FACILITY COMPLETED AFTER YEARS OF EFFORT

Sometime in 1982 while traveling toward Kansas City, Cape County Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep stopped at a Missouri Department of Conservation nature center in Blue Springs.

"I just kind of stumbled into the facility and I was flabbergasted at all the attention it was getting from people," recalled Huckstep.

The presiding commissioner decided right then and there that a similar facility would be a nice addition to the county park. Cape County was already in negotiations with the state and federal governments to provide unused park land as the site of a veteran's nursing home, and Huckstep felt bringing a state conservation facility to the county would be another boost to the area.

Nine years later, the nature center is a reality. On Wednesday at 10 a.m. a Missouri Department of Conservation regional service center will be formally dedicated in the Cape County North Park.

The facility here is not quite as elaborate as the one in Blue Springs, but still, Huckstep is pleased with the finished product and the cooperation between governmental entities that made this a reality.

"It took a long time to get this facility, but I think everyone will agree it is well worth the wait," said Huckstep. "I don't think the full public impact will hit until the trails and exhibit hall are fully developed. But still it is impressive, very impressive."

Both county and conservation department officials have praised the cooperative venture as one that will benefit both entities and provide an important resource to all people in Southeast Missouri.

In seeking support for the center, Huckstep talked with Sen. John Dennis and he arranged a meeting with Richard Reed, a member of the conservation commission from East Prairie. At some point, Reed decided to support the project and "that's when the idea got going," said Huckstep.

For several years Department Director Larry Gale offered little enthusiasm for the project, but Huckstep noted when Jerry Presley came on as director, and with support from State Rep. Marvin Proffer, the project took off.

Without the strong support of Proffer, Reed, and Dennis, Huckstep claims the facility would never have been built.

On March 21, 1989, state and county officials held a joint news conference to announce the center would be constructed. Two months later a formal agreement was signed between the Department of Conservation and Cape County Commission, and planning got underway.

Last summer, Sides Construction Co. of Cape Girardeau was awarded the contract for the $1.3 million project. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in early September and work was finished earlier this month.