Community Interest

Dear Neighbors,
As you may have heard, I am leaving Immaculate Heart of Mary at the end of July and starting a new assignment. I will begin pastoring Our Lady, Queen of Peace and St. Anthony of Padua. Queen of Peace is in House Springs, and I will be living there while also pastoring St. Anthony in High Ridge. The communities are only ten miles apart, so I hope to work out a schedule that allows me the benefit of knowing and serving both communities.

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MO – One out of five Americans develops skin cancer in their lifetime, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Not surprisingly, skin damage from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays is a common risk factor.

Gentle readers, I want you to become gentle viewers for a short while. Two recent additions to the museum’s YouTube channel compel me to share them with you.

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MO – The St. Charles County Veterans Best Practices Working Group reached a milestone this Flag Day: More than 10,000 old and worn American flags have been collected over the past seven years through the group’s flag collection event and collection boxes.

Users can now travel more than 8 miles one way by kayak or canoe

 St. Charles County residents and visitors can add another water adventure to their list for this summer with today’s opening of a 5.2-mile expansion of the Dardenne Creek Blueway. The St. Charles County Parks Department is opening Phase 2 of the Blueway, connecting the City of St. Peters’ Lone Wolff Park to St. Peters’ 370 Lakeside Park. The 3.5-mile trek from 370 Lakeside Park to St. Charles County’s Riverside Landing Park opened in May 2022.

The New Melle Festival started with Family Night on Thursday evening, June 8. Family Night includes many activities that are free with admission. Agri-Land by Straatman Feed is a big attraction.

On Friday, June 9, Jordyn Burbes was crowned the 70th Queen of the New Melle Festival. Congratulations Jordyn! Three other Pageant honors were awarded to the First Alternate – Avery Smith, Kate Hunt – Second Alternate and Miss Congeniality – Lilly Murphy. There were eight candidates this year that participated in the Pageant Program. 

During Family Night at the New Melle Festival, the 2023 Queen Pageant Candidates hosted the 4th Annual Little Miss and Mister Contest. The candidates emceeing the evening were Avery Smith, Jordyn Burbes and Tammy Deason. The judging and tallying of scores were done by the remaining Queens – Avery Gibbs, Elisabeth Grethey, Kate Hunt, Julia Joerling and Lilly Murphy.

On Saturday of the 2023 Festival, the annual parade, with a 70s theme, made its way through the streets of New Melle. It was a beautiful afternoon for a parade. There were over 25 entries, and the Grand Marshall of the parade this year was Dianne Sudbrock, former editor of the Boone Country Connection. Grace Hauling, with its Jaws-themed float, was the winner of the parade.

The Annual New Melle Festival Baby Contest was held Saturday evening at the New Melle Sports and Rec Banquet Hall. The Baby Contest was sponsored by Ages and Stages and Blondin Real Estate Advisor – Julie Burt, who also emceed the event.

A new program introduced by Missouri’s Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) enables participants to obtain vouchers exchangeable for fresh produce at the Lake Saint Louis Farmers and other select locations around the state now through Oct. 31. The benefits are available electronically this year through the app “Homegrown Benefits for eFMNP.”

MOHumanities 2024 Small-Town Showcase
Augusta and New Melle Nominated, Vote by July 15

Close to 40 small towns were selected for the Missouri Humanities 2024 Small-Town Showcase and Augusta and New Melle, along with several other small towns, were nominated.

The New Melle VFW Post 5651 has earned All-State Honors for the 2022-2023 year. This is the first time our post has been awarded this honor in over twenty years. To be in contention for All-State honors, a Post must meet minimum criteria in 13 different categories, including membership, community service and Veteran’s assistance. It requires extensive filing, audits, reports, and mandatory District meeting attendance and is difficult to achieve.

Crossroads Clinic Volunteers in Medicine (CC VIM), a free health clinic serving low-income adults 18-65, is looking to add new patients after recently relocating to a new, larger office. The new CC VIM office is located at 10890 Veterans Memorial Parkway in Lake St. Louis.

By Dianne Sudbrock

The New Melle Chamber of Commerce awarded four $2000 scholarships to area students this year at their annual scholarship banquet May 18 at The Quarry Wine Garden.

The 2023 Scholarship recipients were Allison Counts, Rachel Deason, Caden Hayek, and Kendall Martin.

By Dianne Sudbrock

For the third year in a row, the New Melle Chamber decided to recognize an individual member who has gone above and beyond in serving both the Chamber of Commerce and the community at large. This year, that person was Kyle Shell. He was surprised with this award at the NMCC Scholarship Banquet, May 18.

The 2023 New Melle Festival Queen Candidates hosted the 9th Annual Kickin' it for Cancer Kickball Tournament on Friday, May 12 and was again a tremendous success.

It was a beautiful night for kickball, and twelve teams registered and came out to play to support the cause. The teams were: 2 Legit 2 Kick, Balls of Fury, Booze on First, Burbes, Catala & Red Beauty, Elite Alcoholics, Freeballers, Homefront Homies, Kickin' It, Shadow Wizard Money Gang, The Blue Balls, and The Lenders.

When the final bell rings and schools in St. Charles County let out for summer break, the police officers who keep those schools safe don’t take a three-month vacation. Instead, the 23 School Resource Officers (SROs) of the St. Charles County Police Department turn their attention toward enhancing safety and public outreach in other parts of the community, says SRO Supervisor Sergeant Chance Mallett.

The New Melle Food Co-op soft opened on April 28 and is located at 3554 Mill St. on the lower level. The Co-op is stocked with local meat, local dairy, local produce, local grains, local delicacies, local lifestyle products, prepared foods and a host of other items; the one-stop location is growing fast.

The Augusta Community Food Drive will be taking donations through May 28. Help stock the shelves of local neighborhood food pantries, including Augusta Community Outdoor Food Pantry, St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry – New Melle, Southern Warren & St. Charles County Food Pantry – Marthasville.

The City of New Melle is pleased to announce that the East/West Gateway Council awarded a grant for the construction of a multi-use trail in New Melle. Last August, Nathan Buehrle, with Cochran Engineering, worked diligently to submit the grant for the City of New Melle for the multi-use trail.

Story and Photos by Floyd and Kathy Miller

The 20th Anniversary of the Augusta Plein Air Art Festival came to a close on Saturday, April 29 after ten days and some nights of painting, workshops and judging. The 2023 Plein Air had 125 registered artists from 15 states, with 27 new artists this year. There were 14 event hosts and four workshop hosts.