Friday, March 02, 2012

Public Safety Director's Spotlight - "Arch Madness" Time

Published: 03-01-2012
Catch the basketball tournament action at Scottrade Center, stop by a Friday night Unfish Fry and more!
Eddie Roth, Director of Public Safety

New Director

Hello everyone. Each week you have been receiving the Spotlight newsletter, and as the new Public Safety Director I plan to continue the practice of highlighting several of the fun and exciting events scheduled in St. Louis each weekend. I am very excited about this next chapter in the history of the Department of Public Safety. Thanks to a grant from IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge initiative the City has been presented with a number of recommendations for reducing crime by  improving coordination, communication, and accountability among the various law enforcement, criminal justice and public safety entities in the City. One of my tasks will be to coordinate the implementation of these recommendations. I look forward to helping improve the service that is provided to you, the residents of St. Louis. Please feel free to contact my office with any comments or concerns you may have.

Upcoming Events

Feb. 29 – March 2 – National Frame Building Expo, America's Center
Hundreds of industry professionals (builders, suppliers, architects, engineers) both local and from the across the country are attending the National Frame Building Association's 2012 Frame Building Expo at America's Center. If you are a building professional and want to attend the expo, visit http://www.nfba.org/ for all the details.
March 1 – 4 - Missouri Valley Conference, Scottrade Center
It's "Arch Madness" time! Ten teams from the Missouri Valley Conference will converge on St. Louis this weekend. For a schedule of games and ticket information, visit http://www.scottradecenter.com/ .
March 2 – The Unfish Fry, First Unitarian Church of St. Louis
Come out and try something different –an all Vegetarian/Vegan version of the Friday night Fry. The menu will include homemade falafel, hummus, veggie chili, and many side dishes. The event will have a focus of using fresh, great tasting ingredients. The Unfish Fry will run from 6 – 8 p.m. First Unitarian Church of St. Louis is located at 5007 Waterman Blvd. in the trendy Central West End neighborhood. For more details, visit http://firstuustlouis.org/ .
March 2 & 3 – Downtown St. Louis Idiotarod
The annual Downtown St. Louis Idiotarod returns March 2 and 3. This event honors the Alaskan Iditarod where dogs pull a sled across the Iditarod Trail. The Downtown St. Louis event replaces the dogs with people, the sled with a shopping cart, and fortitude with comedy. Be at Old Post Office Plaza, 8th and Locust, at 11 a.m. both days to see the teams "parade" before the start of the "Scramble" at Noon. The Finish Line will be Rosalita's (1235 Washington Avenue) with an Awards Ceremony at 2 p.m. All donations will go to benefit Operation Food Search. Want more information? Visit http://www.downtownstlouis.org/ .
March 3 – Grant Writing Workshop, Cabanne Branch Library
The Institute For Faith Based Services, Inc., is holding a free grant writing workshop this Saturday. Community and faith-based organizations – as well as individuals – are invited to attend. Attendees may choose between two times. The first workshop will run from 10 a.m. until Noon. The second will run from 2 until 4 p.m. To register for the workshop, call (314) 723-6206 or email ifbsinc@gmail.com. Cabanne Branch Library is located at 1106 N. Union Blvd.
March 10 – Concordia Turner Trivia Night
The Concordia Gymnastic Society is inviting all trivia buffs to its Trivia Night on Saturday, March 10. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and trivia will begin at 7 p.m. Beer, wine, soda and light snacks will be included in the price. Cost is $160 per team, maximum of eight players. Reservations MUST be in by Friday, March 2. Mail or drop off check and team member list to Concordia, 6432 Gravois, St. Louis, MO 63116. Questions? Call (314) 352-9388.
March 8 – GOOD Ideas for Cities, Contemporary Art Museum
Last year, GOOD Ideas for Cities issued a call for creative teams willing to be assigned a challenge by a local urban leader, then work with that leader to create a potential solution. On Thursday, March 8 the teams will present and discuss their solutions in front of a live audience at Contemporary Art Museum (CAM). Afterwards, enjoy drinks and a discussion on how to make these ideas a reality for St. Louis. Creative teams include: Arch City Revival, Brain Drain, HOK FIT, STL Provocateur, ACTivate the City, Live the Lou and STL Alley Lovers. The doors will open at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m. The Museum is located at 3750 Washington Blvd. RSVP via CAM's Facebook page.

Save the Date

March 9 – Caribbean Food Fundraiser, Salvation Army
March 10 – Fight for Air Climb: Mater the Met
March 10 – St. Louis Community Farmer's Market, St. John's Episcopal Church
March 10 – Hooray for Hollywood Trivia Night, St. Vincent DePaul Church
March 12 – Disasters! Are YOU Ready? Carpenter Branch Library
March 12 – Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis 94th Annual Dinner Meeting, Millennium Hotel

Sign Up for Nixle

The Department of Public Safety's City Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) provides free emergency alert service through Nixle. After you register for the service, you will receive our informative and timely text messages on your cell phone and/or as emails on your computer (depending on the type of notification method you selected). Visit the Nixle web site today at http://www.Nixle.com/ and sign up for the free service.

Promoting Your Neighborhood Activities

Is there a neighborhood event on the schedule that you would like noted in the Spotlight? If so, you may email the information about it to me at rothe@stlouiscity.com or to Cathy Smentkowski at smentkowskic@stlouiscity.com for consideration. You may also post it on the City's Calendar of Events on the City's web site: http://stlouis-mo.gov . The link to submit an event is on the home page. The listing is free. I encourage you to take advantage of this free way to promote your event.

Public Safety is No Accident

Let me conclude this week's newsletter with a reminder that you are the eyes and ears of your neighborhood. For those of you who have become members of a neighborhood citizen patrol, thank you. Your work on the patrol is very important. However, you don't have to be a member of a neighborhood patrol to know when some type of activity seems suspicious. I encourage you to say something if you see something. If you don't have the number to the St. Louis Regional Crimestoppers programmed into your cell phone, here it is: (866) 371-8477. Working together, we can and will keep our neighborhoods safe.

Eddie Roth
Director of Public Safety
City of St. Louis

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