GOVERNMENT: EMERSON ENCOURAGES COOPERATION FOR GOOD HIGHWAYS

Earmarking federal dollars for infrastructure is an investment in the community not pork barrel legislation, said the area's U.S. congressional representative.

Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, said legislative leaders and communities need to work together to enjoy economic prosperity and build better infrastructure to attract jobs.

Building partnerships is an effective way to assure that work gets done, she said. Emerson spoke at an annual Chamber of Commerce Transportation dinner Thursday night at Drury Lodge.

More than 200 people attended the dinner, which set a record, chamber officials said. The chamber has been hosting a dinner for more than 20 years so that community leaders can talk about transportation issues.

"You have to credit the people of the area for being interested enough and realizing the issue is critical," said John Mehner, chief executive officer for the chamber.

Emerson said that while some people might accuse legislators of pork barrel legislation, she considers designating money for projects in her district to be an investment.

"We have to do everything we can to promote safety and good, sound highways. Our federal dollars need to be spent on building that important infrastructure and not for mass transit," she said.

Emerson said communities must work together since there is only a finite amount of money available for infrastructure and transportation projects.

"We are all linked by our highways and with our bridges and it's important that we all prosper together," she said.

Emerson said she has worked to rebuild the rural caucus in Congress to help improve life in rural communities, like those surrounding Cape Girardeau.

"This is the heart and soul of our country and we began our country in communities like Cape and we have to preserve them. There is no better way to preserve them than with infrastructure," she said.

Missouri now receives about 94 cents on the dollar for its federal highway allotment. It had previously received 83 cents on the dollar, so the increase should help fund more work, she said.

People in Cape Girardeau are beginning to understand the importance of transportation issues and how that relates to economics, said Dr. Pauline Fox, chairwoman of the chamber's transportation committee and vice president of administration and enrollment management at the university.