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

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

St. Charles officials hope cyclists pump up tourism.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask They will be here less than a day, and the immediate economic impact of their arrival is uncertain. But St. Charles officials hope the Sept. 15 arrival of Tour of Missouri cyclists will pay dividends for years to come....

Large developments in Foristell put on hold due to slowdown.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask Not so long ago Tom Engle had developers calling everyday to inquire about his progress in getting a membrane bioreactor sewage-treatment plant built in Foristell. The executive director of the Duckett Creek Sanitary...

Q&A with Judge Nannette Baker.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Wm. Stage Nannette Baker has gone from covering the news to being in the news. A former reporter for NewsChannel 5 KSDK, Baker is currently one of three appellate court judges nominated to replace retiring Missouri Supreme Court...

Missouri Revenue Department to publish names of businesses with revoked sales tax licenses.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Senate Bill 30 took effect last Tuesday and gives the Missouri Department of Revenue authority to publish the names of any business which has a revoked sales tax license. A sales tax license can be revoked for...

Missouri-based Enterprise Financial announces new stock buyback program.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Enterprise Financial Services Corp. announced last week that its board of directors has authorized a stock buyback of up to 5 percent of the company's 12.5 million outstanding common shares. Under this...

Boeing and U.S. Joint Forces Command to analyze joint warfighting capabilities.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Boeing and the U.S. Joint Forces Command have signed a three-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to analyze current, emerging and future joint warfighting concepts and capabilities in concert...

St. Charles Community College library to be named for Paul and Helen Schnare.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff In a special ceremony in September, the St. Charles Community College Board of Trustees will name the college library after Helen and the late Paul Schnare, a local couple with a place in the college's history...

St. Charles offers homebuyer assistance program.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Many of the people working in St. Charles County communities, such as teachers, nurses and police officers, among others, cannot afford a home in the county where they work. This is not a new issue for St....

Josh Hastings joins Midwest BankCentre as senior mortgage planner for St. Charles region.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Josh Hastings has joined Midwest BankCentre as senior mortgage planner for the St. Charles region. Hastings is responsible for generating residential loans, developing new business with residential customers,...

Louis R. Viviano named president of Citizen's National Bank's St. Charles Banking Center.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Louis R. Viviano has been named president of the Citizen's National Bank's St. Charles Banking Center. The new banking center is located at Highway 94 and Portwest on 2145 Bluestone Dr. Viviano has been with...

Teresa Brown promoted to manager of Citizen's National Bank's St. Charles Banking Center.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Teresa Brown has been promoted to manager of Citizen's National Bank's St. Charles Banking Center. She has extensive experience in retail banking operations and served as branch manager of Simmons First in...

Four candidates qualify for Ward 3 aldermanic vacancy.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Four candidates are now eligible for appointment to the currently vacant Ward 3 aldermanic position. The fourth candidate became eligible after further review of the County Election Board's process of...

Two former area police officers sentenced on civil rights charges.
September 4, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report Two former officers of the Velda City Police Department were sentenced Friday to federal prison for conspiring to violate the civil rights of a jailed man. Mark Winger, a former detective, and...

St. Louis lingerie business makes good on orders.
September 4, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report A local Internet-based lingerie business has made refunds or shipped merchandise totaling nearly $22,900, complying with a court order sought by the state attorney general's office. Last year,...

St. Louis trials set in fireworks deaths, after $1M settlements reached.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese More than four years after a fireworks explosion killed five workers in Florida, what's left of the wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits that followed are set for trial in St. Louis in 2008. The families of the...

Nonpartisan court plan, baseball on tap for annual bar meeting.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Major players in the ongoing controversy over Missouri's selection of judges will sit down to hash out the issues of the nonpartisan court plan at The Missouri Bar's annual meeting later this month. Current and...

Verizon Wireless settles some phone tax suits in Missouri.
September 5, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese Verizon Wireless has agreed to settle for about $30 million its share of a lawsuit filed by a couple dozen Missouri cities over cell phone taxes. The company has agreed to pay two years' worth of back taxes, plus about...

St. Louis federal judge qualifies suit as possible class action.
September 5, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter A Phoenix-based maker of audio equipment faces a possible class-action lawsuit concerning overtime pay after a decision last week by a St. Louis federal judge. U.S. District Judge Catherine E. Perry approved...

St. Louis man pleads guilty in mortgage fraud case.
September 5, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff A St. Louis man pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy and money laundering in a mortgage fraud case that operated mainly in south St. Louis. Dack Daugherty, 38, was part of a ring that...

Convicted killer tries again to avoid death penalty in Missouri Supreme Court.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday heard for the fourth time a death sentence appeal by convicted murderer Ernest Lee Johnson. Johnson, represented by special public defender Elizabeth Unger Carlyle, argued...

Appellate Judicial Commission to seek Western District judge in Mo.
September 6, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff The Appellate Judicial Commission is accepting applications for the position of judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District, to fill the vacancy created by the Aug. 1 retirement...

Wentzville man pleads guilty in child porn case.
September 6, 2007... Byline: St Charles County Business Record Staff A Wentzville man faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing child pornography. Seth Patrick Goggins, 22, admitted to the felony...

Private eye sues Ray Vinson for libel.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A private investigator who dug up dirt on Ray Vinson during his 2006 divorce is suing the mortgage man for allegedly libeling her on his personal Web site. Rhonda Cidlik of Pacific, Mo., has done surveillance work...

Death row inmate claims double jeopardy.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The lawyer for a man convicted of killing an 81-year-old woman 16 years ago argued before the Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday that her client's conviction should be set aside on grounds of double jeopardy. Attorney...

Zachary Asher Abeles named 2007 David N. and Roselin Grosberg Young Leadership Award.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Zachary Asher Abeles has been named a 2007 David N. and Roselin Grosberg Young Leadership Award recipient by Jewish Federation of St. Louis. The Grosberg award, established in 1961, honors young adults who...

Missouri law firms announce staffing changes: September 7, 2007.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Charles W. Burson has joined Bryan Cave as of counsel in the firm's St. Louis office. He will practice with Bryan Cave's corporate compliance group and its defense and regulatory affairs, public policy and...

New business licenses issued in St. Charles.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The city of St. Charles Economic Development Department recently announced that the following companies applied for a new business license during August 2007 in St. Charles. * Basic Facilities Management,...

Louis Cariffe Jr. of St. Charles joins Cissell Mueller as vice president.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Louis Cariffe Jr. of St. Charles has joined Cissell Mueller Co. LLC as vice president. Cariffe has more than 32 years' experience in the real estate industry. His responsibilities include assisting clients in...

Ameristar St. Charles earns 23 honors in annual casino player awards.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Ameristar St. Charles earned 23 top-three Missouri rankings in Casino Player magazine's July 2007 "Best of Gaming" annual issue. The casino earned seven first-place honors, including best cashback, best reel...

Boone Center in St. Charles receives Wise Giving Alliance designation.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Boone Center, an organization that provides meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities, was recently designated the Wise Giving Alliance Seal by the Better Business Bureau of Eastern...

Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital hires surgeon W. Anthony Frisella.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital announces the addition of W. Anthony Frisella, MD, MA orthopedic surgery, to the medical staff. He will practice general orthopedic surgery but will focus on patients with...

Christie Wehde joins Cissell Mueller Construction as controller.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Christie Wehde of St. Paul has joined Cissell Mueller Construction Inc. as a controller. Wehde has more than 16 years' experience in the construction industry. Her responsibilities include handling all finance...

Two St. Charles Community College instructors receive awards of excellence from the community.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The St. Charles and St. Peters chambers of commerce recently recognized two outstanding instructors at St. Charles Community College. Scott Tate of the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce presented Francie Woods,...

Mark Buchheit of St. Peters joins Cissell Mueller as project manager/estimator.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Mark Buchheit of St. Peters has joined Cissell Mueller Construction Inc. in St. Peters as a project manager/estimator. Buchheit has more than 29 years' experience in the construction industry. His...

St. Charles Chamber honors three individuals with the ROSE Award.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The St. Charles Chamber of Commerce recently announced three individuals as the recipients of the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce 2007 ROSE Award. The ROSE awards (Recognition of Service Excellence)...

MasterCard, banks make it easier to buy.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask We may not have a cashless economy yet, but MasterCard and its banking partners such as First National Bank of St. Louis are certainly moving us closer in that direction. For those who think swiping their debit cards in...

Industrial Development Authority of St. Charles seeks statewide standard on prevailing wage.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask The Industrial Development Authority of St. Charles County has officially changed its policy to require developers of projects it helps finance to pay their employees prevailing wages. Now the IDA wants similar entities...

Missouri Business Briefs: September 10, 2007.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask Greater Missouri Builders Inc. has started work on the fourth and final phase of its renovation of Mark Twain Mall in St. Charles. This fourth phase calls for the creation of almost 42,000 square feet of retail space at...

St. Charles-based Facet Creative Services knows marketing plan is vital to starting a small business.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Amy Armour Linda Maynard considers herself a matchmaker-for businesses. "We do so much more than provide marketing materials. We help open doors for [clients] and get them exposure in all the right places," said Maynard, owner of...

Supreme Court judge defends Missouri judicial selection process.
September 11, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese A former chief justice of Missouri's Supreme Court on Monday defended the way Missouri chooses judges for its highest courts. Judge Michael Wolff, whose term as chief justice ended in June, spoke to a group of law...

Chief justice defends court plan to Missouri senators.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Chief Justice Laura Denvir Stith found broad support Tuesday from the Senate committee that called her to testify in Jefferson City on Missouri's judicial selection process. All committee members present at the state...

Missouri Court of Appeals rules endangerment law doesn't cover unborn.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Missouri law does not allow the state to prosecute a pregnant woman for risking the health of her unborn child, the Kansas City-based Missouri Court of Appeals said Tuesday. The court's decision didn't come as a...

Candidates in Missouri may have to return cash.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese Republican Gov. Matt Blunt and Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon will have to prove to state ethics officials why they need to keep millions of dollars in campaign contributions. The Missouri Ethics Commission met...

Missouri Gov. Blunt appoints Jarrett to Public Service Commission.
September 12, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Gov. Matt Blunt on Tuesday appointed his former general counsel to the Public Service Commission for a seven-year term. The body regulates investor-owned public utilities in the state. Terry...

Missouri Court of Appeals upholds judgment against Charles Polk.
September 12, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff An appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a $3.6 million judgment in a fraud and legal malpractice lawsuit against former attorney Charles Polk. A three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of...

Commentary: Hats off to a choice well made.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan It seems like I haven't written a column for a year, yet it has been only five weeks. I spent that time filling in for the editor of the St. Charles County Business Record, Kathleen Brady, after she severely broke...

St. Louis Circuit judge schedules General American trial for 2009.
September 12, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff The liquidators of General American won't get to try their case against Goldman Sachs until 2009. St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer on Tuesday set the five-week trial for Feb. 2 of that...

Cole County Circuit judge denies request to block transfer of MOHELA money.
September 13, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese A judge is considering a lawsuit by student borrowers seeking to derail Gov. Matt Blunt's plan to use student loan agency money for college buildings. After more than a year of debates and changes to the plan, the...

Mo. Gov. Blunt nominates Chapel to state hearing commission.
September 13, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Gov. Matt Blunt on Wednesday nominated Rod Chapel, currently the head of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, to a six-year term on the quasi-judicial Administrative...

Hundreds to join the ranks of lawyers in Missouri.
September 13, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The lawyers are coming! The lawyers are coming! Of the 798 people who took the state bar exam in July, 707 passed -- a noteworthy 88.6 percent. "People were obviously studying hard," said Kellie Early, executive...

Commentary: Technology, timing speed up payments.
September 13, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll Recently, I moderated an American Bar Association panel discussion on financial best practices. Not surprisingly, the best practice that all the participants agreed on was that lawyers and law firms need to get their...

Career Criminals Unit scores early successes in St. Louis.
September 14, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A new prosecuting unit in the city of St. Louis has come out the gate strong, going eight-for-eight last month in the successful prosecution of a particularly persistent strain of lawbreakers -- career criminals. In...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says harassment allegations came too late in Ladue.
September 14, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The city of Ladue isn't responsible for the alleged acts of sexual harassment by its police captain because the women waited for more than a year before they complained, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said...

Westgate Christian Academy's middle school gets students thinking about their futures.
September 16, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask It's never too early to learn -- about possible careers. Peggy Barratt, principal of Westgate Christian Academy's middle school in St. Peters, read Thomas Friedman's "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the...

St. Charles County Council takes up fight against illegal immigration.
September 16, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The St. Charles County Council last week voted unanimously to adopt a resolution that calls for county law enforcement to join with federal officials in fighting illegal immigration. The council vote allows...

Rep. Faith promotes intracounty bus service in St. Charles.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask There is yet another push to create a bus system in St. Charles County. Republican state Rep. Sally Faith of St. Charles is behind the latest effort. Her proposal calls for a phased-in, intracounty bus system that would...

B. Moss Clothing Co. store opens in St. Peters.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff B. Moss Clothing Co. has opened a store in Westfield's Mid Rivers Mall in St. Peters. The provider of women's clothing also opened stores in Westfield malls in Chesterfield and South St. Louis County. These...

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies scheduled in Wentzville.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The following ribbon-cutting ceremonies are scheduled: * Lowe's store, 1889 Wentzville Parkway, at 10 a.m., Sept. 20; * The Villas at Stone Ridge on Santa Elena, at 11 a.m., Sept. 20; * All Sports Barber Shop,...

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies scheduled in O'Fallon.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Three ribbon-cutting ceremonies are scheduled this week: * Residence Inn Marriott, 101 Progress Point Court, at 4 p.m., Sept. 19; * Gold's Gym, 2691 Highway K, at 9 a.m., Sept. 21; and * MediEquip, 8640...

Cuivre River Electric Community Trust Board donates $14,000.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The Cuivre River Electric Community Trust Board recently distributed nearly $14,000 in grants to area organizations and individuals in need. The board, which oversees Cuivre River Electric Cooperative Inc.'s...

Public Water Supply District celebrates 40th anniversary.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Public Water Supply District No. 2 recently celebrated its 40th anniversary of providing water and sewer service to portions of St. Charles and Warren counties. A commemoration took place earlier this month...

Jamie Schwartz leads Salvation Army's St. Charles County development effort.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The Salvation Army recently hired Jamie Schwartz to be its development manager in St. Charles County. The charity said Schwartz would coordinate fundraising activities, manage public relations, direct special...

Jonah Ginsburg joins Walton Construction Co. in St. Louis.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Walton Construction Co. in St. Louis has hired Jonah Ginsburg as a project engineer. The company said his responsibilities include planning, quality control and assisting project management in the integration...

Missouri's new manufacturing law meets mixed reviews.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Fresh out of the gate, and Senate Bill 30 has already found some opposition. Deemed as a win for manufacturers statewide, SB 30 was designed to create jobs in the manufacturing industry by providing additional tax...

St. Louis Circuit judge finds north St. Louis boy guilty of murder, but not tried as adult.
September 18, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka In the course of eight short hours Monday, a 13-year-old north St. Louis boy was told he wouldn't be tried as an adult, found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to juvenile detention until the age of 18. St....

Kansas City-based Blackwell Sanders, St. Louis-based Husch in merger discussions.
September 18, 2007... Byline: Heather Cole Two of Missouri's largest law firms are mulling a cross-state union. A combination of St. Louis firm Husch & Eppenberger and Kansas City-based Blackwell Sanders would create a 630-attorney firm with anticipated revenue...

St. Louis lawyers honor former prosecutor.
September 19, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Dee Joyce-Hayes hasn't been St. Louis' top prosecutor since 2001. But she's still owed recognition for that role, some say, and a group of women lawyers will see that she gets it tonight. The Women Lawyers' Association...

Commentary: Golf tourney combines hot shots, hack attacks.
September 19, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan I am not a golfer. In fact, I heartily agree with the observation attributed to my fellow Missourian Mark Twain: "Golf is a good walk spoiled." So I was out of character Friday when I spent the afternoon on the golf...

Gaertner Jr. nominated to replace his father in Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.
September 19, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka For not the first time in Missouri's judicial history, a son has the possibility of following his father into a more prominent judgeship. Gary M. Gaertner Jr., a circuit judge in St. Louis County, is one of three...

Cell phone negotiations in 23 St. Louis County municipalities gather steam.
September 20, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A delayed hearing in St. Louis County Circuit Court might signal the approach of another big settlement in the battle between several cell phone service providers and 23 St. Louis County municipalities. The hearing,...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District panel more cause for scrutiny.
September 20, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The Nonpartisan Court Plan works, and the panel of nominees for the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District is proof of that, said a former member of the Appellate Judicial Commission. But the president of the St....

They YouTubed the law -- and the law won: Missouri men charged for threats made in violent rap video.
September 20, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Two northwest Missouri men charged this week for threats made in a violent rap video likely cannot turn to the First Amendment for protection. Andrew County prosecutors filed several charges against two 20-year-old...

Three Missouri lawyers make top 500 list.
September 20, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Three Missouri attorneys made this year's Leading Lawyers list, published by the online legal ranking group Lawdragon. In St. Louis, attorney Brent Baldwin of Lathrop & Gage made the list. In...

Punishment sought for Valley Park.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Plaintiffs' attorneys in the Valley Park immigration dispute argued stridently Thursday that the city should be punished -- or the mayor even jailed -- for continuing to pass ordinances regulating the hiring of...

Judge seems ready to side with state.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese A judge indicated Thursday he's inclined to agree with the state that it is meeting its constitutional obligation to spend one-fourth of its money on public schools. Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan ruled last...

Tolen remains in custody awaiting bond decision.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A St. Louis County judge could decide today whether attorney Eric Tolen will stay behind bars until his criminal trial on 18 counts of statutory sodomy. Circuit Judge John Ross said Thursday he probably would rule on...

Run to the light, Governor.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan I just finished going through my morning e-mail. It took me less than two minutes to read and delete the 20 messages I received since I left work Wednesday. On an average day I receive about 100 e-mails. Checking...

Whistleblowers find little help from new Sarbanes-Oxley.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Tracy Coenen One of the major selling points of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was the protection for whistleblowers. The legislation required public companies to put into place anonymous reporting mechanisms (like hotlines) so...

Two Missourians plead guilty to wire and mail fraud charges.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Daily Record staff Floyd Irons, former Vashon High School coach, and John Mineo Jr., a local restaurant operator, pleaded guilty to wire and mail fraud charges in connection with a million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney...

Max's Boots brings taste of Old West to O'Fallon.
September 22, 2007... Byline: Wm. Stage When Max Day claims to sell boots, he's understating. Every wall and much of the floor space of the bi-level store in O'Fallon Plaza is chockablock with boots -- cowboy boots, work boots and some that are a little of both...

Tristar launches $23 million spec building in O'Fallon.
September 24, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Report TriStar Properties will break ground in October on a 128,000-square-foot speculative office building at Progress Point Business Park off Highway 40 in O'Fallon. The building, which has a projected...

The Boeing Co. in first phase of $27 million contract.
September 24, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Report The Boeing Co. conducted its second successful test flight of its small diameter bomb focused lethality munitions on Sept. 14. The flight is part of the first phase of a $27 million U.S. Air Force joint...

Ameristar Casino acquires Indiana casino.
September 24, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Report The Indiana Gaming Commission has recently approved the Ameristar Casinos Inc.'s acquisition of the Resorts East Chicago casino. East Chicago, Ind., as part of the Chicagoland market, generates more than...

Warrenton Oil moves to temporary office.
September 24, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Report A fire broke out in the corporate offices and warehouse of Warrenton Oil in Truesdale, Mo., on Sept. 13. No employees were injured, and arson was not suspected, according to a news release. "It looks...