■ Ken Waller has announced he will not run for a third term as Jefferson County executive. Waller, 55, who ran as a Republican when he was first elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, made the announcement at a press conference Monday at the Jefferson County Administration Center in Hillsboro. The office will come up for election in 2018. The day after Waller’s announcement, state Rep. John McCaherty (R-Fenton) announced that he will seek the job. See Steve Taylor’s Page 1 story.
■ Former Grandview R-2 School District business manager Angela Huskey manipulated district funds to pay herself a salary of $129,340.21 last school year, about three times more than her actual salary and about $20,000 more than the district superintendent. That detail is included in an 83-page forensic audit that outlines financial irregularities in the district over more than a decade, amounting to at least $1.6 million. Huskey pleaded guilty June 30 to the federal charge of mail fraud in connection with the embezzlement and will be sentenced Oct. 13. See Tracey Bruce’s story.
■ A Crystal City warehouse that once was a hub for distribution of Pepsi-Cola products throughout Jefferson County was torn down last month. The concrete block building, which was also used as a residence, had stood at 1306 N. Taylor Ave. for 80 years. Noelle Church Michler, 53, of Barnhart, the building owner and the granddaughter of Louis Church Sr., the man who built the warehouse, said she is heartbroken. “It was a landmark,” she said. See Tracey Bruce’s story.
■ The Fox C-6 Board of Education has agreed to spend $1,349,860 to have a four-classroom addition built at Ridgewood Middle School, on Hwy. 141 between Arnold and Fenton. The construction is underway, but it’s not expected to be complete until the start of the second semester in January, school officials say. See Kim Robertson’s story.
■ A possible doubling of the speed limit for trains passing through De Soto got a rapid and unfavorable reaction from the City Council at its monthly meeting on Monday. City Manager David Dews said the Union Pacific Railroad, the largest employer in the city, was considering an increase in the speed limit of trains operating within the city limits from 30 mph to 60 mph. See Gordon Bess’ story.
■ Tan-Tar-A is about to become Margaritaville? Editorial Page editor Patrick Martin weighs in.
■ No sooner had De Soto SMCI manager Sean Wiley stepped in the third-base coach’s box in the seventh inning against Ste. Genevieve on July 11, he heard the crack of Nick’s Carter’s bat. The next thing he knew, Wiley was on the ground. That’s the dramatic start to Sports editor Russell Korando’s column this week.
*** Blazes! It’s hot.