GOVERNOR'S APPOINTEE TO FILL CORONER VACANCY

Missouri's governor will appoint a new coroner for Cape Girardeau County in the wake of the death of longtime Coroner John Carpenter.

But it's unclear if Gov. Roger Wilson will make the appointment or if Wilson's successor, Bob Holden, who takes office on Jan. 8, will do so.

The 54-year-old Carpenter had suffered from colon cancer for several years. Despite being in and out of the hospital last fall, Carpenter, a Republican, handily won re-election in November to a four-year term.

His death leaves a vacancy for the term that ends on Dec. 31 as well as the new term, which begins Jan. 1.

Whoever is appointed to fill the new term will serve the entire four years as spelled out in state law. There won't be a special election, said Jim Grebing, spokesman for Secretary of State Bekki Cook. Grebing said the law governing coroner vacancies is different from that concerning other county offices.

Local and state election officials don't know when the position will be filled. Meanwhile, Deputy Coroner John Clifton will handle the coroner duties along with the sheriff's department, Sheriff John Jordan said.

County officials initially thought the sheriff would become acting coroner. But Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said Tuesday that state law specifies that the sheriff serves as coroner in the "temporary absence" of the coroner and the deputy coroner.

"This is not temporary, and we have a deputy," Jones said.

The presiding commissioner said he instructed the sheriff to work with Clifton in handling the coroner duties.

Clifton said coroner calls won't go unanswered he handled most of the coroner calls for much of the last year because of Carpenter's illness.

Both Wilson and Holden are Democrats, so it is expected that a Democrat will be appointed coroner. Clifton is a Republican.

But the sheriff said Clifton would be a good choice. "It would be the right thing to do, but in politics, the right thing seldom gets done," said Jordan.

The governor's office couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. Grebing said he expects the Cape Girardeau County Democratic Central Committee to make a recommendation to the governor.

The committee hasn't scheduled a meeting yet.

"It's all too soon to tell at this point," said committee Chairman Tom Neumeyer, who expressed sympathy for Carpenter's family.

Neumeyer said he has heard from at least five prospective candidates.

Cape Girardeau County hasn't experienced a coroner vacancy since 1970, when Donald A. Kremer died when his car rammed a bridge abutment on Interstate 55 north of Cape Girardeau. A coroner's jury ruled Kremer committed suicide on Oct. 29, 1970, after killing a 25-year-old woman.

In December of that year, Gov. Warren E Hearnes appointed Democrat Herbert E. Riehn of Jackson to serve the remainder of the term, which expired in 1972.