Although a EF-5 tornado struck the city of Joplin, MO almost three months ago, the city’s residents continue to get back on their feet, and this week, Florissant hopes to help in that matter. Together with the Knights of Columbus and the City of Florissant, the Salvation Army has put together a drive to send two 53-foot trailer trucks to Joplin with an array of supplies. “I want to make sure these pallets are full,” Chris Herbert, the director of database services for the Salvation Army, said. “I want them to be forehead high.” Herbert, who is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and …

Although Aug. 2 held election significance for Florissant, the date also had national significance. On Tuesday, Florissant participated in the 28th Annual National Night Out campaign, which promotes community spirit and helps further foster police and community relationships. The Florissant police department encouraged its residents to lock their doors, turn on the outside lights and spend the night with their neighbors. According to the press release, “National Night Out has proven to be an effective, inexpensive and enjoyable program to promote neighborhood spirit and police-community …

Florissant resident Todd Edelen decided to spend his 31st birthday attempting to take down the “Quadruple Bypass” challenge at Gettemeier’s Bar. The 45-minute competition seemed to be a breeze for Edelen to many, including owner Jerry Gettemeier. “I think he’s going to do it,” he said. “I’m hoping he’s going to do it.” In the first five minutes of competition, it seemed that Edelen had a good pace as he finished the first layer. But it took him a little more than nine minutes to get through the second burger, and it appeared to go downhill from there. At the 24-minute mark, all could see that…

Seven judges had a hard choice on Sunday afternoon in deciding which woman should become the next Ms. Missouri Senior America.  Nine women sang, danced and performed magic for the opportunity to represent Missouri as an ambassador for the next year. The Missouri Cameo Club, which hosts the pageant, also got in on the act with a number of performances from its members. Florissant Patch takes a look back on the pageant. 

Children and adults at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley decided to make an international playdate with mud on Wednesday to celebrate the 2011 International Mud Day.  What started as a project to help children in Nepal buy clothes in their city has grown into a worldwide phenomenom to emphasize the connection between the Earth and everyone. Students at the Child Development Center took part in the celebration for the first time, but office manager Jan Meyers believes it will become an annual tradition from this point forward.  Florissant Patch captured the fun and dirtiness of …

As schools wind down their final days, it’s been a busy season for our prep sports teams. Soccer, track and field and baseball all had their ups and downs this season and in the postseason. Before we get caught up in summer sports, let’s look back on the spring sports season and prepare to look ahead to the return of prep sports in the fall.

This past weekend brought tons of people, warm weather and sunshine and another great year of fun to the 49th annual Valley of Flowers.  During Tuesday night's City Council meeting, several councilors praised how well the festival went as well as the few number of incidents that occurred throughout the weekend.  Although, Florissant residents' thoughts have begun to turn toward the 50th Valley of Flowers Festival in 2012, we look back at this year's festivities.

This past Saturday, several people stood on the James J. Eagan Center Ice Rink, but it wasn't for the chance to do a triple axel. Instead, residents gathered for the 2nd annual Florissant city garage sale.  Residents paid $15 for a spot under the shelter to hawk their treasures, and families came for the bargains.  We're looking back on some of the highlights on that Saturday.

Hazelwood School District students as well as students throughout 10 other states got shaken up this morning through the Great Central U.S. Shakeout. Created by the Central United States Earthquake Consortium and several other organizations, the Shakeout focuses on raising awareness of how to stay protected through an earthquake with the “Drop, Cover and Hold On” method.  Florissant Patch followed Lawson Elementary School administrators from the start of the drill to the end on Thursday morning.  At 10:15 a.m., Principal Dr. Betty Scheller announced to students that the earthquake drill had …

The Hazelwood School District Board of Education reorganized its school board during its Tuesday night meeting. Twelve-year member Diane Dowdy stepped down from her seat to make room for Brenda Youngblood. On April 11, the district honored Dowdy for her contributions to the district as a board member.  Dowdy’s devotion has brought her to become a camp counselor for the Girl Scouts of America, adjunct professor at Webster University and an Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award winning elementary teacher for Ritenour School District. The City of Hazelwood also acknowledged Dowdy’s dedication to …

Superintendent Jeff Spiegel swore in Chris Martinez, Paul T. Morris and Robert Chabot to the Ferguson-Florissant Board of Education while their predecessors looked on from the audience on Wednesday night. The three won their positions on the board during the April 5 municipal election.  Before stepping down from the board, Les Lentz, Dr. Doris Graham and James Clark gave a few departing words for their colleagues and parents of the district and thanked everyone for their support.  During a 15-minute recess, Florissant Patch had a chance to speak to incoming board members about their …

Once polls opened at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, the final push for votes was on for candidates, and the anticipation of the night's winners was long.  Florissant Patch captured it all from the day's supporters and voters heading into the polls to the night's watch parties and results coming in. We take a final look at what happened on a day that changed so much.

For the past two months, Florissant residents have waited for the opportunity to vote for its third mayor in more than four decades.  Although the mayoral race has been closely followed, we have several other races and candidates to consider for the next elected officials.  We take a look at all of the candidates that could be our next representatives in this week's Viewfinder. For a complete rundown of next week's election, make sure to check out our comprehensive election guide, which will continue to be updated through election day.  Plus, make sure to follow our coverage on election day …

This past Saturday, the City of Florissant hosted its first electronic recycling drive for residents.  Throughout the day, residents dropped off everything from washers and dryers to TVs. MERS Goodwill collected truckloads of recyclable electronics.  Here's a look back at that day.

Florissant's focus and drama surrounding political signs kicked off early in the election season, even before they were allowed to be posted.  Earlier in the year, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf on M. Christine BredenKoetter saying that her free speech had been violated by the City of Florissant. In November, BredenKoetter posted a political sign for her husband, Andrew Podleski, who's a mayoral candidate, in their front yard. Podleski and his wife received a letter saying that the sign was illegal and would have to be taken down. In January, the Florissant City …

Hundreds of registered Florissant residents took the opportunity to listen to mayoral candidates, Tom Schneider, Mark Behlmann, Andrew Podleski, Michael Spreng, Robert Garrett and Susan Geerling, during Wednesday night's mayoral forum.  Residents asked the panel of candidates a number of questions regarding the city's budgets, their priorities for the town as well as their plans for the Flroissant area.  Here's a look back on the night. 

As we begin to turn our attention to springtime weather and sporting events, it's important to note what brought us here. Winter sports have given us a number of thrills and chills, not to mention, a place to get out of those snowy and icy days. The weather also brought a number of rescheduled games, though.  We look back on the winter prep sports of wrestling, basketball and swimming and look forward to the sunnier (and warmer) days of sports. 

Throughout the month of February, the Hazelwood and Ferguson-Florissant school districts presented a number of Black History Month programs and events.  Some schools took it a step further. Hazelwood North Middle School held a door decorating contest throughout the month, where all grade levels and teachers participated in adorning doors with facts, photos and other pieces that reflected historic black figures in America.  At McCurdy Elementary School, along with a number of other district schools, students and teachers participated in a penny drive to raise funds for a Dred and Harriet Scott…

The Greater North County Chamber of Commerce held its monthly member luncheon Wednesday, which included raffles, a presentation by BounceBack St. Louis and a great deal of networking.  Members gathered at American Eagle Credit Union and enjoyed a lunch by Debonaire Catering Center.  Here's the highlights from the meeting.

On Tuesday morning, 13 football and basketball players signed letters of intent for area and out-of-state colleges. Almost one week after National Signing Day - school was cancelled last week due to inclement weather - Hazelwood Central seniors sported hats and T-shirts of their future school choices while signing a commitment to each school.  The student-athletes included: Football James Harvey, William Jewel Rocky Smith, Fort Scott Community CollegeKevon Short, Fort Scott Community CollegeKevin Short, Fort Scott Community CollegeBakari Woods, McKendree CollegeDevin Gillespie, Truman State …