Big-time bicycle racing is returning to a state where world bicycle championships and endurance records were set 120 years ago. World-class professional bicyclists will be racing for 600 miles through Missouri next September in the Tour of Missouri, which organizers say will instantly be one of the top three stage-races in the country. Similar state races are held in Georgia and California. The state tourism division is putting up 250-thouand dollars for the event. Tourism commisison chairman Peter Kinder, the Lieutenant Governor, says communities the racers will go through also are being asked to spend some money . He says organizers are in the “early stages” of lining up communities that will be hosts for overnight stops. He says those communities taking part will be asked to make “some commitment.” The race will be run next September 11th through the 16th. Missouri became internationally-known as a bicycling state in the 18-80s when world championships were run in the little town of Clarkville, north of St. Louis, and where a bicyclist named Stillman Whittaker on one of those old-fashioned high-wheeled “Ordinaries” in 1886 set a world record by covering 300 miles in less than 24 hours.
Missouri Company Providing Teen Drug Testing Kits to Parents and Schools Across Country
A Missouri company is getting a lot of national attention through its campaign to have parents test their teenagers for possible drug use. Mason Duchatschek is the President of Fenton-based TestMyTeen.com, a company that sells kits that are able to test for drug use through urine analysis and through testing of hair samples. He says many kids are taught to “just say no to drugs,” but having parents with the test kits allows the teenagers to deal with peer pressure by saying to other teens, “My parents test me.” That gives the teens a socially acceptable excuse to say no. As for privacy concerns, Duchatschek says parents have the right to set rules in their own homes for testing children for illegal drugs. He insists this is not an invasion of privacy because children involved in illegal activity have no expectation of privacy in their parents home.
Related web sites:
Test My Teen
Campaign Spending on Stem Cell Ballot Initiative Soars
Campaign spending reports show spending on the stem cell initiative will dwarf campaign spending for any other ballot issue in Missouri history and already is half-again as much money as is being spent on Missouri’s U.S. Senate campaign. The reports show the Talent-McCaskill race has raised almost $20-Million. But more than $30-Million has been raised for the stem-cell initiative issue – 95 percent of it to support the proposal. Backers have raised almost $28.75-Million dollars. Opponents have raised about a million-and-a-half dollars. The Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, supporting the initiative, says more than 500 people have contributed – but admits 97 percent of the organizations funding comes from two people – Jim and Virginia Stowers, founders of the Stowers Institute for medical research in Kansas City.
Dandridge Breaks Foot
University of Missouri head men’s basketball coach Mike Anderson is always talking about the running style of play he likes to employ. Well, it looks like he might have run one of his players a little too much.
Junior forward Glen Dandridge broke his foot in practice over the weekend and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. He is scheduled to undergo surgery today to place a screw in his fifth metatarsal.
Dandridge played in 24 games last season averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds.
Former Player To Coach Vashon Basketball
The St. Louis School Board fired one legend as Vashon High School, so it was inevitable they hire another. Legendary boys basketball coach Floyd Irons was fired earlier this year after it was found he mishandled thousands of district dollars. Irons was not only a coach who won numerous Missouri state championships in his 33 year career, but he was also a fixture in the St. Louis inner city.
Anthony Bonner is a Vashon graduate and former player under Irons. After his stint at Vashon, Bonner went on to star at nearby Saint Louis University and play six seasons in the NBA. Monday, Bonner was announced as the new boys basketball head coach at his alma mater.
While Bonner intends to use teachings learned from his days playing for Irons, it is unclear how tight their relationship really is. Irons reportedly does not support Bonner as the new coach and was not in attendance during the press conference to introduce Bonner. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Irons refused to comment on Bonner’s appointment.
Bonner enters the position with no previous coaching experience. Several Vashon players thought about transferring to another school, but many of them have decided to stay and play for Bonner.
