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City Of Manchester

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Manchester April 3 Election Preview - Meet The Candidates

The mayor and two aldermen run unopposed for their respective seats, while Hal Roth, of Ward 1, is challenged by resident Barbara Stevens. Read what the candidates say are the greatest challenges facing the City of Manchester.

Four seats are up for election in the city of Manchester, including the mayor the three aldermen. All four incumbents are running for re-election, and the only challenger is resident Barbara Stevens, who is competing with incumbent Hal Roth for the Ward 1 alderman seat. As the April 3 Municipal Elections are get closer, Patch brings you a profile of the candidates and their answers to Patch's questions. Mayor David Willson (incumbent - uncontested race) Willson has served as mayor of the City of Manchester since 2008. Willson said he first became interested in local politics when his wife, Mary, served as mayor of Manchester from 2000 to 2004. Willson said he has lived in the same house in since 1974, however, his subdivision was not …

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

COURT UPDATE: Listen to Audio From Manchester Funeral Protest Lawsuit

Listen to audio from the recent federal court hearing for Phelps v. the City of Manchester. Plus, Judy DeRose filed a motion to dismiss her employment discrimination lawsuit against the City of Manchester.

The United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals made available the audio of the oral arguments presented in downtown St. Louis by attorneys in the Phelps Roper v. City of Manchester case Jan. 9.  (You can listen to the audio of the case in the PDF/Video portion of the story) In 2010, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, challenged  a city of Manchester ordinance restricting protests or pickets at funerals. The Westboro Baptist Church regularly pickets military funerals with signs such as "thank God for dead soldiers." "I think we all can agree that defending our ordinance is the right thing to do. The cost of defending the case has been absorbed by our insurance company," Gunn said. He …

Monday, January 9, 2012

Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments in Manchester’s Funeral Protests Case

Monday, a panel of judges questioned whether or not Manchester’s law regulating funeral protests was too broad and unconstitutional.

Monday morning, at the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, attorneys representing both sides in the Shirley Phelps v. City of Manchester lawsuit answered questions and made their case before a full panel of judges of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. No ruling was made at Monday's hearing that comes after a court ruled the city of Manchester's ordinance to ban protests within 300 feet of a funeral was unconstitutional.  In 2010, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, challenged  a city of Manchester ordinance restricting protests or pickets at funerals. The Westboro Baptist Church regularly pickets military funerals with signs such as "thank God for dead soldiers." …

John Messmer

12:06 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012

But Mr. Dennis, you write that "free speech doesn't mean you can infringe on others exercising their rights.....". But what "rights" are Westboro infringing upon? The right to attend a funeral in peace? The right not to have your feelings hurt? Great ideas but those aren't fundamental rights - and they're certainly not rights protected in the Constitution. I abhor what this church is doing as …   more ›

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Court Grants Manchester Another Shot at Westboro Baptist Church Case

A full panel of judges will hear the case Phelps v. the City of Manchester after a three-panel judge had ruled in favor of Phelps earlier this year.

The Eighth District Court of Appeals has accepted the City of Manchester’s petition to re-hear the case Phelps v. the City of Manchester before a full panel of judges. The Westboro Baptists church had sued Manchester for a city ordinance restricting protests or pickets at funerals. In October of 2010, members of the Phelps family, who head the Westboro Baptist Church, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit against a city of Manchester’s ordinance that prohibited protests or picketing near a funeral.  The ordinance was enacted in 2007 in response to previous Westboro Baptist Church funeral protests elsewhere in Missouri and in the country. The church, according to their website (Warning: Strong Language), regularly …

Jerry Dennis

11:44 pm on Wednesday, January 4, 2012

With every right there are responsibilities. Just because the Second Amendment gives you the right to own a firearm doesn't give you the absolute right to shoot someone. The same reasoning applies to the First Amendment. It's too bad Supreme Courts, past and present, forgot that part.   more ›

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Heat Keeps People In On National Night Out

Tuesday night, police officers handed out free smoothies and talked to residents in the city in an effort to become closer to the community and increase crime prevention awareness.

On Tuesday night, Manchester City police officers helped residents cool down from the 100°F weather as they gave out free smoothies to residents as part of the annual National Night Out. National Night Out is an event to encourage citizens to get know each other and their police force as well as increase awareness of crime prevention. Members of the Manchester Police Department visited different streets around the city, talking to residents, and handing out smoothies. Mayor David Willson attended the ice cream social scheduled at the Manchester Police Department on Highlands Boulevard Drive. The event was moved indoors due to the heat. Willson said the event is a great opportunity to get residents to familiarize themselves with their …

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