■ New Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak has put his command staff in place and is restructuring the Sheriff’s Office to beef up deputies on the road and the detective bureau. Marshak announced that his second-in-command, or undersheriff, will be Tim Whitney, who has been promoted from corporal to lieutenant colonel. Whitney, 35, replaces Steve Meinberg, who has announced his retirement. See Steve Taylor’s Page 1 story.
■ Nick Wamsley of northwest Jefferson County not only was a big winner at last year’s Mastodon Art/Science Regional Fair, but his winning science project might help solve a huge problem plaguing the country. Nick, 17, used entomopathogenic fungi as a natural pesticide against the ash borer, a type of beetle that has killed millions of ash trees across North America, including the U.S. See Kim Robertson’s Page 1 story.
■ Three state legislators who represent south Jefferson County are creating a Joachim Creek Joint Task Force to work for solutions to recurring flooding along Joachim Creek in the city limits of De Soto. The bipartisan trio includes 3rd District Sen. Gary Romine (R-Farmington), 115th District Rep. Elaine Gannon (R-De Soto) and 118th District Rep. Ben Harris (D-Hillsboro). Gannon said Tuesday they planned to file a resolution this week seeking legislative support for the task force and she expected quick approval. See Tracey Bruce’s story.
■ The race for three seats on the Northwest R-1 Board of Education is the liveliest one, so far, for the April 4 ballot, with less than a week before candidate filings close. Eight people have filed for the board, including all three incumbents. There is competition, too, for four other school boards – De Soto, Hillsboro, Fox and Jefferson R-7 – as well as the Jefferson College Board of Trustees. Three cities have contested races, so far – for De Soto City Council, Arnold mayor and two council ward seats, and a Ward 2 aldermanic seat in Pevely. See filings in all three editions of the Leader.
■ Jefferson County Executive Ken Waller wrapped up 2016 with a notch in his belt no other Jefferson County politician can claim. On Dec. 31, Waller ended his year as chairman of the East-West Gateway Council of Government’s Board of Directors – the first Jefferson County official to head that group in its 51-year history. See Steve Taylor’s retrospective story on Waller’s year at the helm.
■ Thanks to an anonymous donor, De Soto Police were able to make Christmas better for several De Soto residents Dec. 19-25. A secret Santa gave the department 20 gift cards to distribute. Each card was worth $50 for a total $1,000 donation. Officers had fun distributing the cards, Police Chief Rick Draper said. See Tracey Bruce’s story.
■ Editorial Page editor Patrick Martin is growing weary of the demonization of the press that is now in vogue. See his rebuttal in the Editorial Section.
■ Sports editor Russell Korando writes in his column this week about Hoops for Hope, a Jan. 20 Jefferson R-7 cancer fundraising effort that culminates in a presentation at that night’s basketball games with the Blue Jays and Herculaneum High School.
*** Make up your mind, Missouri. Cold? Hot?