About this column:
Off the Beaten Patch is a periodic column featuring news, notes and a lot of names of people who connect the dots in our communities. It is reported and written by St. Louis-area writer Geoff Whittington, who uses his connections to get the inside scoop on what's going on in the courtrooms, board rooms, lunch rooms and elsewhere around the region.Hazelwood School District sued for racial discrimination concerning head lice outbreak at Garrett ElementaryFormer Garrett Elementary school nurse Lori Levy is suing the Hazelwood School District.According to court documents, Levy, who is white, says she was treated badly following a head lice outbreak at the school in December and fired from her job because of her color and race. She was a nurse there from 2006 to 2010. Garrett Elementary lead nurse Crystal Nelson, assistant superintendent Grayling Tobias, and assistant superintendent Julia Burke-Thorpe are also named as defendants.On Dec. 9…
Family sues Lutheran Senior Services at Hidden Lake in North County for wrongful death. Jack Schmitz of Lake Havasu City, AZ, and his sister, Jeanne James of Dana Point, CA, are suing Lutheran Senior Services in St. Louis County court for wrongful death, breach of contract and premises liability in connection with the 2009 death of their father Daniel Schmitz, a resident of The Gables at Hidden Lake in north St. Louis County.According to court documents, the siblings allege that Daniel Schmitz passed away four days before his 80th birthday as the result of a fall in his independent living …
