Region briefs 06/19/03

Sikeston officials will determine Section 8's fate

BENTON, Mo. -- Federal and local officials will gather Monday to determine how much they will trim back the Sikeston Housing Authority's Section 8 program.

Scott County commissioners discussed the coming meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Sikeston Housing Authority's office, during their regular meeting Tuesday.

Joining commissioners and Bobby K. Henry, executive director of the Sikeston Housing Authority, will be U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson and members of her staff and Ray Pierce, director of the St. Louis area U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development office.

Henry said officials have asked to reduce the number of vouchers by 20-25 percent; HUD's latest offer was 10 percent.

Scott City to begin work on ditches in September

Scott City plans to begin clearing out some of the ditches that have caused flooding problems in the city in September, Mayor Tim Porch says.

At Monday's City Council meeting, Porch said the city will hire an operator and rent a track hoe to begin clearing out the ditches.

Porch said the city budget will be adjusted to pay for the work once the city knows how much it will cost.

Family of trooper killed in accident sues Ford

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- The family of a state trooper killed in a rear-end collision last month filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Ford Motor Co., charging that the location of his car's fuel tank was partly responsible for it catching fire.

A man who trooper Micheal Newton had pulled over, and was seated in the car with Newton at the time of the collision and was injured, filed a similar lawsuit.

The lawsuits, filed in Jackson County by Newton's family and Michael Nolte of Leawood, Kan., are the latest in a series of claims against Ford for its design of the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.

Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said she couldn't comment on the suits, but said the company stands behind its vehicle.

Kinley said the cars are not defective and claimed deaths attributed to the fuel tank's location -- between the rear axle and rear bumper -- are instead a result of the high speeds at which patrol cars have been struck along highways.

Holden signs bill aimed at keeping Ford plant

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden signed a bill Wednesday that he and residents of this St. Louis suburb hope will keep a Ford Motor Co. plant open for business.

Senate Bill 620, which Holden signed during a ceremony, contains tax breaks for Ford. The measure is aimed at persuading the world's second-largest automaker to scrap plans to shutter its Hazelwood plant by mid-decade.

"Armed with the tools this legislation provides and the quality of Missouri's Ford workers, we will return to Detroit and continue our fight to keep these jobs," Holden said in a release.

Holden has said Ford could still close the plant despite the offer of tax breaks, but he was still pleased the bill passed.

-- From staff, wire reports