FEELINGS VARY IN TWO TOWNS ON I-55 PICK

OAK RIDGE -- There are two main ways out of Oak Ridge -- Highway D and Highway E.

The first runs between Oak Ridge and Jackson, meeting with Highway 61 near on the west side of the Fruitland interchange. The second runs between Oak Ridge and Fruitland, meeting with Highway 61 on the east side of the interchange.

Neither route is particularly appealing -- both are long with tight curves and stomach-turning hills -- but many Oak Ridge residents travel them daily for work and shopping.

Surprisingly, then, not all of them are excited about the prospect of an interchange at Highway E and Interstate 55, three miles from town.

Arlene Curry, owner of Oak Ridge Market, said she likes her small, isolated town the way it is.

"I'm afraid of all the riffraff that will come off the interstate," she said. "It's not that much further to go around to Highway 61 anyhow."

Others are counting the days until highway crews start working. One longtime Oak Ridge resident, Ernest Slinkard, makes the drive to Cape Girardeau several times a week and hates being stuck behind farm machinery.

"A lot of people run late for work, drive too fast and get into accidents," he said. "When you're late for something and get behind farm equipment, it's even worse."

Oak Ridge High School employees seemed the most excited about the proposed interchange. Principal Duane Schindler has made the drive from Perryville over Highway 61 for 19 years, and he said he is ready to travel the interstate.

He also thinks an interstate will make travel safer for students going on school-sponsored trips to other communities.

Maintenance worker Elbert Drum lives near Daisy and works at the school but would use the interchange often on trips to Cape Girardeau.

"I thought there was going to be an interchange a long time ago, and all at once I heard it was changed," he said. "I think a lot of people were disappointed."

And 15-year-old Josh Welsh, an Oak Ridge student, said he hoped the interchange would help him get to work in the future.

"In a couple of years, I'll want a full-time job," Welsh said. "There aren't too many of those in Oak Ridge, so I'll probably have to drive to Cape."

If Oak Ridge ends up with its interchange, Jackson may forfeit one at the East Main Extension, slated for completion in 10 years or less. Jackson residents have mixed feelings about the county commission's recommendation that Oak Ridge's interchange be considered first.

"There's nothing in Oak Ridge," Jackson resident John Blaylock said. "Those folks always come down Highway D to Jackson anyway. I think it's silly."

Downtown appliance store owner Irmgard Siemer thought differently.

"We can get on and off Interstate 55 and they can't," she said. "If that area grows, it will need an interchange."

Vanita Jones, owner of Precious Memories in Jackson, said she could see both sides.

"I didn't understand why they wanted one there, but possibly it would help build their community," she said. "It really doesn't make me that much difference."