POKIN AROUND: From a grateful columnist: Thanks for reading

There are so many more stories I wanted to tell you. But I've run out of time and this is my final Pokin Around column.

Mar 19, 2012 | 1:00 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: My moment of truth: the drug screen

I stood alone in the bathroom, clear cup in hand, ready to deliver.

Mar 12, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Unopposed office seeker wants Dardenne Prairie mayor to resign; blasts solar project

One of the first things Kerry Tebbe promises to do when sworn in as a Ward 1 alderman in Dardenne Prairie is ask long-time Mayor Pam Fogarty to resign "to spare the city any further embarrassment regarding expenditures."

Mar 05, 2012 | 4:12 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

• Related: Clayton's big solar project will help power its new police station
• Related: St. Charles County: 10 ways cities are going green
• Related: Dardenne Prairie officials plan for move to new City Hall
• Related: Dardenne Prairie City Hall on track for June completion

POKIN AROUND: All things Leap Year: Leap Day, Leaplings and 29ers

Newspaper style dictates Leap Year be cast in lower case with the likes of "income tax day," "jeans day" or "trash pickup day."

Feb 29, 2012 | 7:02 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: 17 years later, mother waits for murderer's execution

Carol Angelbeck doesn't think about her daughter's murderer much any more.

Feb 22, 2012 | 6:45 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: St. Louis collector finds best spot to turn back clock is at New Town

Robert Smith was looking for the perfect location for the business he had long dreamed of opening.

Feb 15, 2012 | 7:12 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Hanging with a UFO group; or, what did you just say?

Last Wednesday night I attended the monthly meeting of the UFO Study Group of Greater St. Louis. The group gathers in a big room in the St. Louis County Library on Lindbergh Boulevard.

Feb 06, 2012 | 6:00 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Corrections chief fires two, but citizens panel says no

St. Charles County is suing one of its own citizen commissions after it overturned the dismissal of two officers at the county jail for not noticing on video monitors that in the jail's garage a deputy was struggling with a DWI suspect trying to escape.

Jan 30, 2012 | 3:41 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: St. Charles pastor has come to accept sudden dementia

Last summer during a Sunday worship service, the Rev. Jeff Spaulding, 55, in his 32nd year of ministry, suddenly stopped. He could not recall the words for blessing the elements during communion.

Jan 16, 2012 | 11:12 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Busy 'piano man' works on his bucket list

Al Crowder, 72, has a bucket list. It's not that his health is failing or anything like that. In fact, other than having a cataract removed and some difficulty with his hearing, he's in great shape.

Jan 10, 2012 | 6:43 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: What do you buy the man who allegedly groped your wife?

One of the more surprising lawsuits filed in St. Charles County in 2011 contained the allegation by a female employee at the St. Charles County Election Authority that her boss, Director Rich Chrismer, sexually harassed her.

Jan 03, 2012 | 7:53 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Customer service that's not so awesome

What is "A" for? It's for "Awesome customer service." Of course.

Dec 23, 2011 | 10:58 am | (Loading… ) comments.

STEVE POKIN: Ex-De Smet, Francis Howell teacher/coach linked to 14 sexual-abuse allegations

In this post-Penn State era, things are moving fast in the wake of a local allegation of sex abuse against a former teacher and coach at De Smet Jesuit High School in Creve Coeur.

Dec 19, 2011 | 6:12 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: O'Fallon Councilman Lucas faces tax lien, ethics fine

What's going on in the life of O'Fallon Councilman Rick Lucas?

Dec 12, 2011 | 8:34 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: With group homes, neighbors say anywhere but my block

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Tuesday night the St. Charles City Council voted 8-0 to approve an Emmaus Homes application for a group home located on Town and Country Lane.

Dec 05, 2011 | 6:12 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: 'To who ever finds this note,’

In January, Sam and Susan Keller were between tenants at one of their rental homes, so they decided to do a major remodeling of the kitchen.

Nov 29, 2011 | 11:13 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: St. Peters woman says city discriminates against the developmentally disabled

Is it possible for a city to cap the number of developmentally disabled adults who can live within its corporate limits?

Nov 14, 2011 | 5:21 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: It'll be pay to play in St. Charles parks

The thousands who play youth softball, baseball, soccer and football in the city of St Charles will have to "pay to play" starting Jan. 1.That's when the St. Charles Parks and Recreation Department will charge nonprofits for using park fields.

Nov 07, 2011 | 7:32 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Is King Solomon needed to solve trailer quandary in St. Peters?

Psssst! I want to let you in on a little secret in St. Peters.

Nov 01, 2011 | 9:34 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Retired accountant morphs into body builder at 64

Don Ohmes, a mild-mannered accountant, had a fitness vision. He decided at age 64 that he wanted to compete in body building.

Oct 24, 2011 | 5:00 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Warrior Dash: If the course doesn't kill you, the obstacles will

With brutal hills, ruts, fallen trees and low-hanging branches, it was one of the most challenging cross-country courses I'd seen.

Oct 17, 2011 | 5:00 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

• Video: Taking the challenge at the Warrior Dash in Old Monroe, Mo.
• Related: Waiver form for Warrior Dash
• Related: Warrior Dash photo gallery

POKIN AROUND: A homeowners association without any homeowners

When I called Darrell Beaver, president of the Villas at Ridgepointe Homeowners Association in Lake Saint Louis, I mentioned that I'd talked to Pat Van Thull. This apparently sent his blood pressure soaring.

Oct 10, 2011 | 1:12 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

STEVE POKIN COLUMN: Child molester stands before judge: Will it be life? 12 years?

He showed his wife how to search the Internet for sex offenders to keep her children — now their children — safe from predators.

Sep 30, 2011 | 11:18 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Time in the Big Apple: subway mariachis and Pulitzer prizes

Last week I was in New York City visiting friends. Here are a few snippets of my vacation.

Sep 26, 2011 | 6:57 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND Love turns sour; woman wants engagement notice to vanish

Last week someone I know, a publisher of a paper, not the Journal, heard from an irate reader.

Sep 19, 2011 | 8:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Women's roller derby – mouth guards, hard hits and fishnet stockings

The women of roller derby hit hard, play rough and wear mouth guards. When there's a big hit the crowd reacts, like in football.

Sep 13, 2011 | 10:14 am | (Loading… ) comments.

• Video: Roller Derby Women

POKIN AROUND: Who's selling my UMSL student insurance?

Last month I noticed a letter gathering water stains on my kitchen table. It was from the University of Missouri at St. Louis, addressed to my son, a student there.

Sep 06, 2011 | 8:45 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: If you legalize it, they will come; gay couples ride to Iowa to wed

This is the wedding day for six couples who ride a charter bus from St. Louis to Iowa City, Iowa. Gay marriage has been legal in Iowa since April 2009.

Aug 29, 2011 | 5:30 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

• Video: Gay couples go to Iowa to get married

POKIN AROUND: Dardenne Prairie's first park/playground a gem

After 30 years Dardenne Prairie finally will have a park with a playground.

Aug 26, 2011 | 6:03 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Fires and death: a tremendously sad scene

A fluorescent-orange notice is posted at the front door: Danger, Keep Out.

Aug 19, 2011 | 1:10 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Who do I work for? Readers not always sure

At least one of you, I predict, is going to post a comment on the online version of this story that says something like: "I can't believe the Post-Dispatch considers this news!"

Aug 15, 2011 | 6:05 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: A fish story on so many different levels

Did someone really pull a relative of the piranha out of the placid waters of Lake Saint Louis Tuesday?

Aug 12, 2011 | 7:15 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Despite some hard landings, radio-control pilots have fun

On Sunday morning I stood where Steve O'Connor's wife for years steadfastly refused to stand. I stood next to him.

Aug 08, 2011 | 5:56 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Broken arm in ambulance leads to wrongful death

Wrongful Death. Clifford Kaltenbach vs. the St. Charles County Ambulance District. Filed Feb. 4; settled for $50,000 three weeks later.

Aug 05, 2011 | 5:12 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: All I want is quality care, not a 'destination site'

It's been years since I subjected myself to a colonoscopy.

Aug 01, 2011 | 4:02 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Someone wanted me to know about fire vehicle at liquor store

On Friday night, June 24, an O'Fallon Fire Protection District vehicle was parked outside a liquor store 150 miles from home.

Jul 28, 2011 | 9:27 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Man learns his lesson: Don’t point laser at aircraft

Justin Stouder, 26, walked before the TV cameras flanked by nine serious-looking men, including the special agent in charge of the FBI office in St. Louis.

Jul 25, 2011 | 4:09 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: When meth labs explode, uninsured cooks end up in burn unit

With growing regularity, many of the nine beds at the burn unit of St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur are occupied by uninsured meth cooks.

Jul 22, 2011 | 6:35 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND VIDEO: How hot is it ... over there?

Columnist Steve Pokin traveled St. Charles County with a video camera asking how hot it is in places that include a church bell tower and dry cleaners.

Jul 20, 2011 | 11:41 am | (Loading… ) comments.

• Video: POKIN AROUND How hot is it ... over there?

POKIN AROUND: St. Charles' cultural flagship, the Foundry, packing 'em in

"Splish Splash," if you were takin' a bath, long about Friday night, you would have missed a sold-out performance by tribute artist Robert Shaw, who sang the songs of Bobby Darin at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles.

Jul 18, 2011 | 5:48 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Where did the escrow go?

First the home builders went under. Then some of the banks went under. And now people like Brett Groennert of Dardenne Prairie are wondering what happened to the financial safety net that was supposed to fix things in their subdivision.

Jul 15, 2011 | 2:33 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Got a question? You can text the pastor at booming church

Is tithing based on gross or net income?

Jul 11, 2011 | 4:41 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

• Related: St. Charles churches look to reap what they sow
• Related: POKIN AROUND: Once drifting toward death, pastor recovers from head-on crash
• Related: POKIN AROUND: The nomads of St. Charles search for worship space

POKIN AROUND: No need for a private eye; divorce combatants post damaging info themselves

A decade ago you'd have to pay a private detective a tidy sum to find out if your soon-to-be ex-spouse was cheating on you or drinking and drugging while your kids lived under the same roof.

Jul 08, 2011 | 4:45 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: The true adventures of me and my running buddy

For the past three years my running buddy here in St. Charles County has been Andy. We meet at 6 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday to run the Katy Trail.

Jul 04, 2011 | 1:27 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Old-school sexual perversion in St. Charles County

When I was a boy times were simpler. We rode our bikes behind the mosquito fogger. We drank from hoses. Gas was 29 cents a gallon. And the neighborhood perverts actually had to go out and work at their perversion.

Jun 30, 2011 | 8:45 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Police officers' supernatural novel to make debut

Lake Saint Louis Police Chief Mike Force and Capt. Chris DiGiuseppi have written a novel, "The Light Bringer." It starts with the question, "Why?"

Jun 27, 2011 | 6:22 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Smokers need not apply at SSM in Missouri

On Friday SSM Health Care will start a policy of not hiring smokers in Missouri.

Jun 24, 2011 | 4:55 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Couple asks tree-cutting pipeline company: You want to do WHAT to my backyard?

When the advance man for the tree cutters came to the St. Peters home of Bob and Cissy Wadlow on Thursday the couple couldn't believe what they heard.

Jun 20, 2011 | 5:15 pm | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: I keep thinking I need to buy a Father's Day card

In department stores there are Father's Day specials. I flip on TV and commercials remind me of the day.

Jun 17, 2011 | 10:57 am | (Loading… ) comments.

POKIN AROUND: Aviation group offers flights in WWII bomber

I sat in the nose turret of the B-25 bomber. I handled the 50-caliber gun. I took a turn in the pilot's seat. I crawled through the narrow passage to the tail-gunner's post.

Jun 13, 2011 | 6:30 pm | (Loading… ) comments.