Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Hiatus Time

I've been advised to take a few days off, so don't look for any updates till Monday. I'd like to give those people that have said I've printed something that is incorrect an opportunity to mail me a letter outlining what they disagree with. Please sign your name so I know how to contact you.
I look forward to writing about things here in South County that interest me but don't get the coverage by of our weakly paper.
We'll follow up with the witch-hunt being conducted at the Mehlville Fire Department and the cronyism that's draining resources from the department.
We'll explore Mr. Jim Lembke's fundraising and how he is primarily collecting funds from legislative committees. One contribution is twice what is allowed by law. We also note Mr. Lembke donated to Friends of Chris Brown and the CFEA or Rex's Rangers.
We'll try to get you some information on Diehl vs Fred Weber. Last I saw, they were scheduled to go to trial on May 12.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

UPDATED: Harris joins Steelman campaign, woos fee-office operators

UPDATED: Harris joins Steelman campaign, woos fee-office operators
By Jo Mannies
04/24/2008 12:28 pm
State Treasurer Sarah Steelman announced this morning that she has added “prominent Republican consultant James Harris as a political advisor” to her campaign for governor.
Harris had been a key operative for Gov. Matt Blunt, first with his campaign and later in his official office.
Harris has been tied to several of the governor’s more controversial activities, including Blunt’s privatizing of the state’s fee office branches. Early in the administration, Harris also oversaw many of the governor’s appointments, including who got awarded those fee-office licenses. (Harris’ grandmother, for one.)
UPDATE: And today, Harris sought to renew his ties to some of those fee-office operators by sending them an email that highlighted a recent KCStar blog about Steelman’s GOP rival, U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof of Columbia, Mo., who has proposed changes in how fee offices are awarded.
The email begins:
“Friends -
“Please do NOT forward. I think Hulshof’s continual flip flop demonstrates that he has become a DC politician and unable to be a conservative agent for change.
“Here is a quote from Hulshof’s top person regarding fee offices. ‘Under a Hulshof administration, zero consideration will be given to political support,’ (Scott) Baker said. Hulshof is opening himself up for Democrat attacks. He should be talking about tax cuts, social conservative issues or innovative ways to make government more efficient, not this.






Kudos to Senator Kit Bond

U.S. must do a better in treating brain injuries of service members:
I share much appreciation for Senator Bond's leadership efforts in this important matter. For more, read the article and letter to the editor in today's Post Dispatch.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Threats Again

I received an e-mail from a friend which had a portion of a recent posting from Stoney's 's(James Stonebraker) website.

"Mike Heins operates his hate blog to pass moral judgement of everyone in South County politics while glorifying his own (supposed) perfection. The individuals who bear the brunt of his daily bane have already began meeting with their attorneys to explore their legal options against the lies, defamation and innuendo Heins and his gang spew against them every day."

Gentlemen,
Please don't waste your time. I'm 47 years old. I've been threatened by meaner boys than you. Here's my suggestion. If you think I have written something that is inaccurate, send me a certified letter in the mail. I'll respond within 24 hours of receipt , both on my BLOG and by snail mail. I only want accurate information to be out there. Now, if you're a fraud, thief or a wife beater and you're looking for an apology, don't waste my time.
My polygraph offer still stands.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Farewell Patrick Wallace

The new Mehlville School Board was at work less than an hour and fired their first person, the district's public relations man Patrick Wallace. This wasn't unexpected as Karl Frank , Jr. has made his intentions known that he wanted Wallace fired prior to joining the school board three years ago. Frank thought that Wallace had campaigned for someone else in his first attempt for the board. During Frank's tenure as a school board member, he has also sought to fire Wallace for his refusal to violate copyright laws. Wallace would not authorize the Call Newspapers to print the MHS senior picture without permission from the owner.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

The Mehlville Fire Department Gets Hotter

Tonight, I understand the MFPD's Board of Directors authorized the hiring of an outside firm to investigate some alleged harassment to one of their employees, Marty Becker. That's quite a coincidence. I understand James Stonebraker has been up in arms about the fact that none of Becker's fellow firefighters will tuck Marty into bed at night. This is quite humorous since the only district firefighter known to have harassed anybody is our current chief. James Silvernail had issues with his his former employer, Metro West Fire Department and their board of directors. He pleaded guilty to harassing them and a restraining order was issued against him after being hired by the Mehlville Fire Protection District. Former Ladue Firefighter Marty Becker is the brother of Mike Becker, Realtor, fee license agent for the state of Missouri and political tool for Chris Brown, Davis Bertelsen, Arron Hilmer, Bonnie Stegman, James Stonebraker, Kenny Hulsof, Rex Sinquefield, etc.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Digging a Little Deeper in the Well

Unlike Call Newspaper reporter Burke Wasson, I went further than just the St. Louis County Election Board's records when researching the financial backers of the Rex (Sinquefield) Rangers and their extreme right wing attempt to take over the Mehlville School District.
At the election board, you'll find only Chris Brown of the Brown, Bertelson, Mooy slate even bothered to form a committee. Why should they with Mike Becker as their puppetmaster? They might actually have to think and act on their own if they did.
http://www.moethics.mo.gov/Ethics/CampaignFinance/CFCommitteeInfo1.aspx?MECID=C081040&Year=2008

Friday, April 18, 2008

Memo to Chris Brown

Chris,
I know that Mike Becker did most of the work for you during the election, but it's still you're responsibility to file your quarterly campaign finance report. Yours is already overdue by 3 days.

Also note. There is an error on one of your contributions forms 27 March 08, line 6 should be $735 not $835.. Of course, this affects your form MO 300.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Connecting the Dots-Michael Becker in the News

Michael Becker, money handler for Rex Sinquefield, makes the news for the second week in a row. Last week, he tried to push a " reform" slate down the throats of the citizens of the Mehlville School District. Check the link for what this anti-government, anti-public education state fee agent shill is up to.


http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2008/04/hulshof-rakes-in-dough-from-fee-agents/

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Mehlville Fire vs the Sunshine Law

We continue to wait for the Call Newspapers to cover the numerous violations of Missouri's Open Records Law by the board of the Mehlville Fire District. I guess lawbreakers don't like to snitch on other lawbreakers.

Litigation versus William & Deborah Milligan
& Concord Publications, Inc
doing business as Call Publishing & Call Newspapers
aka the Oakville Call, Concord Call Green Park Call & Sun Crest Call
Case #21C94-18795 Landlord, Darrel D. Climer back rent for over $11,000 Release of Garnishment Oct 27, 1995.· Case # 21C97-23879 State of Missouri Failure to pay taxes,· Case #681813 Alonzo Potts- Former Business Partner with Call Publications sues the Milligans and the Call for Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Breach of Contract, and Fraud ($30,000).· Case # 97CC-001749 continued action to settle previous case by Alonzo Potts- Judgment #781307, March 26th, 2003.· Case # 21S90-02371 Small claims by Lockos, hostile work environment· Case #21S90-02372 by Voyles· Case # 21S96-01019 by Service Assurance Corporation AgainstWilliam T. Milligan· Case # 21B901359 07/17/90 Adult Abuse brought by Deborah S. Baker (spouse)· Case #21C98-04554 Failure to pay account Commercial Phone Marketing· Case #931976939 Failure to register vehicle· Case # 932000078 speeding· Case #96010990 Failure to register· Case #76151990 Failure to appear· Case #90030990 speeding· Case #7651990 Failure to appear· Case #21-94TR-011892 speeding· Case #94TR-11892· Case #95TR-7291· Case # 90TR TR-26455 Disobeyed red light· 2 cars were totaled in 1990!AgainstDeborah (Baker) Milligan· Case # 613949 Dissolution of marriage 08/14/90

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Yippee, It's Election Day!

I love election day. I was the first to vote this morning at 6 a.m. It's great to be number one. On the way out, I said hello to Carl. Our political views might be quite different, but I respect the guy. Everyone I know says that he's a friendly and sincere man. Those aren't bad ways for a politician to be known. Of course, I'm speaking of former State Representative and current Committeeman Carl Hendrickson.
Vote early and often!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Mehlville Budget Forum Postponed Till After the Election

I am not afraid to put myself where my decisions are. How can we be public officials and not be willing to stand up to oversight and scrutiny? It comes with the territory. It is part of the job...and yes; it is part of being child-centered. Thank you,
Karl Frank, Jr.
Vice-President Mehlville Board of Education.

On March 7, the Mehlville School Board was told that their budget’s balance projections in just two years are 2.9 % below what’s allowed by law. They held a candidate forum on March 10th and no disclosure was made of the problem. No mention was made of the dismal budget projection at the school board meeting held on March 13th. The board didn't even discuss the problem before they met in an emergency closed session meeting on March 25th, yet they demoted their chief financial officer. They scheduled a forum to discuss the budget crisis on April 1st. They postponed that discussion and meeting. The district will hold an election on April 8th. The board will meet to reorganize on April 16th with their new board members. The board plans to hold their rescheduled budget forum on April 19th. It will be a month and twelve days after the board was informed about the impending budget problem before they plan to discuss it.

Mr. Karl Frank, Jr., are oversight and scrutiny just buzzwords to you?

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Follow the Money in Mehlville

Rex’s Mighty 100 (PACs)

Can you count on our local newspapers to give you news you can use for the upcoming Mehlville School Board election?

Do you know where the money is coming from to fund the campaigns of Brown, Bertelsen and Mooy?

A PAC called Citizens for Accountable Education is funding the campaign. The man running this PAC is Michael Becker of Shrewsbury. He’s a former candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives. This anti-big government, anti-tax fellow runs a state license office in Maplewood.

The money for Citizens for Accountable Education comes from Rex Sinqefield. He funnels the cash through a number of shell organizations designed to circumvent Missouri’s Campaign finance laws. He donates these funds to anti-public school and pro-voucher candidates. State Representative Jim Lembke is one of the lucky candidates in our region.
Below is a list of Mr. Sinquefield’s PACs. Notice how he uses names that have acronyms to confuse voters. The ones he is using for the race for the Mehlville School Board start with MNEA, which voters are supposed to confuse with the Missouri National Education Association.


MISSOURIANS FOR TAX REFORM (MTR PAC SOUTH) MISSOURIANS FOR TAX REFORM (MTR PAC NORTH) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC NORTH) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC NORTHEAST) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC BOOTHEEL) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC SOUTHWEST) MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE) MERIT PAY FOR MISSOURI TEACHERS (MPMT PAC SOUTH) MERIT PAY FOR MISSOURI TEACHERS (MPMT PAC NORTH) MERIT PAY FOR MISSOURI TEACHERS (MPMT PAC KC) MERIT PAY FOR MISSOURI TEACHERS (MPMT PAC WEST) MERIT PAY FOR MISSOURI TEACHERS (MPMT PAC EAST) MERIT PAY FOR MISSOURI TEACHERS (MPMT PAC ST. L) MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC NORTHEAST) MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC NORTHWEST) MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC HEARTLAND) MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC BOOTHEEL) MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC CENTRAL) MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC NORTH)CMISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC SOUTH)MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC WEST)MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC EAST)MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC SOUTHWEST) MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC SOUTHEAST) MISSOURIANS NEEDING EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVES (MNEA PAC STATEWIDE) MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC EAST) MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC WEST) MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC SOUTH)MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC BOOTHEEL) MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC NORTH)MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC NORTHEAST) MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC NORTHWEST) MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC HEARTLAND) MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC STATEWIDE) MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC SOUTHWEST) MISSOURIANS SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE (MSTE PAC SOUTHEAST) YOUR SCHOOL YOUR CHOICE (YSYC PAC STATEWIDE)YOUR SCHOOL YOUR CHOICE (YSYC PAC CENTRAL)YOUR SCHOOL YOUR CHOICE (YSYC PAC SOUTHEAST)CONTINUINGYOUR SCHOOL YOUR CHOICE (YSYC PAC NORTHEAST)CONTINUINGYOUR SCHOOL YOUR CHOICE (YSYC PAC SOUTHWEST)CONTINUINGYOUR SCHOOL YOUR CHOICE (YSYC PAC NORTHWEST)CONTINUINGYOUR SCHOOL YOUR CHOICE (YSYC PAC WEST) YOUR SCHOOL YOUR CHOICE (YSYC PAC EAST) YOUR SCHOOL YOUR CHOICE (YSYC PAC SOUTH)YOUR SCHOOL YOUR CHOICE (YSYC PAC NORTH)PARENTS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS PAC STATEWIDE)PARENTS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS PAC CENTRAL)PARENTS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS PAC SOUTHEAST)CONTINUINGPARENTS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS PAC SOUTHWEST)PARENTS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS PAC NORTHEAST)PARENTS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS PAC NORTHWEST) PARENTS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS PAC WEST)PARENTS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS PAC EAST) PARENTS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS PAC SOUTH)PARENTS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS PAC NORTH)MISSOURIANS FOR TAX REFORM (MTR PAC STATEWIDE) MISSOURIANS FOR TAX REFORM (MTR PAC CENTRAL)MISSOURIANS FOR TAX REFORM (MTR PAC SOUTHWEST)MISSOURIANS FOR TAX REFORM (MTR PAC SOUTHEAST)MISSOURIANS FOR TAX REFORM (MTR PAC NORTHWEST)MISSOURIANS FOR TAX REFORM (MTR PAC NORTHEAST) MISSOURIANS FOR TAX REFORM (MTR PAC WEST)CONTINUINGMISSOURIANS FOR TAX REFORM (MTR PAC EAST) MY JOB MY WAGE PRESIDENTS WARD (MJMW PAC PRESIDENTS WARD) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWENTY-EIGHT (MJMW PAC WARD TWENTY-EIGHT) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWENTY-SEVEN (MJMW PAC WARD TWENTY-SEVEN) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWENTY-SIX (MJMW PAC WARD TWENTY-SIX) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWENTY-FIVE (MJMW PAC WARD TWENTY-FIVE)MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWENTY-FOUR (MJMW PAC WARD TWENTY-FOUR)MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWENTY-THREE (MJMW PAC WARD TWENTY-THREE)MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWENTY-TWO (MJMW PAC WARD TWENTY-TWO)MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWENTY-ONE (MJMW PAC WARD TWENTY-ONE)MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWENTY (MJMW PAC WARD TWENTY) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD NINETEEN (MJMW PAC WARD NINETEEN) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD EIGHTEEN (MJMW PAC WARD EIGHTEEN) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD SEVENTEEN (MJMW PAC WARD SEVENTEEN) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD SIXTEEN (MJMW PAC WARD SIXTEEN)MY JOB MY WAGE WARD FIFTEEN (MJMW PAC WARD FIFTEEN) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD FOURTEEN (MJMW PAC WARD FOURTEEN)MY JOB MY WAGE WARD THIRTEEN (MJMW PAC WARD THIRTEEN) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWELVE (MJMW PAC WARD TWELVE) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD ELEVEN (MJMW PAC WARD ELEVEN) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TEN (MJMW PAC WARD TEN) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD NINE (MJMW PAC WARD NINE)MY JOB MY WAGE WARD EIGHT (MJMW PAC WARD EIGHT) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD SEVEN (MJMW PAC WARD SEVEN) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD SIX (MJMW PAC WARD SIX) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD FIVE (MJMW PAC WARD FIVE)CONTINUINGMY JOB MY WAGE WARD FOUR (MJMW PAC WARD FOUR) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD THREE (MJMW PAC WARD THREE) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD TWO (MJMW PAC WARD TWO) MY JOB MY WAGE WARD ONE (MJMW PAC WARD ONE) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC SOUTHEAST) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC NORTHWEST) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC CENTRAL) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC WEST) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC SOUTH) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC EAST) MISSOURIANS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH (MEG PAC STATEWIDE)

For the Mehlville School Board

This is a letter I received sent from a parent in our district.

Dear Fellow Parent/Resident of the Mehlville School District:

I am writing this letter because our school Board elections are less than two weeks away. On Tuesday April 8th voters in the area will be voting to fill 3 open spots on the Mehlville school board. I have personally spoken to each of the “new” candidates running and I also attended the Board Candidate Forum so I could personally educate myself on each of the candidates. I believe that it is crucial to elect the right Board of Education members because as was recently reported in the newspaper our superintendent disclosed that the budget projections for our district look pretty dismal for the year 2010-11 and our district reserves will dip below what is acceptable and required by the state which means we will be viewed as a “distressed” school district. I can’t tell you what that will do to our property values. The next Board will have the difficult task of navigating us through these tough times.

(SEE ATTACHED LETTER SENT TO STAFF ABOUT THE BUDGET-Note: this was forwarded to me and most of it was already discussed in the newspaper but I thought it explains what is happening very well.)

The following is my take on the candidates that are running. Again, it is only my opinion based on the information that I have gathered about each candidate via conversations and by listening to how they answered questions at the Forum. I have listed the web sites of those that I knew had them, some only have blogs.

Karl Frank Jr. – Karl is running for a second term to the Mehlville Board. I am sure Karl cares for kids because he has kids in the district. However, it has become public knowledge and was reported in the newspaper last year, that shortly after Mr. Frank was elected he was in bankruptcy. I personally believe that a candidate who ran his last campaign on accountability needs to be someone who is personally accountable as well. If you cannot handle your own personal/business finances you have no business making decisions about an almost $100 million dollar budget. It is why other Board members last year didn’t feel it was a good idea for him to be Board President. I know for a fact, that some of the more experienced Board members have challenged many of the decisions that were made over the last year knowing that it would not be good for the district financially. So again, I appreciate Mr. Frank’s willingness to serve on the Board, because it is a thankless job, I just think that his personal life disqualifies him. Mr. Frank asked the participants at the Forum “if we thought the district was better off since he came on board?” In light of the recent financial info that has come out about the district I would have to say NO.

Chris Brown, David Bertelsen and Linda Mooy are the 3 Republicans running. Their main message at the forum was that they wanted to improve academic excellence but all said that they would NEVER vote for a tax increase for the district no matter what the amount. None of them has really been involved in the district until they were running for the Board so I did not feel that they were fully aware of the issues that face our school district. Furthermore, only Chris Brown has kids in the district. I believe that their motives are political and that they answered certain questions the same way. I would be the first to tell you that I have not agreed with every decision made by our district of late, but I think that our district is heading into some tough times financially and we will have to eventually pass an operations tax levy (we have not done so in 20 years) It will be detrimental to have people on the Board who will work against any tax initiative.

Deb Langland-
www.Langland2008.com Deb has one child that has graduated from the district and one still at Oakville Sr. Every step of the way, Deb has volunteered at her kids’ schools and served on several committees throughout her child’s education like Long Range Planning, Citizens Advisory Committee and currently serves as Vice President for the Oakville/Mehlville Foundation which sponsors the Walk-Run every year that raises money for teacher’s grants and tutoring. Serving on committees like these allows individuals to see the big picture about the challenges that our school district faces. I believe we will need Board members with experience to get the job done. Also, if you check out her web site, it is plain to see that she is a person of vision who is willing to roll up her sleeves and work for kids. She also brings over 20 years of excellent business experience. She will make good decisions for kids and for taxpayers.

Marea Kluth- Hoppe –
www.MareaForMehlville.com Marea has one daughter that graduated from the district. She is also a former Mehlville Board member. During her time on the Board the budget was balanced each year without dipping into reserves to accomplish this. She served on several committees throughout her child’s education, Mother’s Club, PTO, Band Parents, Long Range Planning, COMPASS and is the current president of the Oakville Mehlville Foundation which sponsors the Walk-Run that raises money for teacher’s grants and tutoring. One look at Marea’s web site and you will realize that this woman has the experience and the willingness to volunteer. We need Board members that have the time to serve and be in the community to get an accurate pulse of the issues that need to be addressed to maintain academic excellence in our schools. Marea brings experience. I have heard it said that history is sometimes our best teacher. Marea knows our district’s history. It’s highs and lows. What has worked and what has failed. She will make good decisions for kids and for taxpayers.

Drew Frauenhoffer-
www.electdrewf.com Drew is a graduate of the District and has young children in the District. I believe that he has done a good job of educating himself on the challenges facing our district. He owns his own Human Resources consulting business and I believe he has a good business sense. I believe he will ultimately ask the right questions and I believe he will make good decisions for kids.

Erin Weber-
www.erin4Mehlville.com Erin is a graduate of Oakville and has 3 kids in the district. Her emphasis is on healthy and safe schools. I like that Erin has kids in the district.

I encourage you to check out these candidates’ websites and find out more about them. Please feel free to forward this info along to your friends and family. It is so important as a community that we are informed about the individuals who will be making decisions for our school district during this most crucial time. Most importantly, please vote on Tuesday April 8th!!