At the Challenger Learning Center in Ferguson, you can take a journey to outer space and work inside the space shuttle without ever leaving North County.

The space shuttle Endeavor launched successfully this morning, carrying North County native Robert Behnken. But did you realize that NoCo also has another astronaut claim to fame?

The Challenger Learning Center in Ferguson is a hands-on space education facility for both kids and adults, where visitors can take a simulated trip to the space shuttle and discover what it’s like to work in mission control. One of only two such facilities in the state of Missouri, it’s part of a larger network of 47 Challenger Centers founded by families of the astronauts killed in the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster.

The St. Louis center, which hosts school groups, scout troops, summer camps, birthday parties and occasional public missions, is a partnership between the Ferguson-Florissant School District, Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis and the St. Louis Science Center. It’s also THE place to be if you’re looking for a unique Valentine’s Day destination!

Mission control at the Challenger Center is modeled after NASA's Johnson Space Center.

This Saturday, February 13, the Challenger Center is holding its annual Fly Your Sweetheart to the Moon event, a couples-only mission that includes a two-hour moon orbit, light snacks and a flower for your favorite lady. Space is limited to only 15 couples, and half the seats are taken already, so sign up today if you’re interested! Tickets are $50 per couple.

To register, contact my good friend Heidi Lung, lead flight director, at (314) 524-3490 x103 or heidi@clcstlouis.org. The Challenger Learning Center is located at 205 Brotherton Lane, 63135. After Valentine’s Day, its next public mission will be held in April.

As reported live by FOX 2 and KPLR 11, dozens attend the CVS developer forum in Ferguson last night, taking the opportunity to view proposed site plans.

In case you missed the CVS developer’s public forum last night at the Savoy, both FOX 2 and KPLR 11 reported live from the event, interviewing residents Ann Chisholm, Susan Donnell and Nick Kasoff. The video is pretty similar from both (since they run out of the same station), but here’s the FOX 2 segment and here’s the one from KPLR:

I know some might consider this bad publicity, but to me, a large room full of people actively engaged in shaping the future of their community is nothing but positive. It shows that people really care about Ferguson.

This 1920s house on Royal Avenue in Ferguson is one of eight vintage homes being proposed for demolition to make way for a CVS Pharmacy.

I created NOCO as a forum for positive news and information, never intending to delve into controversy. But the proposed development of a CVS Pharmacy in Ferguson and the confusion and angst it has created in the community have led me to try and present a balanced view of the issue, weighing all sides of the debate.

In full disclosure, I am a member of the steering committee of Preserve Our Ferguson Neighborhoods, the citizen group organized in opposition of rezoning the proposed CVS site, though I have never officially participated in the group’s activities. After meeting independently with the developer and speaking with city officials and numerous residents, I remain personally opposed to rezoning of the proposed site primarily because I believe that Ferguson’s historic homes are its greatest asset, but I also feel it is vitally important that residents have the opportunity to know the facts and to form their own conclusion. So, here is the information I’ve gathered…

In spring 2009, representatives from the Clayton-based real estate firm The DESCO Group quietly began approaching Ferguson homeowners in the first block of Hereford and Royal Avenue, aiming to purchase their residential properties for an unidentified commercial development. Around the same time, DESCO also placed a contract on the half-acre commercial property at 200 N. Florissant, the site of the former Sinclair gas station that had been on the market for $270,000.

12 Royal, circa 1900

Ann Chisholm of the Royal Avenue Neighborhood Association learned of DESCO’s plans in May, and in mid-July (the same time that Ferguson city officials first started hearing rumors of the potential development), she met with most of the targeted homeowners, learning that some were eager to sell, some weren’t, and nearly all were contractually barred from publicly discussing their deals or speaking out against the development. They didn’t have to support the project, they just couldn’t publicly oppose it.

Of the eight houses currently under contract, two are vacant, one is eligible to be a Century Home, and all are quality vintage structures built between 1900 and 1930. DESCO initiated the contracts on behalf of Ohio-based real estate developer Cedarwood Development, Inc., which was in turn representing the national retailer CVS Pharmacy – a fact that Chisholm and city officials didn’t learn until late September.

By then, Chisholm had formed Preserve Our Ferguson Neighborhoods, meeting with a handful of other residents to object to the rezoning required in order for the development to move forward. “Our primary issue is changing the zoning from residential to commercial, and what the lasting impact of that will be on the community,” she says.

30 Royal, circa 1928

“We’re concerned that once you start demolishing houses and scraping land and removing trees, the Royal neighborhood will be changed forever,” adds Blue Tapp Scheffer, who serves on the group’s steering committee. “If we start losing houses on Hereford, will it set a precedent for more commercial development? Will it keep moving further down the street, taking more nice older homes, until Hereford looks like Lindbergh?”

Chisholm and her group raised these concerns when they launched a petition drive in November, collecting 200+ signatures in opposition to rezoning. She and 22 others then attended the December 8 Ferguson city council meeting, stating their position and submitting their petitions as public record during the meeting’s public forum.

Several council members later privately admitted to feeling blind-sided that night, acknowledging that Chisholm’s group seemed to have more information about the proposed development than city officials did, despite the fact that council members met with the developer in a closed session in October. That sense of surprise was compounded even further when the Ferguson Times published a front-page story on the proposed development two weeks later, authored by Chisholm but presumed by many to be wholly endorsed by the newspaper’s owners, Bud and Dorothy Seiter.

27 Hereford, circa 1930

“The fact that it was on the top of the front page…everyone knows what that means,” said one resident who asked to remain anonymous. “It means that Bud and Dorothy agree with it. And if they agree with it, along with other influential people in Ferguson, chances are slim that the council will disagree.”

Some in the community, wrongly assuming that the Times is owned by the city, believed that the article indicated the council’s stance on the proposed development, when in fact, council members didn’t see the final project proposal, incorporating their own suggestions from the October meeting with the developer, until January 13 – three weeks after the article was published.

At that time, citing concerns about dividing the community, Mayor Brian Fletcher asked the council to pull its support of the proposed development and a majority of the members obliged. “I believe the required time and energy being spent, and the opposition being generated by the proposed site outweigh the benefits,” Fletcher wrote in the February Ferguson Times.

25 Hereford, circa 1927

At least one council person, Ward 3 representative Kynan Crecelius, disagrees with the mayor, not because he’s specifically in favor of bringing a CVS to Ferguson or necessarily enthused about tearing down eight homes, but because he’s worried about the city’s long-term financial outlook.

“Every year I’ve been on the council, we’ve looked at projections showing expenditures increasing and revenues decreasing,” he says. “In the interest of achieving balance on this issue, I have to wonder if preserving these homes will help to preserve the city in the long run, particularly if our infrastructure continues to decline.”

Crecelius pointed to Ferguson’s parks budget – one of several funds the city manages – and noted that it’s projected to operate at a deficit starting in 2017. He also cited the substantial sales tax revenue that was lost when Walgreens and Circuit City recently closed locations in Ferguson.

21 Hereford, circa 1920

“We all want the community to succeed. I’m just focused on doing what we need in order to maintain the services that make Ferguson a great place to live,” he says.

And how could a new CVS contribute to that goal? According to Joe Flaherty, Cedarwood Development’s director of site acquisition, the proposed Ferguson CVS would likely generate $5 million in annual revenue after five years, with Ferguson collecting 7.825% in sales tax. It’s also expected to create 30-35 permanent jobs and 75-100 temporary construction jobs.

During the first year, Flaherty estimates that the Walgreens directly across the street at 190 N. Florissant would see a 5-8% decrease in business, though he claims the store would be back up to or possibly even ahead of its usual revenue levels in the second year. “The mass brings in more people and the pool expands,” he says.

Flaherty is helping CVS open 50-55 new stores in the St. Louis area, including at least two in Florissant. Locations in Ellisville, Olivette, Mehlville and south St. Louis were successfully opened in January, but community opposition helped to kill the proposed development at Lindell and Sarah in the Central West End.

17 Hereford, circa 1917

Residents there opposed the site location, the store’s possible liquor sales and the impact of noise and traffic from a 24-hour retailer. Like some here, they also questioned whether CVS was needed with a Walgreens already nearby. “There are 29 pharmacies within five miles of that corner, including three within short walking distance,” Chisholm says of the proposed site in Ferguson.

Flaherty acknowledges the duplication of services but says that CVS offers the community something a little different. Shelves are lower, giving the store a more open feel. Plus, CVS caters more to female shoppers.

In terms of similarities, CVS and Walgreens both have around 7,000 stores nationwide. Both draw significant revenue from drive-through pharmacies and have numerous locations on highly visible corners that are open 24 hours. In January, the Ferguson Walgreens applied for a liquor license; Flaherty admits that CVS would pursue the same.

He also says that if the Ferguson development moves forward, CVS will abate environmental issues at the former Sinclair site, seeking several hundred thousand dollars in tax increment financing (TIF) to deal with “leaking underground storage tanks.”

15 Hereford, circa 1929

Chisholm disputes the need for this, as well as the public financing, citing a letter she received from the director’s office of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. “According to the DNR, there is no immediate danger at the site,” she says. “Sinclair is responsible for dealing with any problems, and so far they’ve done everything that has been required.”

“Besides, if this site is supposedly so ‘dirty’ and has so many other challenges, why not consider another one?” Tapp Scheffer asks, raising a question that many residents have posed.

The property now occupied by Aaron Rents at the southwest corner of Airport and N. Florissant, catty-corner to the proposed CVS site, seems like an obvious choice. Once home to Walgreens, it enjoys the same traffic volume as the intersection’s other corners – around 40,000 cars per day. It’s also zoned commercial already and would require far less demolition.

But Flaherty says it’s just not workable. Noting the time and money already invested in the proposed site, he also claims there might be a lease restriction on the Aaron’s site, prohibiting CVS from doing business there. “We want to work with the community on [the Sinclair] site,” he says flatly.

Indeed, he and CVS have tried to compromise, proposing increased green space to buffer the adjacent neighborhood at the request of the city council. Current plans call for a 13,225-square-foot store with 65 feet of green space on the east side of the site and a minimum of 87 feet on the north side. Flaherty has also floated the idea of saving two homes on Royal, including the 110-year-old house at #12, and giving both to the city for some civic use. CVS may even agree to allow the remaining homes to be sold for a nominal fee and moved, if logistics and timing will allow.

“We really are trying to be a responsible developer, open to ideas,” he says. “We just want the opportunity to present our plan so the community can decide.”

That’s all that Old Ferguson West resident Susan Donnell wants as well. So incensed was she by the lack of open dialogue on this issue that she launched her own petition drive in front of Shop N’ Save, collecting signatures of those who simply wanted more information.

“It’s not that I actively support CVS. My basic objection is to the process and procedure of this whole thing, and how it feels like this decision was ramrodded by a select few,” she says. “Those who oppose the development have had a great advantage in disseminating information, while the rest of us have been deprived of the opportunity to even develop an opinion.”

Built in 1962, this former Sinclair service station would be torn down for CVS, but the commercial building housing Little Caesars next door would remain.

This Thursday, Donnell and everyone else will have that opportunity, as Flaherty and other CVS reps will host a public forum to present their side of the debate and listen to input from the community. The event is not sponsored or endorsed by the city but council members say they will be interested to hear residents’ feedback afterward.

They’ve already heard from Susan Schilligo, whose family has owned the house at 12 Royal since 1966. She recently submitted a lengthy letter in support of the proposed development, stating that her mother has unsuccessfully tried to sell her historic home for two years.

In 2009, 12 Royal was listed for $109,900. Chisholm says that homeowners in the proposed development area, including Schilligo’s mother, have been offered between $150,000 and $250,000, a number that Flaherty confirms. His company is prepared to spend upwards of $2 million just on property acquisition.

Chisholm and Tapp Scheffer sympathize with homeowners like Schilligo but insist that the needs of the entire community need to be considered. “I realize this development may seem like a God-send for people who are eager to sell, especially in this depressed market,” Tapp Scheffer says. “But for the most part, these are people who want to leave Ferguson, and to me, this is an issue that should be decided by those who are invested in the community for the long term.

“Those of us who oppose this plan want new development in Ferguson, and we would gladly welcome CVS. We just don’t think we should have to ruin a neighborhood and lose eight nice houses to do that.”

To hear more from Tapp Scheffer and others opposed to the proposed CVS development, visit the Preserve Our Ferguson Neighborhoods website.

To learn more about the development proposal, attend Cedarwood’s public forum: Thursday, February 4, from 6-8pm at the Savoy, 119 S. Florissant.

I slept through most of Sunday with a bad cold, but no worries, the news clips are here! A day late but still fresh…

• Recent fundraisers all across North County have generated thousands of dollars for good causes. To help Haitian earthquake victims, students at Jana Elementary School raised $1,600 for the American Red Cross, while Saturday’s NoCo for Haiti benefit concert at the Savoy in Ferguson raised $3,000 for Doctors Without Borders. Employees of the Hazelwood School District have also been quite generous, raising more than $35,000 for the United Way of Greater St. Louis, bringing their total donations since 1975 to $825,000. Wow!

• Astronaut Robert Behnken, a 1988 Pattonville High School graduate and U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel, will soon make his second trip on the space shuttle Endeavor, serving as a NASA mission specialist as his crew docks with the International Space Station. Launching at 4:39pm EST on February 7, Behnken, who still has family in St. Ann and Hazelwood, will perform three space walks during the 13-day mission. His first trip to space was in March 2008, and let me tell you, if you want to read an inspiring biography, read his! This NoCo native is an extremely accomplished man who we should all be very proud of. [Lt. Col. Behnken, if you want to broadcast your North County pride from outer space, I will gladly send you a NoCo sticker!]

Storyteller Bobby Norfolk

• As part of the Black History Month celebration at St. Louis Community College, the Flo Valley campus will host a free performance by Emmy award-winning storyteller Bobby Norfolk. At 11am on Thursday, February 4, Norfolk (who is very entertaining!) will present “Drums and Music of Africa,” a vibrant, interactive musical experience featuring drumming, dance and living history. Take the kids to see this show – inside the Student Center Multipurpose Room.

• The battle over Bridgeton’s proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter has made national news. This weekend, the Huffington Post ran an article questioning why the country’s 117th richest person, billionaire Stan Kroenke, needs to request nearly $8 million in tax increment financing (TIF) to fund his new development. “Given the foul mood the public is in regarding bail outs for the rich, it’s a wonder this proposal has any legs left,” wrote the article’s author.

Catch a screening of the St. Louis roller-skating documentary, The Rink, on February 10.

• If you missed seeing The Rink at last year’s St. Louis International Film Festival, you’ll soon have a chance to watch this great local documentary with its director, DJ Ron “G-Whiz” Butts. At 11am on Wednesday, February 10, Flo Valley will host a free screening of this fun film, which showcases the African-American roller-skating tradition in St. Louis and East St. Louis during the disco era. What an interesting and enjoyable slice of local history! The film will be shown in Private Dining Room B inside the Student Center.

• If you’ve always wanted to see an opera at the Touhill but couldn’t afford the tickets, it’s your lucky day! This weekend, UMSL’s Opera Theatre will host two free performances, each featuring some of the opera world’s most celebrated love songs. Come hear pieces from Carmen, La Traviata, Manon and more, all in the beauty of the Touhill’s Lee Theater. For more info about “L’Amour,” which runs Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, call (314) 516-4949.

• Bridgeton Parks & Rec is hosting two fun events for kids and their parents in February. On Friday the 12th, girls ages 5-12 can bring their favorite adult male to the Sweetheart Ball, an evening of dinner and dancing for just $25 per couple ($30 for non-residents). Then, on February 20, boys ages 3-8 and their favorite adult can participate in the Dinosaur Dig, an afternoon of crafts, snacks and swimming. Registration is $20 ($25 for non-residents). For more info about either event, call (314) 739-5599.

Pi Day returns to the Metamo4ic Math Center on March 13.

• Scout troops, home-school groups and other nonprofit organizations looking to raise funds are invited to host a booth at the Metamo4ic Math Center’s annual Pi Day festival on March 13. This year’s theme is “Pi Minus 1/100″ (in honor of the 3.13 date that doesn’t quite equal Pi), and some of the day’s activities will include Pi trivia, face painting, a kite decorating and flying contest, a puppet show, a pie eating contest and Ping-Pong Pandemonium. If you want to register for a booth or sign up for the kite contest, the deadlines are February 20 and 26, respectively. All are welcome at this family-friendly math celebration, so don’t miss it!

• Finally, it’s not really news, but I just wanted to take a brief moment to thank the generous local businesses that have stepped up as NOCO sponsors: CORK Wine Bar, Vincenzo’s Italian Ristorante, Hendel’s Market Cafe and Farmers Insurance agent Martin Menke. CORK and Vincenzo’s are both owned by my friend Mike Lonero, who has been supporting revitalization and new ideas in Ferguson for many years. Hendel’s, of course, is a North County classic, renowned for its fine cuisine and now its cozy new piano bar, which hosts live music every Thursday through Saturday. And Martin Menke is not only my personal insurance agent (and a classically trained trumpet maestro), he’s also my neighbor and dear friend. I am proud to support all of these great businesses and to have them as advertisers!

Because NOCO is all original content, not just verbatim press releases like some local newspapers, it demands a lot of time. So I truly appreciate the small monthly investment that these sponsors make to support my mission and North County in general. If your business would like to sponsor NOCO and reach the nearly 20,000 people who visit this site multiple times every month, ads start at just $65. Please email me for more info: shannon@nocostl.com. Thank you!!

A secret driveway leads to this 1.2-acre, two-house haven on Lookaway Drive, on the edge of the bluffs near Riverview and Glasgow Village.

In most cities, a house with a hilltop location and a beautiful water view would be considered real estate gold. But as we all know, St. Louis is…special. That’s why one of the area’s best-kept secrets remains just that, and why, if you told someone you were moving to Riverview, they would probably think you’re nuts. But ah, what treasures await in this gorgeous little corner of North County.

Perched high on a bluff overlooking the mighty Mississippi, the vintage homes on and around Lookaway Drive are truly architectural gems. Most date from the 1920s and 30s, coinciding with the growth of the Riverview Gardens and Glasgow Woods subdivisions, but some – like 11152 Lookaway, which is currently for sale – date back to the 1800s.

Resting on more than an acre of lush, very private property that was originally deeded to one Isabella Chitwood before the Louisiana Purchase, the house is like a place lost in time. Built just prior to the opening of the Chain of Rocks Water Works (those cute little buildings in the river), it’s surrounded by land once owned by Dr. William Carr, the first mayor of St. Louis, and Amadee Valle, a Missouri legislator and close friend of Abraham Lincoln.

A Glasgow Village brochure from the 1950s. Credit: Lori Campbell

Of course, from 1927 through 1977, the house shared its lovely bluff view with the Chain of Rocks Amusement Park (later known as Fun Fair Park), a once bustling destination whose rides, roller rink and massive swimming pool many St. Louisans still fondly remember. But during the 1950s, it was nearly swallowed by redevelopment, as William Glasgow’s adjoining “Bienvenue Farm” gradually became the sprawling collection of modest ranch homes known as Glasgow Village.

Much has changed in the area since then. Though most of the houses on the bluff still radiate their unique charm and a handful of Glasgow Village’s original homeowners still remain (and remain active), white flight has opened the door for an increase in poverty and rentals, spurring St. Louis County to identify the community as “changing” – essentially stable but with “emerging signs of trouble in specific areas.”

I hope I’m not alone when I say this, but man, we are crazy to let this happen. The Riverview bluff’s quaint winding streets, tucked with enchanting, one-of-a-kind homes, remind me of the fabulous canyon hillsides in Los Angeles – except that here, you also get a view of one of the grandest rivers in the world.

I think it’s a crime to let this area deteriorate, especially when you consider that exceptional older houses and estate-style properties can be found all around the Bellefontaine/Chambers/Riverview corridor. Talk about an opportunity for some bold, creative redevelopment, building on the area’s existing assets and potential for eco-tourism! (Green homes, anyone? Bob Cassilly’s wondrous recycled Cementland is right next door.)

It was natural beauty that attracted early landowners here in the first place, inspiring them to build such captivating houses. With a little focused effort, particularly from those who claim to love this area so much, why couldn’t it draw a new wave of progress now? Why walk away from a part of town that still has so much to offer?

Click any image for a larger view, and navigate with the arrows beneath it.

The cast of Hazelwood East's upcoming musical, Nunsense, practice their lines.

The shrill buzz of a chop saw cuts through an already raucous atmosphere at McCluer High School. It’s 3:45pm and school is out for the day, but the hallways still teem with busy students. In one classroom, dancers meticulously practice their steps. In another, actors run through their lines. And in the warren of workspaces surrounding the Little Theatre, crew members gleefully sing along to blaring show tunes while painting and building an impressive array of sets.

You wouldn’t know it by the negative publicity that often overshadows local high schools, but North County is actually home to some of the finest student theater in the St. Louis area. Over the past four years, graduates from McCluer alone have earned nearly $750,000 in college theater scholarships, with several former students now working professionally in feature films and on Broadway.

North County schools have also racked up numerous awards in the competitive “Cappies” student critic program, including Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Play, often beating out theater programs with much larger budgets.

At Hazelwood East, where more than 100 kids participate in drama club, the Spartan Players are furiously preparing for their spring musical, Nunsense, which premieres on February 5. It’s their third production of the school year, following the fall comedy You Can’t Take It With You, and bubbly junior Antoinette Blaine has been cast as Mother Superior (one of five leads), despite never performing before.

“This is my first year ever, in any play, but I told myself before I graduated I would audition,” she says proudly. “I’m so glad I did.”

Exzavion Powells, who’s playing Sister Robert Anne, is also thrilled to be involved. He even hopes to study theater in college. “I want to learn everything about theater – blocking, building sets, everything,” he says. “I love it.”

His teacher Ken Franke, a Hazelwood East alum who serves as technical director of the school’s drama department alongside director Holly Potthoff, estimates that five or six members of the current junior class will actually become theater majors in college. “We have a good group right now, so you never know,” he says. “Every year, we look at the student pool and try to expose the kids to works that they probably aren’t familiar with…to really address their needs and talents.”

Once the productions are selected, students can work on them both in class and after school, with many aiming to earn entry into the Thespian Troupe 1220 national honor society.

Student crews work together to build sets for Nunsense behind the scenes at Hazelwood East.

Over at McCluer, the approach is similarly “co-curricular,” meaning students can take classes in set design or acting and then use their learned skills to help produce school plays. McCluer also has its own honors troupe, #787, directed by teacher Doug Erwin.

Like Franke, Erwin collaborates with another pro to choose specific shows for his roughly 70 drama students. He and technical theater teacher Erica Pegues strive to select plays that will stretch the kids and expose them to diverse viewpoints, endowing them with “life skills they can take to any career they choose.”

“If we teach them anything, I hope it’s developing a critical eye, cultivating a love of theater and coming up with creative solutions to a problem,” he says. “It’s also very important that they understand an ensemble ethic and what it means to work on a team.”

Erwin, a North County native who has been involved in performing arts since he was 12, cemented his “ensemble ethic” while studying Japanese theater through the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. “Everyone in a production is equally valuable – that’s what the Japanese recognize,” he says. “When one of our cast members is not in a scene, they’re automatically part of the crew. We don’t tolerate divas here.”

McCluer's drama program is based out of the school's aptly named Little Theatre.

Erwin also supports non-traditional casting, reflecting the diversity of his students. “We don’t care what race you are or what role you’re supposed to play,” he says. “In fact, for Bat Boy [McCluer’s April musical], we only have one rule: you can’t play your own race or gender.”

It’s this kind of progressive thinking that has really propelled the McCluer drama program, allowing it to be recognized on a national level. In 2009, the school was one of only six in the US to receive permission to perform the Laramie Project Epilogue, a compelling show about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man.

At the end of February, McCluer will also become the first high school in the country to perform August Wilson’s 20^th Century, a collection of ten short plays chronicling the African-American experience. And not only are students there staging and directing the production, they’re also required to study its history.

Students gain practical skills working in the McCluer theater workshop.

“I’ve learned so much in the drama program,” McCluer sophomore Nicole McDuffie says. “It’s been a great social experience and lots of fun, but I also think it’s prepared me in other ways. Sometimes it just makes you see the world a little differently.”

But can it make the world see North County high schools in a new light? Erwin thinks so. “I’ve had parents tell me they wish that everywhere ran the way our theater group does, because it’s so integrated and the kids are so accepting of one another,” he says.

Camilla Hodgson, Hazelwood East’s student director of Nunsense, also sees the positive impact. “A lot of people put our school down, saying it’s nothing but troublemakers,” she says. “But if they’d just come out and watch us, they’d see how talented we are and how hard we work. They may not believe it, but I know we can do anything we set our minds to.”

To see North County’s talented student thespians in action, why not attend one of these upcoming shows? For many performances, tickets are just $5.

Nunsense, Hazelwood East – February 5-6, 7pm

Urinetown, McCluer, February 18-20, 7pm

Once Upon a Mattress, Pattonville High School – February 19-20, 7pm

An Evening with August Wilson, McCluer – February 25, 7pm

The Wizard of Oz, Incarnate Word Academy – February 25-27, 7:30pm

Guys & Dolls, McCluer North – March 11-13, 7pm

Bat Boy: The Musical, McCluer, April 8-10, 7pm

Twelve Angry Jurors, Hazelwood East – April 15-17, 7pm

Little Shop of Horrors, Hazelwood West, April 21-24, 7pm

Fiddler on the Roof, Lutheran North – April 22-23, 7pm

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Hazelwood Central – April 22-24, 7pm

One-Act Plays, McCluer North – April 22-24, 7pm