ACT NOW TO REQUEST A PHONE CALL FROM SANTA

Santa will take time out of his busy schedule to call Cape Girardeau children Dec. 6-9, but their parents need to put in a request now.

Santa's calls are arranged by the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department. The seasonal elves there expect to help the jolly man in red place 400 to 500 calls in those four days."Parents make requests to call kids of all ages," said Chris Eastridge, a recreation programmer with the department. "Some are as young as 8 months, which is really almost too young, and some are as old as 13."The program began in 1988 as a fun holiday event, said Scott Williams, recreation supervisor."Many recreation departments around the state do letters or calls from Santa," he said. "We decided on calls because they are much more personal."However, the advent of Caller ID has meant questions from some children."Kids will say, This call isn't from the North Pole, it's from the City of Cape,' " Williams said. "But we tell them we are rerouting Santa's call via a satellite."To have Santa call a child, parents need to fill out a form. Forms are available at the parks and recreation office at A.C. Brase Arena, Osage Centre and Food Giant. Parents can also call the information into the Parks and Recreation Department at 335-5421.

The forms asks for the child's name, age, hobbies, interests, pet's name, toys most likely to be received and improvements the child needs to work on for mom and dad. Deadline for turning in a form is Dec. 3.