West Newsmagazine 11-15-17

6 I OPINION I
November 15, 2017
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
@WESTNEWSMAG
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
EDITORIAL
Random thoughts on the passing scene
With a tip of our cap to our old friend
Thomas Sowell, we offer the following
bits of information on topics and themes of
interest to us:
It would be a great shame to see the
slopes of Hidden Valley closed for good. It
is a business with unique challenges. The
city, the residents and the business owner
should work together to mitigate those
challenges.
Metro West was wise to place Proposition
V on last Tuesday’s ballot. Relatively low
voter turnout helped the fire protection district
to secure a 205-vote margin of victory.
Also, achieving a voter victory was the
Chesterfield Hockey Association. Though
the law governing who gets to vote on
extending the TDD is odd, we’re glad that
the local hockey club is one step closer to
building a new ice rink along Chesterfield
Airport Road.
A couple of worthy local organizations
are celebrating significant milestones
this year, and deserve your attention and
involvement.
First, Circle of Concern food pantry is
celebrating 50 years of helping to feed
local families in need. If you’re looking to
get involved with Circle, now is the time.
Currently, the food pantry is accepting
donations for its annual Thanksgiving baskets
and assigning sponsors to help make
Christmas brighter for local families.
For 25 years, Friends of Kids with Cancer
has been helping kids and their families
deal with a diagnosis no parent ever wants
to hear and no child should ever have to
endure. We are grateful they don’t have to
go it alone. And, the good news is that more
kids are beating cancer than ever before.
Finally, Progress 64 West, a not-forprofit
civic organization that promotes
growth along the I-64 corridor, is celebrating
30 years of community leadership and
service. Speaking of Progress 64 West, the
keynote speaker for its Excellence in Community
Development Awards Banquet on
Nov. 22 is Lisa Nichols, CEO of local IT
firm Technology Partners. Ms. Nichols was
one of 10 female entrepreneurs selected to
participate in a roundtable discussion with
President Trump and his daughter, Ivanka,
last spring. She will undoubtedly have
some great insights to share on entrepreneurship
and innovation.
On another note, it is undeniably frustrating
that the former inhabitants of the
Edward Jones dome have turned from
chronic lambs into undeniable Rams.
Stan Kroenke’s team is the most exciting
team in professional football this year. Of
course, that still does not mean that anybody
in La La Land will show up to watch
them play.
Also good to see in the world of sports,
our beloved St. Louis Blues are the winningest
team in the NHL.
The nightly news, however, has become
a twisted version of high school sex education
classes – disgusting, despicable, distressing.
Has there ever been a year when the
change from summer to autumn was more
abrupt? Seemingly overnight our temperatures
dropped 20 degrees on average and
leaves changed from bright green to glowing
orange. Then, the next day everyone
had to start raking up said leaves.
More and more, it seems people have
taken to “cutting cords.” They are either
dropping their satellite/cable television
packages or have simply stopped watching
them in favor of internet streaming
services like Netflix and Hulu. How long
before every television is just a giant computer
screen in disguise? Bingeing has
replaced the era of “must see TV.”
We were saddened by the recent shuttering
of Wildwood food and drink spot Big
Bear Grill. Many a lunch was eaten in the
midst of the down-home décor, watched
over by Arnie, the original big bear who
passed on several years ago.
IN QUOTES
“... it literally changes your
relationship with society,
with each other … God
only knows what it’s doing
to our children’s brains.”
– Sean Parker, a co-founder
of Facebook, on the influence
of the social media site
“The vote is
meaningless to us.”
– Hidden Valley CEO Tim
Boyd, on an upcoming
Wildwood P&Z vote on the
ski resort’s zip line request
FOLLOW US ON
ON THE COVER: Patriot Guard Riders
gather at the funeral of fallen Army Staff Sgt.
Jesse Thomas in Pensacola, Florida, in 2013.
[Shutterstock.com photo]
Persimmon predictions: Last week, Ms. Bridget Dicker and her pre-kindergarten class at The Fulton School in St. Albans headed out in search of a campus persimmon tree – the
great Missouri weather predictor. ​Folklore says that if you pick a ripe persimmon fruit, remove the seed and cut the seed lengthwise, what you find inside will forecast the coming
winter.​ ​If the kernel is spoon-shaped, expect plenty of snow to shovel. If it is fork-shaped, plan on a mild winter with powdery, light snow. If the kernel is knife-shaped, expect frigid
winds that will cut like a blade.​​Lo and behold, shovels of snow appear to be in our future.