DOUG LESLIE NAMED NEW ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER

(Editor's note: The following story is printed today because part of it was inadvertently omitted from Friday's edition.)

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer announced Thursday night that Doug Leslie, director of public works, will become Cape Girardeau's new assistant city manager, effective Oct. 1.

The announcement was made at a meeting of city council members and the Cape Girardeau Solid Waste Task Force, at the Drury Inn.

In addition to his duties as assistant city manager, Leslie will retain his position as director of public works.

Leslie will fill the position vacated by Al Stoverink, who last week accepted the position as physical plant director at Southeast Missouri State University.

"(Leslie) has a strong background in city management and has turned this city's public works department around," said Fischer, who asked Leslie last weekend to consider filling the position.

"Realizing that assistant city manager is a very political position, (Leslie) had reservations, not wanting to take away from his duties with the public works department," he said. "But it turned out that he and I were thinking along the same lines, after all."

Fischer pointed out that Stoverink has had a great deal to do with the city's financial matters as assistant city manager, and saw no reason why Leslie could not continue working with public works.

"I'm tickled to death that he's going to be my right hand man in City Hall," Fischer said.

Leslie told the group that it was very important to him to be able to see certain projects through he has initiated with public works.

"I am truly looking forward to working with both the city and public works," Leslie said. "I guess I got the best of both worlds."

Leslie finished by saying of Stoverink, "I have a very tough act to follow in City Hall."