Cape native heads state security unit

Lt. Tom Taylor, a Cape Girardeau native who previously served as director of the governor's security division, has been named head of a group for security against terrorists in the state. Taylor, who has provided security for former Govs. Christopher Bond, Joe Teasdale, John Ashcroft and Mel Carnahan, will head the network of 115 Missouri State Highway Patrol members who have been named to work as terrorism intelligence agents, said patrol Capt. Chris Ricks in Jefferson City, Mo.

Taylor, who works with the Missouri Drug and Crime Division, is a graduate of Cape Central High School and Southeast Missouri State University. After serving in security to Bond and Teasdale, Taylor transferred to Southeast Missouri -- Cape Girardeau and later Portageville, Mo. -- as a trooper, before returning to security. Taylor has also served as president of the National Governors' Security Association in Washington. The association is made up of more than 600 state police and highway patrol officers assigned to protect the nation's governors. The association was formed in 1971 and includes the security units for the governors of 49 states and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.