SALVATION ARMY JUST SHORT OF $150,000 GOAL

A few more big checks in the mail could put the Cape Girardeau Salvation Army over the top of its $150,000 1995 Tree of Lights goal.

Each Christmas season, the Salvation Army erects a tree, then puts on strings of lights to represent money raised. A highly visible kettle drive, during which bell ringers attend collection kettles outside area businesses, nets most of the proceeds. Other contributors choose to donate through the mail.

As of Thursday, the local group was $10,200 short of this year's goal, which was $25,000 higher than last year's. The Tree of Lights campaign, slated to end Dec. 31, will be extended a week into January in hopes of collecting the remainder, Salvation Army Capt. Robert Gauthier said.

Money raised through the campaign represents a third of the local Salvation Army group's annual budget. The money is used to provide food for the hungry during Christmas, fund programs to keep teens off the street and help the elderly pay their utility bills in the cold winter months.

About 25,000 individuals from Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area turn to the Salvation Army each year for some form of assistance, a press release said.

"We were very pleased that we met last year's goal, but we need to raise this additional money to keep programs going at full speed," Gauthier said.