Brothers Ethan (third grade) and Noah Sage (first grade) enlisted the help of fellow classmates and neighbors Grant Leonard and Riley Lewis and set out after school to do their part to make a difference. At the corner of Nantucket Island and Old Fairway Drives the four boys did just that, raising over $725 in less than two hours.

Scores of generous motorists stopped and donated to the cause. The most conspicuous of the vehicles to take notice was Engine Company 3344 from the Metro West Fire Protection District.

“These boys are terrific kids who really have a huge heart,” Capt. Mike Digman said. “They came up with this great idea on their own, and are so tremendously proud of what they have accomplished. We are happy to support a good cause and such tremendous young men.”

When asked, Noah said, “I had fun, and it was good to work with my brother.”

Both Sage brothers were shy when asked if what they were doing to help was heroic, but both acknowledged that anyone can step forward and make a difference.  The boys plan on forwarding the money to the Red Cross to assist with the relief efforts.

Their efforts demonstrate the good that can come in the wake of such tragedy.

“Metro West residents are among the most generous and caring people I know, and we are very proud of these fine young men,” Chief Vincent T. Loyal said.

Metro West would like to remind people that acts like this to help in recovery are vital to the needs that will be faced by those in Moore, OK.  This is also a good time to review your family disaster plans (especially related to tornado and severe storms) with your children. For more information on how to be prepared or to help please visit the St. Louis American Red Cross at redcross.org/mo/st-louis.

What should a person look for when shopping for sunscreen?

New Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules governing sunscreen labels that took effect this year offer consumers detailed information about what a sunscreen can do. Specifically, sunscreen labels now must tell consumers 1) whether the product helps prevent skin cancer and sunburn or only helps prevent sunburn, and 2) whether the product is water resistant.

To carry the claim that it can prevent skin cancer and sunburn, a sunscreen must protect against UVA and UVB rays (broad-spectrum coverage) and offer a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher.

To carry the claim that it is water resistant, a sunscreen must pass a test that shows how long it keeps its SPF when a person gets in the water or sweats. The label must state how long the water resistance lasts – either 40 minutes or 80 minutes. Sunscreens that are not water resistant must carry a warning on the label that a water resistant product should be used if the user is likely to sweat or be in water.

In Consumer Reports’ evaluation of 12 sunscreens, Target’s Up & Up Sport SPF 50 spray and Walmart’s Equate Ultra Protection SPF 50 lotion scored the highest in tests and were among the least expensive of the sunscreens tested. Also rating very good overall were Coppertone Water Babies 50 lotion and Walgreens Continuous Spray Sport SPF 50. All four were found to guard against UVB rays before and after 80 minutes under water and were very good against UVA rays – and cost $1.67 or less per ounce.

Consumer Reports’ full sunscreen report is available online at www.consumerreports.org.

Incarnate Word will host St. Dominic at noon Saturday (May 25). Earlier this spring, St. Dominic scored a 2-1 victory in their mid-April encounter.

The Red Knights got past Visitation Academy 3-2 in penalty kicks in the sectional game played at Parkway Central to earn the trip to the quarterfinals. Like the outcome would indicate, it was a tough, hard-fought contest.

“The game against Visitation was a mental and physical battle for our team,” Incarnate Word coach Erin Hesselbach said. “We started off sluggish but picked it up have way through the first half. I was happy with our performance and thought our team dug deep to pull out a win.”

The two teams finished regulation and two overtime periods tied 2-2. But Incarnate Word prevailed in penalty kicks to advance.

“Beating Visitation in sectionals gave our team confidence,” Hesselbach said. “It proved again that our hard work throughout the season and our tough schedule pays off in the long run.”

The Red Knights are in good shape for the game with St. Dominic.

“We are still strong and fit like our last game,” Hesselbach said.

Last year in the Class 3 quarterfinals, the Red Knights lost 2-1 in two overtimes to rival St. Joseph’s.

They are back again, this time in Class 2 as the schools was reclassified. The task will be tough in meeting St. Dominic.

“Our first game against St. Dominic was a tough battle,” Hesselbach said. “They are a good team but we held our own. We learned quite a bit about ourselves that game, have made some adjustments and are ready for the rematch.”

To advance to a berth in the Kansas City, the Red Knights must put together a complete game.

“We have to play a solid 80 minutes on Saturday,” Hesselbach said. “We have to focus on our game and play IWA soccer. We have to stress coming out strong and finish our scoring opportunities.”

Incarnate Word’s last trip to the Final Four ended well. The Red Knights defeated Lee’s Summit 2-1 to capture the Class 3 state championship.

Now, they have the opportunity to again reach the Final Four.

“The entire squad is pumped to be playing still in late May,” Hesselbach said. “We understand it is win or go home. The girls have been focused in practice and pushing one another to be better. We are excited for the game tomorrow.”

While walk-ins are welcome, it is recommended that donors schedule an appointment.  To make an appointment go to redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code: LSLPF or call Officer Susie Ochs at the Lake Saint Louis Police Department at 625-8018.

Memorial Day Ceremonies in West County

The Ballwin Historical Commission hosts a Memorial Day Ceremony at 11:15 a.m. on Monday, May 27 at the Peace Memorial in Vlasis Park. Ballwin VFW Post 6274 Honor Guard participates in the ceremony, and light refreshments are served after the event. Tours of Historic Log Home in Vlasis Park are available immediately following the ceremony. Visit www.ballwin.mo.us.

The city of Ellisville Memorial Day Ceremony is at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 27 at the Lafayette War Memorial in Bluebird Park, 225 Kiefer Creek Road. The service honors those who gave their lives and pays tribute Sgt. Zachary M. Fisher, of Ballwin, who was killed by an IED on July 14, 2010, in Afghanistan. Fisher’s name will be inscribed on the Lafayette War Memorial monument under the heading “Operation Enduring Freedom.” The public is invited to attend. Visit www.ellisville.mo.us.

Memorial Day Ceremonies in St. Charles County

The sixth annual Memorial Day ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 27, at Lake Saint Louis Veterans Memorial Park, located adjacent to Lake Saint Louis Civic Center (City Hall/Police Headquarters), at the I-64/Lake Saint Louis Boulevard interchange. The featured speaker will be former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Geoff Lockett of Wentzville.

In O’Fallon a Memorial Day Ceremony commemorating U.S. military personnel who died while in service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 27, at O’Fallon Veterans Memorial Walk, 800 Belleau Creek Road in O’Fallon. Free parking is available. Brig. Gen. Greg S. Champagne, U.S.A.F, will be the keynote speaker. Champagne is a 30-year service member of the 131^st Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

In St. Peters the public is invited to a special Remembrance Ceremony at 10 a.m., on Monday, May 27, at the Veterans Memorial in front of St. Peters City Hall. Weather permitting, a Medevac helicopter will land on the City Hall front parking lot near the memorial at around 9:30 a.m.  The guest speaker for the ceremony will be Vietnam veteran and local radio personality Paul Arca.  During the ceremony approximately 25 Marine recruits will be sworn in.

The joint St. Charles City-County Memorial Day commemorative event will be held at 1 p.m., Monday, May 27, at the St. Charles City Veteran’s Memorial on Bishop’s Landing.  Tom Kuypers, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars-Post 2866 will serve as master of ceremonies and Paul Jones, of the VFW Post 2866 will serve as officer of the day, with welcome remarks by County Executive Steve Ehlmann and Michael Spurgeon, director of administration for the city of St. Charles.

Jefferson Barracks Honors Fallen Soldiers

A single American flag is usually the only flag that flies over Jefferson Barracks cemetery, but Memorial Day is an exception.

It’s a tradition that happens every year. On Sunday, boy scouts will fill Jefferson Barracks with red, white and blue by presenting a small American flag by each grave. However, the small flags will only remain for a short time before they will be taken down Tuesday. The American flag that flies every day will also be displayed at half-staff.

In addition, a service will be conducted at 10 a.m. Monday honoring those who have served the country. For more information, contact Jefferson Barracks at 314-845-8320.

In 2010, the Celts fell in the waning seconds in a tough defeat to Trinity. In 2011, Orchard Farm dealt Kennedy more heartbreak by winning in the final minute.

Kennedy does have a trip to the Final Four. It came in 1994 when all the teams were in the same class. Incarnate Word Academy defeated Kennedy in the semifinals that year.

Now, they have a chance to do something special.

“They are excited about the opportunity,” coach Tom Rapp said. “The coaches are, too.”

Kennedy meets defending state champion St. Pius X, who will host the game at 2 p.m. Saturday (May 25). The team from Festus won state last year with a 3-1 victory to thwart Principia, the Cinderella story of last season.

To earn the trip to the quarterfinals, Kennedy defeated John Burroughs 5-2 in the sectional game. The game did not start too well for the Celts but they recovered.

“We were outplayed badly for the first seven minutes and then as we gained possession, they didn’t seem to be able to sustain a work rate defensively,” Rapp said. “That plus scoring on our first chance seemed to make it more difficult for them to win possession. We scored again around five minutes later and twice more before halftime for a 4-0 lead.”

Junior Rachael Kozuszcek scored the first goal on an assist from senior Maddie Marchetto. Junior Abby Bogard scored the second goal on a rebound in the box for the second goal, and freshman Katie Walgreen scored the third goal. Junior Nicole Langwith made it 4-0 when she scored and the Celts were off and running.

Sophomore Kelsey McLaurine scored Kennedy’s final goal in the second half.

Standing out in the victory, Rapp said, were Langwith, McLaurine, Walgren, Kozuszcek and Emma Newberry.

“They all played very, very well,” Rapp said.

The Celts went the game with St. Pius X in good shape.

“We are OK healthwise,” Rapp said.

Kennedy has not played St. Pius X for four years so the Celts have little history with their opponent.

To get past the quarterfinals and earn a trip to Kansas City for the Final Four, Rapp said his girls must be clicking on all cyclinders.

“We have to play our best to defeat the defending state champs,” Rapp said. “They might be better this year. We have to especially defend well and outwork them.”

Eureka (19-1-1) hosts the Pattonville Pirates (21-5) at 6 p.m. Saturday (May 25) on the Eureka stadium field in the Class 3 quarterfinals. It’s been a season to remember for the Wildcats. Eureka’s only loss this season came in penalty kicks against Summit.

“The girls have never reached the quarterfinals, that I know of,” Eureka coach Bill Goggin said. “The boys team did early on when Frank Cox was coaching. But the girls have never gotten this far and it pretty exciting.”

The Wildcats advanced to the quarterfinals with a 10-0 victory over Seckman in the sectional round.

“It was a wild start,” Goggin said. “Our girls were really ready to play and we just overwhelmed the Seckman backs. We have a couple of players with speed up top and they began to finish shots early on.

“After the first couple of goals, I think Seckman was shell shocked and did not recover. I was shellshocked.”

Abby Pulliam scored about four minutes into the game and then Hannah Leinert scored three times in 10 minutes. With the goals, Leinert became the career single-season goal scorer for the Wildcats.

“All of those shots were really well placed,” Goggin said. “Of our 10 goals, six hit the side net. It was incredible to watch.”

The rout caught Goggin off guard.

“I expected a really tough game,” Goggin said. “Seckman had a great year and won their district from a team that had beaten them earlier in the season. So, I was not taking anything for granted in the game.”

At about the 20-minute mark, Goggin pulled most of his starters with the lead at 4-0. He said it was right thing to do.

“I really dislike trying to show up another team,” Goggin said. “On the other hand, I could not tell girls who don’t play much not to try.  So, the result was the 10-0 game.

“A couple of backups scored their first of the season and Holly Gendece scored twice after being promoted to varsity about three weeks ago. It was just a night where everything went in for us.”

Starting back Ella Burrows hurt her knee against Seckman.

“We think it is pretty bad and that she is finished for the season,” Goggin said.

Senior goalkeeper Alli Wallner was back for the sectional match after suffering a concussion in the district semifinal victory over Marquette.

“We are getting healthy, slowly but surely,” Goggin said.

In Pattonville, the Wildcats will be playing a good team. The Pirates were one win away from the Final Four last spring. Pattonville lost then eventual state champion Cor Jesu in overtime.

“Over the years we have played Pattonville a few times,” Goggin said. “The girls played them last year in the championship game up at the Tournament of Champions in Burlington Iowa. It was a great game that came out in our favor 2-1. They are very good and very fast. It should be a great game.”

Eureka has to remain the same for Pattonville. Now it not the time to change anything, Goggin said. Just keep doing what they have been doing.

“We have to play our game, sounds silly , but it is not,” Goggin said. “We like to possess the ball and have players who can play under control. When we start to kick the ball long too much, we hurt ourselves.”

One more win and Eureka will earn the right to play in the Final Four in Kansas City.

“The girls have never reached the Final Four. We are hoping to break that streak,” Goggin said. “This is the first year that we have not drawn a sectional game against one of the powerhouse private schools in the same year that we could win our own district. Our district has always been a huge hurdle for any team, always tough to win.”

The team and the school are happy for this opportunity.

“Everyone is very excited about our prospects,” Goggin said. “We are trying to keep it all under control and win Saturday, Then win the next one and then the next one. It is hard not to think about because it means so much to us all.”

The Angels (17-2) will play the Fort Zumwalt West Jaguars in the Class 3 quarterfinals at noon Saturday. The Jaguars will host the game. A win in the game will send the Angels to Kansas City for the state finals.

St. Joseph’s earned its berth in the quarterfinals with a 6-0 victory over Oakville in the sectional round.

“We played extremely well scoring four first-half goals,” said St. Joseph’s coach Maureen McVey. “Then I was able to get my starters out.”

The Angels have played well all season. St. Joseph’s has lost just twice. Both of those losses came on penalty kicks. Eureka, also in the quarterfinals, defeated the Angels as did St. Dominic.

In the postseason, St. Joseph’s has allowed just two goals. Those goals came in a 7-2 win over Ursuline Academy. The Angels beat Webster Groves 4-0 to win the District 8 championship before blanking Oakville.

The reason behind the solid play is simple, McVey said.

“I attribute that to the Fab 4 — Kate Croghan, Nina Simon, Natalie Sims, and Anna Martin,” McVey said. “They always have each other backs and read the offense very well.

The Angels are in good shape overall.

“All 22 are healthy,” McVey said. “We give them off days. I feel at this point of the season, rest is best.”

The Angels last reached the quarterfinals last year when they scored a 2-1 win in overtime against rival Incarnate Word Academy. St. Joseph’s went on to finish third at state.

To reach the Final Four again, St. Joseph’s must get past Fort Zumwalt West (13-10-1). St. Joseph’s defeated the Jaguars 3-0 in the first week of the season.

However, that game doesn’t mean anything now, McVey said.

“At this time, everyone is playing there best soccer,” McVey said.

To win and advance, the formular is not complicated, McVey said.

“Play our game, be consistent and play for each other,” McVey said. “We are very excited to be in the quarterfinals. We take each game one half at a time.”

The westbound I-70 bridge over Fifth Street is being rehabilitated and resurfaced as part of the westbound I-70 Blanchette Missouri River Bridge project. Three lanes of westbound I-70 will remain open and the ramp from westbound I-70 to northbound Fifth Street will remain open.

Motorists should use alternate routes to access southbound Fifth Street and Veterans Memorial Parkway (the south outer road of I-70).   Motorists can exit westbound I-70 to northbound Fifth Street, turn right on Ameristar Blvd, right on South Main and then either take a right on Lombard or a right on Fifth Street.

Another option would be to exit westbound I-70 at northbound Fifth Street and go to the light at Boonslick Road.  Turn left on Boonslick and left on Fairgrounds to access Veterans Memorial Parkway.

Westbound motorists could also avoid I-70 altogether and use Route 364 Missouri River Bridge crossing and exit at Arena Parkway to get to Fifth Street.

In O’Fallon a Memorial Day Ceremony commemorating U.S. military personnel who died while in service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 27, at O’Fallon Veterans Memorial Walk, 800 Belleau Creek Road in O’Fallon. Free parking is available. Brig. Gen. Greg S. Champagne, U.S.A.F, will be the keynote speaker. Champagne is a 30-year service member of the 131^st Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

In St. Peters the public is invited to a special Remembrance Ceremony at 10 a.m., on Monday, May 27, at the Veterans Memorial in front of St. Peters City Hall. Weather permitting, a Medevac helicopter will land on the City Hall front parking lot near the memorial at around 9:30 a.m.  The guest speaker for the ceremony will be Vietnam veteran and local radio personality Paul Arca.  During the ceremony approximately 25 Marine recruits will be sworn in.

The joint St. Charles City-County Memorial Day commemorative event will be held at 1 p.m., Monday, May 27, at the St. Charles City Veteran’s Memorial on Bishop’s Landing.  Tom Kuypers, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars-Post 2866 will serve as master of ceremonies and Paul Jones, of the VFW Post 2866 will serve as officer of the day, with welcome remarks by County Executive Steve Ehlmann and Michael Spurgeon, director of administration for the city of St. Charles.