St. Charles Mayor Appoints Lifetime Citizen to Vacant City Council Seat

Rod Herrman, a lifetime resident of St. Charles and Laclede Gas employee for more than 25 years, will assume the seat effective Jan. 1 pending City Council approval.

St. Charles Mayor Sally Faith appointed Rod Herrmann to fill the vacant Ward 8 city council seat Thursday.  Herrman, a lifetime resident of St. Charles and Laclede Gas employee for more than 25 years, will assume the seat effective Jan. 1. Mike Klinghammer, who previously held the seat, was elected to the St. Charles County Council in November. “I am pleased that Rod is preparing to file for the April 2013 election and appreciate his willingness to serve in this interim capacity during the first quarter of the year," Faith said in a release.  Hermann's appointment still needs approval from the City Council. According to a city release, Hermann has served on the city’s board of Public Works for the past 15 years and currently serves in the …

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Patch Political Potpourri

Map-Making Isn't Always Pretty

CNN special looks into the redrawing of congressional lines.

Every ten years, the truly dedicated political adherents become obsessed with maps. That fixation isn’t necessarily because they agree with this writer that cartography is awesome. Rather every ten years, states have to reconfigure their congressional maps to conform to population changes showcased in the U.S. Census. And often times, the process isn’t exactly neat and tidy. The redistricting process was the subject of a CNN special earlier this week entitled “Gerry-rigged: Ignoring the American Voter.” The report took a close look at “gerrymandering,” which involves drawing districts that can effectively protect a certain party or an incumbent lawmaker. CNN looked at a number of different states’ view to the redistricting process, …

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Veterans Day Program Planned for Friday

The 55-year tradition continues with one of the original founders of the event.

The St. Charles County Veterans Committee and St. Charles City Veterans Commission will sponsor a joint Veterans Day Program at the Historic St. Charles  County Courthouse Friday. The 11 a.m. ceremony will honor all veterans. Major Rick Radford, currently a combat engineer in the Army Reserves, and assistant superintendent of business services for the City of St. Charles School District, will speak at the event. Radford has served the country for 23 years and received the Bronze Star medal for his actions under enemy contact in Iraq. Also speaking at the event will be St. Charles County Executive Steven Ehlmann and St. Charles Mayor Sally Faith. Tom Stephenson, one of the event’s original organizers who served in the Army during the Korean…

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Not Sisters Yet, But a St. Charles-Nanchang Relationship Begins

The Midwest U.S. China Association hosted a delegation from the Chinese city in St. Louis, and relationships got their start.

Although St. Charles doesn’t have a Chinese sister city yet, it has begun a relationship with Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province in China. “The sister city is something we’re exploring,” St. Charles Mayor Sally Faith said. Faith attended a business a business session Wednesday, as the Midwest U.S-China Association (MWCA) hosted delegation the Nanchang Chamber of Commerce at the law firm SNR Denton downtown St. Louis offices. The MWCA helps bring businesses, government, academic institutions and cultural organizations together with its Chinese counterparts. St. Charles and Nanchang don’t yet have an agreement spelled out. Faith also said that the Nanchang mayor did not make the trip to the United States and so could not be present to …

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Area Leaders Hear Economic Blueprint Presentation

David Kerr outlines seven key industries in the state

A crowd of dozens of area civic, business and political leaders were on hand in St. Charles Friday morning to witness the unveiling of Missouri’s recently completed economic development blueprint. “I think you’ll see that this is a plan that represents every corner of the state,” said David Kerr, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. “It doesn’t just focus on the urban areas. It reflects the needs of the regions as well as the state as a whole.” The 274-page Missouri Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth is the result of work by a 41-person steering committee that included input from the business, labor and academic communities. Released earlier this spring, the report synthesized feedback from a number of forums …

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Small Local Company has Large Global Reach

New accreditation may help ELTEK to expand even further into international marketplace.

With just over a dozen employees and less 12,000 square feet tucked into an industrial park off Route 94, ELTEK International Laboratories seems an unlikely candidate to be a globally-known facility with worldwide reach. While its work may not be obvious, its scope certainly is. “No matter where you look, in your home, in a restaurant, in an airport, anywhere you go, you will likely see an electrical or electronic device on which we have done some sort of testing to drive the efficiency and safety of that product,” General Manager Andrea Morse told an assemblage of employees, clients and business leaders Friday afternoon. While most St. Charles residents have never heard of ELTEK, which specializes in testing electrical insulators and …

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St. Charles Sees Growth on the Edges in U.S. Census

New residential developments like New Town, Montclair and Talbridge contributed to 9 percent growth, but the city's older neighborhoods likely dropped in population.

Most nights, an outdoor sand volleyball game is going on in New Town just outside Domain Street Wine Bar and Padavan’s of New York. “People here are always out walking their dogs, riding their bikes, riding kayaks (in lakes and canals), whatever,” said Cherie Hufford, owner of New Town’s newest restaurant, Cherie’s. New Town is Whittaker Builders new urban community, a place designed to as a walkable, bikeable, mixed-use community. It is a meticulously planned neighborhood with beautiful homes that Hufford said seem too perfect to be real. “We call it ‘the Truman Show town." Ten years ago, nothing was here but farm fields. Now, thousands call New Town home and more come to bike, walk or play volleyball. The 2010 Census shows St. Charles …

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Sally Faith Sworn in as Mayor of St. Charles

Ward 8 Councilman Mike Klinghammer re-elected council president.

New St. Charles Mayor Sally Faith was sworn in by Associate Circuit Court Judge Timothy Lohmar Tuesday night. “This is an exciting night,” Faith said later, during her first report to the council. Later, Lohmar administered the oath of office to his father, Judge William Lohmar, who retired from his seat as a St. Charles County Circuit Court judge for 30 years. William Lohmar won the April 5 election for a second municipal court seat added to the city in 2011. New council members Mary Ann Ohms, Ward 1, and Tom Besselmann, Ward 2, also were sworn in for the first time. Re-elected council members Laurie Feldman, Ward 3, Bob Kneemiller, Ward 4, and Mike Weller, Ward 5, also took the oath of office. The new council unanimously re-elected Ward …

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Election 2011

State Rep. Sally Faith Elected St. Charles Mayor

Faith will resign as state rep.

St. Charles voters elected State Rep. Sally Faith as the new mayor of the city April 5. Faith had 5,356 votes, or 52.2 percent to beat incumbent Patti York who won 4,872 votes or 47.49 percent. Faith, 65, who has was elected in November to her fourth term as representative for District 15, planned to be in Jefferson City at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning to present two consent bills. In the next few weeks, she’ll resign as state representative and be sworn in as mayor. Gov. Jay Nixon has the ability to call a special election to fill the remaining time in Faith’s term. Although she has run in many races, Faith said she felt like this race was different because people kept stopping her on the street to tell her they supported her. “That type of …

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Election 2011

St. Charles Mayoral Candidates Trade Barbs in Lindenwood Debate

Faith questions mayor's spending; York asks if the state representative will listen to citizens.

Incumbent Mayor Patti York and Republican state Rep. Sally Faith went after each others’ records while touting their own accomplishments during a debate Wednesday night on the Lindenwood University campus. The candidates discussed the payout for the departed finance director, the puppy mill bill, eliminating tax rebates and vacating elected posts to seek another office. The candidates are running for mayor in the April 5 election. Faith criticized York’s spending and tax records. She said York approved a $237,000 severance package when finance director Karen McDermott resigned; eliminated a utility tax rebate for seniors; and needed to cut back its budget several years ago when the economy took a downturn.   Meanwhile, York questioned …

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