[ballwin]
From trying to cheat on your taxes to taking your illicit activities across state lines, you don’t want to mess with the feds. As far as we know, Tina Kuehl of Ballwin committed neither of these crimes, but the home health care provider found out the hard way that you’d better play it straight with Medicare. Kuehl was sentenced July 28 to more than four years in federal prison and ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution for bank and Medicare fraud. She pleaded guilty to that, as well as to making false statements. It all stems from an organized effort prosecutors say Kuehl oversaw at her business, Better Way Home Care of Ellisville, to bilk the federal insurance program. Feds say she inflated the number of patient therapy visits eligible for reimbursement and submitted false diagnostic codes. She used some of the proceeds in an attempt to keep her home, which is what gave rise to the bank fraud charge. Kuehl also pleaded guilty to three counts of making false statements. The bank fraud involved a foreclosed $305,000 property loan that prosecutors say Kuehl tried to pay down using fraudulent checks. When she gets out, we think she needs to find a better way to run Better Way.
[creve coeur]
Bus shelters are utilitarian; form follows function, right? Not in Creve Coeur. The city and developer The Koman Group ponied up $30,000 for an artistic shelter outside the CVS in the 11000 block ofOlive Boulevard eastbound. (Koman was developer of the CVS. Anything that can be done to lend a sense of uniqueness to a big-box store or its surroundings gets kudos from me.) Scheduled for completion in March,the mixed-media, shelter-come-sculpture by Chris Fennell will evoke a tree, its ‘foliage’ to be fashioned from the windows of dozens of used cars. With an approved $60,000 budget, a second shelter is slated for next year at the city’s Laverne Collins Park; an artist has yet to be selected. The city has a third installation planned to the west of the Olive/I-270 overpass at Mason, in front of BJC West. Some on the city council would like to gussy up all the Metro shelters in Creve Coeur, one of our area’s nicest communities. Why not? Anyone who passes over or under the aforementioned overpass can’t help butbe impressed by the beauty of the bridge, the plantersarranged atop and the rest of the lovely landscaping. It’s extraordinary, and we’re sure the shelters will be as well.
[central west end]
We could fill our pages with stories of cancer patients and their remarkable bravery in face of the deadly disease and its rigorous, painful treatment. Lifelong runner Ed Heigl, a St. Louisan undergoing treatment at Siteman Cancer Center, tells a different type of story: ‘Right To Try’. After 41 cycles of chemo, Heigl is still fighting stage IV cancer, and still running through it … wearing his portable chemo pump and carrying an American flag. Right To Try is the organized effort behind allowing terminal patients access to experimental drugs not yet approved by the FDA, an effort the federal agency has tried to block at every turn. The FDA is appealing the recent passage of a bill in Colorado. Heigl lobbied hard this year for the bill awaiting Gov. Jay Nixon’s signature, trying to get word out before, during and after running or bicycling events. A very happy day for Heigl was July 14, when Nixon signed the bill into law. But he has more running to do, both for himself and against the FDA, which likely will continue to do one of the things it does best: administrate. IMHO, terminal patients should be permitted to try experimental drugs that have life-saving potential, as well as have access to others that may alleviate their pain.
[chesterfield]
You’ve surely seen some of them: pre-teen girls who clutch American Girl likenesses of themselves tightly like there’s no tomorrow. Could be they got the exclusive doll at the American Girl Store at Chesterfield Mall. The cute wholesomeness is overwhelming. (Men don’t understand this, of course; they think it’s a cult.) Girls, their moms, grandmothers and favorite aunts are all invited to enjoy a screening of the American Girl movie Isabella Dances Into the Spotlight on Aug. 22, at Chesterfield Amphitheater, beginning at dusk. The new feature film is based on the experiences of Isabelle Palmer, American Girl of the Year, an inspired dancer who discovers her own way to shine. Girls can come early and try their hand at Isabella-themed crafts, plus move their feet to the beat of music from the soundtrack. The event is free, so come one, come all (come early). Dads and brothers: The Redbirds are idle that day. Sorry, but you’ll have to find another excuse.
[eureka]
A bronze statue of a wildcat now stands guard in front of Eureka High School, donated by bereaved parents in honor of Lauren and Kathleen Oliver, sisters killed in a Wildwood car crash last year that also claimed the driver’s life. Lauren, who had just graduated, had planned to major in international business at college. Kathleen, a rising senior, was co-captain of the cheerleaders. The high school’s mascot is the Wildcat.
[richmond heights]
They’re pink, they’re plastic, they look like they’re standing on one spindly leg, and they don’t really belong in anyone’s yard. Cute? Um, no. Still, pink flamingos, to some, are the ultimate retro lawn ornament. They’re funny, I guess, but they don’t really go with anything, unless you live in, say, Miami Beach. Richmond Heights residents, for good or ill, have been waking up to one, or several, pink flamingos in their yard, or bushes. Some residents seem to think they’re a personal affront, that maybe someone’s ‘pinking’ them. But most others have been taking it all in good fun. The pinksters are the work of a prankster or pranksters who descend on the Yale Avenue area at night and arrange the birds like this or like that. Then, they migrate. Who are we to thank or blame? No one claims to know. But it isn’t just two or three that pop up randomly: there are dozens. They’re not offensive, they’re just for the birds, only they don’t poop on your car. And since they can’t fly, they don’t get stuck in your trees. Toilet paper does that.
[university city]
Even though they are no longer legally bound to do so, the U. City School Board has reversed course and decided to welcome back 80 transfer students from the bankrupt Normandy school system. The vote originally was taken with one member absent, and was a tie. In any case, the move is a credit to U. City and its reputation of inclusiveness. Many other districts in the region decided to send the transfers back after one year, now that the Normandy Schools ‘Collaborative’ is under state control and therefore no longer unaccredited … at least as far as Missouri law is concerned. Meanwhile, another district that had been sitting on the fence decided last month to allow Normandy transfers to remain a second year. Nineteen kids will continue their education in the Clayton School District. Three who lived within the Normandy district boundaries graduated this year from Clayton High School. Good gracious; where did that year go?
[st. louis]
‘Don’t look, Ethel!’ was a sort of rallying cry during the mid-1970s streaking craze, when folks stripped down to their birthday suits and ran across baseball fields, through the supermarkets and malls … practically everywhere, it seemed, for awhile. Well, Ethel would have had plenty to look at a few Saturdays ago when the World Naked Bike Ride took to the streets of south St. Louis. I was having salad on the patio at Café Mochi as hundreds of nude cyclists started to glide and jiggle past. Not all were in the altogether. Some wore loincloths, part of two-piece bathing suits, and/or body paint. But many rolled along in only what God covered ’em. As is the case, I imagine, on a clothing-optional beach, gawking is also optional, but not every body is a thing of beauty. Yes, they were all ages, shapes and sizes. The ride was one of dozens around the world organized to promote positive body awareness and any number of other things. Some riders used their bodies as billboards for slogans, many promoting the not-so-alt alternative method: ‘More sweat, less oil.’ At first, diners jumped up to capture the spectacle on their cellphones. Most then went back to meals and conversations: the sheer number of nude and semi-nude riders wasn’t a shock anymore. Which, I guess, means the riders made their point. Who knows, maybe even Ethel would have yawned.