May 17, 2017
Honoring the fallen
Around Town
AAUW presents scholarships. P.3 Trailnet, Katy Land Trust launch initiative. P.6
Healthy Living The importance of colon cancer screening. P.5
School
Wentzville Middle receives Monsanto grant. P.8
Business Police officers and community members join together in the 25th Annual Peace Officers Memorial Candlelight Service held May 10 Baue Funeral Home.
Photo by Ray Rockwell
25th Annual Peace Officers Memorial Candlelight Service pays tribute to police killed in the line of duty By Brett Auten On a muggy evening a wide-range of St. Charles-area residents, both uniformed and civilian, paid tribute to those in blue who have given the ultimate sacrifice. In observance of National Police Week, the St. Charles County Peace Officers Memorial Committee presented its 25th Annual Peace Officers Memorial Candlelight Service. Held at Baue Funeral Home at 620 Jefferson St., the memorial welcomed an estimated crowd of 300 who were there to remember, honor, laugh and cry. “That overtone is there,” Val Joyner, Public Affairs Officer St. Charles County Police Department said. “We know why we are all there. But we’re there together and it’s not just one and other, we also have the community.” Originally set for Valley Memorial Gardens cemetery, the event was moved inside Baue. The Fort Zumwalt North Mixed Chamber Choir gave a resounding version of the national anthem. The Call to Order was given by Sgt. Ste-
ven McCarver followed by the Memorial Prayer, given by Chaplain Jennifer Brown, both from the St Charles County Police Department. Lisa Bue, President of Baue Funeral Homes and St. Charles Memorial Gardens, was the evenings’ Master of Ceremonies and she gave the opening remarks. Chief Michael Force of Lake St. Louis Police Department was the first guest speaker on the night. “I would hope the speech caused listeners to reflect on the importance of the lives that these brave men and women lived, not only the fact that they died,” Force said. “All too often we define bravery as those special acts that result in their deaths and forget the bravery that is exhibited every day while they are living. I think this year’s service was particularly moving because of the closeness of the event and our ability to talk directly with surviving family members of those who have fallen.” Annette Jansen, widow of Officer Grant Jansen then gave the Recognition of Families. Officer Grant Jansen died at the age of
42 on Sept. 10, 2008 in a one-car crash in St. Peters while driving home after a shift, heading south on Spencer Road when his patrol car ran off the road, flipped several times and caught fire. Annette Jansen was pregnant when her husband died. She gave birth in April 2009 to her third child, a son named Grant Jansen Jr. “I had been to these before my husband had died,” Annette Jansen said. “It’s weird now going now that he’s gone.” Jansen is the President of the Missouri Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) and she spoke of the organization’s goal of providing resources to assist in the rebuilding of the lives of surviving families and affected co-workers of Missouri law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. “I go to a lot of these and this is my favorite because it involves the community that we live in,” Jansen said. “I bring the kids because it gives them a chance to talk with and see my husband’s coworkers. It’s just a neat time to remember and honor.” See FALLEN page 2
Serving St. Louis, St. Charles, and Lincoln Counties | FREE Online at mycnews.com | Vol. 19 No. 20 | 636-379-1775
Accents Salon stylist provides Mother’s Day makeover. P.9
Movie Just how good are the ‘ultimate tickets?’ P.16
Weather FRIDAY Thunderstorms Likely 82/65 SATURDAY Thunderstorms Likely 79/59 SUNDAY Chance of Storms 73/56 FirstWarn Weather
prepared by meteorologist Nick Palisch. For the latest updates visit www.facebook.com/nickswx.