March 3rd, 2016 Edition

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Senator Blunt: ‘It’s not something we want to lose’

Trades offer NGA West minority inclusion goals that double federal standards

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

If the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency decides to build its new Western Headquarters in North St. Louis, nearly 40 percent of all labor hours on the $1.75 billion construction will go to minorities, according to documents provided by U.S. Senator Roy Blunt.

Blunt shared with The American a February 9 letter to him from Jeff Aboussie, executive secretary-treasurer of the Building and Construction Trades Council of St. Louis (AFL-CIO). The letter summarizes a Community Workforce Agreement that Aboussie had sent on behalf of the council to Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), who is expected to announce the new site

Impeachment process starts

Lively celebration of Young Leaders

“For those of you who have been to this before, turn to the people who haven’t and say, ‘It’s about to get live up in here,’” said Rebeccah Bennett, mistress of ceremonies for The St. Louis American Foundation’s 6th Annual Salute to Young Leaders Awards and Networking Reception. She stood before the packed ballroom in The Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis on Thursday, February 25, gearing up to celebrate the 2016 class of honorees – or, in her words, getting the audience prepared to “turn up.”

“These are not people who have checked off the box, ladies and gentlemen – these are people who have raised the bar,” Bennett said.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt speaking at the 2016 MLK kick-off on January 9 at Harris-Stowe State University.

Photo by Wiley Price

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

By Mariah Stewart

By Mariah Stewart Of The St. Louis American

Jennings Mayor Yolonda Fountain Henderson at her impeachment hearing at Jennings Municipal Court

Monday, February 29.

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Bill Cosby drops lawsuit against Beverly Johnson

Last year comedian Bill Cosby filed a defamation of character lawsuit against model Beverly Johnson after she accused him of drugging and attempting to rape her back in the 1980s.

Lawyers for Bill Cosby told TMZ that the lawsuit is being put on hold until the conclusion of his ongoing criminal sexual assault trial Cosby vows to refile the lawsuit against Beverly Johnson before the statute of limitations run out

“I’ve already proven that if the best they got in comedy is Kevin Hart then... [No] don’t boo a black man working hard, baby. Even if that [n-word expletive] is a puppet, it’s not his fault. I’m saying if you want to be mad at Kermit The Frog, don’t be mad at Kermit The Frog. Be mad at Jim Henson. Don’t say, ‘[expletive] Donald Duck’ when you really mean, ‘[expletive] Walt Disney I just wish him the best. I just know that that’s somebody’s hand stuck up that baby, you understand,” Williams said. “Oh, we’re a puppet show, boo boo. Please believe it. You’re looking at the only [expletive] that ain’t.”

He then said that he had proven himself to be the comedy heir apparent to Richard Pryor implied that Hart and other comics traded sexual favors for mainstream success.

“I walked in with a virgin [expletive] I walked out with a virgin [expletive],”

Katt Williams has it in for Kevin Hart

Comedian Katt Williams is attempting to stir beef between himself and current comedy “it guy” Kevin Hart.

On Saturday, during the Atlanta leg of his Conspiracy Theory Tour, Williams unleashed on Hart as he prepared to close the show.

Williams said. “I got the same soul today that I had when I did Pimp Chronicles all the way to the end of Pimp Chronicles.”

On Tuesday, Williams challenged Hart to a series of challenges when he comes to Hart’s hometown of Philadelphia – a boxing match, a rap cypher or a comedy duel are among

the five. He’s offering $1M for each battle.

“Since you not a puppet, don’t bring no white people with you,” Williams said. “This is the new movement.”

The challenge comes a day after Williams was arrested for allegedly assaulting an employee of a pool supply store in Georgia.

50 Cent’s social media family feud

Over the weekend, rapper 50 Cent, his son and his son’s mother took their family issues to Instagram.

The drama started when 50 left Marquise’s Instagram post about him being on his own in a few months.

“You be strong out there on your own boy. You are a grown man,” 50 Cent wrote on his son’s Instagram page.

“Didn’t think you knew how old I was.

wrote. “Go pick on them boys who put hot lead up in your [expletive]. Oh! I forgot…you like to pick on women and children. Go beat up your other baby mother. Oh you did that already and are on three years’ probation.”

Kris Jenner wants Kanye out of her house

Kanye West

You missed a few birthdays,” Marquise responded. “I’m happy to see you have kind words to say to me this time.”

Marquise’s mother Shaniqua fired back with both barrels.

“Your downfall is already here! Miserable, unstable bum,” Shaniqua

According to Radaronline.com, “Keeping up with the Kardashians” momager Kris Jenner has finally had enough of her son-in-law Kanye West’s antics!

She reportedly feels that the 38-yearold rapper, and husband of Kim Kardashian, is destroying the family’s already damaged reputation.

The celebrity news and gossip site says that Jenner has told him he’s no longer welcome in her home

“Kris and Corey (Jenner’s boyfriend) have been staying at her other place every night lately because she cannot take it,” a Kardashian family insider told Radaronline.com.

“Having to deal with Kanye’s rants has caused Kris more stress than she can handle right now and she cannot wait until Kim’s house is finished.”

Sources: Radaronline.com, TMZ.com, Instagram.com, Hiphopdx.com.

Bill Cosby

Katt Williams

Mitchom gives Ferguson council first black majority

Four out of six members are now AfricanAmerican

By Mariah Stewart Huffington Post

Laverne Mitchom made history on Tuesday, February 23 when she became the fourth African-American member of the Ferguson City Council, giving the six-person body its first black majority in history. Ferguson was incorporated in 1894.

For decades, Ferguson’s city government did not reflect the city’s nearly 70 percent black population. It wasn’t until last April that voters turned out in record numbers to elect two black City Council members.

Mitchom now occupies the Ward 2 seat of former Ferguson Mayor Brian Fletcher, who died on January 10. Before she was sworn in, the empty seat generated both speculation and confusion. In January, three members of the council voted for Mitchom to fill the position, while two were opposed.

Residents thought Mitchom would be sworn in at the next council meeting. Instead, they were befuddled when Ferguson’s city attorney, Stephanie Karr, said the council actually needed a supermajority 4-1 vote. Karr’s firm, Curtis, Heinz, Garrett and O’Keefe, has a contract to represent Ferguson (and 26 other St. Louis County municipalities) as city attorney.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri sent a letter to Karr, referencing complaints that she was “blocking” Mitchom from

Laverne Mitchom was sworn in to represent Ward 2 on the Ferguson City Council at the February 23 council meeting. She replaced Brian Fletcher, who died on January 10.

being sworn in. Karr immediately became the focus of public meeting protests. People held up signs that read “3:2,” referring to the initial 3-2 city council vote, and “Stop the Karr-uption.”

After Mitchom’s induction into the council on February 23, protesters criticized council members for not signing the consent decree, a negotiated agreement between Ferguson and the Justice Department after a federal civil rights investigation described corrupt and racist practices in city’s police department and municipal court. The council has refused to sign the consent decree -- which mandates officer training and other efforts to protect citizens’ rights and

improve police-community relations -- unless the DOJ accepts amendments proposed by the city. The amendments would extend deadlines, lower monitoring fees, and remove requirements about mandatory staffing and higher police salaries, among other provisions.

Earlier this month, Mitchom told The Huffington Post she was excited about uniting the city.

“I don’t believe we’re going to go under,” Mitchom said. “I believe if we all work together, we can make this one Ferguson. We can do what’s good for all of us. This is going to be an opportunity for me to be a part of the healing and just coming together as one Ferguson.”

On April 23 of last year,

long before she became a political candidate, Mitchom published an opinion column in The St. Louis American.

“As I read the Department of Justice’s reports on the Ferguson Police Department and Darren Wilson,” she wrote,

“I asked myself over and over again, how I could not have known about these blatant injustices against African Americans when I have lived in Ferguson for close to 10 years?”

Ferguson now faces a DOJ lawsuit for failing to sign the consent decree. The suit is expected to cost the city millions.

This story is published as part of a partnership between The Huffington Post and The St. Louis American.

School oficials live large while students fail

Parents and residents in the French Village section of Fairview Heights, Illinois are organizing to detach themselves from East St. Louis School District 189, and I can’t blame them. Their goal is to defect from East Boogie schools so that their children may attend Fairview Heights public schools.

Any responsible parent wants the best possible education for their children, especially when their tax dollars are used to pay for that so-called education, and ESL public schools are an abysmal failure, from poor educational performance to almost “pimp-like” iscal irresponsibility at the highest levels.

In fact, recent statewide test scores reveal that ESL students tested nearly 10 times worse than other Illinois students, with only three percent meeting state performance standards as compared to the statewide average of 29 percent.

Yet the District 189 website has the audacity to claim that they are “Creating World Class Leaders.” How so? Certainly not with their academic performance.

To make matters worse, ESL School Superintendent Arthur Culver has presided over this educational train wreck for ive years now and is being overpaid a comfortable salary of $225,000 a year for sub-par performance.

Plus, Culver shares the wealth (and ineptitude) with a cast of approximately 20 administrators who earn between $90,000 to $156,000 per year, including three assistant superintendents and 12 directors.

Really? All that help and the district is STILL failing? I would think that the school district could fail just as miserably without having so many overpaid administrators eating from the public trough.

Just think about it. Joe Biden makes $230,700 per year, and he’s the vice president of the United States. With beneits, Culver is paid at Biden’s level and is a monumental failure. If he were a politician he would have been voted out after one term. So he and his crew needs to go … yesterday.

However, the situation is not hopeless. ESL schools can be transformed. Just look across the river where Tiffany Anderson took the helm of the Jennings School District in 2012, transformed it in a major way and is now off to greener pastures in Kansas due to her success.

Arthur Culver and his cronies are pimping the students and parents of E. St. Louis, pimping their tax dollars, pimping the students out of a quality education and pimping them out of a future. District 189 has become an educational laughing stock to the admissions oficers at colleges and universities throughout America.

Parents who care about their children’s future should pack the school board meetings and demand Culver’s resignation for the atrocious lack of performance on his watch. No more excuses. Step up, parents. If you don’t, you’re as poor a parent as Culver is a superintendent.

Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com; Twitter@JamesTIngram.

Columnist James Ingram

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Editorial /CommEntary

Court should heed Norwood’s dissenting opinion

The Missouri Supreme Court received a muddled de facto endorsement of the status quo when its Municipal Court Division Work Group released its commissioned report on Tuesday, March 1. The group told the court that it does not have the authority to consolidate the 81 municipal courts in St. Louis County, as citizens and legal advocates told the work group it must do when it heard public testimony in St. Louis on November 12. The group made a few commendable suggestions to the court, such as mandating new conflictof-interest restrictions on municipal judges and prosecutors. However, it mostly directed its advice to the state Legislature – which did not ask for its guidance and almost certainly will ignore it – and to municipal officials, who know full well what they are doing and have been doing for decades. It’s an insult to the public’s intelligence to pretend that telling municipal courts to “do better” will change anything. Even more insulting – not to mention bizarre, bordering on outrageous – is that passages of this report read as if drafted by an attorney trying to undermine court reforms that ArchCity Defenders, Saint Louis University legal clinics and Equal Justice Under the Law forced through a series of ongoing law suits filed against Jennings and other North County municipalities. Thomas Harvey, founder and executive director of ArchCity Defenders, responded with justifiable outrage that we will quote at length.

outrageously disconnected statement that could only come from a middle-class white man who had never considered the possibility that he may not be able to make the necessary monetary payment to purchase his liberty,” Harvey continued.

By Steven Roberts II Guest columnist

“I hope the Supreme Court doesn’t place too much weight on this report given that it doesn’t even respond to their mandates. Instead, it is an overtly political document that expresses a fundamental misunderstanding of the basic legal issues raised by our pending federal litigation and, even worse, it ignores the lived experiences of thousands of poor people and black people in the region in order to double down on the status quo,” Harvey said.

“This report represents the worst instincts of people in power to protect other powerful entities and to ignore the complaints of the powerless. One wonders if the members of the committee ever set foot in a municipal court in this region or talked to anyone who had been jailed on a cash bond they couldn’t afford. To suggest that cash bail helps people is an

“This report’s insistence on ignoring the role race plays in the illegal, unethical, immoral acts of prosecutors, judges and other lawyers in the municipal court system highlights the need for transformational change. The authors take every opportunity to attack legitimate progress made in the City of Jennings and to undermine the work of the organizers and advocates who have fought for 18 months to lift up the voice of the people impacted by these policies. It’s an embarrassment for the legal profession and a slap in the face to the work of Rev. Starsky Wilson and Rich McClure, the Ferguson Commission and, more importantly, the directly impacted people who have complained for decades about the municipal courts.” Harvey commended one lawyer from the work group –Kimberly Norwood, a veteran professor of law at Washington University School of Law, who wrote a long, dissenting opinion that was published along with the report. Norwood recommends that the court consolidate the municipal courts in St. Louis County and force them to professionalize their public services and obey the U.S. Constitution’s fundamental protections of the rights of the accused. Norwood also prints diligent research by Dave Leipholtz of Better Together St. Louis that shows how the Clayton firm Curtis, Heinz, Garrett, and O’Keefe is running what amounts to a one-stop shop for municipal court services as currently (mal)practiced in St. Louis County.

“When everyone else sought to support power, Professor Norwood took a risk by opposing it,” Harvey said. “She’s a model for the legal community. We need more people like her.” We agree. The Missouri Supreme Court should disregard this inadequate and insulting report, other than Norwood’s dissenting opinion. It is presented as Appendix A, starting on page 102. The court should start reading the report there, take her advice very seriously, and act immediately to consolidate St. Louis County’s municipal courts and impose reforms that bring actual justice to the lowest level of the justice system in St. Louis County.

Why the SAB is not good for SLPS

By Susan Turk Guest columnist

It was interesting to read State Board of Education member Mike Jones’ assessment of how St. Louis Public Schools got into its current state of affairs. He laid the blame at those running SLPS between 2002 and 2006, along with area business and political leaders. The fourmember slate that won the 2003 school board election was endorsed by The St. Louis American. Publisher and Executive Editor Donald M. Suggs was complicit in their selection.

District parents were unhappy with district governance at that time, so they organized and ran parents for seats on the school board. The intent was for parents to exercise oversight of our schools just like in the successful suburban school districts.

It was in specific response to the success that parents began to have in getting elected in 2006 that the business and political leaders went to Governor Blunt and asked for the state to take over SLPS. The Special Administrative Board (SAB) was instituted to prevent a loss of power, not to improve education.

While Jones may be correct that there is no inherent right to elected governance, elected governance is the way public school districts have been run since their inception during the 19th century up until very recently. Alternatives to elected governance have been imposed only since the end of federally mandated desegregation in

primarily African-American school districts. Jones admitted that many citizens communicated with him and their overwhelming consensus was to return governance to the elected board, yet he ignored them.

The state board of education, of which he is a member, is an appointed board. There isn’t anything we mere plebes can do about them. The members aren’t even term-limited. Jones is utterly convinced of his own rightness, and he doesn’t have to account to anybody for it. He never has to face voters.

His justification for ignoring the consensus was that no one argued that returning the elected board would improve educational outcomes. Well, continuing the SAB sure won’t! For the eight years they’ve been in power, achievement has either dropped or clawed its way back up to where it was before they took over.

To make matters worse, SLPS has the lowest-paid teachers, with the least experience and the fewest master’s degrees, compared to 18 of their closest competing districts in St. Louis County. Even Normandy and Riverview Gardens teachers are paid better, have more longevity in the classroom and have a higher percentage of teachers with master’s degrees.

Our children’s academic success depends on the ability to recruit and retain

The founding fathers had no intention that U.S. Supreme Court justices would ever be elected or that they would somehow be answerable to the whims of a partisan Congress or a sideshow to a presidential election. Judges should be fair-minded and impartial arbiters who look at each case on its own merits and render independent decisions based on their own best judgment.

But in the last few decades, the U.S. Supreme Court is seen as being an increasingly partisan tool in the schism of American politics. Appointments to the highest court in the land have become increasingly contentious and now seemingly have broken down altogether.

Within hours of the announcement of the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, 33 Republican U.S. senators announced their opposition to President Obama being able to make any nomination to the Supreme Court.

From President Harry Truman through the presidency of Richard M. Nixon, Supreme Court nominees were usually approved in less than one month. Since then the median time the Senate has taken to vote on nominations has been 71 days. So even at the far slower pace of today’s hearings, there is plenty of time for both

the president and the Senate to do the work of the American people.

Republican presidential candidates jumped into the fray and one after another have cited “precedent” that no president has made a late-term appointment to the Supreme Court in 80 years. Even when it was pointed out to them during a debate that President Ronald Reagan had made a similar late-term appointment to the Supreme Court, the reaction was boos from the partisan crowd. I would remind them that precedent is not just practice or a result of chance. It is simply chance when a vacancy will come up on the Supreme Court. Nothing in Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution restricts in any way the timing of when a president can make a nomination. There is nothing scribbled in the margins, no footnote, that says a president of a different political party than the majority of the Senate gives up his powers granted under the Constitution in the inal year of his term of ofice. Nor do the words “advise and consent” convey a sense that the founding fathers wanted the Senate to obstruct and block.

CORRECTION

Last week there was a misidentification in the caption of the photograph illustrating the People’s Health Centers story. Ronald Bell, a medical assistant, was misidentified as Dr. Kirk A. Washington. We regret the error.

Positive energy in Hazelwood

great teachers. The SAB’s tightfisted approach to teacher compensation has crippled SLPS.

Mike Jones and the SAB members serve the interests of the political and corporate elite who prefer to maintain power and diminish the democratic will and the aspirations for their children of the people who live, work and vote in this city. They are instruments of their own and the community’s oppression. They should be ashamed.

It was not lost on this reader that Jones’ screed was located directly above an ad for KIPP St. Louis, a charter school. Charter school boards are not democratically elected. The new normal that the elite promote is an educational system composed of separate and unequal schools over which citizens have no control. Tax dollars expended for education will no longer be subject to public oversight. Democracy is being devalued as a means for running our schools. What will they decide we can’t vote for next?

This is our Flint. Across the country, predominantly African-American communities and political entities such as school districts are being told we are not capable of governing ourselves. Democratically elected officials are being replaced by emergency managers in Michigan and appointed boards elsewhere. The resulting usurpation does not improve our communities. Minds are being poisoned in more ways than one. We allow the degradation of democracy to continue at our own peril.

At the February Hazelwood school board meeting, over 500 community members came together to show solidarity about what is happening to our children. There are very few districts in St. Louis where that many people with such diversity would show up and continue the post-meeting discussions to bring about change. You could feel the positive energy.

With so many things dividing people into groups in this country, it was a refreshing change to see many different types of people on one accord. It was heartwarming and one of the reasons I’m so extremely proud of the community I grew up in and where I’m raising my children.

This conversation is about preserving opportunities for our future generations in a community that has always provided enriching and positive educational experiences for its children. If those in charge are not making adequate financial decisions now and if something doesn’t change, then things will be harder for the children in our community to become those entrepreneurs, presidents, engineers, musicians, artists and surgeons that we historically and currently produce.

I was very prepared to enter the engineering program at Purdue University based on the experiences and education I received in the Hazelwood School District. Leaders sometimes make bad decisions, and Dwight L. Lindhorst made a horrific decision coming up with a budget based on wrong data, and the board now should recognize that.

They cannot and should not ignore a petition that has about 4,000 signatures, the Facebook page that has over 900 members and the mass outcry from their community

What is immensely ironic is that we are talking about a vacancy created by the death of Justice Scalia, the originator of the concept of what is now called “orginalism.” Justice Scalia believed in interpreting the Constitution by the meaning of the words as the writers would have understood those words when the document was drafted. While there is much Justice Scalia and I have disagreed on over the years, he clearly would have scoffed at any notion that the president is somehow less of a president in his inal year of ofice.

The personal ill will that many members of the majority party in the Senate hold for the irst African-American president in the history of our nation is extreme and dangerous to the basic functions of our government. It undermines the faith that we the people should have in the institution of the Supreme Court to be the inal arbiter between the executive and legislative branches. The Supreme Court was never meant to be a partisan political body. To the extent some members of the Senate seek to hijack the nomination and deny the president his appointment powers, they threaten the very fabric of the rule of law on which our nation was founded. Steven Roberts II is a former prosecutor and candidate for state representative of Missouri’s 77th District.

to do something different. They need to realize it’s okay to regroup and make better decisions now that they have better information. The original budget was based on wrong assumptions and erroneous data. Real leaders would address that immediately.

Dionne Townsend Hazelwood

Revolution in Ferguson

We must not forget for even one second that the corruption and abuses by Ferguson officials, including police, has been willful. That literally each and every one of these individuals who betrayed the public trust chose their own egos, avarice and biases over, not only the public need and common good, but arguably the national interest.

Ferguson city officials have harmed the very people and ideals they swore to serve and protect for no reason other than they wanted to … and still seek to avoid accountability after

months of deliberations with federal officials. You choose to do wrong, you know it’s wrong, your wrongdoings are exposed, you have the chance to correct your behaviors, you then choose instead to resist said improvements. Does that sound like the kind of people anyone should want or could possibly need in leadership roles or wielding the power of life and death on our streets? And we know this is neither an isolated situation nationally or historically, yet to see the reaction of our government at its various levels you’d think it wasn’t very significant. Can we recall every elected official simultaneously? Do we finally begin to hold our economic, political and civic leaders to the same high standards they hold us? But we couldn’t possibly ask for systemic changes in the public’s favor … that sounds too much like a revolution?

Ken Deome Salinas, California

Guest Columnist Susan Turk

Kimberly Norwood of the Washington University School of Law listened to public testimony with other members of the Missouri Supreme Court’s Municipal Court Division Work Group at a public hearing in St. Louis on November 12.

Photo by Wiley Price

The St. Louis Regional Chamber honored Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Eugene B. Redmond Learning Center with its inaugural Arcus People’s Choice Award on February 25. The center won as a result of receiving a majority of the popular vote from individuals across the region. The center is named in honor of Redmond, SIUE emeritus professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, author, editor and Poet Laureate of East St. Louis. Redmond received the award from John Herber Jr., managing partner at RubinBrown LLP, which sponsored the award.

Redmond Center is People’s Choice

Nominations due for Parkway Alumni Hall of Fame

Do you know a Parkway graduate who has demonstrated outstanding professional accomplishments, positively contributed to society, or achieved success in a worthwhile endeavor? Nominate them for the Parkway Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame by March 15.

The Parkway Alumni Hall of Fame recognizes Parkway graduates who have brought honor to the Parkway School District by distinguishing themselves through career achievements and outstanding community service in the years since they graduated from high school. Now, after six cycles of nominations and selections, the inductee list includes more than 150 outstanding Parkway graduates.

A few of African American inductees include Samantha Elliott Briggs, educator and race relations consultant; Kimberly (Cook) Davis, assistant vice president and corporate counsel at Republic Group; Kelvin Watson, CIO at Queens Library and president of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association; and Ryan Young, former NFL offensive tackle. Completed nomination forms must be submitted by March 15. Learn more at www.ParkwayAlumni.org.

Michael Brown foundation to host discussion

The Michael Brown Chosen for Change Foundation will host “Testimonies of Love, Loss and Legacy,” a panel discussion involving fathers from around the U.S. who have lost their children to violence. The event, sponsored by the Eden Social Justice Committee, will be held 7-9 p.m. Friday, March 4 at Eden Theological Seminary, 475 E. Lockwood Ave. The event is free. Also, from March 3-6, Chosen for Change will hold “A Father’s Perspective Retreat” for a dozen men from around the nation, including St. Louis, Florida and California.

NGA would bring more than promise to North STL

By Frankie Muse Freeman For The St. Louis American

A Promise Zone should indeed be full of promise, and that’s what the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency brings to North St. Louis. The federal designation challenges the region and federal government alike to improve the conditions that lead to disparities in our community.

I stand proudly with a diverse, inclusive, bi-partisan coalition of citizens and leaders in support of relocating the NGA to the near Northside neighborhood within the City of St. Louis. The proposed site is situated adjacent to billions of dollars in public and private investment in recreation, education, transportation, preservation, public safety, arts and culture, and other economic development.

Retaining this business within the City of St. Louis is critical to the city’s success and growth of future jobs in the area. The thousands of permanent jobs that will result from this economic activity would be a facilitator that helps ensure the near Northside’s continued progress in becoming an economic driver for the city. But selecting the site also would signal to the world NGA’s deep and continued commitment to diversity, inclusion and social justice. Indeed, it would provide direct proof of the role diversity and social justice play in promoting national security -- NGA’s central mission.

Consider this: The site for the New NGA West in the City of St. Louis is situated next to what once were known as the Wendell Oliver Pruitt Homes, later a part of the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex.

Wendell Pruitt was a St. Louis native, and Sumner High School graduate. He lived in the time of Jim Crow segregation. He became a Tuskegee Airman and a national hero, flying 70 combat missions and receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor in World War II.

When, after the war, U.S. Air Force Secretary Stuart Symington led the integration of our Armed Forces, he argued, “The Air Force did not regard itself as being in the business of forcing changes in American society; it was simply trying to make the best use of its manpower to build military efficiency in keeping with its national defense mission.”

The same holds for NGA. It will build its future in the City of St. Louis because, as it knows from a long and distinguished history here, diversity, inclusion and social justice (more than the quietude of cornfields) are indispensable to its national defense mission. And, locating 3,100 good-paying jobs and a $1.6 billion facility in the heart of a Promise Zone will plant the seed of not just promise but real dedication to this city’s future. Frankie Muse Freeman is a legendary lawyer and civil rights pioneer who has long championed a nation of equal opportunity.

Frankie Muse Freeman

JENNINGS

Continued from A1

he did not have enough time to perform discovery –request documents, subpoena witnesses. “I don’t believe that 20 days is adequate enough time to prepare the defense for 19 separate instances of alleged misconduct over a nine-month period,” Smith said.

The council voted 8-0 to proceed with the hearing on February 8 after being presented with a five-page Bill of Impeachment by Martin.

Meanwhile, Martin had prepared binders with over 500 pages of evidence and exhibits for the hearing.

“The city will prove that Mayor Henderson bypassed the city’s personnel policies and attempted to get her handpicked choices, people associated with her past, on the city’s payroll,” Martin said.

“The city will prove that Mayor Henderson tried to control public discussion on city issues by removing items from meeting agendas and that she tried to muscle the city attorney --the person you rely on most to keep you out of trouble – by prohibiting her to give advice to the counsel and

LEADERS

Continued from A1

The tenor was set for an energetic celebration of the 20 young people under the age of 40 from a host of fields to be recognized for their work and their commitment to community-building.

“Part of what we want to do is dispel the notion that you need to be stuffy, that it needs to be so formal that we can’t adequately show our appreciation for those we are honoring,” Bennett said.

“This is a moment where we take people who are doing great things and say thank you – and we are not to be sedate or

the department heads without giving her permission. “Finally the city will prove that Mayor Henderson, after making claims of insurance fraud, suspended the city clerk and tried to suspend two City Council members without any authority in the law and, in the process, bullied city employees, destroyed city property and unlawfully accessed and removed personal information from city files.”

The two council members in question were Rodney and Carol Epps. When called to the stand, Smith questioned whether each could reasonably make a decision in this impeachment proceeding without bias due to the insurance fraud investigation that Henderson launched against them.

Both said the fraud investigation was not significant because the mayor had no case against them.

Henderson has claimed the impeachment process, which Rodney Epps did the most to initiate, was a political attempt to undo her election victory.

Smith’s questioning of Carol Epps implied her husband wants to be mayor. When Epps said her husband once wanted to be mayor but no longer does, Smith asked when she learned

subdued when we do that.”

Family, friends, coworkers and church members clapped, shouted and stood on their feet with each honoree. The Young Leaders even chimed in to show love and support for each other as their names were called. Many alumni from all five previous classes of Young Leaders were on hand to welcome them to the club.

“It takes a village to make a success,” Bennett said. The 2016 class included a university president, a pastor, a non-profit organization manager, an educator and corporate executives.

The awardees for this year were: Megan Banks; LaTanya N. Buck, Ph.D; Tiffany

that. “I think that would be between me and my husband,” Carol Epps said.

Smith said, “I’m asking you the question though.”

Epps said, “Can I say none of your business?”

Charles; Rasheen L. Coleman; Jasmine Davis; Yinka Faleti; Kaylan D. Holloway; Leonard C. Johnson III, MPPA; Eric Madkins; Deatra N. McFarlin, MBA, CQE; Melanie Moore; Ebonee F. Shaw; Andre Stevens; Dana Townsend; Keith J. Ware; Dwaun J. Warmack, Ph.D; Aisha D. White; Betherny J. Williams; Quentin J. Williams, MBA; and Rev. Starsky D. Wilson.

Bill Kaeshammer, Jennings director of Public Works, Streets and Parks, was called as a witness. According to the Bill of Impeachment, Henderson asked Kaeshammer to perform several duties that were not approved by the

n “We have enough. We are enough.”

– Rebeccah Bennett

“We don’t have enough time this evening to give you the rundown of every extraordinary thing they have done in their lives,” Bennett

said. “But it is safe to say that the difference they have made has already begun to shape the outcomes of our community and the institutions that they lead and are a part of.” Representatives from corporate sponsors offered words of encouragement as well when they presented their awards.

“You are really examples of what we look for in our future,” said Emily Pitts, principal of Inclusion and Diversity for Edward Jones. “You are in a position to make change – the change that you want to see.” Sponsors also included

Jennings City Council members Rodney and Carol Epps at an impeachment hearing for Mayor Yolonda Fountain Henderson at Jennings Municipal Court on Monday, February 29.

although he used a city vehicle, he dropped the lawnmower off during his lunch break.

Kaeshammer also testified that he was not aware of violating any municipal ordinances when he performed duties for Henderson.

Smith questioned whether Kaeshammer was ordered to do these duties and to what extent he chose to do them. “If she told you to shoot the special prosecutor,” Smith said, “you would do it?”

Art Jackson, 56, a retired U.S. Marine who observed the hearing, said he and three business partners are considering moving four businesses, including a children’s outreach program, to Jennings, but are deterred by the infighting.

“To take it to this level doesn’t make any sense,” Jackson said. “If this doesn’t get done by the middle of April, we’re going to have to move on to another city.”

council, including providing snow removal to a nearby city, picking up wood pallets from St. Louis and delivering them to Jennings High School for a bonfire, and dropping off her lawn mower to her home.

Kaeshammer said that

Maryville University, The Regional Business Council, The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and presenting sponsor Wells Fargo Advisors.

“All of you tonight have been distinguished in your careers, but it’s not just about your career,” said Kathy Osborn, executive director of the Regional Business Council. “It’s about who you are, and who you are in the community, and what we think you could do and can do.”

The spirited crowd responded to Osborn’s remarks as if she were one of the honorees.

“Why do they ever ask us to hold our applause?” Bennett asked.

The next impeachment hearing will be 2 p.m. Saturday, March 5 at Jennings Municipal Court, 7005 Florence Pl. This story is published as part of a partnership between The St.

“When people say, ‘Well, there’s not enough leadership’ or ‘there’s not enough talent,’ I want you to remember this evening,” Bennett said. “We have depth of talent and expertise here, and we have hearts full of courage and vigor.”

As they prepared to part for ways, Bennett asked the audience to take their fervor outside the walls of the Four Seasons and work to change the dominant negative narrative often imposed on the black community.

“We have enough. We are enough,” Bennett said. “And these 20 young men and women certainly capture the essence and spirit of that.”

Louis American and the Huffington Post.

Photo by Wiley Price

Continued from A1

college,” said Anna Westlund, principal of Carver Elementary, located at 3325 Bell Ave

In the fourth-grade classroom, visitors are greeted with a luminous “Class of 2028” sign – a small way teacher Amanda Ingram gets her students excited about continuing their education.

Although almost all of Ingram’s students were wearing navy blue Howard University T-shirts, they have other college plans.

“I want to go to HarrisStowe (State University) to get my pharmacy tech degree,” said Dion Feazell, 10. Also wanting to stay local is 10-year-old Alicia Nsoah.

“I want to go to Saint Louis University because it’s close and it’s big, and I want to be a math teacher,” Nsoah said. Patrick Wallace, spokesman

NGA

Continued from A1

23.28 percent of all labor hours would go to St. Louis city residents, and 6.9 percent of all labor hours would go to women.

“We hope that this proposal will help to keep the NGA headquarters within the City of St. Louis,” Aboussie wrote to Blunt.

Blunt said $1 billion of the projected $1.75 billion for the new facility would go for construction, which would create 425 construction jobs and 250 “immediate indirect jobs” connected to the construction.

NGA West, which pays an average salary of $83,000, employs more than 3,000 people, and two-thirds of those employees live in Missouri. All of those employees pay a city earnings tax. The city would lose $2.3 million in earnings tax revenue if those jobs left the city.

Blunt, a Republican from Springfield who is running for reelection this year, serves on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. As such, he has detailed knowledge of the NGA, its mission and its director. He met personally with Cardillo about the new NGA West location twice last year, on March 4 in Washington, D.C. and on December 11 at its national headquarters in Springfield, Virginia, according to records provided by Blunt. He met Cardillo again in

for St. Louis Public Schools, said Carter is a good example of how the district emphasizes post-secondary opportunities starting in elementary school. In July the district opened the office of college and career readiness.

“Before that, career and tech was one office,” said Elizabeth Bender, associate superintendent of the office. “College readiness was a little here and there. People were working in silos.”

Bender noticed that though the district has 13 high schools, there were only five college centers with career specialists. Bender changed that by Thanksgiving, and now each high school has a college center with a full-time specialist. Bender said the district’s college-bound initiative does not only encourage students to pursue a bachelor’s degree at a traditional college.

“There are a lot of good jobs in our community that people aren’t qualified for, so when we

Washington on January 28, joined by St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, according to Blunt’s records.

“I think I can say for the record he does seem to understand every point we are trying to make,” Blunt said of Cardillo.

One point is that North St. Louis is the only site under consideration – there are two others in south St. Louis County and one in St. Claire County, Illinois – that has received a Promise Zone designation, which gives it preferential consideration for federal resources.

“Do you really mean it, or not?” Blunt said of the Promise Zone designation. “It should give a real advantage to the location in city.”

President Barack Obama created the Promise Zone program in 2014, but the federal government has a policy dating back to the Carter administration giving “a supposed government preference for putting facilities in challenged urban areas,” Blunt said. “And there is no question that the place we’re talk about is a challenged urban area.”

The challenges make North City desirable for the social equity motives that inspired the Promise Zone designation, but the urban nature of the location is just as critical, as Blunt told Cardillo.

“How do you recruit the new work force, the people with the inclination and skill to do these technical jobs?” Blunt said. “They’re likely to want to live downtown, car-optional,

look at our students we want to make sure everybody knows all the options,” said Bender. “We need some kind of college and career experience after high school. So that could be a bachelor’s degree, it could be an associate’s degree, it also could be training.”

During the past three years, the number of SLPS students who have earned a qualifying score on the ACT, SAT and other college-prep tests has gone up – from 35.9 percent in 2013 to 43.8 in 2015. The

not spend a long time getting to work. Where they might want to live 10 or 20 years after they start doesn’t matter. What matters is getting them to want to come to work on the first day. That gives a huge advantage to the city location.”

Blunt said that Cardillo also appreciates that there has been a strong community push for the city site, not just from city and federal legislators, but from trade unions (such as Aboussie’s letter), pastors and state legislators. Last session, the General Assembly passed House Bill 514, which provided for tax increment financing for blighted areas for the proposed site. And on February 9, the Missouri Senate adopted a resolution urging the NGA to remain in St. Louis.

“I’ve told Mayor Francis Slay, we will back him up on whatever he needs to do to keep the NGA here in the Show-Me State,” said Senate Leader Ron Richard, R-Joplin. “Staying in St. Louis city will bring a huge economic development advantage to the entire state.”

Blunt told The American, “I’ve talked to Ron Richards a lot” about NGA West.

Blunt also credited County Executive Steve Stenger with helping unify the state and regional push for the North City location. Stenger wrote a letter to Cardillo on September 4 expressing his “unconditional support” for the North City location.

“That was one of the big moments,” Blunt said. “I was surprised by it.”

Blunt pointed out that the

percentage of students who successfully landed a place in a two-year college, fouryear college, the military or an employment-related field has also increased, from 77.8 percent in 2013 to 80.5 percent in 2015.

“We’re making sure at the end of the junior year these students are working on essays and personal statements for college, scholarships or what they want to do,” said Bender. “We want to get them into college or somewhere they

current director of national intelligence, General James R. Clapper, previously directed the NGA, 2001-6.

“So the person at the top of the intel community totally understands how important NGA is,” Blunt said, “and that’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to keep this on track over the last handful of years.”

For the past year’s budget cycle, Blunt has helped to keep the NGA West relocation project on track

Endya Richerson and Akheia Thompson worked on a STEM lesson in Amanda Ingram’s 4th grade class at Carver Elementary School on February 19.

want to be that will lead them on their path.”

Every week, Carver Elementary holds “character assemblies,” where school leaders talk about college with the students. Students have visited nearby schools such as Harris-Stowe, Webster and St. Louis universities. For this year’s field trip, Carver’s fifth graders traveled to downtown Chicago to visit DePaul University. The trip was funded by The Regional Business Council and the Clark-Fox

by voting to authorize it on the intelligence committee (via the FY16 Intelligence Authorization Act) and to appropriate funds for continued design and engineering planning on the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

With his seat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence – and, before that, on the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, when he was a member of Congress – Blunts knows intimately what is at

Family foundation.

“At least they know there are lots of different places for them to consider,” said Westlund. “This has all been made possible by really generous community donors.” Westlund said the local Jackson State Alumni Association chapter has showed tremendous support to Carver’s students this school year by donating paraphernalia and speaking to students about college-readiness.

“I think in our dream world, a college adopts a classroom and we somehow have a partnership with the college and our students,” she said.

Rovyion Jones, 10, believes school is a privilege and wants to attend his classroom’s namesake at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

“I think school is a good opportunity because you get to learn every day,” he said. “The teachers don’t have to come here every day and teach us. It’s an opportunity for us.”

stake, not only for St. Louis but the nation, in situating the new facility.

“This last snow storm, Springfield, Virginia totally shut down, and St. Louis, Missouri was the geospatial site for the whole United States of America,” Blunt said.

“This is really important. It’s important to the nation, and it has a significant payroll and significant impact on the city. It’s not something we want to lose.”

Photo by Wiley Price

Salute to Young Leaders Networking Awards Reception

Last week, nearly 500 attended the St. Louis American Foundation’s sixth annual Salute to Young Leaders Networking Awards Reception at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis. Twenty outstanding African-American professionals, under age 40 were honored at the special recognition event. St. Louis-based Wells Fargo Advisors served as the presenting sponsor of the event.

more photos online at stlamerican.com

Photos by Lawrence Bryant and John Scott -- view

The 2016 class of Young Leaders, (seated): Deatra N. McFarlin, Eric Madkins, Leonard C. Johnson III, Kaylan D. Holloway, Yinka Faleti, Rasheen L. Coleman, LaTanya N. Buck, Megan Banks, (standing): Quentin J. Williams, Betherny Williams, Aisha D. White, Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack, Keith J. Ware, Dana Townsend, Andre Stevens, Ebonee F. Shaw, Melanie Moore (not pictured: Tiffany Charles, Jasmine Davis and Rev. Starsky Wilson)

Awardee Rasheen L. Coleman, Vanessa Foster-Cooksey, and Seanna McGogh

Awardee Ebonee Shaw and Betsy Kirchoff

Emcee Rebeccah Bennett

Diana Blair, LaShonda Lambert and Raven Akram

Angela Ruffin-Stacker represented lead sponsor Wells Fargo Advisors

Mark Mahan and Christina Bailey

Edward Jones’ Emily Pitts presents an award to Leonard C. Johnson, III.

Debra Aaron and awardee Andre Stevens Young Leader alum Tasha Turner and Jimmie Howlett

Young Leader alums Courtney Hinton and Courtney Z. Stewart

Maryville University’s Turan Mullins presents an award to Eric Madkins.

Dr. Ian Roberts

Young Leader alum Sarajeni Hammond, Steve Mizell, and awardee Melanie Moore

Awardee Dr. Dwaun J. WarmackMembers of the crowd celebrated when their awardee was announced.

Heather Bostic and Dr. Michelle McClure

The Radio One crew: Gary Gunter, Martel Hulsey, Chesley Waddell, Leon Williamson, Lauren Williams and Autumn Anthony

Young Leader alum Stefan Bradley shares a laugh with a guest.

Ian Watkins, Rhonda Herman, awardee Deatra McFarlin and Jamie Whitfield

The Regional Business Council’s Kathy Osborn presents an award to Dana Townsend.

The Urban League’s Michael McMillan presents an award to Aisha D. White.

Awardees Andre Stevens and Yinka Faleti

A crowd of nearly 500 came on the cheer the 2016 Young Leaders.

Ena Hayden, awardee Betherny Williams and Greg Horn Some of the many guests who came out to support awardee Melanie Moore

Brian Williams and City Treasurer Tishaura Jones

Jenalle Jones, Maranda Witherspoon-Richardson, Ebony Ingram and Traci Carter

Daniel Jones and Christopher C. Miller Terre Johnson-Kendrick, awardee Kaylan D. Holloway and Dr. Kacy Seals

New dual degree for Harris-Stowe

After a year and a half of planning and preparation, Dwaun J. Warmack, president of Harris-Stowe State University and John A. Pieper, president at St. Louis College of Pharmacy sign the formal agreement on February 17, creating a dual degree doctor of pharmacy program for HSSU. Faculty, staff and students who are interested in the program were also in attendance.

New program will shave a year off undergrad school for future pharmacists

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St. Louis American

If you could shave a year off undergraduate school on your way to becoming a pharmacist, it would be a sound investment of time and tuition, right? That is what the leadership at Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) and St. Louis College of Pharmacy created for undergraduate students at HSSU. The new program also gets more underrepresented students into high-paying pharmacy careers.

John A. Pieper, PharmD, president of

n Committees at both schools redesigned curriculum or created new classes and majors for the program.

St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Dwaun J. Warmack, president of Harris Stowe State University signed documents for the dual degree program on Wednesday, February 17 in the new Academic and Research Building on the pharmacy school campus.

The dual degree program will allow students to pursue a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in a 3+4 format. Students will complete three years of study in the Biology/Pre-Pharmacy track at Harris-Stowe and in their fourth year, they will begin work on their Doctor of Pharmacy at the College. Pieper said he and Warmack committed right after his arrival at HSSU to develop the program.

“I have always valued the quality of the students and the fact that they are a fantastically

See DEGREE, A11

Stork’s Nest provides baby items for expectant mothers

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

At the Homer G. Phillips clinic location at 2425 Whittier Street, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated, Xi Zeta Chapter, and the Zeta Charitable Foundation of Saint Louis, Incorporated, opened the Storks Nest on February 19 at the Myrtle Hilliard Comprehensive Health Center. For more than 40 years, The Zetas’ Storks Nest has been a national cooperative project of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and the March of Dimes Foundation. It aims increase the number of women receiving early and regular prenatal care in an effort to prevent low birth-weight, premature births and infant deaths. Chapter President Barbara EvansCunningham said incentives and

See STORK, A11

Zeta Phi Beta’s Xi Zeta chapter Storks Nest Coordinators Delores Lotts and Mary Larde just completed stocking the Stork’s Nest at the Homer G. Phillips clinic location of Myrtle Hilliard Davis Comprehensive Health Center in St. Louis.

Many of our finest researchers across the country have lectured to their students, written papers, and provided countless presentations on the association of poverty with poor health outcomes.

Per the “For the Sake of All” project, “Deaths due to limited economic and educational opportunity affect us all. In St. Louis, the estimated cost of this loss of life in one year is approximately $4.0 billion.” And it is not just the poverty-related mortality rates we’re talking about. It is also the type of life you are more likely to live when income inequality is an issue.

For example, girls who are repeatedly exposed to poverty growing up are more likely to be overweight or obese as young women per a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Denise HooksAnderson, MD

As an “on the ground” type of provider who has practiced in community health centers in Illinois and Missouri in addition to an academic practice, the data from these studies simply provide validation to what I have seen and continue to see in my practice. Simply put, patients who lack economic resources have poorer outcomes.

Let’s take a case I encountered in about 2002. My patient was a 40 something year old African American mother of young girls. She was a hard working uninsured woman who after receiving a mammogram through one of the safety net facilities available to her at the time was told that her screening test was suspicious for cancer. I can only imagine the conversation this poor lady was having in her head. How am I going to pay for my care? Who will take care of my daughters if I am out sick? So you know what she decided to do?

Nothing. She decided to do nothing until about a year ago. This patient recently reconnected with me several weeks ago and updated me on her journey. Since our last encounter she unfortunately had become addicted to drugs and had neglected her health in other areas as well.

Her cancer had progressed to the point where mastectomy had been the only option. As a result of drug addiction and a lack of preventative care, she now battles other health conditions as well. What if economic barriers had not been an issue for this lady? Would her outcomes have been better?

In some ways, yes this patient’s care could have dramatically taken a different course with adequate resources. However, we must remember that even with controlling for income, in some instances disparities still exist for people of color as compared to whites. But income inequality continues to contribute the greatest gaps in health outcomes between black and white patients. And having insurance alone is not the answer. Many of my patients have “good” insurance yet they miss taking their daily hypertension meds because they did not have the money to pay the copay for their prescriptions. Not to mention the patients who have not gotten their shingles vaccine because their out of pocket portion is approximately $200. So as you can see, having money in this country is one way to slightly improve your chances of having better health outcomes. But I do hope our future leaders, policy makers and practitioners will develop a solution to this shameful social ill of our nation as it relates to the “haves and the have nots.”

Your family doctor, Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D. Assistant Professor SLUCare Family Medicine yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Xi Zeta Chapter, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority

The final recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) calls for adolescents for depression.

The task force issued a “B” recommendation to screen for major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents ages 12 to 18 when adequate systems are in place to ensure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment and appropriate follow-up. However, the group concluded that there was insufficient evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for MDD in children age 11 and younger, and called for more research on screening for and treating depression in this age group.

Screen Teens for Depression, say USPSTF, AAFP

vicestaskforce.org).

The final recommendation statement reaffirms the USPSTF’s 2009 recommendation on the topic and its 2015 draft recommendation statement.

n The group concluded that there was insufficient evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for MDD in children age 11 and younger and called for more research.

“Primary care clinicians can play an important role in helping to identify adolescents with major depressive disorder and getting them the care they need. Accordingly, the task force recommends that primary care clinicians screen all adolescents between 12 and 18 years old for this condition,” said USPSTF member Alex Krist, M.D., M.P.H., in a news release(www.uspreventiveser-

The American Academy Family Physicians agreed with the task force’s recommendations in its own recommendations, especially after the group better defined what “adequate systems” meant, said Jennifer Frost, M.D., medical director for the AAFP Health of the Public and Science Division.

The current recommendation reaffirms these positions taken in 2009 but removes the mention of specific therapies in recognition of more evidence of benefit and decreased concern over the harms of pharmacotherapy in adolescents when they are adequately monitored. Also, the 2009 recommendation for children specifically addressed children ages 7 to 11, in contrast to the current draft recommendation that pertains to children 11 and younger.

“Adolescents are still

developing, and depression can negatively impact this development, affecting their future success and happiness,” she

said. “Also, adolescents with depression have an increased risk of substance abuse and suicide, as well as a higher risk

St. Louis Area Diaper Bank distributes to seven new partners

The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank has seven new partners that will distribute to client mothers with diaper need (See Your Health Matters, February 18-24). They are:

• Bethany Christian Services Free Diaper Friday

• The Hancock-Bayless School District PAT

• Hazelwood School District Bright Futures Program

• Signature Health Services Strong Start Program

• BJC Raising St. Louis program

• Southside Early Childhood Center

• The St. Vincent DePaul Society at St. Ferdinand Church in Florissant The seven additional program sites were selected through an application process.

Continued from A10

March of Dimes approved education promotes participation in prenatal care and encourages healthy behaviors during pregnancy, reducing stress and giving up harmful behaviors, such as smoking and drinking.

“When they come to us, we encourage them to maintain their appointments, give them literature and we also provide education curriculum approved by the March of Dimes about the importance of good prenatal care and encourage the moth-

ers to stop smoking if they are smoking and of course, keep their appointments,” EvansCunningham said.

Nursing Director Clarence Byndom said when Cunningham presented the opportunity to address and educate women on prenatal care, he immediately presented the information to the clinic’s senior leadership to initiate a partnership.

“I understood the need for women to receive early and regular prenatal care, especially in the Myrtle Hilliard Davis Comprehensive service areas. Currently, our service areas are targeted with various health

concerns and disparities that affect many of our prenatal population,” Byndom told The American. “The Stork Nest, in collaboration with Myrtle Hilliard Davis Comprehensive Health Center, will able to disseminate health promotion and wellness topics on prenatal care and encourage healthy behaviors during pregnancy.”

The clinic refers expectant mothers to the Stork’s Nest to “earn” points toward incentives. Mothers can accrue up to a maximum of 100 points during their pregnancy up to six weeks after the baby is born. They redeem their points for needed items at the Stork’s

Nest.

“They can choose baby items, like bottles, baby diapers, baby care items,” EvansCunningham said. “If they keep their appointments, the more points they earn toward baby items.”

Sorority members donate items to use as incentives and they are purchased with proceeds from fundraisers. The Stork’s Nest is operated by trained sorority members. It is open every Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for clients referred by the clinic.

For more information, visit zphib1920.org or machofdimes. org.

of depression and other mental disorders when they are adults.” Frost also pointed out that

DEGREE

Continued from A10

if signs of a psychiatric disorder are detected, further evaluation is warranted, regardless of age.

talented group and they could bring a richness to our campus that we haven’t traditionally focused on,” Pieper told The American. “And it felt like it was the right thing to do.”

Committees at both schools redesigned curriculum or created new classes and majors for the program.

Warmack said the partnership with St. Louis College of Pharmacy will allow HSSU students the chance to enter an exciting health care career with tremendous employment potential.

“We wanted to create something that was mutually beneficial and also transformational,” Warmack said. “Typically, pharmacy school is four years and undergrad is four years, so we are eliminating a year with the joint curriculum, but still that fourth year, they are not paying tuition at a pharmacy school – they are paying undergrad.”

Undergraduate tuition for up to 32 hours at Harris-Stowe costs around $5,200 for the year, including books and fees.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment in health care occupations to grow 19 percent between 2014 and 2024. In the recently released report: “African Americans: College Majors and Earnings,” African Americans who chose pharmacy careers with a bachelor’s level degree saw the highest median annual earnings, at around $84,000. Earning potential is even higher with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2014 median salary for pharmacists was $120,950.

“We take a lot of pride in making St. Louis College of Pharmacy a supportive and enriching environment for growth,” said Dr. John A. Pieper, president, St. Louis College of Pharmacy. “To live that mission, we are always looking to create as many opportunities as possible for students interested in pursuing a rewarding career as a pharmacist.”

According to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, of the total number of students enrolled in first professional degree programs for fall 2014, 61.4 percent were women and 12.4 percent were underrepresented minority students. Administrators at HSSU and the St. Louis College of Pharmacy recognize this collaboration as an inventive and necessary opportunity for the institutions to increase the number of underrepresented students in this field.

To be eligible to enter the first professional year of the Doctor of Pharmacy program, HSSU students must complete all prerequisite courses by the end of their junior year. The student must also hold a cumulative GPA of at least 2.7, hold no individual course grades below a C- in prerequisite courses, successfully complete an in-person interview and writing assessment, and take the Pharmacy College Admission Test. These requirements are the same as any student applying to transfer into the College’s professional program. Students who successfully complete four years of study in the dual-degree program will earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a Pre-Pharmacy minor from HSSU. They will earn a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the College after completing the remaining professional program coursework and progression requirements.

Most of the coursework in the first three years of the program will take place on the HSSU campus. In their sophomore year, students will take eight credit hours of organic chemistry on the College’s campus. In their junior year, they will take four credit hours of physics and three credit hours of health care communications on the College’s campus. HSSU students will be eligible to enter the program as early as this fall.

Photo by Sandra Jordan

Hazelwood should stop blaming parents

By Monique Norfolk Guest columnist

My husband Damon Norfolk and I are parents of a child in the Hazelwood School District. We are appalled at the cuts that the district made without our input. As a public health professional, I know the implications of these types of cuts on the health of our community and the impact this decision will have on the staff who choose to educate our children.

Why did the district not cut the administrators’ salaries? I don’t want hear that parents had the opportunity to be part of the advisory committee. We all know that’s a lie. Those who are on that committee were hand-picked. When the district desires for us to know information, you ensure that you go above and beyond to get the information to us. When you don’t want us to receive the information, you know how to make it appear as though you did what you could to inform us and we didn’t act.

My husband and I pay taxes and vote in every election, rain or shine. We deserve answers and we deserve for you to take time and meet with all of the parents – not in a cowardly fashion where you seek to intimidate anyone who challenges you. We deserve a real meeting where you accept the fact that you have made poor decisions that will negatively impact our children and you respect the fact that we – as tax payers, parents, and voters – have every right to express our disappointment in your decision. We deserve the opportunity to provide acceptable options for addressing these concerns.

If you need to make cuts, there are other ways to make them and there are enough educated and engaged parents to assist with coming up with an acceptable plan. There are also elected officials, state representatives, whom you have not invited to the

table to assist with development of an adequate plan. Why weren’t they invited to the table? Why did they have to hear about the cuts through concerned citizens, rather than board members? Why didn’t you reach out to us via

to get the message out. It appears you were afraid we wouldn’t agree with your decision because we would put our children first, so you didn’t ask us. You didn’t afford us the opportunity to weigh in. You handpicked people to be part of the committee who would

n You handpicked people to be part of the committee who would agree with your plan to dismantle our district.

email, phone, mailers, etc., as you do when you want us to vote for you?

We have been in the district since 2013 and didn’t know about the cuts.

Others have been in the District since 2006 and 2010 and didn’t know about the cuts. So you didn’t work very hard

agree with your plan to dismantle our district. Our child matters to us, and please know that we will not stop until you make a decision that benefits our children and not your pocket book.

As a public health professional, I know what the district will look like

in 10-plus years and this decision is catastrophic. Any educated person who has been around long enough knows this as well. To know that you all are well aware of what this decision means is disgusting. You don’t care about our kids, and you clearly don’t care about our voice. This was evident in the board meeting on February 16, when you dismissed parents and children by moving on to what you considered a more important topic than the public comment section. Your tax payers and voters needed to voice their concerns.

Stop blaming parents, community members and students for not responding sooner. Clearly, people respond when they know what is going on, and it is an insult that you and your colleagues would think that we would simply “bow down” because you try and tear us down. We love our children, we give our all and they deserve the best.

Tell us why you don’t want

Hazelwood School District parent Monique Norfolk criticized the school board’s decision to make cuts to music programs and physical education at the board meeting on Tuesday, February 16.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

to consider a better plan for our community? We stand to gain nothing from determining a better plan except the health, quality education and success of our children. What do you stand to gain? It must be something major for you to be willing to give up on children.

When obesity, heart disease, diabetes, poor test scores, crime and other issues override and plague our community, pat yourself on the back for the disaster you were instrumental in creating. You are tasked with providing a positive environment for our children and you have failed royally.

Do you want us to need a Dr. Tiffany Anderson? That’s where we are headed, and it can be stopped. But our understanding is that the board is not willing to entertaining any ideas, even if they will help the budget and our kids without making these cuts. Our understanding is that you gave raises when you knew you were headed to this deficit.

We have questions, and we have concerns. We voted for some of these board members, thinking they would be excellent at leading this district for our children, but you have proven that people will say anything to get elected. If you can’t tell our children to their faces that you don’t care about them, then you are a coward. If you can’t listen to concerned citizens when you know you made a terrible decision, you are a coward. You made the decision, put on your grownup pants and deal with the consequences. Stop blaming parents, students and citizens for your underhanded decision that was done in an effort to have a dictatorship established to benefit your personal desires, rather than what’s in the best interest of our children, teachers and community.

Columnist

Monique Norfolk

Madison County Chairman Alan Dunstan, General Darren McDew and St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern visited at the event welcoming General McDew as Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) at Scott Air Force Base. The event, which drew more than 100 people who wanted to demonstrate their appreciation for the general and thank him for his service, was co-hosted by the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, Civic Progress, Regional Business Council, St. Louis Regional Chamber and the Belle Scott Committee.

WEEK 26

ONE SMALL CHANGE is an ongoing series that challenges us to take very small steps toward being more environmentally-friendly. If we all participate then ONE SMALL CHANGE can make a big difference! participate, then ONE SMALL CHANGE can make a big difference!

COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHTS

We all have areas in our lives where we can improve our “carbon footprint” and curb the amount of energy we consume. Lighting our homes is among the easiest to fix. By simply using one of those twisty fluorescent lightbulbs, instead of the old incandescent bulbs, we can cut out a big chunk of our household energy. If every home in the US replaced one regular lightbulb with a compact fluorescent bulb, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road. This is because fluorescent lightbulbs use one-third of the energy and last ten times longer! Even if you only replace 25 percent of your home’s lightbulbs with compact fluorescents, you can cut your home’s lighting energy in half! If your electricity comes from a coal-fired power plant then that saves about 500 pounds of coal not burned, 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide and 20 pounds of sulfur dioxide will not get into the atmosphere.

THIS CHANGE SAVES 500 POUNDS OF BURNED COAL! !

Stenger dumps diversity director, Betty Thompson quits

Former state rep. Betty Thompson was working parttime as a coordinator for St. Louis County’s Community Empowerment and Diversity Program Manager office. But she told the St. Louis American on Tuesday, March 1, “I walked out this morning.”

On February 28, County Executive Steve Stenger dismissed the office’s executive director Annette Slack, who is also an attorney.

“She was hardworking, a registered nurse, a lieutenant colonel in the Navy for 30 years,” said Thompson, the former state representative. “She was good. They walked in and got rid of her.”

Thompson said at the office’s 10 a.m. meeting on Tuesday that she told Stenger’s chief of policy Jeff Wagener that she was resigning. But before she did, she told him this, “I will not stand by and watch an African-American woman be mistreated.”

Thompson said she has been in the Civil Rights Movement too long to just sit back. Wagener asked to speak with her, but she just turned and walked out, she said.

Slack told The American she had no idea it was coming. She said Stenger’s team came to her at 4 p.m. on Monday and told her she had been using her computer to grade her students’ tests. (Slack teaches a night class one day a week.)

And they said that she helped her nieces out of a traffic ticket using county resources. She said that was not true. She did help her nieces, but did so as an attorney, not a county employee.

“I should at least been given a warning,” Slack said.

A county spokesman said

he could not explain why Stenger chose to dismiss her. However, on Tuesday, Stenger appointed Ethel Byndom as interim director of Community Empowerment and Diversity Program Manager. Byndom has served as a coordinator with the office since January 2015.

According to the county’s statement, “Slack, who was hired in 2015, left County employment at the end of February.”

According to a county source, Slack pushed Stenger for action on his proposed disparity study and other initiatives beyond Stenger’s comfort zone. Stenger campaigned hard against the county’s first

black county executive, Charlie Dooley, and earned many enemies in the black community when he beat Dooley.

Thompson said she helped get Stenger elected, but she strongly disagreed with this move against Slack.

“It’s a lot of crap,” she said.

Irony and ‘excellent service’

Ironically, given the allegation over the fixed ticket, Stenger recently created a furor when he wrote a letter to a district judge on behalf of Michael Saracino II, a nephew of John Saracino, then Stenger’s director of

constituent services (he since resigned) and a key member of Stenger’s campaign team.

The younger Saracino was sentenced in December to 24 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession and intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilos of marijuana.

“Based on my experience with Michael and his family, I respectfully request that you grant him leniency in your sentencing for the crimes he has committed,” Stenger wrote to the court.

Stenger said he met Saracino when the young man served him at one of his family’s restaurants. “He provides excellent service to all of his customers,” Stenger

U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, Mayor Francis G. Slay, County Executive Steve Stenger and Betty Thompson at the 2016 MLK kickoff on January 9 at Harris-Stowe State University. Thompson, a former state representative, quit working for Stenger on March 1 after the county executive dismissed his director of Community Empowerment and Diversity.

wrote to the judge.

Black cops endorse white prosecutor

The Ethical Society of Police, a minority organization of about 215 St. Louis city officers who are almost all black, voted at their February 25 meeting to endorse Patrick Hamacher in the race for St. Louis circuit attorney.

At the meeting, three candidates – Hamacher, Kimberly Gardner and Steven Harmon – gave presentations to the society and members voted immediately after. About 10 percent of the membership attended the meeting. Eleven votes went to Hamacher, six to Gardner and three to Harmon.

Hamacher is white, and both Gardner and Harmon are black.

When asked if it was unusual for their organization to choose a white candidate, the society’s president Heather Taylor said, “It is probably the first time ever. But he won that vote outright.”

Taylor said they didn’t ask their members why they chose to vote as they did. However, from her point of view, she feels that Hamacher got their attention by the personal examples he used. He talked about one young man who he could have prosecuted and recommended hefty jail time. But he chose to help him get on his feet, and now he is in college.

“We know growing up in violent communities, a lot of these young men carry guns because they feel they have to,” Taylor said. “When they are young and they have the potential to go on and live a better life and this is a lesson for them, it’s good to be given that example of a success story.”

She said he also gave

examples of putting people in prison. Hamacher began his legal career as an assistant circuit attorney for St. Louis city in 2011. Now he is a prosecutor in the office’s armed offender unit, where he focuses on homicides, assaults and robberies.

The members knew all three of the candidates. Gardner was a prosecutor with the circuit attorney’s office as well before she became a state representative. Harmon was a police officer. Taylor said they feel that either of the other two candidates would also be good in that position.

“It would be a win-win,” she said. She said they have gotten some backlash for their endorsement from the community, but she stands by their voting process.

“Fairness doesn’t have a color, and everyone has to be held accountable,” she said.

“We were fair with our vote.”

Where was Mary Pat?

Mary Pat Carl, a fourth candidate with a huge lead in fundraising (and the endorsement of the retiring incumbent, Jennifer Joyce), was not considered for the endorsement because she had not requested an interview, Taylor said.

However, the Ethical Society conducted its candidate interviews only two days after candidate filing opened. Candidates have until March 29 to file for circuit attorney.

Payback for Kim?

The EYE hesitates to ascribe to the Ethical Society – or at least its 20 members who bothered to vote on the endorsement for circuit attorney – but there could be payback for Gardner in this vote.

Gardner and her colleagues in the state legislative black caucus endorsed Jason M. Sengheiser, a white attorney, for an associate judge seat in the 22nd District. After the endorsement, Gardner, a state representative, was seen on the House floor introducing Sengheiser to colleagues. That was another surprising endorsement, given that Sengheiser was one of three panelists submitted to Gov. Jay Nixon by the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan. One of those three panelists, Craig K. Higgins, was a qualified African-American attorney who works in the City of St. Louis’ Municipal Prosecution Division. The black caucus, including Gardner, passed over a black lawyer to endorse a white lawyer, and indeed Nixon appointed that white lawyer. Then the black cops passed over black lawyers, including Gardner, to endorse a white lawyer. We will see who the voters choose on August 2.

Photo by Wiley Price

Business

Credit Union opens Gateway Branch

Historic black bank honored in new branch on North Union

By Rebecca Rivas

Louis American

Of The St.

Kelly Montgomery remembers in the 1960s when her father George Montgomery gathered together some friends in his living room to talk about starting Gateway Bank on Union Boulevard, near Natural Bridge.

“My father was a pioneer,” she said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new St. Louis Community Credit Union Gateway Branch at 3412 N. Union Blvd. on Monday, February 29. “In the 1960s, African Americans weren’t given the opportunity to obtain loans or employment at banks.”

The bank’s opening was a response to the 1963 civil-rights protests of Jefferson Bank & Trust Co.’s refusal to hire blacks. In the Montgomery living room, the bank’s board of

n “St. Louis Community Credit’s willingness to invest and commit to building a new Gateway Branch is truly a commitment to North St. Louis.”

– Adolphus Pruitt, NAACP

directors set a goal to raise $500,000 to get the bank underway, she said. And for 40 years, Gateway provided banking services and loans to the community of North St. Louis.

In 2009, Gateway Bank failed under the recession, was taken over by the FDIC and sold

to Central Bank of Kansas City. For three years, Central Bank managed the bank’s $12 million in deposits and about $13 million in assets. Yet in 2012, Central Bank received permission from the FDIC to permanently close the location, arguing that they couldn’t find a buyer to keep the bank open.

About 1,300 primarily African-American and low-income residents in North St. Louis called Gateway their bank. In a climate where 28.6 percent of African-American households in St. Louis are unbanked, community leaders were not willing to see the bank close in one of the nation’s most under-banked areas.

In 2012, St. Louis Community Credit Union came forward and agreed to build a new branch in Gateway’s original location. The credit

See BANK, B6

Carla D. Hayden was nominated by President Barack Obama as Librarian of Congress. She is CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, a position she has held since 1993. She was nominated by President Obama to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board in January 2010 and was confirmed by the Senate in June 2010.

Juan Cox was promoted to captain of St. Louis County Police Department and assigned as the commander of the City of Jennings Precinct. He replaces Captain Jeff Fuesting, who was assigned captain of the Affton Southwest Precinct. Cox joined the department in 1995 and most recently was a lieutenant assigned to the North County Precinct.

Marabeth E. Gentry was honored at the 31st Annual Stellar Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, gospel music’s biggest awards show. She was awarded the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award. She is president of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, daughter of St. Louis gospel legends Joshua and Geneva Gentry, and a graduate of Vashon High School.

Blake Stroke’s article “Debtors’ Prison in 21st-Century America” was published in the February 2016 edition of The Atlantic, co-authored by Whitney Benns. He is a Skadden Fellow at ArchCity Defenders. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, the University of Arkansas and Pattonville High School and a former tennis professional.

Natalie DuBose and her business, Natalie’s Cakes and More, received the Arcus Award for Achievement in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from The St. Louis Regional Chamber. She demonstrated the entrepreneurial skills of determination, resilience and adaptability after her bakery was damaged during the unrest in Ferguson. She worked to stay in business through a crowdfunding campaign and established a partnership with Starbucks.

By Jim McKelvey Guest columnist

I love this city. I love our history with its rich architectural and cultural icons, I love what is currently happening in tech and entrepreneurship, and I am tremendously excited about our future. The latest great thing is our opportunity to have the National GeospatialIntelligence Agency (NGA) place its Western Headquarters in the City of St. Louis. The NGA currently employs over 3,100 smart people and will add thousands of new NGA jobs in the years ahead. Some will be hired locally, and others will move to our region. Many of these employees are currently in high school and college. This will be great for the city, but it will also be great for NGA.

It hasn’t been cool to commute to an office park for the last decade, but organizations requiring major campuses have few options beyond paving another cornfield. In this case, however, a team of dedicated St. Louisans found the necessary space in North St. Louis. If the NGA picks North City, everyone wins And the NGA gets it.

“It’s not 1947 anymore, and the conditions under which we must ply our trade have changed. The world is faster, messier, noisier and more connected. We must succeed in the open,” NGA Director Robert Cardillo said in

his recent address to the Consumer Electronics Show.

“It means that we have to understand the world of social media, and how our adversaries are working to exploit it. It means that we have to work with many more partners, not only other intelligence agencies, but unclassified, nongovernmental partners, as well.”

His speech is remarkable. For an agency whose very existence was formerly denied, to headline a consumer event shows how far things have evolved.

Cardillo continued, “If we make it more possible to collaborate with the best minds in industry, we also make this country and our allies safer, and that’s my ultimate goal.”

B2

Lee Michaels will be inducted into the St. Louis Media History Foundation’s St. Louis Media Hall of Fame. A former disc jockey on KATZ and KMJM in the 1970s, he went on to national fame in syndication from Los Angeles. He is the only African American in the group of 15 being inducted this year. A previous announcement ran with the wrong photograph.

Carla D. Hayden

Marabeth E. Gentry

Blake Strode

Natalie DuBose

Juan Cox

Lee Michaels

Melvyn Harrington, a founding director of Gateway Bank (seated in wheelchair), and Kelly Montgomery, daughter of another founding director (standing behind him), helped officials cut the ribbon on the new Gateway Branch of St. Louis Community Credit Union at 3412 N. Union Blvd. on Monday, February 29. To Harrington’s right is Gerald Brooks, the credit union’s board chairman.

Photo by Wiley Price

Jim McKelvey

Personal Finance

Cutting your medical bills via smartphone

By Nathaniel Sillin

What if your next doctor’s visit could happen by smartphone from anywhere in the world? It could happen sooner than you think.

It’s called telemedicine, or telehealth: The use of Internet-connected devices to communicate information about diseases, symptoms and other health data. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is driving innovators in healthcare and technology to develop apps and devices that offer greater access to healthcare products and services at a lower cost. In fact, the global telehealth market is expected to grow from $440.6 million in 2013 to $4.5 billion by 2018, according to Colorado-based research firm IHS. How could this affect you? Though apps that measure everything from your daily walk or run to your heart rate are already available, an incredible range of options are coming. Here are some of the current and future product development trends in smartphone and wearable healthcare:

Physical activity and vitals tracking. While many major health systems and hospitals allow you to download apps that let you schedule appointments, see lab results and even communicate by email or text with your doctor, such offerings have no diagnostic value… yet. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently released policy statements on what it calls “mobile medical apps” that will actually allow tracking of vital health data for direct interpretation by trained health professionals.

GPS Medicine. Let’s say you need to fill a prescription and you want to know the cheapest place to buy it within a 10-mile radius of your office. Using technology similar to the restaurant, movie and service-finding sites you probably use now, developers are considering similar models for medical supply and service pricing data that could save

you money in real time. Diagnosis by selfie. Who knew taking a selfie could help improve your health? This new technology allows patients to take a photo of a non-lifethreatening injury or rash using their cell phones (http:// www.wsj.com/articles/thefuture-of-medicine-is-in-yoursmartphone-1420828632). Then, an algorithm processes the image, evaluates it and texts back the diagnosis. Developers are coming up with

sensors to collect symptomand condition-related health data, which could mean that in the future, physicians will have a lot more to work with than a mere photo.

Virtual appointments. Healthcare legislation is also expected to spur use of handheld devices to create 24/7, real-time communication between patients and practitioners for the cost of a co-pay – or less. In a 2014 report, consulting

firm Deloitte said that there would be 100 million health “eVisits” globally, potentially saving over $5 billion in costs compared to those incurred by traditional physician visits.

But before you start downloading this new technology, research the following:

• Who made the app and what do the developers really know about my condition?

• What about privacy?

MILLER

continued from page B2

Locating the NGA West headquarters in North St. Louis will place the agency next to our growing tech corridors along Washington Avenue and the CORTEX Innovation District. It will provide countless opportunities to team with the technological talent that lives and works in the city. It

What’s in the app’s usage agreement and how safe is the payment, prescription or medical data required to use the app?

• What does my primary care doctor or my insurer think about me using this app? Could using it affect my coverage in any way?

• What does it really cost to use the app and how might it affect data charges on my smartphone or tablet bill?

will allow NGA to work with Washington University, Saint Louis University, HarrisStowe and Webster, which are just blocks away. Even more important than these institutional partners are the people themselves. Younger workers want to live and work in cities like St. Louis. They prefer walkable, bikeable communities and open, collaborative environments surrounded with entertainment, culture and history. Talent is the

Business Briefs

Bottom line: The ability to manage your healthcare by smartphone is a revolutionary concept. But before you dive in head first, learn as much as you can about the technology and whether your current health professionals and networks support it.

Nathaniel Sillin directs Visa’s financial education programs. To follow Practical Money Skills on Twitter: www. twitter.com/PracticalMoney.

main reason we opened our newest Square office in the city and also why we started LaunchCode. Fifty years of decay has left us with an amazing asset – urban space that can be purpose-built for the new ways we work. I know of no other U.S. city with such a grand opportunity.

Jim McKelvey is co-founder of Square, LaunchCode and Third Degree Glass Factory.

Schnucks shoppers can win a Fiat and trip

Schnucks shoppers will have an opportunity to win a Fiat car and a trip to Italy as part of the grocery store chain’s Taste of Italy promotion scheduled through March 8. The St. Louis-based company will kick off the special promotion in each of its 99 stores throughout the Midwest by offering hundreds of Italian products, such as Agriltalia Pasta and Sauce, Ranieri Olive Oil and Monteli

Organic Pizza. The promotion will include several four-hour Italian-related cooking demonstrations and samplings in the stores. On February 27, Schnucks will hold samplings from noon to 4 p.m. in various stores. To find out locations for samplings, visit https://nourish.schnucks. com/2016/02/17/taste-of-italysampling. Customers will also have an opportunity to win a

to Italy

2016 Fiat 500 Pop as part of the campaign by entering at www.Schnucks.com/ Italy. Sweepstakes forms with information on how to enter will be available in every store and at the bottom of each receipt. Official rules can be found on the website. The first-prize winner will receive a six-night trip for two to Rome, Italy. Winners will be announced via Facebook on March 14.

United Auto Workers offering free training in County

The St. Louis County Division of Workforce Development is partnering with the United Auto Workers on a free program to train county residents for careers as machinists. The program is aimed at the unemployed, especially workers who recently lost their jobs. Program participants will get training in advanced manufacturing work. The program is designed to lead

to twoyear, full apprentice memberships in union jobs that pay from about $25$35 an hour, according to St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger. The UAW will lead the classes at Ranken Technical College in Wentzville.

The program, funded by a grant from the State of Missouri, is ongoing, and each course runs for eight-weeks. The next session begins March 14. The courses are valued at $6800 per participant but will be offered at no cost and transportation will be provided. Applicants must have a high school diploma or GED. For more information, call 314679-3341.

n “Steph Curry is making shots that most players can’t even make in practice.”

– Dirk Nowitzki

PreP BaskeTBall noTeBook

Three-peat for Ritter

Girls beat Lutheran North for district title

Cardinal Ritter College Prep has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of success in boys basketball, but the girls program is not far behind when it comes to having a championship pedigree in its own right.

The Lions defeated host Lutheran North 71-49 to win the Class 3, District 5 championship, which was their third in succession.

It was another notch in the belt for coach Darren Wade, who has led the Ritter program to a state championship, three appearances in the statechampionship game and a number of district and conference titles.

The Lions graduated several key players from last year’s team that finished second in the Class 3 state tournament. The one key returning player is 5’7” senior Andranae Wash, who emerged as the leader of a young team that kept up the winning at Ritter. Wash had 19 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists in the victory against Lutheran North. Freshman Brit’Nee Terry had 15 points while junior Amanda Watts added 10 points. The Lions also got eight points from senior Amani Stewart and seven points apiece from senior Brittany Wilbert and freshman Kori Tomlin.

Wash is currently averaging 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals a game. Terry is averaging 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds a game while Wilbert averages seven points and five rebounds. Stewart is averaging 6.7 points while Watts is averaging four points and four rebounds.

Lauryn Miller returns

The Kirkwood High girls got a big boost for the postseason with the return of 6’2” junior forward Lauryn Miller to the lineup.

From The easT sIde

With Maurice Scott

Four Metro East players in MVC tournament this weekend

This week’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament will have four Metro East players on rosters this weekend: C.J. Rivers (Drake), Armon Fletcher (S.I.U. - Carbondale), Emondre Rickman (Indiana State) and Shawn Roundtree (Missouri State).

C.J. Rivers, Cahokia High School Rivers started 10 games for the Drake Bulldogs before a season-ending injury. The 6’2” sophomore was averaging 19 minutes and 4.1 ppg for Head Coach Ray Giacoletti’s Bulldogs. He had a season-high 13 points against Indiana State on January 6. In addition, he had a season best 31min logged against Western Kentucky back on November 23 in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Fort Myers, Florida.

Rivers was one of the top guards in the Metro East his junior and senior years at Cahokia guiding his team to a 57-13 record during that span, including a Super Sectional appearance his senior year, and a state finals appearance his junior year, when he helped lead his team to a 33-4 record.

Emondre Rickman, Collinsville High School. Rickman started his basketball career at Lincoln Middle school in East St. Louis. His teammates were Lester Cotton, who is an offensive tackle for the 2016 National Champions Alabama Crimson Tide, and freshman All-American defensive lineman Terry Beckner Jr. at the University of Missouri.

The 6’9” 220-pound freshman has played in 29 games for Sycamore coach Greg Lansing with two starts. Rickman is usually one of the first big men to come off the bench for Indiana State, averaging 12 minutes per contest. In addition, Rickman has gained a reputation in the Valley as one of the premier shot

Steph’s greatness curries hate from old heads

Countless former players throw shade at Warriors great

Golden State Warriors

superstar Stephen Curry is the man. He’s the big kahuna, top dog, big man on campus, #1 stunna, boss baller, illest, dopest, sickest, most on fleek game-having athlete in the world. He is the best basketball player on the planet. When athletes like Curry reach the pinnacle of superstardom, they are guaranteed two things: amazing perks and an endless sea of haters.

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

First, let’s address the hate. Look back at all the NBAs greats and they all had detractors and naysayers. Regardless of how many records broken or championships won, people try to find fault with everyone: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul

Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and so forth. Nobody is immune. Even I have strayed into Camp Hater a time or 10 during my brief career as a sports columnist. It’s easy to do because we are trained to be suspicious of new greatness. We often believe that it somehow fails to measure up to old, more familiar greatness. Therefore, even though Curry appears to be a marketer’s dream (young, nice-looking family guy who stays out of trouble) it was no surprise when the haters started to pop up left and right in the form of former NBA players. In recent weeks we’ve seen countless former players and coaches throw varying degrees of shade at Curry and his remarkable run as the new face of the NBA.

Oscar Robertson’s remarks got the most traction as “The Big O” is one of the greatest and most-versatile basketball players to ever lace up a pair of sneakers. On ESPN’s “Mike & Mike,” Robertson took shots at the throne with the following remarks:

“If I’ve got a guy who’s great shooting the ball out-

side, don’t you want to extend your defense out a little bit?” Roberson asked. “I just don’t think coaches today in basketball understand the game of basketball. They don’t know anything about defenses. They don’t know what people are doing on the court.” Robertson didn’t stop there in his rant on why terrible

According to Oscar Robertson, terrible defense, such as this hand in the face by 6’10” athletic freak and defensive stalwart Anthony Davis, is the only reason Stephen Curry is rewriting the 3-point history books.

coaches are the reason for Curry’s greatness. He continued to say, “When I played years ago, if you shot a shot outside and hit it, the next time I’m going to be up on top of you. I’m going to pressure you with three-quarters, half-court defense. But now they don’t do that. These coaches do not understand the game of basket-

n In recent weeks we’ve seen countless former players and coaches throw varying degrees of shade at Curry and his remarkable run.

ball, as far as I’m concerned.” Ah, there we have it. The good ol’ “when I played the game” comment. It’s right there, as clear as day. The envy and desperate cling to relevancy is easy to see.

Oft-hating Charles Barkley had similar sentiments, when Sir Charles told Dime Magazine that Curry is “not more than a shooter.” Barkley has also suggested that if defenses were allowed to be more physical with Curry, he would be an ordinary player. Sure, Chuck, the man

See PREP, B5

Maurice Scott

See EAST SIDE, B5

With Ishmael H. Sistrunk

With Earl Austin Jr.

Earl Austin Jr.

Freshman Brit’nee Terry of Cardinal Ritter.

Photo compliments of Cardinal Ritter

SportS EyE

Ray dodges race factor while backing Mizzou players’ boycott

One season into his pro football career, former Missouri defensive star Shane Ray has something most NFL players never attain – a Super Bowl championship.

Selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2015 draft, Ray registered 20 tackles and four sacks with the NFL’s best defense. He had two tackles and forced a fumble in the Super Bowl triumph over Carolina.

could get together, especially a football team, and stand up for something and make a decision collectively, I mean that’s big,” Ray said.

“It happened so fast and it was a crazy experience, but I’m just happy to be a part of it,” Ray told the Kansas City Star during his first visit back to Mizzou’s campus last Saturday.

“I really don’t think anything trumps being a Super Bowl champion,” Ray said. The night of November 7, as black student unrest enveloped the campus, a group of black Mizzou football players announced they would boycott all team activities unless Timothy Wolfe, then university president, resigned.

The next day the Broncos lost their first game of the season, 24-17, on the road against the Indianapolis Colts. Wolfe resigned on Monday, November 9. It is a weekend Ray obviously still remembers.

“I’m not really on that standpoint of if it was right or wrong,” Ray told the PostDispatch while attending Missouri’s double-digit basketball loss to Texas A&M.

“I was more proud that if any collective group of guys

“Those are college kids. I feel like they definitely made the impact they wanted to make and, them being my brothers, I definitely supported them and was proud of what they were doing. ... It didn’t have to be a racial issue. If it was about the taste of the food in the dining hall and they got together about it … I was proud that they worked together to do that.”

Well, it was a racial issue and the fact that majorcollege scholarship athletes eat better than most everyone else on campus makes Ray’s comparison fairly weak.

But Ray should be commended for backing the players and is apparently on his way to a stellar NFL career.

Ernie McMillan to be enshrined

While it should have happened years ago, former St. Louis Cardinals offensive tackle Ernie McMillan will be inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame on March 11 during the Legends of St. Louis football event at the Frontenac Hilton.

McMillan was drafted by the Cardinals in 1961 after a standout career at Illinois. During his 14 seasons with the Big Red, McMillan was selected to the Pro Bowl four

times. He was a key member of the “Cardiac Cardinals” and one of the NFL’s best

offensive lines under Coach Don Coryell.

The Cardinals won the NFC East in 1974 and ’75 and advanced to the NFC playoffs, losing respectively to the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams.

While younger football fans never experienced St. Louis football in the mid1970s, “Air Coryell” was a true happening. The Jim Hart to Mel Gray connection was one of the most potent quarterbackreceiver combinations in the NFL, and running back Terry Metcalf was one of the league’s most electrifying runners.

The anchor of the ’74 team was an offensive line which featured McMillan at left tackle, Bob Young at left guard, Tom Brahaney at

center, Dan Dierdorf at right tackle and Conrad Dobler at right guard. McMillan’s son, Erik, won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 1988 with the New York Jets and was selected to the Pro Bowl twice.

For more information on the Legends of St. Louis football event, visit www.stlshof.com.

So long to two fan favorites

The Los Angeles Rams cleared about $23 million in salary-cap space when they released middle linebacker James Laurinaitis defensive end Chris Long and tight end Jared Cook two weeks ago. I think Cook would

have received the heave-ho regardless of the franchise’s move to L.A. Laurinaitis, the team’s leading tackler, had actually been doing public relations work for the Rams and was looking for a home in Southern California. Long admitted on Twitter that his last two seasons had been disasters, so he understood the move. He also said he would be interested in helping bring a MLS franchise to St. Louis. My guess is that Laurinaitis and Long would still be Rams if the team was playing in St. Louis in 2016. Their race meant a lot to many St. Louis fans and would have played a role in that decision. Meanwhile, the team is negotiating with Coach Jeff Fisher on a contract extension. This proves once again that “winning isn’t everything.” Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows. His Twitter handle is @aareid1.

With Alvin Reid

Alvin Reid

Former Missouri defensive star Shane Ray, who just won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos, said he would have been proud of the Mizzou football boycott “if it was about the taste of the food in the dining hall.”

Ernie McMillan

EAST SIDE

Continued from B3

blockers in the league, with a team-high 21 blocks this season for the Sycamores.

Emondre played for the Illinois JETS AAU Club during his high school career.

Armon Fletcher, Edwardsville High School. Fletcher has appeared in 31 games for the best-dressed coach in the Valley, Saluki Head Coach Barry Hinson.

The red-shirt freshman has been quite a surprise for S.I.U.- Carbondale. In those 31 games played, he has averaged 14 minutes per game while averaging 4.9 ppg for the 21-9 Dogs.

Fletcher’s high-scoring games during that span was against Oakland on November

CLUTCH

Continued from B3 who broke his own record for three-pointers made in a season, with a staggering 24 games remaining, would turn into Wally Szczerbiak, or better yet Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Here’s looking at you Phil Jackson) with a few forearm shivers.

To make matters worse, Cedric Ceballos and Stephen Jackson both suggested that their average, non-championship teams of the 90s could beat this nearly unbeatable incarnation of the Warriors. Either these two have been kicking it hard in Colorado or need to be tested for CTE. Clearly both are better rappers

PREP

Continued from B3 Miller suffered a torn ACL in her knee in July and missed a majority of the regular season. Miller was able to return in time for the final four games of the regular season, all Kirkwood victories.

In four games, Miller is averaging 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. In the Pioneers’ 62-56 victory over Parkway North last Friday night, Miller had 14 points, four rebounds and five blocks. Kirkwood (21-4) advanced to the Class 5 state quarterfinals a year ago.

North Tech makes history

The North Tech Golden Eagles made history last weekend when they won the Class 3, District 6 championship. North Tech defeated Duchesne 38-34 to win the first district championship in the history of the boys’ basketball program. Senior forward Tyree White led the Golden Eagles with 16 points in the victory. The 6’7” White is averaging 16 points and 8.6 rebounds a game. Junior guard Erik Hicks is averaging 13 points a game while 6’6” senior Jontae Huntspon averages 10 points and eight rebounds. Senior point guard D.J. Henderson averages 10 points, three assists and three steals a game.

Postseason continues

Area Class 3 teams competed in the sectional playoffs on Wednesday night. The sectional winners will advance to the state quarterfinals on Saturday at Jefferson College in Hillsboro and Warrenton High. At Hillsboro, the girls will play at 5 p.m. followed by the girls at 6”45 p.m. At Warrenton, the girls begin at 1 p.m. followed by the girls at 2:45 p.m.

The Class 4 and 5 district championship games will be played on Friday night at Saturday afternoon.

Class 5 districtchampionship winners will advance to sectional games at Jefferson College, Maryville University, Lindenwood University and St. Charles West. Class 4 district champions will advance to sectional games at Kirkwood, Parkway West and Francis Howell Central.

24 and (three months to the day later) 13 points against the Illinois State Redbirds on February 24.

Armon played for future Hall of Fame Coach Mike Waldo at Edwardsville High, leading his team to an overall record of 61-7 record during his junior and senior seasons. In addition, Fletcher help lead the Tigers to two consecutive state Finals appearances and earned second team All – State honors his senior season.

Shawn Roundtree, Edwardsville High School. A teammate of Armon Fletcher at Edwardsville, Roundtree has only played three games this season for Head c=Coach Paul Lusk after playing in 30 games with two starts as a true freshman during the 2014-15 season. It is not clear what

than they are as basketball analysts and yes, that’s shade to the highest degree.

Almost anyone with hater-free vision can see that Curry is nearly unguardable. His shooting range begins the moment he steps over the halfcourt line, which is something the Oklahoma City Thunder found out the hard way. However, when teams sell out on the three-pointer by picking Curry up full, three-quarter or half-court as Robertson suggested, Curry often blows by them with his incredible quickness. His deft handles allow him to get to the hole and unleash those incredible, made for slow-motion, sky-high floaters. Better yet, he can simply pass the ball to one of his uber-talented teammates for an easy shot.

Roundtree’s future will be at Missouri State, according to sources. One thing is sure, I coached against him in high school and he has always been a very nice young man and demonstrated great character during his high school days.

But college basketball is different, and hopefully it works out best for both Missouri State and Shaun and his family. Maybe it might work out this weekend here in St. Louis if both the Bears and Roundtree have great weekends.

It’s going to be a treat to see these young men who I have had the privileged to coach against pursuing a dream to play collegiate basketball and earn their college education.

Good luck to all of you!

A big reason why Curry’s game is so ridiculous is that his teammates are talented enough to make opponents pay dearly for double teams. The Warriors roster currently contains 11 former first-round draft picks. Eight of those 11 were lottery picks. NBA coaches must make assessments on whether to allow a skinny 6’3” guard take fade away three-pointers with a 7-footer in his face or allow an easy dunk or open jumper to another very capable player. Using the traditional basketball IQ, the choice should be simple. It’s a testament to Curry’s greatness that he has made it a tough, no-win decision. Think about this, at the pace he is on (more than 400 three-pointers this season), Curry could have more three-pointers in the past two

Cross Keys Cougars win Championship

The Cross Keys Cougars eighth grade boys basketball team won the championship of the IAABO postseason tournament last weekend. The Cougars defeated St. Charles 41-31 in the championship game. The members of the team are (back row) Sylvon Mosley-Mull, Armoni Ward, Jordan Nesbitt, Craig McGee and Sean Thompson; (front row) Tahj Patterson, Tim Allred, Jermond Mosley, Jaylen Robinson and Romel Logan. Not pictured is head coach Scott Meier.

seasons than Larry Bird had in his entire career (649)! With all due respect to Roberson and Barkley, do they honestly expect me to believe that it’s solely due to bad defense and dumb coaches? How about we ask Gregg Popovich, one of the greatest coaches and defensive minds in NBA history, who watched Curry drop 37-points in just three quarters during a 30-point shellacking in January.

As ESPN’s Ethan Strauss pointed out, Curry is a remarkable 35-of-52 from 28 to 50 feet from the basket. The threepoint line is 22-feet away. That means Curry is shooting 67% when he shoots more than 6-feet behind the line. That stat alone is staggering. We don’t need Stan Lee to certify that Steph Curry is superhuman.

St. Louis American Prep Athletes of the Week

Andranae Wash

Cardinal Ritter – Girls Basketball

The 5’7” senior guard led the Lions to the Class 3, District 5 championship last week.

Wash averaged 19 points and 13 rebounds in Ritter’s two victories over Lift for Life and Lutheran North. She had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four steals in the Lions’ 52-21 victory over Lift for Life in the semifinals. In the championship, Wash had 19 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists in the 71-49 victory over Lutheran North.

For the season, Wash is averaging 12.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.3 steals in leading the Lions to a 19-6 record heading into Wednesday night’s sectionals against Duchesne.

As a junior, Wash averaged 12.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in helping the Lions to a second-place finish in the Class 3 state tournament.

Romelle Pearson

Maplewood – Wrestling

The senior standout captured his second consecutive state title at the Missouri Class 1 Wrestling Championships in Columbia.

Wrestling at 126 pounds, Pearson defeated Clayton Stallo of Marceline 12-4 in the championship match to finish his senior season with a 46-3 record.

Pearson defeated Jake Williams of Mid Buchanan by pin fall in the first round. He defeated Dawson Stephens of Seneca 10-2 in the quarterfinals and Dylan Wade of Maysville 10-2 in the semifinals.

As a junior, Pearson compiled a 45-1 record to win his first individual state championship. As a sophomore, Pearson was a state-runner up, losing only one match.

Now back to the perks that come with being “the man.”

Remember that show Pros vs Joes that ran on Spike TV from 2006 to 2010? It allowed former athletes to take on amateurs in sports drills.

Most of the time, the Joes got crushed by the retired guys and it gave them perspective on what it takes to be an elite professional athlete. I say Curry should reach out to the creators for a special return episode, dubbed Pros vs Olds. In this episode, Robertson, Barkley, Ceballos, the Jacksons and any other former NBA players that question Curry’s greatness can take turns trying to defend Steph. Send them out two or three at a time to get a taste of the peril and misery NBA coaches go through trying

to game plan for the league’s most unguardable player. Next, let all of them up from 28-feet and beyond and give them an hour to make 35 shots. I doubt they’ll make it. If they do, give Curry 10 minutes and watch him blow them out the water and shut them up. Of course, they could all do us a favor, save Curry and trouble and just zip it themselves.

Sit back and enjoy the show fellas. I don’t know how long the incredible Stephen shooting show will last, but I’m sure as heck going to enjoy it. Just as sure as haters gonna hate, Curry is going to get buckets and break records.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk

BANK

continued from page B1

union’s board chairman, Gerald Brooks, director of marketing and public relations for the St. Louis Public Library, is African-American.

About 100 people came out to celebrate the new $1.4 million building, designed by local African-American architect Karl Grice, at the February 29 ceremony. One of the original board directors, Melvyn Harrington, was among the attendants.

“My father would be very proud that Gateway’s traditions will continue through this financial institution,” Montgomery said.

1st Ward Alderwoman Sharon Tyus, who represents the neighborhoods around Gateway, said that the community’s ability to walk or drive around the block to their credit union is “priceless.”

Financial Focus

By Aaron Ezell

Smart financial moves for women

Tyus and the mayor’s office worked to get $500,000 in block grants for the bank’s construction. The city’s Affordable Housing Commission also provided a grant of $200,000. “We believe in the future of North St. Louis,” said Dorothy Bell, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of St. Louis Community Credit Union.

Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis City NAACP, said he remembers in August 2012 seeing the sign on the bank’s front door – “Gateway Bank will be closing in 90 days.”

“Over the years, Gateway took local deposits and made loans in a neighborhood where few other banks focused,” he said.

“A credit union is memberowned,” Tyus said. “Everyone who belongs to it is helping the community. My heart just beats with pride.”

Pruitt said he called Central Bank of Kansas City, and bank officials told him that it was too late in the closing process to sell the bank. Undeterred,

Pruitt reached out to CEO of Stifel Bank & Trust Chris Reichert for help, though Stifel Bank does not operate any retail banking centers because it gets funding from its brokerage firm affiliate – Stifel Nicolaus. Reichert gathered information and went to work in finding a prospective buyer. Not long after, Reichert had identified, met with, and began negotiations with St. Louis Community Credit Union to acquire the bank location and deposits of the former Gateway Bank.

Stifel has agreed to make a bridge loan to St. Louis Community Credit Union for the purchase of the property, Pruitt said.

“St. Louis Community Credit’s willingness to invest and commit to building a new state of the art facility to be named the ‘Gateway Branch’ is truly a commitment to North St. Louis and Gateway’s rich history,” Pruitt said. “In order to raise the bar, you have to work in partnership.”

Comptroller Darlene Green visited with Melvyn Harrington, a founding director of Gateway Bank, at the ribbon-cutting for the new Gateway Branch of St. Louis Community Credit Union at 3412 N. Union Blvd. on Monday, February 29.

Photo by Wiley Price

Black St. Louis history makers honored through movement

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

After 10 years of service, Michael Uthoff announced this weekend that he would be stepping down as executive director of Dance St. Louis.

Reflective of the diversity and inclusion that took place under his tenure, Uthoff’s last act in the position paid tribute to African Americans with roots in the St. Louis region whose creative gifts left a lasting impression on the world.

Through “New Dance Horizons IV,” local dance troupes and internationally renowned choreographers expressed the influences of Maya Angelou, Miles Davis, Dick Gregory, Rev. Cleophus Robinson Sr. and Albert Walker, among others, with world premiere works showcased at the Touhill Performing Arts Center this weekend.

Backed by the University of Missouri-St. Louis Jazz Ensemble, Bebe Miller charged MADCO with intertwining movement with the music of Miles Davis in “Line Up Low Down.”

Seeking help to emerge from the clutter

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“This is probably going to sound arrogant,” she said.

“Probably,” I said, laughing in a way to let her know I was quietly serious.

“You’re one of my best friends,” she said, “so I know you won’t judge me for saying I really am feeling a kind of way that she got married before I did.”

Before you start judging, think of all the times you’ve said it under your own breath.

“Okay…” I said, knowing exactly where she was going.

A mutual college acquaintance recently said “I do.” Some of the last ladies standing in our circle of single black females were fit to be tied that she was able to beat them down the aisle.

My dear friend is one of them.

‘Lust, Love and Loss’ live

Local R&B singer Joaquin Musick to perform songs from new CD at HSSU

By Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

“I would like to bring St. Louis to the forefront from an R&B platform,” said Jonas J. Townsel, a.k.a. Joaquin Musick. “It’s hard, but I feel like with the right traction I could be the one to do it.”

Musick has the kind of swag and confidence that R&B stars are made of. Fortunately, he also has vocal chops and the stage presence to back it up. He’s played the local music circuit consistently in the five years that he’s been devoted to the profession of music –opening for national artists like KeKe Wyatt and Eric Roberson.

On Saturday, March 5, he’s giving St. Louis a taste of his latest CD “Lust, Love and Loss” with a live show all his own at HarrisStowe State University’s Emerson Performance Center. “I love the reaction when I’m performing,” Musick said. “I like to

n “I want people to know that R&B is still alive and also that St. Louis has mainstreamcaliber talent that just needs the opportunity to be heard.”

– Joaquin Musick

pick out somebody from the crowd that looks like they are not having as good a time as anybody else and by the end of the show have them singing along.”

He described the 17-track album – his third studio project –as the evolution of a failing relationship.

“It’s the real R&B feel – you know – that good ‘90s R&B,” Musick said. “It’s got a bit of today in it to stay current. It’s real singing and real instruments, but not out of

Joaquin Musick’s live performance will take place at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 5 at Emerson Performance Center on the campus of HarrisStowe State University, 3026 Laclede.

“I mean, I’ve done everything right!” she exclaimed. “I’ve stayed in shape, I have an advanced degree, I’ve started my own successful business … and I’m a good person. I’m a [expletive] catch.”

She’s is all of those things and more, but in being single she still feels that in all of her successes there is a critical failure.

SINGLE, C4

Photos by Wiley Price

How to place a calendar listing

1. Email your listing to calendar@stlamerican. com OR

2. Visit the calendar section on stlamerican.com and place your listing

Calendar listings are free of charge, are edited for space and run on a space-available basis.

concerts

Through Mar. 5, Jazz at the Bistro presents James Carter Organ trio. 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. jazzstl.org.

Sun., Mar. 6, 4:30 p.m., Morehouse College Glee Club in Concert, Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School Choir and Normandy High School Quintet, Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School, 1004 N. Jefferson St. Louis, Missouri 63106. To purchase tickets call (314) 265-8556 or email: maryharperthomas@gmail. com.

Tues., Mar. 8, 8 p.m., The Pageant welcomes Bryson Tiller, The Pageant. 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit www.thepageant.com.

Mar. 20, 8 p.m. The Pageant welcomes Bone Thugs and Harmony Celebrating 20th Year of “ Tha Crossroads,” The Pageant. 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com.

Mar. 23, 8 p.m., The Pageant welcomes Tank, The Pageant. 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com.

Sat., Mar. 26, The Ambassador welcomes Denise LaSalle and Theodis Easley, The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sun., Mar. 27, 8 p.m., RockHouse Entertainment & Good Fellas Ent. Present Rick Ross, The Pageant. 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com.

Fri., Apr. 8, Mo Investment Ent presents Monica and Chante Moore Live, The

Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Apr. 19, 8 p.m. The Pageant welcomes Lupe Fiasco, The Pageant. 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com.

special events

Fri., Mar. 4, 7 p.m., The Michael Brown Chosen for Change Foundation (CFC) will host Testimonies of Love, Loss and Legacy. Eden Theological Seminary, 475 E. Lockwood Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63119.

Fri., Mar. 4, 7:30 p.m., Public Meeting for Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. 76th Central Region Conference - The Unbreakable Power of Vision, Voice and Virtue, America’s Ballroom, 2nd Floor, America’s Center Convention Complex, 701 N. Convention Plaza.

Sat., Mar. 5, 6:30 p.m., The Ritz-Carlton St. Louis host SouthSide Gala Dinner and Auction. 100 Carondelet Pl., 63105. For more information, visit www.southside-ecc.org.

Sat., Mar. 5, 1 p.m., Salman Rushdie at The Sheldon. For more information, visit http:// www.opera-stl.org/meet-thecomposer-and-librettist-ofshalimar-the-clown

Sat., Mar. 12, 5:30 p.m., Community Living, Inc. its16th annual Legacy Ball. St. Charles Convention Center, 1 Convention Center Plaza, St. Charles, MO 63303. For more information, visit http://www. legacyball2016.eventbrite.com

Sat., Mar. 12, 8 p.m., The Upsilon Omega Chapter of Omega Psi Phi present their annual Mardi Gras MasQUErade Affair Dance

Calendar

The Pageant welcomes Tank. For more information, see CONCERTS.

Featured Event

(See CONCERTS)

Fundraiser, Omega Center 3900 Goodfellow.

Mon., Mar. 14, 7 p.m. (5 p.m. reception), Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ 98th Annual Dinner Meeting, this year’s theme is Roadmap to Equality: Empowering Communities, Changing Lives with keynote address provided by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Marriott Grand Hotel, 800 Washington Ave. For more information, visit www.ulstl. org or call (314) 615-3668.

Mar. 16- 17, The Resale Shop, a charitable project of NCJW-St. Louis Section, will hold its first ever Recycled Art Sale. For more information, please contact Stacy Kress, NCJW Marketing Manager at 314-993-5181 or skress@ncjwstl.org.

Sat., Mar. 12, 10 a.m., Collier Brothers Auto Body Co. Inc. 70th Anniversary Celebration featuring a car show, anniversary presentations and light refreshments, 4561 Delmar 63108. For more information, call (314)3678679 or visit http://www. collierbrothersautobody.com

Through March 15, St. Louis Celebrity Seniors, Inc. St.

Louis Celebrity Seniors, Inc. is accepting nominations to for its “Helping Hand” award. The award will honor three individuals and/ or organizations that have made a significant impact in the St. Louis metropolitan community. Nominations can be submitted to : St. Louis Celebrity Seniors, Inc., Attn: Humanitarian Award, P.O. Box 4113, 9810 Halls Ferry Rd., St. Louis, MO 63136 or email: Lmsd8@sbcglobal. net. Entries close Tuesday, March 15 at 5 p.m. For more information, call (314) 2838821.

Mar. 19, 6 p.m., North Side Community School and Kingsway East Conservation Association will host a benefit jazz concert to support both organizations. The concert features local jazz great Danita Mumphard, who aside from performing regularly at locations around St. Louis, also often performs with the legendary jazz group, Trio Tres Bien. Ticket price for the concert includes light appetizers and beverages. ttp://www. northsidecommunityschool.org

Mar. 20, 3 p.m., Elon’s Fashion Closet and Curvalicious

Fitness Fashion present the Fierce and Fit Spring Fashion Show, Come see beautiful models of ALL body types rock it out on the runway in hot women’s apparel and fitness fashion. There will be a variety of vendors in the building Light dishes, desserts, and wine will also be available for guests, Royal Vagabond House in Central West End. For tickets, visit https://www. eventbrite.com/e/fierce-andfit-spring-fashion-showtickets-20970960708

Through Mar. 27, Missouri Botanical Gardens hosts 2016 Orchid Show: Where the Wild things Grow. Approximately 500 orchids are on display at any one time. This year’s Orchid Show offers visitors the chance to learn more about the habitats of orchids and how they adapt to changing environments. 4344 Shaw Blvd., 63110.For more information, visit www.mobot. org.

Sun., Apr. 3, The Made Moguls 2nd Annual B.L.A.C.K T.I.E Charity Dinner, an elegant night of dinner, auctions, entertainment and more, as we help raise money and awareness for the Made moguls Youth Program – a nonprofit organization providing mentoring and entrepreneurship education for youth in the greater St. Louis area, The Crowne Plaza Saint Louis – Downtown. For more information, visit http://www. mademoguls.com.

Apr. 7, 5:30 p.m., United 4 Children’s Lighting the Way Dinner and Auction Gala Marriott’s St. Louis Hotel Crystal Ballroom. Additional information available at http:// www.united4children.org or contact Deanna Finch at 314-531-1412 or finchd@ united4children,.org.

Apr. 29- May 1, HarrisStowe State University presents the Inaugural Male Empowerment Summit, hosted by Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack and featuring Pastor Jamal Bryant and Dr. Steve Perry.

May 21-22, Compton Heights and Compton Hill Home Tour. Tour-goers may walk, drive or use trams available at no charge throughout the Tour. http://2016housetour. brownpapertickets.com

The St. Louis Senior Olympics, the regional competition for athletes aged 50 and older, is actively seeking applications for athletes to participate in more than 90 individual and team events over Memorial Day Weekend, May 26 – 31, 2016. For more information, visit http://stlouisseniorolympics. org/

comedy

Mar. 4- Mar. 6, Helium Comedy Club welcomes Marlon Wayans, Helium Comedy Club (inside The Galleria).

March 12, 8 p.m., The Comedy Getdown starring

Cedric ‘The Entertainer’, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley, George Lopez and Charlie Murphy, Scottrade Center. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Apr. 16, The Festival of Laughs starring Mike Epps and Rickey Smiley and featuring Earthquake, Tony Rock and Coco Brown, Chaifetz Arena. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Thurs., Mar. 3, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Amina Gautier, author of The Loss of All Lost Things These stories explore the unpredictable ways in which characters negotiate, experience, and manage various forms of loss. 399 N. Euclid, 63108. For more information, call (314) 3676731 or visit www.left-bank. com.

Sat., Mar. 5, 3:30 p.m., Images of Modern America: African American St. Louis, Dr. John A. Wright Sr., John A. Wright Jr. and Curtis A. Wright Sr. will provide a book talk on their new book, Images of Modern America: African American St. Louis. The event is free and open to the public. Julia Davis Branch Library.

April 13, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books and the National Blues Museum present James McBride, who will sign and discuss his new book, “Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul.” This event is free and open to the public, but please RSVP at www.leftbank.com/mcbride.

Apr. 20, Phyllis Lawson signs and discusses “Quilt of Souls” When four-yearold Phyllis Lawson is sent to live with her grandmother in Alabama, she has no idea what to expect. She needed a miracle, and that miracle took the form of a tattered old quilt—a family heirloom stitched together from the clothes of her grandmother’s loved ones, telling the tragic stories of their lives and deaths.http://www.left-bank. com/event/phyllis-lawsonquilt-souls

theatre

Through Mar. 6, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Disgraced. Successful corporate lawyer Amir Kapoor is Pakistani born, but he long ago distanced himself from his roots to embrace life as a slick New Yorker. On course to become a partner at his law firm, Amir’s carefully constructed world begins to unravel when unexpected events cause him to question his own beliefs. 130 Edgar Rd., 63119. For more information, call (314) 968-4925 or visit www.repstl. org.

March 16- April 10, The Repertory Theatre of St.

Sun., Mar. 6, 4:30 p.m., Morehouse College Glee Club in Concert, Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School Choir and Normandy High School Quintet, Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School.

Louis closes their 49th season with Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing, 130 Edgar Rd., 63119. For more information, call (314) 9684925 or visit www.repstl.org.

arts

Sat., Mar. 5, 2 p.m., Parent & Child Workshops , Storytelling at Laumeier Sculpture Park. Kranzberg Education Lab at Laumeier Sculpture Park, 12580 Rott Road. Call 314.615.5278 or visit www.laumeier.org for more information.

Tues., Mar. 8, 7 p.m., Contemporary Art Museum presents Picturing Women With Lisa Yuskavage’s paintings of the female body as the backdrop, Second Tuesdays will give a special presentation through a night of storytelling. Eight speakers share personal stories exploring feminine identity, sexuality, gender roles, and the body. 3750 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, call (314) 535-4660 or visit www.camstl.org.

Through Mar. 13, COCA presents Carl Richards: Money. Visualized. Carl Richards, author and creator of the weekly “Sketch Guy” column in the New York Times, makes complex financial concepts easy to understand through his elegantly simple sketches. This interactive installation invites visitors to create sketches, notes, and diagrams charting their own goals and realities. There will be an opening on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. 524 Trinity Ave., 63130. For more information, call (314) 7256555 or visit www.cocastl.org.

Through March 19, Pulitzer Arts Foundation hosts Kota: Digital Excavations in African Art. The exhibition examines a new digital database created by Belgian computer engineer and independent researcher Frederic Cloth to study and

reveal the hidden histories of Kota reliquaries. Featuring nearly ifty of these guardian igures, visitors will go through a visual process to detect groupings and similarities between the sculptures that will enhance understanding of their origins, creation, and function—information that has largely been considered lost. 3716 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.pulitzerarts.org.

lectures/ workshops

Tues., Mar. 8, 5 p.m., William J. Harrison Education Center hosts FAFSA Frenzy. Need help completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid? This free event will offer students and their parents an opportunity to meet one-onone with inancial aid advisors for assistance. 3140 Cass Ave., 63106. For more information, call (314) 763-6000 or email HEC-Advising@stlcc.edu.

Mar. 11, 11:30 a.m., The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis will hold its annual women leaders lunch, Table for Four. The Chase Park Plaza. For more information, visit www.bgcstl.org.

Sat., Mar. 19, 9:30 a.m., Woman’s Place will offer a free workshop, Building Boundaries, Learn how one’s boundaries are shaped and ways to set personal boundaries of your choosing. 8300 Morganford Road in Affton. All women are welcome. Pre-registration is required. Call 314-645-4848 to reserve your place.

Mar. 30, 9 a.m., The Basics of Writing a Business Plan, In just 3 hours, learn key elements of a business plan including: Writing style tips, Required content, How to use a business plan as a management tool, A greater understanding of what a business plan should look

like and how to get started. Dislocated or laid off workers registered with jobs.mo.gov can attend this workshop at NO COST. 212 Turner Blvd, Saint Louis, MO Please call 314-6573768 or visit http://www. missouribusiness.net for more information.

health

Sat., Mar. 5, 9 a.m., BJC Hospice presents Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Learn About Hospice Volunteering Your neighbors need your help. BJC Hospice needs volunteers to visit patients in their home or nursing home, in their area. No medical care is expected. St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 3975 N. Hwy. 67, 63033. For more information or to RSVP, call (314) 953-1671 or email HospiceVolunteer@bjc.org.

Mar. 15, 2 p.m., Free Family Caregiver Training, This training opportunity provides tools to use when caring for a parent or loved one in multiple settings. Topics include, monitoring and handling medications, incontinence care, home safety, proper body mechanics to protect yourself

against injury, Alzheimer’s disease / dementia awareness, handling caregiver stress. This class is taught by a Seniors Home Care registered nurse. Seating is limited for this free community service, call 314962-2666.

Sat., Apr. 30, St. Louis PKD Chapter is hosting a Kidney Fight Trivia Night Fundraiser. Machinists’ District 9 Building, 12365 St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton, MO 63044. Contact Kris Conant at kidneyfighttrivianight@gmail. com or call 314-973-6597 to register.

May 1, Six Flags Rollercoaster Race, 10K race or 5K run/walk on an exciting course at Six Flags St. Louis that goes through and around the park with scenic view of their world-famous coasters. Age group awards, cash prizes, and refreshments after the race. Not a runner? Enter original Roller Coaster Ride event, and we’ll track your coasters throughout the day as you try for a total distance of 5K! Registration includes a Six Flags ticket ($61.99 value), a shirt and finisher medal for each event entered, and free parking ($20 value).

March 12, 8 p.m., The Comedy Getdown starring Cedric ‘The Entertainer’, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley, George Lopez and Charlie Murphy. See COMEDY for details.

Registration fees start at $45. For more information, visit http://rollercoasterrace.com/ stlouis

spiritual

Fri., Mar. 4, 7 p.m., River of Life Family Church, TV 50 and Southern Gospel 4 U Concert Series presents “Lineage of David” From Oklahoma, For more information call Hosts Tom and Sheron @ 618-616-2815 or email southerngospel4u@ aol.com. Visit www. southerngospel4u.org or www.lineageofdavid.com

Sat., Mar. 12, 7 p.m., Wisdom Over Hustle LLC. Presents: Lyrical Bliss This event will be hosted by W.O.H. Music Artist ‘Scooda’ and showcase local Christian Hip Hop Artists such as: Pierre Lott, YoSoyWitness, Lil Thee, Brandon Austin, STLien, Third L and Shooz, Memorial Tabernacle Christian Life Center 1350 S. Lafayette. For more information, visit www. wohmusic.com

Mar. 23-25, 6 p.m., EMFJ Jurisdictional Men’s Conference featuring prayer, workshops and worship Services , Nazareth Temple

COGIC, 3300 Marshall, St. Louis, MO 63114. For more information contact Elder Kenneth Williams, EMFJ Men’s Conference Coordinator via email: minkwilliams@ yahoo.com or Call (314) 5410342.

May 20, Healing & Mending Ministry presents their 7th Annual Fresh Anointing Women’s Retreat. Guest Speakers: Pastor Jackie Allen, Minister Jeanne Vogt & Dr. Laurette Pickett. Deposit is due of $50.00 ASAP. Contact: Pastor McCoy-Email: healingm2@gmail.com http:// www.healmending.org

tax assistance

Through Mar. 31, 9 a.m., AARP Tax Assistance Eligible Seniors may call the AARP tax help line and schedule an appointment for free tax preparation assistance. St. Louis Public Library, Buder Branch, 4401 Hampton Ave., 63109. For more information or to register, call (314) 525-1660. Through Apr. 11, University of Missouri St. Louis hosts Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. St. Louis Public Library, Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 367-4120 or visit www.slpl. org.

Through Apr. 11, 12 p.m., AARP Tax Help. St. Louis Public Library, Kingshighway Branch, 2260 S. Vandeventer Ave., 63110. For more information, call (314) 5251660.

Through Apr. 15, 10 a.m., AARP Tax Aide. We will provide free tax preparation assistance throughout this tax season by appointment only. St. Louis Public Library, Julia Davis Branch, 4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 63115. For more information or to register, call (314) 525-1660.

SINGLE

Continued from C1

“I’ve done everything – I’ve tried it in the Word and I’ve tried it in the world,” she said. “And nothing’s working.”

She was on the verge of a meltdown. I unwittingly sent her over the edge.

“Maybe, you’re just not ready for a relationship and marriage yet,” I suggested.

When I tell you she was not ready for my answer, you had to hear it to truly understand.

“What the … what is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know, that’s the revelation I’ve had in my own life and it just seems like it might apply to you too.”

Accidently ignoring that she might be coming off as offensive, she fired off on a laundry list of things that she saw as differences between the two of us, before finally closing with, “I refuse to receive that. No. I don’t receive it.”

that somebody is less worthy of love than she is a clear indicator that she’s not ready for marriage – but I really had to fight the urge with every bit of my mind, body and soul.

Even though I chased them with my personal confession, my comments still rubbed her so sideways that we fell off for a few weeks.

Like we always do, we eventually bounced back.

She confessed that she

n “Do you have space in your life, your calendar or even your closet for a man?”

started seeing a therapist to get to the bottom of her feelings about being single and a few other issues she had been dealing with privately.

I was shocked that she took such a leap. So was she.

back to me, it actually sounded kind of silly.”

This was very intriguing.

“She basically said that I have devoted all of this time and energy to every other area in my life, but what I’ve invested in the least, I expect to yield the most return.”

Well.

“If a man walked into your life today, would you have the flexibility to devote the time to building and maintaining a relationship?” she said the therapist asked. “Do you have space in your life, your calendar or even your closet for a man?”

Of course she didn’t, but being called on it made her realize that she had been oblivious about the type of work required on the front end to start and maintain a healthy, functional love partnership.

“She asked me what I was looking for in a man – and if the man of your dreams were to enter your life, would I be the type of woman he was looking for?”

From the opening bass solo, it was clear that Miller’s production would be a call and response of sorts that went both ways between the dancers and the musicians – who performed selections from Davis’ iconic albums “Kind of Blue” and “Bitches Brew.”

In doing so, Miller managed to create an experience that used movement to illustrate the magic of improvisation within jazz. The piece was timed so that it gave the illusion that the dancers were reacting to the sounds of Davis, and vice versa. The musicians picked up where the dancers left off – using carefully implanted moments of silent dances where the ensemble offered their own interpretations of the silent dances by the rhythm at which their feet hit the stage and the cadence of their breath.

For his portion of the show, Robert Moses provided a remix to his interpretation of black St. Louis history. His tribute to Dick Gregory, Rev. Cleophus Robinson, Albert Walker and a few lesser known blues artists saw their contributions all blended together over a pulsating beat that blended hiphop and house music.

A snippet where Gregory proudly proclaimed his St. Louis roots was meshed with a hallelujah chorus led by Robinson. A guitar lick that

was an undeniable element of St. Louis blues peppered the pulsating beat as dancers from the Big Muddy Dance Company started from the farthest point of the stage and worked their way forward.

Moses took the flexibility of the dancers to the limit with combinations that showcased their strength and agility as they shifted through each sequence.

The most compelling element of his work incorporated bubble wrap for dramatic effect. Dancers fell from the implied gunshots and

n The audience responded with a rousing ovation that ended the “New Dance Horizons IV” experience on the highest of notes.

were carried to the side of the stage and essentially mourned.

This final expression within “Gunshots/Daffodils/Moans/ Still” sparked conversation between guests before it ended. They talked amongst themselves and debated whether the particular moment was a reflection of gun violence in the region, the killing of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement or the Ferguson unrest.

Perhaps the latter presumption was inspired by Uthoff’s incorporation of “Visualizing Life: Social Justice in Real Time” into the experience. A portion of the exhibit, curated by Freida L. Wheaton in response to the Ferguson unrest, was on display at Touhill as part of the weekend’s programming.

Dianne McIntyre would look to Maya Angelou’s “A Brave and Startling Truth” and the music of Lester Bowie for the finale of “New Dance Horizons IV.”

Her piece “When We Come to It” featured Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater alums Alicia Graf Mack, Antonio Douthit-Boyd and Kirven Douthit-Boyd as principals in an ensemble of dancers cast specifically for the performance.

McIntyre’s choreography felt inspired by Ailey’s works as much as the St. Louis artists it was commissioned to reflect –both in the style and caliber of dance presented.

A young woman sat atop a tall ladder and recited the poem as the dancers reflected Angelou’s words of wisdom that spoke on the power of redemption and optimism through the metaphor of nature.

The group rose to the bar set by Mack, Antonio and Kirven over the course of the performance – and the audience responded with a rousing ovation that ended the “New Dance Horizons IV” experience on the highest of notes.

I didn’t take any of it personally, mainly because I poured salt in her wound.

In all fairness, I felt led to tell her that it was something she might need to consider as she reflects on her situation.

I didn’t say that her idea

MUSIC

Continued from C1

ballads and the grooves go.

“What made me gravitate to that era is that was what I heard growing up, and there’s a void for it,” Musick said. “With R&B these days, they don’t even borrow from the ‘90s, they just want to be rappers.”

St. Louis has left an impression on the modern music scene via hip-hop, but Musick feels there hasn’t been an artist to break through on the soul side of things lately. It’s a reflection of the times.

“It doesn’t always have to be about the turn up,” Musick said. “This is the music that I can feel – it’s more of a feeling than anything. It’s something that I can ride to, something that I can clean the house to, something that I can play when I’m in love, something I can play when I’m breaking up.”

As a singer, songwriter and producer, he wants to have a hand in creating the blueprint for a signature St. Louis sound. He wants to stay an independent R&B artist, but

She said that it has helped her immeasurably to put things in perspective with respect to her personal life.

“Girl, the therapist and I talked about it and the truth is I haven’t invested anything into my pursuit of love,” she said. “When she fed my strategy

The therapist concluded that even if the answer was yes, my friend wouldn’t have room to host his heart.

“She was like, ‘You barely make time for yourself, let alone somebody else,’” my friend said. In other words, she wasn’t ready.

n “It’s the real R&B feel – you know – that good ‘90s R&B. It’s got a bit of today in it to stay current. It’s real singing and real instruments, but not out of touch.”

to work with labels as far as writing and producing for other artists and creating avenues for other local talent.

“I want people to know that R&B is still alive and also that St. Louis has mainstreamcaliber talent that just needs the opportunity to be heard,” Musick said.

In the meantime, he’s creating his own opportunity at the Emerson.

“It’s not like going to be like going to a bar and hearing a band – it’s an experience,” Musick said. “I want them to

walk away feeling that they spent $70 down the street at Chaifetz Arena to see somebody.”

Joaquin Musick’s live performance will take place at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 5 at Emerson Performance Center on the campus of HarrisStowe State University, 3026 Laclede. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ joaquinmusick Joaquin Musick’s “Lust, Love and Loss” is available on Google Play, iTunes and Amazon.

Photo by Wiley Price

– Joaquin Musick

Reunions

Beaumont Class of 1967 will have another 50th reunion planning meeting on February 6, 2016 from 2-4:30 p.m. at Florissant Valley Library branch, 195 New Florissant Rd., Florissant, MO 63031.

Beaumont Alumni Class 1968 will have its 48-year class

reunion will be June 11-12, 2016. Meetings for the reunion will be at Florissant Valley Library Branch, 195 New Florissant Rd., S. Florissant, MO 63031, 4th Saturdays of the month. Schedule : Nov. 28, 2015, 2-5 p.m.; Jan. 23, 2016, 1-4 p.m.; Feb. 27, 2016, 1- 4 p.m. For more information call 314-869-8312.

Beaumont High School Class of 1971 is planning its 45th year reunion for July 22-24, 2016.Please send your contact information (address and phone number) to Gladys Smith at beaumont1971alumni@aol. com.

Beaumont High Class of

Celebrations

Birthdays

Ralph McCloud celebrated his 100th birthday on February 22! One hundred years blessed and aged to perfection! Ralph is a U.S. Army veteran and retired business owner of Green Hornet Lawn Service. He attends St. Louis Gospel Assembly Hall. Ralph has devoted his life to loving and caring specifically for the loves of his life—the late Dorothy McCloud (wife) and the late Barbara Thorpe, along with all other remaining family members and circles of friends.

Magnolia Sain will celebrate her 103rd birthday on March 7! Born in Forrest City, AK, she still travels to St. Louis, Detroit and her native Arkansas. She loves to sing and exercise and her memory is still sharp!

Happy Birthday to Lucy Mclemore our “GG”, on March 1! You’re still looking great! Love, Candace Betts, Jaylen Mclemore and Erynn Mclemore

1984 can stay updated via our Facebook page “Beaumont Class of 1984”. We meet the last Friday of every month. Contact Rochelle Williams at rochellewilliams001@yahoo. com.

Soldan Class of 1971 is planning its 45th year reunion for: June 17-19, 2016 at the Ameristar Casino Resort & Spa, One Ameristar Boulevard, St. Charles, Mo 63301.

Soldan Class of 1976 reunion will be held June 10-12, 2016. For more information, email soldanclassof1976@yahoo. com or Facebook: Soldan High School Class of 1976. Sumner High School Class

of 1966 is planning their 50th Class Reunion. Please contact Ella Scott at 314-436-1696, Els2188@sbcglobal.net with your name, address and email or join the Sumner Class of 1966 Facebook Group page.

University City High School Class of 1976 is planning its Fabulous 40th year class reunion for June 24-25, 2016. We need your contact information. Please email your information to: weareuc76@ gmail.com or call the UCHS Class of 76 voicemail at 314301-9597.

University City Class of 1981 35th reunion will be August 5-7, 2016. Please send your contact information to

Denise Weatherford -Bell at msdenise38@yahoo.com.

Vashon January and June Classes of 1966 will celebrate our 50 year reunion October 7-9, 2016 at the Hollywood Casino. Contact Marilyn Stuckey, Chairperson, 314-438-8338, email: masystucup@att.net or Janice Holland, Co-Chairperson, 314-727-1695, email: jholland1695@att.net for more information.

Vashon Class of 1986 will be celebrating its fabulous 30th Class Reunion in beautiful Las Vegas Nevada, July 21-23, 2016. For more information contact, Claudette at 314 3681502 or cctreze@att.net.

Do you have a celebration you’re proud of? If so we would like to share your good news with our readers. Whether it’s a birth, graduation, wedding, engagement announcement, anniversary, retirement or birthday, send your photos and a brief announcement (50 words or less) to us and we may include it in our paper and website – AT NO COST – as space is available Photos will not be returned. Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to: St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St. Louis,

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to:

Kate Daniel, 2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103

Deadline is 10 a.m. on Friday. If you’d like your class to be featured in a reunion profile, email or mail photos to us. Our email address is: reunions@ stlamerican.com

Congratulations to newlyweds Antonio and Monica Scaife, who were married on New Year’s Day—January 1, 2016!

Nuptials

Magnolia Sain

Ralph McCloud

Lucy Mclemore

They all may not be household names as of yet, but the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2016 Young Leaders are most definitely on their way. They had their own audience of family, friends, coworkers and more giving multiple standing ovations at the 6th Annual Salute to Young Leaders Networking Awards Reception Thursday at The Four Seasons.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Young Leaders. Did I not tell y’all that the St. Louis American Foundation’s Young Leaders 2016 would be everything?! I’m not going to waste with a gloat or “I told you so (even though I did)” mainly because everyone who stopped by the Four Seasons last Thursday already knows what’s up. So let me instead take this time to big up to all 20 of the honorees. Urban League President Mike McMillan had me rollin’ when he joked that it was the Delta Sigma Theta regionals because of how many lovely ladies of DST were in the lineup of this year’s leaders. Who could be mad? 2015 was the year of the Alpha and 2012 was all about the AKAs. Considering all the black Greeks doing big things, everyone will have a turn. But back to the event…I also want to give my unofficial life coach Rebeccah Bennett some love for being the most masterful mistress of ceremonies. Every time I see her in action I want to call Oprah and let her know that her protégé lives right here In the STL. All types of young leader alumni were in the building – Tishaura Jones, Dr. Stefan Bradley, Keith Turner and Vanessa Foster Cooksey to name a few – as were a whole slew of other people who came through to show their support at the Four Seasons Thursday evening. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point out a few of the folks who slayed on the style side. I’m actually torn between two of this year’s honorees – Deatra McFarlan and Dana Townsend Deatra’s all winter white everything outfit was exactly that…everything. And Dana was serving with her little black dress 2.0. I couldn’t choose between them, so I choose them both!

Mostly mediocre Conspiracy Theory Tour openers. Speaking of I told you so, I was planning to let y’all know to be on the lookout for another Katt Williams meltdown based on how erratic he appeared when he stopped through STL. Benefit of the doubt didn’t stand a chance, because he got locked up GA after an altercation with a pool supply store employee. Help. Anyway, I guess I’m putting the cart before the horse by stating so on the front end, so I’ll get right to my rundown of “The Conspiracy Tour” at Chaifetz Arena Friday night. Before I get to Katt, let me just tell these let these opening acts know that if you’ve been to town within the past 24 months, at least try to give us a taste of new material. Host Red Grant was funny, but everybody else did what they did the last time. If Katt knew he had to change the name of his show, why did y’all think you could recycle every bit of your set without any new flavor? Mark Curry was the exception to the rule –and he made my night when he was talking about how all women are low key prosecutors in every relationship – collecting evidence and crushing alibis! I was weak from his whole portion of the show and he was indeed a delight as the surprise guest.

A cohesive Conspiracy Theory. Okay, now we can get back to Katt. Where do I start? When he came out on that stage with his conk looking like he was on the losing end of one of those girl fight viral videos, I knew that all was not well. He blamed an inept local stylist. But any black woman with a pressing comb or discount store flat iron can pull off his signature style with ease. And that selfportrait atop the fireplace of that leftover furniture from _______ (insert your favorite Madea play) had me convinced I was in for some foolishness. But to my pleasant surprise, he actually held it together much better than I expected. He wasn’t in top form like last year by any means, but he gave me some serious cackles over the course of the night. I was a wreck though because he looked the same way he did when he lit into Faison Love for filth, but he stuck to the show.

Now when he left St. Louis things went from bad to worse. He decided to come for Kevin Hart on stage by accusing him of being a puppet who exchange sexual favors for his comedy crown and got arrested, but it wasn’t on our watch.

Yo! Reminisce at Mood. After I got a few good laughs in at Chaifetz, I went to Mood in search of the grown folks hip-hop head groove I knew was going down with DJ Reminisce on the tables. Turns out I was absolutely right. The crowd was a bit regular as far as the size goes, but the energy was fantastic for Yo! Reminisce. And I got a chance to mingle with the more seasoned element of the young, black and fabulous crowd. I’m glad I stopped through.

One Cool Night at HG. Saturday night I stopped through HG for Close To Famous’ quarterly One Cool Night Set. It was, well…cool. I enjoyed it well enough. I can’t say that it was spectacular, but it was far from the pits. The crowd seemed to get their life, so in the words of spiritual advisor-at-large Andrew Caldwell “who are me to judge?”

The African Aristocrats at Rustic Goat. As I was leaving HG, I couldn’t help but scoot into The Aristocrats’ set at The Rustic Goat. They had it on LOCK with their contemporary African and Reggae music – and the crowd was getting their life in their Kinta cloth print dresses and Euro-tailored suits. When I tell you they got down…understand that I saw where our tear the club up roots originates.

An ode to Natalie. The Grammys served chilled dust to the late great Natalie Cole in lieu of an in memoriam musical tribute, but Rochelle Coco Soul Walker and her crew gave locals a chance to bid farewell by celebrating her contributions to soul, R&B and pop. It was like a blue light basement party up with a live band up in The Lux Sunday night. Folks were slow dancing and grooving like only the truly grown heads can do. I managed to see Coco, Adrienne Felton-King and Olivia Neal bless the stage and the reception couldn’t have been warmer if Natalie was up there on that stage her own self. It’s hard to say what my favorite performance of the night, so I’ll call it a tie between “I’m Catching Hell” and “Can’t Say No.”

Monica and Keisha had a chance to catch up Saturday night @ The Marquee

Internet sensations The Patterson family had a live viewing of the Family Feud episode that made them famous last Tuesday at their home in Town and Country

Chocolate Tai celebrated her birthday with friends Tosha, Qiana, Kenya and Rhonda Saturday night @ Mood

B-day girl Arielle and her girls had their section on lock Friday @ HG

Sierhah, Natasha and Alexis were among the fashionistas @ Style Code Saturdays @ Mood

Monti, Teresa and Ranisha rolled through to hear DJ Reminisce spin Friday night @ @ Mood

Jonta and Arion @ Element Saturdays @ The Marquee

Darryl and Kayla enjoyed some good music and dancing Friday @ HG

Tiara, Deonna and Charon kicked off their weekend Friday night @ Mood

Alicia, Tiffany and Brookee partied with The Aristocrats Saturday @ Rustic Goat

Photos by Lawrence Bryant & John Scott

CAREGIVERS

CNA INSTRUCTOR

CITY OF WENTZVILLE

INSTRUCTOR, CAIP

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES SPECIALIST

Immediate opening at near Southside agency to work in database maintenance, invoicing, and customer and event support. Competent in MS Office Suite and high accuracy. Multicultural knowledge/appreciation and

MATH TEACHER

La Salle Middle School in North St. Louis will interview for the position of math teacher, for the 2016-17 school year. Acoeducational charter school, La Salle serves fifth through eighth grade students. The ideal candidate is mission-centered, engaging, and possesses 3-5 years’experience in urban education with demonstrable results in student learning. Email resume and letter of interest to head of school Phillip Pusateri at ppusateri@lasallemiddleschool.org

call (314) 768-6314 to request a copy of this bid. Metropolitan St. Louis SewerDistrict is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

REQUESTFOR QUALIFICATIONS for Construction Supervision and Material Testing forthe Reconstruction of Taxiway Echo from Taxiway Juliet to Runway 30R, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00 P.M., CT, March 22, 2016 at Board of Public Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. RFQ may be obtained from website www.stl-bps.org under On Line Plan Room, or call Board of Public Service 314-622-3535. 8.18% DBE participation goal.

NEWFULTON STATE HOSPITAL

KCI Construction requests subcontract proposals from MBE, WBE and SDVE businesses for the New Fulton State Hospital in Fulton, MO Plans and specifications are available

•To view electronically at no charge from: http://planroom.adsmo.net

• To view at our St. Louis or Lebanon offices

•By request of a Dropbox link from jwalters@kciconstrution.com

Subcontractor bids are due by 12:00 p.m., March 24, 2016. You may email to stlbids@kciconstruction.com or send a fax to 314-894-7418.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for Chambers Drive Infrastructure, St. Louis County Project No. AR-1450, will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 2:00 p.m. on March 16, 2016.

Plans and specifications will be available on February 22, 2016 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENTAND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

SEALED BIDS

Hazelwood School District will be accepting sealed Bids from HVAC Test and Balancing Contractors for airflow testing at the Central High and West Middle Schools. The entire bidders package will be available electronically on Thursday March 10, 2016 through TR,i Architects, 314.395.9750. Bids are due on March 17, 2016 at 2:00 PM (CDT). To download the entire Advertisement for Bidders please go to the following website: www.hazelwoodschools.org or for a faxed copy contact Tom Mangogna, with Hazelwood School District, at 314-953-5050. www.stlamerican.com

WEBSTER GROVES SCHOOLDISTRICT

Is seeking a General Contractor for the Webster Groves School District; Steger Elementary ADAUpgrades. Request for Proposal submissions are due at the Webster Groves School District Administration Building, Attention Mr. Robert Steuber, WGSD CPM no later than 2:00pm on March 24th 2016 at the Central Office Board Room 400 E. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, MO, 63119. The RFP will be available online @ www.webster.k12.mo.us (under RFPheading) March 7th, 2016. The ownerreserves the right to reject any and orall proposals.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for 2016 Concrete Replacement Program Area B, St. Louis County Project No.CR-1660, will be received at the Office of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor,Clayton, Missouri 63105 until 2:00 p.m. on March 9, 2016.

Plans and specifications will be available on February 22, 2016 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ST. LOUIS, COUNTY

PUBLIC NOTICE

ST. LOUIS COUNTY

Availability of 2015 Draft Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report

PUBLIC HEARING Monday, March 21, 2016 5:30 p.m.

St. Louis County Administration Building 41 S. Central, 5th FloorConference Room

ToAll Interested Agencies, Groups and Persons:

St. Louis County is the “Lead Agency” for the St. Louis HOME Consortium. The St. Louis HOME Consortium is a group of contiguous units of local government that have joined together for the purpose of receiving HOME funds and administering a HOME Program as a single grantee. The members of the St. Louis HOME Consortium include St. Louis County, the City of Florissant, the City of St. Charles, the City of O’Fallon, Jefferson County and St. Charles County.As required by federal regulations, St. Louis County has prepared a draft of its Fiscal Year 2015 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the St. Louis HOME Consortium. This report provides information on how funding received through the Community Development Block Grant Program and the Emergency Shelter Grant Program was spent in St. Louis County. This report also provides information on how funding was spent for activities funded under the Home Investment Partnership Program in St. Louis County and in the jurisdictions which are members of the St. Louis HOME Consortium.

A draft copy of St. Louis County’s Fiscal Year 2015 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) will be available forpublic review and comment beginning on Thursday, March 3, 2016 at the locations specified in this notice during normal business hours, Monday thru Friday.Also, interested persons, groups and agencies are invited to attend a public hearing regarding St. Louis County’sexpenditure of these federal grant funds reported in the “draft” 2015 CAPER. The draft CAPER document discusses the County’sperformance in meeting its goals, which are to fund programs and activities that provide decent housing, create suitable living environments and expand economic opportunities for low and moderate-income residents of St. Louis County. The date, time and location of the public hearing are at the top of this notice.

If you wish to attend this Public Hearing and require accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Office of Community Development 48 hours in advance. The address and phone are at the bottom of this notice.

St. Louis County Government Centers

West-74 Clarkson-Wilson Center Chesterfield, MO 63017 (314-615-0900) North-21 Village Square Hazelwood, MO 63042 (314-615-7400) •South-4546 Lemay Ferry Road

St. Louis, MO 63129 (314-615-4000)

St. Louis County Department of Planning Office of Community Development-41 S. Central Avenue 5th floor,Clayton, MO 63105 (314-615-4457)

City of St. Charles City Hall Community Development Office, Ste. 303, 200 N. Second Street St. Charles, MO 63301 (636-949-3222)

City of Florissant Government Building - 1055 rue St. Francois, Florissant, MO 63031 (314-839-7680)

County of St. Charles Administrative Building, 201 N. Second St., St. Charles, MO 63301 (636-949-7900) Jefferson County •Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation, 5217 Highway B, Hillsboro, MO 63050 (636-797-5336)

City of O’Fallon City Hall, 100 N. Main Street, O’Fallon, MO 63366 (636-240-2000)

St. Louis County Library System

St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 S Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131

Comments regarding the “draft” of the St. Louis County Fiscal Year 2015 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report may be submitted in writing and directed to: Mr. Jim Holtzman, Director Office of Community Development 41 S. Central, 5th Floor Clayton, MO 63105 Phone: (314) 615-4414 (VOICE) (314) 615-5467 (TTY) E-Mail: JHoltzman2@stlouisco.com

1-800-735-2966 (Relay Missouri TTYCallers) 1-800-735-2466 (Relay Missouri Voice Callers) Comments will be received until 5:00 p.m. on March 25, 2016 or made at the public hearing March 21, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. EQUALOPPORTUNITYEMPLOYER

E-BIDS

RESPONSES

SEALED BIDS

Donations

ON

SEALED BIDS

for Replace Roofs, Various Buildings, Missouri Eastern Correctional Center, Pacific, Missouri, Project No. C1404-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 4/14/2016. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities

REQUESTFOR PROPOSALS

LETTING # 8604

UPGRADE ATHLETIC FIELD LIGHTING IN CARONDELET PARK

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 208 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on MARCH 29, 2016, then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org/planroom.aspx (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

Apre-bid conference for all contractors bidding on this project will be held on March 14, 2016 at 10:00 A.M. in Room 208 City Hall. Bidders shall comply with all applicable City,State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies).

All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order11246, “Notice of Requirement forAffirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Announcements).

ATTENTION ALL GENERALCONTRACTORS

EASTLAKE MANAGEMENTGROUP, INC. INVITES QUALIFIED FIRMS/ORGANIZATIONS TO SUBMITSEALED BIDS FOR: 6231 LENOX

All questions must be submitted in writing, and emailed to Kenzella Walton, Operations Managerat kwalton@eastlakemgmt.com no later than Friday, March 11, 2016, 1:00 p.m.

PRE-BID MEETING:Wednesday, March 9, 2016 1:00 p.m. Wellston Housing Authority 6203 Cote Brillante Wellston, MO 63133

SITE VISIT:Immediately following Pre-Bid Meeting

CITYOFST.LOUIS

Public Hearing Notice and Draft 2015 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) Available forReview and Comment

The City of St. Louis is soliciting comments on its draft Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). The CAPER is an overall review of the housing and community development activities undertaken in 2015 by the City of St. Louis. It is part of the Consolidated Planning process, which is a pre-requisite to receiving federal HUD funds. Public Hearing Notice/Public Comment Period

The Community Development Administration will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, March 17, 2016 at 5:00 p.m in Suite 2000 at 1520 Market Street. The purpose of this hearing is to solicit public comments pertaining to the 2015 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) prior to its submission to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Available for Review

The 2015 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) will be available in draft form for review by any interested citizen prior to submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on March 7, 2016 at the City of St. Louis Central Library located at 1301 Olive Street. The draft report, including IDIS reports and the Financial Summary, will also be available for review at the offices of the Community Development Administration located at 1520 Market Street, Suite 2000. Copies of the CAPER report may be downloaded from the City of St. Louis website at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/ departments/community-development/documents/index.cfm.

Written Comments

The views of citizens, public agencies, and other interested parties are strongly encouraged. Written comments or suggestions may be addressed to Ms. Alana Green, Director of Administration, Community Development Administration, 1520 Market, Suite 2000, St. Louis, MO 63103, or via e-mail at GreenA@stlouis-mo.gov

Other Information Persons with special needs or accommodations relating to handicapped accessibility or foreign language should contact Ms. Green via email at GreenA@stlouis-mo.gov or by phone at (314) 657-3844 or (314) 589-6000 (TDD). Interpreting services are available upon request for persons with hearing disabilities. Interested parties should contact the Office on the Disabled at (314) 622-3686/voice or (314) 622 3693/TTY. CDA is an equal opportunity agency (employer). Minority participation is encouraged.

furnishings, greenhouses, fire suppression, plumbing, communications, safety/security, utilities, mechanical and electrical. All interested and qualified Small, Disadvantaged, Veteran Owned, Service-Disabled Veteran, Minority, And Women’s Businesses should contact, in writing, (certified letter, return receipt requested) Eric Bursott Or Cody Gerdes to discuss the subcontracting opportunities. All negotiations must be completed prior to the bid opening bid date of March 24, 2016 @ 1:30 Pm. Proposals will be valuated in order on the basis of low responsive bid received. Proof of DBE/MBE/WBE/VOB/SDVOB certification must be submitted with bid.

MBE’S WBE’S & SBE’S”

Religion

COGIC sends water and formula to Flint

11 COGIC congregations serving as distribution points

American staff

COGIC Charities, the benevolent arm of the Church of God in Christ, is providing ready-made infant formula and water to Flint, Michigan residents.

For the next couple of months, or until supplies are depleted, several COGIC churches in Flint will serve as distribution centers providing much needed water and baby formula to thousands of Flint residents.

“There are more than 60 Church of God in Christ congregations in Flint, Michigan. When we heard about the crisis, we immediately began to mobilize and strategize how we as an organization could help our members and residents,” COGIC

Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. said.

“The leadership of the Church of God in Christ cannot stand silent as the innocent children of Flint and their parents suffer the ravages of poisonous water. We stand with these parents, and with all the residents, to call for the speedy, permanent restoration of clean drinking water.”

The following COGIC congregations will have water and infant formula available free of charge:

Greater Holy Temple COGIC

Bishop Roger L. Jones Pastor 6702 North Dort Highway Flint, MI 48505

Cathedral of Faith COGIC

Pastor Christopher Martin 6031 DuPont Street Flint, MI 48505 (810) 407-8653

International Inspiration

Gospel Ministries COGIC

Pastor Donald Stevens 901 Brown Street Flint, MI 48503

The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) Charities is sending water and ready-made baby formula to residents of Flint, Michigan.

Pentecostal Tabernacle COGIC

Pastor Henry Jamerson 401 Carton Street Flint, MI 48505 (810) 785-4671

Open Door COGIC

Pastor Clinton Badon 3925 North Term Street Flint, MI 48506

Lively Stone COGIC

Pastor Gene Buggs 1023 Pettibone Street Flint, MI 48507

Redeeming Grace Ministries

Pastor George Colter 802 E. Baltimore Blvd. Flint, MI 48505

Greater New Bethel COGIC

Pastor Brian Grundy 925 W. Atherton Road Flint, MI 48507

Faith Temple COGIC

Pastor Eric Lewis

5802 Fleming Road Flint, MI 48505

Born Again Ministries COGIC

Pastor Lissus Walker 3302 Lewis St. Flint, MI 48506

New Jerusalem COGIC

Pastor Anthony Newell 617 Stockdale St. Flint, MI 48503

The Church of God in Christ is one of the oldest Pentecostal denominations in the World and the 4th largest Protestant group in the United States with churches in over 70 countries worldwide and a membership of nearly 6.5 Million adherents.

For more information about COGIC Charities “Water For Flint,” please visit www.cogic.org.

Who the day belongs to

My wife has a hand in reminding me about this one. She meditates in the morning. I remember a pastor friend of mine telling me that this was something he was also trying to develop into a habit of doing and, upon further review, I’ve decided to try it too.

Praying in the morning, as a concept, is actually pretty easy to do. In the morning I am not usually in need of anything, but I do understand now that calling upon the Lord is an act of spiritual clarification. From evening prayer (which I do every night) to dawn’s affirmation of God’s power, I probably take this time as much for granted as anyone.

After some morning prayer practice, it’s becoming apparent that I need to thank God for seeing me through the night. At this point I ask Him to order my steps, guide my thoughts and allow me to do something during the course of the day to give indication of a deep appreciation for letting me wake up.

If you allow yourself to concentrate on what God has done for you on any given day, then it becomes obvious that He is indeed here and working wonders on your behalf. If you do not believe, try this. At the end of today, take a moment and reflect on those things that you can think of that prove God was walking with you all day.

Now start with this morning because you really didn’t have to wake up. If you hadn’t noticed, some people didn’t. If you drove, flew, took a cab somewhere and arrived safely, you might want to give God a little credit for your being accident-free. You might have even passed one or two accidents on your way. Can you remember seeing anyone in need of food, clothing, a few dollars, maybe a bath, but it wasn’t you? All natural disasters missed your house. No floods? No tornadoes? No hurricanes? No earthquakes?

While I’m at it, how’s your family? Are your kids healthy? Are they simply alive and still breathing today? Someone you know under intense pressure, emotionally, financially, physically?

Can you begin to see where I’m coming from? God’s Hand is everywhere in your life today, if you just stop being busy and take a good look. I promise you if you just slow down a bit, you’ll see God’s presence time and again in your life – and not always in the person’s next to you.

Once you begin to realize that God is present all the time, then prayer easily and rapidly becomes praise. Once you recognize the real possibility that God held your hand today, then it stands to reason to me that a genuine thank you is in order.

Columnist James Washington