ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS VOICED AT PLANNING AND ZONING MEETING

FRUITLAND, Mo. -- Trash dumped into sinkholes and clay soil unsuitable for septic tanks are environmental problems in Cape Girardeau County that need to be addressed, says a farmer who helped draft proposed planning and zoning regulations.

The farmer, John Wichern, raised the environmental issue at a public meeting Thursday night on a November ballot issue that, if approved by voters, would authorize planning and usher in zoning.

About 50 people braved the rainy weather for the meeting held at North Elementary School. It was the last of six public meetings held by the County Commission and the temporary planning commission since Sept. 19 to discuss the ballot measure.

Thursday night's meeting turned into a debate between proponents and opponents of planning and zoning.

Wichern operates several farms in the north end of the county. He said a row of sinkholes runs between his farms. "I see people stopping in their pickup trucks and unloading trash there," he said.

"We have sinkholes that are totally full of trash," Wichern said.

He said he has a lagoon sewage system because the clay soil isn't suitable for septic tanks in that area of the county.

Wichern also said the county has a problem with junk cars and buildings built too close to public roads.

Rural property owners have had to cope with businesses as neighbors, he said.

Planning and zoning opponent Doug Flannery, who lives near Whitewater, Mo., said state environmental laws prohibit dumping trash in sinkholes.

But Jonell McNeely said the county needs to handle its own environmental problems.

McNeely, who lives in the Fruitland area, worked for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources before her retirement.

"Virtually nobody prosecutes people who choose to disobey state and federal environmental law," she said.

Avoiding planning and zoning isn't the answer, McNeely said. "Believe me, if we continue to allow Mr. Nobody to have his way with this county, we will soon come to be a county where nobody wants to live," she said.

But rural Jackson farmer Darrell Schuette said it appears the county needs a nuisance law rather than planning and zoning.

Roger Arnzen, director of mapping and appraisal for the county, helped the county's temporary planning commission in drawing up the proposed planning and zoning regulations.

Arnzen said after the meeting that planning and zoning won't address junk cars and litter.