St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page A001

THE NO. 1 ST. LOUIS WEBSITE AND NEWSPAPER READ BY 1.3 MILLION ADULTS EACH WEEK ST.LDUIS POST-DISPATCH One very big happy family 25 children The Ritters say their faith led them to adopt 22 of the kids, many of them with special needs or life-threatening illnesses. Full house The breakfast menu? 70 pancakes, 10 pounds of potatoes. Nixon fires aide over report on lake E.

coli He says investigation found 'systemic failure' in DNR's process of testing waterways. PHOTOS BY ELIE GARDNER Tabitha Ritter, 10 (from left), Amariah Ritter, 22, Janai Ritter 10, and Jessica Ritter (right), 23, help prepare breakfast for the family. Afterward, most of the kids head to the farm's one-room schoolhouse. Others will go with their father to work. BY AMY BERTRAND 314-340-8284 BY TONY MESSENGER 573-635-6178 JEFFERSON CITY In his latest attempt to push past a cover-up that has dogged his administration for three months, Gov.

Jay Nixon fired a longtime loyalist Friday for keeping secret a report about elevated E. coli levels at the Lake of the Ozarks. Joe Bindbeutel who followed Nixon from the attorney general's office to the state Capitol was deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources in May when he decided to withhold testing results showing potentially harmful bacteria levels in the mid -Missouri lake. Shortly after he made that decision, Nixon appointed him to a new six-figure job in his administration. But on Friday, the governor fired him.

Nixon also reinstated DNR director Mark Temple -ton, who had been suspended without pay for two weeks after the governor found out that a separate round of testing during the same time period should have closed a public beach at the lake but didn't. Nixon said Templeton had been punished appropriately for his role in the debacle. But he said an investigation by DNR's new deputy director, Bill Bryan, had found "systemic failure" in DNR's process of testing for dangerous bacteria in the waterways of the state. There have been 10 instances of high bacteria levels since 2005 in which public beaches should have been closed but weren't, Nixon said. And he pointed to multiple occasions in which wastewater has flowed into the lake since 2005 with no notification to the public or the state health department.

"DNR's internal procedures are fundamentally flawed," Nixon said, saying that the failure to close a beach at Lake of the Ozarks this summer "was not an isolated event. This review demonstrates serious problems broad, systemic problems that go far beyond beach closings." The controversy over bacteria levels at Lake of the Ozarks started in July when the Kansas City Star first reported that volunteers at the lake were stymied in their attempts to publish the results of testing for E. coli that showed high levels right before the Memorial Day holiday. A spokeswoman for DNR said at the time that the state was fearful of hurting tourism by publishing results that might have been the result of heavy rain and not an indication of a larger problem. Nixon's office denied playing a role in or having knowledge of the decision but later backtracked after a Senate inquiry led by Sen.

Brad Lager, R-Savannah, discovered the governor's office knew about the results as early as May 29. Lager said Friday that Nixon's actions will have no bearing on his ongoing investigation. "There are a whole bunch of questions that still need to be answered," Lager said. "We 're going to try See AIDE PageA4 You can order "Living by a Leap of Faith" for $14 at cornerstonefarms. net.

Want more? You can read a with mom Debra Ritter in today's "Real Parenting" feature in Lifestyle. strtoday com Tom and Debra Ritter pose for a photo in front of the Grand Vandalia Hotel with 22 of their 25 children and three of their grandchildren. The Ritters have adopted children from Vietnam, Ethiopia, Romania and the U.S. The family runs a dog kennel and operates a hotel and restaurant. Audio slideshow See more photos of the Ritters and hear them talk about their life at STLtoday.

com. Mornings at the Ritter farm in Cur-ryville, Mo. are like mornings at many other country homes. The smoky smell of bacon frying fills the air. Kids can be heard shuffling in sock feet across the hardwood floor.

The back door bangs shut as teenage boys come in from doing their morning chores. It seems oddly calm, considering there are 24 people getting ready for their day. Tom and Debra Ritter have three sons from previous marriages and 22 kids they have adopted since 1995. Many of them have special needs, some have had life -threatening illnesses. All of the adopted kids, ages 7 to 26, still live at home.

So on this crisp fall morning in Pike County, family members scurry to get ready for their day. But the youngest child, Helena, 7, sleeps serenely on the cocoa-colored couch in the living room. Tabitha, 10, takes off her own jacket to cover her little sister. Meanwhile, Debra Ritter is flipping pancakes. She'll make about 70.

Rebekah, 18, fries sausage and bacon while keeping 10 pounds of potatoes warm. Other girls pour orange juice or milk. It's a team effort. Afterward, most of the kids head to the one -room schoolhouse on the farm where they'll stay until early af- ternoon; Mom and some of the older kids teach. Others go with Dad to work in the restaurant at the bed and breakfast they own in nearby Vandalia, Mo.

Sometimes, the older sons will work in construction. Money from all of their endeavors goes into the family pot. It's a life of love, laughter and a strong belief in God. It's also a life very different from the one Tom and Debra started when they married. At the time, Debra was a letter carrier; Tom was assistant chief engineer at the Marriott Hotel in downtown St.

Louis. They lived in a restored 1890 farmhouse on 12 acres in Warrenton and drove new cars. They gave all of that up, including their jobs, to raise children who many social workers feared would never be adopted. They recount their story in "Living by a Leap of Faith," a self-published book to help others understand the See RITTERS Page A5 DOW AND THE DOLLAR The rise of the Dow Jones industrial average has led many to cheer. However, some of these gains may have been fueled by investors looking for safe harbors in light of the shrinking dollar.

Dow Jones Industrial Average 10000 Police mourn officer's death Julius Moore had been injured in a car accident responding to burglary. BY PATRICK M. O'CONNELL 314-863-2821 AND KIM BELL 314-340-8115 ST. LOUIS Mourning the death of city police Officer Julius Moore from injuries suffered in a traffic crash last week, department officials cautioned Friday against trying to place blame. 9500 9,995.91 Friday close Weak dollar has benefits BY DON LEE Tribune Newspapers WASHINGTON The falling dollar is stoking fears of inflation and worries about the country's eroding power in the world.

But for now it may be just the tonic that's needed to help the U.S. economy get back on its feet. By making American products cheaper for most foreign buyers, the dollar is helping many U.S. companies boost their overseas sales. The weakening dollar also gives domestic businesses a competitive edge at home, making their products cheaper than rival imports.

The greenback's value slipped four consecutive days before rallying Friday. It now takes $1.49 to buy See DOLLAR Page AS DEBT GROWS $1.4 trillion budget deficit hinders nation. A8 7500 I. I. 2009 Dollar index 82 "Sometimes," said Chief Dan Isom, "it's just an unfortunate accident." Moore's family authorized the removal of life support at St.

Louis University Hospital on Thursday night. His condition had been portrayed as "very critical" since the HOAX OR REAL DEAL? Falcon Heene may be safe on the ground, but questions have come up over whether the "boy in the balloon" story was just an event staged by his publicity-seeking father. A17 81 80 Ukji 75.57 I I Friday settie 79 78 Moore 77 Intercontinental Exchange index tracks 76 -the dollar against the -currencies of sixmaior collision between his patrol car and a tractor -trailer truck near the Anheuser-Busch brewery on Oct. 6. Officials and Moore's father said the officer, 23, never regained consciousness.

He was married and the father of three children. One son is 4 years old, See OFFICER Page A4 We are family 75 trading partners 70 I A a 0 2009 SOURCE: Bloomberg Newsl Post-Dispatch TOMORROW 59 FORECAST A18 WEATHER TODAY 50 TONIGHT 39 STLtoday.combirdsnest post-dispatch weatherbird Vol. 131, NO. 290 2009 1 NFINITI. Engineered to impress.

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