RESPECT FOR LAW; HIGGINS: ADULTS TEACH BY EXAMPLE NOT WORDS

Respect for the law needs to be taught to children by way of example rather than words, U.S. Attorney Stephen B. Higgins told a gathering here Wednesday.

Higgins spoke at a luncheon for members of Cape Girardeau Optimist clubs at Holiday Inn. Higgins serves the Eastern District of Missouri based in St. Louis.

Optimists worldwide are observing Respect for Law Week, said Bonnie Walker, vice president of the Excelsior Optimist Club. She said about 100 people attended the luncheon. The luncheon also featured the presentation of awards from the Optimists to area law enforcement officers.

Higgins drew laughter from the gathering when he said he had driven a bit over the speed limit on his way to Cape Girardeau because he was running late. But all joking aside, he said, that's the kind of example that should not be set for his children.

"Obviously, what we do in front of our children our attitudes toward law enforcement, what we say about laws, what we say about rules rubs off. If we, by our behavior in small areas, show disrespect for the law, than we're going to be teaching that to our children, and the next generation has got to figure this out how to teach by example," said Higgins.

"We can preach at them all we want, but I tell you: If your kids are anything like mine, I can talk until I'm blue in the face and it doesn't make a bit of difference. So I think we all need to be setting an example."

In addition to respect for the law, Higgins talked about the effort by the U.S. attorney's office to rid St. Louis schools of guns. This February, he said, the office decided, in response to school violence, that St. Louis schools not only need to be drug-free, but also gun-free.

The effort makes use of a federal law prohibiting guns 1,000 feet from school grounds, just as a similar law established a 1,000-feet, drug-free zone around schools, Higgins said. He said after the luncheon that the gun law is unique in that a violation is a misdemeanor offense that carries a five-year maximum prison sentence. The misdemeanor sentence keeps people who are otherwise law-abiding from having a felony conviction on their record, he said.

Higgins told the group that residents and community groups in St. Louis paid for 600 signs announcing the drug-free and gun-free zones. "I tell you, that program would not be anywhere without the commitment of citizens," he said.

"We have to teach and protect children. We have to make (schools) sanctuaries from violence."

Higgins said he knew there has been talk about setting up a Cape Girardeau program that would be similar to St. Louis' drug-free and gun-free school program. "I'd love to see it happen," he said.

The Optimist awards went to Patrolman Curtis Session of the Cape Girardeau Police Department; Lt. Mike Hurst of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department; Jim Lummus, a Cape Girardeau FBI agent; and Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Randy Bess and Cpl. Gary Dearman. Both Bess and Dearman work out of Troop E in Poplar Bluff.

Capt. Steve Strong of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said Sessions, at the request of the patrol, served as an undercover "hit man" in a case involving an alleged, planned assassination of a circuit judge in New Madrid County. A man was arrested in December for alleged conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, he said.

A patrol spokesman said Bess and Dearman had uncovered a large retagging operation of tractor trailers near Charleston and had recently wrapped up an investigation of a large theft ring involving interstate shipments.

Strong also received an award in appreciation of his work with the Optimists.