RIVERFEST '97; POLICE PREPARE FOR BIG WEEKEND

Security will be beefed up, downtown parking limited, and carnival rides safe and fun during this Riverfest '97 weekend.

Capt. Stephen Strom of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said extra officers will be on duty.

"There will be more officers in the four square blocks of Riverfest than in the rest of the city," said Strom. He said the normal number of policemen will be present in the rest of the city but extra officers have been brought in for Riverfest.

"We are adding officers from the police reserve, additional officers from the city police department and the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, and we will have an additional supervisor who will be responsible for the Riverfest police officers."

A Riverfest police headquarters is being set up at 105 Independence Street.

Strom said peripheral Riverfest security will include bike and motorcycle patrols. "We will have continuous police patrols all the way through Riverfest," he said. "I don't recall any arrests during Riverfest last year."

In addition to the police department's presence, the Riverfest Committee has hired private security guards to help at the beer gardens and to patrol the Riverfest grounds after closing hours.

Riverfest begins Friday afternoon and runs through Saturday.

Downtown parking will be limited. Strom encouraged people to use special shuttles from West Park Mall and the Show Me Center.

The shuttles will start running every 15 minutes at 4 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday. They will shut down one hour after Riverfest's closing each night.

"There will be handicapped parking in the 100 block of Independence Street between Main Street and Spanish," he pointed out.

"The Riverfest Committee selects the carnival show used," he said. "They did the research and selected the Miller Spectacular Shows. We have had a positive relationship with them."

The Miller shows have been a Riverfest tradition for five years. Strom said the fire department inspects the rides prior to Riverfest opening and law enforcement and city officials inspect the games and concessions.

"All carnival operations that come into Cape are inspected before going into operation," he said. "The games must have rules, and there must be a level of skill to the games; no games of chance are allowed."

"We want people to come to Riverfest and have a good time and not worry," he said.