patching...
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

Sunset Hills Tornado

Friday, July 20, 2012

Sunset Hills Book Captures History in Images

Local author Sandie Grassino gives insight into preparing the book for release July 23.

After growing up in Sunset Hills and being a life-long South County resident, Sandie Grassino has found herself a calling to be a storyteller. From teaching English, theatre and creative writing at Northwest High School to being a member of the Sunset Hills Historical Society, Grassino's latest form of storytelling is in paper form. Images in America: Sunset Hills is set for release July 23, joining her other book Images in America: Jefferson Barracks on bookstore shelves in Barnes & Noble, Walgreens, the Book House on Manchester and Amazon.com. "This is a multi-generational book," Grassino said, flipping through the photo-filled pages of the nine chapter compilation. "Hopefully people will see a picture and think, 'Oh, yeah, I remember …

Monday, March 5, 2012

Sunset Hills Hopes Tornado Doesn’t Strike Twice

Following a near-record number of tornadoes in 2011, AccuWeather.com predicts an active severe weather season with above-normal tornadoes in 2012.

AccuWeather.com reports that 2011 was one for the record books. It was the fourth deadliest tornado year ever in the United States with 550 fatalities. 2011 also had an unusually high number of large, destructive tornado outbreaks; 1,709 tornadoes touched down, a close second to the record 1,817 tornadoes set in 2004. In comparison, the average number of tornadoes per year over the past decade is around 1,300. According to AccuWeather, a key ingredient for 2011’s violent severe weather was a very strong jet stream. La Niña, a phenomenon where the sea surface temperature in the central and eastern Pacific around the equator are below normal, helped to cause the strong northern jet stream, which frequently plunged into the South. This set …

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Mayor Nolan Hears Residential Recovery Task Force Recommendation

The task force met yesterday to finalize their proposal to the Planning and Zoning committee Wednesday, Sept. 7.

The Sunset Hills Residential Recovery Task Force met yesterday afternoon to recommend that the existing Sunset Hills Comprehensive Master Plan be revised to designate the entire “recovery area” for residential, single family housing and/or a courtyard style development, or a combination of both. The development plan will not include any high rise structures, apartments or condos. There will be no consideration given to developers for the expansion of commercial developments into the “recovery area.” Sunset Hills Mayor William Nolan Jr. approved the committee’s recommendation and invited them to present a proposal to the Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday, Sept. 7, to further determine how the recovery area will be redeveloped. The …

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Tornado Leaves Vacancy for Villas and Smaller Lots Builder Says

A local builder believes with new zoning, Sunset Hills could replicate "Courtyard" housing on opposite corner.

A local builder with nearly 36 years of experience told city leaders the tornado-ravaged corner in Sunset Hills would be a good place to rebuild a mix of villas and a few detached houses. Mike Kuehnle addressed a task force appointed by Sunset Hills Mayor Bill Nolan that is examining the potential fate of vacant property at the corner of Lindbergh Boulevard and E. Watson Road. "It's going to boil down to who wants what, and how much money," Kuehnle said. "That's the problem, because of Sunset Hills high property value." For a developer to be interested in taking on the project, there has to be a certain margin of profit involved. With the high cost of property in Sunset Hills, more dwellings would need to be built on the same property to …

Friday, April 15, 2011

Sunset Hills Volunteers Live the Earth Day Way

Clean-up volunteers report for work on Sunset Hills tornado site, four months after.

After two hours of work in drizzle and mud early Saturday morning, Sunset Hills city leaders report the latest volunteer clean-up effort from the tornado devastation has made a difference. "(It's) quite an improvement with the removal of trash—debris, drywall, bricks, siding, et cetera, and they are now in trash bags or dumpsters," according to Alderman Scott Haggerty, Ward 2. He was joined in the work by his son Patrick. Mayor Bill Nolan, Alderwoman Dee Baebler and Alderman Frank Hardy—all who live in Ward 1 which was hardest hit by the New Year's Eve twister—joined the clean-up crews. "Gone is the debris. It looks great," Nolan said. He went on to address the question of houses standing at the site that are unfit to live in. "The two big…

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Alien Sight Remains on Sunset Hills Corner

Nothing looks the same along the 400-yard wide path of Mother Nature, in Sunset Hills.

While volunteers and city workers have worked mightily to clear the wreckage from the New Year's Eve tornado that struck Sunset Hills, it will take years for that 400-yard wide path of Mother Nature through town to grow trees as familiar as the ones downed. Homes with massive damage still stand, barely, on Court Drive at Lindbergh Boulevard. The basement in which a couple and their 9-month-old baby huddled from the storm, lacks a house above it. The house was picked up and dumped elsewhere by the 150mph winds. Officials said even the furnace from the basement was sucked up by the winds and tossed elsewhere. Apparently the family was untouched by ducking into a crawl space moments before. Toys and Christmas decorations still litter the site…

Survivors Draw Serious Money

Sunset Hills City officials calculate $127,000 in donations so far for tornado help fund.

Donations have hit $127,000 for the  Tornado Assistance Fund in Sunset Hills, according to City Clerk Laura Rider. Clothing donations have been overwhelming and officials said they have passed some on to other areas. Household items were still being accepted by the city. Generous area residents continue to stop by City Hall or send donations through the mail to the tornado fund, city officials said. The city has already dispersed about $48,000 of the total funding to some 12 families who lost their belongings, homes and cars in an instant during the New Year’s Eve tornado that struck at Lindbergh and East Watson Road. Many of those victims--who now say they prefer to be called survivors--did not have insurance or adequate insurance …

Monday, January 10, 2011

Wednesday Tornado Fundraiser at Re-Opened O'Leary's With The BIG 550 KTRS

O'Leary's Restaurant wants to fundraise for Sunset Hills's tornado victims all day with radio broadcast and local celebrities.

After losing glass, front patio structures and power in the recent tornado, O'Leary's Restaurant wants to raise funds now for other tornado victims. The restaurant re-opened after a week. Wednesday, O'Leary's patrons will be treated to local celebrities--potentially Rams football players--and KTRS radio personalities broadcasting from the restaurant starting at 10am until 1pm, according to O'Leary's, in a drive to raise funds for the Sunset Hills Tornado Assistance Fund. The radio station is known as the BIG 550 KTRS (AM.) The city created the fund shortly after the New Year's Eve 150 mph winds destroyed 20 homes and damaged 16 other buildings, including O'Leary's. The fund aids nine families--27 people--the city identified who lost nearly…

Friday, December 31, 2010

Residents, Business Owners Collaborate on Storm Cleanup; Gov. Declares Emergency State

Less than one hour after a destructive tornado passed through Sunset Hills, friends and neighbors worked together to fix what the storm had broken.

In neighborhoods surrounding East Watson Road at Lindbergh Boulevard, neighbors gathered to clean up yards and haul off fallen trees. Several family members and friends offered Ann Larson hugs and words of encouragement over the buzz of chainsaws cutting up two fallen trees in her backyard. One had crashed through the roof of her pool house and the other through her fence and onto the covered pool. Larson was at the interview-consulting firm she owns before the storm hit. Larson said her mother called to tell her a storm was heading her way; she didn't have a TV or radio on and said she didn't hear the sirens. Larson said she called home to tell her two sons Arthur and Thomas to get in the basement. The boys were already there, they told …

Got a Hot Tip?