RUST COMMENTARY: PLAN TO BOOST TEACHER PENSIONS SHOWS HOW GOOD A DEAL THEY HAVE

I knew Missouri's public school teachers had good fringe benefits, but last week's discovery of a $1.1 BILLION overstatement of their pension fund's value also informed me of just how good their retirement plan is.

After 30 years of service, a teacher currently can retire at age 60 and receive 69 percent of his or her final average salary. A bill speeding through the Legislature was going to increase the retirement pay to 75 percent.

Also, teachers who had already retired would have seen their pensions increased by 8.7 percent ... and a provision would have provided for teachers to retire with full benefits before age 55 if they had taught for 30 years.

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The KFVS-TV (HIRSCH) Tower is 30 years old this year. Seems like only yesterday when it was built.

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Some local riverboat people have recently briefed me on the "river rumors" that James Earl Ray didn't shoot Martin Luther King. The rumor, spread by a Ray associate, is that Ray (a Mississippi riverboat cook with whom some locals worked) was one of four people paid to drive white Mustangs away from Memphis to different designated cities (apparently to cover escape routes) and that Ray was at a different location and not at the scene of the crime ... and didn't know King was an assassin target.

Charges were reviewed again recently (along with others), and although the King family stated publicly last week they felt the FBI or CIA was involved ... the report was that the evidence is overwhelming that Ray was the assassin.

Even the National Enquirer and other tabs were not anxious to write about the Ray riverboat workers rumors. The truth?

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The Cape HOME and GARDEN SHOW drew large crowds again as exhibitors continue to provide outstanding booths, values and information that make it worth your time to visit.

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It's baseball time (even if the winds are too gusty), and the NCAA basketball tournament is over, so we can expect an NCAA ruling any day on the SEMO NCAA basketball hearings.

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Copy from a direct-mail solicitation from the U.S. Postal Service that I received this week:

"There is one way to cut costs that many companies are finding to be an easy choice. They're using priority mail [Government non-taxpaying vehicle] instead of Fed Ex or UPS." (Note: These are free-enterprise companies that pay taxes.)

"Domestically -- and globally -- priority mail provides expedited delivery for your important documents and packages at a fraction of what others charge."

What's next? Government radio and television? Government newspapers?

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The two hardest things to handle in life are failure and success. -- Anonymous

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Late March I attended the BOOTHEEL EDUCATION CENTER banquet which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the SEMO State University, Three Rivers Community College and Malden area's joint venture.

DR. BILL STACY, chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and SEMO's president when this project was initiated, was the speaker ... and an excellent one he was.

Giving credit to many in the audience in this community where he taught and coached for four years before he decided on an administrative track, he, myself and others marveled at the physical facilities and education activities that have blossomed from the endeavor.

A historical perspective on the Crisp Education Division was distributed:

"For the past eight years the Crisp Bootheel Education Center has reaped considerable benefits from its supporters in the region. In a town of just over 5,000, the dinner has raised over a million dollars in support of the mission of the center.

"The BEC is an extension site of Southeast Missouri State University where courses are taught by Southeast and Three Rivers Community College faculty. In addition to serving nearly 500 students through college courses ranging from freshman level to graduate education, the center also supports an Adult Basic Education class where students can prepare to take the GED exam. Numerous noncredit courses are offered throughout the year including word processing and introduction to the Internet.

"The fund-raising dinner has been the `labor of love' for members of the BEC Advisory Council. This group of about 20 are from a number of towns in the Missouri Bootheel region and includes members from professionals to working mothers. They share a common interest in the value of higher education and believe that by supporting the BEC they are providing a better future for the youth of the region, as well as education and training opportunities for career advancement.

"With tickets priced at $100, a goal has been set each year for an amount to be raised. Some of the more notable accomplishments include the first year of $30,000 for an additional computer lab; the fourth year of $78,000 to purchase an interactive TV system for offering distance-education classes; the fifth year of over $200,000 for additional classrooms and a student lounge; and last year of over $260,000 to establish an endowment for funding 50 scholarships to students attending the center and encouraging those who are seeking a bachelor's degree at Southeast.

"The BEC is widely regarded as the model of consortium cooperation by post-secondary institutions in Missouri, and in 1992 the Center was honored as the best off-campus college-credit program in the nation when it was awarded the Distinguished Program Award from the Association for Continuing Higher Education. It is also the best example known when referring to regional and community support. Through its advice and financial support, the BEC Advisory Council members have played a major role in the success of the Bootheel Education Center."

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After the dinner, I reluctantly agreed to tour the BOOTHEEL YOUTH MUSEUM located in the same facility as the Education Center.

What a surprise! This would be a must visit for children anywhere.

It's not magic ... it's science, and the brochure encourages you to stand inside a bubble, "freeze" your shadow on a wall, whisper and be heard 40 feet across a crowded room, write a check at the bank and head for the grocery store, or make music on sewer pipes -- these are just a few of the exciting experiences in store for visitors to the Bootheel Youth Museum.

The BYM offers more than 50 exhibits that allow children to explore the worlds of math, science, human relations, natural resources and the arts. From the toddler area, which encourages creative building skills, to the earthquake exhibit, where a child can test those skills against Mother Nature, the museum offers fun activities for the child that remains in all of us.

In addition to the 10,000-square-foot exhibit hall, the museum offers several other programs, including a traveling museum which can be set up at schools and community buildings within a 100-mile radius, group field trips, hands-on workshops and birthday parties.

Located in Malden approximately halfway between St. Louis and Memphis, the museum is an easy drive from all points in Southeast Missouri, Northeast Arkansas, Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky and Western Tennessee.

General admission is $2.50 per person ages 2 and up. Group rates are available. The hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Closed New Year's, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This rivals the Magic Kingdom in St. Louis. It is a labor of love and ingenuity ... and is staffed by only three people.

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"The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything." -- Bishop Magee

~Gary Rust is the president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers.