[ talkof thetowns ] by bill beggs jr.
A nod to the vintage Clayton neighborhood of Claverach Park: it’s official, the lovely subdivision (if it’s even fair to call it a subdivision), has been named to the National Register of Historic Places as of the National Park Services posting April 22. This is reason to celebrate, and in fact, the leafy neighborhood was toasted at City Hall last night (May 10). Well, it was recognized, at least; we doubt there was an open bar. The timing is perfect since Claverach Park is approaching its century mark. The first indentures were recorded June 13, 1921, and soon thereafter the land was platted and graded for lots, roads and utilities, and homes built. Doesn’t look bad at all for being almost 95 years old! In fact, it’s kept its figure and even aged gracefully into it. You can’t say that about too many doyennes. They’re howling with joy at the Endangered Wolf Center in the hills of Eureka: A federal agency, that for decades dragged its feet when it was supposed to have been completing a plan to save the endangered Mexican gray wolf, must now present a scientifically viable plan by November of next year. The quintessential wolf of the Southwest, the lobo, was all but extinct in the wild when those that remained—as few as five!—were rounded up and taken into a captive breeding program in 1980. Two years later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service started drafting a document that was supposed to have formalized a survival plan. But it finally took a recent federal court action to force the agency’s hand. Earthjustice, the Endangered Wolf Center and
eureka several other wildlife conservation organizations brought a lawsuit in 2014 to help save this nearly extinct animal, which some have called ‘the sentry of the Southwest.’ But ecosystem be damned, some
ranchers say, as they routinely shoot, trap and poison these wolves. A program of information and good science must be in place for the wolf to survive, according to the Endangered Wolf Center, since killing them has continued after several dozen captive-bred Mexican wolves were released. Long demonized in popular culture, the wolf is essential to the circle of life; this variety once was plentiful in the regions of the Grand Canyon and southern Rockies. At the end of last year, the count was only 97. “We need more wolves and less politics,” a conservation official noted. Amen to that. During 15 years in practice in the ER, Dr. Agnes Scoville realized how difficult it is to deliver the right dose of oral medication to a baby. They do that crying thing; sometimes, it’s shrieking, especially when they feel awful. And they tend to squirm around so much. (We know, right?) Then she had a baby of her own and invented a product that is the first offering from her startup, Scoville & Co. Pacidose is a delivery system that marries a hospitalgrade oral syringe to a standard pacifier. Voila! For her brainchild, kirkwood Scoville won third place at the InnovateHer: Innovating for Women Business Challenge in Washington, a Small Business Administration (SBA) competition in March in which the SBA partnered with Microsoft. The top three finalists took home a total of $70,000 … of which the Kirkwood mom and physician’s take was 10 grand. In only its second year, the competition got a nod last month from Forbes … and now, even the tony Town&Style! Pacidose looks to be a surefire way to mellow out a baby, whether you’re a mom, doc or other caregiver. What’s more, says Scoville, it addresses a longstanding problem that research has confirmed: 50 percent of babies get the wrong dose of medicine orally. Pacidose delivers the precise amount from a soft ‘binkie’ nipple to the back of the tongue, not to be spit up all over a bib or mom’s new silk blouse. By now, you may have seen the product around town.
It is available at dozens of pharmacies in the region, mostly in Schnucks and Dierbergs supermarkets. Not that they will put the good doctor out of business in the ER, but future Scoville & Co. products may help parents avoid midnight trips to the ER and daytime urgent care visits with their babies. For the time being: suck it up, kiddos!
Stand up and cheer, students, teachers, staff, parents and anyone else with reason to holler for Ladue Horton Watkins High School! Each year, U.S. News & World Report releases its list of best high schools in America. This year, LHWHS was ranked third in Missouri and 346th nationally. In Missouri, 528 high schools were ranked, with LHWHS being the highest among public schools and coming in third for all schools, right behind Lincoln College Prep in Kansas City (1) and the city’s Metro Academic and Classical High School (2). Trailing LHWHS in the next two top spots were Clayton High School (4) and Marquette Senior High in Rockwood School District (5). The study’s parameters are based on student-to-teacher ratios and how prepared students are for college upon graduation. Test scores considered include Advanced Placement (AP) exams, along with end-of-course exams. Rankings may shift a bit, once subsequent information is considered.
[ TT Trivia ] Who was Horton Watkins, the namesake of ladue’s high school?
Last issue’s answer | Canada geese, dang ’em, are the most common species of waterfowl attracted to Tilles Park in Ladue; specifically, in or near the small lake with fountain visible from McKnight Road.
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TOWN&style
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may 11, 2016