West Newsmagazine 5-1-24

Vol. 29 No. 9 • May 1, 2024 

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STAR PARKER 

Mike Johnson 

is a hero 

Author Herman Wouk captured well 

how to understand heroism. 

“Heroes are not supermen; they are 

good men who embody – by the cast of 

destiny – the virtue of their whole people 

in a great hour,” observed Wouk. 

We have today an American hero by the 

name of House Speaker Mike Johnson. 

Anyone with eyes open knows the 

world today is a very dangerous place. 

Johnson, a conservative Republican and 

a devout Christian, knows that the way for 

it to become even more dangerous is for 

the leader of the free world to withdraw 

from its responsibilities as such. 

In the face of threats from some within 

his own party, in the face of the possibility 

of a purge like that which happened to 

his predecessor Kevin McCarthy, Johnson 

stepped up, rounded up 101 Republican 

votes in the House and, together with 

Democrats, passed a $95 billion military 

aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. 

As a Christian, Johnson understands 

that there is no understanding of what 

freedom is without appreciation that there 

is good and evil in this world. 

Our tendency in our country is to 

emphasize individual rights when we 

think about freedom. 

But the equal and opposite side of rights 

is responsibilities. Without responsibility, 

whether as individuals or as a nation, freedom 

is gone. 

As President Ronald Reagan famously 

observed, “Freedom is never more than 

one generation away from extinction. We 

didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. 

It must be fought for, protected 

and handed on for them to do the same, 

or one day we will spend our sunset years 

telling our children and our children’s 

children what it was once like in the 

United States where men were free.” 

Speaking to reporters after the vote, 

Johnson noted that this is a “critical time” 

and that “Xi (China) and Vladimir Putin 

and Iran really are an axis of evil.” 

This is not a matter of our nation aspiring 

to be the world’s policeman. 

It is a matter of knowing that the force 

of evil cannot be ignored and the price 

of believing that it can be ignored only 

grows and becomes increasingly more 

dangerous. 

Is this a matter of focusing abroad at the 

expense of what is happening at home? 

Certainly not. 

If a hero, in the words of Herman Wouk, 

embodies the “virtue” of his or her people, 

how do we define the virtue of the American 

people? 

It’s about the principles of a free nation 

under God. 

We also face great danger at home as we 

have departed from these principles. 

The $95 billion that will go in aid 

abroad is peanuts compared to what we 

waste at home in spending programs that 

do nothing. 

The Biden administration has appropriated 

$80 billion to the IRS to bolster tax 

collection. But at the same time, Biden 

has submitted a 2025 budget to Congress 

increasing federal spending by some $800 

billion. 

We are now trillions of dollars in the red 

as a result of bankrupt entitlement programs 

that are basically socialism. These 

programs are gushing red ink because 

they are not about, and never have been 

about, American principles of freedom 

and personal responsibility. 

We, of course, need to ensure that those 

that immigrate to our country come to 

embrace the principles that make our 

country great. 

But Republicans need to contend with 

a president and his party who have long 

abandoned those principles. 

Enough Democrats do seem to understand 

the importance of defending our 

principles abroad, and here Republicans 

and Democrats must work together. 

So it’s not a matter of either/or. 

Freedom is about knowing that we have 

choices, that there is good and evil, and 

we must fight evil everywhere by choosing 

the good. 

Johnson has done us all a favor through 

his principles and courage. We have great 

challenges at home, but we cannot ignore 

what’s happening around us. 

• • • 

Star Parker is president of the Center 

for Urban Renewal and Education and 

host of the weekly television show “Cure 

America with Star Parker.” 

© 2024 Creators.com 

Read more on westnewsmagazine.com 

May 1, 2024 

WEST NEWSMAGAZINE 

I OPINION I 3 

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4 I OPINION I 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 

@WESTNEWSMAG 


Simplistic thinking 

Star Parker, in her “Americans are not 

seeking out middle ground,” asserted 

there’s no middle road in the divisiveness 

we see. Rather, it is a fight to the 

death between conservatives “who want 

to recapture our founding values and principles” 

and liberals who “want to destroy 

them.” To support this, she seemed to 

equate slavery with such issues as education 

and climate change. This is a false 

comparison. 

In reality, it is this type of black-or-white, 

simplistic thinking that will fracture America. 

Trying to find common ground means 

having the courage to listen to opposing 

viewpoints without becoming defensive 

or angry. It means refusing to label others 

while asking questions, engaging in honest 

dialogue and seeing a picture broader than 

partisanship. Inviting people of differing 

viewpoints to walk together down a middle 

road is at the core of America’s “founding 

values and principles,” as she called them. 

Greg Weeks 

Set the record straight 

I have faithfully read your magazine 

since Thomas Sowell was your editorial 

commentator. I have continued reading 

the various commentators since then, especially 

Star Parker. Although I generally 

agree with her on most subjects, I must 

take exception to her repeated references 

to God and the “evil” secular humanists. 

She constantly equates godlessness to 

socialism and any other form of malfeasance 

that she sees taking place in our 

country. As a lifelong atheist, I can assure 

her that I am not a socialist, communist 

nor any other anti-American “ist.” I am 

a patriot (I served four years in the U.S. 

Navy during the Vietnam War). I have 

always been proud to be an American and 

will debate anyone who would denigrate 

this country, (while recognizing that we 

Americans are not perfect and have made 

our share of mistakes). 

Also, my wife and three children are 

atheists and all of us are law-abiding, hardworking 

citizens. It is, of course, Ms. Parker’s 

right to express her opinions on any 

topic, but her constant denigration of nonbelievers 

is just simply wrong. Although 

there are not many of us, all of the atheists 

I know are law-abiding, patriotic, American 

citizens. I just wanted to set the record 

straight. 

Frank Klos 

Ballot Candy 

Missouri voters, beware of “Ballot 

Candy.” Ballot Candy refers to the effort 

by legislators to dupe voters into approving 

a ballot measure citizens would otherwise 

oppose by inserting unrelated popular provisions 

in ballot language to hide the real 

purpose of the legislation. Case in point 

– the Missouri House recently passed legislation 

aimed at making it harder to amend 

the state constitution through the citizeninitiative 

petition process. This legislation 

still needs to be approved by Missouri 

voters before it becomes law, so the House 

added it to the ballot as its first bullet a provision 

that has nothing to do with initiative 

petitions at all: it asks Missourians whether 

the constitution should be amended to 

“allow only citizens of the United States 

to qualify as legal voters.” This additional 

ballot language is pure subterfuge because 

the state constitution is already clear that 

only citizens are allowed to vote in Missouri. 

Article VIII, Section 2 of the Missouri 

Constitution limits the right to vote 

to U.S. citizens, period. Why would the 

House add something to the ballot that is 

already law if it is not intended to mislead 

and trick the voters? This practice of polluting 

ballot measures with non-issues or 

unrelated popular “Ballot Candy” is both 

cynical and shameful. Legislators should 

represent their constituents, not deceive 

them. 

Cary Steinmetz 

ON THE COVER: Madison Pyatt and her 

father, Travis, in Augusta. 

(Mackenzie Myers/Gateway PGA photo) 

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A PUBLICATION OF



All of the Sudden ... 

Law Matters 

I met Mike 

at a wedding in 

Illinois. We 

were both outsiders 

standing 

off to the side. 

Although it 

embarrasses 

my family, I'll 

often just strike up a conversation 

with strangers under those kinds of 

circumstances. It turns out Mike 

was a lawyer from Chicago. When I 

mentioned I was a lawyer in Saint 

Louis, he became interested. 

Their firm was trying to establish 

a foothold in Saint Louis, and he 

asked if we'd be interested in talking 

to them. I naively said yes. Our 

senior partner eventually identified 

them as a “merge-and-purge” firm. 

They would merge with a firm, 

dump the younger attorneys, and 

eventually steal the clients. I would 

have been one of the first ones to 

go. Fortunately, we dodged that 

bullet. But I digress. 

After that initial encounter, our 

firms struck up a conversation. 

Mike was our main contact. He was 

pretty slick. He made it all sound so 

wonderful. We had a lot of 

discussions trying to figure out if 

there was a fit. 

And then all of the sudden, Mike 

went silent. We tried to follow up 

with him, but we heard nothing, and 

no one else in the firm told us 

anything. 

After some time, we heard from 

another of their partners who asked 

if he could come down and talk to 

us. So next thing we know, we are 

meeting with this burly attorney. 

He was not at all as smooth as 

Mike had been, but he told us that 

Mike had died. 

Evidently, Mike had been a 

workaholic. His partners forced 

him to take some time off. The 

stress was apparently too much. 

While “relaxing” on a beach in 

Florida, Mike had a heart attack 

and died. I don't understand how 

laying on a beach in Florida could 

stress anyone out, but there are all 

kinds of people on this earth. 

The point of my story is that 

things can happen when we least 

expect it … even on vacation. Life 

is fine one minute, and then, all of 

the sudden …. Without planning, 

things can go badly awry. If you 

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treated as legal advice or as creating an 

attorney-client relationship. The choice 

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6 I OPINION I 



@WESTNEWSMAG 


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EDITORIAL 

Random thoughts 

With a tip of the hat to our old friend Thomas Sowell, we offer the following 

random thoughts on the passing scene: 

Let’s be real, the Cardinals are off to a bad start. We are in last place. Jordan 

Walker just got sent down to the minors. Paul Goldschmidt has just three extra 

base hits. Our lineup ranks 24th in on-base percentage, and that is our highest 

relative offensive ranking. The worst part, however, is that the team is just 

boring to watch. 

That being said, it is still disappointing to see how quickly the vibe around 

Busch Stadium has turned sour. John Mozeliak got booed on opening day. Last 

week, a very small but vocal home crowd booed the Redbirds incessantly during 

a loss to the Diamondbacks. Showing your displeasure by not buying tickets is 

one thing, but showing up and being vocally displeased in person is, well, very 

2024 we suppose. 

On the plus side, Sonny Gray has been awesome. So has Masyn Winn. 

• • • 

Demonstrations on college campuses are spreading like wildfire. A bunch 

of people got arrested at Columbia University for protesting, so a bunch of 

campuses erupted in protest of the arrests. Not to be outdone, the University 

of Southern California shouted “hold my beer” and got their entire graduation 

ceremony canceled. It would be nice if things like academic achievement could 

spread as virally as these ridiculous protests. 

Certainly, we should not make light of a few things concerning these protests. 

Some of the protests have been blatantly antisemitic. Plus, a large portion of the 

people arrested in campus protests have not been students at the college where 

they were arrested. That’s frightening. 

One of the ideas that keeps getting floated during these protests is that you 

can be anti-Zionist without being anti-Jewish. We’re not sure how. 

• • • 

Joe Rogen’s interview of Tucker Carlson is bonkers. It’s just bonkers. Of 

course, it’s also three full hours of must-see entertainment, so maybe bonkers 

was the point? 

• • • 

In regard to the many trials of Donald Trump, we simply hope that the legal 

system en masse can look beyond any opinions of the ex-president, and focus 

instead on precedent and the presidency. There is a risk of laying some really 

bad road for future administrations to drive on. 

• • • 

The Missouri legislature made national headlines when it supported a legal 

shield for Bayer, owner of Roundup weed killer. Roundup has long been controversial 

because of claims that it is cancer-causing. The reality of whether 

Roundup is carcinogenic is complicated, but nothing brings out the sound bites 

like a good fight between lawyers and chemical companies. 

“If you vote for this bill, you are voting for cancer – and it will hurt my feelings, 

and I will not smile at you on the elevator,” said state Rep. LaDonna 

Appelbaum, who is undergoing treatment for cancer. 

In a statement, Bayer responded, “We are grateful that members of the Missouri 

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8 I NEWS I 



@WESTNEWSMAG 


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On April 18, Parkway South students flooded the city of Manchester, 

performing service projects during the school day as part of the inaugural 

Day of Service initiative. Above, students wash cars in Schroeder 

Park as one of the activities giving back to the community. 

(Tracey Bruce photo) 

NEWS 

BRIEFS 

CHESTERFIELD 

City secures grant to complete 

Pathway on the Parkway 

Chesterfield was successful in obtaining 

a reimbursement grant for the construction 

of the Pathway on the Parkway project. 

The city was awarded a Transportation 

Alternatives Program (TAP) grant in an 

amount of $1.832 million in federal funding 

for the construction of the pathway from 

Clarkson Road to Chesterfield Pines Lane. 

Once complete, the project will fill the 

last remaining gap in the overall Pathway on 

the Parkway loop and provide a continuous 

pedestrian route on Schoettler Road from 

Clayton Road to Chesterfield Parkway. 

The project will include the construction 

of 3,500 feet of six-foot sidewalk on the 

south side of Chesterfield Parkway East from 

Clarkson Road to Schoettler Spur Road and 

600 feet of five-foot sidewalk on the west 

side of Schoettler Road from Schoettler Spur 

Road to Chesterfield Pines Lane. 

It will also include the conversion of 

the northern lane of Schoettler Spur Road 

from one-way vehicular traffic to two-way 

pedestrian/bicycle traffic. 

All sections of the project will be constructed 

to current Americans with Disabilities 

Act design standards. 

The total estimated project cost is $2.29 

million, of which the TAP grant will fund 

80% ($1.83 million), with the remaining 

20% ($458,000) funded locally. 

For years the city of Chesterfield has pursued 

a grant to construct the final phase of 

the Pathway on the Parkway project, said 

James Eckrich, director of public works. 

After several failed attempts to secure a 

grant, the most recent TAP application was 

successful, he said. 

In order to officially obligate the federal 

funding for this project the city needs to 

enter into a program agreement with the 

Missouri Highways and Transportation 

Commission (MoDOT). 

Once the program agreement is approved, 

the city will issue a Request for Proposals 

(RFP) for engineering design services later 

this year and enter into a contract in early 

2025, Eckrich said. 

At the meeting on April 16, the Chesterfield 

City Council held a first reading on 

the agreement with MoDOT for the construction 

of the project. A final vote will be 

taken at the next regular meeting. 

MANCHESTER 

Manchester police officers 

honored for exemplary work 

Several Manchester police officers were 

recognized for exemplary work at the April 

15 Board of Aldermen meeting. Sgt. Nikki 

Priest, Det. Jeff Lang and officers Josh 

Cockrell, Jim Logan and Coty West were 

all presented with letters of commendation 

by Police Chief Scott Will and the board. 

Will spoke about Lang’s extensive 

efforts to combat the sexual exploitation of 

minors, resulting in a suspect being identified 

and arrested by the FBI in New York 

state. 

“Moreover, your efforts likely resulted in 

saving an untold number of young children 

from being victimized by this man,” Will 

said, adding that the suspect is facing 20 

to 30 years in prison. “Your participation 

in the system reflects favorably upon your 

efficiency, of your department and upon 

your ability as a police officer. I extend my 

sincere thanks for a job well done.” 

Priest and fellow officers West, Cockrell 

and Logan were recognized for handling 

a potentially dangerous situation with 

empathy and grace. On March 4, officers 

responded to a late-night 911 distress call, 

where a woman claimed that she was going 

to take her life. The call was traced to the 

cemetery adjacent to St. John’s Church, 

where Priest, West, Cockrell and Logan 

initiated a search for the woman. As the 

search continued, the woman emerged 

from behind a tree with a handgun pointed 

to her head, Will explained. 

“I’m sure most people know that sometimes 

we have this phenomenon called 

suicide by cop,” Will said. “So it’s a very 

dangerous situation. Despite the potential 

for the situation to escalate into a suicideby-cop 

scenario, you and your fellow officers 

continuously (helped) while engaging 

in a dialogue with the female.” 

Priest was awarded with the Meritorious 

Service Award, presented to officers whose 

actions speak of personal bravery, or coordinating 

an investigation leading to arrest, 

Will explained. 

“In spite of her initial resistance to let go 

of the firearm and insistence on self-harm, 

you composed an empathetic approach, 

effectively de-escalating the tension resulting 

in the woman ultimately surrendering 

the weapon, demonstrating true compassion 

for those in desperate need of help,” 

Will said. 

WILDWOOD 

Village Green in Wildwood 

gets final approval 

A final vote was taken on the bid to construct 

Phase 1 of the Village Green project 

on the west side of Wildwood City Hall. 

Bombshell Construction Services LLC 

will be paid $1.9 million for phase one, 

which will include access and utility installations, 

the performance stage and oval, 

plus the Essen Log Cabin and Mayors’ 

Grove. 

However, at the City Council meeting 

on April 8, Lisa Johnson, an attorney representing 

the Latitude N38 project, said 

that the Village Green plan shows that it is 

using Crestview Drive as a walkway in its 

project and is subject to easements from all 

the owners. 

TB Realty and Development and Benton 

Homebuilders have proposed Lattitude 

N38 for 57 rental homes at the southeast 

corner of Eatherton Road and Crestview 

Drive. 

The developers of the N38 project own 

property adjacent to the Village Green site, 

south of Crestview Drive. Johnson says 

the N38 plan would use up to 15% of their 

property, which includes up to Crestview 

Drive, to support that access way along 

that drive. 

But the city’s plans for Village Green 

includes a walkway portion of Crestview 

Drive, part of which is a private drive that 

is subject to an easement, Johnson said. 

“It’s a private drive that is owned by all 

of the owners adjacent to a fronting on 

Crestview Drive and the permission of 

those owners would be required for any 

use of Crestview Drive that is not strictly 

private ingress and egress use of that drive-



way,” Johnson said. 

After the project was rejected by the 

Planning and Zoning Commission, the 

developers of Latitude N38 have a pending 

appeal that will be heard by the council in 

May. 

The overall city funding for the Village 

Green project will include a grant from the 

St. Louis County Municipal Park Grant 

Commission, which was awarded to Wildwood 

in 2023 in the amount of $575,000. 

According to Joe Vujnich, director of 

Planning and Parks, it is the city’s intent 

to have these improvements available for 

public use this year. 

At the meeting, the council approved the 

agreement with Bombshell Construction 

Services to construct phase one of the Village 

Green project. 

MISSOURI 

Education reform 

package passes 

In mid-April, the Missouri General 

Assembly passed two education reform 

bills, Senate Bill 727 and House Bill 2278, 

aimed at enhancing elementary and secondary 

education. 

SB727 includes updates to the Missouri 

Empowerment Scholarship 17050 BAXTER Accounts ROAD, Program, 

which was CELL: established 636.579.1482 by the Gen- 

| DESK: 636.530.4043 

See NEWS BRIEFS, page 

SUITE 200 | CHESTERFIELD 

12 

eral Assembly in 2021. That legislation 

established tax credits for contributions to 

nonprofit educational assistance organizations, 

approved by the state treasurer’s 

office, for the purpose of awarding scholarships 

to Missouri students with individual 

education plans and students living in 

low-income households. SB727 increases 

the maximum tax credits from $50 to $75 

million. 

Additionally, SB727 adjusts the state’s 

minimum school term requirements and 

establishes the Elementary Literacy Fund 

to boost literacy among elementary students. 

Under SB727, school terms are to be a 

minimum of 169 school days, unless the 

district has adopted a four-day school week, 

in which case a school term shall consist 

of at least 142 school days. However, the 

legislation also encourages schools to 

adopt a five-day week schedule. SB727 

and HB2287 establish procedures around 

the average daily attendance of students 

enrolled in the Missouri Course Access 

and Virtual School Program. In regard to 

virtual learning, HB2287 also addresses 

state aid to host districts, statewide open 

enrollment and accommodating students 

with disabilities. Allowing host districts to 

contract with providers for necessary vir- 

Your 

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I NEWS I 9 

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10 I NEWS I 



@WESTNEWSMAG 


Substitute under scrutiny after removing Parkway teacher’s pride, BLM signs 

By SHWETHA SUNDARRAJAN 

On Friday, April 12, administrators at 

Parkway Central High were alerted of a 

substitute teacher who took down Black 

Lives Matter (BLM) and pride signs in a 

teacher’s classroom and tore them up. 

The substitute teacher, now identified as 

Jason Bryant Jennings, told West Newsmagazine 

that he destroyed the posters on 

Friday, April 5. He subsequently posted 

about the incident on X, on Monday, April 

8, when he was subbing at Parkway Central 

again. 

“Yeah, so BLM is obviously a corrupt 

Marxist organization that should not be 

promoted to kids,” Jennings said. “Teachers 

should not be – and not just teachers, 

but adults in general – should not be promoting 

pride or anything of that nature to 

students, to youth.” 

Jennings is a Republican candidate running 

for state representative in District 100, 

which encompasses the city of Ballwin and 

portions of Winchester. According to Jennings’ 

campaign website, he believes that 

“schools should be accountable for what 

they’re teaching.” 

Days after posting about the destroyed 

posters, Parkway Central administrators 

caught wind of Jennings’ actions and 

subsequently escorted him off campus. In 

an email to Parkway Central High parents, 

students and staff, Principal Dr. Tim 

McCarthy said that in addition to damaging 

the classroom, there were reports Jennings 

also solicited votes from students. 

“Based on my initial investigation and 

after consulting with human resources, I 

addressed the incident with the individual 

and escorted him out of the building,” 

McCarthy wrote. “Kelly Education employs 

the substitute who has worked part-time in 

some Parkway schools since 2022.” 

However, Jennings denies soliciting 

votes from students, adding that Parkway 

Central isn’t located in the district he’s 

campaigning in. 

“So those kids at Parkway Central, they 

don’t even live in (District 100), and 

they’re not even old enough to vote,” Jennings 

said. “There’s no reason why I would 

do that, I would have nothing to gain by 

doing that.” 

A spokesperson from Kelly Education 

Services told West Newsmagazine that 

Jennings is suspended from all future 

assignments pending the completion of the 

investigation. 

“We do not tolerate any employee behavior 

that violates our policies or the policies 

of our school partners,” the statement read. 

“Our substitute educators undergo rigorous 

screenings and background checks 

before they are eligible for any assignment. 

During onboarding, our substitute educators 

receive role-specific training and are 

required to confirm that they understand 

and agree to follow Kelly Education and 

district policies. We are working with the 

school administration as we investigate 

the matter, and the substitute teacher has 

been suspended from all future assignments 

pending its completion. We will take 

appropriate action based on the findings of 

the investigation.” 

According to Parkway’s staff conduct 

handbook, employees are prohibited from 

engaging in political campaigning, including 

promoting, advocating for or opposing 

specific issues. This includes and is not 

limited to the posting of political materials 

or petitions (unless part of an academic 

exercise) and the distribution of campaign 

materials to students in any manner that 

would indicate that an employee is furthering 

a personal political view on candidates 

for public office or issues of public policy. 

Woods Mill Center development fails to get P&Z recommendation 

By DAN FOX 

(Photo by Laura Brown) 

After a one-month continuation, a proposed 

redevelopment for Woods Mill Center 

returned to the Town & Country Planning 

& Zoning Commission (P&Z) on April 17. 

Under review were requests to rezone the 

commercial site at 14302 South Outer 40 

Road to a Planned Non-Residential Development 

District (PNRD) and to approve the 

site plan, which includes residential homes 

and a restaurant. 

The developers, the McBride Berra Land 

Company LLC, made several adjustments to 

the proposal since it originally came before 

the commission on March 20. The proposed 

number of homes for the 11.58-acre site was 

reduced to 72, down from 80. Greenspace 

was increased to 48%, 40 additional trees 

have been added, lot width was increased 

and now 10 feet would separate each house, 

as opposed to the 6 feet previously proposed. 

Also, four lots that would be closest to existing 

homes to the south would be restricted to 

two stories, so as not to impact the privacy of 

those residents. 

As the adjustments were presented, Jeannie 

Aumiller, McBride general counsel and 

senior vice president of real estate, also 

pointed out several other kinds of uses that 

could also fit the site, while highlighting 

the challenges or potential impacts of those 

uses on nearby residents. 

Despite the adjustments, the density of 

the proposal was still of concern to the commission 

members. 

Commission member Fred Meyland- 

Smith said he understands the limitations 

and challenges of the site, but said the cur- 

Woods Mill Center, looking southeast. 

rent proposal is “inconsistent with the character” 

of the community and that the houses 

are too closely packed together. 

“They are like wooden soldiers, shoulder 

to shoulder to shoulder, and I can’t conceive 

of any other neighborhood in Town & 

Country that would have dozens of homes 

shoulder to shoulder in lockstep with one 

another, eight feet from the sidewalk,” Meyland-Smith 

said. 

Commission member Granville White 

said the development didn’t meet “the brand 

of Town & Country,” while Commission 

member Dennis Bolazina raised the issue of 

on-site guest parking again and questioned 

the benefits to the city coming from the 

project. 

Opinions among the commission were 

not uniform, however. 

Mayor Charles Rehm said a benefit to the 

city would be the added greenspace on the 

site. 

“The greenspace that’s there now is basically 

weeds, coming through cracks in the 

asphalt,” Rehm said. 

While he said he wishes the density could 

be lowered, commission member Gary 

Omell said he was in favor of the concept, 

adding that he’s concerned about what the 

alternatives could be for Woods Mill Center. 

“I ask myself, ‘What is the alternative?’” 

Omell said. “We’ve said a lot of things 

negative, but this property has sat there for a 

long time looking really shabby.” 

Omell did, however, state concerns about 

guest parking and some of the proposed 

elevations, saying he would like to see more 

brick and stone materials used. 

While the room was packed with residents, 

all that spoke were in favor of the 72-home 

development. 

Kathy Bridges, who lives adjacent to the 

site, praised the developers for their willingness 

to appease resident concerns and the 

concessions made in the site plan. 

Sharon Rothmel thanked the commission 

members for their previous feedback, 

saying the developer has improved the plans 

since the March 20 meeting, and urged the 

commission to recommend approval of the 

proposal. 

“It’s good for both the city and nearby 

residents,” Rothmel said. “It’s good for the 

city for many reasons … it will remove a 

deteriorated, defunct shopping center that’s 

fallen into disrepair.” 

Commission Chairman Rob Cima recognised 

that uses for the site, like more commercial 

development or an office building, 

are not viable, and he noted there are things 

to like about the current proposal. Cima said 

he can see why the residents are in support 

of it, being an owner-occupied, primarily 

residential use. Cima also acknowledged 

that nearby residents are possibly fatigued 

from seeing repeated proposed uses for 

Woods Mill Center. 

“I have to imagine at least part of the 

reason you’re in support of this, is because 

what else are we going to have to look at 

next year and the year after and the year 

after,” Cima said. 

However, Cima said he thinks there will 

be other options in the future that would 

appeal to residents and the city, and that he’s 

not willing to recommend approval simply 

out of fear that a better option might not 

come along. 

The motion to recommend approval of 

the rezoning to a PNRD and the motion to 

recommend approval of the site plan both 

failed 6-3. The matter next goes before the 

Board of Aldermen for its review at a future 

meeting, where it would need a supermajority 

(two-thirds) of voting members to pass.

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12 I NEWS I 



YOU’RE INVITED! 

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TOWN HALL MEETING 

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5:45 pm • Doors Open 

Coffee & Cookie Social 

May 9th • Marianist Retreat 

4000 Highway 109 • Wildwood MO 

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Town Hall Presentation 

RISE IN THE FIELD OF 

GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY 

By CATHY LENNY 

The city of Chesterfield intends to sell 

approximately 17 acres at 17159 Edison 

Avenue to Staenberg Advisors LLC for 

$500,000. 

The property is located south of Lowe’s 

in Chesterfield Commons, which is owned 

by The Staenberg Group (TSG). 

TSG submitted a proposal to the city to 

acquire the 16.95-acre parcel of land. 

The property is currently part of the 

stormwater reservoir, which drains east to 

the pump station into Bonhomme Creek. 

However, the city has determined that 

the property was in excess of what is 

required for the Master Stormwater Plan. 

An independent appraisal of the property 

obtained by the city determined its value to 

be $500,000. 

Even if the property is conveyed, not 

more than 10 of the total 16.95 acres can 

be reclaimed and re-purposed, said City 

Administrator Mike Geisel. 

It will require approximately 8 feet of fill 

across 10 acres and the extension of major 

stormwater infrastructure across the filled 

portion. 

“There are some pretty extreme development 

conditions,” Geisel said. 

Given the essentially flat basin, which is 

@WESTNEWSMAG 


City to sell nearly 17 acres to 

Staenberg Group 

Approximately 17 acres of land south of Lowe’s may be sold to TSG for $500,000 

(Tracey Bruce photo) 

flat and swampy, it has become a nuisance 

and is extraordinarily difficult to mow 

and maintain, Geisel said. The vegetation 

impairs the function of the stormwater 

basin, impeding flow and clogging the 

pump station. 

“Our inability to effectively maintain the 

property is an ongoing frustration,” Geisel 

said. “The city is eager to divest itself of 

maintaining this basin.” 

The responsibility for maintaining the 

entire 16.95 acres, including the remaining 

stormwater basin, would transfer with the 

conveyance. 

Any development of the property would 

require the owner to go through the planning 

process. 

In 2006, the property was conveyed to 

the city by TSG in fee, as opposed to an 

easement. The stormwater master plan was 

still being developed and the volume of 

stormwater storage was uncertain. 

Once the Public Works Department 

investigated the actual stormwater needs, 

it was determined that the reservoir storage 

could be reduced by 10 acres without 

increasing flood heights above a warning 

stage, Geisel said. 

The Chesterfield City Council will take a 

final vote on the proposed land sale at the 

next regular meeting. 

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NEWS BRIEFS, from page 9 

tual education services is also addressed 

and permitted. 

The Elementary Literacy Fund, 

through an annual appropriation not to 

exceed $5 million, will provide grants 

through the Department of Elementary 

and Secondary Education to school districts 

and charter schools for home reading 

programs for children in kindergarten 

to fifth grade. 

Teachers also benefit from provisions 

in SB727 that increase minimum wages 

from $25,000 to $40,000 for the 2025-26 

school year. For teachers with a master’s 

degree and at least 10 years of experience, 

minimum salaries increase from $33,000 

to $46,000 in 2025-26 and by $1,000 each 

year until 2027-28, when the minimum 

shall be $48,000. 

Additionally, SB727 addresses teacher 

certification, school board vacancies and 

suicide prevention. 

To view SB727 in its entirety, use the 

“Bill Search” feature on senate.mo.gov.



Wente’s Roadhouse coming soon to Defiance 



I NEWS I 13 

By JOHN TREMMEL 

The Defiance Roadhouse, known 

affectionately by locals for years as “the 

squirrel bar,” has been closed for about 

six months, but now has a new lease on 

life and is targeted to reopen as Wente’s 

Roadhouse sometime between May 19 

and June 1. The actual opening date 

depends on how much time is needed to 

complete repairs and obtain the required 

permits. The Hoffmann Companies property 

in Defiance is now being leased-toown 

by Marla Conn. 

Conn said the Defiance Roadhouse 

building “is from 1930, and, nobody’s 

fault, during this past winter when the restaurant 

was closed, water pipes burst and 

damaged every sink, every toilet, the walls 

and the floors. There were leaks and holes 

everywhere.” 

Conn said she has been working with 

Don Simon, chief operating officer for 

Hoffmann Companies’ Missouri operations, 

to get the repairs completed. While 

the Hoffmann Companies have received 

criticism regarding the economic development 

of Defiance and Augusta, Conn 

spoke highly of her interactions with the 

company. 

“They have been very cooperative and are 

working to fix the holes and other damage 

from the burst pipes,” Conn said. “Don has 

been great. I want to be clear: they are not 

bad people. I believe the Hoffmanns had 

good intentions but were just not equipped 

to run a restaurant such as the Roadhouse. 

Let’s just move on and move forward.” 

She signed the Roadhouse lease in early 

April. 

Conn has been at the Defiance Roadhouse 

while repairs are being done and 

has been working inside to set up the 

business. While she has been on-site, 

people have been stopping by to see 

what is going on. 

One of her visitors was the husband of 

the woman whose grandfather created 

the squirrels that have been part of the 

unusual decorations within the Roadhouse 

for years. Conn sent the husband 

home with one of the squirrels as a gift, 

bringing the memories along with it. 

Conn still has some of the stuffed squirrels 

and will continue to showcase them 

in the bar. 

Wente’s Roadhouse menu will include 

wings, pizza, specialty sandwiches, burgers, 

ribs, appetizers, salads and soft drinks. 

Billed as a “food shack and saloon,” it will 

have beer and adult beverages. Conn said 

it will be opening for breakfast as well. 

Conn also is the owner of the original 

Wente’s restaurant and bar at 18000 Chesterfield 

Airport Road in Chesterfield Valley. 

That landmark Wente’s is known as a “nofrills 

American restaurant serving burgers, 

sandwiches, wings and beer amid sports 

memorabilia.” The location is popular and 

frequently busy. 

She bought the business from Terry 

Wente in 2020, during the COVID-19 

pandemic. She added a temporary tent to 

accommodate outside and social-distanced 

seating during the pandemic, then installed 

a permanent, canvas-walled and canvasroofed 

structure for an outdoor patio 

Conn holds a Master of Science degree 

in elementary education and reading. She 

taught for 15 years in New York, has written 

dozens of children’s books, is a reading-literacy 

specialist and is an educational 

consultant. She continues to write and consult 

from her home in Wildwood, she said. 

Conn and her family moved to the area 

15 years ago after selling their book distribution 

company to a St. Louis-based 

company. While Conn’s husband does 

not have ownership in the bar, he is her 

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said. He is building a warehouse for The 

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“The original Wente’s will remain open, 

and we are excited to have a second location 

in a nearby community,” Conn said. 

“Both Wente’s and Wente’s Roadhouse are 

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14 I NEWS I 



@WESTNEWSMAG 


LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER, LIKE GRANDMA 

Local family celebrates generational 

impact of caring for others 

If you've noticed you aren't as 

steady on your feet as you used to 

be, it's tempting to think that it's just 

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You may not know when it was that 

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HouseFit 

Paula Allen, Sharla Emery and Jessica Emery 

By KATE UPTERGROVE 

“I love people.” 

Across multiple generations, those 

simple words have motivated the women 

of one local family to seek careers in 

healthcare. 

During the pandemic, Paula Allen came 

out of retirement and chose to begin a new 

career as a concierge/screener at Progress 

West and BJC St. Peters hospitals. In many 

ways, she was following in the footsteps 

of her grandmother, daughter and granddaughter. 

“What Paula won’t tell you, because she 

is so humble, is that during COVID she 

wanted to give back,” Sharla Emery said. 

“She took the role of concierge/screener so 

that she could be at the hospital and help in 

any way she could.” 

It was a bold decision, given that most 

people her age were being advised at that 

time to stay home and stay safe. 

“We had lived at the Lake of the Ozarks 

for about 20 years,” Paula said of her and 

her husband. “When we moved back I 

needed something to do and decided to 

get into the health field because of Sharla. 

Now, I am the first person everyone sees 

when they come to the hospital. I get to 

greet people and help them. I enjoy that.” 

In addition to being the director of 

patient care services at Progress West 

and BJC St. Peters, Sharla is also Paula’s 

daughter and one of her favorite people to 

see at work. Paula’s other favorite is her 

granddaughter, Jessica Emery, who works 

as a patient care technician (PCT) in the 

Progress West emergency department. 

“I got into healthcare because of my 

mama,” Jessica said of Sharla. “She has 

been working for BJC for as long as I can 

remember, probably longer than I have 

been alive.” 

She’s not wrong. Sharla has been a nurse 

since 1989 and with BJC HealthCare for 31 

(BJC photo) 

years, though most of her career was spent 

in critical care and cardiothoracic surgery 

at Missouri Baptist Medical Center. 

“In April 2020, I made the decision 

to take a position in St. Charles County 

because we live in St. Charles County and 

there were some exciting things to me 

about its growth and where it was going 

and community needs for healthcare,” 

Sharla said. 

Two years ago, she moved into her current 

position, and spoke highly of Progress 

West and the role it plays in providing care 

to the community. 

Rachel Yann, with BJC media relations, 

said it’s “evident how strong these three 

ladies are together, how dedicated they 

are to caring for people, how they strive to 

inspire each other and how proud they are 

of each other.” 

“They want each other to grow and succeed,” 

Yann said. 

In that regard, Paula and Sharla are huge 

fans of Jessica, who is working on her 

associate’s degree in nursing at St. Charles 

Community College. When she graduates 

next year, she’ll become the third nurse in 

the family. 

“My great-grandmother was an LPN,” 

Sharla explained. That’s where it all 

started. “I have her little ‘Taber’s (medical) 

Dictionary,’ and it is so valuable to me.” 

While Sharla knew from age 18 that she 

wanted to pursue nursing, Jessica took a 

more circuitous route. 

“I’ve been all around healthcare over 

the past eight or nine years,” Jessica said. 

“I was a medical assistant. I was a PCT 

at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield. I 

was a traveling phlebotomist. Then, right 

around COVID, my mom was telling me 

about Progress West and how they had 

an opening in the ER and that it might 

be a good stepping stone to becoming a 

See LOCAL FAMILY, next page



Bridging cultures through language 



I NEWS I 15 

By LAURA BROWN 

Hindi USA is teaching young students 

the Indian culture through the Hindi language, 

dance and song. 

On April 14 the organization held its 

second annual cultural festival at the 

Hindu Temple of St. Louis in West St. 

Louis County. This year’s event featured 

21 performances that were choreographed 

and performed by students with the help of 

parent volunteers. What began as 

a small group of students learning 

Hindi at the local library in 2018 

has grown to 170 students from 

across the St. Louis area connecting 

with their Indian heritage and 

cultural roots. 

Mayank and Dr. Anshu Jain are 

the husband and wife co-founders 

of the West County chapter of Hindi 

USA, where their two children are 

students. 

“If you know the language you 

will have an insider view of what’s 

going on,” Mayank said. “Each 

of these songs performed today 

represent the majority of the religions 

that are practiced in India. 

These songs and dances are the timeless 

epics that every single Indian knows. They 

cover five different religions: Hindu, Sikh, 

Christian, Muslim and Jain. These songs 

connect the students to every single part of 

India. That’s the beauty; we have covered 

most of the country’s regions and dances, 

all in the Hindi language.” 

Meghna Lunkad is a parent volunteer 

who teaches Hindi for the organization. Her 

12-year-old son, Samik, has been a student 

since 2018. She said Hindi USA is not just 

about teaching the kids the language, but 

also about keeping them connected to their 

roots in India. This is the second year they 

have put on the cultural show and Lunkad 

served as one of the emcees. 

“The response we received from the community 

has been phenomenal,” Lunkad 

said. “We have a good partnership with 

West County and Parkway and Rockwood 

school districts.” 

Hindi USA performs on April 14. 

Mayank said he would like to see the 

Hindi language taught in local schools. 

“In West County we have 30,000 Indian 

people, the largest immigrant population, 

surpassing the Latino community,” Mayank 

said. “India is the fifth largest economy in 

the world. Every single business in the U.S. 

has back offices or something in India, so 

it’s going to be making them a global citizen 

if they learn the language. Hindi is the 

fourth largest spoken language in the world.” 

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nurse.” 

Jessica enrolled at St. Charles Community 

College, applied at Progress West and 

the rest is history. 

“I absolutely love it. I’m spoiled now,” 

she said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to 

work for another hospital system or even 

another department. I love the ER so much. 

“I do everything except administer medication. 

Everything a nurse needs help with 

can be delegated to me, and I’ll do what 

I can to keep it running smoothly. If a 

patient pushes a call button, I come running 

and do whatever I can to make them 

feel better.” 

She suspects another generation of 

healthcare providers could be waiting in 

the wings. 

“My 10-year-old daughter says she wants 

to become a veterinarian, which I love. I 

think I said the same thing at her age 

because I wanted to care for something but 

I wasn’t sure it was humans. Then as I got 

older, with the influence and help of my 

mom and my grandma, I was like ‘Wow, I 

love people!’” Jessica exclaimed. “I want 

to make people feel good. I want to make 

them smile.’” 

Like mother, like daughter – and, as 

Mother’s Day approaches, Jessica and 

Sharla were quick to share the secret of 

their success. 

“All of the women in the family are 

extraordinary,” Jessica said. “But in terms 

of grandma and mom, I would not be who 

I am, or where I am, or anything close to 

successful if I did not have them in my life.” 

Sharla also gave credit to her dad. 

“We’re 100% grounded in family,” she 

said. “My mother and father have been 

married for 56 years and every day they 

demonstrate to us what family looks like.” 

That sense of family, Sharla said, extends 

to the community they serve. 

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Local students at the 2024 Build My Future STL. 

By DEANNE LEBLANC 

The third annual Build My Future STL 

took place at the St. Charles Family Arena 

on April 24-25. The event featured handson 

exhibits and virtual reality simulations 

focusing on the building, trades and construction 

industries. Over 2,000 students 

from 70 high schools across 14 counties 

were expected to be in attendance. The 

event is co-chaired by representatives from 

the Home Builders Association of St. Louis 

& Eastern Missouri and the Francis Howell 

School District, who aim to address labor 

shortages in the industry. 

The concept for Build My Future came 

about in 2014 by industry professionals in 

Springfield, Missouri, to remedy the “dwindling 

pipeline of workers” and lack of interest 

in the skilled trades. Today, Build My 

Future is the largest event of its kind in the 

country, and takes place annually in 12 states. 

During Build My Future STL, students 

get the opportunity to explore trade jobs 

and meet local construction professionals 

while having unique hands-on experiences. 

In addition, there are virtual reality simulations, 

educational displays, equipment operations 

and learning labs in the areas of new 

construction, plumbing, masonry, welding, 

flooring, landscaping, roofing, siding, heavy 

equipment machinery operation, excavating 

and more. 

Francis Howell College and Career Specialist 

Katie Vargas said the top benefit for 

students participating in the event is realworld, 

experiential learning across the participating 

industries. 

“Classroom learning is important, for sure, 

but students learn tremendously by doing,” 

Vargas said. “Trying on a variety of jobs in 

the trades at Build My Future allows students 

to affirm their strengths and interests in 

(Photos courtesy of Jeanie Smith) 

multiple skill areas, which in turn helps them 

better plan for their post-secondary future.” 

Companies benefit as well, getting the 

chance to engage with the workforce of the 

next generation. 

“As an educator, I feel like this generation 

of students doesn’t get enough credit 

for their innovation, creativity and selfawareness; 

this event affirms that the future 

is bright,” Vargas said. 

Matt Schindler, career shadowing facilitator 

at Rockwood School District, knows 

that not every student wants to go to college. 

“With student loan debt being what it is, 

we are starting to see a shift in mindset from 

many that college isn’t a must, especially 

if you have to borrow money to attend,” 

Schindler said. “This event exposes students 

to zero-debt career options in a way 

that schools are not able to do. From the 

heavy machinery to the non-stop hands-on 

activities, Build My Future is an invaluable 

resource for the Rockwood District to 

expose the students in our schools to a wide 

variety of options that don’t require college 

or college loans.” 

In 2023, 47 states passed 115 laws about 

career and technical education, which 

increased financing for job training programs 

and opportunities for work-based 

learning beyond conventional high school 

and college learning models. The goal of 

this initiative is to reverse a long-term trend 

away from vocational education that has 

resulted in a scarcity of competent laborers. 

The amount of shop courses offered 

in American high schools has decreased, 

and between 1982 and 2013, shop credits 

dropped by more than 26%. In addition, 

many school districts completely removed 

industrial tech workshops, like welding and 

See BUILD MY FUTURE, page 38

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18 I 



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Parkway Central junior looks to 

connect area student journalists 




I NEWS I 19 

WE HAVE MOVED!!! 

Diego Perez Palomino is making a name 

for himself among high school journalism 

students across the St. Louis region. 

After attending a conference last summer 

at Mizzou, Palomino, a Parkway Central 

High junior, was inspired to create a place 

for area student journalists to share their 

work with each other. The goal is to help 

students see how different local schools 

are covering the news in their community. 

Seeing this as a gap to fill, Palomino 

created an online magazine called 314 In 

Focus where any journalism student can 

post their stories that were published in 

their school newspapers. 

“I know at my high school we have (our 

student newspaper) The Corral, and within 

The Corral, it’s just us,” Palomino said. 

“Sometimes (the newspaper staff) would 

just want to look at other high schools 

for inspiration and it was kind of difficult 

to see how other schools were writing 

because we would be looking at each one 

individually online. So I wanted to create 

something like Netflix and have one place 

where you can find a variety of different 

things without having to be looking around 

everywhere at each school’s website.” 

Palomino said students from Parkway 

Central, Parkway West, Parkway North, 

Kirkwood, Ladue Horton Watkins, Nerinx 

Hall, Webster Groves, Troy Buchanan and 

University City high schools have each 

contributed to 314 In Focus. 

But the ambition didn’t stop there. After 

attending another conference, the Missouri 

Interscholastic Journalism Association’s 

J Day for journalism students, Palomino 

wanted to host his own conference for 

high school students in the St. Louis area 

who are interested in pursuing a career in 

journalism. With the support of his journalism 

advisor, Christine Stricker, and fellow 

Parkway West journalism student Ruthvi 

Tadakamalla, the 314 Media Day conference 

began to take shape. 

Scheduled to start at 10 a.m. on May 21 

at the Missouri History Museum in Forest 

Park, 314 Media Day is free for anyone 

to attend, and features a lineup of speakers 

on different topics, including Toriano 

Porter, a St. Louis native and journalist on 

the editorial board of The Kansas City Star. 

Also featured are Parkway West journalism 

students Elizabeth Franklin, Missouri Student 

Journalist of the Year, and Serena Liu, 

Missouri’s Representative for the 2023 Al 

Neuharth Free Spirit Conference. Palomino 

thanks anonymous donors and a Parkway 

School District grant for funding the 314 

Media Day conference. He said he also 

Diego Perez Palomino at the Missouri 

Interscholastic Journalism Association’s J 

Day. (Photo courtesy of Diego Perez Palomino) 

reached out to the St. Louis Chapter of the 

Society of Professional Journalists to help 

him secure the venue at the history museum. 

Palomino’s journalism teacher, Stricker, 

said she is impressed with his persistence 

and organizational skills in putting the conference 

together. 

“He did so much of the planning on his 

own,” Striker said. “I was just there to be 

like, ‘Yeah, I’ll send that email for you,’ 

but he did 99% of it. He has that passion. 

I know it’s hard to organize a program. It 

can be discouraging, there are times you 

want to give up and he hasn’t, so I’m very 

impressed.” 

Stricker isn’t the only person taking 

notice. Because of his 314 In Focus magazine, 

Palomino was invited to present 

a session at this year’s J Day in March. 

Palomino and fellow student journalist Leo 

Brown led a session on journalism community 

solutions, sharing how students can 

connect journalists in their own community 

or school. 

Palomino credits his love of soccer with 

getting him involved in journalism. 

“I’m from Mexico and soccer is a big 

part of that country’s culture,” Palomino 

said. “It’s something I grew up on. I kind of 

figured I wasn’t going to become a professional 

soccer player, but I wanted to keep 

soccer in my life. So I thought about sports 

journalism, and that kind of just got my 

foot into the door of the newspaper room, 

and then it evolved from that.” 

Stricker describes Palomino as a visionary 

who has a global view when it comes 

to local issues. 

“He’s a curious kid, with a unique view 

of the world,” Stricker said. “I’m excited to 

see how it all plays out. He has huge potential. 

The way he sees things is different 

from other kids. He looks for story ideas 

outside of his bubble. He has big ideas 

and dreams and has the ability to follow 

through with them.” 

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20 I 



Can you hear the pipes? 

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. 

By KATE UPTERGROVE 

Canada’s Celtic Rock Warriors are coming 

to Manchester, which means you’re in for a 

rare treat. 

On Saturday, May 11, the St. Louis Scottish 

Games and Cultural Festival will take 

over Schroeder Park for 12 full hours of 

heavy athletics, sheep-herding, sword fighting, 

dancing competition, kids’ activities, 

kilts and pageantry, food and drink, and a 

wide variety of music, including Canada’s 

Mudmen and one of the largest bagpipe competitions 

in the Midwest. 

But let’s start with the Mudmen, who will 

perform twice – once at 5:15 p.m. and again 

at 7:45 p.m. Boasting an impressive 26-year 

career, brothers Sandy and Rob Campbell 

are known for high-octane performances 

that combine impressive bagpipe skills with 

rock chops. Together with Colin Amey, Andy 

Gingerich, Alex Showdra and Emmett Glancie, 

they are the Mudmen. 

The Mudmen take the stage at 5:15 p.m. on May 

11. (Used with permission) 

Maybe you’ve heard the band before. Its 

music has been featured in Xbox and Play- 

Station video games, on the HBO series 

“Shameless” and in other noteworthy performances. 

As Sandy points out, other artists like AC/ 

DC and Paul McCartney have had No. 1 hits 

that featured bagpipes, but only the Mudmen 

put pipes in every song. The group has 

guested or opened for rock bands ZZ Top, 

The Guess Who and Loverboy to name a few 

as well as The Irish Rovers, The Chieftains 

and Scottish tenor John McDermott. 

Since the 18th century, the great Highland 

bagpipe has been considered an instrument 

of war, with regiments using pipers to lead 

them into battle, hence the Mudmen’s “rock 

warriors” nickname. Today, the grandeur of 

pipe and drum bands continues to inspire 

audiences at festivals such as those at the St. 

Louis Scottish Games. 

On May 11, bagpipe enthusiasts can listen 

to solo and quartet competitions in the morning, 

then, sit back, relax (with some authentic 

Scottish food, of course) and enjoy the fanfare 

of pipe bands competing in a champion 

supreme event sanctioned by The Midwest 

Pipe Band Association. 

At press time, 10 pipe bands had registered 

to compete for over $12,000 in prize money. 

“The neat part about a large band entry is 

that all of the competing bands will perform 

together in the closing ceremony in what is 

known as the ‘Massed Bands,’” explained 

acclaimed St. Louis piper Matt Pantaleoni. 

“It’s a very moving experience and, for 

many spectators, the highlight of the day’s 

activities.” 

The pipe band competition begins at 2 

p.m. on the Bill Nicoll Memorial Ceremonies 

Field. That’s also where spectators can 

witness: 

• Opening Ceremonies at 9:15 a.m., followed 

by Highland Mist Scottish country 

dancing at 9:30 a.m. 

• Sheep Herding Demonstrations at 10 am. 

and 3:30 p.m. 

• Parade of Tartans, featuring all 

assembled Scottish clans at noon. 

• First Responders Tug-of-War at 

1 p.m. 

• Awards Ceremony, Massed Pipe 

Band performance and Farmers’ Walk 

at 4:30 p.m. 

Entertainment on the Alex Sutherland 

Memorial Stage begins at 10 a.m. 

and continues throughout the day, culminating 

with the final Mudmen concert 

beginning at 7:45 p.m. Featured 

acts include folk music by Peat Fire 

Flame, Jamie McGeechan, The Wee 

Heavies, Mitzi MacDonald and Keltic 

Reign, and a performance by Shilleligans 

Celtic Music Duo. 

Sword-fighting demonstrations take place 

at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the Legion of Honor 

area. 

Kids can join in the fun with activities just 

for them from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. 

Admission is $25 for adults aged 18 and 

older and $10 for youths aged 13-17. Children 

age 12 and younger are free. Tickets 

should be purchased in advance at stlouisscottishgames.com. 

Beginning at 5 p.m., entrance to the festival 

grounds for the evening concerts is free. 

General parking is available at Parkway 

South High, 801 Hanna Road; Hanna Woods 

Elementary, 720 Hanna Road; The Journey 

West County Church, 625 Meramec Station 

Road; and Community Christian Church, 

623 Meramec Station Road. Complementary 

trolley transportation will be available to and 

from the Schroeder Park festival grounds. 

Accessible parking only will be available in 

Schroeder Park.

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West St. Louis County Chamber hosts 

inaugural Home & Garden Expo 

Best 

THE 



I 23 

in Steaks, Seafood, Pasta 

& Mediterranean Cuisine 

(Source: Adobe Stock) 

On Saturday, May 18, from 9 a.m.-2 

p.m., area homeowners and garden enthusiasts 

will have the chance to meet with 

local garden shops, home improvement 

companies, interior design experts and 

more at the West St. Louis County Chamber 

of Commerce’s inaugural Home & 

Garden Expo. 

Held at the Greensfelder Recreation 

Complex in Queeny Park, 550 Weidman 

Road, this free event offers something for 

everyone – including a coloring station 

for kids and light refreshments courtesy of 

Eureka Contracting and Roofing. In a nod 

to the expo’s commitment to sustainability 

and community greening, the Missouri 

Department of Conservation will give 

away 700 tree saplings – one per household 

– while supplies last. 

That’s not the only chance to take 

home something free and fabulous. Every 

vendor at the expo will host a drawing for 

a prize package valued at $50, providing 

plenty of chances for attendees to win 

something special. The event’s manageable 

size ensures that visitors can have 

meaningful conversations with vendors, 

making it easier to find answers to specific 

home and garden questions. If an 

attendee has a query that isn’t addressed, 

the Chamber’s booth will be ready to help, 

directing visitors to other Chamber members 

who can provide further assistance. 

When asked about the motivation behind 

the Home and Garden Expo, Chamber 

President and CEO Lori Kelling said, “At 

the heart of our Chamber’s mission is the 

goal to forge strong bonds between our 

community and local businesses. This 

expo offers a prime, cost-effective platform 

for these connections to flourish. By 

designing the event to be accessible and 

appropriately scaled, we ensure that both 

vendors and attendees can engage deeply 

and meaningfully. It’s the ideal setting 

to nurture relationships and unlock new 

opportunities within our region.” 

All attendees will also receive a complimentary 

copy of the Chamber’s West 

County Home & Garden Magazine. This 

magazine is packed with valuable information 

and articles from vendors, offering 

insights and ideas for attendees to take 

home, further enhancing the experience of 

the expo, according to Kelling. 

“We believe this expo will showcase 

the best our local businesses have to offer 

and foster lasting relationships within 

the community,” Kelling said. “We’re 

proud to have Ballwin Tree Service as the 

expo’s title sponsor. Their support helps 

underscore the importance of local business 

collaboration in enhancing community 

living spaces.” 

For more details about the West 

County Home & Garden Expo, including 

an up-to-date list of exhibitors, visit 

westcountychamber.com or contact the 

Chamber office via email at info@westcountychamber.com. 

Don’t miss the Home & Garden Expo 

presented by the West St. Louis County Chamber of Commerce 

and Ballwin Tree Service 

Saturday, May 18 • 9 a.m.-2 p.m. 

Greensfelder Center in Queeny Park, 550 Weidman Road 

Free admission • Free parking 

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314.878.4449 • 1054 N. Woods Mill • Chesterfield

26 I SCHOOLS I 

BULLETIN 

BOARD 

Growing leaders at 

LaSalle Springs 

Students in Ryan Giesing’s eighth-grade 

class at LaSalle Springs Middle will soon 

benefit from the generosity of Eureka High 

grad Nicholas Weaver. 

Weaver, a third-year law student at Saint 

Louis University (SLU) recently earned 

the SLU Law Award for Community Service 

and a $1,000 prize, which he immediately 

donated to Giesing. 

“I know how much effort Mr. Giesing 

and other Rockwood teachers put into their 

classroom, the extra time and effort they 

put in,” Weaver said. “I thought, if I could 

win the award and transfer that money over 

to them, they could do a lot of good work 

with it. LaSalle Springs is an awesome 

place. I love the teachers and principals 

here, and I think they’re doing really good 

work. I’m hoping that being an influence to 

this school, then it can be an influence to 

everyone around us and, hopefully, there’s 

a chain reaction after that.” 

Weaver and Giesing first met in the hallways 

of LaSalle Springs as middle school 

students. After graduating from Eureka 

High, Giesing studied education and Weaver 

studied law. For the past three years, they 

have partnered to offer a Leadership Club to 

eighth-graders at LaSalle Springs. 

The Leadership Club, which meets each 

Friday, is composed of nearly 20 students 

selected by their teachers. Weaver leads 

them through standards-based leadership 

lessons developed with tenets from 



Geggie Elementary fourth- and fifth-graders tested out their athletic 

abilities during the Geggie Olympics on Monday, April 15. Students 

engaged in nine different events, including the 50-yard dash, standing 

broad jump, 4x50 relay race, long and triple jump, javelin throw, softball 

throw, mile relay and scooter relay. 

Street Law, a national civics organization 

dedicated to community outreach. Weaver 

serves as the president of the SLU Street 

Law chapter. 

“We run them through leadership camp, 

basically,” Giesing said. “Some of our earliest 

lessons are about students finding out 

what they’re good at and determining how 

they can contribute to the group.” 

In addition to leadership lessons, the 

students also take the lead in planning and 

running all-school assemblies at the end of 

the fall and spring semesters. 

“Our main goal is getting these kids who 

are very different – with very different lives 

and competencies – together to work on an 

awesome product in the end,” Giesing said. 

Olympic bobsled pilot 

visits Marquette High 

Last month, Marine Cpt. Riley Tejcek 

spoke to students at Marquette High about 

leadership and not being afraid to set – and 

achieve – lofty goals for themselves. 

Tejcek is a former Divison I softball 

player and current Team USA bobsled 

pilot who hopes to become the first activeduty 

female Marine Olympian at the 2026 

Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. 

Whitfield chooses 2024-25 

Glassman Leaders 

Whitfield School freshmen Kamiyah 

Jones and Kayla Sellers have been selected 

as Glassman Leaders for the 2024-2025 

academic year. Jones and Sellers were 

chosen because they embody the spirit of 

leadership, dedication and excellence that 

the Glassman program seeks to foster. 

Jones has demonstrated her leadership 

abilities through her involvement in various 

extracurricular activities, including 

@WESTNEWSMAG 


dance, Cooking Club, Student Council, 

and the Black Student Union. Her recent 

completion of coursework with the University 

of Missouri-St. Louis Bridge Program 

reflects her commitment to academic 

excellence and personal growth. 

Sellers has shown remarkable dedication 

as a multi-season student-athlete, balancing 

her coursework with her participation 

in the golf, basketball and soccer teams. 

Her ability to excel both academically and 

athletically is commendable and serves as 

motivation to her peers. 

The Glassman Leaders program, established 

by Whitfield alumnus Robert Glassman 

and currently in its fourth year, aims 

to empower emerging upper-school student 

leaders with essential leadership and 

public speaking skills. 

Through this program, Jones and Sellers 

will have the opportunity to participate in a 

Dale Carnegie leadership course, followed 

by additional public speaking coaching 

from Whitfield faculty and staff. 

River Bend Elementary first-grade student 

Elijah, recently competed in the U.S. Chess 

Federation (USCF) Chess Tournament 

where he played three games, and won 

all of them. He will now receive an official 

chess rating. (Source: River Bend Elementary) 

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I SUMMER CAMPS I 27 

All Star Kids Camp at Chesterfield 

Athletic Club 

16625 Swingley Ridge Rd • Chesterfield 

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All Star Kids Camp at Chesterfield Athletic Club for ages 5-12, features 

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and recreational facilities include 15 indoor/outdoor tennis courts, 

pickleball courts, pools, gym, racquetball. CAC’s experienced, engaging 

counselors keep kids active, having fun, building self-confidence and 

developing team spirit. Lunch and snack included. Before and after 

care available. Camp runs May 28-Aug. 9. Siblings get a 10% discount. 

Convenient location and easy access/drop off. Register online, call or 

stop by for more information. 

Camp Mathnasium 

2446 Taylor Road • Wildwood 

(636) 875-1175 • mathnasium.com/Wildwood 

Let your children enjoy fun, educational STEAM activities and catch up, 

keep up or get ahead with their math skills. Camp Mathnasium sessions, 

from June 9 to August 9, are three hours, with one hour for math skills 

and the rest for STEAM activities and strategy games. The math hour will 

feature our world-renowned custom approach where we work from each 

student’s custom learning plans and teach in a way that makes sense! 

Choose from dozens of activities including maze coding, game theory 

and slime. Early enrollees save $100. 

Celebrating over 50 years! 

Boarding ~ Sales 

Camps ~ Clinics 

Year Round ~ Lessons ~ Shows 

Summer Camps 

June 13 & 29 • July 13 & 18 

Advanced Clinic 

June 19, 20 & 21 

Intermediate Camp 

August 15 & 16 

Come See Our Horse Shows 

June 1 & 2 • July 27 & 28 

September 28 & 29 

1410 Ridge Road • Wildwood 

(636) 527-3624 

www.ridgefieldarena.com 

Countryside 

Montessori School 

12226 Ladue Road 

Creve Coeur 

Summer Camp 

Give Your Child a 

Summer to Remember 

June 3 rd -August 9 th 

Ages 3-5 

Daily Pony Rides 

Montessori Activities 

Arts & Crafts 

Daily Swimming 

& Water Play 

Half Day, Full Day & 

Extended Care Available 

Hours: 7:00am - 5:30pm 

Email jmhanser@aol.com 

for registration materials! 

www.montessori4children.com 

Countryside Montessori School 

12226 Ladue Road • Creve Coeur 

(314) 434-2821 • montessori4children.com 

In business for 60 years, Countryside Montessori School offers a 10- 

week summer program, comprised of five 2-week sessions, for children 

ages 1 to 5. Each child will enjoy Montessori theme-based activities, arts 

and crafts, daily pony rides, swimming instruction/water play and more. 

Hours are 8:15 a.m.-noon (snack included) or 8:15 a.m.-3:15 p.m. (lunch 

and two snacks included). The camps also offer a full, extended day 

program from 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Summer camp dates are June 3 through 

Aug. 9. Summer openings are available for children ages 3 to 5. Call for 

registration materials. 

Living Word Church 

17315 Manchester Road • Wildwood 

(636) 821-2800 • livingwordumc.org 

Living Word Church is hosting a scuba-themed Vacation Bible School, 

June 24-28, for kids ages 4 (by July 31, 2024) through entering 5th grade 

in the fall of 2024. Campers will arrive each day at 9 a.m. for music, 

games, snacks and fun! Kids always walk away having learned great 

stories, made great friends, and created great memories about a God 

who loves and cares about them. For more information or to sign up, visit 

livingwordumc.org/news.

28 I SUMMER CAMPS I 



Nature’s impact: benefits of time spent outdoors 

@WESTNEWSMAG 



In a digital age where screens dominate 

young lives, the mental and physical benefits 

of being outdoors is more important 

now than ever. Mental health experts tend 

to agree that being outside is good for overall 

health. The National Institute of Health 

published a study in 2018 that showed, in 

addition to other benefits, simply being 

outdoors lowered stress hormone levels in 

individuals. Nicole Buesse, LPC, a mental 

health counselor in Wildwood, agrees and 

said she encourages her patients to spend 

time outside to help with anxiousness. 

“In the society that we live in today with 

so much technology, we really are inside a 

lot more than we ever have been,” Buesse 

said. “It’s good for kids to get out of their 

rooms; open their blackout curtains. It’s 

good for kids to see some sunlight.” 

Buesse said just 20 minutes a day outdoors 

can have profound effects on mental 

health. The time doesn’t even need to be 

spent exercising because the benefit of sunlight 

is enough, she said. Vitamin D comes 

from sunlight exposure and Buesse mentioned 

that as people age they can become 

deficient in the vitamin due to spending less 

time in the sun. Vitamin D has been found 

to have several health benefits including 

improving mood, strengthening bones and 

improving heart health. 

“Obviously more is great, but if you can 

fit in 20 minutes, you’re in a really good 

spot for promoting overall mental health,” 

Buesse said. “I would say in addition to 

that, if you can, do any sort of exercise 

outside. And by exercise I don’t mean it 

has to be something super strenuous. But 

even just doing some walking is something 

that increases your heart rate and increases 

your blood flow so that you are processing 

stress hormones better and increasing dopamine 

levels in your body, promoting overall 

improved health.” 

For kids who are resistant to spending 

time outdoors, Buesse recommends starting 

with short amounts of time, increasing it 

gradually each day. Another tip from Buesse 

is that parents can lead by example. Parents 

can make spending time outdoors a family 

activity that everyone does together each 

day. During the summer when kids might be 

left home alone during the day while parents 

are working, Buesse recommends making 

going outdoors in the evening a routine. 

“It’s good to have it as a family activity 

when parents get home from work,” Buesse 

said. “As parents ourselves, we need to get 

outside and need to have some positive 

mental health promotion in our own bodies. 

And to have that shared time with our kiddos 

as well can be really impactful. It’s not just 

about the kids, but also as parents we need 

to keep our mental health and struggle in 

mind as well.” 

One reason kids resist going outdoors 

is because when they watch a screen they 

don’t have to be creative to entertain themselves, 

Buesse explained. There are almost 

unlimited amounts of entertainment available 

when it comes to screen time. 

“There’s more competition for their attention,” 

Buesse said. “Video games are fun. 

There’s a lot of programming that kids 

can watch online. So (going outside) is not 

always the first thing they think of to do, but 

usually once you get them outside they do 

have fun. And they get to use their imagination 

and create their own entertainment, as 

opposed to having it just presented to them.” 

Time outside can be as simple as going 

for a walk around the neighborhood or playing 

in a sprinkler on a hot summer evening. 

Another option is signing children up for 

an outdoor summer camp. Outdoor camps 

give children of all ages the opportunity to 

unplug and reconnect with nature. 

Tracy Bono, of St. Charles County, is a 

(Adobe Stock photo) 

mom of three and is passionate about getting 

kids back into nature. She has been a 

Missouri Master Naturalist for five years 

and worked in field development for the 

Greater St. Louis Region Boy Scouts of 

America last year. She said she began working 

for Scouts because of her passion for its 

mission. Bono’s youngest son is autistic and 

loves the outdoors. 

“I noticed that being outside and having 

nature-based play and learning for him has 

been huge,” Bono said. “He’s so much more 

regulated and develops skills from the outdoors 

that he can’t in a classroom. Many 

times children who were troublemakers in 

the classroom became leaders in nature.” 

Central to Bono’s efforts is scouting, a 

structured yet adventurous platform that 

See CAMPS, next page 

Ages 5-12 

May 28 - Aug. 9 

9am - 3pm 

Lunch & Snack Included. 

Before/After Care available. 

Activities: 

• Tennis 

• Swimming 

• Tae Kwon Do 

• Soccer 

• Basketball 

• Volleyball 

• Zumba 

• Arts & Crafts 

Summer Membership Available 

Memorial Day to Labor Day Only $595* 

*plus tax 

Register online: ChesterfieldAthleticClub.com/kids-camp 

16625 Swingley Ridge Road 

Chesterfield, MO 63017 

ChesterfieldAthleticClub.com



Ridgefield Arena 

1410 Ridge Road • Wildwood 

(636) 527-3624 s• www.ridgefieldarena.com 

Celebrating over 50 years in business, Ridgefield Arena is a wonderful 

horse facility with beautiful grounds and amenities including three lighted 

arenas (one indoors for all-year riding), six wash racks, tack room, bridle 

trails, viewing patios and a lounge to watch the indoor ring. In the winter, 

Ridgefield is heated. They offer horse boarding, sales and a great riding 

academy. Summer camps, horse clinics and shows are scheduled. Spring 

Break Camp is March 16. Summer Camps are June 13, 29, July 13 and 18. 

The Advanced Clinic is June 19-21. Intermediate Camp is Aug. 15-16. Horse 

Shows are April 27-28, June 1-2, July 27-28 and Sept. 28-29. For details, call 

or visit the website. 

STAGES St. Louis 

1023 Chesterfield Parkway East • Chesterfield 

(636) 449-5775 • StagesStLouis.org 

STAGES Performing Arts Academy offers an exciting variety of musical 

theatre camps, workshops and productions for students of all ages and 

abilities. Act, dance and sing all summer long while learning new skills 

and techniques. Classes include Musical Minis, Improv, Act It Out, 

Musical Theatre Exploration, Ace Your Audition and more! And don’t 

miss out on the Broadway Performance Workshops of Disney’s “Frozen 

Kids,” “13: The Musical Jr.,” “Madagascar Jr.” and the new musical, 

“Between The Lines.” It’s all at STAGES Performing Arts Academy this 

summer. Register today at www.stagesstlouis.org/summer or call 636- 

449-5775. 

St. Louis Learning Disabilities Association 

13537 Barrett Parkway Drive, Ste. 110 • Ballwin 

(314) 966-3088 • www.ldastl.org 

St. Louis Learning Disabilities Association, Inc. is a non-profit 

organization dedicated to enhancing the understanding and acceptance 

of learning disabilities. They provide a comprehensive range of services 

and academic tutoring programs to children with learning disabilities 

and/or ADHD, learning differences and Asperger’s Syndrome, as well as 

their parents and teachers. Their onsite learning specialists are certified 

in special education and are highly experienced in helping each child 

adapt to their specific abilities so they can learn, develop, and achieve 

their goals. To learn more about summer programs and options for each 

child’s needs, visit ldastl.org. 



I SUMMER CAMPS I 29 

St. Louis Learning Disabilities Association 

changes the lives of children from preschool through college ! 

We can help your child! 

We offer the following services... 

• Tutoring 

• Testing 

• ACT/SAT Prep 

• Educational Coaching & More 

Call today at 314-966-3088 

or visit www.ldastl.org 

Grades 2 - 8 • June 9 - August 9 • 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

Make it a Mathnasium Summer 

Now Enrolling! 

Mathnasium of Wildwood 

(636) 875-1175 

mathnasium.com/wildwood 

CAMPS, from previous 

instills leadership, resilience and a deep 

connection to nature. She said just two 

years of scouting can positively impact a 

child’s life, equipping them with skills and 

experiences that pave the way for success. 

Through sponsorships and outreach programs, 

Bono said Scouts ensure that children 

who may not otherwise have access 

are able to participate, breaking barriers and 

building stronger communities. 

“I always say, think about some of the 

best memories of your childhood. I bet 

they were an outside experience,” Bono 

said. “Building a fort or playing in a creek. 

Outdoor play creates executive functioning 

skills that are superior to classroom learning. 

We are missing this when it comes to more 

child-led, nature-based activities.” 

Bono believes that children should be 

allowed to experiment and play how they 

want, and even fail sometimes, learning from 

that experience without adult intervention. 

“So much of what Scouting does is childled, 

Scout-led,” Bono said. “We will give 

opportunities, but you are in charge of your 

choices. Opportunities to try new things help 

kids figure out where they fit in this world.” 

While Bono admits that she believes there 

is a place for electronics in the world, she 

believes more emphasis should be placed 

on nature. 

“It’s an idea of empowering our youth and 

getting them reconnected with the natural 

world because it’s not separate from us,” 

Bono said. “We are instilling a sense of 

empowerment into our children. They can 

be responsible for themselves, and make 

valuable contributions to our society.”

30 I SPORTS I 



@WESTNEWSMAG 


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The Lafayette Lancers are state bowling champions. (Source: West County Lanes) 

SPORTS 

BRIEFS 

By WARREN MAYES 

High school girls basketball 

Julie Matheny is serious about her job as 

the varsity basketball coach at St. Joseph’s 

Academy. She’s less serious about herself. 

“I’m too young to retire,” Matheny 

quipped. 

But Matheny, who lives in Des Peres, is 

stepping down after coaching the Angels for 

33 years. She became head coach in 1999 

after working as the junior varsity coach and 

assistant varsity coach beginning in 1992. 

The numbers tell the story of her success. 

Matheny has 518 victories, 17 of which 

were district championships and 10 were 

Final Four appearances. Add in a Class 5 

Missouri state title in 2004, which came 

with a 56-44 victory over Hickman. Finally, 

there was induction into the Missouri Basketball 

Hall of Fame. 

Matheny’s twin brother, Bob Goessling, 

who has been with her for the entire 

33-year run, and assistant coach Tim Stock, 

who has been with them for the past 17 

years, will also be retiring. 

The Angels completed a 21-7 season in 

March. In post-season play, St. Joseph’s 

lost to state champion Incarnate Word 

Academy in Class 6 District 3. 

Matheny said she liked the fact that 

everything is in a good place. She is not 

retiring from her full-time job as vice president 

of corporate sales for TravelPlex. 

She said coaching for her alma mater 

(class of ‘79) has worked out well. 

Angels’ assistant coach Bob Goessling, 

head coach Julie Matheny and assistant 

coach Tim Stock 

(Source: SJA) 

“We’ve always had the administration 

behind us,” Matheny said. “I got to spend 

time with my twin brother. We knew the 

reputation at St. Joseph’s Academy and we 

knew it’s been our responsibility to have 

our student-athletes perform to their highest 

capability … and be champions on and 

off the floor. 

“I have too many players to count. That’s 

a blessing. The highest highlight for me is 

when players return after their first year of 

college or come to a tournament and say 

hello. That means a lot. I get a lot of Christmas 

cards. They’ve kept me young.” 

As for her retirement plans, Matheny 

said her plans are to be determined. 

“It’s an honor to be a coach … The parents 

trusted their kids with us in this program,” 

Matheny said. “The kids want to be challenged 

and be developed. I’m the lucky one. 

It’s been a fabulous, unbelievable ride.” 

High school boys golf 

The Priory varsity golf team scored a 

first-place finish in the Blue Division at the 

Columbia Classic golf tournament. 

Junior Eddie Rothery sparked the Ravens 

with a round of 74. 

High school boys tennis 

Priory junior John Varley, the defending 

Class 3 singles champion, won the No. 1 

singles championship in the Metro League 

Tournament played at Westminster Christian 

Academy. 

In the semifinal match, Varley topped 

Principia’s Drew Bosman 8-1. In the championship 

match, he scored an 8-3 victory 

over MICDS’ Jai Patel. 

In the No. 2 singles bracket, Arjun Puri, 

of MICDS, won the championship with an 

8-1 victory over Noah Suthar, of Westminster 

Christian Academy. 

MICDS won the championship in No. 3, 

4 and 5 singles. Owen Kizer finished first 

in No. 3 singles with an 8-3 win over Jerry 

Chang, of John Burroughs. At No. 4, Max 

Padratzik defeated John Burroughs’ Evan 

Tang 8-1. Louis Niemeyer captured the No. 

5 singles title with an 8-3 win over Qadir 

Thompson, of John Burroughs. 

High school boys water polo 

The Parkway Central Colts made it backto-back 

championships in the Founder’s 

Cup water polo tournament. 

The Colts won all five matches in the 

event held at Ladue High. 

“We’ve had a solid start to the season,” 

coach Andrew Schonhoff said. 

Parkway Central opened with a 14-2 win 

over University City and then scored an 

18-4 victory over host Ladue. In the quarterfinal 

match, the Colts scored a 15-3 decision 

over CBC. In the semifinals, Parkway 

Central defeated Parkway West 15-4. That 

set up the championship match against 

Kirkwood. Parkway Central won 17-6. 

“I think our biggest advantage going into 

this game was our conditioning,” Schonhoff 

said. “It was the third game of the day, 

and our guys still had plenty to give. Once 

again, we were able to start off strong in 

the first quarter and set the tone for the rest 

of the game.” 

The Colts celebrated briefly after winning 

the tournament but did not overdo 

it. Schonhoff said he was happy to see his 

athletes enjoying the moment. 

“It can be a long season, so it’s always 

encouraging to have some mini celebrations 

mid-season,” Schonhoff said. “Our 

entire team played great defense led by 

goalie Ian Conway and center defender 

Daniel Richmann. The offense was led by 

seniors Tyler Bryant, Will Jost and sophomore 

Peyton Dimmock. All three of them 

each had 17 goals over that weekend.” 

Conway, a senior, made 43 saves in the 

tournament while allowing just 17 goals. 

He has been the Missouri Water Polo Wil 

Edens defensive player of the year the last 

two seasons and will continue to play in 

college at Wagner College, a private institution 

in Staten Island, New York. 

The Colts are the defending Missouri 

Water Polo District champions. Parkway 

Central defeated the St. Louis University 

High Junior Billikens 19-11 last spring for 

its first championship. 

High school bowling 

Lafayette High, under the direction of 

coaches Jen and Derek Bader, has claimed 

the state championship title in bowling. 

Eureka High came in eighth out of the 22 

participating teams. 

The tournament was held at West County 

Lanes, located at 15727 Manchester Road 

in Ellisville. 

College signings 

The last national college letter of intent 

signing period finds these local athletes 

making their choice of what to attend college: 

CHAMINADE: Baseball – Carter





I SPORTS I 31 

Mercer to Rhodes College, Elliot Meyers 

to Culver Stockton College, Seamus 

O’Grady to Central Methodist University 

and Cal Ramthun to Rockhurst University; 

Football – Jackson Otto to Rhodes 

College and Kyle Russell to Illinois College; 

Swimming – Trey Cunneen and 

Matthew Judkins to University of Missouri; 

Track and Field – Grant Coughlin 

to Xavier University 

EUREKA: Soccer – Izzy Kiser to William 

Woods University; Lacrosse – Nathan 

Bridges to University of Indianapolis, 

Andrew Parker to Columbia College, 

Ximena Prieto to Ohio Wesleyan University, 

Kaitlin Reis to Alma College and 

Andrew Stubblefied to Ottawa University; 

Track & Field – Amyah Colyer to Hannibal-LaGrange 

University; Rodeo – Tori 

Moore to Missouri Valley College 

LAFAYETTE: Cross Country and Track 

and Field – Jack Robeson to Saint Louis 

University; Water Polo – Noah Schott to 

McKendree University 

PARKWAY NORTH: Basketball – 

Eli Trintinger to Lindenwood; Softball 

– Rachel Ross to Kaskaskia College and 

Raina Ross to Kaskaskia College; Tennis 

– Yvonne Shannon to Missouri Baptist; 

Football – Keylland Mitchell to Missouri 

Southern University, Anthony Thompson 

to University of Central Missouri and 

Henry Mohrmann to Washburn University; 

Track and Field – Mark Stovall to 

Maryville University; Alex Shields to Missouri 

Baptist University and Kalina Zheleva 

to Truman State University; Wrestling 

– Tyler Jones to Benedictine College 

PARKWAY SOUTH: Swimming – 

Carter Crook to Missouri State University; 

Olympic Weightlifting – Josh Copeland to 

Lindenwood University; Track and Field/ 

Cross Country – Sam Gleason to Maryville 

University; Swimming – Jeremiah Koenig 

to University of the Cumberlands; Wrestling 

– Jack Koerber to Avila University 

and Taya Stanford to Carthage College 

PARKWAY WEST: Golf – Kylie Secrest 

to Truman State; Football – Kyle Parini to 

Murray State; Softball – Makenzie Brown 

to Principia College; Water Polo – Ben 

Livak to Long Island University-Brooklyn; 

Diving – Jacob Gordan to University of 

Wisconsin-Osh Kosh; Volleyball – Isaac 

Allgeyer to Missouri Baptist University 

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN 

ACADEMY: Football – Josh Avery to 

Truman State University and Chris Heard 

to Wartburg College; Baseball – Harrison 

Bailey to Wheaton College, Cameron 

Schlegl to Westminster College and Hunter 

Cunningham to Rockhurst University; Volleyball 

– Lexi Frazier to William Jewell 

College; Field Hockey – Hannah Lawson to 

Concordia University Wisconsin; Lacrosse – 

Corinne Plumb to Calvin University 

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32 I SPORTS I 

By WARREN MAYES 



Eureka’s Madison Pyatt believes in the 

old adage that if at first you don’t succeed, 

try and try again. Good wisdom for someone 

just 9 years old and in the fourth grade 

at Geggie Elementary. That mindset has 

taken her a long way. 

“My dad (Travis Pyatt) told me about DCP 

(Drive, Chip & Putt) and I was hooked from 

the start,” said Madison. “My first year, two 

years ago when I was 7, I made it to the third 

qualifying at Medinah Country Club in Chicago, 

but sadly I didn’t make it to Augusta 

that year. Last year was similar and I didn’t 

go all the way.” 

She never gave up. She wanted her dream 

to come true. 

Madison, who plays at the Country Club 

at the Legends, achieved her dream in her 

third attempt at the Drive, Chip & Putt competition. 

It’s conducted in partnership with the 

Masters Tournament, USGA and the PGA 

of America. Drive, Chip & Putt is a free 

youth golf development initiative for junior 

golfers of all skill and ability levels, aimed 

at sparking a lifelong interest in the game. 

The 80 regional winners across the four 

age divisions (40 boys and 40 girls) earned 

a trip to Augusta National Golf Club to participate 

in the 10th Drive, Chip & 

Putt National Finals. 

Madison was one of the girls 

who earned a spot in the finals, 

and was confident heading in. 

“This year was different,” Madison 

said. “I knew I was going to 

win from the start.” 

Her intuition proved correct. 

Madison won the girls 7-9 championship 

in the 10th annual Drive, 

Chip & Putt National Finals at 

Augusta National. She finished 

first with 25.5 points out of a 

possible 30. Adelyn Owen, the 

second-place finisher from Cornith, 

Texas, had 23 points. 

“Madison has tremendous balance 

and weight transfer, helping 

her hit long drives and her short 

game is incredible,” Travis said. 

“This event really speaks to her strengths.” 

Points were awarded in three individual 

skill categories (driving, chipping and putting), 

with the winner in each skill receiving 

10 points, second place receiving nine 

points, and so on, all the way down to one 

point. The player with the most points following 

all three competitions was declared 

the overall winner of the age group. 

For the drive portion, the better of two 

distances was used to determine the score. 

Each golfer then took two chips; the closest 

cumulative distance to the hole determined 

the winner. Players then moved to Augusta 

National’s 18th green where they attempted 

two putts – from 15 and 30 feet – and used 

the cumulative distance from the hole to 

determine the score. 

Madison started off strong as she earned 

first place in the driving discipline with a 

@WESTNEWSMAG 


Eureka’s Pyatt wins Drive, Chip & Putt competition at Augusta National 

Madison Pyatt with her family at Augusta: (from left) her father, Travis; 

her mother Holly; sister, Kennedy; and grandmother, Sharon. 

(Mackenzie Myers/Gateway PGA photo) 

distance of 198.7 yards, followed 

by a tie for third in chipping 

with a total of 15 feet, 3 inches. 

When put to the test on the green, 

Madison’s second putt was within 

three feet of the hole, securing the 

overall victory. 

“This is the best thing for me, 

ever. I’ve tried for three years,” 

Madison said. “I’ve practiced so 

hard, and now it’s finally paid off.” 

The game is fun for Madison, 

who said she started playing competitively 

when she was 4 1/2. 

“I like spending time with my 

dad, laughing and having fun on 

the course,” Madison said. 

Travis enjoys spending time 

with his daughter. He got her 

involved when he purchased her 

first metal club at the age of 3. 

“We would aim at trees and metal trash 

cans from close range to get immediate 

feedback and we slowly moved the targets 

out,” Travis said. “We’d have races to targets 

further out and eventually she developed 

the swing to hit it further. Jeffrey Field 

(director of golf at Westborough Country 

Club) gave me tremendous insight and told 

See PYATT, page 45 

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Local trail running group highlights natural amenities of West County area 

I 33 

By JEFFRY GREENBERG 

Shalini Bhajjan is blending passion, 

experience and skill into a unique local 

direction. The Delhi, India, native moved 

to the U.S. in the 1990’s and pursued a 

professional career in design and merchandising. 

After working in that field for more 

than a decade in New York, then two years 

in Florida, Bhajjan settled into the Ballwin 

area. 

Since then, Bhajjan’s path took an interesting 

turn. After being a stay-at-home 

mom to three children for a handful of 

years, Bhajjan started running and has kept 

on running. 

But unlike Forrest Gump’s adventures 

along America’s roads, Bhajjan casually 

ran the trails of nearby Castlewood State 

Park around 2011-2012. Shortly thereafter, 

she connected with a group in Wisconsin 

and ran her first 50K ultra trail run. 

“Getting back to St. Louis, I was just 

looking for people to run with,” Bhajjan 

said. “I was throwing out weekly runs, 

and a bunch of us would connect and do 

long Sunday runs at Greensfelder County 

Park and elsewhere. That kind of initiated 

a question, ‘Why aren’t there any races 

here?’ It snowballed from there.” 

Bhajjan connected with United States of 

America Track & Field (USATF). That led 

to the creation of Terrain Trail Runners- 

STL, which combines her talents of not 

only coordinating runs and races, and helping 

work on actual trails plus merchandising 

products for the organization and 

specific races. From there, she directed the 

Ozark Foothills event. 

Bhajjan has been race directing full-time 

for 10 years and currently has 11 events in 

St. Louis. Ten of those events offer races 

ranging from 5K up to 100 miles, and are 

held at different state and county parks. 

Every race showcases different terrain and 

different kinds of trail systems. 

“The 11th event is actually a women’s 

summit, a free community event I host in 

October,” Bhajjan said. “It’s open to all 

female athletes, whether they’re running, 

hiking, cycling or just want to learn more 

about the outdoors and connect with other 

women in the area. I started that with the 

goal to engage women in the outdoors and 

create that safe place for other female athletes.” 

Terrain Trail Runners-STL has brought 

new races to Greensfelder County Park, 

Rockwood Reservations and the Al Foster 

Trail, to name a few local parks. She also 

has a first-ever foot race this year at Babler 

State Park on May 4. It’s a 15K run known 

as Babler Bongo. 

“I run in a lot of races in the United 

States and internationally,” Bhajjan said. 

“I always get the question of where I’m 

from. Everyone has the misconception 

that St. Louis is all just Katy Trail – like 

crushed flat gravel. I wanted to prove that’s 

false. Our trails are not all flat because we 

are at the Ozark foothills. We don’t have 

2,000 and 3,000 feet climbs, but our trails 

are equally challenging. Also, I take pride 

in the accessibility of all our trails, and 

don’t want people to keep saying that just 

because we live in St. Louis, we won’t be 

able to run some of the out-of-town trails. 

My top priority has been showcasing what 

we have and creating routes and events that 

bring in people.” 

Participants in the Ozark Foothills Endurance Run, held at Greensfelder County Park 

(Photo by Elaine Collins) 

Race Director Shalini Bhajjan and speaker Traci Falbo. 

To maintain sustainability, Bhajjan also 

limits race participant numbers to 100-125. 

Ozark Hills is one of the biggest races, 

pulling in 200-250 runners. Bhajjan said 

some 40% of the participants traveled here 

from outside the Greater St. Louis and 

Metro East area for their recent April 5-7 

Ozark Foothills Terrain Trails runs. She 

added, “That’s an introduction into, ‘Hey! 

This is happening in St. Louis!’” 

“Outside of that, I’m heavily involved in 

a lot of trail building and volunteer events,” 

Bhajan said. “One of the initiatives we 

have in place is with Forest ReLeaf. Sustainability 

is a component in a lot of what 

I do in race directing. It’s not just throwing 

out races. It’s a lot of mindfulness of giving 

back to the community and showcasing 

what St. Louis has in our trail systems.” 

The Forest ReLeaf initiative has helped 

plant 44 trees at Route 66 State Park. 

Event registrations for Terrain Trail Runners-STL 

runs offer a question where participants 

can opt out for shirts and other items. 

As Bhajjan notes, if you run in several events, 

getting such merchandise is a redundant 

thing. So, runners can choose to plant a tree 

instead of getting additional apparel. 

“What will happen this year, unless I 

can find an initiative of planting a certain 

number of trees at Greensfelder County 

Park or wherever, I will look at how many 

people opted out of the T-shirt for all of my 

races, and basically take all that money and 

donate to Forest ReLeaf,” Bhajjan said. 

Regarding trail work and maintenance, 

Bhajjan partners with St. Louis County 

Parks and state parks with volunteer projects 

to help maintain trails. She also works 

closely with Gateway Off-Road Cyclists 

(GORC), a nonprofit that also helps maintain 

area trails. 

“It’s not just offering a lot of events, but 

(Photo by Elaine Collins) 

also giving back,” Bhajjan said. “For the 

event I have in February, I donate all the 

funds to GORC for all they do. After all, 

trails don’t maintain themselves, and a lot 

of the parks departments are understaffed. 

So, I’m side-by-side helping them clean 

the trails and do whatever is needed.” 

Terrain Trail Runners-STL is a free 

group, and anyone can join. It’s very active 

on Facebook where the group started and 

where all group runs are posted. The only 

payment is for specific race registration. 

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News & Notes 

By LISA RUSSELL 

AI advancing ALS treatment 

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), 

also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a 

frightening diagnosis. The fatal motor 

neuron disease, characterized by gradual 

degeneration of nerve cells in the spinal 

cord and brain, remains incurable. 

This May, as the U.S. marks ALS Awareness 

Month, development of a potential new 

weapon in the fight against this devastating 

disease is underway … one that exists 

thanks to artificial intelligence technology. 

A drug candidate currently known as 

FB1006 is being advanced as a potential 

new treatment for ALS. The Chinese 

company leading the drug’s development, 

4B Technologies, has already successfully 

completed patient enrollment in an initial 

clinical trial set to begin in August. 

AI technology was utilized in multiple 

stages of the drug’s discovery and development, 

including target identification, 

patient enrollment and efficacy assessment. 

The use of AI enabled the 4B Technologies 

team to significantly shorten the patient 

screening process and complete enrollment 

in less than one year, as well as maximize 

the use of the clinical data. Analysis of the 

trial’s results is expected in February of 

2025. 

Missed opportunities 

to save lives 

Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) 

can be life-savers when someone has an outof-hospital 

cardiac arrest … an emergency 

which happens more than 1,000 times every 

day in the U.S. on average, and is fatal in 

about 90% of cases. When used together 

with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, however, 

an AED – which analyzes the heart’s 

rhythm and delivers electric shock if necessary 

– greatly increases the odds of survival. 

While AEDs are often located nearby 

when cardiac arrests happen, they are very 

seldom used, say University of Missouri – 

Kansas City researchers. And this may be 

because people don’t know where the nearest 

one is located. 

Their recent study analyzed data from 

about 1,800 cardiac arrests that occurred 

either in homes or public places around 

Kansas City from 2019-2022. Despite the 

fact that many of these out-of-hospital cardiac 

arrests occurred within a four-minute 

walk of a public AED, the devices were 

used in only 13 of the cases, or less than 1%. 

“Public AED availability is critical for 

@WESTNEWSMAG 


AED devices are often available close by 

when someone has an out-of-hospital 

cardiac arrest, but they’re almost never 

used – an outcome that can and should 

be changed, say University of Missouri – 

Kansas City researchers. (Adobe Stock photo) 

people to be able to use them in the appropriate 

time and fashion. However, people 

need to know it’s there to be able to use it. 

It’s not sufficient just to have them in the 

right places,” said Mirza S. Khan, M.D., a 

physician and medical informatician at the 

university and the study’s lead author. 

The analysis found that a large majority 

(about 85%) of cardiac arrests occurred at 

home. While someone in the home administered 

CPR in 42% of these cases, an AED 

was never used. Researchers calculated 

that nearly one-quarter of at-home cardiac 

arrests occurred within a four-minute walk 

of a public AED. 

Among the remaining 15% of cardiac 

arrests that occurred in public places, a 

bystander administered CPR in about 40% 

of cases as well, using an AED in only 

7%. Nearly half of these cardiac arrests 

occurred within a four-minute walk of 

an AED. Even in the “optimal” scenario 

where someone administered CPR and an 

AED was accessible nearby, the devices 

were used only about a quarter of the time. 

According to Khan, the study’s findings 

should speed efforts to improve signage 

around AEDs, provide apps or mapping 

tools to help people locate them, and 

increase education and awareness about 

these life-saving devices. 

Hit by a boomerang 

As Americans over age 55 cruise toward 

retirement, millions are running into an 

unexpected financial roadblock: their adult 

children moving back into the family home. 

According to a 2023 Harris Poll, about 45% 

of young adults between the ages of 18 and 

29 now live with their parents, the highest 

percentage recorded since the 1940s. 

Known as the “boomerang” generation, 

these young adults find themselves facing 

extraordinarily high housing and living 

costs, a crushing amount of student debt,





I MATURE FOCUS I 35 

and not enough income to cover it all. As a 

result, they’re forced to move back in with 

mom and dad. 

In many cases, these boomerang kids are 

also forcing their parents to tap into retirement 

savings to support them financially. A 

survey conducted by the personal finance 

company Bankrate last year found that just 

over two-thirds of parents have made or 

are currently making financial sacrifices to 

help their adult children. Nearly 20% said 

they have used retirement savings to do so. 

Even when parents of boomerang kids 

are able to keep their retirement savings 

intact, many are staying in the workforce 

longer than they intended to help them 

pay for these unplanned expenses. A 2023 

report from the National Bureau of Economic 

Research stated that while a “boomerang 

event” doesn’t generally impact 

parents’ long-term wealth, it does increase 

their probability of continuing to work fulltime 

after age 65, especially for men. 

Luckily for parents, though, the data also 

shows that most of these return visits are 

temporary, allowing boomerang kids to get 

back on their feet and get ahead financially. 

For example, more than a quarter of boomerang 

kids who participated in Thrivent 

Financial’s second annual Boomerang Kids 

Survey, also conducted in 2023, said they 

are living with mom and dad in order to 

save money for their own home purchase. 

Interestingly, parents may also be contributing 

to a disconnect between themselves 

and their boomerang offspring by 

failing to communicate with them about 

money. More than three-fourths of parents 

participating in the Thrivent survey said 

they didn’t discuss money management or 

set financial expectations with their adult 

children … and 92% had not set a timeline 

for them to move back out. 

On the calendar 

St. Luke’s Hospital offers an Empowered 

Caregiver Series designed to help 

families living with dementia, beginning 

on Tuesday, May 7 from 6-7 p.m. presented 

online via Zoom. The three-part series will 

also include sessions on May 14 and May 

21. In partnership with the Alzheimer’s 

Association, St. Luke’s experts will discuss 

how caregivers can navigate the responsibilities 

of caring for someone with dementia 

while also caring for their own well-being. 

This free class is intended for family and 

friends caring for a loved with memory loss; 

it is not appropriate for people living with 

memory loss or paid professionals or caregivers. 

Register at stlukes-stl.com. 

• • • 

Join St. Louis Oasis for a group bicycle 

ride, the Chesterfield to Weldon Spring 

Interpretive Center Ride, on Friday, May 

10 beginning at 9:30 a.m. The ride will 

begin on the Monarch Levee Trail from 

the Chesterfield Athletic Center across the 

Missouri Greenway to the Katy Trail and 

Busch Greenway. The group will also visit 

the Weldon Sprint Site Interpretive Center. 

The length of the ride is approximately 18 

miles; there is no cost to participate. Register 

and find more information at st-louis. 

oasiseverywhere.org. 

• • • 

St. Luke’s Hospital presents Coffee and 

Conversations on Wednesday, May 15 

from 10-11 a.m. at the Desloge Outpatient 

Center, 121 St. Luke’s Center Drive, in 

Building A, Conference Room 3. Join us 

monthly for a cup of joe and a conversation 

with St. Luke’s health professionals about 

health and wellness topics. This month’s 

topic is Happy Feet; join a board-certified 

podiatrist to learn more about taking care 

of your feet throughout your life. The program 

is free. Register at stlukes-stl.com. 

• • • 

BJC Missouri Baptist Hospital offers 

Today’s Grandparents classes on Thursday, 

May 23 and Wednesday, June 5 from 

6-8:30 p.m. at the Missouri Baptist Medical 

Center Clinical Learning Institute, 3005 

N. Ballas Road. The course fee is $20 per 

person (each person attending must register 

separately). Register online at classesevents.bjc.org. 

What keeps you 

up at night? 

Let our team of 

registered nurses 

assist you with 

solving your healthcare 

or eldercare worries. 

ACMCare.org 

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Even for young women, having more than one drink per day carries significant 

cardiovascular risks, according to a new study. 

(Adobe Stock photo) 

HEALTH 

CAPSULES 

By LISA RUSSELL 

Siteman offers newly approved 

melanoma treatment 

May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer 

Awareness Month; and while skin cancers 

are the most common cancers diagnosed 

in Americans, melanoma is the deadliest 

of these cancers, claiming close to 10,000 

lives every year. In 2024 alone, well over 

100,000 Americans are expected to be 

diagnosed with melanoma. They will join 

more than a million U.S. adults already 

battling the disease. 

This year, certain patients with melanoma 

receiving treatment at Siteman 

Cancer Center will have early access to a 

promising new therapy. 

Siteman is one of the first cancer treatment 

centers nationwide to offer a newly 

approved cell-based immunotherapy that 

targets advanced melanoma. The therapy is 

for patients with metastatic melanoma that 

can’t be treated with surgery and that has 

continued to grow and spread after other 

approved treatments have failed. 

The immunotherapy drug, called lifileucel, 

received accelerated approval from 

the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 

in February. To receive this type of fasttracked 

approval, treatments must be 

shown to have likely clinical benefits to 

patients, allowing them to access promising 

treatments quickly, even as further 

clinical trials are underway. 

Lifileucel is the first treatment for cancer 

that uses immune cells called tumor-infiltrating 

lymphocytes, or TILs. The therapy uses 

a patient’s own T cells – which are immune 

cells that have already found and infiltrated 

the tumor – in an attempt to kill the cancer. 

Washington University doctors and 

researchers were involved in clinical trials 

that led to the FDA’s fast-tracked approval. 

They also continue to participate in ongoing 

clinical trials investigating TIL therapy 

for patients with advanced lung and cervical 

cancers 

According to the results of an initial clinical 

trial reported in The Journal for ImmunoTherapy 

of Cancer, melanoma tumors 

shrank at least 30% in about a third of 

patients treated with lifileucel. About half of 

the patients whose tumors responded to the 

therapy experienced a remission of at least 

12 months following a single treatment. 

Long-term intermittent fasting 

could harm the heart 

Time-restricted eating, also called intermittent 

fasting, has become an extremely 

popular weight loss method over the past 

several years. About 10% of Americans 

over 18 have tried intermittent fasting 

for some period of time, according to the 

International Food Information Council. 

The simplicity of this diet method is part 

of its appeal. Intermittent fasting involves 

eating only during a shortened window 

of time each day, forcing the body into 

a quasi-fasting state where it burns more 

fat for fuel. The diet has been found to be 

effective for weight loss in many studies, 

while others have pointed to health benefits 

including lower cholesterol and blood 

pressure, improved insulin sensitivity and 

more. 

But the news about intermittent fasting 

is not all good. A recently published longterm 

analysis of more than 20,000 U.S. 

adults found that those who fasted for 16 

hours or more per day were more likely to 

die of cardiovascular disease than peers 

who ate normally over the course of 12-16 

hours per day. 

Key findings of the analysis, which 

spanned a period of between eight and 17 

years, included: 

• People who followed a pattern of eating 

all of their food across less than 8 hours per 

day had a 91% higher risk of death due to 

cardiovascular disease. 

• Among people with existing cardiovascular 

disease, an eating duration of 8-10 

hours per day was also associated with a 

66% higher risk of death from heart disease 

or stroke. 

• Time-restricted eating did not reduce 

the overall risk of death. 

“We were surprised to find that people 

who followed an 8-hour, time-restricted 

eating schedule were more likely to 

die from cardiovascular disease. Even 

though this type of diet has been popular 

due to its potential short-term benefits, 

our research clearly shows that, compared 

with a typical eating time range 

of 12-16 hours per day, a shorter eating 

duration was not associated with living 

longer,” said senior study author Victor 

Wenze Zhong, Ph.D. 

Zhong noted that, although the study 

noted a long-term relationship between 

intermittent fasting and cardiovascular 

death, this doesn’t mean that timerestricted 

eating was the cause. He said its 

findings should encourage a more cautious, 

personalized approach to dieting. 

More than one drink a day 

raises women’s heart risks 

A recent large study suggests that even 

for younger women, averaging more than 

one alcoholic drink per day can significantly 

raise the risk of coronary heart disease. 

Scientists from Kaiser Permanente 

Northern California conducted the analysis 

of more than 430,000 adults between the 

ages of 18 and 65 over a four-year period, 

based on the participants’ self-reported 

average alcohol intake. For women, the 

cutoff line between moderate and heavy 

drinking was seven drinks per week; for 

men, that level was 14 per week. 

They also looked at “binge” drinking 

behavior, defined as three or more drinks 

on one day for women and four for men. 

Although heart disease risk was highest 

among adults who reported binge drinking 

– for both men and women – drinking 

even slightly above average significantly 

increased women’s risk in particular, said 

Jamal Rana, M.D., Ph.D, FACC, a cardiologist 

with the Permanente Medical 

Group. 

“For women, we find consistently higher 

risk even without binge drinking…I wasn’t 

expecting these results among women in 

this lower age group because we usually 

see increased risk for heart disease among 

older women. It was definitely surprising,” 

Rana said. 

Specifically, women who averaged over 

seven drinks per week had a 29% higher 

risk of heart disease compared with those 

who drank up to that amount; and a 45% 

higher risk compared to women who averaged 

two drinks or less per week. Female 

binge drinkers were 68% more likely to 

develop heart disease compared with 

women who drank moderately. 

The study is among the largest and most 

comprehensive to date examining the 

links between alcohol and heart disease, 

which has been rising among younger 

Americans in recent years. At the same 

time, alcohol use and binge drinking have 

become more common among women,



whose bodies process alcohol differently 

than men’s. 

“Women feel they’re protected against 

heart disease until they’re older, but this 

study shows that even when you’re young or 

middle aged, if you are a heavy alcohol user 

or binge drink, you are at risk,” Rana said. 

On the calendar 

BJC St. Louis Children’s Hospital offers 

a Helmet Check event on Saturday, May 

4 from 9:30 a.m.-noon at Parkway Early 

Childhood Center, 14605 Clayton Road in 

Ballwin. Children may bring their own helmets 

to this check by a trained professional. 

Please register each child needing a fitting, 

for $10 each. Register for this free event at 

classes-events.bjc.org. 

• • • 

St. Luke’s Hospital presents Good 

Sleep is a Possible Dream: Steps to 

Sounder Sleep on Thursday, May 9 from 

6:30-8 p.m. at the Desloge Outpatient 

Center, 121 St. Luke’s Center Drive, in 

Classroom 3 of Building A. Attend this 

free class to learn more about sleep, and 

strategies you can use to sleep better. Register 

at slukes-stl.com. 

• • • 

BJC presents a Family and Friends 

CPR virtual course on Wednesday, May 

15 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., live via Teams 

Meeting. This class uses the American 

Heart Association curriculum to teach 

hands-on CPR skills (course does not 

include certification upon completion). 

The cost is $50 for two people. Register 

online by visiting bjc.org/cpr-class. 

• • • 

Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital 

offers a Bariatric Surgery Information 

Session on Monday, May 20 from 5:30- 

6:30 p.m., live via Zoom. Join a Washington 

University bariatric physician to learn 

more about surgical weight loss treatment 

options available at BJC for patients who 

meet certain criteria. To register, visit 

classes-events.bjc.org. 

• • • 

Be Still to Chill: Basics of Meditation 

is on Wednesday, May 22 from noon-1 p.m. 

at St. Luke’s Hospital’s Desloge Outpatient 

Center, 121 St. Luke’s Center Drive in 

Chesterfield, in Classroom 3 of Building A. 

Attend this free program to learn the basics 

of meditation and many tips to support your 

practice. Register at stlukes-stl.com. 

• • • 

A St. Luke’s Nutrition Class is on Thursday, 

May 23 from 2-3 p.m. at Schnucks Eatwell 

Market, 220 THF Blvd. in Chesterfield. 

A St. Luke’s Hospital dietitian will discuss 

how to find and make healthier choices at 

the grocery store. The registration cost is $5. 

Register at stlukes-stl.com. 

I HEALTH I 37 



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metal shops, from the curriculum. 

There has been a stigma against trade jobs 

that has been hard to shake after decades of 

society prioritizing the four-year degree. 

“I think the lack of workers in trades was 

due to the mindset that college is a must,” 

Schindler said. “There was a point where 

‘for-profit’ schools were popping up all over 

the place and selling false hope to students 

who were probably questioning whether 

college was the right path.” 

Jason Hughes, president of T.R. Hughes 

Homes in St. Charles and the current president 

of the St. Louis Home Builders Association, 

agreed that college is not for everyone, 

and feels more investments should be made 

into industrial tech classes within schools. 

“In my opinion, more investments should be 

made in industrial tech classes in schools. 

College isn’t for everyone,” Hughes said. 

“You can make a very good wage in the 

trades.” 

The home building industry has seen 

wages for residential building workers rise 

significantly over the last several years. 

According to Build My Future, average 

hourly earnings for residential building 

workers were $30.71 per hour in November 

2023, increasing 4% from $29.52 per hour a 

year ago. This was over 14% higher than the 

manufacturing’s average hourly earnings 

of $26.91 per hour and 8.9% higher than 

transportation and warehousing earnings of 

Boosting the skilled trade workforce will 

be especially prioritized as more opportunities 

become available due to federal legislation 

like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 

a U.S. federal statute enacted by Congress 

and signed into law by President Joe Biden 

in 2021, and the CHIPS and Science Act, 

ratified in 2022. 

Hughes believes the reason for the lack 

of interest in the skilled trades of late is a 

combination of two factors coming together 

at once. 

“For a long time, parents and schools have 

been pushing students to get a four-year 

degree, but the trades also have an aging 

workforce,” Hughes said. “We are making 

great headway with the local high schools/ 

tech schools, to get the word out.” 

Vargas believes the shortage is caused 

by both the mass exodus of Baby Boomers 

from the workforce and a misleading 

message given to families for years that a 

four-year college is the only acceptable, 

successful path after high school graduation. 

“The remedy is to continue righting this 

message through the de-stigmatization of 

non-four-year college training opportunities,” 

Vargas said. 

INSTEAD OF 

2 YEARS 

(Conveniently located in Winchester Plaza by St. Louis Bread Co.) 

Vargas and Schindler both agreed that 

through events like Build My Future STL, 

636-230-8081 

students and parents can see many successful 

career pathways previously hidden by 

visit our website: www.ClineDentalGroup.com or call us at 636-230-8081 

428 Old State Road • Ellisville, MO 63021 

Hands-on activities are a big part of the 

event. 

(Photos courtesy of Jeanie Smith) 

mainstream pressures. 

“Many regional high school tech schools 

are out of real estate and seats. Money is 

tighter in public education now more than 

ever, so all the more reason to forge strong 

school-industry partnerships to solve these 

pain points,” Vargas said. 

The pendulum is starting to swing the 

other way, Schindler said. Discussing the 

event with students after the fact shows the 

message about other options is sinking in. 

“As far as being able to tell if Build My 

Future STL is making a difference, I think 

it’s unquestionably yes,” Schindler said. 

“Processing the experience with students 

who attend the event, you can see their faces 

light up when they talk about the options 

opened up to them post-high school.” 

Stefan Sigurdson, owner of Allen Roofing 

& Siding in Ellisville and HBA member 

exhibiting at Build My Future STL, said, 

“This event presents an opportunity for 

students to discuss a career path in the 

trades with representatives from different 

companies and to gain direct insight into 

what each position entails. I believe more 

investment into school trade programs will 

help more students to get excited about 

trade careers. Exposure in high school to 

different trade positions helps create familiarity 

as career options are considered. The 

community can help by creating more 

awareness around Build My Future STL as 

a resource for students evaluating different 

career paths and considering a position in 

the trades.” 

Since the showcase began, Allen Roofing 

& Siding has seen an increase in interest 

in trade jobs, with some translation to fulltime 

hires. 

Hughes says that his company can also 

tell a difference in student interest in trade 

work since Build My Future STL began. 

“We have actually had students hired right 

from the show floor. That is not the norm, 

but it has happened,” Hughes said. 

To learn more about Build My Future 

STL, visit buildmyfuturestl.com.


WEST NEWSMAGAZINE I BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT I 39 

Tips for setting and paying children’s allowances from Neighbors Credit Union 



A well-structured allowance 

can teach children and teens 

valuable money-management 

and decision-making skills, as 

well as the trade-offs for the 

decisions they make. An allowance 

also provides autonomy 

to children and teens – encouraging 

financial independence, 

rather than relying on parents 

or guardians for money. 

There are three types of 

allowance: 

• Fixed or unconditional 

allowance is a set amount at a set interval 

given regardless of circumstances 

(i.e.: $10 per week). The benefit of this 

allowance approach is that it provides 

children with a set amount of money, 

making it easier for them to budget 

and learn financial skills. Plus, it separates 

the allowance money from chores, 

teaching children that chores and 

responsibilities are just a part of life 

(and do not always come with financial 

rewards). 

• Rewards-based allowance rewards 

children for completing household 

chores such as cleaning the kitchen 

or walking the dog or achieving other 

(photo provided) 

objectives (earning a B+ average, for 

instance). The benefits of this approach can 

help teach children the importance of work 

ethic and the consequences of neglecting 

responsibilities. 

• Hybrid allowance combines aspects of 

a fixed and a rewards-based allowance. 

When should you begin giving an 

allowance? A general recommendation is 

to begin giving an allowance between the 

ages of 4 and 6. Of course, the right time 

to give an allowance is when the child 

is ready, as children develop at different 

rates, especially if they have siblings. It’s 

wise to start giving an allowance as soon 

as the child can grasp financial concepts, 

like counting. 

Is there an “ideal” allowance amount? 

A commonly used rule of thumb is giving 

children $1 to $2 per week for each year 

of their age. An allowance should be 

enough that it is meaningful and useful 

but not so much that the child has more 

than needed. The amount will vary based 

on several factors, including the child/ 

teen’s age, financial literacy level, what 

expenses the child/teen has and what 

their parents/guardians do not cover and 

the parents/guardians’ goals for providing 

an allowance. 

Allowance tips: 

• Set the amount and frequency upfront: 

Let your child/teen know how much you’ll 

give in allowance and when and be prepared 

to stick to that schedule. 

• Establish how (if anything) they will 

be expected to spend their money. While 

kids will learn the most by being able to 

decide how to spend their money, you’ll 

also likely still want to put some ground 

rules or expectations in place. 

• Consider digital options for teens with 

cell phones. Transferring their allowance 

to their account will get your teens used to 

checking their balance and managing their 

money digitally – a skill they’ll need as 

we become an increasingly cashless society, 

introducing new methods of sending 

and receiving money. When you pay an 

allowance digitally, you can set it up to 

happen automatically, so you never have 

to worry about remembering to make the 

transaction. 

• Allow your children to make mistakes 

with their money. Resist the urge to 

sweep in and “fix the mistake” by giving 

them extra money. When this occurs, talk 

through the decision, the consequences and 

ways to avoid this from happening again. 

• • • 

The Neighbors Credit Union SMART 

Program is designed to give young savers 

a great financial foundation at every stage 

of growing up through age 22. Visit neighborscu.org 

or call 314-892-5400 for complete 

details. Federally insured by NCUA. 

Neighbors Credit Union serves all those 

who live or work in St. Louis City, St. 

Louis County, St. Charles County and Jefferson 

County (MO) and Madison County, 

Monroe County and St. Clair County (IL). 

Neighbors Credit Union 

14422 Manchester Rd. • Manchester 

314-892-5400 • Neighborscu.org 

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• Summer Camp Opportunities 

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(636) 861-2623 • www.circleofconcern.org


40 I BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT I WEST NEWSMAGAZINE 

Zick’s Great Outdoors – a one-of-a-kind nursery in a beautiful garden 

Flower fanciers, tree huggers, weekend 

farmers and garden gurus will all 

get a warm welcome at Zick’s Great 

Outdoors this spring along with all 

the flowers, shrubs, trees and vegetables 

they need to make their home or 

garden into just a bit of paradise. And 

they’ll get something more too, something 

you can’t buy – the wisdom of 

years with hands in the dirt growing 

things. 

Trained as a horticulturist and working 

for a chemical company, Doug 

Zick left the corporate world nearly 

50 years ago to get back to the earth. 

Beginning with a shovel and a 

truck, Zick began working as a landscaper. 

He first purchased four and a 

half acres at the corner of Clayton and 

Strecker roads as a place to store his 

equipment, but he had a plan for the 

future – a retail nursery. 

Now, in its 42nd year, Zick’s Great 

Outdoors is 12 acres filled with beautiful 

maples, dogwoods, redbuds and 

more, and Zick has realized his vision, 

not only of a retail nursery but of one 

that doubles as a botanical garden that 

provides its visitors with a peaceful 

scenic walk and the knowledge they 

need to grow and care for the flora 

Doug Zick, owner 

(Zick’s Great Outdoors photo) 

they’ve found. 

“I wanted it to be interesting, not just a 

parking lot with plants,” Zick said. “Other 

than the six original trees, everything else 

here, we planted.” 

He said he hopes people will have 

something of a Zen experience. 

“I’m here seven days a week. I want it to 

be calm, and it is a great office,” he said. 

Zick’s Great Outdoors also makes an 

inspiring place for customers to find ideas 

and see how they will work for their own 

home, Zick said. 

“People can come and see the size of 

things, see what they like and what works 

well together,” he said. “From that standpoint, 

hopefully, they will get an education 

rather than just plants for sale.” 

And if the plants and the garden itself 

don’t answer their questions, Zick and his 

experienced staff can. They have information 

and suggestions that can make a 

real difference when planning a space or 

caring for flowers, shrubs and trees. 

“We have about 200 years of employee 

involvement here,” he said. 

Knowing the area, what plants work 

well here, where to put them, judging 

growth and time and size are all important 

parts of putting together a landscape or a 

garden. 

“You can’t google those answers. You’re 

not going to find those answers from box 

store employees. My employees and I talk 

about those things,” Zick said. 

One of his specialties is also knowing 

and featuring plants that deer don’t like. 

Zick has a “Pa-too-ee!” section with a 

selection of flora the deer seldom touch. 

The plants are true-tested for deer resistance 

in his nursery, he said. 

@WESTNEWSMAG 


“We are concentrating on deer-safe 

plants, especially perennials. In general, 

we know whether they will eat them or 

not. I see it everyday. I used to carry 5,000 

hostas. No more! 

“‘Pa-too-ee’ is what a deer says when 

they eat something they don’t like,” he 

said. “I know what deer like and don’t 

like.” 

Other than the deer, there is something 

for everyone in Zick’s Great Outdoors, 

including those special maternal figures 

in our lives. 

“We will be loaded up for Mother’s Day 

with a big beautiful batch of flowers and 

annuals,” Zick said. 

One thing Zick always enjoys is seeing 

his customers experience his little paradise. 

“I’m a farmer It’s been very gratifying. 

It’s something I have wanted since I was 

12 years old,” he said. “I smile everyday. 

I enjoy being the purveyor of fine quality 

God-made things.” 

Zick’s Great Outdoors 

Nursery and Landscaping Co. 

16498 Clayton Road • Wildwood 

(636) 458-1445 • zicksgreatoutdoors.com 

Preliminary Anticipated Revenues: 

Real Estate and Personal Property 

Utilities Gross Receipts 

Court Fines and Fees 

Sales Tax, Use and Other Taxes 

Investments 

Licenses and Permits 

Park Programs 

Miscellaneous 

Capital Improvement 

CITY OF WINCHESTER 

BUDGET HEARING NOTICE 

The City of Winchester will hold a Budget Hearing at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at the City Hall, 

109 Lindy Blvd., Winchester, Missouri. 

The Budget Hearing will deal with the City Budget for the period July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. All 

citizens of Winchester, Missouri will have the right to give written and oral comments at this hearing. 

The overall unenacted budget summary follows: It lists rounded off major sources of anticipated income 

and preliminary recommendations as to how expenditures would be made. These figures are subject to 

adjustments which may evolve due to adjustments at the City, County, or State levels. This summary and 

the back-up information is on display upon request at City Hall, 109 Lindy Blvd., Winchester, Missouri 

during normal business hours – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. 

$ 46,400.00 

146,000.00 

7,640.00 

449,950.00 

32,000.00 

16,850.00 

1,950.00 

4,400.00 

120,000.00 

Total Revenues $825,190.00 

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Additional terms may apply. Participation may vary; please visit waxcenter.com for general terms and conditions. Center locations are individually 

owned and operated. ©2022 EWC Franchise, LLC. All rights reserved. European Wax Center® is a registered trademark. 

Preliminary Anticipated Expenditure Allocation: 

Personnel 

Administrative 

Public Safety 

Streets & Sewers 

Park & Recreation 

Maintenance 

Total Expenditures 

$212,224.25 

180,171.00 

195,195.00 

171,974.75 

24,250.00 

41,375.00 

$825,190.00 

Board of Aldermen | City of Winchester 

By: Barbara Beckett, City Administrator/Treasurer 

Residents of Winchester are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in the programs and services of the City of 

Winchester regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, familial status, national origin or political affiliation. If you 

are a person requiring an accommodation, please call (636)391-0600 or 1-800-735-2466 (Relay Missouri) no later than 

4 p.m. on the third day preceding the hearing. Offices are open between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.





I BUSINESS I 41 

Roofing • Siding • Gutters • Tuckpointing 

Expert Installations & Durable Materials 

Weather the Decades 

with Confidence 

Owner Jan Coffman and members of the West St. Louis County Chamber of 

Commerce celebrate the grand reopening of The Porch in Wildwood on April 11. 

(Source: Higher Focus Photography) 

Talk to Roofing 

& Siding Experts 

̌ 50+ Years of Service 

OVER 

BUSINESS 

BRIEFS 

PLACES 

Jan Coffman recently celebrated the 

grand re-opening of The Porch, 16957 

Manchester Road in Wildwood. Coffman 

purchased the business in October 2023 

and is now ready to provide professional 

design services and help her customers 

create the home of their dreams. The Porch 

features home furnishings in a variety of 

styles, including custom-made upholstered 

furniture. Additionally, the store features 

accessories, barware, kitchen goods, lighting, 

wall paintings, custom rugs and pillows. 

The store also offers a selection of 

women’s apparel and jewelry. 

• • • 

Sound Health Services is celebrating 20 

years of providing ENT services to patients 

in West St. Louis and St. Charles County. 

Sound Health began in 2004, when several 

independent ENT physician practices 

joined together to better serve their patients 

by sharing resources, centralizing some 

services and operating more efficiently. In 

2017, Sound Health opened ENT Now, to 

provide patients with a quick, convenient 

option for evaluation and treatment. 

• • • 

Chesterfield Montessori School has 

been certified as a Great Place To Work 

for the second year in a row. Chesterfield 

Montessori is the only school in Missouri 

to hold this distinction and one of only two 

Montessori schools nationwide, according 

to school officials. 

• • • 

Weighless MD & Wellness St. Louis 

officially opened on Wednesday, April 17 

at 13142 Tesson Ferry Road with a ribbon-cutting 

hosted by the West St. Louis 

County Chamber of Commerce. The practice 

offers clients individualized weight 

loss solutions with the help of board certified 

doctors, nurse practitioners, medical 

assistants and dietitians. 

• • • 

Flats & Terraces at Wildhorse Village, 

16455 Wildhorse Lake Blvd., recently 

celebrated its grand opening with a Chesterfield 

Regional Chamber of Commerce 

ribbon cutting. The apartment and townhome 

community offers pet-friendly studio, 

one- two- or three-bedroom apartments as 

well as a host of amenities that include a 

luxury pool and fitness center. Learn more 

at livewildhorsevillage.com. 

PEOPLE 

KAI Enterprises has hired Jim Duckwitz, 

CPA as its new controller. Duckwitz 

has spent the last 17 years of his 25-year 

career in the architecture, engineering and 

construction sector and brings hands-on 

experience to his new role. 

• • • 

Hi-Pointe Drive-In and Taco Buddha 

have joined forces as Gastronauts Food 

Group. The collaboration aims to build 

sustainable growth, streamline operations, 

and develop collaborative marketing 

while maintaining each brand’s character. 

Ben Hillman, operating partner of Lewis 

& Clark Capital, will serve as president 

of Gastronauts Food Group. Kurt Eller, 

founder and partner of Taco Buddha, and 

Mike Johnson, Hi-Pointe Drive-In chef 

and partner, will represent their respective 

brands within the new group. Johnson also 

will remain a partner and owner of Sugarfire 

Restaurant Group. 

̌ Unmatchable Expertise 

̌ Lifelong Customers 

̌ Free Estimates 

̌ Financing Available 

contactus@aroofing.net 

See Why Homeowners 

Choose Allen Roofing & Siding 

aroofing.net 

636-242-5604 

YEARS 

1972

42 I EVENTS I 



MOTHER’S DAY 

Exciting news! We’ve teamed up with local businesses 

in Wildwood to bring you a fabulous Mother’s Day event! 

Shop, dine, and win amazing prizes! 

Visit Three French Hens from 10am to 5pm to experience: 

• 20% off your entire purchase* 

• Pop-ups from Natalie’s Golden Spatula and Refreshed by Rachel Botox 

• Lunch coupons to our partnered restaurants starting at 11am 

• Happy Hour cocktails from 1 to 3pm 

*Exclusions apply. 

in Wildwood 

SAT 

11 

MAY 

THREE FRENCH HENS 636.458.8033 

16935 MANCHESTER RD, WILDWOOD 

THREEFRENCHHENSWILDWOOD.COM 

Visit our website for more information 

on our partnered businesses, how to enter 

the community raffle, and more! 

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 

Notice is hereby given that the Planning and Zoning Commission of 

the City of Ellisville will hold a public hearing at the Parks and Recreation 

Building within Bluebird Park, 225 Kiefer Creek Road, Ellisville, Missouri, 

63021, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at 7:00 P.M. to consider a Cityinitiated 

petition for text amendments to Title IV: Land Use; Chapter 400: 

Zoning Regulations, Sections 400.090, 400.380, and Article IV: Residential 

Zoning Districts, of the Code of the City of Ellisville, Missouri, to enact 

definitions applicable to home-based businesses, and to revise regulations 

applicable to home occupations and home-based businesses within the City 

of Ellisville, Missouri. 

LOCAL 

EVENTS 

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 

The Manchester Arts FOCUS Photography 

Exhibition is seeking submissions 

from May 1 through May 31. Open to ages 5 

and up in five age categories. A $5 entry fee 

per image (limit three) is charged to participants 

age 21 and older. The exhibition will 

be on display in the park from June 14-July 

8. Cash awards for the top three images in 

each age category. For details, visit manchestermo.gov 

and search “focus.” 

• • • 

From 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, May 

4, artists and photographers will capture 

special locations in the city as part of the 

Wildwood Plein Air Art Event. All skill 

levels, mediums and ages are welcome. 

All pieces will be on display at City Hall, 

16860 Main St., May 20-July 11. The cost 

to participate as an adult artist or photographer 

is $40 before May 4; $10 for youth 

participants age 18 or younger. Register at 

cityofwildwood.com/pleinair. 

• • • 

The St. Louis Scottish Games are on 

Saturday, May 11 in Schroeder Park, 359 

Old Meramec Station Road in Manchester. 

Activities begin at 9 a.m. with the final 

Mudmen concert continuing into the evening. 

Tickets are $25 for adults over age 

18 and $10 for youth ages 13-17. Children 

age 12 and younger are free. For details on 

parking, shuttles, event times and tickets, 

visit stlouis-scottishgames.com. 

• • • 

Air Force Band Memorial Day Chronicles 

of Valor concert is at 7 p.m. on 

Wednesday, May 22 at the Purser Center at 

Logan University, 1851 Schoettler Road in 

Chesterfield and at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 

24 at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, 

210 E Monroe Ave. in Kirkwood. This 

@WESTNEWSMAG 


90-minute concert features a 45-member 

concert band and will honor the nation’s 

fallen. Free and open to the public but tickets 

are required at afbandtix.com. 

BENEFITS 

The Ascension Parish Knights of Columbus 

Spring Fling Bingo is at 7 p.m. (doors 

open at 6 p.m.) on Saturday, May 4 at 230 

Santa Maria Drive in Chesterfield. Win over 

$500 in cash prizes with a $25 advance fee 

or $30 at the door for 15 games. Ticket cost 

includes beverages. Must be 21 to attend. 

For tickets, call (314) 303-6250 or email 

bingo@ascensionkofc.org. 

• • • 

The Carole King & James Taylor Story 

is at 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 5 at the Forest 

Hills Country Club, 36 Forest Club Drive 

in Chesterfield. Tickets are $50 and include 

beer, wine and cocktails. All proceeds benefit 

the Neonatal Progeroid Foundation. 

For details, visit breakroomconcerts.com. 

• • • 

NAMIWalks St. Louis is from 9:30 a.m.- 

noon on Saturday, May 11 at Creve Coeur 

Park - Tremayne Shelter, 3725 Marine Ave. 

in Maryland Heights. The 1- and 2-mile 

routes will begin at the Tremayne Shelter. 

There is no fee to register. Every registered 

participant who personally raises $100 

will earn an event t-shirt. For details, visit 

namiwalks.org/stlouis. 

CONCERTS & FESTIVALS 

The Music on Main concert series 

featuring Dr. Zhivegas is at 6:45 p.m. on 

Friday, May 17 at City Hall, 16860 Main 

St. in Wildwood. Bring seating. No glass. 

No pets. For concert series details, visit 

cityofwildwood.com. 

• • • 

The Manchester Craft Beer Festival 

is from 3-6 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 at 

Schroeder Park, 359 Old Meramec Station 

See EVENTS, page 44 

Notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Ellisville will 

hold a public hearing at the Parks and Recreation Building within Bluebird 

Park, 225 Kiefer Creek Road, Ellisville, Missouri, 63021, on Wednesday, 

May 15, 2024, at 7:00 P.M. to consider a City-initiated petition for text 

amendments to Title IV: Land Use; Chapter 400: Zoning Regulations, 

Chapter 400: Zoning Regulations, Sections 400.090, 400.380, and Article 

IV: Residential Zoning Districts, of the Code of the City of Ellisville, 

Missouri, to enact definitions applicable to home-based businesses, and 

to revise regulations applicable to home occupations and home-based 

businesses within the City of Ellisville, Missouri. 

These public hearings are in compliance with Title IV, Land Use, of the 

Municipal Code of the City of Ellisville. 

Lakeside is looking for experienced and 

educated teachers to join our team! 

These are full time positions working with children ages 6 weeks through 12 years. Both Assistant 

Teacher and Summer Camp positions are available. Our teachers must be able to multi-task, 

know age appropriate activities, communicate well with families and co-workers, and be flexible. 

Teachers must have a friendly, positive attitude and must be nurturing with children. 

Lakeside offers competitive hourly wages and it is a rewarding work environment. 

Lakeside is celebrating 32 years in business this year and is family owned and operated. 

To apply, send your resume to laura@lakesidechildrensacademy.com. 

Or, call Lakeside: 636-225-4800. Please ask to speak to Laura, Director. 

You must be at least 16 years of age. College degrees and/or experience preferred. 

1230 Dougherty Ferry Road | West St. Louis County 63088 

www.lakesidechildrensacademy.com



Get hooked on seafood at Lazy River Grill 

By SUZANNE CORBETT 

Something wonderful happened 28 

years ago when restaurateur John Marciano’s 

wife, Lisa, told him to get his 

fishing tackle out of the basement. His 

much-loved hobby became the inspiration 

for the Marciano’s successful restaurants, 

Lazy River Grill and Yellowstone 

Café. Each location is renowned for its 

fresh fish and eclectic display of vintage 

fishing tackle and outdoor equipment. 

While the decor delights anglers, the 

real eye candy at Lazy River are the 

plates of fish and seafood. 

“We’re known for our fish and have 

been successful because we know how to 

cook it,” Marciano said. “We don’t overcook 

our fish. When fish is overcooked, it 

loses moisture. As a result, the seasoning 

or breading becomes the dominant 

flavor, not the fish. I want you to be able 

to taste the flavor of the fish. I would put 

our fried fish against anybody’s fish in the 

Lazy River Grill 

631 Big Bend Road • Manchester • (636) 207-1689 

Yellowstone Café 

St. Louis region.” 

One fish variety Marciano features 

fried is Basa – a mild white fish with an 

excellent flavor and texture. It’s the signature 

fish served on the Shore Lunch and 

Dinner plates, which is seasoned, lightly 

breaded and fried crisp. It’s served in 

generous portions with a side of fries and 

slaw for lunch or with a small Lodge salad 

and vegetable for dinner. The Shore lunch 

and dinners are served as a complete meal 

that’s affordably priced. 

“I like to say we’re an old-fashioned 

traditional restaurant,” Marciano said. 

“When you order an entree it’s a full meal 

here, not like one of these a la carté places. 

When you order an entree here you get 

cheese and crackers, a side dish, a soup or 

salad and a dinner roll.” 

Counted among those entrees include 

the specialties featured during Lazy River’s 

seasonal festivals as the current Walleye 

Festival held on Sunday and Monday 

nights. Walleye is particularly prized 

165 Lamp and Lantern Village • Town and Country • (636) 207-0501 

lazyyellow.com • Hours: Monday- Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday 4-9 p.m. 

among foodies for its flavor and 

texture. 

Salmon fans are anxiously 

awaiting the return of Lazy River’s 

Salmon Run, which kicks 

off July 1, the start of the salmon 

season. Marciano mentioned 

this year’s Salmon Run will 

have a few exciting new recipes 

to try. And for those looking to 

try something unusual, try an 

order of the farm-raised frog 

legs. Frog legs have sweet, mild 

flavor and are prepared lightly 

breaded and fried. 

If you’re not hungry for fish 

Lazy River has you covered. How does 

a nice juicy burger sound? Lazy River 

boasts some of the best burgers in town. 

“We use a high quality 81/19 blend Certified 

Angus Iowa Beef, which has a good 

texture, flavor and richness,” Marciano 

said. “Everything about it gives it good 

flavor that you’ll crave.” 

Besides burgers, fish and seafood, the 

menu sports a nice selection of sandwiches, 

salads, steaks and chicken along 

with chalkboard specials. Located at the 

front door, the chalkboard lists the day’s 

specials with the catch of the day. 

The full menu is available in the dining 



I 43 

Basa is featured in the Shore Lunch and Dinner plates 

room, for take-out and on Lazy River’s 

patio. A cozy outdoor oasis set with 

umbrella tables and ringed with florals 

and herbs. A perfect spot to gather with 

friends and enjoy craft cocktails or a beer 

with an appetizer or two. 

If you choose a larger gathering space, 

consider the Cabin Room. A semi-private 

space that’s perfect for upcoming graduation 

celebrations, birthdays, showers, or 

rehearsal dinners. 

Lazy River is celebrating its 23rd year, 

and Yellowstone Cafe is in its 28th year 

in operation. If you haven’t been, go. 

Chances are you’ll be hooked. 

WHISKEY REIMAGINED 

NEW ITEM! SWEET & SAVORY BOARD 

CRAFT WHISKEY BLENDING HOUSE 

NOW OPEN IN BALLWIN! 

• Enjoy a flight or inventive cocktails 

• Create your own whiskey blend 

• Gift Certificates Available 

Don’t forget Mom & Dad! 

LIVE MUSIC 

May 10 & 17 from 5-8PM 

BOURBON BRUNCH ~ May 19 

Ticket Required | $ 85 | Tickets are limited 

OPEN WED THRU SUN | SEE WEBSITE FOR HOURS 

Follow Us @BarrelHouseSTL for more events & updates! 

14748 CLAYTON ROAD | BALLWIN 63011 | 636-220-7001 

Celebrate Mother’s Day With Us! 

Every Mom will receive a complimentary 

slice of cheesecake. 

165 Lamp & Lantern Village 

Town & Country 

636-207-0501 

*all fish subject to availability 

gooD FrienDS. 

great FooD. 

colD DrinkS. 

Daily lunch & Dinner SpecialS 

288 lamp & lantern Village - upper leVel 

636-256-7201 

Gift CertifiCates available 

OPEN 

12:00-9:00 p.m. 

Make Reservations Early 

Party Room Available 

at Big Bend Location 

Locally Owned & Operated 

www.lazyyellow.com 

631 Big Bend Rd. 

Manchester 

636-207-1689 

Plant Sale • May 11 

9am - 1pm 

Annuals • Perennials 

Vegetables • Hanging Baskets 

17500 Manchester Rd. 

Wildwood 63038

44 I EVENTS I 



@WESTNEWSMAG 


EVENTS, from page 42 

Road. Over 20 breweries are featured as 

well as Lily’s Cafe Dessert Truck and live 

music. Tickets are $35 in advance; $42 the 

day of and include tastings and souvenir 

glass. Visit manchestermo.gov and search 

“beer festival” for tickets and details. 

FAMILY & KIDS 

Puzzle Palooza is from 5:30-8 p.m. on 

Friday, May 3 at The Pointe, 1 Ballwin Commons 

Circle. Teams of up to five people 

race against each other to finish the same 

500-piece puzzle. Light snacks and drinks 

provided, but outside snacks are welcome. 

No alcohol. Cost is $25 for residents; $30 for 

non-residents. Register via link on the Community 

Events Calendar at ballwin.mo.us. 

• • • 

Nerf Wars is from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, May 

10 at The Pointe, 1 Ballwin Commons Circle. 

Children ages 8-12 bring their own Nerf guns 

and protective eyewear and compete in three 

20-minute games of capture the flag, team 

vs. team and last person standing. Admission 

is $15 for residents; $18 for non-residents. 

Register via link on the Community Events 

Calendar at ballwin.mo.us. 

• • • 

Goodness Snakes Alive is from 9:30- 

11 a.m. on Saturday, May 11 at the Rockwoods 

Reservation, 2751 Glencoe Road in 

Wildwood. There will be live snakes that 

are found in Missouri to look at and touch. 

Children will also do a hunt to find snakes 

in their natural habitat. Participants should 

be prepared for a short walk on a crushed 

stone trail. For ages 4-6. Meet at the Rockwoods 

Visitor Center. Register each child 

attending. To register, visit mdc.mo.gov. 

• • • 

Awesome Snakes and Lizards is from 

1-2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 at Rockwoods 

Reservation, 2751 Glencoe Road 

in Wildwood. Discover incredible things 

about the snakes and lizards that live in 

Missouri. There will be a live snake that 

children will be able to touch. Be prepared 

to go outside to find some snakes and 

lizards in their natural habitat. For ages 

7-12 years. Meet at the Rockwoods Visitor 

Center. Register each child attending. To 

register, visit mdc.mo.gov. 

• • • 

Signs of Spring Discovery Hike is from 

10-11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 15 at Rockwoods 

Reservation, 2751 Glencoe Road in 

Wildwood. Take a 1-mile hike on the Rock 

Quarry Trail to explore the signs of spring 

using our five senses. This program is for 

students 5-12 years of age. The hike will 

be on natural terrain and include uphill and 

downhill hiking. Meet at the Visitor Center. 

Sunscreen, hats, closed-toe shoes, and 

insect repellant are recommended. Register 

all participants attending individually. 

Children must be accompanied by an adult. 

To register, visit mdc.mo.gov. 

SPECIAL INTEREST 

Pingo - Parking Lot Bingo is from 

6-7:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 9 at the 

Schroeder Park Upper Parking Lot, 359 

Old Meramec Station Road in Manchester. 

Bring chairs, small tables, dinner and 

drinks. The cost is $17 per resident car and 

$22.10 per non-resident car. For details, 

visit manchestermo.gov, search “pingo.” 

• • • 

The West County Home & Garden 

Expo is from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, 

May 18 at the Greensfelder Recreation 

Complex at Queeny Park, 550 Weidman 

Road in Manchester. Each booth will be 

giving away a $50 gift. Admission is free. 

For details, visit westcountychamber.com. 

• • • 

Wildwood Farmers Market is from 8 

a.m.-noon every Saturday beginning May 

25 at 221 Plaza Drive in Wildwood. 

• • • 

Pumpers and Pistons and Plein Air is 

from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 

18 at The Museum of Transportation, 2933 

Barrett Station Road in Kirkwood. Antique, 

classic/late model vehicles, fire apparatus, 

police, military, commercial, construction 

and specialty recovery vehicles. Guests 

can also observe professional and amateur 

painters create plein air art. Regular 

museum admission applies. For details, 

visit tnmot.org. 

• • • 

Open House at the Bacon Log Cabin is 

from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, May 19 at the 

Historic Bacon Log Cabin, 687 Henry Ave. 

in Ballwin. The grounds feature a Blue Star 

Memorial and the original root cellar. Light 

refreshments will be available. Free event 

but donations are appreciated. For details, 

visit oldtrailshistoricalsociety.com. 

• • • 

Flags of Valor will be on display all day 

on Monday, May 27 at Margaret Stoecker 

Park, 224 Henry Ave. in Manchester. The 

flags are from the 2016 Flags of Valor display 

that was flown on Art Hill in remembrance 

of American troops who died in the 

War on Terror since 9/11/2001. 

SPORTS 

The Bee Dash 5K is at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, 

May 18 at La Salle Retreat Center, 

2101 Rue De LaSalle Drive in Wildwood. 

Festivities include food, drink, live music 

and local beekeepers. Cost is $35 per 

runner. General admission is free. Details 

and registration at lasalleretreat.org. 

CELEBRATE WORLD BEE DAY 

BEE DASH 5K 

SAT. MAY 18 

8:30AM 

$35 REGISTRATION 

• 5K run/walk on beautiful Western Greenway 

• Professional race timing 

• Long sleeve race t-shirt 

• Post-race runner celebration in picnic pavilion 

Enjoy warm biscuits straight from the oven, 

honey, homemade preserves, fruit & drinks. 

2101 Rue De LaSalle Drive 

Wildwood, MO 63038 

LASALLERETREAT.ORG 

Bon Appétit 

NOW OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! 

Enjoy sweet & savory crêpes for breakfast or lunch any day of the week! 

IF YOU'RE UNDER 21! 

LUCKY YOU! 

Here's a free drink card! 

(Non Alcoholic - of course) 

(If you're over 21 (I know how you feel! – Use this for your first drink on me!) 

Offer expires 5/31/24 and you have to use this ad! And applies to Rail/House Drinks Only! 

(Limit one per ad) 

17409 CHESTERFIELD AIRPORT RD, STE A | CHESTERFIELD, MO 63005 

636-778-0188 | FRENCHCREPERIE.COM | M-F 8A-2P • SAT-SUN 8A-4P 

15310 Manchester Road 

(Ballwin/Ellisville) 

636-391-3700 

AN AUTHENTIC 

FRENCH CRÊPE 

EXPERIENCE! 

LIKE 

US ON 

Facebook.com/westnewsmagazine 

Got events? Want publicity? 

Send all the pertinent details to 

events@newsmagazinenetwork.com. 

Event notices for print publication are due at least six weeks 

out from the date of the event. Events with advance registration 

should be submitted six weeks out from that deadline. 

All events will be listed online and in print when sent in with 

enough advance notice.





I 45 

PYATT, from page 32 

me to have her play in the sand, run around 

on the course and just simply have fun. At 

4 1/2, she started competing in the PGA Jr. 

League at Fox Run Golf Club.” 

She works at her game. While it’s fun, 

Madison wants to keep getting better. 

“Madison touches a club every day,” 

Travis said. “Often she works on putting 

for 15 to 30 minutes before school and an 

additional one to three hours in the evenings. 

Weekends are typically three to five hours 

per day.” 

All that hard work paid off at Augusta. 

Madison was ready. She admitted she was a 

“little nervous,” but she kept calm and concentrated 

on the golf ball. 

Travis saw someone ready to compete. 

“Madison has ice in her veins. She never 

shows any signs of nervousness,” Travis 

said. “In times you’d expect her to be nervous, 

she gets tremendously focused and 

performs at her highest. It is fun to watch.” 

Mackenzie Myers, 2016 Lafayette graduate 

and the Gateway PGA Section player 

engagement manager, worked with the 

young athletes at the event. Myers noticed 

Madison was not awed by the surroundings. 

“Madison was probably a bit nervous, as 

any of us would be, but she didn’t show it 

at all,” Myers said. “She was confident, 

focused, and ready to go as soon as she 

stepped off the van.” 

The drive competition was first. The 

youngster had to drive an uphill slope. 

“I hit both of them just under 200 yards,” 

Madison said. “I was pretty happy.” 

That good start was important. 

“Driving showed to be her strength and the 

fact that she came out of the gate winning the 

first skill I think really instilled some confidence 

going to the chipping skill,” Myers 

said. “I was extremely impressed with how 

far she could hit the ball as a 9-year-old and 

on the biggest stage in golf.” 

Her two chips were solid. 

“I was happy with my first chip which 

ended up around 10 feet from the cup. It 

was the shot I practiced and prepared for 

six months and I landed it less than an inch 

from where I planned,” Madison said. “After 

seeing the grain slow down the ball I hit my 

second one about a yard longer which rolled 

out to about four feet of the hole.” 

Madison’s third-place finish in chipping 

left her in first place going into the putting 

portion of the event. 

“Going into the putting they rearranged us 

by our score. Being in first place, I got to 

go last and see the others putt before me,’ 

Madison said. “I had around 11 feet left 

to win the championship so I hit my putts 

safely within the distance to win it all. Being 

too aggressive could have ended badly.” 

Myers appreciated how well Madison 

dealt with he final part of the competition, 

and her putting left Travis ecstatic. 

“She stayed true to her plan and her routine 

was perfect. Even Butch Harmon, Tiger 

Woods’ previous coach, commented on her 

routine and how she looked like a professional,” 

Travis said. “She was in first place at 

that time and she knew she had 11 feet in distance 

to win the championship so she didn’t 

have to be aggressive. She lived a dream.” 

Madison saw her name atop the leaderboard. 

“My body was filled with joy and happiness,” 

Madison said. “It was incredible to 

see my name on top. My dad gave me the 

biggest hug ever and I will never forget that 

moment. I worked so hard and I’m so happy 

I won it.” 

For Travis, it was a moment of a lifetime. 

“We saw the reorganized names on the 

leaderboard just before it was announced 

live, so I gave her the biggest squeeze and 

kept telling her how proud I was of her,” 

Travis said. “She was a winner. It was a 

surreal experience. Seeing her experience 

success after working so tremendously hard 

was amazing. It felt like we were floating.” 

WEST HOME PAGES 

Madison had family on had to see her 

triumph. Mother Holly, sister Kennedy and 

grandmother Sharon Madison were all there 

to see her win. 

With the victory came some responsibilities. 

Madison went on the Golf Channel 

for an interview with Kyra Dixon immediately 

after she won. The good times didn’t 

end there. Madison was “lucky enough 

to be able to eat in the Founders Hall at 

Augusta National, one of the nicest places 

on earth.” 

Later that evening, the Masters threw a 

party for all the competitors. There were 

bounce houses and food like pizza, ice 

cream and cotton candy to eat. 

“I had fun playing with all my new 

friends,” Madison said. 

She got to attend the practice round on 

Monday at the Masters. 

“I got an autograph on my drive metal 

from Jon Rahm because he is my favorite 

player,” Madison said. “I met lots of players 

all day and everyone was so nice. So many 

players said they watched me win. I actually 

gave my first autographs to lots of people 

on the course. So many nice people taking 

pictures with me and saying nice things.” 

Madison is not done. She plans on registering 

and playing again next year. 

“Absolutely,” Madison said. 

CUSTOM DECKS 

SCREEN ROOMS, ENCLOSURES, 

REPAIRS, RESURFACE, PATIOS, STAMPED CONCRETE, 

4 SEASON ROOMS, OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES 

GENERAL CONTRACTOR | All Types Of Home Improvements 

Insurance Specialist, Fully Insured | A+ BBB Rating, 30 Years Experience 

FREE INSPECTIONS & ESTIMATES 

314-282-1991 | www.CovenantContractingSTL.com 

JL CONCRETE 

SEALING & CAULKING 

Residential and Commercial 

• Sealing (Prevents pitting) 

• Caulking (Keep out the weeds) 

• Power Washing (Fresh & clean) 

• Crack Filling (Keeps moisture out) 

• Fence Washing 


Call Jerry Loosmore Jr. at 636-399-6193 

TOP GUNN FAMILY 

CONSTRUCTION INC. 

Build and Repair Decks & Fences, 

All Painting, Wallpaper Removal, 

Powerwash/Stain Decks, Finish Basements, 

Remodeling, Kitchens, Baths 

Senior Discounts • Military Discounts 

First responders must show ID 

Call Today • 636-466-3956 

GunnFamilyConstruction@gmail.com 

• Deck Construction • Deck Staining 

• Deck Repairs • Staircases 

• Deck Upgrades • Hand Rail 

• Fully Insured 

• Warranty 

• No Money Up Front 

When you want it done right... 

Check our ads first. 

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ROOFING • GUTTERS 

TUCKPOINTING • LEAFGARD 

Siding • Soffit • Fascia & Repairs 

Best Quality & Prices Since 1988! 

314-968-7848 

www.stlroofing.com

46 I 



@WESTNEWSMAG 


WEST HOME PAGES 

COMPLETE KITCHEN & BATH REMODELING 

COMPLETE 

REMODELING 

PLUS OTHER INTERIOR PROJECTS 

SPECIAL 

Bathtub Conversion 

into Walk-in Shower 

20+ YEARS EXPERIENCE 

PATIOS • DRIVEWAYS 

RETAINING WALLS 

STAMPED CONCRETE 

References Available 

Reasonable Pricing 

Quality Work 

Senior Discounts Available 

Serving West County & 

surrounding areas since 1985 

Edwards Remodeling•Call 314-397-5100•Licensed & Insured 

SAFETY & MOBILITY 

SOLUTIONS 

Stair Lifts • Platform Lifts 

Portable & Fixed Ramps 

Bath Safety & Tub Conversions 

Rentals • Sales • Service • Installation 

15461 Clayton Rd 

Ballwin, MO 

314-608-5789 

43 Years! 

314-698-0403 • www.rickthomasconcrete.com • Fully Insured 

DECK STAINING 

NEAT • ON TIME • AFFORDABLE 

• NO Spraying or Rolling Mess! 

• NO Money Down! 

• Fully Insured • References 

PRESSURE TREADED, CEDAR & HARDWOODS 

THE FAN MAN 

INSTAllATIoN ProFESSIoNAlS 

Ceiling Fans • Wholehouse Fans 

Gable Vent Fans • Recessed Lighting 

Specializing in installation for two story homes 

with no wiring on first floor. 

When Handyman Quality Just Won't Do. 

(314) 510-6400 

BY 

BRUSH ONLY 

BY BRUSH ONLY 

314-852-5467 

www.deckstainingbybrushonly.com 

636-938-ROOF (7663) 

Like us on Facebook 

Locally Owned & Operated by Rick Hinkson 

NOW 

ACCEPTING: 

30+ YEARS 

EXPERIENCE 

County House Washing 

& Painting 

A+ 

RATED 

WEST 

INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR 

PAINTING SPECIALIST 

PAINTING • STAINING • POWERWASHING 

Mike Lynch 636.394.0013 

WWW.COUNTYHOUSEWASHING.COM 

DRIVEWAYS•PATIOS•SIDEWALKS 

Dri veways • Patios • Sidewalks Porches • Steps • Garage Floors 

Repair Wor k • Exposed Aggregate • Custom Patterns & Colors 

Family Owned • Insured 

Serving West County Since 1963 314-849-7520 

FREE Estimates 

& MORE 

Bi-State Concrete 

Specializing in Residential Tear Out & Replacement • Professional Workmanship 

Licensed & Insured 

ALL OF YOUR DECKING NEEDS 

• Wood 

• Vinyl 

• Composite 

• Aluminum 

• Refacing 

• New Decks 

• Deck Repairs 

• IPE (Hardwood) 

Rlinkconstruction@yahoo.com 

314.607.8953 

FIND US ON 

Locally Owned & Operated by Tim Hallahan 

Serving West County for 25+ Years 

636.458.6400 

timjhallahan@gmail.com 

westwoodpaintinginc.com 

H NEST 

JUNK HAULING 

$ 

25.00 OFF 

Any Service 


www.honestjunk.com 

314-312-1077 


J.D. CONTRACTING 

EXTERIOR SPECIALIST 

• Emergency 

Repairs 

• Insurance 

Claims 

• Siding, 

Soffit & 

314.723.0027 Fascia 

TO REQUEST A BID • Insured 

ROOFING 

Replacement Windows 

Seamless Guttering 

Leaf Guards 

CALL OR TEXT JIM 

ALL TYPES OF REPAIRS! 

H NEST 

JUNK HAULING 

DIY DUMPSTER RENTAL 

$ 

399 


www.honestjunk.com 

314-312-1077 


314.518.0231 

Driveways, Patios, Pool Decks, Garage Floors, 

Retaining Walls, Stamped and Colored Concrete 

Insured For Your Protection 

Painting Interior & Exterior 

Powerwashing 

Homes & Concrete 

Deck & Fence Staining 

Gutter Cleaning & Gutter Guards 

Window Cleaning 

Insured • Senior Discounts 

Call Chris 314-620-6677 

When you want it 

done right... 

Check our 

ads first. 

636.591.0010





WEST CLASSIFIEDS • 636.591.0010 • CLASSIFIEDS@NEWSMAGAZINENETWORK.COM 

I 47 

BUY AND SELL 

WE BUY & CONSIGN 

Fine Jewelry 

Fine Art & Antiques 

Luxury Handbags & Couture 

Decorative Arts, 

Memorabilia & Collectibles 

314.942.1132 

info@hallmarkauctions.com 

Current Online Auction at 

hallmarkauctions.com 

CARPET 

-CARPET REPAIRS- 

Restretching • Reseaming 

& Patching. 

No job is to small! 


(314) 892-1003 

CLEANING SERVICES 

SPOTLESS CLEANING 

SERVICES 

for your home or business. 

Specializing in everyday cleaning 

of homes, rentals, move outs & 

home buying, etc. 

Family owned & operated 

Call today (636) 777-9319 

to schedule your cleaning 

or a FREE ESTIMATE. 

Email: spotless.dina@gmail.com 

COLLECTIBLES 

WANTED TO BUY 

• SPORTS MEMORABILIA • 

Baseball Cards, Sports Cards, 

Cardinals Souvenirs and 

Memorabilia. Pre-1975 Only. 

Private Collector: 

314-302-1785 

WANTED TO BUY 

VINYL RECORD ALBUMS 

Buying quality collections of 

Rock, Jazz, Blues and More! 

No collection to large or small 

Private Collector: JP 

Call or Text 636-342-1616 or 

Email: Jp.vinyl57@gmail.com 

ELECTRICAL 

ERIC'S ELECTRIC 

Licensed, Bonded and Insured: 

Service upgrades, fans, can lights, 

switches, outlets, basements, 

code violations fixed, we do it 

all. Emergency calls & backa-up 

generators. No job too small. 

Competitively priced. Free Estimates. 

Just call 636-262-5840 

GARAGE DOORS 

DSI/Door Solutions, Inc. 

Garage Doors, Electric Open–ers. 

Fast Repairs. All makes & models. 

Same day service. Free Estimates. 

Custom Wood and Steel Doors. 

BBB Member • Angie's List 

Call 314-550-4071 

www.dsi-stl.com 

DECKS 

Deck Staining 

HAULING 

SKIP'S HAULING & DEMOLITION 

Junk hauling and removal. Cleanouts, 

appliances, furniture, debris, 

construction rubble, yard waste, 

excavating & demolition! 10, 15 

& 20 cubic yd. rolloff dumpsters. 

Licensed & insured. Affordable, dependable 

and available! 

VISA/MC accepted. 22 yrs. service. 

Toll Free 1-888-STL-JUNK 

888-785-5865 or 314-644-1948 

J & J HAULING 

WE HAUL IT ALL 

Service 7 days. Debris, furniture, 

appliances, household trash, yard 

debris, railroad ties, fencing, decks. 

Garage & Basement Clean-up 

Neat, courteous, affordable rates. 

Call: 636-379-8062 or 

email: jandjhaul@aol.com 

HELP WANTED 

COMPASSIONATE 

CAREGIVERS NEEDED!! 

VISITING ANGELS is hiring for 

Chesterfield/Wildwood/Ballwin/ 

Des Peres/ T&C- $17-19/hr. 

Personal Care Assistants & 

Homemaker shifts. Weekly Pay, 

Flexible Schedules, 401K match. 

Health Ins. after 6 mo. if FT 

Call 636-695-4422 or apply at 

VisitingAngels.com/westplex 

SSM Health Care Corporation 

seeks a full-time Director 

(Budget and Reporting) in 

Creve Coeur, MO to direct 

the implementation of financial 

reporting, revenue cycle & 

operational analytics, budgeting 

and long-term planning, while 

also overseeing the utilization 

and continuous improvement 

of the financial reporting 

function and analytics used by the 

healthcare operational leadership, 

among other duties. Applicants 

must live within a reasonable c 

ommuting distance from 12312 

Olive Boulevard, Creve Coeur, 

MO to be in the office three (3) 

days per week and able to attend 

in person meetings in the St. Louis 

market. Send resume to 

Kimberly Hollingsworth, 

Senior Director-Finance, 

at kimberly.hollingsworth@ 

ssmhealth.com. 

• Brushed & Rolled Only 

• No money up front/Warranty 

A+ 

Free Estimates • Insured/A+BBB 

EverythingDecks.net • (636) 337-7733 

FENCES 

Wood | Aluminum | Vinyl | Composite 

NEW INSTALL – REPAIRS – STAINING 

Unmatched Quality | Competitive Prices | Residential or Commercial 

WWW.WESTERNFENCES.COM | 636.215.1730 

HELP WANTED 

Technology Partners, Inc. seeks 

Product Specialist-Senior in 

Chesterfield, MO. Collaborate 

with the Product Manager and 

development teams to deliver 

customer centric solutions. Travel 

to unanticipated client locations 

as needed. Telecommuting 

permitted. Apply at https:// 

www.jobpostingtoday.com/ 

Ref #31924 

HOME CARE 

CHRISTY’S PERSONAL 

HOME CARE 

is NOW accepting new 

clients. Consistent Care. 

4 hr min. 

Email or text to schedule 

an assessment. 

christycrump78@gmail.com 

573.747.7336 

HOME IMPROVEMENT 

PRISTINE MIDWEST 

CONSTRUCTION LLC 

Specializing in 

Decks & Fences 


pristinemidwest@gmail.com 

(314) 575-3879 

Mizzou Crew LLC (Since 2004) 

We can’t do everything, 

but we CAN do a lot! 

Landscaping, Demolition, 

Flooring, Light Construction, 

Furniture Assembly, Fencing, 

Deck Repair, Rough Carpentry. 

Call/text Jeff 314-520-5222 or 

email mizzoucrewstl@gmail.com 

AFFORDABLE CARPENTRY 

Kitchen Remodeling, 

Wainscoting, Cabinets, 

Crown Molding, Trim, Framing, 

Basement Finishing, Custom 

Decks, Doors, Windows. 

Free estimates! 

Anything inside & out! 

Call Joe 636-699-8316 

Total Bathroom Remodeling 

Cabinetry•Plumbing•Electrical 

30 Years Experience 

REMODEL & REPAIR 

Rotted wood, Painting, Tile, 

Drywall, Floors, Electrical, 

Carpentry, Plumbing, 

Power Washing. Insured. 


Tom Streckfuss 314-910-7458 

sbacontractingllc@gmail.com 

MORALES LANDSCAPE LLC 

Clean-Up • Mowing • Mulching 

Planting • Aeration • Sod Install 

Leaf Removal • Paver Patios 

Trimming & Edging 

Stone & Brick 

Retaining Walls • Drainage 

Work 

- FREE ESTIMATES - 

636-293-2863 

moraleslandscape@hotmail.com 

WE SPECIALIZE IN 

RETAINING WALLS • PAVER PATIOS • DECKS 

FENCES • TREES • NEW LANDSCAPING 

LAWNS & MULCH AND MUCH MORE! 

Free Estimates 

314-280-2779 

poloslawn@aol.com 

FISHBURN’S LANDSCAPING 

Residential • Commercial 

Leaf Clean Up • Retaining Walls 

Trees, Shrubs & Flower Planting 

and Trimming • Landscaping Rock 

FULLY Insured • FREE Estimates 

Call or Text Dave 314-843-0271 

-MULCHING 

-SPRING CLEANUP- 

Preparing/Cleaning Beds 

Preen • Leaf Removal 

Bush/Shrub Trimming 

Aeration • Seeding 

Fertilizing • Dethatching 

• FAST & FREE ESTIMATES • 

TWO MEN & A MOWER 

Call or text 636-432-3451 

HELP WANTED 

LANDSCAPING 

Leaf Clean Up 

& Vacuuming 

Pruning Work, Grading, 

Planting, and 

Dormant Sod Work. 


636-296-5050 

Retaining Walls • Patios • Pruning 

Chainsaw Work • Seasonal 

Clean-up • Honeysuckle Removal 

Friendly service with attention to detail 

Call Tom 636.938.9874 

www.mienerlandscaping.com 

-Complete Outdoor Service- 

Hardscapes • Lawn Mowing 

Commercial • Residential 

Reasonable Rates 

Experienced & Insured 


United Lawn Services LLC 

Call Today (314) 660-9080 

curtis@unitedlawnservices.com 

www.unitedlawnservices.com 

Best Landscaping Values in Town! 

-Mizzou Crew- 

Mulch, Shrub Trimming, 

Yard Cleanups, Power Washing, 

Moles, Small Walls & Paver Patios. 

Hauling Services, 

Demolition, 

Handyman Services 

& Rough Carpentry 

Call/Text Jeff 

314-520-5222 

or www.MizzouCrew.com 

WEDDING SERVICES 

PAINTING 

DEFINO’S 

PAINTING SERVICES 

EST. 2006 

Interior & Exterior Painting 

Deck Staining 

- Insured & Free Estimates - 

definospainting.com 

314-707-3094 

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS! 

PAINTER 

DAN VOLLMER 

• I AM INCORPORATED INC. • 

INTERIOR SPECIAL 2024 

$75 Per Avg. Rm Size 

(12’x12’ Walls 3 Room Minimum) 

FREE ESTIMATES: CALL DAN 

(636) 577-8960 

Exterior Painting! 

PET SERVICES 

PLUMBING 

• ANYTHING IN PLUMBING • 

Good Prices! Basement 

bathrooms, small repairs & code 

violations repaired. Fast Service. 

Certified, licensed plumber - MBC 

Plumbing - Call or text anytime: 

314-409-5051 

LICENSED PLUMBER 

Bonded & Insured 

Available for all your 

plumbing needs. 

No job is too small. 


35 Years Experience. 

Senior Discounts 

24 hours service! 

314-808-4611 

TREE SERVICES 

• COLE TREE SERVICE • 

Tree and Stump Removal. 

Trimming and Deadwooding. 

Free Estimates. 

636-475-3661 

www.cole-tree-service.biz 

TUTORING 

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Math Jitters? 

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West Newsmagazine 5-1-24

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