That Tuesday afternoon exemplified everything I loved and hated about my chosen profession.
It was Aug. 23, 1994, and work on the first edition of the Jefferson County Leader was well underway.
We were using desktop publishing to design our pages – a brand-new process to me – but thankfully, after jumping into that pool, I wasn’t actually drowning, just gasping noisily for breath.
We were toiling at a former bank-turned-church office in Festus that had been transformed into Leader World Headquarters over three busy weeks. Seated in my white plastic lawn chair in front of an ancient metal desk, I was using my big-box computer to lay out Page 1, according to the plan we’d spent a while crafting. First impressions, you know.
It really looked like we were going to breeze into our deadline at the waiting press in Breese, Ill., with the first copies of the Leader going into local mailboxes two days later – Aug. 25.
Then, at about noon, shocking and tragic news hit the newsroom. Former Festus Police Chief William Pagano had just taken his own life when county sheriff’s deputies surprised him at his home, aiming to take him to prison after his appeal on second-degree murder charges failed.
We needed a new Page 1 story and we needed it fast. I had spent considerable time that summer researching Pagano’s murder conviction in the shooting death of Tim Todd on March 26, 1990, so I’d write it.
And there it was, that familiar feeling of adrenaline laced with anxiety. The adrenaline was a welcome friend, but I abhorred the jittery nerves that came with it.
I ran to my car to grab the notes I’d taken while reviewing depositions in Springfield, thought about a lead (the first sentence in a news story) for about three seconds, and started typing furiously.
As usual, adrenaline won out. I signed off on the story, then-Leader editor-publisher Patrick Martin edited it, our composing staff pasted up the pages and we sent our paper to the press.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Truly, in this case, because today, dear readers, is the 28th anniversary of the Leader’s first publication date.
You’ve seen a lot of nostalgia in the Leader’s pages lately, as the people who were working in the office on Aug. 25, 1994, have retired or, in a few cases, passed away. One thing you’ve probably noticed is that all of us who are no longer at the office day-to-day were passionate about serving our community and telling its stories.
Several months ago, I told my Pagano story to a TV crew preparing a documentary on the case for the ID channel (part of Discovery Plus) and emailed them a photo of the framed first Page 1 that’s still on display at the Leader.
The episode – “No Turning Back” – aired June 14 as the fifth show in the “I Went Undercover” series; it can still be seen on the ID platform or Amazon Prime.
I’ve seen the episode twice and found it a really good job. They stuck to the facts of the case, used compelling voices to tell the story, and let viewers reach their own conclusions on whether Todd was murdered, as a jury decided, or killed in self-defense, as Pagano insisted.
Rebecca Leib, a young producer for the show, called me the day before Thanksgiving 2021 to ask for leads. She didn’t intend to interview me, but booked me anyway a few weeks later, I guess to make sure they had enough material.
Although a Festus native, I’d never driven anywhere close to the remote Festus-area home to which I was summoned in early 2022. The director wanted an environment without background noise or distractions. Check.
I felt a little spooked, and can’t say I enjoyed being interviewed on camera for a half-hour or so. I suspect most reporters prefer asking questions to answering them.
I told about the Leader’s first production day and how a longtime source in the Sheriff’s Office hung up on me when I asked him about being at Pagano’s house that day. (My motive was to tell the human side of the tragedy, but I doubt he ever forgave me.)
I’ve been in touch with Rebecca since the episode aired and she acknowledged her pride in the project.
“Festus and its people were extremely lovely and generous in their sharing of information and cooperation, something I’m sure was not the easiest to do given the circumstances of Pagano’s actions,” she said in an email.
After my interview, I worried something I said might seem cruel or unfeeling to Todd’s or Pagano’s surviving loved ones.
No problem there. I was on camera for eight seconds of the episode in two innocuous snippets. (That means I have 14 minutes and 52 seconds of fame left.)
Rebecca noted she grew up in a small Midwestern town and felt an affinity for Festus. She also described herself as a “storyteller,” thus aligning with the Leader’s past and current staff.
For 28 years and counting, and with no TV channel involved, that remains our ID.
