JONES EAGERLY AWAITS BEGINNING COMMISSION ROLE

JACKSON -- Given his controversial avocations, Gerald Jones doesn't know how he got elected presiding commissioner of Cape Girardeau County.

He's both a newspaper publisher and a high school football referee, so Jones is accustomed to public criticism.

As he steps into long-time Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep's shoes, Jones expects to be a sounding board for more complaints.

"Only people in Cape Girardeau will call Joe Gambill to fuss, and only people in the rest of the county will call Larry Bock to fuss. But anyone in the county can call me to fuss," Jones said, referring to his fellow commissioners.

At age 54, he sought public office this year for the first time, deciding to run after Huckstep, presiding commissioner announced that after 16 years he wouldn't seek re-election.

Jones said he wanted to protect the future of the county where he was raised and where he plans to spend the rest of his life.

He and his wife, Clarice, have two grown children who live in Cape Girardeau County. A third attends William Jewell College in Liberty.

Prior to his political campaign, Jones was content to own and operate Jackson's weekly newspaper, the Cash-Book Journal. He credited his involvement with local media and his participation in several Cape Girardeau social and charitable organizations with his win.

The commissioner-elect actually won his seat in August, beating out two other Republicans in a tough primary race. No Democratic candidates filed for the seat.

His early win allowed Jones five months to prepare for his new job, which he takes Dec. 30.

"Commissioner Huckstep told me it would take 25 to 30 hours a week to take care of Cape County business," Jones said. "I just didn't know about all the other boards related to it."

So far, he learned he is on the board of the Private Industry Council, the Solid Waste Management District, the Missouri Association of Counties and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Jones recently was appointed to the state's Judicial Finance Commission, which referees budget disputes between circuit judges and county commissions.

Jones' desk is covered in papers and books while he tries to learn about his upcoming duties.

"This is just a week's accumulation," he said.

Jones sat in on several budget meetings with the current commission, although Huckstep said next year's budget will be complete before he and retiring Commissioner E.C. Younghouse leave office.

In addition, Jones cited three issues he must prepare for before he takes office.

The biggest, he said, is the county's solid waste management plan. With Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Natural Resources waste reduction deadlines approaching, the commission has to move quickly to implement a plan.

In addition, the county is on line to become a first-class county in January 1997, during Jones' four-year term. If it happens, the county commission will have the power to pass county laws.

Jones said he also is concerned with the rising costs of the county's criminal justice system that take a large chunk out of the county's $6.5 million annual budget.

But Jones is willing to take the job and endure the headaches, even though he said it will be difficult to fill Huckstep's shoes.

"As far as providing services, Cape Girardeau County is one of the best in the state," he said. "We have a really fine county, and it's tough to mount a campaign on something like that."

He noted that his predecessor had a more difficult job. When Huckstep took office, the county was borrowing money against the next year's taxes. Now it has an emergency reserve.

Jones wouldn't say if he, too, intended to spend several terms as presiding commissioner, which pays $25,000 annually.

"I campaigned for a four-year term, and I'll do the best I can during that term," he said. "I may very well count the days until I get out. It's not a high-paying job, it's a high-stress job."