Prayer vigil held near Ill. strip club

They were peaceful protesters, yet made their opinions known.

More than 50 Illinois residents believe the opening of a gentlemen's club in East Cape Girardeau will have a negative impact on their small community.

Both children and adults gathered in the parking lot of Karpet Korner off Highway 146 on Sunday afternoon. The residents from East Cape Girardeau and surrounding towns held hands, prayed and voiced their opinions about the opening of the Big Blue Martini.

"There will be lives we will see change for the worse because of this place," said Matthew Butrum, pastor of East Cape Baptist Church.

Butrum stood facing the crowd of people, with his back to the location of the future gentlemen's club in the old Purple Crackle building.

"We care about our community and we already see what problems will arise out of this kind of place," Butrum said.

The opposers of the strip club believe families will be torn apart and young women will be exploited.

The opening date for the Big Blue Martini hasn't been announced but those residents at Sunday's gathering aren't looking forward to that day.

"It's definitely going to have a negative effect in the community," said Lisa Murphy of Wolf Lake, Ill. "I'm very concerned with something like this coming here."

Murphy and Amy Reynolds of Reynoldsville, Ill., both work at Shawnee Elementary School in McClure. They believe the Purple Crackle should be turned into a community center.

"Why not turn it into someplace our children can go that will be positive?" asked Reynolds.

A strip club called HushPuppy already operates in nearby McClure, Ill., in a building adjacent to Brown Bag Video on Highway 3.

Residents at the prayer vigil said they don't like the idea of either strip club near their homes. But they have more of a problem with the Big Blue Martini, which is located in the middle of town.

"That's always been an establishment that I've been pretty numb to," Murphy said. "Now there's going to be a bold negative effect in the center of our neighborhoods."

The Purple Crackle originally opened more than 60 years ago and was once an elite supper club. In more recent years, the Crackle was a night club that mainly catered to college crowds. It closed on Dec. 31.

"Every time we walk by that building and if we put a curse on that business, then I believe we can shut it down just like the Purple Crackle," said a woman from the crowd as residents began to leave.

East Cape Girardeau Mayor Joe Aden has said he doesn't have a problem with the gentlemen's club coming to town and believes it will help bring in more sales tax revenue.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

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