Sunday News Clips: 2/28

• Vacant since late 2008, Ferguson’s former Circuit City building may have a new owner soon: St. Louis Community College. The school’s board of trustees is currently weighing a proposal to purchase the $2 million property, which is adjacent to the Flo Valley campus, and convert it into a job training center. Recently the college has received $3.2 million in grants for “green jobs” training, and officials there are looking to expand existing workforce development programs and possibly introduce others, which the new building would allow them to do.

Just around the corner from the old Circuit City, another exciting real estate development is coming soon. The Ferguson Wal-Mart is being converted into a Supercenter! Groundbreaking for the demolition and re-build begins March 20.

• In an effort to spur economic development and revitalization along Natural Bridge Road, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments is working with several local municipalities to develop a long-range improvement plan for the street. Elected officials and other area stakeholders have been meeting with consultants to hash out design ideas and potential upgrades as part of the Natural Bridge Great Streets Initiative, and for the first time this Thursday, the public will have a chance to participate.

Focusing on the 3.8-mile corridor between 170 and Lucas and Hunt, the project will develop a land use plan that incorporates ways to beautify Natural Bridge and make it more pedestrian-friendly. If you’d like to learn more about phase one of the initiative and contribute your input, be sure to attend the public meeting: Thursday, March 4, from 4-8pm in UMSL’s JC Penney Auditorium.

Dividing Natural Bridge into three distinct zones, the Great Streets Initiative aims to build on existing assets while also adding new improvements.

• The Old Ferguson West Community Garden recently won a competitive grant from Gateway Greening to cover the cost of building five new raised garden beds. Coordinators Larry and Heather Robinett plan to build a total of 15 beds this season, and already 12 of those are spoken for. In less than a year, garden volunteers have installed a water tank at the site, built a compost bin, and planted hedges, grape vines and apple trees. Look for even more progress in 2010! Congratulations and awesome work, OFW Garden!

Adam Sturgeon

• Looking to have fun and support some great local causes at the same time? Then head to one (or both!) of these upcoming fundraisers:

First up is the Adam Sturgeon Benefit on March 6, a day of games, good food and live music to help a 26-year-old NoCo man who’s fighting a rare form of lymphoma and will soon need a bone marrow transplant. To be held at VFW Post 4105 at 410 rue St. Francois, this event will feature a BB shoot, raffles, 50/50 draws and pot shot cards. And of course, proceeds go toward Adam’s rising medical expenses. For more info or to make a donation, contact Greg and Joan Lohman at (314) 703-1737. The benefit runs from noon to 7pm.

Two weeks later, on March 20, get ready for a swingin’ evening of dancing and fine drinks as Ferguson’s historic Savoy theater is transformed into “Club Savoy” for one night only! Guests at this nightclub-inspired fundraiser benefiting Blessed Teresa of Calcutta School should come dressed to impress and ready to dance to three decades worth of groovin’  music. Light snacks and a martini bar will also be available, along with silent auction items. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door, and you can purchase them at Ferguson Style & Spa, Thyme Table Cafe and BTC School or by calling (314) 521-2545. Doors open at 7pm. The Savoy is located at 119 S. Florissant Road.

• Are you an entrepreneur with an innovative, highly marketable product or service? If so, you can enter the 2010 St. Louis Regional Business Plan Competition for a chance to win up to $50,000 in seed money. Only companies with $100,000 or less in annual revenue are eligible, and you must enter soon! The deadline for submitting business plans is March 9.

• Kudos to the St. Louis American for being the only local news outlet (until now) to cover a story that has the potential to affect every single person in North County. Earlier this month, the paper followed a group of residents and St. Louis City aldermen as they toured the West Lake landfill at St. Charles Rock Road and 270, where illegally dumped radioactive waste threatens to contaminate the local drinking water.

The radioactive material originally came from Mallinckrodt Chemical, which once produced uranium for atomic bombs, and it was dumped just a few miles upstream from the intakes that supply ALL of the drinking water in North County and some in St. Louis City.

My grandfather worked at Mallinckrodt for 45 years, longer than almost any other employee, and he was there during the Manhattan Project days when uranium was being made. He has told me many times about chemicals and other toxic materials being carelessly dumped, and in fact, he and other longtime workers have received financial settlements to compensate for the cancerous tumors and other serious health issues they’ve endured as a result of working at Mallinckrodt and handling these substances.

In other words, these are very dangerous materials we’re talking about, and unfortunately, they are already in contact with our groundwater. Let’s hope that elected officials in Bridgeton, where the landfill is located, can work with other North County leaders to address this problem before it gets even worse.

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