Cape County officials reaffirm support for peace officers

The presiding Cape Girardeau county commissioner, Clint Tracy, read a proclamation recognizing May 9-15 as Law Enforcement Week and added a few personal thoughts during the commission's meeting Thursday.

"This past year has been a tough one for law enforcement," opined Tracy, who was first elected to the commission in November 2010, "but here in Cape County, citizens showed their support with the passage of the law enforcement sales tax."

The Law Enforcement Public Safety tax, approved by a 57.1% affirmative vote by county residents in June, is a half-cent levy expected to generate $7 million annually to help the sheriff's office hire and retain staff, upgrade equipment and help underwrite operations at the county jail in Jackson.

Following last summer's voter approval, Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson expressed gratitude for the public's support of the initiative, noting the tax will allow the hiring of 10 new officers in the patrol division, will enable the placement of school resource officers in Delta and Oak Ridge and will permit her office to offer more competitive salaries in an effort to retain current employees.

"We were losing employees at the rate of 28% to 32% to higher paying jobs elsewhere," Dickerson said June 2.

The proclamation also paid tribute to two sheriff's department employees who passed away in the line of duty serving Cape County: former Sheriff Herman Sewing, killed in 1947, and deputy Christian Freeman, who died in 1941.

Saturday, May 15 is designated Peace Officers Memorial Day.

Approvals

• The county commission unanimously approved a three-year lease-purchase agreement for radio communications equipment serving seven rural fire departments: Whitewater, Delta, North Cape, East Cape, Gordonville, Millersville and Fruitland. Sam Herndon, deputy director of the Cape County Emergency Management Agency, told the Southeast Missourian the equipment, originally bought for nearly $1.8 million, will be owned by the seven departments at the conclusion of the lease in 2024. The leased equipment includes Missouri Statewide Interoperability Network-capable (MOSWIN) radios.
• On May 6, the commission ordered two new pickups, both 2022 Chevolet models, with possession expected in the fall. One vehicle, to be used by the county parks department, has a short bed and was purchased for $32,015. The other truck has a utility bed, cost $41,293, and will be used by the county's buildings and grounds employees.