St. Charles County Business Record, MO articles from October 2007

St. Charles County Business Record, MO archives from October 2007

St. Charles-based Snap Creative wins design awards.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Charles-based Snap Creative marketing company recently received two awards of excellence from American Graphic Design for its work on Warrenton Oil's FastLane Convenience stores and the 2007 Official...

St. Charles-area businesses hold opening ceremonies.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The following businesses conducted ribbon-cutting ceremonies with the help of their respective chambers of commerce in the month of September: Quest Mortgage Consultants-Midwest Agency, 8921 Veterans Memorial...

O'Fallon-based Hansen's Tree Service partners with Schmittel's Nursery, Branson.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Hansen's Tree Service in O'Fallon announced a partnership with Maryland Heights-based Schmittel's Nursery for a fall festival and with the city of Branson for a recycling program. Hansen's Garden Hotline will...

United Services, with locations in St. Peters and Dardenne Prairie, receives national accreditation.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff United Services, with locations in St. Peters and Dardenne Prairie, recently earned national accreditation through the National Association for the Education of Young Children. NAEYC's mission is to serve and...

SSM St. Joe Foundation gives funds for education center in Lake Saint Louis.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff SSM St. Joseph Foundation has approved $164,000 in funding to develop a community education center on the campus of SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis. The facility will be located in the future...

O'Fallon-based Custom Design Fence and Deck hires new office manager.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Jan Kriesmann has joined O'Fallon-based Custom Design Fence and Deck as office manager. Krismann brings more than 22 years of experience in office support to the company. She spent eight years performing...

Jacques Klos joins Missouri-based Cissell Mueller Construction as superintendent.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Jacques Klos of Lake Saint Louis has joined Cissell Mueller Construction Inc. as a superintendent. Klos has more than 25 years of experience in the construction industry. He is currently working on the...

Keacha Murray joins St. Charles-based Corporate Group.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Keacha Murray recently joined St. Charles-based commercial real estate management company Corporate Group Inc. as administrative assistant. She will be replacing Wilma Baker, who is retiring. Murray will be...

City of O'Fallon names new public relations director.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask Government's message that it is looking out for you never changes, but the messengers change from time to time. Kenneth Snoe is the city of O'Fallon's new public relations director. Snoe previously served as O'Fallon's...

Lindenwood University lines up performers for new center for fine and performing arts.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask When Lindenwood University's new center for fine and performing arts on its St. Charles campus opens next year, look for some well-known performers to appear there, according to school President James D. Evans. He...

Continental AFA Dispensing Co. expansion in motion in St. Peters.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady The company won't admit it, but all signs point to Continental AFA Dispensing Co. expanding in St. Peters. A recent news release from Ameren UE stated its Community Development Corporation will give Continental...

St. Charles County's economy has diversified since GM's arrival.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask The strike last week by the United Auto Workers against General Motors didn't last long enough to have any kind of negative economic impact in Wentzville, where the automaker produces two types of vans. Even if the...

National Horseshoe Pitchers Assn. of America coming to Wentzville.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask The National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America is scheduled to hold the grand opening of its Hall of Fame at 11 a.m. on Oct. 5. The facility is located in Quail Ridge Park, located near the intersection of...

Commentary: Surviving the credit crunch: Is it real?
October 1, 2007... Byline: Joe Monteleone The following is a guest commentary from a St. Charles County-involved business professional. This specials section will appear once a month in the St. Charles County Business Record Monday. Borrowing money is...

The Boeing Co. still waiting for C-17 green light from U.S. Air Force.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The Boeing Co. is still waiting to hear the official word from the U.S. Air Force that it is ready to order more C-17 airplanes, said Rick Sanford, Boeing's director of communications. The company has 21 more...

Charter Communications extends customer- service hours throughout St. Louis region.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Charter Communications announced it is extending customer-service center hours throughout the St. Louis metro region to meet the needs of its busiest locations. Hours of operation for the Charter center at 4160...

St. Louis County Circuit Court joins others online.
October 2, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka The last phase of a computer changeover in St. Louis County Circuit Court was to take place today, aligning the court with others across the state. The so-called Justice Information System was scheduled to go "live"...

Location of rape questioned before the Missouri Supreme Court.
October 3, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck No one doubts that rape is a crime, but where it occurs -- and if the state must prove the location to win the case -- was the subject of an appeal before the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday. The case, involving a...

Attorneys in Coeur-based Monsanto antitrust action asks fed judge to shut state court case in Tenn.
October 3, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Attorneys for a potential class-action suit against Creve Coeur-based Monsanto Co. and two other biotech companies have asked a federal judge to shut down a state court case in Tennessee that deals with similar...

St. Louis federal judge to rule in Creve Coeur-based Monsanto case.
October 4, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A decision was expected late Wednesday or early today on whether a St. Louis federal judge will intervene in a Tennessee state court case that levies anti-competitive conspiracy claims against Creve Coeur-based...

Missouri Governor Blunt, lawyers still disagree on tort reform.
October 4, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Medical-malpractice attorneys and Gov. Matt Blunt are still nowhere near agreement on the results of the 2-year-old tort reform. The governor, who touted its effects in a news release last week, called the reform a...

Fatal chase prompts suit for negligence against Kansas City Police Department.
October 4, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick A Jackson County man is suing the Kansas City Police Department for the way it handled a high-speed chase four years ago. Larry Denny said negligence on the part of several police officers resulted in the death of...

Public Defender gets its day in Missouri Supreme Court.
October 4, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri State Public Defender's office urged the Missouri Supreme Court to bar some private attorneys from leaving cases and dumping them in the laps of taxpayers. In two similar cases argued back-to-back Wednesday...

St. Louis federal judge to rule in Monsanto case.
October 4, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A decision was expected late Wednesday or early today on whether a St. Louis federal judge will intervene in a Tennessee state court case that levies anti-competitive conspiracy claims against Creve Coeur-based...

St. Louis federal judge stays out of Tennessee state case.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber refused a request Wednesday to intervene in a Tennessee state court case that levied antitrust and conspiracy claims against Monsanto Co. The judge wrote in his order that while...

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon files lawsuits against ticket sellers.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon sued three out-of-state ticket brokers on Thursday, alleging they violated state consumer protection laws and a Kansas City ordinance by selling concert tickets for higher than face...

Missouri Ethics Commission puts on public face.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Weeks after deciding in private the effects of a state Supreme Court decision on campaign finance, the Missouri Ethics Commission opened its doors Thursday for a public discussion of the issue. The meeting in...

Montgomery trial gets under way in Kansas City.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick As the long-awaited trial against Lisa Montgomery began Thursday in Kansas City, her lawyers told a federal jury that a history of abuse and mental illness are to blame for a gruesome crime she's accused of...

Commentary: Paying for public service - an important first step.
October 5, 2007... Byline: William H. Neukom If it weren't for public service lawyers -- including prosecutors, public defenders and those who provide legal aid to the poor, disabled and victims of domestic violence -- the rule of law that defines our...

Missouri Governor Blunt announces grant program for historic courthouses.
October 5, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Historical courthouses will get a $500,000 boost under a program Gov. Matt Blunt unveiled Thursday in St. Charles. The Missouri Heritage Properties Program sets aside $500,000 to preserve...

Missouri politicians react to controversy about illegal workers.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask Michael J. Hejna, Gundaker Commercial Group's president and CEO, is feeling like a political pinata these days. "It's hard not to," he said last week. Both Democratic and Republican politicians in Missouri are coming...

St. Charles County to face more competition from Illinois.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask St. Charles County will need to invest more in work-force housing and mass transit if it wants to effectively compete for development and jobs in the St. Louis region, according to a local consultant. "Illinois is going...

Dean praises Lindenwood University model in book.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Edward Morris, Ph.D., dean of the management division at Lindenwood University, argues that undergraduate students in U.S. colleges and universities are being shortchanged. So he wrote a book about it. The...

Standing out at a business expo.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Victoria Siegel Imagine entering a huge convention hall during a business exposition. Bright lights shine down on rows and rows of booths. The booths are separated by the typical cloth skirts and walls, and staffed by salespeople...

St. Peters bowling alley attracts wide range of customers.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask With makeovers all the rage these days, why shouldn't the sport of bowling get one? Lake Forest, Ill.-based Brunswick Bowling & Billiards is changing the stereotypical image of a bowling alley populated by out-of-shape,...

Economic Development Center of St. Charles County seminar set on employee performance.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff An Economic Development Center of St. Charles County seminar designed to help employers improve their workers' performance has been scheduled for Oct. 11. The seminar, "Coaching for Improvement," will run from...

Midwest Bank schedules economic summit in St. Louis.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Louis economist Joel L. Prakken is scheduled to detail local and national prospects during Midwest BankCentre's fourth annual Economic Forecast Summit breakfast on Oct. 18. The summit is scheduled to run...

Missouri chamber seeks feedback on SB 30.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is urging manufacturers to help frame the new state tax exemptions allowed under Senate Bill 30. Currently, the legislation exempts manufacturers from paying...

Community Living Inc. names Dardenne Prairie center after Dr. Clever.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Community Living Inc. has named its new Support Services for Adults (SSA) Center in Dardenne Prairie after Dr. Henry W. Clever, a longtime area pediatrician and founding CLI board member. The Clever Center...

Workshop to focus on creating Montessori middle school in St. Charles County.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Parents and educators interested in the possibility of creating a Montessori middle school in St. Charles County are invited to attend a workshop on the subject. Two Montessori middle school officials, Linda...

St. Charles welcomes new businesses.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The following are companies that have applied for a new business license during September in St. Charles City: Client Services Solutions, 3451 Harry S. Truman Blvd., 636-255-3103; DeCarlos On The Rocks, 335 N....

Franklin County prosecutor: 'This is the beginning of the end' in case against Michael Devlin.
October 9, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Michael Devlin entered his first guilty plea Monday in the child abduction and assault cases that have stretched across four jurisdictions since two boys were rescued from Devlin's Kirkwood apartment in January. He...

Commentary: Devlin's pleas spare his victims -- and all of us.
October 9, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan The Michael Devlin guilty-plea tour this week is the best possible ending to a macabre chapter in the history of St. Louis-area criminal justice. On Monday in Franklin County, Devlin admitted to kidnapping young...

With millions at stake, suit lingers over minimum wage in Missouri.
October 9, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese Having run out of chances to get a multimillion-dollar problem with the new minimum wage law fixed at the Capitol, Missouri firefighters and municipal officials are pinning their hopes on the courts. This spring they...

Case may change kidnapping law in Missouri.
October 10, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese Franklin County Prosecutor Robert Parks wished a tougher sentencing law had been available as he worked with other prosecutors on the case against Michael Devlin. Now, as Devlin has pleaded guilty to several crimes in...

Devlin pleads guilty to 71 more counts in St. Louis County court.
October 10, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka The state of Missouri's case against admitted child abductor and abuser Michael Devlin ended Tuesday afternoon with a scathing glare from the mother of one of the victims. Pam Akers, the mother of Shawn Hornbeck, the...

77-year-old fights her way to Missouri Supreme Court.
October 11, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Standing at an umbrella-covered desk in her junk-strewn salvage yard, Opal Henderson seems as determined as ever to hang onto the property the city of St. Louis wants to condemn in the name of redevelopment. The...

St. Louis County Councilman Kurt S. Odenwald named to Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District.
October 11, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Gov. Matt Blunt named former St. Louis County Councilman Kurt S. Odenwald to the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District, on Wednesday. Odenwald expects to join the court at the beginning of November. Blunt chose...

Devlin faces final charges of creating child pornography.
October 11, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Although he pleaded guilty Wednesday to six counts of producing child pornography and transporting a minor for sex, Michael Devlin will not be sentenced on his federal criminal charges until late December. When he...

U.S. Supreme Court lets stand victory for protesters.
October 11, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese Anti-war protesters who want to share their message at an air show in Columbia can let their ideas take flight without worry. The U.S. Supreme Court this week denied a request to hear an appeal from a group that runs...

Missouri secretary of state clears anti-stem cell measure for signature collecting.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese A group working to undo the main thrust of an amendment protecting embryonic stem cell research has the green light to start collecting signatures, the secretary of state's office said Wednesday. The group, Cures...

U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway says she won't run for Missouri AG.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway ended any speculation that she might run for Missouri attorney general next year. Hanaway, who has held the federal position in the Eastern District of Missouri since July 2005,...

Ex St. Louis fire chief claims ouster was discriminatory.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese The man removed as fire chief of St. Louis claimed Thursday that his removal was illegal and Mayor Francis Slay and other city officials engaged in racial discrimination. Sherman George was demoted to deputy fire chief...

Eminent domain case before Missouri Supreme Court hinges on evidence of fraud, bad faith.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter A battle that has been brewing in downtown St. Louis found its way to the state Supreme Court on Thursday. There, attorneys for St. Louis' land clearance authority and the owner of a junkyard they're trying to relocate...

St. Louis jury awards former engineer $760,000 for injuries.
October 12, 2007... Byline: James Goodwin A St. Louis jury this week awarded a former Union Pacific railroad employee more than $760,000 for injuries he sustained in a 2003 work accident, according to his attorney. Steve H. Lowery was working as a locomotive...

Wm. B. Ittner designs Gasconade County school.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Wm. B. Ittner architectural firm designed the new $10.5 million, 88,000-square-foot Owensville Elementary School in the Gasconade County R-II School District. The new 560-student facility is the largest...

St. Charles County builders want regulatory barriers removed to increase affordable housing.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask Market forces could push builders to construct more affordable housing in St. Charles County, say those in the industry, but only if local governments remove regulatory barriers. During a discussion on housing last week,...

Venture capital flows back into Missouri.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady When Senate Bill 1 was signed into law in September, little was said about the millions of dollars in venture capital that would flow into the state as a result of the bill. SB 1 opened up the state to $190...

Commentary: Coca-Cola Enterprises wants to sell excess property.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask Back in 1999, when Coca-Cola Enterprises started construction of its 231,000-square-foot division headquarters and sales and distribution facility in St. Charles, there was considerable speculation that a bottling plant...

BCI's new program brings benefits to companies, workers.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Victoria Siegel

BCI's new program brings benefits to companies, workers in St. Charles.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Victoria Siegel For more than 50 years, BCI has been providing meaningful employment for adults with mental and physical disabilities at its certified sheltered workshop in St. Charles. The 200 individuals at the center are...

St. Charles County's Manlin Homes reports success in weaker market.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Amy Armour Mike Manlin, founder of Manlin Homes, is preparing to launch his seventh project in the area in the last two years. The company expects to generate $15 million in 2007, its first full year of business in the county. All...

Barnes Jewish St. Peters Hospital breaks ground on $28 million expansion.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Barnes Jewish St. Peters Hospital will break ground on the first phase of its $28 million expansion project on Oct. 29. The multiphased project will add two patient-care floors with 32 beds each above its...

Enterprise Financial purchases office in Clayton, expands to Arizona.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Enterprise Financial Services Corp., the parent company to Enterprise Bank & Trust, has signed a contract to purchase commercial office space at 8025 Maryland Ave. in Clayton. The financial advisory unit of...

St. Charles County working on deal to open Bangert Island.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Charles County government officials are working with the Missouri Department of Conservation to open access to the 160-acre Bangert Island, located off the bank of the Missouri River, north of the St....

Cissell Mueller Construction of St. Peters completes orthodontic office.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Cissell Mueller Construction Inc. of St. Peters recently completed a 6,260-square-foot orthodontic office in O'Fallon. Special features at Bankhead Orthodontics include curved walls, natural granite and marble...

Tom Hughes installed as president of Home Builders Assn. of Greater St. Louis.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Tom Hughes, chief executive officer of T.R. Hughes Inc., has been elected president of the Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis. Hughes was installed at the HBA Builder's Gala, held at the St. Louis...

Jeff Shipp promoted to safety manager at Walton Construction St. Louis.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Peters resident Jeff Shipp was recently promoted to safety manager of Walton Construction St. Louis. He has been with Walton for five years. As safety manager, he will ensure Walton complies with corporate...

Sarah E. Gores joins SSM St. Charles Clinic Medical Group.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Sarah E. Gores, APRN, BC, has joined St. Charles Clinic Medical Group's adult primary care/internal medicine department. Gores works in conjunction with and under the supervision of Drs. Daniel Dramer, David...

Heather Taggart joins St. Louis-based Wamhoff Financial.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Heather Taggart has joined St. Louis-based Wamhoff Financial Planning & Accounting Services Inc. as account executive. Taggart, a St. Charles resident, will prepare investment summaries for clients and process...

Karen Kastel named new sales manager for Enclave Bellerive.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Karen Kastel has been named sales manager for Enclave Bellerive, a new $1 million-home community in Creve Coeur. Prior to joining Enclave Bellerive, Kastel was a longtime sales manager of exclusive new home...

Lawrence Group designs Enclave Bellerive in Creve Coeur.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The Enclave Bellerive, a new gated community of $1 million homes in Creve Coeur, was designed by the Lawrence Group in a Jeffersonian style but with modern, open floor plans, green features and minimal...

Walton Construction St. Louis finishes garage, ranked among nation's top contractors.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Walton Construction St. Louis completed the nine-story parking garage as the second of three structures in the $265 million Ameristar Casino St. Charles expansion complex. The new 2,000-space parking garage...

St. Louis Circuit Court awards online gaming site $1.5M.
October 16, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka An online gaming site hit the jackpot with a $1.5 million judgment against a bankrupt St. Louis media company earlier this month, but the Detroit-based Internet company has yet to see a payout. St. Louis Circuit Judge...

St. Charles County Circuit judge mulls manslaughter in infant's death.
October 16, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese A judge raised questions Monday about whether the case can proceed against a mother accused of drinking so much alcohol that her child was pronounced dead minutes after her premature birth. St. Charles County Circuit...

Public defender system in Missouri weeks from turning away cases.
October 16, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Despite a vote by the state Public Defenders Commission in late September to set up a process for overworked offices to reject new cases, it could be several more weeks before defenders see...

MLB strikes out; fantasy league wins in 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
October 17, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Businesses catering to fantasy-sports fans may continue selling statistics and using the names of professional athletes to do so, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday. In a 2-1 decision, the St....

Soldier convicted of killing St. Charles native seeks new trial.
October 17, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Lawyers for a man convicted of murdering a fellow soldier from St. Charles asked the Georgia Supreme Court last week to grant their client a new trial. The defendant, Mario Navarrete, and three other soldiers were...

St. Louis law firms announce new hires: October 17, 2007.
October 17, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Litigation firm Foley & Mansfield has hired John H. Bornhofen as an associate in its St. Louis office. Bornhofen practices in the toxic torts and mass litigation group. Before he joined Foley...

Cross-border courtroom for Chesterfield resident and former Blues hockey player Rob Ramage.
October 18, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Less than a month after he was convicted of drunken driving in a Canadian court, Chesterfield resident and former Blues hockey player Rob Ramage will face a civil trial in St. Louis County. Ramage's case in the...

Lawyers say Edward D. Jones work worth $27 million.
October 18, 2007... Byline: Heather Cole Plaintiffs' attorneys have spent nearly $740,000 -- and more than 28,500 hours of attorney and paralegal time -- pursuing securities class-action lawsuits against Edward D. Jones & Co. For that, their law firms should...

Judge finds state of Missouri meets school funding threshold.
October 18, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese A judge closed the door Wednesday on the last hope school districts had to obtain more money through a lawsuit against the state. But the court fight is likely far from over. Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan...

Missouri circuit judge allows case to proceed against drunken mother.
October 18, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese A circuit judge on Wednesday allowed a case to proceed against a woman accused of causing her newborn's death by drinking too much. St. Charles County Public Defender Richard Scheibe argued earlier this week that the...

Affirmative action in the eye of the beholder: Proposed amendment runs into a snag in Missouri.
October 19, 2007... Byline: Chris Blank A state-by-state campaign to bar racial, ethnic and gender preferences by state governments has sailed through four states from Washington to Florida. But an effort to chalk up five more states come November 2008 has...