The river wild
Around Town
St. Charles County program targets key locations to combat mosquitos. Pg. 2
MoDOT closes, shift lanes on Interstate 70 at Dardenne Creek for bridge maintenance Energy efficiency upgrades to local businesses provide $1.8 million in savings. Pg. 4
Features
Recipe, Movie & Sudoku. Pg. F-1
CLA SSIFIEDS AND HOME & GARDEN. Pg. F-2 /F-3
Moore On Life, Lifestyle & Crossword. Pg. F-4
Weather
Annual boat race down the Missouri River from Kansas City to St. Charles is halted early due to unsafe river conditions
By Brett AutenMuch like a Major League Baseball game being finished in the eighth inning due to rain, the world’s longest nonstop river race that finishes each year in St. Charles was concluded before the official finish.
The18th Annual Missouri American Water MR340 began on Aug. 1, but was stopped a day later due to unsafe weather and river conditions. The race is held annually with participants traveling 340 miles by boat, kayaks, and canoes from Kansas City to St. Charles.
Last week’s storm flooded local tributar-
ies and caused the Missouri River to rise and pick up a significant amount of debris, including large trees. A storm with very heavy rain targeting the final 100plus miles of the race, nighttime paddling without moonlight, and the changing river conditions all threatened the safety of race participants.
“There were a multitude of factors all at work,” Steve Schnarr, executive director of Missouri Relief, said. “We’re sad to end the race early but protecting our paddlers is our top priority. Anyone of which was not necessarily a game changer, but they all added up. We were closely monitoring the
weather and river conditions and this was the right call for everyone involved.”
The starting point for the race is Kaw Point Park, Mile 367.5 in Kansas City, Kansas and lasts, usually, 85 or 86 hours. Trophies and medals were still handed out as the Friday Night Finish Line Party and Special Ceremony at the Lewis and Clark Boathouse did go on without a hitch.
“We ended up having quite a few people come out that night,” Schnarr said. “They were able to stick around and check out St. Charles a little more than normally. It was a great turnout.
See ‘RIVER’ page 2
Racers were informed that the boat ramp nearest to them would become the official finish line. Once there, participants connected with their ground crew or fellow racers. Schnarr said it was an all-hands-on-deck moment.
“Everybody pitched in,” Schnarr said. “We knew this could cause hardships and asked for all to assist each other in finding suitable and safe solutions. It was a huge community effort. There were people not even from the same country, helping each other.”
Safety boats swept the area as officials heavily encouraged those not to paddle past the nearest boat ramp.
The MR340 race course is 340 miles of the Missouri River, nearly across the entire state of Missouri. Racers must meet a series of checkpoint cutoff times as they proceed towards the finish line. The cutoff times for progress are designed to keep a tight safety halo for all paddlers. Failure to meet any checkpoint cutoff time is a disqualification. No race craft may be propelled by sail, kite, umbrella or other contrivance designed to harness wind or current to an advantage. Human-powered craft only.
Race proceeds benefit Missouri River Relief and the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Museum, organizations promoting environmental stewardship and education. Approximately 200 volunteers and staff members from Missouri American Water, Missouri River Relief, River Miles and the Lewis and Clark Boathouse help organize and facilitate the race each year.
MoDOT to close, shift lanes on Interstate 70 at Dardenne Creek for bridge maintenance work
Drivers traveling in both directions of Interstate 70 in St. Charles County should be aware of increased congestion as crews shift traffic as part of a bridge maintenance project. Crews will be working on eastbound and westbound Interstate 70 at Dardenne Creek. All work is weather permitting.
July 24, crews closed the acceleration lane, the far-right lane and right shoulder of eastbound I-70 between Route 79 and Dardenne
Creek. The remaining eastbound lanes will be shifted to the left. The northbound Route 79 on ramp to eastbound I-70 will be closed during the duration of the bridge work. On westbound I-70 between Dardenne Creek and Route 79, the Route 79 exit lane, the far-right lane and right shoulder will be closed and remaining lanes shifted left. As work progresses, eastbound and westbound lanes will be shifted in later stages. This
bridge work and traffic shift is expected to remain in place until fall 2023.
This bridge rehabilitation is part of a program to work on 12 bridges along Interstate 70 in St. Charles County: https://www.modot.org/70-bridge-rehabilitation-st-charles
For up-to-date traffic and travel info, motorists can check MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map at http://traveler.modot.org/map/.
St. Charles County program targets key locations to combat mosquitos
St. Charles County Department of Public Health’s Division of Environmental Health and Protection staff are hard at work combatting mosquitos. Homeowners are encouraged to join in the effort to eliminate the pests before they become a nuisance and potentially spread disease.
“Mosquito control is a year-round effort, but during warmer months, when they are most active, we ramp up our work to proactively treat for mosquitos and respond to requests and concerns,” says Ryan Tilley, Division Director of Environmental Health and Protection.
Homeowners play an important role in reducing the mosquitos in their community as well, says Tilley. Because mosquitos mostly stay within a few miles of their breeding site, denying them access to standing water they use for breeding can make a big difference in the immediate area, Tilley says.
“Routine cleaning of the gutters on your house is the number one thing residents can do to help, as well as addressing any other standing water,” Tilley notes. “Unused pools, bird baths, and water features without running water can all become habitat for mosquitos if they aren’t regularly cleaned.”
In 2022, county staff covered 239 miles spraying pesticides for adult mosquitos, in addition to 103 hours spent treating mosquito breeding habitats with larvicide. Tilley says the most effective way to reduce mosquito numbers is to eliminate or treat pools of standing water where they breed.
“Targeting developing larva in the water has the greatest impact and is more environmentally friendly than spraying,” says Tilley. “When choosing where to apply larvicide, we look for standing water in publicly accessible areas, like drainage ditches or retention ponds, particularly in areas that have a histo-
ry of high activity.”
When adult mosquitos become a major nuisance or threat to public health in an area, division staff use truck-mounted pesticide sprayers to reduce the population in that area. St. Charles County Mosquito Control services are provided in unincorporated St. Charles County and contracted for Augusta, Cottleville, Dardenne Prairie, Flint Hill, Lake Saint Louis, Portage des Sioux, St. Paul, Weldon Spring, Weldon Spring Heights, and Wentzville. Residents of those areas can go online to sccmo.org/mosquito and click the “Notify Staff of Mosquito Concerns” link to request services.
The cities of O’Fallon, St. Charles and St. Peters operate their own mosquito control programs. Residents of those cities should contact their respective city halls for treatment concerns.
Tarlton, SSM celebrate outpatient center milestone with safety lunch
Tarlton, St. Louis’ largest women-owned general contracting and construction management firm, lifted the final structural steel beam into place July 7 at the site of the future SSM Outpatient Center in O’Fallon. Joined by SSM and Tarlton executives, the construction team celebrated the milestone with beam signing and a safety lunch.
Craftworkers on the site numbered about 25 and include ironworkers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, operators and laborers, according to Joshua Pennington, Tarlton project superintendent. He added that safety has been exemplary.
Representatives of the SSM-design-construction team, including architect ACI Boland Architects, were invited to sign the beam in the days leading up to its placement. Speaking July 7, before the box lunch was served were: Jeremy Fotheringham, SSM Health
Regional President, Academic & St. Louis; Jake Brooks, President, SSM Health St. Joseph – St Charles & Wentzville; Hossain Marandi, MD, MBA, FACHE, President, SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital & System Vice President, Pediatric Service Line and Diane Grimsley, Tarlton Corp. Project Director.
Tarlton broke ground on the two-story, 66,000-square-foot outpatient health center in December, with completion slated for mid2024. SSM Health is partnering with SSM Health Medical Group, SLUCare Physician Group and Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital to provide onsite primary, specialty and pediatric services. The facility is situated near the Streets of Caledonia, a growing lifestyle community that includes a mix of residential and commercial properties, restaurants, retail and other amenities.
“Our ceremony today is to celebrate that the construction of this project has reached the sky without any injuries,” said Diane Grimsley, Tarlton project director. “We want to thank everyone who worked on and supported this project for all of their hard work. We are very excited about the future home of SSM and look forward to trouble-free progress as we move toward completion next year.”
Ameren Missouri is announcing that more than 416 commercial customers have participated in its business energy savings program, BizSavers, in 2023. Combined, these customers have saved over $1.8 million on their energy costs after completing
more than 575 energy efficiency projects, leading to in excess of 26 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity saved.
“Ameren Missouri is proud to work with many of our commercial customers, such as Toyota Missouri and the City of St. Charles School District, to help them save money on energy costs through our BizSavers program,” said Rich Wright, manager of energy efficiency at Ameren Missouri. “The program is designed to provide quick and easy savings, as well as customized solutions for businesses of any size. When businesses are able to adopt these, everyone benefits as a result.”
BizSavers provides cash incentives for energy efficiency upgrades such as LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC and refrigeration systems, commercial-grade cooking equipment, motor controls/variable fre-
quency drives, and more.
Toyota Missouri’s 1,000 team members produce cylinder heads for every Toyota vehicle built in North America. The manufacturer, located in Troy, Missouri, has participated in BizSavers since 2017. The plant has saved over 5.3 million kWh of electricity and reduced energy consumption by nearly 13%.
The City of St. Charles School District and Ameren Missouri's BizSavers partnership has contributed to substantial financial savings and significant green energy upgrades. This relationship has provided the district with over $1 million in rebates and incentives and has had a positive increase in the Energy Star Rating for every district building.
“One of our most recent projects took St. Charles High School, a nearly 100-year-old building, from an Energy Star Rating of 15 to
now trending at 61,” said Jeremy Shields, assistant superintendent of operations for the City of St. Charles School District.
“Not only did this improve the building environment for students and staff, but we now anticipate the district will have approximately $90,000 in annual energy savings for St. Charles High School alone.”
The BizSavers program offers several energy efficiency programs through Ameren Missouri to help commercial customers manage their energy use and reduce costs. In 2022, 1,332 commercial customers completed more than 2,000 projects, saving nearly 141 million kWh of electricity and benefiting from an estimated savings total of more than $13.7 million through the BizSavers program.
Visit AmerenMissouri.com/BizSavers to see how businesses can save.
Energy efficiency upgrades to local businesses provide $1.8 million in savingsSubmitted photo Iron workers sign a beam that will be placed in the future SSM Outpatient Center in O’Fallon.
Take Notice . . .
The events listed in this section are the latest updates as of press time, please check with individual sites for the most up to date cancellations and reschedule info.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Aug. 12: Petting zoo and pony rides
Holy Cross Lutheran Church will be providing a petting zoo and pony rides from 9 to 11 a.m. on the back lawn of their property. The church is located at 8945 Veterans Memorial Parkway in O’Fallon. There will be two ponies to ride and various animals to pet. There will be food to purchase for a quarter if you wish to feed the animals. All ages are welcome to pet the animals but only children can ride the ponies.
Aug. 24-27: Orchestra auditions
St. Charles County Youth Orchestra auditions will be held on Aug. 25, 26 and 27. Students at all levels of string, wind, brass, and percussion are invited to audition. The auditions will be held at the Grace Baptist Church Fellowship Hall St. Charles. Auditions are by appointment please visit www.sccyo.org/auditions.
Sept. 2: Car and truck show
Trinity Lutheran Church Annual Benefit Classic Car and Truck Show takes place at 1307 Boone St. in Troy. Entry Fee: $20 per class, first 100 registered get a free dash plaque and goodie bag. Registration takes place from 9 to 11 a.m., Participant Judging takes place from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. 2023 Proceeds to Benefit: Supplies for Shower of Love in our local community and Capital Improvements for Trinity Lutheran Church. For more information email trinitytroymo@gmail.com or call Bryan Gooding, Chair at 636775-0306. Vendor spaces are available, call Deana Von Dach 623-734-3630 to register.
ONGOING EVENTS
Mondays: Optimist Club meetings
The Wentzville/Lake St. Louis Optimist Club meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the Wentzville IHOP, 10 Layla Lane, Wentzville, MO.. For more information contact Ed Jurotich at 314-560-1868.
Mondays: Alcoholics Anonymous
If you want to drink, that’s your
business. If you want to stop, we can help. Call Alcoholics Anonymous at 636-970-0013.
Mondays: Take off Pounds Sensibly
TOPS meet every Monday at Holy Cross Lutheran Church at 8945 Veterans Memorial Hwy in O’Fallon. Meetings at 9:30 a.m. with weigh in beginning at 8:30 a.m. For more information please call Leogene Weber. 636-399-3124.
Mondays: NAMI St. Louis Connection Recovery Support Group
If you have mental health concerns and need support, please come on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at Friedens United Church of
Christ at 1703 Old Highway 94 South in St. Charles.
Mondays: Parent support group
Because I Love You, (BILY), Gateway parent support group meets every Monday at 7:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church at 801 First Capitol Dr. in St. Charles. For information and directions, please contact the helpline at 314-993-7550 or email gateway_parent_help@ yahoo.com. BILY is a program of self-help for parents of troubled children (all ages). We are not professionals, but parents helping each other. The meetings are free to attend.
Mondays: Kiwanis Club meeting
Cottleville-Weldon Spring Kiwanis Club meets the first Monday of the month at noon at Bandana’s at 3446 Pheasant Meadows Dr. in O’Fallon. Contact Mary Vaughan at 314-581-0497 or Karen Grant at 773-914-4900 for more in-
SUDOKU answers from page F-1
formation.
Mondays: Seasoned eye carvers meeting Meetings are held from 9 to 11 a.m. at the St. Charles Senior Citizens Center at 1455 Fairgrounds (near the Bass Pro Shop). Visitors are always welcome. For more information visit http://www.stcharlesareawoodcarvers.com/ or contact Charles Sapp at cwsapp@charter.net.
Mondays: St. Peters Rotary Club
Noon at St. Peters City Hall, One St. Peters Centre Blvd. www.stpetersrotary.org.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: Fitness First Exercise Class 9:30-10:30 a.m., American Legion Hall, 504 Luetkenhaus Blvd., Wentzville. 314-3696521.
Mondays: Choral Arts
CROSSWORD answers from page F-4
Singers practice Choral Arts Singers practice on Mondays, from 7-9 p.m. at Connection ChristianChurch, 1332 Feise Road in Dardenne Prairie. New singers (high school and older) are welcome. Auditions are not required. See www.concertarts.org.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: Fitness First Exercise Class 9:30-10:30 a.m., American Legion Hall, 504 Luetkenhaus Blvd., Wentzville. 314369-6521.
Mondays: St. Charles
County Council of the Blind meetings
Business meetings are held on the first Monday of each month unless otherwise specified. Currently, during the COVID pandemic, meetings are held via conference call, starting at 6:45 pm. For more information, contact Beverly Kaskadden at 636-561-6947.
Mondays: American Legion Post 388 Meets Meets the fourth Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at American Legion Hall, 607 Westridge Dr., O’Fallon, 636219-0553.
VETERINARY
Rabies (3 Year)
St. Charles Co. License .
(Not Neutered or Spayed) .
DHPP (Dog Vacc)
RCP (Cat Vacc) .
Heartworm Test
$14
$22
$6
$12
$22
$22
$30
Bear’s Bar Hwy P (next to Manninos) Flint Hill
Tues. August 15
Foristell Fastlane 3166 Vet Mem Pkwy | Foristell
Wed. August 16
The Coop 5055 Hwy 94 Orchard Farm
Thurs. August 17
Charlies Farm & Home 1583 W. Pearce Blvd. Wentzville Fri. & Sat. August 18 & 19
Pete Pratte DVM - Lake St. Louis Animal Care - 636.887.0322 www.vetmobileclinic.com
By Steve Bryan
