CARNAHAN TO VISIT SIKESTON NEIGHBORHOOD

The success of Sikeston's Weed and Seed program is bringing Gov. Mel Carnahan in for a visit today.

Weed and Seed, which is a process of "weeding" out the criminals and "seeding" in community programs, kicked off in Sikeston last summer as a state test program. Utilizing state and federal funds, local police administrators have been able to hire in new officers, increase salaries, bring in additional equipment and open a substation in the Sunset neighborhood.

Since its inception, 22 people from Sikeston have been sent to federal prison, mainly for drug trafficking, in the weed aspect of the program.

A number of community groups and projects have been seeded, and during his visit tonight Carnahan will touch on some of the groups that are looking to contribute in this area.

Carnahan and U.S. Attorney Edward L. Dowd, Jr. will join Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Ferrell and Sikeston Police Chief Jim Leist at the 6 p.m. meeting in the Sunset police substation.

The meeting will deal with state funding of Weed and Seed, an update on the local anti-drug effort and a community policing update.

Plus, representatives from the Sikeston Area Youth Jobs Program, Missouri African American Cultural Initiative and Prince of Peace Mission will speak about activities and groups that will be coming into the area.