(Click on image to enlarge) SCROLL DOWN TO READ ENTIRE EDITION
Saturday, September 16, 2006
FRONT PAGE FIRST CAPITOL NEWS SEPTEMBER 16, 2006
(Click on image to enlarge) SCROLL DOWN TO READ ENTIRE EDITION
Mayor Making Moves To Fire Police Chief Swope
By Tony Brockmeyer
The First Capitol News has received information that St. Charles Mayor Patti York is apparently planning on firing Police Chief Tim Swope.
York recently vetoed a City Council bill that would give Chief Swope up to $11,000 a year for college tuition and would add an additional year on his contract as Police Chief. Sources at City Hall told the First Capitol News, although York was making an issue about the tuition, she was really against the additional year on his contract. York, who has announced her candidacy for an attempt at a third term as Mayor, has shown her dislike for Chief Swope. The City Council overrode her veto and authorized the tuition and the additional contract year for Chief Swope.
Chief Swope was appointed Chief of Police in March of 2005 after St. Charles was without a Chief for almost a year. The City Council wanted Major Robert G. Lowery Jr., the Commander of the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad and Assistant Chief of Police in Florissant, appointed Chief of St. Charles. York refused to go along with Lowery’s appointment saying, “He is not the right fit.” York and her husband Lionel met with Lowery and tried to talk him into taking his name out of the running. Lowery was later appointed City Administrator of O’Fallon, Missouri.
Swope’s problems evidently began with York when he fired Sgt. Tommy Mayer who was the president of the Fraternal Order of Police. Mayer was fired in April of 2005 shortly after he ordered City Administrator Allan Williams from his vehicle on the parking lot of police headquarters at gun point and had him spread eagle on the ground. Mayer is a confidant of York and she has traveled the state for him speaking at FOP functions. At a City Council meeting she referred to Mayer as, “Missouri’s Top Cop.”
Prior to his firing, Mayer filed suit against the City, City Administrator and the 10 Councilmen for $101 million dollars. The suit was eventually settled for over $50,000, more than five times what the Council was authorizing for Chief Swope’s tuition. Prior to the suit being settled, York wrote a letter of recommendation to St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa, telling Mokwa how wonderful Mayer was and she expected him to be successful in his suit against the City. Mayer is currently a St. Louis City police officer.
York’s son, Adrian York, a St. Louis police officer, has been telling people that Swope is history. He has said that his mother intends to fire Swope and if she can’t do it now, she will fire him after she is reelected Mayor. Adrian York was recently arrested and charged by Officers of the Missouri State Water Patrol for Boating While Intoxicated. The First Capitol News has learned that in a videotape of the arrest, York is being belligerent and abusive to the arresting officers and is heard telling them his Mother is the Mayor of St. Charles and will take care of it.
Swope also butted heads with York when an investigation was begun involving her daughter. Sources at police headquarters told the First Capitol News that several months ago a local heroin addict stole his parent’s checkbook and wrote checks to several of his friends forging his parent’s signatures on the checks. A police officer investigating the incident called the Mayor directly and allegedly told her of the incident and said that her daughter was not going to be involved in any reports. Several weeks later Chief Swope learned what happened and ordered an investigation into the incident. One of the checks was written to the Mayor’s daughter for $500, which she cashed.
Sources at City Hall told the First Capitol News that the Mayor was mad that Chief Swope had started an investigation into the recall efforts against City Councilwoman Dottie Greer and City Councilman Mark Brown. Our source told us that York ordered Swope to turn over the investigations to her and he refused making her angry. The St. Charles City Charter does not allow the Mayor to give direction to City employees. They are to receive direction from the City Administrator.
Our source told us shortly after York ordered the Chief to give her the recall investigation reports and he refused, she ordered him to provide her with a weekly activity report listing everyone he met with and his daily activities hour by hour. If the Chief has contact with any of the Council members on or off duty the Mayor requires that it must be recorded on his activity report.
Prior to Swope being appointed Chief the police department was thought to be pretty much under control of the Mayor and her Top Cop, Mayer. She allowed individual officers to report directly to her and allegedly gave them direction in direct violation of the City Charter.
Chief Swope also angered the Mayor when he reprimanded Officer Paul Jokerest and transferred him from a desk job in the station to street patrol. Swope took the action when it was discovered that Jokerest had been leaking privileged information to PR Guru Glennon Jamboretz another of the Mayor’s confidants. Jokerest was known to go directly to the Mayor’s office and meet with her while on duty bypassing the chain of command. Jokerest resigned from the department shortly after being transferred but has continued to write letters to the Council critical of Chief Swope.
Mayer, now a St. Louis officer, was quoted recently as saying that Swope would be gone as soon as the Mayor had an opportunity or when she was reelected.
Chief Swope is a 1984 graduate of St. Charles High School and attended college at Central Missouri State University on a baseball scholarship. He has three children and resides in St. Charles.
We contacted Chief Swope for his comments regarding this story but he declined to make any comments. We were unable to contact the Mayor prior to publication.
Many at City Hall believe that the Mayor would attempt to bring Tommy Mayer back as Chief of Police if she is successful in removing Swope and is reelected to a third term.
The First Capitol News has received information that St. Charles Mayor Patti York is apparently planning on firing Police Chief Tim Swope.
York recently vetoed a City Council bill that would give Chief Swope up to $11,000 a year for college tuition and would add an additional year on his contract as Police Chief. Sources at City Hall told the First Capitol News, although York was making an issue about the tuition, she was really against the additional year on his contract. York, who has announced her candidacy for an attempt at a third term as Mayor, has shown her dislike for Chief Swope. The City Council overrode her veto and authorized the tuition and the additional contract year for Chief Swope.
Chief Swope was appointed Chief of Police in March of 2005 after St. Charles was without a Chief for almost a year. The City Council wanted Major Robert G. Lowery Jr., the Commander of the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad and Assistant Chief of Police in Florissant, appointed Chief of St. Charles. York refused to go along with Lowery’s appointment saying, “He is not the right fit.” York and her husband Lionel met with Lowery and tried to talk him into taking his name out of the running. Lowery was later appointed City Administrator of O’Fallon, Missouri.
Swope’s problems evidently began with York when he fired Sgt. Tommy Mayer who was the president of the Fraternal Order of Police. Mayer was fired in April of 2005 shortly after he ordered City Administrator Allan Williams from his vehicle on the parking lot of police headquarters at gun point and had him spread eagle on the ground. Mayer is a confidant of York and she has traveled the state for him speaking at FOP functions. At a City Council meeting she referred to Mayer as, “Missouri’s Top Cop.”
Prior to his firing, Mayer filed suit against the City, City Administrator and the 10 Councilmen for $101 million dollars. The suit was eventually settled for over $50,000, more than five times what the Council was authorizing for Chief Swope’s tuition. Prior to the suit being settled, York wrote a letter of recommendation to St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa, telling Mokwa how wonderful Mayer was and she expected him to be successful in his suit against the City. Mayer is currently a St. Louis City police officer.
York’s son, Adrian York, a St. Louis police officer, has been telling people that Swope is history. He has said that his mother intends to fire Swope and if she can’t do it now, she will fire him after she is reelected Mayor. Adrian York was recently arrested and charged by Officers of the Missouri State Water Patrol for Boating While Intoxicated. The First Capitol News has learned that in a videotape of the arrest, York is being belligerent and abusive to the arresting officers and is heard telling them his Mother is the Mayor of St. Charles and will take care of it.
Swope also butted heads with York when an investigation was begun involving her daughter. Sources at police headquarters told the First Capitol News that several months ago a local heroin addict stole his parent’s checkbook and wrote checks to several of his friends forging his parent’s signatures on the checks. A police officer investigating the incident called the Mayor directly and allegedly told her of the incident and said that her daughter was not going to be involved in any reports. Several weeks later Chief Swope learned what happened and ordered an investigation into the incident. One of the checks was written to the Mayor’s daughter for $500, which she cashed.
Sources at City Hall told the First Capitol News that the Mayor was mad that Chief Swope had started an investigation into the recall efforts against City Councilwoman Dottie Greer and City Councilman Mark Brown. Our source told us that York ordered Swope to turn over the investigations to her and he refused making her angry. The St. Charles City Charter does not allow the Mayor to give direction to City employees. They are to receive direction from the City Administrator.
Our source told us shortly after York ordered the Chief to give her the recall investigation reports and he refused, she ordered him to provide her with a weekly activity report listing everyone he met with and his daily activities hour by hour. If the Chief has contact with any of the Council members on or off duty the Mayor requires that it must be recorded on his activity report.
Prior to Swope being appointed Chief the police department was thought to be pretty much under control of the Mayor and her Top Cop, Mayer. She allowed individual officers to report directly to her and allegedly gave them direction in direct violation of the City Charter.
Chief Swope also angered the Mayor when he reprimanded Officer Paul Jokerest and transferred him from a desk job in the station to street patrol. Swope took the action when it was discovered that Jokerest had been leaking privileged information to PR Guru Glennon Jamboretz another of the Mayor’s confidants. Jokerest was known to go directly to the Mayor’s office and meet with her while on duty bypassing the chain of command. Jokerest resigned from the department shortly after being transferred but has continued to write letters to the Council critical of Chief Swope.
Mayer, now a St. Louis officer, was quoted recently as saying that Swope would be gone as soon as the Mayor had an opportunity or when she was reelected.
Chief Swope is a 1984 graduate of St. Charles High School and attended college at Central Missouri State University on a baseball scholarship. He has three children and resides in St. Charles.
We contacted Chief Swope for his comments regarding this story but he declined to make any comments. We were unable to contact the Mayor prior to publication.
Many at City Hall believe that the Mayor would attempt to bring Tommy Mayer back as Chief of Police if she is successful in removing Swope and is reelected to a third term.
October Trial Date Expected For Lawsuit Against Republican State Committee
Former State Representative Tom Green Believes Republican State Committee Lies Cost Him 2004 Election
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
A lawsuit former Democratic State Representative Tom Green has against the State Republican Committee is expected to go to trial in October. Green is accusing the State Republican Committee of defamation of character and libel.
St. Charles County Circuit Judge Jon Cunningham recently denied a motion by the State Republican Committee for a summary judgment to dismiss the lawsuit. After hearing arguments on the motion Cunningham ruled that there was sufficient evidence against the State Republican Committee for the lawsuit to go to trial.
In the 2004 general election, State Representative Tom Green (D) lost his seat to St. Charles County Council member Sally Faith (R). Green believes “out and out lies” published by the Republican State Committee caused him to loose the election.
In late October of 2004, just before the November general elections, registered voters in Green’s 15th State Representative District received post cards that displayed an Alaskan scene on one side and on the other implied Green had taken a state paid Alaskan vacation.
At that time Green told the First Capitol News, I have never been to Alaska and have never taken a state paid vacation to Alaska. I am amazed at the audacity of the Republican Committee to publish out and out lies in an attempt to give my opponent an advantage. The proper thing for them to do would be for them to send another mailing to the same people who received the first correcting their misinformation and apologizing for misleading the voters.” The First Capitol News was unable to get any comments from Representative Faith. The Republican State Committee has admitted making the mailing but is denying it cost Green the election.
Green told the First Capitol News, “The voters in my district were given lies and misinformation about me and that allowed my Republican opponent to steal the election. This is not fair to the voters.”
When asked if he believed Faith was a participant in the mailing Green said, “We will have to see when she takes the oath and testifies in Court.”
Green also said, “This made up information from the Republican Party broke the trust I had with the voters in my district. They had them believing trumped up lies they were telling about me. I have never been to Alaska much less had the taxpayers of the state pay for such a trip.”
St. Charles County Councilman Joe Brazil has also accused the Republican State Committee of similar tactics against him when he ran against State Senator Rupp in the August Republican primary election.
Residents of Green’s ward told the First Capitol News in addition to the mailing, push polling was also conducted during the Green-Faith primary. They said that they received phone calls telling them bad things about Green they later learned were untrue.
Green, who is challenging Faith in the November general election, is a pro-life candidate. He is also active in St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton Catholic Parish. He points to the sound wall along the Page Avenue Expressway, the new Highway 94/70 Interchange and his work for children and senior citizens as some of the highlights of his time in office.
“We are in other countries fighting for truth freedom but in St. Charles County elections are being won on lies. When I was in office the people of the 15th District were well represented,” said Green. Now the representation is being given to St. Charles special interests not the taxpayers.”
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
A lawsuit former Democratic State Representative Tom Green has against the State Republican Committee is expected to go to trial in October. Green is accusing the State Republican Committee of defamation of character and libel.
St. Charles County Circuit Judge Jon Cunningham recently denied a motion by the State Republican Committee for a summary judgment to dismiss the lawsuit. After hearing arguments on the motion Cunningham ruled that there was sufficient evidence against the State Republican Committee for the lawsuit to go to trial.
In the 2004 general election, State Representative Tom Green (D) lost his seat to St. Charles County Council member Sally Faith (R). Green believes “out and out lies” published by the Republican State Committee caused him to loose the election.
In late October of 2004, just before the November general elections, registered voters in Green’s 15th State Representative District received post cards that displayed an Alaskan scene on one side and on the other implied Green had taken a state paid Alaskan vacation.
At that time Green told the First Capitol News, I have never been to Alaska and have never taken a state paid vacation to Alaska. I am amazed at the audacity of the Republican Committee to publish out and out lies in an attempt to give my opponent an advantage. The proper thing for them to do would be for them to send another mailing to the same people who received the first correcting their misinformation and apologizing for misleading the voters.” The First Capitol News was unable to get any comments from Representative Faith. The Republican State Committee has admitted making the mailing but is denying it cost Green the election.
Green told the First Capitol News, “The voters in my district were given lies and misinformation about me and that allowed my Republican opponent to steal the election. This is not fair to the voters.”
When asked if he believed Faith was a participant in the mailing Green said, “We will have to see when she takes the oath and testifies in Court.”
Green also said, “This made up information from the Republican Party broke the trust I had with the voters in my district. They had them believing trumped up lies they were telling about me. I have never been to Alaska much less had the taxpayers of the state pay for such a trip.”
St. Charles County Councilman Joe Brazil has also accused the Republican State Committee of similar tactics against him when he ran against State Senator Rupp in the August Republican primary election.
Residents of Green’s ward told the First Capitol News in addition to the mailing, push polling was also conducted during the Green-Faith primary. They said that they received phone calls telling them bad things about Green they later learned were untrue.
Green, who is challenging Faith in the November general election, is a pro-life candidate. He is also active in St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton Catholic Parish. He points to the sound wall along the Page Avenue Expressway, the new Highway 94/70 Interchange and his work for children and senior citizens as some of the highlights of his time in office.
“We are in other countries fighting for truth freedom but in St. Charles County elections are being won on lies. When I was in office the people of the 15th District were well represented,” said Green. Now the representation is being given to St. Charles special interests not the taxpayers.”
Dempsey’s Abramoff?
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
Pictured in a First Capitol News photo by Tony Brockmeyer, is Thomas Smith of 320 Monroe Street in St. Charles. Smith is the aide to State Representative Tom Dempsey (R) 18th District and is the treasurer of more than 10 legislative committees that are being used to circumvent Missouri election donation laws. Smith controls several million dollars in contributions to the committees which are registered to his home at 320 Monroe Street.
In addition to drawing a salary from the state, Smith has earned thousands of dollars running these committees, a job that is often a volunteer position. After the First Capitol News first broke the story about apparent unethical campaign financing that is run out of 320 Monroe Street, Dempsey ironically began claiming that election finance reform will be a priority in his reelection bid.
Councilman Joe Koester is running for State Representative in the 18th District and has expressed concern about the wide-reaching influence of corporate dollars and special interest legislation that may be tied to such large contributions.
Smith’s position on the St. Charles City Park Board expired a year ago and when Mayor York brought his name forward for reappointment, it was rejected by the Council. However, Smith has refused to step down and claims to be the current vice president of the board. When the First Capitol News entered a park board meeting in progress, Smith, upon seeing the photographer, covered his face for the duration of the meeting including when speaking to the board in an apparent attempt to prevent his photo from being taken (See additional Smith photo on page 9). ttt
Forgeries Found In Brown Recall
By Tony Brockmeyer
The First Capitol News has learned from employees at a senior citizen residence that the St. Charles Police have discovered forgeries on petitions calling for the recall of City Councilman Mark Brown.
The employees said that they learned of the forgeries after the police began questioning employees and residents of the facility.
Mayor York’s father, who recently passed away, was a resident at the facility and was acting in the attempted recall of Councilman Brown. The Mayor was also actively involved in the recall attempt.
The First Capitol News contacted St. Charles Police Chief Tim Swope for comments regarding the forgeries. Chief Swope said the investigation was still an open investigation and he would not comment on an ongoing investigation.
Swope did say that if forgeries were discovered the reports would be forwarded to St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas for prosecution.
The recall attempt against Brown was headed by Linda Meyer, the wife of a St. Charles Police Officer. It was being financed by T.R. Hughes, Kevin Kast, Glennon Jamboretz, and others, all confidants of St. Charles Mayor York.
The First Capitol News has learned from employees at a senior citizen residence that the St. Charles Police have discovered forgeries on petitions calling for the recall of City Councilman Mark Brown.
The employees said that they learned of the forgeries after the police began questioning employees and residents of the facility.
Mayor York’s father, who recently passed away, was a resident at the facility and was acting in the attempted recall of Councilman Brown. The Mayor was also actively involved in the recall attempt.
The First Capitol News contacted St. Charles Police Chief Tim Swope for comments regarding the forgeries. Chief Swope said the investigation was still an open investigation and he would not comment on an ongoing investigation.
Swope did say that if forgeries were discovered the reports would be forwarded to St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas for prosecution.
The recall attempt against Brown was headed by Linda Meyer, the wife of a St. Charles Police Officer. It was being financed by T.R. Hughes, Kevin Kast, Glennon Jamboretz, and others, all confidants of St. Charles Mayor York.
RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
We lost a friend the other day
Several years ago I received a call from President Spellmann of Lindenwood University. He asked if we could come by his office and give him fifteen minutes of our time. That was the first time we had met him although we had heard a lot about him shortly after we started the First Capitol News. He wanted to tell us how much he liked the paper and thought it was good for St. Charles. The fifteen minutes passed by quickly so knowing he was a busy man we attempted to leave but he would not hear of it. When we finally left his office we discovered the fifteen minutes had grown to several hours. President Spellmann was an amazing man and we enjoyed listening to his plans and discussing the City and politics.
Over the past several years we would often receive calls asking for fifteen minutes and each time the fifteen minutes grew to several hours of enjoyable conversation.
We were surprised to learn, that among all his talents, he was also a City planner. He would bring out plans, drawings, and conceptual ideas and ask for our opinions and tell us his ideas. We always left those meetings with greater knowledge than we entered. He was a teacher.
On occasion he would ask us to intervene on his behalf and arrange meetings with those who didn’t share his views. We didn’t always agree with the actions he took but we always enjoyed his company. Especially when he told us how much he liked the First Capitol News and how he thought it was good for the City. He made us promise that if we ever wanted to sell the paper we would give him the right of first refusal. He used to say, “Some of my friends say they never read the First Capitol News but they sure know what is in it.”
We especially are proud of the fact that when he was trying to get his Cultural Art Center (now under construction) started he asked if we would talk to some of the Council members to see if they would pass a resolution encouraging the College Board of Trustees to proceed with the project. He even had us arrange a meeting with him and a Council member with whom he had not spoken for several years. They then became friends.
St. Charles will miss President Spellmann. Despite his detractors, he did a lot of good for the community. He liked to remark that the University brought more tourists to St. Charles than the Convention and Visitors Bureau and he was proud of that. President Spellmann had visions far ahead of the rest of us and we hope that who ever takes his place is able to carry out his dreams.
Several years ago I received a call from President Spellmann of Lindenwood University. He asked if we could come by his office and give him fifteen minutes of our time. That was the first time we had met him although we had heard a lot about him shortly after we started the First Capitol News. He wanted to tell us how much he liked the paper and thought it was good for St. Charles. The fifteen minutes passed by quickly so knowing he was a busy man we attempted to leave but he would not hear of it. When we finally left his office we discovered the fifteen minutes had grown to several hours. President Spellmann was an amazing man and we enjoyed listening to his plans and discussing the City and politics.
Over the past several years we would often receive calls asking for fifteen minutes and each time the fifteen minutes grew to several hours of enjoyable conversation.
We were surprised to learn, that among all his talents, he was also a City planner. He would bring out plans, drawings, and conceptual ideas and ask for our opinions and tell us his ideas. We always left those meetings with greater knowledge than we entered. He was a teacher.
On occasion he would ask us to intervene on his behalf and arrange meetings with those who didn’t share his views. We didn’t always agree with the actions he took but we always enjoyed his company. Especially when he told us how much he liked the First Capitol News and how he thought it was good for the City. He made us promise that if we ever wanted to sell the paper we would give him the right of first refusal. He used to say, “Some of my friends say they never read the First Capitol News but they sure know what is in it.”
We especially are proud of the fact that when he was trying to get his Cultural Art Center (now under construction) started he asked if we would talk to some of the Council members to see if they would pass a resolution encouraging the College Board of Trustees to proceed with the project. He even had us arrange a meeting with him and a Council member with whom he had not spoken for several years. They then became friends.
St. Charles will miss President Spellmann. Despite his detractors, he did a lot of good for the community. He liked to remark that the University brought more tourists to St. Charles than the Convention and Visitors Bureau and he was proud of that. President Spellmann had visions far ahead of the rest of us and we hope that who ever takes his place is able to carry out his dreams.
THE CITY DESK - Rory Riddler, Councilman Ward 1
Electric Utility Management Thinks
We Owe Them For Poor Performance
You can “take it” from Ameren UE…they are doing a great job.
It’s all right here in their own press release.
They paid good money for a survey to tell them what a great job they were doing, how everybody loves them and they have the least outages of any other electric company. I’m not surprised the survey said good things about Ameren, after all when you spend that kind of money stroking your ego, you don’t want to be disappointed with the results.
The press release by the way, goes on to tell us how lucky we are to live in area where the cost of electric service is so low and how “generous” Ameren has been in letting it be so low for so long.
Who can argue with that? Makes you want to run outside and hug an electric pole.
Did I mention that buried somewhere in this press release they also want to raise our electric rates by around 35%? A mere trifle when you consider that last year Ameren UE generated $6.8 BILLION in revenue. What’s a few billion between friends?
Of course, they could just tell us all to go stick our finger in a light socket to approximate the shock we’ll get if these rate hikes are approved. It helps if you are standing in a puddle of water at the time.
Tuesday night I am happy to say the City Council stood up for consumers and passed a resolution calling on the Public Service Commission to deny Ameren’s request. It cites among other things their poor record of management and response to emergencies and power outages. It also carefully separates what we see as the shortcomings of upper management from the hard work of most rank and file Ameren employees.
These are the same employees the management of Ameren likes to “hide” behind whenever anything goes wrong. Yes we lost power to hundreds of thousands of customers for days, putting lives at risk and destroying tens of millions of dollars of perishable food and many more millions of dollars in lost wages and productivity of area businesses. Yes we were woefully unprepared to handle a crisis of this magnitude and had no idea when power could be restored. Yes, our skimping on the tree-trimming budget the last few years to save a few bucks made the problem far worse. But did we mention our employees work hard and work outside in harsh conditions?
I am proud to have been the sponsor of this council resolution and pleased to say it passed unanimously (not always an easy task on the Council). But I also want to share the credit with local Attorney Steve Martin, the Chairman of the City’s Landmarks Board. He brought the idea to me of doing the resolution and much of the research. It seems an elderly relative of his in a nursing facility was put in harm’s way by the duration of the power outages this summer. Steve never seemed like the kind of person to let a rose colored press release gloss over the facts.
For those who care to read the entire resolution, here it is:
Whereas, during major outages this summer, workers for Ameren worked 16 hour shifts, endured searing heat and even suffered one fatality, and
Whereas, the public is appreciative of the dedication of these workers, and
Whereas, the record of management of Ameren has not matched the sacrifice and dedication of its rank and file workers, and
Whereas, in the Ameren service area there have been three major outages in three summers, while other major metropolitan areas have not suffered the same rate of outages, and
Whereas, the summer outage of 2004 left 220,000 Ameren customers without power for up to four days, and
Whereas, Ameren says it had a plan to restore power within 72 hours, but failed to do so this summer leaving over 600,000 customers without power, and
Whereas, the utility had been cited by the Public Service Commission for skimping on its tree trimming budget, and
Whereas, this same management of Ameren failed to maintain the Tom Sauk Dam which failed, and
Whereas, Ameren’s poor planning resulted in the deaths of both people and pets, this summer, and
Whereas, Ameren customers lost over $60 MILLION in spoiled food by a conservative estimate, and
Whereas, restaurants and supermarkets lost a like or greater amount of food, and
Whereas, the elderly and those in hospitals and under medical care had their lives put at risk, and
Whereas, the loss of business productivity and wages was of an untold staggering amount during this prolonged power outage, and
Whereas, Ameren has pending before the Public Service Commission a major rate increase that will cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars,
Now Therefore Be It Resolved, By The City Council of the City of St. Charles, that while we applaud the dedication of individual workers of Ameren during the 2006 outages, we believe it is time that Ameren’s management stop hiding behind the efforts of those individuals and be held accountable for the poor management of this vital utility, and
Be it further resolved, that the public has no confidence in the current management of this company, and that the Public Service Commission should not consider any rate increase until the current management has implemented changes to reduce power outages and respond with the necessary resources and manpower immediately if they do occur and
Be it further resolved, that the Governor should not appoint or reappoint Public Service Commission members who do not, or will not, hold Ameren responsible for the worst series of outages of this company in its 100 year history.
[Note To Editor: If my column next week is a little late it’s because I’ll be writing it out long hand by candlelight the minute Ameren gets a copy of this week’s paper. Thanks]
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters To The Editor
Letter to the Editor:
I’m writing in regards to the embarrassment I feel as a St. Peters resident. First of all, we elect a Mayor who has zero experience in any political office. Next, we watch him every week negate any progress that the board of aldermen try to make; trying to make us feel sorry for him. In the end, the FBI pick him up on bribery charges and he ends up in Federal court and could possibly head to prison. Let’s elect the Mayor we should have elected the first time: Mayor Tom Brown. Mayor, if you’re reading this, please consider running in April of 2007. Let’s get St. Peters’ government back in good standing with its residents and with the FBI!
Ron Steininder
St. Peters, MO
To the Editor,
It looks like the City of Berkeley and the City of St. Peters have a lot in common these days. Both of their ranking officials, City Administrator King and Mayor Brown were in the news for conspiracy and bribery charges for $25,000 and $2,700 respectively. King has been doing this for over 3 years. Makes you wonder how much Mayor Brown would have gotten away with if this would not have happened early in his career. Maybe that is the reason he ran for office in the first place.
Dick Auckley
St. Peters, MO.
Editor,
I have some comments on the recent developments in St. Peters. Mayor Shawn Brown ran his campaign on “honesty” and “change”. There certainly was a change; we got a dishonest Mayor who throws his political career away over $2700. That’s about the extent of his tenure. Let’s talk about Tom Brown and the changes that he has made. As a resident of St. Peters for over 25 years, I have seen Tom Brown transform St. Peters into a place where people like to live and work. So many good businesses have opened up in St. Peters, allowing people to work in their town without having to drive miles from home. This is in addition to bringing us the Rec-Plex, a great family venue which brought St. Peters worldwide attention in 1994 when we hosted the Olympic Festival. This is the kind of change and attention St. Peters wants, Mayor Shawn Brown, not negative attention like bribery charges and constant fighting with the board of Aldermen.
Lela Baird
St. Peters, MO
Dear Media Editor:
This is a letter to the St. Peters Board of Aldermen: let the impeachment proceedings begin! I think I apeak for most of the citizens of St. Peters when I say we need to get rid of Mayor Shawn Brown. What an embarrassment it has been to watch him on television leaving the Federal Court house on charges of asking for and accepting a bribe! This is the same man who ran a campaign against Tom Brown saying that the board and Mayor should not be so tight and that there should be, some fairness when it comes to getting ordinances passed. Apparently, fairness means not passing something the Board and Citizens want unless you get compensated!
P. Dodson
St. Peters, MO
I’m writing in regards to the embarrassment I feel as a St. Peters resident. First of all, we elect a Mayor who has zero experience in any political office. Next, we watch him every week negate any progress that the board of aldermen try to make; trying to make us feel sorry for him. In the end, the FBI pick him up on bribery charges and he ends up in Federal court and could possibly head to prison. Let’s elect the Mayor we should have elected the first time: Mayor Tom Brown. Mayor, if you’re reading this, please consider running in April of 2007. Let’s get St. Peters’ government back in good standing with its residents and with the FBI!
Ron Steininder
St. Peters, MO
To the Editor,
It looks like the City of Berkeley and the City of St. Peters have a lot in common these days. Both of their ranking officials, City Administrator King and Mayor Brown were in the news for conspiracy and bribery charges for $25,000 and $2,700 respectively. King has been doing this for over 3 years. Makes you wonder how much Mayor Brown would have gotten away with if this would not have happened early in his career. Maybe that is the reason he ran for office in the first place.
Dick Auckley
St. Peters, MO.
Editor,
I have some comments on the recent developments in St. Peters. Mayor Shawn Brown ran his campaign on “honesty” and “change”. There certainly was a change; we got a dishonest Mayor who throws his political career away over $2700. That’s about the extent of his tenure. Let’s talk about Tom Brown and the changes that he has made. As a resident of St. Peters for over 25 years, I have seen Tom Brown transform St. Peters into a place where people like to live and work. So many good businesses have opened up in St. Peters, allowing people to work in their town without having to drive miles from home. This is in addition to bringing us the Rec-Plex, a great family venue which brought St. Peters worldwide attention in 1994 when we hosted the Olympic Festival. This is the kind of change and attention St. Peters wants, Mayor Shawn Brown, not negative attention like bribery charges and constant fighting with the board of Aldermen.
Lela Baird
St. Peters, MO
Dear Media Editor:
This is a letter to the St. Peters Board of Aldermen: let the impeachment proceedings begin! I think I apeak for most of the citizens of St. Peters when I say we need to get rid of Mayor Shawn Brown. What an embarrassment it has been to watch him on television leaving the Federal Court house on charges of asking for and accepting a bribe! This is the same man who ran a campaign against Tom Brown saying that the board and Mayor should not be so tight and that there should be, some fairness when it comes to getting ordinances passed. Apparently, fairness means not passing something the Board and Citizens want unless you get compensated!
P. Dodson
St. Peters, MO
THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS BY Jerry Haferkamp
The View From The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp
First things first. The Commemorative Air Force unit that has their headquarters at Smartt Field is having a Hangar Dance there featuring “Big Band” music on Saturday, September 16 from 7-11 p.m. Doors open at 6. Call 636-250-4515 for info and tickets. It should be a good time for those of us who like the “Big Band” sound.
If you’re thinking I’m going to rant about you not being to vote on how your city is run, I’m going to disappoint you. Our mayor has decided that you should not vote and four members of the council agreed and denied you the vote. It is now a dead issue. I just hope you remember her and the councilmen who denied you this privilege when election time rolls around. ‘Nuff said.
You have to wonder if we really have a sign ordinance. There is a truck parked along Veterans Memorial Drive in the vicinity of Mr. Steak that advertises apartments in St. Peters. There is a truck on Droste Road advertising five-dollar pizza. Both are in violation of the ordinance that prohibits such displays.
Here are the paragraphs pertaining to this “not allowed” signage:
(L) All portable signs, except as otherwise provided. Portable signs shall include, but are not limited to, signs which are mounted, attached, or painted on trailers, boats or vehicles when used as additional signage on or near the business premises. Business vehicles displaying signage or advertising shall be parked in an assigned parking space which is not immediately adjacent to a street frontage; (PIZZA)
(M) Signs attached to, suspended from or painted on any vehicle which is regularly parked on any street or private property when one of the purposes of so locating such vehicle is to display, demonstrate, and advertise or attract the attention of the public: (APARTMENTS IN ST. PETERS)
The truck touting the apartments has been there for months. Is there a penalty for these eyesores, or does anyone really care? I know the head of code enforcement cares, but he is only one person. Perhaps the rest of his department should see to it that such infractions are corrected without waiting for a resident to complain. There are signs all over town in the rights-of-way that they must drive past every day. Realtors who place a sign is within eight feet of the curb are probably in violation. If it is in the grass between the street and the sidewalk, it is almost surely in violation.
It is of little cultural value to place artwork in parts of our city if they have to compete with this trashy image. Few will notice the art, but nearly all will remember the eyesores.
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
By Jerry Haferkamp
First things first. The Commemorative Air Force unit that has their headquarters at Smartt Field is having a Hangar Dance there featuring “Big Band” music on Saturday, September 16 from 7-11 p.m. Doors open at 6. Call 636-250-4515 for info and tickets. It should be a good time for those of us who like the “Big Band” sound.
If you’re thinking I’m going to rant about you not being to vote on how your city is run, I’m going to disappoint you. Our mayor has decided that you should not vote and four members of the council agreed and denied you the vote. It is now a dead issue. I just hope you remember her and the councilmen who denied you this privilege when election time rolls around. ‘Nuff said.
You have to wonder if we really have a sign ordinance. There is a truck parked along Veterans Memorial Drive in the vicinity of Mr. Steak that advertises apartments in St. Peters. There is a truck on Droste Road advertising five-dollar pizza. Both are in violation of the ordinance that prohibits such displays.
Here are the paragraphs pertaining to this “not allowed” signage:
(L) All portable signs, except as otherwise provided. Portable signs shall include, but are not limited to, signs which are mounted, attached, or painted on trailers, boats or vehicles when used as additional signage on or near the business premises. Business vehicles displaying signage or advertising shall be parked in an assigned parking space which is not immediately adjacent to a street frontage; (PIZZA)
(M) Signs attached to, suspended from or painted on any vehicle which is regularly parked on any street or private property when one of the purposes of so locating such vehicle is to display, demonstrate, and advertise or attract the attention of the public: (APARTMENTS IN ST. PETERS)
The truck touting the apartments has been there for months. Is there a penalty for these eyesores, or does anyone really care? I know the head of code enforcement cares, but he is only one person. Perhaps the rest of his department should see to it that such infractions are corrected without waiting for a resident to complain. There are signs all over town in the rights-of-way that they must drive past every day. Realtors who place a sign is within eight feet of the curb are probably in violation. If it is in the grass between the street and the sidewalk, it is almost surely in violation.
It is of little cultural value to place artwork in parts of our city if they have to compete with this trashy image. Few will notice the art, but nearly all will remember the eyesores.
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
Case IN POINT By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9
Case In Point
“Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.”
Dwight Eisenhower
During a recent event, Russ Carnahan quoted Dwight Eisenhower – I had heard this quote before and thought it was appropriate for the political climate in which we now live. I think it is hard not to like Eisenhower; he was a rational moderate who had lived warfare but loved peace. We all recall his warnings about a military industrial complex that we should look upon with great caution and healthy suspicion. This was a man who believed in small government, but supported successful government programs such as Social Security because he saw its positive effects in reducing suffering caused by destitute poverty. It is interesting to note that along with Social Security he thinks of unemployment insurance, farm programs, and most notable, labor laws as things worth defending and believes that those who would do away with these things are stupid and negligible in number. Furthermore, in a prophetic way, he goes on to indict oil tycoons as part of this stupid, splinter group. Some others who make up this stupid group, he said, included occasional politicians and businessmen from other areas – say, Wyoming for example.
Sadly, the splinter group he spoke of has turned into the ruling class today.
These oil millionaires sell their snake oil with their smooth talk claiming that they are the down home folks while they say the Democrats are the rich, Hollywood snobs. Sadly, too many Americans gobble this up. In metro St. Louis, it is Town and Country, Ladue, and Chesterfield who vote solidly for the GOP along with much of St. Charles County. The working men and women of our county’s towns provide the votes needed by the GOP to elect those who pass legislation that benefits the affluent of Town and Country, Ladue, and Chesterfield. The St. Charles County GOP gets stagnant wages, rising health care costs, cuts to programs that benefited our poorest children and our most vulnerable seniors while affluent families in Ladue get yet more tax breaks and corporate welfare so they can help widen the gap between rich and poor.
It’s a sad state of affairs when lawmakers in Jefferson City and D.C. can pillage on behalf of the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans and we go along with it. Like the bumper sticker said, “If you’re not mad as hell, you haven’t been paying attention.”
People of St. Charles, it’s time to pay attention. This GOP hegemony has got to come to an end for our nation’s sake. If your party was the GOP of Eisenhower, that party has expired and a few Texas oil millionaires have taken over. They broke their contract with America and we all need to remember that. They wanted to end corruption, end pork barrel spending, adhere to self-imposed term limits, clean up the election process, end un-funded mandates and balance the budget - this was their pledge, this was their contract. What did you get for voting for them? You got rampant corruption; pork spending that has grown by double digits since they have taken control; not one member who stuck to his pledge to step down after eight years; unfunded mandates such as “No Child Left Behind” and a budget that your great grandchildren will be paying off. In fact, we are so far in the red, it now makes sense to me why this is the GOP’s color on the election maps.
Quite literally there is so much wrong that these oil millionaires have done that writing about it becomes overwhelming.
By the way, the next time someone hints at these guys doing a better job at keeping us safe, just remember it is this administration that chooses to give capital gains tax cuts rather than check all cargo coming into our ports. It is this administration that would rather eliminate the estate tax rather than finance Homeland Security. The money they have decided to spend for our safety was determined by political clout rather than what makes sense, resulting in millions of dollars for Homeland Security being spent protecting sites in Montana, Wyoming, and Indiana rather than at our borders, at our airports and seaports, and in our major cities.
We started with Eisenhower, let’s end with another quote from him: “Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and co-operation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.”
“Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.”
Dwight Eisenhower
During a recent event, Russ Carnahan quoted Dwight Eisenhower – I had heard this quote before and thought it was appropriate for the political climate in which we now live. I think it is hard not to like Eisenhower; he was a rational moderate who had lived warfare but loved peace. We all recall his warnings about a military industrial complex that we should look upon with great caution and healthy suspicion. This was a man who believed in small government, but supported successful government programs such as Social Security because he saw its positive effects in reducing suffering caused by destitute poverty. It is interesting to note that along with Social Security he thinks of unemployment insurance, farm programs, and most notable, labor laws as things worth defending and believes that those who would do away with these things are stupid and negligible in number. Furthermore, in a prophetic way, he goes on to indict oil tycoons as part of this stupid, splinter group. Some others who make up this stupid group, he said, included occasional politicians and businessmen from other areas – say, Wyoming for example.
Sadly, the splinter group he spoke of has turned into the ruling class today.
These oil millionaires sell their snake oil with their smooth talk claiming that they are the down home folks while they say the Democrats are the rich, Hollywood snobs. Sadly, too many Americans gobble this up. In metro St. Louis, it is Town and Country, Ladue, and Chesterfield who vote solidly for the GOP along with much of St. Charles County. The working men and women of our county’s towns provide the votes needed by the GOP to elect those who pass legislation that benefits the affluent of Town and Country, Ladue, and Chesterfield. The St. Charles County GOP gets stagnant wages, rising health care costs, cuts to programs that benefited our poorest children and our most vulnerable seniors while affluent families in Ladue get yet more tax breaks and corporate welfare so they can help widen the gap between rich and poor.
It’s a sad state of affairs when lawmakers in Jefferson City and D.C. can pillage on behalf of the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans and we go along with it. Like the bumper sticker said, “If you’re not mad as hell, you haven’t been paying attention.”
People of St. Charles, it’s time to pay attention. This GOP hegemony has got to come to an end for our nation’s sake. If your party was the GOP of Eisenhower, that party has expired and a few Texas oil millionaires have taken over. They broke their contract with America and we all need to remember that. They wanted to end corruption, end pork barrel spending, adhere to self-imposed term limits, clean up the election process, end un-funded mandates and balance the budget - this was their pledge, this was their contract. What did you get for voting for them? You got rampant corruption; pork spending that has grown by double digits since they have taken control; not one member who stuck to his pledge to step down after eight years; unfunded mandates such as “No Child Left Behind” and a budget that your great grandchildren will be paying off. In fact, we are so far in the red, it now makes sense to me why this is the GOP’s color on the election maps.
Quite literally there is so much wrong that these oil millionaires have done that writing about it becomes overwhelming.
By the way, the next time someone hints at these guys doing a better job at keeping us safe, just remember it is this administration that chooses to give capital gains tax cuts rather than check all cargo coming into our ports. It is this administration that would rather eliminate the estate tax rather than finance Homeland Security. The money they have decided to spend for our safety was determined by political clout rather than what makes sense, resulting in millions of dollars for Homeland Security being spent protecting sites in Montana, Wyoming, and Indiana rather than at our borders, at our airports and seaports, and in our major cities.
We started with Eisenhower, let’s end with another quote from him: “Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and co-operation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.”
SPORTS - First Capitol News Sports Section - MIKE MCMURRAN Sports Editor
In the back of my mind I keep hearing the lyrics to that famous Country and Western ballad, “Back in the saddle, again.” Personally, I like to think of my self as a highly structured individual. Nothing is better in life than a carefully thought out strategic plan to get oneself through the day – that is how I look at life. While sitting at my desk I can close my eyes and tell you precisely where everything from my favorite pencil to my coffee cup is located. I enjoy waking up at the same time every day and commencing my morning routine. The downside to my highly structured life is when my carefully thought out strategic plan to get through the day doesn’t go quite the way I have planned, I sometimes know not what to do next. For example, my morning routine mandates one of my first tasks is to walk down my driveway to fetch the morning paper. Simple enough, right? Well, maybe not. You see, in my world of highly structured, carefully thought out strategic plan for getting though the day, if thing don’t go as planned I sometimes, maybe even often, freeze up – just like a computer. On more than one occasion I have walked to the end of my driveway to fetch the morning paper only to find it has yet to be delivered. Now I assure you I walk down the driveway at the same time each and every day – never more than a two-minute variance. On those days when my morning paper is not in my driveway, I stand there like a deer caught in someone’s headlights. I don’t know what to do next! But I digress.
“Back in the saddle, again,” because this fine weekly is back to weekly publication. Now I can get back into my weekly writing routine of almost making the deadline for submitting my work. On a related note, Louis, who has been formally schooled in journalism, tells me that it is an unwritten rule of writers and journalists to dodge editor’s deadlines. Don’t get me wrong here, Tony amd Phyllis are great guys to work for, usually they make you feel as though you are working WITH them more than FOR them. But sometimes their deadlines are just unrealistic. That being said, I met it this week.
This past week I experienced one of those special moments that only a father/football coach can experience. Joe and I were driving home from one of his bi-weekly football practices when he said to me, “Dad, you know that sound on the field when two guys hit each other really, really hard?” Now every football fan in the world knows exactly what “sound” Joe was referencing. “Sure, son, I know the sound you are talking about,” I replied. “Well Dad, I think that is my favorite sound in the world.” If I wasn’t such a tough guy I most likely would have teared-up. But ladies and gentlemen, it gets better. Joe, my first-born son, after contemplating what he had said, then added: “Well Dad, maybe my second favorite sound. My favorite sound is hearing you tell me how much you love me.” I swear to God that is exactly how it happened; as Bob Barton says, “Why would I make it up when the truth is better than anything I can make up?”
Corey Nesslage’s Saint Charles Pirates took it on the chin Friday night as Jennings topped the Bucs 29-19. That being said I expect a winning season will present itself this gridiron season from the hallowed halls on Kingshighway. Next to the Titans of Trinity Catholic High School, I am probably most familiar with the Jennings Warriors and their head coach, Ryan Wallace. Wallace inherited a diamond in the rough from former Jennings coach Rob Harper. Don’t get me wrong, the Warriors have Wallace’s fingerprints all over them. But even Wallace will admit he inherited a team with a full cupboard. That being said, the Pirates were beaten by one of the better teams in the region – the only thing is, nobody knows it yet. Remember, you read it here first – Nesslage will have his Pirates firing on all cylinders when district play starts, and his Pirates will reward him with his first district title.
Condolences to two of my favorite, regular readers, Bradley and Brennen Almus on the passing of their grandpa, John Almus. Boys, the same way your dad coaches your basketball teams, your grandpa used to coach your dad’s teams. And some day you will coach your children in youth sports; that’s just part of what being an Almus is all about.
And finally, Friday, September 15th is my daughter Maggie Kurtz McMurran’s 11th birthday. Most everyone told me I received the most special of all birthday presents when she was born on my 41st birthday. BULL! From 9/15/95 on, September 15th has been, and always will be known as “Maggie’s birthday.” She stole my birthday! Any way, Maggie and I have started a tradition. On Friday morning, both she and I will rise extra early, say 5 a.m. or so, and treat ourselves to a birthday breakfast at Al’s Diner on Kingshighway. Happy birthday Margo – have I ever told you that you are my favorite daughter?
First Capitol News
High School Athlete of the Week
Pat Ampleman, senior
Duchesne High School
Editor’s note: I’ve often times said there is nothing wrong with making mistakes. The secret is to avoid making the same mistake twice. That being said, I suspect I should take some pride in the fact that my 6 year-old son was simply imitating his father as he “interviewed” his older brother. The problem lies in he taped over about 15 seconds or so of my interview with Pat Ampleman – this week’s FCN High School Athlete of the Week. That being said, I know not what Pat’s parents’ names are, nor do I know his older sister’s name. I do know he lives with both his mom and dad, and that his sister is studying Early Childhood Education at Lindenwood University.
The lesson I’ve learned is to not leave my tape recorder where my son can get his hands on it.
Vitals: 5’ 10”, 180 lb., senior, goalkeeper
How long have you been playing soccer: I’ve been playing soccer for as long as I can remember. To the best of my knowledge, I started playing when I was 5 years old at Sacred Heart in Florissant.
What is you most memorable soccer moment: When you’ve been playing soccer as long as I have, it all starts to blend together. I guess winning the team’s Most Valuable Player award last season. I pretty much don’t focus on the past as much as I do the future. We won a State title once playing for Lou Fusz on my select team. All I think about is what this team can accomplish this year!
Favorite subject in school: Anatomy
Favorite teacher: My gym teacher, Mr. Bouslob. He is the kind of person you can talk to on just about any subject. He’s really kind of cool for being a teacher – down to earth I guess you would say.
Your role model in life: That would be my dad. He is a very religious man who has taught me right from wrong. What I really admire in him is how he doesn’t care about what other people think.
Words of wisdom for underclassmen: Don’t make the same mistake I made. Your grades as a freshman and sophomore mean as much as when you are a junior and senior. I didn’t try my hardest when I first entered high school, my g.p.a. was something like a 2.0 at the end of my sophomore year, maybe even lower. Since then I’ve learned just how important it is and I’ve raised my gpa up to almost a 3.5.
Restaurant question: Applebee’s is the restaurant I would go to, and I would order the “Steak too,” which is steak and salmon.
High school football teams’ wins are few and far between
Tough schedules to blame?
By: Mike McMurran
Two weeks into the 2006 high school football season, the combined record of Duchesne, High and West is 1-5. The bad news is looking at the difficulty level of all three schedules, things likely to get worse before they get better.
Pirates even ledger with win over Paseo Academy
After opening the season with a 29-19 loss at the hands of Suburban East opponent Jennings, Corey Nesslage’s Pirates rebounded with a 40-0 win over Paseo Academy. The Pirates running game, led by junior Clifton Brown, was more than Paseo, from the Kansas City area, could handle. Brown (6’ 196 lbs) carried the ball 16 times for 133 yards, his second hundred-yard game in as many outings (25 carries/145 yards vs. Jennings).
The Pirates will host Washington, who until this year played in the larger Gateway Athletic Conference – South division, Friday, September 15. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
West drops first two
The Warriors were not playing their best game, but still managed to hold on to a 2-0 lead in the season opener against University City – for a while. With 3:23 remaining in the third quarter, head coach Gary Strauss’ offense looked like they were going to punch the ball in from the 4-yard line. Ah but looks can be deceiving. Just like that U. City’s Mark Burnett recovered a Warrior’s fumble and raced 96 yards to the end zone giving the host Lions a 6-2 win.
Week two the Warriors gave up over 300 yards total offense to Zumwalt South as they fell to the Bulldogs 42-15.
West will get a break in their schedule this week as they host Warrenton on Friday night. Whatever break they get they should enjoy as down the road they must face Timberland, Cape Central, Washington and powerhouse Webb City before entering districts.
Duchesne: enigma!
Year in and year out it is a pretty safe bet that a Charlie Elmendorf coached team, no matter what the sport, is going to be very competitive. That being said, when your high school football schedule includes Suburban East powerhouse Ladue, ABC defending conference champions Mary Institute Country Day, Class 6 contender Marquette, and Jefferson City Helias, you might just be playing over your head.
After falling to Marquette 26-13 in the opener, the Pioneers dropped a 31-24 decision to the Rams. The Pioneers opened up a 24-10 half-time lead over Ladue, only to roll over and play dead and allow the Rams to score 21 unanswered points in the 2nd half.
Its not going to get any easier for the Pioneers as they host Mary Institute Country Day on Friday night. MICDS, who finished 2nd in the state last season in Class 3 play, defeated Ladue 21-17 in week one of the season.
“Back in the saddle, again,” because this fine weekly is back to weekly publication. Now I can get back into my weekly writing routine of almost making the deadline for submitting my work. On a related note, Louis, who has been formally schooled in journalism, tells me that it is an unwritten rule of writers and journalists to dodge editor’s deadlines. Don’t get me wrong here, Tony amd Phyllis are great guys to work for, usually they make you feel as though you are working WITH them more than FOR them. But sometimes their deadlines are just unrealistic. That being said, I met it this week.
This past week I experienced one of those special moments that only a father/football coach can experience. Joe and I were driving home from one of his bi-weekly football practices when he said to me, “Dad, you know that sound on the field when two guys hit each other really, really hard?” Now every football fan in the world knows exactly what “sound” Joe was referencing. “Sure, son, I know the sound you are talking about,” I replied. “Well Dad, I think that is my favorite sound in the world.” If I wasn’t such a tough guy I most likely would have teared-up. But ladies and gentlemen, it gets better. Joe, my first-born son, after contemplating what he had said, then added: “Well Dad, maybe my second favorite sound. My favorite sound is hearing you tell me how much you love me.” I swear to God that is exactly how it happened; as Bob Barton says, “Why would I make it up when the truth is better than anything I can make up?”
Corey Nesslage’s Saint Charles Pirates took it on the chin Friday night as Jennings topped the Bucs 29-19. That being said I expect a winning season will present itself this gridiron season from the hallowed halls on Kingshighway. Next to the Titans of Trinity Catholic High School, I am probably most familiar with the Jennings Warriors and their head coach, Ryan Wallace. Wallace inherited a diamond in the rough from former Jennings coach Rob Harper. Don’t get me wrong, the Warriors have Wallace’s fingerprints all over them. But even Wallace will admit he inherited a team with a full cupboard. That being said, the Pirates were beaten by one of the better teams in the region – the only thing is, nobody knows it yet. Remember, you read it here first – Nesslage will have his Pirates firing on all cylinders when district play starts, and his Pirates will reward him with his first district title.
Condolences to two of my favorite, regular readers, Bradley and Brennen Almus on the passing of their grandpa, John Almus. Boys, the same way your dad coaches your basketball teams, your grandpa used to coach your dad’s teams. And some day you will coach your children in youth sports; that’s just part of what being an Almus is all about.
And finally, Friday, September 15th is my daughter Maggie Kurtz McMurran’s 11th birthday. Most everyone told me I received the most special of all birthday presents when she was born on my 41st birthday. BULL! From 9/15/95 on, September 15th has been, and always will be known as “Maggie’s birthday.” She stole my birthday! Any way, Maggie and I have started a tradition. On Friday morning, both she and I will rise extra early, say 5 a.m. or so, and treat ourselves to a birthday breakfast at Al’s Diner on Kingshighway. Happy birthday Margo – have I ever told you that you are my favorite daughter?
First Capitol News
High School Athlete of the Week
Pat Ampleman, senior
Duchesne High School
Editor’s note: I’ve often times said there is nothing wrong with making mistakes. The secret is to avoid making the same mistake twice. That being said, I suspect I should take some pride in the fact that my 6 year-old son was simply imitating his father as he “interviewed” his older brother. The problem lies in he taped over about 15 seconds or so of my interview with Pat Ampleman – this week’s FCN High School Athlete of the Week. That being said, I know not what Pat’s parents’ names are, nor do I know his older sister’s name. I do know he lives with both his mom and dad, and that his sister is studying Early Childhood Education at Lindenwood University.
The lesson I’ve learned is to not leave my tape recorder where my son can get his hands on it.
Vitals: 5’ 10”, 180 lb., senior, goalkeeper
How long have you been playing soccer: I’ve been playing soccer for as long as I can remember. To the best of my knowledge, I started playing when I was 5 years old at Sacred Heart in Florissant.
What is you most memorable soccer moment: When you’ve been playing soccer as long as I have, it all starts to blend together. I guess winning the team’s Most Valuable Player award last season. I pretty much don’t focus on the past as much as I do the future. We won a State title once playing for Lou Fusz on my select team. All I think about is what this team can accomplish this year!
Favorite subject in school: Anatomy
Favorite teacher: My gym teacher, Mr. Bouslob. He is the kind of person you can talk to on just about any subject. He’s really kind of cool for being a teacher – down to earth I guess you would say.
Your role model in life: That would be my dad. He is a very religious man who has taught me right from wrong. What I really admire in him is how he doesn’t care about what other people think.
Words of wisdom for underclassmen: Don’t make the same mistake I made. Your grades as a freshman and sophomore mean as much as when you are a junior and senior. I didn’t try my hardest when I first entered high school, my g.p.a. was something like a 2.0 at the end of my sophomore year, maybe even lower. Since then I’ve learned just how important it is and I’ve raised my gpa up to almost a 3.5.
Restaurant question: Applebee’s is the restaurant I would go to, and I would order the “Steak too,” which is steak and salmon.
High school football teams’ wins are few and far between
Tough schedules to blame?
By: Mike McMurran
Two weeks into the 2006 high school football season, the combined record of Duchesne, High and West is 1-5. The bad news is looking at the difficulty level of all three schedules, things likely to get worse before they get better.
Pirates even ledger with win over Paseo Academy
After opening the season with a 29-19 loss at the hands of Suburban East opponent Jennings, Corey Nesslage’s Pirates rebounded with a 40-0 win over Paseo Academy. The Pirates running game, led by junior Clifton Brown, was more than Paseo, from the Kansas City area, could handle. Brown (6’ 196 lbs) carried the ball 16 times for 133 yards, his second hundred-yard game in as many outings (25 carries/145 yards vs. Jennings).
The Pirates will host Washington, who until this year played in the larger Gateway Athletic Conference – South division, Friday, September 15. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
West drops first two
The Warriors were not playing their best game, but still managed to hold on to a 2-0 lead in the season opener against University City – for a while. With 3:23 remaining in the third quarter, head coach Gary Strauss’ offense looked like they were going to punch the ball in from the 4-yard line. Ah but looks can be deceiving. Just like that U. City’s Mark Burnett recovered a Warrior’s fumble and raced 96 yards to the end zone giving the host Lions a 6-2 win.
Week two the Warriors gave up over 300 yards total offense to Zumwalt South as they fell to the Bulldogs 42-15.
West will get a break in their schedule this week as they host Warrenton on Friday night. Whatever break they get they should enjoy as down the road they must face Timberland, Cape Central, Washington and powerhouse Webb City before entering districts.
Duchesne: enigma!
Year in and year out it is a pretty safe bet that a Charlie Elmendorf coached team, no matter what the sport, is going to be very competitive. That being said, when your high school football schedule includes Suburban East powerhouse Ladue, ABC defending conference champions Mary Institute Country Day, Class 6 contender Marquette, and Jefferson City Helias, you might just be playing over your head.
After falling to Marquette 26-13 in the opener, the Pioneers dropped a 31-24 decision to the Rams. The Pioneers opened up a 24-10 half-time lead over Ladue, only to roll over and play dead and allow the Rams to score 21 unanswered points in the 2nd half.
Its not going to get any easier for the Pioneers as they host Mary Institute Country Day on Friday night. MICDS, who finished 2nd in the state last season in Class 3 play, defeated Ladue 21-17 in week one of the season.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)