GROUP PLANS WAYS TO IMPROVE CAPE

Over the next few weeks, members of Cape Girardeau's Community Pride Coalition will choose goals and outline plans for making the city a better place to live.

Then it will be time to get to work making the goals a reality, said Dr. Charles Kupchella, one of the organizers of the coalition and provost at Southeast Missouri State University.

About 130 people representing the 20 organizations that make up the Community Pride Coalition met Wednesday night at the Show Me Center. The agenda included updates on everything from street projects to crime prevention and the River Campus project, but all the speakers emphasized the importance of citizens working together to improve the community.

Mayor Al Spradling III said he has seen "a wonderful transformation" in the city in the past several years as "people get involved and become excited about what's happening in the community."

In years past, Spradling said, there was a feeling that the city offered few opportunities and wasn't growing as a community. That is no longer the case, he said.

"Cape Girardeau is growing and has tremendous opportunities, whether it is downtown or on the west end, north end, south end," Spradling said. "There's no part of this town that does not promote an exciting time for all of us who are living here."

He credited residents with spurring the city's growth and development, pointing to voter support for tax measures and bond issues to fund new streets, sewers and water facilities throughout the community.

"When you realize how much has gone through the voter booths for these projects, it boggles your mind," Spradling said.

There is still room for improvement, Spradling said. "My challenge to all of you is to continue the work that has gone on for the last several years and the progress that has been made, because it is significant," he said. "I frankly believe that it is just the start of many, many good things that will happen in Cape Girardeau. Don't stop because we have a lot more to go, and good things do happen when you have a positive attitude."

The Cape Girardeau Police Department is working to reduce crime through "no-nonsense policing" and strengthening partnerships in the community to prevent the conditions that encourage criminal activity, said Police Chief Rick Hetzel.

Old-fashioned police work meant officers handled complaints, Hetzel said, "but unfortunately, we didn't solve the problem. With community policing, we're taking on a bigger role toward actually solving the problems."

Progress in recent years includes the development of Operation Safe Streets and the Weed and Seed programs in the city, opening the Good Hope Neighborhood Police Station, increased emphasis on code enforcement and the addition of a school resource officer at Central High School, Hetzel said. A second resource officer may be assigned for the elementary and middle school grades, he said.

In order for the police to be effective, Hetzel said, the community has to get involved.

"Good communities are safe because people want them to be safe," he said.

The Community Pride Coalition has adopted six major goals relating to crime prevention, historic preservation, economic development, community beautification, strengthening neighborhoods and education.

Each member organization will adopt four to six actions to work toward achieving those goals, said Kupchella.

Once each organization has outlined how it plans to accomplish its goals, he said, "then they're going to do it. So we'll see the coalition kind of getting out of the way and letting them get to work."

The coalition will set the framework, he said, and through the coalition members can make sure all six of the major goals are being accomplished.