Some Cape County communities could be getting early warning sirens

An opportunity for small Cape Girardeau County communities to gain early warning sirens through a federal grant once thought dead in the water may get a chance after all.

Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper during a commission meeting Thursday said a contract for a $290,000 federal grant to buy and install sirens in towns throughout the county appears to be on its way. Officials don't yet know all the details and requirements of the grant, but they expect to receive the contract next week.

Extensive damage in the county from severe storms and tornadoes in the last few years set officials on a track two years ago to improve emergency warnings. Working with a company that specialized in identifying locations for warning sirens, 18 were selected as the county applied for a grant. Communities such as Daisy, Egypt Mills, Friedheim, Fruitland, Oak Ridge, Oriole, New Wells, Randles and others throughout the county are potential locations.

Until recently, commissioners had not received word on the grant, so they assumed it was not likely.

The cost to buy and install sirens would be around $400,000, according to Koeper, which includes a 25 percent local match. County officials are hopeful a source of the match could come from the contributions from communities in which the sirens would be installed or elsewhere in the community.

"It's going to have to be a community effort," Koeper said.

The city of Cape Girardeau soon will receive six additional warning sirens. Mark Hasheider, assistant fire chief and emergency management coordinator for the city, during an April 26 city council retreat, said the fire department and a company that maintains the city's four sirens are finalizing locations for the new sirens. About $150,000 in revenue the city is receiving from the operation of Isle Casino Cape Girardeau will pay for the sirens.

Jackson libraries

County commissioners on Thursday approved a resolution to allow the Riverside Regional Library to absorb patrons of the Jackson Public Library District when the district becomes inactive at the end of the year. Jackson's board of aldermen recently voted to close the Jackson Public Library, citing too many years of revenue from the taxing district being unable to keep up with the library's expenses.

Jeff Trinkle, director of Riverside Regional Library, a tri-county library system with a Jackson branch, Thursday told commissioners both libraries' boards approve of the move to close the Jackson Public Library. The public library's boundaries could not be changed to alter revenue because of a state law passed in 1965.

Trinkle said he sees the transition for patrons of the Jackson Public Library to Riverside as seamless because fees for those who live in the district already have been dropped.

"I think it will just help us grow," he said.

The Riverside Regional Library branches cover Cape Girardeau, Perry and Scott counties.

The city of Jackson no longer will collect a 12-cent tax levy from residents of the Jackson Public Library District once the library closes. Residents instead will pay an 8-cent levy to the county to benefit the Riverside Regional Library District.

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