■ Like most Jefferson County natives, Lisa Lewis Gendron grew up fascinated by the stories and legends surrounding the mysterious, glamorous castle on the banks of the Mississippi River in the southern part of the county. Gendron’s book, “Kennett Castle or Selma Hall and the Families Who Lived There,” published in January 2019, is full of information about the Italian Renaissance-style mansion and those who lived in it. But there are still questions, and no easy way to get them answered, she said. See Laura Marlow’s feature story.
■ A new Smoothie King is slated to open at 1272 Jeffco Blvd. in Arnold at 8 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24, said co-owner Brandon Long. He said smoothies will be sold at a discount on opening day. It will be the second Smoothie King in Jefferson County. Another one opened in Festus last fall. See Tony Krausz’s story.
■ The Black History Luncheon held every year in the county has a new name. It’s now called the Cultural Diversity Luncheon and is set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, at the Quality Inn, 1200 W. Gannon Drive, in Festus. Tickets, which cost $30 each, are available for purchase. For tickets or more information, call Jim Sparling at 636-937-9107, Denise Brown at 636-937-0575 or Susan Harrison at 314-221-1757. See Mary McKinstry’s story.
■ Nathan A. Schweppe, 42, of the Festus area has been charged with first-degree murder and three other felonies for allegedly shooting and killing his 73-year-old father Feb. 15 at a home they shared in the 1700 block of Burley Road south of Festus, authorities reported. He was being held Feb. 15 in the Jefferson County Jail on a $750,000 cash-only bond.
■ Festus Fire Department has three new paid, full-time firefighters – Travis Woods of De Soto, Shane Reinbold of Hillsboro and Cody Charleville of the De Soto area. They started their new jobs Jan. 6, and each one will be paid $35,828 a year. Festus Fire is covering the cost of the three additional salaries with revenue from Proposition Public Safety, a 1-cent sales tax increase voters approved in August 2019 to fund improvements to the city’s police and fire departments and dispatching for emergency services. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ Four Brothers Meadery is expected to open soon at 124B E. Main Street in Festus, co-owner Dan Luck said. He said the mead-manufacturing business will open at the end of this month or early next month. The business already offers its products for sale at several outlets in the region, but its four owners are readying their own place to serve customers their product, which they describe as honey wine. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ Peggy Bess has names on the brain in this week’s column. The Leader has a 25-year-old list of distinctive names of local people and their relatives. Now, you get a peek. Believe or not, not much about Trump in the letters to the editor.
■ Former Black Cat Steve Kline and former Hornet Alan DeGeare were inducted into the Central Methodist University Hairston Hall of Fame in September. Read all about it in Sports editor Russell Korando’s column, plus coverage of basketball and wrestling.
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