Aiming for the Answer - Save the Date!

Family & Friends-
Mark your calendars for the 4th annual Aiming for the Answer event focused on fighting autism as a community. Staying with tradition, this year's event will include the flagship Cornhole Tournament and will be held Labor Day weekend on Sunday, September 5th, 2010 at Kirkwood Park. The day will include competitive, recreational and kids Cornhole Tournaments as well as a Post Party, Live Music, Food, Beverage, a Silent Auction and more. We will be updating our website www.aiming4theanswer.org with details throughout the Spring so check back often.

Today 1% of all Americans are diagnosed with autism making it a disorder that impacts us all. Our goal this year is to raise more than $50,000, with all proceeds going to Action for Autism (www.afastl.org) and Autism Speaks (www.autismspeaks.org). We look forward to your support this year and if you have interest in volunteering the day of the event or would like to take advantage of our many sponsorship opportunities, please don't hesitate to contact me.

This is a super fun event for the whole family! Hope to see you there!

The Trot Thru the Woods 2010 is on!!!!!

17:01 - the official time of the Winner of the 2009 Trot - Andrew Pearson from the Big River Running Company. Can anyone run the Trot under 17 minutes next year?

Our first official meeting to discuss the 2nd Edition of the Trot took place this morning at Bread Co. The whole Board was here. Our president Ed Crites - back from Boston after completing the Boston Marathon for the second time, wow - his wife Laura, our new member of the Board Roger Bautista who just ran the St.Louis Half Marathon in a staggering 1:36:00 - Roger replaces our friend Chris Keller as the Secretary - and of course yours "V.P" truly.

We mostly talked about all the feedbacks you guys sent me after the race last year and how to improve the Trot and anchor the race as a Must-Do on the Warson Woods calendar.


After 225 runners showed up last year, I have a feeling 2010 will see a spike in participation...

Are you ready? Who is in, the saturday after Thanksgiving?

What to do with $15 Million?..buy a house in Lake St.Louis

6.7 Acres, with 40,000 sq feet, 9 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms and 6 fireplaces + a few car garages...I can't even count how many.. hahaha..


The full listing is here: LISTING

And the story on this house -mansion/castle - I don't even know how to call it- is here:



Megan, I can't believe Sotheby's is listing it and not you... just kidding!

WWSC - It is clean-up time!

As we are gearing up for a fantastic new summer at the Pool, few things need to be done before hand to get the Pool ready for Opening Day on May 29th.

The Pool Board has set a Clean-Up Day to complete the To-Do-List. It is May 15th. If you think you can help, let me know. Here is a list of tasks in no particular order.

Pavillion Front:
trim roses> remove leaves and debris> trim trees> fill squirel holes> mulch> kill/pull weeds> clean up bike rack area/and prep for rock

Pavillion:
new phone> pull up bathroom flooring> paint restrooms floors> clean fans> empty/organize/clean kitchen> rockBBQ Pit area> check sound system> asphalt/seal BBQ area

Deck:
snake clogged drains> replace drain covers> kill/pull weeds> power wash deck> repaint diving board platform> clean furniture> replace umbrellas as needed> pot flowers

Parking lot:
ask city about seal/stripe > move 1 bike rack to the park side of parking lot> blow/clean/remove debris

Our beloved Pool Board President Dede Nigh wants you to know that there are drinks/food for those who stick around on the 15th to help.


Volunteers, please step forward... Thanks in advance.

Arbor Day in Warson Woods

Warson Woods is Nationally recognized as a Tree City U.S.A.!

The beautiful trees throughout the city have been officially recognized by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

On Saturday, April 28th Warson Woods celebrated Arbor Day in Memorial Park. Robert Emmett was on hand from the Urban Forester Mo. Dept. of Conservation to present the 3rd grade kids from Rohan Woods and Ste. Genevieve Dubois beautiful Red Bud trees.

Our Aldermen Gordon Gosh and Judy Pohl were present at the ceremony.

First Robert asked some Lily Carse to be a tree, Harry Lambert to be the sun and Charlotte Lambert to be the water to illustrate how important trees are.

Then, the 3rd graders, including from left to right Michael Bub, Lily Carse, Meredith Lewis and Caroline Lewis read their wonderful and inspiring poems.

Robert Emmett handed them a certificate and a lovely Red Bud Tree.


Not a big crowd, but a great initiative taken by our city of Warson Woods.

- All pictures courtesy of Carrie Lewis - Thanks again Carrie!

The Realtor Corner - WW Houses for Sale

The 500K + Club
1465 Dearborn Dr $525,000
355 Gascogny Way $519,900
1535 North Woodlawn $519,900

The 400K to 500K Club
555 Flanders $439,900
1616 Dearborn $437,500
385 Gascogny Way $429,900

The 300K to 400K Club
1021 North Dr $389,900
800 Rampart $372,900
824 Edlin $329,900

The 200K to 300K Club
520 Gascogny Way $289,900
1055 Warson Woods dr$249,900

St- Louis Marathon - The WW Heroes

Congrats to Roger Bautista for running the half in 1:36:00 - glad your knee held up nicely.

Congrats to my fellow Blogger Brian Spellecy for completing the Half in 1:56:00. Mens sane in copore sano, Brian!

Congrats to Joy Holley for running her first Marathon after a hard training program -you rock Joy!!

Congrats to Brandon Janosky who completed the full marathon in an insane time of 3:07:40 - enjoy that email I received from Brandon:

"Congratulations, indeed. Ask any runner who was out there on Sunday and they’ll tell you if felt downright HOT. There wasn’t much time this early in the Spring to get used to the unseasonably warm weather, so it really took its toll on the field. I ended up getting some attention in the med-tent after crossing the line in 3:07:40. Overall, it was a great day out there. The volunteers and spectators were tremendous!"

Congrats to all our neighbors who came down to support the runners along the way: Thank you John and Donna Garza for screaming and cheering my name when you saw me running.

Thank you Mary Simon for running a few blocks with me when I needed a boost.

Thank you Jim Fox for offering to stretch my calves when cramps were preventing me for running at Mile 18.

Thanks to my buddy Mark from the Running Center in Rock Hill who yelled "Hey Frenchman!" at Mile 23 to get me going. That was hysterical to hear that out of nowhere. I had to turn around to see him. Classic!

Thanks to Matt and Ben, the owners of the Big River Running Stores, who high fived me and pumped me up with some great cheers: " I was waiting for you, James", "2 miles to go and this is it"... Props to you, guys.

See you all in the Fall for the Trot Thru the Woods in WW!

Update from Haiti

Always good to hear from Charles Dubuque. He and Tina are in Haiti this week.

"Greetings from Milot.

It's the wettest trip I've ever had. Daily showers & all night rains. It has kept the temperatures cool but has challenged the many volunteers living in tents. We currently have 50 volunteers here. Our normal numbers, pre-earthquake are usually 12-15, so it's an interesting dynamic.

I just can't believe the energy, compassion and commitment of these volunteers. Their stories of how they came to choose CRUDEM are simply incredible. Each night I learn something new about each volunteer. The human spirit is amazing & it energizes all of us to hear their stories.

Each night we have a meeting to discuss the necessary items that need to be communicated to all of the staff. At the conclusion of our meeting I ask the team leaders to share the compelling stories of the day. These teams include, Pediatrics, Physical Therapy, ICU, Physicians, Orthopedic Surgery & Nursing.Yesterday was an amazing day, so the stories shared were simply inspiring.

Yesterday morning I received a call from an aid agency near Port au Prince asking about a particular patient. His name was Felix. They mentioned that his wife had inquired about her husband & they suggested that he might have been transferred here after the earthquake. After certifying the patient log & then radioing the nurses working in that particular tent, we were able to confirm his presence. When the nurse went to the tent to inform him that his wife was trying to locate him, the entire tent of patients erupted in cheers, you see Felix had thought his wife had died in the earthquake. He was stunned for a moment & then just wept in gratitude. His fellow patients began to alternately comfort & congratulate him.

We have a young girl who is a double amputee. She is a beautiful girl, but has been extremely depressed & the staff has been so worried about her. Her mother who was thought to have died in Port au Prince arrived yesterday to be reunited with her daughter.

What a joy for the doctors & nurses to witness after caring for this girl. This morning she was laughing & singing & exhibiting a new found joy for living.

Yesterday was a good day.

Today I can only pray will be even better.

As always, thank you for your prayers, support & pass along the news about us.

regards,

Charles."

Invisible Fence

I spotted already 3 dogs running around in my front and backyard last week.

One took the liberty to fertilize my lawn with a nice Number 2 - hum, hum.

Kids were running around as well looking for a loose dog.

How effective are these fences??

The next Idol

Taiwanese Boy Lin Yu Chun Sings Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" @ Yahoo! Video

Police officer shot at Rock Hill apartment complex

Just came in from KMOV at 5.03 a.m this morning:

"A Rock Hill police officer has been shot.

News 4 is told that his injury is not life threatening.

The shooting happened at an apartment complex at the corner of Raritan Drive and Manchester in Rock Hill.

A News 4 crew is on the scene and will have more information as soon as it becomes available."

5.30 a.m Update:
"from St. John's in Creve Coeur. Family members are here. The officer has been in surgery."

Kirkwood Rail Safety Day this coming saturday

... and Station Open House...

Saturday, April 10. 8.am - 2p.m at the Kirkwood Amtrak Station.

Displays will include:
- Kirkwood Police
- Transportation Museum
- Metro / Amtrak
- Missouri Operation Life Saver
- Morse Telegraph Club
- Kirkwood Historical Society

If you have little ones like me, it is a Must-Stop this week-end.

See you there!