■ Christy Zawodniak’s life has gone to pieces. Pieces of fabric, that is, which she sews together to make quilts. Zawodniak, 47, of rural Hillsboro, has transformed what had been her hobby into a robust new business, the Cottage Grove Quilt Co., which caters to an extensive community of quilters throughout Jefferson County and beyond. See Gordon Bess’ Page 1 story.
■ Missourians will head to the polls March 10 to vote for the candidate they support for their party’s nomination in the upcoming presidential election. The Missouri Presidential Preference Election – it’s not officially called a primary election but serves that purpose – will include the names of 33 candidates across five political parties who are seeking – or were once seeking – their party’s nod to run for president in the November general election. See Steve Taylor’s Page 1 story and Peggy Bess’ Editorial Page column.
■ Jefferson County Health Department officials say they are prepared if anyone in the county tests positive for the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. However, the flu is a higher threat to county residents right now, the officials said. “We are still considered a low risk for community transmission for coronavirus at this time,” said Jeana Vidacak, public health preparedness coordinator for the Health Department. As of Tuesday, no cases of coronavirus had been reported in Missouri, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. See Katelyn Mary Skaggs’ story.
■ The Gordmans department store will continue to operate at one Jefferson County location as its parent company plans to close its Arnold store. Stage Stores, the Houston-based buyer of assets from the bankrupt Gordmans company, said in an email that it will continue to operate the Crystal City store, 110 Twin City Drive, but will close its other five stores in the St. Louis area, including both the store in Arnold and the one in the Gravois Bluffs Plaza in Fenton. See Tony Krausz’s story.
■ With a new name and a milestone to celebrate, the Cultural Diversity Luncheon drew a near-capacity, record crowd of more than 500 on Saturday at the Quality Inn in Festus. The luncheon, formerly known as the Black History Luncheon and held to mark February as Black History Month, has become a major social event for Jefferson County. This year was the luncheon’s 25th anniversary, and that had something to do with the record turnout, said Jim Sparling, longtime master of ceremonies. Another factor, he noted, was the special recognition at the event for former Festus Mayor Earl Cook. See Gordon Bess’ story.
■ More than 300 families from all around Jefferson County attended a Foodbank Fair, held Jan. 30 at Peace Pantry in Cedar Hill. People who attended the fair were able to visit with Jefferson County agencies that provide services to people in need and get food to take home, said Linda Schroeder, president of the pantry. She said the St. Louis Area Foodbank donated 60,000 pounds of food for the fair.
■ Festus City Council members and staff “may have” violated Missouri’s Sunshine Law when council members voted electronically last summer to give city employees a day off on July 5, according to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Shortly after that vote, former Festus City Council member Tim Montgomery filed a complaint with the state about the electronic vote, and he received a Feb. 19 letter from the Attorney General’s Office addressing his concerns. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ Briley Palmer has family ties that stretch from Farmington to Festus. So when Palmer was recently hired to replace Gary Koch as the Mineral Area College women’s basketball head coach, you could say she landed her dream job. See Sports editor Russell Korando’s column, plus lots of basketball coverage in the Sports section.
*** Take care.