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The Perfect Holiday Sugar Cookie (With Recipes)

 

West Newsmagazine's search for the perfect holiday sugar cookie is exhausting.

 

The varieties are endless. Personal tastes are disparate and unique as the snowflakes that fall this time of year. The traditional sugar cookie is, in its purest form, a blank slate awaiting the creative hand of the baker. It can be coated in crystal sugar or sugar icing; it can be crispy, chewy or soft; it even can be crafted from different forms of sugar.

 

What we learned in searching for the perfect cookie is that it exists only in the eye of the beholder. Everybody has his or her own perfect sugar cookie, and it usually is the one that the baker enjoys the most and the one that into which he or she puts the most effort and passion. More

 

Local officials warn about payday lending practices

 

With the economy in chaos, more people than ever seem to be living paycheck to paycheck. Some are not even making it that far.

 

Those living on the financial edge sometimes turn to payday loans or other short-term lending places to get needed cash. While such businesses traditionally have existed in lower-income neighborhoods, they now can be found in more affluent areas, usually in strip malls. Prior to five years ago, few if any payday lenders existed on Manchester Road in Ballwin, said Ballwin City Planner Tom Aiken. Now, at least six can be found within a 2 ½-mile stretch on Manchester, roughly from Baxter to Clarkson Roads. More

 

St. Louis County voters may be asked to reconsider defeated tax proposals

 

St. Louis County voters may be asked in April to consider tax proposals to fund various projects, including a county-wide public safety communications system, some new county buildings and park improvements and operations.

 

Voters on Nov. 4 rejected a proposal for a 1.85-cent sales tax on out-of-sate purchases to fund a county-wide public safety communications system. More

 

Residents enjoy city and its services but adamantly oppose higher taxes

 

A poll that a scholar from Saint Louis University recently conducted found that most residents in the city of Creve Coeur are happy with the services that the city provides but are split about the photo enhancement at traffic signals and are opposed to raising property taxes.

 

The city hired Ken Warren to conduct what is known as the Warren Poll. Warren said he interviewed 603 residents from Oct. 10-Oct. 20 on a variety of topics. Creve Coeur City Administrator Mark Perkins said the poll is a very valuable tool to the city in terms of receiving feedback from residents. Warren conducted a similar poll for the city in 2005. More

 

Thomas Sowell - The High Cost Of Favoritism

 

O.J. Simpson has attracted less attention by being declared "guilty" in Nevada than he did by being declared "not guilty" in California. Yet his story is more than the tragedy of one man.


O.J. is not the first star athlete — or movie star, political leader or pacesetter in some other fields — to fall from the heights to the depths. Often they are people who have taken enormous risks that were completely unnecessary and with little pay-off. More

 

Turkey Trot benefits young student with cancer

 

While many people were busy eating turkey and shopping over the Thanksgiving holiday, the community at the Parkway School District’s Oak Brook Elementary School counted their blessings with an event to raise money for a student with cancer.

 

On Nov. 29, approximately 110 people attended Oak Brook Elementary’s first Turkey Trot, held on a 3.1-mile trail at Castlewood State Park, where they engaged in their choice of a 5K walk, run or bike ride. More

 

Rockwood students celebrate world holidays

 

Students at both Geggie and Chesterfield Elementary Schools in the Rockwood School District are “traveling the world” to learn how other countries celebrate the holiday season.

 

During December, the first-grade team at Geggie is using a flight simulator to “travel” to various countries. Geggie students began preparing for the social studies unit by completing passport applications with their parents’ assistance. The applications were processed over the Thanksgiving break and students received their passports upon their return to school. More

 

Creve Coeur says farewell to former official

 

The Creve Coeur City Council on Dec. 8 approved the appointment of a replacement for outgoing Creve Coeur City Councilmember Jill Schupp (ward 2).

 

Schupp was elected to the Missouri General Assembly in November and is headed to Jefferson City in January, thus creating a vacancy on the Creve Coeur City Council. More

 

Rockwood considers new science fiction course

 

Rockwood School District officials are considering adding a new science fiction literature course to the English curriculum for high school students.

 

The school board is considering a proposal to offer a new semester science fiction course, which would be an elective English course for juniors and seniors, said Kathy Ryan, Rockwood’s curriculum coordinator. More

 

Good gifts for those with Alzheimer’s disease

 

Holiday shopping poses a challenge for those looking for a gift for someone with Alzheimer’s disease. Items that once brought pleasure now may bring frustration, and as an individual’s dementia progresses, the list of appropriate gifts diminishes.

 

What items will bring a smile to someone with Alzheimer’s?

 

For those living in the early stage of the disease, a period where they can still lead active lives, the Alzheimer’s Association offered gift ideas. More

 

A plateful of New Year’s luck

 

When an entire year’s fortune is riding on the plate, some people refuse to tempt fate. In hopes of ensuring prosperity, they usher in each year with foods traditionally deemed lucky. More and recipe

 

 

Homeland Security Advisory

 

 

 

For St. Charles, Missouri area news, visit Mid Rivers Newsmagazine

For Central St. Louis County area news, visit Central Newsmagazine

 

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