1. education
2. school

EX ALDERMAN NEWSLETTER 150 AND CHESTERFIELD 95
By John Hoffmann
OCTOBER 22, 2014
JUSTICE...TOWN AND COUNTRY STYLE: Who do you think deserves a
break in a 34 mph over the limit speeding case (94 mph in a 60 zone on I-270) before
the Town and Country Municipal Court?
Person 1) Someone with no prior violations in the last 5 or 10 years and otherwise an
upstanding member of the community but doesn't come to court with a lawyer..
OR
Person 2) Someone who had a moving violation issued by the Highway Patrol on
09/15/07 reduced to a "no-points" parking violation and a $175 fine on 01/30/2008.
Some who had a serious moving violation on 05/04/12 in the City of Manchester
reduced to a "no points" $350 parking violation on 03/21/13 in the St. Louis County
Circuit Court where he moved the case costing the City of Manchester time and
expenses forwarding the case and prosecuting it in Clayton.
Someone who is currently out of bond for a felony charge of stealing court documents
from a court file on 03/26/2014.
Someone on 02/05/14 had a St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge issue a Full Order of
Protection against him to stop stalking and harassing a woman.
Someone who was ordered by the Courts on Feb.05, 2914 to stop filing frivolous BAR
complaints with the Missouri Supreme Court against a woman lawyer who is suing him
for paternity and child support.
Of course it is Person Two who got the special deal.
1
That person is Town and Country lawyer Scott Ehllermann, who lives at 12623 Laurel
Lakes.
This piece of work, who so far is barely managing to hold onto his law license, received
the speeding ticket on December 3, 2013. He made a "jury demand" which caused the
case to be send to the St. Louis County Circuit Court in May. This is a pain in the ass
for municipal court clerks to send the charging documents to Clayton. Also the city has
to pay extra for the city prosecutor to handle the case in Clayton.
Ehlermann then didn't show up for court in Clayton, which always pisses off the judges
in Clayton and they send the cases back to the municipality. So despite his prior records
and that he was out on bond after a felony grand jury indictment, the Town and Country
Prosecutor Brian Malone thinks it is a good idea to reduce the charge to "Illegal
Parking."
Brian Malone
2
Luckily the Municipal Court Judge Dean Waldemer can reject the reduced charge and
plea agreement. Unfortunately for the safety and welfare of public, Waldmer accepted
the plea deal.
Dean Waldemer
SECOND CASE...JUSTICE...TOWN AND COUNTRY STYLE: Here is a copy of one
of three citations Alexis L. Campbell of Florissant received from the Town and Country
Police after being stopped for Careless Driving on EB I-64 on February 9, 2014. This
citation is for Driving on a Revoked license due to a prior DWI case.
3
The other two citations include Carless Driving and having No Insurance for her 2008
Toyota.
The reason her driver's license was revoked is because on 10/26/10 she was driving
drunk and caused an accident where someone suffered serious injuries. She was
charged with a Felony and on May 24, 2012 she pled guilty and was placed on a 5-year
probation term.
This case was also sent to St. Louis County Circuit Court. There Town and Country
Prosecutor Brian Malone reduced the Driving with a Revoked License from a "12-point"
violation to a "2" No License point violation. He also reduced moving violations of having
no insurance and the "2-point" Careless Driving to "Illegal Parking" despite the fact she
is on probation for a Felony DWI involving personal injury.
Then Judge Dennis Smith accepted the deal.
Judge Smith
IT'S ANOTHER YEAR AND ANOTHER DEFICIT BUDGET IN TOWN
AND COUNTRY: For the fourth straight year Mayor/Cigarette Lobbyist Jon Dalton
has submitted a deficit budget. (Four years ago the city did not finish with a deficit due
to unanticipated revenue through court settlements involving cell phone taxes.)
Two years ago the city's 2013 budget ballooned to more than $5-million before finishing
the year at -$4.2-million. So far in 2014 the city deficit is at -$3,262,332.
The newest budget presented on October 16 to the Finance Commission calls for
$13,609,373 in revenues for all five budget components and $14,824,572 in
expenditures which comes out to a -$1,215,199 deficit.
But wait that number is already going up. Public Works and Planning Director Craig
Wilde stated at the meeting he would need an additional $25,000 to address immediate
maintenance issues once the city takes over the 8.8 acres of the Wirth on Clayton
Road, including demolition of the ranch house on the property.
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There is $20,000 in the budget for use by the Mayor's Town Square Task force, which
doesn't exist yet, but will be charged with figuring out what to do with the $2.25-million
worth of land the city just bought.
ONCE AGAIN THE GENERAL FUND IS THE ONLY PART OF THE BUDGET IN THE
BLACK: In 2015 at neighborhood meetings Mayor Dalton will be able to say how the
General Fund is in the black ($139,400) without telling the citizens how the rest of the
budget in deep in the red. He had to stop claiming the General Fund was in the black
this year as it fell into the red with the rest of his budget.
The way he keeps the general fund in the black is by claiming things such $100,000 for
the day to day use of gasoline for police cars is a "capital improvement." That an annual
$10,000 for daily computer tech support is a "capital improvement." Dalton uses a shell
game of hiding day to day expenses under "capital improvements" to show how he has
a balanced "general fund" budget.
Traffic Tickets: The $1,247,800 that is anticipated to be 2015 revenue through
municipal court fines represents 9.1% of the total city budget and 28.5% of the police
department's budget.
DEER MANAGEMENT (CONTROLLED SHOOTING) REMAINS IN THE BUDGET:
$46,500 is in the budget for continued controlled shooting of deer. This will most likely
occur in January when cold conditions increases the number of deer at bait/feeding
stations.
BUDGET RESERVE FALLS BELOW ONE YEAR MARK: Dalton always liked to claim
how healthy the city's reserve was when it was only required to have a three-month
operating reserve. The Finance Commission wisely raised that to a minimum of 6months this year. I have always thought a one-year reserve was a good thing to have in
case a wide track F-3 or F-4 tornado hit the city, let alone an overdue earthquake.
In 2015 the overall budget expenditures will be $14,824,572. The estimated reserve at
the end of 2015 will be $13,234,145 or just 89% of a one-year operating cost.
5
TOWN AND COUNTRY MAN SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS FOR KILLING HIS WIFE:
William Lynn Gunter pled guilty on October 20 for killing his wife, Suzy Gunter on March
18, 2013 at their home at 1515 Mason Hill Court. The murder weapon was the edge of a
laptop computer.
Gunter had originally told police his wife had fallen down the stairs.
Gunter had been charged with 1st Degree Murder, but the charge was reduced to
Second Degree Murder at the time of the plea. He had originally been set to stand trial
on November 3.
Gunter is 61-year-old and the best he could possibly hope for is an early release date
sometime after his 76th birthday.
PROBATION VIOLATION WARRANT ISSUED FOR BURGLAR FROM MASON
VALLEY: Graham Redington was living with his parents in the 1600 block of Foxleigh
Court in the Mason Valley subdivision when he was arrested by Town and Country
Police for burglarizing a home on Horton Lane on March 24, 2011. Redington aided in
his capture along with the two accomplices from North St. Louis County when the large
screen TV they stole out of the occupied house in the middle of the night on Horton
Lane was too big to fit in their getaway car they had parked off Topping Road.
In August of 2012 he pled guilty to the burglary and was sentenced to 15 days
"SHOCK" time in jail and then placed on probation for 5-years. He violated that
6
probation when he was arrested by Town and Country Police on March 27, 2013 for
attempting to buy liquor at the Schnucks store on Clayton Road with a false ID. He was
stopped and arrested for Careless Driving, Possession of a Fake Drivers License and
Possession of Alcohol by a Minor. He was fined and served another 10 days in jail.
Redington was found to be in violation of his probation for the burglary on 10/31/13, but
was continued on probation.
On July 31, 2014 Judge Gloria Reno issued an arrest warrant with No Bond for
Redington for more violations of his probation. The warrant has not yet been served.
DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH: At the last Board of Alderman meeting former
alderwoman Barbara Ann Hughes signed up to speak. First she handed board
members copies of Town and Style Magazine that they all already received in the mail
at their houses. She had the magazine turned to a page that feature the king of
misinformation Bill Beggs, Jr. who steals news articles from other sources and then
adds his own misinformation. Beggs had written something about thinning deer herds,
Next Barbara Ann announced to the mayor that she wanted to be considered for
appointment to his "Town Square Task Force."
Let's see in 2013 Barbara Ann filed at the last minute to run against Dalton, who easily
won, but had to go to the trouble of putting out signs and the expense of sending out
mailers. This year Barbara Ann's husband, Richard is the treasurer of the guy (Al
Gerber) who is running against Dalton's buddy, John Diehl for State Rep. If I was
Barbara Ann I would not hold my breath on getting the notification that she had been
chosen for Dalton's task force.
Barbara Ann Hughes Hughes in her normal spot at BOA meetings. In the back row next to kook
Mariette Palmer.
7
UNAPPROVED CHESTERFIELD NEWSLETTER 95
October 22, 2014
A POLITICAL SPEECH AT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING: I don't know
why I should be surprised, but when it happens I don't like what I have witnessed. City
Councils and Board of Aldermen throughout St. Louis County are non-partisan...at least
they are supposed to be. On Monday October 20, I witnessed Rick Stream (Rep)
running for County Executive give a blatant political address at the beginning of the
meeting when citizens are given time to address the council.
Stream, who lives in Kirkwood, arrived at the meeting early and was checking his email
and texts as was an aide sitting with him. Then Mayor Bob Nation went over and glad
handed him just prior to the start of the meeting.
Once the meeting started, Stream was called up to the podium. He immediately went
into a campaign speech. "I'll be back here to talk to you after November 4 when I'm
elected County Executive..." this is where I rolled my eyes and quit taking notes.
8
Stream went on to say how he was going to clean up County government and fix the
schools in North County.
He then asked members of the council if they had questions. Mayor Nation went first
tossing a big softball and Stream swung and missed. Nation asked when his debate
with Democratic opponent Steve Stenger would be aired on KMOX radio or KSDK TV.
Amazingly Stream who just five hours earlier had finished the debate said he did not
know.
Next Councilman Dan Hurt took the road of assuming that Stream would be elected and
asked what he planned to do about the sales tax inequities that find Chesterfield in a
"pool tax status" that existed when civic leaders formed the City of Chesterfield.
"Oh the Westfall Rule," said Stream referring to the late County Executive George
"Buzz" Westfall, who was in command when the sales tax pool was created. Stream
added that some North County cities depend on the sales tax pool and it might be better
if it was not available for them.
The crowd in the council chamber was rather sparse. Myself and two other reporters,
two dads with their sons working on Boy Scout merit badges was about all that was
present for Stream's speech.
PROCLAMATION: There would have been two more registered voters in the room if
Stream had only spoken before Mayor Nation presented a proclamation for Hannah
9
Ohms, who in 2013 won a silver medal in the 11-year-old group for piano solo at the
World Piano Competition in Cincinnati. This month she also performed at Carnegie Hall.
I have to say this...Hannah was either nervous or bored, but she did not seem happy
until Bob Nation handed her the "Hannah Ohms Day" proclamation that put the first
smile on her face of the evening.
Hannah is in the fifth grade and attends Wild Horse Elementary School.
CHESTERFIELD PARKS GRANT APPLICATION FOR 2015: The City Council passed
a resolution for the staff to apply for a Municipal Parks Grant for a $332,970 project of
replacing all the mulch on playgrounds in city parks with rubberized surfaces. Municipal
Parks Grants are administered by the Municipal League with money from a portion of
the Greenway and Arch Ground sales taxes. The city will provide $39,956 toward the
project and the Grant would provide $293,014.
THAT'S THE WAY THESE POLITICIANS ARE: At the City Council agenda meeting
City Administrator Mike Herring suggested that Mayor Nation tell the council who was
visiting City Hall earlier. Mayor Nation said U.S. Senator Roy Blunt had stopped by city
hall and chatted with him. Councilman Dan Hurt asked what was discussed.
"He had been at a meeting at Parkway Schools. I'm sure he was just killing time
between things to do," said Nation. "That's the way these politicians are," he added.
Nation's comments impressed me thinking he was a man of people and not really a
politician. Then a few minutes later he let Rick Stream make a stump speech during a
city council meeting and I wasn't so sure.
10
FOLLOW THE MONEY: October 15 was the day the third
quarter campaign contributions information is released by the
Missouri Ethic Commission.
Let's start by taking a look at all the loot State Rep. John Diehl
pulled in. But before we do...let's look at some interesting stats
involving Diehl who for three prior elections never had an
opponent in the primary or the general election. Since 2008 Diehl
raised $1,516,571 to run against no one. Now that he has token
opposition from a left wing Democrat he has raised another
$313,145.
Here is a breakdown of his contributions since 2011 through June 30, 2014:
Diehl’s Money From 2011 to July 1, 2014.
Has received contributions from 33 different states totaling $1,476,733.
1074 individual contributions from 2011-2014
868 from Missouri
206 outside Missouri
24% of his contributions came from out of the state
$274,700 in cash from out-of-state interests.
$1,457,919 in cash from interests that are NOT voters in his district.
1074 individual contributions total – from that total there are only 42 contributions from
voters in Diehl’s district.
42 contributions = $18,814 (average contribution = $447.95)
1074 contributions = $1,476,733 (average contribution = $1374.98)
1.2% of his money raised comes from voters in his district.
3.9% of his donations come from voters in his district.
11
Here is the list of campaign contributors of $2,000 or more. Only three $2,000+
contributions are from Diehl's district. Of 104 total contributions only three came from
Diehl's 89nd District.
$2,500
$2,500
$2,500
$2,500
$5,000
$5,000
$2,500
$5,000
$2,500
$2,000
$5,000
$2,500
$2,500
$5,000
$2,500
$2,500
$2,500
$2,500
$2,500
$5,000
$5,000
$2,000
$2,500
$2,500
$7,500
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,500
$2,500
$2,500
$2,500
Dollar, Burns and Becker Law Firm Kansas City, MO
Mandel & Mandel Law Firm St. Louis, MO
Andrew O'Brien O'Brien Law Firm St. Louis, MO
Intelliair, LLC Grain Supply Management (Farming) Archie, MO
W.J. Cook Missouri Food & Fiber, LLC Garden City, MO
Dale Ludwig Missouri Soybean Assn. Linn, MO
Zevan & Davidson Law Firm St. Louis, MO
Missourian's for Excellence in Government St. Louis
(A Rex Sinquefield funded PAC)
Monsanto Creve Coeur, MO
Charter Communications Town and Country, MO (actually in Diehl's district)
Noranda Aluminum New Madrid, MO
Associated General Contractors of St. Louis PAC St. Louis, MO
QC Holdings, Inc. (Payday Loan Company DBA Quik Cash) Overland Park, KS
Pyramid Home Health Care Cape Girardeau, MO
Cary & Danis, LLC Law Firm Clayton, MO
THE DRAKULICH FIRM APLC Law Firm Las Vegas, NV
NEBLETT BEARD & ARSENAULT Law Firm Alexandria, LA
PARKER & WAICHMAN LLP Law Firm Bonita Springs, FL
The Lanier Law Firm Houston, TX
Marco Development Low Income Housing Clarkton, MO
Walmart Bentonville, AR
JOHN BARDGETT & ASSOCIATES INC Lobbyist Chesterfield, MO
Union Pacific Railroad Omaha, NB
Health Systems, INc. Sikeston, MO
Missouri Health Care Assoc. Jefferson City, MO
Centurytel Communications Monroe, LA
MO Independent Banks Assoc. Liberty, MO
West County Care Center Ballwin, MO
Woodlands Hill Marble Hill, MO
PHLV Healthcare Savannah, MO
Larus Corporation (Real Estate Dev) Des Peres, MO
L B ECKELKAMP JR Bank of Washington Washington, MO
Fred Weber Construction Maryland Heights, MO
Centene Management Co. Clayton, MO
Sterling Bank Popular Bluff, MO
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$2,500
$3,500
$3,750
$2,000
$4,000
$4,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$50,000
$10,000
$10,000
$10,000
$15,000
Cerner Corp. Healthcare Kansas City, MO
POLSINELLI Law Firm Kansas City, MO
Altria Services Tobacco (Phillip Morris) Richmond, VA
David Hall Hallmark Cards Mission Hills, KS
Donald Hall Hallmark Card Kansas City MO
Hallmark Cards Kansas City MO
KCBIZ PAC Kansas City, MO
Edith Cunnane Creve Coeur, MO
Laclede Gas PAC St. Louis, MO
Lewis & Clark Ozark Mountain Forum Springfield, MO
Express Scripts Ferguson, MO
Missouri Hospital Association Jefferson City, MO
Pinnacle Entertainment Gambling/Casinos Las Vegas, NV
Ameren UE St. Louis, MO
Here are contributions over $5,000 in October:
$25,000
Lewis and Clark Ozark Mountain Forum, Springfield MO
$10,500 Grow Missouri Jefferson City, MO (A Rex Sinquefield funded PAC)
MEANWHILE IN THE OPPOSITION CAMP...NO MONEY: For the third
quarter of 2014 Diehl's opponent, Eric AL Gerber had exactly three campaign
contributors who gave more than $100 for a total of $575.00. Counting contributions
less than $100 Gerber raised a total of $1,280 in the period.
On October 1 Diehl had 341 times more money than Gerber. By October 18th it realy
showed. We had received six mailers from Diehl, plus been aware that he had placed
an ad in the bible of Snoburbia, The Ladue News. According to the financial reports Al
Gerber will have to use some money from his pocket if he plans to even have one
mailer.
Here are all of Gerber's contributors giving over $100 since he declared he was running:
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$200
$250
$125
$225
$250
$200
$150
$250
$200
$125
David and Dale Steinberg Chesterfield, MO
Maynard Luckett Town and County, MO
Cecil Sharp Manchester, MO
Jay Cohn Village of Westwood, MO
Dorothy Cooke Town and Country MO
Rosilee Trotta Town and Country, MO
Robert Kleinlehrer Town and Country, MO
Cecily Lee Elsah, IL
Denise Rubin Ballwin, MO
Richard Goldenhersh Belleville, IL
Gerber's campaign treasurer is Richard Hughes, the husband of former Alderwoman
Barbara Ann Hughes. Al does not have enough money to do even one district wide
mailer.
The one thing that Gerber beats Diehl in is campaign money from within his district.
70% of Gerber's funds came within his district, while just 1.2% of Diehl's money is from
businesses or people within the 89nd District.
Rumor had it this summer that the Democratic Party was going to put some money into
Gerber's campaign...not that they thought he had a pray in winning, but a hope it would
force Diehl to spend more money and not give some of the campaign funds to other
Republican candidates. This clearly never happened.
The only mailer to hit voters against Diehl was not from Gerber but from a right wing
group out of Bourbon, MO who is against Diehl's large contributors being from out of
state special interests.
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SCHUPP VS ASHCROFT: This is interesting money contest.
vs
While most of Jill Schupp's campaign contributions are small and from her district, her
larger $1,000 of more contributions are from all over the place. Just as you would
expect Schupp being a Democrat got a lot of money from labor unions. However she
also got lots of money from law firms.
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The most troubling contributions was $1,000 from Chuck Hatfield of Jefferson City. For
years Schupp has been one of the few state reps and senators who refused to accept
anything from Lobbyists. She does not have one lousy bagel and coffee from a
lobbyist, let alone the Christmas hams from Smithfield Farms who Republican
lawmakers are famous in receiving. Also no Cardinal baseball, Ram and MU football
tickets for Jill. So what's the problem with taking money from Chuck Hatfield? He is a
lobbyist! Not taking a free $15 lunch but taking $1,000 in cash seems to be a
contradiction.
You also have to wonder who all the law firms giving cash to Jill and exactly who do
they represent. Here is the list of the $1,000 and over contributors to Jill:
$5,000 Rob and Rob, LLC Kansas City, MO
$1,000 McClelland Law Firm Liberty, MO
$1,000 Raymond Peters Ladue, MO
$1,000 Holman Schiavone, LLC Kansas City, MO
$1,000 Justus for Missouri Kansas City, MO
$1,000 Communications Workers of America St. Louis, MO
$1,000 Good Government for Missouri Clayton, MO
$64,299 Missouri Democratic State Committee Jefferson City, MO
$3,500 William Danforth Ladue, MO
$5,000 David Dempsey Ladue, MO
$1,000 Law Offices of Newman, Bronson and Wallis Maryland Heights, MO
$1,000 Express Scripts Ferguson, MO
$1,000 Heavy Construction Labors Kansas City, MO
$1,000 William Lacy Clay, Jr. for Congress St. Louis, MO
$5,000 Joe Keaveny For Senate St. Louis, MO
$5,001 Barry Aycock Parma, MO
$1,000 Robert Blitz Frontenac, MO
$1,000 Bruce Levinson Bourbon, MO
$1,000 Anna Foder, St. Louis, MO
$1,000 David Johnson Kansas City, MO
$1,000 Mollie's List University City, MO
$5,000 Andrew O'Brien lawyer St. Louis, MO
$1,000 Harriett Abatgis Chesterfield, MO
$1,000 Chuck Hatfield Lobbyist Jefferson City, MO
$7,500 Nancy Grove lawyer Ladue, MO
$5,000 American State, County and Municipal Retirees Jefferson City, MO
$2,000 Thomas Green Lawyer Glendale, MO
$5,000 Eastern Missouri Laborers Bridgeton, MO
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$1,000
$2,500
$1,000
$1,000
$2,500
$2,500
$1,000
$5,000
$2,500
$1,000
$1,000
$5,000
$1,000
$2,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$2,500
$5,000
$6,500
$1,000
$4,500
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$10,000
$5,000
$1,000
$5,000
$1,000
$5,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$25,000
$1,000
$3,000
$1,000
$7,500
Teamsters 245 Springfield, MO
Better Schools for Missouri Jefferson City, MO
Placzek Winget and Placzek Springfield, MO
Anne Bader Frontenac, MO
Spetner Associates, Inc. University City, MO
David Zevan Lawyer St. Louis, MO
Michael Staenberg Clayton, MO
Electrical Workers St. Louis MO
Tom Stern Creve Coeur, MO
Schlichter Bogard and Denton St. Louis, MO
Building Trades St. Louis, MO
Brett Emison Lee's Summit, MO
The Benson Law Firm Kirksville, MO
Terry Bloomberg Frontenac, MO
Davis Bethune and Jones LLC Kansas City, MO
Laborer's Local 110 St. Louis County, MO
Shamberg Johnson and Bergman Kansas City, MO
MO Teachers Association Columbia, MO
The Simon Law Firm St. Louis, MO
Strong Garner Bauer PC Springfield, MO
Operating Engineers Bridgeton, MO
Carol Klein Clayton, MO
Boyd Kenter Thomas and Parrish LLC Independence, MO
Pinnacle Entertainment Casinos Las Vegas, NV
Colleen Millstone Clayton, MO
Cynthia Metcalfe Clayton, MO
Supporters of Health Research and Treatments Clayton, MO
Gori, Julian and Associates, PC Edwardsville, IL
Mark David Greenberg Olivette, MO
Dollar Burns and Becker LC Kansas City, MO
Jim Holloran Lawyer St. Louis, MO
Davis Ketchmark McCreight and Ivers PC Leawood, KS
Luxco Liquor Distributor St. Louis MO
Bley and Evans LC Columbia, MO
Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 562 St. Louis, MO
Missouri-Kansas-Nebraska Conference of Teamsters Springfield, MO
Pipe Fitters Local Union 533 Kansas City, MO
Teamsters Local Union 688 Woodson Terrace, MO
Karen Knopf Creve Coeur, MO
Service Employees International St. Louis, MO
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$2,000
$1,000
$1,450
Roger Johnson Lawyer Joplin, MO
Leona Lee Bohm Creve Coeur, MO
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Missouri Hazelwood, MO
On the first of October Jill Schupp had $603,128 on hand.
ASHCROFT has fewer $1,000 or more contributors, but they are giving much bigger
contributions. As we mentioned in July, while Schupp was getting a large amount of
small donations from within her district, Ashcroft was getting them from Southwestern
Missouri, especially from Greene and Laclede Counties, where his family is from.
That is still true and he is getting very little money from within his district.
$25,000
$320,411
$1,000
$25,000
$7,500
$2,500
$9,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$10,000
$1,000
$5,005
$5,500
$2,650
$10,000
$5,001
$1,000
$2,500
$2,500
$1,000
$5,000
$5,000
$1,000
$1,000
$2,500
Committee to Elect Ron Richards Joplin, MO
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee Jefferson City, MO
Realtors PAC - Missouri Columbia, MO
Dempsey for Missouri St. Charles, MO
Claudia Kehoe Jefferson City, MO
Emerson Electric Ferguson, MO
Citizens to Elect Mike Kehoe Jefferson City, MO
Patrick Behan Frontenac, MO
Jeff Patterson Dallas, Texas
Missouri Insurance Coalition Jefferson City, MO
Missouri State Farm Agents Jefferson City, MO
August Busch, III St. Peters, MO
Linda Cozad Platte City, MO
Romine for Senate Farmington, MO
Doug Libla for Senate Poplar Bluff, MO
Ballas Point Properties Creve Coeur, MO
Stanley Herzog St. Joseph, MO
Vicky Hartzler for Congress Shawnee, Kansas
National Federation of Independent Businesses Washington, DC
MO Medical PAC Jefferson City, MO
Bob Dixon for Senate Election Committee Springfield, MO
Robert Noble Springfield, MO
RightCHOICE Managed Care Inc Cincinnati OH
Drury Development Corp Creve Coeur, MO
Laclede Gas St. Louis, MO
Blue Ocean Portfolios Chesterfield, MO
James McDonnell III Ladue, MO
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$5,000
$1,000
$2,000
$1,000
$1,205
Menlo Smith Frontenac, MO
Bryan Swift Ladue, MO
Jane Jokerst Town and County, MO
Richard Holton Clayton, MO
Blue Ocean Portfolios Chesterfield, MO
On the first of October Ashcroft had $466,309 in the bank.
On October 11 Jill Schupp got a $15,702 contribution from the Missouri Democratic
State Committee. That might seem like a lot of last minute money...but on October 19th
the Missouri Republican Senate Committee handed over $250,000 to to Jay Ashcroft.
Expect to hear and see some nasty and factually questionable ads from the Ashcroft
camp in the next two weeks.
DON GOSEN: The Republican state rep incumbent from western
Chesterfield and Wildwood has 100 times more money for campaigning than his
Democratic opponent Candace Farmer. ($59,523 to $576) Gosen is a State Farm
Insurance agent and the large contributors to his campaign are from the insurance
industry. If there is an issue that pits the public versus insurance industry I wonder what
way Gosen's vote will fall?
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$1,000
$1,000
$2,000
$2,000
$1,500
Advantage Metals Recycling Cincinnati, OH
Property Casualty Insurers Assoc of America Chicago, IL
Supports of Health Research & Treatments St. Louis, MO
Ameren Missouri St. Louis, MO
American Subcontractos Association St. Louis, MO
Friend of Tilley Perryville, MO
Travelers Insurance Hartford CT
Liberty Mutual Boston, MA
American Family Insurance Jefferson City, MO
Missouri State Farm Agents Jefferson City, MO
Future Educators of America Overland Park, KS
Missouri Insurance Coalition Jefferson City, MO
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CANDACE FARMER: Candace has $576 on hand after four months of
fund raising and campaigning in the most Republican area of St. Louis County. This
isnot enouigh even for one mailer. Here are not her big contributors, but all of her
contributors.
$100
$200
$100
$50
$50
$100
$50
$50
Janet Westhoff Raymore, MO
Dan Lambert Wildwood, MO
Charles Cannon Wildwood, MO
Curtis Kennard Valley Park, MO
Dennis Lavallee Wildwood, MO
Missouri National Organization for Women Columbia, MO
Ted Hodina Chesterfield, MO
Kimberly Christianson Lee's Summit, MO
FOOD: CITY RESTAURANT MOVING INTO HARVEST SPACE ON BIG BEND WITH
A FAMILIAR FACE BEHIND THE BAR: The Harvest Restaurant at 1059 S. Big Bend
went out of business earlier this year. It is now being replaced by a restaurant moving
from Soulard.
On October 31 The Riverbend Restaurant and Bar will open in the former Harvest
space. The menu will be American/Creole.
People familiar with Clayton area restaurants will know the person behind the bar in the
evening at the new Riverbend . That will be Carol Tanner, who for 17 years ran the bar
for Jimmy Christo at Jimmy's on the Park on DeMun.
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Carol Tanner (left) and her subtle sense of humor has
my wife laughing out loud. I know many people who stop by Jimmy's on the Park to have a drink, just to
say hi to Carol.
The first business I remember being at 1059 S. Big bend was a Shakey's Pizza
restaurant in the 1960's.
It was replaced by Cyranos Dessert House, when the famous evening and weekend
late night date stop moved from the basement of John Marshall's Hi Fidelity Showroom
on Clayton Road at DeMun to 1059 S. Big Bend. (It has since moved to Big Bend and
Lockwood in Webster Groves.)
The Harvest Restaurant was at the site for just under 20 years. Hank's Cheesecakes
still occupies the south half of the building.
GETTING ON THE CHESTERFIELD VALLEY PANDA EXPRESS Our
restaurant reviews tend to be of establishments that are locally owned and operated.
Occasionally we make an exception and this week is one of those exceptions.
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This week's "Lunch with Jean" (former Patch.com editor Jean Whitney) takes us out to
the Panda Express in the Chesterfield Valley Commons Shopping Center at 98 THF
Blvd. My wife and I and it turns out Jean go to the Panda Express in Manchester in front
of the Highland Meadows Shopping Center. We decided to see if we would like the one
in Chesterfield Valley as much.
We showed up at 1:10 at the end of a weekday lunch rush and had to wait before
entering the line to be served. The reason for the delay is we were waiting for them to
cook up some more chow mein noodles and more Shanghai Angus Steak.
Once the food was replenished we jumped in line and were immediately given a sample
of Honey Chicken that just returned to the menu.
At Panda Express you build you order by selecting chow mein, friend rice, white rice,
brown rich or steamed vegetables and then add entrees. A two entree plate is $6.59
unless you get one of three or four premium entrees where there is an additional $1.25
up-charge. That was where I was headed.
I went with the Shanghai Angus Steak and the Honey Walnut Shrimp on top of chow
mein. ($9.05)
I know that almost no place in American claiming to be a Chinese Restaurant that is
owned and operated by Chinese-Americans actually prepares and sells food that is
similar to what is eaten in China, let alone a chain like Panda Express.
I taught criminal investigation classes twice across China and in a month of meals in the
late 1980s and early 1990s I had exactly four meals that I enjoyed.
Two were in Beijing. The first was in 1987 at the three story Kentucky Fried Chicken
restaurant located about two blocks from Tiananmen Square. (At the time it was the
only American fast food restaurant in all of China.) The other was Peking Duck served
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at a Beijing hotel. The other good meals involved 23 courses of dumplings in Xian and
some noodles in Kunming. Most of the other meals included too many soups with bird
heads in them and dishes with eels, snakes or meat from questionable sources.
In 1993 I hosted seven Chinese fire and police chiefs on a national tour. When they
were in Washington, DC, where I was a police official, I had to talk two different Chinese
Restaurants to go off the menu and make food that would be served in China for the
group. I stuck with my favorite from the regular menu, "beef lo mein."
So when I'm anywhere in the U.S. and there is some place selling "Chinese food" the
last thing I want is anything close to what they eat in China. The Panda Express did not
let me down.
My Shanghai Steak was both tender and spicy but not too spicy with a sauce that was
just right. The steak is also served with mushrooms, asparagus and onions. On the
other side of the plate were my fried shrimp with a honey/sweet sauce on it. Both were
delicious.
Jean and I also split egg rolls and spring rolls. The Chicken Egg Roll ($1.90) was left in
the fryer a bit too long, but the ingredients were fine. However it was the spring rolls
that were the hit. They were fried to a perfect crispness and the vegetables were tasty.
Jean ordered a Green Benn/Chicken Breast Strip bowl with fired rice ($5.59). She also
tried a side of Honey Walnut Shrimp. The chicken with the green beans does not have
a tempura batter or breading, like the popular honey chicken or orange chicken, so it is
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lighter. Jean gave aces to this entree...actually we found no difference in the taste of
quality in the food from the Chesterfield Valley Panda Express and the one in
Manchester,
The other thing we found that during rush periods there can be screw ups. During a
dinner rush in Manchester my wife and I watched as our food got cold while a go-order
was filled. The young manager saw what happened and gave up vouchers for free
meals.
On this day just as Jean was going to order her Chicken and green beans, they served
up the last portion for a go order. We waited for more to be prepared, but the busy staff
did not see that Jean had sat down. They dished up her order and when not seeing her
they threw it away. 10 minutes later Jean went back up and they realized their mistake.
Luckily we were in no hurry.
Besides liking everything we ordered...we were full...but unlike a trip to the Olive Garden
for unlimited pasta and breadsticks we were not stuffed and uncomfortable when we got
up from the table.
MUSIC: THEY WERE DANCING IN THE AISLES ON THE RETURN OF ANITA:
There were three empty tables on Saturday October 11 when Anita Rosamond started
her first song at Smitty's after a four month absence. Within two hours there was not a
table to be had and people were dancing in the aisle.
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Anita starting with a ballad before the place was full
The place was full when a customer gets up to sing a song as Anita played the piano.
Dancing breaks out, but the place looks like it could be the Gatesworth, until Anita's "girls" show up to do
some backup signing and drop the average age by 10 years or more.
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Anita will be back at Smitty's on Saturday afternoon November 29, two days after
Thanksgiving.
RAT PACK MONDAY IS BACK THIS MONDAY AT THE ONE-19: Dean Christopher,
Jim Manley and Chris Swan are back for more songs and laughs at the One-19 in
Kirkwood this Monday October 27.
Last month there was an overflow crowd...this month it is an off-night from the World
Series...get out and have some fun.
CARTOONS:
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A little help here...you have Tennessee Tuxedo, the Muppet Ernie and Harrison Ford sitting in a Ford
Fairlane or maybe it's a Ford Galaxy.
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