Broken Window, Threat Lead To Charges

By Mark Evans

Ste. Genevieve Herald

Debate over changes to the city of St. Mary’s utility vehicle (UTV) ordinance took a back seat to a shouting match between Anthony Bader and Mayor Carlton Wyatt, an apparent threat, property damage and charges being pressed during last Thursday night’s St. Mary Board of Aldermen meeting.

The board was about to vote on the UTV ordinance late in the meeting, when Bader  made a request.

“I would like for your city collector to have set hours of when she’s going to be in her office and ain’t going to be in her office,” he said. “If she is in there two hours a day in the morning and evening, you know she’s going to be there at that time. Now you say you’ve got a drop box. But I ain’t sticking cash in a drop box. I don’t have a checking account. I pay everything by debit. I need to know somebody’s going to be here at a certain time, so I can be here at that time and pay my bill.”

City manager David Woods stood up for city collector Stacia Placke.

“I can vouch. She’s here from 8:30 to 2, Tuesdays through Fridays,” Woods said.

“No,” Bader replied.

“And if I’m not here, I’m at the bank or the post office,” Placke said. “I’m one person.”

Wyatt also backed Placke.

“The fit you’re throwing here won’t work no more,” he told Bader.

“I ain’t throwing a fit,” Bader said.

The two tried to talk at the same time, when Bader accused Wyatt of pointing his finger at him.

“Don’t you be pointing at me,” he said. “I’ll point at you.”

“You’ll be out of here,” Wyatt warned.

“Go ahead, throw me out, Bader yelled, adding an expletive.

The two again tried to talk over each other.

“Got it,” Bader said, heading toward the door, then pointing at Wyatt. “You’ll get it, I guarantee you.”

“I’ll be waiting on you,” Wyatt replied.

Bader then slammed the door, shattering the  glass.

It was later noted that the glass could possibly have been damaged earlier in the meeting when Doug Louderback also stormed out of the meeting after arguing with Wyatt, and slammed the door.

“I would like to see a mechanical arm or something here for instances like that,” Placke said a few moments after Bader had left. “I’ve had him come in here several times and scare me half to death.  And, if I call county down here and I  have to go through dispatch and everything else, it can take them 30 minutes to get here.”

“I know what you’re saying,” Wyatt said. “I’m working on getting a police department. I am working on that.”