EX ALDERMAN NEWSLETTER 155 AND CHESTERFIELD 100

Transcription

1 EX ALDERMAN NEWSLETTER 155 AND CHESTERFIELD 100 By John Hoffmann November 27, 2014 TIM ENGLEMEYER SPECIAL NON-PROSECUTOR...EVIDENCE IS HUGE AGAINST LAWYER SCOTT ROSENBLUM...ENGLEMEYER REFUSED TO PROSECUTE HIM: Chesterfield, Des Peres and Valley Park prosecutor and Creve Coeur judge Tim Englemeyer ignored a mountain of evidence against St. Louis high dollar defense lawyer Scott Roseblum in his ill advised role as a "special prosecutor" in the Nat "SCOTT" Rosenblum DWI and Careless and Imprudent Driving case. Rosenblum mug shot. Right Tim Englemeyer on the phone probably reducing another DWI to Illegal Parking or theft case to "Littering.". For those of you who don't remember, back Rosenblum represented the drunken lout who was staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton, was too drunk to remember his room number and talked a clerk into giving him the key to the wrong room. The accused then entered the room, got into bed with a 10-year-old girl and molested her. On April 29 at 12:15 am after celebrating the jury win in the Ritz case Rosenblum was involved in a "wrong side of the road accident." 1

2 Roseblum was driving his 2013 GV8 Bentley home on McKnight Road south of I- 64/Hwy 40. He started out in Ladue as the southbound lane of the road is in Ladue and the northbound lane is in Brentwood. However he would soon find himself in Brentwood. According to Brentwood Police accident investigators, the Bentley crossed the centerline and hit the curb on the Brentwood side of the street. The vehicle continued south in the north lane and a second point of impact when it hit the curb again. The the Bentley continued south in the north lane until it hit a 2001 Toyota Tundra, driven by Ronald Smith of Arnold, Missouri, head on. This is what a $177,000 Bently looks like. This is what a 13-yr-old Toyota pickup truck in really good shape looks like Police originally were responding to a report of an injury auto accident and a disturbance. (To read the entire DWI-report, go to "Our Favorite Police Reports" on the home page of our website. 2

3 When they arrived at the scene they found the 2001 Toyota pickup truck in the northbound lane with extensive front end damage. The Bentley was travelling at a high enough rate of speed that after having three impacts (two with the curb and one with the front of the truck) that it continued off the west side of the road. Smith, the 27-year-old driver of the Toyota pickup truck, told officers he had just bought the 13-year-old truck, had financed it and had not yet made a payment. Smith had clear head injuries, including a "knot" on his head and a bloody nose. Days after the accident he was undergoing CAT Scans and MRIs and had back, spine and shoulder injuries. When Officer Nick Seiverling first contacted Rosenblum, he was standing in a driveway at 1800 S. McKnight Road. Officer Seiverling reported Rosenblum's balance was poor, he was unsteady when walking, there was a strong odor of intoxicants on his breath, his eyes were bloodshot, he had trouble keeping them open, his speech was slurred and confused. Officer Seiverling asked Rosenblum to take standard field sobriety tests and Roseblum refused. He said Rosenblum told him he had been working 16-hour days for a case he had won that day and he was tired. Seiverling then arrested Rosseblum and things got interesting. In his police Officer Seiverling referred to Rosenblum by his preferred first name of Scott. Here is an excerpt from the police report: Rosenblum asked throughout the booking procedure for Officer Seiverling to guess his BAC level. Of course Rosenblum refused to take a breath test. He was concerned about another matter as well. 3

4 While Rosenblum refused to take a breath test, the victim in all of this, his victim Ronald Smith, who admitted having a 16 oz beer at the Cardinals baseball game four hours earlier agreed to have his blood drawn and test for BAC. The test came back ZERO (0.00). Rosenblum's concern about the media dealt with KMOV Chanel 4 being at the scene and taking video. Here is a link to some of that video: During his time at the police station and prior to him posting bail, Rosenblum was placed in an interview room. Unless someone is conferring with their lawyer, there is no expectation of privacy at a police station. During his time in the interview room Rosenblum was both recorded by video and audio devices. He began talking to himself, making res gesti (spontaneous) statements in response to no questions. This is what he had to say: 4

5 The statements "I'm not that drunk;" "In my profession there are a bunch of drinkers;" "I ought to learn not to drink so much" and "I'm not going to take any tests" are all admissible in trial. It was also interesting to see what kind of cash a defense attorney driving a one-yearold $177,000 Bentley sports coupe carries with him. Here is the answer: PROBLEMS WITH THIS CASE: Officer Seiverliong wrote an excellent report. However, the Brentwood PD made a couple of big mistakes. First they should have booked Rosenblum for DWI and Second Degree Felony Assault. It is a felony to drive drunk and injury another person. (4) While in an intoxicated condition or under the influence of controlled substances or drugs, operates a motor vehicle in this state and, when so operating, acts with criminal negligence to cause physical injury to any other person than himself; or 5

6 Once Roseblum was booked for the felony, the officers could have obtained a search warrant to draw blood from the on-duty St. Louis County Circuit or Associate Circuit judge. The cops would then release Roseblum with no citations or charges pending blood test results and warrant application. Several weeks later when the BAC results are back from the lab then the Brentwood Police would apply for warrant at the County Prosecutor's office and keep this out of city court. Also CHANNEL 4 ISN'T ALWAYS LOOKING OUT FOR YOU: A Brentwood Police Detective went to KMOV trying to obtain the rare video and audio recorded at the accident scene that included Rosenblum. This is Channel 4's video and they can do whatever they want to with it, including giving a copy to the cops. That way Channel 4 would be looking out for Ronald Smith, like their TV Promo claims. However, KMOV is like most TV stations. They are happy to share the video if it under a court subpoena. Here is the detectives report on trying to get the video: This is why in many serious accidents where the driver is drunk it takes months before the charges are filed. The County Prosecutor's Office made perfect sense in their decision not to issue a subpoena for KMOV news video. Brentwood filed a DWI charge in the City Municipal Court. The case was already filed and any subpoena's needed to come from the city prosecutor and city judge. 6

7 Special prosecutor Tim Englemeyer has never shown any interest in holding a trial and convicting anyone so getting the video (more evidence) was not necessary. Early on the Brentwood city prosecutor Michael Shelton removed himself from the case citing a conflict and he was replaced with the "Non-Prosecutor" of West County Englemeyer. Brentwood City Prosecutor Michael Shelton OUTCOME: In August there were news reports from Rosenblum and Englemeyer that a plea deal was in the works. First it is odd for prosecutors, "special ones" or otherwise to discuss pending cases in the media. Secondly a plea deal is no surprise to anyone who has watched Englemeyer work at never convicting anyone for what they were originally charged with either as a prosecutor or the Judge of Creve Coeur. Here is what happened. The DWI charge was reduced to Careless and Impudent Driving. On November 10th Rosenblum pled guilty to that charge and was given a Suspended Execution of Sentence probation term by Brentwood Judge Ernst Hill. If Roseblum violates his probation he could serve 30-days in jail. He also had to pay a $522 fine. While Rosenblum denies he was drinking he is ordered not to drink eight hours before driving and take a breath test when requested by a police officer. Plus he has to attend a state substance abuse traffic program and do 100 hours of community service. Judge Hill apparently believed that Rosenblum was drunk...too bad for the public that Englemeyer didn't bother to do his job. The original Careless and Impudent Driving charge was reduced to Improper Lane Use, which would be hard to deny when you hit a car head-on while driving on the wrong side of the road. It appears as if this charge will go on Roseblum's driving record as he was fined $273. It appears that he might get 2-points on his driving record for the Improper 7

8 Lane Use charge plus 2-points for the reduced DWI (which would have been a 12-point violation) to C&I. This was a better deal that what is given to the person at 3 am who is weaving between two lanes on an empty interstate highway gets, who did not send anyone to the hospital. Brentwood Judge Ernst Hill This is not apparently the first time Rosenblum injured someone in an auto accident. He was sued in 1977 for a personal injury accident/vehicular by David and Patricia Goetz. At the time he was sued Rosenblum was 20-years old and apparently driving a car owned by his father and not a $177,000 British sports car. Rosenblum's house at 9650 Litzsigner Road in Ladue was purchased in 2012 for $1,160,000. Besides the Bentley, Rosenblum owns a 2011 Audi and a 2011 Jeep. There is also a 2012 Maserati GT registered at his house in the name of his law firm. That model car sold for $140,000. This means Roseblum had about $335,000 worth of vehicles at his house in the spring of

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10 MAN SUES WEST COUNTY EMS & FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT TO GET HIS PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE BACK AFTER TOWN AND COUNTRY AUTO ACCIDENT: Here is the story. You decide if the driver in a one-car accident has a complaint. 1) Anthony Smith, 57, of St. Peters on February 14, 2014 was driving through Town and Country on Hwy 141. Smith has a heart defibrillator installed in his chest and due to a serious back injury takes two different strengths of Oxycodone, one for constant pain and a higher dose for unexpected severe pain. While Oxycodone is known as a drug that is often abused, I'm not assuming that is the case with Mr. Smith. 2) At about 8:19 Mr. Smith's 2008 Kia van swerved to the right, struck the right turn divider then overturned and came to a rest in the middle of the intersection. 3) The accident occurred in Town and Country but it was close to the city limits of Chesterfield and ambulances from both West County EMS & Fire Protection District and Monarch Fire Protection District responded. Officer Dan Palmer of the Town and Country Police also responded. 4) Officer Palmer recovered a pill bottle with the full prescription label from the pharmacy with Smith's name and prescription number on the bottle claiming to contain mg of Oxycodone. Officer Palmer immediately turned over the bottle to a West Country EMS & Fire Protection paramedic at the scene. It is important to have any prescription medicine a patient might be taking be transported to the Emergency Room. 5) It turned out that Smith was transported by a Monarch FPD ambulance and not the ambulance from West County EMS & FPD. The paramedic never took the Oxycodone and gave it to the Monarch paramedics. Nor did he transport the narcotics to the emergency room. 6) Smith began calling the Town and Country Police upset over the police accident report written by Officer Palmer in March of Smith later told us that he mentioned that a red car impeded his way. The police report also reported that "he (Smith) looked down to adjust his windshield wipers and the next thing he knew he was upside down in the middle of the intersection." The accident report by Officer Palmer had claimed that Smith adjusting vehicle controls was a contributing circumstance to the accident. Smith later claimed it was a medical emergency. 10

11 The police report also made no mention of of red car slowing in front of him. A review of the video/audio recording made by the police car's recording system confirmed Smith's statement about the red car and that he had "turned on the wipers" and not looked down. Smith told me in November that he had a medical event. 7) Smith biggest complaint seems to have been with the West County EMS & FPD and his missing Oxycodone. Smith traced the missing medicine from the Town and Country Police Officer to a West County EMS & FPD paramedic. He called WCEMS&FPD in March wanting to know about his medicine. He was told it had been destroyed. He went to the Fire District headquarters and spoke with Ast. Chief Jeff Sadtler, who is also over EMS services. He wanted a written explanation as to what happened to his medicine. He said Sadtler would not give it to him. We later learned the paramedic claims he put Smith's properly marked pill bottle of Oxycodone into the pocket of his firefighter turnout coat and forgot about it. Several days later when he returned to work he discovered the bottle of pills. There was no attempt to return the medicine to its owner. Instead the Fire District claims they consulted with the district' EMS medical advisor Dr. John Wilmas along with Fire Chief Ernie Rhodes, and Deputy Chief Dave Frazier and destroyed the pills. 8) On May 18 Smith sent a certified letter to WCEMS&FPD Assitant Chief Jeff Sadtler stating Smith had in person demanded a written record of what happened to his medicine and the Fire District refused to provide one. Smith asked for a response within ten days. He did not receive one. Smith told me he intentionally gave the Fire District the wrong dose of medicine as a test to see if they had actually written down the correct dose on the bottle or if they even ever had the bottle turned in by the paramedic. 9) On June days after the letter asking for a response, Smith sent another letter to Sadtler demand a written notarized explanation of what happened to his medicine or he would that legal action. 10) On July 10, 2014 Smith did just what he promised he would do. He filed a small claims action in St. Louis County Associate Circuit Court. On August 12, 2014 Judge Mary Bruntrager Schroeder, a relative of Fire District Attorney Charles Billings' law partner dismissed Smith's lawsuit. 11) On August 13, 2014 Fire District attorney Charles Billings sent Smith a very odd notarized letter. The letter was mailed on August 13, but dated on March 29,

12 saying that the medicine was destroyed, but stating when it was destroyed. The letter was signed by Ast. Chief Jeff Sadtler and Deputy Chief Dave Frazier. The letter dated on March 29, 2014 was notarized by attorney Charles Billings and dated AUGUST 12, THIS SHOWS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE WEST COUNTY EMS & FPD: Keep in mind Fire Chief Ernie Rhodes and Ast. Chief Jeff Sadtler want to provide paramedics for 30-days to check on people discharged from hospitals. Here is a case when a paramedic at an accident scene is given a bottle of a prescription narcotic belonging to an accident victim about to be transported to a hospital. It is important and vital that professionals at the emergency room know about and have all narcotics the patient may be using. The WCEMS&FPD paramedic failed to do a basic duty and make sure that medicine went with the patient to the hospital. When the paramedic reportedly discovered the medicine neither he nor the fire department made any attempt to contact the person who the medicine was prescribed to and made no attempt to return the legal prescription medicine to the patient. By failing to do either of these things, how was the Fire District looking out for the safety, health and welfare of the public. The Fire District claimed the Fire Chief and Medical Director were advised. Why wasn't the legal owner of the pills advised? How can a public safety agency send out a letter with two different dates on it five months apart claiming they destroyed prescription medicine but not giving the date the medicine was destroyed? Without the destruction date this letter did not document much of anything and is a document of incompetence of Jeff Sadtler, Dave Frazier and attorney Charles Billings. 12

13 Would it make any difference if I told you that Anthony Smith was black. 13

14 Rhodes Sadtler Frazier Billings Anthony Smith addressing the Town and Country Board of Aldermen complaining that there is not an outside agency to file a complaint with over police matters. TOWN AND COUNTRY ATTORNEY PENDING TRIAL FOR STEALING COURT DOCUMENTS IS HIT WITH A TAX LIEN: Attorney Scott Ehlermann who lives in the Laurel Lakes subdivision in Town and Country has a $1,867 tax judgment against him filed by the Missouri Department of Revenue. He did not pay the judgment and now there is a tax lien against his house. The judgment and lien were issued on October 17 for nonpayment of his 2012 taxes. 14

15 In June Ehlermann was charged with stealing documents from a court file in March. He was indicted for the felony in July by a Grand Jury. The case is currently docketed for a pre-trial conference on December 11. In February a stalking court order was issued against Ehlermann who was also ordered to stop filing unfounded complaints against the woman lawyer with the Missouri Supreme Court. This case goes back to a paternity case filled by Manchester lawyer Marie Lipowicz in ORDER: COMES NOW RESPONDENT AND HEREBY AGREES TO WITHDRAW ANY AND ALL PENDING BAR COMPLAINT WITH THE MISSOURI SUPREME COURT ADVISORY BOARD AGAINST THE PETITIONER WITHIN 5 DAYS. FURTHERMORE, IF RESPONDENT FEELS HE HAS AN ETHICAL OBLIGATION TO FILE ANY ADDITIONAL BAR COMPLAINTS 15

16 AGAINST THE PETITIONER, RESPONDENT IS REQUIRED TO NOTIFY HIS COUNSEL ANDREW HALE WHO WILL THEN NOTIFY THIS COURT OF THE COMPLAINT. RESPONDENT MAY NOT FILE A COMPLAINT HIMSELF AGAINST PETITIONER. SO ORDERED, JUDGE MICHAEL D. BURTON. Ehlermann has further court action involving his former wife, who he was divorced from in The next hearing date in that case is set for January 07, DEER CAR CRASHES SOAR IN OCTOBER: Encounters between deer and cars had been down for eight of nine months in That changed in October. There were 19 deer-vehicle accidents versus 15 in There have been 50 deervehicle collisions so far in 2014 as compared to 65 through the first 10-months of The last time there were more than 19 Deer-vehicle accidents was in December of 2012 when there were 25 deer crashes. In October of 2014 car-deer incidents show there were five in Ward 1, four in Ward 2, three in Ward 3 and seven in Ward 4. Here are the locations where the accidents happened in October 2014: Oct 01 1:40 am SB I-270 south of I-64 (Ward 1) Oct 05 1:05 am WB I-64 at Woods Mill (Ward 4) Oct 11 1:02 am NB Hwy 141 at Clayton Road (Ward 3) Oct 12 1:50 am NB 270 at I-64 (Ward 1) Oct 13 6:00 am Clayton Road at Mason Road (Ward 2) Oct 18 5:56 pm Ladue Road (Ward 4) Oct 20 3:56 am EB I-64 at Mason (Ward 3) Oct 20 6:31 pm NB Hwy 141 at Conway (Ward 4) Oct 21 7:15 pm Ladue Road east of Hwy 141 (Ward 4) Oct 22 12:39 pm EB I-64 west of Mason Road (Ward 3) Oct 23 1:02 am NB 270 at south City Limits (Ward 1) Oct 24 2:58 am SB 141 south of I-64 (Ward 4) Oct 25 2:28 am South Outer 40 Drive at Municipal Center Dr (Ward 1) Oct 25 1:15 pm 1800 blk of S Mason Road (Ward 2) Oct 26 5:56 am WB I-64 at Mason Road (Ward 2) Oct 28 9:17 pm NB 270 north of Clayton Road (Ward 1) Oct 30 6:38 pm Ladue Road east of Hwy 141 (Ward 4) Oct 31 12:39 am WB I-64 at 141 (Ward 4) Oct 31 12:03 pm 1500 Blk of S. Mason Road (Ward 2) 16

17 Here all the locations for the 50 accidents so far in 2014: 2014 Deer Accident Locations SB I-270 Between I-64 and south City Limits 5 (Ward 1) NB I-270 Between I-64 and south City Limits 4 (Ward 1) I-64 at I (Ward 1) EB Clayton Road east of I (Ward 1) Clayton Road between Topping and I (Ward 1) Municipal Center Drive 1 (Ward 1) South Outer 40 East of Mason 3 (Wards 1 & 2) Topping Road 2 (Ward 2) Mason Road South of Clayton Road 5 (Ward 2) Clayton Road east of Mason Road 2 (Ward 2) I-64 at Mason Road 6 (Ward 2 or 3) Clayton Road between Mason and Hwy (Ward 3) Hwy 141 at Clayton Road 2 (Ward 3) Mason Rd north of I-64 1 (Ward 4) I-64 at Maryville Exit 1 (Ward 4) I-64 at Hwy (Ward 4) Hwy 141 at Conway 1 (Ward 4) North 40 Drive at Hwy (Ward 4) Ladue Road 4 (Ward 4) Old Woods Mill and I-64 Overpass 1 (Ward 4) Conway Road at Babler Road 1 (Ward 4) MASON RIDGE ELEMENTARY PTO STEALS PART OF GROWING UP FROM KIDS AND PARENTS...BY OVER DOING THE TALENT SHOW: Leave it to the parents of Parkway School District only Public School that thinks it is a private school." School gyms with a stage are used for lots of things, including the school science fair, special assemblies, Boy Scout, Girl Scout meetings, the occasionally off-key Holiday choir and talent shows. Usually a show is put on for the students during the day which 17

18 also served as a rehearsal before the parents' show. Then on a Thursday or Friday night, the uncomfortable metal chairs are lined up across the gym floor and parents crowd in to see kids from one or two grades perform. This is as American as as a Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post Cover. Here is what the Mason Ridge PTO has done. They are spending $3,500 and moving the talent show out of town and beyond the boundaries of the school and putting it on the stage of the Purser Center at Logan University in Chesterfield. The 1,500 seat Purser Center is not only used by Logan, but also is rented out by professional music organizations, including those making national tours. It has a high end lighting and sound system, a huge number of theater style seats. It is a 47,000 square foot performing arts center. This is like moving 10 and 11-year-olds out of the school and onto Broadway. It is stupid. 18

19 I spoke with a recently retired elementary school principal from a district with a much higher academic ranking that Parkway. She said this is odd. It takes away good memories from the elementary school that the kids will remember 40 years later. It also puts way too much pressure on children who should be having fun while doing a learning experience and makes them frightened of failure at such a grand venue. She said It you needed more space due to overcrowding... move the show to a middle school's auditorium and have the PTO spend the money on something else, like an improvement at the school or a field trip. However a professional musician from the area told me he thought the kids might get a kick out of performing at a professional theater. Nationally known Erin Bode will have a holiday show at the Purser Center at $15 and there will be a professional ballet group putting on the Nutcracker with reserved tickets starting at $ And of course the Mason Ridge Elementary School Talent Show will be held on Saturday January 24. Needless to say Mason Ridge is the only Parkway elementary school moving the kid's show out of the school. Really these are kids...do they really need to perform somewhere with a 10,000 square foot lobby. I mean why screw around? Why not see if the Fox is available or Kiel are available? UNAPPROVED CHESTERFIELD NEWSLETTER 99 November 27,

20 COUNCIL VOTES TO ELIMINATE 2015 CITY PROPERTY TAX: In the Finance Committee Meeting involving the entire City Council on November 17 a vote was taken to drop the city property tax in It turns out that 2015 was the last year for the special property tax to pay for park bonds anyway. The tax would have cost residents between $17 and $28 and would have generated $490,000. Bruce DeGroot argued against dropping the tax and thought the money could be used to pay down another long term city debt. The overall feeling of other council members was there was enough money in reserves to get rid of the tax and give the residents a break, be it a small one. The measure passed unanimously THREE COUNCILPERSONS STICK UP FOR THE RESIDENTS NEXT TO THE PARKWAY TRANSPORTATION AND RECYCLING CENTERS...But it wasn't enough! Director of Services Mike Geisel had included in the Chesterfield 2015 budget $200,000 to buy five vehicles that run on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and convert two diesel vehicles to CNG. Geisel was going to use vehicles assigned assigned to the east of the city for CNG operation. They would refuel at the Parkway School District GNG pump located at the bus lot adjunct to Parkway Central High School. Geisel said the Public Works Department wanted to experiment with CNG. "We want to dip our toe in the water," he said. Councilman Barry Flachsbart wanted Geisel to dip his toe somewhere else. The residents of the Ladue Trails subdivision have been complaining for over a decade about the noise, odors excessive overnight bright lights from trucks and busses in connection with the Parkway system wide recycling plants and the transportation facility. "There is no way I could vote for this. The people who live next door to the Parkway CNG facility have enough vehicles making noise and starting early in the morning," said Flachsbart. "I believe there are lots of cities doing experiments with CNG around the country and we can rely on their results." "I'm a proponent of neighborhoods. For some neighborhoods in our ward this is not a good thing," said Nancy Greenwood. Before a vote on adding the CNG vehicles to the budget, Councilman Dan Hurt thought the expense in retrofitting to existing trucks to CNG was a waste of money because of the amount of depreciation already on the vehicles. The council voted to reduce the number of CNG vehicles to five new ones. 20

21 The vote on buying the five-vehicles was then taken and passed 5-to-3 with Flachsbart, Greenwood and Bruce DeGroot voting against it. Here are a couple of links to articles from 5-years ago on the neighbor complaints on the recycling plant and busses next to residential areas: GRANDMOTHER SUES CHESTERFIELD OVER DAMAGED SIDEWALK IN PARK COMPLEX: On October 7, 2012 Barbara Lombardo a 72-year-old year grandmother from the unincorporated area between Creve Coeur and Maryland Heights was watching her play football at the Chesterfield Athletic Complex. She claims that while walking to a restroom at the complex she fell and injured herself. She is claiming that the reason she fell was that she stepped on a damaged curb that was "chipped, broken and uneven." She added the there was no attempt to warn the public of the "dangerous condition." She claims as result of her fall she suffered injuries to her left shoulder and arm. (I can believe this part...i fell at my house and broke both my right arm and shoulder.) Lombardo is asking for up to $25,000 in damages. The suit was filed on October 27, PARENTS OF NINE-YEAR-OLD INJURED IN BIKE ACCIDENT TO GET SETTLEMENT FROM CITY OF CHESTERFIELD...THEY WANT COURT TO APPROVE MONEY DISBURSEMENT. A lawsuit was filed against the City of Chesterfield in behalf of an 11-year-old boy who was a nine-year-old at the time of a bicycle accident. The city attorney, police and Monarch Fire could not provide any details about when and where the accident occurred. Joseph and Dawn Becher of the Coventry Farm subdivision claim they have reached a settlement of $15,000 with the City of Chesterfield. They are asking for the court to approve giving $1,500 to them to pay for past and future medical bills, $2135 to repay an Employee Retirement Income account with Rawlings which they apparently borrowed from as a result of the injury, $1,500 for lawyer fees to the law firm of Gray, Ritter & Graham, $ in court costs and finally $9, to the injured kid that would be placed in a trust fund. The settlement was handled by the city's insurance carrier. 21

22 MEDIA WATCH: LATEST NEW ISSUE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE FOCUSES ON CHESTERFIELD... In the inaugural issue of the awful black and white Town and Country Living Magazine the first family featured did not live in Town and Country. It was the Martenet family of the Village of Country Life Acres. Now the second issue has arrived all crumpled up in my mailbox. What Town and Country family is featured this month? Well none! Apparently residents of Town and Country had too much good sense and did not sign up to be the featured family. For the month of November the featured family was that of the publisher, Dana Young of Chesterfield. Now the "Yard of the Month" was from Town and Country, but none of the five photos showed the yard of the Brautigam's on 1744 Topping Road. Four of the photos showed the patio and one showed the family dog on the steps to the patio. There were no photos of the featured yard! 22

23 FOOD: WE GOT SCARED AT THE SCARECROW: Maybe not scared, but worried a little...on Saturday November 8, former Chesterfield Patch.com editor Jean Whitney and I went to the Scarecrow, which was formerly the Press Box and before that as an Appleby's, for lunch. The Scarecrow opens at 11 am for lunch. I had attended a 9 am special Chesterfield City Council meeting so we met at 11:15 for lunch or in my case breakfast. Notice the absence of cars. We walked in and were the first customers of the day. Our waiter met us at the door and showed up our table. Being the first customers of the day is expected at 11:15. However it was over an hour before the next customers walked in. At noon when there was no one else in the place we got scared like it was a scene from the Shinning 2. Two people in a restaurant along a heavily travelled road on a nice day and nobody else comes in. We wouldn't be surprised if a Jack Nicholson look alike was in the kitchen. Seriously our waiter was a college student and he could not have been more accommodating. He heard we wanted to split the cup of soup ordered and brought out an empty bowl. When ordering and talking between ourselves saying how we should split a pizza and the cheese burger were ordering, he interrupted and said he would have the kitchen cut the burger in half. Here is the next part that got scary. It was the food. The potato soup ($4.95 for a cup) arrived and it was pureed with no chucks of potato. It was also missing something else...any flavor or taste! I didn't taste anything...jean thought she tasted something that reminded her of a dairy product. Neither of us tasted anything close to a potato. 23