ST. LOUIS COUNTY > Superintendent's health care perk draws fire — A deal that keeps Ferguson-Florissant Superintendent Jeff Spiegel in the position through the end of the school year by giving him and his wife free health care for life drew ire from residents and teachers at Wednesday night's school board meeting, the first since the perk became public. The board voted on the matter last summer, after Spiegel had informed them he planned to retire at the end of the 2009-10 school year. The Post-Dispatch reported the details of the deal last month. No one knows how much the benefit will cost, but the board estimates the cost should be no more than about $218,000.

"It's ludicrous that the board has allocated $200,000 for Mr. Spiegel and his wife for the rest of their lives," said Steve Marler, a resident and husband of a teacher who recently retired from the district. "This is an horrendously wrong choice by the board." Board President Les Lentz said the deal was worth it to delay a search for a new superintendent, who would have cost more money in salary than Spiegel. Spiegel makes $211,653, plus a car allowance of $781 a month and a contribution to an annuity of $17,740 annually. "We were strapped financially," Lentz said. "Search firms told us a new superintendent would cost $230,000 to $250,000 a year. This is a cheap investment for stabilizing our district."

MANCHESTER > Proposal would boost acting police chief's salary — A bill is pending before the Board of Aldermen that would grant Tim Walsh all salary and benefits as acting Manchester police chief that he would have received had an effort to make him permanent chief succeeded. It will be on the Sept. 20 agenda.

The vote to make Walsh permanent chief failed in a 3-2 vote last month with an abstention. Walsh has been acting chief for 14 months and now earns about $70,000 annually. The failed bill, as well as the new bill, provides for an $85,000 annual salary and $7,500 stipend to address the interim period work.

GRANITE CITY > City hopes to clean up unsightly spot — Granite City aldermen have voted to give the mayor approval to apply for a state grant of $30,000 to help cover the cost of eradicating an eyesore on the city's east side. The total project is expected to cost about $60,000. The site the city hopes to target is from East 23rd Street west to Nameoki Road, which officials say is unsightly, in part, because of high brush and weeds and a fence that needs to be replaced. In the future, officials hope to make similar improvements in another older area of the city along the lesser-traveled Edwardsville Road.

VALLEY PARK > City to make sewer, street improvements — Valley Park's Board of Aldermen has voted in favor of financing $6 million dollars in sewer and street improvements in Ward 1, which covers the downtown area. The aging streets, which are within the levee's protection, are prone to flooding during heavy rains.

The aldermen also voted to name a road leading to the boat ramp in the new Meramec Levee Recreation Center "Cal Hedrick Way" in honor of former Mayor Cal Hedrick, who served from 1978 to 1982.

From correspondent reports