■ It appears salaries for Jefferson County public school teachers may be leveling off somewhat, based upon a comparison of teacher salary schedules for the 2017-2018 school year. Five of Jefferson County’s 11 school districts did not increase the base pay for their teachers this school year (Fox, De Soto, Dunklin, Hillsboro and Sunrise); and three districts boosted starting pay by a modest $200 to $250 a year (Windsor, Jefferson R-7 and Crystal City); leaving just three county districts that gave more substantial increases for new teachers (Festus, Northwest and Grandview). Festus and Fox are the overall salary leaders. See Steve Taylor’s Page 1 analysis.
■ That out-of-court settlement of Jefferson County Executive Ken Waller’s lawsuit against the County Council over changes to the county’s Unified Development Order? Forget about it. Daniel Emerson, the St. Louis attorney who is representing Waller in the action, said he’s been notified that the council does not plan on honoring its agreement with Waller. Council chairwoman Renee Reuter (District 2, Imperial) referred all questions about the case to the attorney the council hired, David Streubel of Cunningham, Vogel and Rost of Kirkwood.
Streubel declined to answer questions about the action, saying he was not authorized to speak on behalf of his clients. See Steve Taylor’s story.
■ Joel Vanderheyden, a musician and music instructor at Jefferson College, is in the running for a Grammy award. He is one of 197 quarterfinalists for the 2018 Music Educator Award from the Recording Academy and the Grammy Museum. Those quarterfinalists were selected from a couple of thousand nominees. Vanderheyden, an assistant professor of music at Jefferson College, is the only educator from Missouri nominated for the award. See Kevin Carbery’s feature story.
■ A St. Louis woman has been charged in connection with the theft of $14,363 from VFW Post 2593, 2301 Church Road, Arnold, in an incident reported to Arnold Police in December 2016.
Christine M. Matthes, 53, has been charged with four counts of the class C felony of receiving stolen property. She was originally arrested in December 2016 by the Arnold Police and released pending application of warrants, but was not charged by the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office until Aug. 31. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ Tom Lakin has been sworn in as the High Ridge Fire Protection District chief, taking over the top job after Mike Arnhart retired and then was named the chief at the Antonia Fire Protection District. Lakin, formerly the assistant chief and then interim chief at High Ridge Fire, will be paid $94,000 annually. As assistant chief he was earning $86,600 a year and as interim chief he was being paid an $89,500 annual salary. See Tracey Bruce’s story.
■ The connection between McNutt Street and Providence Way just west of I-55 in Herculaneum should become easier and safer to navigate once a roundabout is built there, possibly as early as the end of next year. The city recently acquired the 5 acres of land and the financing necessary for the roundabout project, and construction could start by late spring or early summer of next year and finish before the end of 2018, City Administrator Jim Kasten said. See Kevin Carbery’s story.
■ Peggy Bess calls up the ghost of Benjamin Franklin in her Sept. 28 column about letters to the editor.
■ This week in sports, Festus, De Soto and Hillsboro were all winners on the gridiron and Hillsboro senior Carlie Sanders added to her state record home run total on Monday night. Sports editor Russell Korando says in The County Line that if the Hillsboro football team is to advance past districts, Micheal Keller needs a limited amount of carries to be heathy and fresh for a playoff push.
*** Waiting for fall to feel like it.