Around Town

Learn to homebrew with the professionals at the county’s Heritage Museum

If you’re 21 years or older and interested in learning how to safely homebrew beer from the professionals, the St. Charles County Parks and Recreation Department has just what you’re looking for! The sixth annual Homebrew Day is from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m., Nov. 7, at the Heritage Museum at 1630 Heritage Landing in St. Peters. The free program is held on the patio outside the museum; social distancing and a valid photo ID are required. With the help of the Little Hills Home Brewers, participants will learn the art of making beer at home through hands-on demonstrations. While sampling delicious homebrewed beer, you’ll learn about the equipment needed and how easy it is to start a home brewery. By the end of the session, the group will have brewed five gallons of extract beer with specialty grains. This educational, entertaining program was developed by the Parks Department to assist the members of the Homebrewers American Association in introducing non-brewers to this centuries-old hobby. To register, visit http://bit.ly/2020LearnToHomeBrewDay or call the Parks Department at 636-949-7535.

Submitted photo The sixth annual Homebrew Day is from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m., Nov. 7, at the Heritage Museum at 1630 Heritage Landing in St. Peters.

St. Charles County Parks offers gourd painting program

Adults and children ages eight and up can create the perfect seasonal decorations at Hands-On Heritage: Gourd Painting from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Nov. 14, at The Historic Daniel Boone Home at 1868 Highway F in Defiance. This fun, artful program is perfect for doit-yourself crafters seeking to learn how to transform hard-shelled gourds into creative art. With the assistance of knowledgeable staff, participants will learn how to paint designs, such as a snowman or Santa Claus on gourds under The Grand Pavilion outside in the park. Guests will have their own paint and be seated at separate tables to allow for social distancing. Arrive early; it takes at least an hour to paint and prepare a gourd. The cost of this unique program is $5 per person. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Call the St. Charles County Parks and Recreation Department at 636-949-7535 or visit http://bit. ly/2020GourdPainting to register. While visiting the park, which is on the list of National Register of Historic Places in St. Charles County, guests are invited to take a guided tour of The Historic Daniel Boone Home. Tours are offered at the top of every hour; ticket prices are adults, $8; seniors, $6; children ages 5-12, $5; and active or retired military and children under 4 are free. There’s no charge for self-guided tours of the village grounds.

Submitted photo

EXPANDING EMERGENCY SERVICES

St. Charles County Ambulance District opens two new EMS stations to better serve the growing population of St. Charles County

By Brett Auten

As the county grows and expands, so does its need for emergency services of all varieties. In 2019, St. Charles County Ambulance District responded to nearly 45,000 calls for service. That figure is a growth of over 50 percent in the last decade. Kelly Cope is the Assistant Chief of Operations who has been at the district for 25 years, 20 of which spent as a road paramedic. “We have gone from a small, rural district to much more of a suburb of St. Louis,” Cope said. “We have to be ready for what that growth provides.” According to Cope, rapid residential and commercial development, coupled with an aging population, have been the driving factors behind the upward trajectory in call volume. Last month, the district opened new EMS stations in St. Peters and Wentzville to better reach these swelling communities. The stations are located on East Pearce Blvd. in Wentzville and Old Mill Parkway in St. Peters. They are positioned in two of the SCCAD’s busiest response zones. The

Photos courtesy St. Charles County Ambulance District The St. Charles County Ambulance District has opened two new stations in Wentzville and St. Peters has also announced details for even more improvements coming its way.

new facilities are larger than the ones they are replacing, allowing for the ability to increase paramedic staffing at these locations as needed. The stations are the first infrastructure projects in SCAAD’s 10-year capital improvement plan, which residents of St. Charles County put into motion in 2018 by the passing of Prop. Ambulance, a bond issue. In 2021, the district will take the next steps outlined in the 10-year plan that includes a reconfiguration of assets along Rt. 364 in St. Peters and in the Harvester area. Currently, this area is served by a single ambulance. Next year, two new stations will be constructed to spread the coverage more evenly throughout this highly populated area. The forthcoming EMS stations will be located at the corner of Woodstone Dr. and Queens Brooke Blvd. in St. Peters, and at the intersection of Caulks Hill Rd. and Towers

Rd. in Harvester. The district aims to begin construction in the spring, and targets fall 2021 for their completion. “When performing our community needs analysis, this area of the community was and continues to be a high priority,” SCCAD Chief Taz Meyer said. “The Queens Brooke and Towers stations, coupled with support from existing facilities, will enable us to enhance coverage and provide better response times to 911 emergencies.” Also part of the capital improvement plan is a consolidated campus facility that brings together the district’s training, administration, logistics and supply center, vehicle maintenance and non-emergency transfer division. These areas of the operation are currently spread between five buildings in three municipalities. The 147,000-squarefoot campus is under construction on Salt River Rd. in St. Peters, and is set to open next year. Meridian Waste Missouri, LLC, a subsidiary of Meridian Waste, an integrated, nonhazardous solid waste services company, partnered last week with the Village of Eolia (population 514) and the city of Wentzville (population 41,164), to collect residential bulk waste in an effort to clean up the communities and make taking out the trash easier. “Our goal is to always leave a community cleaner and greener than it was the week before,” said Area President Bob Mathis. “I think we accomplished that goal with these two great locations that we have the pleasure of serving. Winter is coming and before the first snowfall, we wanted to provide opportunities to our customers and help lighten the load in and around their homes.” The city of Wentzville held its biannual Large-Item Up event from Sept. 28 through Oct. 2, and Eolia had a biannual Weekend Clean-Up from Oct. 3 until Oct. 4. With the two collection events, a total of 251.13 tons of bulk waste was collected. The Village of Eolia purged 6.65 tons (or 13,300 lbs.), and Wentzville banished 244.48 tons (or 488,960

“There will not be many in the nation that is of this caliber,” Cope said of the campus. “This building will carry us for 30 years. Currently, we have all different departments lbs.) of bulk waste from their homes. According to Mathis, community clean-up events are a positive way to keep communities clean and offer citizens a way to remove bulk items from their homes, free from additional charges through their municipality’s contract with Meridian Waste. Bulk waste consists of large items that do not fit in a stretch to the limits. This year, with COVID, the medics have really struggled through that. These new stations and with what is

Massive haul with two community clean-up events totaling more than 251 tons of waste removed

Sunrise over one of the roll off containers used to collect bulk waste in last week’s collection events in Eolia.

happening in 2021, it’s a nice bright spot.” Submitted photo standard 95-gallon Meridian Waste trash collection cart. The items may include furniture, toilets, sinks, old mattresses, and other nonhazardous waste. Citizens are advised to confirm acceptable items with the local communities’ garbage guidelines or collection event specifications.

Pooper Troopers diaper drive a smashing success

For the month of September, the O’Fallon-based Pooper Troopers did a diaper drive in coordination with KMOV-TV and Aldi Grocery Stores, benefiting the St. Louis Crisis Nursery. During that time, the Pooper Troopers were able to collect more than 312,000 diapers.

The storage of the diapers is provided for free by St. Peter Church in St. Charles, but said storage is located up three flights of stairs. On two different occasions, a large group of young men and women from Assumption School helped transfer all 300,000 diapers up the three flights of stairs. This couldn’t have been accomplished without their amazing hearts, spirit and time.

Though the official diaper drive is finished, it isn’t too late to help. If you would like to donate diapers, please visit www.poopertroopers.

With his guitar and 3D printer, SCC student making a difference in the community

In the last year, Justin Borgstede has been busy. He’s working toward his occupational therapy assistant (OTA) degree, was recently elected president of the OTA club on the SCC campus, is active in his church and is working part-time at a skilled nursing facility. “Since the COVID-19 outbreak, I’ve been working more hours at NHC St. Charles,” he explained. “I have been facilitating FaceTime, Zoom and Skype calls between residents and family members.” Having previously worked for the IT Department at SCC, Borgstede knows technology pretty well. Those skills have been coming in handy at his job. “I also implemented a bookings site to automate family video call registration,” he explained. “I’ve been providing as much support to our residents as I can – especially when it comes to training them on how to use personal devices.” Borgstede hasn’t stopped there. He’s also used his artistic and musical skills to help entertain the residents. “I have been collaborating with coworkers on content for daily activity packets and reading material for residents,” he said. “I also try to provide regular music entertainment for residents on each hallway.” From John Denver to Jimmy Buffett, Borgstede often jumps on his guitar and serenades his residents. He often leads non-denominational services at facility as well. His talents don’t end there. He also paints as a hobby, and it brought his love for painting to NHC St. Charles. “I started a ‘painting collaboration’ with the skilled nursing residents,” he explained. “I’ve been going door-to-door asking the residents to paint something or suggest things for me to add to the painting.” It was a hit. Borgstede started with a “springtime” theme, and it started gaining momentum.

org and donate via Amazon for direct delivery to the Crisis Nursery. For more information please contact Justin Emge at Pooper Troop-

ers C at 636-485-0440 or justin@poopertroopers.org.

Photo courtesy St. Charles Community College St. Charles Community College student Justin Borgstede uses his artistic and musical skills to help entertain the residents at NHC St. Charles.

“Residents got a kick out of the story the painting was telling,” he said. “It started to turn into a really unique mural. One of the residents was an actual artist, so I let her take the lead. It was wonderful to see residents’ talents come alive!” It’s a wonder the SCC student ever has free time. However, when he does have a moment to himself, he uses it to help other people. To date, Borgstede has 3D printed and distributed more than 2,000 face mask ear guards to local healthcare facilities. He’s also making heel lifts and inversion/eversion shoe inserts for his physical department at NHC St. Charles. He’s also been making vases and phone stands to sell to residents and staff, with proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Association. He admits his class load, workload and extracurricular activities can be a bit overwhelming at times, but he has no plans to slow down anytime soon. “I hope some of what I am doing brings hope and light to a world filled with fear and anxiety,” Borgstede added. “Everyone can find that unique niche where personal passion overlaps with compassion for others.”

Wentzville EDC Business Spotlight

Indoor Comfort Specialists

Heating and Air Conditioning 636-887-0971

Elite Heating and Cooling is located at 13 W. Allen St., Suite B in Historic Downtown Wentzville near West Allen Grill, but will be relocating to 108 Hamilton Industrial Ct. to better serve our customers. The business is owned by Tim Schellert and provides heating, cooling, and water heater service to residential. The business also provides gas inspections, restaurant kitchen inspections and Old Hickory Smokers service for its commercial customers. The business likes to give-back to the community through its participation in a variety of charitable causes such as Little Black Book and Habitat for Humanity. As a Lennox dealer they are also involved in the Lennox Feel the Love program which provides a new heating and air conditioning unit to a deserving family free-of-charge. Elite has been in business since 2003. We invite you to give us a call to respond to all of your heating and cooling needs. Phone is: (636) 887-0971