SCOTT CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES BIKE SAFETY

SCOTT CITY -- Police officers in Scott City would start citing children for running stop signs on their bicycles if a councilman gets his way.

The issue was brought before the council Monday by two Scott City residents who said they have almost hit children at the intersection of Maple and Fifth streets.

Betty Jackson, one of the residents who brought up the matter, said some children have been running the newly-installed stop signs at that intersection on their bikes.

Stop signs were added last month at that intersection, making it a four-way stop. Jackson said the children sometimes ride down from the top of a nearby hill and speed through the intersection.

Mayor Jerry Cummins instructed Scott City Police Chief Danny Clubb to have his officers monitor the area.

Councilman Gary Miller suggested that Clubb's officers issue tickets if they see children violating traffic laws. "They have to abide by traffic regulations too," he said.

Miller said he has seen children running the stop sign at Broadway and Chester near his home. "I cringe every time I see one doing it," he said.

Miller said a traffic fine might be a wake-up call for some parents in the area.

In other city business:

-- Cummins and Public Works director John Rogers met with Lady Luck representatives in St. Louis recently and reported that Lady Luck is still interested in putting a casino boat at Scott City. Cummins said he also met with Gov. Mel Carnahan June 23 about the matter.

Lady Luck representatives were in town recently to view alternative sites for a boat, Cummins said. The city has been waiting since December for a decision from the Missouri Gaming Commission on a gaming license request of Lady Luck.

The trip to St. Louis was questioned by a member of the audience at Monday's meeting because Cummins and Rogers drove a city vehicle and stopped at a casino boat during the trip. After the meeting with Lady Luck officials, Cummins said he and Rogers stopped at the Admiral casino boat to see how the operation is run.

Council member Bill Barnett said Cummins and Rogers had the council's blessing for the trip. "We knew they were going, we knew what they were going there for and we gave them our approval," Barnett said. The fact that someone questioned the trip and the city representatives' stop at a gambling boat was called "trash," by Barnett.

-- Scott City Fire Chief Les Crump said his firefighters would no longer conduct the city's fireworks shows during the mid-summer festivals. "We've had two close calls, last year and this year," Crump said. "We've never had any problems before, but the quality of the fireworks might have deteriorated."