South Hanover Street to be included on community march route

A church-organized march set for 10 a.m. Dec. 6 will include South Hanover Street in an effort to bring people together to strengthen the community after a series of shootings.

Byron Bonner, pastor of the year-old True Vine Ministries at 234 S. Sprigg St., said Monday his church is working with another Cape Girardeau church, Freedom Road Ministries, to recruit 1,000 people to march from Ranney Park at Frederick Street and Willow Street south of Highway 74 and follow a 4.2-mile path to the Hanover Street neighborhood. The two churches held a similar event Oct. 18, which he said attracted more than 100 people.

"We're trying to create a safer environment for the people in the community," Bonner said. "We don't want to push people out of the community. We want to introduce them to Jesus Christ. We want to send a different message."

Darryl Reddin, 40, a truck driver and longtime community organizer who works with Bonner, grew up on Good Hope Street, where his sister continues to live. His grandparents ran People's Cafe for 43 years, he said.

"It's the community's job to take back our streets -- the community's job and the churches' job," Reddin said.

After the march, Bonner will host a church service, followed by a community organization meeting.

"We're going to talk about what can we do to make this street better than what it is," Reddin said. "We're not coming to condemn the street."

Sgt. Barry Hovis, Cape Girardeau Police Department spokesman, said changes on Hanover, like those on South Ellis and Good Hope streets, come from both increased police patrols and community activism. People living on South Ellis Street formed a neighborhood watch, which meets each Tuesday evening, he said.

"A neighborhood watch can be as big or as small as they want it," he said. "If you have 15 or 20 people highly interested, it can work. The police department will have a direct connection to them."

Hovis also responded to a complaint made by a South Hanover Street resident who told the Southeast Missourian police didn't act on the videotape he'd made of a drug deal on the street.

Hovis said video is valuable. It helps police identify drug houses and dealers and can become part of a current or future investigation, he said, even if "we may not be able to make a case on what they were doing at that moment."

For details on the Dec. 6 march, call True Vine Ministries at 573-450-8700. To learn more about Neighborhood Watch programs, call 573-335-6621.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

388-3646

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