Around Town

New Cliff View Branch library in planning stages

The St. Charles City-County Library has purchased property in the western area of St. Charles County and has plans to open a new library branch. The Cliff View Branch, 10 Cliff View Drive in Wentzville Bluffs at I-70 and Hwy Z (formerly Six North Cafe), will provide a modern, light-filled space with drive-through services and outdoor spaces that are currently unavailable in any of the library’s western locations.

Preliminary designs for Cliff View include features that will maximize space, usability and convenience for customers. At 3,300 square feet, the space will be flexible and adaptive with movable shelving units, a multipurpose room featuring sliding glass walls, and portable computing stations that give customers the opportunity to work anywhere in the library. Classes and events for all ages will be offered in the branch. In addition, the space will have a focus on self-service, with after-hours lending, returns, and public computing available. It will house a collection of approximately 6,600 items. Submitted photo

Library Director and Chief Executive Officer Jason Kuhl explains, “It is no secret that the western part of St. Charles County is among the fastest-growing areas in the state. The new Cliff View Branch is being developed with an eye toward creating a comfortable, flexible, family-friendly space that reflects what we’ve heard from our customers about what they want from library facilities. We are excited about this next step in the growth of the St. Charles City-County Library.”

Renovation of the building is expected to begin in July of 2020, with architecture services provided by Product Architecture + Design and construction oversight by Landmark Contract Management. The Cliff View Branch is slated to open in the spring of 2021.

Boone Center, Inc. receives computer donation from EFC International

Boone Center, Inc. (BCI) – a nonprofit that improves the lives of adults with disabilities through employment opportunities – recently received a donation valued at $15,900 from EFC International’s St. Louis division. The company is a premier global provider of specialty engineered fastener parts including clamps, panel fasteners and specialty nuts.

The equipment includes 28 Dell desktop computers, two Dell laptop computers and 16 Surface Pro tablets with keyboards. The donation enables BCI team members to more efficiently provide real-time documentation. The tablets, which will allow data entry during safety walk-throughs, provide continuous on-site technology accessibility to ensure overall communication. BCI uses SETWorks, a cloud-based system that specializes in disability service agencies and supports its employees’ specific personal and work-related needs.

“I’m so very glad that the equipment is providing substantial value for BCI,” said Reid Krueger, Operations and Facilities Manager at EFC International. “I’m proud that I was in the right place at the right company to be able to steer this technology to one of the best places I can imagine to donate it to.”

“We will use the donated desktop computers to complete our Windows 7 computer phase out project,” said BCI Information Analyst Nikki Weiss.

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AVOIDING THE HOSPITAL

St. Charles County Ambulance District has been selected to take part in a program that gives paramedics greater flexibility in determining patient care

By Brett Auten

St. Charles County paramedics have been selected to pilot a groundbreaking initiative that will hopefully work to reduce avoidable transports to emergency departments and unnecessary hospitalizations.

St. Charles County Ambulance District was one of only three emergency medical service agencies in Missouri selected recently by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to take part in a pioneering program. The initiative is called Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (aka ET3). The model provides greater flexibility for paramedics to address the unique health care needs of patients. St. Louis County’s Christian Hospital and Mehlville Hospital were the other two to take part.

Emergency medical service technicians are trained to handle all types of life-threatening scenarios. But not every call is a matter of life and death. Now, after some value-based questions are asked up front to

6 | CROSSROADS | APRIL 2020 Photo courtesy SCCAD

The St. Charles County Ambulance District paramedics Josh Buehrig (left) and Jen Martin stand next to one of their emergency vehicles. St. Charles County Ambulance District was one of only three emergency medical service agencies in Missouri selected to take part in a pioneering program called Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (aka ET3). The model provides greater flexibility for paramedics to address health care needs.

determine the severity of the situation, patients are given some options. Before the program, a trip to the hospital was the only choice.

ET3, which was announced last year, creates a new set of incentives for emergency transport and care, ensuring patients get convenient, appropriate treatment by a variety of providers.

Currently, patients who dial 911 are typically transported to an emergency department at a hospital, which is unquestionably appropriate in the case of serious medical events such as cardiac arrest, traumatic injury or stroke. In lower-acuity situations, however, alternative treatment options, may be more appropriate and cost-effective for patients, which is where ET3 will come into play.

For years, EMS agencies have been paid to transport patients to emergency rooms. According to SCCAD Assistant Chief David Lewis, under the ET3 framework, the SCAAD team of 200-plus highly-skilled clinicians will have the latitude to confer with lower-acuity patients and perhaps recommend transport to an alternative, lowercost destination such as an urgent care that can meet their needs.

“In the past, there has been frustration on the patient’s, paramedics’, and physician’s end when low-acuity problems take them away from those that most important,” Lewis said. “This helps reset that balance. We’ve been frustrated in the past because we have been forced to sort of kick the can down the line and move the patient to someone else when we know we could have provided a valuable service.”

Lewis also noted that crews also will have the ability to initiate and facilitate treatment in place by a qualified health care practitioner via telehealth with a tablet device.

ET3 is the latest in a series of cuttingedge EMS initiatives to debut in St. Charles County; in the past three years alone, SCCAD paramedics have launched multiple successful programs to address critical healthcare needs in their community, including the opiate epidemic, special needs pediatric patients, behavioral health emergencies, and hospital readmission avoidance.

SCCAD paramedics will work with a variety of healthcare partners to facilitate a robust array of options for ET3 patients, including multiple urgent care facilities and hospitals.

“Though the initiative was developed with Medicare/Medicaid insurance patients in mind, SCCAD is poised for multi-payer alignment, working with several commercial insurers to deliver enhanced treatment and transport options to their patients,” Lewis said.

In all, 204 agencies throughout 36 states selected to take part in ET3 will work over the coming weeks to develop programspecific protocols. Once those protocols and logistics are figured out, expect the program to launch by late spring or early summer.

Holt High School sophomore Esther Han was crowned State Champion in her weight class (142) at the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Girls Wrestling Championship at the University of Missouri-Columbia Feb. 20-22. This is Han’s second consecutive championship; last year, as a freshman, she was crowned the state champion at 136 at the inaugural MSHSAA Girls State Wrestling Championship.

Han won by technical fall at state over Brianna Cowherd from West Plains in the first round, and went on to beat Meriad Jorgenson from William Chrisman by fall in the quarterfinals. She defeated Rachel Rellihan from Fort Osage by fall in the semifinal round, and won by fall over Josie Wright of Lathrop in the championship round.

“Esther trained hard this offseason and during the year and it has paid off,” said Holt Wrestling Coach Andrew Hammond. “She strives to be the best wrestler and teammate she can be while continuing to grow Holt Wrestler wins back-to-back state titles

Photo courtesy Wentzville School District

the sport of women’s wrestling.”

Han’s state championship caps off her sophomore season at 31-1 with 27 pins, one technical fall and three major decisions. Han wrestled in middle school, where she lived in Illinois before moving to the WSD, and has a background in competitive judo, which she attributes in part to her success as a wrestler.

The Liberty High School Varsity Dance Team captured first place in Division 4 at the Missouri Dance Team Association (MDTA) State Competition held on Feb. 29, at the Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The Liberty Belles accrued more points than any other team in their combined categories, earning first place in Precision Jazz and first place in Pom.

This marks the third time in school history that the Liberty Belles have earned the state title, previously winning in 2019 and 2016 (Division 2). The school opened in 2013, so that’s three state championships in just seven years. The team motto this year was “Everything Counts,” and according to Coach Amanda Miller, her team’s dedication has paid off.

Miller said, “We have approached everything while keeping that attitude as our main focus. I’m proud that our team has understood that in order to improve, it is essential to treat everything, from practices to performances to competitions, with the same amount of importance because when it comes to being on the Liberty Dance Team, there are no little things – it all counts.”

The Liberty Belles also won the Overall Highest GPA award at the competition, for the first time in school history. “I am so proud of the way this group of dancers has worked so hard to always be their best both inside and outside of the classroom,” said Miller.

Seven out of 10 of the team’s dancers have a cumulative G.P.A. of 4.0 or higher. The members of this year’s Liberty Belles team are: Bella Bahr, Kylie Bernet, Delaney Engelhardt, Hailey Forck, Molly Marino, Gabrianne Salvosa, Avery Thomas, Mya Waldren, Aimee Weber and Anna Weber. Liberty High School Dance Team wins state championship

The Liberty High School Varsity Dance Team captured first place in Division 4 at the Missouri Dance Team Association State Competition. Photo courtesy Wentzville School District

WSD high school students excel at regional science and engineering fair

Students from the Wentzville School District competed in the High School Honors Division of Missouri’s Tri-County Regional Science and Engineering Fair held at Holt High School on Feb. 29.

Holt junior Ethan Dunsworth received first place for his project “Exploring the Mechanisms of Major Depression and Antidepressant Response Using Gene and miRNA Expression” and will advance to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Anaheim, California, May 10-15. Dunsworth was also awarded the Air Force Research Award and Navy Research Award for his project.

Holt senior Amaya Kopp won second place for her project “The effects of active experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis on wild type versus transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 knockout murine central nervous systems” and earned the Air Force Research Award and Navy Research Award for her project. Holt senior Gracyn Pietrusinski won third place for her project “Characterization of H1N1 Influenza Virus Anti-Neuraminidase Specific Monoclonal Antibodies” and earned the Air Force Research Award and Navy Research Award for her project. Additionally, Holt senior Devanshi Patel won fourth place for her project “Iron catalysis in propargylic substitution reactions: solvent dependency of catalytic efficiency and catalyst decomposition studies” and will advance to the Genius Olympiad in Rochester, New York, June 15-19. Patel was also awarded the Air Force Research Award and Navy Research Award. Holt senior Cora Sverdrup earned the American Psychological Association Award for her project “The effect of perception of musical stimuli in major and minor keys on the facilitation of artistic creative performance.” Holt junior Jacob Kampelman received the American Society of Materials Science Award for his project “Effect of Print Temperature on Photo courtesy Wentzville School District

Holt junior Ethan Dunsworth received first place for his project “Exploring the Mechanisms of Major Depression and Antidepressant Response Using Gene and miRNA Expression.”

Shear Strength.” Timberland senior Jenna Davis received the Society of In Vitro Biology Award for her project “Determining the Effect of Caffeine Concentrations on the Heart Rate of Daphnia Magna.”

WILD THE CALL of the

Coyotes are a natural and misunderstood member of St. Charles County wildlife

By Brett Auten

That howl you hear off in the distance can cause romantic notions of being away from it all. One with nature.

Coyotes are routinely sighted all around St. Charles County, and especially so the further you push west. They have been our natural neighbors for some time now and we should continue to make the best of this relationship.

As omnivores, coyotes can sustain themselves on either plant or meat. To a coyote, urban areas are like a Golden Corral restaurant. Because we humans feed birds, squirrels, raccoons, and deer, this feeding concentrates all of these animals and the coyotes can gorge.

“Coyotes eat anything and everything and don’t have a specialized diet,” Tom Meister, Missouri Department of Conservation wildlife damage biologist for the St. Louis region.