An open forum was held Friday for Southeast Missouri lawyers and some federal judges. Purpose was to discuss the setting of the court dockets etc.

The real question is whether the Cape Girardeau Federal Court will be assigned a full time judge ... which is reportedly supported by the area workload.

It is my understanding that this was initially agreed to ... but there's been some backing up on that decision which raises a question as to the follow-through on the previously announced commitment to a new federal courthouse in Cape.

However, Judge Hamilton stated quite clearly that the use of rotating judges was an interim position until the new courthouse was constructed (currently slated for funding in the year 2000) or until the workload demanded a full-time judge.

It is anticipated that the site for the new building would be acquired by the spring of 1997.

The federal government is getting appraisals on additional sites along Broadway, although the Happy Hollow site by the city hall is still the preferred site (subject to EPA approval). The old St. Francis Hospital has also not been ruled out, according to Judge Hamilton.

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FRED BRUSSEE, president and chief operating officer of ALLIANCE BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHIELD was in Cape Wednesday to introduce his management team and thank the Cape Girardeau community for its warm reception.

Job interviews are going well, and they hope to be in operation about mid-December ... ahead of their target date thanks to the work and coordination by DRURY SOUTHWEST

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The Cape Girardeau School District's special finance committee is wrapping up its final numbers so as to make a recommendation to the school board on Tuesday, Oct. 8. They've put a lot of time, study and discussion into this important effort to help Cape move forward with public educational facilities and programs.

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NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL'S initial private fund-raising phase has generated $2.7 million of pledges for the $5 million proposed building. They feel that they will need 50 percent in cash before they start construction.

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The annual Chamber of Commerce Industrial Appreciation Dinner is scheduled for Wednesday night at the SHOW ME CENTER. Another big crowd is expected.

A private fund-raising picture session for JO ANN EMERSON brings film star CHARLTON HESTON to Cape Wednesday afternoon.

Also another Wednesday event ... a noon meeting sponsored by Edward D. Jones brings a discussion of bank mergers and stocks.

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Democrats and Republicans met on Capitol Hill recently to pay tribute to Martha Williamson, producer of "Touched by an Angel." A senator who openly says he "hates" television, Connecticut's Joe Lieberman (D), led the applause. Last year Lieberman had noted, "The programs we see on TV do not 'reflect our society,' as the industry likes to claim, but a distorted view based on the tastes of a relative few." But he and many others were touched by Miss Williamson's heart-warming story of survival in the cutthroat world of Hollywood competition. She said that "Touched by an Angel" was on the verge of being canceled when it first aired, but she received moving testimonials from viewers which saved the show. One man wrote that he had planned to commit suicide but was dissuaded by an episode of the show. A recent showing of "Touched by an Angel" introduced us to another Williamson series, "Promised Land." Following the No. 1-rated show, CBS' "60 Minutes," the program led all others in its time slot, beating even the ever-popular Barbara Walters. Williamson's message of faith, hope and neighborliness seems to have found a slot -- even on network TV.

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Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen has done it again. Earlier this week, he stunned the political community by calling for the override of President Clinton's veto of the bill to ban partial-birth abortions. (I know many think I devote a lot of attention to this question. But it really is a core issue. When people are wrong on this fundamental question of justice, they tend to go wrong on a host of other issues.)

Now, the liberal Cohen has written about the FDIC report on Hillary Clinton. The report said she drafted a document to "deceive" federal regulators and that she was involved in a "sham" real estate transaction. The Clintons have tried to wave it all away. "Mrs. Clinton's explanation is simply not convincing," Cohen writes. He likens the Clintons' defense to the labored effort of the Nixon White House to say Watergate was all partisan politics. "I've heard this song before -- in 1972, to be exact." Powerful writing. Intriguing stuff! -- GARY BAUER, Washington Update

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FOP is a FOB: The 270,000-member Fraternal Order of Police recently endorsed President Clinton for re-election. FOP President Gilbert Gallegos, a registered Democrat, admitted that the endorsement did not have much to do with Clinton's record on law-enforcement issues. "Labor is our principal issue," said Gallegos, specifically Clinton's support for collective bargaining and a hike in the minimum wage. Also, Clinton's plan to put a promised 100,000 police officers on the streets nationwide would provide more money for police unions.

But funds for only 17,000 new officers have been allocated, according to Attorney General Janet Reno. Making the formal endorsement of Clinton took just the votes of 20 of 30 FOP board members, a tiny statistical representation of the entire union. "It's a sham to say they represent the rank-and-file police," said John Snyder, public affairs director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

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Food stamps caviar: A couple from Long Island was caught buying more than $120 in caviar with food stamps at a supermarket and then reselling it at a profit, something they had apparently done on several previous occasions. But "caught" is not really the right word. The New York Post quoted a USDA spokeswoman as saying that the caviar deal was not illegal, "but it certainly violates the spirit of the (food stamp) program." There are no legal limits on food stamp purchases of unprepared foods, and so the Long Islanders -- and any other food stamp recipients -- are free to buy expensive items like caviar and enjoy them for themselves, or sell them at a profit.

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Black-painted Swastikas: Remember the July 16 incident at Fort Bragg, N.C., (my daughter Penny lives in adjacent Fayetteville), in which swastikas were painted on the barrack doors of eight black Army Special Forces members? President Clinton pointed to this as an example of racism, but it turns out that officials' suspicions from the beginning -- that the swastikas were put there by a black soldier -- were correct. The Army did not make public the perpetrator's name but said that he "has been moved to another barracks" while proceedings "to remove the soldier from the Army" went forward.

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