The Top 10 Things In St. Peters Right Now

10.  Page Extension running through to Mid Rivers Mall Drive and beyond soon.  You really almost have to pinch yourself to double check that it's really happening—and so fast!  Recent news reports say funding is on the horizon for the next leg through to Cottleville at Motherhead Road.

9.  Mid Rivers Mall remaining so very viable in the midst of dying malls everywhere. We are truly lucky to have it.  The entire mall footprint is almost as handy as stopping by a QuikTrip. I consider Pier One, Chili’s, Best Buy, Value City, Bank of America and the like to be part of this.

8  and 7. Police force in St. Peters and the new Justice Center.  Our Boy Scout troop went through the entire fortress. Not only are its contents state of the art, but the occupants are pleased as punch and willing to politely show off the accoutrements—you can even get the feel for a jail cell!

6. Chick-fil-A on MidRivers Mall Drive.  Have you seen that place anywhere near dinner time on a weekday?  The entire inside is full; two drive-thru lanes are 15 cars deep; and there's a guy with a sauce/condiment cart at the end of the drive-thru to help expedite things. I submit that there has never been a more successful restaurant opening in the history of St. Charles County. (Oh, by the way, their employees get Sunday off.)

5.  Rec-Plex is still the best tried and true recreation family center in all of St. Charles County. Other municipalities have tried to rival Rec-Plex's offerings, but they simply cannot match the camps, organization, lessons, pool (with the cool cyclone thingy), playground, ice-rink, work-out areas, cleanliness, staff, marriage area, walking track, etc.  Rec-Plex simply got the jump on this one and continues to adapt to its users' needs and desires.

4  and 3.  Francis Howell North & Francis Howell Central for going the extra mile and earning the A+ Schools designation.  Governor Jay Nixon came personally to congratulate the schools on achieving the state’s A+ Schools designation and to encourage students to take advantage of two years of free tuition and academic fees at Missouri’s community colleges.

2.  St. Charles Community College is an education power house.  Not only can students use the A+ scholarships mentioned above, but they can also pursue four-year degrees such as a Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) in cooperation with the University of Missouri St. Louis. Oh, but I think it's becoming passé to refer to the college as SKUH (phonetic for SCCC).

1.  St. Peters Ordinance Section 210.288:  SPITTING OR EXPECTORATING ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS.  This was enacted in November of 2010. 

"A person commits the offense of spitting or expectorating on a public building if the person intentionally spits or expectorates on . . . any public square or sidewalk abutting any public building."

This really sounds like something out of coffee-table book -- Once-Upon-A-Time Laws From Early America.