13 minute read
Around Town
Progress West Hospital welcomed its first baby of 2020 early on New Year’s Day.
Chad Garland and Raven Jones are the proud parents of their son Caidyn, who was born at 6:52 a.m. and weighed four pounds, thirteen ounces. Caidyn was also welcomed by siblings Lexi, 3, Jordan, 2 and Liam, 1.
The Barnes-Jewish St. Peters and Progress West Hospital Auxiliary presented the family with a gift basket in recognition of being the hospital’s first baby of 2020. Submitted photo
Timberland High School musician selected for Missouri All-State Band
Lily Fisher, a senior at Timberland High School, has been selected as tenth in the state on clarinet in the Missouri All-State Band. On Dec. 7, over 1,400 students from across Missouri met at Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri, to audition for the honor of participating in the top honor band in the state. Only 108 students are accepted into the All-State Band.
Fischer has been preparing for this moment since her freshman year of high school.
“Though I wanted to make it every year, this year was different because it is my senior year. It really makes me take a step back and realize that all of my hard work actually led to something,” shared Fischer. “I feel so honored to be able to perform in this ensemble and make new friends with other musicians.”
She plans to study political science and international relations at Truman State University following graduation.
The All-State Band will meet, rehearse, and perform at the Missouri Music Educators Association Conference on Jan. 25 at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, Missouri. The conductor and clinician for the 2019-2020 Missouri All-State Band is Dr. Kevin Sedatole, Director of Bands, Professor of Music, and Chair of the Conducting Area at the Michigan State University College of Music. Photo courtesy Wentzville School District
BASEBALL Around Town A St. Louis native and longtime Wentzville resident reflects on a record-setting, 13-year career in Major League Baseball BASEBALL life a
By Brett Auten
About a mile south of bustling Interstate 70 resides a throwback. Ron Hunt, a St. Louis native and longtime Wentzville resident, played 13 seasons of Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1974.
Hunt’s story begins when he met his future wife, Jackie, at Ritenour High School and the pair have been married since 1961. Hunt spent two years in the Texas League playing Double A baseball before he made his major league debut. Though the Mets were seven deep at second base at the time, Hunt made his way into the lineup and never relinquished it. Hunt was runner-up to Pete Rose for rookie of the year in 1963 when he batted .272 with 10 home runs, which would be his career-high, and 42 runs batted in, which he would tie in 1964.
“I should have been rookie of the year,” Hunt said. “I had better stats than Rose but he had a better team.”
The next year, he became the first New York Mets all-star, starting for the National League All-Stars in 1964. After a shoulder injury derailed his 1965 campaign, he came back a year later and played in the ‘66 All-Star Game in his hometown of St. Louis.
In November 1966 Hunt was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a move that stunned Hunt, who had thought he would have been a Met for his entire career, and it opened his eyes to the business-first aspect of professional sports.
“After you get traded for the first time you stop caring (about the organization),” Hunt said. “You play for the money and you play for the fans.”
After batting .263 during the 1967 season, he was traded again, this time to the San Francisco Giants. In his first season with the Giants 1968, he batted .250 with two home runs. After two more seasons in San Francisco, Hunt
Ron Hunt with New York Mets manager Casey Stengel.
was traded to the Montreal Expos. In nearly four seasons in Montreal, he batted .277, including a career-high .309 in 1973. Late in the 1974 season, he was waived to his hometown St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he closed out his career after playing 12 games. In his 12- year career, Hunt batted .273 with 39 home Photos courtesy the Hunt family archive
runs and 370 RBIs in 1,483 games played.
He was the consummate leadoff hitter and one of the most difficult batters to strike out, fanning 382 times in 5,235 at-bats, or once in every 13.70 at-bats. In 1973, he set an Expos
record by only striking out 19 times in 401 at-bats, the fewest ever in franchise history by a player who had at least 400 at-bats on the season.
Hunt had a .273 lifetime average in 12 years, but he was famous for something else. He set a seemingly unbreakable mark when he was hit by pitches 50 times in one year. During that year, he was hit three times during a doubleheader. In 1969, Hunt tied a Major League record with three HBPs in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. At the time, he was only the fifth player to be hit by a pitch three times in one game. He led the National League in getting hit by pitches in each of his final seven Major League seasons, and the Major Leagues in all but his final season. He retired after 243 hit by pitches that included some even to the head, including a good one by Tom Seaver.
“My job was to get on base and I didn’t give a (expletive) how I did it,” Hunt said.
Hunt was quoted once for saying, “A lot of people give their body to science. I gave mine to baseball,” and unfortunately that looks to be true. These days, instead of opposing pitchers, Hunt’s biggest challenge is Parkin
son’s. He could have gotten the neurodegenerative disorder regardless of his rough and tumble play but a doctor told the Hunts that it could’ve resulted from injuries during his playing days.
“I got six concussions in baseball and four in high school (playing football),” Hunt said.
At 79-years-old, Hunt has had his stumbles. Along with tremors and at times, he can be difficult to understand. Days are spent with Jackie on the 110-acre ranch they bought early on in his playing days, therapy sessions, and visits from his son and daughter.
“He wouldn’t have changed anything about the way he played,” Jackie Hunt said. “Every team he played for he was the lead-off batter. His on-base percentage was over .400. They don’t even know what that is today.”
Hunt ran and hosted the Ron Hunt Eagles Baseball Association camp in which kids from around North America, including Montreal and New York, would fly in for multiple weeks of instruction and games. Hunt ran the camp for 18 years.
“Most neighbors had a swimming pool but we had an infield,” Hunt said.
Ron Hunt with Mickey Mantle.
Photo courtesy the Hunt family archive
Photo by Brett Auten
Wentzville resident Ron Hunt (right) is pictured inside his farmhouse with his wife Jackie. Hunt, a St. Louis native, played 13 seasons of Major League Baseball with the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, the Montreal Expos and the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Wentzville School District Board of Education has approved new boundaries for all elementary, middle and high schools in the district to accommodate continued growth and a new elementary school and new high school under construction. The new schools were part of Proposition E, a $125 million notax-increase bond issue passed by voters in April 2018. The new elementary boundaries will go into effect for the 2020-2021 school year when the new elementary school being built on Interstate Drive in Wentzville is scheduled to open. The new middle school and high school boundaries will go into effect beginning in the 2021-2022 school year when the new high school being built near West Meyer Road and North Point Prairie Road in Wentzville is scheduled to open. The new boundaries were proposed by a boundary committee comprised of parents, community members, staff members and a board member who met five times from May through November to develop the new attendance areas. The process also included an online survey and three community forums where the public was invited to provide feedback. the boundary committee considered current and projected enrollment numbers, birth data, free and reduced meal populations, transportation and existing feeder patterns when formulating the new attendance areas.
“Everyone involved in this process appreciates how very personal and significant this change is for some students and families,” said Chief Communications Officer Mary LaPak. “We respect that, and we are confident that our caring staff will ensure a smooth transition for affected students and their families.” The WSD continues to be the fastest growing school district in the state. The district has added, on average, nearly 600 students each year since 2001. This past year, enrollment increased from 16,789 students to 17,335 – an increase of 546 students.
“Each WSD school is exceptional,” said Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain. “At the end of the day, all WSD students will be in a school where the bar is set high and where our phenomenal educators will ensure every child has the tools they need to be successful.”
Visit the WSD website to view the new school attendance areas.
When Scott Ellinger first decided to serve free meals on Thanksgiving six years ago, the idea started small for The Brass Rail restaurant owner.
“I said I’m just going to feed people who can’t be with their families,” he recalled.
It snowballed from there. The number of meals increased to 1,000 and then jumped to 7,000. This past Thanksgiving, Ellinger and his team comprised of staff and thousands of volunteers served over 10,000 meals to individuals and families. A winter hat and a pair of gloves was also included with every meal.
In November, The Brass Rail was awarded a $3,200 Operation Round Up grant to help cover the expenses of the meals which are offset by donations. The restaurant is located at 4601 Highway K in O’Fallon.
The meals are delivered within a 60-mile radius of the restaurant. “It feels awesome to help out,” Ellinger said. “The notes that come back. That part is awesome. We sit and decompress and read it all. That is the best part.”
The Brass Rail received a $3,200 Operation Round Up grant in support of the restaurant’s effort to provide over 10,000 meals on Thanksgiving. Pictured (from left) are Doug Steinmeyer, Cuivre River Electric Community Trust member; Scott Ellinger, restaurant owner; Frank Klaas and Lisa Dunham, Cuivre River Electric Community Trust members. Submitted photo
This year, Ellinger said the plan is to feed 15,000 people. To volunteer in the future, contact the restaurant at 636-329-1349 or follow their Facebook page or website.
St. Charles County Parks staff tops in rodeo competition
When it comes to backpack blowers, zero-turn mowers, skid loaders, truck and trailer driving, and irrigation assembly, the maintenance crew of the St. Charles County Parks Department is number one. No, really!
In the first-ever Park Maintenance Rodeo, held Dec. 18 at the St. Charles County Family Arena and sponsored by Region 4 of the Missouri Park & Recreation Association (MPRA), the county’s crew took home an overall first-place trophy. What does that mean for St. Charles County residents? Your parks are carefully and expertly maintained!
Eight teams from across Region 4 competed in the event along with St. Charles County: St. Charles City, St. Louis County, Washington, Des Peres, Webster Groves and two teams from Sunset Hills. The crews were put to the test with timed events that had them maneuvering through mazes of orange cones topped with tennis balls.
The St. Charles County team of Roger Jonas, Dustin Ferrell, Bob Branstetter, Jimmy Clemonds and Alan Emge brought equipment know-how to the rodeo with their over 40 years of combined experience working for the county.
“We were surprised to learn we won first place,” says team member Dustin Ferrell. “Despite not finishing first in any one event, we scored high enough in all events to give us the overall win.”
There was a close call for first place, though. Emge lost a first-place win in the zero-turn mower obstacle course by a mere six seconds. Parks department crew member Jonas just might have had the most difficult task of maneuvering a tennis ball through a course with a backpack blower, but when it came to steady turns and expert braking, the most impressive showing might have been from Ferrell. Driving a truck and trailer, not only did he have to maneuver Photo courtesy St. Charles County
The St. Charles County Parks winning team (from left) were Alan Emge, Bob Branstetter, Dustin Ferrell, Jimmy Clemonds and Roger Jonas.
the cones and tennis balls, but he had to drive smoothly enough not to knock a tennis ball off a cone placed inside the truck.
Extra points were given to the teams who could back up the truck and trailer to within six inches of a cone without hitting it. Ferrell stopped his within an inch.
“Everyone definitely had fun,” Ferrell says, “but once we won, it became more exciting.” The team received t-shirts, lunch and a firstplace trophy, and will be presented with the award at the MPRA conference at Lake of the Ozarks in February. And then, there’s next year. “We’ll be back next year to defend our title,” Ferrell says. “And, we hear there may be a state championship as well!”
HUNTING FOR HUNGER
By Brett Auten
David Neier stands with a load of venison for his Hunt for Hunger program that helps stock local food pantries with meat. Submitted photo
12-year-old starts program to allow hunters to help stock local food pantries with venison
While most boys his age are focused on Fortnite or racking up points on the scoreboard, David Neier has more important things on his plate. Like making sure those in need have quality protein on theirs.
For the third season in a row, Neier’s Hunt for Hunger has helped stock local food pantries with venison. The program is made possible by working in cooperation with Share the Harvest and Operation Food Search, who pay for all the processing fees.
Neier, a 12-year-old student at Francis Howell Middle School, delivered 1,500 pounds in his first season, 6,300 pounds in his second, and over 7,000-pounds this past season.
“It makes me feel happy to do something good for the community,” Neier said. “I would love to continue this for several more years.” Statistics from the Million Meals Campaign show that one-in-four children in the St. Louis region do not know where their next meal is coming from. Neier was inspired to launch the program after a service at Morningstar Church in O’Fallon, Neier was having a snack with his grandparents when a discussion
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