SCHOOL CHILDREN ADOPT PARK

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Students at Washington Elementary School have adopted a city park located near the school. They are helping to select the park's name and will be planting trees there this week.

Students submitted Washington Park as their choice for the park's name. Students met with the Cape Girardeau Park Board Monday. The City Council will have the final say on the park's name.

The new park is located at Washington and North Fountain streets, an area that had been used for many years as a transfer area to the city landfill.

Tom Meyer, who has been involved in the project, explained that children at the school were given a chance to participate in developing the new park for neighborhood and school use.

Earlier this year, students began researching Indian tribes from the area for possible park names and wrote essays supporting their suggested names.

The school submitted a list of potential names to the Park Board. The board selected two, Kaskaskia Park and Washington Park. Students voted last week on these two choices, selecting Washington Park.

On Thursday, students will plant more than 22 trees at Washington Park. "The children are really excited and looking forward to this special event," said Meyer.

The trees were collected through the recent "Paper to Trees" recycling program. Students and their families saved three-foot stacks of newspaper, which were traded for each tree.

Once the trees are planted, students will adopt the trees and take care of them during the year and through the summer. For example, students will water the trees when needed and watch for vandals, Meyer said.