In Brief
News briefs
Concert wraps up
Heald Home tours
A free bluegrass concert by Floyd and the Barbers is scheduled from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, outside the Darius Heald Home in Fort Zumwalt Park, 1006 Jessup Drive in O’Fallon.
Sunday’s free entertainment provides a finale for the end of regularly scheduled tours offered at the Heald Home on Sunday afternoons from May through September. Tours of the house are offered from 1-4 p.m. and admission is $2 per person. Parking for tours and the concert is free. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more with reservations made in advance.
For more information, call the O’Fallon events hot line at 636-379-5614 or e-mail mseymour@ofallon.mo.us.
O’Fallon sponsors
trip to Branson
The O’Fallon Parks and Recreation Department is sponsoring a November trip to Branson, and registration ends Tuesday.
The four-day, three-night trip will depart by motor coach at 8 a.m. Nov. 10 at O’Fallon Civic Hall, 400 Civic Park Drive. The cost for residents is $560 to $709, depending on motel accommodations. The cost for nonresidents is $570 to $709. Cost includes transportation, three nights’ lodging and continental breakfasts, three dinners and all admissions. The motor coach is scheduled to return at 5 p.m. Nov. 13.
The trip includes five shows: Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, the Brett Family Singers, the Circle B Chuckwagon and Cowboy Music Show, the ‘50s at the Hop, and the Branson Belle cruise. Travelers also will be able to shop at Branson’s Landing, visit Christmas on the Trail, tour two museums and more.
If a minimum number of people do not register by Tuesday, the trip will be canceled.
To register, visit www.renaudspiritcenter.com; or go to the O’Fallon Parks and Recreation Administration Offices, 400 Civic Park Drive, or the Renaud Spirit Center, 2650 Tri Sports Circle; or call 636-474-2732.
Pachyderm Club
to host speakers
The St. Charles County Pachyderm Club, a group for county Republicans, will host six meetings with guest speakers in October.
Five of the meetings will be at noon on a Friday at Golden Corral, 1850 Zumbehl Road, St. Charles. There also will be a Monday meeting at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 at Grappa Grill, 1644 Country Club Plaza Drive, St. Charles.
Those who attend are expected to buy their own meal.
Oct. 3: the speaker is state Sen. Mike Gibbons, R-15th District, of Kirkwood. He is running for state attorney general against Democrat Chris Koster.
Oct. 10: U.S. Congressman Todd Akin, R-2nd District, who is running for re-election against Democrat William C. (Bill) Haas and Libertarian Thomas L. Knapp.
Oct. 13: Anne Zerr, the Republican candidate for state representative in the 18th District. She is running against Democrat Tim Swope, who has indicated he wants to remove his name from the ballot, and Libertarian John R. Alsup.
Oct. 17: State Rep. Joe Smith, R-14th District, of unincorporated St. Charles County. He is seeking re-election against Democrat Douglas R. Broste.
Oct. 24: State Rep. Doug Funderburk, R-12th District, of St. Peters. He is seeking re-election against Democrat Richard Lesh.
Oct. 31: Tom Kuypers, chairman of the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee.
Call Bernie McCann at 636-544-5955 or Carl Maus at 314-440-7646 for more information.
Ticket sales benefit
Special Olympics
The Lake Saint Louis Police Department is selling raffle tickets to benefit Special Olympics Missouri.
Drawings will be held before Oct. 11, and participants have a chance to win an overnight stay in St. Louis with VIP admission to the I-55 Raceway, two tickets to Six Flags or a Polar Bear Plunge beach towel.
Lake Saint Louis Police Chief Mike Force said SOMO was the "best charity around."
"You watch the face of one of those kids when they cross that finish line, you’ll be donating the rest of your life," he said.
Tickets are selling quickly, Force said, but 100 more should be available this week. To purchase a ticket, visit the Lake Saint Louis Police Department at 200 Civic Center Drive. For more information, call Lake Saint Louis police at 636-625-8018 or visit the SOMO Web site, www.somo.org.
Police reports cheaper
in Lake Saint Louis
The Lake Saint Louis Police Department is lowering its fee for copies of police reports.
The department currently charges $4 for the first page and $1 for each additional page. However, the change will lower the fee to 10 cents per page, plus the hourly rate of pay for a clerk to process the request. Customers will only be charged the hourly rate if Police Chief Mike Force determines that the cost of research and retrieval warrants the additional fee. This is unlikely, as most records are on the computer database and can easily be found, said City Administrator Paul Markworth.
Force said most requests come from insurance companies, and the average report costs $10. Typically charges total about $2,000 each year, he said.
Markworth said city officials based their recommendation to lower the charge on the fees imposed by neighboring St. Charles County municipalities. Though O’Fallon accident and incident reports are free, multiple reports cost $12 per hour and 10 cents per page. The city of St. Charles and St. Charles County charge $10 for reports and Wentzville charges $5. St. Peters charges $10, except for accident reports requested by city residents.
Lowering the charge for police reports also makes Lake Saint Louis’ fee the same as what it would be required to charge for requests made under the Missouri Sunshine Law. It makes more sense to have the fee the same across the board, Force said.
Firefighters spread
message of prevention
Firefighters and paramedics of St. Charles County are joining forces with the National Fire Protection Agency from Oct. 5-11 during fire prevention week to urge residents to help prevent home fires.
This year’s campaign focuses on preventing all the leading causes of home fires: cooking, heating and electrical equipment and smoking materials. Additionally, firefighters will be teaching local residents how to plan and escape from a home if a fire occurs. They also will be going to schools, businesses and other events. Residents can contact their local fire department for a schedule of events.
According to the NFPA, 2,500 people died in home fires in the United States in 2006, and 12,500 were injured. Fire departments responded to 396,000 home fires, which accounted for 80 percent of civilian deaths and 76 percent of injuries that year.
The good news is many home fires can easily be prevented by taking simple steps to increase safety, said Michael Scott, battalion chief of the Wentzville Fire Protection District. These include smoking outside the home, keeping space heaters at least three feet away from anything flammable and staying in the kitchen when using the stove, he said.
The NFPA also recommends individuals turn off the stove if they leave the kitchen, replace cracked and damaged electrical cords, use extension cords for temporary wiring only and use deep, sturdy ashtrays.
For more information on fire safety and general safety questions, visit the St. Charles County Emergency Services Association’s Web site, www.sccesa.org, or the NFPA Web site, www.nfpa.org.
Wentzville posts
bond issue info on Web
The city of Wentzville has placed the first of a series of stories and information on its Web site regarding the $50 million sewage system revenue bond issue residents will vote on Nov. 4.
Between now and the election, residents can access these stories, frequently asked questions with answers and other information at www.wentzvillemo.org.
In addition to the Web site information, the bond issue was covered in the city’s September-October newsletter, and two mailers are planned to provide voters with information on this issue.
For more information call the Wentzville Public Works Department at 636-639-2030 or City Hall at 636-327-5101.
Students commended
for National Merit
Three seniors in the Wentzville School District were named Commended Students in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Julia Pitlyk and Chelsea Tossing of Holt High School and Randy A. Johnston of Timberland High School will receive a Letter of Commendation from their school and the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Commended Students placed among the top 5 percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2009 competition by taking the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
A National Merit Scholarship Corp. spokesperson said the students had demonstrated outstanding academic potential and the corporation hoped they would continue to pursue their professional goals.
"Recognition of academically talented students and the key role played by schools in their development is essential to the pursuit of educational excellence in our nation," the spokesperson said.
