WAR MEMORIAL MAY BE MOVED; RELOCATION PROPOSED TO ACCOMMODATE NATURE CENTER

A plan to build a nature center at Cape County Park North may mean moving the Cape Girardeau County War Memorial that stands near the park entrance.

"The Conservation Department has asked us to consider moving the veterans memorial," said Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Max Stovall. The memorial would be moved to a ridge at the west end of the park.

A meeting on the proposal will be held at 10 a.m. May 31 at the County Administrative Building in Jackson. At the meeting, officials with the Missouri Conservation Department, which has been working on the nature center project since it was approved for funding in November 1998, will explain plans for the nature center and the new park configuration it would entail.

"We've invited all the people who made contributions to the memorial to listen to the presentation and present their own views," said Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones. He said county commissioners would take into consideration both the Conservation Department's recommendations and views from veterans groups in making a decision on any changes to the park.

The Cape Girardeau County War Memorial, dedicated in 1982, is a textured concrete octagon 4 feet high and 32 feet across. In the center is an 85-foot flag pole on which flies the U.S. flag. On all sides of the octagon are plaques representing the groups that worked together to raise money for the memorial. Those groups are American Legion Post 63, Eagles Aerie No. 3775, Elks Lodge No. 639, Amvets Post 92, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 16 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3838, all of Cape Girardeau; American Legion Post 158 of Jackson and Pearl Harbor Survivors Association Missouri Chapter 3. Also in the area is a monument to Pfc. Richard Wilson, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from Cape Girardeau, and a police memorial from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 33.

"We're trying to accommodate the Conservation Department," said Jones, who pointed out that county officials lobbied hard to bring the nature center to Cape Girardeau. "We also want to work with the veterans groups. We want the memorial to be in the best place it can be."

Jerry Stauber, commander of American Legion Post 63, said he has heard mixed reactions from veterans about the proposal. "There are concerns about moving the memorial, but many people are waiting to find out more at the meeting," he said.

A study by Peckham and Wright Architects of Columbia has recommended that the nature center be placed near the current entrance to Cape County Park North, close to the present location of the memorial, said Keith Lesko, an architect with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

That spot was picked for its location adjacent to 50 acres of land Cape Girardeau County has donated for the nature center and conservation campus. The study also proposed moving the park's entrance to the west of the park's small lake, dividing the park into three areas: the county park with its picnic tables and play areas, the conservation office and the nature center, Lesko said.

The study proposes moving the memorial to a spot between shelters 6 and 7 on the west end of the park's large lake.

"Personally, I think that's the best place for the memorial," Jones said. "It's such a visible location. You can see it from the Interstate and from the Missouri Veterans Home."

"The place does have merits," Stauber said, pointing out its visibility.

Jeff Brune, legislative assistant to the Cape Girardeau County Commission, said the county has talked to construction companies, and it should be possible to move the memorial without disassembling it other than taking down the flag pole. There should also be ample parking at the proposed site.

The Avenue of Flags, where U.S. flags are placed along the park entrance road next to the memorial's present location on veteran-related holidays, would be moved to the road surrounding the park's large lake if the Conservation Department proposal is accepted, Brune said.

Veteran Ron McCubbin said the proposal for moving the memorial was brought up at a VFW Post 3838 meeting last week and it caused quite an uproar. He said he expects lots of questions and comments at the meeting on May 31.

"It's an emotional issue because the memorial has been part of the landscape of the community for so long," Stauber said.