The lid of a toilet tank lies on the floor of the smoke-filled Waterloo City Lakes boys’ bathroom following a small explosion. Police are looking for several boys seen at the scene of the crime.

The Waterloo Police Department is searching for several youths who are responsible for an explosion yesterday inside a bathroom at City Lakes Park.

Waterloo resident Tim Scace reported seeing smoke coming out of the boys’ bathroom by the playground at 7 p.m. When the Waterloo Fire Department arrived on the scene, Assistant Fire Chief Jim Dietz made his way into the building and determined there was no fire, but there was a thick cloud of smoke inside. He opened a window to let the smoke out.

Firefighter Chad Everett located an empty container of Pyrodex, a brand of gunpowder used for muzzle-loading guns. The vandals apparently removed the lid from the tank of the toilet, placed it upside down on the floor by urinals, poured the gunpowder into the lid and lit it using a fuse. The explosion caused minor smoke damage.

“It appears to be just a dumb prank,” said Perry Schlemmer, a Waterloo firefighter and former Waterloo Park District board member.

After the firefighters vented the remaining smoke from the bathroom and placed the lid back on the toilet, Waterloo police officers began their investigation.

Witnesses Wes and Rena Reeves reported they had just arrived at the park at 7 p.m., and were preparing to eat their dinner from Arby’s at the pavilion next to the bathrooms.

“We heard a loud boom, but I just thought it was thunder from the approaching storm,” Wes Reeves said.

The couple then noticed several young men standing outside the bathroom building when smoke began to filter out the men’s room door.

“We just assumed they were fumigating the bathroom,” he said.

The couple told police the youths left the scene in a blue Chevrolet Avalanche; the Waterloo Police Department is looking for the vehicle and the boys. The Pyrodex container was given to Waterloo Police Officers Jay Sawyer and Trin Daws.

The Waterloo Fire Department responded to two other calls on Monday. There was a report at 2 p.m. of a burning odor in a home on KK Road near Burksville Station. Firefighters suspect the smell came from a malfunctioning Glade air freshener. “The fan was not working correctly,” said Waterloo Fire Chief Mark Yeager. The fire department was called at about 3 p.m. to Joe Dugan’s woodworking shop off Columbia Avenue in Waterloo. A cinder from a burn barrel apparently ignited a nearby firewood stack. Firefighters quickly contained and extinguished the fire.

Police Remove Black Snake From Waterloo Kitchen
Waterloo Police Officers Jeff Prosise and Scott Spencer yesterday removed a large snake from a Waterloo house. Jean Stogner was at her daughter Chris Hemmer’s home on Janice Drive when her grandson alerted her to a four-foot black snake in the kitchen. Stogner dialed 9-1-1 and the police officers were dispatched. Prosise grabbed the snake and released it in the woods behind the home. “It was a real beauty,” Prosise said.

Columbia City Council Rejects Legoland
Developer G.J. Grewe reportedly presented a plan for a Legoland theme park to the Columbia City Council during a closed-door meeting Monday night, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Alderman Brad Oberkfell released the information Tuesday to a Post-Dispatch reporter. During a press conference Tuesday afternoon at Columbia City Hall, Mayor Kevin Hutchinson declined to comment on the details of Grewe’s presentation Monday night. He also stated City Attorney Tom Adams had told the aldermen not to comment on the proceedings of the executive session.

Storm Erupts Over Valmeyer Bluff

Although it appears the bluff at Salt Lick Point erupted and spewed lava into the atmosphere, it was merely a large cloud settling over Valmeyer yesterday afternoon as a summer storm rolled through the area. “We got a good, solid rain,” said Valmeyer Mayor Howard Heavner. “I think the drought is over.” B.J. Johnson said his rain gauge showed 1.6 inches of rain in old town, but he said he believes new town received substantially more. – photo by Carol Floarke

Recent Obituaries
Harold C. Goessling, 72, of Waterloo, died June 24, 2007, in St. Louis. Survivors include his wife, Ann Goessling nee Patterson; children David (Cynthia) Goessling of Waterloo, Catherine (Dennis) Hitzemann of Waterloo, Tracey (Craig) Inman of Arnold, Mo., and Tori Goessling (friend TJ Colombatto) of Waterloo; grandchildren Kyle, Colin, Alissa, Eric, Jared, Colton, Brock and Torin; brother Eugene (Marlene) Goessling of Waterloo; and sister Dorothy (Richard) Steingrubey of Red Bud. He was buried Wednesday morning at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Waterloo.