April 23, 1959 – September 3, 2016 @stlouisamerican
@stlouisamerican
Rochelle Tilghman, leader at Harris-Stowe
2015 Newspaper of the Year!
See obit page A8
St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited SEPTEMBER 1 – 7, 2016
Vol. 88 No. 21 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Pastor Scott leaving Central Baptist Rev. Robert C. Scott, senior pastor of St. Louis’ historic Central Baptist Church, is leaving to lead St. Paul Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Will lead larger St. Paul Baptist in Charlotte By Chris King Of The St. Louis American Any Christian would have to accept the Rev. Robert C. Scott’s reason for leaving St. Louis’ historic Central Baptist Church to lead St. Paul Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I had the sense that this is where God is leading me,” Scott said. “He is calling me to another place to do a wider ministry.” Scott, 47, has been senior pastor at Central Baptist in Midtown since 1999. It has some 1,500 congregants on the roll, with 750-900 people attending church on Sundays, between the two services. St. Paul has
roughly three times as many worshippers, with 5,000 people on the roll and a sanctuary that seats about 2,500. He was not looking to leave St. Louis or Central Baptist, but was recruited by St. Paul after Rev. Gregory Moss retired. Hailed by the city’s daily paper as “one of Charlotte’s most prominent activist pastors,” Moss had led St. Paul for 17 years. A cohort of five pastors submitted to St. Paul their suggestions for a new pastor. From an initial list of 10 prospects, two were invited to Charlotte to preach. Scott made his visit over the July 4 weekend. When he
See SCOTT, A6
Photo by Wiley Price
Ferguson Police short on officers, staff Budget crisis, scrutiny and mandated extra training strain hiring By Mariah Stewart Of The St. Louis American The Ferguson Police Department does not have as many police officers as it’s supposed to have, nor as many as the mayor has claimed – and a dispatcher has resigned, saying the department cannot do its job and is putting police and citizens in danger. “Mistakes are going to happen, and someone is going to get hurt, whether a citizen or officer,” said Shannon Dandridge, who resigned on August 10. “I don’t feel at this point we can properly staff the dispatch center to keep the community and officers safe. Something needs to be done immediately.” Dandridge spoke tearfully at a turbulent August 23 meeting of the Ferguson City Council. Dandridge said budget cuts have decimated staff, reducing her office from seven full-time dispatchers and 10 part-time dispatchers to five full-
n “I understand the need to hire police officers – we are short. I understand the need to hire dispatchers – we are short.” – Ferguson Police Chief Delrish Moss
time dispatchers and an “unlimited” amount of part-timers. The number of officers on the street also is down. When the Department of Justice investigation in Ferguson began in 2014, there were 54 officers on the force. By May 2015, that number was down to 43, a Ferguson spokesman told The American. They were down to 41 officers as of mid-July, a spokesman told The Huffington Post, which was Photo by Lawrence Bryant
See POLICE, A7
Ferguson Police Chief Delrish Moss tried to connect with a youngster on May 9.
Harris-Stowe admits largest-ever student class
Education advocate Deborah Patterson honored at Salute gala on October 1 By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
teachers a few science experiments that they could do in their classrooms, as part of the STEM Teacher Quality (TQ) Institute. Scientists at Sigma-Aldrich, a chemical“If we help a teacher get better at supply company in Midtown St. Louis, turned teaching, then we affect so many students,” 29th down the lights in a classroom-size laboratory, said Deborah Patterson, recently retired as where about 50 K-8 school teachers stood president of the Monsanto Fund and vice around lab tables wearing white coats. president of global contributions and employee When the scientists combined two chemicals, engagement at Monsanto. the mixture glowed a magical turquoise blue in the dark. “And if they leave a district, they are taking “As the kids would say, that’s tight,” said Cardellia that knowledge with them. A lot of our investment Brand, a 5th grade teacher in the Normandy School has been helping teachers improve their teaching District. See SALUTE, A7 The Sigma-Aldrich team members were teaching the
American staff Harris-Stowe State University admitted its largest incoming class in its history, with nearly 600 first-time freshmen and new transfers. This is up from last year’s incoming class of 452, more than 30 percent increase. Over the past two years, the university has more than doubled its degree offerings. “Harris-Stowe is continuing to develop and broaden our aggressive recruitment strategy, and it Deborah Patterson
See CLASS, A6