JACKSON CITY COMMENTARY: CITY PREPARES FOR HOMECOMERS; COUNCIL STILL PONDERS CURFEW LAW

Next Tuesday, our annual Homecomers celebration will begin in uptown Jackson. The Jackson American Legion Post will once again host this year's event.

The will be a chance for everyone to see our new historical mural which beautifies our uptown area. Also, our new K-9 drug unit dog will be there a night or two with handler Shawn Davis and trainer Mike Ervin. They will be able to answer your questions and you can see firsthand the latest addition to our police force.

Welcome to Scott Meyer, our new district highway engineer in Sikeston. We recently met with Scott and look forward to working with him on highway projects in Jackson.

Along those lines, in cooperation with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department we recently received some new overlay on Highways 25 and 61. We also worked with the highways department to improve the intersection of Highway 61 and Route D. Two turning lanes have been installed to help congestion at this busy area. We hope to have further improvements at this intersection in the future.

The council will continue to review information and receive public input on a proposed curfew in Jackson. We don't want to rush a decision on this and I can assure the public when a decision is reached it will be reasonable to everyone.

Housing starts in Jackson are once again at a record pace. Sixty-five new, single family homes have started through June. This compares to 60 in 1994 and 50 in 1995 on the same date. Our growth continues and so does constant planning for the present and the future. Water concerns are being addressed by our new water tower, installation of line loops and we will soon drill a new city well to enhance our immediate needs.

Our city comprehensive plan, which has not been updated since 1981, will be reviewed and updated. I have appointed Aldermen Dave Reiminger, Kerry Hoffman and Larry Cunningham to a review committee. More on the progress of this update will come in the future.

Our recycling grant application was recently approved by the state of Missouri. We will receive $30,000-plus to make proposed improvements to our recycling effort in Jackson. All improvements and an official dedication of our new facility should be ready by early 1997.

Our employee of the month is Al Klob. Al is one of many dedicated, loyal employees in Jackson. We appreciate his hard work.

The council meets every Monday night at 7:30 at city hall. Your input and suggestions are always welcome.

Paul Sander is the mayor of Jackson.