Monday, June 4, 2012
A Kirkwood kindergarten teacher who lost 128 pounds through healthy eating and regular exercise was honored for her commitment to heart health and a physically active lifestyle.
It took a broken chair for Kathy Collier-Paul to decide once and for all to get healthy. “I was as low as I’d ever been,” said Collier-Paul, describing how she broke a chair when she sat down at her daughter’s dance class three years ago. “At that moment, it just came together and I realized I’m either going to die fat or do something about it.” That was the start of a new life for Collier-Paul, a longtime teacher at Westchester Elementary in Kirkwood. Through healthy eating and regular exercise, she has lost 128 pounds since then and not only changed her life but inspired others along the way. Last month, Collier-Paul, 40, of Ballwin, got a standing ovation at Busch Stadium when she was awarded the Lifestyle Change Award from the St. …
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Westchester Elementary School
1416 Woodgate Dr, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/teacher-inspires-others-inside-classroom-and-beyond
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/locations/7142917
Monday, February 27, 2012
A group of Kirkwood area women meets before dawn three times a week for "therapy" and a 5-mile run.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Lori Rose
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Monday, February 27, 2012
Downtown Kirkwood is dark and cold at 5:30 a.m. this time of year, but that doesn’t stop a group of women from hitting the streets three times a week for their regular five-mile run. “It’s just so nice to start off your morning with what I consider a group of sisters,” said Deb Tata, 60, of Des Peres. “I’ve lived in a lot of different places and run with a lot of different people but this is a very special group.” Tata is one of about half a dozen area women who have been getting together to run three mornings a week for more than five years. They run year-round, in heat, humidity, cold, rain and even snow. “Except when it’s below 15 or icy,” said Martha McArthur, 48, of Warson Woods. “I can think of maybe three times when we met and went …
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-90.405201
Kirkwood Farmers Market
150 E Argonne Dr, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/sisterhood-of-the-running-shoes
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/locations/6459549
38.589692
-90.38651
424 N Sappington Rd, Kirkwood, MO
Glendale Fire House
/articles/sisterhood-of-the-running-shoes
/locations/6459550
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
An 84-year-old Kirkwood man's hobby is helping neighbors stay informed.
- GOVERNMENT
- Lori Rose
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
A modern-day “town crier” has built up a following for his editorialized emails about Kirkwood issues. “Kmail” goes out regularly to more than 1,700 addresses, keeping Keith Williams’ readers informed about city council decisions, zoning issues and other local dealings that affect them. For Williams, the retired owner of a company that made tools for the mining industry, it’s a hobby that he enjoys -- even though keeping the address list up-to-date can be quite a headache for the 84-year-old Kirkwood man. “I can’t help myself when I get stirred up, when I see something that I think is not good for Kirkwood and for homeowners and taxpayers,” Williams said. Kmail got its start in 2005 when Williams gathered an email list of neighbors to keep…
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-90.406399
Kirkwood City Hall
139 S Kirkwood Rd, Kirkwood, MO
/articles/self-appointed-town-crier-keeps-readers-in-the-loop-through-email
1487685
/locations/6195178
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tricia Gaines orchestrates a pre-holiday clean sweep for a large family in need.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
- Lori Rose
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
When dozens of volunteers descended on a red brick home in south St. Louis this month armed with paintbrushes, hammers and cleaning supplies, they left behind more than just a spruced-up home for a family in need. They left such a large measure of love that Terry Edwards says her family of 16 will feel their energy for a long time to come. “They didn’t feel like strangers,” she said. “They felt like one big happy family working together to improve the life of another. I’m still in awe. I felt the love and I still feel it today and that feeling is sustaining.” Some 140 volunteers from the suburb of Kirkwood, where eight of Edwards’ children still attend school, worked over the course of two days last week in all-out effort to give the …
Monday, October 24, 2011
This week, Patch introduces you to Kirkwood's Robbie Watkins, who was inspired by his own dad to help kids play sports — no matter the cost.
A longtime Kirkwood resident who has fed countless Pioneer sports fans over three decades is the inspiration behind a nonprofit organization aimed at helping kids play youth sports. Thomas Watkins, a 71-year-old grandfather, is a fixture behind the grill at Friday night football games at Lyons Field, even though his own six sons and a daughter have long since graduated. Watkins, a 36-year member of Pioneer Boosters Inc., believes that playing sports helps keep kids from heading down the wrong path in life. So come Friday night, at the Pioneers’ home game against Parkway West, you’ll likely find him turning hot dogs on the grill outside the concession stand. “The pay I get is to see these kids excel in life,” Tom Watkins said. His …
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-90.423438
Kirkwood High School
801 W Essex Ave, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/robbie-watkins
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/locations/5655112
Monday, January 24, 2011
This week, Patch introduces you to Kirkwood's Paul Edwards, who has been volunteering at his neighborhood elementary school for 10 years.
At 91 years old, Paul Edwards deserves to sit back and relax. His friends have certainly urged him to take it easy. But the longtime Kirkwood resident thinks that would be boring. So Edwards continues to volunteer with school kids and at church, pursue his hobbies, and deliver meals to the elderly. “You get more than you give,” Edwards said. “Volunteering gives you a purpose, and the purpose can be helping somebody else. It kind of builds on your Boy Scout days: do a good deed every day.” Volunteering in Amy Erdmann’s second grade class is an example. He has been helping in her classroom at Westchester Elementary in Kirkwood for 10 years. He shares what he learns from Erdmann and her students with friends in his own Sunday school class of …
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Westchester Elementary School
1416 Woodgate Dr, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/at-age-91-hes-still-going-to-school
1485879
/locations/3149186
38.58389
-90.37724
Webster Hills United Methodist Church
698 W Lockwood Ave, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/at-age-91-hes-still-going-to-school
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/locations/3149187
Julie Backer
11:06 am on Monday, October 24, 2011
Great story, Coach Watkins is following in his father's footsteps, he makes a real difference in kids lives, I can't say enough about the positive influence he's had on these kids. more ›