NEW FACE ARRIVES ON MAIN STREET

A former newspaper reporter with experience in downtown revitalization is Cape Girardeau's first Main Street program manager.

Catherine E. Dunlap, of Jacksonville, Ill., will start in her new position Nov. 13, the same time the new Main Street office opens at 111 Independence downtown.

"I'm looking forward to my new position," said Dunlap, who was in Cape Girardeau on Friday. "I want to take a look at the local program and see where it is at this point. I'll be meeting with people and establishing a work plan."

Cape Girardeau and Fayette are the latest Main Street communities in Missouri. The two cities were selected earlier this year as the state's 13th and 14th cities to start the revitalization program. Cape Girardeau's program is sponsored through Old Town Cape Inc., a group formed to market the city's historic areas.

Since the state's Main Street program started in 1989, participating downtown organizations have witnessed the creation of more than 650 new businesses and 1,900 new jobs.

Main Street towns receive extensive technical assistance from a national network of individuals with experience in downtown revitalization. The Missouri Main Street program does not offer direct financial grants to the designated communities, but the communities receive thousands of dollars worth of downtown revitalization materials, on-site consultants and fund-raising assistance for up to four years.

The Cape Girardeau program encompasses the area with boundaries of Water Street, North Street, West End Boulevard, Southern Expressway and the Mississippi River. This includes the river area downtown, Broadway, the Haarig area and old St. Vincent's Seminary, site of the proposed River Campus of Southeast Missouri State University.

Dunlap joined the Main Street program at Mascoutah, Ill., where she worked 13 months as Mascoutah Main Street manager. Prior to that, she was a newspaper reporter in Vincennes, Ind., covering economic development, education, government and tourism news.

Dunlap is graduate of Culver-Stockton College, in Canton, Mo., with a bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism.

She comes to Cape Girardeau from the Illinois Main Street program, where she has served as program associate since April.

While at Mascoutah, she worked with volunteers to plan fund raisers and promotional activities, among them a highly successful Antique Duck Decoy and Wildlife Art Show and a "Miracle on Main Street" Christmas promotion. She also helped develop design services for Mascoutah's Main Street District, and developed a "building inventory" of the city.