PERRY WORKSHOP BOARD DISMISSED

PERRYVILLE -- Nine letters dismissing members of Perryville's sheltered workshop advisory board were issued Thursday by Perry County commissioners, who cited board members' noncompliance with a state statute.

The board, which distributes state funds to the sheltered workshop for the handicapped, has failed to require its members to seek reappointment after their three-year terms ended, said Ruth Tinker, a member of the Perry County Association for Retarded Citizens.

An announcement of the dismissals was made during a meeting sponsored by the association at the VFW Hall. The meeting had been organized to discuss the future of the workshop, which came into question after its four managers resigned March 24. The managers have said they left to protest working conditions and low wages at the workshop.

Tinker said she had brought the issue to the commissioners' attention last Friday after researching records in the Perry County Courthouse.

"The commissioners took a week to make sure and verify everything," she said.

Board chairman Al Cearlock, who did not attend Thursday's meeting, said he was contacted Thursday afternoon and told he could pick up his letter at the county prosecuting attorney's office. He told the caller to have it sent by mail.

"I wouldn't touch that letter with a 10-foot pole," Cearlock said.

Perry County commissioners have not handled problems with the sheltered workshop well, he said. Rather than ask board members to pick up letters of dismissal, commissioners should have met with the board and discussed the problems, Cearlock said.

Patrick Naeger, the one board member who picked up his letter, said there is nothing personal in the way in which workshop issues are being handled now.

"These actions are being taken by the county commissioners and county prosecutor because by statute the chairman was required to file these requests with the county and didn't," said Naeger, a member of the state Legislature.

During his nearly six years on the board, Naeger told the crowd of almost 90 in the VFW Hall that few of his questions about the board's operations were answered.

Senate Bill 40 boards are supposed to administer money from the state Department of Secondary and Elementary Education to either group homes for the disabled, sheltered workshops or related services for the handicapped. In Perry County, Naeger said only the sheltered workshop, operated by VIP Industries of Cape Girardeau, gets the money.

"For all these years we've been using money for one thing and one thing only," Naeger said. "You can't sit on a board and ignore the law."

Naeger has said that Hillary Schmittzehe, president of VIP Industries, exercises undue influence on the board's decisions.

At present, the Perryville advisory board has $299,000 in funds to distribute, Naeger said. These will remain frozen until a new board is in place.

Naeger said he has already applied for a seat on the new board.

Robin Habeck said she supports Naeger. Habeck has operated My Camp, a day program of crafts and activities for the handicapped, for 13 years. She said she has applied for money from Perry County's Senate Bill 40 Board but has been ignored.

Promises of assistance in forming a new board have been offered by various state organizations, Naeger said, including the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

During a question-and-answer session, some at the meeting expressed concerns about how a transition could be made, since Schmittzehe's VIP Industries has operated the workshop since its inception in 1974.

Wanita Dobbs, whose husband worked as a forklift driver at the Perryville workshop, questioned whether anything could be changed. Schmittzehe has several attorneys and other resources, she said.

Dave Grant, a former VIP Industries employee from Cape Girardeau, encouraged her to look at the crowd.

"When you've got all these people up here supporting you, you don't need lawyers," he said.