St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page B001

JOIN US ONLINE STLTODAY.COMMETRO E-MAIL US METR0P0ST DISPATCH.COM COMMUNITY STOCKING STUFFERS Check out these ideas for stuffing your Christmas stockings without breaking the bank. stltoday.comlifestyle Christmas lights adorn the trees and houses along Murdoch Avenue, in the PHOTOS BY ROBERT St. Louis Hills neighborhood. SUSAN WEICH 636-255-7207 'Candy Cane Lane9 Residents in 6500 block of Murdoch Avenue 2010 is target for Katy project Final 11-mile segment of trail will be done. BY MARK SCHLINKMANN mschlinkmannpost-dispatch.

com 636-255-7203 ST. CHARLES COUNTY A new target date of next fall has been set for the completion of long-delayed work on the eastern tip of the Katy Trail. The project will complete the 11-mile segment connecting St. Charles and the Machens area to the northeast, between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Judd Slivka, a spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources, said the agency now hopes to begin the project in April and that it's expected to take about six months.

For years, state officials have wanted to take the trail to Machens, but the floods of 1993 and 1995 left two large areas of standing water on the trail. After the state decided that building abridge over one 600-foot gap would be too costly, other options were looked into. Putting part of the trail atop an existing levee was chosen. The state first planned to do that work in 2007, but the completion date and others since then haven't been met because of budget and weather problems. Slivka said state officials want to use federal economic stimulus funds sought by the state Department of Transportation for the project, which now has a price tag of about $655,000.

A year ago, the state estimated the cost at $350,000. Slivka said the earlier estimate was for state employees to do the work. He said current plans call for hiring private contractors and deploying state workers for other projects. PROPOSED LINK Katy Trail Completed Not completed Portage ties Sioux ST. CHARLES CO.

POST-DISPATCH FILE PHOTO Members of the Compton-Drew Middle School Bike Club ride last year on the Katy Trail in Boone County as they head toward Jefferson City. million was raised and distributed to thousands of individuals and families. At Washington University, senior Lynn Wilkie co-chairs Give Thanks Give Back, an organization that adopts cases and helps students and faculty members to sponsor them. The organization assisted 20 families in 2001, and over the last decade their volunteer efforts have grown. This year, Give Thanks Give Back adopted 120 families, and at the end of the semester the organization hosted a gift -wrapping party for the participants.

See NEEDIEST Page B2 7. Mathers ST. LOUIS CO. I Hl 3 MILES Post-Dispatch Missy Doll, wearing coveralls festooned with 600 Christmas lights, greets Lane on Sunday evening. The 6500 block of Murdoch Avenue in south St.

Louis is best known for its Christmas spirit, but the people who live there are fun the rest of the year too. They host progressive dinners, a sausage fest, celebrations for Fourth of July and Halloween and at Christmas, they transform their street into Candy Cane Lane. The residents started getting together a dozen years ago, about the time the St. Louis Hills neighborhood began a block captain program. Bob Klasek, 53, signed up, and he went door -to -door introducing himself and inviting people to come to a party.

"I wanted the street to be like where I grew up, so that parents would know their kids are safe, and if there 's ever a problem, they know who lives in every house so they can ask for help," he said. At that first block party, some people who had lived on the street for more than 30 years talked to neighbors they'd never spoken to before, he said. So they decided to keep getting together. At Halloween, they shut down the street and pull out fire pits and add bales of hay. Residents feast on chili and hot chocolate, and the children go on hay rides and participate in a costume contest.

Carol Pariani, 51, said her favorite event is the sausage festival, which awards bragging rights to the neighbor who cooks the best Italian sausage. People bring their favorites Pariani's is Manzo's and then neighbors and their friends and families participate in a taste test. "Afterward, they announce a winner, and we have a big meal," she said. But the biggest event every year comes in December, when all 35 of the homes are decorated and lights are suspended overhead across the street along with a big Merry Christmas sign. COHEN of hayride visitors to Candy Cane decorations higher and higher," Pariani said.

On a recent weekend, residents hurried to add lights to a home of a resident who was away, while others stood at a curve in the block, where the street intersects with Ivanhoe Avenue and greeted a steady stream of cars coming through to view the decorations. Pariani's husband, Steve, the current block captain, played Christmas tunes on his accordion, and residents handed out candy canes to drivers and dog treats to those with their canine companions. Nick Zervos and Missy Doll donned "light suits" made of 600 Christmas lights pinned to coveralls. Others collected donations that will go to one of three charities this season. Jill and Ted Spaid, who live a few blocks away, came with their See WEICH Page B3 hosting month-long fundraising campaigns, dropping off truck -loads of donations.

Students are posting fliers across campus, asking friends and faculty members to donate money for the less fortunate. One donor this month even gave a furnace valued at $5,000. Each year, the Post-Dispatch profiles 100 families in dire need of assistance. The profiles help encourage donations to more than 10,000 needy families that are part of the campaign. Readers are asked to adopt the cases, providing gifts for children, money for car repairs or help with utilities.

Last year, more than $1.5 rewrite the definition wreath are among the other residents decided to follow his lead. "Every year the guys try to outdo themselves by putting the the story in the Post-Dispatch as one of the 100 Neediest Cases featured in the newspaper during the holiday season. The staff raised money to help pay the family's utility bills and bought toys and clothes for the children. "We just felt we could give them a Christmas they would have otherwise not had," said Kelly McMahon, communications director with Contemporary Productions. Across St.

Louis, individuals and companies are coming together to help families in need through the 100 Neediest Cases campaign. Corporations are Area firms are stepping up to aid 'lOO Neediest' BY JANE COASTON 314-340-8100 Frosty the Snowman and a lighted neighborhood decorations. About five years ago, John Kue-hner wrapped the tree in front of his home in red and white lights, to resemble a candy cane, and Read profiles of three of the 100 Neediest Cases on page A2. year, they opted for a quiet lunch, followed by a present-wrapping party. The gifts were for a grandmother caring for three grandchildren whom they have never met.

All they knew was that the grandmother took the children in when their father was sent to prison and their mother was battling a drug problem. They read Normally, the holiday party at Contemporary Productions is an occasion worth waiting for. After all, Contemporary Productions is a party-planning company. The St. Louis firm produces events at venues such as the Contemporary Art Museum St.

Louis and the Four Seasons Hotel, booking celebrities such as John Legend and Sheryl Crow. So when employees gathered to celebrate the season, you might expect a high-class affair, with expensive decorations and plenty of food and drink for clients, friends and family. But this year, the staff decided it was time for a change. This 1.