.
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Editor, St. Charles Journal:
In his letter in the January 29 Journal, Mr. Richard Blalock, of St. Charles County, takes Mr. Riddler to task for proposing some realistic rules for filing recall petitions, and suggests that politicians fear those petitions because they may be removed from office. This is quite true in the present situation in St. Charles. However, the recall petitions currently filed in the Third and Seventh Wards are not quite what the recall process is meant to be. These are not grass-roots efforts sponsored by ordinary citizens with no agenda or ulterior motives other than dissatisfaction with the way they are being represented. This is more in the nature of political assassination. Look at the names on the affidavit forming the committee to circulate the petitions; do you see some familiar names? You do if you follow politics in St. Charles and St. Charles County. Look at the reasons given for the recall; Ms. Greer sponsored a bill to find a better way to handle the annual fireworks fiasco; Mr. Brown called a city department a cesspool. That’s it? Give me a break! I’ve only lived in St. Charles for 50 years, but almost every one of them included at one time or the other some attempt to appease everyone concerning fireworks stands and the discharge of fireworks within the city, and no one was ever recalled for such a frivolous thing. And while I don’t condone Mr. Brown’s words, I hardly consider them grounds for removing him from office. No, what we’re witnessing here is the first phase of a blatant attempt to take control of the city by a dedicated group of movers and shakers, heavily funded, cleverly orchestrated and implemented for the most part by a paid group of people who have no concern for the residents they are collecting signatures from, other than the dollars on their paycheck for each one they manage to coerce, cajole, pressure or harass into signing their petition. Why would they be concerned about the people they’re soliciting? Most of them are from some other municipality; some are not even from St. Charles County! There’s more to this story, but I’m approaching my 300-word limit or over it so it will have to wait. Watch this space.
Gene Jones
St. Charles
Dear First Capitol News
I agree with the writer in tonight’s paper to inform St Charles residents what happens at council meetings. As I understand, only slightly more than 50% of our residents have cable tv. Sometimes we take for granted everyone can afford cable. The paper is free, as is the coffee at Hardees (for seniors). This is how they get informed for free. Unfortunately, they don’t get the whole picture.
I would also like to see a restaurant review started. Not so much to review the food as the BATHROOMS & cleanliness & service! I’ve lived in St Charles for over 35 years and eat out quite regularly & see some of the worst bathrooms, dirty silverware & dishes. Remember the saying....if the bathrooms are clean so is the kitchen. On the health dept website, they give a score only....so if some restaurant gets an 80 (out of 100) you have no idea what the 20 deficiency was for. Not to mention names but the restaurant bathroom near an old bowling alley is disgusting. This info would at least improve cleanliness in restaurants. I’m amazed at the servers in our local establishments...they have limited social skills, dress like bums and these kids are going to Lindenwood ? to get an education. Some of them look like they come from 3rd world countries. It’s time we, as a city, say this is enough! Since the owners of the restaurants give little pre-training, probably due to fast employment turnovers, we are becoming complacent to bad service,
uncleanliness & a strange code of common decency. We were at a restaurant on Main St., well known, and I asked for hot tea as my drink. I was given a cup of hot water with a tea bag string hanging over the edge of the cup. No spoon. no saucer, no cream (and yes it was asked for - but should be standard service). What do they expect us to do with the tea bag? Throw it on the floor or eat it? St Charles Restaurants have the most laid back way of serving customers I have ever experienced. And their prices are no lower than St Louis County/City.
Tonight we went to dinner, again on Main Street, and the silverware was really dirty. We asked for clean ware & were given 2 new sets of wrapped silverware & that was dirty also. My drink of water had a black speck floating in the water & I had to ask for a new drink. Let the buyer beware in this town! We were served by an exposed “belly dancer”.
We are accepting bad service & unclean conditions as a way of life. Not all the restaurants in town are bad, BUT, all of them have something that needs attention. Last summer we went to OB on 94S. They had a major toilet problem & no matter where one sat in the restaurant the smell lingered. Two or three weeks later the smell still lingered. We haven’t returned. We used to go there regularly. I don’t know what kind of liability is involved with writing a review on a restaurant but it would definitely clean them up if they knew they were going to be in the paper.
I noticed the Post’s website has a restaurant review copied from their paper. They use an A,B, C method, whereas St Charles County uses the 100% method. Just in case you ever need a clean bathroom??? Hands down, any Target in America! They are so clean and LARGE! And if you ever go to ______, don’t use the bathroom or you may get sick! Check them out. Back to Main Street..it’s beginning to remind me of Laclede's Landing, dark & dirty. As I understand, the restaurants on Main are hurting for business. Maybe they need to be reviewed by some outside source. Surely there is a business that will point out problems that turn away customers. Having lived in this town for over 35 years I can see the difference in the over all quality and its not going up. Our schools teach everything but good manners & respect for each other. Its a me, me, me mentality.
I would like you to cover the potential permit being considered for a resident to open an open outdoor bar-b-queue grill & separate trailer on a parking space (no less) at Lyons Ice Cream. It will be open until 8pm every night, every day. I would like the residents of the Wards close to the affected area to know about this before the vote is taken at the next city council meeting. This type of business belongs in Frontier Park, not in a residential area with 3 schools very close(by). It reminds me of 2 years ago when some man wanted to open a couple of covered wagons on Main Street to sell jellies & such dealing with foods of the past. Main St merchants had a hissy fit and it was promptly thrown out. The P&Z members voted to approve the bar-b-queue by 100%. Don’t the resident’s opinions count for anything, only Main St merchants? How can the council vote no on the covered wagons & yes on an open fire until 8pm every night? Wards 7,8, 9 & 10 are most affected. Your paper needs to branch out on new topics. Sooner or later these controversies will end(or will they). Your addition of a sports department was well received. Its time to add new departments to keep the readers interested in picking up that little red paper. In the past you reviewed the shops on Main Street. There are many new shops now. I was in one the other day & it was really nice, a step above. Its called the Shepard’s Corner. I appreciate your listening to me rant & rave and next week you will think of me when you open an envelope.
Have a good year & please stay in business.
NJP
Editor’s response
Thank you for reading the First Capitol News. You have some excellent suggestions and we will see what we can do to implement them. As you can understand we did delete the name of the restaurant with the bad bathroom. We wanted an opportunity to contact them to see what could be done. If you have any further ideas on how we can improve the First Capitol News please send them to us. They are always welcome.
St. Charles City Civic Center in conception stage
Councilmen Riddler and Kneemiller agree on importance of facility
By: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
Photo by Bob Barton
Surprise. Councilman Rory Riddler and Bob Kneemiller both agree that a “civic center” for the residents of St. Charles City is a priority. “I have and continue to support the concept of a community/civic center,” Kneemiller offered in response to an open letter to the entire council. Riddler’s response takes it to the next level. “This is my number one goal and I believe it is a high priority for the City Council,” was included in his response.
The problem seems to be “where” to build the project. “We have a preferred site on the land the Boys and Girls Club now occupies, as they are buying the land next to them and building a new facility,” said Riddler. Kneemiller agrees the City should purchase the property, however suggests “This may not be the best place for a community center,” he continues, “but the land is most appropriate for expansion of Blanchette Park.”
As sold as Riddler seems on the property on the north side of town, Kneemiller isn’t so sure. “The second location involves looking at an existing building for conversion into a community/civic center. Several members of the city parks staff, public works and administration along with the mayor, some council members, and park board members inspected this building for a temporary civic/community center,” he said. “For obvious reasons we are not in a position at this time to disclose this location.” (The First Capitol News reported in our last edition that it was the closed Bally’s building on South 94)
First Capitol News sports writer Louis Launer indicates, “The now-abandoned facility that used to be Bally’s might be just such place. I haven’t been inside Bally’s facility, but several friends of mine have used the place and if the facilities are still in good shape, St. Charles could have one great recreation facility.”
Riddler disagrees with Launer. “The Bally’s facility is difficult to get to (you have to be coming North on 94 to turn into the facility), it has some water damage and probably can’t be expanded. It might make a great teen center with a lot of work, but it would not be one-tenth as good of a Community Center as the St. Peter’s RecPlex or the Renaud Spirit Center, let alone the O’Fallon YMCA. We will have to see what the Park Board says about the renovation, but I prefer to have a facility we can all be proud of.”
Of the undisclosed site Kneemiller says, “We hope to know within 30 days if this location will be financially and physically practical.” Thirty days seems to be the magic number here. Riddler says of the Boys and Girls Club, “I would hope to have that agreement to buy the land introduced before Council in the next thirty days.”
Both Councilmen agree, it is, and will be a slow process. “For the past six months we have been slogging our way through having the lawyers for both sides work up an agreement,” said Riddler. Kneemiller concurs. “This has been a painfully slow process, but once the center is built there is no going back. I for one would rather go slow and get what the residents want, need, and most importantly what they will use.”
By: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
Photo by Bob Barton
Surprise. Councilman Rory Riddler and Bob Kneemiller both agree that a “civic center” for the residents of St. Charles City is a priority. “I have and continue to support the concept of a community/civic center,” Kneemiller offered in response to an open letter to the entire council. Riddler’s response takes it to the next level. “This is my number one goal and I believe it is a high priority for the City Council,” was included in his response.
The problem seems to be “where” to build the project. “We have a preferred site on the land the Boys and Girls Club now occupies, as they are buying the land next to them and building a new facility,” said Riddler. Kneemiller agrees the City should purchase the property, however suggests “This may not be the best place for a community center,” he continues, “but the land is most appropriate for expansion of Blanchette Park.”
As sold as Riddler seems on the property on the north side of town, Kneemiller isn’t so sure. “The second location involves looking at an existing building for conversion into a community/civic center. Several members of the city parks staff, public works and administration along with the mayor, some council members, and park board members inspected this building for a temporary civic/community center,” he said. “For obvious reasons we are not in a position at this time to disclose this location.” (The First Capitol News reported in our last edition that it was the closed Bally’s building on South 94)
First Capitol News sports writer Louis Launer indicates, “The now-abandoned facility that used to be Bally’s might be just such place. I haven’t been inside Bally’s facility, but several friends of mine have used the place and if the facilities are still in good shape, St. Charles could have one great recreation facility.”
Riddler disagrees with Launer. “The Bally’s facility is difficult to get to (you have to be coming North on 94 to turn into the facility), it has some water damage and probably can’t be expanded. It might make a great teen center with a lot of work, but it would not be one-tenth as good of a Community Center as the St. Peter’s RecPlex or the Renaud Spirit Center, let alone the O’Fallon YMCA. We will have to see what the Park Board says about the renovation, but I prefer to have a facility we can all be proud of.”
Of the undisclosed site Kneemiller says, “We hope to know within 30 days if this location will be financially and physically practical.” Thirty days seems to be the magic number here. Riddler says of the Boys and Girls Club, “I would hope to have that agreement to buy the land introduced before Council in the next thirty days.”
Both Councilmen agree, it is, and will be a slow process. “For the past six months we have been slogging our way through having the lawyers for both sides work up an agreement,” said Riddler. Kneemiller concurs. “This has been a painfully slow process, but once the center is built there is no going back. I for one would rather go slow and get what the residents want, need, and most importantly what they will use.”
FIRST CAPITOL NEWS SPORTS = Mike McMurran Sports Editor
The picture is of Sam Hill of St. Louis(on right) against Tyler Hughes from Nebraska. Sam Hill, who is a St. Louis police officer, knocked out Tyler with 50 seconds left in the 10th and final round to win the North American Boxing Association Cruiserweight title. Ticket sales were probably in the 3000 range.
They also announced that Tommy Hearns former welterweight champion is scheduled to fight at the arena in April. Big time boxing in St. Charles.
First Capitol News Photo by Bob Barton
MY COLUMN _ MIKE MCMURRAN Sports Editor
It would only be fair to start this week’s column with a confession and revelation. Worry not regular readers, I am not becoming a member of the hard-core, fundy, right-wingers, at least I hope not. It is safe to say I have pretty much voted for Democrats since my first election – and yes, I did vote for George McGovern for President. It pretty much started out as a “pro-labor” vote, over the years it evolved into a civil liberties vote. That’s where it stands today. As I have stated in this column before, I really believe the policies that allowed my wife and I to improve the quality of our lives need to continue to be in place to help others. Remember, the policies of Ronald Reagan forced my wife to transfer from St. Louis University to University of Missouri-St. Louis. For two years she qualified for Pell Grants, then “poosh,” they were gone. The explanation given to her was “your parents own their home (900 square feet, in Baden) and can take a second mortgage out to pay your tuition.” Granted, it was a valid argument, but not a very compassionate one.
Presently I am very much concerned with our boy governor selling MOHELA. For three years I used MOHELA to finance my graduate studies. I found the entire process to be rather painless. Once the initial paperwork was submitted, I found it easier than registering at the different universities. In defense, I admit I am a creature of habit, and a member of the old school of, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I do know George W. has made it more difficult for some to qualify for Pell Grants – the Program that allowed me to earn my undergraduate degree.
For years I have said, “I care not what nationality or religion my children, should they decide to marry, marry into. As long as they are happy.” Happiness is not such an easy concept to grasp – I wish it, above everything else upon the three of them. Of course I would always add, “as long as they marry a Democrat.” I think such might just be an excellent example of the literary device known as hyperbole, I think.
Well, remember where I started, with the confession and all in paragraph one. I have been conducting political business with the Grand Old Party; not once but twice. And its not as bad as I thought it might be.
First of all, it seems the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in their infinite wisdom, has changed the testing procedure for students with special needs. It seems they no longer will allow students with certain disabilities to have questions read to them on the M.A.P. tests. Now I know first hand of a former student of mine who benefited greatly from just such help. Not only did he have his ACT test read to him, he scored high enough on the test to qualify for a full ride to, what was then Southwest Missouri State. He earned his degree in four years and now is gainfully employed by the Great State of Missouri. I see the test change as a gross injustice, but also know that no one at D.E.S.E. is going to listen to little old me.
Enter Patt Holt, well not literally. Regular readers of this column know all too well that a good portion of the McMurran household evolves around the rehearsal and performance times of Just Kids. Well it seems Patt Holt makes for strange bedfellows – methophorically of course. Another household under the influence of the Just Kids phenomenon is Family Gross – that is the family of State Senator Chuck Gross, (R), St. Charles. Chuck and I are quite probably as far apart politically as two can be – hence we agree not to discuss anything other than successes of Just Kids. I will say this about Chuck, this past October as his daughter was singing her first Disney selection with The Connection, he was clearly far more nervous than she. “Wow, Chuck, she nailed that note, didn’t she,” I asked him. I’m not sure he heard me, but you could tell in his eyes how proud he was. But, as you all know, I digress, badly.
Anyway, I know Chuck supports public education, on that we can agree. I just wondered if he knew of the new testing directive – so I fired him off an e-mail (the first correspondence I’ve ever sent a republican). I must admit Chuck and his office are on the ball. In less than I week I was copied a memorandum Chuck had fired off to someone in charge of assessment at D.E.S.E. Rather impressive, I must admit. He simply asked why such changes are in place and what accommodations are being made for students with special needs. Hopefully something will become of this; if not, it will not be to lack of effort on Sen. Gross’s part.
IT’S OFFICIAL! RAGE READY TO BULL THROUGH 2006 AT SAVVIS CENTER
By Mike Thompson
I’ll borrow the phrase made famous by the late Cardinal broadcaster Jack Buck.
“Pardon me while I stand and applaud.”
I couldn’t help but feel just that way as I watched the Savvis Center staff setting up the podium, tables, and seating chart for our press conference this past Tuesday, getting the Rage primed to greet media and sponsors for our big step into the big time. I thought about how this franchise had grown, the hard work that was the forte’ of every member of the staff, from front office to coaches, players, cheerleaders, interns, you name it…everyone associated with the RiverCity Rage had a big hand in making this very special day come about. My mind hit the rewind button as I reflected on the very first such gathering of Rage and media, the one in December of 2004 that announced the formation of GST Sports, Inc. and introduced Majority Owners Tye Elliott and Scott Wilson to a sceptical array of TV sports anchors, scribes, and radio reporters who may have wondered about the wisdom of spending time hearing yet another story of promise from new owners of a so-called minor league team. As the newly appointed Director of Media Relations, I held my breath that day as I studied the entrance of the Locker Room Restaurant at Family Arena, hoping the media I had pounded the pavement to personally contact would be marching through the door one by one, microphones and cameras in hand, pens poised and ready, to get the news out to all that the Rage was up and running, this brand new bull was out of the chute and ready to ride to an NIFL title.
I remember that day well….KMOV-TV was there, as was KSDK-TV, News channel 20 and our friend Randy Gardner ….my friend and co-worker at KLOU, Michelle Holiday came by for moral support and to get a quote or two…and this newspaper was on hand to get word out to it’s readers about the new shift in power.
All in all, not bad that day, not bad for a start, but from that point on I knew the real work was all waiting ahead, and I wondered if we, if I…would be up to the challenge that lie ahead. The challenge to get fans in the seats, to get the media’s attention in a city that boasts of the Cardinals, the Rams, the Blues and a dozen other majors and minors sandwiched in between. Would the team be a winner?
Would the owners see the wisdom in involving themselves and their new upstart team with charitable causes and other worthy concerns? The ‘would-a’ I understood….all this was new…my apprehension involved the ‘could-a’ or even worse…the ‘should-a’…a new team could wither and die on that one! As I walked to my car on that cold winter’s day following that initial foray into the world of professional sports, I silently vowed to myself that I, for one, would not fall prey to that mode of thinking and would do everything in my power to ensure success for this new ownership group rolling the dice on everything from financial stability to personal sanity.
Well, everyone else associated with this team must have walked away that afternoon with many of the same thoughts in mind, because if you followed this football team in 2005, you know full well the impact it has had on the sports fan, the media and the metro area as a whole.
First of all, the team was a winner. Entering the playoffs with a record of 10-5 on the regular season, the Rage lost in double overtime in the opening round of the playoffs, but even that brutal slap in the face had some positive results. In the thrilling, nerve wracking, heart stopping loss, the crowd at Savvis Center and the welcome extended to us by the Savvis management was enough to prompt Tye and Scott to explore ways to make that venue our permanent home. The wheels were soon in motion to make it the reality being played out in front of me on Tuesday afternoon. Our owners threw themselves wholeheartedly into charities and found new, inspiring ways to use the football team and it’s sponsors to add joy and hope to the lives of those in need. We grew from a front office staff of three to a full time staff of six in less than a year, with individuals now available to lend their talents to promotions, sales and community involvement. The Rage became to ‘go-to’ franchise for the entire NIFL. Morris Groves our Director of Operations months ago was given the title of Director of Media Relations for the entire league, and handles all the website duties. I was recently selected as the new Information Director for the NIFL. Coach Mike Wyatt has been the Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year two years in a row, and last November added General Manager of the Year to his impressive resume. We have a full time mascot…Ragie the Bull…making appearances all over the metro area…we’ve added the Ragie Kids Club and a reading and educational program to our list of community activities…we instigated a program that honoured high school players and teams with engraved plagues that were sent out every week…we grew, we built, we added…and hopped right under the radar gun of major league status with our latest move to Savvis Center. The next step, perhaps an NIFL Title, will put this team over the top!
So as I watched all the major television stations, radio outlets and news scribes come parading into the Savvis Club on Tuesday for our big announcement, as I saw the room begin to fill up with corporate sponsors, league officials, friends of the team, and even one wildly dressed super-fan, I remembered that similar, yet so vastly different day some 14 months ago. My gosh, how far we had all come….as I listened to Savvis Center VP and General Manager Dennis Petrullo make his opening remarks to get this magical day underway, I looked around the room and thought of how proud I was of my team, my owners, my coach, the players, and everyone who had given his or her heart and soul to this cause calling itself RiverCity Rage football. “The Rage is a great addition to the sports scene in downtown St. Louis,” Petrullo began, “let’s welcome them to Savvis Center.”
The crowd began to applaud. I was kneeling down, off to the side of the podium taking notes for this article…when I did the only thing I could do…I stood up and began to join in.
Like that first step into the spotlight some 14 months prior, I mentally made note that the real work for this team was waiting ahead. That feeling, I couldn’t shake. The knowledge that this time around our team, this franchise, was ready for that challenge made it a lot easier to accept!
Superbrawl at the
Family Arena
St. Charles’ fan favorites Joe Stofle and Shawn Hammack picked up big victories in front of their adoring hometown crowd
By Glenn McBrady
From The St. Louis American
Special for The First Capitol News
The successful and seasoned business partners that comprise “Let’s Get It On Promotions” kicked off an ambitious year at The Family Arena in St. Charles last Thursday with the “Superbrawl”, a pro fight card featuring a pair of title bouts, and the shortest and longest matches ended up providing the night’s most dramatic moments.
Local amateur standout DeAndre “Bull” Latimore wrapped up his long-awaited professional debut at junior middleweight like he had a hot VIP party to attend. He looked confident as he ducked through the velvet-sheathed ropes to face Iowa’s Chris Mickle, but few in the charged venue could have anticipated that “Bull’s” ring walk would last longer than the match itself.
Clad in sparkling white and green trunks with gleaming gold stripes, Latimore laid the groundwork of his battle plan immediately, going downstairs to get Mickle’s attention. Barely twenty seconds in, Mickle lowered his mitt to block a body shot and hung his chin out to dry in the process.
Latimore teed off on his opponent’s jaw like Tiger Woods at a driving range, sending Mickle into a lopsided heap under the silver arch painted onto the royal blue canvas.
Mickle was able to right the ship briefly, but as he tried to bring himself to a foggy eyed state of attention, it was clear he didn’t have his sea legs under him. The referee waved him off and “Bull” had his first “W” just 33 seconds into his fledgling campaign.
In a cruiserweight title fight that turned out to be the longest and most competitive on the card, Sam “The Punching Policeman” Hill scored a timely ten round stoppage over Omaha’s Tyler “The Workin’ Man” Hughes in a pitched affair that had the judges’ scorecards in knots.
Hill had handled his cowboy hat wearing opponent easily in their last meeting, but it was clear after a cautious start by both that Hughes planned on complimenting his country western look with a leather and metal championship accessory.
The action in the first half dozen rounds found Hill bouncing on his toes and orbiting Hughes’ entrenched position in the center of the ring.
Hill’s elusive head movement forced Hughes to focus on the body, and the extended attack led to healthy points with the officials. For his part, Hill couldn’t miss with a straight right feint, jab combination that landed throughout.
“The Punching Policeman” was also trying to steal rounds with flurries starting with the sharp wooden wrap on the ring apron signaling the final 10 seconds and lasting until the sand had run out on each segment.
With the North American Midwest Association’s cruiser strap still up for grabs, Hill began the tenth with a right cross over Hughes’ lethargic jab. Hill then added one final fake right, jab before dismissing “The Working Man” with a pair of vicious hooks.
Hughes climbed back in the saddle by the referee’s count, but the third man in the ring had seen enough, pulling the plug at the 2:08 mark.
The TKO wrestled the verdict from the hands of the judges and sealed the title for the well-traveled St. Louis City Police Officer.
It was also a highlight of the first of many successful shows planned for the St. Louis area by Let’s Get It On Promotions.
Other “Superbrawl” Results
St. Charles’ fan favorites Joe Stofle and Shawn Hammack picked up big victories in front of their adoring hometown crowd.
Relentless heavyweight Joe Stofle out lasted and out punched Florida’s Jerry Simpson, forcing a TKO at 2:01 of round four.
Light Heavyweight Hammack punished Iowa’s Jeff Osbourne with a series of teeth-rattling right crosses that the game Osbourne absorbed until the TKO ending at 1:51 of the fifth.
In other action, junior lightweight Robbie Cannon fought Andre Wilson from St. Joseph, MO to a four round majority draw and Ted Muller from Moline, Il defeated St. Louis’ Mike Wood to capture the NAMA light heavyweight belt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)