By Julie E. Lee, Vice President & National Director, AARP Driver Safety, Education and Outreach

If you are like many middle-aged or older drivers, it has probably been a few years since you first learned to drive and tested for your driver's license.

The New Melle Festival Queens Car Wash is June 9th at the New Melle Fire House (Mill St. & Hwy. D) from  10:00 a.m.  to  2:00 p.m.

The St. Charles County Parks Department formally dedicated its newest park development, Towne Park, situated along Highway 61 north of Wentzville, on Friday, May 11, during a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Blue Ribbon Meeting held on May 14 at MoDOT Transportation Management Center

ST. LOUIS – The future needs and challenges facing Missouri’s transportation system will be the subject of a series of public forums across the state this spring and summer.   The meetings are sponsored by the Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Missouri Transportation Needs that was appointed by Missouri House Speaker Steven Tilley, R-Perryville, in early March. The Blue Ribbon Committee is a 21-member panel of business leaders, contractors and special interest groups from across the state.

St. Charles County, Missouri –The St. Charles County Parks Department is teaming up with the Astronomical Society of Eastern Missouri (ASEM) to host a public viewing of a partial solar eclipse on Sunday, May 20, at Klondike Park, 4600 Highway 94 South in Augusta.  Beginning at 7:25 p.m., for about an hour, the moon will obscure approximately 52 percent of the sun by sunset.  Participants will have to walk up a fairly steep paved trail to get to the lookout bluff where the viewing area will take place, and are encouraged to bring a flashlight for the walk back down.

Commemorating the 160th Anniversary 

The Congregation at Bethany United Church of Christ in Schluersburg is holding a Potluck Social Reunion on Sunday June 3, 2012 at 1:00 p.m.  Meat dishes (Barbecue pork steak & hot dogs,) coffee and lemonade will be provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert. An extra large full size handmade quilt will be raffled and freewill offering will be collected to benefit church operating expenses. The public is invited. The courtesy of an RSVP would be appreciated for planning purposes, but is not required for attendance: 636-987-3025. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

On Sunday, May 27, 2012, in honor of Memorial Day, the congregation at St. John's United Church of Christ, Cappeln, will fly a flag at the church grounds which flew over Al  Asad, Iraq on January 1, 2008.  The flag was given to the church by William Phillips, a Navy Seabee, who happened to be the first recipient of coffee and other items from St. John's "Support Out Troops" Mission Project.  Phillips is from St. Charles, Missouri and visited St. John's after his tour of duty in Iraq ended.

Public Invited to View Schedule and Learn Alternate Routes

ST CHARLES – The $63 million rehabilitation of the westbound Interstate 70 Missouri River Bridge (Blanchette Bridge) will close and detour traffic starting November 2012. Additionally overnight and weekend closures will happen this summer at the Earth City Expressway interchange and at the bridge. MoDOT and Walsh Construction Company will host two public meetings to share these details and highlight alternate routes to help I-70 drivers get around.

The owners of Los Cabos Restaurant in New Melle have announced that they will be closing their New Melle location. The last day of service will be Sunday, June 3, 2012. Owner, Kathy Hallows said, "Everyone has been wonderful up there and we appreciate all the loyal customers we have had over the years, but the lunch crowd is almost zero. We really hated to do this since I spent most of my growing days in New Melle as a child, but we have decided to relocate to 54 The Legends Parkway in Eureka. We invite our loyal customers to visit our new location, and/or our restaurants in Washington at 1451 High Street, 636-239-6446 and St. Clair at 1909 N. Service Road, 636-629-4444. We thank everyone in the community for their patronage."

Augusta Community Fire Department received a grant from the Enbridge Safe Community Program to purchase gas detectors. Through the Safe Community Program, Enbridge proudly supports emergency responders in area of operations throughout the United States and Canada. Enbridge also supports its neighbors through its philanthropy and the active involvement of employees in those programs in our host communities that focus on health & safety, education, environment, and culture & community.

Chief Bob Struckhoff expressed his appreciation to Enbridge Energy Co., Inc. for their support which allows the volunteers to better serve the members of the Augusta community.

By Dianne Sudbrock

In February, 2011, Heather Swann, a former teacher at Daniel Boone Elementary School in New Melle, filed a civil lawsuit against former New Melle Police Officer Terry Calahan, New Melle Police Chief Aaron Burkember, and the City of New Melle. Per court records, that lawsuit was settled via mediation and voluntarily dismissed on March 23, 2012. No details about the resolution are available to the public.

On April 3, 2012, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office (AGO) sent a letter to New Melle city officials demanding an explanation of inaccuracies between the city’s February 28, 2012 response to the AGO regarding a complaint that the city had held an illegal closed session on January 3, 2012, and the audio recording from January 3, 2012. Specifically, the letter from the city stated that the closed session on January 3^rdhad been properly called and the former city clerk’s notes indicated that a roll call vote had been taken, however, the Attorney General’s Office said the audio recording proved otherwise.

By Dianne Sudbrock

Over 100 artists from throughout the midwest participated in the 10th Annual Plein Air Art Event hosted by the Augusta Chamber of Commerce April 18-28, 2012.  Over $7000 in prize money was awarded, and early estimates are that over $25,000 in art was sold.

New Melle VFW Post 5651 will honor all deceased veterans with a traditional Memorial Day ceremony at the VFW hall at 555 Foristell Rd. on Memorial Day, Monday May 28th at 8:30 a.m. The public is invited and encouraged to participate.

The Post will have a wreath laying ceremony featuring echo taps and Military Honors by the Post Honor Guard and participating units. An indoor program is planned with Fr. Tom Miller, IHM Catholic Church, New Melle as the featured speaker. Boy Scout Troop 856 and Post 5651 Honor Guard will also be featured for posting and retiring of colors.

By Dianne Sudbrock

Sales for Kräftig and Kräftig Light beer, flagship products of the William K. Busch Brewing Company, are exceeding expectations according to company Chairman Billy Busch. Launched in November, 2011, Kräftig and Kräftig Light are Premium American Lagers, designed to appeal to people who drink other American style lagers such as Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors and Coors Light, Miller and Miller Light.

Billy is the son of August A. “Gussie” Busch and great-grandson of Aldolphus Busch. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with him and company Brewmaster, Marc Gottfried (who happens to live in Defiance) to talk about the new company and its two new beers.

When asked why he wanted to start a new brewing company Billy said, “My family has been brewing beer for 150 years, and I wanted to keep that wonderful tradition alive—in the family and in St. Louis.

The Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce presented four $500 scholarships to area students on Saturday, April 28, 2012.  Winners were: Drew Roehrig, Tori Oxford, Ryan Durbin and Sally Kelley. These scholarships were made possible through the proceeds of the Plein Air Art Event.  This year there were 10 applicants from the Augusta, Dutzow, and Defiance zip codes.  The recipients were chosen based on personal essay, GPA, recommendations, and community involvement.  Congratulations to Sally, Ryan, Tori & Drew!

The congregation of Friedens Peace United Church of Christ in New Melle will celebrate the installation of Rev. Karen Eck as their pastor on Sunday, June 3, 2012 at 3 p.m. at the church (3560 Mill St.).  Rev. Dr. Marc Wessels representing the Missouri Mid-South Conference and clergy from the Eastern Association will conduct the service.  A reception will follow in the fellowship hall.  The church warmly welcomes all in the community to this joyous event.

By Dianne Sudbrock

The New Melle Board of Aldermen held two meetings in April. The regular monthly meeting was Wednesday, April 18, 2012. Present were Board President/Alderwoman Jan Jokisch-Messig, Aldermen Joe Lehman and Bill Pollihan, City Attorney Karr, City Clerk Dianna Lazzaro, and Police Chief Aaron Burkemper. Pete Schepis, Planning and Zoning Chairman, also attended, as well as several people from the community. Alderman Ginther was absent.

Friends of Emmaus is celebrating 40 years as an organization with their 1st Annual Spring Event on Sunday, May 20th from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m.  The Festival is being held on the campus of Emmaus Homes, 11900 Emmaus Drive, (Hwy D) Marthasville, Missouri.

Jim and Kelly Winistoerfer have purchased “The Old School House” on Hwy. Z in New Melle and are planning to open a Wine Garden and Bistro (Seven Stones Wine Garden, LLC) in June of 2012. The building housed the first public school in New Melle from 1860 until 1952. As part of the interior decor, Jim and Kelly would like to display a time line featuring photos from the days when the building served as a public school. They would also like for any past students to contact them for a special guest opportunity. If you attended the school, or have old class photos or other historical information about the building, please contact Jim at 636-699-9598 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The New Melle Festival is right around the corner—June 21, 22 and 23—and planners of the event have announced a change in the parade time to accommodate more people. The parade will start at 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, June 23rd at Daniel Boone School. Everyone is invited to come and participate. The parade theme is “Friends, Family and Fun” with the intent of highlighting traditional fun and family activities around our area. Families, businesses, youth groups, etc. are all encouraged to enter a float!

“Concern for Community” is the cooperative principle that won the hearts of most finalists in Cuivre River Electric Cooperative’s 44th Annual Youth Tour Final Competition on April 11. Twelve local students presented their essays touting “Cooperative Values at Work in My World” with judges and guests attending the event. The goal of this year’s topic was to add a local perspective to the celebration of the year 2012 as the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives.