NEWSPAPER BAGS USED TO DISTRIBUTE ELECTION FLYER

SCOTT CITY - A one-page campaign flier was distributed to many residents of Scott City Sunday night and early Monday morning in newspaper delivery bags.

Shirley Young, who is district circulation manager in Scott City for the Southeast Missourian, said she was upset that the bags were used for this purpose and that she was working with city police to find out who was involved.

"I'm not happy about the use of these bags," said Young. "That is a totally unauthorized use of what that bag was made for. As far as political handouts, there are other ways of doing that."

Young, who is also mayor of Scott City but is not running for re-election, said she did not want to speculate on who was involved. "I have some suspicions but I don't want to speculate on something I can't prove."

Young pointed out that the fliers were not inserted with the newspapers. The single sheet of paper was inserted into the light blue bags and in most instances rocks were put into the bags so they were heavy enough to throw.

"There was no connection to the Southeast Missourian except those bags," said Young.

The flier included a reprint of a partial Southeast Missourian newspaper article from last October, excerpts of minutes from a city council meeting, and an excerpt from a letter written by a citizen to the city.

The information referred to a council action last fall where a 55-foot by 180-foot tract of land, owned by the city and adjacent to a building owned by former mayor Alvie Modglin, was turned over to Modglin through a quit claim deed so he could sell the building. Modglin agreed to pay the legal fees involved.

Ralph Hayes, a former police chief and longtime political rival of Modglin's, offered to pay the city $3,000 for the land. The flier includes an excerpt from the letter making the offer.

The flier was apparently designed to portray two council members and a mayoral candidate as supporters of Modglin.

A typed statement at the bottom of the flier declares that: "A vote for Holloway, Rogers or Oller is a vote for Alvie Modglin."

Rodney Holloway is a candidate for mayor in today's election, while John Rogers and Ron Oller are seeking re-election to new council terms.

Holloway took issue with the reference and said Monday morning, "I don't know Alvie Modglin. I have talked to him only once or twice in the seven years I have lived down here."

Later, in a handwritten statement taken to the Southeast Missourian, Holloway said: "My desire is to be elected the mayor of Scott City and to do as much as I can for the citizens that I would be serving for. I still maintain that I want the people's voice to be heard. They should and can have a direct part of decisions made by the council. It is time for all the citizens to be heard and not ignored."

Young said she believes the bags probably came from a former newspaper carrier, but said she did not know who it was because there are a lot of former carriers around.

Young said many of those she saw distributed around town Monday looked like empty bags.

She noted that this is not the first time fliers have been distributed about candidates late in a campaign in Scott City.

"This is something that has happened before, but the first time they have used any of these bags, which I resent very much."

Young said there is an anti-littering ordinance in the city, but that only applies to public property, and most of the fliers were thrown on private property.

Mike Sturm, circulation manager for the Southeast Missourian, said the newspaper provides carriers with the bags solely for delivering the newspaper.