OAK RIDGE HOME TO 202 PEOPLE

OAK RIDGE -- Lizard Lick, Mo., used to be here, but a growth of trees and incorporation changed that.

Now it's Oak Ridge, incorporated 1869.

Oak Ridge Treasurer Karen McLane said that, according to a book on the town's history, the original settlement took on the name of Lizard Lick because of the natural salt deposit that used to be on the ridge close to where the town center and crossroads are now.

"When it was incorporated it was changed to Oak Ridge because it had a big standing line of oak trees," she said.

Oak Ridge today is the home of 202 people, per the 1990 census, McLane said. The town is in northwest Cape Girardeau County.

"The town's burned down twice and been rebuilt," she said. "It used to be a booming town. It had banks and beer joints.

"I think it must have been really fantastic in the old days. It had a hat factory." Plus, she said, a railroad line used to run through town.

McLane said when one of the fires occurred the town had wooden sidewalks, and they burned. The fire, she said, spread from one building to another, burning down the whole block.

The town, she said, now has a post office; coin laundry; volunteer fire department; the Oak Ridge Market; a beauty shop; Masonic lodge; a Baptist and a Methodist church; and Billie's Place, three separate buildings of merchandise ranging from used furniture to tools to jewelry. McLane said the market serves as the town gathering place, with the older men meeting there to discuss the day's events and the young people gathering there on the weekends before they go out.

The income of Oak Ridge, which doesn't have a sales tax, is limited, she said. The city's only money, McLane said, comes from property taxes and state taxes on things like vehicle and gasoline sales.

She said Oak Ridge has an assessed valuation of $575,337 and a property tax of 27 cents per $100 assessed valuation. About $1,500 is brought in on property taxes, she said, at the maximum.

This last year the town added a streetlight on Route D at the city's subdivision.

McLane said: "We've tried to have the city lit up really well so people don't feel uneasy walking at night, and this was a case where one of the citizens complained (that) it was so dark by their house. We checked it out and agreed with them."

The city spent $11,000 last year patching and asphalting its streets, she said. The money went towards the subdivision and streets off Routes D and E. The routes are the state's responsibility, she said.

McLane said with the town's limited income, $11,000 "doesn't sound big in Cape or Jackson, but in Oak Ridge it is." The amount spent on the streets varies each year, depending on what the city takes in in taxes and what its gets from the state, she said.

Last year the city also helped pay for the resurfacing of the parking lot at Oak Ridge High School on Route E. The city put $300 toward the project, said McLane.

At this point, McLane said, nothing is planned for Oak Ridge in 1992. She said the city takes care of its needs as they arise, other than street maintenance, which is done every year.

McLane said a city picnic may be held this year. The city had a picnic about five years ago and everyone seemed to enjoy it, she said.

Oak Ridge has a five-member Board of Trustees. On the board, McLane said, in addition to herself, are: Mayor Don Stahlheber; Michael King, street commissioner; Billie Criddle, city clerk and owner of Billie's Place; and Kennett McLane, tax collector and McLane's father-in-law. Kennett McLane turns 87 years of age Feb. 20, she said.