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St. Louis County says battle over land is about pot money

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A political battle is brewing over the City of Manchester’s efforts to expand its boundaries. That’s because two marijuana dispensaries happen to be in the footprint of what Manchester wants to take over.

Currently, the cannabis businesses are in an unincorporated part of St. Louis County, right across the street from one another near Manchester and 141.

St. Louis County wants voters to approve a 3% sales tax increase on adult-use marijuana. If passed, that could bring in as much as $125,000 in additional tax revenue every year for each dispensary. That’s according to John Payne, who was part of the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana.

The city also hopes to have the 3% pot tax increase on the April ballot, but it does not currently have any dispensaries within its boundaries. The St. Louis County Executive’s Office believes that’s why Manchester wants to take over the area.

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A spokesperson for the St. Louis County Executive’s Office said in the following statement:

“Of course, it’s about pot. There are two dispensaries in the area Manchester wants to annex. They want to convince voters to pass a sales tax on recreational pot and reap the benefits. Money grab, pure and simple.”

“It’s not a money grab at all, because we’re reinvesting whatever those revenues are,” said Manchester Mayor Mike Clement. “In our plan of intent, we have made that clear.”

Clement stated that they started working on a plan to expand its borders east to Barrett Station Road and north from Carmen Road to Town and Country.

“We are very, very connected (with the now unincorporated area) and it’s very logical,” the mayor said.

Clement said their plan began long before the dispensaries opened.

“It is a very complicated process. It is a very time-consuming process,” he said. “From a city perspective, we also look to see before we even started this, we wanted to see if it was viable.”

The mayor believes it’ll add up to better services for people now unincorporated, like a neighborhood on Barrett Place Drive. Some residents have mixed feelings, and many are worried that their taxes will go up if they are annexed.

“As far personal taxes, possibly a tiny bit, but they have big savings with the trash fees,” Clement said. “We only pay $6 a month for trash service in Manchester.”

He believes it would also mean faster police response times and better street maintenance and snow removal.

“I came into Manchester in 1999, annexed into Manchester, and the services that Manchester provided then were considerably better than what St. Louis County did then,” Clement said. “I think it’s the same story today. We are neighbors, we spend a lot of time together, let’s become kind of the full community.”

This coming Tuesday is a big day in which Manchester learns if it’s able to get the marijuana tax increase on the ballot as well as finds out whether an independent commission signs off on its annexation proposal.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

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