A Year Later, Grace Thrives Like Her Namesake Facebook Page

Update: We revisit "Grace's Glendale Bus Stop," the story of a young lady who has gotten national attention for how her family has helped her overcome Down Syndrome to work a job.

Another holiday has come and gone and with this one, came another visit by the Easter Bunny to Grace's Glendale Bus Stop—an informal landmark in the community that has drawn regional and national attention. For the uninitiated, Grace's Glendale Bus Stop is a Facebook page focusing on literally that: A bus stop dedicated to Grace Mehan, a Glendale resident with Down Syndrome who graduated from Kirkwood High School in May 2011. The bus stop and its Facebook page were part of Grace's parents' plans to help her learn how to navigate a bus route on her own to a job in Webster Groves. The Facebook page launched nearly a year ago, on April 9, and it's been adorned with photos of local celebrities, fans, friends and neighbors who have stopped by …

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Who's Hiring?

3 Job Openings Around Kirkwood

Here's our weekly look at who's hiring in and around Kirkwood.

Here are three local job opportunities we found this week. To find more job openings or post a position, visit our classifieds section. Who’s Hiring: Apismellis Homecare LLC   Who’s Hiring: Webster University   Who’s Hiring: Cardinal Ritter Senior Services

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Grace's Glendale Bus Stop Takes Off on Facebook

How a one-of-a-kind bus stop and rider are winning the hearts of community members.

A Glendale bus stop is unlike any other. It announces holidays with elaborate decorations; it has a special name; and last week it got its own Facebook page. More importantly, it has Grace Mehan as a rider. Last Monday, the 56 Metro Bus stop at West Lockwood Avenue and Austin Place became an online landmark with the launch the Facebook page Grace's Glendale Bus Stop. Within one week it has gained 200 likes. It's little wonder why. Grace's Glendale Bus Stop tells the story of Grace Mehan, a Glendale resident with Down Syndrome who graduated from Kirkwood High School last May and now attends a Special School District post-secondary program at Webster University. When Grace graduated KHS, she set the goal of getting around town on her own. …

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Couple Keeps Jazz Alive in Old Webster

Dorothy and Robert Edwards bring the sound of Jazz closer to Webster Groves thanks to their bar, Robbie's House of Jazz.

Shortly after Robert and Dorothy Edwards started dating after high school, they would visit the many jazz bars in St. Louis. Robert can name several "joints," as he calls them, that used to exist in the city. But somehow with time, most of the joints are now gone. "I don't know what happened," said Robert, a retired music instructor. "There used to be a time when there was jazz everywhere." FOR THE LOVE OF JAZZ Dorothy and Robert, however, did not give up their love for music, and in 2009 they opened Robbie's House of Jazz, located in the heart of Old Webster, at 20 Allen Avenue. The bar, which replaced the former Cookies Jazz and More, is a reflection of the couple's love of jazz that they have shared over the years. "I named this place …

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Broadway, Local Actors Bloom in 'Secret Garden'

Stages St. Louis presents the musical version of the classic children's novel, "The Secret Garden," which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 21.

In Stages St. Louis' production of the musical, The Secret Garden, based on the 1911 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Mary Lennox, a young girl raised in India, finds herself suddenly orphaned and sent to England to live with her uncle on a sprawling estate. In the book, Mary is described as ugly, sickly and foul-tempered, the blame for which lies not with her but her parents, particularly her mother, whose treatment of her borders on cruelty. Webster University graduate Alexis Kinney, who plays Mary, is neither ugly, sickly nor foul-tempered. She's also not 12 years old. “It's a challenge because I'm a very happy person,” Kinney said. “Mary's not very happy at the beginning. And I'm 23 playing 12 years old. But I love watching the way …

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Webster University Camp Swings With All That Jazz

Webster University's summer Jazz Combo Camp starts Monday.

Jazz music grabs some musicians and never lets go. If jazz is your bag, Webster University is calling all cool cats to a jazz combo camp for high school, college and adult students starting Monday, July 11, through Friday, July 15, at its campus in Webster Groves. The intensive curriculum includes master classes for specific instruments, ensemble rehearsals and classes in music theory and jazz styles. Seminars will also delve into big band techniques, rhythm section playing, music technology, composition, music business, Latin music and jazz history. That's a lot of education and experience packed into five days with a cost of only $225. “It's a fair price,” said Paul DeMarinis, director of the camp and Webster's director of jazz studies, …

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Barbara Heise

7:25 am on Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Webster University offers so many unique opportunities for our community! Thanks.   more ›

Woman Pleads Guilty in Webster University Fraud Case

The woman used South Carolina inmates' personal information for financial aid applications.

A South Carolina woman pleaded guilty Monday after she filed fraudulent applications with Webster University and illegally spent more than $120,000 in student aid, according to the United States Attorney's Office. Michelle N. Owens, 35, was an inmate at Leath Correctional Institute in Greenwood, SC, from December 2007 to September 2008. She worked in the prison's Education Department while there and had access to inmates' personal information, according to a news release. She then used that information to submit 23 different applications to Webster University's distance learning program. She also applied for $467,500 in federal student loans. On Monday, she pleaded guilty to one count of federal student financial aid fraud and one felony …

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Christopher Reilly

1:46 am on Thursday, June 9, 2011

Good job by the prison officials in South Carolina for giving a convicted forger access to prisoners private information and a computer hooked up to the Internet.   more ›

Web U Students Travel to Japan to Interview Youth

Five Webster University students are researching how Japanese youth see the future after the March earthquake, tsunami and power plant crisis. To find the answer, they must travel to the source.

On Wednesday, five Webster University students and faculty mentor Roy Tamashiro will depart for Japan, where they will spend three weeks traveling the country and interviewing the nation’s youth about their views on the future following the country’s March disasters. The research team is participating in the ASIANetwork-Freeman Foundation's 2011 Student Faculty Fellows Program for Research in Asia and is able to conduct its study, "Japan's Youth: Disaster and Rebuilding for a Common Future," thanks to a grant from the foundation. Student researchers Lena Clem, Kristen Paxton, Cory Schmidt, Rebecca Serfass and Miranda Guiles will be exploring whether the March earthquake, tsunami and power plant disasters have changed the way in which …

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Former Governor Separates Health Care 'Fact from Fiction' in Des Peres

Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden, who now runs the Holden Public Policy Forum at Webster University, educated residents about health care reform and its impact on Medicare at a seminar in Des Peres Wednesday night.

With much of the budget debate in Washington centered around the spiraling costs of Medicare and changes from the health care overhaul passed in 2010 beginning to take effect, Missouri senior citizens have been left with a lot of questions. To help provide some answers, Lutheran Senior Services sponsored a seminar held Wednesday night at the Lodge Des Peres titled "Separating Fact from Fiction—The Impact of Health Care Reform on Seniors." Speakers for the event were former Missouri Governor Bob Holden, who now runs the Holden Public Policy Forum at Webster University, and Missouri Foundation for Health President and CEO Dr. James Kimmey. Eighty-three-year-old Dan Faber was one of the attendees and came because he wanted to see what all the…

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Webster University Holds Graduation Ceremony

Over 1,000 students participated in Saturday's graduation at The Muny.

Webster University held its 2011 commencement ceremony Saturday at The Muny.  Former U.S. Sen. Christopher 'Kit' Bond served as the commencement speaker. Bond also received an honorary doctorate of laws degree from Webster. Bond told the audience of graduates and family that in the global marketplace, the best way for the United States to compete was with education. He also spoke of the judicious use of smart power. Also receiving honorary doctorates in humane letters were Regents College London chief executive Aldwyn Cooper and Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin, a Webster alumna who has worked in daytime television. Regents College serves as Webster's London campus.

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Kalen Ponche

10:54 am on Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Cool photos Maggie~ Congrats to all the grads!   more ›