■ Construction is expected to start in a couple of weeks for a Dollar General store on Hwy. 61 near Jefferson High School south of Festus. Dan Govero of Govero Land Services in Imperial, whose firm drew up the plans for the new store, said grading work has begun on the lot at Hwy. 61 and Grindstone Hill Lane. “Weather permitting, of course, work should start on the store itself within a couple of weeks. I’d think the store should be open by the end of July or sometime in August,” Govero said. See Steve Taylor’s story.
■ Hard work, attention to detail and the right blend of pride and humility have taken Andy Runzi a long way on the basepaths of life. And now his peers are recognizing him for his remarkable journey in baseball. Last week Runzi, the 47-year-old Herculaneum native who now lives in Festus, joined a long line of Jefferson County athletes, coaches and contributors enshrined in the Greater St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame, including Kevin Bowers, Billy Pruneau, Dave Oster, Joe Thurman, Ray Hodge, Mike Sears and the father-and-son duos of Ron Bone and Pat Bone and John Horn Sr. and John Horn Jr. See Gordon Bess’ Page 1 feature story.
■ For probably the first time in its history, the Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission has a full membership. The now-reconstituted board met April 12 for the first time with four new members and all seats filled. The group has two fewer members, but four new faces. See Steve Taylor’s story.
■ The Spring Into Health event, held by the Jefferson County Health Department on April 7, “went really, really well,” organizer Brianne Zwiener said. Attendance doubled in the event’s second year and activities were a hit, she said. Nevertheless, after weather had somewhat of a negative effect on both the 2017 fair, held in Festus, and this year’s, held in Hillsboro – a date closer to summer may be chosen for 2019, Zwiener said.
■ Festus Mayor Mike Cage voted April 11 to break a 3-3 tie and appoint Dave Boyer to fill a Ward 1 council seat that has been vacant since January when Paul Schaffer resigned from the council because he was moving out of town. Council members who voted to appoint Boyer were Brian Wehner and Kyle Wilkey of Ward 2 and Jim Tinnin of Ward 4. Those who voted against his appointment were Gary Underwood of Ward 1 and Bobby Venz and Bill Gray of Ward 3. Mike Cook of Ward 4 was absent. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ Arnold’s Planning Commission is recommending that residents get a building permit before they have fences installed on their property, and the Arnold City Council is expected to vote on the proposal at its next meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday (April 19) at Arnold City Hall, 2101 Jeffco Blvd. See Tracey Bruce’s story.
■ A lot of construction will be happening around the Northwest R-1 School District this summer. The Northwest Board of Education approved more than $4.7 million in construction contracts at its April 12 meeting, and work on all those projects is expected to start in the next month or so.
Some of those construction projects will be funded with revenue from the $14 million bond issue voters approved on April 3.
■ Among all of the accolades Hillsboro senior Gaven Pinkley has rightfully earned over the last four years, the one thing that stands out to me is he never missed a basketball game. At 6-8 and 200 pounds, Pinkley stands out, whether he’s sitting in a movie theater or he’s harassed by a pack of defenders on the hardwood. In the four years Pinkley played for the Hawks, he suited up for all 113 games. See Sports editor Russell Korando’s column.
■ Gordon Bess has the Editorial Page column this week and writes about Adam Walinsky’s visit to Jefferson College. The former speechwriter for Robert Kennedy spoke about his memories and his surprising beliefs.
*** Got those taxes in the mail?