Mayor strikes up - not out - the band

While it is tradition for Cape Girardeau's mayor to be a guest conductor for the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band, after he proposed cuts to the band's budget, Mayor Jay Knudtson was wondering if the band might cut him.

It didn't. Not only was Knudtson on hand to serve as guest conductor for the municipal band Wednesday, he came with a T-shirt that read "Cape Mayor Loves Muny Band."

"Just so there's no doubt as to how the mayor feels about the Cape Municipal Band," Knudtson said to the audience before he began conducting.

He later presented the shirt to band president Narval Randol.

"This is a way of showing them that although we had to look at every and all avenues for cutting the budget, the band is a very valuable part of Cape Girardeau," Knudtson said.

The municipal band has operated on city tax dollars since 1927, but in February, the city council unanimously decided to cut $2,000 from the band's budget, reducing the number of concerts to 13 from 14.

There was talk of making further cuts in the band's budget, and some suggested its complete elimination. But after a great deal of community support and the objections of band members, the council decided not to make any additional cuts.

"Through that process, there might have been a misrepresentation of what the mayor or the city council thought of the band," Knudtson said. "There was never any doubt as to their value to the community."

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182