Category Archives: Community News

Kids enlightened at Proctor Center’s Black History Month celebration

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By RIYA V. ANANDWALA

OF THE JOURNAL STAR
Posted Feb 26, 2010 @ 12:42 AM
PEORIA — At least a 100 people gathered Thursday at Proctor Center to celebrate Black History Month.

“We hope to enlighten our young children and learn some history of black people, ancestors,” said Deborah Totten, the organizer of the event.

The event began with “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the unofficial African-American national anthem, followed by entertainment programs by children of the community.

While a group of children performed a play about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., others recited poetry such as “My World” and “Nappy Hair.” Read More…

Girl Scout cookies coming in by the truckload

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By RIYA V. ANANDWALA

OF THE JOURNAL STAR
Posted Mar 02, 2010 @ 10:24 PM
Last update Mar 03, 2010 @ 09:18 AM

PEKIN — Girl Scout troop leader Jamie Webb started sorting out about 4,000 cookie cases at 7 a.m. Tuesday at the First Church of the Nazarene.

“People are here to unload the semis, we have two trucks,” said Webb, who had 10 to 15 volunteers helping her.

The Girl Scouts who took orders in January will be delivering the boxes all through next week. The Girl Scout leaders of Peoria will pick up their delivery Thursday and start delivering this weekend. Webb’s troop managed to sell more than 2,000 boxes, making a profit of $1,100 so far. Read more…

The hunting’s great in Elmwood

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Outdoors enthusiasts pack AllOutdoors Show in search of equipment

Story on the Journal Star

By RIYA V. ANANDWALA
OF THE JOURNAL STAR
Posted Mar 06, 2010 @ 09:24 PM
Last update Mar 06, 2010 @ 09:37 PM
ELMWOOD — With winter chills fading slowly, families and friends stepped out Saturday to buy fishing and hunting equipment at the inaugural Elmwood AllOutdoors Show.

About 100 sales booths were set up inside Elmwood High School for the two-day show that began Saturday. While some people shopped for their outdoors expeditions, others participated in contests, seminars and a raffle.

A fishing pond and an archery range were available for youngsters. A major attraction was the big-buck contest, in which hunters nominated deer they had harvested.

“We have had an overwhelming response since we started this,” said Janice Nash, one of the show’s organizers.

After helping operate an outdoors show in Tinley Park, Nash and a few others got together in February 2008 to discuss the prospects of doing the same in Elmwood. The plan is for this to be a yearly event, Nash said.

Proceeds benefited Elmwood High School athletic programs and academic scholarships. Nash expected between 2,500 and 5,000 people to attend, and proceeds are expected to reach $25,000.

“It is going awesome,” said Vianey Payan, 16, an Elmwood freshman who was among the volunteers working at the event.

Payan and another volunteer, Nicole Coffey, 14, spent Saturday making announcements and helping vendors with anything they needed.

“I was the first to volunteer,” Coffey said.

According to Nash, more than 100 Elmwood students joined Coffey and Payan among the volunteers.

One of the biggest crowds at the show was gathered around the fishing gear.

“I am ready for spring fishing,” said Jean Fahnestock, 61, of Pekin, who attended with her husband, Roger Fahnestock.

Aside from what was offered for sale at the booths, Jean Fahnestock also was pleased about the show’s potential benefits for the Elmwood community.

“It is a good idea to earn some money for the school,” she said.

Vendors paid $50 to set up a booth for the weekend.

Matt Birmingham of Cisco, located northeast of Decatur, sells custom-made baits and lures. The owner of Build Your Own Baits apparently had a very busy Saturday morning.

“Great turnout,” he said.

Out at long last

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Peoria Zoo letting animals outside as weather warms

Story on the Journal Star Web site

By RIYA V. ANANDWALA
OF THE JOURNAL STAR
Posted Mar 10, 2010 @ 07:25 PM
Last update Mar 10, 2010 @ 09:31 PM
PEORIA — As the Peoria Zoo sees signs of spring, officials let Scout, Cody, Tanna and Maude out to play in the grass and bask under the sun.

The four colobus monkeys were released from their heated dayroom Wednesday morning.

“Colobus takes time to get comfortable on the ground,” said Dawn Petefish, curator for collections at the zoo.

With the temperature climbing to 65 degrees Wednesday, the zoo let out the animals, many of which had been resting in their warm barns and dayrooms all winter long.

The warming trend is expected to continue Thursday, when the National Weather Service forecast calls for a high of 61. The average high for March 11 in Peoria is 47.

Getting ready for the season also means maintenance of the pathways and the ground at the zoo. Workers sweep the dead leaves, rake up gravel and make touch-ups as needed.

“It’s time for us to re-evaluate the art,” said Petefish, who is excited about the season ahead.

All the animals have a different temperature requirement to be let out in the open. Zebras are well off in 20 degrees or above, whereas rhinos need a warmer climate, about 50 degrees.

But monkeys need the warmest weather of the lot.

Take mandrills for instance, closely related to baboons, who have been getting anxious to be out with the others.

“They are picking up anything green,” Petefish said.

The temperature may have touched high 60s this week, but the ground still has some slick spots. Such conditions can prove dangerous for the giraffes, Petefish said.

While it was a great day for the animals, it also was a good day for visitors to see them.

Marie Carey, 42, of Bloomington was watching the colobus monkeys jump around the little tree with her two children.

“We have not been to a zoo in 13 years,” said Carey.

Carey recently moved back to Bloomington from California. When she heard about the Africa! exhibit last year, she yearned to see it.

When the Africa! exhibit inaugurated in June, many school groups could not visit the zoo. Petefish expects a lot of schools to make field trips this year.

But that is not the only spot to visit in the zoo. Officials also are renovating the meerkat exhibit this spring. The mount inside the enclosed area where the meerkats will dwell has an interactive feeder filled with worms and crickets.

Richwoods receives royal welcome

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Knights welcomed back with Class 3A second-place trophy

Story on the Journal Star Web site

By RIYA V. ANANDWALA
Journal Star
Posted Mar 21, 2010 @ 03:33 PM
Last update Mar 21, 2010 @ 08:41 PM

PEORIA — The Knights may not have won the Class 3A boys basketball championship, but earning second place was a good reason for supporters to affectionately welcome home the team Sunday afternoon at Richwoods High School.

Richwoods lost 58-55 to Country Club Hills Hillcrest in the championship game Saturday at Carver Arena. The Knights also won second place in 1992 and again in 2006.

As the players, coaches and cheerleaders paraded across town on a firetruck from the Gateway Building to the Northmoor Road school, supporters honked, cheered, clapped and shouted out well-wishes.

Peggie Sanders of Peoria, whose daughters attend Richwoods, said, “It is exciting for the school, exciting for the city. The players show excellent sportsmanship and they represent the school very well.”

Torrance Evans, 18, is one of the seven seniors on the team. “It’s real fun, celebration kind of a day,” he said Sunday, reminiscing about all the practice and hard work. He contemplated the sacrifices he made, such as the “girls, just having fun.” But at the end of the day, he said it was all worth it.

Richwoods senior Abby Klaus, 17, said she is a huge fan of the team and has been to many of its games. The state tournament will be one of her more memorable high school moments, she said Sunday.

Her friend Jenny O’Brien, 18, a freshman at Bradley University, said she was a little disappointed that the team didn’t win the championship, but appreciated the dedication and hard work that the boys had put in.

“They deserved it,” she said. Being friends with some of the players, she knew “how bad they wanted it.”

The ceremony started at 1 p.m. with the band welcoming the team and the cheerleaders. Coach Mike Ellis thanked the team and all the supporters. He shed tears while acknowledging his family’s support.

The team’s success this year keeps the dream alive for future Richwoods basketball players to reach the top, he said.

The players were introduced in a special way. Ellis wanted to show the boys how far they have come, so at the beginning of postseason play he asked each of them to bring in their most treasured basketball award to date.

On Sunday he carried a big box to the stage and handed out those old prizes, their “claims to fame.”

Sophomore Nico Lampkins, 17, who is on the team but didn’t play this season, said the other players inspire him.

This was quite a year for assistant coach Robert Foster, who has been coaching the seniors from the time they were freshmen.

“That’s just a special group,” said Foster. “It means a lot.”

Skiers here get jump on season

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Riya V. Anandwala
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

12/13/2009

WILDWOOD — While most of St. Louis was cursing the cold last week, the people who run and use Hidden Valley Ski Resort were probably cheering it.

Last week’s temperatures, which dropped to 10 degrees at one point, allowed the resort to open Saturday, a week ahead of schedule.

A big beneficiary was Joseph Dragovich, 22, who runs the snow-making machine at Hidden Valley.

Dragovich, who has been snowboarding at the resort for 10 years and making snow there for three years, said ideal snowmaking conditions consist of temperatures in the single digits, with no wind or humidity.

Although Saturday’s temperature, 39 degrees, was too high for making snow, the resort had plenty built up from last week.

Dragovich rated Saturday’s product as very good.

“There is no ice out there, this is a really good temperature,” he said Saturday morning. “Right now the snow is not really sticking to you or melting that fast.”

Bill Brandes, the general manager of Hidden Valley, said there was enough snow on hand to endure temperatures up to 50 degrees.

The dreaded event is rain. Operations can continue, except during lightning, but rain does hurt the snowpack.

Saturday business was brisk.

Elizabeth Brammer, 40, of Wildwood, came out to ski with her husband and three children.

They took up the sport six years ago.

“I look forward to the winter now,” she said. “Before I was dreading the weather.”

Her children are now on ski teams.

“We are buying secondhand skis, but we would never give up skiing,” Brammer said.

Fred Goglia, 63, of Kirkwood, the owner of an architectural firm, has been coming out to ski at Hidden Valley for about 15 years. He buys a season pass, and skis almost every weekend.

Goglia said the bad economy had impacted him, but he is foregoing movies to continue skiing.

Ian Scheihing, 16, of Ballwin was out skiing with a couple of friends.

Ian, starting his seventh year at Hidden Valley, said he had to choose between skiing, or receiving a Christmas gift.

He chose skiing, saying, “This is my Christmas present.”

Brandes, the resort manager, said that with the tougher economy, he expected St. Louis skiiers to stay closer to home.

He noted, however, that Hidden Valley doesn’t draw only St. Louisans. He has noticed license plates in his parking lot from Tennessee, Virginia, Colorado, New York, Texas and Arkansas.

Brandes said he was looking forward to next week, when another round of cold weather will allow the resort to stock up on snow. The resort expects to remain open through the second week of March.

Special kids get special bikes

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By Riya V. Anandwala
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

11/15/2009

Dana Moyer of Mascoutah has looked forward to her 6-year-old daughter, Olivia Moyer, riding a bicycle. Her dream came true Saturday when Olivia, who has cerebral palsy, received a custom-made bike from the Variety Club.

“This is important for Olivia,” said Moyer. “The bike gets her better mobility on her legs and independence.”

The club, a children’s charity, also gave bikes to 275 other disabled and underprivileged children Saturday morning at the Whitfield School in Creve Coeur.

Friends and families of the children, along with volunteers from area businesses and schools, assembled the bikes.

Barb Kramer, program director for the club, said her group worked with 85 area agencies to give the children bicycles. Some of the families thought that getting a bicycle for their children “would never happen because of their (children’s) disability, or it is not affordable,” Kramer said.

The 145 volunteers — some of whom had never done that task before — took two hours to piece the bikes together.

Tricia Whelan volunteered with some cyclist friends and her daughter Sarah, a student at Whitfield.

Children with physical and mental disabilities were given the custom-made bikes, whose costs range from $1,500 to $3,000. Among them were 22 specialized therapeutic bikes built by Creative Mobility of St. Charles, Ill.

Mackenzie Sanders, 6, has spina bifida and had never been able to ride a bike. When she received her therapeutic bike at the event, she tried to jump in her seat and clapped out loud. Her mother, Gina Sanders of High Ridge, was pleased that her daughter can now ride a bike with other children.

Kramer of the Variety Club said that about 110 children remained on a waiting list for bicycles.

Link to the article – http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/467F9EA39B05B87D8625766F000C8613?OpenDocument

Graves of the unknown at Jeff Barracks are decorated

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By Riya V. Anandwala
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

12/06/2009

LEMAY — It was 20 degrees out Saturday morning, but it did not stop 75 people, in heavy coats and earmuffs, from their annual recognition of the graves of unknown soldiers at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

The idea for the effort began in December 2004 when Lindsay Misegades, 30, of St. Peters, visited the cemetery to decorate the grave of her grandfather, who had died several months earlier.

She noticed that an adjacent grave had no Christmas decorations, even though the veteran’s birthday was Dec. 25.

“I got very angry. It felt that he had already been forgotten,” Misegades said Saturday.

It led to the effort ever since to decorate all of the 3,300 graves of the unknown at Jefferson Barracks.

Veteran Jack Grothe, 69, of Lemay, has come out every year.

“We see a lot of young people here, which is good,” said Grothe, who served both in the Navy and Merchant Marine.

Julie Smith, a teacher, was among a contingent from St. Catherine Laboure Catholic Church in south St. Louis County.

She dug in the mud to plant a red flower.

“This is a privilege,” said Smith, who had come out for the first time.

Howard and Deidre Petit of Hazelwood agreed.

Howard Petit called it “a great honor to our fallen heroes, unknown soldiers.”

Misegades and her group have received cash donations to help their effort, and Home Depot donated the stakes used to hold the flowers.

Misegades was accompanied by her father and her fiancé, Tony Zimmermann.

“I have a brother who is in the Air Force, and friends in the Marines and Army. This is great way to show respect,” Zimmermann, 29, said.

On Jan. 9, volunteers will gather again to clear the decorations.

Annual Christmas dinner is a joy for volunteers also

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By Riya V. Anandwala
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

12/20/2009

BRIDGETON — Fifty years ago, Joan Gieson began offering a Christmas dinner for the needy.

It started small, with seven guests.

On Saturday, Gieson and 175 volunteers expected to serve several thousand people at their annual dinner, at John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Bridgeton.

Guests are asked to register, but none was turned away Saturday for failing that.

“We have been continually feeding people, and we will go on till the last person comes in,” Gieson said at mid-morning Saturday. Serving had begun at 6 a.m.

Gieson, who operates the Joan Gieson Ministries of Love, said she actually started serving the needy at the age of 2.She used to accompany her father, who sold fruit and vegetables, door to door. Gieson and her mother would turn the leftover fruit into cobblers and leftover vegetables into other dishes, and give them away.

“From the very beginning I learned how to give and how to love,” said Gieson, 74, of St. Louis County.

The volunteers came from all over the country, and Canada, to prepare and serve the dinner.

Mave Moyer, 53, came from Hamilton, Ontario, with four friends to help Gieson.

“Just to see all the food come together is pretty miraculous,” Moyer said. “So many happy families have been taken care of.”

She said she feeds homeless people in Hamilton, but not on Saturday’s scale.

Another volunteer, Roxe Ann Olson, 49, a college professor from Seattle, comes for a week each year to help organize the event.

“It is my privilege to come down here for the last 15 years to watch the miraculous party that takes place every year,” Olson said.

“We are just doing what Jesus would do.”

Apart from the meals, the guests were also given a bag of groceries and toys for children.

Although there was plenty of food, Gieson said her organization came up short on toys.

“Donations are down during the recession,” she said.

Bonnie Palmer, of St. Louis, was attending the program for the second time with her child and husband.

“I have been a well-adjusted, working adult all my life, but the economy changed our status,” she said. She said was grateful for an operation such as Gieson’s.

Another guest, Willie Clark, 50, of Ferguson, brought his family to the dinner.

“We have come for the joy and happiness,” he said.

In addition to the dinners, about 100 food baskets were sent to needy families.

“It is loving and encouraging them,” Gieson said.

Director of new preschool speaks four languages

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By Riya V. Anandwala
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

12/11/2009

 
Carolina Diaz-Silva says she believes that learning a foreign language at an early age can give children a cognitive
advantage in the future. Diaz-Silva is founder and director of International Schoolhouse, a Spanish-immersion preschool in Olivette. She started the school in August with 10 children and will be adding eight more in January.

Diaz-Silva, who speaks in English, Spanish, Italian and German, hails from Peru and moved to St. Louis 16 years ago. She spent her time teaching Spanish at MICDS in Ladue and also at Washington University.

In 2006, she received a master’s degree in Spanish Literature from Washington University and received an MBA from the university in May. She serves as an adjunct lecturer in the romance languages department of Washington University, teaching Spanish.

Diaz-Silva says she is trying to weather the economic challenges that come with her new venture and the competition from other preschools in the area.

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We have a lot of diversity in our student body as well as our teachers. Out of 18 students, we have four Hispanic children, one Indian and one African-American.

What kind of economic challenges are you facing with the school?

I would say that I had a lot of interest in the school, because it is not a day care, it is only a preschool that has part-time hours.

But in today’s economy, preschool has become an option for a mother who stays home with her child. A lot of families are choosing not to make that expense. And that has an impact on the enrollment.
But I am happy that we are small and are able to gradually grow.

Has the performance of the school, so far, met your expectations?

I was naive. I thought the school would fill up from the first day, because it is such a great idea.

It is also important to realize that I have to build trust with the parents. And that is exactly what we are doing right now.

We had an open house for children coming in January and we had the current parents be at the open house and talk to the prospective families. That made all the difference in the world. Because it wasn’t the director or the teacher selling what a great program we have, but the parents telling them how delighted they were with the program and how fantastic the teachers are.

Who are your competitors?

Preschool is very local. We did a lot of market research before starting the school and found out that families drive less than three miles for a preschool and a lot of families just walk.

There aren’t any Spanish-immersion preschools in our area, but there are a couple in St. Charles and Ballwin. My direct competition are other preschools in the area.

How do you publicize the school?

Most of our publicity comes from word-of-mouth. But we also do some advertising, like in St. Louis Kids Magazine, Ladue News, direct mailing, postcards.

We need to do more effective marketing. But I don’t believe marketing is going to get me more students. It is going to be my current families talking to their friends. Basically, I have 10 advocates, and I will have 18 in January.