■ It’s Christmas in July for the approximately 85 nonprofit agencies who received grants, totaling $2,552,458.49, from the Jefferson Foundation. Checks will be sent June 1. Large grants went to the city of De Soto for an accessible playground and to the Peace Pantry in Cedar Hill to construct a building for the Cedar Hill Farmers Market and to store vehicles. See the story by Laura Marlow.
■ The Gary Sinise Foundation has announced that it will build a home in Fenton for Arnold Police Officer Ryan O’Connor, who was shot in the head Dec. 5 by a burglary suspect and has been undergoing extensive rehabilitation since then. See the story by Kaitlynn Mary Skaggs.
■ Since it started rolling 13 years ago, Jefferson County Health Department’s youth “Smiles to Go” van has served more than 15,000 children who otherwise might not have been able to see a dentist. Sometimes, a visit to the van can make all the difference in the world to a child, said Laura Becker, the department’s dental program supervisor. Becker tells of a middle school girl who would not smile or talk without covering her mouth. But after a trip to the van she was able to find her confidence. See the story by Kaitlynn Mary Skaggs.
■ The city of De Soto and the De Soto Rural Fire Protection District are locked in a taxation turf battle that seemed dead and buried only two years ago. Caught in the middle is one of the oldest and largest employers in Jefferson County – the Union Pacific car shops in downtown De Soto. See the story by Gordon Bess.
■ Darryl Reed, who has served as volunteer chief of the Mapaville Fire Protection District for nearly 33 years, has been fired, and an interim fire chief has been named. The district’s board of directors voted May 21 to “terminate the relationship between MPFD and Fire Chief Darryl Reed, effective immediately,” and to hire Andrew Brown, who was a former volunteer captain with Mapaville Fire, to interim chief. See Laura Marlow’s story.
■ Continued operation of the Jefferson College pool is at risk again in the budget the college Board of Trustees hopes to adopt at its June 14 meeting. The board discussed a variety of “budget assumptions” on May 10, looking to increase revenue or cut expenses for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The assumptions, compiled by staff and which may or may not be enacted, include: a 1.5 percent wage increase for full-time and part-time employees; increasing tuition by $1 (to $106 per credit hour for in-state students); and closing the pool for a savings of $96,000. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ Sports editor Russell Korando writes in his column this week about the impact of weather on conducting state track championships in Jefferson City each spring, and problems he sees with the scheduling of events. Also, check out the performance of local athletes at the big meet.
■ What does it mean to be a nerd these days? Editor Peggy Bess takes up that topic as it applies to the Class of 2018, whose members have all received their diplomas.
*** Winter, then summer. Where was spring?