Area fire departments battled four fires in St. Francois County that left properties destroyed Sunday and Monday.
At 10:30 a.m Monday, firefighters were dispatched to a residential fire in the 400 block of Old Irondale Road between Highway 32 and Irondale.
Bismarck Fire Chief John Colwell said that crews were met with heavy smoke and extreme temperatures upon arrival. They began attacking the fire, eventually striking a third alarm for additional water and manpower.
Flames erupt from the roof of a house on Old Irondale Road Monday as fire crews work to contain the blaze. Courtesy of the Bismarck Fire Department
Colwell said it took approximately two-and-a-half to three hours to get the fire under control. He said the house is considered a total loss as a result of the fire, and the cause is currently under investigation. No injuries were reported.
Since 2016, the Ste. Genevieve Trolley has been transporting tourists around the city and county of Ste. Genevieve and parts of St. Francois County, providing safe transportation to winery enthusiasts and vacationers.
The idea started when the owner, Sam Oberle would travel to see his father and stop in Hermann, Missouri, along the way.
âOne time I took the trolley, and one time I didnât take the trolley,â he said. âThe time I took the trolley it made it 100 times better, it made it more fun and relaxing. I started thinking, why not start one in Ste. Genevieve? With wineries and the town of Ste. Genevieve, everything is starting to take off, and itâs really good for the town. A lot of people enjoy it, we have a lot of support from the community with sponsorships and advertisements.â
By Editor | December 30, 2020
By Mark Evans
mevans@stegenherald.com
Blindsiding America and the world, the novel coronavirus called COVID-19 became a focus of local attention at the beginning of March.
Sandra Bell, executive director of the Ste. Genevieve County Health Department, began updating the County Commission twice a week on the situation and addressed the Ste. Genevieve Board of Aldermen meetings regularly.
She first met with them on March 2 and reported that Missouri had just reported its first case. There were 164 cases nationally, although that figure had doubled in one day. Bell noted that figures “change almost hourly.”
COVID-19 test kits were ordered and the battle against the virus began.
Donor replaces bike 10-year-old got for Christmas that was stolen by thief
FARMINGTON, Missouri (KMOV) Laura Redmond of Farmington, Mo. admits that she splurged a little this Christmas with the bicycles she bought for two of her sons, 9-year old Tyler and 10-year old Tristan.
“This was the first year they got really good BMX bikes. That’s what they wanted,” said Redmond.
Redmond said she was glad the boys wanted something that would take them outside and give them good exercise, especially Tristan, whom she called her “video gamer.”
But Tristan got a shock when he went to ride his bike Monday morning and saw that someone had accidentally left the garage open all night. Sometime in the night, a thief stole his new BMX bicycle.
St. Francois County jail faces class-action lawsuit alleging ‘unlawful’ conditions
December 28, 2020
St. Francois County jail in Farmington is facing a class-action lawsuit for “unlawful” conditions. // Courtesy Missouri Independent
When Bonne Terre resident Robert Hopple entered the St. Francois County Detention Center in May 2018, he was placed in a small holding cell with about ten other men for roughly three days.
Hopple, 49, says the jail staff gave him a urine-soaked mat and a thin blanket to sleep on the floor while some men slept standing up.
When he was moved to the jail’s general population area, conditions didn’t improve.