Archive for the News Category

As we enter a new year I have been reflecting on no matter what happened over this past year how truly blessed we have been.

We may complain about politics, inflation, weather, bad drivers, or our aches and pains but I challenge anyone to find a country as great as ours. We may have our differences, but we are all in this together. I see this when I am out talking to my neighbors whom are walkers. One lady walks on most days and although I can’t remember her name, we always exchange friendly greetings and joke about the golf club she is carrying (I think it is a 9 iron).

There is so much ado about migrants and the border. Yes, there are problems, but these have been around for longer than I can remember. Same problems just different voices. What most are not saying is they are descendants of migrants. Unless you are a native American, you are a transplant. In the 1800’s migrants from Europe and the Far East came to America to find a better life escaping the persecution or displacement from war torn countries. These are the people we became and yes we still celebrate our ethnic cultures. I used to love going to October-fests celebrating German heritage (I’m not German), or St. Paddys day (I’m not Irish). I just enjoy the different cultures that make up our great county. I embrace different cultures and cuisines. I’ve mentioned before that I love to cook.

I have been blessed to have traveled to many points in the world both during my time in the service and when I worked. The people I met have always been friendly and helpful. You can always find the bad in life – just turn on the news. But you can also always find the good – just go out in your neighborhood. Good is all around us if we take the time to make it good. A smile and a wave, holding a door, letting others go first, I think it’s called random acts of kindness. Let’s all practice some this year.

As a boomer and former software engineer, I know I have lost touch with all the emerging technology and trends. But, I really don’t care because I realize I am beginning to hit my stride in life. I am still active, live on my own, cook, play music, cut my own grass, play golf, fish, and hang with my family and friends. How blessed is that?

When you reflect on your life, I hope you realize even in the hardest times, we are blessed and although it may look bleak at times, we can always be proud to live in a nation that has the freedom we all cherish. My big brother passed away in 2024 but I was blessed to have him as my big brother for 73 years. I miss being able to talk with him. But I’m blessed to still have my baby sister.

As mom used to say: “No matter what happens, the world keeps turning and the sun is going to come up in the morning.” Thanks mom!

Papa Deau

PROUD – People Reaching Out for Unity and Diversity – invites you to join in the conversation about Ferguson’s experiences over the past thirty years and evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and what should be done next. The conference is called “Thirty Years After Oak Park: Ferguson Then and Now.”

In October 1994, the City of Ferguson hosted its first Oak Park Exchange Congress at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. The conference considered ideas for stabilizing the city as it was going through demographic changes. Several programs, including the Ferguson Neighborhood Improvement Program, came out of that conference.

PROUD, a volunteer not-for-profit organization, was established as a direct result of the conference. PROUD’s purpose is to continue the goals presented at the Oak Park Conference by working to improve relationships among members of the Ferguson community.

We will return to Florissant Valley on October 18 and 19, for a two-day conference to consider the ways that Ferguson has changed over the past thirty years. Join us for the Friday afternoon session on “Building Relationships,” the Saturday morning session on “Appreciating Diversity,” the Saturday afternoon session on “Strengthening Community,” or for the whole conference. There will also be a reception on Friday evening to honor the city officials who organized Ferguson’s original Oak Park Conference as well as PROUD’s charter members.

For more information and tickets, visit our website at www.proud-ferguson.org.

by Marsha DeMere Gebhardt

Mass mosquito fogging from trucks DOES NOT significantly reduce the mosquito population! It only kills the adult mosquitoes that are flying at that time and are within reach of the spray. St. Louis County Vector Control contracts with municipalities to treat any areas that are home to disease-carrying mosquitoes. The estimated annual cost to Ferguson is $1,500, compared with the thousands that Ferguson had been paying for just the chemical to spray from trucks.

Mosquito fogging does nothing to kill the incredible number of mosquito larva, that breed in as little as a cap-full of standing water around your house and yard. Instead, the spraying stays on plants and trees, and kills the beneficial pollinators and the insects and caterpillars that birds feed to their babies.

SO…it is important for residents to learn what we can do to reduce the impact of mosquitoes on our outdoor living.

Most mosquitos do not carry disease and are known as ‘nuisance mosquitos’. These are the ones we can only deal with ourselves, in the following ways.

Prevent those present from biting you:

• Have a fan blowing on you and others gathered with you. Mosquitoes are weak flyers, so a fan ‘blows them away’!
• Keep bare skin at a minimum. Wear lightweight long sleeves and long pants.

Reduce or eliminate the number of mosquitoes in your yard:

• Eliminate standing water wherever possible. Gutters, low areas, tires, etc.
• For standing water that you can’t eliminate, add a piece of a mosquito dunk. These dunks ONLY kill mosquito larva and black fly larva. They are harmless to pets, birds, people….
• Make a Mosquito Bucket of Doom! This will attract female mosquitoes to lay their eggs in the bucket’s water, and the larva will not survive.

Ferguson Parks and Rec will make mosquito dunks available to residents during the ECO Fair at the Farmers Market on August 17. They will also have buckets available so residents can make their own Buckets of Doom by simply adding grass clippings and a stick for the females to enter to lay their eggs. You’ll be welcome to take ingredients for a neighbor or two, as well. If you don’t make it to the ECO Fair, you can find mosquito dunks at most big-box and smaller hardware stores. (At our West Ferguson Neighbors July Gathering, we provided these materials. Other neighborhood organizations might like to do the same at future neighborhood events.)

Here’s to ‘dooming’ the mosquitoes, while celebrating the many other, wonderful, insects…the butterflies, moths, and the many non-stinging native bees and wasps. These are a pleasure to observe, and a vital food source for our native birds.

by Dr. Larry Brown

Every now and then, we should stop and take a self-inventory. This is to make sure that we are making progress on our personal goals and are not caught up in a routine that is working against us. This is also very necessary in order to make sure that we are well rounded in our activities, and apportionments of time.

Now is an excellent time for such an activity because we can change with the weather, if necessary. If not now, then when?

Our communities need more people, like yourself, who are concerned about being the best neighbor they can be.

Whenever, you decide to take such an inventory, make sure that you have made arrangements and are ready to accept honest and real feedback for evaluation purposes.

There may be some small changes that you can make in order to achieve your desired outcomes, however, there may be a requirement for some major things to be done as soon as possible, in order for you to achieve the desired results.

Having someone that you can trust along with you for feedback purposes is desirable because as the older folks say “ two heads are better than 1”.

However, it is very important who that someone is, how honest they will be, how confidential they will be, and how willing you are to accept their input into your process.

Upon receiving feedback that requires some changes to be made, be also willing to discuss these proposed changes with the person you have selected to include in the process. In this manner, you don’t have to feel alone with the decisions. Keep in mind that the reason for doing any of this is to make sure that you are making a much-needed contribution.

It may become necessary for you to make these assessments periodically so that you can stay on the right track. Sometimes, major events occur in our own lives that may require adjustments to be made.

This is so very important to the advancement of human – kind, that we must not take it litely, or not at all.

If you find that at this time you are not prepared to make the kind of commitment that you feel is necessary, then by all means get started by contacting us at gracechapelministries.org or email us at gracechapeldevelopment@gmail.com

If Not, You Then Who? If Not Now, Then When?

by Rob Tayloe

During the late afternoon on March 02, 2024, about 80 people had the pleasure of seeing and hearing the Grammy-award winning Melissa Etheridge, as she came to the north side of St. Louis county, to assist in fundraising to revise a former shopping center into a new magical facility, that currently has a bank, spaces for your offices to rent, a rehab center, a training center, a Cathy’s Kitchen To-Go, a child care center, and eventually a black-box theatre… all thanks to the hearts and visions of such as Cathy’s Kitchen Restaurant & Diner’s owner Cathy Lucas Jenkins, her husband Jerome, and so many other wonderful people here.

I love this area, and as my dad & his brothers & sister were raised in Berkeley, and then me in St. Ann, and I now live in Ferguson, I’ve a high affinity for this area… and such as this development is simply grand, there is much to be proud of in our area.

As Melissa stated herself during this wonderful event: “This is the sort of thing that changes communities. This is not a band-aid. This is not just teaching someone to fish. This is teaching them to own the fish market.”

Thanks much to Cathy, Jerome, Melissa, and EVERYONE ELSE involved in this development, that is yet another step forward for OUR community!