December 22nd, 2016 Edition

Tishaura responds to Post smear

Daily paper issues ‘dog whistle’ in coverage of treasurer’s bond deals

Tishaura O. Jones, St. Louis treasurer, was among the seven candidates who filed to run for St. Louis mayor when filing opened on Monday, November 28. The primary election is March 7.

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

A St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter attempted to shred mayoral candidate Tishaura O. Jones’ credibility last week for doing city-treasurer business with a convicted felon who supported her father’s campaign for comptroller in the 1990s. But community members fired back that the newspaper essentially attacked the “Ban the Box” movement – a fight, joined by Jones, to ensure that those who have paid for their crimes through jail time can re-enter the workforce.

“I guess they believe in life sentences,” retired St. Louis firefighter Winfield Scott wrote about the Post-Dispatch in a Facebook post.

On Friday, December 16, the Post-Dispatch chose to lead the entire width of its front page with a story by reporter Joe Holleman – who writes

December 17 at Better Family Life. This year Kwanzaa – which its founder Maulana Kaurenga calls “an ancient and living cultural tradition which reflects the best of African thought and practice” – starts December 26 and concludes on January 1.

n “My father is not running for mayor, I am. And my father doesn’t run the treasurer’s office, I do.”

– Tishaura O. Jones

St. Louis Family Court settles with DOJ

2015 report showed discrimination against black youth defendants

A comprehensive agreement reached last week by the U.S. Justice Department and St. Louis County Family Court will force reforms in the county’s faulty juvenile court system. The consent decree mandates that the court double the defense counsel it has available, provide better training in working with juveniles to court personnel, incorporate probable cause determinations into detention hearings, adopt a standardized format for court hearings to ensure that children’s guilty pleas are entered knowingly and voluntarily, hold public meetings and properly collect court data.

A 61-page report by Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division released in July 2015 showed that children in St. Louis County were being denied their constitutional rights by not being given access to lawyers and that black minors were discriminated upon by judges and prosecutors. The report stated that black children were 2.5 times more likely than whites to be detained before trial. Black

Chums, Inc. strives to enrich the lives of others

Women’s charitable group celebrating 70th anniversary

By Pat Matreci For The St. Louis American

n “To support our Chums mission, we provide funding, leadership and special activities.”

– Armentha Russell, St. Louis Chapter president

in North St. Louis.

Manyara Shimbay, Zakiya Penny and Willie Mae Penny learned about healthy snacks while talking to Coco Ali of Coco’s Desserts during the Kwanzaa

Photo by Wiley Price

See DOJ, A7

Photo by Wiley Price

The St. Louis Chapter of Chums, Inc. donated some Christmas cheer to a family in need

Photo by Wiley Price

By Mariah Stewart Of The St. Louis American

Blac Chyna bails on Rob

Over the weekend, Blac Chyna took the infant daughter she shares with Rob Kardashian and left their family home.

After she moved out, “hackers” reportedly posted contents of Blac Chyna’s direct messages that portrayed her as using Rob for his famous name and insinuate that she was being unfaithful over the course of their relationship.

Rob came forward to apologize for “his actions” following the alleged hack, but never gets specific as he begs Blac Chyna to come home.

Meanwhile, E! News is claiming that a source says that Blac Chyna was physically abusive towards Kardashian just prior to her moving out.

“She was punching him

in his back and arms and was in a drunken rage,” a source told E! News.

Kris Jenner’s boyfriend Corey Gamble walked in on their fight and ripped Chyna off of Rob.”

Another source told E! News that Rob’s sisters will be glad to see the romance fizzle out.

“The sisters don’t want anything to do with this relationship. They see how fake it is. It’s so unhealthy for their brother,” the source said “They see how Chyna is using their family for fame and money and they aren’t going to let it happen anymore. The family accepted her but since Chyna is now showing who she really is – they don’t want anything to do with her.”

According to reports Game’s request for a new trial has been denied because the paperwork was filed incorrectly. Game may resubmit his case to be considered for appeal.

Matt Barnes and Gloria Govan divorce finalized

“The [Kardashians] don’t support the relationship,” a source told PEOPLE Magazine. “But Rob won’t listen to them. He wants to be

The Game denied new trial over faulty paperwork

Earlier this week, rapper The Game filed for an appeal after losing a $7.3 million default judgment

Priscilla Rainey – after she accused him of sexually assaulting her during the filming of his reality show “She’s Got Game.”

This week, Gloria Govan and Matt Barnes’ divorce became final –officially ending their 1 year and 11 month marriage. The couple, who share a set of 8 yearold twin boys, dated for years before tying the knot. According to reports, Barnes has been ordered to pay $10k a month in child support and is no longer obligated to pay spousal support after coughing up a total of $240k for Govan’s maintenance in 2016.

Azealia lights up Nicki for video game app shade

Rapper Azealia Banks makes Nicki Minaj her latest dragging victim after urban gossip and celebrity news site That Grape Juice noticed that a scene from Nicki Minaj’s super successful “Empire” game app takes a subtle jab at Banks’ “Fantasy” mixtape. An excerpt of the insult ridden post reads as follows:

“Nicki, girl… now listen. Don’t start throwing shade ‘cause you miss Sarafee and you know that I’ve actually made a banger with him,” Banks posted on Facebook. She then insults Minaj on everything from her weight to her career. “Don’t get mad, get even,” Banks said. “Slim down a bit (especially in your neck and arms). Decrease the butt just a bit (I’ve seen your butt make some really expensive dresses look really cheap). Stop calling yourself the queen of rap. Queens don’t wear spandex sweety. McDonald’s sells a lot of burgers, but no one is telling McDonald’s they are the pinnacle of cuisine and taste. This is true of you. I don’t understand why you are so impressed with yourself. Do yourself a favor and image search Gaga 2011 and pick that back up. This “real” Nicki is not as interesting as the Gaga knock off Nicki. Give the girls what they want. In 2017 I hope you find some new inspiration and decrease your but implants. You would honestly look so much better if they were just 150cc smaller.” Banks later deleted the post, but says she stands by everything that she said.

“Just to make sure we’re clear: deleting posts is not a sign of cowardice,” Banks said. “It’s a sign of the disposability of the people I go in on.” *

Sources: E! News, PEOPLE Magazine, That Grape Juice, Facebook, Instagram *Spelling and grammar as it appeared in the original post.

Matt Barnes

Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna

ESL plans to commemorate anniversary of 1917 riots

‘The significance of it is therapy,’ says co-chair Joseph Brown

By Mariah Stewart Of The St.

Louis American

EAST ST. LOUIS – “If you want to understand what’s happening in America, pay attention to what’s happened in East St. Louis,” East St. Louis Mayor Emeka Jackson-Hicks said last month.

She spoke at a press conference on November 30 to announce plans to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the East St. Louis riots of 1917. The East St. Louis 1917 Centennial Commission and Cultural Initiative is the organizing body.

“We cannot move forward if we haven’t grounded ourselves in our history, and we cannot own our future without owning our past,” said Jackson-Hicks.

In July of 1917, blacks in East St. Louis were targeted in a deadly massacre resulting an unknown number of deaths presumed to be in the hundreds. Thousands were left homeless because their houses were burned to the ground, and thousands more fled the city to places like Cairo, Illinois, Ferguson and Kinloch.

The deadly incident, which included drive-by shootings and lynchings, was sparked by a rumor on July 1, 1917 that a black man had killed a white man. Its roots were in black workers coming up from the South and then being used as strike breakers by the Aluminum Ore Company.

The massacre was reported as one of the most deadliest race riots in U.S. history.

The commemoration will include the groundbreaking for a statute, educational events, plays, exhibits, creative expression contests, band and choir concerts, receptions and special reflection presentations.

“The significance of it is therapy,” Joseph A. Brown, initiative co-chair and professor and chair of the Department

Urban League President Michael McMillan, East St. Louis Mayor Emeka Jackson-Hicks and Stanley Franklin of the East St. Louis NAACP listened to Joseph A. Brown, co-chair of the East St. Louis 1917 Centennial Commission, speak at a press conference on November 30.

of Africana Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, told The American “If you are a victim of sexual abuse and you try to suppress what happened to you, you’ll be sick from it for the rest of your life. I say this city needs to deal with it so that we don’t have to be sick anymore.”

The great scholar and activist W.E.B. Du Bois described the riot, as quoted in local author Harper Barnes’ book about it, “Never Been a Time: The 1917 Race Riot

That Sparked the Civil Rights Movement.”

“Germany (in World War I) has nothing on East St. Louis when it comes to ‘frightfulness,’” Du Bois wrote. “Indeed, in one respect Germany does not even approximate her ill-famed sister. In all the accounts given of German atrocities, no one, we believe, has accused the Germans of taking pleasure in the sufferings of their victims. But these (white) rioters combined business with pleasure.”

Jackson-Hicks said the commission would not shy away from the tragic facts.

“We don’t need to paint a pretty picture

or somehow make it seem like what happened was okay in the end, it was not,” she said. “It was a dark time that holds a lot of pain.”

However, she said, it also shows the resilience of survivors.

“It does show that our people can take the most horrific thing and build upon it,” Jackson-Hicks said. “The people of East St. Louis are strong and enduring. We always have been.”

She also admitted that the struggling, now majority-black city had not come as far from 1917 as its leaders hoped.

“While it makes me proud of where we are now,” she said, “it also reminds me of the work we have yet to do.”

The first event to kick off the centennial commemoration will be an essay and creative expression contest on Monday, January 2. An MLK day service will be held 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, January 16 at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation. For more information, visit www.estl1917ccci. org.

‘Poverty pimp’ faces slap on wrist

Fresh from pleading guilty to federal wire fraud charges, East St. Louis Township Supervisor Oliver Hamilton strolled from the ESL U.S. District Court building with a big, dumb grin on his face.

It was dumb because no sane person would have the audacity to grin after conceding that he is, in fact, a crook who used his position to exploit thousands of ESL residents, 47 percent of whom live in poverty. Further, it conveys and reflects a lack of contrition and shame for betraying the trust of his impoverished constituents. But, when one is a poverty pimp, the grin could easily be construed as a smug display of arrogance and lack of remorse, particularly given that his sentence could amount to nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

Records reveal that from 2012-2016 Hamilton used his ESL Township’s American Express card to run up a personal tab of over $230,000 on everything from Las Vegas trips to $3,000 in car washes, auto detailing and oil changes to gas for his Chevy Silverado, as well as for restaurants, gifts, flowers and building materials (Hamilton owns a construction company).

However, when Hamilton appeared before U.S. District Judge Michael Reagan, he was informed that he faced a maximum of 20 years in prison, three years parole and a $250,000 fine. Yet, sentencing guidelines call for (wait for it) a year to 18 months.

But, given the fact that Hamilton’s guilty plea comes as a part of a federal plea agreement and that both the federal prosecutor and Hamilton’s attorney Clyde Kuehn have recommended a sentence of a year and a day that will, most likely (and unfortunately) be his fate.

It’s all up to the discretion of Judge Reagan, but “poli-tricks” in St. Clair County has a strange and undue influence on justice and I don’t expect any surprises here, just a stern lecture and a slap on the wrist when he is sentenced on March 1, 2017.

The next question becomes who will be Hamilton’s replacement? One Township Board member, Edith Moore, is pushing for that person to be Tommy Dancy who, presently, is in charge of the Mary Brown Center in ESL.

St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern will, ultimately, appoint someone. And my sources inform me that political retread and former ESL mayor Alvin “can I add another job to my resume” Parks may be pulled from the dustbin of political irrelevance and given the job by Kern.

But even as I write these words, feds were in the process of arresting eight associates of Hamilton, including his sister ESL City Councilwoman June Hamilton-Dean, ESL Township Trustee Edith Moore and former Alorton mayor Jo Ann Reed on various corruption charges. I’ll keep you posted as the political round-up continues.

Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com; Twitter@JamesTIngram.

Columnist

James Ingram

Photo by Wiley Price

Post is ‘black’ up to its old tricks

Last week the headline of our Political EYE column posed the question: “Will this mayoral race help lead the way to a new St. Louis?” The day after we published that columns, the PostDispatch provided their answer: “Not if we can help it.”

On Friday, December 16, St. Louis’ only daily newspaper led its front page news coverage with an explosive story titled “Back in business.”

The news nugget was that St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones has done bond business with an investment firm that employs an ex-felon. Further, this ex-felon, Craig Walker, did time as a result of a federal investigation of Virvus Jones, who is Tishaura’s father. Virvus Jones was investigated for promoting a “stalking horse” candidate in his 1993 race for St. Louis comptroller. Walker went to trial over his role in funding the “stalking horse” campaign and was sentenced to 33 months in prison.

Virvus Jones pled guilty to felony tax fraud and was sentenced to a year and a day in prison when his daughter, the future city treasurer – and current mayoral candidate – was 23. Neither Walker nor Virvus Jones were accused with mishandling public money. Importantly, there is no claim made or evidence provided in the Post report that Tishaura O. Jones mishandled public money in doing business with IFS Securities, a black-owned firm. In our news report this week, she makes the case that the treasurer’s deals with the firm that employs Walker saved the city over $6 million. She also points out that all three bond deals she negotiated with IFS Securities were approved by the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. This is crucial, because other than Tishaura O. Jones, who is running for mayor in the March 7 primary election, every major candidate for mayor sits on the Board of Aldermen (Lyda Krewson, Antonio French) or presides over it (Lewis Reed).

story – though plenty of implication – that her father benefitted in any way from the treasurer’s deals with IFS Securities. Further, the “back in business” connotation of shady deals overlooks IFS Securities’ extensive, reputable business dealings. Alex McKenzie, president and CEO of IFS Securities, said the firm has participated in more than 700 transactions in 2016 alone as an underwriter. Ten of those were in Missouri with clients that included St. Louis County, the Missouri Development Finance Board and the cities of Columbia and St. Peters.

n The Post’s headline – “Back in business” –suggests the treasurer’s bond deals were all about her ex-felon father going back into business with his ex-felon banker friend.

The City of St. Louis has every reason to do business with IFS Securities and, indeed, Craig Walker, as Tishaura O. Jones’ mayoral competitors all acknowledged when they approved the treasurer’s three bond deals with the firm. Walker long ago paid his price for meddling in politics and no longer plays any role in politics. He was not punished by the federal government for his work as banker, and the Post-Dispatch is wrong to impugn his character and motives, as well as the character and motives of Virvus Jones and Tishaura O. Jones. This was a shameful hatchet job perpetrated by a writer, Joe Holleman, whose main beat at the paper, appropriately enough, is gossip. Marie Ceselski, 7th Ward Democratic committeewoman and an advocate for Tishaura O. Jones’ mayoral campaign, wrote in a blog post that there “is so much more to this story about the treasurer and the banker. But it isn’t about financial wrongdoing or ethics. It’s about a dog whistle. Hear/see the name ‘Virvus Jones.’ Hear/see the word ‘convicted.’ Vote against that, even if you are voting against your own selfinterest. The real story here is that in order for Lyda Krewson to be elected, enough of you who want change have to be swayed to stay at home or vote for a candidate other than Jones.”

By Lewis Reed Guest columnist

I am running for mayor because the next eight years will be critical for the future of St. Louis. The next mayor of the city will have to be completely committed to working around the clock to provide economic opportunities and make St. Louis a stronger and more unified city. My time in office has taught me that public service is not about glitz and glamour. It is a daily grind that requires a very hands-on, people-oriented approach.

It will take strong, experienced, and dedicated leadership to reduce violent crime. The prevalence of crime in our city, both real and perceived, dominates any discussion on progress. None of us are immune to the crime in our city. We cannot arrest our way out of violent crime, but we can invest our way out of it.

sure we provide the adequate resources, both financial and technological, to help our police department solve crimes and protect people, as well as funding for alternate paths of behavior for youth to prevent crimes before they happen. We are losing too much talent and too much of our future.

None of these essential facts are captured in the Post’s report. In fact, its headline – “Back in business” – suggests the treasurer’s bond deals with IFS Securities were all about her ex-felon father going back into business with his ex-felon banker friend. It is patronizing and patently unfair to suggest that an elected treasurer (who is female) is doing business on behalf of her father. There is no evidence in the

We are disappointed, but not surprised, to hear/see the city’s only daily newspaper piping on the racist dog whistle in mid-December in attempt to influence an election that will not be decided until early March. From now until then, it seems like the Post-Dispatch is “black” in business, “black” up to its old tricks of trying to unfairly undermine an African American vying to lead this struggling, segregated city.

Trump faces a fight from climate-change realists

The incoming Trump administration will face passionate and hostile resistance if it tries to deny the reality of human-induced climate change. We can already hear the drums of war.

The Department of Energy flatly denied a demand from the Trump transition team to supply the names of employees or contractors who have participated in international climate change negotiations in the last five years. Also rejected was a request for names of staff who helped calculate the “social cost” of carbon emissions. The obvious concern is that these workers would be labeled as unreliable, and perhaps shoved aside, by political appointees determined to pretend that climate change does not exist.

Scientists have begun a frantic effort to archive decades’ worth of climate data, copying it onto servers that are beyond the U.S. government’s reach. The voluminous data sets, compiled by agencies including NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, help form the basis for the consensus view that the atmosphere and the oceans are rapidly warming due to heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions. There has been no threat from the Trump camp to do anything untoward regarding the data, but the researchers are taking no chances.

California Gov. Jerry Brown said on December 14 that if President-elect Donald Trump tries to impede his state’s vigorous efforts against climate change, “We’ve got the scientists, we’ve got the lawyers and we’re ready to fight. We’re ready to defend.” Speaking in San Francisco at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union, Brown

warned that rumored budget cuts might end a NASA program that uses satellites to take measurements of the earth, including temperature.

Trump, who has repeatedly described climate change as a “hoax,” will try to reverse the Obama administration’s progress in limiting carbon emissions. Assuming he follows through, he’ll have a real fight on his hands. At one of his strongmanstyle victory rallies on December 13, Trump said that “we will cancel the restrictions on the production of American energy, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean, beautiful coal.”

Columnist

Eugene Robinson

Apparently, Trump never met a fossil fuel he didn’t like. And he has announced his intention to appoint the most prominent oil man he could find – Rex Tillerson, chief executive of Exxon Mobil, the largest nongovernment oil company in the world – as secretary of state. Trump may renounce the historic Paris agreement, in which the world’s biggest carbon emitters – China, the United States and India – all pledged curbs. He can also eliminate regulations limiting carbon emissions by power plants; encourage more drilling for oil and natural gas; and try his best to revive the moribund coal mining industry, though its decline is due more to market forces than to anything the government has done.

These threatened actions come near the end of what will almost surely be the warmest year on record. Continuing

what scientists see as an indisputable trend, 2016 was an absolute scorcher. And yes, I realize that it still gets cold outside in much of the country; some scientists believe that rapid warming at the North Pole has destabilized air flow patterns and perhaps made these “polar vortex” cold snaps more common. In any event, the key measurement is the global temperature average, not the local wind chill.

Trump is being advised by a number of vocal climatechange deniers. The data that scientists are rushing to preserve clearly refutes those who say there is no warming – hence the urgency to protect the information. Some deniers acknowledge the fact of warming but say it is due to some unfathomable natural cycle. But there is a simpler explanation: Since the Industrial Revolution, we have increased the atmosphere’s concentration of carbon dioxide – known to trap heat – by an incredible 40 percent.

Much of the rest of the world understands the need to move toward clean energy. The technology isn’t quite there yet, so some breakthroughs will be required. Smart government policy would be to invest in research to make it more likely that these advances are made in Berkeley rather than Bangalore or Beijing.

Dumb policy would be to fire up the smokestacks, stop collecting all that annoying climate data and marginalize federal employees who best understand global warming. This is the direction Trump appears to be headed.

The president-elect threatens to make the United States a second-rate player in the coming clean-energy economy. I guess that’s his idea of greatness, but it’s not mine.

We have to address crime at the root causes, which include a lack of economic opportunities and funding for social support systems, education and mental health services. That is why one of the first things I did when I became president of the Board of Aldermen was pass a law that added an extra $1 million per year for youth crime-prevention services. As mayor, I will continue to invest in youth activities and convince others to make it a priority.

Local government must provide an environment that is safe and allows residents to grow and succeed. I will make

It will take strong, experienced and dedicated leadership to make St. Louis a more unified city. We have to begin to get past the racial division that holds us back. I’ve heard some say the topic of racial division and inequity will require “uncomfortable” conversations. For me, discussing and encouraging others to promote fairness and racial equity is not uncomfortable. I have lived my entire life interacting with people of various races and cultures. I am well-equipped to lead these discussions, and I know that they are necessary for St. Louis to progress.

It will take strong, experienced and dedicated leadership to increase and promote investment in parts of town that sorely need it and provide better city services for everyone.

Taxpayers in all parts of town should be treated the same. I will put people in charge that will make sure city services are delivered fairly and equally.

Letters to the editor

No mandate to destroy Medicare

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady (chairman, Ways and Means Committee) and U.S. Rep. Tom Price (chairman, Budget Committee), who is Presidentelect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, are among Republican leaders in the U.S. House who support legislation to privatize Medicare by converting it to a “premium support” system.

Just because the Republican Party has majorities in the House and Senate and the president-elect, it is not a mandate to destroy Medicare with a “voucher” plan to pay outright subsidies to insurance companies who make big contributions to many members of Congress.

The Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives passed in a 2012 budget blueprint a proposal to replace traditional Medicare with vouchers. This ignited a firestorm of opposition from congressional Democrats, America’s seniors and the general public.

Back then, an analysis of the proposal by the Congressional Budget Office concluded that turning Medicare over to private insurance plans would result in seniors paying twice as much for their care, would raise administrative costs, and would not keep medical inflation as low as traditional Medicare has done.

It is astonishing that after the bashing delivered to Republicans on the “voucher” proposal in 2011 that they would be reviving it again.

Gordon Brown, Maryland Heights

How do we argue with people who deny facts?

David Liu encourages us to engage our Republican brethren

That is a standard of service that city government must meet. No one deserves to look around their neighborhood and see trash, uncut grass, and debris everywhere. We need to use all the development tools that improved living conditions in South St. Louis and Downtown to increase development and improve living conditions in North St. Louis. Beware of anyone who wants to stop using development tools before North St. Louis has an opportunity to benefit from them. As mayor, I will increase development in North St. Louis and make sure all parts of the city receive the proper level of service and receive the same results at the end of the day. It will take strong, experienced, and dedicated leadership to increase employment opportunities and bring new corporations to the City of St. Louis. We must begin to do a better job of selling our city and actively recruiting new corporations to St. Louis and take advantage of opportunities to put people to work. With Republican leadership at the higher levels of government, it is critical to vote in local elections and vote for the right local leadership. As mayor, I will provide the strong, experienced, and dedicated leadership we will need to move forward as a city. Lewis Reed, the president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, is running for mayor as a Democrat in the March 7 primary election.

to instill in them a degree of sanity and consideration of facts when assessing political candidates, as well as the viability of those in office and their programs. Liu encourages us to be open-minded to those with whom we disagree and to be empathetic to their concerns and problems. We would live in a better America, and probably a better world, if Liu’s proposal was a viable solution to America’s socio-political divide. But it’s not.

How are progressive, factoriented, thoughtful people supposed to rationally engage those who encourage and applaud Donald Trump, et al.? An empathetic approach to people in this category equates to expressing compassion for the hate and demonization they publicly express for people unlike themselves

in appearance, politics and thought. How do we engage in sensible debate those who disparage or deny scientific fact and recorded, authenticated history? Adding to Trump’s sociopolitical morass is a fact known to every salesperson: buyers will justify their purchase despite the fact of the product’s inferiority. So too will those (buyers) who voted for Republican politicians riding the Trump bandwagon. They will support their choices despite ample evidence to indicate that these politicians are creating and implementing programs and legislation that are detrimental to them (the buyer).

Michael K. Broughton Green Park

Links, Inc. donates diapers

New free online ride-sharing service

Enterprise Rent-A-Car has launched Zimride by Enterprise, an online ridematching service that connects drivers and passengers with similar commutes. Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) will be working with Enterprise to administer this free program.

Those interested in joining the free Zimride platform must first visit cmtstl.org/zimride to register to be part of CMT’s closed network. Users will then receive a verification email directing them to zimride.com/cmt where they are able to log in, create a profile and begin searching for rides or riders.

Once a match is identified, users can search Zimride reviews and connect through a Facebook interface, before coordinating logistics and putting plans in place to share rides in their personal vehicles. Those interested in splitting gas costs can even do so securely through the Zimride site.

“Zimride can be used to find a single ride, as well as to find recurring rides on the same day or every day of the week,” said Kim Cella, executive director of CMT.

For full program details and registration information, visit cmt-stl.org/ zimride.

Grateful American Book Prize nominations

The Grateful American Book Prize will begin accepting submissions for its 2017 award on January 1 and accept them through July 31. The prize is given each year to authors for outstanding works of fiction and non-fiction based on historical fact, and written to inspire 11- to 15-year-old students. Books published between July 1, 2016 and July 31, 2017 are eligible.

Along with a distinctive medallion created by American artist Clarice Smith, the prize comes with a $13,000 cash award in commemoration of the 13 original Colonies. Submission forms and further information about the prize can be found at www.gratefulamericanbookprize.com.

Time to do for ourselves

By Christi Griffin Guest columnist

The presidential election is over, as are local and statewide elections. Many will lament the outcome of the vote, particularly that of our President-Elect Donald Trump, and they will offer a plethora of reasons why Hillary lost. In the end, the state of our elections are due to voter apathy.

If you took every disenfranchised vote in the AfricanAmerican community that’s due to trickery, convictions, voter photo ID, redistricting and poll closures, the numbers would not match those of African Americans who have chosen not to register and those who have registered but chose not to vote. We ignore the power we have in our hands. If marginalized communities could do nothing else, they could vote. If they’ve been disenfranchised by laws that restrict voting by those convicted of felonies, they could take voters to the polls or call and urge them to go.

It will be easier to lament the next four years than to shift gears and take action. In spite of our elected officials, we can each determine our individual destiny and collectively we can determine that of a nation.

While Donald Trump has ripped the scab off of a wound of hate, it’s up to us to mend it. We may not have created the problem, but we are among the problem’s targets. We can shrivel in the heat of ignorance and racial animosity, or we can rise up and present our best selves and do our best work.

As President Obama prepares to leave the White House and deliver to Donald Trump access to more than a nuclear bomb, it’s time to end the complaints of what he didn’t do for the African-American people. President Obama showed us that education, study, sacrifice, familial support, perseverance, determination, relationships and taking a very high road can lead to the fulfillment of even the greatest dream on earth.

It’s time to stop blaming President Obama. It’s time to stop fretting about what Donald Trump and a Republican Congress may do. It’s time to stop demanding healthcare while we abuse our bodies. It’s time to stop amassing debt we can never repay. It’s time to stop letting others defy the promises of a God we say we trust. It’s time to recognize that no man, perched behind the desk in the Oval Office, will ever do for us what we can do for ourselves.

Christi Griffin is the founder of The Ethics Project, a non-profit organization addressing the impact of crime, injustice, and incarcerations, and the author of “Incarcerations in Black and White: The Subjugation of Black America.”

Christi Griffin

The St. Louis Chapter of The Links, Incorporated recently donated more than 20,000 diapers to the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank. Diaper Bank Board President Kara Amann, center, accepted the diaper donations from, left, Diaper Drive Chair Alicia Smith and, right, Links Vice President D’Anne Shelton.

TISHAURA

Continued from A1

In 1993, Walker contributed $10,000 to Penny Alcott’s campaign in the race for St. Louis comptroller. Alcott was a “stalking horse” candidate, or someone who entered the race to split the opposition vote and aid Virvus Jones’ re-election as comptroller.

Virvus is Tishaura’s father. He is on hiatus as a member of The St. Louis American’s editorial board during the current mayoral race.

Walker served two years in prison for his campaign contribution – the first conviction of its kind in federal court history, he said. It’s also something that is not a crime by today’s federal-court definitions, and even Holleman’s fellow Post-Dispatch columnist Bill McClellan recently noted that it was a common practice to contribute to faux candidates and no one else went to jail for it.

Holleman also highlighted that Virvus Jones spent a year in a federal prison on a different charge that came up during the investigation: tax fraud.

Tishaura O. Jones took to Facebook to respond to Holleman’s article.

“My father went to jail in the mid-1990s,” she wrote.

“And after his return, it took my family years to rebuild our lives, because, contrary to popular belief, the whole family suffers when a family member goes to jail.

“Next news flash! My father is not running for mayor, I am. And my father doesn’t run the treasurer’s office, I do.”

She explained that when she was elected as treasurer in January 2013, she banned the felon check box.

“I evaluate people on their ability to do the job,” she wrote, “and I evaluate proposals on their ability to save the city money… What I will tell you is that I believe in inclusion before exclusion.”

Since April 2015, IFS Securities has been part of underwriting more than $55 million in bonds for St. Louis Parking Fund, which Jones manages, Holleman reported. However, it is telling that he didn’t report that the St. Louis Board of Aldermen reviewed and approved bills that detailed these three bond issues for parking capital improvement projects and parking revenue refunding bonds. IFS was named in the exhibits of those bills.

That means that the bills went before the other major mayoral candidates: President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed, Alderman Antonio French and Alderwoman Lyda Krewson. None of them raised an issue or voted against the bills.

Alex McKenzie, president and CEO of IFS Securities, said the firm has participated in more than 700 transactions in 2016 as an underwriter.

Ten of those were in Missouri with clients that included St. Louis County, the Missouri Development Finance Board and the cities of Columbia and St. Peters.

“We earned all the business that we participated in,” McKenzie said. “Any other assumption is misleading.”

McKenzie praised Tishaura O. Jones for her willingness to get the deal done within a “very volatile environment, considering the election and how bond prices move.”

McKenzie added that Walker is properly registered and has a long, strong track record in public finance.

“It takes a strong character to come back from a past, and the industry gave Craig a second chance a long time ago,” McKenzie said. “When IFS looked at Craig, it was based on an individual who had earned the right to work.”

Walker told The American that he has worked with the

Toys for Annie Malone

The St. Louis County NAACP and Major Brands teamed up for a toy drive on December 9 and 10 that resulted in the delivery of toys to several locations for children, including the Annie Malone Children’s & Family Service Center, where Chief Executive Officer Leslie Gill accepted the donation from Elson Williams Jr., community affairs liaison of Major Brands, on Wednesday, December 14.

company to save taxpayers throughout the country millions of dollars.

“That creates opportunity,” Walker said. “Twenty-one years ago is a long time in the past. I’ve been a different person for a while. I’ll just let my professional results speak for themselves.”

When Holleman called Tishaura O. Jones for the Post story, she said he only asked her one question: whether or not she knew that Walker was a convicted felon who had connections to her father.

She said she repeatedly told Holleman that Walker has passed strict federal guidelines and was certified to do his job.

“It all boils down to a simple virtue, forgiveness,” Tishaura Jones posted on Facebook. “We either believe that people have paid their debt to society and deserve a second chance, or we don’t. It’s as simple as that.”

Saving money

Tishaura O. Jones told The American that IFS brought her ideas on refinancing the city’s debt that saved the city over $6 million.

“That savings has allowed us to invest in children and families and the future of the North/South MetroLink line,” she said.

Her office’s financial advisor recommended that they choose three investment firms to work with on any future refundings, she said. If they need to act quickly, they will have an investment bank already vetted. The advisor evaluated and presented the banks that had the best bids and lowest fee structures, which included IFS, she said. All three investment firms – Stifel, IFS and Siebert Brandford Shank – have brought forth ideas on ways to lower outstanding debt. Some of the other banks’ ideas would have cost the city money or the city didn’t qualify in the end, she said. However, the banks all participated on the bond deals that IFS brought forth on some level.

In April 2015, IFS partnered with Stifel, a St. Louis-based investment firm, on $6.44 million in subordinated parking revenue bonds for a capital improvement project, new parking meters.

In December 2015, IFS partnered with Siebert on $36.41 million in subordinated parking revenue refunding bonds. And in November 2016, IFS was the sole underwriter on $12.365 million in parking revenue refunding bonds.

Jared Boyd, Tishaura Jones’ chief of staff, said before they went forward with the IFS bond deals, they compared the underwriter fees to other bonds in the city. Underwriters get paid based on the size and complexity of the deal. But even though the deals were more complicated than some of the others in the city, the underwriters still earned lower or comparable fees, Boyd said.

‘It’s about a dog whistle’ Marie Ceselski, 7th Ward Democratic committeewoman, wrote in a blog post that the article’s headline could have been completely different and more truthful, such as “Underwriter hired by city treasurer saves city $6 million” or “City treasurer bans the box, a success story.” Ceselski also didn’t understand why a “humaninterest columnist” was writing this particular story.

“I was confused because the writer was not a St. Louis Post-Dispatch business, public finance or crime reporter,” she wrote. “Something big going on in the treasurer’s office certainly should have an expert assigned to it. But that was not the case.” Ceselski accused the Post of issuing a “dog whistle” in its handling and placement of the story, a reference to barely covert racism in coverage of race.

“There is so much more to this story about the treasurer and the banker,” Ceselski wrote. “But it isn’t about financial wrong doing or ethics. It’s about a dog whistle. Hear/see the name ‘Virvus Jones.’ Hear/ see the word ‘convicted.’ Vote against that even if you are voting against your own self-interest. The real story here is that in order for Lyda Krewson to be elected, enough of you who want change have to be swayed to stay at home or vote for a candidate other than Jones.”

Photo courtesy of Major Brands

CHUMS

Continued from A1

The St. Louis Chapter of Chums was incorporated in April 1980 in St. Louis city. It has 501(C)3 status and 22 active members. Their aim is to address the needs of the youth in the metropolitan community with a focus on education, healthy lifestyles, child development, survival skills and stressing violence prevention and other social ills.

Through the years, the group has devoted itself to the betterment of social, civic and cultural relationships in their communities. The national theme, “Listen to the Children – Enrich Their Lives,” guides each chapter in determining its community’s needs.

“To support our Chums mission, we provide funding, leadership and special activities,” said Armentha Russell, St. Louis Chapter president, who is a 24-year member.

The local chapter’s 22 active members support efforts to develop fundraisers and fund scholarships to help fulfill those needs. Many hours of volunteer work is dedicated to the success of the national theme.

“Our Chums volunteer for all of the different program/ projects and we also provide funding, as needed,” Russell said.

Here’s a small sampling of what the St. Louis Chums support: Children’s Hour. This is a reading program at New Northside Development Center. Chums read stories and encourage interactive participation. Books are given to children ages 3-5. St. Paul Saturdays. Chums provide mentoring to help young males to become strong, intelligent and responsible. It includes developing leadership skills, academic achievement and cultural growth.

Striving for Excellence. This program provides assistance with afterschool care at Hazelwood Southeast Middle School. It addresses some of the concerns of youth regarding the impact of disturbing issues in the various communities.

Adopt-A-Family. Homeless and needy families identified by the Developmental Disabilities Resources Center are provided with food, clothing and toys during the holiday season.

Bruce Franks Jr. carjacked at gunpoint

Bruce Franks Jr., state representative-elect for Missouri House District 78, was robbed and carjacked at gunpoint in downtown St. Louis on the evening of Monday, December 19. He was unharmed. Like Sheena Greitens, spouse of Missouri Governor-elect Eric Greitens, who was the victim of armed robbery on December 6 in the Central West End, Franks was sitting inside his car when he was surprised by a gunman. Franks told The American his assailants were in their late teens or early twenties. Days before he was carjacked at gunpoint, Franks, 32, pre-filed a bill that would establish June 7 as St. Louis Youth Violence Prevention Day.

Trunk Program . Funds are donated to fill two trunks with supplies for college-bound students in partnership with the “Better Love Yourself” program.

POLICE

Continued from A1

children were also 2.74 times more likely than whites to be sentenced to be placed in custody, according to the report. Approximately, 60 percent of the defense lawyers who represented youth in St. Louis County Family Court delayed entering case data after detention hearings – from seven days to 232 days late, according to the report.

“As a result of these delays, critical investigation opportunities are lost; witnesses are no longer willing or available, memories fade, and physical evidence useful to the defense disappears,” the report stated.

One of the major problems that the report highlighted is found throughout the St. Louis County municipal court system as well: the roles of court employees intertwine, causing a conflict of interest.

Restore St. Louis. This is Christian-focused academic assistance program that mentors and tutors at-risk youth ages 6-17. The Chums and Hums (spouses) provide funding and volunteer working with youth in the program. Women to Women Project. Chums donated purses filled with hygiene items for homeless women. They also donated toiletries and other various personal items to

bottom given the separation-ofpowers problem,” she told St. Louis Public Radio. In November 2013, the DOJ began its two-year investigation. The DOJ examined more than 60 variables for nearly 33,000 cases resolved between 2010 and 2013 in St. Louis County Family Court.

According to the 31-page consent decree, St. Louis County Family Court “disagrees with and disputes” the DOJ’s findings on the court. In the four juvenile justice reforms the DOJ has conducted, St. Louis County has had the longest negotiation, with 16 months of deliberation.

n “The Missouri juvenile court system is conflicted and unconstitutional from top to the bottom given the separationof-powers problem.”

– Mae Quinn, MacArthur Justice Center

“The prosecutor is counsel for the probation officer, and the probation officer acts as both an arm of the prosecution as well as a child advocate,” the report stated. “These conflicts of interest are contrary to separation of powers principles and deprive children of adequate due process.”

Mae Quinn, the executive director at the MacArthur Justice Center in St. Louis and the former head of the Juvenile Law and Justice Clinic at Washington University, agreed with that assessment.

“I do continue to believe that the Missouri juvenile court system is conflicted and unconstitutional from top to the

Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told The Huffington Post that Missouri needs to start fixing its problems by investing greater resources into its public defense system.

Ben Burkemper, the St. Louis County Family Court administrator, said that it will cost St. Louis County approximately $135,000 per year to comply with the reform. He said the first year’s costs will come from the court’s budgeted savings, but the rest will come from St. Louis County revenue.

U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-St. Louis) called the agreement a “victory” for the juveniles who will encounter the justice system and “finally enjoy equal protection under the law, which should include an opportunity to make a fresh start.”

This story is published as part of a partnership between The St. Louis American and The Huffington Post.

homeless men and women who visited the Horizon Club Drop-in Center operated by the St. Louis Office for Developmental Disability Resources.

Two Chums also serve as court-appointed special advocates with Voices for Children, spending countless hours advocating for youth in foster care.

The main project the Chums support is the Armida Frederick Scholarship Fund, through which five renewable college

scholarships of $1,500 are given to in-need youngsters.

The fund was established as a memorial to Frederick, a charter member, an educator in the Saint Louis Public School District, who embodied the notion that every child should have the opportunity to get a good education.

“Since the inception of this scholarship program, the St. Louis Chums have awarded more than $100,000 to youth in need,” Russell said. “We are very proud of our many

scholarship recipients – most of whom have completed their education and given back to the community.”

The St. Louis Chums annual Masque Ball is the primary fundraiser for scholarships and other projects and activities in the community. This black-tie event is held on the first Friday in March, and attracts as many as 600 people from all areas of the St. Louis community.

“Our greatest needs, in

terms of donations, are funds to assist in providing for the many varied projects that we implement,” Russell said. “We currently receive some donations from Chums, as well as from friends, individuals and companies in the community who are aware of our on-going activities.”

To learn more about the St. Louis Chapter of Chums, or to donate, visit http://www. stlchums.com

Photo by Wiley Price

Human rights under a President Trump

On December 10, there was a global celebration of human rights. Locally, the St. Louis Coalition for Human Rights recognized its 20th anniversary. This is the day that the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. We have a president charging into the White House who already has an established record of human rights abuses. And if we are to believe some of his campaign promises, there are more violations to come.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, commonly referred to as the UDHR, consists of 30 articles affecting our quality of life. It is arguably the most important document of the 20th Century in that, for the first time, a standard was set for all peoples and all nations of the world. You are eligible for human rights the second you come into the world, no matter where you are in the world.

Nobody can take them from you or pick and choose which ones you get.

In my travels over the years, citizens in other countries often refer to human rights rather than to laws. That’s because laws can change at any time because of political winds. In the U.S., African Americans are very familiar with this phenomenon as we are still waging the fight for voting rights.

Governments are responsible for protecting human rights, regardless of whether it’s a citizen of their own country or another. Like most documents of this nature, protection of these rights is a challenge. A country referring to itself as a democracy (like the U.S.) is just as capable of abusing human rights as authoritarian government.

Let’s look at where the big violations by a President Trump are likely to occur.

Article 23 is the “Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions.” I interpret “desirable” to be safe jobs

with livable wages which dovetails into Article 25, the “Right to Adequate Standard of Living.” Trump has brought a heavy hand down on union organizing. In Las Vegas, where most casinos and hotels are unionized as a routine matter, he fought the Culinary Workers Union (CWU) and the Bartenders Union tooth-and-nail at the Trump International Hotel. The CWU is the Nevada’s largest union with 57,000 members; you don’t wanna mess with them. Ultimately, the workers triumphed and won their contract.

views towards workers are likely to have damaging impacts in other countries.

Trump drug out a lawsuit for 20 years before admitting that undocumented Polish immigrants were used in his New York demolition project. Contractors have claimed to have a rough time getting paid by the billionaire. Trump’s trade agreements and hostile

Auto dealers donate

$100K to Boys

& Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis

association; Ruth Lederman, vice president of resource development, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis; and Jim Butler, owner/president of Jim Butler Automotive Group and BGCSTL board member. In recent years, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis opened new clubs in the Ferguson/Florissant District (Ferguson Middle School and Lee Hamilton

Elementary School Clubs) and the Riverview Gardens Club (Highland Elementary School Club). It already had been operating two clubs in the Hazelwood School District (Southeast Middle School Club and Grannemann Elementary School Club). For more information on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, visit www.bgcstl.org.

Article 20 is the “Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association,” which is also reflected in our First Amendment rights. We saw how Trump and his campaign dealt with dissent and assembly at his events. He created a hostile environment during his campaign events, often encouraging his supporters to get physical and vowing to pay their legal costs if they sucker-punched a protestor. Trump even stated that during an event that he’d like to “punch a protestor in the face.” The Southern Poverty Law Center recorded over 1,000 hate-motivated crimes in the month since Trump was elected. Hate against women, Muslim, people of color, members of the LGBT community – making America “great” again apparently

doesn’t include these constituencies. We can expect to see vicious crackdowns on peaceful assemblies, including on the impending alternative demonstration to the Women’s March on Washington next month. If Jeff Sessions is confirmed as U.S. attorney general, we should anticipate plenty of attacks on civil liberties and human rights.

Article 13 is the “Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country” and has already received a verbal blow as Trump talks about building a wall along the Mexican border. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto emphatically says no pesos will go towards building Trump’s wall. During the campaign, Trump promised a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims coming to the U.S. His get-tough policy on radical Islam also criminalizes Muslims, treating them all as terrorists which makes them susceptible to torture (which Trump favors). Freedom for torture and degrading treatment is Article

5 but it’s also a violation of international law. The United Nations has expressed its uneasiness about the Trump presidency. Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein summed up Trump’s right-wing rhetoric and proclaimed that he would be “dangerous from an international point of view.“ Zeid, the U.N.’s high commissioner for human rights, also took note of the countries with human rights abuses who welcomed the election of Trump, countries like Russian, Syria and Turkey. Freedom-loving people in the U.S. must be ready to confront the inhumane policies and vile rhetoric of the new president. We know there are allies around the world to join with us. We must be ready to disrupt the flow of business that will assuredly lead to the rich getting richer and the rest of us getting a proverbial foot on our necks. Stopping the steamroller of demagoguery and white supremacy resolutely begins here on these shores.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis received an $100,000 donation from the Saint Louis Auto Dealers Association to support the agency’s after-school, summer, teen and other youth programs in North St. Louis County.

Pictured, left to right: Chris Adelmann, executive vice president, Saint Louis Auto Dealers Association; Vince Capatosta, president of the

Is it a crime to put your kids in public schools?

On Monday, December 12, 17th Ward Alderman Joe Roddy gave a presentation at the Schlafly Branch of the St. Louis Public Library attempting to justify the tax incentives being offered to develop a $130 million 34-story apartment building proposed for the Central West End. One slide in his slideshow showed a vertical drop from moneymakers, with Business at the top, to money-suckers. In one group of money-suckers, Roddy presented the incredible pairing of “Criminals and Residents with Children Attending SLPS.” This more than anything seemed to set off a progressive group called #TeamTIF, which sent the following analysis.

While many people have been offended by Ald. Joe Roddy’s highly inflammatory slide, the graphic was far more than insensitive. It was a window into the thought process supporting our city’s current tax incentive system.

The top category in our city’s incentive “pecking order” is business. Despite the fact that Tax Increment Financing (TIF) incentives often return all three of the listed forms of taxation back to the developer or business, it is presented as the greatest generator of money. CIDs and abatement combination is also undermining the real estate tax generation potential of development in our city’s booming central corridor. A sales tax rate that will approach 11 percent in some locations will also reduce the public’s buying power. In return, we are not receiving meaningful investments in affordable housing or racial and economic integration of city neighborhoods. Quite the opposite. Our current incentive policy is a driver of continued segregation.

Undoubtedly, the vast majority of businesses and other employers/institutions contribute a great deal of our city’s tax base. Unfortunately, we are seeing this very revenue generation endangered by the tax incentivization system currently in place. Developers are seeking greater and greater levels of subsidy. Requests for TIF contributions above the city’s 15 percent maximum have become routine. Cupples X has requested 20 percent of funding come from TIF, for instance. Over half of the funds going to the City Foundry project will come from public sources. Despite this massive amount of subsidy, City Foundry is currently asking potential tenants to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, which seems to be intended to squelch reports that City Foundry has been offering prospective tenants Earnings Tax recapture, like the deal The Riverfront Times reported with Polsinelli’s downtown office. Beneath businesses, we are presented with the category “Residents Who Pay Higher Earnings Tax and Don’t Have Children in Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS).” This is the cohort Roddy is most interested in courting: Wealthier residents whose children attend private school. Never mind that the above-mentioned employer’s portion of the Earnings Tax revenue is often recaptured via these TIFs, which halves the value of that employment position’s contribution to city revenue.

The next category down, “Retired, Fixed-Income Residents With No Children in SLPS,” begins our tour of the groups of people considered a drain on public resources. Ald. Roddy cites in particular the elderly and disabled. While there are certainly social service costs involved with

The top category in our city’s incentive “pecking order” is business. Despite the fact that Tax Increment Financing (TIF) incentives often return all three of the listed forms of taxation back to the developer or business, it is presented as the greatest generator of money.

these populations, this is the beginning of being able to clearly see the central flaw in the city’s view of costs, investment, etc.

The next category is the one that got people worked up: “Criminals and Residents with Children Attending SLPS.” Obviously, the title of this cohort is highly inflammatory. In a region that has been actively discussing the criminalization of poverty and the school-to-prison pipeline, this category goes beyond any reasonable definition of “tonedeaf” and goes well into the realm of being offensive.

When taken in context of recent Central Corridor population shifts, with a roughly 5 percent drop in African-American population from 2000-2014 and an almost 16 percent increase in white population, this becomes even more alarming. As 80 percent of SLPS students are African-American and often

A lot of that has to do with the funding for the school district. Most of that funding comes from property taxes. By exempting so many highly valuable developments from property taxes, we are actively undermining the school system’s funding. In Roddy’s view, if you don’t have a child enrolled in SLPS, you derive no value from SLPS. This is an incredible way of looking at the city budget.

The same goes for our elders. Reducing them to money-losers, but not as bad as people with children in SLPS, is an equally disconcerting view to take of folks that have paid city taxes, often for decades or entire working lives.

Similarly, assigning the costs of our public safety infrastructure to “criminals” is an equally strange way of viewing the budget. We pay for police, etc., because we want safety for our loved ones and personal property.

lower-income, he has lumped the very people being driven from the neighborhoods he represents (via tax incentivefueled gentrification) in with criminals. As we said, this is far beyond brushing the graphic off as simply being “tone-deaf.”

Roddy’s presentation rests on a very peculiar way of looking at city budgets. For his view of city finances to be understood, one must realize that he is essentially assigning the full expense of budgetary line items to the citizens who use a particular service.

#TeamTIF believes that this is a highly flawed way to view city finances and investments in the city we love. We believe that we should view the budget in a way that actually comports with the real world. In that real world, the expense of SLPS is an investment in providing a public good that benefits every city resident.

Do we hope SLPS continues to improve? Of course we do!

A person who lives in a lowcrime neighborhood is just as much a “customer” of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s services as someone who lives in a higher-crime area. It would be interesting to see a request put forward to the alders in lowercrime areas to reduce their police force presence, so that Public Safety resources could be shifted to areas of need and to innovative strategies to give youth and adults support and assistance in reducing the disparities between neighborhoods. We highly doubt that any of the alders would support losing funding to the district covering their wards. That this would never happen is offered as an example of how the graphic seems to imply a view of city budgeting that has little connection to reality.

As we consider this snapshot into the mindset of city leaders provided by this graphic,

our city is now proposing an increase in the sales tax rate, partially to support Public Safety, further proof our city’s leaders view Public Safety as a good and service that benefits all city residents, not simply an expense of arresting and jailing those who break the law. As near as anyone can tell, this graphic can only be explained by combining the costs of Public Safety and SLPS’s budget. According to recent public reports, SLPS funding for the most recently available year is roughly $400 million, $340.9 million of which appears to be the portion budgeted by the SAB, from city property tax revenue. Our city’s Public Safety budget is $325.5 million, according to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) . These are obviously large expenses, but they are investments, not just lost dollars. Our city should consider SLPS just as much of a potential driver of economic growth as we do tech startups. Having an educated workforce is absolutely necessary to attract and retain businesses and economic activity. We should be seeking more ways to invest in our city’s children, not considering their education to be a drag on our city. We hope that this describes what #TeamTIF believes is a central fissure, between incentive policy advocates and the thought process and viewpoint that drives our city’s current development incentive policy. #TeamTIF wants a more transparent, inclusive and progressive-thinking St. Louis city. We believe it is time that St. Louis looks to urban planning best practices and that we leave behind development policies that continue deep inequities in our city. We can build a stronger St. Louis, but we must view our residents as assets.

Foreign influence and the integrity of our democracy

Marc H. Morial President and CEO National Urban League

“Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellowcitizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government… The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is…to have with them as little political connection as possible.” — President George Washington, Farewell Address, September 17, 1796

In 1840, President Martin Van Buren was fighting for re-election. He ultimately lost his presidential bid to a war hero, William Henry Harrison, who easily won over the widely unpopular Van Buren, nicknamed “Van Ruin,” for presiding over the nation during an economic depression. The presidential campaign of 1840 was heavy on image, and light on substance, painting Van Buren as an elitist and Harrison as an everyday man.

Harrison – accused of being helped by British bankers during his campaign – won the Electoral College vote and an extremely close popular vote. In 1888, Grover Cleveland was favored to win his presidential re-election campaign, but ultimately lost the presidency because he appeared partial and subservient to British interests. The voters turned against him and his perceived British sympathies. While he managed to win the popular vote, he lost the Electoral College vote and, hence, the presidency. If the past is prologue,

history suggests that Americans resent the interference of foreign governments and interests in our presidential elections. As evidence of Russian tampering via cyberattacks and hacking continues to mount, and Presidentelect Trump has tapped Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State – who Trump described as doing “massive deals in Russia” and was awarded the “Order of Friendship” by Vladimir Putin – it is the duty and obligation of our Congress to thoroughly investigate whether or not Russia has interfered with our election process to tip the scale for a Trump win – and, in the process, undermine and sow distrust in our democracy and its institutions.

President Obama has ordered a full intelligence review of the alleged Russian hack into the Democratic and Republican

n History suggests that Americans resent the interference of foreign governments and interests in our presidential elections.

National Committees to be completed before inauguration day. In a break with Trump, the top two Republicans in Congress have lent their support to a bipartisan congressional effort to investigate the alleged Russian cyber-attacks. Calling any breach of American cyber-security measures “disturbing,” Senator Mitch McConnell added, “The Russians do not wish us well It defies belief that somehow Republicans in the Senate are reluctant to either review Russian hacking, or ignore them.” As of my writing, it has been reported that more than 50 Democratic voters in the

Electoral College are asking for an intelligence briefing from the director of National Intelligence into possible foreign intervention in the presidential election before the college meets to cast its vote for our next president and vice president.

Trump and his associates have dismissed the allegations of Russian interference, painting them as “ridiculous” and “another excuse.” Trump has – quite characteristically –explained away the legitimate concerns of our institutions, political leaders, the press and the people by blaming the Democrats for disseminating conspiracy theories because “they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country.” If there was any interference or hacking, he said in a televised interview, “they have no idea if it’s Russia, or China, or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace.”

Trump, and I’m sure many of his supporters, see the investigation into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election as an attempt to delegitimize his recent win. But the presidentelect would do better to understand that to dismiss these allegations would leave a permanent stain on his administration, his tenure and his motives. To not look into these allegations seriously would further erode public trust in the already embattled mechanics of our democracy. If domestic voter suppression sits on one side of the coin, the unwanted influence of a foreign power in American elections sits on the other. Rather than enrich us and our system of representative government, both serve to undermine true democracy.

Marc H. Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League.

Celebrate Kwanzaa: Mask and Masquerade at the Saint Louis Art Museum

Kwanzaa is a seven-day festival that begins on December 26. Created by Dr. Maulana Karenga, the holiday combines both African and African American cultural practices and celebrates traditions from Africa and the diaspora. Based on African harvest festivals, each day of Kwanzaa is connected to one of seven principles (Nguzo Saba). The principles are Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). Each is universally appealing making Kwanzaa a holiday that can be celebrated by anyone, not just African Americans.

The Saint Louis Art Museum will present its annual Kwanzaa Celebration on Sunday, January 1. The Kwanzaa principle of the day is Imani (faith) and according to Dr. Karenga, it is a “belief and courage in ourselves, our parents, teachers, and leaders.” The principle also speaks to “our ability to overcome hardship while improving as a people. It is faith in our people and our culture.” By this definition faith extends beyond religion and is the basis for Kwanzaa as a celebration and a practice.

The Museum’s Kwanzaa Celebration is themed Mask and Masquerade and the day’s activities will include a family art activity, auditorium performance, and a scavenger hunt based on the Nguzo Saba.

Beginning at noon, visitors can create their own wall plaque inspired by African masks and take a self-guided tour of the Museum’s American art galleries with a Kwanzaathemed scavenger hunt.

Guests who participate in the family art activity will receive tickets (one per person) for the performance in the Farrell Auditorium while quantities last. Auditorium seating is limited and tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. The family art activity takes place in Grigg Gallery from noon to 4 pm.

The Kwanzaa performance will begin promptly at 2 pm

in the Farrell Auditorium.

Performances include African storytelling and stilt walking performed by the Nan Foule Folklore Society, St. Louis Chapter; spoken work with Dr. Elaine Woodson; and African dance and drumming by Moja Moyo. Kwanzaa: Mask and Masquerade is presented in collaboration with the St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. All of the Museum’s Kwanzaa activities are free but tickets are required for the auditorium performance. Ticket for the performance will be available at noon on January 1.

“I want to specifically thank

Early childhood programs enrolling now

American staff

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis received two new Head Start grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services totaling more than $7,703,463 at its newest Magnolia Head Start Center grand opening on 2725 Alhambra Ct. in St. Louis. Urban League Head Start/Early Head Start will now serve 672 students from six weeks to five years of age, as well as services to expectant mothers.

Guest Columnist Marc Morial

Louis.

Knowledge and sensitivity to pronouns

change their language to create a welcom-

Dec.

Changing the language to create an LGBT welcoming dialogue

By Sandra Jordan

Of The St. Louis American

Asking how a person prefers to be addressed during an initial exchange can influence the dynamics of a conversation, particularly for health care providers and the people they are trained to serve. For clients who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT), a health provider’s knowledge and sensitivity to pronouns – she, her and hers; he, him and his; or they, them and theirs – can create a welcoming space or an unintended obstacle to communicating health concerns. You cannot look at someone and determine which pronoun the person prefers. Advocates say the best way is to ask the question. The same question(s) to everyone – without judgement, then, everyone’s preference is honored.

“Sex is between your legs and gender is between your ears,” Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) Program and Training Coordinator Eugene Potchen-Webb said during a “Welcoming Spaces” training December 2 at Planned Parenthood in St. Louis. “Gender is your own defini-

tion of who you are – you label as you choose.”

Held in conjunction with Cover Missouri Coalition member PROMO (a statewide LGBT advocacy organization), the training took place during the health insurance open enrollment period. Health insurance navigators and representatives from area hospitals, health centers and community agencies participated. Having a standard gender-affirming language to use during data collection in medical facilities was discussed. “We have been identifying and working with health institutions, physicians and hospitals across the state to update their policies; to help train their staff and federal regulation and guidelines have also helped them with policy changes,” said Elizabeth Fuchs, manager of Public Policy at PROMO. “There are rules now, that if you want to keep your funding for certain funding streams, like Medicare and Medicaid, that you have to be in compliance with updating

policy around sexual orientation and gender identity, data collection. With that, hospitals … are coming up with their own in-house training program.”

n You cannot look at someone and determine which pronoun the person prefers. Advocates say the best way is to ask the question.

Fuchs added that electronic medical records systems are being updated to collect sexual orientation and gender identity information. The training included participant discussion, a video and a quiz on sexual orientation and gender, intersex and trans terms to test their knowledge by matching the term with the description. Afterward, each term was explained, including terms that are offensive to LGBT community. A sheet with correct answers came later. In some cases, whether it was offensive or not seemed to be generational. For example, “The transsexual term has fallen out of favor. Transgender is a better term these days,” Potchen-Webb explained. “When you hear the term transsexual, typically what it means it is a person who identifies as trans, who is taking steps through medical inter-

vention that is changing their sex to match their gender.”

Potchen-Webb said transgender is a larger umbrella term that includes everyone in the LGBT community.

“Younger folks are choosing not to choose,” he added. “So they might have introduced themselves as their name and said their pronouns are ‘they, them and theirs’ or… they say their pronouns are ‘name.’” preferring to use their name only.

While some would say it is just as easy for a person to tell others of their pronoun preference without someone having to ask – the impetus in this case belongs to health providers who want to get as much, specific, accurate detail about clients or patients to connect them with needed services.

Organizations that went through the training received a special logo by their name on Cover Missouri’s Find Local Help tool, to identify that they have completed the necessary requirements to be LGBT Welcoming.

For more information, visit CoverMissouri.org, PROMOonline.org or see the You Tube video, “To Treat Me, You Have to Know Who I Am.”

Helping prevent gestational diabetes

By Eboni C. January, MD

For The St. Louis American

n Once diagnosed, pregnant women must see a dietician to develop a healthier eating plan and are monitored very closely in order to prevent complications.

Gestational diabetes or diabetes of pregnancy affects five to18 percent of pregnancies. This condition develops when pregnant women cannot produce enough insulin to keep blood levels of glucose in check. It is important to recognize and treat gestational diabetes in order to minimize the risk of complications to both mom and baby. Complications include having a large baby (9lbs or more), stillbirth, neonatal hypoglycemia (low blood sugar in the newborn) and preeclampsia. Women are usually screened for the disease between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation. Those who have certain risk factors should be screened sooner. Risks factors include a history of gestational diabetes, obesity, and a strong family history of diabetes. Drinking a sweet drink then having blood drawn one hour later is how the test is performed. Once diagnosed, pregnant women must see a dietician to develop a healthier eating plan and are monitored very closely in order to prevent complications. The number of prenatal visits increases. Women are usually required to check their blood sugars four times a day (before breakfast, and one hour after each meal). The baby is monitored closely as well via frequent ultrasounds. Usually, women are able to control blood sugar levels with simple modifications in their diets. In cases where blood sugars cannot be controlled with diet and exercise, then insulin or other medications may be required. The route and timing of delivery depends on whether or not the woman is on medication for blood sugar control and also how large the baby is. Many women are able to have vaginal deliveries. However, the risk of trauma to both mother and baby during delivery is increased with uncontrolled gestational diabetes if the baby is too large. When the fetus is estimated to be a certain weight (over 4500 grams), then cesarean delivery is recommended. Although gestational diabetes usually resolves after delivery, one-third to two-thirds of women are still at risk for developing it in subsequent pregnancies. Obese women have a 50-75 percent risk of Type II Diabetes, while women of normal weight have a less than 25 percent risk. Therefore, women with gestational diabetes should be retested 6 to 12 weeks after delivery. Gestational diabetes is not uncommon. Although many women do well, the diagnosis is not without risks to both mother and baby. For this reason, it is important to decrease your risk of developing it through proper diet, exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Eboni C. January, MD, Obstetrics and Gynecology-BJK People’s Health Centers

SLU Medical School Dean honored for service

On December 9, The Empowerment Network (TEN) presented Philip Alderson, M.D., the retiring dean of Saint Louis University School of Medicine, with its Wind Beneath Our Wings Award.

The award is given to one member of the community each year who has gone above expectations to help the grass roots organization, which supports underserved men and their families who are impacted by prostate cancer.

“Dr. Alderson has helped us to soar to greater heights than would have been possible on our own,” said TEN CEO Mellve Shahid.

The medical school received a ive-year grant to partner with established advocacy organizations, like TEN, to ight cancer in minorities. The Network expanded prostate cancer screenings and message of early detection and education.

Photo by Wiley Price

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN • DECEMBER 22 – 28, 2016

Eboni C. January, MD

Eugene Potchen-Webb talked about how health care providers can

ing space to talk about health with its clients and patients at a

2 Welcoming Spaces training by Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and LGBT advocacy organization, PROMO.

Business

Should you boycott Trump’s corporate empire?

#grabyourwallet hashtag urges consumers to protest with their purchases

By Michelle Singletary Washington Post

WASHINGTON – Boycotts have long been a way for consumers to voice their discontent. If money walks, policies or business practices sometimes change. But would a boycott work against President-elect Donald Trump, who has angered many people by his actions and politics and who has a vast corporate empire that could create conflicts of interest?

There is a growing campaign on Twitter with the hashtag #grabyourwallet to boycott companies that do business with Trump or carry Trump-branded merchandise, including items sold by his daughter Ivanka.

I asked readers to share their thoughts on this financial protest. Here’s what folks had to say, starting with those who support a boycott: “Boycotting Trump products by voting with your dollars is a peaceful, effective way for people to demonstrate their democratic views,” one reader wrote. “I hope this social media

n Lorna Gilkey of Alexandria, Virginia, wrote: “I will not support any company that would seek to help a man who ran on a platform of hatred.”

boycott effort builds momentum as we engage in the holiday shopping season.”

Lorna Gilkey of Alexandria, Virginia, wrote:

“I will not support any company that would seek to help a man who ran on a platform of hatred.”

Debbie Anderson of Summerville, South Carolina, wrote: “I’m a big believer of letting my dollars do my talking. While I realize my pittance doesn’t make a difference for a huge company, if people band together, we can effect change.”

“I think the real issue here is the lack of a

firewall between Trump’s business and the presidency,” wrote Dina from Philadelphia. “Even if these are the most honest people in the world, the appearance of a conflict of interest can never go away if his children are running his business. Of course they are going to consult their father about business issues. Of course, they will have access to information that the average businessperson will not. As president, can he make any decision without considering the impact to his business? You cannot expect that what is best for Trump Inc. will always be best for America.”

Judith Dollenmayer of Poughkeepsie, New York, wrote: “The boycott in this case is applied to express disapproval of the Trump brand, specifically by folks like me who believe President-elect Trump will not disentangle his and his family’s financial interests from his official capacity and the prestige that goes with it. I think a boycott is entirely justified, at least

See BOYCOTT, B2

Alonzo Shaw was promoted by Reliance Bank to assistant vice president, community development officer. He is a St. Louis native who has brought in many business relationships to the bank as well as maintained and grown relationships. He manages the Reliance Bank loan production office located at 1021 North Grand Blvd.

Elandra Dillard was named business development consultant for SSM Health DePaul Hospital. She will be the primary liaison between the medical staff and hospital administration. She comes to DePaul Hospital from SSM Health Foundations, where she had extensive experience in program development and was responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with individuals, corporations and major donors.

Jerry M. Hunter was selected to serve on the Executive Committee will advise and assist in the inauguration of Governor-elect Eric Greitens. Hunter is partner at Bryan Cave and serves as second vice chairman for Associated Industries of Missouri. Greitens, a Republican from St. Louis, will be inaugurated on January 9.

Mariah Richardson is one of 10 local artists who each received a $20,000 Artist Fellowship from the Regional Arts Commission (RAC) of St. Louis. They were selected from 212 applicants after being reviewed by RAC Commissioners, a community advisory committee, 26 expert readers, and staff. She was awarded in the category of Theater.

YC Young was recently honored with a Silver Beaver Award from the Greater St. Louis Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. It’s the highest recognition a Boy Scout council can award to volunteers. He has volunteered with the Boy Scouts for 52 years. A Vietnam veteran, he has volunteered at the V.A. Hospital each week for the past 40 years.

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

AT&T recently provided two contributions for North County schools in the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program. It awarded a $20,000 incentive grant awarded to Normandy High School, which began offering JAG this year, and a $10,000 sustaining grant to Normandy High School and Jennings Educational Training School (JETS), now in its fourth year with the program.

Normandy has 23 students this fall, heading toward an ultimate goal of 45-50. JETS has 24 JAG students this fall.

“In the three years we have had the program, we have seen the students in the program find their passion, develop skills, graduate, and be successful after high school,” said Herman Harris, JETS administrator.

JAG is dedicated to helping young people who have potential, but who are at-risk for

Herman Harris

not graduating from high school. The JAG curriculum emphasizes a wide variety of employability skills. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, who serves as a vice chair on the JAG national Board of Directors, attended an event to announce the contributions at Normandy High School on December 13.

“The program helps students feel better connected, which helps increase attendance, participation and graduation rates,” Nixon said.

Jobs for America’s Graduates-Missouri (JAGMissouri) is a state-based nonprofit organization that is part of the national JAG network. Its goal is to help ensure students graduate from high school and are prepared to succeed, whether in post-secondary education, the military, or in

n In the three years the Normandy High School and Jennings Educational Training School has had the Jobs for America’s Graduates program, according to administrator Herman Harris, they “have seen the students in the program ind their passion, develop skills, graduate, and be successful after high school.”

jobs/careers. One of the services JAG provides is monthly follow-up for 12 months following the senior year to assist students in their transition from

Kantres Davis was awarded the Liz Koch Memorial Scholarship for dental professionals. She is a certified dental assistant at Three Rivers Dental in Florissant. She competed against more than 100 dental professionals for the scholarship, which helps oral healthcare professionals pursue professional development and support their mentorship activities. On the move? Congratulations! Send your good professional news and

Alonzo Shaw

Jerry M. Hunter

Mariah Richardson

YC Young

Elandra Dillard

Kantres Davis

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Protestors at a campaign rally for Donald Trump in St. Louis on March 11 turned their backsides to the candidate and his supporters. The backs of their jackets were decorated to look like bullet holes in their backs.

By Nathaniel Sillin

You should want to know your credit score. After all, your credit can be incredibly important to your financial future. It could impact your likelihood of getting approved for a loan and the interest rate you’ll get on new financial products. However, understanding the factors that influence your credit score can be even more important than knowing the score itself.

There are five key factors that influence your credit scores. Fair Isaac Corporation’s FICO credit scores are used for most lending decisions in the U.S., and the latest FICO base scoring model has a 300 to 850 range. The score depends on the information in a person’s credit report, and the lower the score the more likely the person is to pay late. Past credit mistakes can stay on your reports for seven to 10 years. While the impact of negative marks diminishes over time, the credit-building process can be slow. However, just as a rising tide lifts all boats, improving your core credit factors could help raise

Focus on credit factors, not credit scores

all your scores over time. FICO shares the five key factors that you should focus on to build healthy credit and the approximate weighting of each.

1. Payment history – 35 percent. A history of on-time payments can help your credit, while late payments, collection accounts, bankruptcies or other negative payment-related items could hurt it.

Some types of accounts, such as utility or mobile phone contracts, don’t generally report positive activity (on-time payments) to credit bureaus. But if the account gets sent to collections, that could still hurt your credit.

You might want to open an account that reports your payments to the credit bureaus if you don’t already have one (you can call the issuer and ask). Some people start with a secured credit card or a credit-builder loan from a credit union, but consider what type of account best fits your situation.

2. Amounts owed – 30 percent. The amount you owe versus your available credit,

known as your utilization rate, is another important factor. A lower utilization rate often leads to better credit. If you’re able to pay down credit card debt, that could quickly improve your utilization rate. Increasing your cards’ credit limits and keeping credit cards open even

when you don’t regularly use them could also help.

3. Length of credit history – 15 percent. FICO looks at the age of your oldest account, newest account and average age of all your accounts. A longer history is usually better than a short one.

Keeping accounts open, and ideally in good standing, can help you increase your length of credit history. Even when you close an account it will remain on your reports and count towards your credit history for seven to 10 years.

4. New credit – 10 percent. The new credit section considers how many new accounts you have, what types of accounts they are and recent inquiries into your credit.

Hard inquiries generally occur when someone requests your credit report to make a lending decision or rental screening. A single inquiry will generally drop your score by a few points for several months, while multiple inquiries could have a larger negative impact.

However, credit-scoring agencies let you shop for a loan without a penalty.

Multiple hard inquiries for some types of loans, such as auto loans, could count as a single inquiry for creditscoring purposes if they occur within a 14- to 45-day period.

Soft inquiry, which can happen when you check your credit or a company pre-

qualifies you for an offer, don’t hurt your credit at all. Try not to open new accounts unless you need them and avoid new hard inquiries in the months leading up to applying for an important loan.

5. Credit mix –10 percent. Your experience with different types of credit, such as revolving credit and installment loans, could impact your score, particularly if there isn’t a lot of information in your credit report.

Having at least one credit card could help your credit mix, although that’s not necessarily reason enough to apply for a card.

Bottom line: Learn which factors matter the most to your credit scores, and try to make a habit of practicing creditbuilding behavior. Creating a system that’ll help you make on-time payments and only using a small portion of your available credit are good starts.

Nathaniel Sillin directs Visa’s financial education programs. To follow Practical Money Skills on Twitter: www. twitter.com/PracticalMoney.

Trump “has made it clear that money is the language he speaks and that is where he shall feel our wrath,” wrote BOYCOTT continued from page B1

Alison Welles of Potomac, Maryland.

until we see bright boundaries drawn between his financial affairs and his national duties.”

“I am supporting the boycott of all Trump products partially to exercise my free speech rights,” wrote Katherine Pecka Maulden of Reston, Virginia.

“I will not buy anything from any company [associated with Trump], nor will I set foot in any Trump property. Speaking through my spending

n Trump “has made it clear that money is the language he speaks and that is where he shall feel our wrath,” wrote Alison Welles of Potomac, Maryland.

choices, I choose not to enrich any commercial enterprise associated with the hate-filled

Trump philosophy.”

Here are comments from readers opposed to a Trump boycott:

Jan McCarthy of Keswick, Virginia, wrote: “I think the attempts to boycott the Trump brand, and anything else these protesters are doing, are pure spite and revenge. I will be contacting these same retailers with my opposing view, and will not buy any products from any of them who capitulate and kowtow to these boycott bullies.”

“I can understand why people would want to boycott

anything connected to Trump products and services,” wrote Stephanie Battles of Mitchellville, Maryland.

“However we must realize that there are unintended consequences. A boycott will harm workers.”

Leslie Stompor of Naperville, Illinois, wrote: “I don’t think it makes sense to boycott stores that carry Trump products. Just don’t buy the Trump stuff, and the stores will stop carrying it all on their own. Vote with your dollar!”

David Engel of Marshalltown, Iowa, wrote: “I think it is ridiculous to do this. Boycotting his businesses will do nothing to change his mind about his agenda and just looks like sour grapes.”

“I voted for Hillary and I’m not throwing a fit,” wrote Teresa Woods of Omaha, Nebraska. “Why don’t we

support the president-elect to help him become successful instead of working against him? In the long run, we are only hurting our country. Let’s see how he does. If he proves to be unfit for this country, then we can throw our tantrums.”

I’ve waged my own boycotts when I’ve felt aggrieved or objected to a way company is doing business. I’m just glad that I live in a country where you have the freedom to support or protest a cause so that your voice can be heard.

Readers can write to Michelle Singletary c/o The Washington Post, 1301 K St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20071. Her email address is michelle.singletary@washpost. com. Follow her on Twitter (@ SingletaryM).

n “They stop every two seconds for a replay...they go under the hood for a review...It’s insane.”

– Bryant Gumbel

Glut of holiday tourneys

PreP BasketBall NoteBook

One of the best times of the year is coming up with the glut of holiday basketball tournaments that are now upon us. Here is a look at some of the top tournaments in the St. Louis metro area.

Coaches vs Cancer (at Meramec), Dec. 27-30, Championship Game, Friday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. –The new kid on the block at Meramec this year is St. Mary’s, which earned the No. 1 seed with its undefeated record with road wins over Alton and CBC. The Dragons are young, but very talented and have an experienced coach in Kelvin Lee. The field is formidable with the likes of Webster Groves, SLUH, CBC, Hazelwood Central and Jennings checking in at seeds No. 2-6.

Five Players to Watch: Courtney Ramey 6’3” (Webster Groves), Brandon McKissic 6’2” (SLUH), Wyatt Yess 6’8” (Parkway West), Ryan Stipanovich 6’7” (DeSmet), Tony Burks 6’2” (St. Mary’s).

Collinsville, Dec. 28-30, Championship Game, Friday, Dec. 30, 7:30 p.m. – The 33rd annual Schnucks Holiday Classic is loaded with teams such as Edwardsville, Althoff, East St. Louis, Lincoln (IL) and Belleville East in the field. It is the best tournament in the metro east.

Five Players to Watch: Jordan Goodwin 6’4” (Althoff), Jeremiah Tillmon 6’11” (East St. Louis), Javon Pickett 6’4” (Belleville East), Mark Smith 6’4” (Edwardsville), A.J. Epenesa 6’6” Edwardsville.

MICDS: Dec. 22-29, Championship Game, Thursday, Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m. – Pattonville drew the No. 1 seed at MICDS this year with Miller Career Academy, Whitfield and Francis Howell following the Pirates. The tournament is always a wide-open affair with a number of teams that are capable of taking home the championship trophy.

Five Players to Watch: Torrence Watson 6’3” (Whitfield), Javonte Perkins 6’6” (Miller Career Academy), Richard Henderson 6’6” Pattonville,

10

Monday

Running backs catch heat for sidestepping bowls

Football coaches, executives and sports journalists are falling all over themselves to label a talented trio of college football running backs as selfish. NFL prospects Leonard Fournette of LSU, Shock Linwood of Baylor and Christian McCaffrey of Stanford each announced they would skip the bowl season to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft.

OMG! How will their teams fare in the college playoffs?

(Stanford vs North Carolina), the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl (Baylor vs Boise St.) and the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl (LSU vs Louisville). That is not my naturally sarcastic wit at work. Those are the actual bowls we’re talking about. I can hear Allen Iverson now.

Oh wait. None of the schools involved qualified for the Peach Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl, which will serve as the semifinals for the national championship game this season. None of the teams even qualified for the other prestigious well-known bowls such as the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl or Orange Bowl.

The bowl games in question are the Hyundai Sun Bowl

“The Cactus Bowl? We’re talking about Cactus? CACTUS? Not the national championship, but Cactus?!?!” Sadly though, Iverson didn’t actually chime in and some of the people that did were not as insightful as The Answer.

“That would concern me,” said Bruce Arians coach of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. “…Because this is a team sport.” The Chicago Tribune’s David Haugh suggested that Fournette and McCaffrey “quit on their teammates.”

“I think it’s sad, personal-

LSU RB Leonard Fournette (#7) is expected to be a firstround pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He has been widely criticized for his decision to skip the Citrus Bowl in order to recover from injuries and prepare for the upcoming draft.

n I can hear Allen Iverson now. “The Cactus Bowl? We’re talking about Cactus? CACTUS? Not the national championship, but Cactus?!?!”

the bigger and better paydays come calling, coaches disappear in early December in the name of recruiting. During the 2012-13 season, nine NCAA teams played in bowl games without the coaches that led them to winning seasons. It’s all about the team, until a better team with deeper pockets comes calling. It’s almost always about the money. A quick look at the sponsored bowls shows that these meaningless bowl games are big business. However, a question must be asked. How much money do these programs need?

According to Forbes, in 2014, the LSU football team generated $86M in athletic revenue. A more recent report by the Office of Postsecondary Education, showed that the amount earned by the Stanford and Baylor football teams was $37.5M and $35.5M, respectively. The NCAA earns nearly a billion dollars per year on athletics. In 2016, the average NCAA FBS football scholarship is valued at $36,070, according to Scholarshipstats.com. While free education is certainly not worthless, it represents only a tiny piece of the pie that these

ly,” Marc Richt, coach of the University of Miami, told the Miami Herald. “Football is the greatest team sport there is, and I think until the season is over, you should be with your team, really and truly. Of course, college coaches often bail on their teams before the end of the season. When See CLUTCH, B5

Earl Austin Jr.

With Earl Austin Jr.

With Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Photo by Wiley Price

Cardinal Ritter Lions’ Jared Phillips (1) goes in for two of his

points against Bishop DuBurg

night at DuBurg. The Lions of Cardinal Ritter went on to defeat the Cavaliers 75-39.

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

Ezekiel Elliott, Burroughs alum, named All-Pro as rookie

Alton native, John Burroughs product and Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was named to the AllPro team this week, along with fellow rookie teammate Dak Prescott at quarterback.

Elliott would start the game if the Cowboys do not reach the Super Bowl and if he chooses to play. After all, the young man already has a league-leading 307 carries with two more games and the playoffs awaiting. He certainly has his share of bumps and bruises.

Elliott and Prescott were the overall leaders in fan voting, which counts for one-third of balloting criteria. Players and coaches determined the other two-thirds.

(103.2) with a 67.7 completion percentage, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. His six rushing touchdowns also has surpassed Don Meredith’s single-season franchise record. For what it’s worth, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and punter Johnny Hekker of the Los Angeles Rams were also selected to the All-Pro team.

An Army of one

Elliott leads the league in rushing with 1,551 yards. In Sunday night’s 26-20 win over Tampa Bay, he set the Cowboys franchise record for most rushing touchdowns in a rookie season (13). He’s the fourth Cowboys rookie running back to make the Pro Bowl.

If Elliott averages 129 yards the final two games, he would top Eric Dickerson’s rookie rushing record of 1,808 yards set in 1983. If Dallas can manage to beat Detroit on Monday night, chances are Elliott would play sparingly or not at all on the road against Philadelphia in the regular season finale.

Prescott is the first Cowboys rookie named to the AllPro team. He ranks third in the league in passer rating

While he landed a 15-yard celebration penalty, Elliott’s leap into the red Salvation Army kettle after his touchdown run last Sunday has paid off for the organization. Nationally, the Salvation Army reported a jump of more than $250,000 in contributions following Elliott’s move to donate himself to the kettle, including an online surge of more than 60 percent.

“We don’t normally see spikes like that at random,” Lt. Colonel Ron Busroe, the Salvation Army’s national secretary for community relations and development, told USA TODAY.

Green, black and 1968 Cardinals

The 1967 St. Louis Cardinals will be honored during the annual Baseball Writers Association of America Dinner on January 15 and, hopefully, Derrick Goold, the organization’s president, will explain the importance of this team in MLB history. Goold, Post-Dispatch Cardinals beat writer, penned an interesting piece this week on an October 1968 Sports Illustrated article entitled “The Highest Paid Team in Baseball History.” Gracing the cover were

photos of nine Cardinals and manager Red Schoendienst With the skipper’s $42,000 annual salary included, the lineup made a combined $607,000.

A baseball official is quoted as saying the payroll “was ruining the structure of baseball.” I think the real problem was not how much was being paid but who was being paid.

Bob Gibson was the team’s highest-paid player at $85,000. First baseman Orlando Cepeda made $80,000. Right fielder Roger Maris made $75,000, while center fielder Curt Flood and left fielder Lou Brock made $72,000 and $70,000, respectively. Three of the top five highest compensated Cardinals were black, and four were players of color.

Catcher Tim McCarver was next at $60,000; then second baseman Julian Javier, another Latino player, made $45,000. Third baseman Mike Shannon came in at $40,000, and shortstop Dal Maxville was the lowest-paid starter at $37,500.

Yes, it was unusual for any Major League Baseball team to be paying this highly – but when you add that players of color were pocketing $352,000 a year, the Redbirds were a rare bird.

The cover date for the famed

issue was October 7, 1968.

The favored defending World Champion Cardinals would lose a seven-game series to the Detroit Tigers that year, and it didn’t take long for owner Gussie Busch to break up the expensive lineup. By 1970, Maris, Cepeda and Flood were no longer Cardinals. Flood made history by challenging MLB’s corrupt “reserve clause,” which would ultimately lead to free-agent status for players and cost him the final years of his career.

Greitens kicks SC STL plan

Saying that he doesn’t favor “welfare for millionaires,” Gov.-elect Eric Greitens made it clear he does not support $40 million in state tax credits going to the SC STL plan to build a $200 million MLS stadium near Union Station.

His disdain for the plan led to SC STL withdrawing from a planned meeting of the Missouri Development Finance Board, where a vote on the proposal could have happened.

Apparently, if the vote would have been held and the $40 million approved, there would have been nothing Greitens officially could have done – he’s not governor until he is sworn in on January 9. But Jim Kavanaugh of

Alton native, John Burroughs product and Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was named to the AllPro team this week, along with fellow rookie teammate Dak Prescott at quarterback.

the SC STL group told the St. Louis Business Journal, “If we can’t figure out a way to bring reasonable public financing to a very significant investment... there’s risk.”

“We’re re-evaluating our options at this point,” he said. What is not being re-evaluated is Mayor Francis G. Slay’s zeal for a ballot measure that would raise the city’s sales tax to help create $80 million for the stadium project.

It would be ironic if city voters chose to throw $80 million to the MLS project on the same day they choose a successor to Slay. I doubt that will happen, but since November 8 I’m 0-1 on predicting elections. St. Louis County and St. Charles County residents should prepare for a desperate plea from SC STL for financial assistance for the stadium. County Executive Steve Stenger might want to play ball once he finds out what’s in it for him and supporters who back him financially. St. Charles? No way.

Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows, including Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box” on KFNS. His Twitter handle is @aareid1.

Alvin A. Reid

Tillmon leads Flyers in Collinsville Holiday Classic

The East St Louis Flyers track and field and football teams have brought state championships back to the City of Champions in the past seven months. With the return of 6’11 University of Illinois recruit Jeremiah Tillmon to the Flyers line-up in 2016, many in the street patrol would like Flyers’ basketball head coach Phillip Gilbert to duplicate what Flyer coaches Barry Malloyd and Darren Sunkett did in their respective sports. That is, to win a state championship!

The Flyers have a 6-3 record heading into next week’s prestigious Prairie Farms Holiday Classic at Collinsville High. The Edwardsville Tigers led by A.J. Epenesa drew the No. 1 seed in this year’s tourney, followed by No. 2 seed Belleville Althoff and Saint Louis University recruit Jordan Goodwin. East St. Louis is the No. 3 seed, followed by legendary coach Lawrence Thomas and No. 4 seed Springfield Southeast Spartans.

CLUTCH

Continued from B3

schools rake in every year.

from The eAST Side

With Maurice Scott

This year’s field is as loaded as ever. Other teams in the classic are: Quincy, Decatur Eisenhower, Decatur MacArthur, Hazelwood East, University of Illinois recruit Javon Pickett and the Belleville East Lancers, Riverview Gardens, Granite City, McCluer North, Oakville, Urbana and the tournament host Collinsville Kahoks. The Collinsville tournament usually is one the most wellattended and competitive tournaments in the Metro East during the holiday season. In addition, some of the most well- known coaches from around the country will be in and out throughout the threeday affair.

Maurice Scott

Phillip Gilbert’s Flyers have a lot to prove heading into this

NFL-bound players must spend three or four years in college, unable to work or gain much in terms of monetary income in order to preserve their amateur eligibility. It’s time for them to cash in. Why in the world would they risk their professional careers and earning potential for a meaningless money grab?

Last season, Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith was projected to the sixth overall pick in the NFL Draft. He suffered a major knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl and ended up dropping into the second round. Had he been drafted sixth, he would’ve earned $20.5M guaranteed. Instead, he had to settle for a $4.5M guarantee.

If losing $16 million isn’t enough, the injury still will affect his performance, his endorsement opportunities and possibly even his longevity.

Considering that Fournette and McCaffrey have both dealt with nagging injuries for most of the season, sitting out meaningless bowl games makes perfect sense. Linwood, Baylor’s all-time leading rusher, has been healthy, but he was suspended earlier this season and lost his starting job due to “attitude issues.” It’s understandable why he might be a little prickly over the Cactus Bowl.

Fournette summed up the silly controversy best in one tweet. It simply read, “The only person I owe something too [sic]…” with a photo of him and his young daughter.

The NCAA, schools, coaches and sponsors all will do whatever they must to earn a buck. Let’s let the players do the same. If the NCAA wants to entice outgoing players to play, it should categorize non-playoff bowl games as exhibitions and pay outgoing players for their appearances. Otherwise, all the hypocritical ‘team-first’ advocates can take several seats.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk

PREP

Continued from B3

Destan Williams 5’10” Pattonville, Steve Webb 6’2” Westminster

Chaminade: Dec. 27-29, Championship Game, Thursday, Dec. 29 – The host Red Devils have been dominating the tournament for years and that should continue this season. Newcomer Ritenour offers a new and interesting challenge this time around as does Northwest Academy.

Five Players to Watch: Reginald Crawford 6’4” (Chaminade), Karrington Davis 6’6” (Chaminade), Jericole Hellems (Chaminade), Robyion Hughes 5’8” (Ritenour), Ryan Warren-Hogue 5’7” (Northwest Academy).

St Dominic: Dec. 27-29, Championship Game, Thursday, Dec. 29, 8:15 p.m. – The No. 1 seed is the Sikeston Bulldogs who are back after winning the tournament title last season. Sikeston finished fourth in the Class 4 state tournament last season and contenders again this year. They are followed by No. 2 Fort Zumwalt South, No. 3 Timberland and No. 4 Fort Zumwalt West.

Five Players to Watch: Fred Thatch, Jr. 6’3” (Sikeston), Darious Thomas 6’0” (Fort Zumwalt South), Kevin Jones 5’10” (Sikeston), Jake Hampton 5’10” (Fort Zumwalt West), Grady Daniels 6’4” (Timberland).

Normandy: Dec. 26-29, Championship Game,

year’s tournament after been eliminated in the second round by the Lincoln Railsplitters last year.

East St. Louis has played in the Collinsville classic since 1998, but almost played in the auxiliary gym for the first time ever in this prestigious tournament last season with their performance. With the return of Tillmon, guards Reyoundus Estes, Arthur Carter and the rest of the band, the Flyers look to go deep into this year’s bracket.

East Side will open play on Wednesday, December 28 against Riverview Gardens at 4 p.m. Belleville Althoff will play at 8 p.m. against Hazelwood East. If the bracket holds true to form, Tillmon and Goodwin would get it on

Thursday, December 29 at 8 p.m.

It would be one of the most anticipated match-ups of the year and a sure sell-out between Althoff and East St. Louis. In addition, it will be the first of two match-ups for sure, as both teams are scheduled to play January 7 in the Highland Shootout.

Belleville Althoff also will be in the Illinois High School Association class 4-A Regional tournament this year. So we could easily see the two teams battling through March Madness.

But first things first for the flyers, who haven’t won the tournament since 2012, when they were led by All -Tournament team players Johnny McCray and Deshawn Munson, in a 60-52 win over the Quincy Blue Devils.

This year’s tournament won’t be easy for Phillip Gilbert’s Flyers, and an early slip just might have the street patrol fired up after such a great football run.

Pattonville football players receive honors

A number of Pattonville High School football players received state, conference and district honors this year.

Marquis Hayes was named AllState Second Team, All-Conference Lineman of the Year and All-District and All-Conference First Team offensive line. Additionally, Ahmad Avery was named an All-District and All-Conference First Team running back and Caron Coleman was named an All-District and AllConference First Team offensive lineman.

Members of the team named All-District and All-Conference Second Team were Jimmy Boswell, Kaleb Eleby and Mario Rowland. In addition, Isaiah Davis was named All-Conference Second Team. Those named All-Conference Honorable Mention were: Akii-Lee Anthony, Bobby Bailey, who was also named All Academic for having at least a 3.75 GPA during the first grading period, AJ Bryant, Kameron Perkins, Donovan Prott, Jerome Roberts, Calvin Smith, Dakari Streeter and Larry Washington. Isaiah Wilkes was also named All Academic. The team was coached by Steve Smith, with the assistance of Antonio Bryant, Victor Fink, Travis Harris, Scott Hauser and Corey Lewis.

Thursday, Dec. 29, 7:30 p.m. – There is not a better place to watch a high school basketball game than Viking Hall at Normandy. This year’s field includes teams from Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee and Indiana. The top local teams in the field include Soldan, McCluer South-Berkeley and Gateway.

Five Players to Watch: Jesse Little 6’0” Soldan, Berlin Roberson 5’7” (McCluer South-Berkeley), Miquel Pillow-Smiley 6’2” (Gateway Tech), James Little 6’0” (Soldan), Terrell Cannamore 6’2” (Roosevelt).

Visitation: Dec. 26-28, Championship Game, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 8 p.m. – The top girls tournament in the state is at the quarterfinals stage, beginning on Monday with several quality teams such as Incarnate Word, Parkway

North, Kirkwood, Washington, Hazelwood Central and Whitfield still alive.

Five Players to Watch: Jaydn Pimentel 5’3” (Parkway North), Aijha Blackwell 6’0” (Whitfield), Sonya Morris 5’9” (Incarnate Word), Jayla Everett 5’9” (Kirkwood), Reese Arnold 5’6” (Washington).

Vashon heads to Poplar Bluff

The nationally-ranked Vashon Wolverines will be participating in the Poplar Bluff Showdown next week. Vashon is part of a talented group of schools from different states as Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and Tennessee. The championship game will be held on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. Vashon was the tournament runners-up at Poplar Bluff last season.

Leon Perry

Confluence Academy – Boys Basketball

The 6’6” Perry has emerged as one of the top young post players in the St. Louis metro area as a junior. Perry had 31 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks in an 85-47 victory over Valle Catholic. He also had 12 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks in a 75-56 victory over North Tech. For the season, Perry is averaging 25.4 points, 13.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks a game while shooting 61 percent from the field.

Jadyn Pimentel

Parkway North Girls Basketball

The 5’3” senior guard led the Vikings to a pair of impressive victories last week.

Pimentel had 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists, seven steals and three blocks in a 59-32 victory over Eureka. She followed up with 10 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals in a 74-40 win over Fort Zumwalt West in the first round of the Visitation Holiday Tournament. For the season, Pimentel is averaging 14.2 points, seven rebounds, 4.8 assists and 5.5 steals in leading the Vikings to a 6-0 record.

Jeremiah Tillmon with Maurice Scott Jr.

Honored Pattonville High School football players are shown with Coach Steve Smith, front row, right. They are (from left, front row) AJ Bryant, Donovan Prott and Isaiah Wilkes and (back row) Kameron Perkins, Bobby Bailey and Caron Coleman.

Ameren ranked by Black Enterprise among 50 Best Companies for Diversity

Human Rights Campaign Foundation scores them perfect on LGBTQ Equality

American staff

Ameren Corporation has been recognized as one of the 50 Best Companies for Diversity by Black Enterprise magazine, as well as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

In its rankings, Black Enterprise magazine identifies corporations that are the best in developing a culture and policies that promote inclusion of African Americans within the workforce, senior management ranks, corporate boards and supplier pools.

Ameren received a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The index rates American workplaces on lesbian, gay,

AT&T

bisexual and transgender equality.

“Workforce diversity not only enables us to recruit and retain the best talent, but also allows us to better understand and meet the needs of our customers and find innovative solutions to tough business challenges,” said Sharon Harvey Davis, Ameren’s vice president of diversity and inclusion and its chief diversity officer.

Other 2016 national honors include a No. 1 ranking by DiversityInc, which lists the nation’s Top 7 Utilities for workforce diversity and inclusion; recognition as a Top Company in the Disability Equality Index Survey; and a Military Friendly Employers designation by Victory Media.

“We’ll continue to pursue community partnerships

continued from page B1 high school. That includes attaining the high school diploma, placement in post-secondary education, a career, or enlistment in the armed services.

JAG-Missouri has 19 sites, including seven in the St. Louis area. Besides Normandy and JETS, the other St. Louis sites include Vashon High School, Roosevelt High School, Sumner High School, Riverview Gardens High School and Jennings High School.

The other JAG-Missouri programs are at the Central Academy of Excellence in Kansas City, Study Alternative School in Springfield, West Plains High School and Alternative School, Hillsboro Middle School and High School, Farmington High School, Bismarck High School,

and identify initiatives to promote the importance of diversity and inclusion in our organizations and in the communities we serve,” said Warner Baxter, chairman, president and CEO of Ameren Corporation, who also serves as board chair for the St. Louis Regional Chamber.

Harvey Davis credits the company’s diverse and inclusive culture to its leadership team, who created and continues to support Ameren’s employee resource groups.

diverse workplace – and as an extension of that effort, we created employee resource groups to ensure that all viewpoints are heard and recognized,” said Harvey Davis.

n “Workforce diversity not only enables us to recruit and retain the best talent, but also allows us to better understand and meet the needs of our customers and ind innovative solutions to tough business challenges,” said Sharon Harvey Davis, Ameren’s vice president of diversity and inclusion.

“More than 15 years ago, Ameren made a commitment to develop and support a

Central High School in Park Hills, West County High School in Leadwood, Kennett High School, Hayti High School, Caruthersville High School, and South Pemiscot High School.

For the class of 2015, the JAGMissouri graduation rate was 99 percent (127 of 128), the best in the nation among the 32 states with JAG. For the class of 2016, the graduation rate is currently 95 percent (287 of 304) and is expected to rise over the next few months during the follow-up.

“We are confident this investment will help lead to higher graduation rates and better futures for the students JAG serves,” said John Sondag, president of AT&T Missouri.

For more information on Jobs for America’s Graduates, visit http://www. jag.org/.

“These groups of employees reflect the diverse populations we serve and employ, and they provide valuable insight when challenges or opportunities arise. Because of the ongoing support provided by our executive leadership team, we can realize the full potential and power these groups possess.”

Earlier this year, Ameren released “Discussions

Across Differences,” free community resources to promote discussions about diversity and inclusion. The materials, which Ameren uses for its own employees, have been downloaded more than 900 times and utilized by organizations such as the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce.

“We know these are not easy conversations to have, but we recognize they are essential to healing and strengthening our neighborhoods,” said Wendy Pfeil, executive director of the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce. St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation provides energy for 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rateregulated utility subsidiaries.

KAI Design & Build partners in $53M U.S. Air Force jobs

St. Louis-based KAI Design & Build has recently been awarded a pair of clinic modernization projects at U.S. Air Force bases in North Dakota and Oklahoma estimated at $53 million.

KAI Design & Build, partnered with Kansas City-based United Excel Construction (UEC), has been contracted to renovate outdated medical facilities at the two bases. Both projects are part of United Excel’s government Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC) with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), Little Rock District. The contracts are for design-build construction and initial outfitting. UEC holds the contract to design, build and equip the clinics, while KAI will provide the Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) engineering design work.

“The federal government will benefit from the UEC/KAI integrated design, construction and outfitting team in terms of boosting efficiency and quality on both projects,” said KAI President Michael B. Kennedy. At U.S Air Force 5th Medical Group at Minot, AFB, North Dakota, the base’s threestory, 178,000-square-foot facility was originally designed as a hospital, but currently functions as an outpatient medical clinic. Many departments contain inefficient layouts and deficient infrastructure. All renovation work will meet LEED Silver sustainability guidelines.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $37 million, with construction expected to begin in October, 2017.

Sharon Harvey Davis

A night of hope and prayer for Monica

Local artists donate their talent for show to aid in finding missing young adult

By Mariah Stewart Of The St. Louis American

“It’s getting real close to Christmas –although I’m not at all in the Christmas spirit,”

Regina Sykes said in her latest Facebook Live recording on December 20.

Her recordings come every couple of days, usually while she’s seated in her car. What used

Monica Elaine Sykes, 25, has been missing since October 27. She is 4’11” and weighs approximately 100 pounds with a thin build, brown eyes, and dark brown hair in long braids.

to be a personal page that shared snapshots of her family life – like hundreds of millions of other users – has now become an outlet for her to update concerned citizens on her unimaginable family tragedy.

Regina’s daughter Monica Elaine Sykes, 25, has been missing since October 27.

While many have been immersed in the joy of the season, the Sykes family has been vigilant in their work to keep Monica’s story in the public eye and in their efforts to bring their beloved daughter home.

Next week several local artists will gather in Monica’s name for “A Night of Hope and Prayer.” The benefit concert – presented by the

See MISSING, C4

‘Fences’ brings stage to film

“Fences,” directed by and starring Denzel Washington based on the play by August Wilson, opens in theatres nationwide on Christmas Day. The film is rated PG-13 with a running time of 138 minutes.

a mirror image of the theatrical production.

Denzel stays true to August Wilson with big screen adaptation of iconic play

By Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

As director, star and a producer of “Fences,” Denzel Washington took it upon himself to bear a heavy load in bringing the work of the late legendary playwright August Wilson to a broader audience with the release of the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play of the same name.

The idea is a dream come true for theatre lovers eager to see the words of the literary genius come to life with the added dimension that cinema provides when the film lands in theatres on Christmas day. Unfortunately for some – but fortunately for many others – the film adaptation of “Fences” is

Those familiar with the work will feel a tinge of disappointment in seeing the film version run nearly completely parallel to the stage play – especially those who were privileged enough to experience the 2010 Broadway revival of the play, where the primary stars reprise their Tony Award-winning roles for the film. Even the stellar performances of the lead actors won’t

n But had Denzel Washington opted for a true adaptation, he would have most certainly faced an unforgiving dilemma: How on earth do you copyedit August Wilson?

curb the letdown of not seeing the vivid imagery offered through Wilson’s mastery of storytelling by way of his characters not being conveyed in a literal sense through scene and set changes. But had Washington opted for a true adaptation, he would have most certainly faced

an unforgiving dilemma: How on earth do you copyedit August Wilson? The answer based on Washington’s decisions as a filmmaker is that you don’t.

While it makes for a film that feels confined and one-dimensional, his decision to do so serves a greater good than simply keeping Wilson’s words unaltered. In a bait-and-switch of the best kind, the film “Fences” sells a mass audience on the power of live theatre.

Set in Pittsburgh in the early 1950s, “Fences” offers a bird’s eye view of the Maxon family through its patriarch. The viewer is barely taken outside of the confines of a tiny urban backyard, but through the power of Wilson’s words they connect with lead character Troy Maxon and his hard-fought sliver of the American dream.

A garbage collector in his early fifties, Troy has spent the better part of the past two decades of his life with an existence about as comfortable as the times will allow for a black man with a blue-collar job – thanks primarily to his wife Rose, the Maxon family backbone. Life has been anything but easy for Troy Maxon. He’s been able to reconcile with most of it. Baseball is the primary exception. Despite being a gifted athlete, racism meant that he

See FENCES, C4

to ‘Mother Motown’

Raynoma Gordy Singleton passes at 79

By Dawn Suggs For The St. Louis American

The world lost one of the primary architects of the signature “Motown Sound” with the passing of Raynoma Gordy Singleton on November 11, 2016 from brain cancer. She was 79. At a memorial service in her honor earlier this month, names made legendary in their own right thanks to affiliation with the seminal record label sang her praises.

“It was Ray who actually was the one who just governed that whole Motown Music sound,” Mary Wilson of The Supremes told family, friends and loved ones who gathered to celebrate Singleton’s life.

n With her former husband Berry Gordy, Singleton helped create a sound that catapulted R&B into the mainstream.

“[She was] the beginning of it and [the one] who helped to mold it into the sound that the whole world later got to know as Motown.”

With her former husband Berry Gordy, Singleton helped create a sound that catapulted R&B into the mainstream and forever changed the landscape of popular music – in America and around the globe. And she was there from the beginning.

Born to make music

Raynoma Gordy Singleton was born Raynoma Mayberry in Detroit on March 8, 1937 to Ashby and Lucille Mayberry. They recognized their daughter’s musical gifts and bought her a piano when she was six-years-old. Shortly after beginning piano lessons, Ray (as she would come to be known early in life) was playing for the church and social functions. Her father, a respected janitor for Cadillac Motors, encouraged her musical aspirations. Her mother taught her to be enterprising and steadfast. Ray sought formal training in music at Cass Technical High School – where she learned to play 11 instruments.

The cadences of Detroit life in the late fifties and R&B music, Jazz and Europeanclassical, influenced and shaped Ray. At home and at school, she was inspired to craft songs and developed her talent for arranging music. In 1955, she married Charles Liles, a musician, and gave life to her first child, Cliff

RAYNOMA, C4

Raynoma Gordy Singleton

How to place a calendar listing

1. Email your listing to calendar@stlamerican. com OR

2. Visit the calendar section on stlamerican.com and place your listing

Calendar listings are free of charge, are edited for space and run on a space-available basis.

holiday haps

Fri., Dec. 23, 7 p.m., The Beale on Broadway presents Kim Massie: Motown Christmas. We’re dusting off the ole songbooks for a Motown Christmas to add to your holiday cheer. 701 S. Broadway, 63102. For more information, call (314) 621-7880 or visit www. bealeonbroadway.com.

Fri., Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m., 18th Annual Holiday Pops Spectacular presents the Compton Heights Concert Band. St. Louis’ dynamic 60 piece Compton Heights Concert Band features Tenor of the World, Hugh K. Smith, St. Louis’ own, soprano Gina Galati, along with Winter Opera founder, and perennial band favorite, the booming baritone, Robert Ellison. Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, call (314) 534-1700 or visit www. stlsymphony.org.

Sat., Dec. 24, 4:30 p.m., A special Candlelight Christmas Eve Service and Caroling will be held at Union Memorial United Methodist Church, 1141 Belt Avenue, St. Louis, MO. For more information, call 314367-8314 or 314-367-8315.

Through Dec. 24, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents A Christmas Carol adapted by David H. Bell from the novella by Charles Dickens and directed by Steven Woolf, Browning Mainstage of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, call (314) 9684925 or visit The Rep’s Online Box Office at www.repstl.org.

Fri., Dec. 30, 5 p.m., St. Louis Pan Afrikan Movement presents a Kwanzaa Nia (Purpose) Day Party. The principle of Nia means to commit ourselves to the glorious duty

of restoring our families, our communities, and our people to their historical greatness. Great entertainment, children’s activities, music, food, and fun for the entire family. All proceeds go toward SLPAM community building efforts. Yeyo Arts, 2907 S. Jefferson Ave., 63118. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Fri., Dec. 30, 8 p.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter presents the 2016 End of the Year Jam. Bring your own food and set up. Music provided by DJ Charlie Chan and DJ Tony James. Machinist Hall, 12365 St. Charles Rock Rd., 63044. For more information, call (314) 2828018.

Sat., Dec. 31, 7 p.m., The Boom Boom Room presents a 2017 New Year’s Eve Extravaganza. Hostess with the moistest, LuLu La Toosh, will serenade your guests and keep you laughing all night long. D.J. Alkoholik and D.J. Lady Manhattan will be playing your favorite songs. 500 N. 14th St., 63103. For more information, call (314) 436-7000 or visit www. theboomboomroomstl.info.

Sat., Dec. 31, 8 p.m., Marriott St. Louis Grand presents a 1920’s Prohibition New Year’s Eve Party. Travel back in time to an era of elegance and wickedness while you dance your way into the New Year. 800 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www.1920sNYE.com.

Sat., Dec. 31, 8 p.m., Ballpark Village presents New Year’s Eve Live! St. Louis 2017. 601 Clark Ave., 63102. For more information, call (314) 345-9481 or visit www.stlballparkvillage.com.

Sat., Dec. 31, 8 p.m., All-N-1 Ent & Allen Construction host a New Year’s Eve Party Mandarin Banquet Hall, 8004

Featured Event

Sat., Dec. 31, 7 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents New Year’s Eve Comedy Jam feat. Corey Holcomb, J. Anthony Brown, Tony Rock and more. 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 977-5000 or visit www.chaifetzarena.com.

Olive Blvd., 63130. For more information, call (314) 6903660.

Sat., Dec. 31, 8 p.m., Marriott St. Louis Grand presents a 1920’s Prohibition New Year’s Eve Party. Travel back in time to an era of elegance and wickedness while you dance your way into the New Year. 800 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www.1920sNYE.com.

Sun., Jan. 1, 12 p.m., St. Louis Art Museum and St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. present a Kwanzaa Celebration: Mask and Masquerade. Join us for an afternoon of activities to celebrate an African American holiday tradition. 1 Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, call (314) 721-

0072 or visit www.slam.org.

concerts

Dec. 29 – 30, Jazz St. Louis presents Good 4 the Soul. Jazz at the Bistro, 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 5716000 or visit www.jazzstl.org.

Dec. 29 – 30, The St. Louis Symphony presents Disney in Concert: Tale as Old as Time. The concert explores iconic moments, plot twists and feats of daring heroics from Frozen, Beauty and the Beast Cinderella The Little Mermaid Tangled The Lion King and many more. 718 N. Grand Blvd., 631303. For more information, call (314) 533-2500 or visit www. stlsymphony.org.

National Blues Museum presents Not So Amateur Night featuring local blues legend Big George Brock. For more information, see CONCERTS.

Fri., Dec. 30, 7 p.m., National Blues Museum presents Not So Amateur Night. Make plans to join us and Big George Brock, the ‘Patriarch of St. Louis Blues’, for a fun filled evening. 615 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, call (314) 925-0016 or visit www. nationalbluesmusuem.com.

Sun., Jan. 1, 7 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents Old School Hip Hop Festival. Featuring Scarface, Big Daddy Kane, Juvenile, 8 Ball & MJG, Trick Daddy, Doug E Fresh, Slick Rick, Mystikal, Jalil & Ecstasy of Whodini. 1 S. Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 977-5000 or visit www. chaifetzarena.com.

Thur., Jan. 12, 8 p.m., The Firebird presents Sevyn Streeter – The Girl Disrupted Tour. 2706 Olive St., 63103. For more information, call (314) 5350353 or visit www.firebirdstl. com.

Sat., Jan. 21, R&B Legends featuring Miki Howard, Lenny Williams, Surface with special guest Tony Terry. Hosted by Lightning. The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry. For more information, call (314) 869-9090.

local gigs

Sun., Jan. 1, 7 p.m., Urb Arts presents A Very Therapeutic Show. Come out for live music from Siddall Tha Selecta, art giveaways, raffles, vendors, drinks, and more. 2600 N. 14th St., 63106. For more information, call (314) 690-7153 or visit www.urbarts. org.

Tues., Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m., Sheldon Concert Hall presents the Mo Egeston

All-Stars feat. Coco Soul & Mario Pascal. An evening of original and reimagined modern soul with influences of jazz, Latin and club dance grooves, celebrating Mo Egeston’s 25th year “Doing this thing...” 3648 Washington Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 5339900 or visit www.thesheldon. org.

Fri., Jan. 13, 8 p.m., FUBAR presents Murphy Lee & Nate Moore. 3108 Locust St., 63103. For more information, call (314) 289-9050 or visit www.fubarstl.com.

special events

Thur., Dec. 22, 7:30 p.m., St. Louis Workers’ Education Society presents Too Punk to Trump: A Night of Music, Community, and Activism. Musicians and speakers will engage the audience about stopping Trump and his oppressive policies from harming our communities. This will be a night of music, community, and activism. All proceeds will go to fund organizing training for young activists in Saint Louis. Special guest Bruce Franks, State Representative for the 78th District. 2929 S. Jefferson Ave., 63118. For more information, call (314) 242-5477.

Through December 31, Nominations are being accepted for the St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to Young Leaders Class of 2017. For more information, visit https://www. stlamerican.com/salute_to_ excellence/young_leaders/ nomination_form/young_ leaders_nomination/

Jan. 6 – 8, Scottrade Center presents the Harlem Globetrotters. 1401 Clark Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. scottradecenter.com.

Jan. 7 – 8, America’s Center presents The Wedding Show. Over 200 wedding display booths, professional runway show, DIY bride stage, live music, transportation displays, free food samples, 100’s of drawings/prizes, fabulous vendor wedding discounts, and much more. Free parking at Ballpark Village and a free limo bus shuttle. 701 Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, visit www. stlbrideandgroom.com.

Thur., Jan. 12, 6 p.m., St. Louis Public Library presents I Am My Brother’s Keeper: Building Brotherhood. Representatives from organizations including 100 Black Men, Big Brothers, Big Sisters and the Ethics Project will discuss how their organizations contribute to building brotherhood, fostering community, encouraging creativity and pursuing dreams along with what changes need to be made, and how we can all assist in creating a better existence. Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 367-4120 or visit www. slpl.org.

Fri., Jan. 13, 6 p.m., United 4 Children’s 5th Annual Quarter Auction. Join us for a night of fun including an auction, raffle & party all wrapped into one. Items will be only 25 cents. Glaziers Hall, 5916 Wilson Ave., 63110. For more information, call (314) 531-1412 or visit www. united4children.org.

Jan., 15, 2 p.m., St. Louis Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated International Awareness & Involvement presents Ujamaa Tea, Marketplace Fashion Show & Vendor Row, Infinite Occasions, 3515 N. Lindbergh Blvd. 63074. Tickets on sale now. Mail ticket quantity requests, and payments by check to: SLA-DST, PO Box 410844, St. Louis, MO 63141. Please indicate IAI Tea in Subject line, (Please remember to indicate return address to mail tickets to. For tickets and more information, call (314) 229-5710.

mlk day activities

Fri., Jan. 6, 7 p.m., A Call to Conscience, Inc. presents I’ve Been to the Mountaintop Hear Dr. Martin Luther King’s final speech delivered at the Mason Temple Church in God and Christ on April 3, 1968; the eve of his assassination. Proceeds will benefit the John E. and Regina S. Nance Memorial Scholarship Fund. Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, 3200 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 533-8763 or visit www. washtabmbc.org.

Sat., Jan. 14, 11 a.m., St. Louis Public Library presents the Seventh Annual Rhythm & Rhyme: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of “Brotherhood” and unity in our communities. Join gifted neighborhood talent and other local performers as we read, sing and recite poetry together – once again forging Dr. King’s dream of “forever using time creatively… in hope to do great things.” Baden Branch, 8448 Church Rd., 63147. For more information, call (314) 388-2400 or visit www.slpl.org.

Jan. 14 & 16, Missouri History Museum presents the MLK Family Celebration Bring your family to the Museum to learn about and celebrate the achievements

of American hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Join Mama Lisa for her King Family Kids movement workshop. This fitness workout, featuring songs and stories of inspiration from the civil rights movement, will prepare kids for a freedom walk through time. Celebrate Dr. King with a musical performance by Dre Hilton. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.mohistory.org.

Mon., Jan. 16, 10 a.m., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance. Celebrating the life and values Dr. King with speeches, plays and performances. Children’s program will be in the lobby. Reception to follow the event. Touhill Performing Arts Center, UMSL, 1 University Blvd., 63121. For more information, visit www.touhill. org.

literary

Thur., Jan. 19, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library hosts author James Hamblin, author of If Our Bodies Could Talk. In 2014, James Hamblin launched a series of videos for The Atlantic called “If Our Bodies Could Talk.” With it, the doctor-turned- journalist established himself as a seriously entertaining authority in the field of health. If Our Bodies Could Talk offers clarity, examines the limits of our certainty, and ultimately helps readers worry less about things that don’t really matter. 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131. For more information, call (314) 994-3300 or visit www.slcl.org.

Through February 28, St. Louis County Library’s Winter Reading Club. All ages are invited to participate. Stop by any open St. Louis County Library branch to sign-up. Winter Reading Club offers two categories: ages 0–11 and 12–Adult. Prizes for the kids include: sleds, movie gift cards and family memberships to The Magic House. Prizes for teens and adults include: movie gift cards, Amazon gift cards and Kindle Fires. For more information please call 314

994-3300 or visit www.slcl. org/winter-reading-club.

art

Sat., Jan. 7, 12 p.m., Thomas Dunn Learning Center presents the American Revolutions Art Exhibit Reception. 3113 Gasconade St., 63118. For more information, call (314) 3533050 or visit www.tdunn.org.

Jan. 7 – Mar. 31, National Blues Museum presents Women of the Blues: A Coast-to-Coast Collection

The collection features over 60 photographs of ‘Women of the Blues’ performing, in portrait and screaming the blues. Sixteen photographers from around the world share their very poignant and powerful images of these extraordinary women. 615 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, call (314) 925-0016 or visit www.womenoftheblues.com.

Through January 7, “Fare Well,” an exhibition of new works by Addoley Dzegede will be on display at Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts, 3151 Cherokee St, St. Louis, MO 63118.

theatre

Sat., Jan. 7, 11:30 a.m., Missouri History Museum presents Nobody’s Boy Inspired by the Missouri History Museum’s book NOBODY’S BOY, this is the real-life story of an enslaved child named George whose owner brought him to St. Louis at about the age of five. Disregarded by his white, slave-owning father and with no last name, George longs to escape the lot of being “nobody’s boy.” 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. mohistory.org.

January 11- January 29, The Black Rep continues its 40th Anniversary Season with Nikkole Salters’ LINES IN THE DUST. Washington University’s Edison Theatre, 6445 Forsyth. Tickets for the production are available at The Black Rep Box Office by

Story. Public historian Adam Kloppe, will take you on a tour of the St. Louis underworld of the past. You’ll meet notorious mobsters, learn about the street battles and shady deals that marked St. Louis’ gangland history, and hear about how law enforcement attempted to clean up St. Louis’s gangster underbelly. 7550 Lohmeyer Ave., 63143. For more information, call (314) 781-2174.

health

Mon., Jan. 9, 2 p.m., St. Louis County Library presents Community Event: Healthcare.gov. Free civil legal assistance to lowincome individuals. Legal Services of Eastern Missouri will answer inquiries about healthcare.gov and Medicare sign-up. Divoli Branch, 4234 N. Grand Ave., 63107. For more information, call (314) 534-0313 or visit www.slpl. org.

Fri., Jan. 20, 5:30 p.m., The Foundation Fighting Blindness presents The 8th Annual St. Louis Dining in the Dark Visionary Awards Dinner. Benefiting the Foundation’s research into preventions, treatments and cures for blinding retinal degenerative diseases like macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa that affect more than 10 million Americans, young and old. Ritz-Carlton, 100 Carondelet Plaza, 63105. For more information, call (847) 680-0100 or visit www.FightBlindness.org/ StLouisDininginthedark.

calling 314.534.3810 or online at theblackrep.org.

lectures and workshops

Thur., Jan. 5, 6:30 p.m., Maplewood Public Library presents The St. Louis Crime

Mondays, 6:30 p.m., Yoga & Chill. A beginner-friendly, all levels (75 minute) class that spends time working through fundamental yoga postures and shapes while exploring alignment, breathing, relaxation techniques, and a good time. Modern Healer Studio, 1908 Cherokee St., 63118. For more information, visit www.

eventbrite.com.

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., Get Sexy Movement Boot Camp. Station styled boot camp with 1 minute at each station for three rounds. North County Recreation Center, 2577 Redman Rd., 63136.For more information, call (314) 8988898.

Fri., Dec. 30, 7 p.m., West End Mt. Carmel Full Gospel Baptist Church invites you to the Prayer Gathering 2016. 5869 Bartmer Ave., 63112. For more information, call (314) 361-0274 or visit www. westendmtcarmelfgbc.org. Sat., Dec. 31, 10 a.m., The Rev. Spencer LaMar Booker & Lady Gail Booker present a Prayer Breakfast in celebration and support of Ferguson Mayoral Candidate Ella M. Jones, St. Paul A.M.E. Church, 1260 Hamilton Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63112. For more information, call (314) 3858900.

Fri., Dec. 25, Fences starring Viola Davis, Denzel Washington and Stephen Henderson opens in theatres nationwide.

Fri., Jan. 6, Hidden Figures starring Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae and Octavia Spencer opens in theatres nationwide.

Sat., Jan. 21, 1 p.m., African American History & Genealogy Series presents Rescue Men Film Screening. The documentary Rescue Men tells the story of these brave men who manned the Pea Island Life-Saving Station in North Carolina in 1896. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112.

The Firebird presents Sevyn Streeter – The Girl Disrupted Tour. See CONCERTS for additional details.

Continued from C1

Warren Liles. The pair divorced after two years of marriage. She met Berry Gordy in the late 1950s. She began writing music and collaborating with him and his colleagues. They formed the RAYBER music writing company, followed by Tamla Records –which was Berry Gordy’s first label.

“There was no Motown. Matter of fact, Motown hadn’t even been thought of then, and Ray had this idea of getting producers and writers to get her and Berry to do their songs,” said Eddie Holland of the early Motown songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland. “And they were paying Ray and Berry to do their songs. That was the start of everything.”

Ray’s keen intuition helped her secure talents like Little Stevie Wonder for Tamla, and her formal training helped her nurture it. Such was also the case with Smokey Robinson, to whom she taught chord structures.

Birth of a musical empire

Raynoma took a young Berry Gordy into her home in 1958. A romance developed within the first year of them living and working together. They married in 1959.

Gordy tasked Ray with handling the company’s music publishing division as well as overseeing sales and creative departments. “Miss Ray,” as she became known, built a music empire with Berry Gordy and their families and friends. She found the building which housed Hitsville, U.S.A., the recording studio – a precursor to Motown Records – which was also she and Berry’s third home together. They were blessed with a child, Kerry Ashby Gordy, but the couple divorced in 1963. She relocated to New York, where she continued to manage the publishing company, Jobete Music, which she had co-founded with Berry.

in 1958.

There she hired a young George Clinton of Parliament Funkadelic as a writer. Soon she met songwriter and producer Eddie Singleton and they moved to Washington, D.C., got married and had two children. In Washington, D.C, Ray and her husband Eddie, who managed the early careers

n “There was no Motown. Matter of fact, Motown hadn’t even been thought of then, and Ray had this idea of getting producers and writers to get her and Berry to do their songs.”

– Eddie Holland

of Tony Orlando and Flip Wilson in New York, started Shrine Records.

“Miss Ray” would return to Motown as an executive in 1967 and again in the late seventies when she managed her sons, Kerry and Cliff, and produced their band, Apollo. Benny Medina, the lead singer, who worked for Motown, later became renowned as a manager with a roster of stars such as Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez. In the 1980s, during her last

stint at Motown as executive producer and vice president, Miss Ray released hits by Smokey Robinson (“Being with You”), DeBarge (“All This Love”) and Rockwell (“Somebody’s Watching Me”).

“Raynoma’s contribution to Motown should be No. 1 in history books,” said Claudette Robinson of Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. “She should have been titled president of Motown as well, because she did such an outstanding job.”

At her memorial service on December 4, Ray’s eldest son Cliff Liles shared a story that provided a colorful illustration of Ray, her artistic prowess and bravado. Back when he was a teenager, trying to emulate the funk sound of his Motown heroes on bass guitar, his mother burst into his room.

“Boy, what are you doing? Give me that guitar,” Ray said. “Now this is how it’s done!” She took the guitar, assumed the swagger and stance of a bass player, and pounded it out herself.

That was “Miss Ray,” mother, boss, star maker, “Mother Motown,” musical genius and hero.

Ms. Singleton is survived by her sons, Cliff Liles, Kerry Gordy and Eddie Singleton Jr.; her daughter, Rya Singletary; four grandchildren; and a sister, Juanita Dickerson.

FENCES

Continued from C1

would never get a chance to be heralded for his talents on the field. By the time Major League Baseball was integrated, he was too old to play. Now he’s forced to watch athletes he feels were of lesser caliber enjoy fortune and fame while he barely carves out a living hauling garbage.

His teenage son Cory shows promise as an athlete, but the sting of his own experiences make Troy wary of allowing his son to capitalize on the opportunities that sports have the potential to provide.

With the exception of Cory and Raynell (the young people in the production), the film ensemble includes role reprisals from the 2010 Broadway

MISSING

Continued from C1

Mildred Thimes Foundation, The Divas Social Club and Special Tymes Banquet Hall – will take place 6:30-9:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 28 at Special Tymes Banquet Hall, 5950 Natural Bridge Rd. Featured artists include Denise Thimes, Herman Gordon, Phillip Graves, Anita Jackson, Adrienne Felton-King, John King and Gerald Warren.

The show was spearheaded by the Mildred Thimes Foundation, and Sykes is grateful for the opportunity to fellowship with the community of people who has rallied behind their family in this trying time.

“Even in times where we feel we are in complete darkness, there is still hope for the light,” Regina said about the show. “Thank you, Denise and Deb Thimes, for extending yourselves to our family in support of finding our baby girl.”

Young, black and missing

October 27, 2016 was like any other day for Monica Sykes – until she didn’t come home.

As she walked out of the house, Monica told her older sister she would return shortly – she even promised to come back with candy for her nephews. She left home

n In a bait-and-switch of the best kind, the ilm “Fences” sells a mass audience on the power of live theatre.

production – which earned a “Best Revival of a Play” Tony Award. Davis and Washington are as stellar and dynamic as they were on stage, tackling the thick, rich dialogue of Wilson in a manner that will most certainly garner awards for the film version as well.

While the chemistry and organic connection Davis and Washington deliver through their performance is already eliciting acclaim, Stephen

McKinley Henderson’s portrayal as Troy’s best friend Bono should not go overlooked. Henderson illustrates the purpose of a good supporting player. The brotherly love and the subtle nuances of his presence lend a much needed layer of humanity to Maxon. Russell Hornsby and Mykelti Williamson also reprise their roles from the Broadway production, with Jovan Adepo stepping in as Troy and Rose’s son Cory. For the most part, portrayals of the complicated Maxon family dynamics –further impeded by Troy’s indiscretions and abrasive nature – make for a compelling drama that would have made Wilson proud.

“Fences” opens in theatres nationwide on Christmas Day. The film is rated PG-13 with a running time of 138 minutes.

without any belongings except for her cellphone. Sykes missed her work shift the following day and has not been reported seen since. Next Tuesday will mark two months since Monica disappeared.

“I don’t know what she’s going through, and that just tears me up because I don’t know what could be happening to her,” Regina said. “I try not to think of that. I just try to focus on seeing her sweet little face again and hearing her joke around with me.”

Her story has been featured

on both local and national news outlets, most recently Dateline NBC’s “Missing in America” segment. The family has purchased four large billboards across the metro area with Monica’s face and physical description on them. They are planning to get bus signage as well. Reward money for information leading to Monica’s recovery has been raised from $5,000 to $20,000. On Tuesday, December 20, Regina met with families of other missing teens and young adults in the hopes of pooling resources and galvanizing for the sake of bringing them all home.

“We are trying to form something that’s more cohesive and strategic to help find these children and young adults,” Regina said. The purpose of the meeting was to get organized as a group with the intention of keeping the police engaged and making sure that the stories of their missing loved ones don’t fade out of the spotlight.

“We really need to do something different, and I’m really struggling right now because Monica is normally my helper with stuff that I’m doing,” Regina said. “I keep hearing her in my head saying, ‘How can I help? How can I help?’ I have to be able to not only find my baby but help find other people’s babies as well.” Monica is 4’11” and weighs approximately 100 pounds with a thin build, brown eyes, and dark brown hair in long braids. She has an “M” tattooed on her upper right arm and the name “Leonard” written in cursive tattooed on her left shoulder blade.

“We are desperately searching for her and are hoping for a Christmas miracle,” Sykes’ aunt Muriel Smith told The American A Night of Hope and Prayer, a benefit concert for the Sykes family, will take place 6:30-9:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 28 at Special Tymes Banquet Hall, 5950 Natural Bridge Rd., St. Louis, MO 63120. There will be free food with the $20 donation for admission. For more information about benefit concert and tickets, call 314773-0337.

For information about the volunteering with the search party, visit the “MISSING: Monica Sykes” Facebook page.

Denise Thimes will perform at “A Night of Hope and Prayer” for Monica Sykes on Wednesday, December 28 at Special Tymes Banquet Hall, 5950 Natural Bridge Rd.

Raynoma took a young Berry Gordy into her home

Awards and Honors

Celebrations

Kim Lovings has received one of four 2015 Hermann Foundation Outstanding Employee Awards from the Saint Louis Zoo. Kim joined the staff 12 years ago and serves as the administrative assistant for the vice president of External Relations at the Zoo.

Reunions

Beaumont High School, Class of 1978 will celebrate its 40-year reunion in 2018. For further information, please contact: Marietta Shegog Shelby, 314-799-5296, madeshe@sbcglobal.net.

Sumner Class of 1959 presents its 39th annual Oldie But Goodie Dance, January 21,

2017 at the Machinist’s Hall, 12365 St. Charles Rock Rd., 7:30 pm—midnight. Donation: $15. Tickets available now. Contact: Hubert at 314-6808324 or Delores at 314-7915504.

Sumner Class of 1965 is planning a “70th” Birthday Cruise for October 2017. If you’re interested and want to receive more information, please contact Luther Maufas (314) 541-4556, Brenda Smith Randall (314)382-1528, or Laura Young (314) 328-3512 with name, address so the info can be mailed to you.

Sumner Class of 1967 is planning its 50-year reunion and need contact information from those classmates.

Please contact Carlotte Algee Stancil at algee1999@ yahoo.com; DonnaYoung Rycraw at donnarycraw@ aol.com or Stella Smith Hunt at stellalhunt58@sbcglobal. net, 314-381-5104 with email, address and phone number.

Sumner Class of 1976 Annual Christmas Party, Friday, December 23, 2016, 7pm at DEJAVU II Cafe, 2805 Target Dr, St. Louis, MO 63136. 2 for 1 Drink Specials (5:30 - 7:30pm), Free Parking, No Cover Charge but $10 donation for the Catered Food & Desert. Limited reserved seating available until 10pm. (Doors open 5pm/close 1am) Please RSVP with B. Louis at 314-385-9843.

Students in the Drawing 2 class at Pattonville High School submitted artwork to the 100 Neediest Cases art contest sponsored by the United Way and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. From left, Sydney Beins, Miguel Orozco, Lauren Fisher and Arianna Harris had artwork selected for display or publication in the 100 Neediest Cases Art Contest.

Vashon High School 90th Anniversary Celebration will be held at Renaissance Hotel Airport St. Louis, October 6-7, 2017. On October 5, 2017, there will be an Alumni Day at Vashon High School. Please save the dates.

Vashon Class of 1957 is having its 60-year reunion on May 20, 2017 at the Atrium at the rear of Christian N.E. Hospital on Dunn Road. Classes 1955-1959 are welcomed. For more information, please contact Lovely (Green) Deloch at 314-867-1470, Marlene (Randall) Porter at 314653-0107, Mae (Simmons) Mahone at 314-653-0818 or Phyllis (Bolden) Washington

at 314-531-9925.

Vashon Class of 1967 is planning its 50-year reunion and is need of contact information for all interested alumni. Please contact JoAnn Alvoid at alvoidjoe8@gmail. com; Sarah (Taylor) Robinson at srobinson647@hotmail. com; or Sonya (Walker) Smith at 314.381.8221, with your address, email and phone number.

Vashon High School 90th Anniversary Celebration will be held at Renaissance Hotel Airport St. Louis, October 6-7, 2017. On October 5, 2017, there will be an Alumni Day at Vashon High School. Please save the dates.

Do you have a celebration you’re proud of? If so we would like to share your good news with our readers. Whether it’s a birth, wedding, engagement announcement, anniversary, retirement or birthday, send your photos and a brief announcement (50 words or less) to us and we may include it in our paper and website – AT NO COST – as space is available Photos will not be returned. Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to: St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St. Louis, MO 63103 FREE OF CHARGE

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to:

Kate Daniel, 2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103

Deadline is 10 a.m. on Friday. If you’d like your class to be featured in a reunion profile, email or mail photos to us. Our email address is: reunions@ stlamerican.com

Pattonville High School students recently earned spots in the AllState Band and Jazz Band. Students selected for All-State honors are shown with Pattonville Band Director Denny McFarland (right). They are, from left, Savannah Wooten, Jordan Stevens, Thomas McFarland and Keturah Gadson

by John Scott

Swag Snap of the week

The Christmas Spirit of Liquid Assets and 100.3 The Beat. I’m not making light of any of the wonderful initiatives that have contributed to the less fortunate this holiday season, but I have to give a special nod to Phil Assets, his squad and 100.3

The Beat for how they handled their 4th Annual Feed The Families event Sunday afternoon at The Rustic Goat. The dignity and grace they displayed to the 20 or so families that came through to be blessed by way of the festivities. They fed them with table service. Volunteers scooped up children as the mothers were pampered with complimentary makeovers. I’m talking hair and makeup y’all – and haircuts for the men- from professional stylists on site. Families were blessed and encouraged for the season. And I haven’t even started on the toys. I saw bikes and plus-sized packages being carted out of there. I’ll tell you what, that event was a straight up Christmas miracle for the families on the receiving end – and the folks who came through to give their time and resources so that the Christmas spirit didn’t miss those who happen to fall on hard times.

One more Wednesday night live for Len. While I’m on my good news tip, I might as well let y’all know how the folks packed the Marquee out to pay tribute to Lexus Len who passed away suddenly almost two weeks ago. She held down Wednesday nights for the grown folks with live music and a good time for plenty of years, both at The Loft and The Marquee. And last week the people came through to toast to her one more time. She had to be smiling down by the way folks showed up and showed out in her name. It was a sight to see and I’m so glad the city honored her in such a special way.

Too cold for Karaoke. The wind chill refused to let the nightlife scene be great Thursday night. And I was pretty much convinced that would be the play for the whole weekend by how hip-hop karaoke went down Thursday night. The last couple of times it was life overload, but folks were shivering so tough when they walked in the door that they spent most of the time I was there warming up. And I’m not talking about prepping for their selection. The Marquee spent the first part of the night as a warm weather shelter for the folks that braved that hawk. I’m sure next week it will be business as usual.

More than a taste of Chante. Not even that glacier that plopped down on the streets could have kept me from kicking it at Taste of Luxury, powered by Remy Martin and Next Up Friday night. Chante Moore, I braved some serious elements for you girl. I’m so glad you made it worth the trip. The ice might have slowed down more than a few of y’all, but enough of folks still slipped and slid their way in to the Moto Museum for the upscale affair to make it quite the memorable experience. Between the complimentary entry, free flowing Remy cocktails, DJ Reminisce on the turntables and 100.3 The Beat’s Tammie Holland as the hostess with the most (slaying as always), the party was on 10! Blue-eyed Soul-sensation Dakota had the ladies swooning around the stage as he belted originals and classics. Rising starlet singer/songwriter Lydia Caesar was on deck to warm the crowd for Chante – and she served with enough energy and stage presence that would’ve given a lesser headliner a run for her money. Good thing the main attraction was Chante Moore, because most everybody else would have been outright outdone. Chante came back to St. Louis ready to throw down, and didn’t not disappoint a single soul with house she belted out her R&B classics. She also served a healthy heap of songs from her upcoming album, “Rise of the Phoenix.” My favorite of the night was the acapella medley and how she channeled her inner Minnie Ripperton. Is it too lame to say “high notes on fleek?” Oh well, It was everything!

Saturday night ice. Look, I don’t have to tell y’all how the whole doggone region turned into a plus sized Steinberg Skating rink. Some of y’all were Eskimo soldiers and braved that ice out in these streets, but after what I suffered through Friday night I decided not to suffer through it two days in a row. I had actually decided to go against the universe’s warning to stay in the house, but my car did a double pike twist as I was pulling out of my driveway – and that was enough me to pull right back in and perch! Most everything was shut down, but there were a few things that I’m sad I missed. I’ll just have to catch Ledisi on her next go round. And I’m so sad I missed Vincent Flewellen’s annual ugly Christmas sweater house party. Last year was life and based on the pics the ice didn’t rain on his parade. Consider this my RSVP for next year sir! And because I didn’t want to be riding all over town on a frozen pond, I also ended up missing my boy Jovan Bibbs’ annual Class Klowns birthday comedy set. I got you next year too.

Pumped up with Poefest. If I keep my thoughts about the opening comedian to myself, I’ll pretty much only have nice things to say about the 4th Annual Poefest at Delmar Hall. The temperatures dropped down where the ice left off, so the crowd was kind of light this year. But the folks on stage didn’t shortchange those of who walked up the deep freezer known as Delmar to get up in there. I got my life from everybody except that invasive videographer that was ruining concert stage shots left and right for the photographers that came through to capture the moment by getting all up in the artists’ face and stomping back and forth across the stage like a hype man. But The Knuckles (known separately as Aloha Mischeaux and Rockwell Knuckles) and Poefest creator Tef Poe were my favorites, but The Domino Effect wasn’t far behind them. I think if Tef got any more lit on stage, he would spontaneously combust. Shout out to the whole line up though – and Kristin Blackmon for hosting. See y’all again next year. Hopefully the climate will be more on our side for 2017. But it’s the STL so you never can tell.

Erica, Kim and Trina mellowed out @ Mood Saturday night

Orlando Watson and R&B artist Mai Lee after she ripped the stage for Poefest Sunday @ Delmar Hall

Lonnie and Kelocc G @ Rustic Goat Sunday for Liquid Assets and 100.3 The Beat’s 4th Annual Feed The Family Event

Monica, Angel and Supreme got their fill of live music thanks to Taste of Luxury Friday night @ Moto Museum

Phil Assets of Liquid Assets and his lovely team gave back in a major way with the 4th Annual Feed The Family Sunday @ Rustic Goat

Leah and Brittni Gray braved the cold to check out PoeFest Sunday @ Delmar Hall

Darius Chapman and Mocha Latte lent a helping hand to the community @ Feed The Family Sunday @ Rustic Goat

Despite the icy road conditions, Patricia and Kim made their way to the Moto Museum for A Taste of Luxury featuring Chante Moore

Maya and Spook chatted it up about Spook’s new book ‘Voices’ Sunday night @ Delmar Hall for PoeFest

Mary and Casey hit up HG Sunday to bid farewell to the weekend

R&B diva Chante Moore with rising star Lydia Caesar brought the house down as they entertained the crowd at Next Up and Remy Martin’s A Taste of Luxury Friday night at the Moto Museum.

Photos

Drivers:

COORDINATOR OF CATALOG, CURRICULUM & COMMUNICATIONS

Webster University seeks a Coordinator of Catalog, Curriculum & Communications in the Oice of Academic Afairs. Please apply online at http://webster.peopleadmin.com/postings/2070. No phone calls please. Webster University provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, ethnicity, age, protected veteran or disabled status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

SALES ASSOCIATE

Sales Associate at Saint Louis Art Museum. Full Time – $12.14/hr. Weekdays and weekends. Apply at www.slam.org/careers

CHIEF JUVENILE OFFICER

he Family Court of St. Louis County, Missouri is seeking a Chief Juvenile Oficer with responsibility for the enforcement and administration of the Missouri juvenile justice system in St. Louis County. Directs the activities of department directors and support staf that provide services in juvenile delinquency, child protection, and legal department. Charged with conducting investigations regarding youth referred to the Family Court and submitting the results of the investigations to the Family Court. Also obligated to provide for the care and custody of the youth as directed by the Court. Position is supervised by the St Louis County Family Court Administrator. Salary range: $83,379-$133,407. Minimum Qualiications: Graduation from an accredited college or university with either a Juris Doctorate (highly preferred) or a Master’s degree in social work, public administration, business administration, or a related ield, plus at least ten years of professional experience in law, social work, or public sector administration, of which at least ive years should be at the management level; prior experience in court administration is highly preferred; or any equivalent combination of training and experience. To apply for this position please visit http://agency. governmentjobs.com/stlouis/default.cfm. Application materials must be submitted by January 13, 2017. NOTE: All selected individuals will be required to submit to a background check and urinalysis prior to hire. EOE. Please contact the Human Resources Department at (314) 615-2901 (voice) or RelayMO 711 or 800-735-2966 if you need any accommodations in the application process, or if you would like this posting in an alternative format. his is a county funded position.

Be part of a St. Louis legacy as our next President

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the broad-based leader will oversee iscal & staf management (team of 24), sales and marketing, policy development and strategic planning. We are looking for a charismatic leader who has a passion for history and landscape management. Learn more and apply on-line at www.csiapply.com. EOE

FIRE/MEDICS

Become a Member of our Team Mehlville Fire Protection District is accepting applications

$55,058 starting $78,581 ater 4 years HEALTH INSURANCE – PENSION –TUITION REIMBURSEMENT - SICK LEAVE –ATTENDANCE BONUS - VACATION – LIFE & DISABILITY – HOLIDAY PAY – UNIFORM ALLOWANCE – WELLNESS BENEFITS

Download application packet at www.mehlvilleire.com

Applicants MUST possess EMT-P certiication through the State of Missouri. MUST be CPAT Certiied by 1/31/2017. Applications accepted Nov. 2, 2016 – Jan. 6, 2017, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Headquarters, 11020 Mueller Rd. 63123. Equal Opportunity Employer.

CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Provide leadership in planning, development and oversight of a broad scope of program activities related to major gits, deferred giving, annual giving, special event fund raising and associated donor stewardship for the agency. Apply online: WWW.JFCSAPPLY.COM with cover letter and resume. Jewish Family & Children’s Service – St. Louis EOE M/F/D/V

COORDINATOR FOR SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS

Webster University has an opening for a Coordinator for the School of Communications. Please apply online at http://webster.peopleadmin.com/postings/2090. No phone calls please. Webster University provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, ethnicity, age, protected veteran or disabled status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

hompson Coburn LLP has the following positions available in our St. Louis oice.

Client Accounts Specialist

Qualiied applicants will possess an associate’s degree and one year’s experience. Preferred applicants will have a general understanding of legal conlict of interest principles. Position will perform quality assurance and process intake info.

EP Paralegal

A minimum of 2 years of experience in probate planning or accounting. Qualiied applicants will possess a bachelor degree or a paralegal certiicate.

IP Paralegal

A minimum of 2 years of IP paralegal experience is required. Qualiied applicants will possess a bachelor degree or a paralegal certiicate. Preferred applicants will have patent and trademark experience..

Lit Support Director

A minimum of 2 years of litigation support technology experience needed. Qualiied

Drivers:

CDL-A Truck Driver –Up to $4,000 Sign-on Bonus. Call a Recruiter for Details! 866-263-6079

Drivers:

Company & O/O’s. Home DAILY! $3,000 Sign-on. Great Beneits. Paid Weekly!

CDL-A. New Grads Welcome. 888-300-9935

Hiring Fair

Start the New Year with a New Job!!

Saturday, January 7, 2017 9:00 am – 12:00 pm YWCA St. Louis Head Start Central Oice 1911 Beltway Dr. St. Louis, MO 63114

Looking for: Early Head Start Teachers Teacher Assistants

For a complete listing of vacancies, additional information about the positions listed, and to apply, visit our website at www.ywcastlouis.org

Drivers:

CDL-A Come home for the Holidays. Paid Medical | Mileage | Bonuses. Home time to it YOUR needs www.DriveTransLand.com | 800.234.5710

Advertise With Us Call Angie at 314-289-5430

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale P.C. has an opening for an Estate Planning Legal Administrative Assistant with 3+

sional-Staf-Positions.html or email hr@greensfelder.com. EOE

WEBSTER

Notice to Small, HUBZone Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, Veteran-Owned, and Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business

TARLTON CORPORATION, 5500 West Park Ave., St. Louis MO 63110, is seeking qualiied Small, HUBZone Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, Veteran-Owned, and Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business to bid on the USDA-OIG Space Reduction Project for General Services Administration located at 8930 Ward Parkway, Kansas City MO for subcontracting opportunities in all work areas as deined by the contract drawings and speciications. Tarlton would appreciate subbids for the following: Demolition; Rough Carpentry; Finish Carpentry (Casework), Doors, Frames and Hardware; Glass and Glazing; Framing and Drywall; Acoustical Ceilings; Flooring, Tile and Resilient; Painting; Misc. Specialties; Furniture Relocation including move management; Fire Protection; Plumbing; HVAC; and Electrical Work.

General description of work: he scope of work includes renovation to approximately 21,840 SF at 8930 Ward Parkway in Kansas City MO. Work includes demolition, new walls, paint, carpet, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and telecommunications. he work will be on the third loor of the building. Finished project will include a professional work area of approximately 12 – 16 private oices and open space for 80 workstations. All interested and qualiied businesses should contact Lindsey Garber at 314-633-3300 to discuss the subcontracting opportunities. All negotiations must be completed prior to 12:00 p.m. on January 6, 2017.

HUMAN RELATIONS SPECIALIST

$36,400 $56,888 Normal entry salary is $36,400.

NATURE OF WORK

Incumbents in this position handle and investigate complaints of alleged discrimination. Duties include: handling walk-in, written referral and telephone complaints; interviewing witnesses and charging parties to determine validity of claims and recommending case resolutions. For an additional description of this position, please refer to the classiication speciication for Human Relations Specialist at: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/personnel/documents/classiication-speciications.cfm

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

A Bachelor’s degree in Education, Social or Behavioral Science, Human Resources Management, Business or Public Administration, or a related ield, and one year of professional investigative experience; OR, an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience

LAST DATE FOR FILING APPLICATION IS JANUARY 6, 2017. Applications can be submitted on the Internet. Visit the City web site at http://stlouis-mo.gov

NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that he Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District), the Owner, will receive sealed bids for Infrastructure Repairs (Rehabilitation) (2017) Contract B under Letting No. 12012-015.1, at its oice, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 2:00 PM, local time, on Friday, January 20, 2017. All bids are to be deposited in the bid box located on the irst loor of the District’s Headquarters prior to the 2:00 p.m. deadline. Bids may, however, be withdrawn prior to the opening of the irst bid. BIDS WILL BE PUBLICLY OPENED AND READ IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BID DUE DATE/TIME AT 2350 MARKET STREET, AT A PLACE DESIGNATED.

he Work to be performed under these Contract Documents consists of: he work to be done under this contract consists of the reha bilitation of approximately 30,394 lineal feet of sewers, varying in size from 8-inch to 36-inch in diameter, utilizing Cured-In-Place-Pipe methods. he project is within the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Boundaries, inside the city(ies) of St. Louis and various munincipalities in St. Louis County in the State of Missouri. he work will be performed in various quantities at various sites. All prospective bidders must prequalify in the Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) category, and be certiied prior to the Bid Opening. Prequaliication forms for obtaining said certiication may be obtained from the Owner at the above mentioned address. All bidders must obtain drawings and speciications in the name of the entity submitting the bid. his project will be inanced through the Missouri State Revolving Fund, established by the sale of Missouri Water Pollution Control bonds and Federal Capitalization Grants to Missouri. Neither the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, its divisions, nor its employees will be party to the contract at any tier. Any Bidder whose irm or ailiate is listed on the GSA publication titled “List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-Procurement Programs” is prohibited from the bidding process; bids received from a listed party will be deemed non-responsive. Refer to Instructions to Bidders B-27 for more information regarding debarment and suspension.

Nondiscrimination in Employment: Bidders on this work will be required to comply with the President’s Executive Order 11246. Requirements for bidders and contractors under this order are explained in the speciications.

Plans and Speciications are available from free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Speciications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1710 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and speciications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. he Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Altman-Charter Co., requests sub-

contractor/supplier proposals for the construction of Adams Grove Housing, in he Grove Neighborhood, St. Louis, MO. his is a new development consisting of 50 new residential units in 20 separate buildings. Proposals are due at the oice of Altman-Charter Co., 315 Consort Dr., St. Louis, MO 63011 on or before hur., January 12, 2017 at 3:00 PM (CT). Qualiied Minority, Section 3, and Women owned businesses are encouraged to submit proposals. Plans can be viewed at FW Dodge, Construct Connect, SIBA, MOKAN, Cross Rhodes Reprographics, and the Altman-Charter plan room in St. Louis. Bidders should contact Mr. Greg Mehrmann with any questions or to submit a proposal at gmehrmann@ altman-charter.com. Our telephone # is (636) 207-8670, and our fax # is (636) 207-8671.

DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTOR

City of Northwoods is seeking a licensed, bonded and insured “Design-Build” Contractor to repair walls, loors, ceiling tiles & lighting in the City Hall Board/Multi-Purpose Activity Rm. (1264 sq.t.) + Carpet area (336 sq.t.); Lobby (672 sq.t.); Lobby Bathrooms (180 sq.t.); & Kitchenette (130 sq.t.) at 4600 Oakridge Blvd., Northwoods Mo. 63121. Detailed Speciications can be picked up at Northwoods City Hall 8:30 am-5:00 pm (closed 1-2pm daily for lunch). Bids are Due by Fri. Dec. 30, 2016. Questions call (314) 477-4051.

CONCRETE CONTRACTOR

City of Northwoods is seeking a licensed, bonded and insured Concrete Contractor to repair City sidewalks in the 4th Ward area & selected curbs city-wide; & to bid driveway repairs/replacements w/ Northwoods residents on a contact list at City Hall. Detailed Speciications can be picked up at Northwoods City Hall, 4600 Oakridge Blvd., Northwoods Mo. 63121. 8:30 am-5:00 pm (closed 1-2pm daily for lunch). Bids are Due by Fri. Dec. 30, 2016. Questions call (314) 477-4051.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

KCI CONSTRUCTION requests proposals for the North Deaerator & Building Enclosure at University of Missouri in Columbia. Proposals are due by 10:00 a.m. on January 26, 2017. Plans and speciications are available for viewing in our oices at 10315 Lake Bluf Drive, St. Louis, MO, 314-894-8888. KCI IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

ADVERTISE WITH US

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

he City of St. Louis, Department of Health (DOH), Bureau of Communicable Disease – Grants Administration is requesting proposals from local organizations, community agencies, universities, local governmental entities and other interested parties eligible to receive federal funds to provide the following services: Contract Compliance, Planning Council Support, and Childcare services.

Interested parties are encouraged to respond to the solicitation for proposal beginning Monday, December 19, 2016. An RFP packet may be obtained from Phillip Johnson, Secretary I, DOH, 1520 Market Avenue, Room 4027, by either calling 314-657-1556 or via email JohnsonP@stlouis-mo.gov. Interested parties may also download the RFP from the City of St. Louis website at http://www. stlouis-mo.gov/government/procurement. cfm. If interested parties have downloaded the proposal from the website, they must register with Mr. Johnson; in order to be notiied of any changes or amendments to the RFPs. he deadline for submitting proposals is 4:00 p.m., hursday, February 2, 2017 at the address referenced above.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

LAMBERT - ST. LOUIS

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT®

Solicitation For Bids (SFB) for Automatic Door Services

Bids Wanted

Bid documents may be obtained at Lambert St. Louis International Airport - Airport Properties Division, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or by calling (314) 426-8184. his SFB may also be obtained by visiting our website at www.lystl.com (Click on “Business Opportunities”).

Robert Salarano Airport Properties Division Manager

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Sealed bids for Chesterield Parkway East and Elbridge Payne Road, St. Louis County

Project No. AR-1543, will be received at the Oice of the Director of Procurement for the County of St. Louis, County Government Center Administration Building, 41 South Central Avenue, 8th Floor, Clayton, Missouri 63105, until 2:00 p.m. on January 11, 2017.

Plans and speciications will be available on December 19, 2016 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com), or by contacting County Blue Reprographics, Inc., 1449 Strassner Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, (314) 961-3800.

DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

PUBLIC NOTICE HOUSING PROGRAM ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF WAITING LIST

he Jeferson Franklin Community Action waiting list for the Section 8 tenantbased Housing Choice Voucher Program has been closed since May 15, 2014 for all families except those who qualiied for a local preference.

As of January 5, 2017 this waiting list will be closed to families who qualiied for a local preference as well.

Pre-applications will still be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on January 5, 2017 for families who qualify for one of the local preferences which include:

1) Families with children enrolled in and attending the Head Start Program

2) Families who have successfully completed an acceptable self-empowerment or leadership/community involvement program such as S.E.L.F. through the United Way or Step up to Leadership.

JFCAC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, familial status, disability, and ancestry.

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Design Services for NEW Allied Health Building at St. Louis Community College –Forest Park

Agreement No. A17-0299

Dated: November 21, 2016

he St. Louis Community College is requesting submittals of experience and qualiications from architectural/ engineering irms for the NEW Allied Health Building and Selected Demolition of Portions of the East Wing at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park. Submittals of the Consultant’s qualiications will be received by St. Louis Community College, in the Engineering & Design Department until 2:00 p.m., December 16, 2016, at the Joseph P. Cosand Community College Center, 300 South Broadway. he scope of architectural/engineering services and consulting agreement procedures may be obtained from the Manager’s oice, at the above address or by calling (314) 539-5012.

EOE/Airmative Action Employer

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

KCI CONSTRUCTION requests proposals for the North Deaerator & Building Enclosure at University of Missouri in Columbia. Proposals are due by 10:00 a.m. on January 26, 2017. Plans and speciications are available for viewing in our oices at 10315 Lake

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Request for Proposals for Asbestos Abatement and Removal of Household Hazardous Waste Next NGA West St. Louis, Missouri

Environmental Abatement #02

LCRA Holdings Corporation is seeking sealed bid proposals for the abatement and proper disposal of asbestos containing materials and household hazardous waste. he Project site is located in North St. Louis bounded by Jeferson/ Parnell Ave west to 22nd St. and Cass Ave north to the alleyway south of St. Louis Ave. and consists of multiple single-family, multi-family, and commercial structures. he full invitation, relevant dates, and all other documents related to this opportunity may be downloaded at: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/sldc/project-connect/nga/ Click on “Employment and Procurement.”

https://secure.smartbidnet.com/External/Pub licPlanRoom.aspx?Id=271596&i=1 PlanGrid www.plangrid.com

wage

is in efect on

No Bid may be withdrawn for a period of Ninety (90) days subsequent to the speciied time for receipt of Bids.

he Statutes of the State of Missouri require that not less than the prevailing rate per diem, legal holiday and overtime wages in the locality where the work is

he Construction Manager for this project is S. M. Wilson & Co. and the Project Manager is Vernon Pfeil, 314/791-0870 phone, vernon.pfeil@smwilson.com email. or 314/645-1700 fax.

NOTICE

Notice is

. All bids are to be deposited in the

on the irst loor of the District’s Headquarters prior to the 2:00 p.m. deadline. Bids may, however, be withdrawn prior to the opening of the irst bid. BIDS WILL BE PUBLICLY OPENED AND READ IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BID DUE DATE/TIME AT 2350 MARKET STREET, AT A PLACE DESIGNATED.

he Work to be performed under these Contract Documents consists of: he work to be done under this contract consists of the rehabilitation of approximately 72,740 lineal feet of sanitary and storm sewers, varying in size from 8-inch to 30-inches in diameter using cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) methods, 468 manholes, and 1,243 service connections. he project is within the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Boundaries, inside the city(ies) of Varies in the State of Missouri. he work will be performed in various quantities at various sites.

All prospective bidders must prequalify in the Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) category, and be certiied prior to the Bid Opening. Prequaliication forms for obtaining said certiication may be obtained from the Owner at the above mentioned address. All bidders must obtain drawings and speciications in the name of the entity submitting the bid.

his project will be inanced through the Missouri State Revolving Fund, established by the sale of Missouri Water Pollution Control bonds and Federal Capitalization Grants to Missouri. Neither the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, its divisions, nor its employees will be party to the contract at any tier. Any Bidder whose irm or ailiate is listed on the GSA publication titled “List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-Procurement Programs” is prohibited from the bidding process; bids received from a listed party will be deemed non-responsive. Refer to Instructions to Bidders B-27 for more information regarding debarment and suspension. Nondiscrimination in Employment: Bidders on this work will be required to comply with the President’s Executive Order 11246. Requirements for bidders and contractors under this order are explained in the speciications. Plans and Speciications are available from free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Speciications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1710 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and speciications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid. he Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Religion

Prayers as ammo

Recently, I’ve had reason to refocus on that sometimes habitual thing that I do known as prayer. Be it morning prayer, evening at church or, on behalf of a friend or seeking guidance in and out of a difficult situation, I have come to realize my prayer life could and should be much better. I am reading an old fashioned good vs. evil novel where the good is actually all about angels and the bad about demons. Their battle is all about controlling us for the victory where their allegiances lay, ultimately God or Satan. The revelation about my prayer life comes with an enlightenment of where our focus should be.

“For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the world rulers of this present darkness…” Ephesians 6:12. Now this is not a doom and gloom column making a statement about today’s politics. It is merely a commentary about the things I pray about.

I usually don’t pray about governments, world leaders, the coming of a new age and so forth. My prayer life tends to be

a little more close to home and more about the people I love. To make my point let me use the term prayer cover. In this book the angels are constantly asking each other can they win the next battle and the answer is always not unless they get more prayer cover. They need more people praying in order to achieve victory. And the specifics of the needed prayer revolve around folk calling upon the name of Jesus. You see everything changes, the tide gets turned, and the odds get stacked up for the pro Christ gang. Now whereas I know for a fact that many a friend, family member, church acquaintance and others have provide me with plenty of prayer cover. I also know it was and has been my intent to provide cover for those closest to me. You just pray for people you love and all they are going through. We hear the phrase “our

thoughts and prayers go out to…” to many times these days for people caught up in nonsensical violence, terror, war and my favorite, man’s inhumanity to man. And it doesn’t appear to be slowing down at all. Now back to my prayer point. If I look at prayer as a weapon in the eternal life and death and life struggle, then I am arming myself and others who are caught up in the eternal challenges of the day.

I am providing cover. It’s a military term. Scripture says it’s not always about flesh and blood but things some of us don’t pay too much attention to. Principalities, local, state, national and world leaders, some, might need some prayer cover. Others just need prayer. The way I’m thinking now is that prayer just might be my daily weapon of choice.

It’s kind of a new perspective to think your prayers are ammunition for the work God wants done by you. Prayer makes you stronger and the enemy weaker as a result. The interesting thing about the book is that it forces you to look at the enemy in a different way. The enemy is doubt, fear, apprehension, crimes against your person, complacency, fear of success, spiritual poverty, apprehension about the world and its direction. So for me, tomorrow I’m arming myself for the battles of the day and the days after with a good dose of prayer and will happily share a few bullets for you. The victory is ours and Jesus has already won this thing. He provided all the prayer cover we need. All He has ever asked is take that knowledge with you and share it with the world.

Late pastor honored with scholarship fund

Fundraiser for John E. & Regina S. Nance Memorial Scholarship Fund on January 6

American staff

A Call to Conscience, Inc. will present “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” to benefit the John E. and Regina S. Nance Memorial Scholarship Fund in the historic Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, 3200 Washington Ave. on Friday, January 6 at 7 p.m. The church is located at 3200 Washington Ave. at the corner of Compton and Washington in Midtown St. Louis.

A Call to Conscience (C2C) is a nonprofit theater arts collective that uses a multimedia format to dramatize historical themes dealing with the struggles of the oppressed. Highlighting historic events that evoked change and the various architects and leaders that helped create them, C2C strives to stir the conscience of the community and facilitate social change.

“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” was Dr. Martin Luther King’s final speech delivered at the Mason Temple Church in God and Christ on April 3, 1968, the eve of his assassination. The speech will be interpreted in Reader’s Theater format, replete with music that was popular during the Civil Rights Movement. This interactive play transports the audience back to Mason Temple COGIC when the 3,000 plus crowd came to hear

Dr. King’s address during the sanitation workers’ strike taking place in the streets of Memphis Tennessee.

The Reverend John E. Nance Scholarship Fund was established in January 1974, by Washington Tabernacle Baptist Church as a living memorial to the strong and practical educational philosophies of the late pastor Reverend Dr. John E. Nance. Following the death of his widow, Regina Steele Nance, in 1982, the scholarship funds was renamed the Reverend John E. and Regina S. Nance Memorial Scholarship Fund in honor of the many years they worked together on behalf of the educational achievement of youth.

Longtime Washington

late Rev. John E. Nance,

Tabernacle member and civil rights attorney Frankie Muse Freeman headed the scholarship in the 1970s. Contributions from many businesses, individuals and corporations have made it possible to award over 1,200 scholarships to date. Students representing 60 public and private high schools have attended 155 colleges, universities and technical schools in the United States. Tickets are $10 a person. You may purchase them from any member of the Nance Scholarship Committee or you may pay at the door. All proceeds benefit the scholarship fund. For more information or if you just want to make a donation, contact the church at (314) 533-8763.

The

former pastor of the historic Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church.

St. Louis American file photo