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   A well-known Kirkwood eatery may be closed for a few days after an electrical fire shut it down Sunday morning.  

   Firefighters were called to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in the 1200 block of Kirkwood Road a little before 11:00 a.m.   

   Kirkwood fire Chief Tom Openlander said it appeared the fire started in a neon sign that sits high on the side of the restaurant facing Lindbergh Boulevard. He said it was fortunate timing because the fire was spotted quickly and before the restaurant had opened.

   The fire did minor damage above the roof line.  

   Festus homeowners are anxious to learn the details of a plan to clean up lead contamination in their yards from a nearby scrap metal recycling center.  But residents learned last night they'll have to wait until a deal is finalized between the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and MW Recycling which operates the Shapiro Brothers scrap yard.  

   The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that elevated lead levels were found in 16 yards, with as many as 15 more still to be tested.  Water tests in a nearby creek also showed lead and cadmium contamination.  

   The company will pay for and conduct the remediation operations with DNR oversight.

   MASCOUTAH, Ill. (AP) - Air Force streamlining efforts mean nearly three dozen civilian jobs have been cut at Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County.

   The Belleville News-Democrat reports the 33 jobs at Scott's Air Force Network Integration Center were eliminated when a contract with the workers' employer ended at the end of last month.

   But Col. Brenda Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Air Force Space Command at Colorado's Peterson Air Force Base, says the lost Illinois jobs will translate to nine new in-house positions at Peterson.

   Campbell says the Air Force will save money long-term through the consolidation.