Region digest 08/20/03

Work to close Highway 25 for several days

Repairs to a railroad crossing will force the closing of Highway 25 at Delta for several days, state highway and railroad officials said.

The road will close at 7 a.m. Friday. Traffic will be detoured through Chaffee, Mo., via Highway 77 and Route E, Missouri Department of Transportation officials said.

Volunteers with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad, which operates a tourist train out of Jackson, will repair the crossing on its track at Delta.

"We have to tear it all apart and rebuild the whole thing from the ground up," said Dan Davis of Oak Ridge, who volunteers his time as the railroad's master mechanic.

Davis said the work will close the highway until at least Sunday afternoon. MoDOT plans to put up barricades to close off the highway to traffic while the repairs are made, Davis said.

Natural gas prices subject of meeting today

Area senior citizens and others are invited to a town hall meeting at 10 a.m. today at the Cape Senior Center, 921 N. Clark in Cape Girardeau, to discuss natural gas prices.

The PSC and other groups are predicting large increases in natural gas costs in the coming winter. The town hall meetings are to address the effect customers will see on their bills, share energy-saving tips and help prepare people for the potential financial strain.

Another meeting is scheduled for noon to 1 p.m. today at the East Missouri Action Agency Outreach Center, 1111 Linden in Cape Girardeau, and at 6 p.m. at Sikeston City Hall.

Vision 2020 committee holding planning meeting

The Vision 2020 Transportation Committee, also known as the Riverfront Team, will meet at 7:30 a.m. today at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

The purpose of the meeting is to plan for the federal, state, county and city meetings held in October. Any organization interested in helping with plans is welcome to attend the August and September meetings. For more information, call 335-3683.

Poplar Bluff council lowers city tax rate

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The property tax rate for the city of Poplar Bluff is going down for the year 2003, but it is expected to bring in more revenue due to a higher valuation.

The Poplar Bluff City Council passed an ordinance Monday approving the tax rate of 72 cents per $100 assessed valuation. Last year's rate was 76 cents.

City Clerk Bill Pettet told the council that the assessed valuation for real and personal property in the city for 2003 is $175,695,459. In 2002, the valuation was $159,874,346.

While there may be more revenue coming in, interim city manager Doug Bagby cautioned the council that this year's budget is going to be another tight one because of health insurance premiums and claims that are amounting to $270,000 a month.

-- From staff, wire reports