■ Union Pacific Corp. has announced the closure and potential sale of Selma Farm, the sprawling corporate retreat the company owns about 4 miles south of Festus. The company acquired Selma Farm in 1986 when it merged with Missouri Pacific, and the property has served as a business, conference and hospitality property for the past 32 years. The most famous feature of the Selma Farm property is Selma Hall, which was built in 1854 and is known widely as “Kennett’s Castle,” after Ferdinand Kennett, the Mississippi River steamboat operator who spent $125,000 (about $4 million in 2018 dollars) to build it, according to historical documents. See Laura Marlow’s Page 1 feature story.
■ Political reporter Steve Taylor reviewed campaign finance reports in advance of the Nov. 6 election and found that local Republican candidates, in all but two races, are outraising and outspending their Democratic counterparts, sometimes by huge margins. Paul Wieland, the incumbent for District 22 in the Missouri Senate, far outpaces every other local candidate in raising cash, with receipts of more than $530,000. His Democratic opponent, Robert Butler, has generated almost $103,000 in donations, ranking him third among local candidates in fundraising, but still far behind Wieland. The two Democrats who outraised Republicans, through Oct. 15, are Jeff Roorda, vying for county executive against Republican Dennis Gannon, and Mike Revis, who faced Republic Mary Elizabeth Coleman. See Taylor’s extensive report, which starts on Page 1.
■ With suicide rates on the rise and suicide a leading cause of death among young people, Jefferson County school officials and health agencies are trying to find ways to forestall tragedy. In Jefferson County, both De Soto and Festus high schools lost students to suicide this school year, and numbers from the county Health Department show that it is a front-burner issue. The 2017 Jefferson County Jefferson County Behavioral Health Profile reported that 13.7 percent of Jefferson County students in grade six through 12 had considered suicide in the last year, 9.1 percent made a plan, and 1.2 percent attempted suicide, resulting in injury. See the Page 1 story by Kevin Carbery.
■ Chris Casey, local mom and real estate agent, now has another title after her name: member of the Windsor C-1 Board of Education. Casey, 48, an Imperial resident since 1999, was sworn in as the newest member at the board’s regular meeting Oct. 24. She fills the seat that had been open since the Jan. 24 resignation of Margie Passmore, who had to resign, after 11 years on the board, when she moved out of the school district. See Gordon Bess’ story.
■ The Arnold City Council is considering whether to grant a 50 percent tax abatement to a developer who wants to build an assisted living and memory care facility proposed for the intersection of Missouri State Road and Old Lemay Ferry Road. If the abatement is granted for the $15 million Cedarhurst Assisted Living and Memory Care project, that means the company would only pay 50 percent of its real estate and personal property taxes. While it looks city officials support the developer’s proposal, including the tax abatement,officials at three other tax-funded entities – the Rock Township Ambulance District, the Rock Community Fire Protection District and the Fox C-6 School District – said they do not support the tax abatement. See Tracey Bruce’s story.
■ After years of trying, the Pevely Board of Aldermen has formed a Tourism Commission, which means the city finally will be able to spend funds from a hotel-motel tax voters approved in 2013. Since then, the 5 percent hotel-motel tax collected at the city’s one hotel has generated about $150,000, and none of it has been spent. While Pevely voters approved the tax five years ago, state law dictated that the money could not be touched until a Tourism Commission was formed to administer it. Unfortunately, the city could not find enough qualified candidates to serve on the commission until Oct. 15, when the Board of Alderman voted unanimously to appoint five members to it. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ New Byrnes Mill Police Chief Frank T. Selvaggio said keeping people safe is his top priority.
“Most important is the safety of the community and not just for the people who live here, but those who work here, commute through here, the businesses and the police officers, the safety of all,” he said. Selvaggio, 60, of Affton took over as the city’s police chief on Oct. 25, replacing Gary Dougherty, who has a new job with the city, as director of community relations. Selvaggio comes to the city of Byrnes Mill with 37 years of law enforcement experience. See Tracey Bruce’s story.
■ Sports editor Russell Korando’s column for Nov. 1 gives readers a firsthand view of life on the road, if your job is to cover fall sports here, there and everywhere. Plus, read a heartwarming feature by Dave Benson on the Schact family of Hillsboro and the community’s response to Christy Schacht’s battle with cancer. She is the wife of Hillsboro head soccer coach Chris Schact and the mother of Abby Schact, star soccer player.
■ Endorsements for the Nov. 6 election are included in the Nov. 1 paper and there is a three-page special section from our brand-new Teen Advisory Board on voting.
*** Don’t forget to turn your clock back on Sunday.