VETERANS COUNCIL TO SEEK CEMETERY; GROUP BACKS STATE FACILITY IN COUNTY

Cape Girardeau's Joint Veterans Council will lead the charge to get a state-run veterans cemetery in the county.

The council, made up of representatives of veterans organizations in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, voted Thursday night to support an effort to secure the cemetery.

The Missouri Veterans Commission wants to put a cemetery in Southeast Missouri to serve the region's veterans and their families.

The Cape Girardeau-Jackson area is the logical choice, said Charles Woodford, interim chairman of the joint council. The area is centrally situated with interstate access, has a large population of veterans and meets most of the state's site requirements.

The council is looking for potential sites for the cemetery. One site in unincorporated Cape Girardeau County adjacent to Interstate 55 has been identified, and council members hope to meet with the property owners soon.

Veterans have also begun meeting with the city of Jackson regarding the possibility of Brookside Park becoming a veterans cemetery site, said Carlton "Cotton" Meyer, former Jackson mayor and a member of the joint council. No decision has been reached in those talks, Meyer said.

The state is home to more than half a million veterans, and veteran deaths are expected to peak around 2010, says the Missouri Veterans Commission.

Burials are now being performed at only one national veterans cemetery -- Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis County. National cemeteries in Springfield and Jefferson City have already reached capacity.

Deadline for applications is July 1, which means the local council has to work fast, Woodford said.

The council will be looking for people interested in donating land for little or no cost, and will also be seeking support from community leaders and elected officials.

"We figure we're the agency that ought to be leading this thing," said Woodford.

Charles R. Roberts, a member of the joint council and former director of the Missouri Veterans Commission, said Robert Buckner, the commission director, already has indicated he is willing to visit the area to look at potential sites.

That means the council has to have some sites to show him, Roberts said.

It's important that veterans themselves take the initiative in the project, said Roger Brown, a council member.

He said he is vitally interested in bringing a veterans cemetery to Cape Girardeau County.

"I think it's something we need. I think it's something that we can do for ourselves that no one else can do for us. I think it's an opportunity that will never come again," Brown said.

The cemetery would be "a boon for the entire county if we can have it placed in our county," he said.

In 1996, the Missouri Legislature approved the creation of a system of state veterans cemeteries.

Springfield has been chosen to serve the southwest region and Higginsville and Marshall have been selected to serve the west-central region of the state.

Construction cost for each cemetery -- at least four are planned in all -- is estimated at $3.5 million to $4 million, and administrative costs are projected at $400,000 annually.

The Missouri Veterans Commission expects to make its decision by the end of this year and secure funding by 2000.