■ What animal makes the best pet? Most people would argue the merits of either a cat or a dog. But, what about a wallaby? It turns out that’s the answer for Ashley and Steve Hauck, who share their Arnold home with two red-necked, or Bennett’s, wallabies – Brisbane, 6, and Sydney, 5. The Haucks have been informed their pets are not allowed in Arnold, however, so they are working with city officials to get an exception to city ordinances. See Kim Robertson’s story.
■ Schnucks Markets Inc. plans to buy 19 St. Louis-area Shop ‘n Save stores, including the ones in Festus, Arnold and Fenton, Schnucks announced on Monday. Paul Simon, a Schnucks spokesperson, said the company will not close the Festus, Arnold and Fenton stores, but instead will convert them to Schnucks stores. “Yes, they will stay open,” he said Tuesday. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ Byrnes Mill city officials have hired the Arnold Police Department to investigate the Byrnes Mill Police Department. “Recently certain serious allegations regarding individual Byrnes Mill Police officers were presented to the Byrnes Mill Board of Aldermen and other city officials. The Board immediately engaged an outside agency (the Arnold Police Department) to conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations,” according to a written statement from Byrnes Mill. City Administrator Debbie LaVenture said Monday she could not comment about the nature of the allegations and that no one had been fired. See Tracey Bruce’s story.
■ Jefferson County now has a full-time recycling coordinator, a new truck to haul a recycling trailer around the county and more recycling bins. Robert Bradshaw, who retired earlier this year as assistant principal and activities director at Herculaneum High School, started as recycling coordinator on July 30. “We’re going to get things happening with recycling,” he said. See Steve Taylor’s story.
■ The Crystal City Board of Education has hired Bob Borman to fill in as a temporary replacement for Superintendent Philip Harrison, who was placed on paid administrative leave last month. Borman, retired superintendent of the Windsor C-1 School District, has been hired on an “interim, part-time, at-will basis,” board president Ken Holdinghausen said. “It means we can terminate the deal anytime and he can, too.” The school board voted unanimously at a Sept. 10 special meeting to hire Borman for the temporary position. Borman started Sept. 11 and is being paid $62 per hour, Holdinghausen said. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ After hearing forecasts for heavy rain over the weekend, Pevely city officials decided to postpone the Pevely Fall Festival, moving it from Friday and Saturday to a tentative make-up date of Oct. 19-20. “I’ve decided to make the call,” Pevely Mayor Stephanie Haas said after consulting with Parks and Recreation Board chairwoman Heather Clayton. “It’s predicted to rain all day and evening Friday and start up again 9 a.m. Saturday and rain until the next morning.” See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ Three JeffersonCounty students have been named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Madelyn G. Welsh of Festus High School, Kendal A. Presley of Seckman High School and RJ Macay of Fox High School are among the 16,000 students nationwide who attained the target score on a qualifying test taken their junior year. They now move into competition for finalist status and a chance to snare one of the 7,500 National Merit scholarships totaling $31 million that will be awarded in the spring. See Laura Marlow’s story.
■ Peggy Bess’ Editorial column for Sept. 20 offers advice on how to get your letter to the editor published. Then, enjoy the letters from folks who have figured it out.
■ The Sept. 20 Sports section has high school football coverage and season outlooks for local cross country teams.
*** At present, De Soto is still full speed ahead for its fall fest, set for Saturday and Sunday. Let’s have some fun, folks.