HISTORIC CHURCH SERVES AS NEW CULTURAL CENTER

Old St. Vincent's Church on the Cape Girardeau riverfront has a rich heritage. Dating back to 1853, the grand, Gothic-style structure has seen much of this community's history pass around it. One gets the feeling, though, that the refurbished building has a lot of good days to come.

During the days when money was being raised for restoration of the structure, advocates of the effort said the building would not stand simply as a stately local landmark, but as a functioning church and a community cultural center. True to this aspiration, the building holds regular Catholic mass and has hosted various musical activities. This week and next, the building will serve as a unique and well-suited theater for Southeast Missouri State University's staging of the T.S. Eliot play "Murder In The Cathedral."

Old St. Vincent's has graced this community for decades. We're pleased it continues to make a cultural contribution to Cape Girardeau.

The Leaning Tower in Pisa, Italy, is one of the world's most distinctive properties. Too bad Cape Girardeau can't make a tourist attraction of the Leaning Pole of Kingshighway.

The street light pole near the Kingshighway-Broadway intersection has listed southward for several weeks, having been waylayed by a vehicle. With each day, one wonders if the pole is dipping even farther, just as one wonders when it will ever be righted; if a stiff north wind of winter blows, these musings may be academic.

To date, city administrators, Union Electric executives and highway department officials have yet to determine who is responsible for the repairs. Resulting from this disagreement is a highly visible, and still inclined, advertisement for a "can't do" community.

Ironically, the leaning pole is a stone's throw from an intersection where considerable private effort has been expended in planting flowers. That beautification endeavor on one hand seems incongruous with the lack of initiative on the other. This dearth of coordination and cooperation isn't the type of image this community likes to cultivate.

Awareness of alcohol abuse is growing on university campuses across the nation, yet sometimes it is a grim incident that captures our imagination and calls widespread attention to the problem. Due note should be taken of a death that occurred at the University of Missouri-Rolla last month.

A freshman at the university died after participating in a beer-and-tequila chugging activity. This tragedy is compounded by the fact that four other students now face criminal charges (involuntary manslaughter) for their involvement in this activity.

It is a woeful circumstance. Yet from this very negative event might come something positive: there can be no more forceful reminder to students that alcohol is not something to be dealt with carelessly. Its capacity for destruction is considerable and must be given attention.