GOOD TIME TO REVIEW COURTHOUSE PLANS

The recent announcement that efforts on behalf of a new federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau have been put on hold for a year comes as no surprise.

The reason, according to General Services Administration officials, is President Clinton's budget, which doesn't contain any funding for the project, which ultimately would cost more than $30 million.

Lawyers and judges who routinely deal with the federal court say there is truly a need for a new courthouse, which would be in addition to the existing federal building in downtown Cape Girardeau. That building would be used by various federal agencies that have offices here.

But in spite of that need, the GSA's site-selection efforts leave questions. At first the agency said the new courthouse needed to be close to the existing building. A hearing on the block south of the federal building -- a block of historic homes -- produced considerable backlash. Then the GSA began considering sites farther and farther away.

Perhaps the GSA could use the next year or so to evaluate not only locations but cost factors that should be a major considerations in deciding where to build a courthouse, should funding become available again.

Meanwhile, lawyers and judges need to keep evaluating the need for the courthouse and making those needs know to taxpayers, who ultimately will foot the bill.