TG MAKES BIG CHRISTMAS DONATIONS TO AREA GROUPS

Several organizations in Perryville got their Christmas gifts early on Saturday, thanks to over $40,000 in donations from Perry County's largest employer.

Auto parts maker TG Missouri Corp. passed out checks to educators, police and others at its company Christmas party at the Osage Center in Cape Girardeau in what has become an eight-year tradition.

The long-term financial commitment by TG Missouri, which employs about 1,200 workers, has allowed the Perryville Police Department to steadily improve its facilities with planned improvements.

"Any amount we get is always fantastic," Chief Eugene Besand said. "It allows us to do things that are not in the budget."

The typical $5,000 gift over the past eight years has been used to improve dispatching equipment, the booking room and the squad room, Besand said.

Computer software for better record keeping was also added last year.

"The more efficient our department is, the more time officers can spend on the street," Besand said.

Perry County School District 32 will use the $6,500 it received to improve computer software and technology, especially for students with handicaps, as well as staff development.

"It offsets costs that we may not have been able to afford otherwise," said Dr. Steve Doerr, school superintendent.

Part of last year's gift was used to pay for a nationally recognized speaker to come and talk with teachers and administrators from multiple districts on ways to improve scores on state achievement tests.

TG Missouri also donated money to the following organizations:

* St. Vincent School -- $5,000

* Immanuel Lutheran School -- $5,000

* Perry County Sheriff's Department -- $7,390

* Perryville Fire Department -- $5,000

* Perry County Memorial Hospital -- $5,000

* Riverside Regional Library -- $5,000.

The only change in the giving this year was that organizations receiving money were asked to tell TG Missouri how the donation would be used.

Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said telling the company that he would use the money for patrol car video cameras did not make the donation any more difficult to accept.