The student who hit him was arrested and will be suspended for at least ten days. The suspect could be expelled.

We were only able to confirm small parts of the story told by seventeen year old Eugene and his mother Tina Ivory-Dixon. The Hazelwood School District would not respond to questions about allegations of threats and bullying against Eugene and his sister Leslie. The district wouldn't confirm Mrs. Dixon's story that she had repeatedly complained about bullies tormenting her children, and that the district had done little about it. A district spokeswoman released the following statement:

"This morning at Hazelwood West High School, one student hit another student in the face. As with any altercation, school officials responded immediately and in accordance with the HSD Student-Parent Handbook and Behavior Guide. This is an unfortunate incident and this behavior will not be tolerated. The student who hit the other student was arrested and suspended in accordance with the Behavior Guide. Any further information about the educational files or discipline records of students is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)."

Stories involving the rights of children, especially when they are a patient or student, are challenging because it's so difficult to confirm some allegations. In this report we gave the family and the school district a fair opportunity to address the incident. It's unclear what the district knows and has done about any bullying that may have happened to Mrs. Dixon's children. However, it appears that the suspect in today's assault was handled according to district policy, and that he could be thrown out of school for the attack.

In response, each of the officers volunteered to work a twelve hour shift without pay every week just to make sure the community has at least one cop on duty around the clock. Mayor Keith Conway insists the cuts were needed and will not put public safety at risk.

Kinloch has a rich history, but many people blame its recent demise on the airport expansion. In the 1980s, Lambert Airport purchased most of the city's private homes. Three out of four Kinloch residents moved out of town. The 2000 census estimated there were only 449 people living in Kinloch. The lost residents and tax revenue, but it gained a reputation as a haven for gangs and violent crime, which makes the recent cuts harder for the officers, and many residents to accept.

Kinloch's mayor hopes new development in the area will help turn things around. The city, along with St. Louis County, the City of St. Louis, Berkeley and Ferguson are all part of a massive redevelopment plan that is expected to create thousands of jobs and build office and retail space throughout the area. NorthPark Partners, the project developer, plan to donate a new civic center to Kinloch.

So, there is potential for a rebirth of Kinloch, at least a partial rejuvination. But, for now, the small pocket of poverty is showing signs that its problems are getting worse.

Police say this sounds like a classic technique used by burglars. They knock on your front door to see if anyone's home and if no one answers they try to bust in the front door or walk around to the back of the house and break a window. From their appearance and their suspicious actions, two homeowners thought this couple was up to no good and called 911. Their appearance in this neighborhood is a heads-up to others to be on alert for this kind of tactic.

Here are some important crime prevention tips:
1) If someone comes to your door that you don't recognize, police recommend you don't answer the door or at least talk to them through a locked door.
2) Also, they recommend that you be sure to have a good deadbolt.
3) And consider reinforcing your door frame to keep your home secure while you're away.
4) A security system is very helpful.
5) And a radio on a timer might cause crooks to think someone's home even if you don't answer the door.

Here's how they do it. To get in without a membership, they'll follow a group of people into the door and sneak in without having a membership or use a guest pass to get access to the club. Once inside they'll go into a locker room and go through unlocked lockers. The thieves will take car keys, head to the parking lot and then start pushing the remote control door locks to locate the vehicles. From there they unlock the car doors and steal whatever valuables are left inside, wallets GPS devices, jewelry, cell phones and iPods.

Of course the way to solve this crime is simple, put a lock on the locker. Many gyms sell locks or have the coin operated lockers like you find at swimming pools. Some customers think it's unnecessary to lock up their stuff, if they leave their valuables in the car. But if the crooks can get to your keys, they can get to you wallet.

StopRepairs shares a St. Peters office building with National Dealers Warranty Inc. The Better Business Bureau gives the companies an F rating based on more than 300 consumer complaints during the past three years and other issues. The BBB report also shows that the companies resolved or administratively closed all of those cases.

Our report was prompted by a complaint by Shirley Allen. Ms. Allen bought coverage through StopRepairs. The coverage was administered by a third party, but much of her anger is directed at StopRepairs, which she believes mislead her about the coverage.

StopRepairs insists that it was in the process of paying for Ms. Allen's claim when we called. Even Carter admits it should have been paid, and that Ms. Allen should not have been forced to wait nearly three weeks to get the vehicle repaired. Carter told me the car would be fixed this week, although he called it a coincidence that Ms. Allen's repeated complaints were addressed after we contacted the company.

You can file consumer complaints with the BBB, the Illinois Attorney General and the Missouri Attorney General.

Thousands of tombstones in the Washington Park Cemetery in Berkeley are hidden under tall weeds and out of control brush and trees. It's a disgrace. Now, several weeks after our story about the cemetery, Americorps and other volunteers are helping the new owner clean up the grounds.

The project begins Saturday at 9 am. The cemetery is located near Natural Bridge Rd. and Brown Rd. Owner Kevin Bailey, who bought the cemetery a few months ago for $2, took over the grounds because his father is buried there and Bailey wanted the cemetery improved. He lacks the money needed to turn it around, but he's hoping the community will help.

Bailey says volunteers need heavy duty mowers, gas powered trimmers and chainsaws. If you'd like to help call 314-355-6253. Bailey can also be reached through e-mail at amge2009@aol.com.

The St. Louis County activist has traveled across the country interviewing patients. Some of them are legal patients who have prescriptions for marijuana sold by approved venders in the thirteen states where it is legal. Other patients are using it illegally in states that consider possession a crime. It's illegal to possess cannabis in Missouri and Illinois.

The biggest arguement for using cannabis is that it has value as a medicine. Cannabinoids have antioxidant properties, which can be useful in treating certain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The details are contained in a United States Patent issued six years ago.

Clearly, medical marijuana remains controversial. Critics argue there are enough drugs on the market that can be used to treat patients without legalizing pot. And, quite frankly, although many people insist they are not using it to get high, there is always suspiscion, especially among law enforcement, that some patients just want the state to approve of them getting stoned. Pedersen insists there is no prescription drug that can help ease his pain as much as cannabis. He says pills damaged his stomach and hurt his memory. Marijuana, he says, is the key to keeping him active and healthier.

Mark Pedersen is dedicating his life to this issue. He knows that his cause is also a crime in most states, but Pedersen insists the benefits of using marijuana to treat him and others are work the risk.

There are several steps you can take to protect against mail theft and to stop criminals from taking one of your checks and forging their name and a new amount on it. First of all, use a gel ink pen to write your checks because it's much more difficult to wash off than ink from a ball point pen. You can wait till right before your letter carrier arrives to put out your mail. A simple, secure solution is to put your outgoing mail in a neighborhood drop box. Paying your bills online is another idea and if you're worried about the safety of the mail you receive, you could install a mailbox with a lock.

Here are some security camera photos from the bank where the criminal cashed the check he stole from the Brown's mailbox.

He was driving a late '90's model Chevy Lumina with some distinctive characteristics. You can see in the photos that the hood of the car has gray or silver paint on it and the rear door on the driver's side appears to have a dent.
If you recognize this person or the vehicle, you're asked to call the United States Postal Inspection Service at 314-539-9349.
Or call Crimestoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).

The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is commonly referred to as the federal stimulus plan. Today, OMB Watch, a group promoting government transparency and accountability, praised the "timely release" of new data, but critics say the government's website does a poor job of helping us track the spending.

States have their own websites too. Missouri and Illinois give you the opportunity to follow some of the money too. There's no question that these websites fail to tell the whole story, but it will give you some insight into the process and the way money is being spent.

So, how much money could a copper crook get from a load of stolen pipes? There's up to a couple hundred pounds of pipe in an average size home. As of a couple of days ago, metal recycling centers were paying $2.45 a pound for #1 copper. That's almost a $500 payday for a copper thief. To deter thieves, the City of St. Louis passed an ordinance requiring scrap metal sellers to show an ID and scrap metal dealers have set up an email network used to communicate about suspicious sellers. Businesses in the city are confident it's cut down on the number of thieves that bring them stolen pipe, but concede that the criminals probably got to businesses outside the city where there's no similar ordinance.

The most vulnerable houses are those left vacant by foreclosure and that are on the market for sale, but the owner has already moved out. If your house is going to be vacant while you're on vacation or for an extended period of time, realtors and police advise you to make sure it's secure and take steps to make it looked lived in. You can do that by setting timers on lights and a radio and asking a neighbor to park an extra car in the driveway.

The number of crimes that occur, even by 12-noon each day, are too numerous to report. And the vast majority are too insignificant to report, unless they happened in your neighborhood. And to that end, there are a few ways you may be able to track the crime in your neighborhood, depending on where you live. Residents in St. Louis can use the St. Louis Police Department's Safe City Incident Mapping website to check for crimes in their neighborhood by plugging in their own address and seeing the crimes that have occurred in a radius of 1/2 mile, 1 mile, 2 miles or 5 miles. The cities of Maryland Heights, Hazelwood, Kirkwood and Fairview Heights post their recent crime activity on a website called, CrimeReports.com. And the St. Louis County Police Department just debuted a new website that citizens can use to check crime activity near them. It shows crimes in the unincorporated areas of St. Louis County, as well as the communities that contract with the county to provide police service. Click here to see a video where I show how to use the website.

The Nobel Prizes are arguably the most prestigious awards in the world. Certainly, it would be difficult to find a greater honor than the Nobel Peace Prize.

Today, we learned that President Barack Obama will receive the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009. Many people are stunned. Some question the role of international politics in the selection process, others support the decision and believe it is an endorsement of President Obama's strategy and goals for the United States, both domestically and internationally.

The debate over whether the President deserves the Prize is dominating chat rooms and forums on the internet, radio and television talkshows, and of course countless conversations around the office and at home.

The deadline for accepting nominations for the Prize ended less than two weeks after Barack Obama took office. It's unclear who nominated the President. Here's a link to the database of Nobel Peace Prize nominees. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin are among the nominees. So, I guess the question is: What did he do in twelve days as President to earn a nomination, and what did he do since then to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?

President Obama is the third sitting President to win the honor. Teddy Roosevelt won in 1905, Woodrow Wilson in 1920. Jimmy Carter won the honor in 2002, twenty-five years after he was elected President.

Let's compare the Presidents and the reasons why they received the honor.

Jimmy Carter won the Prize in 2002, a quarter century after he became President in 1977. The Nobel website lists the following accomplishments during his presidency: "Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, the treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel, the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union, and the establishment of U.S. diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. He championed human rights throughout the world."

He got the Prize 25 years after taking office.

Woodrow Wilson, President from 1913-21. This quote is from Wikipedia..."In the late stages of the war, Wilson took personal control of negotiations with Germany, including the armistice. He issued his Fourteen Points, his view of a post-war world that could avoid another terrible conflict. He went to Paris in 1919 to create the League of Nations and shape the Treaty of Versailles, with special attention on creating new nations out of defunct empires. Largely for his efforts to form the League, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."

He got the Prize 7 years after taking office.

Teddy Roosevelt, President from 1901-1909, won the Prize in 1905, the first "statesman" to win. Like Obama's honor, Roosevelt's was very controversial. This quote is from the Nobel website...."Theodore Roosevelt, President of the USA, received the Peace Prize for having negotiated peace in the Russo-Japanese war in 1904-5. He also resolved a dispute with Mexico by resorting to arbitration as recommended by the peace movement. Roosevelt was the first statesman to be awarded the Peace Prize, and for the first time the award was controversial. The Norwegian Left argued that Roosevelt was a "military mad" imperialist who completed the American conquest of the Philippines. Swedish newspapers wrote that Alfred Nobel was turning in his grave, and that Norway awarded the Peace Prize to Roosevelt in order to win powerful friends after the dramatic dissolution of the union with Sweden the previous year."

He got the Prize 4 years after taking office.

Clearly, President Obama hasn't been able to pull together a resume like the other Presidents who have received the honor. However, the Nobel Committee based its selection on "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons."

Last year, seventy-six Nobel Laureates endorsed Barack Obama for President. I wonder if they endorse his selection as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize?

By the way, Mahatma Ghandi never won the Peace Prize. I doubt if anyone feels good about that.

There's no question OnStar provides a service that can save lives. In fact, a spokesman for the vehicle communication service says it interacts with 100,000 customers every day, and each month it communicates on behalf of 2,000 customers who are in their vehicles, but unable to call OnStar themselves. Those cases, often following a vehicle crash, are particularly important.

However, it's also clear that there are obvious weaknesses in OnStar's service. The company website features a coverage area map, which clearly shows most states have large areas with "limited" coverage. Kentucky, West Virginia, Louisiana and Texas have significant areas with no OnStar service at all.

Obviously, OnStar provides many people with convenience and peace of mind. If you are considering buying it you should read the terms and conditions provided by the company. This is one of the most important documents you can read about any product.

Here are some excerpts provided in the OnStar terms and conditions that I've never seen in any OnStar commercial:

"OnStar service works using wireless communication networks and the Global Positioning System ("GPS") satellite network. NOT ALL OnStar SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE, PARTICULARLY IN REMOTE OR ENCLOSED AREAS, OR ON ALL CARS, AT ALL TIMES. The area that you are driving in may affect the service that we can provide to you, including but not limited to routing service."

OnStar service can't work unless your Car is in a place where we have an agreement with a wireless Service Provider for service in that area. OnStar service also can't work unless you're in a place where the wireless Service Provider we've hired for that area has coverage, network capacity, and reception when the service is needed, and technology that's compatible with the OnStar service. OnStar service that involves location information about your Car can't work unless GPS satellite signals are unobstructed, available in that place and compatible with the OnStar hardware as well."

Is OnStar worth it? That depends on what you consider affordable and necessary. The service can cost up to $70 a month. CNET tries out OnStar during a test drive. OnStar says customer surveys show it's a hit. Consumer Reports wrote a review of OnStar several years ago. Many of the issues discussed in the CR report are still relevant today. Although OnStar has upgraded its system and that is worth noting as well.

So, is OnStar worth it? Again, it depends on what you are willing to pay for a service that will probably give you more comfort and peace of mind.

In Herculaneum, Missouri police created a program called R-U-OKAY. Police asked elderly residents in the small town if they would like to get regular calls and visits from officers. Nineteen people signed up for the program. It may not fit the traditional definition of community policing, but it's very effective, especially in a close-knit town with little violent crime.

Joy Urban, an eighty year old widow, suggested we do a story about the program. She told me that "it means a lot to have someone who cares that much for you."

Police Chief Chris Pigg told me officers are there to protect and serve, adding that service is critical.

I agree. It may not be reasonable in cities with shrinking budgets and high crime, but it works in Herculaneum, and it could work in many other communities where the police department's responsibility to serve is considered just as important as its need to protect.

The condition of the cemetery outraged Tammy Roby, who can't find the grave of her great-grandfather. The picture at the left shows Ms. Roby standing in the center of the cemetery. She asked us to look into the problem.

The city of Berkeley, which is responsible for enforcing building and property codes at the cemetery, has done a lousy job of holding the owners accountable for the condition of the site.

Five months ago, the city found the property was in violation of city codes. The cemetery had been owned for many years by WPC Parks Inc., which had cleaned up much of the cemetery during the late 90s. But the company ran out of money and sold the property to Amazing Grace Enterprises LLC over the summer. The new owner, Kevin Bailey, says he's concerned about the property because his father is buried there. Bailey told me he bought Washington Park for $2 so he could clean it up.

So far, he appears to have done virtually nothing. The day after we contacted the city of Berkeley about the cemetery, it issued a notice of violation to Bailey's company. Acting City Manager Frank McCall insists the city is "on top of it," and will do what's needed to make sure the cemetery is cleaned up.

The disgraceful condition of the cemetery isn't lost on any of the people I interviewed for this story. Kevin Bailey seems genuinely interested in turning the property into a respectful burial grounds and is trying to raise the money needed to do it. He has his work cut out for him.