THANKSGIVING WEATHER LIKELY WILL BE WET

If the weatherman is correct, Thursday will be a good day to enjoy a big Thanksgiving Day meal and an afternoon of indoor family activities or football games on television. In fact, much of the Thanksgiving weekend probably will be wet with a chance of snow on Saturday.

The National Weather Service said rain is likely on Thursday with showers and possible thunderstorms Friday. There's a chance of snow Saturday. Highs each day will be in the mid 40s with lows ranging from the mid 20s to low 30s.

Forecasters said the boundary line between bitterly cold, arctic air and milder air will stretch across Missouri for the rest of the week, setting up conditions for a wet holiday weekend.

Despite the inclement weather, Americans will take time out from their daily rituals to observe a uniquely American tradition.

All schools will dismiss later today for the rest of the week. All classes at Southeast Missouri State University have been canceled for Thursday and Friday. Classes at the university and other schools will be back in session on Monday.

Most federal, state and county employees will have Thursday and Friday off.

Offices in the Cape Girardeau federal building will be closed Thursday and Friday, as will state and county offices in Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

The post office will be closed Thursday and reopen on Friday. There will be no window service, home delivery, or box distribution of mail on Thursday; however, express mail and special deliveries will be made.

Mail deposited in drop boxes in the city will be picked up at 5 p.m. today. The next collection will be at 5 p.m., Friday.

License fee offices in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, and Chaffee will be closed Thursday and Friday.

There will be no driver's license examinations and skill tests in Cape Girardeau on Thursday or Friday. Testing will resume on Monday at the Jackson National Guard Armory. Testing in Cape Girardeau will resume on Dec. 2-3.

All banks and financial institutions will be closed Thursday and reopen on Friday.

City offices in Scott City and Chaffee will be closed Thursday and Friday; however, city offices in Cape Girardeau and Jackson will be open on Friday.

Thursday's solid-waste pickup routes in Cape Girardeau will be run today. There will be no Wednesday special pickups today. Friday routes will run as normal.

In Jackson, the Thursday solid-waste pickup route will be consolidated with the Friday routes. The Jackson landfill will be closed Thursday and be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday.

There will be no solid-waste pickup in Chaffee. The Thursday route will be run with Friday's route.

In Scott City, there will be no trash pickup Thursday or Friday. Residents may double their bag limit on Monday and Tuesday.

The Salvation Army will serve its community Thanksgiving dinner from noon until 2 p.m. Thursday at the Salvation Army headquarters at South Sprigg and Good Hope. Thanksgiving meals will be delivered to those unable to attend dinner. Home deliveries will begin at 11 a.m. To call for a meal or to volunteer to serve the dinner, call 335-7000. The dinner is offered to everyone.

The first Christmas parade to be held in Cape Girardeau in more than 30 years will be held Sunday evening. The parade will begin at around 5 p.m. at Capaha Park and proceed east on Broadway to Main Street and south on Main Street to the downtown parking lot. The parade will also coincide with the lighting of the Christmas lights in the business district.

The Holiday of Lights display at North Cape County Park off North Kingshighway will be turned on at dusk today and remain up until after New Year's.

The Missouri Highway Patrol and Illinois State Police will be on extra patrol to make the highways as safe as possible. Both will participate in Operation CARE (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) on major interstate highways and other highways with high volumes of traffic. CARE is a nationwide effort during holiday periods to reduce the number of accidents during peak holiday travel times.

Extra police and troopers will be on patrol looking for travelers needing assistance as well as those speeding, driving while intoxicated or not wearing their seat belts.

Last year during the holiday period, nine people were killed and 570 injured in more than 1,400 accidents that occurred in Missouri. More than 50 percent of the holiday traffic deaths were due to speeding or driving too fast for road conditions.