Tornado Updates

Hazelwood Editor Survives Tornado: 'I Never Got a Chance to Pray'

Hazelwood Patch Editor Candace Jarrett reflects on experiencing the EF2 tornado that ripped through Hazelwood Wednesday. Where were you when the sudden storm hit?

As I wrap up my almost 24-hour work day, I'm finally able to sit back and think about the fact I survived a tornado on Wednesday. You always look at media coverage and movies where natural disasters happen, and I don't know about you, but I've asked myself time after time: "What would I do if I were in that situation?" First, I would pray to the good Lord above. Second, I would whip out my camera and go into journalist mode. Third, when all the chaos was over, I would ensure my family was OK. When it happens, plans go out the window, kind of like when you deliver a baby. As I drove down Howdershell Road Wednesday night, slowing to a halt near Lynn Haven Lane because of heavy rains, I can't tell you much about what happened because I was in…

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Candace Jarrett

2:13 pm on Friday, April 12, 2013

Thanks Rick. I'm glad to hear your are doing okay also. I haven't seen you on here lately. They always see pets and babies can sense these sort of things.   more ›

Ask the Patch Pro: Experts Answer Your Cooking Questions

Our panel of experts are waiting in the comments to answer your culinary questions in the latest installment of Ask the Patch Pro.

It's time for another edition of Ask the Patch Pro, where each week we tackle a different topic and open up the comments section for questions. Our team of experts stop in to help you out and answer your questions. This week we're talking all about food and cooking. Patch wants to help you get your questions answered, but we needed some help. We've compiled a team of experts to help us out. Meet the experts: If you have a food/cooking related question, ask below in our comment section and one of our experts will answer!  If you consider yourself a local expert and would like to be added to the list, let us know! jordan.lanham@patch.com

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Man Charged with Breaking into St. Charles County Home

The accused entered the home to assault the owner, according to a St. Charles County Sheriff's Department report.

A man was charged Monday in St. Charles County Circuit Court with burglary after he broke into a St. Charles County home. Bryan Hofmeister, 33, of the 2600 block of Mockingbird Lane in Florissant, is charged with breaking into an apartment in the first block of Jackson Place near the city of St. Charles. Deputies said in a St. Charles County Sheriff’s report that Hofmeister entered the apartment to assault the victim. They said he entered through an unlocked sliding door and then damaged a locked interior door. Hofmeister then assaulted the victim, hitting her in the face, and took her cell phone, according to the report. When police arrived at his home a short time later, Hofmeister said he had been home the entire time. Officers noted …

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PatchCast

Weekly PatchCast: A Touch of Hollywood, New School Buses and More

We round up the latest local headlines in the St. Louis area.

Patch rounds up the latest St. Louis area headlines: 

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PatchCast

Weekly Patchcast: World Record Attempt, New Jobs Coming, Back to School

Here's a look at this week's top stories from around the St. Louis area.

Did you miss local headlines this week? No worries.  You can still check out headlines from last week with the Aug. 12 PatchCast for St. Louis and St. Charles counties: Creve Coeur to be U.S. Home for Biotech Firm from India St. Charles Celebrates Missouri's Statehood Day Police Investigate Three Center of Clayton Locker Break-ins Hope Sinks for Lake Saint Louis World Record Attempt Griffith Elementary Students, Faculty Return Home    

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Saluting a Veteran, Part 3 of 3: 'It's Never Over for Us'

A mission during the Vietnam War reverberates in the lives of family members and friends 42 years later.

Aug. 5, 1969 In two weeks, Sgt. Jim Donnelly was due for some R & R in Hawaii. He had asked Sue Markus, his fiancee, to meet him there. One year and three days shy of his wedding date, Donnelly was leading his platoon into the Boi Loi woods. When Matt Switanowski had first spotted a bunker, the platoon pulled back and called in air strikes and artillery. “We could see the pilots they were so close to us,” Switanowski said. “You could almost shout to them. One piece of shrapnel almost tore my knee off we were so close. “They were dropping 250-pound bombs and artillery, but it took a direct hit on a bunker to do any damage,” he said. The barrage continued for 45 minutes. “After all this, we went back in. This time, the dog stayed back. I was…

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