AuthorBiographies
Avalanche
Avalanche is a functional illiterate who left the St. Louis area three decades ago in search of adventure. He enjoys motorcycling and all things outdoors. He lives with his wife and dogs.
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David Finkelstein is a Master/Skill Automotive Service Technician, maintaining that role for over 45 years, coupled with being a shop owner in that time frame as well. He’s also invented a number of garage service tools for mechanics and has served on both National as well as local Automotive Trade Industry Boards. Additionally, he pioneered “Car Talk Radio” over 40 years ago, starting out with KMOX/CBS Radio as well as hosted “Auto Talk” on KFTK/FOX News Radio for some 15-years. David tests and evaluates new vehicles weekly and also does some consulting with various auto manufacturers, both import as well as with domestic nameplates.
David Finkelstein
Brian Guerro
Cindy Moore is the mother of three superlative kids, servant of two self-indulgent felines and wife to one nifty husband. Her ficticious occupation? Archeological Humorist: someone who unearths absurdity and hilarity in strange and unusual places including public restrooms, the lint filter, and church meetings. Most recently, she excavated a find in her neighbor’s bird feeder.
Cindy Moore
Sara Hardin
Sara Hardin is a senior English and Writing student at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. After earning her degree, she hopes to continue her writing journey with Community News, through which she has been able to meet and speak with many of the community’s most influential individuals from her home in North County.
Brian Guerrero is a former resident of Los Angeles and a current resident of New York City with extensive experience in front of and behind the camera for film and television.
N THIS SSUE
Around Town Creve Coeur mayor takes pledge to help save the monarch butterfly and more
Non Profit Profile Room at the Inn
Feature Story Taking art to heart City of Creve Coeur embraces public art with several new installations set for 2016 By Sara Hardin
Our Thoughts Moore on Life Author, Cindy Moore, talks Winter Blues and Blahs Toyota brings hybrid versatility to both the Prius and RAV4 in this month’s Automobile Alley
Lifestyle The outstanding women of 2015 in Entertainment Swapping salt for herbs and spices in For the Love of Food
Caring Partners The benefits of exercise and more
Events Calandar
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A Note from the Publisher
Our Town Volume 07 | Number 01
Welcome
to
“Our
Town”
magazine,
published by Community News. This year, Community News celebrates 95 years of serving the St. Louis area. In that time our family-owned newspapers and magazines have proudly built a reputation of delivering quality, dependable local news and content. With “Our Town” magazine we will be bringing our community focus to the cities of Creve Coeur, Maryland Heights and Olivette every month. We are incredibly excited to be a part of these vibrant and diverse municipalities. We are always on the lookout for “good news” with the hopes of bringing attention to those who are making a positive impact on their community. You are welcome to share your thoughts and story ideas with us by emailing to info@mycnews.com. In these pages you’ll find something for everyone. Beyond our great local coverage our lifestyle pages cover everything from movies to recipes to cars. There is plenty to make you think and plenty to make you smile. So whether you are taking a stroll around Stacy Park, having dinner in Westport or taking the family skating at the Creve Coeur Ice Arena, keep an eye out for “Our Town,” the best source for keeping up with what’s going on in your town. Sincerely,
Jan\Feb 2016
Published by the Community News, Our Town is a monthly news magazine covering the cities of Creve Coeur, Maryland Heights, and Olivette. Circulation is 15,000 monthly through over 200 monitored newsstands guaranteeing 100% pickup. Additional issues are distributed online, and a free online subscription is available at www. mycnews.com Publisher Robert Huneke Editor Mathew DeKinder Production Lisa Moran Melissa Nordmann Contributors Avalanche, Cindy Moore, David Finkelstein, Brian Guerrero Photographer Erica Avellone Staff WriterS Brett Auten Sara Hardin For advertising information, please contact us at:
info@mycnews.com or
Community News
2139 Bryan Valley Commercial Dr. O’Fallon, MO 63366 Ph: 636.379.1775 Fx: 636.379.1632 www.mycnews.com
Robert Huneke Publisher Community News 4 | OUR TOWN | www.mycnews.com
Copyright 2016 Huneke Publications, Inc. No part of the publication may be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the publisher.
LetterToTheEditor
County police oversight ordinance oversteps boundaries I have previously written about the importance of regional cooperation and its relationship to the success of the city of Creve Coeur - but remain emphatic that local municipal government works best when it is closest to the people it serves. Our Creve Coeur Police Department is an exceptional organization and meets the highest professional standards, as confirmed by its certification by the International Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). In addition, we meet (and exceed) all state standards, including new requirements instituted by the Missouri State Legislature this past year. Our Chief of Police, Glenn Eidman, was recently honored as the Outstanding Police Chief by the Missouri Police Chiefs’ Association. We also operate an efficient department, collaborating with neighboring communities (Frontenac and Town and Country) to provide joint dispatch services. Perhaps most importantly, our residents and community stakeholders know and appreciate the high level of service that we are afforded by our police department, as made evident by the 95 percent satisfaction rating indicated in the 2014 Citizen Survey. It is also significant to note that we established and implemented these standards of police excellence well in advance of recent, highly publicized displays of public unrest – and subsequent scrutiny of law enforcement policies and procedures. While it is essential that both the Creve Coeur Police Department and St. Louis County provide excellent services
and cooperate with each other, and consistent police standards are positive for our region, I do not believe that the people who live and work in Creve Coeur want St. Louis County to take over our police services. Yet the County Council recently passed an ordinance that purports to authorize the possible takeover of any municipality’s police department – including ours. Even if this regulation only set minimum police standards, as some would have you believe, that would be the business of Creve Coeur officials, and not the county. But the bill goes far beyond setting minimum standards. It could subject our police department and joint dispatch operations to county oversight and control. It also creates the possibility that the county could impose its services upon us in order to divert our tax dollars to support their operations. Moreover, by passing this bill, the county also contends that it can take over other aspects of our city government, whenever it decides that would be in our best interest. Neither I, nor members of the city council will stand idly by while county officials ignore the clear legal boundaries that separate our roles and responsibilities. Nor are we willing to remain quiet while St. Louis County picks off other communities one by one, until we are the last municipality left to try and stop them. Checks and balances are an essential component of our democracy. This action clearly discards key restraints and puts unprecedented power in the
hands of the county executive. Ultimately, that is why the city of Creve Coeur, along with many of our neighboring municipalities, was forced to file suit against St. Louis County in response to its police takeover ordinance. We tried earnestly to avoid this dispute, including face-to-face meetings with county representatives, in which we explained how we were willing to work together and find ways to improve policing in our region, just as we have collaborated on other important regional issues. I stood before the County Council personally and urged them not to take such patently unconstitutional action…all to no avail. Hopefully, we will be able to resolve this matter quickly and return to a productive collaboration of equals. It is my intention to preserve the high quality of the Creve Coeur Police Department by maintaining city authority over it, in order to meet the needs and expectations of everyone whom we represent and serve. Creve Coeur officials have worked long and hard to ensure that our city is a vibrant place to live, work and play. Through local municipal control, we will continue to provide the same high level of police services that our residents have come to know and expect.
Sincerely, Barry L. Glantz Mayor City of Creve Coeur www.mycnews.com | OUR TOWN | 5
AroundTown
Joe & Jennifer Koenig
Coffee With a Conscience By Brett Auten
Joe & Jennifer Koenig
(Above) Joe Koenig poses with villagers in Uganda. (Left) Koenig samples coffee in Nicaragua
Man with Creve Coeur-based business develops nonprofit coffee company that supports clean-water initiatives
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ith a goal to create something bigger than himself and something that can have a lasting impact on the poor and the less fortunate, the answer became obvious to Joe Koenig. It was during a Christian mission trip to Uguanda in January 2010, when Koenig took in and got up front and personal with the starvation, the diseased and the unclean water in regions of that country. He not only wanted to help out but wanted to create something that would lead to creating jobs and improving the local economy. With the aim to provide coffee lovers with a product that enables them to make a 100-percent socially responsible choice when purchasing coffee, Three Avacados was born. “I worked up the ideas on the plane. I then took two days off work and got it founded and had our first coffee sale in April,” Koenig said. Three Avocados is a nonprofit that sells coffee beans grown on the extinct volcano Mount Elgon, near the Uganda-Kenya border. They sell from their website and also work with e-tailers like Amazon and small shops. The name “Three Avocados” was inspired by a widow in a Ugandan village that literally gave all she had to ensure oth6 | OUR TOWN | www.MyCNews.com
ers could eat. Anywhere between $0.50 and $3 per bag provides clean water. This amount is dependent upon the retail channel the coffee is purchased through. Purchases made online through its website provide the most support for clean water. Born and raised in St. Charles with stops in Lake St. Louis and Wentzville before moving to Highland, Illinois, Koenig owns part of a software development company that provides software to school districts. It’s a gig that allows flexibility to manage Three Avocados’ logistics, monitor social media for Three Avocados, as well as respond to emails from customers. Koenig’s wheels have always been turning. By the time he was a junior at Lutheran High School he was working 30 hours a week building websites for businesses. After a quick stop at Truman State, he got his Marketing degree at Maryville. At 25 he was the IT director of Health and Senior Services in Jefferson City before starting his own web development company in Creve Coeur seven years ago. Three Avocados has been drawing the eye of the national media with NPR and mainstream websites like Huffington Post, AOL, and Mashable shining a quick, bright light on the company. But it has not come all of the sudden. “It has been much more difficult than I thought,” Koenig said. “I had this grandiose vision that I thought would pick up and run with it and others would be as passionate about it as I was.” Team Avocado is just three deep with Koenig, his wife, Jennifer, and Greg Wilhelm. “Greg is a life saver,” Koenig said. “He is retired from MODOT and handles all the shipping. It would not be possible without him and we have a great relationship with Kaldi’s (a much-lauded St. Louis coffee company) to help with the roasting and packaging.” Koenig is looking forward to 2016 and introducing a decaffeinated and a medium-to light blend. For more information, visit threeavocados.org.
AroundTown Ladue Middle School named a National Blue Ribbon School U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the news that Ladue Middle School (LMS) has been named a 2015 National Blue Ribbon School. “This honor recognizes your students’ accomplishments and the hard work and dedication that went into their success,” Duncan said in a message to the awardees. “Your journey has taught you collaboration, intentional instruction, and strong relationships in school and with your community. You represent excellence—in vision, in implementation, and in results—and we want to learn as much as we can from you.” This major accomplishment comes after LMS was recognized as a 2015 Gold Star School in May 2015, a program administered by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Those recipients were then nominated for the Blue Ribbon recognition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where
students either achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap. Ladue Middle School falls into the Exemplary High Performing Schools category which includes the state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments on nationally normed tests. Student subgroup performance and high school graduation rates are also at the highest levels. Faculty and staff at LMS are celebrating the selection as a National Blue Ribbon School. This honor recognizes the teamwork, dedication and talents that LMS teachers and students demonstrate every day, as well as the commitment of the parents and community to have an outstanding school. “Coming just a year after our being named a National School of Character, we are justly proud of what happens every day in our classrooms and activities,” said LMS. The U.S. Department of Education honored 285 public and 50 private schools in a ceremony at the Omni-Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
St. Louis County to partner with Salvation Army to provide warming services St. Louis County will be contracting with the Salvation Army to provide expanded warming shelter services this winter. “The Salvation Army will provide professional service to our most vulnerable residents this winter,” County Executive Steve Stenger said. “No one should be left out in the cold.” The shelter will operate 24 hours, 7 days per week, between December 21 and March 13, to provide up to 73 days, accommodating 48 individuals, for a total of 3,504 bed/nights of shelter. Previously, the warming shel-
ter was only open when temperatures dipped below 25 degrees, and was staffed by St. Louis County employee volunteers. “Our goal is to prevent loss of life for homeless individuals and families during extreme weather conditions,” St. Louis County Human Services Director, Andrea Jackson Jennings said. “Being open every day will help us do just that.” For more information on St. Louis County’s homeless services, please visit: http://www.stlouisco.com/ HealthandWellness/HumanServices/CountyHomelessPrograms www.mycnews.com | OUR TOWN | 7
AroundTown Creve Coeur mayor takes NWF’s “Mayors’ Monarch Pledge” to help save the monarch butterfly Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz took the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, committing to take specific actions to help save the declining monarch butterfly. While monarchs are found across the United States, their numbers have declined by approximately 90 percent in the last 20 years. Through the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, cities and municipalities commit to creating habitats and educating citizens on ways they can make a difference in their very own home. As part of the pledge, the Creve Coeur Horticulture, Ecology and Beautification Committee agreed to help Mayor Glantz and the city achieve several action items within one year of taking the pledge. These items may include: • Raising awareness about the decline of the monarch butterfly and the species’ need for habitat. • Hosting or supporting a native plant sale or milkweed seed giveaway event. • Planting a monarch-friendly demonstration garden at the Government Center or another prominent location. • Challenging neighborhoods and homeowners’ associations within the city to create habitat for the Monarch butterfly. • Ensuring milkweed and other native prairie plant
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habitats are permitted in landscaping and mowing ordinances. • Encouraging city staff to consider the use of native milkweed and nectar plants at city properties where appropriate. • Integrating monarch butterfly and other beneficial pollinators conservation into Comprehensive Plan Update, Climate Action Plan or other city plans. “This challenge is an extension of the city’s current efforts to preserve native wildlife and habitats,” said Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz. “I encourage all members of the Creve Coeur community to join in our commitment by planting native milkweed and making their property friendlier to monarch butterflies and other pollinators.”
Ameren issues scam warning Ameren Missouri encourages all customers to be on alert for phone calls from scam artists who threaten disconnection of utility service unless a payment is made immediately. If you receive a suspicious call, please call Ameren Missouri and your local police department.
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• Ameren never demands personal, account or financial information for immediate payment. Never give your credit card, debit card, Social Security, ATM, checking or saving account numbers to anyone who comes to your home, calls or sends an email requesting this information. • Never let anyone into your home claiming to be from the utility unless they show proper Ameren badge identification. Employees are not allowed to take payments in the field. • Ameren never sends emails that include attachments, unless you’ve contacted us to specifically request information. Never open attachments unless you’ve contacted Ameren for the information. If you suspect someone is impersonating an Ameren employee, end the conversation and immediately call Ameren Missouri at 1-800-552-7583.
AroundTown Creve Coeur recognizes 2015 Citizens of the Year the community,” said Kreuter. “He has always been willing to place his concern for the public good ahead of his personal interests, and has thus earned the admiration and high regard of other civic leaders and community members.” Grass, a citizen of Creve Coeur for more than 30 years, has served on the Creve Coeur Horticulture, Ecology and Beautification Committee for eight years and is currently serving as chairperson. She has overseen the Creve Coeur Arbor Day Celebration and Art Contest for the past several years and has been instrumental in helping Creve Coeur address the threat of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer. Grass has worked hard to create habitats for the declining monarch butterfly in Creve Coeur including encouraging the city to participate in the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. She also helped Parkway Northeast Middle School, where she recently retired from the Special School District, plant a “Monarch Way Station” using milkweed seeds she germinated in her home. “Tracy is an exemplary volunteer who consistently works behind the scenes to improve the community,” said D’Alfonso. “Her dedication to education and the environment has made a positive and lasting impact on our city.” Bess McCoy
Bess McCoy
The city of Creve Coeur recognized Dennis Beckley and Tracy Grass as Citizens of the Year 2015 for their dedication and service to the community at the annual Holiday Appreciation Event on Dec. 1, 2015 at the Creve Coeur Government Center. Mayor Barry Glantz, joined by Council President David Kreuter Dennis Beckley as and Council Member Charlotte Citizen of the Year 2015 D’Alfonso, presented the awards to Beckley and Grass at the event honoring all members of the city’s 14 boards, commissions and committees. Beckley has served the Creve Coeur community for many years in several capacities including three years as provisional judge and 13 years as prosecuting attorney. During his tenure, approximately 250,000 cases were filed for prosecution, including approximately 4,300 for intoxication related offenses. In 2010, Beckley was the recipient of the Dudley C. Dunlop Distinguished Service Award by the St. Louis County Bar Association. The award is presented to the person who has “given distinguished and unselfish service to the Organized Bar and the community.” In addition to serving the city of Creve Coeur, Beckley has also served as the provisional judge for the cities of Maryland Heights and Sunset Hills as well as the municipal judge for the city of St. John. “Dennis is unique in his sensitivity for doing what is best for
Tracy Grass as Citizen of the Year 2015
Parkway School Board candidate filing ends Jan. 19 Two director positions are open on the Parkway Board of Education, each for a three-year term, in the April 5, 2016 election. Interested and qualified persons may file in person at the Parkway Administrative Center, 455 N. Woods Mill Rd. in Chesterfield. Names will appear on the ballot in chronological order of filing. Filing began on Dec. 15, 2015 at 8 a.m. and continues during the district’s regular business hours through Jan. 19. Business hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Filing will not occur on days that the school district is closed due to inclement weather. However, filing will occur on the first and last day of filing even if the district is closed due to inclement weather. Filing will also not occur on the following holidays: Jan. 1 and Jan. 18. Filing will end on Jan. 19 at 5 p.m. Those interested in filing may view additional materials available on the Missouri School Boards’ Association website at: http://www.msbanet.org/board-development/boardmembers/board-candidates.
The terms of Tom Appelbaum and Dr. Sam Sciortino expire in April 2016. For more information, please call Nikki Stover, Parkway board of education administrative assistant, at 314415-8002.
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AroundTown Canadian Forces Snowbirds and Hornet teams to perform at Spirit of St. Louis The line-up of world-class military jet demonstrations at the 2016 Spirit of St. Louis Air Show & STEM Expo has expanded to three with the commitment of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatic team and the Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet demonstration team to perform at the air show. These two highly sought-after performances join the air show’s headliner, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron. Both the Blue Angels and the Canadian CF-18 demonstration team fly the St. Louis-built Boeing F/A18 Hornet. Boeing is presenting the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show & STEM Expo on May 14-15, at Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield. The event’s popular STEM Expo, presented by MasterCard, highlights the science, technology, engineering and math initiatives of academic, business and not-for profit institutions in the St. Louis area and inspires youth to pursue these important areas. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the tremendous schedule of top-notch flying demonstrations and on-ground dis-
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plays our team is securing for the upcoming show,” said John Bales, president of the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show & STEM Expo and Spirit of St. Louis Airport director. “It is especially gratifying to see the eagerness these professional aviators have to perform in front of St. Louis crowds.” The Snowbirds, based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, fly nine Canadair CT-114 Tudor jets in various flight formations. The team performs approximately 60 air shows at 40 locations around North America each year. The CF-18 team demonstrates the high-performance capabilities of the Hornet, a supersonic multi-role fighter and attack aircraft also in service with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and the air forces of Australia, Finland, Spain, Kuwait, Malaysia and Switzerland.
Parkway receives $15,000 grant to improve school safety The Missouri School Boards’ Association through its Missouri Center for Education Safety (CES), announced the Parkway School District has been awarded a school safety grant in the amount of $15,000. The funds will be used by the district to further improve Parkway’s intruder training for staff. In 2014, Parkway partnered with the St. Louis County Police Department and the police departments in the local municipalities to provide training for staff on a program called the “4Es” (Educate, Escape, Evade and Engage). The 4E program has been developed by Tier One Tactical Solutions, LLC, and is being used by the St. Louis County Police De-
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partment. The 4E program provides staff with options-based responses to school intruders. The Missouri School Boards’ Association (MSBA) awarded more than $400,000 in grants to 49 school districts in Missouri to support school safety related programs and initiatives. The funding for this initiative was made possible through a legislative appropriation to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and administered by MSBA through its Missouri Center for Education Safety, the state’s school safety center. The CES provides comprehensive support to all schools in Missouri, through training, technical assistance, and other safety related initiatives. Parkway competed with other public schools in the state for a limited amount of funding, which is aimed at enhancing school safety in local school districts. More information on this grant and other school safety related programs can be found at the CES web site: www.moces.org The Missouri School Boards’ Association is a private, not-for-profit organization that exists to help school boards succeed.
NonProfitProfile
Room at The Inn There’s always Room at the Inn in St. Louis
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ierra and her daughter did not ask for much for the holidays. The number one item on their list to Santa was a place to call home during the holidays. Their wish became a reality. Tierra and her daughter are one of the hundreds of homeless families who have sought emergency shelter at Room at the Inn in the past year. Tierra, 30, is a single mother who became homeless after losing her job and having her car stolen earlier this year. After months of hard work, Tierra now has two jobs, which have placed her on a path to housing. “Resilience is key,” Tierra said. “Room at the Inn offered me the tools, but I had to go out there and work hard. I am ecstatic that me and my baby will have housing for the holidays.” Thanks to the support of hundreds of donors and thousands of volunteers, Room can continue offering the homeless women and families of St. Louis County the necessary tools to move them out of their homeless episode. The story of Room at the Inn, however, has had many years in the making. In 1982, a woman by the name of Karen Olson had a vision to make change happen. Upon learning
that there were hundreds of homeless families in her neighborhood of Union County, New Jersey, she turned to the religious community for help. Convinced that there were many who shared her concern, she knew together they could do more to make a difference. She engaged churches to help and, in 1986, named the effort “The Interfaith Hospitality Network.” It was designed to provide families without homes temporary shelter in unused church space. By 1988, the hospitality model spread nationwide. In December of that year, a similar program began here through the County shelter, Community in Partnership, who began housing overflow from the Salvation Army’s shelter on weekends and in the winter months. Glen Greenville, minister at McKnight Road Church of Christ, introduced “Room at the Inn,” borrowing the idea from a program in Tennessee, whereby unused church space is used to temporarily house the homeless. That is when more churches in St. Louis County also began providing overflow housing to The Salvation Army on weekends and during the winter. In 1992, under the direction of Barbara Bixler Vogel, Room at the Inn re-
ceived a grant from the St. Louis County Department of Human Services and Housing Resource Commission. With this grant, the Salvation Army was able to recruit more congregations as overnight sites and expand Room at the Inn to a year-round shelter. The Sisters of Divine Providence were approached to house the expanded day site. They donated the use of the fourth floor of their provincial house, Mount Providence. In 1993, the Sisters made a corporate commitment to families without homes and became the formal sponsors of Room at the Inn. The Divine Providence Community provides the facilities, utilities and many professional services. In 1999, the Sisters moved their administrative offices to the present site in Bridgeton, where one-third of their building was designed to accommodate Room at the Inn. What makes Room at the Inn innovative is its partnership between the Sisters and nearly 60 interfaith congregations, as well as its collaboration with nonprofit and governmental agencies, foundations, businesses and individuals. The program serves families in need only through the generous sharing of time, hospitality, food and facilities of our faithful partners. www.mycnews.com | OUR TOWN | 11
Taking Art
To Heart City of Creve Coeur embraces public art with several new installations set for 2016 by Sara Hardin
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here is no question that art is something that can be celebrated and appreciated by everyone, and the city of Creve Coeur is embracing that sentiment by bringing the beautiful into the every day. New sculptures, two of which will function as bus shelters, are being installed throughout the city and its parks in an attempt by the Creve Coeur Arts Committee to make art more available to the public eye. Jessica Witte, Chair of the Creve Coeur Arts Committee, explained that the addition of the artwork follows the efforts of the Public Art Task Force, established in August of 2009. The group created a public art master plan for the city and laid the groundwork for what is now the Arts Committee, which was formed in August of 2011. “We’re really committed to making this part of the identity of Creve Coeur,” said Witte. “I think art and adding character to spaces just makes it much more livable. It’s a nice move in the direction of bringing joy to the every day. We have been working very hard on this project, and I’m really excited to see the fruits of our labors all coming together.”
(Above) Chris Fennell stands next to his Window Tree sculpture at his workshop in Alabama. The sculpture will be installed as a bus shelter.
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Odd shapes
Artist Shawn Burkard’s sculptures, titled Odd Shape 1, Odd Shape 2, and Odd Shape 3, are finding new homes in three different Creve Coeur parks. Burkard donated the pieces to the city following their exhibition at the Sheldon Art Galleries. Odd Shape 1 was installed in October in Millennium Park, near the Tappmeyer House. Odd Shape 2 and Odd Shape 3 are planned to be moved in the spring to Malcolm Terrace Park and Conway Park, respectfully. The architectural sculptures seem to change shape as one moves around them due to Burkard’s use of both positive and negative space in their design. His hope is that upon discovering the pieces, people can consider and appreciate their thought-provoking nature. “One of the stipulations in donating my work was that I didn’t want the pieces to be in front of a building, a shopping mall, or a location that wasn’t poetic in a sense,” said Burkard. “I wanted them to be in places where they could be discovered, places where one would go to contemplate things. I wanted them to be in a park setting, and not necessarily at the front gates or in the middle of the park, but somewhere where someone would happen upon them.”
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self to make a ‘C’ shape, which would provide shelter. I also wanted to use a material that made sense for the site, and I like to use something people know when they see it. I decided to use car windows. I had a shape, planks, and car windows, and then I remembered waiting for the school bus as a kid under a giant oak tree. I decided to make a tree with leaves made from car windows, and a wide trunk with the inside made of planks. As it goes upward it narrows and allows a sort of forced perspective to make it look like a road.” Fennell finds most of his inspiration for his artwork in the conflict between humans and nature, and most of his sculptures mimic a shape taken from nature with manmade, repurposed objects. His degrees in both mechanical engineering and sculpture, he says, creates an almost constant battle between the technical and creative parts of his mind. He finds compromise for each through his creative process. “All conversations are about two points of view, and that’s what makes an interesting debate,” said Fennell. “In this case, a lot of my artwork is about man and nature and how we’re alike and how we differ. I try to take nature-inspired forms and then a manmade object and try to make them work together. I want to do these swirling, organic, flowing pieces, but I’m making them out of things that are angular and straight and man-made.”
I think one of the biggest benefits is that it provides an identity for us
Form meets function
Chris Fennell is one of the artists assigned with the task to design a new artistic bus shelter. His piece is titled Window Tree, and is anticipated to be installed in the spring on Olive Boulevard near the corner of Old Ballas Road. After visiting the site and brainstorming ideas, Fennell returned to his workshop in Alabama to begin his work. He explains that a lot of his inspiration for the shelter’s design and its building process came after finding out that Olive Boulevard used to go by a different name. “This road used to be called Plank Road because, interestingly enough, it was made of planks,” explained Fennell. “I figured I could take the planks and twist it up over it-
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Uniquely Creve Coeur
Upon installing the structures and exposing them to the public, Witte says she hopes that they quickly become engrained into the Creve Coeur image and help to beautify the city while making it feel even more special. “I think one of the biggest benefits is that it provides an identity for us,” Witte said. “The Fennell piece is such an unusual structure for a bus shelter, and it’s so sculptural that I think people will really take notice. Considering the fact that there is such a huge population of commuters that come through the city and www.mycnews.com | OUR TOWN | 13
Erica Avellone
A sculpture titled Odd Shape 1 by artist Shawn Burkard stands in Millennium Park in Creve Coeur.
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people that work in the city, adding art is a way to add character and a way to create an ecstatic encounter where they can be affected by creativity and imagination on their way to work or whatever it may be. It’s a way to bring joy because it’s taking something that’s functional and adding an element of surprise. Burkard’s pieces add another point of interest to our parks and the character that we already have in our city. It’s a great place to live and it’s nice to add enhancements.” Both Burkard and Fennell express hope that the incorporation of their artwork to the city of Creve Coeur will serve as welcome additions to its community and will provoke dialogue among its residents. “The role of the artist is to challenge the every day,” said Burkard. “I think I’m offering my art to this community because I’m only proposing a question, which doesn’t necessarily have an answer. I think that’s the power that art has. It’s challenging and thought-provoking, and people can gain things from that.” “If you drive across the United States, it seems almost everything is a series of box stores. It’s not that we don’t need Walmarts and McDonald’s, but it all starts looking the same,” said Fennell. “However, we’re not all the same. You want your community to have a feel and a look that makes it Creve Coeur. You want it to feel like home, and you do that by making it unique. Artwork is the easiest way to do it. We don’t all have Grand Canyons and giant redwoods, but we all can have art. Art causes people to think and starts a dialogue. It causes people to ask why more beautiful things aren’t present, and why we won’t spend more time as a community doing things that are interesting, thinking about things and talking about things. As a society, what makes us excel are ideas. Art should be accessible to everyone, and it should be fun.” Erica Avellone An artist’s rendering of a potential new bus shelter on display in the Creve Coeur Government Center.
OurThoughts Moore on Life by Cindy Moore
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Winter blues and blahs
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t must suck to be January. After all, think about it, the big yippee, yahoo exclamation point at the end of the calendar year has just passed. If the month of December is that big exclamation point then that must mean January is what, the big colon? Yes, that sad little mark which is never fully understood or appreciated and often misused and abused. Kind of like the ugly, red-headed stepchild of punctuation marks. Poor, cold January – so dark and miserable. The calendar-makers had to do something to make it feel important so they invented after-Christmas sales, grabbing at any excuse to celebrate. Whose bright bulb idea was that? Even I, the extreme shopper, need a little reprieve from credit card collapse. That’s all we need – a reason to go deeper in debt after last month’s madcap holiday spending frenzy! There’s nothing much going on in January. It’s such a bleak, uneventful time. Even the big New Year’s Eve party got squeezed into December’s last day of the month. You have to hand it to December for being genius at business and marketing and grabbing all the action it can. After the big party, all January gets stuck with on the first day of its onset, is cranky people suffering from hangovers and broken resolutions. Even more pitiful, the calendar-
makers seemed to be grasping at straws and stuck an event – any event, into the month hoping to boost its morale. They came up with, of all things, National Soup Month. Sad. Who can even compete after the preceding month of holly jolly revelry and continuous eating, shopping, frolicsome parties, merry music, holiday movies, giving presents, receiving presents, gumdrops and lollipops, candy canes and cookies, joy and bliss… and then boom; it’s over. Then the New Year plunks in like a sack of wet laundry with nothing but pestering resolutions and demands: Get organized, lose some weight, put down that chocolate and ice cream, do something new and creative, exercise more, and for goodness sake, eat healthier! More kale! A bale of kale a day! Put down that bacon cheeseburger and stuff some kale in between that bun! Man, January is bossy; even more than a naggy mother. Lighten up January; you’re such a Negative Nancy! But I guess you would be too coming off the preceding non-stop weeks of merriment, and all you have to offer as a replacement is thirty-one days dedicated to clam chowder. Well I’m not going to just sit around and wait for spring to revitalize me. I’m going to take matters into my own
hands to liven things up. I’ll begin by working on that resolution list. First, I’ll get organized. Done. Here’s my neat little list in systematic order: Lose weight. First, I’ll take my husband on a little ride. I’ll lure him into the car by tossing in a warm French fry along with his Christmas gift card he received to the Big Manly-Man’s Lumber Store. Next, I’ll drop him off. He should be able to stay lost in there for at least a few weeks without knowing any time has passed. He weighs about 200 lbs. I’ve just lost weight. Check that off the list. Do something creative. I’ll use chocolate and ice cream as my medium. I intend to create an igloo built entirely out of Eskimo Pies. That checks off creativity. Oh, did I mention? I will be inside the structure and it will have no exit. Double snaps on the creativeness. Next, I will eat my way out, thus providing myself an abundance of exercise. Hey, do you realize how many calories it will burn off to eat an entire igloo?! I’ll be skin and bones by the time I’m out. So to celebrate, I’m going to have a bowl of something delicious to reenergize. Kale, perhaps? Not on your sweet momma’s naggy life! Tell her those superfood vegetables can all go to kale. I’m thinking, bacon cheeseburger soup! www.Mycnews.com | OUR TOWN | 15
OurThoughts Always An Adventure by Avalanche
This old truck
M
y neighbor told me a delivery driver pointed out my old truck one day and said, “Is that Ken’s old truck? He’s had that thing for thirty years.” I had to think about it, and yes, I’ve had the old beast for three decades. I had worked with the driver when I bought the truck in the mideighties. That meant that I had owned the rig since before the neighbor, in his late-twenties, was born. And I bought it used, very used. A cowboy had purchased it brand new in 1978. By the time I got it, there were 159,000 miles on the odometer, and it was on its second motor. The suspension was tired from hauling horse trailers for many miles. Working as a mechanic at the time, I installed a new motor, a new rear-end gear set and beefed up the suspension with new components and a lift kit. Built when vehicles (and regulations) were much simpler, it is constructed primarily of steel; big, solid chunks of it. Being a heavy-duty half-ton, it is mercifully devoid of the poorly-engineered and even less-effective pollution controls of the day. Lots of room in the engine compartment allows one to access any part needing repair quite easily. Replacement parts were readily available at any auto parts store when I bought it, somewhat less-so now. With a basic assortment of hand tools, one can accomplish nearly any necessary repairs just about anywhere. Electrical circuits are simple, and the only things resembling modern electronics are the ignition module and the radio. Air conditioning consists of opening a combination of windows and the sunroof. No cruise control, power windows, locks or seats, heated seats/ 16 | OUR TOWN | www.mycnews.com
mirrors, or other creature comforts, all deemed standard equipment these days, are there to fail and require expensive repairs. This old truck has collided with deer, trees and a few ditches. I can blame some of those unexpected stops on the conspiracy between gravity and steep, icy roads. It has hauled lots of motorcycles, elk carcasses, groceries, commuters and computers, rocks, gravel, dirt and firewood. It’s been to hunting camps, ice climbing festivals and rodeos. A daily driver for years, it has hauled us to many states and Canada; all at 10 mpg. Some south-of-the-border gangsters stole it in the early 90’s, but they blew up the clutch before being able to drive it to no-man’s-land and trade it for narcotics. They abandoned it on a rancher’s property, where it was recovered a couple of months later. It had its last paint job shortly after being recovered. Rust never sleeps, and even in the dry climate of the Central Rockies, it has insidiously attacked the floorboards. I can now see daylight coming in around the edges of the floor next to the doors. A sheet of plywood keeps the passenger’s feet from punching through what’s left of the floor. I’ll need to deal with it soon, before I have Fred Flintstone-style brakes, dragging my feet to bring the truck to a stop. These days, I generally leave
a protective layer of dirt over what remains of the paint, as going to the car wash leaves too many paint flakes on the ground. Here in the Rockies, an old beater truck is a great thing to have. Bouncing around in the mountains on old logging roads is more fun when you don’t have a mortgage-sized monthly payment to think about as you squeeze between trees, worried about the paint and the delicate running gear. This old truck is finally too old to interest the drug cartels; they buy brand new vehicles now, or even entire dealerships. Stealing an old warhorse like this is simply too labor intensive for a modern drug runner. Such old trucks have a great deal of intrinsic value in rural areas, but not so much in the monetary realm. Retail value on this rig is about what a good set of new all-terrain tires cost. Insurance and tags are cheap. And I could trade in a half-dozen of these, and it would not yield enough for a decent down payment on a new truck that gets just a few mpg more than this one. As the odometer closes in on 300k, this old truck only gets driven about 1,000 miles per year. Those miles are mostly to fetch firewood, elk and gravel, tasks that would scuff up the pretty paint on a newer rig. It’s still reliable enough and comfortable enough to do the job – but I always bring tools, just in case.
Toyota brings hybrid versatility to both the Prius and RAV4 by David Finkelstein So what’s all this scuttlebutt regarding perplexing-automotive-hybriddoohickey and gizmo-technology anyway? Let me try to break it down in the simplest terms! Of course, we need to start with a conventional gasoline engine as most of us might be accustomed to powering our daily commute vehicle, but with a mystifying hybrid powertrain, the engine is also mechanically linked with an electric motor (or motors) powered by a battery source for helping propel the vehicle down the road. And often (depending on the power and acceleration required) the gasoline engine will magically cycle “on” and “off” thus allowing the car to accelerate with just electric power, or at times, in concert with the gas engine working as one power source. The end game is improved fuel mileage numbers and lower tail pipe emissions. Having said that, Toyota Motors just recently introduced two of their latest 2016 hybrid-powered vehicles. The first being their popular Prius, as this automobile was completely redone for the ‘16 model year. This newest model has a distinctively striking and head-turning modern outer design. Improvements in its ride and handling characteristics, plus an elevated level of comfort and safety, further helps define the new Prius. With more than 3.5-million Prius owners, I’m certain that they would be pleasantly surprised in the latest version’s exceptional fuel mileage and a higher level of refinement and notable creature comforts.
The outer aerodynamic design will be familiar; however, this model is longer, lower and wider than the outgoing version. It also has more interior room coupled with a more planted stance for handling agility. A selectable switch allows the driver to choose from “Normal” and “Power” driving modes. “Normal” balances both fuel economy and acceleration while “Power” improves overall pickup. Pricing starts out at $24,200 and it comes with complimentary factoryscheduled maintenance for two years or 25,000 miles, whichever comes first. Oh but wait, Toyota is now making available for 2016 their heavily refreshed RAV4 SUV Hybrid as well! Competing in the popular compact sport utility arena, RAV4’s proven hybrid powertrain apparatus (besides offered with a traditional gas engine), makes for an extraordinarily welcome choice if fuel mileage is paramount on your new vehicle shopping list. The five-passenger 2016 RAV4 Hybrid offers up car-like handling, ride comfort and phenomenal fuel economy. Its target buyers are generally active/ young couples wanting to make a statement in regard to their no compromise “vehicle of choice” and the environment in general. The MSRP for the 2016 RAV4 Hybrid is $28,370 for the AWD XLE and $33,610 for the AWD Limited. This vehicle brings the number of Toyota hybrid models to eight for the ‘16 model year. www.mycnews.com | OUR TOWN | 17
OurLifestyle
The outstanding women of 2015 This year has been one of the best years for women in the industry – and it’s only going to get better. Looking back at what we’ve seen this year, I felt it necessary to mention these women and the projects that put them on the screens – both in movies and television – instead of your typical year’s best. Viola Davis – “How to Get Away With Murder” In this series, Davis is Annalise Keating, a defense lawyer and college professor using a handful of her most gifted law students to help her win difficult cases. If Davis is gifted enough to receive an Oscar nomination for appearing – only – in a five-minute scene, like she did in “Doubt,” just imagine what she can do as the lead in a series that lives up to its own title. Viola Davis is an ultimate force and this show is worthy of it – and that’s definitely saying something. Taryn Manning and cast of “Orange Is The New Black: Season 3” Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren (Uzo Aduba) is a fan favorite among numerous other female characters on this series. However, the moments that will be burned permanently in your mind rests in the scenes with Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett, played by the fearless - and hilarious -Taryn Manning. She was Season One’s most hated character – the worst of the ‘whitetrash’ type that steadily evolved into one of the most interesting characters (not that she wasn’t before). The brilliance of Manning is she has us wanting to know more about Doggett despite our differences with her. We see 18 | OUR TOWN | www.communitynews.com
what her mother was like – thanks to an impeccably precise performance by Helen Abell – and how her conceptions of men, among other views, helped shape the way Doggett is today. Watch how Manning handles the scene between her and Big Boo (Lea DeLaria) when Doggett finally understands and reluctantly accepts - the fact that she’s been physically violated… more than once before. Everyone should see this important scene, let alone Taryn Manning’s performance on this series. Melissa McCarthy – “Spy” Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) gets her first chance to rise from desk analyst to a field agent for the CIA. What happens next, all I can say is to sit back and hold your sides because this movie, let alone McCarthy’s performance, will make you laugh hard. Paul Feig has been a dream filmmaker for McCarthy (see “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat”) and here he gives her a role that reaches to all her strengths as an actress. This may be the greatest performance by the unstoppably funny Melissa McCarthy. Amy Schumer – “Trainwreck” and “Inside Amy Schumer” The year’s most unapologetically funny woman had reached new comic heights in terms of the ridiculous views towards women, sex and political issues. For instance, “Inside Amy Schumer” produced some winning controversial skits like the satirical birth control commercial and another when she’s Bill Cosby’s defense lawyer in a courtroom (she even did ‘the dance’). In “Trainwreck,” Amy proved
to be a fine actress - and not just as a funny leading lady, but also proving she’s got the chops for drama. Whatever Amy is up to next, be sure to stay tuned because she’s what I call an idol to women everywhere. I’m not afraid to say that Amy’s my hero, never mind that I’m male. Krysten Ritter and cast of “Jessica Jones” Former superhero and private investigator Jessica Jones is an intelligent, wisecracking, hard-drinking mess of woman with a good-but guardedheart who’s still recovering from a traumatizing past involving the mindcontrolling villain named Kilgrave (David Tennant - brilliant). Krysten Ritter is a wise choice for this dream role and really delivers - given her history for playing sarcastic, blunt, cool women that we tend to lack in the female character department. We’re also rewarded with a strong supporting cast of women, including Rachael Tayler (as Trish Walker), and Carrie-Anne Moss (who’s perfect as attorney Jeri Hogarth). This neo-noir thriller from Netflix is a sure pleaser for all and something that “Daredevil” fans should look into as well. Here are other strong female performances also worth noting: Charlize Theron as Imperator Infuriosa – “Mad Max: Fury Road” and Daisy Ridley as Rey – “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
OurLifestyle Fiesta Citrus Salmon
For The Love of Food
Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes | Serves: 4 Making a New Year’s resolution? Don’t forget salt. Most Americans consume about a 1,000 milligrams of sodium over the amount recommended by nutrition and health experts. New research shows cooking with spices and herbs could help you ditch the salt shaker and meet sodium recommendations. Keeping a resolution to cut salt from your diet is easy. Use simple spice swaps to create tasty, low-sodium meals. From seasoning eggs with basil instead of salt to adding spices and herbs to no-salt tomato sauce, the McCormick Kitchens offer these easy tips and recipes to make low-sodium meals full of flavor: • Beat 1/8 teaspoon herb instead of salt into 2 eggs before scrambling. • Add oregano, garlic powder and red pepper to nosalt added tomato sauce for a tasty, low-sodium pasta dinner. • Try making Citrus Herbed Chicken with Asparagus, Fiesta Citrus Salmon or Tuscan Pasta. These dishes don’t call for any salt. Instead, they swap in basil, garlic powder and oregano. For more low-sodium tips and recipes – such as shaved vegetable salad with Italian herb vinaigrette – visit McCormick.com/ recipes/low-sodium to keep your New Year’s resolutions on track. To see the full Anderson study, which examined the effects of a behavioral intervention that emphasized spice and herbs, and how it impacts sodium intake, visit McCormickScienceInstitute. com.
1/4 cup orange juice 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons McCormick Perfect Pinch Salt-Free Fiesta Citrus Seasoning 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 pound salmon fillets Directions: In small bowl, mix juice, oil and 1 tablespoon each seasoning and sugar. Place salmon in large re-sealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add marinade; turn to coat well. Refrigerate 30 minutes, or longer for extra flavor. In another small bowl, mix remaining seasoning and sugar. Remove salmon from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Rub salmon evenly with seasoning mixture.
Tuscan Pasta
Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes | Serves: 6 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained 1 can (8 oz) no-salt added tomato sauce 1 tablespoon sugar (optional) 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons italian seasoning 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 pound zucchini, sliced 1 package (8 oz) sliced mushrooms 1 small onion, chopped 6 ounces pasta Directions: In medium saucepan, mix tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar and seasonings. Bring to boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes. In large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add zucchini, mushrooms and onion; cook and stir 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp. Stir tomato sauce into vegetables. Meanwhile, cook pasta as directed on package. Drain well. Place pasta in serving bowl. Add vegetable mixture; toss well. www.Mycnews.com | OUR TOWN | 19
CaringPartners Medical Memo™ BY Dr. Charles Larsen
Bigstock
The benefits of exercise
If you were offered a pill that could improve your mood, energy level, sleep and sex life, while at the same time decreasing your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, some cancers and osteoporosis – would you take it? This miracle drug is actually not in a pill form but is available to everyone right now and it is called EXERCISE!! Most people know that exercise is good, but do you really know how many health issues can be improved with simple regular exercise? “Regular exercise will help you feel better and live longer. It stimulates chemicals in the brain that leave you feeling happier giving you an emotional lift and more relaxed for that needed stress release after a long day or major life event,” said Charles Larsen, DO, SSM Health Medical Group Family Practice Physician. Exercise also improves your energy level by strengthening muscles and boosting endurance by delivering oxygen and nutrients to the tissues. This helps the cardiovascular system work more efficiently. Heart disease is the leading killer of both men and women, and with regular exercise you can lower your blood pressure and help prevent or lessen the severity of heart disease. “Exercise will also increase your HDL – the good cholesterol – and lower triglycerides. Not only is heart disease improved with regular exercise, but also diabetes, colon cancer, and osteoporosis is decreased in people who exercise 20 | OUR TOWN | www.mycnews.com
regularly,” said Larsen. People who exercise regularly have also been shown to have better sleep, less insomnia and better sex lives. For women, exercise can help increase sexual arousal and for men, exercise can decrease problems with erectile dysfunction. For both men and women exercise helps with body image and therefore can improve intimacy in a relationship. Hopefully, you are now asking yourself, “How much exercise do I need?” “What type of exercise, and how do I get started incorporating regular exercise into my life?” Just asking these questions is a great start. “First, if you are beginning to exercise after not doing so for quite a while, it’s best to first check with your physician about your plans,” said Larsen. “As a general rule, I recommend that people start slowly on a new exercise program, getting an hour of exercise each week and then increasing intensity and duration to 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.” To get started, you should make a weekly plan and put it in writing. This could be broken up into 30 minute sessions five days per week or could consist of 50 minute sessions three days per week. If the thought of this is daunting, then start more slowly with 10 minutes per day – everyday. Measure your progress by keeping a diary or getting a fitness app on your smart phone. Get motivated, make it fun, and get started today – your life depends on it!
CaringPartners
Medical Memo™
ADHD and social skills When it comes to a child with ADHD, social skills do not necessarily come natural to them. Many children with ADHD lag behind their peers and also tend to be a little more immature than others their same age. There are strategies to help your child make friends and be socially interactive. And this includes places such as school, neighborhood friends and at other social activities that your child may belong to. You can demonstrate and rehearse these social interactions with your child. For example, instead of a child saying “This is boring,” teach them to say, “Can we play something else for a little while?” Progress may come slow, so make sure you praise your child’s efforts along the way. You can also talk to your child about what makes a good friend and make sure you are close by to observe the interaction of a play date. Playing with a little bit of a younger child can also give them the opportunity to ‘practice friendship skills’ without being made fun of. And as a bonus, the younger friend will most likely look up to the older friend. This will instill self-esteem and confidence in them and give them a better chance at making friends with their peers. Keep in close contact with your child’s school teacher(s) and ask if they can be paired up with someone who they think would be patient with them to tackle some classwork and school projects together. Working with other classmates will strongly encourage your child to practice his social skills. As your child learns new social skills, be patient and continue to gently suggest new advice. Every child may not be a social butterfly and that’s OK. Studies show that having one close friend is enough to help develop self-confidence. If you are interested in learning more about the brain of an ADHD child and how neurofeedback can actually retrain the brain in a natural way without the use of medications,
come to one of our free parent information nights on either Jan. 7 or 21 and Feb. 4. Seating does fill up fast so call 1-855-STL-ADHD or visit www.stladhd.com.
NEW SOLUTIONS FOR
ADHD
St. Louis Neurotherapy Institute has a new drugless approach to addressing symptoms associated with ADHD. Decades of research backed by the Academy of Pediatrics have provided proven results. FREE PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT JAN 4th, or Jan 21st at 7 pm Call to reserve your spot! 1.855.STL.ADHD www.stladhd.com USE CODE OT: WHEN CALLING TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT
www.Mycnews.com | OUR TOWN | 21
CaringPartners Medical Memo™ Drs. Jen & Jason Rhodes
Could your hormones be sabotaging your weight goals?
Fewer things are more frustrating than a motivated person who wants to, but can’t seem to lose weight. Motivation, and the desire to work at losing weight, quickly dries up when the scale refuses to budge. But the problem might not be in the number of calories eaten or the amount of energy expended in exercising. Instead, the culprit could be a sluggish metabolism caused by hormone imbalance. Today, we slurp sodas, wolf down foods that have little nutritional value while we drive from one place to the next, overdose on sugar and mindlessly snack while spending hours in front of a television, computer or video game. It’s no wonder there is an epidemic of obesity in our country today. Add to this the stresses we live with every day, and it would appear that our bodies don’t stand a chance of being able to lose excess weight. Often, people will blame their “metabolism” for the inability to shed pounds – and they are usually right. Our metabolism is affected by what we put into and around our bodies. It’s also affected by our quality of sleep, the type of exercise (if any) we do and our general attitude about life. Underlying our metabolism are the chemical processes that keep our bodies running, which includes hormone production. If you’ve tried unsuccessfully to lose weight, it could be that your hormones are keeping you fat. Hormone imbalance in men and women can make substantial, lasting fat loss nearly impossible because it sets the stage for a cascade of issues that affect the entire body, not just the ability to lose weight. Below are several hormones that could be causing your body to stumble in your weight loss quest. Thyroid – The thyroid is known as the “master gland” because it affects every part of our bodies. It probably has the most impact on your weight because it is in total control of your metabolism. Low thyroid hormone symptoms include fatigue, unexplained weight gain and depression. When not enough usable thyroid hormone is produced, your metabo22 | OUR TOWN | www.Mycnews.com
lism can slow to a crawl. Estrogen – A high estrogen level that outpaces its counterbalance hormone progesterone can significantly increase the potential for obesity. Xenostrogens mentioned above are an external contributor to the higher prevalence of the female hormone in contemporary society. These can be found in food sources exposed to herbicides, pesticides or growth hormones, plastics that contain phalates and parabens in some skincare products. Estrogen is also produced in the body by fat cells, so the heavier you are, the more estrogen your body produces. Belly fat is a common result of excess estrogen. Cortisol – Not all stress is bad, but when it’s chronic and keeps you in a heightened state of fight-or-flight, your body is affected at the cellular level. When stress is chronic, cortisol floods the system and disables fat burning hormones. Cortisol can also lower thyroid hormone levels and make you crave comfort foods. Stubborn belly fat is also a telltale sign that cortisol is out of control. Insulin Resistance – When your diet is composed of high amounts of processed carbohydrates, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and high-sugar foods, your pancreas goes to work releasing insulin to manage all the ingested sugars. In an optimum diet, the sugars are processed into glycogen and carried to the cells for energy. But a poor diet can cause too much insulin production resulting in sugar being stored in the body (usually in the belly) as well as an inability to use stored fat as energy. The good news is there are solutions to hormone imbalance. Join us for a free informational night on Weight Loss Resistance – Jan. 14 or Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in Creve Coeur. In this informational night, you’ll learn how hormone imbalances affect every aspect of your life and how you can achieve permanent weight loss in a healthful and safe way. Space is limited, so call today at 314-983-9355 to reserve your spot or call for more information!
EventsCalendar
January
Jan 1
New Year’s Day
Jan. 4
Senior social club
Jan. 7
Coffee with the mayor
Jan. 9
Weed Warriors
Maryland Heights Senior Social Club meets at 10:30 a.m. at Maryland Heights Centre at 2344 McKelvey Rd. in Maryland Heights.
Coffee with the mayor of Creve Coeur takes place at 7:30 a.m. in the Creve Coeur Government Center Lobby.
Join your friends and neighbors eradicating bush honeysuckle and other invasive species from Olivette’s parks. Honeysuckle Removal Day at Warson Park from 9 -11 a.m., rain or shine. Bring gloves and wear sturdy shoes. No experience necessary. If you own loppers or clippers, bring them along. Long sleeves and long pants recommended. RSVP’s encouraged to btuckerknight@ olivettemo.com.
Jan. 13
Stephen Foster Memorial Day
Jan. 18
Martin Luther King Day
Jan. 19
Resident Sustainable Living Series
Jan. 27
Creve Couer community members are invited to learn about simple and cost-effective actions you can take to save money while reducing your environmental impact at 8:30 a.m. at Dielmann Recreation Complex at 11400 Olde Cabin Road in Creve Coeur. Dr. Joseph Martinich will present on specific ways to save money related to lighting, heating, air-conditioning, appliances, cable boxes, computers and vehicles. This event is free and open to anyone in the St. Louis area, so tell your friends.
Business Sustainability Series
Business and not-for-profit owners and employees are invited to learn about the “Lean and Green” approach to operations aimed at reducing facility and operating costs while decreasing environmental impacts at 8:30 a.m. at Dielmann Recreation Complex at 11400 Olde Cabin Road in Creve Coeur. Dr. Joseph Martinich will present on simple and cost-effective actions organizations can take to reduce their energy use, reduce their waste generation and recover the value of remaining wastes. This event is free and open to anyone in the St. Louis area.
February
Feb. 1
Senior social club
Maryland Heights Senior Social Club meets at 10:30 a.m. at Maryland Heights Centre at 2344 McKelvey Rd. in Maryland Heights.
Feb. 2
Groundhog Day
Feb. 4
Coffee with the mayor
Feb. 5
National Wear Red Day
Feb. 8
Chinese New Year
Coffee with the mayor of Creve Coeur takes place at 7:30 a.m. in the Creve Coeur Government Center Lobby.
Feb. 10
Ash Wednesday
Feb. 12
Lincoln’s Birthday
Feb. 14
Valentine’s Day
Feb. 15
Presidents’ Day www.mycnews.com | OUR TOWN | 23