■ Tim Pigg, 53, Festus, has been hired as the director of the Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Department. He replaces Mike Ginger, who retired Aug. 30 after leading the department for more than 25 years. Pigg’s hiring was approved unanimously Jan. 4 by the Jefferson County Council. He will start Jan. 25. See Steve Taylor’s Page 1 story.
■ Cedar Hill resident James Gebert, a former IT contractor, has started a new business – building “Mobility Quads” for people with disabilities to use outdoors. He applied for a patent for his design (his application is pending), and in April 2015, he quit his job to focus on his new line of work. In September 2015, Gebert got a business license from the city of Byrnes Mill to open a workshop at 3478 High Ridge Blvd. See Tracey Bruce’s Page 1 feature story.
■ It’s time to check your mailbox for your personal property tax declaration form. Jefferson County Assessor Terry Roesch said about 100,000 forms were sent out Jan. 7-8, asking county residents to list what taxable personal property they owned on Jan. 1. The forms are due back to the Assessor’s Office by March 1. See Steve Taylor’s story.
■ Former Byrnes Mill interim Police Chief Michael Smith and the city of Byrnes Mill have settled the lawsuit Smith filed after he was fired by the city in 2014. Byrnes Mill will pay $35,000 in damages with the Ryals Law Firm receiving $9,150 and Smith receiving $25,850, according to the settlement agreement filed in December in the Missouri Eastern District of the U.S. District Court. See Tracey Bruce’s story.
■ Approximately 300 families (700 individuals) attended a flood recovery multi-agency resource center that was set up Saturday and Sunday at the Northwest R-1 School District’s Valley Middle School in House Springs, organizers report. See a compilation by Leader staff about flood recovery efforts around the county.
■ Jefferson County government’s $92.2 million budget for 2016 includes cost-of-living raises for county employees, maintenance improvements for the county jail, and funding for several road and bridge projects, along with the usual day-to-day expenses of running county government. Although the total budget is up by about $2.5 million over last year, County Executive Ken Waller said there are no glitzy, big-ticket expenditures. See Steve Taylor’s story.
■ For the third time in less than eight years, Jefferson College has run afoul of National Junior College Athletic Association rules in using an ineligible player in a game. The college announced Jan. 8 that it had self-reported an academic rules violation to the NJCAA after the Vikings used an academically ineligible player in a Jan. 6 women’s basketball game against the Lindenwood University-Belleville junior varsity. Although Jefferson won the contest 105-57, the violation will turn the result into a forfeit loss for the Vikings, with further penalties potentially coming from the NJCAA. See Gordon Bess’ story in the Sports section.
■ Editorial Page editor Patrick Martin writes in his column this week about the GOP retribution aimed at Republicans who dared to vote to sustain Democrat Jay Nixon’s veto of a right-to-work bill in 2015. Four of those under attack are state representatives from Jefferson County.
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