All Entries Tagged With: "Bridgeton"
North County cities will be “booming” on July 4th
The weather may be hot and swampy tomorrow but that won’t stop several North County municipalities from celebrating Independence Day. If you’re still deciding where to get your fireworks fix, or you’re looking for a parade to watch, here’s what our local cities have to offer (in their own words):
FERGUSON
Join us for the 35th annual full day of fun on Independence Day!
The day will begin with a parade stepping off at 10:00 a.m. The route starts at Suburban Avenue, heading north on Florissant Road into January-Wabash Memorial Park. Prizes will be awarded to the best parade entries.
Opening ceremonies begin at noon with a presentation of awards to Ferguson’s Citizens of the Year. The event will feature food and beverage booths, contests and an outstanding array of entertainment throughout the afternoon. The festival concludes with a spectacular fireworks display in January-Wabash Park.
All are welcome to enjoy the Fourth of July holiday in Ferguson!
Schedule
10:00 a.m. Parade Starts
Noon – park closing Food, Beverage and Game Booths Open
Live Music
2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Stoney End Rock Classics
4:30– 6:30 p.m. Chaz 45 R&B, Funk and Classic Rock
7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Bryant featuring Tom Bryant, former lead singer of Head East
Children’s Area
Noon – 7:00 p.m. Free Kids Rides, 62 Sports
Noon – 7:00 p.m. Free Show-Me Safari Exotic Animal Petting Zoo
Noon – 7:00 p.m. Free Show-Me Safari Pony Rides
1:00 p.m. Show-Me Safari Racing Pigs
1:00 – 4:30 p.m. BeBe the Clown – Face painting
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. Circus Harmony Performers
1:00 – 3:30 p.m. Dana’s Crafts
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. Sheltered Reality – Music with Meaning
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Heaven’s Handful Puppets
3:00 p.m. Show-Me Safari Racing Pigs
5:00 p.m. Show-Me Safari Racing Pigs
7:00 p.m. Show-Me Safari Racing Pigs
Fireworks
9:15 p.m. Fireworks Spectacular in January-Wabash Memorial Park
FLORISSANT
Florissant’s Independence Day celebration will be held on the grounds of the James J. Eagan Civic Center at Florissant Valley Park. Festivities begin with an outdoor concert performance by the Northwinds Concert Band at 7:30pm.
Following the concert, the City of Florissant is sponsoring its renowned Fireworks Presentation at dusk. This year’s extravaganza features a dazzling fireworks presentation combining brilliant shells, color sequencing, dimensional frontage, and low and high level aerial combinations.
Florissant’s show has always been very heavily attended and is widely honored and acclaimed by thousands of Florissant and North County sightseers. So bring out the blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy top notch, free entertainment for the entire family.
In the event of inclement weather, the fireworks display ONLY will be held the following evening (July 5 at 9:30PM). For additional information, please call the James J. Eagan Center at 314-921-4466.
HAZELWOOD
If you thought last year’s Fourth of July fireworks show was awesome, you’re in for a bigger surprise in 2011! Plus, the Hazelwood Parks and Recreation Division still has a full schedule of summer activities planned to keep you and your family busy until Labor Day weekend.
The City of Hazelwood hired Lantis Fireworks of St. Louis to do this year’s pyromusical presentation and the company plans to shoot off twice as many rockets. It’s going to be a thrilling 24-minute red, white and blue extravaganza that will have you mesmerized the entire time!
Hazelwood’s July 4th fireworks show will take place a White Birch Park, 1186 Teson Road, starting at dusk. Admission is free and open to the public. Bring your lawn chairs and/or blankets, snacks and coolers. However, no glass containers are allowed.
Additional parking will be available at Hazelwood West High School and Armstrong Elementary School with shuttle bus service beginning at 7 p.m. More parking can be found at the Knights of Columbus, 1216 Teson Road.
BRIDGETON
July 4th Parade – The theme for this year’s parade will be Let’s Go Green!. The parade is scheduled to begin promptly at 10 a.m.
Festivities at BMAC
Evening activities will be held at the Bridgeton Municipal Athletic Complex beginning at 6 p.m. with clowns, food vendors, a live band concert by Trilogy and it’s all capped off with a fireworks extravaganza at dark. Parking will be available at the St. Louis Auto Auction and Crane National Vendors parking lots on Taussig Road just south of the sports complex. Please plan to arrive early and follow instructions given by Bridgeton Police Officers. There is no shuttle service from any park facility.
Join us on the Fourth, it will be a blast!
Tornado leaves many feeling grateful in Ferguson
Nearly every street in my Ferguson neighborhood suffered extensive tree damage during Friday night's tornado, the worst St. Louis has seen in 43 years.
Wow, it sure has been a long, strange weekend. After a powerful tornado ripped through North County around 8pm on Friday, many areas of Bridgeton, Berkeley, Ferguson and Dellwood were left in complete disarray, with downed trees, sheared off roofs, blocked roadways and no electricity. Homes and buildings were also damaged in Bellefontaine Neighbors, Riverview and Glasgow Village.
Here at my house, the power went out during the storm and just returned after 60 hours of down time, but I’m certainly not complaining. Looking around my community, I feel extremely fortunate today because I know there are lots of people dealing with far worse than a power outage.
When the tornado hit on Friday, I barely heard anything from my basement. In fact, it seemed like such a non-event that I assumed Ferguson had missed the worst of it. Then I stepped outside….
The beams of my neighbors’ flashlights were already cutting through the darkness, revealing tree damage up and down the block. One neighbor lost a 100-foot spruce. Another had a large limb crash through his roof. Another lost a branch so huge that it was blocking the entire street.
Almost immediately, sirens started echoing from every direction…and they didn’t stop all night. Power lines were dangling. Trees were continuing to crack and fall over. Police cars were zipping through the neighborhood, obviously overwhelmed by the number of calls.
It was a scary scene in Old Ferguson West, and continued to be throughout the weekend, but we didn’t have nearly as much devastation as the poor folks along Royal Avenue and Hereford. My heart goes out to them. Clearly the storm went through Bridgeton and Lambert Airport and then followed the path of Airport Road/Hereford/Chambers, causing unbelievable damage pretty much the entire length.
But there is good news: no one was seriously injured.
So while many in Ferguson are still feeling stunned and sad, and countless residents are dealing with tremendous property damage, at least we can all be grateful that no lives were lost. I’m also thanking my lucky stars to live in such a strong, resilient community, where people truly care about one another and are always willing to help a neighbor in need…
Election Day brings new leadership to NoCo
Among yesterday's winners: new mayors Tom Schneider in Florissant (left) and James Knowles in Ferguson. Prop S, to fund a firehouse, also passed in Ferguson.
Amid relatively low turnout, thousands of North County voters cast a ballot in local elections yesterday, choosing a handful of incumbents but mostly fresh faces.
In Ferguson, councilman James Knowles III was elected mayor with 49% of the vote, defeating local realtor Pearce Neikirk and former Ferguson mayor Steve Wegert. At 31 years old, Knowles will become one of the youngest mayors in St. Louis County, if not the entire state.
Also in Ferguson, voters approved Prop S by an overwhelming 74% margin, giving the city the go-ahead to spend up to $8 million on the construction of a new firehouse.
Over in Florissant, a six-way race for mayor resulted in longtime councilman Tom Schneider winning with 37% of the vote. Candidates Susan Geerling and Mark Behlmann came in second and third place, respectively, earning around 23% each. Schneider will be Florissant’s third mayor in nearly 50 years, succeeding current mayor and former police chief Bob Lowery. Schneider was endorsed by Lowery.
In Bridgeton, longtime mayor Conrad Bowers retained his seat, with 48% of the vote, as did Black Jack mayor Norman McCourt, with 61%. In Dellwood, Loretta Johnson captured 59% in the mayor’s race, beating Donald Haynes for the position long held by Jack Agnew, who is retiring after more than 40 years in public service.
In the Ferguson-Florissant school board elections, it was not a good year for incumbents. James Clark lost his seat after more than 30 years in a crowded race. Doris Graham is also out after 23 years, as is Les Lentz after six years. The newly elected board members are Chris Martinez, Paul Morris and Rob Chabot.
In the Hazelwood School District, incumbent board members Ann Gibbons and Charles “Chuck” Woods bested Nina Curry by six points. They will join newcomer Brenda Youngblood for the upcoming term.
When it came to bond issues, Jennings successfully passed Prop J, allowing the school district to borrow up to $11 million for the purpose of renovating and improving school buildings. Also in Jennings, Mayor Ben Sutphin retained the post he has held since 1995, winning 43% of the vote in a close race with Yolanda Fountain Henderson.
The mayor’s race wasn’t nearly as tight in Bellefontaine Neighbors, where former alderman Robert Doerr defeated four candidates, including three sitting aldermen. He will succeed Marty Rudloff, who has served as mayor for the past 20 years.
Jim McLaughlin is out as mayor of Pasadena Hills, losing to Scott Livingston, who got 60% of the vote. In St. Ann, former state rep Michael Corcoran was selected as the new mayor, narrowly beating Shawn Short.
Finally, in Kinloch, Keith Conway will keep the mayoral job he has held since 1999. He ran unopposed and received 100% of the 14 votes cast.
To see a comprehensive list of local election results, visit the St. Louis County Election Board.
NoCo Pizza Challenge Round 9: Editor’s Choice
Who had the better pizza this week? Adamo's...
...or Mattingly's?
Am I sick of pizza yet? That’s the question I keep getting as we wrap up Round Nine of the Great NoCo Pizza Challenge. And I have to admit….yes, a little. But that’s ok because this isn’t about me. It’s about promoting the fine restaurants of North County, and to that end I’m simply your humble servant, doing the oh so difficult work of eating local pizza. I think I’ll manage.
This week brought us our heaviest pizzas to date – a 2.7-pounder from Adamo’s and a whopping 3.4-pounder from Mattingly’s. I went with classic Hawaiian style, ham and pineapple, and I couldn’t help but think….If was actually in Hawaii, these pizzas would cost $30 a pop! Instead I paid $18.95 at Adamo’s and just $12.99 at Mattingly’s, so there’s something to be thankful for, Missourians.
As for my review, both pizzas featured a nice, hand-tossed crust with moderate char on the back. Slightly thinner and flakier, Adamo’s was my preference. I also felt like Adamo’s used a higher-quality ham that was much more flavorful and less salty, but damn, that pizza was greasy! I had to blot with a paper towel.
Adamo's on the left, Mattingly's on the right
In contrast, the Mattingly’s pizza wasn’t greasy at all. It had an absolute LOAD of toppings and a ton of cheese, so you can’t say the folks at Mattingly’s aren’t generous. But do they know how to make a killer sauce? I’m not so sure.
The Adamo’s pizza had a rich, fragrant sauce that really set a lovely tone. On the Mattingly’s pizza, the sauce was not very noticeable. I also liked the fact that the Adamo’s pizza was browned on the top side, giving the cheese a yummy, bubbly appearance. So…who wins?
On one hand, we have an expensive, greasy pizza with good flavor. On the other, we have a big, bargain-priced pizza with a wealth of toppings but not a lot of punch. The readers have spoken and they’ve picked Mattingly’s. But me, I think I have to go with… Adamo’s.
Up next in Round Ten: KD Gray’s of Berkeley vs. Roberto’s of Florissant…
Are you getting ready for the big day? NOCO is a proud sponsor of the 3rd annual Live Well Ferguson 5K