■ By the time the holiday season rolls around in 2017, Jefferson County government hopes to have a new animal control facility up and running in a refurbished former church building in the northwest part of the county. The Jefferson County Council voted 6-0 at its Dec. 27 meeting to spend $675,000 for 7.9 acres at 4848 Hwy. 30 in Scotsdale, the site of the recently closed Hillside Presbyterian Church. See Steve Taylor’s Page 1 story.
■ De Soto native Jeremiah Wilson “Jay” Nixon, 60, has spent half his life as an elected official – six years as state senator, 16 years as attorney general and the last eight living in the governor’s mansion in Jefferson City with his wife, Georganne. He will step down as governor when Republican Eric Greitens is sworn in on Jan. 9. See Steve Taylor’s Page 1 feature story on Nixon’s past, present and future.
■ The Jan. 5 Editorial Section includes a retrospective of Judy Dixon cartoons featuring Gov. Jay Nixon over the years, plus commentary on Nixon’s career by Patrick Martin.
■ The new Don Robinson State Park in Cedar Hill is scheduled to open at 8 a.m. Friday morning. The park will feature picnic areas and hiking trails that wind through glades and forests on 818 acres within the upper watershed of LaBarque Creek. Robinson, a self-made businessman who lived on the property and died at age 84 in 2012, willed the land to the State Parks Division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources through a donation set up in 2008. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft of seven vehicles in seven days from around the north and west parts of the county. All those vehicles were unlocked and being warmed up outside homes when they were stolen, the Sheriff’s Office reports. The vehicles were stolen between Dec. 20 and Dec. 27, with three of them stolen in the Fenton area, two in Barnhart, one in Imperial and one in the Arnold area. See Kim Robertson’s story.
■ Sports editor Russell Korando writes in his Jan. 5 column about Shelton and Natalie Sago, the father-daughter referees from Farmington who have been seen in their roles at numerous Jefferson County contests. Natalie is currently a referee in the NBA’s Development League. Korando also features Lexi Close, who surpassed 1,000 career points Dec. 28.
*** The days are getting longer, and longer, and longer – a minute per diem.