St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 37

38. JUN ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH METRO THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2002 ILLINOIS ijjl Testimony begins in trial of man in wife's killing Mental health workers picket, want raises ,1 i gued that Kapeller arranged to have his children with him so Clark could go to the house, where his wife and children lived. Early the next morning, Clark came into their home in St Peters and attacked Janice Kapeller, slitting her throat Later, Kapeller and the children came back to the house, where the children found their mother's body laying under a sheet and breaches of 24-hour, one-to-one patient care and monitoring. Last week, a male resident of the Bellefontaine group home suffered cuts to his genitals.

The incident is under investigation by police and the state Department of Mental Health. Anne Deaton, who heads the department's Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, rejected the suggestion that any staffer at Bellefontaine had violated departmental guidelines for supervising the resident Deaton said she sympathized with the pickets' requests for more workers and higher pay. "We feel that the direct care worker is the linchpin (of the system)," she said. "But the state is very challenged right now." Reporter Imran VWachl: E-mail: Phone: 314-340-8110 Flag Raising Ceremony 0 Saturday, June 22, 2002 at 11:00 a.m. Mayor Francis Slay, Joe Frank, Past National Commander of The American Legion, Jon Fueglein, Commander of Post 777 John Eckhoff, Chairman of Homeless Veterans Burial Program will raise the POW-MIAflag in south St.

Louis By Valerie Schremp Of the Post-Dispatch Testimony began Wednesday in the capital murder trial of Christopher Kapeller, who is accused of hiring a hitman to kill his estranged wife. Defense attorneys tried to argue that Michael Clark, the hitman, told nine different stories to police. During opening arguments in the trial at St Charles County Circuit Court, they said that police suggested to Clark that someone else may have been involved, and that he is only testifying to get a lighter sentence. Prosecutors said there was more to their case than Michael Clark. Clark, 32, would get a life sentence for a second-degree murder charge in exchange for his testimony.

"We wiU not ask you to take Mr. Clark's word for it," said prosecutor Philip Groenweghe. "Most of the evidence presented in this case will be confirmation." They said that Kapeller's main motive was money. His wife, Janice, had three life insurance policies worth more than $388,000. They were getting a divorce and when it became final, he would no longer be the beneficiary.

Christopher KapeUer, 43, was keeping the couple's children, a boy, then 13, and a girl, then 10, overnight on July 3 last year. Janice Kapeller, 39, had been upset because she insisted that her husband was not supposed to have them overnight. Prosecutors ar at the Kriegshauser South Mortuary. This cermony is a tribute to approximately 125,000 soldiers who have been placed on the MIA rolls since World War I. As the flag is raised the names of Missouri's 53 POW-MIA's from the Vietnam War will be read aloud Kriegshauser South 4228 South Kingshighway Boulevard (314) 351-4320 sympathizes but state budget is tight ByImranVittachi Of the Post-Dispatch Keith Jackson, who has cared for patients at Bellefontaine Ha-bilitation Center for 16 years, is among hundreds of state workers on the front lines of Missouri's mental health system.

He joined about 25 other state mental health workers Wednesday who picketed outside the group home in north St Louis County, calling for higher wages and a reversal of recent staff cuts. "I care for my clients, but I cant give them my best," said Jackson, a father of three from Lamping Downtown is best home for team, Lamping says Continued from Bl "We need to replace Busch Stadium. Busch Stadium will be replaced," Lamping said. "We hope that it happens in the city of St Louis and downtown. It is where it belongs.

want to get it done in downtown. No one should be confused by that" How the financing for a new stadium will come together has yet to be decided. Lamping said 15 proposals have crossed his desk, including those from cities and counties in Missouri and Illinois as well as private developers. Districts 2 school districts contest French Village change Continued from Bl area to be detached. They noted that the district already is facing a deficit next year.

Grant-Dlini officials cited a lack of space and resources to Note: This ceremony had been scheduled for May 11, 2002. Out of respect to Captain Derek Martin and Captain Robert Morrison, who gave their lives for others, the ceremony was postponed. Ugly Concrete? Here is the rock solid solution that covers your existing concrete! The beautiful and durable PebblestoneEpoxy System is applied over your Driveway Basement Floor Porch and Walkway Patio Garage Floor Pool Deck more! Available in 15 colors America's Premiere Decorative Concrete Resurfacing Company Saint Louis Resurfacing, Inc. (314) tfHSftftSl. 57 WSmU Special Senior WWW.StlreSUrfacing.com Citizens Discount Christopher KapeUer dabbed his eyes as autopsy photos of his wife were shown.

While prosecutors played a 911 tape of his call to police, he shook with silent sobs. "My wife is on the floor in the hall under a sheet!" he had cried to the dispatcher, his voice rising higher with each word. Reporter Valerie Schremp: E-mail: Phone: 636-946-3903 ext. 233 existing: I 1 4 i If I i 1 The NIE Summer School offer Is open to accredited teachers In grades -college, where St. Louis Post-Dispatch delivery Is available.

While supplies last. EI '1 Florissant who is a direct care giver at the home. To supplement his and his wife's combined salary of $30,000 as group home workers, he moonlights at Wal-Mart Picket organizers and participants said overworked staffs can lead to dangerous lapses of supervision. "These workers are working with groups in the population that nobody (else) really wants to deal with There should be no state workers living in poverty," said Margarida Jorge, an organizer with Local 2730 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union represents 5,000 mental health workers in Missouri.

The group home where they picketed is among several live-in centers that have been cited since 1999 for multiple cases of abuse Some of have been weeded out Others are still in the mix, he said, declining to get more specific. Among the crowd at the open house was St. Peters Mayor Tom Brown, who has offered the Cardinals land to build a stadium. Brown has since backed down from making a proposal to the Cardinals until they have more time to work out an agreement with St Louis. At least five St Louis aldermen were present as well as Barbara Geisman, Mayor Francis Slay's director of development Geisman called Lamping's comments encouraging.

"I think all things being semi-equal (with other proposals), they would like to stay downtown," Geisman said. "But there are a lot of other players in the game now." deal with the new students. The Belleville High School District, which also will get students from the detached area, has remained neutral on the issue. Residents of French Village who petitioned for the detachment said their children were denied educational opportunities in the East St. Louis district, especially in middle school and high school.

Some parents also testified that their children had been harassed or beaten up at school. patch. The newspaper on Sunday published a story examining the ad campaigns of both candidates. While critiquing a Ryan ad on abortion, the critique stated: "The ad skirts the fact that Jim Ryan opposes abortion in all cases, including rape and incest." Ryan's campaign alleges the Blagojevich ad intentionally doesn't include the context for the "skirts the fact" wording, making ST. LOUIS DEATHS was there that he started rock 'n' roll dances on Tuesday evenings and a jitterbug variation that became known as the St.

Louis Imperial was born. Edick Ran Club Imperial "George opened the doors for a lot of people back when rock 'n' roll was pretty much taboo," said local musician Jules Blattner, whose group, Jules Blattner and the Teen Tones, played there. In the club's heyday, Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm played Tuesday nights with a young singer named Anna Mae Bullock, later known as Tina Turner. After the Turners became big stars in the late 1960s, they didn't forget their roots. They returned to play at the club on visits and even recorded some songs from the album "Dee and Tina Turner Revue Live" at Club Imperial.

a past president of the Gateway Decorative Artists, recently honored with the Gold Brush Award. About 10 years ago, she had a holiday ornament accepted for a special display at the Smithsonian Institution. She married Ronald Thompson in 1962. She took art classes at St Louis Community CoUege at Florissant Valley, and at the urging of instructors, started teaching soon after. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m.

today at St. Angela Merici Church in Florissant, with burial at Sacred Heart FREE ESTIMATES It X. Jim Ryan challenges TV ad for Slay, who did not attend the open house, said earlier in the day that he had no intention of letting the Cardinals slip away. "I'm not going to be deterred," Slay said before speaking to the Press Club of St. Louis.

Slay said the city would have a proposal to the Cardinals "within the next couple of months." Lamping said the Cardinals had no plans to go back to the state for help, but he would provide no details on other funding options. "We're a long way from where we are now to where we're going to be," Lamping said. "But the Cardinals' preference has not changed. That is downtown St Louis as part of a neighborhood." Reporter Doug Moore: E-mail: Phone: 314-622-3580 Regional board President Kenneth Joseph said the board's decision was mainly based on the type of education the students in die petitioning area are getting and would get in the future. The regional board's unanimous decision also said that the East St Louis district would lose 1.3 percent of its revenue and contended that such a loss would cause the district no hardship.

Reporter Robert Kelly: E-mail: Phone: 618-695-3636 Blagojevich it appear that the newspaper had said Ryan "skirts the facts" in general. "Rod Blagojevich is not only making up things about Jim Ryan, now he is manufacturing newspaper quotes," Steve Culli-ton, Jim Ryan's campaign director, said in the statement. Blagojevich spokesman Pete Giangreco stood by the ad, saying it accurately represented what was in the newspaper article. After the Turners headed west, Bob Kuban and The In-Men headlined on Tuesday nights for three years. Kuban said Mr.

Edick helped promote his band and their recording, "The Cheater." "He was a marketing genius," Kuban said. "George was the reason for the success of many local bands and some national acts. He was a big part of our success and will be truly missed." Mr. Edick also hosted a television show at the club, "Party Time," which was broadcast on KPLR (Channel 11) in the early 1960s. Visitation will be at 12:30 p.m.

today, with a funeral at 1:30 p.m., both at Buchholz Mortuary, 1645 Redman Road, Spanish Lake. Burial will be in Valhalla Cemetery, 7600 St Charles Rock Road. Besides his wife, among survivors are a son, Gregory Edick of Jennings; two daughters, Chris Witte of Florissant and Jan Davis of Wentzville; and five From Staff Reports SPRINGFIELD, HI. Jim Ryan, Republican candidate for governor, on Wednesday accused his Democratic rival, Rod Blagojevich, of "misquoting" the Post-Dispatch in a new Blagojevich advertisement The Blagojevich ad attacks Ryan while showing the words f'skirts the facts." The ad attributes the words to the Post-Dis George S. Edick Nightclub owner, promoter ByLynnVenhaus Of the Post-Dispatch Nightclub owner and promoter George S.

Edick, who helped boost the careers of Chuck Berry and Ike Turner and Tina Turner, died Tuesday (June 11, 2002) of congestive heart failure at his home in Jennings. He was 86. Mr. Edick was born in Chicago and moved to St. Louis in 1928.

He married the former Norma Summers in 1948. Mr. Edick operated The Roaring Twenties nightclub in Gaslight Square in the 1960s, but it was at the groundbreaking Club Imperial in north St Louis where a swing-dance style originated and rock legends were launched. In 1952, he opened Club Imperial at Goodfellow Boulevard and West Florissant Avenue, with Big Band music and appearances by Stan Kenton and Louis Prima. It 1 4 i i -imi k.

jfe -ur1 Tl. I 'at'. I it i V'T -ni 1 'j jiii, i mil' i i-nr, rt. t. Mir Mrv i' 3f I "Extra! Extra! FREE newspapers for ummer School Teachers!" teacher in session in our delivery area.

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And the best part is it's absolutely FREE! From June through August, the Post-Dispatch NIE program offers FREE newspapers and FREE curriculum materials to any Ruth Ann Thompson Artist and teacher Ruth Ann Thompson, a local artist and art teacher, died Monday (June 10, 2002) of complications from surgery at DePaul Health Center. She was 63 and lived in Florissant Mrs. Thompson frequently displayed oil and acrylic paintings at shows and local restaurants. For Jhe past eight years, she taught art classes at a studio in her home. She was an active member and Among survivors are her husband, Ronald Thompson; a son, Stanley Thompson of Chesterfield; three brothers, Justin McMenamy of Independence, Raymond McMenamy of Springfield, and the Rev.

Al-vin McMenamy of St Louis; four sisters, Teresa Renaud of Florissant, Alma Mandeville of Springfield, Vera Gittemeier of Jacksonville, and Eileen Laramie of St Paul, and two grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Marianist Missions, P.O. Box 23130, St Louis, Mo. 63156. rue ST.

LOUIS POST-DISPATCH.