To the Editor: On behalf of the entire Valle Catholic Schools community, I wish to extend our deepest appreciation and gratitude to Ste. Genevieve R-II School District for their hospitality and assistance in hosting Saturday’s state semifinal playoff football game. The condition of Father John Dempsey Field was unplayable after the days of precipitation our…

To The Editor: An elevated walkway over Progress Parkway between the community center and the waterpark? Seriously? I’ve seen elevated walkways over interstates, but never over a two-lane county road. I’ve never seen them over multi-lane highways. You know what they use? Crosswalks. Some paint, a few signs, and voila!   Now let’s apply a…

To the Editor: I attended the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve History Conference during the weekend of September 20. I want to thank Sara Menard, Bob Mueller, Jack Koetting and the conference committee for a job well done. Much work went into planning the opening reception, securing the speakers, organizing the food and coordinating…

I recently posted a commentary on marijuana (cannabis) in the Ste. Genevieve Herald, and the commentary was later posted on the Facebook page “What’s Happning in Ste. Genevieve.” I am extending my appreciation to all who have chosen to read that commentary and the comments that followed. My intent was to inform, hopefully educate, and…

The Ste. Genevieve Board of Aldermen later this year will vote on a special use permit for a medical marijuana production facility in the old Sabreliner building. But what they are really voting on is whether they should approve special use permits only when they approve of the product being sold. That’s a dangerous proposition,…

Since our community is taking a serious look at supporting a “medical” marijuana manufacturing plant, I thought it would be important to share information on this drug. Much of my information is from the National Institute of Health and medical literature. The recent vote to allow the medical use of marijuana in Missouri, and the…

To the Editor: More than 100,000 Missouri children have now been dropped from their Medicaid coverage, despite continuing to be eligible. Governor Mike Parson and his appointees, including MO HealthNet director Todd Richardson, keep trying to persuade Missourians that Missouri’s precipitous drop in Medicaid enrollees is in line with national trends. However, the evidence indicates…

To the Editor: Reading the Herald this week [August 14 edition], I noticed “the reduced role” of Tim Good, interim superintendent for the new national park in Ste. Genevieve. Tim has always recognized the historical importance of the many African American families who lived in Ste. Genevieve. With his decreased involvement, I’m concerned the dynamic…

You can always tell when we’re getting closer to a presidential election. The TV ads sowing fear, uncertainty and doubt get ramped up; and we all get angry, discouraged, and distracted. This year, it’s the health insurance corporations who are taking over our airwaves. And it seems that they’re getting desperate. They’ve noticed that people…

A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE BORDER CRISIS To the Editor: I was a little impressed with U.S. Representative Jason Smith’s decision to go to our southern border to see for himself what was going on there. However, I was soon disappointed to find out that he came back condemning the people seeking asylum without any…

To the Editor: As a follow up to the recent article [in the April 17 edition of the Herald] regarding upcoming proposed changes to the Missouri legislation regarding the Department of Revenue (DOR) and our local license bureau: I recently renewed my license plates online, as suggested on my registration renewal notice. I paid for…

To the Editor: I had to promise myself to keep this short and to the point, because I have much more to say on the subject of tourism and what it means to Ste. Genevieve. It is our town’s beating heart. And for a city official not to acknowledge that fact, or know how to…

I am writing this as one citizen who attended many of the work sessions and Board Of Aldermen meetings that led to the current 2019 city budget. As I am not an elected official, nor am I an employee of the city, what I did for the most part was listen and, at times, take…

I’m writing this in response to the article which appeared in the May 1 edition of the Ste. Genevieve Herald covering the recent quarterly meeting of the Tourism Advisory Council on April 23. While the quarterly meeting had insufficient attendance of officers to have a quorum, those in attendance took it upon themselves to voice…

To the Editor: I am writing this to clarify some misconceptions about the state license offices. All 180 plus license offices in the state, with the exception of the main office in Jefferson City, are operated by independent contractors. We are neither state employees nor are we paid by the state in any way.  …

To the Editor: First of all, I would like to sincerely thank everybody who came out on April 2 and supported the Proposition P initiative. As you have probably heard, the measure passed, and we will be able to increase the salary of our police officers, as promised. I can assure you, the officers greatly…

To the Editor: I sure hope the problems regarding [funding for] the license bureau are solved. I’m sure willing to pay more to use their service. Several years ago, I used the one at Festus. Once, I had all the paperwork that was needed, but the clerk there gave me such a hard time I…

To the Editor: Mason Weaver, whose real name is Clarence Mason, said at the local Republican Club on March 5 that Democrats want you to be ashamed to be American. (

The Missouri Department of Revenue recently announced that it remains on track to begin offering REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards on March 25, 2019. There are a few key points that I would like to share with you about the department’s compliance with the REAL ID Act of 2005. First, applying for…

On January 10, the Board of Aldermen for the city of Ste. Genevieve voted to present a tax levy for “Improving Public Safety.” The tax proposed is $0.2684 per $100 of assessed valuation. If passed, this tax would be used to increase the salary of our full-time police personnel, in an effort to more adequately…

Life is precious. It’s fragile, vulnerable and must be protected. When our founding fathers established a new, free land, they wrote that our God-given rights would be protected in the United States of America. And the most crucial of these rights is the right to life. Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States…

The state of Illinois set its government in motion in 1819. January 4, 1819, was the first session of the legislature of Illinois. This special session was held at Kaskaskia, the first state capital. The elected delegates of Randolph County were George Fisher and Elias Kent Kane, who helped develop the first Illinois Constitution. The…

I would like to take this time to introduce myself to you and to thank you for giving me this extraordinary opportunity to serve as your state representative for the 116th District. It is a great honor to be one of 163 people having the privilege of representing our six million Missouri citizens. I look…

The General Assembly met for the first full week of session following a historic snowstorm on the weekend of January 12. I feel privileged for the opportunity to continue representing the people of the Third Senatorial District, and I am looking forward to the thoughtful discussion and productive debate that will occur this session. I…