RESIDENTS GLAD TIME PASSED CAPE BY

Area residents said "no news is good news" regarding Time magazine's decision not to include more than a brief mention about Cape Girardeau in a 40-page special report in the magazine released this week.

Although they didn't like the characterization of the town as "racially divided," several residents said they were relieved little was made of the magazine's visit to the city.

"We knew they didn't come into town to do a wonderful piece on what a wonderful place Cape Girardeau was," said City Manager Michael Miller, a Time subscriber who plans to read the article when his copy arrives later this week. "We tried to cooperate with them and allow them to see what they wanted to see."

A number of people were concerned the magazine would cast Cape Girardeau in a bad light after a crew of Time reporters, photographers and editors visited in April for a panel discussion on community policing as part of the magazine's 2-week-long boat trip down the Mississippi River. Interviews with residents continued in the following weeks, focusing mainly on racial concerns and the effectiveness of policing efforts in South Cape Girardeau.

The magazine became interested in visiting following a melee involving police and black residents last summer.

"Of course the issue they chose to focus on was one we'd rather not focus on, but we just can't choose who's going to come to town and what they will report on," said Miller.

Police Chief Rick Hetzel said he had not seen the article Monday afternoon, but he was under the impression after Time's visit that Cape Girardeau wouldn't be included in the story.

"They came to our city and we put our best foot forward," he said. "I think we demonstrated that we are like all other American cities and are working to resolve those issues."

Some of the issues the city hopes to resolve are feelings of disenfranchisement and racial and social segregation residents of South Cape Girardeau said separates them from the rest of the city.

For about a year, city officials, community residents and business leaders have held monthly meetings to discuss how to improve relations with police and improve conditions in the southeast portion of the city.