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Around Town
December 7, 2016 • Community News – St. Louis County • www.mycnews.com
LETTER TO THE EDITOR To the editor: As a sociologist who made a career out of studying and analyzing human social behavior and social institutions including religion, race relations, deviance, culture and social structure, etc., I was as truly mystified, as many others are, in the election of Donald Trump as our next president. This was further mystifying because of being a Christian almost all my life. As a Christian, I was taught to accept the Biblical teaching of loving God with all my heart, mind and soul and to love my neighbor as myself. As an Ordained Elder in the Presbyterian Church for the last 20 years, I have taught others the same beliefs. In this election, many Christians and well-meaning individuals voted for Donald Trump who campaigned to divide by preaching hatred and discord among neighbors. He preached just the opposite of what the Bible says, because he preached racism, sexism, bigotry, exclusion and campaigned that he would send eleven to thirteen million illegal immigrants back to largely Mexico while breaking up families and neighbors. In fact, his crude language and encouragement of physical attacks upon protestors during his rallies would have disqualified any other candidate past and present. Obviously, many Christians and others simply disregarded his disrespect and denigration of his opponent, Hillary Clinton and others. Apparently, they believed his promises that he alone was the only person to solve their problems. These include local problems such as education, crime, unemployment, poverty, immigration, etc. Of course, no one person can solve any of these problems alone. Nor can the federal government solve the problems in education, crime, etc. These and many other problems are local issues and can only be solved at the local level and not by one person. Even when the president’s own party controls the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Senate needs at least 60 out of 100 votes to pass legislation. Therefore, it requires working with the Democratic senators to get many things done. Despite the concerns of some of us, Donald Trump is going to be our president beginning Jan. 20 of next year. Therefore, we can only hope that he will do what is in the best interest of the American people and the country.
Missouri Department of Conservation Partners with Beyond Housing to support community forestry The Missouri Department of Conservation has provided a $500,000 cooperative agreement - $100,000 per year, renewable for five years – to Beyond Housing to support community forestry projects in the 24:1 Community, the 24 municipalities that make up the Normandy School Collaborative. Beyond Housing will enhance the area’s urban landscape by maintaining and planting healthy trees that will yield environmental, health and economic benefits for the community. This project is part of Beyond Housing’s 24:1 Initiative, a comprehensive, community-driven strategy to revive this historically overlooked area through community engagement, education, health and wellness, commercial and residential real estate development, research and resource development. “Urban areas benefit greatly from new tree plantings and other healthy forest initiatives,” said Doug Seely, Community Forester and Certified Arborist, who recently joined Beyond Housing to assist with these efforts. “Trees, parks, and other green spaces offer many benefits to urban areas by creating wildlife habitats, increasing property values and improving the quality of life for community residents.” “Trees in particular can also help suppress or even reverse negative conditions associated with water and air pollution, energy overuse, storm wa-
ter run-off and noise,” said Missouri Department of Conservation Community Forester Mark Grueber. “With this funding, Beyond Housing will manage and care for community trees for beautification, street coverage, natural heating and cooling of houses, slowing rainfall to alleviate storm water run-off, slowing soil erosion, reducing smog and minimizing noise pollution.” Before new trees are planted, Beyond Housing will address the area’s existing trees, specifically dead and hazardous trees. There is an abundance of pin oaks in the 24:1, and over the past several years, these trees have deteriorated due to neglect. “One of our first priorities is to prune hazardous branches on pin oaks in the area before they fall and damage people or property,” said Seely. Beyond Housing will also partner with Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, the only nonprofit community-assisted tree nursery in the region, which will supply free trees to be planted on city-owned property. Planting of these free trees is set to begin in early November. In addition to the $500,000 cooperative agreement, Beyond Housing also received a $1,000 grant from the Midwest International Society of Arboriculture for the education and training of public works and forestry/tree service businesses.
Citizens for Modern Transit teams up with Enterprise to introduce Zimride to the St. Louis region
Dr. Rance Thomas Professor Emeritus of Sociology/Criminal Justice and co-founder and President of North County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice.
www.MidwestBankCentre.com
Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) announced the launch of Zimride by Enterprise, a service of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, in the St. Louis area. The online ride-matching service easily connects drivers and passengers with similar commutes. CMT will be working in partnership with Enterprise to administer this free program, which can benefit existing public transit users by helping them connect with likeminded commuters to extend transit trips and close the gaps that may exist between transit stations and their point of origin or destination. “The St. Louis region has a very successful, integrated public transportation system that offers access to nearly 95 percent of local jobs and educational facilities within Metro’s service area,” commented Kim Cella, executive director of Citizens for Modern Transit. “However, this doesn’t mean that all users can be picked up at their doorstep and delivered within steps of their final destination. Gaps exist. Some transit users must drive to a MetroLink station, before taking the train directly to the office. Others may only have to walk a block to get to a MetroLink station or MetroBus stop, but once they deboard there is still a bit of a distance before they reach their final destination. Ultimately, when used in tandem with transit, ridesharing can help extend transit trips.” As a sustainable alternative to driving individually, Zimride also helps reduce vehicle emissions, traffic congestion and fuel consumption while splitting transportation costs. It is the largest webbased ridesharing and carpooling network in
North America. “In addition, Zimride enables individuals to get to shopping establishments, entertainment venues and other destinations that aren’t accessible by transit alone,” added Cella. “Zimride can be used to find a single ride, as well as to find recurring rides on the same day or every day of the week.” Those interested in joining the free Zimride platform must first visit cmt-stl.org/zimride to register to be part of CMT’s closed network. Users will then receive a verification email directing them to zimride.com/cmt where they are able to log in, create a profile and begin searching for rides or riders. Once a match is identified, users can search Zimride reviews and connect through a Facebook interface, before coordinating logistics and putting plans in place to share rides in their personal vehicles. Those interested in splitting gas costs can even do so securely through the Zimride site. “At Enterprise, we offer our customers a total transportation solution by providing a range of sustainable options,” said Enterprise Vice President Ryan Johnson, who oversees Zimride as well as other sustainable commuter options including Enterprise Rideshare and newly acquired vRide. “With Zimride, we’re pleased to offer members of the St. Louis community – our hometown – an online ride-matching service to supplement and extend the city’s existing public transportation system.” For full program details and registration information, visit cmt-stl.org/zimride.