BLOCK PARTY TO HELP CHILDREN

Hundreds of youngsters participated in a street party, conducted in the 300 block of South Middle Saturday.

"We had more than 50 persons here at any one time," said Vera Sterling, one of the organizers of the annual event. "They come and go, and some stay."

The street party, conducted from 11 a.m. to about 10 p.m., features food, dancing in the street, a dunking booth. And, this year, Melinda McCulley entertained the youngsters with her puppet show.

A special display booth featured pictures from the event's first three years.

"The street party is held each year to honor the memory of Michael Neighbors, who had a dream of building a youth center in this area," Sterling said.

Neighbors, who lived in the area and worked at Southeast Missouri State University, had a dream, Sterling said. "He loved kids and he wanted to see a youth center in this area."

Neighbors suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 43, in April 1992.

A street party was held in Neighbors' honor later in 1992, and every year since.

"We have a theme each year," Sterling said.

This year's theme is "Please Stop The Violence."

"We have too much violence in Cape Girardeau," Sterling said. "A lot of it is in this area of town, and much of it is attributed to teens. We want to provide a place for young children before they reach the teen years."

The hope of the street party organizers is that a youth center can be constructed in the area.

The street party is designed to raise funds for the Michael Neighbors Scholarship, but Sterling is hoping that some corporate funds may be attracted for a youth center.