CITIZENS FORM WATCH GROUP TO PROTECT CAPE ROCK PARK

Jane O'Connell and other residents along East Cape Rock Drive want to keep the flag flying high at Cape Rock Park.

This week, several residents formed the Ward 1 Neighborhood Association.

Several flags and flag poles have fallen victim to vandals in recent weeks, leaving the American Legion aghast and area residents up in arms. The most recent attack came Wednesday when one flag pole was bent and another pulled out of the ground.

It was the sixth such incident at the park since early June. Members of the Louis K. Juden Post 63 are discouraged by the vandalism, but refuse to give up.

"The price of freedom comes high, but abuse is cheap," said Herb Nance, a member of the post. "We may be down, but we're not out."

The post took over care of the park in January under the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department's "Adopt-A-Park" program. Members do much of the mowing, keep it clean and have planted flowers and shrubs. To add a personal touch, the post members wanted to fly Legion flags near a marker in the park, overlooking the Mississippi River.

Although she had heard about the vandalism, it wasn't until Wednesday that O'Connell witnessed the damage vandals are wreaking in the park.

"Whoever did it, did it in broad daylight," said O'Connell. "I just couldn't believe it.

"When I saw how the poles had been destroyed like that, it just sparked something inside me," she said. "We had been planning to form a neighborhood watch group for weeks, but Wednesday's incident really got things moving."

O'Connell and neighbor Opal McManus began knocking on doors Wednesday evening, encouraging friends and neighbors to attend a Thursday night meeting at O'Connell's home.

"We thought if we got some of the retired people together and behind a neighborhood watch project, we could either catch who is doing this to the flags, or just discourage them from doing it altogether," said O'Connell. "These attacks on our park have to stop."

Since Cape Rock Park is on the northern edge of the city limits on the other side of a residential area, police seldom patrol the park. In addition, a majority of the acts of vandalism have occurred when residents are at work and police are patrolling high-traffic areas of the city.

"Cape Rock Park is part of our neighborhood, so we feel partly responsible for looking after it," said O'Connell. "We want the flags to stay in the park, so everyone can see them and enjoy them."

The group met Friday and plans to meet again on Aug. 18.

Residents interested in joining the neighborhood group can call O'Connell at 335-8839 or McManus at 335-2170.