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Saturday, June 17, 2006
FRONT PAGE - FIRST CAPITOL NEWS - June 17, 2006
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EMBEZZLEMENT IN CITY FINANCE DEPARTMENT
By Tony Brockmeyer
The First Capitol News has learned from sources inside city hall that an employee of the finance department has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into embezzlement. The sources told us the person was responsible for receipts and payables. Discovering the City Administrator was out of town the First Capitol News attempted to get confirmation from Brent Schulz, Assistant to the City Administrator. Our requests for confirmation went unanswered.
Upon contacting several Council members for quotes we discovered the Council had not been notified. Councilman Mark Brown said, “I have been critical of the finance department since arriving to the council. The efforts that are made to confuse the elected officials and the public with financial reporting that is impossible to follow made me suspicious."
Councilman John Gieseke said, “I think this goes to the heart of why we have been unable to move forward on a forensic audit of our self insurance fund. The council voted to move ahead yet the City's administration has blocked our efforts. If this turns out to be true I would hope that the others on the Council who have been protecting the staff members instead of being stewards of the public’s money would put pressure on the City Administrator to stop blocking the audit."
Councilman Joe Koester said, "I wouldn't be surprised by this. The message the City Administration has sent to the employees is the rules don't apply. Williams has violated the law, has questionable business ethics and has lied to the people of the City. If I were this employee I would point to the City Administrator’s actions as my defense."
The First Capitol News is not revealing the name of the employee because the matter is still under investigation and charges have not yet been filed. ttt
The First Capitol News has learned from sources inside city hall that an employee of the finance department has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into embezzlement. The sources told us the person was responsible for receipts and payables. Discovering the City Administrator was out of town the First Capitol News attempted to get confirmation from Brent Schulz, Assistant to the City Administrator. Our requests for confirmation went unanswered.
Upon contacting several Council members for quotes we discovered the Council had not been notified. Councilman Mark Brown said, “I have been critical of the finance department since arriving to the council. The efforts that are made to confuse the elected officials and the public with financial reporting that is impossible to follow made me suspicious."
Councilman John Gieseke said, “I think this goes to the heart of why we have been unable to move forward on a forensic audit of our self insurance fund. The council voted to move ahead yet the City's administration has blocked our efforts. If this turns out to be true I would hope that the others on the Council who have been protecting the staff members instead of being stewards of the public’s money would put pressure on the City Administrator to stop blocking the audit."
Councilman Joe Koester said, "I wouldn't be surprised by this. The message the City Administration has sent to the employees is the rules don't apply. Williams has violated the law, has questionable business ethics and has lied to the people of the City. If I were this employee I would point to the City Administrator’s actions as my defense."
The First Capitol News is not revealing the name of the employee because the matter is still under investigation and charges have not yet been filed. ttt
City in Financial Trouble - Employee Pension Plan $14 million short - No Raises For City Employees?
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
The First Capitol News has learned that at an executive meeting of the City Council City Administrator Allan Williams informed the Council that the City was in financial trouble. He indicated that the City is without money to support any ongoing increase in labor economic benefits (no raises for City employees). He believes the conditions will worsen with the gaming bill that State Senator Gross had passed that only affects the City of St. Charles. He also advised them that the City has a actuarial study on the retiree health benefits showing the account is short $14 million.
Williams told the Council he would like to offer employees a lump sum buyout for those employees over 55 years old (Police and Fire), over 60 years old (general), and those who meet the rule of 80. He proposed a one time lump sum amount of $15,000 be deposited in their 457 account. Retirement dates will be staggered and determined by the City between now and February 2007. Currently there are 58 eligible, 14 in fire, 28 in general and 16 in police. Thirty three percent of City employees are over the age of 50, 26 percent in fire, 25 percent in police and 39 percent in general. Williams also proposes that the City will no longer contribute toward the spouse retiree health benefit (currently $173.75 per month). However he did tell the Council he wanted to use $150,000 to equip the emergency operations center at the police department and wanted to spend $50,000 engineering a tunnel for bikeways at First Capitol for Lindenwood University students and residents.
The City recently received $1.2 million in permit fees for the construction of the new hotel and related projects at Ameristar Casino. Earlier this year there was a great deal of discussion for the use of that money when it was learned of its anticipated receipt. When the money was received the Council directed it be placed in Council directives. Williams and the Mayor had wanted to use that money for other projects. Now Williams wants the City Council to release those funds for the employee buyouts and for the emergency operations center and the engineering of the tunnel for the bikeways near First Capitol and Lindenwood University. The FCN has learned that expected revenue from Ameristar Casino is down and that the sales tax is expected to be short by the end of the year.
.Councilman John Gieseke told the First Capitol News, "This is the second year in a row the Council has been told that the budgeting was not accurate. Keep in mind during my first term this never happened. I for one have no confidence in the City Administrator’s ability to run this City. The City knew for four years now the pension would have to be funded and yet for the two past budgets it has been ignored. Now he dumps it in our laps and takes no responsibility. "
The First Capitol News has learned that at an executive meeting of the City Council City Administrator Allan Williams informed the Council that the City was in financial trouble. He indicated that the City is without money to support any ongoing increase in labor economic benefits (no raises for City employees). He believes the conditions will worsen with the gaming bill that State Senator Gross had passed that only affects the City of St. Charles. He also advised them that the City has a actuarial study on the retiree health benefits showing the account is short $14 million.
Williams told the Council he would like to offer employees a lump sum buyout for those employees over 55 years old (Police and Fire), over 60 years old (general), and those who meet the rule of 80. He proposed a one time lump sum amount of $15,000 be deposited in their 457 account. Retirement dates will be staggered and determined by the City between now and February 2007. Currently there are 58 eligible, 14 in fire, 28 in general and 16 in police. Thirty three percent of City employees are over the age of 50, 26 percent in fire, 25 percent in police and 39 percent in general. Williams also proposes that the City will no longer contribute toward the spouse retiree health benefit (currently $173.75 per month). However he did tell the Council he wanted to use $150,000 to equip the emergency operations center at the police department and wanted to spend $50,000 engineering a tunnel for bikeways at First Capitol for Lindenwood University students and residents.
The City recently received $1.2 million in permit fees for the construction of the new hotel and related projects at Ameristar Casino. Earlier this year there was a great deal of discussion for the use of that money when it was learned of its anticipated receipt. When the money was received the Council directed it be placed in Council directives. Williams and the Mayor had wanted to use that money for other projects. Now Williams wants the City Council to release those funds for the employee buyouts and for the emergency operations center and the engineering of the tunnel for the bikeways near First Capitol and Lindenwood University. The FCN has learned that expected revenue from Ameristar Casino is down and that the sales tax is expected to be short by the end of the year.
.Councilman John Gieseke told the First Capitol News, "This is the second year in a row the Council has been told that the budgeting was not accurate. Keep in mind during my first term this never happened. I for one have no confidence in the City Administrator’s ability to run this City. The City knew for four years now the pension would have to be funded and yet for the two past budgets it has been ignored. Now he dumps it in our laps and takes no responsibility. "
Additional Space For County Department of Corrections
By Lynndi Lockenour
New jail cells, entirely constructed upon arrival, made their way through the window of the Department of Corrections a few weeks ago with the help of a crane. The additional cells are just one of many improvements being made to the former Sheriff’s Department facility. Other changes include: updating security technology, installing more cameras, and adding new equipment to the laundry room, as well as making it larger.
The jail’s maximum capacity is currently 502 beds. After the renovation, there will be 630+ beds available. Colonel Alan Stahl, Director of Corrections, said the renovation will allow for better population management among inmates by creating smaller units. “Having 12 and 24 person units will allow us to keep specific inmate populations together,” he said. “So for example, we don’t end up with an inmate convicted of assault being placed in the same unit as someone who is here for an unpaid traffic ticket.”
The jail was first completed in 1989, with a capacity of 220 beds. In 2000 a new unit, now the maximum-security division, was added onto the building, including 22 beds. After the juvenile center moved its location, their former space was converted into a work-release area, containing 110 beds. These renovations, combined with other, more minor alterations throughout the years, bring the facility to its current capacity of 502 prisoners.
The present expansion began last year in April. This renovation has converted nearly all the space that previously belonged to the Sheriff’s Department into actual jail cell space.
A capitol tax, approved by voters last year, allowing county government to make improvements to buildings and grounds, generated the funds necessary to make the improvements. “Expansions like these let us keep the buildings modernized and assures that we are getting the best utilization for the space we have,” he said.
Now averaging 290 inmates daily, at the beginning of the current renovation, the average was over 400 prisoners. “At first we were in dire need of the space,” Stahl said. With the average number of inmates declining, Stahl said he hopes when the new units are finished they can begin making improvements to the old cells. “Inmates can occupy the new cells, leaving the old ones empty,” he said. “This will allow our facilities staff to go in and do work on the old units, some of which have been around 20 years or longer.”
The biggest difference between the old facility and the new ones is the technology that is being used. The old cells used push-button controls, while the new ones will all be controlled with touch screen tools. Stahl said the new renovation will add a great number of cameras. Also, the cameras all contain recording equipment, allowing for better security and monitoring of inmates. “If we have an incident in the jail then we can go back and review the footage to see what happened and who participated,” Stahl said.
A new elevator was also installed to transport inmates from the first to third floors in a safe and secure manner. The elevator was erected in the center of the remaining building. “That’s marvelous construction as far as I’m concerned, ” Stahl said.
The renovation will also increase visitation space, allowing more visitors. “When you are trying to get 500 or 600 people through visitation in one week, it really helps to have the correct accommodations,” Stahl said.
In his 11 years with the St. Charles County Jail System, Stahl said he’s seen the county adapt to changes. “As population areas get bigger, the accompanying crime goes with it,” he said. “The great part of that is the administrators have been very attuned to this and have made sure the jail capacity is accurate at all times in order for us to provide a safe environment.”
He said a lot of jails throughout the country do not have the administrative support offered in St. Charles County. “ Often they continue to get more and more crowded and no one does anything about the capacity itself,” Stahl said. “Once you reach overcrowded situations like these, it becomes very dangerous.”
The current construction project is scheduled to be finished at the end of this year, but Stahl said they aren’t tied to a specific date just yet. “Construction can run late sometimes so it might be after the first of the year,” he said. “But whenever it is, we’ll be more than ready to get started using the new facilities.”
New jail cells, entirely constructed upon arrival, made their way through the window of the Department of Corrections a few weeks ago with the help of a crane. The additional cells are just one of many improvements being made to the former Sheriff’s Department facility. Other changes include: updating security technology, installing more cameras, and adding new equipment to the laundry room, as well as making it larger.
The jail’s maximum capacity is currently 502 beds. After the renovation, there will be 630+ beds available. Colonel Alan Stahl, Director of Corrections, said the renovation will allow for better population management among inmates by creating smaller units. “Having 12 and 24 person units will allow us to keep specific inmate populations together,” he said. “So for example, we don’t end up with an inmate convicted of assault being placed in the same unit as someone who is here for an unpaid traffic ticket.”
The jail was first completed in 1989, with a capacity of 220 beds. In 2000 a new unit, now the maximum-security division, was added onto the building, including 22 beds. After the juvenile center moved its location, their former space was converted into a work-release area, containing 110 beds. These renovations, combined with other, more minor alterations throughout the years, bring the facility to its current capacity of 502 prisoners.
The present expansion began last year in April. This renovation has converted nearly all the space that previously belonged to the Sheriff’s Department into actual jail cell space.
A capitol tax, approved by voters last year, allowing county government to make improvements to buildings and grounds, generated the funds necessary to make the improvements. “Expansions like these let us keep the buildings modernized and assures that we are getting the best utilization for the space we have,” he said.
Now averaging 290 inmates daily, at the beginning of the current renovation, the average was over 400 prisoners. “At first we were in dire need of the space,” Stahl said. With the average number of inmates declining, Stahl said he hopes when the new units are finished they can begin making improvements to the old cells. “Inmates can occupy the new cells, leaving the old ones empty,” he said. “This will allow our facilities staff to go in and do work on the old units, some of which have been around 20 years or longer.”
The biggest difference between the old facility and the new ones is the technology that is being used. The old cells used push-button controls, while the new ones will all be controlled with touch screen tools. Stahl said the new renovation will add a great number of cameras. Also, the cameras all contain recording equipment, allowing for better security and monitoring of inmates. “If we have an incident in the jail then we can go back and review the footage to see what happened and who participated,” Stahl said.
A new elevator was also installed to transport inmates from the first to third floors in a safe and secure manner. The elevator was erected in the center of the remaining building. “That’s marvelous construction as far as I’m concerned, ” Stahl said.
The renovation will also increase visitation space, allowing more visitors. “When you are trying to get 500 or 600 people through visitation in one week, it really helps to have the correct accommodations,” Stahl said.
In his 11 years with the St. Charles County Jail System, Stahl said he’s seen the county adapt to changes. “As population areas get bigger, the accompanying crime goes with it,” he said. “The great part of that is the administrators have been very attuned to this and have made sure the jail capacity is accurate at all times in order for us to provide a safe environment.”
He said a lot of jails throughout the country do not have the administrative support offered in St. Charles County. “ Often they continue to get more and more crowded and no one does anything about the capacity itself,” Stahl said. “Once you reach overcrowded situations like these, it becomes very dangerous.”
The current construction project is scheduled to be finished at the end of this year, but Stahl said they aren’t tied to a specific date just yet. “Construction can run late sometimes so it might be after the first of the year,” he said. “But whenever it is, we’ll be more than ready to get started using the new facilities.”
Smile! You Could Be on A Red Light Camera
By Lynndi Lockenour
In the future a traffic ticket could be on its way to a mailbox near you. Chief of Police, Tim Swope presented the idea of placing cameras at specific red lights throughout the city to the City Council at a recent meeting. Swope said he’s seen the positive effect the cameras have had in other cities like Chicago. “If it’s good enough for Chicago, I think it’s good enough for St. Charles,” he said.
A private company, who specializes in this type of camera placement would monitor the intersections separately and then relay their findings back to the Police Department. Based on the results, those intersections experiencing the highest number of red light violations would then be chosen to receive cameras.
One company who produces these types of cameras is RedFlex Traffic Systems Incorporated. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company installs the cameras and is also responsible for ticketing. A portion of all ticket money received goes directly back to the company and the rest to the city of St. Charles. “The money is not the important thing,” Swope said. “What is important is that we save lives.”
Jay Heiler, Director of Government Affairs for RedFlex Traffic Systems said the company receives a percentage of ticket money collected. “Some cities pay us a flat fee,” he said. “But the majority prefer to have a portion of each ticket sent to us.” Taking a portion from each ticket, he said, insures that the city isn’t wasting money on installing the system. “This way the violators are the ones paying for the camera system,” he said.
Heiler said the system works using sensors placed in the road, along with the visible cameras. “When a vehicle travels over the censor at a speed needed to cross the intersection, the camera is then triggered to take a photo,” he said. The camera records 6 seconds of video before the violation and 6 seconds of video afterward. The footage is then reviewed by RedFlex Traffic Systems, who then issue the tickets.
RedFlex Traffic Systems has operations in approximately 10 states throughout the country, encompassing 87 different cities. The company offers violators the opportunity to view the footage of their red light offense via Internet. Chief Swope said this type of playback technology is helpful in getting offenders to comply with the new cameras. “If they can see themselves committing the offense, hopefully they will slow down and be more aware next time,” he said.
Still an undecided issue between the City Council, Police Department and the traffic committee, no one company has been chosen yet. Still Chief Swope said he’s seen the benefits the residents of Scottsdale, Arizona have experienced as a result of the cameras RedFlex Traffic Systems installed. Swope said he thinks it would be a great investment for St. Charles.
City Council President, Roy Riddler said he supports the installation of such cameras. He himself has been involved in two accidents that were a result of red light violations. “It happens all the time where you’ll be sitting there and the light turns green, but at the last minute someone comes flying through the intersection,” he said. “This new technology would put a stop to it.”
Riddler argues that many people can recall a time where someone committed a traffic violation and wondered to themselves,‘Where are the police right now to catch this person?’ He said the cameras are a way to help with the problem of officers not being able to be there all the time. “This would be an adjunct to the police force, not a substitute,” he said. “In my eyes it is similar to placing computers in the squad cars; it allows the officers to do their jobs more effectively.”
While some councilmen approve the use of cameras at stoplights, others do not. Councilman Mark Brown said he opposes the cameras because they are essentially only being used to generate revenue for the city. “This private company, whoever the city decides to hire, will become a type of unwarranted law enforcement that we don’t want,” he said. “Our job is to make the roads safer and I don’t see how these cameras will accomplish that.”
Brown said his biggest problem with the cameras is that they eliminate the discretion police officers would have if they were involved. “Say the person behind someone who runs the light is being an aggressive driver and the person running the light does so to avoid getting hit,” he said. “These cameras won’t have diplomacy on deciding whether or not to give tickets.” He said this margin of error would lead to inconvenience more than anything and is not worth the effort. “These companies lobby our city officials, winning them and dining them, to make a sale,” he said. “It’s not really about safety at all.
Instead, Brown proposes that intersections experiencing trouble step up police patrols. He argues that it is the visibility of the patrol car that gets people to slow down, not a camera. “Someone who is driving aggressively does so for a long period of time,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if he passes 15 cameras, that won’t slow him down as quickly, or in the same way, as an officer pulling him over would.”
But Swope argues that additional patrolling is not the answer. “Some of the intersections being considered are so busy with traffic that having a patrol car run across four lanes of traffic to pull someone over is just not possible,” he said. “We would be endangering the lives of everyone at that intersection.”
Swope said he wasn’t sold on the idea until he saw the results in other communities like Scottsdale where RedFlex Traffic Systems has some of its cameras installed. “It is a wonderful endeavor for this community to consider,” he said. The potential for injuries is much higher at red lights, and often one of the biggest complaints Swope said he hears from constituents involve people running red lights.
However, with any new technology, also comes doubt. One of the biggest fears Chief Swope said he’s heard is from people who say the camera technology might be abused, used as a means to ticket those who proceeded through the light after it turns yellow. He assures that this is not the case and the only those who blatantly run the light will receive tickets.
Last year there were 151 reported accidents that were the result of red-light violations, many of those injury accidents. Swope assures the cameras are not there to trick anyone, noting the intersections containing cameras would be clearly marked and posted with signs warning drivers they are under camera surveillance. “One everyone understands that the cameras are there,” he said. “I think we will see considerably smaller amount of accidents as a result of someone running a red light.”
Heiler, of RedFlex Traffic Systems, assures that all their systems include a cautionary period where violators receive warnings instead of actual tickets. “We want to give people time to get use to that type of supervision,” he said. Usually the probationary period lasts 30 days after instillation.
As with any other traffic ticket, Heiler assures violators are free to contest the offense. “If they view the footage and think they didn’t do anything wrong, they can always contest,” he said. “In that manner, these tickets are no different from anything else.”
Several locations are being considered for camera observation. Included among these are the intersections of Fifth Street and Riverbluff Drive as well as the intersection of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Zumbehl. Swope said he expects there might be surprises after the intersections are analyzed. “We may find some that aren’t as bad as we thought,” he said. “We might also find intersections we didn’t even consider as being dangerous that could benefit from a camera.”
Despite this, Brown fears the instillation of cameras would eventually lead to a cut in the number of police officers patrolling the streets. He said when the cameras begin generating revenue, they will need fewer officers, and the overall number of officers might decline.
Privacy is also an issue for Brown when considering having the cameras installed. “You start by putting cameras on a few stoplights, then people say ‘oh if we had a camera on this or that park we could stop robberies and vandalism,’” he said. “Before long, they are everywhere and we are back to the old days of Russia.”
But Swope argues being filmed is part of everyday life today, saying that anytime someone visits a store, they are being watched for security reasons. “People don’t have anything to worry about,” he said. “We aren’t watching everyone, just the ones who are breaking the law.”
In the future a traffic ticket could be on its way to a mailbox near you. Chief of Police, Tim Swope presented the idea of placing cameras at specific red lights throughout the city to the City Council at a recent meeting. Swope said he’s seen the positive effect the cameras have had in other cities like Chicago. “If it’s good enough for Chicago, I think it’s good enough for St. Charles,” he said.
A private company, who specializes in this type of camera placement would monitor the intersections separately and then relay their findings back to the Police Department. Based on the results, those intersections experiencing the highest number of red light violations would then be chosen to receive cameras.
One company who produces these types of cameras is RedFlex Traffic Systems Incorporated. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company installs the cameras and is also responsible for ticketing. A portion of all ticket money received goes directly back to the company and the rest to the city of St. Charles. “The money is not the important thing,” Swope said. “What is important is that we save lives.”
Jay Heiler, Director of Government Affairs for RedFlex Traffic Systems said the company receives a percentage of ticket money collected. “Some cities pay us a flat fee,” he said. “But the majority prefer to have a portion of each ticket sent to us.” Taking a portion from each ticket, he said, insures that the city isn’t wasting money on installing the system. “This way the violators are the ones paying for the camera system,” he said.
Heiler said the system works using sensors placed in the road, along with the visible cameras. “When a vehicle travels over the censor at a speed needed to cross the intersection, the camera is then triggered to take a photo,” he said. The camera records 6 seconds of video before the violation and 6 seconds of video afterward. The footage is then reviewed by RedFlex Traffic Systems, who then issue the tickets.
RedFlex Traffic Systems has operations in approximately 10 states throughout the country, encompassing 87 different cities. The company offers violators the opportunity to view the footage of their red light offense via Internet. Chief Swope said this type of playback technology is helpful in getting offenders to comply with the new cameras. “If they can see themselves committing the offense, hopefully they will slow down and be more aware next time,” he said.
Still an undecided issue between the City Council, Police Department and the traffic committee, no one company has been chosen yet. Still Chief Swope said he’s seen the benefits the residents of Scottsdale, Arizona have experienced as a result of the cameras RedFlex Traffic Systems installed. Swope said he thinks it would be a great investment for St. Charles.
City Council President, Roy Riddler said he supports the installation of such cameras. He himself has been involved in two accidents that were a result of red light violations. “It happens all the time where you’ll be sitting there and the light turns green, but at the last minute someone comes flying through the intersection,” he said. “This new technology would put a stop to it.”
Riddler argues that many people can recall a time where someone committed a traffic violation and wondered to themselves,‘Where are the police right now to catch this person?’ He said the cameras are a way to help with the problem of officers not being able to be there all the time. “This would be an adjunct to the police force, not a substitute,” he said. “In my eyes it is similar to placing computers in the squad cars; it allows the officers to do their jobs more effectively.”
While some councilmen approve the use of cameras at stoplights, others do not. Councilman Mark Brown said he opposes the cameras because they are essentially only being used to generate revenue for the city. “This private company, whoever the city decides to hire, will become a type of unwarranted law enforcement that we don’t want,” he said. “Our job is to make the roads safer and I don’t see how these cameras will accomplish that.”
Brown said his biggest problem with the cameras is that they eliminate the discretion police officers would have if they were involved. “Say the person behind someone who runs the light is being an aggressive driver and the person running the light does so to avoid getting hit,” he said. “These cameras won’t have diplomacy on deciding whether or not to give tickets.” He said this margin of error would lead to inconvenience more than anything and is not worth the effort. “These companies lobby our city officials, winning them and dining them, to make a sale,” he said. “It’s not really about safety at all.
Instead, Brown proposes that intersections experiencing trouble step up police patrols. He argues that it is the visibility of the patrol car that gets people to slow down, not a camera. “Someone who is driving aggressively does so for a long period of time,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if he passes 15 cameras, that won’t slow him down as quickly, or in the same way, as an officer pulling him over would.”
But Swope argues that additional patrolling is not the answer. “Some of the intersections being considered are so busy with traffic that having a patrol car run across four lanes of traffic to pull someone over is just not possible,” he said. “We would be endangering the lives of everyone at that intersection.”
Swope said he wasn’t sold on the idea until he saw the results in other communities like Scottsdale where RedFlex Traffic Systems has some of its cameras installed. “It is a wonderful endeavor for this community to consider,” he said. The potential for injuries is much higher at red lights, and often one of the biggest complaints Swope said he hears from constituents involve people running red lights.
However, with any new technology, also comes doubt. One of the biggest fears Chief Swope said he’s heard is from people who say the camera technology might be abused, used as a means to ticket those who proceeded through the light after it turns yellow. He assures that this is not the case and the only those who blatantly run the light will receive tickets.
Last year there were 151 reported accidents that were the result of red-light violations, many of those injury accidents. Swope assures the cameras are not there to trick anyone, noting the intersections containing cameras would be clearly marked and posted with signs warning drivers they are under camera surveillance. “One everyone understands that the cameras are there,” he said. “I think we will see considerably smaller amount of accidents as a result of someone running a red light.”
Heiler, of RedFlex Traffic Systems, assures that all their systems include a cautionary period where violators receive warnings instead of actual tickets. “We want to give people time to get use to that type of supervision,” he said. Usually the probationary period lasts 30 days after instillation.
As with any other traffic ticket, Heiler assures violators are free to contest the offense. “If they view the footage and think they didn’t do anything wrong, they can always contest,” he said. “In that manner, these tickets are no different from anything else.”
Several locations are being considered for camera observation. Included among these are the intersections of Fifth Street and Riverbluff Drive as well as the intersection of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Zumbehl. Swope said he expects there might be surprises after the intersections are analyzed. “We may find some that aren’t as bad as we thought,” he said. “We might also find intersections we didn’t even consider as being dangerous that could benefit from a camera.”
Despite this, Brown fears the instillation of cameras would eventually lead to a cut in the number of police officers patrolling the streets. He said when the cameras begin generating revenue, they will need fewer officers, and the overall number of officers might decline.
Privacy is also an issue for Brown when considering having the cameras installed. “You start by putting cameras on a few stoplights, then people say ‘oh if we had a camera on this or that park we could stop robberies and vandalism,’” he said. “Before long, they are everywhere and we are back to the old days of Russia.”
But Swope argues being filmed is part of everyday life today, saying that anytime someone visits a store, they are being watched for security reasons. “People don’t have anything to worry about,” he said. “We aren’t watching everyone, just the ones who are breaking the law.”
TOWING THE LINE TO GRAFTON, IL - Great Rivers Towboat Festival 2006: Blues & BBQ
TOWING THE LINE TO GRAFTON, IL
Great Rivers Towboat Festival 2006: Blues & BBQ
Tow your way down to where the Mighty Mississippi and Illinois Rivers meet to celebrate the river at the annual Great Rivers Towboat Festival on Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25 on the riverfront in Grafton, Illinois. A little of blues, a little bit of barbeque and a whole lot of fun touring working towboats and experiencing life on the Mississippi River.
This year’s festival will roll down the river to the tune of the Blues all weekend long with music performed by one of St. Louis’ finest blues band - Five Long Years Blues Band. Straight from Paducah, KY, the Pork-n-Canoe BBQ Crew, courtesy of Marquette Transportation Company, will be serving up some of the best barbeque in the Midwest hot from the grill – a towboat-shaped grill, of course!
The highlight of the festival will be the free towboat tours. From noon to 4 p.m. each day, festival-goers will have the rare opportunity (weather permitting) to tour two working towboats: the “Twyla Luhr” provided by the Luhr Brothers of Columbia, IL and “Andi Boyd” from B&H Towing from Paducah, KY. The tours will give visitors a chance to see how towboats work and allow them to take a glance into the lives of real towboat workers and crew members during the long months they spend on the river.
The festival will also feature historical and educational displays about the Mississippi River. The Seaman Church Institute of Paducah, KY, will have an informational display detailing the ways they keep families together despite the extended time towboat workers spend on the river. Jack Simpson of Little River Books in Florissant, MO, will present historic maps, logs and books detailing river traffic, while Rose Stauffer, 30 years a cook on towboats, will be presenting several of her cookbooks published by Bean Burner Books. Datatronics will be bringing radios to talk with boats passing by on the river. Vendors displaying art, books, and Port of Grafton souvenir T-shirts and pins will be present throughout the weekend.
Again this year, visitors will be able to try their hand at steering a boat – a radio-controlled boat that is. The St. Louis Admirals Club will display their radio-controlled boats of all kinds in a 11,000-gallon “moat” constructed riverside. Kids of all ages will be amazed at the handmade replicas of river vessels controlled like the big ones in the palm of your hand.
Great music, great food and great fun can all be found at the Annual Great Rivers Towboat Festival. The festival is free. Festival hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. River conditions permitting, the towboat tours will run from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. For more information on this event, call 618-786-7000 or 1-800-ALTON-IL or go to www.VisitAlton.com.
Great Rivers Towboat Festival 2006: Blues & BBQ
Tow your way down to where the Mighty Mississippi and Illinois Rivers meet to celebrate the river at the annual Great Rivers Towboat Festival on Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25 on the riverfront in Grafton, Illinois. A little of blues, a little bit of barbeque and a whole lot of fun touring working towboats and experiencing life on the Mississippi River.
This year’s festival will roll down the river to the tune of the Blues all weekend long with music performed by one of St. Louis’ finest blues band - Five Long Years Blues Band. Straight from Paducah, KY, the Pork-n-Canoe BBQ Crew, courtesy of Marquette Transportation Company, will be serving up some of the best barbeque in the Midwest hot from the grill – a towboat-shaped grill, of course!
The highlight of the festival will be the free towboat tours. From noon to 4 p.m. each day, festival-goers will have the rare opportunity (weather permitting) to tour two working towboats: the “Twyla Luhr” provided by the Luhr Brothers of Columbia, IL and “Andi Boyd” from B&H Towing from Paducah, KY. The tours will give visitors a chance to see how towboats work and allow them to take a glance into the lives of real towboat workers and crew members during the long months they spend on the river.
The festival will also feature historical and educational displays about the Mississippi River. The Seaman Church Institute of Paducah, KY, will have an informational display detailing the ways they keep families together despite the extended time towboat workers spend on the river. Jack Simpson of Little River Books in Florissant, MO, will present historic maps, logs and books detailing river traffic, while Rose Stauffer, 30 years a cook on towboats, will be presenting several of her cookbooks published by Bean Burner Books. Datatronics will be bringing radios to talk with boats passing by on the river. Vendors displaying art, books, and Port of Grafton souvenir T-shirts and pins will be present throughout the weekend.
Again this year, visitors will be able to try their hand at steering a boat – a radio-controlled boat that is. The St. Louis Admirals Club will display their radio-controlled boats of all kinds in a 11,000-gallon “moat” constructed riverside. Kids of all ages will be amazed at the handmade replicas of river vessels controlled like the big ones in the palm of your hand.
Great music, great food and great fun can all be found at the Annual Great Rivers Towboat Festival. The festival is free. Festival hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. River conditions permitting, the towboat tours will run from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. For more information on this event, call 618-786-7000 or 1-800-ALTON-IL or go to www.VisitAlton.com.
RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
WILL THERE BE A MOVERS & SHAKERS CIVIL WAR?
The word on the street is that there will soon be another magazine about St. Charles. Tom Hannegan has decided that he can do a better job than Deb Smith so he has started a magazine to compete against her. Now the fun begins. I have been told they are not talking and sides have been drawn up within the movers and shakers.
DS has a board of advisors for her magazine and TH has started a board for his magazine. A few of the people are on both boards i.e. Nadine Boon the City’s Director of Economic Development. The boards consist of people who believe they are movers and shakers and others who think they should be movers and shakers. The majority of the members of these boards probably think they were selected to give input and help with editorial policy. A few are smart enough to realize they were selected because of their advertising potential. They either have the authority to place ads or are close to someone who is, thereby benefiting the income of the magazine on whose board they serve. (i.e.; Nadine Boon with economic development ads from the City budget. Steve Powell the former Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau was on a lot of boards). I would be surprised if any of these boards ever had a board meeting.
TH’s publication has not reached the streets yet but DS’s has been around for several years. It is mostly ads with puff pieces on either members of their board or movers and shakers they believe can bring them advertising. They also have awards programs and dinners like the 40 under 40 and the 50 over 50. Nothing wrong with those programs. I congratulate them for coming up with the ideas. It’s a great way to sell advertising. The honorees or their employers usually feel obligated to purchase a congratulatory ad in the publication. I would doubt if any of those ads are a wise investment. The ads are great for making the honorees feel good but don’t do much for bringing in business to the companies who paid for them. The people who think they may be mentioned in them are usually the only audience for those publications.
As this Civil War between the magazines develops we will keep you informed. TS will have to come up with some award ideas of his own.
SPECIAL AWARDS
There are a great number of awards given out in the City of St. Charles each year. With so many being given they become diluted and have less meaning. Some newspapers also give out the “best of” awards. This is also used as a way to sell advertising. When is the last time you went to a printer or cleaners because a publication gave them an award for being the best of?
I have tried to have our publication sponsor an awards program. However, each time I come up with the idea our publisher shoots me down and says NO. She believes that our readers know these award programs, where multiple awards are presented, are only a money making project for the people giving the awards. Even though she says no I still believe I had several good ideas.
One of the award categories I suggested was “TWENTY WHO HAVE PLENTY”. We would give awards to the 20 people who were most successful in obtaining taxpayer dollars to use for their own benefit.
I also suggested we have as a category, ‘THIRTY WHO ARE DIRTY.” This award would be for the top thirty people in political office who are involved in graft and corruption and the misuse of tax dollars.
Perhaps one day I can talk our publisher into such an awards program. In the meantime why don’t you send me your suggestions on who you think should receive these awards?
SHOULD THE BOARD MEMBERS BE RESPONSIBLE?
A foundation was recently formed in St. Charles. The organizer had some great ideas and asked several people to serve on the board. Most readily agreed and lent their names to what appeared to be a worthwhile endeavor. The organizer lead the board to believe a great amount of money would soon be forthcoming to be used by the foundation. The money never materialized.
In the meantime the Foundation and its founder became indebted to businesses in St. Charles amounting to thousands of dollars. When the money never materialized the businesses were left holding the bag. Several of them allowed the Foundation to be indebted to them based on the integrity and reputations of those on the board. Now that there is no money some have suggested the City could step in and take care of some of the debt. Others have suggested the board members who lent their names to this endeavor be responsible for the debt. I tend to agree with the latter. We would be interested in learning what you think. E-mail your response to firstcapitolnews@aol.com.
USE CAUTION WHEN LENDING YOUR NAME TO A BOARD
Several attorneys we have spoken to suggest that you use caution when lending your name to a board of directors, or an advisory board. Why do they want you on their board? Is it because you are such a wise person they believe their business will be successful because of your input? Or is it because they believe their business will be able to profit because of you and your contacts? No matter how important the offer might make you feel, step back and determine if you are being honored or taken advantage of.
MUENCH GETS $2500 FOR JAYCEE PARTIES IN PARK
At the request of Ward 2 Councilman Larry Muench the City Council has voted to give the St. Charles Jaycees $2500 to be used for their parties in the park, which are held once a month in Frontier Park.
CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU ADDS $3500 TO $15,000 OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS GIVEN BY YORK AND RIDDLER FOR BANDS
At a meeting of the City Council several weeks ago a proposal by Councilman Rory Riddler and Mayor York to have bands on Main Street for the last Saturday in June, July and August was considered. They proposed bands be brought in from out of state and entertain on Main Street on those three Saturday evenings. The City Council approved $15,000 for the out of state bands. Last week we received an invitation from a public relations firm inviting us to a Press Party including free food along with Margaritas and Hurricane drinks to promote ‘Hot Saturday Nights.’ A council member then told us that the Convention and Visitors Bureau had added an additional $3500 to the pot to hire the PR firm to promote this event. This was done in apparent violation of a ruling made by the Council last year that if an organization received money from one part of the City, i.e. the City Council, it could not receive additional funds from another part, i.e. CVB or Arts & Culture. It remains to be seen if the Council takes any action to rectify.
SUMMER SCHEDULE
As we mentioned in our last edition we are on our summer schedule, publishing twice a month during June, July and August. We will return to our weekly schedule on September 9, 2006. In the meantime you can keep up on any breaking news on our daily web log, firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com.
The word on the street is that there will soon be another magazine about St. Charles. Tom Hannegan has decided that he can do a better job than Deb Smith so he has started a magazine to compete against her. Now the fun begins. I have been told they are not talking and sides have been drawn up within the movers and shakers.
DS has a board of advisors for her magazine and TH has started a board for his magazine. A few of the people are on both boards i.e. Nadine Boon the City’s Director of Economic Development. The boards consist of people who believe they are movers and shakers and others who think they should be movers and shakers. The majority of the members of these boards probably think they were selected to give input and help with editorial policy. A few are smart enough to realize they were selected because of their advertising potential. They either have the authority to place ads or are close to someone who is, thereby benefiting the income of the magazine on whose board they serve. (i.e.; Nadine Boon with economic development ads from the City budget. Steve Powell the former Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau was on a lot of boards). I would be surprised if any of these boards ever had a board meeting.
TH’s publication has not reached the streets yet but DS’s has been around for several years. It is mostly ads with puff pieces on either members of their board or movers and shakers they believe can bring them advertising. They also have awards programs and dinners like the 40 under 40 and the 50 over 50. Nothing wrong with those programs. I congratulate them for coming up with the ideas. It’s a great way to sell advertising. The honorees or their employers usually feel obligated to purchase a congratulatory ad in the publication. I would doubt if any of those ads are a wise investment. The ads are great for making the honorees feel good but don’t do much for bringing in business to the companies who paid for them. The people who think they may be mentioned in them are usually the only audience for those publications.
As this Civil War between the magazines develops we will keep you informed. TS will have to come up with some award ideas of his own.
SPECIAL AWARDS
There are a great number of awards given out in the City of St. Charles each year. With so many being given they become diluted and have less meaning. Some newspapers also give out the “best of” awards. This is also used as a way to sell advertising. When is the last time you went to a printer or cleaners because a publication gave them an award for being the best of?
I have tried to have our publication sponsor an awards program. However, each time I come up with the idea our publisher shoots me down and says NO. She believes that our readers know these award programs, where multiple awards are presented, are only a money making project for the people giving the awards. Even though she says no I still believe I had several good ideas.
One of the award categories I suggested was “TWENTY WHO HAVE PLENTY”. We would give awards to the 20 people who were most successful in obtaining taxpayer dollars to use for their own benefit.
I also suggested we have as a category, ‘THIRTY WHO ARE DIRTY.” This award would be for the top thirty people in political office who are involved in graft and corruption and the misuse of tax dollars.
Perhaps one day I can talk our publisher into such an awards program. In the meantime why don’t you send me your suggestions on who you think should receive these awards?
SHOULD THE BOARD MEMBERS BE RESPONSIBLE?
A foundation was recently formed in St. Charles. The organizer had some great ideas and asked several people to serve on the board. Most readily agreed and lent their names to what appeared to be a worthwhile endeavor. The organizer lead the board to believe a great amount of money would soon be forthcoming to be used by the foundation. The money never materialized.
In the meantime the Foundation and its founder became indebted to businesses in St. Charles amounting to thousands of dollars. When the money never materialized the businesses were left holding the bag. Several of them allowed the Foundation to be indebted to them based on the integrity and reputations of those on the board. Now that there is no money some have suggested the City could step in and take care of some of the debt. Others have suggested the board members who lent their names to this endeavor be responsible for the debt. I tend to agree with the latter. We would be interested in learning what you think. E-mail your response to firstcapitolnews@aol.com.
USE CAUTION WHEN LENDING YOUR NAME TO A BOARD
Several attorneys we have spoken to suggest that you use caution when lending your name to a board of directors, or an advisory board. Why do they want you on their board? Is it because you are such a wise person they believe their business will be successful because of your input? Or is it because they believe their business will be able to profit because of you and your contacts? No matter how important the offer might make you feel, step back and determine if you are being honored or taken advantage of.
MUENCH GETS $2500 FOR JAYCEE PARTIES IN PARK
At the request of Ward 2 Councilman Larry Muench the City Council has voted to give the St. Charles Jaycees $2500 to be used for their parties in the park, which are held once a month in Frontier Park.
CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU ADDS $3500 TO $15,000 OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS GIVEN BY YORK AND RIDDLER FOR BANDS
At a meeting of the City Council several weeks ago a proposal by Councilman Rory Riddler and Mayor York to have bands on Main Street for the last Saturday in June, July and August was considered. They proposed bands be brought in from out of state and entertain on Main Street on those three Saturday evenings. The City Council approved $15,000 for the out of state bands. Last week we received an invitation from a public relations firm inviting us to a Press Party including free food along with Margaritas and Hurricane drinks to promote ‘Hot Saturday Nights.’ A council member then told us that the Convention and Visitors Bureau had added an additional $3500 to the pot to hire the PR firm to promote this event. This was done in apparent violation of a ruling made by the Council last year that if an organization received money from one part of the City, i.e. the City Council, it could not receive additional funds from another part, i.e. CVB or Arts & Culture. It remains to be seen if the Council takes any action to rectify.
SUMMER SCHEDULE
As we mentioned in our last edition we are on our summer schedule, publishing twice a month during June, July and August. We will return to our weekly schedule on September 9, 2006. In the meantime you can keep up on any breaking news on our daily web log, firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com.
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor,
I have lived and raised my family for over 45 years in this city. Never had time to watch the goings on at city hall when working every day to help make ends meet. Always thought things were being done right. Now we have citywide cable coverage of council meetings and can see and hear about things that we didn’t know about. Then we get a local paper, which I believe is the best thing that has happened in this city. Now we can even read about the antics of some people and even behind the scenes of some of them.
At the meeting of May 8 and work session of May 9, we have the gang of (5) (Weller, Kneemiller, Reese, Hoepfner, and Muench) upset about words like FRAUD, CORRUPTION & CRONYISM that they have heard about. Has any of this hit a nerve?
When you hear about the city losing hundreds of thousands of dollars on the sale of the old police station; signing of no bid, no council approval of Express Scripts Health Care contract; writing of a letter to help people who are suing the city; hooking up of developments who are outside the city limits, to our water/sewer lines and we are now spending $30 - $40 million to upgrade these lines and for new pumping stations; spending $800 - $900 million to run a water line over to the county to help more hook-up; person who votes “NO” on developers but when he gets plumbing permits and work done on his house, now votes “YES”; most of the group of 5 being involved in the recall efforts of (2) of the council members they don ‘t like; votes not to retain the attorney in the recall effort of Mr. Brown because they don’t want to be deposed; our “City” Attorney, Mayor and City Administrator” gives the developers every thing they want and the gang of (5) going along. We see new things coming up almost every day. Is it any wonder what people think? Why don’t you put everything on the table? Do your job that you were elected to do, which is to do what is best for the residents and the city and not for special interests, friends or personal gain.
Now we read about “Money Laundering or Smart Politics” series showing back door ways to defeat the limits on political contributions. I think these articles should be sent to the U.S. Attorney for possible investigation of Federal Law violations. Apparently, we have our own “K” Street Project at 320 Monroe Street. If there is truth to these articles, the FBI should investigate for Federal Election Laws violations.
When some people get so arrogant that they think they are above the law or only have to obey the ones that they want to, then it is time for the silent majority to rise up.
Walter Dietz
Dear Mr. Brockmeyer,
Many thanks for your efforts to look into the apparent GOP money laundering scheme that is taking place in St. Charles. This seems to be an obvious violation of at least the spirit of MO campaign finance laws.
Enclosed please find the Jan 15, 2006 Campaign Finance Report submitted by State Treasurer Sarah Steelman. As you will see, Treasurer Steelman garnered $87,500 from these Committees. I think the citizens of Missouri are entitled to know who is giving $87,500 from these Committees to the Treasurer and what they might be expecting to receive in return.
Best Wishes,
A Concerned Citizen
I have lived and raised my family for over 45 years in this city. Never had time to watch the goings on at city hall when working every day to help make ends meet. Always thought things were being done right. Now we have citywide cable coverage of council meetings and can see and hear about things that we didn’t know about. Then we get a local paper, which I believe is the best thing that has happened in this city. Now we can even read about the antics of some people and even behind the scenes of some of them.
At the meeting of May 8 and work session of May 9, we have the gang of (5) (Weller, Kneemiller, Reese, Hoepfner, and Muench) upset about words like FRAUD, CORRUPTION & CRONYISM that they have heard about. Has any of this hit a nerve?
When you hear about the city losing hundreds of thousands of dollars on the sale of the old police station; signing of no bid, no council approval of Express Scripts Health Care contract; writing of a letter to help people who are suing the city; hooking up of developments who are outside the city limits, to our water/sewer lines and we are now spending $30 - $40 million to upgrade these lines and for new pumping stations; spending $800 - $900 million to run a water line over to the county to help more hook-up; person who votes “NO” on developers but when he gets plumbing permits and work done on his house, now votes “YES”; most of the group of 5 being involved in the recall efforts of (2) of the council members they don ‘t like; votes not to retain the attorney in the recall effort of Mr. Brown because they don’t want to be deposed; our “City” Attorney, Mayor and City Administrator” gives the developers every thing they want and the gang of (5) going along. We see new things coming up almost every day. Is it any wonder what people think? Why don’t you put everything on the table? Do your job that you were elected to do, which is to do what is best for the residents and the city and not for special interests, friends or personal gain.
Now we read about “Money Laundering or Smart Politics” series showing back door ways to defeat the limits on political contributions. I think these articles should be sent to the U.S. Attorney for possible investigation of Federal Law violations. Apparently, we have our own “K” Street Project at 320 Monroe Street. If there is truth to these articles, the FBI should investigate for Federal Election Laws violations.
When some people get so arrogant that they think they are above the law or only have to obey the ones that they want to, then it is time for the silent majority to rise up.
Walter Dietz
Dear Mr. Brockmeyer,
Many thanks for your efforts to look into the apparent GOP money laundering scheme that is taking place in St. Charles. This seems to be an obvious violation of at least the spirit of MO campaign finance laws.
Enclosed please find the Jan 15, 2006 Campaign Finance Report submitted by State Treasurer Sarah Steelman. As you will see, Treasurer Steelman garnered $87,500 from these Committees. I think the citizens of Missouri are entitled to know who is giving $87,500 from these Committees to the Treasurer and what they might be expecting to receive in return.
Best Wishes,
A Concerned Citizen
THE CITY DESK - Rory Riddler, Councilman Ward 1
Looking For Hook To Attract
Business Investment To Region…
How About Better Odds Of Survival?
Yesterday I saw a promo for the newest Sci-Fi made for television movie. This one centers around a mysterious black hole opening up somewhere near Branson and threatening to devour the Gateway Arch and all of Eastern Missouri. I guess I wouldn’t have minded so much getting walloped by a meteor or the latest trendy pandemic. It just feels…I don’t know…unseemly for Missouri to get sucked into a black hole. Call me an apocalypse snob, but that isn’t how I saw us going out.
In fact, it seems like far more plausible disasters are routinely rained down on other sections of country, while St. Louis sits poised serenely in the eye of the storm. Our miraculous good luck, seems to have escaped the notice of corporate decision makers. They should be standing in line to relocate operations to a region where they and their employees are less likely to be blown up, blown away, drowned, eaten, or buried under several feet of snow or volcanic ash.
Give the credit to Pierre Laclede and Louis Blanchette, or call it a fortunate accident of geology and climatology, but St. Louis and St. Charles don’t get the credit they deserve for being such safe places to live and work. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole black hole smear isn’t being paid for by the State of Florida.
Why Florida? It’s the obvious suspect being the most “unsafe” place in the nation. Don’t let those smiling Disney characters fool you…Florida is a death trap.
Knowing that tourists might be scared away by all the media attention given shark attacks, the Florida Department of Tourism paid for a display at one of State’s larger tourist attractions. It was a two story map of the state with a fin to represent every shark attack. Then to drive home the point that you are more likely to be hit by lightening than to be attacked by a shark, they put lightening bolts all over the map where people were hit by…you guessed it…lightening.
Little lightening bolts covered the map and I must say it worked wonders. I wasn’t near as scared of being eaten by some Great White as I was being struck dead from a bolt out of the blue. They probably shouldn’t have picked lightening strikes for their comparison as Florida, being flat and having a moist atmosphere leads the nation in people getting struck by lightening.
A lot of the lightening comes from being the leading State for tornados. I know we all thought it was Texas, Kansas or Oklahoma. In fact Oklahoma does lead the nation in stronger more destructive tornados. But, of the 1,200 tornadoes that are reported in the U.S. on an annual basis, most occur in Florida.
Now if you get caught in the path of a tornado the survival tips all say to get out of your car and lie down in a ditch. That works great in Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. But in Florida there are alligators hiding in those flooded ditches waiting to get the people trying to escape from tornados and lightening. Did I mention Florida leads the nation in alligator attacks? Or as I like to call them…land sharks. It’s all part of the great circle of life.
In researching a few facts for this column (the ones I didn’t make up), I learned that the annual probability of most of Southern Florida getting hit by a hurricane is around 20%. That would compare with the annual probability in St. Charles of being hit by a hurricane being…let’s see….of yeah, zero.
To be fair to Florida the rest of the States don’t fair much better. Major hurricanes can devastate coastal areas as we saw in New Orleans from Texas to Maryland. Massachusetts experienced terrible flooding this year and most of the Northeast has suffered through killer blizzards. Lake affect blizzards dump huge amounts of snow on northern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. Texas has droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, tornados and fire ants. (Bush must have been glad to get out of there).
Moving west from here we have Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma…the three states Mother Nature uses for golf-ball size hail target practice. In Yellowstone Park five bison recently dropped dead from the toxic gases seeping up from the same underground volcanic activity the fuels the hot geysers. Active volcanoes can also be found in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and California, which together have most of the 169 volcanoes identified in the United State; only twelve of which are monitored. Of course California has more to worry about than volcanoes, with all the earthquakes, mudslides, wildfires and Arnold Schwarzenager.
I haven’t even had time to touch on the effects of Global Warming. As New York and Miami slowly sink, I think we have a real opportunity to attract companies from those cities to move here…at least those below the 27th floor.
Now, I don’t want to gloss over the fact that there is a seismic fault line at New Madrid which could cause damage here. It last caused a major earthquake in 1810 and does so every few hundred years according to the geological record. We also have floods, but the difference is they impact far less of our population thanks to the region using FEMA grants to relocate homes and businesses to higher ground.
My observations are, for the most part, unscientific. But then so are most marketing claims. I remember that Wonder Bread was suppose to build strong bodies twelve ways till someone asked them how. So before someone starts asking intelligent questions, I propose we launch a marketing campaign with the slogan:
Missouri…Mother Nature Likes Us Best!
Take that Sci-Fi Channel.
Business Investment To Region…
How About Better Odds Of Survival?
Yesterday I saw a promo for the newest Sci-Fi made for television movie. This one centers around a mysterious black hole opening up somewhere near Branson and threatening to devour the Gateway Arch and all of Eastern Missouri. I guess I wouldn’t have minded so much getting walloped by a meteor or the latest trendy pandemic. It just feels…I don’t know…unseemly for Missouri to get sucked into a black hole. Call me an apocalypse snob, but that isn’t how I saw us going out.
In fact, it seems like far more plausible disasters are routinely rained down on other sections of country, while St. Louis sits poised serenely in the eye of the storm. Our miraculous good luck, seems to have escaped the notice of corporate decision makers. They should be standing in line to relocate operations to a region where they and their employees are less likely to be blown up, blown away, drowned, eaten, or buried under several feet of snow or volcanic ash.
Give the credit to Pierre Laclede and Louis Blanchette, or call it a fortunate accident of geology and climatology, but St. Louis and St. Charles don’t get the credit they deserve for being such safe places to live and work. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole black hole smear isn’t being paid for by the State of Florida.
Why Florida? It’s the obvious suspect being the most “unsafe” place in the nation. Don’t let those smiling Disney characters fool you…Florida is a death trap.
Knowing that tourists might be scared away by all the media attention given shark attacks, the Florida Department of Tourism paid for a display at one of State’s larger tourist attractions. It was a two story map of the state with a fin to represent every shark attack. Then to drive home the point that you are more likely to be hit by lightening than to be attacked by a shark, they put lightening bolts all over the map where people were hit by…you guessed it…lightening.
Little lightening bolts covered the map and I must say it worked wonders. I wasn’t near as scared of being eaten by some Great White as I was being struck dead from a bolt out of the blue. They probably shouldn’t have picked lightening strikes for their comparison as Florida, being flat and having a moist atmosphere leads the nation in people getting struck by lightening.
A lot of the lightening comes from being the leading State for tornados. I know we all thought it was Texas, Kansas or Oklahoma. In fact Oklahoma does lead the nation in stronger more destructive tornados. But, of the 1,200 tornadoes that are reported in the U.S. on an annual basis, most occur in Florida.
Now if you get caught in the path of a tornado the survival tips all say to get out of your car and lie down in a ditch. That works great in Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. But in Florida there are alligators hiding in those flooded ditches waiting to get the people trying to escape from tornados and lightening. Did I mention Florida leads the nation in alligator attacks? Or as I like to call them…land sharks. It’s all part of the great circle of life.
In researching a few facts for this column (the ones I didn’t make up), I learned that the annual probability of most of Southern Florida getting hit by a hurricane is around 20%. That would compare with the annual probability in St. Charles of being hit by a hurricane being…let’s see….of yeah, zero.
To be fair to Florida the rest of the States don’t fair much better. Major hurricanes can devastate coastal areas as we saw in New Orleans from Texas to Maryland. Massachusetts experienced terrible flooding this year and most of the Northeast has suffered through killer blizzards. Lake affect blizzards dump huge amounts of snow on northern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. Texas has droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, tornados and fire ants. (Bush must have been glad to get out of there).
Moving west from here we have Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma…the three states Mother Nature uses for golf-ball size hail target practice. In Yellowstone Park five bison recently dropped dead from the toxic gases seeping up from the same underground volcanic activity the fuels the hot geysers. Active volcanoes can also be found in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and California, which together have most of the 169 volcanoes identified in the United State; only twelve of which are monitored. Of course California has more to worry about than volcanoes, with all the earthquakes, mudslides, wildfires and Arnold Schwarzenager.
I haven’t even had time to touch on the effects of Global Warming. As New York and Miami slowly sink, I think we have a real opportunity to attract companies from those cities to move here…at least those below the 27th floor.
Now, I don’t want to gloss over the fact that there is a seismic fault line at New Madrid which could cause damage here. It last caused a major earthquake in 1810 and does so every few hundred years according to the geological record. We also have floods, but the difference is they impact far less of our population thanks to the region using FEMA grants to relocate homes and businesses to higher ground.
My observations are, for the most part, unscientific. But then so are most marketing claims. I remember that Wonder Bread was suppose to build strong bodies twelve ways till someone asked them how. So before someone starts asking intelligent questions, I propose we launch a marketing campaign with the slogan:
Missouri…Mother Nature Likes Us Best!
Take that Sci-Fi Channel.
CASE IN POINT By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9
All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
Anon.
Sunny, warm days and cool nights – the St. Louis weather hasn’t lived up to its reputation so far this year. We had good amount of rain (albeit in May rather than April) and we have been spared the sudden jump into the 90s with humidity hovering around the 100% level.
I sometimes wonder if people in Seattle or the region truly realize what a good day is weather-wise. If 78F is the norm, do they appreciate the occasional 95-degree day? We here in the Midwest have learned to grab a hold of a good day’s weather and stretch it as long as we can, and if we get a week’s reprieve from the typical St. Louis summer weather, why it’s enough to change even old Bob Hoepfner into a happy cat. That’s not an easy thing to do!
Here’s why I mention this rather mundane topic this week: Midwesterners, I think, are still pretty down-to-earth kind of people who know that a cool day today can mean a scorcher tomorrow. A wet spring this year might turn to a drought for months or too much rain until our rivers burst out of their prescribed paths and flood our neighbors, our families, our friends – our towns. I think Midwesterners are mostly good, family people trying to make a living; enjoying life with friends and neighbors; happy for others who work hard and get ahead. We value our schools, our faith, and our blessings. We are realists who know that it won’t always be sunny and 75F.
Of course, politics too is like the weather and you have to know what good politics is in order to know what bad politics is. In Missouri, we have had ¢em both – periods of progress and periods of decay. There are even proud periods in our history when we were on the cutting edge! It was here where public kindergartens were started in our country. It was progressive 1904 Saint Louis and Missouri that brought a world’s fair to St. Louis and since public funds were used in this venture, the legacy is public spaces where all St. Louisians (or St. Charlesians) can freely enter regardless of their socio-economic status – from the Zoo, to the Muny, to our outstanding art museum. It would have been appropriate for our new ballpark to set aside a few seats in the same way! Public money means public use…
To continue, during the Great Depression, Missouri began a Conservation Department that was the first of its kind followed by New York and eventually all states in our union. Just because we are Midwesterners doesn’t mean we haven’t been progressives.
Unfortunately, today’s Missouri is another matter. One of our governor’s first acts was to cut assistance from some of the state’s poorest children. This isn’t the will of the people I knew growing up in Missouri. We are all too eager to demonize anyone who needs help to pay bills, feed their family, receive medical attention, while at the same time handing tax giveaways out to corporations that pay so poorly; that do not offer affordable health insurance; that do not provide workers with pensions so their very workers are often those who turn to the public for help.
What a foolish way to conduct business! To anyone listening in Jefferson City – let’s tell the huge retailers in our state that if you want to do business here, you will pay your workers a living wage and provide health insurance instead of passing the buck to the residents of our state. For many of us, it is an affront that our tax dollars go to subsidize lousy pay and working conditions.
Next, our schools languish both as a state and as a city. Right on our riverfront sits a behemoth of a casino – something not everyone is happy about. To add insult to injury, our city schools have realized no significant benefits from playing host to this cash cow.
Francis Howell receives more money per pupil per year than does St. Charles schools?
Here is a plan: after we regulate the gigantic retailers (sadly, Wal-Mart is our nation’s top employer) so that they pay their workers a living wage, the money that is saved by removing thousands off of social welfare can be transferred to our schools so that we might move out of the 40-something range in school performance. Next, we make all state license offices public with all proceeds going to local school districts.
We have a chance to prevent schools from closing in our town if the political will is there. Our city’s choice really comes down to spending money as investment in education or spending money later to re-develop our town. The former makes sense to me, the latter is as foolish as allowing retailers to pay poverty-level wages then ask the public to pick up the slack by providing assistance. Take care of the problem on the front end, and your problems on the back end will be minimized.
By the time this paper hits your lawn, who knows what the weather will hold for us? Maybe there will be sunshine, maybe thunderstorms; however, one thing is for certain, if Jefferson City stays the same, you can expect grey skies for another two years!
Anon.
Sunny, warm days and cool nights – the St. Louis weather hasn’t lived up to its reputation so far this year. We had good amount of rain (albeit in May rather than April) and we have been spared the sudden jump into the 90s with humidity hovering around the 100% level.
I sometimes wonder if people in Seattle or the region truly realize what a good day is weather-wise. If 78F is the norm, do they appreciate the occasional 95-degree day? We here in the Midwest have learned to grab a hold of a good day’s weather and stretch it as long as we can, and if we get a week’s reprieve from the typical St. Louis summer weather, why it’s enough to change even old Bob Hoepfner into a happy cat. That’s not an easy thing to do!
Here’s why I mention this rather mundane topic this week: Midwesterners, I think, are still pretty down-to-earth kind of people who know that a cool day today can mean a scorcher tomorrow. A wet spring this year might turn to a drought for months or too much rain until our rivers burst out of their prescribed paths and flood our neighbors, our families, our friends – our towns. I think Midwesterners are mostly good, family people trying to make a living; enjoying life with friends and neighbors; happy for others who work hard and get ahead. We value our schools, our faith, and our blessings. We are realists who know that it won’t always be sunny and 75F.
Of course, politics too is like the weather and you have to know what good politics is in order to know what bad politics is. In Missouri, we have had ¢em both – periods of progress and periods of decay. There are even proud periods in our history when we were on the cutting edge! It was here where public kindergartens were started in our country. It was progressive 1904 Saint Louis and Missouri that brought a world’s fair to St. Louis and since public funds were used in this venture, the legacy is public spaces where all St. Louisians (or St. Charlesians) can freely enter regardless of their socio-economic status – from the Zoo, to the Muny, to our outstanding art museum. It would have been appropriate for our new ballpark to set aside a few seats in the same way! Public money means public use…
To continue, during the Great Depression, Missouri began a Conservation Department that was the first of its kind followed by New York and eventually all states in our union. Just because we are Midwesterners doesn’t mean we haven’t been progressives.
Unfortunately, today’s Missouri is another matter. One of our governor’s first acts was to cut assistance from some of the state’s poorest children. This isn’t the will of the people I knew growing up in Missouri. We are all too eager to demonize anyone who needs help to pay bills, feed their family, receive medical attention, while at the same time handing tax giveaways out to corporations that pay so poorly; that do not offer affordable health insurance; that do not provide workers with pensions so their very workers are often those who turn to the public for help.
What a foolish way to conduct business! To anyone listening in Jefferson City – let’s tell the huge retailers in our state that if you want to do business here, you will pay your workers a living wage and provide health insurance instead of passing the buck to the residents of our state. For many of us, it is an affront that our tax dollars go to subsidize lousy pay and working conditions.
Next, our schools languish both as a state and as a city. Right on our riverfront sits a behemoth of a casino – something not everyone is happy about. To add insult to injury, our city schools have realized no significant benefits from playing host to this cash cow.
Francis Howell receives more money per pupil per year than does St. Charles schools?
Here is a plan: after we regulate the gigantic retailers (sadly, Wal-Mart is our nation’s top employer) so that they pay their workers a living wage, the money that is saved by removing thousands off of social welfare can be transferred to our schools so that we might move out of the 40-something range in school performance. Next, we make all state license offices public with all proceeds going to local school districts.
We have a chance to prevent schools from closing in our town if the political will is there. Our city’s choice really comes down to spending money as investment in education or spending money later to re-develop our town. The former makes sense to me, the latter is as foolish as allowing retailers to pay poverty-level wages then ask the public to pick up the slack by providing assistance. Take care of the problem on the front end, and your problems on the back end will be minimized.
By the time this paper hits your lawn, who knows what the weather will hold for us? Maybe there will be sunshine, maybe thunderstorms; however, one thing is for certain, if Jefferson City stays the same, you can expect grey skies for another two years!
CONSERVATIVE FACTOR Alex Spencer
I was reading this great piece about multi-generational business issues. Apparently baby boomers (those older folks born between 1946 and 1964) and Generation X (their younger counterparts born between 1965 and 1979) are having some “issues” in the workplace. While the baby boomers think that face time is what matters and there can be no productivity when you aren’t in the office, Gen X professionals are all about maximum use of electronic gadgets and other tools.
I found the article even more interesting when the author suggested that the inherent conflict between the generations was really about their behavior as children. She suggested a “playtime” analogy, if you will. She seems to think that Gen X kids were safer in their own neighborhoods so they had a lot of autonomy. Children of this generation grew up playing until dark on their own, managing their own activities and handling their own homework. By the time their children were born (Gen X-ers), the world was less safe and parents wanted more structure. Gen X kids were driven from one pre-planned activity to another and their baby boomer parents were very hands-on in making sure that their homework was finished and they were properly socialized. Quite a difference between the generations that manifests itself in today’s workplace (and political world). Baby boomers think their Gen X colleagues lack initiative. Gen X-ers think their baby boomer colleagues should help build their careers. It’s a tough environment.
Makes you wonder what some of our St. Charles notables were like when they were kids…
If you start out with the theory that baby boomers learned to fend for themselves when they were kids, you might picture this bunch on the playground at school:
Over in the corner of the playground, young Joe Ortwerth was probably standing on the steps that lead into the building quoting scripture and shrieking his disdain for the tax break the vendors who were providing milk for the schools received from the state. Not a lot of kids liked to play with him and he probably didn’t have too many friends, even back then.
On the other side of the playground Patty York was learning how to cause trouble and smile innocently when the teachers came to break up the fight. Her favorite pastime was probably playing the boys against each other as they attempted to impress her and win her favor. It’s not that hard to imagine Tom Hughes and Glenn Jamboretz, both playground bullies, both smitten with young Patty, coming to fisticuffs in order to get her attention.
Darling Dottie was probably friendly and well-liked even back then. She probably preferred the company of the mature and intelligent Rory Riddler and his friends over the hooligans and bullies. Bob Hoepfner, on the other hand, was probably always getting picked on. He was probably an awkward kid who had a tough time getting along with kids his own age. He was also probably a tattle tale, which certainly did not help his popularity.
Flash forward a few years to our Gen-X crop of youngsters (someday to be politicians) participating in the more structured after-school activities planned by their parents.
Joe Brazil probably had trouble juggling his orienteering classes with his secret passion, the glee club. I can’t imagine that the other kids liked him much, and I bet he was the last picked every time.
Joe Koester barely had enough time to make baseball practice after Student Government, and he was probably more of a joiner than most kids his age. I suspect he was a boy scout long enough to learn a lot of useful leadership lessons.
Tim Swope was probably always well-liked and I suspect he was quite an athlete as a kid. I am sure he played multiple sports each season which allowed him to hang out with his buddies and make lots of friends.
John Gieseke was probably a fairly well-rounded kid who participated in a few activities, was well liked and had several friends. He was definitely not “overprogrammed” but he did enjoy the company of the other kids, and he was probably a boy scout while it was mainly fun and before the whole Eagle Scout thing came into play.
Tom Dempsey was probably a proper and polite kid. I bet he enjoyed golf lessons in the summer and fencing in the winter, maybe even some ballroom dance lessons. It’s hard to dislike the guy, but you gotta wonder if he ever does anything crazy or unpredictable. He was probably a boy scout because his dad thought it might be useful for his future “career.” He was most assuredly an overprogrammed kid. On the other hand, his trusted legislative aide, Tom Smith was probably a gifted kid and he probably spent time in the ever popular “how to make the most of your allowance” class and its prerequisite, “creative accounting for kids.”
Mark Lafata was most likely well, himself, and I bet he was not all that popular. He was probably a bit of a loner and since he didn’t really participate in many activities, he never really learned to play well with others. Not all that surprising since he often made unpopular suggestions like mandatory drug testing for his peers.
This generational rift is not terribly surprising, and it probably plays itself out in the political arena every day. Whether it’s the conflict between baby boomers or Gen X-ers at work or the disagreement among local politicians…apparently the lessons you learned in kindergarten still apply today.
I found the article even more interesting when the author suggested that the inherent conflict between the generations was really about their behavior as children. She suggested a “playtime” analogy, if you will. She seems to think that Gen X kids were safer in their own neighborhoods so they had a lot of autonomy. Children of this generation grew up playing until dark on their own, managing their own activities and handling their own homework. By the time their children were born (Gen X-ers), the world was less safe and parents wanted more structure. Gen X kids were driven from one pre-planned activity to another and their baby boomer parents were very hands-on in making sure that their homework was finished and they were properly socialized. Quite a difference between the generations that manifests itself in today’s workplace (and political world). Baby boomers think their Gen X colleagues lack initiative. Gen X-ers think their baby boomer colleagues should help build their careers. It’s a tough environment.
Makes you wonder what some of our St. Charles notables were like when they were kids…
If you start out with the theory that baby boomers learned to fend for themselves when they were kids, you might picture this bunch on the playground at school:
Over in the corner of the playground, young Joe Ortwerth was probably standing on the steps that lead into the building quoting scripture and shrieking his disdain for the tax break the vendors who were providing milk for the schools received from the state. Not a lot of kids liked to play with him and he probably didn’t have too many friends, even back then.
On the other side of the playground Patty York was learning how to cause trouble and smile innocently when the teachers came to break up the fight. Her favorite pastime was probably playing the boys against each other as they attempted to impress her and win her favor. It’s not that hard to imagine Tom Hughes and Glenn Jamboretz, both playground bullies, both smitten with young Patty, coming to fisticuffs in order to get her attention.
Darling Dottie was probably friendly and well-liked even back then. She probably preferred the company of the mature and intelligent Rory Riddler and his friends over the hooligans and bullies. Bob Hoepfner, on the other hand, was probably always getting picked on. He was probably an awkward kid who had a tough time getting along with kids his own age. He was also probably a tattle tale, which certainly did not help his popularity.
Flash forward a few years to our Gen-X crop of youngsters (someday to be politicians) participating in the more structured after-school activities planned by their parents.
Joe Brazil probably had trouble juggling his orienteering classes with his secret passion, the glee club. I can’t imagine that the other kids liked him much, and I bet he was the last picked every time.
Joe Koester barely had enough time to make baseball practice after Student Government, and he was probably more of a joiner than most kids his age. I suspect he was a boy scout long enough to learn a lot of useful leadership lessons.
Tim Swope was probably always well-liked and I suspect he was quite an athlete as a kid. I am sure he played multiple sports each season which allowed him to hang out with his buddies and make lots of friends.
John Gieseke was probably a fairly well-rounded kid who participated in a few activities, was well liked and had several friends. He was definitely not “overprogrammed” but he did enjoy the company of the other kids, and he was probably a boy scout while it was mainly fun and before the whole Eagle Scout thing came into play.
Tom Dempsey was probably a proper and polite kid. I bet he enjoyed golf lessons in the summer and fencing in the winter, maybe even some ballroom dance lessons. It’s hard to dislike the guy, but you gotta wonder if he ever does anything crazy or unpredictable. He was probably a boy scout because his dad thought it might be useful for his future “career.” He was most assuredly an overprogrammed kid. On the other hand, his trusted legislative aide, Tom Smith was probably a gifted kid and he probably spent time in the ever popular “how to make the most of your allowance” class and its prerequisite, “creative accounting for kids.”
Mark Lafata was most likely well, himself, and I bet he was not all that popular. He was probably a bit of a loner and since he didn’t really participate in many activities, he never really learned to play well with others. Not all that surprising since he often made unpopular suggestions like mandatory drug testing for his peers.
This generational rift is not terribly surprising, and it probably plays itself out in the political arena every day. Whether it’s the conflict between baby boomers or Gen X-ers at work or the disagreement among local politicians…apparently the lessons you learned in kindergarten still apply today.
THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS By Jerry Haferkamp
The June 6 council meeting became amusing when the issue of a contract for towing services was discussed. The request for bids for the service was for two companies to share or provide the services as needed. Council president Kneemiller attempted to insert a third company into the process. He wanted to include a company that provided AAA Auto Club towing. Our mayor endorsed this move. She spoke up agreeing with Kneemiller. She stated a third of our residents have AAA. Where she got this “statistic” is anyone’s guess.
This towing service is for the purpose of police tows. The mayor and Mr. Kneemiller apparently feel that if a drug runner, bank robber, drunk driver or other criminal is arrested while in their car, we should allow them the courtesy of using AAA to tow their vehicle. After all, they would have enough trouble. They surely don’t need the added inconvenience of not being allowed to choose AAA while being “cuffed and stuffed” into a squad car. Handcuff them. Read them their rights. Let them call an attorney. Then let them call AAA to arrange the tow.
The motion to cater to criminals and owners of abandoned vehicles was defeated.
This ridiculous attempt to insert AAA is just further proof that Greer, Gieseke and Koester have to be careful how they roll their chairs at council meetings. They wouldn’t want to sever the umbilical cord that attaches Kneemiller to the mayor. I have a mental image of him looking like a deer caught in the headlights with no clue as to what to do next.
I have a defense for the sacrificial lamb the Citizens’ Empowerment Committee has thrown to the wolves. It has been reported that in her sworn statement she claims she told her employer that she didn’t witness all the signatures. She reportedly was then told to sign them as if she did.
Those petitions could have been made into paper airplanes. They could have been tossed into the trash. They could have been recycled. Someone could have added a little “home grown”, rolled ‘em up, and smoked ‘em. At that point, there was no crime.
The crime would have occurred if and when a member of the Citizens’ Empowerment Committee who reportedly knew they were fraudulent turned them over to be validated. At that time, and not before that time, fraud would have been committed. Until that moment, they were just pieces of paper. At that moment, they became official documents.
Maybe the wrong person was charged with fraud. I don’t think Banas will ever charge the right one. (Or ones)
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
This towing service is for the purpose of police tows. The mayor and Mr. Kneemiller apparently feel that if a drug runner, bank robber, drunk driver or other criminal is arrested while in their car, we should allow them the courtesy of using AAA to tow their vehicle. After all, they would have enough trouble. They surely don’t need the added inconvenience of not being allowed to choose AAA while being “cuffed and stuffed” into a squad car. Handcuff them. Read them their rights. Let them call an attorney. Then let them call AAA to arrange the tow.
The motion to cater to criminals and owners of abandoned vehicles was defeated.
This ridiculous attempt to insert AAA is just further proof that Greer, Gieseke and Koester have to be careful how they roll their chairs at council meetings. They wouldn’t want to sever the umbilical cord that attaches Kneemiller to the mayor. I have a mental image of him looking like a deer caught in the headlights with no clue as to what to do next.
I have a defense for the sacrificial lamb the Citizens’ Empowerment Committee has thrown to the wolves. It has been reported that in her sworn statement she claims she told her employer that she didn’t witness all the signatures. She reportedly was then told to sign them as if she did.
Those petitions could have been made into paper airplanes. They could have been tossed into the trash. They could have been recycled. Someone could have added a little “home grown”, rolled ‘em up, and smoked ‘em. At that point, there was no crime.
The crime would have occurred if and when a member of the Citizens’ Empowerment Committee who reportedly knew they were fraudulent turned them over to be validated. At that time, and not before that time, fraud would have been committed. Until that moment, they were just pieces of paper. At that moment, they became official documents.
Maybe the wrong person was charged with fraud. I don’t think Banas will ever charge the right one. (Or ones)
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
OVER THE FENCE by Joe Morice
The Great Foristell Salary Mystery
On I-70 at the westernmost St. Charles/Warren County line, there is an overpass with an exit ramp to some truck stops, gas stations and the tiny town of Foristell. After passing under the overpass, you will see a gap in the divider cables of I-70 and quite often, a police car or two parked in it.
According to City-data.com, as of 2000, the city consisted of 5 square miles and a population of 331 souls of which 93 were city residents. By 2004 they had 336, a gain of 1.5%. In 2002, Foristell had ten full time employees in its government and nine part timers. Six of the full time employees were Policemen with one part timer. To pay all these employees, this tiny city had to raise 331,512 dollars per year. Not counting costs for equipment, buildings and etcetera, it amounted to nearly a thousand dollars per resident. I’m sure a few small businesses took some of that burden.
Now it’s the middle of 2006 and according to the shiny new Foristell Police web site, they now have fifteen police officers and a drug-sniffing dog named Turbo. According to the Foristell Chamber of Commerce, the community now has a population of about 500. Apparently, urban sprawl has arrived, however small. The ratio amounts to, one policeman for every 33 residents. If the city of St. Charles had the same ratio, in 2004 they would have had to pay for well over 1800 policemen. They had 107, one for every 594 residents.
The question becomes obvious: “In a community as tiny as Foristell, Missouri, how could they possibly support such a large city government?”
Rumors abound.
There are a few mobile homes but I question the rumor that besides tornados, they cause Meth Labs and in this case, city revenue. I would opt for revenue from speeding tickets.
When you are traveling on I-70 and you see that gap in the divider fence, you will often see a shiny new Foristell police car pointing a radar gun at you. Sometimes you see a couple of St. Charles County Sheriff’s cars sitting there but I haven’t noticed whether they are pointing any electronic gizmos at anyone. One wonders if they are plugging that gap for any reason having to do with the local constabulary and their alleged income-enhancing machine. Are they slowing it down or aiding and abetting?
In 2003, Foristell had one robbery, five assaults, three burglaries, forty larcenies, and one car theft. At about seven or eight crimes for each policemen, I would find it interesting to know how many of them were solved. Besides pointing radar guns and writing tickets, I assume they have someone trained to investigate crime. Perhaps I’m paranoid because of the Post-Dispatch expose’ of the small municipalities along I-170 in nearby St. Louis County in which many of their policemen were not real policemen. By that I mean, “Trained Policemen”. I find it hard to believe real policemen would support a scenario of preying on motorists for fun and profit.
Perhaps Foristell found some other way to pay for all those policemen and supporting judiciary. It seems doubtful 500 residents would hand out hundreds of thousands each year for police protection. Perhaps a contemporary of John Bearsford Tipton lives nearby.
I remember the days when policemen fought crime and kept order. Some of them even walked a beat and twirled a nightstick. If someone was speeding, traffic cops usually pulled them over and either chewed them out for being careless or cited them or both. Drunk drivers were stopped and sometimes, they were jailed. At other times, if they were civil and properly ashamed, they were taken home, if it was nearby. Roadblocks were for catching bank robbers and kidnappers and the State Patrol took care of highway traffic. Generally, police were benevolent.
Traffic fines enhanced the city revenues back then as well, but towns as tiny as Foristell were lucky to pay for one part-time policeman. My hometown was probably ten times larger and they had one full time Sheriff and an occasional deputy. Sometimes, traffic violations ended in a shouting match but seldom did anyone get a speeding ticket unless they were driving like idiots. Except for a shotgun in the trunk of the town’s only police car, the Sheriff I remember was unarmed. Never once did he utter, “Freeze, Dirt bag!“ Or “Make my day, Punk.” He wasn’t above stopping and passing the time of day with local citizens. He knew almost all of them.
I haven’t had a speeding ticket in many decades but even so, I sometimes long for those days. I’d bet I-70 speeders in Foristell do, too.
Joe Morice “Over the Fence”
On I-70 at the westernmost St. Charles/Warren County line, there is an overpass with an exit ramp to some truck stops, gas stations and the tiny town of Foristell. After passing under the overpass, you will see a gap in the divider cables of I-70 and quite often, a police car or two parked in it.
According to City-data.com, as of 2000, the city consisted of 5 square miles and a population of 331 souls of which 93 were city residents. By 2004 they had 336, a gain of 1.5%. In 2002, Foristell had ten full time employees in its government and nine part timers. Six of the full time employees were Policemen with one part timer. To pay all these employees, this tiny city had to raise 331,512 dollars per year. Not counting costs for equipment, buildings and etcetera, it amounted to nearly a thousand dollars per resident. I’m sure a few small businesses took some of that burden.
Now it’s the middle of 2006 and according to the shiny new Foristell Police web site, they now have fifteen police officers and a drug-sniffing dog named Turbo. According to the Foristell Chamber of Commerce, the community now has a population of about 500. Apparently, urban sprawl has arrived, however small. The ratio amounts to, one policeman for every 33 residents. If the city of St. Charles had the same ratio, in 2004 they would have had to pay for well over 1800 policemen. They had 107, one for every 594 residents.
The question becomes obvious: “In a community as tiny as Foristell, Missouri, how could they possibly support such a large city government?”
Rumors abound.
There are a few mobile homes but I question the rumor that besides tornados, they cause Meth Labs and in this case, city revenue. I would opt for revenue from speeding tickets.
When you are traveling on I-70 and you see that gap in the divider fence, you will often see a shiny new Foristell police car pointing a radar gun at you. Sometimes you see a couple of St. Charles County Sheriff’s cars sitting there but I haven’t noticed whether they are pointing any electronic gizmos at anyone. One wonders if they are plugging that gap for any reason having to do with the local constabulary and their alleged income-enhancing machine. Are they slowing it down or aiding and abetting?
In 2003, Foristell had one robbery, five assaults, three burglaries, forty larcenies, and one car theft. At about seven or eight crimes for each policemen, I would find it interesting to know how many of them were solved. Besides pointing radar guns and writing tickets, I assume they have someone trained to investigate crime. Perhaps I’m paranoid because of the Post-Dispatch expose’ of the small municipalities along I-170 in nearby St. Louis County in which many of their policemen were not real policemen. By that I mean, “Trained Policemen”. I find it hard to believe real policemen would support a scenario of preying on motorists for fun and profit.
Perhaps Foristell found some other way to pay for all those policemen and supporting judiciary. It seems doubtful 500 residents would hand out hundreds of thousands each year for police protection. Perhaps a contemporary of John Bearsford Tipton lives nearby.
I remember the days when policemen fought crime and kept order. Some of them even walked a beat and twirled a nightstick. If someone was speeding, traffic cops usually pulled them over and either chewed them out for being careless or cited them or both. Drunk drivers were stopped and sometimes, they were jailed. At other times, if they were civil and properly ashamed, they were taken home, if it was nearby. Roadblocks were for catching bank robbers and kidnappers and the State Patrol took care of highway traffic. Generally, police were benevolent.
Traffic fines enhanced the city revenues back then as well, but towns as tiny as Foristell were lucky to pay for one part-time policeman. My hometown was probably ten times larger and they had one full time Sheriff and an occasional deputy. Sometimes, traffic violations ended in a shouting match but seldom did anyone get a speeding ticket unless they were driving like idiots. Except for a shotgun in the trunk of the town’s only police car, the Sheriff I remember was unarmed. Never once did he utter, “Freeze, Dirt bag!“ Or “Make my day, Punk.” He wasn’t above stopping and passing the time of day with local citizens. He knew almost all of them.
I haven’t had a speeding ticket in many decades but even so, I sometimes long for those days. I’d bet I-70 speeders in Foristell do, too.
Joe Morice “Over the Fence”
CITY ISSUES by R.L. Greer
CITY ISSUES
by R. L. Greer
Will Chamberlain stated “Nobody roots for Goliath.” Well it’s being said about town that he has gone underground and now spreading his questionable remarks to only a select group. Be prepared folks for another round of battles for the February 2007 and April, 2007 elections. Have you read the Republican Party newsletter? It reminds one of the Citizen that once was advertised in the St Charles Suburban Journal. But do remember the Republican publisher also signed on the recall Committee of Ward 7 were all the suspicious forgeries and miss representation procedures are being investigated. Also it was a Republican elected official, last name of Dempsey, who added an amendment to a bill, which overrode the City Council decision regarding water/sewer hookups for T.R.Hughes’ St Andrews project that placed the City residents in jeopardy. The Republican delegation also voted and passed legislation regarding TIF’s which only affected City of St Charles. Another Republican representative obtained approval regarding the Casino funds that affected only City of St Charles. Let me give clarification here I am not a Democrat or a Republican, rather I believe an elected official should make decisions that are favorably in the best interest of the taxpayers. There are sound and logical representatives from both the Republican Party and Democratic Party.
The one major topic of discussion at the Council Work Session two Tuesday’s ago was the proposed Charter changes to be placed on the ballot in November. The Committee when formed consisted of Rory Riddler, Bob Kneemiller and Joe Koester but the meetings were scheduled too early for Joe to make them and the public was not allowed to speak at those sessions. Review of the Charter and subsequent decisions to propose to the Council of the Whole were made by Rory and Bob. You can obtain a list of those changes from the City Clerk office. They are being termed “housekeeping changes”. It makes for interesting reading. At the May 30th special meeting for discussion of those changes, the Mayor and a council member stated they felt a simple question should be placed on the ballot, do you want recall, rather than submit proposed changes in the Charter Section regarding the recall process. To do away with the method the taxpayers have for removing an elected official for wrongdoing is an example of the permissive thinking of certain members of society today and I for one do not agree with her. I had stated prior to the election of 2004 regarding the charter change and I restate it again today. Upon effectiveness of the Charter change we will have a dictatorship form of government beginning April 2007 which will consist of an elected official who has been elected by a popularity vote rather than based on his/her sound, management abilities. That person will be the Chief Executive of the City of St Charles. To be Chief Executive of the City should not require someone who owes favors to large monetary contributors, or someone who has heavy experience in municipal government. The Chief Executive should possess confirmed capable management and administration skills that have been developed outside of municipal government and be a person of high integrity. These are lacking with the current City Administrator, who has failed to have distributed to the Board of Adjustment the recently approved BOCA Codes, his failure to abide by the terms of his employment contract, follow instructions from the City Council, making sure approved stop signs are installed within two weeks, failure to relocate his home to St Charles as approved in his employment contract, being absent from the City on numerous occasions to fly home on east coast, to just mention a few.
Another proposal submitted is to place on the ballot, changing the Charter by returning back to the management of the City resting in the hands of the City Administrator not the Mayor. However, the Mayor didn’t feel it proper to place these changes on the ballot in November. If reelected there won’t be much change than already experienced these last two years. It will be interesting to see who succeeds on this proposal. After speaking to many citizens it is apparent the leading push in 2004 concerned the issue of a full time Mayor and that idea was upon what the voters made their decision. What we heard over and over was, there have been too many changes in City Administrators since the Charter originally adopted in 1981. The important influential financial supporters made no attempts to determine what were the real reasons.
The public will be able to continue to speak at Special Council Meetings after the Council corrected a conflict in its Council Rules. The various agendas that are appearing now seem to be in compliance with Council Rules, the Charter and the Missouri Sunshine Law. A thank you to the Public Works Department staff for the Elm / Duchesne intersection including the easement settlements and the construction work on the streets, sidewalks and retaining walls. A re-striping of the southbound lane on Duchesne corrected the narrow lane that once was there. Why not make the vacant property purchased by the City into a pocket park with benches under the trees for people walking to stop and rest? This idea will go by the wayside like the refurbishing of the fire station on Booneslick for administrative offices for the Fire Department rather than leasing space at the old County Administration building. The calculated costs for the leased space and relocating costs would amount to approximately the same as refurbishing cost. Wait and see the City give away the old station when the Fairgrounds Road / West Clay Extension gets underway.
by R. L. Greer
Will Chamberlain stated “Nobody roots for Goliath.” Well it’s being said about town that he has gone underground and now spreading his questionable remarks to only a select group. Be prepared folks for another round of battles for the February 2007 and April, 2007 elections. Have you read the Republican Party newsletter? It reminds one of the Citizen that once was advertised in the St Charles Suburban Journal. But do remember the Republican publisher also signed on the recall Committee of Ward 7 were all the suspicious forgeries and miss representation procedures are being investigated. Also it was a Republican elected official, last name of Dempsey, who added an amendment to a bill, which overrode the City Council decision regarding water/sewer hookups for T.R.Hughes’ St Andrews project that placed the City residents in jeopardy. The Republican delegation also voted and passed legislation regarding TIF’s which only affected City of St Charles. Another Republican representative obtained approval regarding the Casino funds that affected only City of St Charles. Let me give clarification here I am not a Democrat or a Republican, rather I believe an elected official should make decisions that are favorably in the best interest of the taxpayers. There are sound and logical representatives from both the Republican Party and Democratic Party.
The one major topic of discussion at the Council Work Session two Tuesday’s ago was the proposed Charter changes to be placed on the ballot in November. The Committee when formed consisted of Rory Riddler, Bob Kneemiller and Joe Koester but the meetings were scheduled too early for Joe to make them and the public was not allowed to speak at those sessions. Review of the Charter and subsequent decisions to propose to the Council of the Whole were made by Rory and Bob. You can obtain a list of those changes from the City Clerk office. They are being termed “housekeeping changes”. It makes for interesting reading. At the May 30th special meeting for discussion of those changes, the Mayor and a council member stated they felt a simple question should be placed on the ballot, do you want recall, rather than submit proposed changes in the Charter Section regarding the recall process. To do away with the method the taxpayers have for removing an elected official for wrongdoing is an example of the permissive thinking of certain members of society today and I for one do not agree with her. I had stated prior to the election of 2004 regarding the charter change and I restate it again today. Upon effectiveness of the Charter change we will have a dictatorship form of government beginning April 2007 which will consist of an elected official who has been elected by a popularity vote rather than based on his/her sound, management abilities. That person will be the Chief Executive of the City of St Charles. To be Chief Executive of the City should not require someone who owes favors to large monetary contributors, or someone who has heavy experience in municipal government. The Chief Executive should possess confirmed capable management and administration skills that have been developed outside of municipal government and be a person of high integrity. These are lacking with the current City Administrator, who has failed to have distributed to the Board of Adjustment the recently approved BOCA Codes, his failure to abide by the terms of his employment contract, follow instructions from the City Council, making sure approved stop signs are installed within two weeks, failure to relocate his home to St Charles as approved in his employment contract, being absent from the City on numerous occasions to fly home on east coast, to just mention a few.
Another proposal submitted is to place on the ballot, changing the Charter by returning back to the management of the City resting in the hands of the City Administrator not the Mayor. However, the Mayor didn’t feel it proper to place these changes on the ballot in November. If reelected there won’t be much change than already experienced these last two years. It will be interesting to see who succeeds on this proposal. After speaking to many citizens it is apparent the leading push in 2004 concerned the issue of a full time Mayor and that idea was upon what the voters made their decision. What we heard over and over was, there have been too many changes in City Administrators since the Charter originally adopted in 1981. The important influential financial supporters made no attempts to determine what were the real reasons.
The public will be able to continue to speak at Special Council Meetings after the Council corrected a conflict in its Council Rules. The various agendas that are appearing now seem to be in compliance with Council Rules, the Charter and the Missouri Sunshine Law. A thank you to the Public Works Department staff for the Elm / Duchesne intersection including the easement settlements and the construction work on the streets, sidewalks and retaining walls. A re-striping of the southbound lane on Duchesne corrected the narrow lane that once was there. Why not make the vacant property purchased by the City into a pocket park with benches under the trees for people walking to stop and rest? This idea will go by the wayside like the refurbishing of the fire station on Booneslick for administrative offices for the Fire Department rather than leasing space at the old County Administration building. The calculated costs for the leased space and relocating costs would amount to approximately the same as refurbishing cost. Wait and see the City give away the old station when the Fairgrounds Road / West Clay Extension gets underway.
Chief Swope Cracks Down On Selling Alcohol To Minors
By Lynndi Lockenour
Underage drinking happens everyday. According to the Students Against Drinking and Drugs Website (SADD), four out of five students consumed alcohol (more than a few sips) by the end of high school. SADD also reports that two thirds of high school seniors report being drunk at least once by the time they graduated from high school. But where is the alcohol coming from?
While the numbers say the majority is either stolen from home or bought for minors by someone of age, findings here in St. Charles suggest it might be coming from an unlikely source. A recent detail conducted by the St. Charles Police Department last month seems to say that minors may very well be able to walk into local establishments and buy alcohol.
Last month police set up a detail testing local establishments throughout St. Charles to see if they would sell alcohol to minors. Of those 31 businesses tested, 12 failed, selling the alcohol to the posing minor. Of the 12 businesses who sold to minors, eight establishments checked for an I.D. and even after seeing that the person was underage, sold them alcohol anyway.
Chief of Police, Tim Swope said the problem of underage drinking has been going on for years, but he hopes with new actions he is taking against establishments who repeatedly sell to minors, the situation will get better. “Some of the same places that were known for selling to minors when I was younger still have clerks who are allowing minors to buy alcohol now,” he said. “That is absolutely unacceptable.”
Every year, Swope said, St. Charles residents can almost count on seeing a young person die as a result of underage drinking. “The simple fact is that accidents involving alcohol and young drivers often lead to serious injury and sometimes even fatality,” he said. “That is why we must stop these establishments from selling alcohol to underage individuals.”
Swope is currently one of three people serving on a board that reviews liquor license violations. He said the plan is to suspend the licenses of establishments who repeatedly sell to minors. “We don’t want to punish someone who might have one bad clerk,” he said. “The idea is that the places who continue to do this over and over again need to be punished.”
Tough action, such as taking liquor licenses away, Swope hopes he will get business owners to make checking for identification mandatory every time. “This is not something we wanted to do,” he said. “But hopefully it will open people’s eyes and make them realize that this cannot continue.”
For now, Swope said each of the 12 establishments who sold to minors during the police detail will receive a letter informing them that next time it happens, their licenses could be taken away. Chief Swope would not release the names of individual establishments who violated the law.
This type of detail work to catch businesses that sell to minors is typically only conducted a few times a year. However, Swope said the number of details will increase. “After finding that nearly 40 percent of the businesses we entered were willing to sell to minors, I think it’s something we need to focus on more,” he said. “This problem has plagued many communities, but I want us to be on the fore-front of stopping it before it happens here in St. Charles.”
Underage drinking happens everyday. According to the Students Against Drinking and Drugs Website (SADD), four out of five students consumed alcohol (more than a few sips) by the end of high school. SADD also reports that two thirds of high school seniors report being drunk at least once by the time they graduated from high school. But where is the alcohol coming from?
While the numbers say the majority is either stolen from home or bought for minors by someone of age, findings here in St. Charles suggest it might be coming from an unlikely source. A recent detail conducted by the St. Charles Police Department last month seems to say that minors may very well be able to walk into local establishments and buy alcohol.
Last month police set up a detail testing local establishments throughout St. Charles to see if they would sell alcohol to minors. Of those 31 businesses tested, 12 failed, selling the alcohol to the posing minor. Of the 12 businesses who sold to minors, eight establishments checked for an I.D. and even after seeing that the person was underage, sold them alcohol anyway.
Chief of Police, Tim Swope said the problem of underage drinking has been going on for years, but he hopes with new actions he is taking against establishments who repeatedly sell to minors, the situation will get better. “Some of the same places that were known for selling to minors when I was younger still have clerks who are allowing minors to buy alcohol now,” he said. “That is absolutely unacceptable.”
Every year, Swope said, St. Charles residents can almost count on seeing a young person die as a result of underage drinking. “The simple fact is that accidents involving alcohol and young drivers often lead to serious injury and sometimes even fatality,” he said. “That is why we must stop these establishments from selling alcohol to underage individuals.”
Swope is currently one of three people serving on a board that reviews liquor license violations. He said the plan is to suspend the licenses of establishments who repeatedly sell to minors. “We don’t want to punish someone who might have one bad clerk,” he said. “The idea is that the places who continue to do this over and over again need to be punished.”
Tough action, such as taking liquor licenses away, Swope hopes he will get business owners to make checking for identification mandatory every time. “This is not something we wanted to do,” he said. “But hopefully it will open people’s eyes and make them realize that this cannot continue.”
For now, Swope said each of the 12 establishments who sold to minors during the police detail will receive a letter informing them that next time it happens, their licenses could be taken away. Chief Swope would not release the names of individual establishments who violated the law.
This type of detail work to catch businesses that sell to minors is typically only conducted a few times a year. However, Swope said the number of details will increase. “After finding that nearly 40 percent of the businesses we entered were willing to sell to minors, I think it’s something we need to focus on more,” he said. “This problem has plagued many communities, but I want us to be on the fore-front of stopping it before it happens here in St. Charles.”
Moeller: Family Arena Needs Support - Former St. Charles Mayor Speaks Out on Arena Situation
Moeller: Family Arena Needs Support
Former St. Charles Mayor Speaks Out on Arena Situation
By Louis J. Launer
Former St. Charles Mayor Robert Moeller believes that the County has let the people down concerning the operation of the Family Arena, which is directly owned and operated by St. Charles County.
“It was a great concept,” he said. “But once it was built, no one wanted to deal with it, especially the current administration.”
A month ago, the First Capitol News ran a story concerning St. Charles County’s situation concerning the Family Arena. Recently, in new publications coming from St. Charles County, it appears that Family Arena isn’t even mentioned, not even as a county installation.
“The place is built now,” Moeller said. “It needs to be kept up. It’s a great place to hold great events. I don’t see any problem with the Family Arena being subsidized by the County.”
Moeller believes that Family Arena doesn’t have enough in its operating budget to be a truly operational facility. But the county needs to add more in their budget to make the place important enough so that many events can continue to be booked there.
“There is only one arena in the United States that makes a profit,” he said, “and that’s the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California [home of the NHL’s Anaheim Mighty Ducks]. Every arena project that has been built has not become a money making venture. That’s why the Family Arena needs to be subsidized. It’s the only way that the place will continue to exist and grow.”
At first, St. Charles City was approached with the mid-size arena concept and the city turned them down, citing that they could not afford to own operate the facility, especially when they were also dealing with possibilities of a convention center—all throughout Moeller’s term as mayor between 1995 and 1999. Frank Trulaske later approached the City of O’Fallon, who also rejected the idea of an arena, citing also that they were committed to building what later became T.R. Hughes Ballpark. Then the group approached St. Charles County.
“That was when [County Executive Joe] Ortwerth told his friend Joe Engle, ‘Make the deal.’ Well, they made the deal and Ortwerth got rid of Engle when things weren’t going right after the arena opened in 1999.”
Moeller felt that Ortwerth, who did veto the Family Arena proposal twice in 1997, wasn’t really wanting the arena, yet, didn’t want to see the arena go someplace else.
“I believe he wanted to keep the place somewhere in St. Charles,” he said. “But it wound up in St. Charles County’s lap because none of the cities wanted it and he didn’t want anyone else to get a chance to get the place.”
Moeller believes that the lack of a sports tenant at Family Arena and its operation since 2000 should be a big campaign issue in this year’s County Executive race.
“You can’t just build something like Family Arena and not maintain it,” he said. “The Family Arena should be a mutual effort by not just St. Charles County, but all of the municipalities of the county should also pitch in their fair share.”
UHL MAKES IT OFFICIAL: OTTERS ARE DEAD. Two weeks ago a dispersal draft was held and all of the Missouri River Otter players who were on the final roster for 2005-06 were given their release and available to be picked up by other teams. Noted Otters from last season such as Jim Duhart went to the Fort Wayne Komets. The dispersal draft was held by the remaining teams to collect players from the Missouri River Otters, the Motor City Mechanics, the Richmond Riverdogs and the Roanoke Valley Vipers, who all folded after the season ended.
The UHL is also in some trouble in some of the current franchises that continue to operate. The Danbury News-Times out of Connecticut has been reporting in the last few weeks that the owner of the Danbury Trashers, who competed in this year’s Colonial Cup Finals is under federal investigation for apparent racketeering with his waste hauling business, which serves Connecticut and New York. The newspaper continues to try to connect the Trashers franchise as part of the federal investigation, but the FBI will not comment on the current investigation. Fans and reporters in other UHL cities, notably Fort Wayne, Muskegon, Flint, Moline and even Colonial Cup champion Kalamazoo, have been expressing concern over the league’s actual leadership. A year ago, the UHL was in the best shape it had ever been since their name change nine years ago from the former Colonial Hockey League.
This season, four franchises have folded, three more are suspected to be teetering on the brink of closing (but giving it one more season to gain fan support) and a number of cornerstone franchises, such as Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo, are changing their player personnel, just to keep their teams healthy. In Fort Wayne, a number of veteran players were released by the Komets, simply because the Franke brothers who own the team, want to rebuild the team and try to bring the team back to a championship caliber level. But the four franchises that have folded concern the Frankes and believe that the integrity of the UHL is being compromised.
The UHL will be holding their annual league meetings this weekend in Las Vegas. As it always happens every year, there is an automatic press blackout. But it shouldn’t concern fans in St. Charles, since it was announced that there will not be UHL hockey at Family Arena this year and possibly in future years as well.
Former St. Charles Mayor Speaks Out on Arena Situation
By Louis J. Launer
Former St. Charles Mayor Robert Moeller believes that the County has let the people down concerning the operation of the Family Arena, which is directly owned and operated by St. Charles County.
“It was a great concept,” he said. “But once it was built, no one wanted to deal with it, especially the current administration.”
A month ago, the First Capitol News ran a story concerning St. Charles County’s situation concerning the Family Arena. Recently, in new publications coming from St. Charles County, it appears that Family Arena isn’t even mentioned, not even as a county installation.
“The place is built now,” Moeller said. “It needs to be kept up. It’s a great place to hold great events. I don’t see any problem with the Family Arena being subsidized by the County.”
Moeller believes that Family Arena doesn’t have enough in its operating budget to be a truly operational facility. But the county needs to add more in their budget to make the place important enough so that many events can continue to be booked there.
“There is only one arena in the United States that makes a profit,” he said, “and that’s the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California [home of the NHL’s Anaheim Mighty Ducks]. Every arena project that has been built has not become a money making venture. That’s why the Family Arena needs to be subsidized. It’s the only way that the place will continue to exist and grow.”
At first, St. Charles City was approached with the mid-size arena concept and the city turned them down, citing that they could not afford to own operate the facility, especially when they were also dealing with possibilities of a convention center—all throughout Moeller’s term as mayor between 1995 and 1999. Frank Trulaske later approached the City of O’Fallon, who also rejected the idea of an arena, citing also that they were committed to building what later became T.R. Hughes Ballpark. Then the group approached St. Charles County.
“That was when [County Executive Joe] Ortwerth told his friend Joe Engle, ‘Make the deal.’ Well, they made the deal and Ortwerth got rid of Engle when things weren’t going right after the arena opened in 1999.”
Moeller felt that Ortwerth, who did veto the Family Arena proposal twice in 1997, wasn’t really wanting the arena, yet, didn’t want to see the arena go someplace else.
“I believe he wanted to keep the place somewhere in St. Charles,” he said. “But it wound up in St. Charles County’s lap because none of the cities wanted it and he didn’t want anyone else to get a chance to get the place.”
Moeller believes that the lack of a sports tenant at Family Arena and its operation since 2000 should be a big campaign issue in this year’s County Executive race.
“You can’t just build something like Family Arena and not maintain it,” he said. “The Family Arena should be a mutual effort by not just St. Charles County, but all of the municipalities of the county should also pitch in their fair share.”
UHL MAKES IT OFFICIAL: OTTERS ARE DEAD. Two weeks ago a dispersal draft was held and all of the Missouri River Otter players who were on the final roster for 2005-06 were given their release and available to be picked up by other teams. Noted Otters from last season such as Jim Duhart went to the Fort Wayne Komets. The dispersal draft was held by the remaining teams to collect players from the Missouri River Otters, the Motor City Mechanics, the Richmond Riverdogs and the Roanoke Valley Vipers, who all folded after the season ended.
The UHL is also in some trouble in some of the current franchises that continue to operate. The Danbury News-Times out of Connecticut has been reporting in the last few weeks that the owner of the Danbury Trashers, who competed in this year’s Colonial Cup Finals is under federal investigation for apparent racketeering with his waste hauling business, which serves Connecticut and New York. The newspaper continues to try to connect the Trashers franchise as part of the federal investigation, but the FBI will not comment on the current investigation. Fans and reporters in other UHL cities, notably Fort Wayne, Muskegon, Flint, Moline and even Colonial Cup champion Kalamazoo, have been expressing concern over the league’s actual leadership. A year ago, the UHL was in the best shape it had ever been since their name change nine years ago from the former Colonial Hockey League.
This season, four franchises have folded, three more are suspected to be teetering on the brink of closing (but giving it one more season to gain fan support) and a number of cornerstone franchises, such as Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo, are changing their player personnel, just to keep their teams healthy. In Fort Wayne, a number of veteran players were released by the Komets, simply because the Franke brothers who own the team, want to rebuild the team and try to bring the team back to a championship caliber level. But the four franchises that have folded concern the Frankes and believe that the integrity of the UHL is being compromised.
The UHL will be holding their annual league meetings this weekend in Las Vegas. As it always happens every year, there is an automatic press blackout. But it shouldn’t concern fans in St. Charles, since it was announced that there will not be UHL hockey at Family Arena this year and possibly in future years as well.
FIRST CAPITOL NEWS SPORTS - MIKE McMurran Sports Editor
I’ve heard a lot of talk lately how only “fat cats” and such can afford to attend Cardinal baseball games at Busch III. I beg to differ. Might I suggest looking on e-bay for tickets at face value. The only additional charge might be $10 or so for the delivery fee. Now don’t get me wrong, you’re not going to get Cardinal/Cub tickets, but there was a healthy selection of tickets this past week for the Reds’ series.
One service that really does rub me the wrong way is the Cardinals’ Prime Time Seating service. On the surface it looks to be a square deal. For a one-time $25 fee one can purchase unused season tickets of all prices. That certainly seems fair. Ah, but beneath the surface lurks a “processing fee” of some various levels depending upon the price of the tickets. Correct me if I am wrong, but if I stood on the corner of 4th and Broadway and attempted to sell tickets for face value, plus a “processing fee,” I would be, at least detained, and possibly arrested for scalping tickets. How do I know? You mean I never told you the story about the Cardinal/Mets series in 1985. Well then, sit back and listen.
If you remember correctly, back in 1985 the Cardinals and Mets were battling for the division title. Also back in 1985, bleacher seats didn’t go on sale until 2 hours or so before the game started. At the time I was a full-time university student who worked only weekends tending bar and bouncing at a local watering hole, so I had ample free time. It was a Tuesday morning when I decided to get in line for bleacher seats for Tuesday evening’s game. I called a hand full of friends and told them I would be in line and to meet me at the entrance to the bleachers around 5 or so. When I got there, shall we say at 9 or 10 in the morning, I was the second or third person in line – good enough to guarantee front row bleacher seats. Remember now, back in those days it was first come first serve; there were no reserved seats in the bleachers. The also allowed you to purchase as many tickets as you wished.
As the day went on the line grew longer and longer and longer. By 4:30 or so it was clear that those at the end of the line might not get tickets, even though some had been in line for hours. By 5, when tickets went on sale, all of my friends had arrived and were in line with me. Now, this wasn’t planned, but as we got to the ticket window I told my friends to buy tickets and save our front row seats. I on the other hand bought 10 bleacher seats for $40 and rather than go in, went to the end of the line, the very end of the line and sold 9 tickets for $10 each. I saved one ticket, thinking I would use it to gain entrance to the bleachers. It only got better. The one ticket allowed me “weasel” my way back to the ticket window, where I purchased 22 more tickets at $4 a pop. Where did I go? Back to the very end of the line, where I sold all 22 tickets, for $10 each in less than 20 minutes. Of course I saved one ticket for myself, knowing my friends had a front row seat saved for me.
I swear to God I had every intention of using my ticket to enter the game, but as circumstance would have it, I ended up back at the ticket window. Now never have I claimed to be the brightest, but I ain’t no dummy either. So with over $250 or so I purchased another 50 tickets. Where do you think I went? To the very end of the line, where I had no problem unloading every last ticket – minus one of course.
Lynn and I had just begun dating, and she was one of those saving front row seats. To this day I think one of the reasons she married me was that she recognized my business savvy as I entered the game with hundreds of dollars, which was certainly more than two weeks of income for a starving university student.
Things went so well that I returned on Wednesday and Thursday and repeated the process, netting at least a thousand dollars or so. Ah, but never underestimate the intelligence of St. Louis’ finest. The Cubs came to town that Friday and I looked to make my biggest haul. Of course I wanted to entertain my friends with front row seats so I invited them to all show up at 4:30 or so.
For some reason I just felt like I was being watched that evening. And for some reason I asked Lynn to stay outside the stadium with me. As I sold the tickets, and for the life of me I cannot say why, probably showing off, I game the money to Lynn to hold. I was just getting started when an undercover police officer approached me and made me empty out my pockets. I had 20 or so tickets and no money – remember, I gave the money to Lynn. He handcuffed me, making a great impression on my future wife, and told me he wanted to know where the money was. I didn’t lie to him, but I played real stupid, which was pretty easy to do. He then told me if he caught me selling one more ticket that he would take me to the 4th district and lock me up.
I am not certain if I was still acting or just being myself when I asked the officer if I could simply sell the tickets I had for face value. “Nope,” he replied, “’cause any ticket you sell you gotta pay taxes on.” I was in no situation to argue, all I wanted was to have the handcuffs removed, so I promised him I would just give the tickets away. And I did.
So, my question is, what’s the difference between my charging a processing fee in 1985 and the Cardinals charging one in 2006? That’s just how my mind works.
Lindenwood hockey squad reloads with incoming freshmen
“Entering our fourth season of competition we feel real good about where our program is at. Our recruiting from day one has been an important part of the early success of our program. And this years recruiting class should be no different,” said Lions head coach Derek Schaub.
Only losing one senior to graduation and a fourth place finish at the national tournament would lead many to believe that recruiting would be fairly quiet this off-season. But that was not the case this spring for the Lindenwood head coach.
Coach Schaub went to the Traverse City North Stars (NAHL) to find one of their most pressing needs, a goal scorer. The Lions signed forward Ryan Bond (Northville, MI). Bond played the last 20 games for Traverse City after spending part of the season playing for Toledo in the CSHL. Bond finished with 2 goals and 2 assists in 20 games.
“We are always looking to improve on every facet of our team and we lose our first ever recruiting class after this season. We will lose a lot of quality guys next year, and I feel if we can bring in some guys and have them play a year or two of DII for us, they will be in great shape to make that transition to our DI team,” said Coach Schaub.
A great asset to both Lions’ hockey programs is the great pool of talent locally. The Lions once again signed players from three time defending Junior B national Champions, St. Louis Jr. Blues and from the St. Louis Lightning, who play in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League.
From the Jr. Blues, Lindenwood signed forwards Tim Gardner (Oakville), Kyle Gouge (Francis Howell), and Ryan Holzum (Fort Zumwalt West). Gardner finished the season playing 38 games with 6 goals and 6 assists. Gouge ended last season with 52 games played and totaled 29 goals and 29 assists. Holzum played in 43 games and tallied 7 goals and 10 assists.
From the Lightning, Lindenwood signed forwards Eric Gebhardt (CBC), Matt Pilgrim (Eau Claire, WI), and Chris Sevier (McCluer North). Gebhardt played in 43 games and scored 14 goals and had 25 assists. Pilgrim ended last season with 15 goals and 15 assists in 43 games. And Sevier scored 2 goals and 11 assists in 44 games.
Lindenwood also signed forward Jacob Gehrin (Hazelwood Central). Gehrin played last season for Affton Midget Majors, who recently won the U18 Tier II national championship.
Lindenwood has also tabbed local high school players for their two programs. Signing for the fall semester are Andy and Danny Bethmann (Fort Zumwalt South), Nick Hartley (Parkway North), and Nick Pieber (Westminister). Andy Bethmann finished last season with 7 goals and 13 assists. Danny Bethmann scored 12 goals and had 8 assists. Hartley finished with 25 goals and 10 assists. And Pieber lead all of Mid-States in scoring with 62 goals and 36 assists.
“We are very happy with were we are at with our 06-07 recruiting class. We are still working on finding a goaltender and maybe another diamond in the rough, but are very confident with our incoming freshmen,” said Coach Schaub.
One service that really does rub me the wrong way is the Cardinals’ Prime Time Seating service. On the surface it looks to be a square deal. For a one-time $25 fee one can purchase unused season tickets of all prices. That certainly seems fair. Ah, but beneath the surface lurks a “processing fee” of some various levels depending upon the price of the tickets. Correct me if I am wrong, but if I stood on the corner of 4th and Broadway and attempted to sell tickets for face value, plus a “processing fee,” I would be, at least detained, and possibly arrested for scalping tickets. How do I know? You mean I never told you the story about the Cardinal/Mets series in 1985. Well then, sit back and listen.
If you remember correctly, back in 1985 the Cardinals and Mets were battling for the division title. Also back in 1985, bleacher seats didn’t go on sale until 2 hours or so before the game started. At the time I was a full-time university student who worked only weekends tending bar and bouncing at a local watering hole, so I had ample free time. It was a Tuesday morning when I decided to get in line for bleacher seats for Tuesday evening’s game. I called a hand full of friends and told them I would be in line and to meet me at the entrance to the bleachers around 5 or so. When I got there, shall we say at 9 or 10 in the morning, I was the second or third person in line – good enough to guarantee front row bleacher seats. Remember now, back in those days it was first come first serve; there were no reserved seats in the bleachers. The also allowed you to purchase as many tickets as you wished.
As the day went on the line grew longer and longer and longer. By 4:30 or so it was clear that those at the end of the line might not get tickets, even though some had been in line for hours. By 5, when tickets went on sale, all of my friends had arrived and were in line with me. Now, this wasn’t planned, but as we got to the ticket window I told my friends to buy tickets and save our front row seats. I on the other hand bought 10 bleacher seats for $40 and rather than go in, went to the end of the line, the very end of the line and sold 9 tickets for $10 each. I saved one ticket, thinking I would use it to gain entrance to the bleachers. It only got better. The one ticket allowed me “weasel” my way back to the ticket window, where I purchased 22 more tickets at $4 a pop. Where did I go? Back to the very end of the line, where I sold all 22 tickets, for $10 each in less than 20 minutes. Of course I saved one ticket for myself, knowing my friends had a front row seat saved for me.
I swear to God I had every intention of using my ticket to enter the game, but as circumstance would have it, I ended up back at the ticket window. Now never have I claimed to be the brightest, but I ain’t no dummy either. So with over $250 or so I purchased another 50 tickets. Where do you think I went? To the very end of the line, where I had no problem unloading every last ticket – minus one of course.
Lynn and I had just begun dating, and she was one of those saving front row seats. To this day I think one of the reasons she married me was that she recognized my business savvy as I entered the game with hundreds of dollars, which was certainly more than two weeks of income for a starving university student.
Things went so well that I returned on Wednesday and Thursday and repeated the process, netting at least a thousand dollars or so. Ah, but never underestimate the intelligence of St. Louis’ finest. The Cubs came to town that Friday and I looked to make my biggest haul. Of course I wanted to entertain my friends with front row seats so I invited them to all show up at 4:30 or so.
For some reason I just felt like I was being watched that evening. And for some reason I asked Lynn to stay outside the stadium with me. As I sold the tickets, and for the life of me I cannot say why, probably showing off, I game the money to Lynn to hold. I was just getting started when an undercover police officer approached me and made me empty out my pockets. I had 20 or so tickets and no money – remember, I gave the money to Lynn. He handcuffed me, making a great impression on my future wife, and told me he wanted to know where the money was. I didn’t lie to him, but I played real stupid, which was pretty easy to do. He then told me if he caught me selling one more ticket that he would take me to the 4th district and lock me up.
I am not certain if I was still acting or just being myself when I asked the officer if I could simply sell the tickets I had for face value. “Nope,” he replied, “’cause any ticket you sell you gotta pay taxes on.” I was in no situation to argue, all I wanted was to have the handcuffs removed, so I promised him I would just give the tickets away. And I did.
So, my question is, what’s the difference between my charging a processing fee in 1985 and the Cardinals charging one in 2006? That’s just how my mind works.
Lindenwood hockey squad reloads with incoming freshmen
“Entering our fourth season of competition we feel real good about where our program is at. Our recruiting from day one has been an important part of the early success of our program. And this years recruiting class should be no different,” said Lions head coach Derek Schaub.
Only losing one senior to graduation and a fourth place finish at the national tournament would lead many to believe that recruiting would be fairly quiet this off-season. But that was not the case this spring for the Lindenwood head coach.
Coach Schaub went to the Traverse City North Stars (NAHL) to find one of their most pressing needs, a goal scorer. The Lions signed forward Ryan Bond (Northville, MI). Bond played the last 20 games for Traverse City after spending part of the season playing for Toledo in the CSHL. Bond finished with 2 goals and 2 assists in 20 games.
“We are always looking to improve on every facet of our team and we lose our first ever recruiting class after this season. We will lose a lot of quality guys next year, and I feel if we can bring in some guys and have them play a year or two of DII for us, they will be in great shape to make that transition to our DI team,” said Coach Schaub.
A great asset to both Lions’ hockey programs is the great pool of talent locally. The Lions once again signed players from three time defending Junior B national Champions, St. Louis Jr. Blues and from the St. Louis Lightning, who play in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League.
From the Jr. Blues, Lindenwood signed forwards Tim Gardner (Oakville), Kyle Gouge (Francis Howell), and Ryan Holzum (Fort Zumwalt West). Gardner finished the season playing 38 games with 6 goals and 6 assists. Gouge ended last season with 52 games played and totaled 29 goals and 29 assists. Holzum played in 43 games and tallied 7 goals and 10 assists.
From the Lightning, Lindenwood signed forwards Eric Gebhardt (CBC), Matt Pilgrim (Eau Claire, WI), and Chris Sevier (McCluer North). Gebhardt played in 43 games and scored 14 goals and had 25 assists. Pilgrim ended last season with 15 goals and 15 assists in 43 games. And Sevier scored 2 goals and 11 assists in 44 games.
Lindenwood also signed forward Jacob Gehrin (Hazelwood Central). Gehrin played last season for Affton Midget Majors, who recently won the U18 Tier II national championship.
Lindenwood has also tabbed local high school players for their two programs. Signing for the fall semester are Andy and Danny Bethmann (Fort Zumwalt South), Nick Hartley (Parkway North), and Nick Pieber (Westminister). Andy Bethmann finished last season with 7 goals and 13 assists. Danny Bethmann scored 12 goals and had 8 assists. Hartley finished with 25 goals and 10 assists. And Pieber lead all of Mid-States in scoring with 62 goals and 36 assists.
“We are very happy with were we are at with our 06-07 recruiting class. We are still working on finding a goaltender and maybe another diamond in the rough, but are very confident with our incoming freshmen,” said Coach Schaub.
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