VOLUNTEER LABOR WILL HELP ERECT PAVILION

The Gene E. Huckstep Pavilion in Cape Girardeau County North Park got a boost from local unions.

The Southeast Missouri Contractors Association and the Southeast Missouri Building Trades Council are donating the labor, equipment and some supplies to build the pavilion.

The county already had purchased the materials.

The pavilion under construction will hold up to 200 people and will be 50 by 60 feet. It is being built near the tennis courts.

On Monday a crew was putting up the roof beams. Once the roof is on, crews from other building trades groups will complete the pavilion: Electricians will wire the shelter and pipefitters will put in water fountains.

Don McQuay, building and grounds superintendent for Cape Girardeau County, said: "We are highly appreciative of the local unions for doing this. They are really saving the county some money."

A number of contractors and employers are donating time to the project. Gregory Construction, for example, sent an extendible boom crane to the site Monday to lift the beams in place.

Johnny Ray Conklin, spokesman for the trade unions, said a dollar amount for the contribution couldn't be figured until the project is complete. But he estimated the donation to be several thousand dollars in labor and equipment.

Weather permitting, the project will be complete in about six weeks.

The pavilion will use a new open-beam construction, McQuay said. It will have a high ceiling, which will make it cooler. New pedestal-style picnic tables will be installed along with two serving tables. A patio will be built at each end of the pavilion, complete with seating area and benches.

"It will be one of the nicest pavilions in the park," McQuay said.

In May the commission named the shelter in honor of former Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Gene E. Huckstep. Huckstep served as Cape Girardeau County's presiding commissioner for 16 years, from 1979 to 1994. He died May 13 after an extended illness.

In addition to assisting the county in erecting the structure, the project provides experience for apprentice tradesmen who are completing their required training, Conklin said.