August 31

August 31, 2001

The Relay for Life has changed their car wash date from the 1st to the 8th of September. It will be a good time to get someone else to wash your car and do a good deed too.

I received an email from an old friend who is not working for the LAPD, he was nice in his email and told a lot of "secrets" of the LAPD. One that got my attention was that after the frenzy a few months ago of arresting everybody and then the instant stop of arresting everyone, the chief supposedly told the guys to cool off for awhile and after the Casino opens we can get even with everyone in town.

After, receiving this, I started paying a little more attention to the stops and arrests and it seems to be picking up speed, so the Chief seems to be gearing up to get even. But, rumor has it that R (?) Powers and R (duh) Sherwood and the Mayor will not do their job no matter what the chief does. To give you an idea, here is one a 6:30am. Friday. The poor guy was just going to work.

August 30, 2001

Did you read the letter to the editor in the Canton paper yet? You should get everyone you know to read it.

A few days ago I wrote in support of the Street super in such a great job of preparing 5th street for ex-councilman Mike (madd) Lowe. Well, now I have to bite my tongue again. If you want to see why, just drive down the street and stop and get out and give the asphalt a little kick. Just a little kick, because the asphalt is so thin that some small rocks hung up under the paver and left trails of no asphalt. Yet, the street super had two more huge loads left to use that would have made this a successful street. As you get down to the Colliers, you will see how the street super left the corner so that any amount of rain will easily wash away the street and create a large rut in the new road.

While the street super was doing his best to screw up a great job, here is where the 184 voters Mayor was

to see it better, just click on the picture.

August 29, 2001

Rumor has it that Mr. Roberts is being harassed because the Mayor wants him to sell the lot next to the Lions Club for the Police. It s rumored that the harassment which now is claiming his home is a dangerous and unsafe building and will continue to some allegations about abandoned vehicles and dogs. It seems that Mr. Roberts had better get prepared. It is also rumored that the Mayor is taking the alley dispute with his neighbor into deep water. Rumor has it that the Mayor for the City is filing suit against Mr. Ayers to remove stakes on Mr. Ayers property. It seems the Mayor and our most intelligent City Attorney has deemed a registered surveyor's survey a false survey and will take the property owner to Court for that two feet.

Anyone can drive down the street toward the river and look down the "alley" and clearly see there is 12 feet of space that is dedicated to be an alley between the stake and the old concrete foundation. The City will lose this action.

With all the problems that keep cropping up with the chief, it makes a sane person wonder why he is still here. It is rumored that some and wondering what does the Chief have on the Mayor and Powers and Sherwood. "DUH" is self explanatory, protection to get home from the local without any problems. Several people in the North ward are getting more upset with Councilman Powers. A lot of those I have talked to feel that Mr. Powers lied to them in his campaign around the north end and it looks like he will have a one term stint. Only a straight back to get rid of the problem and make Penn the Chief will save his political career. or maybe he just wants this one time walk.

In talking to a few people on the South end, some are wondering why Councilman Henderson is letting so much slide by without speaking up.

So far, the only encouraging words are for Rossiter, Stiffy and Griesbaum. Henderson is going to have to speak up if the City is going to put a stop to the turmoil this is continuous. But, they will have a big fight on their hands with the Mayor and "DUH". Powers had no idea what was going on when he was in school and he has no idea what is going on now. One term only.

August 28, 2001

Well, the greatest fish cookers are now going to have a whole hog roast. If they cook that hog like they do fish, this has got to be a good meal. Don't forget Saturday, September 8th at 4:30pm.

I had an emailer notice that a local roofing contractor had some Amish men looking to re-roof his own place. The emailer supposed that the contractor wanted a professional job on his own roof.

Since when does a Councilman take it upon himself to order a citizen to do anything? If it was me, I would have hung up on his ear. It seems the Mayor and this busy body Councilman want to spend a lot more City money on their own pet peeve. Something about having "another" land surveyor, resurvey over another professional surveyor's survey. I thought that all surveyors were "Certified" by State and is admissible in a Court of Law as fact. But, the Mayor [can only see one way] on high grass can be on someone else's property and [can't see the other way] of all the weeds and trash on his own property. Emails seem to say that a certain Councilman now has a "Dangerous & Unsafe" building or is it two buildings on his NEW property. Did the Mayor send "Him" a letter to get it torn down in 30 days??? How about it Roger "Duh" Sherwood. Another emailer wanted to know if Roger "duh" Sherwood had his property surveyed before he put up his "dangerous" fence with the barb wire top. Looks like a good case for a child endangerment to me. What about the leaning garage on a City employees property?? Several emailer said the Mayor should clean up his own back yard before starting on other people.

Downtown was very busy late Sunday afternoon. It seems the Missouri Water Patrol was out in force with several boats going after those revelers at Hog Back Island. One observer thought that maybe they should rent a bus to take them all to Monticello.

August 27, 2001

Rumor has it that the Mayor is up to his sneaky lying tricks again. Rumor says he sent two of the City crew to look at a building the Mayor has deemed dangerous and unsafe, right next door to the jungle he owns. Anyhow, the 2 crew could only find a board loose, but the dangerous and unsafe building report was mysteriously changed to have major problems with the building. The owner was questioning how the Mayor deemed this building unsafe "without" trespassing on the property or examine the inside of the house from the outside.

This is similar to the Mayor sending out notices about weeds to high on another's property. Rumor has it that the Mayor says he has sent many letters to the property owner, but yet, the property owner says that no such letters have been delivered and is sure the Mayor has the correct address. The owner is wondering if the Mayor is trying to drum up more money to pay more police officers. The owner also wanted to know how the Mayor can accuse someone of having high weeds to be mowed when he owns a jungle.

This is about like the Mayor telling the County he can't see increase in crime, corruption or traffic problems and the County doesn't need any money from the City. AND THEN, turns around from the other side of this mouth and hires more police officers because of more crime, corruption and traffic problems.

Only those 184 voters can be so proud of their two sided Mayor. They are just tickled to death.

August 26, 2001

Everybody has been wondering what the Big Boy Investigators have been doing at City Hall. Rumor has it that an employee was wrongly fired by the Mayor. Rumor also has it that the City and the Mayor may be in for a big civil suit. Hope he wins enough money at the Casino to pay the lawyer... Rumor also has it that the State or Federal Wage & Hour man will be looking around next. It seems some employees are being paid double for overtime and others not getting vacation time or pay. Some of this goes back several years. The Mayor may need to win a lot of money and the City may need more than the 2mil a year to pay it off. 184 voters have to be tickled to death.

What is it all that information that a terminated employee has on the chief. Rumor has it that there is supposed to be a whole lot of bad stuff.

Now, I visited with Ed Ensor at the new Youth Center. Everyone needs to stop by and see this place. It is going to be a GREAT place, not only for the kids but for the whole community. They still need donations of money and or materials and mostly some help of anyone who knows how to tape and plaster and painters. Everyone needs to donate a little time and money to see this finished up.

August 25, 2001

Well folks another long time family owned business is up for sale. Tiemann MFA gas and service station. Arnold said he is ready to retire and keep Nancy working. He said if Ed Dickerson can do it, he can do it. (joke). Arnold has been in this same business longer than Jenny Shork Murphy Reid was a lowly bank employee.

I noticed that the street super used the asphalt paver to lay a new rock bed on 5th street from Mike Lowe's to Les Collier. What was noticeable about it was that he spread a deep base and spread it from edge to edge of the street. This was excellent job. If he will lay an asphalt road of equal depth and width I will have to change my attitude toward the street department. Now , the question is??? Will the water department replace the damaged asphalt and concrete at Casey's.

I keep getting emails and hearing talk about my buddy the Chief. If all this comes out correct, the Mayor may be appointing a new one. The bad part is the bits and pieces are from here and there.

Next year will be the 40th year for the Class of 1962, will there be a reunion? I would suppose that since the Casino is open that every class on the years '92, '82, '72, '62, '52, '42, etc. will be planning their reunions now. I would suppose that even the 5 year reunions along with the 10 year reunions would be looking at having a HUGE multiyear class reunion.

Now, that would be exciting, for all to have their reunions at the same time next year. How about during the 4th of July Chicken BBQ. With the Casino for entertainment, the Lions Hall, The LRO building, and the Youth Center along with the parks for meetings, it would be the greatest class reunion. Maybe we could get Alice Fish and Irene Solter to coordinate it all.

August 23, 2001

Did you read the "La Grange Municipal Court" in the PNJ?? Defective equipment $370.00 fine. Peace disturbance $520.00. No drivers license on person $200.00. A DUI gets you $1060.00. No license on person again $270.00. Now you know where some of the money is coming from to pay the salaries of 9 officers. But, take a look at the following email and decide whether the Chief needs to be Chief.

Hello, just wanted to add some info to your "gossip" but this is not gossip these are the facts. I went to the Mayor in June about a problem with a neighbor, he told me that he would take care of it, to say the least nothing was done.
    The problems increased big time, I had a city officer come to MY home in May 2001 on a complaint that someone made about my neighbor & the officer wanted me to go on my neighbor's property to find out if this complaint was true or not. Every time I called the LPD on a complaint about this neighbor (I being the Victim) they always made their visit with this person a "social" call.
    I called the LPD one evening recently about a neighbors dogs destroying my property this call was placed at 8:30 p.m. on August 09, 2001 I asked the dispatcher her name & she replied "dispatcher" I said what is your name & she replied I do not have to give you that information .(the reason I asked was because every time I called they would ask who did you talk to?) I told her these dogs are on my property, she had no concern whatsoever, so then we were attempting to go to sleep at 10:40 p.m. that evening the dogs were trying to get on our back deck, so my friend called the LPD this time & the dispatcher sighed heavily & told him they had more important things to do. So that was that, so we again attempted to go to sleep, this time my son woke me up & said he heard someone knocking, so we all 3 got up, & sure enough their was banging going on, so at 11:35 p.m. we went outside to be greeted at a growling & barking dog! We tried to chase it off, but it would not leave, we were VERY upset, because over 3 hours had passed & not even a follow-up phone call! So I told my friend that the LPD will wait & come when we are asleep & sure enough a Patrol car was coming in our drive, the Officer got out & said what's going on & I said we can't even get any sleep around here! So he walked a few steps & he too was greeted by the barking dogs, he did not want to take on all 3 so he said wait here & I'll be back. We stood on the deck & waited & waited! FINALLY at 12:00 A.M. they call me to ask the number of the care taker, I had to wake my daughter up to get the phone #. So they called the care taker & arrive at 12:30 a.m. this time 2 officers came, & the care takers went down to pen up the dogs, Officer Dixon was being sarcastic when he
made an apology for being late ( I have a trailer behind my trailer that use to be my beauty shop & Officer Dixon asked who lives there?) (I thought who the hell are you to ask me this?) (I explained it was being used for storage & that no one uses it) I was sarcastic back by saying I didn't think it would take 4 hours!! He said that they had more important things to do.
He replied that they don't pay him enough to get bit by a dog, & I was informed by the city that the LPD officers are the
animal control officers. 1 week prior to this incident this same neighbor's dog destroyed a $189.00 swimming pool, it took the LPD 3 days to make a report since they did not see this happen they could only make a property damage report & me being the victim in this case I was informed I would have to pay a $5.00 fee for a copy of this report!!!!!!!!!!
    The LPD were well aware of this neighbor's dogs at large problem, it is so odd that the neighbor across the street called the LPD one night about this neighbors dogs loose because her trash was tore up, & the Officer came knocking at our door after 10:00 p.m. when he was well aware that this person & dogs have NOTHING to do with us!     After the Aug 09th incident, we
FINALLY went to bed at 2 a.m. & had to get up at 5:00 a.m. The LPD really let us know that we were bothering them! (By their
actions)
    The next day 8-10-01 Friday evening I came home & again here are the neighbor's dogs in MY yard, chewing on the remains of our pool. I tried to chase it away but it came towards me barking so I went in the house & grabbed my camera, I had property damage to 2 vehicles were the dogs from the night before had scratched up to attempt to jump on our deck, damage was also done to our riding mower deck that is kept under our deck, skirting to mobile home was scratched also, the photos came out
good it showed all damage, I took photos of the pool (I was told by the Officer a week prior that he was to come back to take photos of the damage to the pool) but much to my surprise he never came back! So I took the photos & you could see the puncture marks, the paw prints all over the sand bed, muddy paw prints all over the car, & the scratches. So I took them to city hall for evidence since they told me to take these photos for proof.
    Saturday Aug 11, 2001 the Officer went by my house & stopped & asked if my neighbor was home, & I told him that the same dogs were loose again when I came home Friday evening & their is damage to vehicles. He pulled in drive & wrote down VIN numbers etc., then asked me whose dealer plates are these? I said mine. I reassured him the car wasn't drove it is a collector car that is parked I told him its only drove in the yard. What the hell this has to do with property damage I do not know!     This past weekend my neighbor called me up & said you Fucking bitch Harold Ludwig told me that you turned me in for my dogs & house. He threatened me by telling me that I better watch myself etc., I did not believe this because I had talked to Mr. Ludwig earlier & he said he does NOT reveal any info of anybody that makes complaints.
    So Sunday evening Aug 19, 2001 my daughter & her dad (my neighbor) went to Mr. Ludwig's home & he blamed me for the complaints he said my name over & over, & then put the idea in my neighbors head that I called the health dept on his house! How professional is that?! My daughter was indeed a witness to all this. I was SO upset! & shocked that this happened. He even told this neighbor that I took the photos & that he came come down to city hall to view them!!!! I was so upset, once this neighbor got home he called me again cussing me out & threatening myself & my property so I called the LPD & asked for Chief Baker, I told the dispatcher what was going on & she was well aware of these incidents, so much as to tell me that not to trust the Mayor with anything, & NOT to give him any photos etc., She was not surprised that he gave out this info, & I work for the prosecutor in Adams County & I know for a fact you do not give out victim information, she informed me that I should contact the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) She told me that start from the top that shit runs down hill. They will indeed do something about this BIG problem I am having with the city. She told me not to say where I got the info from but she did tell me she was not proud of the way the city does things, she told me that she was looking for a full time job.
    The next day I called City Hall to talk to Mr. Ludwig ( Aug. 20) Theresa Gunsauls took my message & I told her what had happened & that I could NOT believe that Harold disclosed the information that I was the one who complained about his dogs/house. She did not believe that he would do something of this nature, I told her a city employee advised me that I should contact the ACLU to file a complaint. This upset Theresa very much she told me I better get my shit straight before I started accusing people I told her these were the facts because my daughter was there when this conversation took place, she was
witness, I told her to have Harold call me, gave her my work # & home # to this date Aug.22 no call has been made by Mr. Ludwig.
    No follow-up from Chief Baker from my call of being threatened on Aug.19. Warning to all citizens of La Grange do NOT report ANY crimes against anyone for fear that the information will be told to the suspect. Then your life will be threatened, or even worse.....
    I do not know why they even have a P.D. it is so sad the way things are handled, so unprofessionally & carelessly!!
    I am very ashamed of the Mayor here I went to him with trust & the hope that something will be done, but all he did was put myself & my property in jeopardy & that is what I told Theresa Gunsauls when I called on 8-20-01, I told her that I will
hold accountable the City of La Grange if harm comes to me or my property.     I hope no one has to go through this turmoil I have endured. It has made me think twice about reporting anything. Its a shame that a person has proof of everything & they don't give a s--- about anything.     I have documented everything here for years, dates, times & places. I am glad I have done this. (Looks like I will need it!) Thank You,

August 22, 2001

If you live in town and you had you air conditioner on, this is to let you know he is reading meters today. Time to go to the bank and take out the loan. Last year you were paying 6.4 cents per kw, this year it is 8.4 cents. That is close to a 24% increase for the same amount of usage as last year. Here are a couple of makes you wonder things.

It makes you wonder why, Nemonet or Datastream or Earthlink or whatever they call themselves today, want to go to extreme to tick every one off. It seems that everyone in town has or is switching to Socket.net. What happens when they get down to one subscriber?

It makes you wonder why, Canton-LaGrange cable or Charter or whatever they call themselves today, want to go to extreme to tick off their customers. Not only is it good business for me, but, with all the cancellations, the Cities 5% is getting smaller every month. Thank goodness for the Casino.

August 21, 2001

and another email

***THE NEW SCHOOL PRAYER***
                       Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now
     Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
     That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
      The law is specific, the law is precise.
    Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen
If you aren't ashamed to do this, please pass this on.

Jesus said, " if you are ashamed of me," I will be ashamed of you before my Father."

Not ashamed. Passing this on.
TO YOU FROM ME:
A friend sent this to me, please do the same!

August 20, 2001

Here are some of the emails that I have received in the past couple of days.

TO: Mr. Brandt
I am a local here in town and me and my wife have read your
page for awhile now. I must tell you I really enjoy reading the latest gossip on the people who work for this town and how stupid they are and I want to thank you for making this page. I agree with you that we should get a good group of people in at city hall and get this town back to where it use to be. There is so much potential here and no one seems to see that anymore. I mean look at what we have, we have a police dept that loves to stop everyone for every little thing. No wonder the police in this town love their jobs. If the people in this town would clean up the whole city hall and all there employers (that means all the city officials) this town would turn out a whole lot better. Thank you for your time and I will look forward to reading more on your page as the days go by. And if you want to put this on your page to let everyone know how me and my wife feel then that's fine with us. Thank you

I've visited your web site (very excellent!) trying to find info on the new casino in town, but didn't find the inside info I was looking for. Here are my questions: 1. What is the name of the company that owns the casino?
2. What is the behind the scenes deal of how LaGrange got a casino?
3. Are most of the employees local, or shipped in from else where?
4. Does the casino offer single deck or multiple deck blackjack?
5. What other games does the casino offer?
6. How big is the casino?
7. How many people are employed at the casino?
8. Is there a hotel at the casino sight, or a chain hotel nearby?

I AM WORKING ON A NEW CASINO PAGE/SITE THAT WILL HAVE ALL THAT INFO!

I read an article in the Illinois State Journal Register about a new casino opening in LaGrange. I accessed your site and the one with all the casino construction pictures. I am an avid gambler and may plan to come soon. Having grown up in a small MO town, I enjoy your website (read about it in the StL P-D). Couple of items:
1. Can you fix the Gossip page link for July?
2. Please consider adding a city map with the locations where the police attempt to entrap visitors (and maybe some addresses of city officials to tell how much money you DIDN'T SPEND thanks to their police force).
After getting tagged for running a stop sign in a small town in Oklahoma this year (at 12:30 in the morning, on a week night, and the cop was a 1/4 mile down the street) -- and I DID stop, I am much more watchful for small-town cops these days. Maybe the other citizens will erect a billboard to warn visitors, like they did in Mack's Creek, New Bloomfield and Auxvasse.

August 19, 2001

Things are kind of slow. I received the minutes of the Council meetings for the month of June and some of May. Interesting reading. From what I have read, the 184 voters Mayor and the City Council are getting ready to give the people of La Grange a royal shaft job. Those 184 voters have to be tickled to death.

Here is the first shaft. The Casino decided the tubes under the new well near Richter's levy was too small for their liking. So the Mayor and City Council voted to spend YOUR money, over $5,000, to buy new larger tubes for the Casino. Why? If the Casino wanted new larger pipes for THEIR drainage, why didn't the Casino buy them? Everyone thought that the Casino was going to make La Grange rich and yet, the People of La Grange keep on paying.

Here is shaft number two. The Casino is supposedly wanting the City to have ten police officers. The gaming commission said that the Casino should pay their wages. But, the 184 voters Mayor decided that the money would come out of the Cities share. The people of La Grange get the shaft. People out to thank Martini (pave my drive free) and Weasel (no prayer here) for this one, it was their idea for YOU to pay for this. In agreement with the Mayor.

Here is shaft number three. The Casino said that due to the high number of people gambling and losing their money, the City of La Grange will get over $25,000.00. BUT, the 184 voters Mayor and the WHOLE CITY COUNCIL last week voted to keep YOUR city taxes at .89 cents. WHY? The City will get around $2 MILLION dollars and the 184 voters Mayor can see to allow YOU the taxpayer to see SOME benefit? The total taxes of YOU the people of La Grange is a shade more than ONE WEEKS take from the Casino. Those 184 voters are just tickled to death.

Here is shaft number four. The Casino has now decided that the sewer plant doesn't look good. If they strain their neck and look out a window no customer is allowed to get to, they can catch a glimpse of the Sewer plant. Now, it doesn't matter that the sewer plant was there all along. YOUR Mayor and City Council are now going to MAKE YOU PAY higher sewer fees and water fees to float a MILLION dollar plus bond issue for you to pay on for many many years to put in huge pumps and run a large pipe line back up hill to the North end of town to the field next to the Wyaconda river and put in a sewer lagoon and then remove the sewer plant for the CASINO.

By the time this Mayor and City Council gets done, it is going to cost every man, woman and child in La Grange for the Casino for years to come. If we had a good Mayor and good honest Councilmen who aren't scared of their own shadow, someone would have said, "if the Casino wants it, let the Casino pay for it or it stays like it is." But, being the dumb chicken poop they are, YOU will pay and pay and pay. And, those 184 voters will be tickled to death.

The people of La Grange keep voting new people in as Councilmen and yet we seem to get the same stupidity each time. You vote for someone who you think will stand up for the people of La Grange and as soon as they are elected, they poop on the people.

WELCOME TO SHAFT CITY (compliments of Mayor Harold Ludwig)

August 16, 2001

An emailer noticed yesterday that the LAPD got to a gamblers pocket before the Casino did. He even stopped the car on the Casino parking lot. Another $50.00 lost.

In the Press News Journal I read the City Council meeting minutes. Not one, NOT ONE, Councilman ever thought about you, the taxpayer. First, the Council received a report of how much money the City was going to receive from the Casino. Report goes as high as TWO MILLION Dollars a year. That comes out to almost $50,000 per week.

YET, NOT ONE, no NOT ONE, Councilman spoke up and said. "With all that money, lets set the City tax rate to "0". It will only amount to ONE WEEKs income from the Casino. 1 lonely weeks income. Yet, NOT ONE Councilman spoke up and said, "Let's do something for the people of La Grange." Plus, it would have helped the foundry and the Casino. 6 dummies and 1 idiot.

184 voters have to be so proud of THEIR Mayor. He shafts them here, he shafts them there and they are just tickled to death. I never would have believed that the more the Mayor screws his people and voters, the more they love him. But, of course, we have to give ALL the Councilmen the same rasberry award.

August 12, 2001

A citizen noticed a police car sitting at the South City limits monitoring traffic. The consensus was that it didn't look right for the police to be using radar on traffic coming into the Casino. At first, I agreed, but, I remembered that my buddy the Chief and Hizzoner saying that the police was for the protection of the Casino. So that is what the police should be doing, protecting the Casino and leaving the rest of us alone.

It makes a sane person wonder why in the world the Mayor and the 3 police committee hired more officers. The gaming commission said they weren't needed. The Mayor told the County that there isn't any more crime corruption or traffic. No one in town can see any reason for more police officers. But, just these three little Councilmen. What are they afraid of? or as an emailer stated, "what the H--- is the matter with them?" "Have they lost all their marbles?"

Rumor has it that Roger "Duh" Sherwood, isn't going to run again next time. "Thank the Lord". But, the bad thing is, the Weasel, (no prayer here) plans to run and wreak havoc on us again. Another rumor is that Martini (pave my drive free) and Crisco (of 45 years) both plan to be the new City administrator. An emailer stated it right though, both of them together couldn't handle the job. But, Hizzoner thinks he can, just as soon as he wins enough money.

Just a few more weeks and the Casinos first payout will be in their hands. Then we will see the street super get busy and pave streets, the Water super lay new water and sewer lines, or maybe it will all go to pay off loans.

August 10, 2001

Just let a guy take a couple days off and gripe gripe gripe.

I got an email the other day from a grandson of Lola Yowell. He said she graduated from the La Grange School in 1928 or so and that she was the State tennis Champion for a couple of years. Well, anyhow, she had loaned the trophies to the La Grange School for display. He contacted me to see if he could get them for her. Well, I contacted Albert Branham and he let me in to take pictures of the only three trophies that were not basketball in the late 20's. But, there are a whole of trophies missing. Class pictures weren't there. Does anyone know where all this stuff went to?? I heard that Susan Dean appointed herself as conservatory, but what did she do with this stuff?

An emailer informed me that the incident with the person shooting at a home on Oyster Branch was that the LAPD was called and refused to go to the scene. It seems that the LAPD requested permission from the Sheriffs Office before they would respond. The emailer said the shooter was gone by the time the LAPD got there and was thankful no one was hurt.

Here is another email with thoughts about the Mayor.

jerry it is funny how the mayor was nice to every one when the election was going on . But when he won ( what a joke) he turned his back on every one . He then showed his true side. But look how many people he has had working for him in that Ice cream shop and quit. He does not know
how to treat people just use them. Look at the people that helped him this summer was it not ( ARP and OTT ) helping him move out during the flood but just like every thing he does just use them . PEOPLE LETS GET RID OF HIM AND HIS PUPPETS ON THE CITY COUNCIL ,AND GET RID OF THE CHIEF IF " HE" CAN NOT STAND UP FOR HIS OFFICERS!!! THE PEOPLE HAVE THAT RIGHT SO LETS GET RID OF
THEM NOW !!!!! IT IS TIME TO IMPEACH THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCIL!!!! AND GET NEW PEOPLE IN THERE WHO CARE ABOUT US !!!! and some one needs to call all the police officers who have left and ask what's wrong! with the city !!!!!!!!!!!!

August 7, 2001

Today I received a couple of emails regarding my buddy the Chief. One was about the Chief trying to do radar out Route C. It seems he used his radar on a person going out Route C, this person stated his detector went off and the Chief turned on his lights to stop the speeder. The speeder knew who the Chief was and that he didn't have any business running radar out side of the City limits, so he kept on going leaving the Chief sitting with his lights on.

Here is another email about our chief.

So I hear the City of LaGrange received a new officer!! Thing is, I hear a rumor that the officer was fired in Canton because he could not cut the butter!! But, does that surprise you? They say that when he was in Canton, his duty belt looked like s---, all different types of leather and nylon mixed together, that should tell you something right there about his character! It is said that he had no idea what was going on in Canton and didn't even make it 6 months, but isn't that part of the requirements to work in LaGrange, you need to have been fired from at least one job! And to top it off, he will fit in perfect, because they say that while he was in Canton he slammed an older man on the hood of his car for "resisting arrest", had many "pursuits" and made good friends with all of the "losers" in town! Anyway, I just thought I might give everyone the heads up on what the City of LaGrange is getting to "serve" them.

No matter where you go, there is somebody who has seen something.

Another emailer commented on the Mayor and the Chief talking about how the County doesn't need any more money for police because there hasn't been any indication of any increase in crime, corruption or traffic problems. Yet, out of the other side of their crooked mouths, they want to hire more officers because of the coming crime, corruption and traffic problems. The emailer wants to know which statement is the lie.

The emailer also wanted to know if I would find out which Councilmen are dumb enough to vote for more officers and print it so they would know who not to vote for at the next election.

August 6, 2001

Rumor has it that the Lewis County Sheriff's office requested the LAPD to go outside the City limits to work a call. I guess the Mayor should now keep track of all calls made for the County to keep the tally's correct.

Speaking of Hizzonner, rumor has it that the weekend was spent at Catfish Bend. An emailer did the spotting on this one.

Reports of the restaurant at the Casino. Saturday, an emailer said the food was fine, plenty of help, and service was good. Sunday, an emailer said the one waitress was overworked, and the food needed to be better prepared. Rumor also has it that there were (4) $4,000 plus winners over the weekend and the place was packed. Too bad Hizzonner went to Catfish Bend.

The police scanners have been almost useless anymore. Rumor has it that the Chief has made La Grange the radar, Gestapo police force known in the tri-state area, so the customers to the Casino come in from the South and leave to the South. And no one ever goes through town. So, tell us again why we need more than a night watchman. Will the car dealership take some of those new cars back? Can some of the lights, radios, radar guns, and computers be sent back? And, on the talk of the Chief, an interesting email from another officer of the law asked the question, "Why do the La Grange Police Officers dress up to look like the Missouri Highway Patrol?" then there were the usual joke questions about the Chief. Several emailers said they weren't surprised my buddy the Chief wouldn't get out of his air conditioned car to help the city crew working on the town hill or down by the casino. There again were the usual jokes referring to a F-- A--, Crisco, big head, lazy, etc. So many jokes, so little time and space. I think a few of those came from co-workers, but I am not sure though.

August 4, 2001

Paul Tasco said that Friday, the Mayor stopped by where he was parked and told him to tell me he was going to the Casino. So, while the Mayor was in the Casino, here is a picture of what the Street super was doing. CLICK HERE. It seems the super decided to have the truck back up just a little more and "oh darn", the truck fell in the ditch. The load had to be unloaded and the red tractor was tied on front while one person drove the truck while the super used the backhoe to help push the truck out. Take a close look at the picture and see that the super was using the teeth of the backhoe to push on the soft spot of the tailgate. Rumor has it the Mayor was tickled to death and those 184 voters continue to be proud of their Mayor. This is almost as good as the Chief having three officers on at 7 am burning the gas in two cars. All this makes it very difficult to choose who should be City Manager.

I received an email from a City person who with another had breakfast at the Casino yesterday. The report is the same as ours. The service was good, the prices were right, and the food was good and a lot of it. If we keep this up, we may have a restaurant almost as good as Pete's Boat House.

Rumor has it that a Mr. Robert Heather is in town again. Rumor also has it that he visited the Casino and is trying to get out of town with his loot. That is not fair Bobby, you are supposed to leave some before you go.

August 3,2001

Yesterday's article about the city crew having to work on the town hill with all the traffic and the Police Chief driving by several times refusing to get out of his air conditioned car drew a lot of similar emails. Several emailers wanted to know why the chief didn't get his f-- a-- out of his car and help the city crew and do we still have a Mayor.

And now, this morning, the coffee shop and station, all were watching two officers riding around in one car and the chief in another and asking why there are some many police on duty at one time. Comments ranged from the chief doesn't know what he is doing and the Mayor is so busy gambling he doesn't want to know what is going on.

Two and a half inches of rain last night. Most of it in a short period of time. West of Canton boasted 6 inches in two hours. Several large tree limbs fell around town. Lightning hit a tree in my yard and knocked out two of 6 phone lines. Lightning hit a power pole near Mikie Crawfords and the fire department found a fuse box blown and a fan over a range burnt. I heard another place got hit too, but didn't find out who it was. The old hiway 61 was closed between Canton and La Grange for awhile for debris on the road. The crew building the new parking lot East of the Casino kept right on working though.

August 2, 2001

Yesterday, the City crew got a days work in. Your tax dollars at work. Take a look at what they were doing. CLICK HERE. Now, the question is?? Since the City has no money, will the street and the ramp to Casey's ever be put back as it was? One emailer sent me the following comments. The emailer noticed that the chief was on duty and drove by the City crew working on the MAIN HILL several times. The emailer stated that the "fat assed" (emailer words) Chief did not stop and get out to help direct traffic and forced the City crew to work around traffic going up and down the hill, slowing up the work

Now, Linda and I had supper at the Casino last night. Even though I had heard rumors about the service and food, we found that the service was excellent. We didn't have to wait long on our food and it was in our opinion, too much food for the money. We had to have doggy bags. I ordered the catfish dinner and even though it wasn't as good as dad made at the boat house, it was fixed excellent. I liked the way they do their baked potatoes. Linda had the roast beef and she couldn't eat it all either. This restaurant will compete with the best of Quincy has to offer.

We had at the table next to us two couples from town and they had sandwiches which they had a hard time eating it all. We all noticed that the prices had to be cheap because of the mother, father, and son from town who sat a couple tables away were there. You know the one where the son lives just across the street from mom and dad. We also visited with a councilman and his wife and family and his grandson had a hamburger bigger than he was.

If I had to come up with any negative, and this would be a stretch, it would be the constant low din or humming coming from the casino area. It must have been coming from a video game. I also didn't notice the clatter of coins falling in the tray when someone wins a few coins like in Vegas. But, all in all, the restaurant is a big big hit. next I will try the prime rib. I hope they add more steaks to the menu though.

August 1, 2001

The City Council has a lot do. It seems they are paying the Street Super all summer to do nothing. The Mayor can't even afford to buy one load of rock to put on Webster street. Why does a Mayor keep an employee working with nothing to do? Does he pay any of his workers who help him when he isn't working?

One emailer was questioning the sight of the van at the Casino day in and day out. The emailer wanted to know whether he was gambling with his money or the City's money. Or, the emailer asked, was he supposed to make some big wins for a payback?. Questions? Questions? Questions? Maybe the Council can get some answers at the next Council Meeting.

Speaking of meetings. Why are there so many police committee meetings? Is it because of all the turnover in the police department? Did the Council ever get the real reason Ms. Balmer quit? Twice? Why was Stacy White let go in such a quiet manner? They now have lost Godman, Arp, Ott, and everyone in the police department is either bickering or afraid. Why? What is the matter with the Chief and the Police Committee? How come Powers is sticking up for the Chief now when he was against all this in the election? Does the Chief have something on Sherwood and Powers and Griesbaum and especially the Mayor???

What happened to the "Chain of Command"? I thought that Shadow Hydron was going to be the Lieutenant? Rumor was that he was promised the job.

Rumor also has it that the Chief is afraid to work alone. People have noticed that he always keeps his backup sitting next to him when he is in town.

It seems that there are a lot of problems in the La Grange Police Department and the Chief seems to be the main problem and the Police Committee seems to be falling down on the job.

It is definitely time for a City Manager. When need someone to manage City affairs from City Hall and NOT from the gambling tables. The question are? Does the Council have the brass? Or is the Council going to reward each other?