creve coeur
In about a year, when you call the cops in Creve Coeur, they’ll be coming from somewhere else—a new police station, that is. Construction is set to begin in February … why, that’s tomorrow! After evaluating nine bids ranging from $7 million to $9 million, the city awarded a $7.4 million contract to United Construction. Completion of the station is expected by early 2019. The 25,000-square-foot, two-story station will be located at 350 N. New Ballas Road, just north of the existing Government Center. The site plan features a new secondary access road for police vehicles onto Magna Carta Road to improve the parking configuration that presently poses potential hazards between police vehicles and community center patrons. The building also will include a training center and dedicated emergency operations center, which is a critical component of managing public safety and security during major incidents. In November 2016, voters approved a general obligation bond totaling $10.69 million to finance the new facility. The $0.082 property tax levy will sunset after 20 years.
normandy
It’s happening nearly 200 years too late, but a slave finally is getting his props. York was the slave of explorer William Clark, the surname following the ampersand in Lewis & Clark, as in the expedition. York, arguably, is an even classier name than Meriwether (Lewis). York’s social status most certainly was not. A mite of justice is being done by including the slave’s name in a prairie garden at Wayside Community Garden in Normandy, formerly named for Clark alone. It has been renamed the William Clark and York Prairie Garden, thanks to a reference noticed by author Jo Ann Trogdon during research for the book The Unknown Travels and Dubious Pursuits of William Clark. The reference, appearing in a chapter on Clark’s letters to his brother, leaves little doubt that York worked on Clark’s country estate, which bordered the Charles Lucas estate. Like many other parts of the town, much of which contains the former Lucas estate, Normandy has a somewhat rural, rolling feel; not so much suburban. Garden members say it’s very likely that Clark and York would probably still recognize it today. Members say Clark and the Lucas family had close personal and business ties, so it’s nearly certain York was vital to the proceedings. More importantly, by recognizing York’s role in his endeavors with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and, later, on Clark’s country estate, the garden is acknowledging the unpaid and largely unacknowledged contributions of all slaves who made Clark’s achievements possible. Built in 1893, Wayside is a landmark at the intersection of Florissant and Bermuda roads. The community garden is one of the largest in the county, providing plots for a diverse group of more than 40 gardening families who grow organic fruits and vegetables for themselves and others. Last year, they donated more than 1,300 pounds of produce to a local food bank.
university city
John Burroughs sophomore Gabe Fleisher turned 16 Nov. 8. Many teens his age are excited about driving. As for Gabe, he was absolutely thrilled that his birthday fell on Election Day. How apropos. Gabe has been a political junkie since his dad, Rabbi Randy Fleisher, took him to Washington, D.C., to experience President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009. He was 8. Gabe read ravenously, and still does, but he didn’t become politically active until he was 9. That’s when he started producing a daily email based on his observations of the political goings-on of the previous day. At first, he just shared it with his mom, but now, it’s a daily weekday blast called ‘Wake Up to Politics.’ Gabe counts Katy Tur of MSNBC and Ben Smith of BuzzFeed among some of his nearly 50,000 subscribers. The New York Times did a feature last May on Gabe’s project. He’s been featured in a segment of Full Frontal, political comic Samantha Bee’s TV show, holding his own with the somewhat snarky correspondent—and did well against the ‘adults in the room’ in an MSNBC contest that would have had many other high-schoolers wringing their hands. Partisan? Not so much. He tries to look at political happenings from both sides of the aisle. Gabe certainly has found his voice and puts together a compelling narrative from the political coverage he finds in the news sections of The NYT, The Washington Post and various websites that he has found to be fair and balanced. He’s not much of a TV watcher, stays away from op-ed sections, and doesn’t think he needs to read some of the recent books that claim insider peeks at this administration, but at various times has had stacked next to his bed former First Lady Barbara Bush’s memoir, Tur’s book on the 2016 campaign, and Shattered, an autopsy of Hillary Clinton’s quest for the White House. Gabe sketches out an outline of what he plans to cover the following day. He gets up at 6 a.m. and wraps up the day’s WUTP in a little over an hour and a half, filing by 7:40 or so. Then he needs to finish getting ready for school. Yeah, there’s that. Yes, he keeps an eye on Twitter and other news feeds during the day, but there’s math and science, too. There’s plenty of time to choose what college major(s) to pursue, but certainly journalism or political science are on the horizon more than, say, biology. Gabe admits: “My teacher can back me up on this.”
st. louis
Have you already reverted to sneaking (or snarfing) chocolate, abandoning that oh-so-sincere resolution to get in better shape and lose weight? Say you’re still trying to get around to that? OK, then. You’ll probably not be surprised that gym memberships jump 50 percent in January compared to December almost every year, according to the Better Business Bureau. And it’s important to make sure the gym you’re considering meets your needs. Nationally, 3,100 complaints were logged with the BBB against gyms—locally, there were 71. Before you sign on the line, do your research! To get the most from your gym membership, consider these tips: Take a tour. Make sure the gym has the equipment, classes and trainers you need or expect. Check out the cleanliness of the showers. Ask about busy times, wait times for equipment, whether classes require preregistration, availability and cost of trainers … and so on. Ask about free trials. The YMCA and select other gyms offer a one-week free pass for potential members. Try the gym at different times to see how crowded it is and whether there’s a wait for certain equipment. Check out classes if they are offered. Do not feel coerced! Don’t cave to high-pressure sales tactics to join right away. A reputable gym will give you enough time to read the contract thoroughly, clearly spell out the refund/cancellation policy, tour the facilities, do some research and make an informed decision.
chesterfield
If the giant could stand up, he’d be about 70 feet tall. But he can’t. He’s trapped in the earth, just west of ever-emptying Chesterfield Mall. Is he being sucked into quicksand, or escaping from his well-landscaped prison of dirt and sod? He isn’t talking, and not only because his gaping mouth is filled with mulch. The Awakening-Buried Giant is a five-piece aluminum sculpture/recumbent statue with a bearded face in mid-scream. Perhaps, on the chilly day we visited, he was angrily mouthing: “It’s freaking cold out here!” The sculpture consists of an exposed head, left hand, left thigh and shin, right foot and right arm, which gives one cause to wonder whether he’s wearing a T-shirt and underpants … otherwise, his rear end is colder than a well-digger’s fanny in Montan-ny! Anyhow, in warm and warmish weather, the sculpture serves as a climber for kids and some adults. They ascend the foot and pose atop the big toe. From the knee, they can slide down either the thigh or shin. That and other photo ops abound. Depending on the size of a group and each of the members therein, the huge mouth is perfect for striking a pose. People recline inside the hand. Families may picnic somewhere in the middle, imagining they’re separated from the giant’s belly button by several feet of earth. But if the rest of this fellow existed, it would weigh a heck of a lot more than the two tons represented just by five exposed body parts. In the park since 2009, the giant is the second casting of a 1980 work by J. Seward Johnson; the first is installed in a Maryland park on the waterfront of the National Harbor.
