River campus hearing now set for July 28

A hearing on Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury's third River Campus lawsuit has been delayed until later this month because the plaintiff's attorney, Walter Drusch, recently underwent heart bypass surgery, circuit court officials said.

A hearing, which had been scheduled for today, has been pushed back to July 28 at 9 a.m. at the courthouse in Jackson.

Retired judge Robert Crist of Shelbina, Mo., will hold a hearing on the city of Cape Girardeau's motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

The Missouri Supreme Court appointed Crist to hear the latest River Campus lawsuit after the previous judge appointed by the court was disqualified by Drusch.

Drury, a Cape Girardeau motel and restaurant owner, is seeking to block the use of city tax dollars to help fund Southeast Missouri State University's development of a visual and performing arts campus on the grounds of a former Catholic seminary overlooking the Mississippi River.

This is Drury's third lawsuit against the city over the project since April 1999. The university broke ground for the project on May 27.