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By Missourian file photo  ¦   Mike Jeffers

By Missourian file photo  ¦   Kathy Ritter

By NAOMI STEVENS  ¦   Mike Atkinson, director of sales at The Candy Factory, packages a tray of 100 milk chocolate-covered strawberries into a box on Friday morning. The Candy Factory sells its chocolate-covered strawberries in 1/2-pound and 1-pound boxes that contain four to six berries and eight to 12 berries, respectively.

By NAOMI STEVENS  ¦   The Candy Factory, located at the corner of E. Cherry and Seventh streets, will open for business at 7 a.m. on the Thursday and Friday before Valentine's Day, and on 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday the weekend of the holiday. The Candy Factory is normally closed on Sundays, but is making an exception this year because of the holiday. Sam and Donna Atkinson have operated the store since 1986 and now run it along with their son Mike Atkinson and his wife, Amy Atkinson.

By NAOMI STEVENS  ¦   The Candy Factory's milk chocolate-covered strawberries are one of its most popular Valentine's Day season treats, said Director of Sales Mike Atkinson on Friday while he prepared the store for the holiday. He said that truffles and Katys (The Candy Factory's designation for turtle candies) are also typically in high demand.

By NAOMI STEVENS  ¦   Mike Atkinson, the director of sales at The Candy Factory, places a tray of 100 milk chocolate-covered strawberries next to the box in which they will be packaged on Friday. The Candy Factory produces many of its treats within the walls of its E. Cherry Street facility. "We make most everything that's chocolate ourselves," Atkinson said.

By Joe Bradley, Manu Bhandari  ¦   City Hall began moving departments to their new addition Monday. The move is expected to be completed by Friday. This graphic shows the departments that will be located on each floor of the addition.

By Hannah Myrick  ¦   For Cindy Jolly, solid waste district manager, having an office in the new city hall addition means she is no longer surrounded by boxes in her workplace. For Mary Poepsel, an administrative assistant, having a new cubicle in the addition means having more counter space.

On Monday, Columbia city government employees settled in to new offices and cubicles in the new city hall addition. Most seem pleased by the change, saying that the old building had not adequately met their needs and was also somewhat antiquated.

“It’s just a little more updated and refined,” right of way agent Randy Acton said.

Employees think the new addition will be beneficial to the public as well.

“It’s going to be a one-stop shop. You are going to be able to come to one central location and get everything done that you need to get done with the city government,” said Mike Heimos, stormwater educator for the environmental services department.

Speaking in order: stormwater educator Mike Heimos; solid waste district manager Cindy Jolly; Heimos; Jolly; administrative assistant Mary Poepsel; Heimos.

By Courtesy of Marina Makropoulos  ¦   Portrait of lawyer Kathleen Zellner in her office in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Boone County Treasurer Kay Murray

By AUGUST KRYGER/Missourian  ¦   Allen Nguyen, 10, shovels the sidewalk in front of his parents' restaurant in Columbia on Monday, when Columbia area schools closed due to snow. Nguyen said he always enjoys a good snow day. "I like to stay home and play video games all day," he said. "So once I finish this I'll probably do that."

By MICHAEL McNAMARA/The Associated Press  ¦   Ryan Ferguson waits for proceedings to start Friday, April 23, 2004, in Columbia.

By GERIK PARMELE/Pool photo  ¦   Chuck Erickson describes where he says he and Ryan Ferguson were hiding behind a dumpster moments before they allegedly killed Kent Heitholt in the parking lot of the Columbia Daily Tribune. Erickson has recanted that testimony.

On Monday, Chuck Erickson recanted statements he made about the involvement of Ryan Ferguson in the 2001 murder of Kent Heitholt. Furguson’s lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, filed a motion asking the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District to send the post-conviction case back to the trial court for reconsideration based on the new evidence.

By Naomi Stevens  ¦   Jennifer Hudson, an engineering aide at the Public Works Department, unpacks a box in the engineering cubicles during the move at Columbia City Hall on Monday.

By KATHERINE ORIEZ/Missourian  ¦   Missouri sophomore guard Kim English practices his shot at Mizzou Arena two hours before a January game against visiting Nebraska. The extra work did little for his game. English shot 2-for-9 against the Cornhuskers while airballing one shot and clanking another off the side of the backboard.

By Naomi Stevens  ¦   Telephones, computers and other office necessities wait to be reorganized throughout the engineering department during the moving process at Columbia City Hall on Monday.

By Naomi Stevens  ¦   From left, Jiyoung Lee, and Byung Joo Lee look on intently as Lt. Debbie Sorrell, assistant fire marshal at the Columbia Fire Department, explains on Monday how a thermal camera works. The two students are from South Korean universities and enrolled in the English and Professional Immersion program at the University of Missouri.

By Naomi Stevens  ¦   Engineer Rachel Smith helps Han Jeon remove the firefighter's uniform she tried on Monday at the Columbia Fire Department. Jeon is a student in the English and Professional Immersion, or EPI, program run by the Asian Affairs Center at the University of Missouri.