DECOSTER IN THE NEWS… AND NOT JUST MOTOCROSS NEWS

MONTICELLO, MO? A former Keokuk resident pleaded not guilty Thursday to two counts of first-degree murder during a preliminary hearing at the Lewis County Courthouse in Monticello, Mo. He is being represented by public defenders David Clayton and Todd Scholze of the state public defenders office. Christopher Piersee, 24, LaGrange, Mo., is accused of murdering his wife, Patricia Yarbrough Piersee, and their son, Landon Piersee, five months old, on Feb. 3 in their home. The case is being prosecuted for the state by Jules DeCoster.

KAUKAUNA, WI ? City officials will be looking to promote from within when Street Supt. Bob DeCoster retires at the end of the month.

SANTA CLARA, CA?Sun Microsystems develops the technologies that power the global marketplace. Guided by a singular vision — “The Network Is The Computer” — Sun drives network participation through shared innovation, community development and open source leadership. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com. For more info contact Jacki DeCoster; [email protected]

HONOLULU, HI?Obituary?Retired Rear Adm. John M. “Jack” Barrett, who served in Hawai’i, was instrumental in the development of the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park and was a founding director of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial Association, died Saturday at his home in White Salmon, Wash. He was 89. Kristin “Kiddy” DeCoster, who also helped develop Bowfin Park, said Barrett was a good man who cherished all the volunteers who worked to create and maintain the park. “When we started the submarine park, it was nothing but weeds and junk cars,” DeCoster said. The park, next to the USS Arizona Memorial, attracts thousands of visitors a year. It is there that Barrett prevailed over opposition to placing 51 memorials to lost submariners and subma- rines, DeCoster said.

TURNER, ME?How bad were conditions for 3 million laying hens at New England’s largest egg farm, Quality Egg of New England/Maine Contract Farming in Turner, Maine? So bad that when Maine Department of Agriculture officials raided the factory farm, four Department workers themselves succumbed to the ammonia filled barns and had to be treated by doctors for burned lungs, missing work. So bad that OSHA is now investigating. Quality Egg, the former DeCoster Egg Farm, though the DeCoster family is still actively involved, has a thirty year history of animal, worker and environmental abuses.

SANTA MONICA, CA? Talented rock pianist Kevin Burdick has signed with goDigital.com while also working with several event planners to be featured in large national shows including the a parade in Washington, D.C. “Kevin tears the place up every time he’s here,” said John DeCoster, owner of Club TRiP in Santa Monica. “He is an incredibly talented performer. Each and every time he has performed at Trip, he somehow manages to bring light hearted and absolutely hysterical improvisation balanced with music that shows his true artistic depth.”