MOVE TO NATURE CENTER LIKELY IN TWO WEEKS

Construction of a Missouri Department of Conservation regional headquarters and nature center should be finished by the end of next week, clearing the way for department personnel to move into the facility.

David Hurlbut, assistant director of the department, said Tuesday things are moving well on the project being constructed in the Cape County North Park. Completion was delayed slightly because of problems with a sewage lagoon that had to be corrected.

Final interior painting and landscaping is under way now at the facility.

"Hopefully, by the end of next week, they will be finished," said Hurlbut. "As soon as the contractor is clear, we will move our personnel in."

Hurlbut had anticipated having the open house and dedication of the facility by mid-July, but now expects the formal opening to be around the first of August after employees have had an opportunity to get settled into the offices.

Dennis Steward, who is the supervisor for the department's Southeast Missouri regional office, said that he and his staff are looking forward to making the move and getting the facility open.

"We'll move later this month and try to get ready for the dedication by early August," said Steward.

He said that before his people can move into the offices the department's engineering staff will have to conduct a final inspection of the facility.

"I'm not sure exactly when we will move because there are a lot of small items that just have to wait until the last minute to be finished," said Steward.

When the dedication and open house is conducted, Steward said most of the exhibits in the nature center will not be ready. Some of the exhibits are still being planned and will not be finished until later in the year.

"The exhibits are all being planned in Jefferson City and we have had a couple of meetings to give them our ideas about what the exhibits should show," said Steward. "We have a pretty diverse region in Southeast Missouri to show.

"Once it is finished, it should be a real nice area for people to come and see."

Also in the final planning stages is a nature trail that will start at the center and run through a natural area of the county park. Steward said the trail will probably be constructed in late summer or early fall by staff of the conservation department.

The nature center-regional headquarters complex is one of several that have been built or are being planned around the state by the Department of Conservation.

The site in Cape Girardeau is on five acres of land donated to the department by the Cape Girardeau County Commission.

The commission decided almost three years ago to offer the land as a way of improving the county park, keeping some permanent state jobs in the county, and because the nature center is a tourist attraction that should draw people from around the region.