Weldon Spring on verge of expanded police protection
Weldon Spring residents may soon see a big increase in patrolling by the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department.
Under a proposed agreement between the city and the county, Weldon Spring would pay about $170,000 a year for patrols totaling 10 hours a day. That time would be interspersed through each 24-hour period.
Now the city gets just a half-hour of patrolling on each of three shifts, in other words 90 minutes a day. That costs only $5,270 a year.
A three-year contract for the increased patrolling was introduced at Monday night’s County Council meeting. A separate measure would allow the county to hire two additional sheriff’s deputies so the department can handle the extra Weldon Spring workload. The council likely will vote on the two bills on Feb. 24.
City Administrator Michael Padella said public safety and an increased police presence have been a high priority in city surveys of residents. Mayor Don Licklider said he gets complaints about speeding and drivers running stop signs; he hopes the added patrols and police “face time” will cut down on such activity.
Licklider said he hopes that the extra patrols will begin in April or May.
The subject has been debated at Weldon Spring City Hall for several years. In 2002, the Board of Aldermen turned down a federal grant to help pay for extra sheriff’s patrols, with opponents saying they weren’t needed and that the city’s share of the cost could be better used on other things such as road repairs. No federal grant is involved in the current proposal.
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This sounds like a very cost effective way to step up police protection for a small city like Weldon Spring. The sheriff’s department can do a great job.
Are you kidding me. The one article said that there were “flecks” of a substance. This would indicate a small amount. This not only means that there was a small amount of the DRUG present, but the student could have potentially used the DRUG on campus. The article also says that the dean was a former police officer. I’m pretty sure that a former police officer knows what marijuana looks, smells like. School law and civic law are different. Just because there was not enough to arrest the student, doesnt mean that there wasn’t any marijuana present. Do you really want your kid in a school where a kid is not disciplined in any way for having DRUGS or reminants of drugs on campus. Come on. You have to be kidding me. Read between the lines here. Mrs. Kelley is trying to save her job. Of course she is not going to admit to this.
I haven’t had a child in the FHSD for 5 years. However, some things never change. Shelley Kelley is right, anyone who thinks outside the box is not wanted in the district. And for anyone naive enough to believe that FHSD is looking out for your child, think again. What a relief when we no longer had to deal with the FHHS administators. Two of my children have graduated from college (Mizzou) and one is still attending college. Not one of them wants to raise their children in this district.