Cape County commissioners hold brief meeting, touch on topics from COVID-19 to ice cream

Cape Girardeau County commissioners dealt with topics ranging from COVID-19 to ice cream during their 10-minute public meeting Thursday morning.

In comparison to a week ago, Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said the county recorded 36 more COVID-19 cases bringing the total case count since the pandemic began to 9,480. The number of active cases in the county has also increased from 22 to 38.

Tracy also reported as of Thursday, just over a third (33.8%) of Cape Girardeau County's residents have been fully vaccinated against the virus. Statewide, 39.8% of eligible Missourians are fully vaccinated, Tracy said.

Appointments

The county commissioners unanimously approved a motion to reappoint Richard Proffer and Dale Rauh to new five-year terms on the county's Enhanced Enterprise Zone Advisory Board along with Scott Smith, new superintendent of the Jackson School District.

Enhanced enterprise zones are specified geographic areas designated by local governments to encourage development and job creation in blighted areas. There are approximately 135 enhanced enterprise zones in Missouri, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The Cape Girardeau County EEZ was established in 2011.

The commissioners also agreed to a three-year contract renewal to provide a school resource officer at Nell Holcomb School and accepted a bid of $2,835 from Integrated Supply Co. of Cape Girardeau to provide tax receipt envelopes through the county collector's office.

Ice cream social

Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization (UJRO) director Janna Clifton gave the commissioners an update on the ice cream social the organization is planning to commemorate Missouri's bicentennial Aug. 10.

The event will take place from 5 until 8 p.m. that day on the old Cape Girardeau County Courthouse grounds in Jackson.

"We (UJRO) want to connect people to places and the Missouri bicentennial is the perfect time to do that," Clifton said. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate the bicentennial in uptown Jackson."

The UJRO director said the event is collaboration between her organization, the City of Jackson and Cape Girardeau County, which is supplying the event venue, chairs and "an ample supply of Missouri flags" encircling the courthouse grounds.

"We'll have speakers, music and obviously we'll have ice cream because the state dessert is the ice cream cone," Clifton said.

Missouri became the nation's 24th state Aug. 10, 1821.

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