The leaders of the Priority Issue Council met Friday at the Community Counseling Center to introduce themselves to their responsibilities and to each other.

The council was formed in February to carry out the plan that developed out of the communitywide assessment by the United Way of Southeast Missouri and the Community Caring Council.

The 2002 assessment identified four issues of Cape Girardeau County and Scott City: transportation, access to medical care, drug and alcohol abuse, and family issues.

Jim Maginel from the Southeast Regional Support Center, the youth substance abuse subcommittee chairman, said one of his goals is to involve local churches in drug and alcohol abuse programs.

While excited about the council's setup and potential, Maginel worries about the community's commitment. The community is a large part of the plan's success, he said, and though it is easy for excitement to build at the beginning, involvement tends to fizzle after awhile, especially when the goals are five years down the road.

"I just wonder if it has the ability to stay together," Maginel said. "The biggest challenge is to get the word out and light a fire in the community."

Only a few of the committees have held meetings so far, but Nancy Jernigan, United Way of Southeast Missouri executive director and family issues co-chair, has witnessed the prospects.

Jernigan said a dentist who attended the dental care subcommittee meeting earlier this month agreed to do dental screening in three Cape Girardeau schools.

"It's just been really exciting already," Jernigan said.

"There will be good unintended outcomes in just getting people together at the meetings."

cpierce@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127