P&G FARING WELL DESPITE RIVER'S BEST STAB AT MAYHEM

NEELEY'S LANDING -- The company that produces Pampers scrambled to keep high and dry as the rising Mississippi River this week threatened to flood the Neely's Landing plant.

Procter & Gamble Co. quickly built an earth and plastic levee around the plant last week and has added to the project as the river crest climbed, said Larry Stahlman, public affairs manager.

"They're doing more work so we can take a 48-and-a-half-foot crest," he said.

Stahlman and many others were relieved to see the crest pass Cape Girardeau Wednesday.

But their relief might be short-lived since areas of northern and western Missouri received rain Tuesday and Wednesday. More rain is forecast for Missouri over the weekend.

A meteorologist with the National Weather Service in St. Louis said the river crested Wednesday at 46.5 feet at Cape Girardeau.

Stahlman said part of the company's parking lot is submerged, but P & G employees aren't otherwise hindered by the rising river. A temporary alternate truck route into the plant had to be built because of the flooding.

The levee was built with dirt hauled by trucks and loaders from nearby P & G property, Stahlman said. Much of the plant already was surrounded by a levee built during the record flood two years ago.

"We learned several lessons from '93," Stahlman said.

The added levee was built over Highway J, which leads into Neeley's Landing.

The road was impassible because of the high water early last week so residents on the north side of P & G already were traveling several miles out of their way to go to Cape Girardeau or Jackson.

Other businesses in Cape Girardeau County also had to build sandbag levees to maintain operation. Some levees were successful, but other businesses simply closed their doors when the river rose.

Daryll LeGrand of LeGrand's Transmission said earlier this week that the family was considering moving the business. He said sandbag levees around the business and adjacent home were keeping the water out.

But the high water kept customers away and made it impossible to move vehicles in and out of LeGrand's shop.

Other businesses affected by the flooding are Missouri Dry Dock, Leming's Saw Mill, Mid South Steel and Cape Sand Company.

Rail cars also aren't operating through Cape Girardeau because of flooding north and south of the city.