West Newsmagazine 11-6-24
Local news, local politics and community events for West St. Louis County Missouri.
Local news, local politics and community events for West St. Louis County Missouri.
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Vol. 29 No. 21 • November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
westnewsmagazine.com<br />
PLUS: New Manchester Police Chief ■ Holiday Happenings ■ Mature Focus
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STAR PARKER<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
I OPINION I 3<br />
What’s wrong in<br />
our nation?<br />
As we move to the conclusion of this<br />
election cycle, there seems to be only one<br />
thing about which all Americans agree.<br />
That is, that something is very wrong in<br />
our nation.<br />
In the latest Gallup polling, only 22%<br />
say they are satisfied with the direction of<br />
the country. The highest this has been over<br />
the last 16 years was 45% back in February<br />
of 2020.<br />
So, despite change in party control over<br />
these years, the sense that something is<br />
wrong in the country has persisted.<br />
More in the framework of this election,<br />
only 39% say they are better off than they<br />
were four years ago, and 52% say they are<br />
not better off.<br />
Most Americans do not even have confidence<br />
in the sources where they get their<br />
news. Only 31% say they have a great deal<br />
or fair amount of confidence in mass media.<br />
The first time Gallup asked this question,<br />
back in 1972, 68% expressed confidence in<br />
mass media.<br />
A record high percentage of Americans,<br />
80%, say the country is “greatly divided”<br />
on the most important values.<br />
In a New York Times/Siena College poll,<br />
only 49% say “American democracy does<br />
a good job representing the people.” And<br />
76% say, “American democracy is currently<br />
under threat.”<br />
All agree that something is wrong, but no<br />
consensus emerges about what exactly the<br />
problem is.<br />
Is it possible to put a finger on what is<br />
causing the cynicism and disillusionment<br />
that grips the psyche of our nation?<br />
My view is the problem is the drift of the<br />
nation from its founding principles.<br />
To put it another way, we have no choice<br />
about whether we have faith or belief. But<br />
we do have a choice about what it is we<br />
believe.<br />
The dramatic change that has taken place<br />
in America is the uprooting of the Bible as<br />
our starting point for right and wrong.<br />
In 1950, Gallup reports 0% of Americans<br />
said they have no religion. By 1970,<br />
this was up to 3%. And by 2023, this was<br />
up to 22%.<br />
Over this same time, in 1950, the federal<br />
government consumed 14.2% of our<br />
GDP. The estimate from the Congressional<br />
Budget Office is that in 20<strong>24</strong>, that percentage<br />
will be 23.9%.<br />
The preamble to our Constitution<br />
explains its purpose is “to secure the blessings<br />
of liberty to ourselves and posterity.”<br />
Our Constitution was not presumed to be<br />
the source of our freedom. We are already<br />
free by virtue, as noted in the Declaration<br />
of Independence, of being created thus by<br />
our God.<br />
Our Constitution was designed to limit<br />
interference by government in the ability of<br />
free, God-fearing men and women to live<br />
their lives as they see fit.<br />
The guideline for behavior, for right and<br />
wrong, is that which is transmitted to us<br />
from our Creator through the Bible.<br />
Under this reality, America grew and<br />
became great.<br />
However, success brings the sin of<br />
pride, and we begin to attribute our success<br />
to our cleverness rather than our faith<br />
and personal responsibility. As increasing<br />
numbers of Americans have turned away<br />
from God, they have turned more to government.<br />
The sad paradox is that as Americans<br />
turn to government, they abrogate the very<br />
freedom that the founders envisioned as<br />
the government’s role to secure.<br />
The result is less economic growth,<br />
breakdown of the American family and<br />
disappearance of children.<br />
Growth of government, growth of federal<br />
debt and no children is no formula for<br />
a country with a future.<br />
I believe this is what Americans are sensing<br />
and what is producing all the negative<br />
feelings and pessimism.<br />
We must return to the vision of our<br />
founders.<br />
A free nation, under God. And a Constitution<br />
that secures “the blessings of liberty.”<br />
Short of this, although we may experience<br />
ups and downs, the nation will not<br />
realize its great potential.<br />
• • •<br />
Star Parker is president of the Center for<br />
Urban Renewal and Education and host of<br />
the weekly television show “Cure America<br />
with Star Parker.”<br />
© 20<strong>24</strong> Creators.com<br />
Read more on westnewsmagazine.com<br />
We salute our veterans.<br />
We salute our veterans.<br />
“This nation will remain the land of the free<br />
only so long as it is home of the brave.”<br />
- Elmer Davis<br />
This nation will remain the land of the free<br />
only so long as it is the home of the brave.<br />
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4 I OPINION I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR<br />
@WESTNEWSMAG<br />
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
Senior tax freeze<br />
Let’s give credit when credit is due. St.<br />
Louis County has done a great job implementing<br />
the senior property tax freeze. I<br />
just applied. It was painless.<br />
I tried to apply online, but I didn’t<br />
have a copy of our warranty deed and<br />
couldn’t complete my application. I<br />
made an appointment for the next day at<br />
the <strong>West</strong> County Clarkson Wilson Center<br />
office. I was assigned someone, and<br />
with his help, it took 20 minutes to complete<br />
my application. Take your driver’s<br />
license, locator property number, utility<br />
bill and a copy of your trust if necessary.<br />
The county printed my warranty deed<br />
for $4. The re-application is supposed to<br />
be easier. The office was jammed with<br />
seniors, and the staff was friendly, helpful<br />
and competent.<br />
Each of the four county offices is processing<br />
about 100 applications each day,<br />
and roughly 20,000 applications have<br />
been submitted. The four locations are<br />
the Clayton Headquarters, The Crossing<br />
at Northwest Plaza, South County at<br />
Keller Plaza and the <strong>West</strong> County Clarkson<br />
Wilson Center office. Walk-ins are<br />
welcome. I suggest an appointment.<br />
MO Tax Relief Now worked for three<br />
years to get this bill passed. As founder<br />
and managing director, I want to thank<br />
Rep. Ben Keathley (R), Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer<br />
(R), all legislators in the House<br />
and Senate (only three voted against it),<br />
County Council member Dennis Hancock<br />
(District 3), our director, radio<br />
personality and former Speaker of the<br />
House Tim Jones, a hundred statewide<br />
radio stations, newspapers and TV stations<br />
who reported stories and our 10,000<br />
statewide members.<br />
Dennis Ganahl<br />
Regarding concrete barriers<br />
Chesterfield is tearing down Chesterfield<br />
Mall and establishing Downtown<br />
Chesterfield. Once Downtown Chesterfield<br />
is built, there will be increased traffic<br />
in the area, especially along Clarkson<br />
Road. Because of the increased population<br />
and associated traffic increase, in<br />
all likelihood, Clarkson Road will need<br />
to be widened in the future. The Missouri<br />
Department of Transportation<br />
(MoDOT) is installing concrete barriers<br />
all along the shoulders of Clarkson<br />
Road. My tax dollars are paying for<br />
these installations. MoDOT has stated<br />
that the barriers make the road feel<br />
narrower and people slow down when<br />
that is the case. They are described as<br />
providing a “calming effect.” Clarkson<br />
Road is already a very busy road, and<br />
these barriers do nothing to alleviate the<br />
volume of traffic. The motorists I have<br />
spoken to are angry and see these barriers<br />
as a waste of taxpayer money – not<br />
exactly a calming effect.<br />
If there is an accident, where do motorists<br />
pull off the road? Can a tow truck<br />
have the needed space to reach the damaged<br />
cars, or will they have to block the<br />
roadway to provide a tow? What about<br />
emergency vehicles? Right now, the<br />
shoulders provide the needed space to<br />
pull over when motorists notice lights<br />
and sirens. Was a true needs analysis<br />
done to determine if these barriers really<br />
decrease accidents or cause more? How<br />
much did it cost to install these barriers?<br />
How much will it cost to remove the barriers<br />
when the road is widened?<br />
MoDOT, what were you thinking?<br />
Pam Stanfield<br />
• • •<br />
How are the Clarkson concrete barriers<br />
allowing for safe driving?<br />
We drive to safely get to places more<br />
quickly than by walking. Since cars are<br />
enclosed, we also have the benefit of<br />
being able to travel without direct exposure<br />
to the elements.<br />
Safe driving – how do the new curbs<br />
along the shoulder and along the sides of<br />
Clarkson Road enable safe driving? We<br />
owe courtesy to our fellow drivers to not<br />
block entrances, to take turns as we leave<br />
events, to stay in our lanes when we turn<br />
at intersections and to get out of the way<br />
when we slow down to turn.<br />
Going to Life Time Fitness, I typically<br />
move to the shoulder to slow down as I<br />
pass Dunkin’ Donuts, enabling the northbound<br />
traffic to proceed.<br />
With these curb bump-outs, I can no<br />
longer do that, so I get to slow Clarkson<br />
Road traffic when I turn.<br />
Several have commented, “just wait<br />
until a snow plow hits one of them.”<br />
While I am unsure if the plows clear the<br />
shoulders, one does need to wonder, in<br />
the event of an evasive situation – swerving<br />
to the shoulder to avoid another car,<br />
or in the event of a breakdown requiring<br />
getting off the road quickly (even at the<br />
paltry 40 mph speed limit), why have we<br />
put up barriers to safety?<br />
Might anyone have insights into the<br />
thinking that conceived, then approved<br />
the funding, for what are also visual eyesores<br />
that now distract us when we drive?<br />
What funding paid for them?<br />
Is it too late to remove them?<br />
Michael Van Vooren<br />
Nextdoor neighbors and<br />
cancel culture<br />
The public square has evolved from<br />
the days of old. We rarely, if ever, travel<br />
to the local pub for lively debates about<br />
the issues of the day. Church attendance<br />
is down. Apathy and corporate political<br />
correctness are barriers to attendance<br />
at public meetings. In 20<strong>24</strong>, those of us<br />
who still enjoy listening to the opinions<br />
of others have been forced online.<br />
Social media is the new public square.<br />
Social media should be the beacon of<br />
free speech and the free flow of information.<br />
Unfortunately, some members of<br />
our community have been using social<br />
media’s “community guidelines” and<br />
“rules of engagement” to silence their<br />
neighbors. On the social media site,<br />
Nextdoor, I would routinely get discussions<br />
started, mostly regarding public<br />
policy and local government, that would<br />
reach thousands of people. That is<br />
until some of our neighbors decided to<br />
manipulate the “community guidelines”<br />
to have voices like mine permanently<br />
removed. I was canceled for posting a<br />
photo of my yard that included a politician’s<br />
yard sign.<br />
The cancel culture warriors are not<br />
nameless, faceless algorithms in San<br />
Francisco. Nextdoor uses local moderators<br />
to police the content. Our neighbors<br />
who are the “leads” on Nextdoor are<br />
the judge, jury and executioner of free<br />
speech.<br />
Due to the lack of respect for the First<br />
Amendment, I encourage our community<br />
to find alternate online sources for local<br />
issues facing our community. Nextdoor’s<br />
leads have stained the public square.<br />
Niles Stephens<br />
Founder<br />
Publisher Emeritus<br />
Publisher<br />
Managing Editor<br />
Associate Editor<br />
Staff Writer<br />
Features Editor<br />
Business Manager<br />
Graphic Designer<br />
Graphic Designer<br />
Graphic Layout<br />
Reporters<br />
Doug Huber<br />
Sharon Huber<br />
Tim Weber<br />
Dan Fox<br />
Kate Uptergrove<br />
Laura Brown<br />
Lisa Russell<br />
Erica Myers<br />
Donna Deck<br />
Aly Doty<br />
Emily Rothermich<br />
Advertising Account Executives<br />
Nancy Anderson<br />
Vicky Czapla<br />
Ellen Hartbeck<br />
Suzanne Corbett<br />
Jeffry Greenberg<br />
Ruby Keller<br />
DeAnne LeBlanc<br />
754 Spirit 40 Park Dr.<br />
Chesterfield, MO 63005<br />
(636) 591-0010<br />
westnewsmagazine.com<br />
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Comments, Letters and Press Releases to:<br />
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© Copyright 20<strong>24</strong>.<br />
A PUBLICATION OF<br />
Linda Joyce<br />
Joe Ritter<br />
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6 I OPINION I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
@WESTNEWSMAG<br />
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
EDITORIAL<br />
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A HUGE<br />
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Zick’s would like to thank the THOUSANDS of walkers<br />
that ventured through our ‘Hallowed Walk’ this past October!<br />
Beginning November 26th, Zick’s will begin offering hundreds<br />
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The holiday spirit will not be thwarted thanks to their resilience<br />
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Back in 2016, a Georgia man named Joe Chandler went to bed early on election night. He<br />
woke up not knowing the results, and the peacefulness of ignorance washed over him. He<br />
spent the next week actively avoiding the outcome of the election. He worked from home<br />
and avoided social media and national news broadcasts. He wore a sign that read, “I Don’t<br />
Know Who Won the Election and Don’t Want To. PLEASE DON’T TELL ME.”<br />
Joe Chandler is our hero.<br />
You see, we send our newsmagazine off to the printer the Friday before you receive it in<br />
your mailbox or pick it up in the store. In this case, that means we hit “send” on Friday, Nov.<br />
1. Once our server reads “transfer complete,” we are as powerless to change it as we are<br />
to influence the tide. Our hard work has entered a time warp to reawaken in the world the<br />
following Wednesday like Joe Chandler, ignorant of what has happened over the preceding<br />
five days, knowing only the inputs we gave it the Friday before.<br />
In many ways, it is blissful. This newspaper has no idea who won the election and no<br />
ability to influence the outcome.<br />
However, there is one thing we are absolutely certain of – everything’s gonna be alright.<br />
This election was couched in apocalyptic terms. Donald Trump is a threat to democracy,<br />
the left shouted. Kamala Harris will end the republic, cried the right. We may not know<br />
who won, but we know both of those statements are false. Half the country might be disappointed<br />
right now, but the country itself will survive.<br />
We survived COVID-19 and the Civil War, 9/<strong>11</strong> and the Great Depression. We are resilient,<br />
we are mighty, we are united. The nature of elections is to be fatalistic, to exaggerate<br />
flaws and to emphasize differences. The nature of humanity is the opposite of that. We are<br />
better educated, healthier, wealthier and more understanding of our fellow humans than any<br />
generation before. We have already survived one Trump presidential term and one Harris<br />
vice-presidential term.<br />
Everything’s gonna be alright.<br />
Our nation, the United States of America, is remarkable. We are the envy of the world<br />
politically, economically, socially and militarily. We are imperfect, and our willingness<br />
to acknowledge those imperfections keeps us on the path of increasing greatness. We try<br />
things, improve things, innovate upon things and often change the things that no longer<br />
work. Change is hard, messy, painful and part of the fabric that makes us the greatest nation<br />
in all of history.<br />
Everything’s gonna be alright.<br />
Do you remember when mom used to tell us that sitting too close to the TV would hurt<br />
our eyes? That is us during modern elections. We are way too close to the screen. Back up.<br />
See the whole picture. Your candidate won or lost. Your amendment passed or failed. It<br />
happened before; it’ll happen again. Heck, it probably happened in the last election. In a<br />
democracy, frequently, the other side wins.<br />
Just remember that our nation has survived natural disasters and world wars. We have<br />
witnessed the eradication of smallpox and the proliferation of capitalism. We invented the<br />
internet. We created jazz. We can do anything.<br />
Nobody has ever won an election by saying that all is well; nobody gains a vote by saying<br />
the other side is doing a darn fine job. But when we sing together, we sing that our starspangled<br />
banner does yet wave. We are the land of the free. We are the home of the brave.<br />
Everything’s gonna be alright.<br />
Rise up this mornin’<br />
Smiled with the risin’ sun<br />
Three little birds<br />
Pitch by my doorstep<br />
Singin’ sweet songs<br />
Of melodies pure and true<br />
Sayin’, this is my message to you<br />
Singing’ don’t worry ‘bout a thing<br />
‘Cause every little thing gonna be alright<br />
Singing’ don’t worry (don’t worry) ‘bout a thing<br />
‘Cause every little thing gonna be alright<br />
– Bob Marley, “Three Little Birds”
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Following Through<br />
Law Matters<br />
A couple came<br />
to see me<br />
several years ago<br />
about their<br />
estate plan.<br />
They both had<br />
kids by prior<br />
marriages. He<br />
had daughters,<br />
and she had sons. I made a proposal.<br />
They paid their initial fee. We drafted<br />
documents and sent them for review<br />
like we always do. And then we heard<br />
nothing. We tried 3 or 4 times to<br />
contact them every two or three<br />
weeks, but we never got a response.<br />
Every once in a while, this happens<br />
where people have paid a part of their<br />
fee, but they don't follow through. We<br />
don't know why because they never<br />
get back to us. So, after a number of<br />
attempts at contacting them, we send<br />
a letter telling them we can always<br />
reopen their file and get started again,<br />
but that we are going to close their file<br />
for the time being.<br />
Several years later, I got a call from<br />
the husband. Independent of our<br />
earlier dealings, he was referred to me<br />
by a financial planner. The wife had<br />
developed dementia. He was taking<br />
care of her, but it was probably time to<br />
put her in a memory-care facility.<br />
Although he had put locks and alarms<br />
on the doors, on occasion she would<br />
get out. He had in-home caregivers<br />
two or three days a week, but it was<br />
getting tough. He wasn't getting any<br />
younger. It was time for him to be<br />
appointed as her guardian and<br />
conservator.<br />
We filed a petition and sent notice<br />
to her sons as required b y the law.<br />
One of the sons had threatened to go<br />
to court before, but he had never<br />
gone through with it ... until now.<br />
He hired an attorney and filed a<br />
cross-petition, and totally unnecessary<br />
and wasteful litigation follows.<br />
All of this could have been<br />
avoided if the couple had followed<br />
through with their estate plan that<br />
we had started. As a part of that plan,<br />
we had prepared a durable power of<br />
attorney that would have allowed<br />
each of them to handle finances for<br />
the other if one of them became<br />
incompetent. And we also had<br />
prepared medical directives with<br />
medical durable powers of attorney<br />
which would have allowed each of<br />
them to arrange for and manage<br />
medical care for one another,<br />
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8 I NEWS I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
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NEWS<br />
BRIEFS<br />
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NOV. 15-17<br />
Deer Widow’s<br />
Weekend<br />
NOV. 30<br />
Small Business<br />
Saturday<br />
NOV. 23<br />
Christmas Parade<br />
& Open House<br />
DEC. 5-8<br />
Christmas Festival<br />
DEC. 14 & 15 and DEC. 21 & 22<br />
Kimmswick Christmas Elf Hunt<br />
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Annual tug-of-war contest<br />
yields same results as last year<br />
Try as they might, the residents of Wildwood<br />
were unable to pull off a victory at the<br />
annual tug-of-war contest at the 19th annual<br />
Woodchopper’s Ball, held Oct. 20 at Balmar<br />
Farms. Every year, residents from Wildwood<br />
compete in the much-anticipated rope<br />
pull with those from Chesterfield.<br />
With neither city’s mayor on hand for the<br />
award presentation, the “traveling trophy”<br />
for the winner was accepted by Chesterfield<br />
City Council member Merrell Hansen (Ward<br />
4) and 2022 Chesterfield Citizen of the Year<br />
Michael Kane.<br />
The original trophy, a hatchet in a log<br />
designed by Bob Clausen, has stopped traveling<br />
to preserve it.<br />
The tug-of-war contest is just one of the<br />
events held during the day-long event that<br />
also includes wood splitting and chainsaw<br />
work, field games and a dessert competition.<br />
Music was provided by Country Fried<br />
Gentlemen.<br />
Representatives from the Monarch Fire<br />
Protection District attended with emergency<br />
equipment including a fire truck, as the<br />
event benefits the BackStoppers Inc.<br />
More than $1,500 was raised for Back-<br />
Stoppers, said Bill Ballard.<br />
The annual festival was hosted by Ballard<br />
and Ann Tripodi, along with Stacey and<br />
Stuart Morse on property now owned by<br />
Tom Roberts.<br />
CHESTERFIELD<br />
Chesterfield won the tug-of-war contest at the annual Woodchopper’s<br />
Ball on Oct. 20.<br />
(Photo by Elaine Collins)<br />
Faust Park opens Whimsical<br />
Woods nature play area<br />
A grand opening was held Oct. 18 for the<br />
latest addition to Faust Park in Chesterfield.<br />
Whimsical Woods is an enchanted nature<br />
play area that features tiny hand-built cabins,<br />
tree houses, castles, barns and imaginative<br />
creatures. It is located at the north end of the<br />
park by the Webster University Community<br />
Music School.<br />
Whimsical Woods is the creation of the<br />
Faust Park and St. Louis County Parks Forestry<br />
staff.<br />
Andries Alberts, Faust Park supervisor,<br />
said the idea originated from a team challenge<br />
that he was involved in three years ago<br />
at Greensfelder Park in Wildwood. There,<br />
the team was in the wilderness and tasked<br />
with coming up with a dreary, gloomy story<br />
appropriate for the setting.<br />
Instead, Alberts imagined a happy, uplifting<br />
place with the winds moving through<br />
the trees and the leaves rustling underneath,<br />
filled with fairy houses.<br />
He proposed the idea for St. Louis County<br />
Parks as an alternative use for children.<br />
“It will get the little people into nature,” he<br />
said. “It will make them more aware, completely<br />
aware of their surroundings, aware<br />
of the magic in nature.”<br />
Currently, there are about 200 little houses<br />
at Whimsical Woods, he said, and his dream<br />
is to have 1,000. Some are placed up high on<br />
branches, and others down low. They were<br />
created using recycled materials and other<br />
natural resources.<br />
While the creations started with park staff,<br />
it has grown to include assistance from the<br />
St. Louis County Woodworkers Guild, a<br />
nonprofit organization that operates out of<br />
Faust Park.<br />
“We got some really fancy houses from<br />
them,” Alberts said.<br />
Another county employee crafted wooden<br />
benches for the play area, and professional<br />
woodcarvers are planning to carve faces out<br />
of huge stumps or logs found in the woods.<br />
Local schools have also gotten involved,<br />
helping to clear brush, cut the trail and put<br />
down mulch.<br />
The second phase of Whimsical Woods<br />
will include a two-mile hiking trail, with<br />
little houses adorning it along the way,<br />
Alberts said.<br />
MANCHESTER<br />
Chicken survey results<br />
It’s been four months since the city of<br />
Manchester surveyed residents’ opinions<br />
about chicken-keeping, and the results are<br />
ready to hatch.<br />
At the Oct. 7 Board of Aldermen meeting,<br />
Planning and Zoning Director Andrea Riganti<br />
presented the survey findings.<br />
The 15-question survey was administered<br />
to Manchester residents from July to September,<br />
garnering around 651 responses.<br />
Results from the survey showed that<br />
most respondents supported keeping backyard<br />
chickens and limiting the number of<br />
chickens per household to between five and<br />
six. Currently, the city permits chickens on<br />
properties two acres in size, in an enclosed<br />
area at least 150 feet from the property line.<br />
Riganti explained that suggested regulations<br />
included prohibiting roosters, requiring<br />
an annual permit, establishing coop and<br />
cleanliness standards and banning the sale<br />
of eggs.<br />
The matter of chicken keeping still ruffles<br />
feathers within the Manchester community,<br />
as several residents have brought up concerns<br />
regarding neighbors keeping chickens<br />
on private property.<br />
Riganti emphasized that the survey was<br />
only meant to inform the board of the<br />
opinions regarding chicken-keeping, not to<br />
make a decision or recommendation.<br />
ST. LOUIS COUNTY<br />
Former Lafayette High teacher<br />
sentenced to 20 years in prison<br />
On Oct. 23, U.S. District Judge Henry E.<br />
Autrey sentenced former Lafayette High<br />
orchestra teacher Joseph R. Gutowski, 42, to<br />
20 years in prison for producing child pornography<br />
with hidden cameras. Gutowski<br />
was also ordered to pay $86,500 in restitution<br />
to his victims, including those who<br />
appeared in the child sexual abuse material<br />
he collected, a press release from the U.S.<br />
Attorney’s Offices said.<br />
According to the release, Gutowski hid<br />
cameras in his office at Lafayette High in<br />
Wildwood and in his home.<br />
“He secretly filmed a minor and traded<br />
some of the images with others online,”<br />
the release states. “He was a member of<br />
an underground child pornography group<br />
on the cloud storage service Mega. He also<br />
traded videos he’d secretly recorded of an<br />
adult in the ‘Club Creep’ group on Mega.”<br />
Gutowski pleaded guilty in the U.S. Dis-
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trict Court in St. Louis in July to one count<br />
of producing child pornography and one<br />
count of receiving child pornography. The<br />
FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department<br />
Special Investigations Unit investigated<br />
the case and assistant U.S. Attorney<br />
Jillian Anderson served as prosecutor.<br />
This case was brought as part of Project<br />
Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative<br />
launched in 2006 by the Department of<br />
Justice to combat the growing epidemic of<br />
child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by<br />
the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department<br />
of Justice Criminal Division’s Child<br />
Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project<br />
Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and<br />
local resources to better locate, apprehend<br />
and prosecute individuals who exploit children<br />
via the internet, as well as to identify<br />
and rescue victims.<br />
County Executive urges<br />
caution for seniors applying<br />
for property tax freeze<br />
During a press conference on Oct. 27,<br />
County Executive Dr. Sam Page warned<br />
St. Louis County seniors to be cautious of<br />
unapproved sign-up events to help with<br />
senior tax freeze program applications.<br />
“St. Louis County Department of Revenue<br />
is aware of some sign-up events being held by<br />
outside organizations,” Page said. “They’re<br />
being offered as a way to assist seniors to sign<br />
up for the St. Louis County Senior Property<br />
Tax Freeze program. We really don’t have<br />
any reason to believe that these programs are<br />
set up with any ill-intent, but we do want to<br />
urge caution to seniors from sharing any of<br />
their private information at any event that is<br />
not approved by St. Louis County.”<br />
Page expressed his concern that these<br />
events may compromise the safety and security<br />
of seniors’ personal data, and they could<br />
receive inaccurate or incomplete information<br />
regarding the tax freeze program.<br />
“We want your documents that you provide<br />
to us, your property deeds, to be secure,<br />
safe and protected,” Page said. “Seniors can<br />
be targets of scammers. We don’t want this<br />
program to be swept up in that.”<br />
Page said residents who would like inperson<br />
help with the application can go<br />
to one of the four county buildings where<br />
staff members can assist them: Northwest<br />
Crossings, South County, <strong>West</strong> County and<br />
the Clayton Administration Building (by<br />
appointment only) Monday through Friday<br />
from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Applications are<br />
available through a portal on the county’s<br />
website and will be open through June 30,<br />
2025. More than 25,000 applications in four<br />
weeks since beginning accepting applications<br />
in October, Page said.<br />
For more information visit stlouiscountymo.gov.<br />
Your<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
ROLE OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN TODAY’S MARKET<br />
In this evolving landscape of real estate, agents<br />
play a vital role in facilitating transactions and<br />
providing expertise. Here’s a brief overview of our<br />
key responsibilities:<br />
fessional photography and<br />
virtual tours, to enhance<br />
property visibility.<br />
7. Building Relationships<br />
1. Market Expertise<br />
Maintaining networks<br />
Agents possess in-depth knowledge of local with lenders, inspectors,<br />
markets, helping their clients make informed decisions<br />
about pricing and neighborhoods.<br />
2. Client-Centered<br />
Understanding client needs is paramount;<br />
agents tailor their services to meet specific preferences,<br />
whether for families or investors.<br />
3. Embracing Technology<br />
Agents leverage technology to improve efficiency,<br />
using tools like CRM systems and virtual<br />
showings to enhance their client’s experience.<br />
4. Negotiation Skills<br />
and contractors, agents can<br />
provide clients with trusted<br />
resources throughout the<br />
process and after closing for<br />
maintenance, repair and future<br />
investments.<br />
8. Educational and<br />
Emotional Guidance<br />
Good agents educate their<br />
clients about the real estate<br />
process, clarifying terms to<br />
Skilled negotiators and advocating for their clients,<br />
navigating offers and counteroffers to secure<br />
the best deals.<br />
5. Navigating Transactions<br />
They guide clients through all the transaction<br />
steps: inspections, appraisal, ensuring compliance<br />
with regulations and reducing the risk of making<br />
mistakes or leaving something out.<br />
6. Effective Marketing<br />
Agents utilize a mix of traditional and digital<br />
marketing strategies, including social media, pro-<br />
I NEWS I 9<br />
REAL ESTATE CONNECTION<br />
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Real estate agents are essential allies in today’s<br />
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10 I NEWS I<br />
By LAURA BROWN<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
Chesterfield Mall is the ‘every mall,’ says documentary crew<br />
@WESTNEWSMAG<br />
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Kickoff of demolition efforts at Chesterfield<br />
Mall on Oct. 15 brought back<br />
decades-old memories of first dates, shopping<br />
trips for high school prom and teenage<br />
hang-outs. Since it opened in 1976,<br />
the traditional shopping mall was a central<br />
gathering place for communities.<br />
But while the mall is a memorable piece<br />
of nostalgia for many in the area, its story<br />
is one repeated across the U.S.<br />
According to Capital One Shopping,<br />
there were as many as 25,000 malls across<br />
the country in 1986. Now, it is estimated<br />
that there are 1,150, with projections that<br />
by 2032, there may be as few as 150 malls<br />
in operation.<br />
This trend of shopping malls dying<br />
across the U.S. has caught the attention of<br />
Bright Sun Films Creator Jake Williams,<br />
from Toronto, Canada. Williams is directing<br />
his second feature film that will document<br />
the rise and fall of shopping malls,<br />
using Chesterfield Mall as the example of<br />
what he calls the “every mall.”<br />
“There’s no identifiable features really<br />
of this mall compared to others,” Williams<br />
said. “The carousel was maybe a thing, but<br />
if you walked into this, I don’t know if you<br />
can really say it’s any different from a mall<br />
in Idaho.”<br />
Williams, and Bright Sun Films Producer<br />
John Shaw, said they chose to feature<br />
Chesterfield Mall in their documentary<br />
from a long list of malls slated for demolition<br />
across the country.<br />
“We wanted to do something about malls<br />
Bright Sun Films’s Brennen Evangelista (left) and Bright<br />
Sun Films Creator Jake Williams (right) posing with the<br />
iconic Chesterfield Mall monument sign.<br />
in America since I’ve been fascinated with<br />
dead malls and the phenomenon around<br />
that and how retail goes through an endless<br />
cycle,” Williams said. “It started in<br />
the town center. Then it grew into the suburban<br />
town center style with indoor retail,<br />
and now it’s dying. All these cities across<br />
America have these massive buildings that<br />
they don’t know what to do with and I’ve<br />
been interested to see what happens to<br />
them.”<br />
Shaw said visiting Chesterfield Mall<br />
before it closed helped them to make the<br />
decision to use it as the “every mall” in<br />
their documentary. The documentary will<br />
dive into the community’s connection with<br />
Chesterfield Mall, portraying not just as<br />
a shopping center but as a place between<br />
Bright Sun Films’s Nick Novak, filming b-roll of center court, pickleball courts<br />
below. (Photos courtesy of Bright Sun Films)<br />
home and work where people spent their<br />
time. Many locals, from mall walkers to<br />
longtime shoppers, shared their stories<br />
with Williams and Shaw about holiday<br />
traditions, dates and Saturday afternoons<br />
spent with friends.<br />
“Once we got on-site in Chesterfield and<br />
started meeting people and filming, we<br />
quickly realized that this story here was<br />
kind of indicative of malls everywhere<br />
in middle America,” Shaw said. “It’s the<br />
same concept, the same layout, the same<br />
kind of people. Everybody’s hometown<br />
mall has the same stores: the Cheesecake<br />
Factory, Victoria’s Secret, Sephora and<br />
Pottery Barn.”<br />
Williams and Shaw said one unique thing<br />
about Chesterfield Mall is that it was used<br />
all the way up until the demolition. When<br />
Bright Sun began filming, the mall had<br />
already seen most of its national retailers<br />
leave. They had been replaced by a patchwork<br />
of local businesses and unique tenants.<br />
“There were karate classes, a clown<br />
school, a church, a museum,” Shaw said.<br />
“There were a couple antique malls, a piano<br />
store and then the Cheesecake Factory.<br />
And there was an Indian restaurant and<br />
pickleball, obviously.<br />
“That was the most shocking thing we<br />
saw, I think. We just walked in and saw<br />
people playing pickleball in the concourse<br />
area.”<br />
“We’ve never seen anything like that,”<br />
See CHESTERFIELD MALL, page 44<br />
Manchester appoints new police chief<br />
By SHWETHA SUNDARRAJAN<br />
Ed Skaggs was appointed as Manchester’s<br />
new police chief during the Oct. 21<br />
Board of Aldermen meeting.<br />
“This is good news for the city and for<br />
the police department,” Manchester Mayor<br />
Mike Clement said. “With 35 years of<br />
Ed Skaggs is sworn in as the new police chief.<br />
(Photo courtesy of Darin Wernig/City of Manchester)<br />
police experience at Manchester, Chief<br />
Skaggs knows the operational strengths and<br />
any weaknesses of this department.”<br />
Skaggs has been serving as acting police<br />
chief since July, when former chief Scott<br />
Will was placed on administrative leave as<br />
part of an “independent investigation.” By<br />
August, Will had resigned.<br />
Skaggs has been with the Manchester<br />
Police Department for 35 years, making his<br />
way up the ranks. He graduated from the<br />
St. Louis County Reserve Police Academy<br />
in 1982, followed by training at the Eastern<br />
Missouri Police Academy and the St.<br />
Charles County Law Enforcement Training<br />
Center. After serving with the Riverview<br />
Police Department, he joined Manchester<br />
Police on May 1, 1989. According to a press<br />
release, he became a detective in 2001, a<br />
sergeant in 2014 and a lieutenant in 2021.<br />
During his 17 years in the detective bureau,<br />
he specialized in whitecollar<br />
and computer<br />
fraud investigations,<br />
including an identity<br />
theft case that involved<br />
collaboration with law<br />
enforcement near Manchester,<br />
England.<br />
Skaggs has received<br />
multiple commendations,<br />
including recognition<br />
from former<br />
Manchester Mayor<br />
Dave Willson for his<br />
actions during a suicide call in 2012.<br />
Clement explained that the ceremony<br />
at the board meeting was an “informal”<br />
swearing-in. In another two weeks, the city<br />
will host a formal ceremony, complete with<br />
family and friends.<br />
“The officers, over the last few months,<br />
Chief Ed Skaggs shakes hands with (from left) alderman<br />
Marilyn L. Ottenad (Ward 2), alderman John Dodge (Ward 1)<br />
and City Administrator Justin Klocke on Oct. 21.<br />
(Photo courtesy of Darin Wernig/City of Manchester)<br />
have made clear their high regard for his<br />
leadership and respect for who he is,” Clement<br />
said about Skaggs. “A big bonus, too, is<br />
Chief Skaggs is a Manchester resident. His<br />
insistence on safe streets and sidewalks will<br />
be even stronger because of living on a city<br />
street.”
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12 I NEWS I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING<br />
Notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Ellisville will hold<br />
a public hearing at the Parks and Recreation Building within Bluebird<br />
Park, 225 Kiefer Creek Road, Ellisville, Missouri, 63021 on Wednesday,<br />
November 20, 20<strong>24</strong>, at 7:00 P.M., which will deal with all facets of the<br />
CITY BUDGET FOR THE PERIOD OF JANUARY 1, 2025 THROUGH<br />
DECEMBER 31, 2025. This hearing will give the Ellisville residents an<br />
opportunity to become familiar with the entire budget for this accounting<br />
period. The budget summary information is available for inspection at the<br />
Ellisville City Hall, #1 Weis Avenue, Ellisville, Missouri during normal<br />
business hours of 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.<br />
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Sports complexes to dominate<br />
stretch in Chesterfield Valley<br />
A ground breaking was held at the CarShield AAA facility site on Oct. 23. (Laura Brown photo)<br />
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By CATHY LENNY<br />
Chesterfield Valley is soon to become a<br />
mecca for athletic activity with two new<br />
complexes proposed.<br />
Last year, The Beal Center opened at 150<br />
N. Eatherton Road with 18 volleyball/basketball<br />
courts.<br />
CarShield AAA Hockey & Futbol Club<br />
has submitted a site development and<br />
associated plans for a 325,000-square-foot<br />
proposed athletic complex consisting of an<br />
indoor facility and three outdoor athletic<br />
fields.<br />
The indoor facility will have two ice<br />
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such as a restaurant, concessions, academic<br />
instructional spaces, community rooms and<br />
a pro equipment shop.<br />
The 33-acre tract is located east of North<br />
Eatherton Road; a groundbreaking for the<br />
development was held Oct. 23.<br />
At the Site Plan Committee meeting<br />
Oct. 28, details of the plan were discussed,<br />
including access to the development.<br />
In accordance with the 20<strong>24</strong> preliminary<br />
development plan, the development would<br />
have a total of three access points along<br />
DIGITAL<br />
Eatherton.<br />
IMPRESSIONS<br />
As part of the development requirements,<br />
ARE MORE<br />
a section of Eatherton that is owned by<br />
COMFORTABLE<br />
IMPLANTS ARE INCREDIBLY VERSATILE! St. Louis County must be improved, said<br />
STABILIZE LOOSE DENTURES OR REPLACE ALL TEETH IN ONE DAY! Alyssa Ahner, Chesterfield senior planner.<br />
IMPLANTS ARE<br />
The required improvements were previously<br />
INCREDIBLY<br />
proposed as a three-lane section along the<br />
VERSATILE!<br />
LET US BE YOUR LOCAL entirety of the site frontage to allow for the<br />
STABILIZE LOOSE<br />
DENTURES OR<br />
INVISALIGN OFFICE! continuance of a middle turn lane.<br />
OUR INVISALIGN REPLACE CAN ALL<br />
However, questions arose as to whether<br />
STRAIGHTEN<br />
TEETH<br />
TEETH<br />
IN ONE<br />
IN<br />
DAY!<br />
the record plat for the land just south of the<br />
4 MONTHS INSTEAD<br />
property was valid, Ahner said. The 2009<br />
OF 2 YEARS OUR INVISALIGN<br />
plat dedicated 20 feet of right-of-way to St.<br />
CAN STRAIGHTEN<br />
Louis County. This dedication is critical to<br />
TEETH IN 4 MONTHS<br />
the three-lane section improvements along<br />
14560 INSTEAD Manchester OF<br />
Rd. Suite 25<br />
2 YEARS<br />
the CarShield property, but the validity of<br />
(Conveniently located in Winchester Plaza by St. Louis Bread Co.)<br />
the plat is currently awaiting court judgement,<br />
she said.<br />
The applicant has been working with<br />
St. Louis County on an interim solution.<br />
Entrances were reconfigured to only allow<br />
a left turn into the site from the middle<br />
entrance, where a middle turn lane would<br />
be present. Also, the middle entrance would<br />
have an acceleration lane for northbound<br />
traffic exiting the site.<br />
The southernmost entrance would no<br />
longer allow a left turn into the site since a<br />
middle turn lane would not be present.<br />
“This would help prevent the backup of<br />
southbound traffic that currently occurs<br />
south of the site, as vehicles wait to turn into<br />
developments in that area,” she said.<br />
A traffic impact study was required,<br />
Ahner said, given concerns along Eatherton<br />
Road. The study, completed by the<br />
Lochmueller Group, concluded that the<br />
Carshield Sportsplex would not have a<br />
negative impact on operating conditions<br />
along Eatherton. The study did recommend<br />
expanding the eastern half of Eatherton to<br />
provide a three-lane section adjacent to the<br />
site’s frontage, and to provide separate left<br />
and right turn lanes for both the middle and<br />
the southern drive exiting the site.<br />
While the development requires a minimum<br />
of 935 parking spaces, there are a total<br />
of 942 spaces proposed.<br />
Parking lot light poles would be 20 feet in<br />
height and spread throughout the site. Athletic<br />
field lighting will be 70 feet high. Per<br />
city code, illumination of the playing field,<br />
court or track will not be permitted after<br />
10:30 p.m. except to conclude a scheduled<br />
event already in progress.<br />
Another multi-sports complex was proposed<br />
at a Planning Commission meeting<br />
Oct. 14, which would require the rezoning<br />
of a 19.5-acre site east of Eatherton Road.<br />
The India Sports Association LLC has<br />
proposed the construction of cricket fields,<br />
pickleball and sand volleyball courts and a<br />
pavilion, along with renovation of the existing<br />
residential house into a clubhouse.<br />
It would be done in five phases estimated<br />
to take approximately two years to com-<br />
See SPORTS COMPLEXES, next page
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November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
I NEWS I 13<br />
Town & Country prepares budget including new property tax levy<br />
By LAURA BROWN<br />
For the first time in over two decades, residents<br />
in Town & Country will be assessed<br />
local property tax. Following approval by<br />
the Board of Aldermen at a meeting in April,<br />
the tax rate was set at 23 cents per $100 of<br />
assessed property value.<br />
At the city’s annual budget planning<br />
meeting in October, department heads and<br />
elected officials considered different projects<br />
and areas of need to focus on in the<br />
upcoming year. A draft $20 million dollar<br />
budget for 2025 was presented and included<br />
$2.37 million in new revenue from the<br />
local property tax. Town & Country’s City<br />
Administrator Bob Shelton explained the<br />
decision to levy the local property tax came<br />
after several years of budget shortfalls. He<br />
said the city has historically relied on sales<br />
taxes and business license fees from local<br />
retailers to fund its services, but recent<br />
changes in the business landscape have<br />
caused those revenues to go down.<br />
“We are having big vacancies in office<br />
space,” Shelton said. “More businesses are<br />
hybrid. And recently Energizer and Rawlings<br />
moved out of Town & Country. Those<br />
businesses were 1,000 square feet each.”<br />
Shelton said city staff are working on<br />
ideas to attract more businesses to Town &<br />
Country. One idea discussed was waiving or<br />
reducing renovation fees for vacant office<br />
spaces.<br />
The city attempted twice to pass an online<br />
sales tax as an alternative revenue source,<br />
but voters rejected it. Shelton said while<br />
this tax could have mitigated the need for a<br />
property tax, rising expenses have outpaced<br />
sales tax growth, pushing the board to “bite<br />
the bullet” and levy the property tax.<br />
Town & Country Mayor Charles Rehm<br />
said that the board had been transparent<br />
SPORTS COMPLEXES, from previous<br />
plete, said Jacob Buening with Stock and<br />
Associates.<br />
The primary purpose of this development<br />
is to provide a modern and versatile sports<br />
facility that meets the growing demand for<br />
recreational spaces in the community, he<br />
said.<br />
Following the site preparation and initial<br />
grading, cricket fields and pickleball courts<br />
would be constructed. Then sand volleyball<br />
courts and the pavilion. Renovation of the<br />
existing house into the clubhouse would be<br />
next and finally, the installation of lighting<br />
and landscaping.<br />
Staff plans to review issues related to<br />
parking with the applicant and bring it back<br />
to the commission for further consideration.<br />
about the property tax decision, attending<br />
community meetings and discussing the<br />
challenges openly with residents.<br />
“Nobody likes a property tax,” Rehm<br />
said. “But there is acceptance of the fact<br />
that this is our situation. The reality is we<br />
needed more revenue to maintain services<br />
and cover essential projects.”<br />
Residents will begin receiving their tax<br />
bills from St. Louis County soon, including<br />
the 23-cent per $100 of assessed valuation<br />
levied by the city of Town & Country that<br />
will be due by the close of this year.<br />
In addition to balancing the budget, Rehm<br />
and Shelton said the city needs revenue to<br />
fund its capital projects and maintain the<br />
capital reserve. Future projects include<br />
repairs and renovations to the interior and<br />
exterior of city hall, the fire station and<br />
police department. Construction of a new<br />
salt dome and conversion of the old one into<br />
public works office space and storage were<br />
also discussed at the October budget retreat.<br />
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assessment for our police station and city<br />
hall,” Shelton said. “The buildings are both<br />
nearing 40 years old, we would like for<br />
them to last another 40 years. We are looking<br />
at investing in infrastructure to keep<br />
those buildings up.”<br />
Other projects city officials discussed<br />
were major roadway and sidewalk improvements<br />
and stormwater management projects.<br />
All projects will be presented to the<br />
board of aldermen for the 2025 budget for<br />
approval.
14 I NEWS I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
By CATHY LENNY<br />
After the Wildwood City Council lowered<br />
the number of dwellings allowed for<br />
a development in Town Center, the developer<br />
has made changes in hopes of reversing<br />
that decision.<br />
Fischer and Fritchtel (F&F) Custom<br />
Homes had proposed up to 34, single-family<br />
detached dwellings on an 8.3-acre tract<br />
located on the west side of Taylor Road<br />
extension, north of Hwy. 100 and east of<br />
Hwy. 109.<br />
The Pointe at Brightleaf is another phase<br />
of The Villages at Brightleaf that includes<br />
over 190 homesites divided into five distinct<br />
villages.<br />
However, at the July 15 meeting, the<br />
council approved allowing only up to 30<br />
lots, rather than 34. F&F has made some<br />
changes hoping to bring that number back<br />
up, which were presented at the Planning<br />
& Zoning Commission (P&Z) meeting on<br />
Oct. 7.<br />
“The concern is that the greater the density,<br />
the greater the risk to the environment<br />
and to stormwater management,” said Joe<br />
Vujnich, director of planning and parks.<br />
Vujnich believes that 34 lots is a workable<br />
number on the 8-plus acre site.<br />
“Those concerns about the four lots<br />
where additional landscaping is congregated<br />
can be addressed through better site<br />
design and more landscaping,” he said.<br />
“It’s consistent with the components of the<br />
Town Center plan and would mirror Village<br />
E at the Villages at Brightleaf.”<br />
But Dennis Peterson, who lives across<br />
the street from the Brightleaf development,<br />
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Developers seek maximum<br />
number of lots for subdivision<br />
Open again<br />
said he doesn’t see enough mitigation for<br />
noise and dust.<br />
“The noise is unbearable from 5 a.m.,” he<br />
said.<br />
Vujnich said a pilot program to do some<br />
type of sound mitigation in the vicinity is<br />
being discussed, which would be implemented<br />
in 2025.<br />
Another resident in Brightleaf said he<br />
has had problems with standing water at his<br />
home that was supposed to be addressed by<br />
the developer.<br />
Vujnich noted that an escrow account<br />
still exists for the Villages at Bright Leaf<br />
that could potentially be used to address<br />
the problem.<br />
F&F has proposed additional landscape<br />
and buffering in key areas of the project to<br />
address privacy and buffering concerns.<br />
“This change by the council … did not<br />
provide us the opportunity or ability to<br />
propose modifications or other methods<br />
to properly address the concerns being<br />
raised,” said Chris DeGuentz, vice president<br />
of development and construction with<br />
F&F. “We would like the opportunity to<br />
address the screening issue on four lots and<br />
return to 34 single-family dwellings.<br />
“The inclusion of these four homes is<br />
essential for the project to move forward.”<br />
A motion to accept the Department of<br />
Planning’s recommendation for 34 lots,<br />
which will send the issue back to the council<br />
for a public hearing, was approved by<br />
a vote of 6-3 with commission members<br />
Lawrence Clayton (Ward 4), Cindy Deppeler<br />
(Ward 5) and Scott Jackson (Ward 6)<br />
voting against.<br />
After closing for construction early this summer, the Chesterfield Valley Chick-fil-A is<br />
open again for business. The purpose of the construction was to significantly lengthen<br />
the second drive-thru lane by stretching it around the building and to relocate the<br />
drive-thru lane order point canopy.<br />
(Laura Brown photo)
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Adjustments necessary for<br />
microbrewery proposal<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
I NEWS I 15<br />
By CATHY LENNY<br />
Although a microbrewery and sit-down<br />
restaurant have already been approved<br />
for the site of the <strong>West</strong> County Feed and<br />
Supply Store, the proposal was back before<br />
the Wildwood City Council recently to<br />
address setback issues.<br />
A public hearing was held for the project<br />
Oct. 14.<br />
Good News Brewing will be located at<br />
the southwest corner of Manchester Road<br />
and <strong>West</strong> Avenue, near Hwy. 109.<br />
In July, the council approved the<br />
amended planned commercial district to<br />
accommodate modifications and allow<br />
permitted uses, including a microbrewery,<br />
associated restaurant and accessory structures<br />
and activities.<br />
Although the site requires a 50-foot setback<br />
from the eastern edge of the property<br />
to the first parking stall and any structure<br />
or building, the actual distances range from<br />
just 12 to 26 feet, said Joe Vujnich, director<br />
of planning and parks.<br />
A public hearing was held Oct. 14 on<br />
changes to accommodate lesser setback<br />
distances for a small group of parking<br />
spaces and two structures.<br />
“The impact on adjacent properties is<br />
minimal and it is consistent with the layout<br />
of improvements currently on the site,”<br />
Vujnich said.<br />
Initially, a sit-down restaurant with<br />
potential outdoor activities is planned.<br />
Existing buildings will be used, along with<br />
new additions. A stage will be located along<br />
the eastern boundary for musical acts.<br />
While some residents were concerned<br />
about noise from the music, one of the restaurant<br />
owners, Dan Tripp, said typically<br />
the only time they will have music is on<br />
Sunday afternoon and that would generally<br />
be one to two people playing acoustic<br />
guitar.<br />
Vujnich said that the planning department<br />
is cognizant of the noise issue, so the<br />
stage will be oriented toward the southwest<br />
corner of the property where commercial<br />
uses are located.<br />
“We also require sound-dampening curtains<br />
on three sides of the structure or some<br />
type of sound wall,” he said. “Tripp has<br />
agreed to provide the amplification system<br />
so that there’s consistency and control over<br />
it.”<br />
The project will be developed in three<br />
stages, with the first stage including an<br />
open brewpub with minimal changes to the<br />
existing building and grounds. The outdoor<br />
walk-in cooler and a wood-fired pizza oven<br />
will be installed, alongside a patio, the outdoor<br />
performance area and even bocce ball<br />
courts if funds allow<br />
The second phase involves building a<br />
new, private event space, adding restrooms,<br />
expanding the parking area and possibly<br />
adding a food truck park.<br />
In the final phase, the owners plan to<br />
build a new brewery building and acquire<br />
land for additional parking. The microbrewery<br />
component will require a conditional<br />
use permit.<br />
At the meeting, the council approved<br />
the setback distances to accommodate the<br />
redevelopment of the property.<br />
The Art of Living<br />
<br />
HindiUSA St. Louis hosts Diwali celebrations<br />
More than 450 HindiUSA students,<br />
teachers and families gathered on Oct.<br />
25 at the auditorium at the Hindu Temple<br />
of St. Louis in <strong>West</strong> County to celebrate<br />
Diwali, also known as the festival of light.<br />
Regions of India celebrate the holiday<br />
slightly differently. A common tradition is<br />
to light candles and set off fireworks to<br />
celebrate the triumph of good over evil.<br />
“It’s much like Christmas for us,”<br />
Meghna Lunkad, volunteer teacher for<br />
HindiUSA said. “It’s a new beginning.<br />
Families gather, there’s usually a feast<br />
and families exchange gifts. We are<br />
celebrating the Hindu epic called<br />
Ramayana when Lord Rama comes<br />
back to his throne after being exiled.”<br />
(Laura Brown photo)
16 I COVER STORY I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
Hitting the ‘easy button’ – letting AI guide our health<br />
@WESTNEWSMAG<br />
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
By KATE UPTERGROVE<br />
Whether it’s a watch, a fitness tracker, a<br />
glucose monitor or a sock for your baby’s<br />
foot, wearable health-related tech is everywhere.<br />
According to Verified Market Research,<br />
the global market for such devices is projected<br />
to reach 37.4 billion by 2028, growing<br />
at a compound annual growth rate of<br />
13.1% from 2021 to 2028.<br />
So popularity isn’t a problem, but there<br />
is a question that begs to be answered. Will<br />
our wearables make us healthier?<br />
Dr. Ray Weick, regional physician executive<br />
in Mercy’s Missouri East Region,<br />
believes they can if we will let them.<br />
“The biggest benefit of wearables … can<br />
be just simple awareness,” Weick said.<br />
“(Wearble tech) can also be a motivator<br />
for someone to bring something up to their<br />
physician.”<br />
Weick offered an example in which biometrics<br />
from a wearable indicate an abnormal<br />
sleep pattern. That information, he<br />
said, could prompt the person to talk with<br />
their physician about whether they need to<br />
be concerned or whether the readings were<br />
simply an aberration of the technology.<br />
When asked if those occurrences run the<br />
risk of creating a culture of hypochondriacs,<br />
Weick said most physicians would<br />
prefer more information than less.<br />
“I would rather talk to 10 patients who<br />
have an aberration and nothing of concern<br />
than miss one patient who has something<br />
significant where we could make a difference<br />
in their outcome,” Weick said.<br />
Counting steps was just the beginning<br />
Pedometers, considered to be the first<br />
wearable fitness tracker, have been around<br />
since the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the mid-<br />
2010s that activity tracking really took off<br />
in America. In 2015, Fitbit had sold 21.4<br />
million devices. That same year, the then-8-<br />
year-old company filed with the Securities<br />
and Exchange Commission and its biggest<br />
competitor, the Apple Watch, was launched.<br />
Today, the wearable technology market<br />
offers smart watches, smart rings and fitness<br />
trackers as well as earpods that double as<br />
hearing aids and health monitoring devices<br />
that can keep tabs on blood glucose levels<br />
and even a baby’s heart rate and oxygen<br />
levels. Devices like Abbott’s Libre glucose<br />
monitoring system for diabetic patients and<br />
Owlet’s Dream Sock for babies aged 1-18<br />
months automatically send real-time data<br />
to users via mobile apps. The Owlet tracks<br />
the child’s pulse rate, oxygen level, wakings<br />
and sleep trends to give parents increased<br />
peace of mind. Like other wearables, it also<br />
could help physicians better understand and<br />
anticipate their patients’ needs.<br />
“I think there’s extraordinary<br />
value in wearables,”<br />
Weick said, “and I think<br />
we’ll only see the relationship<br />
between devices and<br />
health grow.<br />
“A good example is the<br />
recent advancement with<br />
earpods, that they can be<br />
used as hearing aids. We<br />
may find that wearables provide<br />
an enormous enhancement<br />
in healthcare, not just<br />
in this particular case with<br />
hearing loss, but as a global,<br />
halo effect on all of healthcare.<br />
We know, for example,<br />
that there’s an association<br />
between the isolation of<br />
hearing loss and memory<br />
loss. But wow, what a pretty<br />
cool thing it could be if we<br />
are able to have an easy<br />
piece of technology that<br />
can help prevent memory<br />
loss by helping people feel<br />
less isolated. If we can get<br />
to that level, think of what a<br />
profound effect that would have.”<br />
Other functions already available in<br />
wearable technology also can help in slowing<br />
cognitive decline and memory loss.<br />
“One risk factor for memory loss over<br />
time is poor sleep. Another is inactivity,”<br />
Weick said. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we<br />
could say, ‘OK, if a person has this certain<br />
age, this activity level and this sleep impact<br />
their risk of having memory loss over time<br />
is exceeded by this percentage. If we could<br />
give a patient that feedback in real time and<br />
they’re young enough to make changes<br />
think of the impact that would have on the<br />
individual, on our health system and on the<br />
financing of healthcare in our country. That<br />
would be pretty extraordinary.<br />
“We’re not there yet, but I can’t help but<br />
think that at some point, certainly in my<br />
career, that is where we’ll be.”<br />
The future is AI<br />
Although wearables may differ in the<br />
potential good they offer, they all share<br />
one drawback: humans. The people who<br />
wear them have at least three challenges:<br />
keeping them charged, remembering to<br />
wear them and being open to following any<br />
medical advice triggered by their device.<br />
“How do we continue to make the relationship<br />
between wearer and wearable<br />
easier and easier?” Weick asked. “Conceptually,<br />
in health, if we can make the right<br />
thing the easiest thing, then that easy thing<br />
becomes common, and that common thing<br />
becomes our culture. I think that’s the<br />
sweet spot of any type of medical technology,<br />
but especially wearables.<br />
“I wear my (Apple Watch) because it<br />
reminds me to be more active. I am a<br />
family physician by background and training,<br />
but I mostly spend my time administratively<br />
now, so I’m at a desk. My watch is<br />
that reminder that I need to walk down the<br />
hall and get some motion going.”<br />
Watches, Weick said, are the “easy<br />
button” because people enjoy using them<br />
for other convenient functions such as testing,<br />
answering phone calls, and of course,<br />
telling time.<br />
But not all health trackers feel the need<br />
to be all things to all people. In fact, fitness<br />
tracker Whoop is faceless. The company<br />
slogan is “No screens. No distractions.<br />
Just science.”<br />
The device monitors key vitals like skin<br />
temperature, heart rate and blood oxygen<br />
(something Apple Watches no longer offer<br />
due to a patent dispute) as well as sleep,<br />
strain, recovery after exertion and stress.<br />
Users can input over 140 behaviors like<br />
caffeine consumption, morning sunlight,<br />
bluelight glasses or nursing an infant into<br />
the associated app to see what habits specifically<br />
help and hurt their recovery after<br />
physical activity. Because keeping devices<br />
charged and on one’s body is a primary<br />
way in which humans fail, Whoop users<br />
power their battery pack, which then slips<br />
onto their device while in use. The device<br />
never has to be taken off.<br />
To Weick’s point, convenience is king.<br />
“I’ve been a family physician for 20<br />
years,” Weick said. “When I started in<br />
(Adobe Stock photo)<br />
practice, there was no way that we could<br />
think that we’re going to manage diabetes<br />
by being able to know a patient’s blood<br />
sugar levels literally down to five-minute<br />
intervals. We never would have thought<br />
that we would be able to use a wearable<br />
or an assisted device to manage someone’s<br />
heart failure.<br />
“Devices like smart scales give us the<br />
ability to, when someone steps on a scale,<br />
track their blood pressure and provide us<br />
with some great data points via electronic<br />
transmission. That’s a little different than<br />
a wearable, but maybe in the future, we’ll<br />
have a wearable that does show blood<br />
pressure and can give us an association<br />
of weight that we can proactively manage<br />
people’s disease states.”<br />
As artificial intelligence continues to<br />
advance, Weick said he hopes wearable<br />
technology will continue to evolve to look<br />
at different data points that may not seem<br />
to be related to health or a disease state.<br />
“(Imagine if we can) build algorithms to<br />
say there is a change in an individual that<br />
hasn’t presented itself as something that<br />
the patient feels but that we know is going<br />
to result in a negative change,” Weick said.<br />
“If you have A plus B plus C, we know that<br />
you’ll develop a disease state. We’re just<br />
scratching the surface of AI and generative<br />
AI, in particular, to understand where are<br />
those now sort of hidden associations and<br />
links. That I think is going to be so beneficial<br />
– that we can embrace this amazing<br />
technology to truly prevent diseases from<br />
happening down the road.”
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Alexa Kerber with her InvestWrite award.<br />
BULLETIN<br />
BOARD<br />
Future investor honored<br />
Marquette High freshman Alexa Kerber<br />
placed first in Missouri and eighth nationally<br />
out of thousands of students in grades<br />
six through eight in the spring 20<strong>24</strong> Invest-<br />
Write essay competition. Kerber entered<br />
the competition this past spring as a Crestview<br />
Middle eighth-grader.<br />
InvestWrite is a program of the Securities<br />
Industry and Financial Markets Association<br />
(SIFMA) Foundation that asks<br />
students to reflect on their experience<br />
building a portfolio of stocks and bonds<br />
for The Stock Market Game, reinforcing<br />
their newfound knowledge and honing<br />
their critical thinking skills. Alexa’s family<br />
members and teachers surprised her with<br />
the good news at Marquette on Oct. 16.<br />
Celebrated for leadership<br />
Four Parkway high school students were<br />
recently named to the St. Louis County<br />
Outstanding Student Leader Program.<br />
Representing Central High was Leo Brown.<br />
Representing North High was Elizabeth<br />
Fuehne. Representing South High was<br />
Grace Fu. Representing <strong>West</strong> High was<br />
Mahika Gudipati.<br />
The Outstanding Student Leader Award<br />
annually recognizes one senior student from<br />
each St. Louis County high school who performs<br />
vital services to their school and community,<br />
such as volunteering fundraising,<br />
leadership ability at school and participation<br />
in various clubs, teams, and projects.<br />
Nominated seniors attended a one-day<br />
leadership event at Washington University,<br />
culminating with a recognition ceremony at<br />
the St. Louis Government Center where the<br />
students were honored by county officials.<br />
Students give back<br />
(Source: RSD)<br />
This semester, Crestview Middle sixthgraders<br />
in the language arts classes of<br />
Kristyn Ringkamp and Jennifer Voigt’s<br />
AcLab raised money and collected donations<br />
for three local, animal-based nonprofits.<br />
The recipients of the students’ efforts<br />
were the Humane Society of Missouri,<br />
R&R Ranch and Second Chance Ranch.<br />
The nearly 30 students split into three<br />
groups – one for each nonprofit – and then<br />
assigned themselves different roles, such<br />
as marketing, communications, artists and<br />
treasurers.<br />
“Having the different parts has taught<br />
us some actual life skills on how to work<br />
together in business,” said Elise, who<br />
worked with the Humane Society group.<br />
“Instead of teaching us how to be a marketer,<br />
we have a good motivation to do it<br />
ourselves. Our teachers wanted to include<br />
us because we’re all empathetic, and they<br />
know we can do a good job in helping<br />
these animals.”<br />
Combined, the students collected more<br />
than $700 in monetary donations by selling<br />
products such as miniature foam footballs<br />
and Taylor Swift-inspired bracelets. Elise<br />
also ran her own crafts booth at the Chesterfield<br />
Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 19,<br />
with proceeds going toward the Humane<br />
Society.<br />
Additionally, the students solicited donations<br />
of Petco gift cards and new towels,<br />
blankets and sheets, as well as toys and<br />
treats for the animals.<br />
“It feels good because we’re raising<br />
money for some really good organizations,<br />
and it’s a fun experience because it’s something<br />
that a lot of us wanted to learn how to<br />
do,” said Isaac, who worked with the R&R<br />
Ranch group. “Not only do we get to work<br />
with these societies, but we get to have fun<br />
doing it with some really amazing people.”<br />
• • •<br />
Service and giving back was not limited<br />
to Rockwood students in October.
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I SCHOOLS I 19<br />
On Oct. 21, as part of Parkway Central<br />
High’s seventh annual Day of Service,<br />
juniors and seniors led the school’s annual<br />
Special Olympics soccer tournament.<br />
The morning kicked off with an inspiring<br />
opening ceremony that included the<br />
school orchestra’s rendition of the national<br />
anthem, heartfelt speeches from the athletes<br />
and a torch relay.<br />
The Parkway students hosted students<br />
from 17 schools across five districts,<br />
including Ferguson-Florissant, Hazelwood,<br />
Mehlville, Rockwood and their own home<br />
district. Students from St. Louis County’s<br />
Special School District also participated.<br />
While the juniors and seniors were busy<br />
on the field, the freshmen and sophomores<br />
were learning about and working with a<br />
wide range of local nonprofits, including<br />
Angels’ Arms, the Gateway Arch National<br />
Park, Mission St. Louis and the St. Louis<br />
County Library. Students at Green Trails<br />
and River Bend elementary schools also<br />
benefited from the service of Colts.<br />
36 eight-year-olds nationwide is diagnosed<br />
with autism, which reflects the increasing<br />
prevalence we’re seeing across communities,”<br />
said Wendy Sullivan, CEO of<br />
Easterseals Midwest. “Here in Missouri,<br />
that means approximately 37,300 children<br />
are living with autism, including 7,300 in<br />
Greene County alone.”<br />
This year’s event will feature keynotes<br />
by renowned speakers Liane Holliday<br />
Willey and Jennifer Cook, who will bring<br />
both personal experiences and professional<br />
expertise to inspire attendees.<br />
The event is free for families and<br />
will include breakout sessions on crisis<br />
response, medication, internet safety and<br />
toilet training. Register at easterseals.com;<br />
search “autism conference.”<br />
Donations needed<br />
Rockwood Gives Back is in need of<br />
donations to assist families through The<br />
Giving Place donation center.<br />
The center was established to provide<br />
items for Rockwood students in need. Currently,<br />
the items needed most by Rockwood<br />
families are:<br />
• Laundry detergent<br />
• Dryer sheets<br />
• Paper towels<br />
• All-purpose cleaners<br />
• Glass cleaners<br />
• Bleach wipes<br />
• Dish soap<br />
• Trash bags<br />
• Sponges<br />
• Diaper wipes<br />
Donations are tax-deductible and can<br />
be dropped off during business hours at<br />
the Early Childhood Center office located<br />
at 442 <strong>West</strong> Fourth St. in Eureka. For<br />
questions or more information, contact<br />
giveback@rsdmo.org or visit rsdmo.org/<br />
giveback.<br />
High school concert to<br />
benefit Circle of Concern<br />
The Genesis Jazz Project and The Lafayette<br />
High Jazz Ensemble will perform a<br />
benefit concert for Circle of Concern at 7<br />
p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 26. The concert will<br />
be held in the Lafayette High Auditorium,<br />
17050 Clayton Road in Wildwood. The<br />
suggested at-the-door admission for this<br />
concert is either five or more non-perishable<br />
food items or $10.<br />
Sharing a spark<br />
In mid-October, Superintendent Dr.<br />
Keith Marty visited the Teaching & Learning<br />
students in Parkway’s Spark! program<br />
to share the wisdom and experience he has<br />
gained from his 50-plus years in education.<br />
Marty talked with the students about<br />
the importance of lifelong learning and the<br />
transformative power of teachers.<br />
During the same week, Missouri Education<br />
Commissioner Karla Eslinger and<br />
three state board members also visited<br />
Spark! to learn more about the innovative<br />
program and its impact on Parkway students<br />
and industry leaders.<br />
Parents invited to<br />
autism conference<br />
Easterseals Midwest invites the community<br />
to join its Annual Virtual Autism<br />
Conference on Nov. 7 and 8. The event,<br />
sponsored by the Productive Living Board,<br />
offers two mornings of learning and connection.<br />
Sessions designed for families,<br />
caregivers, professionals and educators<br />
will offer practical tools and strategies to<br />
support individuals with autism.<br />
“The CDC’s latest report shows that 1 in
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November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
I SPORTS I 23<br />
MICDS girls win Class 2 state<br />
golf championship<br />
By WARREN MAYES<br />
Returning to the state girls’ golf tournament<br />
for the first time as a team since 2018,<br />
the MICDS Rams were determined to do<br />
well, and they did.<br />
Guided by coach Diane Gioia, MICDS<br />
captured the recent Class 2 state championship<br />
played at Fremont Hills Country Club<br />
in Nixa. The Rams shot a team score of<br />
684 to handily win by 26 strokes over Cape<br />
Girardeau Notre Dame.<br />
It was the third state crown for the program.<br />
The other two came in back-to-back Class 1<br />
titles in 2014 and 2015.<br />
“This team taught me that golf is a team<br />
sport, and it should be fun,” said Gioia, who<br />
is in her fourth year as the varsity coach. “As<br />
they would tell me, if you can’t have fun,<br />
why play the game? This was definitely a<br />
team victory.”<br />
MICDS captured the recent Class 2 state<br />
championship that was played at Fremont Hills<br />
Country Club in Nixa, Missouri. (Photo provided)<br />
Sophomore Lisa Zhang led MICDS. She<br />
was the tournament runner-up with a 149.<br />
Her rounds were 76-73.<br />
Senior Morgan Withington scored a fifthplace<br />
tie by shooting a 160. Mackenzie<br />
(Mac) Froedge shot a 180 to tie for 13th<br />
place. Junior Claire Kaiser finished in a tie<br />
for 27th place.<br />
Gioia was not surprised by the Rams winning<br />
state; she believed in the squad from the<br />
beginning of the season.<br />
MICDS enjoyed a solid regular season.<br />
The Rams posted a record of 7-3-1. In the<br />
Angel Classic, MICDS earned a fourth-place<br />
finish at the Angel Classic, with Zhang finishing<br />
second overall.<br />
Zhang posted her season-best score of<br />
3-under 68 in that tournament.<br />
The Rams won the District 1 title in a meet<br />
played at Ste. Genevieve Golf Club. MICDS<br />
finished first by nine strokes with a team<br />
score of 341.<br />
Zhang was the district medalist with a<br />
score of 70.<br />
“This was the second time she shot 3-under<br />
for an 18-hole round,” Gioia said. “She had<br />
a nice comeback on the second nine holes as<br />
she went 38-32 for the round. I was pleased<br />
she hung in there because there were a few<br />
times she was frustrated with the greens.”<br />
Fremont Hills Country Club provided the<br />
athletes with a good test.<br />
Although the team led by 12 strokes with<br />
their first-round total of 348, Gioia knew the<br />
Rams were capable of more.<br />
“I was satisfied with that lead, but we knew<br />
it could have been much bigger,” Gioia said.<br />
“Mac and Claire were not happy with their<br />
scores, so I knew it was not going to happen<br />
again.”<br />
Her hunch was correct. MICDS dropped<br />
12 strokes to shoot a 336 in the second round.<br />
“Mac was feeling better,” Gioia said. “She<br />
was sick the week before state and was<br />
finally feeling better the second round. With<br />
her experience and determination,<br />
there was no way she was going to<br />
shoot in the 90s again. She had had<br />
enough of that.<br />
“Morgan and Lisa had their own<br />
personal goals that motivated them<br />
to play their best to the very end.”<br />
Withington and Froedge ended<br />
their time with the Rams program<br />
on a high note by going out as allstate<br />
golfers.<br />
“Morgan and Mac are outstanding<br />
captains and their confidence and<br />
experience kept the team grounded<br />
and centered all season,” Gioia said.<br />
“I could not have asked for better<br />
people to lead this team to victory.”<br />
Gioia admired Kaisers grit in the second<br />
round at Fremont Hills. Kaiser had been<br />
playing with severe back pain but refused to<br />
bow out.<br />
“She knew if she dropped out, that our<br />
team chances were over, so she said ‘no,’<br />
even when fighting back tears,” Gioia said.<br />
“On her 14th hole, she said, ‘Coach, I can’t<br />
do this anymore.’ I told her that was fine, and<br />
I was more concerned about her health than<br />
winning a state championship.”<br />
Gioia let her know that her father was on<br />
the way from St. Louis to see her finish the<br />
tournament.<br />
“She said, ‘I think I can finish.’ She proceeded<br />
to play her final five holes at even<br />
par,” Gioia said. “Those last five holes were<br />
fun to watch. That was pure determination<br />
and guts. She also had a lot of help from her<br />
teammates, who came to cheer us on the final<br />
day.<br />
“They were doing everything they could to<br />
distract her from her pain and keep her spirits<br />
up. Who says golf isn’t a team sport?”
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<strong>24</strong> I SPORTS I<br />
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08/20<strong>24</strong><br />
The Visitation Academy Vivettes registered a two-day score of 651 to make<br />
it back-to-back Class 4 state championships in high school girls golf.<br />
(Photo provided)<br />
SPORTS<br />
BRIEFS<br />
By WARREN MAYES<br />
High school girls golf<br />
Visitation Academy did it again.<br />
The Vivettes registered a two-day score<br />
of 651 to make it back-to-back Class 4<br />
state championships in high school girls<br />
golf. This year’s tournament was held at<br />
Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau.<br />
Like last year, Visitation topped St.<br />
Joseph’s Academy. The Angels team total<br />
was 654.<br />
Visitation coach Julie Jones said her team<br />
wanted to prove last year’s victory was not<br />
a fluke or a one-time thing.<br />
“There is always pressure in golf,” Jones<br />
said. “Although most of it is self-imposed.<br />
And I think in this case, that’s exactly what<br />
we were dealing with. There were people<br />
that felt like we got lucky last year.<br />
“So, validating that we weren’t a wild<br />
card provided some motivation. And we<br />
had team and individual goals that provided<br />
a framework for prioritizing tasks<br />
in practice and making adjustments as we<br />
went. I think they handled all of it with purpose,<br />
passion and grace.”<br />
The rivalry between the Vivettes and the<br />
Angels is a good one, Jones said.<br />
“I think we have a good competitive relationship<br />
with St. Joe’s,” Jones said. “We<br />
see them a lot and they beat us a handful of<br />
times in the regular season. But we felt like<br />
we were gaining momentum headed into<br />
the latter part of the season and our district<br />
win solidified that in the girls’ minds.<br />
“Our goal was to carry that momentum<br />
all the way to a state championship.”<br />
Visitation led by <strong>11</strong> strokes after the first<br />
round.<br />
That changed in the second round. The<br />
Angels made a comeback.<br />
“Coming down the stretch, the back and<br />
forth was enough to give me heartburn,”<br />
Jones said. “We were up, they were up, we<br />
were tied. Every hole it changed. Only two<br />
Viz girls were paired with St. Joe girls.<br />
“So, they don’t know what’s happening<br />
in real-time. But for anyone watching<br />
online, it was a real roller coaster of emotions.”<br />
The Vivettes had three all-state finishers<br />
in the tournament. A finish in the top<br />
15 golfers earns all honors. Sophomore<br />
Annie Rothery was ninth with a 159, senior<br />
Therese ‘Reese’ Robson tied for 10th with<br />
a 160 and senior Avery McLaughlin tied<br />
for 14th with a 163.<br />
“I can’t say enough good things about<br />
these girls,” Jones said. “Our full squad is<br />
15 strong and they are all incredible. I’m<br />
glad we were able to get this win for our<br />
seniors. This is their third (win) in four<br />
years, which is quite an accomplishment.”<br />
High school girls softball<br />
The Lafayette Lancers topped host Parkway South 8-2 to claim the Class 5 District 2<br />
championship. It was Lafayette’s first district title since 2007.<br />
(Photo provided)<br />
The Lafayette Lancers, <strong>West</strong>minster<br />
Christian Academy Wildcats and Incarnate<br />
Word Academy Red Knights all won district<br />
softball titles and quarterfinal games<br />
to advance to the state tournament.<br />
The Lancers topped host Parkway South<br />
8-2 to claim the Class 5 District 2 championship.<br />
It was Lafayette’s first district title<br />
since 2007.<br />
In Class 5 quarterfinal action, Lafayette<br />
defeated visiting Jackson 4-1 to reach the<br />
Four Four for the first time in 17 years.<br />
Lafayette won its eighth state championship<br />
in 2007.<br />
The Lancers will be making their 13th<br />
appearance in the Final Four.<br />
The Wildcats defeated Rockwood<br />
Summit 4-2 to win the Class 4 District 3<br />
crown. The game was a rematch of the first<br />
game of the year.<br />
Freshman Charlie Berkmeyer started<br />
and pitched into the sixth inning before<br />
sophomore Jaymison Lenk came in to get<br />
the final five outs.<br />
The Wildcat attack was led Ella Cozad<br />
driving in two runs with Morgan Dolley<br />
and Sophia Bell added the other RBIs.<br />
The Red Knights scored a 7-2 victory<br />
over Fort Zumwalt East to win the Class 4<br />
District 4 title.<br />
In the quarterfinal, <strong>West</strong>minster scored a<br />
come-from-behind 3-2 win over Incarnate<br />
Word in the Red Knights’ home field. The<br />
Wildcats scored twice in the seventh inning<br />
with two outs. Abby Milgie drove in the<br />
tying run and Berkmeyer singled home<br />
senior Allie Branstetter for what proved to<br />
be the winning run.<br />
It will be <strong>West</strong>minster’s first trip to the<br />
Final Four in softball.<br />
The Wildcats have a new program record<br />
of 26 wins, with a chance to add more at<br />
the state tournament in Springfield.<br />
High school girls volleyball<br />
MICDS has won a district high school<br />
girls volleyball championship.<br />
Under coach David Owens, MICDS<br />
claimed the Class 3 District 5 championship<br />
with a convincing 25-20, 25-16, 25-21<br />
win over Villa Duchesne.<br />
Leading the Rams was sophomore May<br />
Durill with 21 kills and freshman Izzy<br />
Chao who added 14 kills. Senior Sarah<br />
Mills recorded 34 assists.<br />
MICDS (21-9) now moves to the sectional<br />
round. The Rams have not enjoyed<br />
a winning season since 2016.<br />
High school boys<br />
cross country<br />
The Marquette varsity boys took first<br />
place at the recent Warrenton Invitational<br />
cross country meet.<br />
Andrew Cook won the race with a time
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November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE I SPORTS I 25<br />
AUTUMN DENTAL SPECIALS<br />
Experience<br />
the Difference.<br />
The Marquette varsity boys take first place at the recent Warrenton Invitational.<br />
(Photo provided)<br />
of 17 minutes, 20 seconds. The Mustangs<br />
also had the next three runners, with Jacob<br />
Barton finishing second in 17:26.30, Shaun<br />
Underhill claiming third in 17:33.20 and<br />
Luke Hoefferle landing in fourth in 17:41.<br />
Amateur golf<br />
Skip Berkmeyer won the 32nd annual<br />
Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association<br />
championship in his first time playing in<br />
the event.<br />
Berkmeyer, of Town & Country, is playing<br />
in senior events for the first time this<br />
year.<br />
Berkmeyer opened the recent tournament<br />
played at Bogey Hills Country Club<br />
with a 76. However, Berkmeyer fired a 66<br />
in the final round to end with a 142 to win<br />
by four strokes and get his name on the<br />
George F. Meyer Trophy.<br />
Berkmeyer’s name already is on the Jim<br />
Tom Blair Trophy (Metropolitan Amateur),<br />
Old Warson Cup and James S. Manion<br />
(Open) trophies.<br />
Adding his name to the George F. Meyer<br />
Trophy gives him a sweep in winning all<br />
four of the major events.<br />
Previously this summer, Berkmeyer won<br />
the St. Louis District Golf Association<br />
Senior Championship held at <strong>West</strong>wood<br />
Country Club.<br />
Berkemeyer was a 2019 inductee into<br />
the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.<br />
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26 I PLAN THE PERFECT HOLIDAY I<br />
BUYING ESTATES, COLLECTIONS<br />
& SINGLE ITEMS<br />
MILITARY MEMORABILIA<br />
Making sure<br />
you receive the<br />
highest price<br />
possible<br />
Buying<br />
and selling<br />
vintage<br />
wares of<br />
ALL kinds!<br />
PENS, CAMERAS, PIPES<br />
VINTAGE JEWELRY & WATCHES<br />
Mike’s Expert Advice ...<br />
Clearing out a lifetime<br />
of clutter is daunting, try<br />
one drawer – or one room<br />
– at a time.<br />
Your LOCAL expert for<br />
FREE appraisals<br />
GOLD, SILVER, OLD MONEY & evaluations<br />
Stop in or call for an In-Home Appointment<br />
Manchester Coin & Jewelry Co. ~ (636) 686-7222<br />
14319 Manchester Road (Just <strong>West</strong> of Hwy. 141) ~ www.buyingvaluables.net<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
BALLWIN<br />
Christmas Traditions Gingerbread<br />
House • Join the Old Trails Historical<br />
Society for its annual Homemade Christmas<br />
cookies and gift sale at the Bacon Log<br />
Cabin, 687 Henry Ave., from 9 a.m.-noon<br />
on Saturday, Dec. 14.<br />
• • •<br />
Pictures with Santa • Visit Santa and<br />
Mrs. Claus for pictures from 2-4 p.m. on<br />
Saturday, Dec. 21 at the Ballwin Golf<br />
Course Event Center, 333 Holloway Road.<br />
No registration is required, but guests<br />
should bring their own camera.<br />
• • •<br />
Santa and the Mean Green Grouch •<br />
Visit Santa and possibly the Mean Green<br />
Grouch during a 9 a.m. or <strong>11</strong>:30 a.m. golf<br />
cart ride on Saturday, Dec. 21 at the Ballwin<br />
Golf Course, 333 Holloway Road.<br />
Registration is required. Cost is $45 per<br />
cart for residents/VIPs and $55 per cart for<br />
non-residents. Fee covers a golf cart for a<br />
family of four, a meet and greet with Santa<br />
and a ride between the third and fourth<br />
hole to count candy canes but beware of<br />
the Mean Green Grouch who will disrupt<br />
your trip. All riders must fit on one cart or<br />
multiple carts must be purchased. Details<br />
and registration on the Community Events<br />
Calendar at ballwin.mo.us.<br />
@WESTNEWSMAG<br />
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
Holiday Happenings<br />
can enjoy s’mores, a Christmas movie and<br />
local food trucks. The Artisan Market is a<br />
unique opportunity to support local businesses<br />
and artisans during the Christmas<br />
season and a percentage of every purchase<br />
made goes to support The Sharing Shed, a<br />
local nonprofit. Chesterfield campus of The<br />
Crossing, <strong>11</strong>4 N Eatherton Road.<br />
• • •<br />
Candy Cane Hunt • Children 2-12 can<br />
hunt for candy canes hidden in Chesterfield’s<br />
Central Park, 16365 Lydia Hill Drive,<br />
on Saturday, Dec. 7. Festivities begin at<br />
10 a.m. Children will hunt in age-specific<br />
groups beginning with the 2- to 3-year-olds<br />
and starting a new group every 15 minutes.<br />
Cost is $10 per child. Register at chesterfield.mo.us<br />
under the Parks Programs tab.<br />
• • •<br />
Senior Holiday Carnival • Area seniors<br />
are invited for a morning of holiday fun<br />
and games from 10 a.m.-noon on Thursday,<br />
Dec. 12 at Chesterfield City Hall, 690<br />
Chesterfield Parkway <strong>West</strong>. Games include<br />
a Putt Putt Challenge, Milk Bottle Knock<br />
Down, Ping Pong Toss and more. Magicians,<br />
jugglers and a caricature artist will<br />
be available throughout the event. Snacks<br />
will be provided. Although the event is<br />
free, registration is required via email to<br />
olderadults@chesterfield.mo.us.<br />
Good for business,<br />
good for St. Louis.<br />
CHESTERFIELD<br />
Cookies with The Clauses • Gather<br />
around Mrs. Claus’ cookie table at 6:30<br />
p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6 at Chesterfield City<br />
Hall, 690 Chesterfield Parkway <strong>West</strong>. Then,<br />
sit by the tree and eat cookies while Santa<br />
reads a holiday story. Event is for children<br />
ages 2-12. Cost is $10 per child. Register<br />
at chesterfield.mo.us under the Parks Programs<br />
tab.<br />
• • •<br />
Artisan Market at The Crossing • On<br />
Friday, Dec. 6 beginning at 6 p.m., local artisans<br />
will sell a variety of goods and handmade<br />
Christmas presents. Outside guests<br />
CREVE COEUR<br />
Cocoa with a Cop • Residents are<br />
invited to join Creve Coeur Police Officers<br />
for hot cocoa from 1:30-3 p.m. on Friday,<br />
Dec. 27 at the Creve Coeur Ice Arena,<br />
<strong>11</strong>400 Olde Cabin Road. The rink will be<br />
open for public skating during the event.<br />
The cost to skate is $4 per resident and $6<br />
for non-residents. Skate rental is $3. No<br />
registration is required.<br />
DES PERES<br />
Santa at the Mall • Santa will make his<br />
grand arrival at <strong>West</strong> County Mall on Nov.<br />
13 at <strong>11</strong> a.m., where he’ll be celebrating<br />
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636-305-1474<br />
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WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
I PLAN THE PERFECT HOLIDAY I 27<br />
THANKSGIVING EVENTS<br />
Chesterfield’s 25th Annual Turkey Trot and Fun Run • All are invited to run<br />
or walk on Thanksgiving morning at the Chesterfield Valley Athletic Complex,<br />
17925 N. Outer 40 Road. Register at chesterfield.mo.us by searching Turkey Trot.<br />
The 5K run/walk begins at 8:30 a.m. The Kids Fun Run begins at 9:30 a.m. The<br />
cost of the 5K is $35 before Nov. 27, or $40 on race day. The cost for the Fun Run<br />
is $15 through race day.<br />
Awards will be given for the overall top male, the overall top female and top<br />
three in each age group. Shirts guaranteed for registrations before Nov. 10.<br />
• • •<br />
Town & Country’s 18th Annual Turkey Trot • Start Thanksgiving Day with<br />
the 18th annual Turkey Trot at Longview Farm Park, 13525 Clayton Road. Registration<br />
is required for the 9 a.m. three-mile run/walk and the 10 a.m. half-mile kids<br />
fun run. The cost is $25 for adults (14 and up) and $10 for kids (13 and younger).<br />
Light refreshments will be available after the race and prizes will be given to the<br />
top three men and women racers. Register at town-and-country.org. Parking is<br />
available at Longview Farm Park with overflow parking at Town Square.<br />
the holiday season and hearing Christmas<br />
wishes at his workshop in center court. Pet<br />
Photos with Santa are on Mondays from<br />
Nov. 18 through Dec. 16. Registering for<br />
your Santa visit at shopwestcountycenter.<br />
com is recommended.<br />
• • •<br />
Holiday Lights Contest • Des Peres<br />
residents can compete for bragging rights<br />
in the city’s inaugural Holiday Lights Contest.<br />
Participation is free but participating<br />
houses must be registered with the city by<br />
Dec. 1. Judging by Parks & Recreation<br />
staff will take place Dec. 9-13. Light displays<br />
will be judged on arrangement, variety<br />
and “WOW” factor. A grand prize will<br />
be given as well as first place in each of the<br />
three categories: Classic Christmas, Winter<br />
Wonderland and Total Griswold. Winners<br />
also will receive yard signs to display.<br />
Details and registration at desperesmo.org.<br />
• • •<br />
Flannels & Flapjacks • Families can<br />
enjoy breakfast with Santa from 9-10:30<br />
a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 at The Lodge,<br />
1050 Des Peres Road. Guests should bring<br />
their own cameras to take photos with<br />
Santa. Kids can also bring their wish lists<br />
to give to Santa. Cost is $12 for members/<br />
residents and $15 for non-residents. Registration<br />
is required at desperesmo.org under<br />
the Parks and Recreation tab.<br />
• • •<br />
New Year’s Eve at Noon • Celebrate<br />
the new year a little early with a mid-day<br />
celebration from <strong>11</strong> a.m.-2 p.m. on Tuesday,<br />
Dec. 31 at The Lodge Indoor Pool.<br />
Featured will be a countdown to noon with<br />
a beach ball drop. Swim in the wave pool,<br />
dance and take photos with a NYE-themed<br />
backdrop. Registration is required at desperesmo.org.<br />
This is an all-ages event.<br />
Cost is $10 per member/resident and $14<br />
for non-residents.<br />
ELLISVILLE<br />
Shimmering Snow Globes • Decorate<br />
a snow globe to be used in a monthlong<br />
scavenger hunt! Registered Ellisville<br />
residents can pick up their wooden<br />
snow globes at the Parks Administration<br />
Building beginning on Friday, Nov. 1.<br />
Snow globes are to be designed using<br />
the resident’s own materials and returned<br />
to the Parks Administration building by<br />
Wednesday, Nov. 27. Registration is $5<br />
at ellisville.recdesk.com. Everyone can<br />
participate by searching for snow globes<br />
in Ellisville parks throughout December.<br />
Photo hints will be available on Facebook.<br />
• • •<br />
Letters from Santa • A “North Pole”<br />
mailbox will be available to collect letters<br />
for Santa from Friday, Nov. 29 through<br />
Thursday, Dec. 19. Santa will send a personalized<br />
response to children who include<br />
their first and last name, and a return<br />
address. Letters can also be mailed to<br />
SANTA CLAUS, 225 Kiefer Creek Road,<br />
Ellisville, MO 63021<br />
• • •<br />
Flashlight Candy Cane Hunt • Santa’s<br />
Elves have hidden candy canes throughout<br />
Bluebird Park, 225 Kiefer Creek Road.<br />
Children aged 9 and younger are invited<br />
to bring their flashlights and bags from 5-6<br />
p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6 to collect them all.<br />
After the hunt, guests can enjoy hot cocoa,<br />
cookies and a visit from Santa. Registration<br />
is required at ellisville.recdesk.com or<br />
by calling (6360 227-7508. Cost is $6 per<br />
person. Parking for the event will be available<br />
in the main lot next to the administration<br />
building.<br />
• • •<br />
Drive-Through Christmas Experience<br />
• Enjoy lights synchronized to music, a<br />
living Nativity, Christmas-themed inflatables,<br />
live music, Christmas characters and<br />
See HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS, page 45
28 I PLAN THE PERFECT HOLIDAY I<br />
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per visit, per table. Void with other offers or specials.<br />
Present coupon when ordering. NO CASH VALUE. Please<br />
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November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
By KATE UPTERGROVE<br />
Holiday shopping is easy and fun when<br />
you gather a group of friends and head to<br />
local open houses. There, you’ll find special<br />
offers, refreshments, picture perfect home<br />
decor and gifts to give – and maybe some to<br />
keep for yourself!<br />
Several local stores also have visits with<br />
Santa planned alongside pint-sized activities<br />
for the youngest members of the family.<br />
But the best gift found in shopping local this<br />
holiday season is what it does for the local<br />
community.<br />
In a very real way, with every purchase<br />
you make from a local small business,<br />
you’re strengthening your community by<br />
providing jobs and generating tax revenue.<br />
According to a May 2023 Harris Poll,<br />
small business owners serve many crucial<br />
support functions in the local<br />
community, including donating<br />
goods or services (63%),<br />
volunteering (51%), creating<br />
jobs (51%), partnering<br />
with local charities, groups,<br />
or business organizations<br />
(39%), and sponsoring local<br />
organizations, teams and<br />
events (31%).<br />
“Small business owners<br />
often step out from behind<br />
their shop counters and can<br />
be found in the community<br />
giving back,” the poll summarized.<br />
Shopping local first this holiday season<br />
offers a chance to say “thanks” and help to<br />
ensure that our local businesses continue to<br />
thrive.<br />
THREE FRENCH HENS<br />
Located at 16935 Manchester Road in<br />
Wildwood, this iconic decorating destination<br />
offers three opportunities for festive<br />
shopping at its best.<br />
First up is the Holiday Open House,<br />
@WESTNEWSMAG<br />
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
Plan the Perfect Holiday with a trip<br />
to these Holiday Open Houses<br />
Three French Hens<br />
The Foyer<br />
Timberwinds Nursery<br />
Thursday, Nov. 7 through Sunday, Nov. 10.<br />
Three French Hens boasts a 12,000-squarefoot<br />
showroom bursting with furniture,<br />
European antiques, oil paintings and home<br />
accessories. For the holidays,<br />
guests will find trees, wreaths,<br />
florals and décor to deck their<br />
halls or give as gifts. The designers<br />
at Three French Hens also<br />
can help with in-home holiday<br />
decorating. Learn more about<br />
the decorating service when you<br />
stop by or via a form at threefrenchhenswildwood.com.<br />
On Friday, Nov. 29 through<br />
Sunday, Dec. 1, everyone is<br />
Friends and Family. During both<br />
the Holiday Open House and the<br />
Friends and Family event, guests<br />
can enjoy a 20% discount on<br />
most items, though some restrictions do apply.<br />
On Dec. 8, kids can take a free photo<br />
with Santa, participate in crafts and enjoy<br />
cookies. Plus, all shoppers will receive a<br />
20% discount on most items, though some<br />
restrictions do apply.<br />
Store hours are Monday-Saturday 10<br />
a.m.-5 p.m. and from noon-4 p.m. on Sundays.<br />
THE FOYER<br />
Located at 1649 Clarkson Road in Chesterfield,<br />
The Foyer hosts its Holiday Open<br />
House on Friday, Nov. 8 and Saturday, Nov.<br />
9. The festive event will feature mimosas<br />
and snacks for guests along with a 20%<br />
discount on all holiday merchandise. Store<br />
hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through<br />
Saturday and closed on Sundays.<br />
Owner Carrie Keipp is also delighted<br />
to be able to offer area shoppers a Christmas<br />
at The Foyer pop-up store located at<br />
1851 Outlet Mall Blvd. at St. Louis Premium<br />
Outlets in Chesterfield. The pop-up<br />
is open from <strong>11</strong> a.m.-7 p.m. Monday<br />
through Saturday and from <strong>11</strong> a.m.-6 p.m.<br />
on Sundays.
FACEBOOK.COM/WESTNEWSMAGAZINE<br />
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
Wild Lights-Print-<strong>West</strong> News Magazine-STL-<strong>24</strong>1796.pdf 1 10/28/<strong>24</strong> 4:05 PM<br />
I PLAN THE PERFECT HOLIDAY I 29<br />
The White Hare<br />
THE WHITE HARE<br />
Located at 1010 Miralago Way in Cottleville,<br />
The White Hare will host its Holiday<br />
Open House from 10<br />
a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday,<br />
Nov. 9 and from noon-5 p.m.<br />
on Sunday, Nov. 10. All<br />
weekend long, guests will<br />
have the chance to “Spin<br />
and Win,” enter raffles and<br />
enjoy refreshments. Plus the<br />
first 100 guests on Saturday<br />
will receive a free gift.<br />
Owned by Sarah Corrigan<br />
and her mother, Mary Kay,<br />
The White Hare has been<br />
delighting shoppers with its<br />
customer service and exceptional products<br />
since 2003. It’s been in its current location<br />
since 2017. Keep up-to-date on everything<br />
happening in the 13,000-square-foot showroom<br />
by visiting @whiteharedecor on<br />
Facebook.com.<br />
Mary Tuttle’s Floral & Gifts<br />
TIMBERWINDS NURSERY<br />
Located at 54 Clarkson Road in Ellisville,<br />
Timberwinds Nursery is transformed into a<br />
winter wonderland each November with a<br />
large selection of Christmas trees, wreaths,<br />
garlands, gift items and home décor, of course,<br />
plants – including stunning poinsettias.<br />
During the Holiday Open House from 9<br />
a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 and 10<br />
a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10, guests<br />
can explore everything Timberwinds Nursery<br />
has to offer – plus save 25% off one<br />
regular price item with the coupon in our ad.<br />
Holiday Greens arrive Thanksgiving<br />
week, so plan ahead to make sure you have<br />
all the wreaths, boughs and trees you need.<br />
Timberwinds Nursery is open daily and<br />
is online at timberwindsnursery.com or @<br />
timberwindsnursery on Facebook.com.<br />
At Mary Tuttle’s, you’ll find great gifts,<br />
home décor and handcrafted florals that are<br />
perfect for adding that element of fresh and<br />
fragrant beauty to your holidays. Check out<br />
a world of possibilities at marytuttles.com.<br />
PASSIGLIA’S NURSERY<br />
& GARDEN CENTER<br />
Located at 1855 Hwy. 109 in Wildwood,<br />
Passiglia’s Nursery & Garden Center has a<br />
full slate of holiday-themed events scheduled<br />
for November and early December.<br />
First up is its Porch Pot Workshop at 10<br />
a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17. This hands-on<br />
class will guide guests in crafting beautiful<br />
winter planters using fresh evergreen<br />
branches and other natural accents. Registration<br />
is required and class has a fee.<br />
Learn more at passiglia.com.<br />
Guests can also register<br />
for a Winter Wreath Making<br />
Workshop with Julie Passiglia<br />
at 10 a.m. on Saturday,<br />
Dec. 7.<br />
Also on Dec. 7 from 9<br />
a.m.-3 p.m., Passiglia’s will<br />
host its Winter Extravaganza.<br />
Guests can enjoy<br />
a day filled with festive<br />
C<br />
delights including a visit<br />
with Santa from 1-3 p.m., M<br />
vendors, special discounts,<br />
Y<br />
a hot chocolate bar and<br />
CM<br />
other fun activities for all ages!<br />
UNION FURNITURE<br />
CY<br />
Be inspired to decorate your home for the<br />
CMY<br />
holidays by shopping the 14 different holiday-themed<br />
windows at Union Furniture,<br />
K<br />
located at 21 S. Washington Ave. in Union,<br />
Missouri. These windows are decorated<br />
from floor to ceiling with holiday decor and<br />
designer Christmas trees.<br />
At Union Furniture’s 10-day Holiday Open<br />
House event, Nov. 22-Dec. 2, take 10% off<br />
your furniture purchase by donating a new<br />
toy or bag of non-perishable food items. Plus,<br />
register to win a $1,000 furniture gift card<br />
and a $300 flooring gift card. Store hours are<br />
9 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 9<br />
a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays and noon-4 p.m. on<br />
Sundays. Check out unionfurnituremo.com.<br />
MY<br />
See yourself<br />
in the magic<br />
MARY TUTTLE’S FLORAL & GIFTS<br />
Located at 17021 Baxter Road in Chesterfield,<br />
Mary Tuttle’s Floral & Gifts hosts its<br />
annual and much anticipated Holiday Open<br />
House from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday,<br />
Nov. 9. The all-ages event includes a very<br />
special visit from Santa and his reindeer<br />
from noon-4 p.m.<br />
Union Furniture
30 I MATURE FOCUS I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
@WESTNEWSMAG<br />
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
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• Light Housekeeping<br />
HOURLY CARE AND LIVE-IN CARE PLANS<br />
News & Notes<br />
By LISA RUSSELL<br />
Vitamin D season<br />
As the days get shorter and cloudier,<br />
people who struggle with issues like<br />
fatigue, sadness and depression during the<br />
winter months may be feeling the effects<br />
of lower vitamin D levels. Often called the<br />
“sunshine vitamin” because skin exposure<br />
to the sun’s ultraviolet rays is one of its<br />
primary sources in the body, low vitamin<br />
D has been linked with health conditions<br />
including osteoporosis, bone fractures and<br />
muscle weakness in addition to seasonal<br />
depression.<br />
However, a large analysis of nearly<br />
100 past studies related to vitamin D has<br />
shown that it may play an even bigger role<br />
in overall health than previously thought.<br />
An international team led by scientists<br />
at Brown University found that taking a<br />
daily vitamin D supplement averaging<br />
about 3000 IU may produce improvements<br />
in several important measures of health.<br />
These included reduced blood pressure,<br />
lower total cholesterol, decreased hemoglobin<br />
A1C (an indicator of type 2 diabetes),<br />
and improved fasting glucose and<br />
insulin levels.<br />
According to Simin Liu, M.D., the<br />
study’s lead author, vitamin D supplements<br />
provided the greatest benefits for people<br />
Getting enough vitamin D during the winter<br />
months may provide more health benefits<br />
than previously thought, especially for<br />
those over 50.<br />
(Adobe Stock photo)<br />
over age 50, those with lower circulating<br />
vitamin D levels, and those with a body<br />
mass index under 30. Liu said its findings<br />
are particularly relevant for older adults,<br />
because vitamin D levels tend to decrease<br />
with age.<br />
He added that “One size does not fit all”<br />
when it comes to vitamin D supplementation,<br />
so people should talk with a doctor or<br />
healthcare professional before starting one.<br />
The study, published in the journal Engineering,<br />
emphasized the need for a personalized<br />
approach to vitamin D supplementation<br />
based on factors such as age, ethnicity, body<br />
weight and current vitamin D levels.<br />
See MATURE FOCUS, page 32<br />
Nominate a Stroke Hero<br />
Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S.<br />
suffers a stroke … which means these<br />
catastrophic health events impact millions<br />
of individuals and families across the<br />
country. The American Stroke Association<br />
launched the Stroke Hero Awards in<br />
1998 to honor stroke survivors, caregivers,<br />
advocates and experts who make a significant<br />
difference in the lives and futures of<br />
those who have experienced a stroke.<br />
Nominations are open now for next<br />
year’s awards at Stroke.org/HeroAwards,<br />
and will close on Dec. 3. Winners will be<br />
announced on May 1, 2025.<br />
The 2025 Stroke Hero Awards categories<br />
are:<br />
• Survivor Hero – Honors an individual<br />
who has survived a stroke and used their<br />
experience to educate, inspire and bring<br />
awareness about stroke.<br />
• Pediatric Hero – Honors an individual<br />
younger than 18 who has survived a<br />
stroke and overcome significant hurdles<br />
and whose family has used its experience<br />
to educate, inspire and bring awareness<br />
to stroke.<br />
• Caregiver Hero – Honors an individual<br />
who has cared for a stroke survivor<br />
and used their experience to educate,<br />
inspire and bring awareness about stroke<br />
on a local or national level.<br />
• Equity Hero – Honors an individual<br />
working to ensure equitable health outcomes<br />
for those at risk for stroke, stroke<br />
survivors and stroke caregivers.<br />
• Group Heroes – Honors a group committed<br />
to educating, inspiring and raising<br />
awareness about stroke.<br />
• F.A.S.T. Hero – This new award<br />
for 2025 honors an individual who recognized<br />
the warning signs of a stroke<br />
and acted fast to get help for the person<br />
having a stroke.<br />
• Voters’ Choice Hero – To be chosen<br />
by public vote next March, this award<br />
honors an individual or group making<br />
an outstanding effort to educate, inspire<br />
and bring awareness about stroke.
32 I MATURE FOCUS I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
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A new report concludes that human life expectancy is reaching its upper limit.<br />
(Adobe Stock photo)<br />
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MATURE FOCUS, from page 30<br />
Reaching the limit?<br />
A new report from University of Illinois<br />
researchers recently concluded that humans<br />
are approaching a maximum limit to their<br />
longevity. They say that despite a faster<br />
pace of medical breakthroughs, life expectancy<br />
at birth among the world’s longestliving<br />
populations has increased by only 6.5<br />
years since 1990 – falling far short of some<br />
scientists’ predictions that life expectancy<br />
would rise faster in the 21st century.<br />
“Most people alive today at older ages<br />
are living on time that was manufactured<br />
by medicine,” said lead author S. Jay<br />
Olshansky, a professor of epidemiology<br />
and biostatistics at Illinois. “But these<br />
medical ‘Band-Aids’ are producing fewer<br />
years of life even though they’re occurring<br />
at an accelerated pace, implying that the<br />
period of rapid increases in life expectancy<br />
is now documented to be over.”<br />
Today’s efforts to extend average lifespan<br />
even more by reducing disease could<br />
actually be harmful if those additional<br />
years aren’t healthy ones, Olshansky added.<br />
“We should now shift our focus to efforts<br />
that slow aging and extend healthspan,” he<br />
said.<br />
The study looked at data from the eight<br />
longest-living countries, as well as the<br />
United States and Hong Kong, between<br />
1990 and 2019. The U.S. was one of the<br />
few countries that saw an overall decrease<br />
in life expectancy over the study period.<br />
While more Americans may reach 100<br />
years of age and beyond in this century as<br />
the large Baby Boom generation reaches<br />
old age, those cases won’t raise average<br />
life expectancy significantly higher overall,<br />
Olshansky said.<br />
The study’s conclusion contradicts those<br />
of other experts, notably in the insurance<br />
and wealth management industries, which<br />
often make calculations based on the<br />
assumption that most people will live to<br />
be 100.<br />
“This is profoundly bad advice because<br />
only a small percentage of the population<br />
will live that long in this century,” he said.<br />
Calling the evidence that human beings<br />
are reaching a biological upper limit to<br />
lifespan “a glass ceiling, not a brick wall,”<br />
Olshansky said, “There’s plenty of room<br />
for improvement: for reducing risk factors,<br />
working to eliminate disparities and<br />
encouraging people to adopt healthier lifestyles<br />
… all of which can enable people to<br />
live longer and healthier.”<br />
The report, “Implausibility of Radical<br />
Life Extension in Humans in the 21st Century,”<br />
was published in Nature Medicine.<br />
Menopause and ‘bad’<br />
cholesterol<br />
Among the many changes women commonly<br />
go through during and after menopause<br />
are changes to their blood cholesterol<br />
profiles, which could negatively impact<br />
their heart health, according to a U.S. study<br />
recently presented at the European Society<br />
of Cardiology’s annual meeting.<br />
“There is an increase in ‘bad’ low-density<br />
type lipoprotein (LDL) particles and a<br />
decrease in ‘good’ high-density lipoprotein<br />
particles (HDL) that takes place during<br />
and after the menopause transition,” said<br />
study author Dr. Stephanie Moreno of the<br />
University of Texas Southwestern Medical<br />
Center in Dallas. “Taken together, these<br />
changes suggest that menopause is associated<br />
with a transition to a higher-risk lipoprotein<br />
profile that could be more likely to<br />
cause cardiovascular disease, such as coronary<br />
artery disease.”<br />
Data for the research came from more<br />
than 1,200 participants in the Dallas Heart<br />
Study (DHS) whose blood cholesterol profiles<br />
were measured at various points in<br />
their transition through menopause. About<br />
35% were premenopausal, <strong>24</strong>% were in<br />
perimenopause (the period just before<br />
See MATURE FOCUS, page 34
34 I MATURE FOCUS I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
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MATURE FOCUS, from page 32<br />
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menopause) and 41% were post-menopausal.<br />
They were also compared with a<br />
group of same-aged men.<br />
Over a median follow-up of seven years,<br />
all three groups of women had increases in<br />
their LDL levels, with the greatest difference<br />
of 8.3% found between the peri- and<br />
post-menopausal groups. The post-menopausal<br />
women also had a much higher percentage<br />
of negative LDL change than the<br />
men.<br />
“When looked at together, these changes<br />
could help explain the increase of cardiovascular<br />
disease in post-menopausal<br />
women and help determine if earlier interventions<br />
are warranted,” Moreno said. She<br />
noted that despite the common misconception<br />
that heart disease is a “man’s disease,”<br />
40% of all deaths in women are now due to<br />
cardiovascular causes.<br />
Never too late to quit<br />
Older adults who’ve smoked cigarettes<br />
for decades may think there’s no point in<br />
quitting later in life, often believing the<br />
damage already caused can’t be undone.<br />
But even as late as age 75, kicking the<br />
habit can significantly increase life expectancy,<br />
according to new research.<br />
“We have seen a remarkable decline in<br />
young adult smoking over the past decade.<br />
However, rates among older adults who<br />
smoke have remained stagnant … we<br />
wanted to show that stopping smoking<br />
is beneficial at any age and provide an<br />
incentive for older people who smoke to<br />
quit,” said Thuy T.T. Le, Ph.D., of the<br />
University of Michigan School of Public<br />
Health.<br />
Cigarette smoking continues to cause<br />
about 480,000 deaths among Americans<br />
annually, primarily from cancer, stroke,<br />
heart disease and lung disease. Le and her<br />
team used mortality risks related to smoking<br />
to build “life tables” showing the benefits<br />
of quitting at different ages.<br />
Those tables showed that nearly 10% of<br />
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Even after many decades of smoking,<br />
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adults who quit at age 65 add at least eight<br />
years to their lives compared to those who<br />
continue smoking. Additionally, 8% of<br />
those who quit by age 75 gain at least four<br />
years of life compared to those who keep<br />
smoking.<br />
Overall, the chances of gaining at least<br />
one additional year of life are 23.4%<br />
among those who quit at age 65 and<br />
14.2% at age 75, the study found. The first<br />
to quantify the impact of quitting smoking<br />
for people older than 65, it was published<br />
in the American Journal of Preventive<br />
Medicine.<br />
A dangerous waiting game<br />
Minutes count when it comes to getting<br />
emergency treatment after a hip fracture,<br />
according to a new U.K. study published<br />
in Emergency Medicine Journal. Focusing<br />
on hip fracture patients at one hospital<br />
trauma center over a three-year period, it<br />
found that a wait time of longer than four<br />
hours for hip fracture patients resulted in<br />
both higher risks of death and longer hospital<br />
stays.<br />
The analysis looked at about 3,200<br />
patients who suffered a hip fracture<br />
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November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
I MATURE FOCUS I 35<br />
between 2019 and 2022, 72% of whom<br />
were women. Their average age was 81,<br />
but they ranged in age from 50 to 104.<br />
Their average wait time after arriving at<br />
the hospital was 3.9 hours, but a third of<br />
them experienced waits longer than four<br />
hours.<br />
Those who had longer emergency room<br />
waits were significantly more likely to<br />
be admitted during the winter months,<br />
to pose more of a surgical risk, to have<br />
sustained a more complex fracture, and<br />
to wait longer for surgery than those who<br />
spent four hours or less in the ED.<br />
Overall, after accounting for a number<br />
of potentially influential factors, a fourplus<br />
hour wait was associated with a 29%<br />
higher risk of death 60 days after surgery<br />
compared to those with shorter wait times.<br />
The elevated risk rose to 36% after 90<br />
days, and 15% for those still living at a<br />
final checkup about 1.5 years after surgery.<br />
By the final follow-up, about 40% of<br />
the patients had died.<br />
Male sex, older age, admission during<br />
the winter, higher operative risk, nursing<br />
home residence, and longer time periods<br />
between hospital admission and surgery<br />
were each associated with death at 90<br />
days.<br />
Hip fractures are a large and growing<br />
problem around the world, rising fastest<br />
in countries with growing elderly populations.<br />
In the U.S., it is currently estimated<br />
that between 260,000 and 300,000 people<br />
suffer hip fractures every year, with projections<br />
of more than 500,000 per year by<br />
2040.<br />
On the calendar<br />
St. Luke’s Hospital presents Stay<br />
in the Game: Preventing Pickleball<br />
Injuries on Tuesday, Nov. 12 from 5:30-<br />
6:30 p.m. at the St. Luke’s Institute for<br />
Health Education, 232 S. Woods Mill<br />
Road in Chesterfield. As the popularity<br />
of pickleball soars, so does the risk<br />
of injury. Whether you are a seasoned<br />
player or just starting out, understanding<br />
how to stay injury-free is crucial.<br />
Join us for an informative session with<br />
Dr. Devon Myers, an orthopedic sports<br />
medicine physician with St. Luke’s Medical<br />
Group, to learn about common pickleball<br />
injuries, prevention strategies and<br />
rehabilitation tips. The program is free.<br />
Register at stlukes-stl.com.<br />
• • •<br />
BJC Missouri Baptist Hospital hosts a<br />
Stroke Support Group in-person meeting<br />
on Thursday, Nov. 14 from noon-2<br />
p.m. in the hospital’s Clinical Learning<br />
Institute, 3015 N. Ballas Road in St.<br />
Louis, in Room 416. Whether you are a<br />
stroke survivor or taking care of a loved<br />
one, we invite you to join our support<br />
community. Stroke coordinators from<br />
Missouri Baptist will encourage the sharing<br />
of personal experiences and connecting<br />
with others as part of the recovery<br />
process. Participants will be provided<br />
tips for success in daily life, rehabilitation<br />
resources, and healthy lifestyle<br />
changes to help prevent future strokes.<br />
Light refreshments and snacks will be<br />
provided. There is no cost to participate.<br />
Register at classes-events.bjc.org.<br />
• • •<br />
St. Luke’s Hospital presents a Bone<br />
Builders Workshop on Tuesday, Nov. 19<br />
from 1-2:30 p.m. at the Desloge Outpatient<br />
Center, 121 St. Luke’s Center Drive<br />
in Chesterfield, in Building A, Conference<br />
Room 3. Join us for this free class to<br />
learn more about exercise, nutrition and<br />
medication for bone health and osteoporosis<br />
prevention. The class is facilitated<br />
by a physical therapist, a dietitian and a<br />
pharmacist. Register at stlukes-stl.com.<br />
• • •<br />
BJC Missouri Baptist Hospital hosts<br />
Today’s Grandparents classes on<br />
Wednesday, Nov. 20 and Wednesday,<br />
Dec. 4 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Missouri<br />
Baptist Medical Center Clinical Learning<br />
Institute, 3005 N. Ballas Road. This<br />
hands-on class offers updates on current<br />
trends in infant care and feeding, and<br />
provides tips on local and long-distance<br />
grandparenting. The course fee is $20 per<br />
person (each person attending must register<br />
separately). Registration is available<br />
online at classes-events.bjc.org.<br />
• • •<br />
The city of Chesterfield and St. Luke’s<br />
Hospital co-host a Healthy Seniors<br />
Series presentation on Thursday, Nov.<br />
21 from 10-<strong>11</strong> a.m. at Chesterfield City<br />
Hall, 690 Chesterfield Parkway <strong>West</strong>.<br />
Each free session will feature expert<br />
advice and practical tips you can use<br />
to improve your health. This month’s<br />
topic is de-stressing the holidays; every<br />
year when the holidays roll around, we<br />
promise to enjoy the time more and<br />
stress less. Learn effective strategies to<br />
do just that, including relaxation breathing,<br />
daily quiet time, a bit of exercise<br />
and setting priorities. To register, email<br />
olderadults@chesterfield.mo.us or call<br />
(636) 812-9500.<br />
• • •<br />
St. Louis Oasis presents Free from<br />
Falls: A Physical Therapist’s Perspective<br />
on Tuesday, Nov. 26 from 10 a.m.-<br />
noon at the WingHaven Branch Library,<br />
7435 Village Center Drive in O’Fallon.<br />
Missouri’s rate of falls among adults age<br />
65 and older is almost twice as high as<br />
that of any other state. Whether you’ve<br />
had a fall or just want to learn more<br />
about what you can do to prevent future<br />
falls, this free class is for you. The course<br />
is sponsored by BJC. Register at classesevents.bjc.org.<br />
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36 I HEALTH I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
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This year’s election has created unprecedented stress levels among Americans,<br />
especially women and young people, according to a recent survey.<br />
(Adobe Stock photo)<br />
HEALTH<br />
CAPSULES<br />
By LISA RUSSELL<br />
‘Election stress’ has affected<br />
most Americans’ mental health<br />
As this publication goes to press, it’s impossible<br />
to know which political candidates have<br />
emerged on top in the Nov. 5 general election.<br />
It’s far more certain, however, that electionrelated<br />
stress has topped all previous levels<br />
among Americans this year.<br />
A survey conducted in October by Talker<br />
Research (formerly OnePoll) in conjunction<br />
with Forbes Health found that more<br />
than 60% of adults report feeling some<br />
level of anxiety, stress or even fear related<br />
to the 20<strong>24</strong> election, all of which they say<br />
have taken a toll on their mental health.<br />
In a similar nationwide survey conducted<br />
before the 2020 presidential election, a<br />
much lower 40% of U.S. adults said politics<br />
was a prominent source of stress in<br />
their lives.<br />
In 20<strong>24</strong>, it also appears that women and<br />
younger adults are feeling that stress most<br />
acutely, the October survey found.<br />
Nearly two-thirds of women reported<br />
negative mental health effects, compared<br />
to 58% of men. Among the generations,<br />
Gen Z (66%), millennials (64%) and Gen X<br />
(63%) were most likely to express that the<br />
election has had at least a slight negative<br />
impact on their mental health, compared to<br />
56% of baby boomers.<br />
Survey respondents also shared several<br />
strategies they use to cope with the negative<br />
mental effects of election stress. Those<br />
they mentioned most frequently included<br />
turning off the news (44%); closing their<br />
social media apps (29%); and sharing their<br />
stress over election-related issues with<br />
friends and family members (25%).<br />
Diet, exercise could reverse<br />
liver disease, say MU scientists<br />
Fatty liver disease unrelated to alcohol consumption<br />
has become an extremely common<br />
– and increasingly dangerous – health issue<br />
for Americans. Now impacting up to 38% of<br />
U.S. adults according to National Institutes<br />
of Health statistics, the condition is linked<br />
to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems,<br />
liver failure and early mortality.<br />
But new research from the University<br />
of Missouri School of Medicine suggests<br />
intensive lifestyle interventions, namely<br />
diet changes and exercise, are an effective<br />
way of treating and even reversing the<br />
course of this type of liver disease when<br />
used together.<br />
In a new MU study of <strong>24</strong> patients with<br />
metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis<br />
(MASH) caused by excessive fat<br />
buildup in the liver, one group followed a<br />
restricted diet paired with a high- intensity<br />
interval training exercise program for 10<br />
months. They dramatically improved their<br />
liver health over a control group of patients<br />
who received standard treatment.<br />
Although diet and exercise are already<br />
considered first-line treatments for fatty<br />
liver disease, the study is the first to examine<br />
the impact of diet and exercise on liver<br />
health and confirm the vital organ’s recovery<br />
through imaging and diagnostic biopsies.<br />
“Other studies investigated the impact of<br />
either diet or exercise on the liver, not both,”<br />
St. Louis Children’s repeats as one of top hospitals for kids<br />
For the 16th straight year, BJC St.<br />
Louis Children’s Hospital has been<br />
ranked as one of the nation’s top children’s<br />
hospitals by U.S. News and World<br />
Report.<br />
In addition to being recognized as the<br />
top children’s hospital in the region, St.<br />
Louis Children’s was rated among America’s<br />
top 20 for seven of the specialty<br />
areas rated by the publication, more than<br />
any other pediatric hospital in Missouri.<br />
These included Neurology & Neurosurgery<br />
(No. 12); Neonatal Care (No. 13);<br />
Orthopedics (No. 14); Nephrology (No.<br />
19); and Cancer, Gastroenterology & GI<br />
Surgery and Pulmonology (No. 20).<br />
“Together with our WashU School of<br />
Medicine partners, the team’s clinical<br />
expertise, dedication and compassion<br />
make St. Louis Children’s a place that<br />
families from all over the world trust,”<br />
said St. Louis Children’s President Trish<br />
Lollo. “Whether at our hospital, Specialty<br />
Care Centers, After Hours sites,<br />
community clinics or mobile units, our<br />
teams focus on delivering exceptional<br />
care to kids, because that’s what every<br />
family deserves.”<br />
explained study author Elizabeth Parks,<br />
Ph.D., an MU professor of nutrition and<br />
exercise physiology. “Obesity and diabetes<br />
are going up in the country, and they are the<br />
two main risk factors for fatty liver disease,”<br />
Parks said. “Liver disease is increasing too<br />
fast. We were able to show in our research<br />
how diet and exercise should be the mainstay<br />
of treatment for the disease…Our findings<br />
suggest liver disease doesn’t have to be<br />
a chronic, progressive condition.”<br />
In addition to improved liver function,<br />
patients who followed the diet and exercise<br />
program lost about 13-22 pounds<br />
and increased their muscle mass, while<br />
the control group lost 0-9 pounds. Peak<br />
oxygen uptake, considered an indicator<br />
of cardiovascular health and the ability to<br />
exercise, was much higher on average for<br />
the treatment group compared to the controls.<br />
Insulin sensitivity, which measures<br />
how effectively cells convert glucose to<br />
energy, also increased for treated patients.<br />
New moms’ obesity risks may<br />
transfer to next generation<br />
Babies born to pregnant women with<br />
obesity are more likely to develop heart<br />
problems and diabetes when they become<br />
adults themselves, according to new<br />
research from Australian scientists.<br />
They say their recent study shows for<br />
the first time that maternal obesity lowers<br />
levels of a critical thyroid hormone in the<br />
fetal heart, disrupting its development.<br />
“You’re born with all the heart cells you<br />
will ever have. The heart doesn’t make<br />
enough new heart muscle cells after birth<br />
to repair any damage, so changes that negatively<br />
impact these cells before birth could<br />
persist for a lifetime,” said lead author<br />
Melanie Bertossa, a Ph.D. candidate at the<br />
University of South Australia.<br />
The study, which involved analyzing<br />
tissue samples from the fetuses of pregnant<br />
baboons fed a high-fat, high-sugar<br />
diet, also found that such a diet increases<br />
the chances of the unborn baby developing<br />
insulin resistance in adulthood, even if<br />
the baby is a normal weight at birth. This<br />
could potentially trigger both diabetes and<br />
cardiovascular disease once children reach<br />
adulthood, when the heart starts to age,
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November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
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I HEALTH I 37<br />
Bertossa said.<br />
“We found that a maternal high-fat, highenergy<br />
diet reduced concentrations of the<br />
active thyroid hormone T3, which acts like<br />
a switch around late gestation, telling the<br />
fetal heart to start preparing for life after<br />
birth. Without this signal, the fetal heart<br />
develops differently,” she explained.<br />
The study was published in the Journal<br />
of Physiology.<br />
On the calendar<br />
St. Luke’s Hospital and Schnucks offer<br />
a nutrition class on Monday, Nov. 18<br />
from 2-3 p.m. at Schnucks Kehrs Mill,<br />
25<strong>11</strong> Kehrs Mill Road in Ballwin. A St.<br />
Luke’s dietitian will discuss how to find<br />
and make healthier choices at the grocery<br />
store; how to read a food label; and nutrition<br />
recommendations for optimal health.<br />
The cost is $5 per person. Register at<br />
stlukes-stl.com.<br />
• • •<br />
BJC St. Louis Children’s Hospital<br />
offers a Babysitting 101 course on<br />
Saturday, Nov. 16 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at<br />
the SLCH Specialty Care Center <strong>West</strong><br />
County, 13001 N. Outer Forty Road in<br />
Town & Country. This interactive class,<br />
recommended for kids age 10 and above.<br />
Participants are asked to bring a baby doll<br />
or stuffed animal, small swaddling blanket<br />
or light towel, baby bottle or water<br />
bottle, and a snack and closed drink. The<br />
cost is $25 per child. Advance registration<br />
is required at classes-events.bjc.org.<br />
• • •<br />
Barnes-Jewish <strong>West</strong> County Hospital<br />
offers a Bariatric Surgery Information<br />
Session on Monday, Nov. 18 from 5:30-<br />
6:30 p.m., live via Zoom. Join a Washington<br />
University bariatric physician to learn<br />
more about surgical treatment options<br />
available at BJC for patients who meet<br />
certain criteria during this free session. To<br />
register, visit classes-events.bjc.org.<br />
• • •<br />
St. Luke’s Hospital presents Make Peace<br />
with Food: Basics of Mindful Eating on<br />
Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the<br />
Desloge Outpatient Center, 121 St. Luke’s<br />
Center Drive in Chesterfield, in Conference<br />
Room 3 of Building A. Register for this free,<br />
in-person class at stlukes-stl.com.<br />
• • •<br />
St. Luke’s Hospital hosts Conversations<br />
for Women on Tuesday, Dec. 3 from<br />
6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Desloge Outpatient<br />
Center – Building A, 121 St. Luke’s Center<br />
Drive in Chesterfield. Dr. Jennifer McDonald<br />
can provide answers on painful periods,<br />
birth control options, healthy pregnancy,<br />
hormone therapy, healthy menopause and<br />
everything in between. Register for this<br />
free Q&A session online at stlukes-stl.com.<br />
VALLEY PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT<br />
VALLEY PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT<br />
STATEMENT STATEMENT OF REVENUES, OF EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES AND CHANGES<br />
IN FUND BALANCES - MODIFIED CASH BASIS - GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS<br />
IN FUND BALANCES - MODIFIED FOR THE YEAR CASH ENDED JUNE BASIS 30, 20<strong>24</strong> - GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS<br />
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
Revenues collected:<br />
General Fund<br />
Special<br />
Revenue<br />
Fund<br />
Debt Service<br />
Fund<br />
Capital<br />
Projects Fund<br />
Total Governmental<br />
Funds<br />
Local $ 10,614,814 $ 1,482,996 $ 2,418,308 $ 513,276 15,029,394<br />
County 121,542 47,048 8385 176,975<br />
State 168,371 818,036 - 81,100 1,067,507<br />
Federal 498,577 1,549,185 42,340 - 2,090,102<br />
Other - - - 196 196<br />
Total revenues collected<br />
<strong>11</strong>,281,762 3,971,759 2,507,696 602,957 18,364,174<br />
Expenditures paid:<br />
Current:<br />
Instruction 481,342 6,577,708 - 159,751 7,218,801<br />
Student Services 127,998 396,283 - - 5<strong>24</strong>,281<br />
Instructional staff support 529,050 <strong>24</strong>3,228 - 2,099 774,377<br />
Building administration 279,022 694,505 - 1,876 975,403<br />
General administration and central services 1,109,805 746,698 - 140,799 1,997,302<br />
Operations of plant 1,5<strong>24</strong>,030 - - <strong>24</strong>3,753 1,767,783<br />
Transportation 366,386 - - - 366,386<br />
Food Service 487,675 - - - 487,675<br />
Community services 104,6<strong>24</strong> 137,542 - - <strong>24</strong>2,166<br />
Facility acqusition and construction - - - 396,156 396,156<br />
Principal, interest and fiscal charges - - 2,801,663 168,037 2,969,700<br />
Total expenditures paid<br />
Excess (deficiency) of revenues collected<br />
over expenditures paid<br />
5,009,932 8,795,964 2,801,663 1,<strong>11</strong>2,471 17,720,030<br />
6,271,830 (4,8<strong>24</strong>,205) (293,967) (509,514) 644,144<br />
Other financing sources (uses)<br />
Debt proceeds - - - 16,500,000 16,500,000<br />
Premium on bonds sold 1,579,234 1,579,234<br />
Transfers to (from) (5,221,687) 4,904,356 - 317,331 -<br />
Total other financing sources (uses) (5,221,687) 4,904,356 - 18,396,565 18,079,234<br />
Net change in fund balances 1,050,143 80,151 (293,967) 17,887,051 18,723,378<br />
Fund balance-beginning 5,806,545 148 1,793,682 131,689 7,732,064<br />
Fund balance-ending $ 6,856,688 $ 80,299 $ 1,499,715 $ 18,018,740 $ 26,455,442<br />
The audit was conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, and the standards applicable to<br />
The financial audit audits was conducted contained in accordance Government with Auditing auditing standards Standards generally issued by accepted the Comptroller in the United General States of the America, United and States. the standards Those standards applicable require to that<br />
financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Those standards require<br />
we plan and perform our audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit<br />
that we plan and perform our audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.<br />
includes An audit examining, includes examining, on a test on basis, a test evidence basis, evidence supporting supporting the amounts the amounts and disclosures and disclosures in the in the financial financial statements. statements. An An audit audit also alsoincludes assessing<br />
the includes accounting assessing principles the accounting used and principles significant used estimates and significant made estimates by management, made by as management, well as evaluating as well the as evaluating overall financial the overall statement financial presentation.<br />
statement presentation.<br />
The independent Auditors’ report reflected an unmodified opinion, prepared by Fick, Eggemeyer & Williamson, Certified Public Accountants<br />
The independent Auditors' report reflected an unmodified opinion, prepared by Fick, Eggemeyer & Williamson, Certified Public Accountants
38 I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
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On Sept. 14 a Ballwin neighborhood of<br />
about 165 houses hosted a golden jubilee<br />
for the annual Whispering Oakwood 500.<br />
While Whispering Oakwood comes from<br />
the subdivision where the derby takes<br />
place, the “500” could be a reference to the<br />
Daytona 500 or Indy 500 – or not.<br />
“That’s what we all believed,” said<br />
Michael Kerber, the event’s current president.<br />
“But this year, as I connected with<br />
more people, I started hearing a rumor that<br />
if you measure the distance of the race hill<br />
from start to finish in some of the years<br />
we’ve run it, the distance was 500 feet. But<br />
that is totally unconfirmed.”<br />
To kick off this year’s festivities a guitarplaying<br />
dad performed<br />
the National Anthem<br />
in the Jimmy Hendrix<br />
style. As usual, the<br />
neighborhood Scouts<br />
were in uniform, hoisting<br />
the American<br />
flag. Metro <strong>West</strong> Fire<br />
Protection District<br />
brought a fire truck and<br />
an ambulance to lead<br />
the parade throughout<br />
the subdivision. But<br />
the proceedings were<br />
slightly altered this<br />
year.<br />
“Metro <strong>West</strong> helped<br />
start the parade, but<br />
about 15 seconds into<br />
it, they got an emergency call. So, they<br />
threw their lights on and bolted out like<br />
lightning!” Kerber exclaimed.<br />
“One neighbor joined the parade with an<br />
old classic convertible car from the ‘70s,”<br />
Kerber added. “Also, a brother of one of<br />
the neighborhood moms is a Shriner. So,<br />
they loaded up a couple of their cars on<br />
trailers and joined our parade. That made<br />
it extra special, as did some of the 1970s<br />
outfits.”<br />
Thirty-one kids raced this year, all from<br />
the Whispering Oakwood neighborhood.<br />
In their first year, one group of third graders<br />
raced half the hill, trying to get used<br />
to a ride that Kerber described as “being<br />
bouncy and noisy in a manually driven car.”<br />
The remaining racers were from grades<br />
four through eight.<br />
“We don’t really have anyone who<br />
builds cars because we have to keep to our<br />
budget,” Kerber said. “So, what we do is<br />
refurbish the cars and reuse them every<br />
year. The week before, we size up every<br />
kid in the car that fits them, and if you take<br />
a car home and store it for a year, you get to<br />
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Subdivision’s annual soapbox<br />
derby hits 50-year milestone<br />
paint it to look however you want.<br />
“By the time the race is over, the winners<br />
have probably raced down the hill seven<br />
or eight times. We do trophies for the winners,<br />
and for every racer, we have a medal<br />
engraved with their name. It’s daunting<br />
going down that hill in a car made of wood<br />
or plastic with a brake made out of a fourinch<br />
square tire and a foot pedal made out<br />
of wood. So, the fact that they went down<br />
the hill is pretty valiant.”<br />
First-, second- and third-place winners<br />
of the overall race bring home a trophy<br />
made up the street at Crown Trophy.<br />
The dads, referred to as the “Pit Crew,”<br />
run the activities during the day after loading<br />
bales of hay and setting them on the<br />
street the night before the race.<br />
A photo from the ‘70s of the original group of dads behind<br />
the WO500.<br />
(Photo by Scott Blackwell)<br />
With the 50th anniversary of the derby,<br />
word spread and led to a group of former<br />
residents returning for the event.<br />
“It meant so much for the original homeowners<br />
or the previous homeowners I<br />
spoke with, who were crying when they<br />
were telling me their stories of the family<br />
memories they made in the subdivision<br />
and in the race,” Kerber said. “So, I have<br />
a photo of five or six original homeowners<br />
who came back. One of them flew in<br />
from Virginia Beach. We had another who<br />
was one of the original dads who started<br />
the race. He was wearing sunglasses with<br />
race flags printed on them. There was<br />
also a 90-year-old husband and wife who<br />
came back. Their daughter still lives in the<br />
neighborhood.<br />
“The comment they made to us was how<br />
warm it made them feel. They had just<br />
started it (the derby) as a reason to have<br />
a little barbecue and for dads to do something<br />
with their kids. They were surprised<br />
that 50 years later, the neighborhood would<br />
still be doing it, and we’ve never missed<br />
a year.”
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“As we celebrate our 58th year, I<br />
am honored to carry the torch for my<br />
family and for the legacy of Autohaus<br />
BMW since 2017,” said Peggy Wessel,<br />
president and dealer principal of Autohaus<br />
BMW and MINI of St. Louis.<br />
“With that comes deep appreciation for<br />
the BMW and MINI brands, for the<br />
hard work and dedication of our staff<br />
and family members, and for the St.<br />
Louis community.<br />
“It was amazing to watch my parents,<br />
Willi and Anita Fink, build the<br />
business with humble beginnings in the<br />
mid ‘60s, to becoming the first Authorized<br />
BMW Dealer in Missouri in 1975<br />
to seeing our continued passion and<br />
growth with our third generation.”<br />
She continues the business with her<br />
family members and a great team.<br />
From sales to service, General Manager<br />
Joe Emerson, General Sales Manager<br />
Todd Cherry, Vice President Lisa<br />
<strong>West</strong>er, and Fixed Operations Director<br />
Todd Feuerhaken, Peggy and the rest<br />
of the dealership’s dedicated staff treat<br />
customers like family.<br />
“Our main goal has always been to<br />
provide a premium facility and the<br />
highest integrity in the automotive<br />
industry with an outstanding ‘Autohaus<br />
Experience.’ This requires constant attention<br />
to the evolving automotive business,<br />
cultivating a wealth of knowledge amongst<br />
our staff, and building long-term relationships<br />
with our clients, ” Peggy explained.<br />
Autohaus BMW has been the #1 new<br />
BMW sales leader in Missouri for seven<br />
years in a row. MINI of St. Louis has been<br />
a Center of Excellence award winner for<br />
the last three years in a row.<br />
“BMW and MINI build great quality, premium<br />
vehicles, that are very reliable and<br />
well supported by the manufacturer and<br />
dealers. Some recent outstanding rankings<br />
of the brands include BMW being ranked as<br />
the top overall brand in Consumer Reports’<br />
annual Brand Report Card rankings for two<br />
years in a row, in 2023 and 20<strong>24</strong>,” Peggy<br />
said. “J.D. Power’s Consumer Ratings also<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
I BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT I 39<br />
Test drive the ‘Autohaus Experience’ during BMW’s Road Home Sale<br />
Protect What Matters Most<br />
(Autohaus BMW photo)<br />
consistently gives the<br />
MINI Cooper high scores,<br />
with recent models earning<br />
82 - 85 out of 100.<br />
MINI owners also rate<br />
the quality and reliability<br />
as ‘Great.’”<br />
Peggy and Joe invite<br />
area residents to experience<br />
what drives these<br />
ratings during the BMW<br />
Road Home Sales event.<br />
“From now until Dec. 31, those who want<br />
to appreciate the Autohaus Experience first<br />
hand and at the best price should stop in<br />
and take advantage of the BMW Road<br />
Home Sales event. It is our biggest BMW<br />
Sales event of the year,” Joe said. “We’ll<br />
have our most aggressive offers, interest<br />
rates and leases and a large selection of<br />
new BMW inventory on the ground.”<br />
New vehicles include hybrids and allelectric<br />
BMWs alongside gasoline-powered<br />
models.<br />
What surprises many drivers is the fact<br />
that most BMW SUVs are built here in the<br />
USA. That includes the recently released<br />
all-new 2025 BMW X3 and the brand’s<br />
most popular X5 and X7 models.<br />
“The current BMW lineup is better than<br />
ever! From 4 cylinder to 8 cylinder, premium<br />
gas-powered and hybrid vehicles to<br />
the ultimate all-electric driving machines,<br />
we have it all,” Todd said. “We’re excited<br />
about the all-new 2025 BMW X3 xDrive30<br />
and M50 SUVs that are arriving now with<br />
new color and trim options including new<br />
Vegas Red Metallic and updated 14x9<br />
screen and iDrive technology.<br />
“Also, very popular right now are the<br />
2025 BMW X5 and X7 with the new<br />
autonomous driving technology.”<br />
Peggy and her team at Autohaus take<br />
pride in being able to assure clients that<br />
“You’ll never pay more for the Autohaus<br />
Experience.”<br />
“We’re also very proud of the ways in<br />
which we have been able to give back to the<br />
local community over these many decades,”<br />
Peggy said. “We just celebrated our 10th<br />
year as sponsors of Pedal the Cause, benefiting<br />
cancer research at Siteman Cancer<br />
Center and Siteman Kids. The big check<br />
presentation is coming in November.<br />
“We want to thank our St. Louis community<br />
for being so good to us over 58 years!”<br />
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The American Club Association (ACA) Business Club of Chesterfield<br />
recently celebrated its fifth anniversary with a ribbon cutting ceremony.<br />
The ACA Business Club is a private club dedicated to serving professionals,<br />
executives and business owners.<br />
(Photo provided)<br />
BUSINESS<br />
BRIEFS<br />
PLACES<br />
The ACA Business Club of Chesterfield<br />
celebrated its fifth anniversary recently with<br />
a ribbon cutting. The ACA is a private club<br />
that helps its members succeed and reach<br />
their goals in their personal and professional<br />
life, believing in the power of relationships<br />
to accomplish these objectives. The ACA has<br />
combined its rich history of private clubs<br />
with today’s social media and technology<br />
to create a private club for the 21st century.<br />
The ACA Business Club is committed to<br />
promoting professional development and<br />
relationships that advance business interests,<br />
and providing unique experiences and educational<br />
opportunities that assist members in<br />
connecting and collaborating in the spirit of<br />
community and trust. For more information,<br />
visit acanetwork.org<br />
• • •<br />
Narwhal’s Crafted announced the opening<br />
of its third bar, located at The District<br />
at 17081 N Outer 40 Road, Suite 206 in<br />
Chesterfield. The 3,600-square-foot interior<br />
seats up to 160 guests inside, with additional<br />
seating for 75 on the 1,000-square-foot open<br />
air patio that contains five fire pits. For more<br />
information visit narwhalscrafted.com.<br />
• • •<br />
St. Louis-based Simple Financials LLC,<br />
a provider of comprehensive bookkeeping,<br />
accounting, tax and CFO advisory services,<br />
announced the recent acquisition of the Bette<br />
J. Welch, CPA firm. This investment enables<br />
Simple Financials to expand its service<br />
offerings, delivering enhanced tax, accounting<br />
and financial solutions to St. Louis-area<br />
small businesses. Simple Financials specializes<br />
in helping small business owners gain<br />
clarity and control over their finances. For<br />
more information, visit simplefinancials.com.<br />
• • •<br />
Heartland Regional Investment Fund,<br />
LLC (HRIF), a subsidiary of St. Louis<br />
Economic Development Partnership, was<br />
recently awarded $30 million in new markets<br />
tax credits through the U.S. Department<br />
of the Treasury Community Development<br />
Financial Institutions Funds. HRIF provides<br />
financing to projects in distressed communities<br />
by the managing members, consisting<br />
of the city of St. Charles, Southwest Illinois<br />
Development Authority and STL Partnership.<br />
The New Market Tax Credits program helps<br />
economically distressed communities attract<br />
private investment capital and helps to fill<br />
project financing gaps.<br />
PEOPLE<br />
Progress 64 <strong>West</strong> is hosting its 36th<br />
Excellence in Community Development<br />
Awards banquet from <strong>11</strong> a.m.-1 p.m. on Nov.<br />
27 at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac Hotel,<br />
located at 1335 S. Lindbergh Blvd. The keynote<br />
speaker at this year’s banquet is Build-<br />
A-Bear founder Maxine Clark. The Master<br />
of Ceremonies will be Scott Drachnik, president<br />
and CEO of the Economic Development<br />
Council of St. Charles County. Those<br />
community members being recognized for<br />
their contributions to the St. Louis and St.<br />
Charles region are: Keith Schneider, commercial<br />
real estate broker at Schneider Commercial<br />
Partners; Tom Kaiman, Mia Rose<br />
Holdings president, real estate developer; Dr.<br />
Keith Marty, superintendent of the Parkway<br />
School District; and Bob O’Loughlin,<br />
chairman and CEO of Lodging Hospitality<br />
Management. Progress 64 <strong>West</strong> also grants<br />
several scholarships to local high school<br />
seniors at the banquet. For more information<br />
or to purchase tickets, visit progress64west.<br />
org.<br />
• • •<br />
Donald E. Arnold, M.D., FACHE, FASA,<br />
chair of the Department of Anesthesiology<br />
at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis and member<br />
of the board of directors of <strong>West</strong>ern Anesthesiology<br />
Associates Inc., in Ballwin, was<br />
named president of the American Society of<br />
Anesthesiologists (ASA), the nation’s largest<br />
organization of anesthesiologists. In addition<br />
to his commitments to ASA, Arnold served<br />
as president of the Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists<br />
(MSA) and St. Louis Society of<br />
Anesthesiologists.
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Whether it’s at the hearth or at the<br />
grill, people naturally congregate<br />
around a flame, said Frank Schmer,<br />
owner of St. Louis Home Fires.<br />
“It’s the warmth of the fire, it goes<br />
back to the very beginning, cavemen<br />
sitting around a fire cooking up meat,”<br />
he said.<br />
Now in the 21st century, with gas<br />
fireplaces and gas grills, heating<br />
and cooking have never been easier.<br />
According to Frank, gas fireplaces take<br />
the drudgery out of building, stoking<br />
and extinguishing a fire.<br />
“This past year, our 21st in business,<br />
we have also expanded into the electric<br />
fireplace category, again focusing on<br />
simplicity and ease of installation,” Frank<br />
said. “We have a whole room dedicated<br />
to this rapidly growing industry.<br />
“This is convenience. It’s all about<br />
the ease of it. We have remote control,<br />
so literally its about the turn of a<br />
knob or the click of a button, and it’s<br />
instant fire. There is no mess, no carrying<br />
wood through your house or walking<br />
out to the woodpile when it’s 10<br />
degrees below zero.”<br />
People are using their fireplaces<br />
more because of it, he said.<br />
“You would never think to have a<br />
wood fire for half an hour,<br />
but you can turn these on<br />
and off. Take the chill off the<br />
room; have a cup of coffee,<br />
run them for half an hour, Frank Schmer<br />
then go about your day and turn them back<br />
on in the evening.”<br />
St. Louis Home Fires also offers 99%<br />
efficient logs, Frank said.<br />
“If people are concerned about home<br />
heating or the price of gas, you can actually<br />
add heat more efficiently than your furnace<br />
because the logs burn so clean they can be<br />
operated with the damper closed,” he said.<br />
As a reminder, Frank says those who<br />
want gas logs by Christmas, need to get<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
them on the schedule now. Installations<br />
are already booked into late November and<br />
early December. And before the fire season<br />
gets under way in earnest its a good idea to<br />
take care of any needed maintenance.<br />
“It’s not a bad idea every two or three<br />
years to have a maintenance call, a log tune<br />
up,” Frank said. “We check the gas pressure,<br />
make sure the gas logs are working properly.<br />
It’s a really popular service.”<br />
St. Louis Home Fires also offers<br />
grill maintenance and grill cleaning<br />
in the off season. Though some<br />
people make good use of them in<br />
every season, Frank said.<br />
“You can cook outdoors all year<br />
round with smokers and pellet<br />
cookers. They need very little attention.<br />
They are kind of a set it and<br />
forget it type of smoking,” he said.<br />
Cooking outdoors is one of Frank’s<br />
greatest pleasures. The founder and now<br />
president emeritus of the St. Louis BBQ<br />
Society said barbecue is about hospitality<br />
and entertaining family and friends.<br />
“I think our whole business is based on<br />
cooking for other people, cooking in the<br />
backyard. There’s something very gratifying<br />
about it. There’s nothing more worthwhile<br />
than cooking for someone else,” Frank said.<br />
Recently, St. Louis Home Fires expanded<br />
I BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT I 41<br />
St. Louis Home Fires can make your home the place at which to gather<br />
(St. Louis Home Fires photo)<br />
its space and its line to include prebuilt<br />
outdoor kitchens. Instead of stone or brick<br />
these appliance cabinets are made of aluminum<br />
and are much more affordable. The<br />
store also carries a variety of outdoor gas<br />
and wood fire pits.<br />
“Business has been good,” Frank said.<br />
“The products we sell are provided by<br />
companies we partner with that are just<br />
like us, reputable businesses that provide<br />
the best product and the best service. We<br />
don’t do a lot of different things. We don’t<br />
do patio furniture and hot tubs and all that<br />
kind of stuff. We do grills and fireplaces<br />
and gas logs, and we think what we do, we<br />
do better than anyone else.”<br />
St. Louis Home Fires also is about building<br />
community.<br />
“We’re a part of the community both<br />
from an event standpoint and working with<br />
people. Nothing says community more<br />
than barbecuing in the backyard or sitting<br />
around the fireplace with family and<br />
friends,” Frank said.<br />
St. Louis Home Fires<br />
15053 Manchester Road • Ballwin<br />
stlhomefires@sbcglobal.net<br />
stlhomefires.com • 636-256-6564
42 I EVENTS I<br />
BEFORE<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
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Serving <strong>West</strong> County for 10 Years!<br />
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AFTER<br />
Gills Tree<br />
Service<br />
• Tree Removal<br />
• Tree Trimming<br />
• Tree Pruning<br />
• Stump Removal<br />
314-312-1077<br />
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Furniture moving<br />
Estate cleanouts<br />
Garage cleanouts<br />
Fence removal<br />
Deck removal<br />
SERVICES:<br />
Demolition<br />
Shed teardowns<br />
Fence removal<br />
Hot tub/Pool removal<br />
General laborers<br />
Dumpster container drop offs<br />
Locally Owned & Operated • Residential or Commercial<br />
IN BUSINESS FOR OVER 26 YEARS!<br />
Whether your tree is hazardous, interferes with your view, or just isn’t aesthetically pleasing, we have<br />
the experience and the equipment to remove it safely and securely. If you are considering removing a<br />
tree, speak with our team of St. Louis tree removal experts.<br />
636.274.1378 • Gillstrees.com<br />
FREE ESTIMATES<br />
SAME DAY AND<br />
EMERGENCY SERVICE<br />
AVAILABLE!<br />
BEFORE<br />
AFTER<br />
We Offer<br />
In-Home<br />
Helpers!<br />
LOCAL<br />
EVENTS<br />
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT<br />
St. Louis Jewish Book Festival continues<br />
through Sunday, Nov. 17 at The J,<br />
2 Millstone Campus Drive in St. Louis.<br />
Details at jccstl.com. All-Access Passes<br />
and individual tickets can be purchased at<br />
jccstl.com/jbf-tickets.<br />
• • •<br />
Wine Tasting 101 is from 7-9 p.m. on<br />
Friday, Nov. 8 at the Ballwin Golf Course<br />
and Event Center, 333 Holloway Road.<br />
Tickets are $25 per person, charcuterie and<br />
wine included. Must be 21 to participate.<br />
For details, visit ballwin.mo.us.<br />
BENEFITS<br />
Free Trees for Vets through Nov. 15. To<br />
request a tree, visit thekaufmanfund.org<br />
and complete the “request a tree” form.<br />
A confirmation email with a scheduled<br />
pick-up time and location will be sent by<br />
mid-November. Trees must be picked up in<br />
<strong>West</strong> County on Dec. 1. Bring the emailed<br />
confirmation to receive a tree. For details,<br />
email howard@thekaufmanfund.org or<br />
call (314) 703-6306.<br />
• • •<br />
Impact Life Blood Drives are from<br />
4-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7 at Ivy<br />
Chapel UCC, 620 N. Woods Mill Drive<br />
in Chesterfield and from <strong>11</strong> a.m.-2 p.m.<br />
on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Ellisville Elks<br />
Lodge 2664, 1007 New Ballwin Road in<br />
Ballwin. To schedule an appointment, visit<br />
bloodcenter.org or call, (800) 747-5401.<br />
• • •<br />
A Sausage Supper is from 3-6 p.m. on<br />
Saturday, Nov. 9 at St. John United Church<br />
of Christ, 332 Old Sulphur Spring Road in<br />
Manchester. Adults are $15, children (ages<br />
6-12) are $7 and children (under 6) are free.<br />
Dine-in and carry-out are available. For<br />
details, visit stjohnmanchester.org.<br />
• • •<br />
A Bingo Fundraiser is at 5:30 p.m. on<br />
Saturday, Nov. 9 at St. Mark’s Presbyterian<br />
Church, 601 Claymont Drive in Ballwin.<br />
The entry fee for 18-year-olds and older<br />
is $30 and includes 10 games. For 14-18<br />
years, tickets are $20 and includes ten<br />
games and a bingo dauber. For details, visit<br />
ggaa.org.<br />
• • •<br />
A Bowling Fundraiser is at 1 p.m. on<br />
Sunday, Nov. 17 at <strong>West</strong> County Lanes,<br />
15727 Manchester Road in Ellisville. Cost<br />
is $25 per person for three games. Teams<br />
of four or more are welcome. Funds will<br />
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benefit the USO of Missouri. For details,<br />
call (314) 609-2663 or email bklein@theauthoritygroup.com.<br />
• • •<br />
A Bake Sale is from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on<br />
Sunday, Dec. 7 Manchester UMC, 129<br />
Woods Mill Road.<br />
SPECIAL INTEREST<br />
Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit<br />
Webinar is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday,<br />
Nov. 12, featuring an interactive session<br />
led by CCAMO’s Director of Training<br />
Jonni McCaslin. The webinar is free and<br />
open to the public. For details, call (314)<br />
535-1458 or visit mochildcareaware.org.<br />
• • •<br />
HOA Homeowners Meeting is from<br />
6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13<br />
at the Ballwin Golf Club, 333 Holloway<br />
Road. County Council member Mark<br />
Harder explains the role of trustees. For<br />
details, email District7@stlouiscountymo.<br />
gov.<br />
• • •<br />
Living With Parkinson’s - Mind, Mood<br />
and Motion is from 1-3:30 p.m. on Thursday,<br />
Nov. 14 at The Crossing-Chesterfield,<br />
<strong>11</strong>4 N Eatherton Road. Open to people with<br />
Parkinson’s, their family, friends, medical<br />
providers, and the community. Attendance<br />
is free, advanced registration is required at<br />
Parkinson.org/STL.<br />
• • •<br />
CUCO (Chamber Understanding City<br />
Operations) is at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday,<br />
Nov. 14 at Chesterfield City Hall, 690<br />
Chesterfield Parkway <strong>West</strong>. Chesterfield’s<br />
City Administrator, Mike Geisel, and<br />
Justin Wyse, director of planning, discuss<br />
the Mall Redevelopment Plan. RSVP to<br />
(636) 532-3399.<br />
• • •<br />
GriefShare: Surviving the Holidays is<br />
from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Nov. 23 at<br />
Bonhomme Presbyterian Church, 14820<br />
Conway Road in Chesterfield. This seminar<br />
features a free book with daily readings,<br />
insights and ideas on holiday survival. For<br />
details, call (314) 3<strong>24</strong>-9234 or visit Grief-<br />
Share.org/holidays.<br />
VETERANS DAY<br />
Salute to Our Veterans: A Special Veterans<br />
Day Event is at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday,<br />
Nov. 7 at City Hall, 16860 Main St.<br />
in Wildwood. For details, visit cityofwildwood.com.<br />
• • •<br />
The city of Manchester hosts a Veterans<br />
Breakfast from 7-10 a.m. on Monday, Nov.<br />
<strong>11</strong> at the American Legion Post #208, 225<br />
Old Sulphur Spring Road. All veterans are<br />
welcome. Pre-registration is not required.
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE I 43<br />
Parkside Grille offers one-of-a-kind dining experience for foodies, music lovers alike<br />
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WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
By KATE UPTERGROVE<br />
A chill in the late October air could not<br />
deter the Parkside Grille faithful from<br />
gathering on its patio, while inside the cozy<br />
restaurant every table was full. Since opening<br />
nearly a decade ago, Parkside Grille has<br />
been winning rave reviews and building a<br />
loyal following of regulars.<br />
Executive Chef Mark Wentz and Owner/<br />
Chef Jean Ann Mantia plan the weekly<br />
menus, which feature seasonal items that<br />
make the most of local, fresh ingredients.<br />
Whenever possible, the produce is delivered<br />
‘farm to table’ from Zick’s Nursery,<br />
which is directly across the street.<br />
Regular patrons never ask for a menu.<br />
Instead, they order from the Special Board,<br />
which is created each day, and posted on the<br />
restaurant’s Facebook page. On the night<br />
my guest and I visited, the Special Board<br />
featured Lobster Bisque; a Cuban Black<br />
Bean Soup; a Sicilian 14-ounce Strip Steak<br />
with mashed Potatoes; a Harvest Plate<br />
featuring Polish Sausage, Pork Schnitzel,<br />
Parkside Grille<br />
Potato Pancakes and Red Cabbage; and<br />
Chorizo Tacos with Salsa Verde.<br />
To start our meal, we split the Slow<br />
Roasted Beet & Warm Goat Cheese Salad.<br />
The house-roasted beets were paired with a<br />
crispy goat cheese fritter and drizzled with<br />
house balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The<br />
combination was colorful and delicious!<br />
For my entree I chose the Harvest Plate<br />
and was not disappointed. The Schnitzel<br />
was tender with a crisp breading, and I<br />
could not stop eating the cabbage. Chef<br />
Mark wouldn’t give up all his secrets but he<br />
did suggest that caramelized apples added<br />
to the cabbage’s delectable sweetness.<br />
The Open Face Beer-Battered Walleye,<br />
dipped in Parkside’s craft beer batter and<br />
fried to perfection, arrived atop a slice of<br />
marble rye with fries, cole slaw and tartar<br />
sauce on the side. To say the portions were<br />
generous would be an understatement. Still<br />
we left room for dessert.<br />
Parkside Grille is well-known for its<br />
house-made desserts, including Chef<br />
Mark’s signature Key Lime Pie, which was<br />
505 Strecker Road • Wildwood • (636) 422-8483 • theparksidegrille.com<br />
Hours: 3-9 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday; 3-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday;<br />
3-7 p.m., Sunday • Live music Wednesday through Sunday<br />
Parkside Grilles’ staff: (top row, from left) Executive Chef Mark Wentz, Antonio Mendieta,<br />
Owner Jean Ann Mantia, Osvaldo Rojas, Arturo Maldonado, Manuel Ramirez and Drew<br />
Sadler; (front row, from left) Brittany Roberts, Manager Marissa Wood, Allie Brown, Kristi<br />
McCoy, Jessica Unruh and Chase Baker; (not pictured) Kari Kamrud, Domingo Rojas<br />
and Adrien Gray<br />
(Photo collage provided by PSG)<br />
lusciously creamy and delightfully tart.<br />
While we feasted, Jean Ann’s husband,<br />
Rocky Mantia, a veteran of the St. Louis<br />
music scene, provided live music alongside<br />
Teddy McCready. The duo, Mantia &<br />
McCready, makes regular appearances as<br />
part of Parkside Grille’s lineup of top-notch<br />
entertainment, selected and booked by<br />
Rocky. A full schedule of upcoming performances<br />
is at theparksidegrille.com.<br />
“We are not your typical bar and grill,”<br />
Jean Ann said. “Our food and music set us<br />
apart, but so does our incredible staff, most<br />
of whom have been together for nearly 10<br />
years, even through the pandemic. They’re<br />
friendly, knowledgeable and really enjoy<br />
providing a superior guest experience.”<br />
Leading the front-of-house staff is Jean<br />
Ann’s daughter, Marissa Wood.<br />
Parkside Grille is truly a hidden gem featuring<br />
chef-driven cuisine, signature cocktails<br />
and top-notch live entertainment ... all<br />
in a vibrant and cozy atmosphere. Off the<br />
beaten path, yes; but well-worth the trip!<br />
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44 I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
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CHESTERFIELD MALL, from page 10<br />
Williams added. “That’s pretty weird.”<br />
Williams said the way Chesterfield Mall<br />
remained open up until the demolition was<br />
in stark contrast to abandoned malls in<br />
other parts of the country.<br />
“Just to use a local example, if you look at<br />
something like Jamestown Mall (in North<br />
St. Louis County), which was a mall that<br />
sat there for, I think over a decade, abandoned,<br />
and then, when it was demolished,<br />
it still hasn’t been put to use,” Williams<br />
said. “They’re thinking maybe they’ll put<br />
a warehouse there or something. The land<br />
there is a lot less valuable than it is here. I<br />
think that’s pretty clear.”<br />
The mall’s final chapter will soon conclude.<br />
The Staenberg Group plans to transform<br />
the site into a high-end development<br />
called Downtown Chesterfield. The project<br />
is slated for completion in the 2030s, and<br />
will feature a walkable community space<br />
with retail and residential spaces.<br />
“We’ll finish filming when the building<br />
is gone,” Shaw said. “But we’re interested<br />
in preserving its legacy; the memories and<br />
stories of those who made Chesterfield<br />
Mall a part of their lives.”<br />
The documentary will take a year or two<br />
to finalize, with plans for a screening in St.<br />
Louis once completed sometime in 2026.<br />
The crew will need to come back to Chesterfield<br />
at least two more times to capture<br />
the final demolition of the mall, with the<br />
mall scheduled to be completely gone by<br />
April 2025.<br />
The documentary aims to capture the<br />
feeling of nostalgia that many locals have<br />
for the mall.<br />
“Near the end, when the mall was closing,<br />
we just kind of sat there as people were<br />
coming in and talking to them and getting<br />
their stories,” Williams said. “Some stories<br />
would be like, ‘when I was 10, I had my<br />
first kiss,’ or, ‘I went to prom, and this is<br />
where we ate.’ That’s what the story is. It’s<br />
about those people.”<br />
Williams and Shaw are asking anyone<br />
with photos or videos of the mall they<br />
would like to share to email mall@brightsunfilms.co.<br />
Williams pointed out that they<br />
especially would like media from the early<br />
2000s and older.<br />
“It’s the memories,” Williams said. “You<br />
can think of something as innocuous as a<br />
mall, it’s just an indoor concourse and a<br />
Pottery Barn, but it’s also a lot of people’s<br />
favorite memories from their childhood. It<br />
was the third place for people. It wasn’t<br />
work, it wasn’t home, it was somewhere to<br />
go hang out with your friends. The community<br />
is losing it. People who shopped<br />
here so many Christmases and Boxing<br />
Days, that’s it; it’s done. I can understand<br />
it’s an emotional thing for people.”<br />
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November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
I HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS I 45<br />
HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS, from page 27<br />
more from 6:30-8 p.m. on Dec. 8, 9, 15 and<br />
16 at Pathfinder Church, 15800 Manchester<br />
Road. This event is free and open to the<br />
public. For details, visit pathfinderstl.org/<br />
lights.<br />
EUREKA<br />
Holiday Tree Lighting • Eureka Parks<br />
and Recreation Department is hosting a<br />
Holiday Tree Lighting from 5-8 p.m. on<br />
Saturday, Nov. 23 at The Spur, 394 South<br />
Central Ave. Hot cocoa, cookie decorating<br />
and crafts will be available. Kids<br />
can also write a letter to Santa. Bring a<br />
stamped, self-addressed envelope for a<br />
response. Visit with two of Santa’s reindeers<br />
and listen to on-stage entertainment<br />
to celebrate the start of the holiday season.<br />
This event is free and open to the public.<br />
Parking will be available at Geggie Elementary.<br />
• • •<br />
Pictures with Santa • Take a photo with<br />
Santa and the city’s tree from 1-4 p.m. on<br />
Sunday, Dec. 1 at The Spur, 394 South<br />
Central Ave. Guests should bring their own<br />
cameras. This event is free to attend with<br />
a donation of a non-perishable food item.<br />
Parking is as available.<br />
• • •<br />
Pizza with Santa • Enjoy pizza, cookie<br />
decorating and crafts Dec. 5-7 at the<br />
Eureka Community Center, 333 Bald Hill<br />
Road. Bring your camera for photos with<br />
Santa. Choose from five sessions: 6:30-8<br />
p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5; 6:30-8 p.m. on<br />
Friday, Dec. 6; or <strong>11</strong>:30 a.m.-1 p.m.; 2:30-4<br />
p.m. or 6:30-8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7.<br />
Entrance is free with the donation of one<br />
non-perishable food item. Registration is<br />
required in person The Timbers of Eureka,<br />
1 Coffey Park Lane.<br />
• • •<br />
Santa’s Magical Kingdom • Experience<br />
more than four million shimmering lights<br />
within a fantasyland of animated scenes and<br />
special effects from 5:30-10:30 p.m. nightly<br />
Nov. 15 through Jan. 5 at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone<br />
Park Resort, 5300 Fox Creek Road.<br />
New this year, guests can take photos in<br />
a giant snow globe. Kids are encouraged<br />
to bring letters to Santa for drop off in his<br />
mailbox at the North Pole. Admission is $35<br />
per family vehicle or $50 per 12- to 15-passenger<br />
van. Open Thanksgiving, Christmas<br />
Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Toys<br />
may be donated any night, but the $5 per<br />
vehicle discount admission is valid Monday<br />
through Thursday only. For details, visit<br />
SantasMagicalKingdom.com.<br />
MANCHESTER<br />
Holiday Outdoor Decorating Contest •<br />
Nominate yourself, your neighbor or a business<br />
by emailing your name, phone number<br />
and the address of the house or business<br />
being nominated to: shardesty@manchestermo.gov.<br />
Judging will occur between 5-9<br />
p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 17 with prizes to<br />
follow. The contest is only open to Manchester<br />
residents and businesses.<br />
• • •<br />
Santa’s Milk and Cookie PJ Party •<br />
Santa Claus will be stopping by the Schroeder<br />
Park Building, 359 Old Meramec Station<br />
Road, from 5-6 p.m. on Friday, Dec.<br />
6 to take pictures and hear the holiday<br />
wishes of children. Come ready to decorate<br />
cookies and deck the halls. Tickets<br />
must be purchased in advance for every<br />
participant ages 1 and up. The cost is $6<br />
for residents, and $7.20 for non-residents.<br />
Register on the Parks, Recreation & Arts<br />
page at manchestermo.gov.<br />
• • •<br />
Breakfast with Santa • Enjoy pancakes<br />
from Chris Cakes at Breakfast with Santa<br />
on Saturday, Dec. 7 in one of three sessions:<br />
8:30-9:30 a.m., 9:30-10:30 a.m., or 10:30-<br />
<strong>11</strong>:30 a.m. at the Schroeder Park Building,<br />
359 Old Meramec Station Road. Registration<br />
is required for every participant ages<br />
1 and up. The cost is $14 per adult and $<strong>11</strong><br />
per child. Register on the Parks, Recreation<br />
& Arts page at manchestermo.gov.<br />
• • •<br />
Senior Holiday Luncheon • Manchester<br />
residents are invited to share a holiday<br />
meal at noon on Thursday, Dec. 12 at First<br />
Evangelical Free Church, 1375 Carman<br />
Road. This event is exclusive to residents<br />
aged 65-plus. Reservations can be made by<br />
calling (636) 391-6326, ext. 400 or emailing<br />
bjones@manchestermo.gov on or after<br />
8 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12.<br />
• • •<br />
The “Christmas at Manchester” Joy<br />
of Music Concert Series • Betty Estes<br />
Gnaegy is featured in this holiday music<br />
event at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 22 at Manchester<br />
UMC, 129 Woods Mill Road. The<br />
concert will showcase Manchester UMC’s<br />
Cantate Youth Choir, Coventry Choir, and<br />
the Chancel Choir. Tickets are $15 for<br />
patrons aged 10 and older; children under<br />
age 10 are free. For details and tickets, visit<br />
manchesterumc.org/concert.<br />
TOWN & COUNTRY<br />
Winterfest • Celebrate the season with<br />
Winterfest from noon-5 p.m. on Saturday,<br />
Dec. 7 at Town Square, 13360 Clayton<br />
Road. This event is free to attend and features<br />
local vendors, photo ops with Santa<br />
and food and beverages from food trucks<br />
for purchase on site. Parking is at Hope<br />
Episcopal Church, Longview Farm Park<br />
and First Church of Christ Scientist, with<br />
a shuttle running to all three locations.<br />
Accessible parking and business patron<br />
parking are at Town Square.<br />
• • •<br />
Holiday Concert with the Town &<br />
Country Symphony Orchestra • The<br />
concert is at 2:30 on Sunday, Dec. 22 at<br />
the Ridgeway Auditorium on the campus<br />
of Principia School, 13201 Clayton Road.<br />
Admission is free.<br />
WILDWOOD<br />
Plaza Drive Tree Decorating • Beginning<br />
Monday, Nov. 25 through Sunday,<br />
Jan. 5, visit Plaza Drive in Wildwood Town<br />
Center to see trees decorated by local businesses<br />
in partnership with the city.<br />
• • •<br />
Holiday Tree Lighting and Winter<br />
Market • Wildwood’s Holiday Tree Lighting<br />
and Winter Market is from 3-5:30 p.m.<br />
(tree lighting at 5:15 p.m.) on Saturday,<br />
Dec. 7 at Wildwood Town Center. Enjoy<br />
performances by carolers, shop with local<br />
businesses and farmers market vendors,<br />
meet Santa Claus and enjoy kid-friendly<br />
crafts and activities in the community room<br />
at Plaza Senior Living, 251 Plaza Drive. A<br />
Toys for Tots drop off will be available to<br />
any wishing to donate. Admission is free. .<br />
• • •<br />
Bethel Cookie Walk & Holiday Bazaar<br />
• From 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7<br />
take part in a beloved holiday tradition at<br />
Bethel Wildwood Church, 17500 Manchester<br />
Road. A wide variety of cookies,<br />
jams and jellies, baked goods and handcrafted<br />
items will be available for purchase.<br />
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FIND US ON
46 I<br />
November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
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November 6, 20<strong>24</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
WEST CLASSIFIEDS • 636.591.0010 • CLASSIFIEDS@NEWSMAGAZINENETWORK.COM<br />
I 47<br />
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PUBLIC NOTICE<br />
PUBLIC HEARING<br />
CITY OF CHESTERFIELD<br />
The City of Chesterfield will hold<br />
a public hearing on the proposed<br />
budget for Fiscal Year 2025 at 6:45<br />
pm, Monday, November 18, 20<strong>24</strong>,<br />
in the Council Chambers,<br />
690 Chesterfield Parkway <strong>West</strong>,<br />
Chesterfield, Missouri 63017.<br />
A copy of the proposed budget is<br />
available for public inspection at<br />
City Hall at the same address<br />
during the hours of<br />
8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.<br />
Monday through Friday.<br />
PUBLIC NOTICE<br />
Notice is hereby given that a<br />
declaration of candidacy filed for<br />
the Office of Mayor and the Office<br />
of Councilmember in all four (4)<br />
wards in the general municipal<br />
election held<br />
Tuesday, April 8, 2025,<br />
in the City of Chesterfield<br />
will be received by the City Clerk<br />
commencing at 8 a.m.<br />
on Tuesday, December 10, 20<strong>24</strong>,<br />
at the Chesterfield City Hall,<br />
690 Chesterfield Parkway <strong>West</strong>,<br />
Chesterfield, Missouri.<br />
No declaration of candidacy for<br />
office shall be accepted by the City<br />
Clerk after 5 p.m. on December 31,<br />
20<strong>24</strong>. A list of procedures for candidate<br />
filing is available in the City<br />
Clerk’s office at City Hall or on the<br />
City’s website<br />
www.chesterfield.mo.us.<br />
Candidates for the office of Mayor<br />
must be at least 30 years of age prior<br />
to taking office, a citizen of the<br />
United States and a resident of the<br />
City for two (2) years prior to the<br />
election. Candidates for the office<br />
of Councilmember must be at least<br />
21 years of age prior to taking office,<br />
a citizen of the United States, a<br />
resident of the City for one (1) year<br />
prior to the election and a resident<br />
of the ward from which they are to<br />
be elected for six (6) months prior<br />
to the election.<br />
Vickie McGownd<br />
City Clerk<br />
Cellco Partnership and its<br />
controlled affiliates doing business<br />
as Verizon Wireless (Verizon<br />
Wireless) proposes collocate<br />
wireless antennas at a centerline<br />
height of 35 feet on an existing<br />
25.8-foot building rooftop with<br />
an overall height of 39.7 feet, at<br />
the approx. vicinity of <strong>11</strong>1 <strong>West</strong><br />
Argonne Drive, St. Louis, St. Louis<br />
County, MO 63122.<br />
Lat: 38-34-53.1084]<br />
Long: [-90-<strong>24</strong>-25.3296]. Public<br />
comments regarding potential<br />
effects from this site on historic<br />
properties may be submitted within<br />
30 days from the date of this<br />
publication to:<br />
Trileaf Corp, Alec Nimkoff,<br />
a.nimkoff@trileaf.com,<br />
66 South Logan Street,<br />
Denver, CO 80209<br />
203.856.10<strong>11</strong><br />
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