ZIII~.en

...<0<0.....

~''.. . . ',. ' .' '"

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1997

ST. CHARLES

Hyla~dArena,noteburningcelebratedBy ToMMYROBERTSON outstanding note at a reception at the burning of the last note meant

OflheSl CharlesPos! the Hyland Perfonnance Arena, the banquet also was a celebration. . President Dennis Spellmann said. of Lindenwood'sdebt-free status.

. The president of Lindenwood Friday, "We're going to be com- Th d . HUniversitystoodin the institution's pletely debt-free." e .arena was ~ame. lor ~-new arena and proclaimed that the Spellmannspoke a few moments land, who was se~or Vice presl-,dmlnistration did riot owe a cent' before 1,000guests on the arena's dent of CBS Radio and general

." 2n ~e: buildingor anythingelse flooratten.deda banquetinitially managerofthe network-ownedra-~~nnected Wl~Jh,e~titut;iO!l;,. b!ll~das a tribute;~o the,late Rob-

,::"~~A~}'eburned 1I(pie~e,;1i~,the.:1ast~;~y'land :J~tt.spe~ann. said See HYLAND,PageSC4 I

HylandArena,debtfree statuscausefor celebrationContinuedfrom Page SCI

dio station KMOX. He died in 1991 ofcancer at age 71.

Hyland was president of Linden-wood's Board of Directors.

"The beautiful thing about this isthe local commitment that made thishappen," said Ed Watkins, the col-lege's chief money raiser.

.HoPefully people will look atsomething like this and see what acommunity can do when it decides it

wants to do something," Watkinssaid. . And people have had one mindaboutthis.. .

The completion of the 3,OOO-seat,$10 million Hyland Arena - a facili-

ty the university owns free and clear- puts Lindenwood in the position of

proceeding with even more buildingplans. ..,

In the past two years, the collegehas purchased more than 30 acres

ne{lI' First Capitol southeast of thecollege, University officials are for-mulating plans to build several facili-ties in the area, including one or two

donnitories, a student center, a per-forming arts center and perhaps acommunity center.

The arena was expected to cost be-

tween $3.5 million and $4 when

Spellmann expanded the scope of thefacility. He decided to upgrade thearena by including a luxury skyboxpavilion of 270 cushy seats.

The seating area connects the are-na to a room which can be used forconferences, receptions, board meet.ings, business expositions and muchmore.

Lindenwood sold the luxury seatsfor .SS,OOO each through a personalseat licensing-style campaign. That .effort plus other fund-raising effortshelped secure a $2.5 million contri.bution from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee

Foundation of Tulsa, Okla., in 1994and a SSoo,OOO donation from St An-thony's Medical Center in south St:-Louis County last year.

Hyland was a board member of 51.

Anthony's and founded the drug- andalcohol-treatment programs at St.Anthony's. That center also bears hisname.

..-----------------.

Member of the Suburban Newspapers of Greater St. Louis FRIDAY,FEBRUARY19, 19ST. CHARLESCOUNTY, MISSOl

~.

Lindenwood unveils its plansfor gym, metro sports centerBy M.J. TraskStaff writer

Lindenwood College is workingon development plans that, if ful-filled, could make the college theamateur sports center in themetropolitan region.

Lindenwood President DennisC. Spellmann on Wednesdayunveiled plans to build a 3,000-seat "multipurpose performancegymnasium," which would housethe college's basketball, volley-ball and wrestling teams.

The $3.5 million gymnasium isscheduled to be completed some-time in 1994.

Spellmann said the gym is astep toward the college's goal ofbuilding a "comprehensivesports and performing arts com-plex. "

The gym will be located on thecampus, next to the college'snew "fitness center." Linden-wood recently renovated the sta-bles into a fitness center.

Spellmann also announced Lin-denwood's intention to get a"regional sports convention cen-

St. Charles

ter" built at the college. Plansnow call for the facility to havean "eight-lane, 200-meter:bankedtrack," and a seating capacity of8,000to 10,000spectators.

The cost of the facility is esti-mated at $10million.

The sports center would beused by Lindenwood's trackteams, and also by the localcommunity for various athleticcompetitions and for AmateurAthletic Union events, he said.

During an interview Wednes-day at his office, Spellmann saidthe sports center could be usednot only for track-and-fieldevents, but also gymnastic com-petitions and concerts. It couldbecome an "indoor Riverport,"he said, referring to the Mary-land Heights amphitheater.

Spellmann said no timetablehas been set yet for getting thesports center built. The center

would be built near the perfor-mance gym, but an exact loca-tion has not yet been deter-mined, he said.

Lindenwood officials haveexpressed an interest in extend-ing the campus south and westalong First Capitol Drive andWest Clay Street. Propertiesalong those stretches include abank, retail businesses, mobilehomes and an abandoned drive-in theater.

Questions still remain aboutwhere the money would comefrom to build the sports center,and even who would own it. "Wedon't have to own it, even if it'son our property," said Ed Wat-kins, a St. Peters businessmanworking with the college on theproject.

Watkins also is a member ofthe St. Louis Sports Committee.

"Whoever uses this will have alot to do with who owns it," Wat-kins said about the center.

If both buildings are construct-ed, major road improvements in

(See LlNDENWOOD,Page 2)

Map provided by LlNDENWOOD COLLEC

Lindenwood College has proposed the construction of3,000-seat performance gymnasium and 8,000-se'at multipupose sports center. The drawing above indicates the likellocation of the facilities.

.

,Journal News

L~ndenwood gets $1 million grant to build gym

4C St. Peters JOURNAL, Wednesday, May 18, 1994

- . .

By M.J. Trask~~~1fwriter~~Lindenwood College's cam-paign to raise money for thecohStruction of a 3,OOO-seatgym-nasIum on its St. Charles cam-pus received a major boostrecently.

The Mabee Foundation hasawarded the college a $1 million.c."cliallenge grant" toward thecost of the project. College offi-cials were expected to make aformal announcement of thegtarft late Thursday afternoon.-r'The foundation will provide the

~~~ey if the college can raise

$1.25million within the next yearto meet the grant, said Ed Wat-kins, Lindenwood's business con-sultant.

The Tulsa, Okla.-based founda-tion provides assistance to reli-gious, charitable and educationalorganizations in the Midwest,Watkins said.

Watkin::.said he did not expectany difficulty in raising the $1.25million.

In fact, fund-raising effortshave gone so well since they gotunder way last October that thecollege plans to build a moreelaborate facility than first con-templated, Watkins said.

Originally, the gym was bud-geted as a $4.65 million project.The campaign begun last fallhas raised $2.4 million thus far,Watkins said. The $1 millionfrom the foundation and the$1.25 million the college expectsto raise in the next year wouldmeet that budget.

But based on fund-raisingresults thus far, Watkins saidthe college expects to raisemuch more than $1.25 million inthe next year. "This project isgoing to be closer to a $7 million(facility)," he said Wednesday.

Plans now call for the buildingto include a meeting room witha capacity for 250 people, class-rooms, office space and an auxil-iary gymnasium.

The college wants the exterior

of the building to be architectur-ally compatible with the brickbuildings on campus, Watkinssaid.

The project could be complet-ed by January 1996,he said.

Mike Dyer, who heads the St.Louis Sports Commission andthe 1994U.S. Olympic Fest, saidSt. Charles County is positioningitself with the new Lindenwoodfacility and St. Peters Rec-Plexto attract a number of amateursporting events.

-But Dyer said, "I think youneed to maximize the use" ofsuch buildings. He said thesebuildings need to be flexible tohost such events as concerts,conventions and various types ofshows.

.;, ..

'.'

. Special Commemorative...; :...~..~"l-- .._ ._ ".

VO~U.ME1, NUMBER 1, .\)...\.

Edition

".>'1

~_. ~ ---~--_._.

t.

New land ofOzdebutsinO'FalionT.R>'HughesBallfie,I~J,n~wIqcaldi.~QJ9nd

. . '. .:~\ .'.; ; ':,i . " ~. " ~ .' ,. :.

By N~iISchoenherr ;':t'I1lngs happening ill O;FaHbn, 'He ...

SuburbanJournals was talking about building 'achampionship field, somethingthat would be first-class," Watkinssaid.

He immediately decided to getinvolved on the ground floor. "Webegan to discuss what we couldhave in this area that would besecond to none in terms of hostingmajor sporting events. Sports St.Charles County, of which I was a

co-founder, heldmeetings to fig-ure out what wecould do to geta major base-ball/softballcomplex in thearea," Watkinssaid. /

FOrmer cityadministrator

Pat Nasi andRenaud were heavily

involved in the process,. he said.',/' Watkins, who counts

Ozzie among his friends, sug-gested the staaium be associat-

ed with a world-class athlete.Ozzie agreed, and the relationshipwas born.

Renaud asked Watkins to con-sider planning the grand openingcelebration, He helped secure theevent's major sponsors and play-ers in today's game.

"Today's event has cometogether just the way we dreamedit," Watkins said. "Everyone'sgoing to be.very happy with thisstadium~

Today marks an important datein O'Fallon history as the citytakes a trip through the "Land ofOz" to celebrate tIle grand open-ing of the T.R. Hughes Ballpark atthe Ozzie Smith Stadium SportsComplex.

Everyone from Mayor PaulRenaud to Stan Musial to OzzieSmith is expect-ed to be inattendance attoday's event.

A three-inningsoftball gamewill be p1ayedbetween the"red" team,featuring formerSt. Louis Cardi-nals baseball stars,and the "blue" teamfeaturing local medi'amembers and celebrities.

Major sponsors of theevent include the SuburbanJournals, GTE, and the city ofO'Fallon.

The stadium itself is namedafter Tom Hughes, a local landdeveloper, who was a major finan-cial contributor to the project.

/ Ed Watkins, president of Win-ning Endeavors of St. Charles, hasbeen involved with the stadiumproject since the beginning. Win-ning Endeavors hasDandled themajority of publicity for the event.

"1was at an event in 1996whenthe mayor spoke of all the exciting

. '--

MAY 27,1999

RoySykesphoto

O'Falion Mayor Paul Renaud, left, Ozzie Smith and T.R. Hughes stand in theinfield of the T.R. Hughes Ballfield.

Grand Opening CelebrationOzzie Smith $ports Complex, O'Fallon, MiS$ouri -May 27, 1999

ST.LOUISPOST-DISPATCH

BASEBALL'.\

~EDNESDAY,JULY3,1996- SPORTS 5C

OzzieFieldsGetsNewMeaningBy Jason M.StallmanOfthePost-DispatchStaff

The Wizardof Ozbecamethe Wizardof Westh-off on Tuesday when Mayor Paul Renaud an-'nounced a plan to build a $3.5 millionbaseball-

-softballcomplexin WesthoffPark in O'Fallon,Mo.,named in honorof the Cardinalsshortstop. '

Ozzie Smith Stadium and Fields will be an eight-field complex added to the seven fields currently inWesthoff Park, in northeast O'Fallon onTom Ginn-ever Boulevard. The stadium is projected to seat2,500 to 3,500 fans, making it the largest baseballfacility in the metropolitan area after BuschStadium.

"O'Fallon's field of dreams has been on thedrawing table for two years now," said O'FallonCity Administrator Pat Nasi at Tuesday's newsconference at the Mid Rivers Chapel in St. Charles."We expect this facility to become the benchmarkfor all baseball facilities in the region."

Renaud said seven fields, which will be used foryouth baseball and softball, will be .ready nextspring, and the stadium is expected to be complet-ed by the spring of 1998. He said he hopes it Willbehost to minor-league exhibition games, high schooldistrict baseball tournaments and any other large-scale events that can be attracted. .

Eight fields already were budgeted for O'Fallonafter voters approved a $2.5 million bond issue in

April. In a meeting with the Missouri Sports Com-mission a month ago, O'Fallon city officials wereencouraged to expand their plans to include thestadium, which could lure regional and nationalbaseball and softball events.

The stadium carries an additional price tag of atleast $1 million, which will be solicited by a non-profit orga~tion established by the city,' Nasisaid.

"Plans concerning the fmances are prelimi-nar.y," Nasi said. "But I expect the facility tobecome self-sufficientalmost immediately after westart playing on the fields."I Ed Watkins, chairman of the Missouri. SportsCommission and adviser for the St. Charles CountySports Commission, said the decision to name tofacility for Smith was made before the announce~ment of his retirement. 8

"We thought it would be ia good way to honorOzzie, who has done a great deal for our communi-ty, and give the fields some added appeal," Wat-kins said. "And now with all the attention sur-rounding his retirement, it really could work out

great.'I' "After getting a standing ovation from the. crowd

gathered at the news conference and the officialkey to the stadium from Watkins, Sr:nithexpressedhis appreciation to the St. Charles County commu-nity for the honor:

"It's hard to put into words how I feel," he said."I'm looking forward to being able to go out thereon the field and take some ground balls."I Watkins said Ozzie Sinith Stadium and Fields arepart of a regional effort to attract national events

for economic developmen~He said. O'Fallon is following the lead of St.

Peters, which constructed Rec-Plex for the 1994Olympic Festival's swimming and diving competi-tion, and Lindenwood College, which is building amultipurpose performance arena.

"It really is unbelievable how much the commu-nity benefits from these types of competitionsbeing held in the area," Watkins said. "Having thjsstadium will help the city of O'Fallon, St. CharlesCounty and the entire state of Missouri."

Heine Meine Ballpark in Lemay, which seatsalmost 3,000 people, is currently the largest facili-ty for baseball in St; Louis other than BuschStadium.

John Griesenauer, O'Fallon's director of parksand recreation, said the unveiling of the facility willcome at an opportune time because the O'FallonCommunity Athletic Club's 125 youth teams aredesperate for fields to play on'.

'''Ballfield space is critical right now in this'area," Griesenauer said. "This will help immense-ly. It will get us through the next five or six years."

. 'ST.C.HARL~S'ORCHARDFARM'SOUTHSHORE'KAMPVILLE'BOSCHERTOWN'WESTALTON'PORTAGEDESSIOUX

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 199456

Carnahaii tabsO:zzie to chair

. . . :. " .

fitriess panelBy Scotf 9ueenManaging editor'

. . , .

.With the .Lindenwood College Jazz Band playing,and construction noise that wouldn't stop, Gov.Mel Carnahan. stood in the Rec-Plex in St. PetersThursday' to name Cardinals' shortstop Ozzie

. Smith .chairman of the .Governor's Council on:PhysiCaIFitness. .

Whil~.the purpose of the news conference was totout~mith ~as spokesman for the statewide cam-paign "Flip for Fitness," it was also a shakeouttour for the Rec-Plex, the $21million complex ris-ing out of the ground just in time for the swim-

(See FITNESS,Page 2)

\

THIRTY. FIVE CE

Journal photo by ROY SYKES

Ed Watkins, a consultant to Llndenwood College and a member of the'Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Introduced St. Peters May~r ThomasBrown(left), Gov.Mel Carnahan and the St. Louis Cardinals' Ozzle Smith duringa news conference Thursday at the St. Peters Rec.Plex.

Journal News

Journal photo by ROY SYKES

Ed Watkins of Llndenwood College addresses the aud'enceduring Monday's Rec-Plex ceremony. To his left Is a model ofthe complex.

Supporters pledge$50,000 at ceremonyBy Jim MuellerStaff writer

ST. PETERS -.The localcommittee raising money for theconstruction of the Rec-Plexreceived pledges from 20 busi-nesses and groups totalingalmost $50,000 at a ceremonyMonday.

Voters approved a $16 millionno-tax-increase bond issue forthe project in November, but therest of the cost is to come fromdonations.

St. Louis businesses havepledged $4.5 million, and the St.Charles County Swimming &Diving Facility Task Force is toraise the remaining $1 million.

The task force had raisedabout $400,000 before Monday's... . , .,. oJ 4.\.._

Bill Weber, task force chair-man, called the response "over-whelming. "

"I've never seen any projectin this area that so many peoplehave received so warmly,"Weber said.

The largest contributionannounced Monday was $12,000by the St. Peters Chamber ofCommerce. Other contributorsranged from $300to $5,000.

St. Peters officials singled outthe efforts of Lindenwood Col-lege students, who have called200 small businesses in the St.Peters area. The student-athletesinformed. the businesses aboutthe project and asked if theycould send informational pac~-ets. About 100 of the businesseswere interested.

JOURNAL, Wednesday. December 9. 1992.-

5A

NewArena" "

couldboost

area sportsMinor-leaguebasketball,hockeymightbecoming

By JOE LYONSOf the Post-Dispatch

The St. Charles County FamilyArena could help the county be-come one of the Midwest's busiestcenters for amateur and minor-league sports.

If all goes according to plan, the10,OOO-seatbuilding would house aContinental Basketball Associationteam and a United Hockey Leaguefranchise for the 1999-2000 sea-sons.

There has also been talk of theAmerican Basketball League ex-panding and putting a women'sprofessional basketball team here.

Two other venues are in the pic-ture. The River City Rascals, of theClass A Independent League, willbegin play in 1999 at a ballparkbeing constructed at the OzzieSmith Sports Complex in O'Fallon.The, St. Peters Rec-Plex, whichhosted part of the Olympic Festivalin 1994,has been holding national-level diving and ice hockey events.

"St. Ch~les is a great area forsports, and we feel very good aboutthe future there," said PrimaryNetwork's Charlie Wiegert, whohas been active in trying to bringminor-league baseball and CBAbasketball to the area. "What thisarena will do is provide affordableprofessional sports entertainmentto St. Gharles County and the sur-rounding areas.

"There are lot of sports fans whosimply can't afford to take the fam-ily to see th~ Cardinals or theBlues. This gives them an option,'achance to see a quality entertain-ment for a 'goodprice. And the are-na wouldn't be .limited to sportingevents; it can also be used for con-certs, ciic~es, horse shows andother events",ofthat type."

Richard Brosal, commissioner ofthe United Hockey League, saidconstruction of the arena will end.along wait. .

The league moved its offices

from Detroit to Lake Saint Louis inMay. .

"We're excited about being in St.Charles and we're looking forwardto bringing AA minor-league hock-ey to the area,. he said. "It's anexciting brand of hockey for the'blue-collar fan, and I think the peo-ple,of this area are going to reallytake to our game."

The arena is to be managed byTrue Arena L.L.C, a group of in-vestors' headed by Frank Trulaske,who owns a fitness manufacturingbusiness in O'Fallon.

"People think of this as a sportsarena, but it's much, much more.than that," Trulaske said. "Anoth-er big part of what we'll be tryingto schedule will be the family-typeshows- circuses,concerts,iceshows, horse shows and possiblysome smaller trade shows."

EdWatkins, head of the MissouriSports C;:ommissionand co-founaerof Sports St. Charles County, saidthe arena opens new opportunitiesfor the region.

"We have the (3,OOO-seat)Rob-ert F. Hyland Performance Arenaat Lindenwood University and wehave the 20,OOO-seatKiel Center,but until now, there' really wasn't

. anything in between," he said."There are commitments from theCBA and the UHL, and I under-stand that they already have datesfor 15 concerts in 1.999.And thisfacility opens up the possibility ofOlympic-style events like volley-ball and gymnastics. .

"With this arena, there's no areaof the country that I know of withbetter venues for amateur and mi-nor-league sports."

ArenaFinancingplan. is

appruvedfor arenaContinuedfrom Page Al

Ward, William Conrey of the. 2ndWard, Mary West of the 4th Ward,Richard Baum of the 6th Ward,Michael Klinghanuner of the 7th

. Ward,Arthur Castileofthe 9th Wardand Kevin Toebben of the 10th Ward.

The 8-2 vote is sufficient to over-ride a veto by the mayor; which is note~ed. ·

In coming weeks the county has toget the financing to issue the bondsfor the' arena. Construction couldstart sometime this sUmmer.

Council members Donald Lang ofthe 5th Ward and Rose Kasper of the .

8th Ward cast the 'dissenting votesagainst the bill.' .

Lang said he would be more com-fortable with the bill if it included adedicated source of revenue for thecity's contribution, such as a tax ontickets to events at the arena.

Kasper said the partnership withthe county vias not iI:lthe city's bestinterest financially. .

-If we are going to be involvedthen I think we need to spread therisk more evenly: Kasper said.

The county plans to build the are-na and lease the facility south of in-terstate 70offSouthRiver Road nearFriedens Road and lease the buildingto O'Fallonbusinessman Frank Tru-laske and other investors.The arena

."

would be built on about.s7 acres tlStation. Casinos Inc:' donated for tproject.. . ',.. .

The annual cost. of .retiring 1bonds is estima.t~.d,at. $3.3 milliwith $2.2 million. from Trulaske ~his partners. About. $800,000 WOIcome from the county govemmand $300,000 from St Charles.

The City Council.:has'added:mfinancial safeguards to. the. jointraIigement with the-county by addprovisionsthat:.' . . . , .

. Permit St Charles to givecounty the first payment whencounty's first bond payment is du

. Permit the city to cancel therangement if the facility is un\:for a year or if the county failschedule 115dates for the facilit)

. Provide the city and all 0taxing bodies with 8 percent ofprofits if the arena is sold.

. Givethe Countysoleauthori1inspect the constructionworkOIJarena.

. County officials have agreeall the changes. .

Missouri Vall~y College Fall, 198!1

Walton Family Responds to

Mabee Foundation Chall~nge$250,000 Gift ReceivedToward Construction ofAshford GymnasiumThe Sam Walton Family has given Mis-souri Valley College $250,000 towardthe Ashford Gymnasium, which Is themajor focal point of the $5.4 MIllionBurns Multi-Service Complex.

The gift was made for three reasons:

REASONNO 1. Because Missouri ValleyCollege was always Thomas Walton'sfavorite school. Sam and his father,Thomas, were great fans of Viking foot-ball and, In particular, the 1927 team.Almost 60 years later, Thomas Waltoncoulci: stili name every member of thatundefeated team which featured VolneyAshford as quarterback.

REASON NO.2. Because of MissouriValley's remarkable turnaround over thepast four years. In a letter accompany-Ing the gift, Sam Walton said, "Again, Iwant to congratulate the College on theprogress you have made. All of us aremighty proud of what you are doing,and we compliment you on your out-standing accomplishments. Keep upthe good work."

REASON NO.3. Because the Waltonssaw an opportunity to take the lead Inresponding to the $1,000,000 MabeeFoundation challenge and Inspire therest of us t6 keep up the good work andfinish the Job.

COLLEGE HAS FOUR MONTHS .TO:', . . f1EET THE CHALLE.NGE . .

Missouri Valley College Is within $1.0 MIllionof reaching the $5.4 MIllion dream. The Col-lege anticipates receiving several large giftsthat will provide as much as half of the re-maining total. But to Insure our success, theCollege family members (Board, alumni,friends, and local community) must give andpledge $700,000. The pledges must be madebefore the end of December, but can be paidover a four-year period. Our dream will re-main unfulfilled unless every one of us re-sponds to this unique opportunity.

'_' .-1...- . ..-..

GeorgiaRobertson

BurnsMulti-Purpose

AthleticComplex

MissouriValley

College

Marshall,MO

ThePWAEGroupInc.

Columbia,MO

AssociatedFirm:Hastings& ChivettaArchitectsInc.

St.Lou~,MO

Cost: $5.5million

SquareFeet: 70,000

Occupancy:September1991

r

Utilizing precast construction saved the school $1 million - and the resulting athleticcomplex is hardly the stone fortress one might expect.

An exceptional athletic facility - onethat draws students and attractsattention - is an invaluable recruit-

ing tool for any school. A good facilitycosts money, however, an elementoften scarce in smaller schools.

The Georgia Robertson Burns Multi-Purpose Athletic Complex (known infor-mally as the Viking Athletic Center)combines form and function in a 70,000..square-foot precast building. H,:lrdlythestone fortress one might expect fromprecast, the building includes a fullrecreational area (basketball court,indoor track and other facilities), aswell as classrooms, locker rooms, con-cession areas, a Hall of Fame trophyroom and a circulation system that sep-

The Viking Athletic Center (as thebuilding is known informally) includes a

full recreational area (basketball cour/,indoor trackand olher facililies), as wellas classrooms. locker rooms, concession

areas and a Hall of Fame trophy room.

44 ATHLETICBUSINESS June)992

arates spectators from the athletes.There are two sets of locker rooms -

one set for varsity athletes and anotherfor faculty and students - with an ath-letic training facility located betweenthe two.

Precast construction offered two dis-tinct advantages. Precast buildings areeasier to build, with the shorter con-struction schedule saving the school $1million initially. Also, because of thenature of precast construction, thebuilding is easier and less costly to heatand cool.

The three-story, fire-safe building haselevator access for the disabled, and allclassrooms feature built-in conduits forcomputers, VCRsand other technology.

'NEWSWednesday, July 17, 199ti .lUUt1NAL ra\lu <i""

Plans announced for Christian high schoolBy Julie GerkeStaff writer

Michael Durso spent 21,2years in the public schoolsystems of St. CharlesCounty before transferringto LivIng Word ChristianSchool in the middle of histhird-grade year. '. Now 12, Michael is

190kingforward to spending Smiththe test of his prep careerat Living Word and graduating from its newplanned high school.

, The high schoolis expectedto open in thefall of 1998.Announcementof the high schooland the schools' new administrator, John F.Smith, were made during a news conferenceThUrsday.

"I'm sure Godis smiling broadly today as helooks upon the fervor of his people in St.Charles County," St. Charles County ExecutiveJoe Ortwerth told about 75 parents, students,teachers, staff members and pastors gatheredfor the announcement."We will, in my positionand among those I'm favored to have asfriends, benefit you with our prayers.",Living Wordcurrently consists of an elemen-

tary school at Christ Community Church in Sl.Peters, and rented space at a St. Charles Coun-ty Baptist church for middle-school classes,

There are about 250 students in the schools,representing families from about 50 churchesin St. Charles and St. Louis counties.

Smith, the new administrator, spent 24 yearsat St. Charles High School and organized andparticipates in One Accord Ministries.

School organizers want to buy 15 to 20 acresof ground within a seven-mile radius of St.Charles County Community College some timebefore December, said board member TimWaldron.

The schools' board of directors is workingwith an architect on a wish list, and a generalrendering of the new building is expected byAugust, added Living Word board member andCounty Councilman Bob Schnur.

Board members are anticipating a land andbuilding cost of $2 million, but say the finalcost will depend on land costs. Fundraisingefforts will begin once the land is purchasedand specific building plans are in place afterthe flfSt of the year, said fundraiser Ed Wat-kins.

Construction is expected to begin next year.Michael, the sixth-grader, said he likes the

private, non-denominational school better than

public school."( Public schools) teach you things that

aren't Christian," he said. "They tried to teachus evolution and stuff and I didn't like that atall. ..

Michael and the other Living Word studentshave daily bible classes. "They teach us aboutGod and a lot about the bible," he said.

His favorite classes are science and history;he says he has learned "things about theocean, energy, rocks and all kinds of stuff" inscience and about different countries andfamous people and famous places in history. .

Michael's brother, Ryan, 17, will be a senior

this Call at Fort Zumwalt South High School.He never attended a private school, but sayshe wishes he'd had the chance.

"I'd like to have had a chance to go to aChristian junior high," Ryan said. Publicjunior high classes "weren't that great. Theywere just junior-high kids."

Crystal Jones of O'Fallon has enrolled herfifth.grade son, Brandon, 10, and kindergartnerKylie, 6', at Living Word, and will enroll five-year-old Rachel next year.

"It's a great school," she said. "We feltthere was a need to associate God with theschool."

State grants Crete moneyto .start sheltered workshop

Plans to start a shelteredworkshopin Crete retarded citizensthroughoutthesouthernhalffor 'the mentally handicapped received a of Region V will be using the workshop.boost June 2 when Region V Rehabilitation Anotherworkshopis tobe set upin DavidCityServices' gave its approval for a grant of for the northern half of the region.about $100,000. Not only will this increase the nwnber of

The idea to have a place for mentally peopleusingthe workshop,but the conceptofretarded citizensto work at their speed and the just offering supervision for mentallylearn workingskills,has beenaroundin Grete handicapped citizens has been expanded tofor sometime, accordingto the.peoplewhose include,several other services.work the past few months was largely The services provided will depend uponresponsible for the region's. decision to what the 35to 40people expected to use theestablish a workshop in Crete: . workshop will need, "theysaid, but some of the

The Association for Retarded Ci~.ens. services'couldbe speechor physical therapy,;'(ARC),in crete whosemembers are parents instructionsonsocialskillsandhostelswhereofretarded citizens,discussedthe idea about the people could live by U1emselves.two years .ago,but lacJ,tedthe tin.1e.'and Wilsonsaid the nwnber of hostels or ho~resources to"'ever' accompliSh'their' idea, I theywillbe set up and supervisedbas not yetaccordingtoSteveWilsonandJ~hnBrodedck been decided, but Region V indicated thatof Practical Enterprises for People, who have . there wouldbe at least one.been wor~Iig since February to establish a ' There are a munber of things yet to besheltered workshop in Crete. decided before the workshop opens on the

Various proiects . _ . projected date of Oct. 4. The location'of the: Practical Enterprises for People (PEP) is workshopisonesuchdecisionyet to be made.sponsored by a Federally fW1dedprogram Broderick said that most likely the workshopthrough Doane College. It is similar. to an and hostel will be set up in.a leased building.V\CTIONprogram, in that studentS and for- When the needs of the wOJ:"~hQP's,employesP1er students l'aceivel~i~~tb!~l)sti~~'d..~~!1III'>1i :JarEfideteiniined a stafif will have' to be' hired.'~ork in th~;_~~l~rfi~,1at:W~p'~~p'iOf~~~:-~:,'..~\~~r~~',~ ~T.~UOthers h~v~ h~tI)edl1(;', ~:: . ,;~;.'.':Norking with the mentally' han~capped, The two said they have had help in makingbaby-sitting for shoppers and,plamiing., 'ae- the .decisions though, since local businesstivities for the elderly are some of the people and leaders who belong to SCOPEprograms PEP has been involved in since . have been advising them all along. A list ofbeing formed in February., . . people whohave helped them so far would go

Wilson and Broderick said they first began . on forever, they said. .

in February to see if a workshop was needed Some businesses have already. said theyor wanted by local' citizens. . would be willing to contract some of their'. Doctors, clergymen and school' officials wor~to the w9rkshop.were sent letters asking for their help in Farmland Industries b,as said it would'locating people who might benefit from .the, contract the repair of their wooden!palletsworkshop. . with the workshop.They even have had to

" Theycompileda list ofabout 15peoplewho tW"ndown one contract with another com-wouldben.efitby a workshop';.~ey said, and pany, because they wanted the work donethendecidedthat nomatter whatit took,they immediately.,wouldestablisfla.w~rksb.op.forth~~ people. . TIleresJx.>nsethe.communityhas shownto',Thegr~t~om~~gionY'!1asc~gedquiw' the worksp~phas convincedthem tha*therea few of theIr ongmal pl~s, however. woul~have'~en a workshopQYfall, regard-

; Half of region ' less if there had not been outside help they .

. Nowthere willnot onlybe a workshopfor sai~, but they quicklyadded that.the grant ispeople in Crete to attend, .but. mentally appreciated, too. '