The St. Louis Area Chapter of the American Red Cross has launched its holiday giving campaign with a gift catalog full of gifts for individuals in need.  Gifts start at $18 to provide three blankets for disaster victims and range up to $2,000 to sponsor a meal truck that will deliver 200 meals to shelter sites.  Right in the middle, $1,000 will provide a whole class with CPR training.  The campaign follows a national survey showing that despite the economic downturn,  people remain committed to digging deep into their pockets to support charitable causes this holiday season even as they cut back more on other holiday activities. . .

The first session in a series of workshops for those interested in marketing products at farmer’s markets will be held on December 7th at 6:30 pm at St. Andrews Church, 1004 Rock Rd. in De Soto.  The workshop, entitled “Growing Apples and Peaches in Jefferson County”, will help growers. . .

Zion United Methodist Church in Mapaville will celebrate its annual Homecoming Nov. 7. The church, founded in 1868, invites the public and former church members to take part in its “Come As You Are” festivities. . .

Ten years after its inception, the Warners' Warm-up Coat Drive has already distributed more than 120,000 coats to men, women and children in the Bi-State area.  The coat drive officially begins next week with 15 Jefferson County drop off points, but the Pevely Police Dept. has already begun accepting donations. . .

Pastor Steven Flo speaks eloquently with a melodic voice that reminds me of the scent of geraniums, in the sense that a conversation with him uplifts and calms at once.  While his fast spoken words inspire and captivate, his tone and demeanor impart a sense of peace.  The thoughts he expresses linger long after the conversation ends.  The Ladies of Grace Lutheran Church recently surprised Flo with a celebration for 20 years of service at the De Soto parish.  It’s hard to believe this man struggles with, and every week overcomes, a fear of public speaking. . .

The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes Inc. have teamed up for the 2010 Holiday Mail for Heroes program to make sure military members, veterans, and their families have a festive holiday season. . .

Are you interested in learning about GPS (global positioning systems) or geocaching but don’t know where to get started?  University of Missouri Extension has three hands-on workshops. . .

The next session of the popular Grow Your Farm; (GYF) begins Monday evening September 14, 2010 at 6:30 pm at Mineral Area College, 5270 flat River Road, Park Hills, MO.  GYF is a financial planning course. . .  

My name is Robin Scott and I have lived in Jefferson County since 1998.  In 2008, I attended the Experience Jefferson County (EJC) program.  Earlier in 2008, a newspaper article caught my attention about David Kennedy, an Ohio transplant who “experienced Jefferson County” up close when he attended the program.  You see I am also originally from Ohio. . .

Looking for something to do this weekend?  Friday May 21 a fundraiser dinner will be held at Zion Lutheran Church, 310 Central Avenue in Pevely to enhance emergency response services. . .

St. Louis, Monday, May 3, 2010 – The American Red Cross Jefferson County Service Center honored its volunteers and community partners this month during a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at the First Baptist Church of Arnold.

Monday evening Ben DeClue, Market Master for the soon-to-launch Crystal City Farmers' Market, met with a small group of vendors at Grace Presbyterian Church.  He led a tour of the grounds, answered questions, and sought feedback.   Last year when DeClue visited his girlfriend's Chicago home, a thriving local farmer's market that has operated for 20 years inspired him.  The location reminded him of family's hometown church.  He hoped the sprawling park-like grounds at Bailey Road and Mississippi Avenue would make it an ideal place to establish a similar community marketplace.  Soon after returning home from his Chicago trip. . .

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I listen to Johnny Ames, whose name has been changed in response to his request for anonymity, as he darts from one topic to another in the same random way that a grasshopper goes from point A – to - Y- to - G- covering a vast expanse of grass blades.  An hour into our conversation, he completes the thought he started fifteen topics ago.  We laugh together about how it takes three hours to have a ten-minute chat.

     Ames used to work two jobs. One of passion and art. . .

    Fourteen candidates will compete for nine openings for the Jefferson County Extension Council during an election held the third week in January. The Extension Council oversees the operation of the Extension Center in Hillsboro. Members are elected for a two-year term and provide leadership on programs and financial management.
 

Railroad photos and artifacts fill the foyer and living room at Gwen Lewis’s home. A four-sided lantern with a different color glass on each side, once used at rail switches, marks the way from the foyer to the living room. Lewis’s private tribute to De Soto’s railroad history reflects the public memorial not too far away.  Her family’s involvement in the railroad and the community that grew around the depot now spans three generations.  Lewis’s grandfather, Pleasant Hugh Maness, her uncles, Everett “Bad Eye” Maness and George “Tincy” Maness, and her father, Earl Lank Lewis, all worked for the railroad, and now she serves as Vice President for the De Soto Railroad Employees’ Memorial.

United Mutual Insurance, Co. makes a donation to the Jefferson County University of Missouri Extension 4-H Clubs. 

IMPERIAL - Members of the Windsor High School Band joined with their families and friends to raise $4,000 in a recent "Walk-a-Jog-a-Thon" that will benefit diabetic children halfway around the world in the country of Georgia.

Band Director Nate Wisdom, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 13, said he benefited in his youth from attending Camp Hickory Hill, a summer diabetic education camp near Columbia led by University of Missouri endocrinologist Dr. Ron James. In 2007, Wisdom decided to organize a fundraising effort to help a similar camp in Georgia, a former Soviet republic.

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MAY 5, 2009 - Gov. Jay Nixon announced the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has awarded the Jefferson County Stormwater Management Division a $10,000 grant. Jefferson County will use the grant to develop a watershed management plan for the Sandy Creek Watershed. During tough economic times, this infusion of grant funding will help the county protect its citizens and the environment by improving water quality.