Around Town: Celebration Planned for Amphitheater Completion

Good afternoon, St. Charles!

Mark your calendars. St. Charles West will celebrate the Wednesday May 18 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. with performances from the high school's band, orchestra and choir. Students who helped with the project during the past three years will be recognized, said Jeremy Jackson, the teacher who has organized the project.

Allied Waste will have a special pick up day for yard waste on Wednesday May 11 for residents with a Monday or Tuesday trash pick up and on May 18 for residents with trash pick up on Thursday or Friday.

On Friday, Hardin Middle School will celebrate it's 50th anniversary as a school. St. Charles Suburban Journals has a story about the history of the school. News Channel 5 anchor Art Holliday, a graduate of the school, is expected to emcee.

 Saturday May 14 is the annual Residents throughout the area are asked to place food items in a bag next to their mailbox on Saturday so their mail carrier can collect food donations along his or her route. Non-perishable food is requested such as peanut butter, soups or canned tuna. Last year, the drive collected 300,000 pounds of food for area food banks.

In other news, Brian K. McBenge was charged this week with the brutal killing of then 75-year-old Harold Messler in 1985, according to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.