■ Comtrea will shut down its equine therapy program, housed at Bridle Ridge Acres in Hillsboro, on Friday, but plans to build an 18,000-square-foot health care facility that will provide medical, mental health and dental services on the site. Susan Curfman, Comtrea’s CEO and president, said the agency’s goal is to “have shovels in the ground” for the health center in December 2018. See Tracey Bruce’s Page 1 story.
■ The Jefferson County Library is asking its voters to approve a measure that would increase the system’s property tax levy by 10.36 cents per $100 assessed valuation in the library’s Fox-Windsor subdistrict and by 8.9 cents in its Northwest subdistrict. Throughout its campaign, the library has marketed the measure as an 8-cent levy increase and has not mentioned that the levy increases would be different, depending on where residents live. The library calls its measure on the April 4 ballot “8¢ for the Library,” and the library lists 8 cents as the proposed levy increase on its website, in advertising and in its campaign materials. See the Page 1 story by Tracey Bruce and Peggy Bess.
■ Countywide, there are 22 ballot measures to be decided in the April 4 election. The Leader’s three editions will include stories on the issues that apply to the geographic areas served by each edition. Be an educated voter.
■ Antonia Elementary School librarian Kelli McKlin took two Fox C-6 School District children into her home for a couple of days last week after their mother died from injuries she sustained in a two-vehicle accident at Hwy. M and St. Luke’s Church Road in Barnhart. Barbara A. Winschel, 32, of House Springs died in the March 22 wreck, and her two children – an Antonia Elementary School student and an Antonia Middle School student – went home with McKlin that day and then stayed with her and her husband until March 24, when a member of the students’ family took them in, said Mark Rudanovich, principal at Antonia Elementary. The school is raising money now to help the children. See Kim Robertson’s story.
■ The Hillsboro R-3 Board of Education has hired Byrne & Jones Construction of St. Louis to repair the district’s football field and track damaged by a March 7 tornado. Byrne & Jones made the low base bid of $420,000 – $343,000 to repair the field and $77,000 for the track. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ Editorial Page editor Patrick Martin bemoans the universal opinion that puts the Cubs in an unassailable position for the 2017 season. Maybe they’ll lose ONE game. Maybe on Sunday night?
■ Check out the Sports section this week for a preview of the county’s high school golf teams and a story on the All -JCAA wrestling team.
*** Has anyone lived through a milder winter? Doubt it.