International Nuclear Waste Expert Visits Contaminated Areas In St. Louis

Crowd attending at the STLCC-Wildwood symposium "The Atoms Next Door" held February 20.

Event Coverage By Holly Shanks (published on Environmental Echo February 2016.)

“I toured the situation yesterday and my hair nearly fell out,” Dr. Helen Caldicott said. “I’ve never seen anything so goddamn dangerous.”

The internationally renowned authority on the medical dangers of nuclear waste did not sugarcoat her thoughts after visiting several contamination points, like Westlake Landfill and Coldwater Creek in North St. Louis County.

Citizen Voices Heard At Cold Water Creek Public Meeting

Cold Water Creek FUSRAP Oversight Committee public meeting held in Florissant, February 17, 2016.

By Holly Shanks (published on Environmental Echo February 2016.) 

About 300 Northwest St. Louis County residents voiced concerns, often filled with emotion and anger, to government officials tasked with radioactive waste cleanup efforts around Cold Water Creek. The FUSRAP Oversight Committee hosted the update meeting on Feb. 17 in Florissant.

St. Louis Nuclear Waste Issues Continue

Dr. Helen Caldicott (left) and Kay Drey at the STLCC-Wildwood nuclear waste symposium.

Event coverage by Holly Shanks (Published on Environmental Echo February 2016.)

Environmental Echo will continue to cover the Westlake Landfill and Coldwater Creek nuclear waste issues. Look for upcoming podcast interviews with some of the St. Louis region’s legislative leaders who represent the people from the contaminated areas. They have some pretty strong opinions on the inaction by state and federal authorities on radioactive problems that have been festering for decades.

Dr. Helen Caldicott, an Australian physician and anti-nuclear waste activist, was the keynote speaker at the St. Louis Community College at Wildwood’s symposium, “The Atoms Next Door” on February 20, 2016.

Caldicott answered a few informational questions about the nuclear waste issues in St. Louis in an email response to Environmental Echo. The questions and answers are included below.

EPA Grant Provides Local Environmental Job Training

Worker in action at Carter Carburetor. Photo credit: HRP Regional Manager Gene Watson. Photo provided by Rene Dulle.

By Holly Shanks

Published on Environmental Echo January 6, 20016.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant allows local environmental remediation job training for many that, in some cases, may not have received a second chance.

Growing Craft Brewing Industry Keeps Eye On Sustainability

Schlafly Bottleworks Tasting Room. After a tour of the brewery, Aaron Moore (Left), Jennifer Moore (Middle), and tour guide Sarah Rybicki (Right), taste a variety of beer brewed at Schlafly. All photos by Holly Shanks unless noted.

Published on Environmental Echo December 2015.

By Holly Shanks

With a strong sense of community, a decades-long tradition of collaboration, and with the belief that beer is communal, the thriving craft brewery industry is moving toward a sustainable future. The small breweries also recognize the need to protect environmental resources.

Four Decades Later, A Son Brings His Father's Remains Home

Published by the VVA Veteran magazine in their September /October 2015 issue. (Photo layout: VVA)
Read the article online at http://vvaveteran.org/35-5/35-5_clever.html

BY HOLLY SHANKS

In December 2012, more than four decades after his father’s funeral, Paul Clever, 52, was sitting on an embankment in the Laotian jungle. He was exhausted, drenched in sweat, and feeling hopeless. He considered giving up after two days of wielding a machete through dense jungle.

He asked himself if he had honored his father’s memory enough to be satisfied with his efforts. If he chose to quit, it meant going back to Mississippi without finding what might be left of his father’s remains. His answer: “No, I’m not there yet. Not yet.”

Clever picked up his machete and went back to hacking his way through the jungle. The next day, his perseverance paid off: He found the crash site of the aircraft his father had been aboard when it was shot down during the Vietnam War.

Local Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter Offers Support and Fellowship To All Veterans

Weekly breakfast meeting of the Vietnam Veterans of America 
Chapter 1028 at the Grand Slam in Fenton.
Photo by Holly Shanks

By Holly Shanks

Published May 6, 2015 in The Journal, Webster University student newspaper 
http://websterjournal.com/2015/05/01/the-grand-slam-hosts/

         Tucked away, on a quiet street off Gravois Road just west of Fenton, is the GrandSlam. Every Wednesday morning this bar and grill becomes a gathering place for local Vietnam veterans.

         A civilian looking for a quiet cup of coffee on a Wednesday morning won’t find it at the Grand Slam. Instead, the restaurant is filled with a lively crowd of handshaking, backslapping and welcoming veterans who show up to offer each other companionship and support.