Woman calls on city council to 'stop the violence'

The mother of a slain man urged the Cape Girardeau City Council on Monday night to take steps to address the violence on the city's south side. Her plea came at a meeting the council held on the city's northeast side at the Red Star Baptist Church Activity Center.

Roberson's son was shot to death on South Frederick Street last year.

"What can we do to stop the violence?" asked Felice Roberson, who lives on South Sprigg Street. "I need help."

Roberson complained people loiter and drink alcohol along south-side city streets.

But Mayor Harry Rediger said, "We can't keep people off the streets."

Roberson suggested the city needs to increase police patrols in the area. But Police Chief Wes Blair said his department has stepped up patrols in the neighborhood.

The police chief said residents should call police if they see anyone acting suspiciously.

City manager Scott Meyer said police often hear from residents after shots have been fired. He said that is "too late." Residents need to report suspicious activity sooner, he advised.

Rediger told Roberson, "We need your help. Police can't be in all places at all times."

The mayor said the council hopes to hold a meeting in south Cape Girardeau later this year in an effort to encourage neighborhood involvement as is being done in the Red Star area.

Councilman Wayne Bowen urged Roberson to vote for the use tax measure on the April ballot because it would allow the city to hire more police officers to "help us avoid future murders."

The council, which rarely meets outside city hall, held a study session and regular meeting at the Baptist church in an effort to spark greater community involvement through the city's Neighborhood Development Initiative.

At this point, the only active neighborhood association is the Red Star Neighborhood Revival. It was formed about a year ago with a core group of about a dozen people. Nearly two dozen people turned out for Monday night's meeting.

City planner Ryan Shrimplin told the council the goal is to strengthen neighborhoods by making them safe, more attractive and more active. A neighborhood association allows an area of the city to have a unified voice, he explained.

The Red Star group has coordinated with the city's Public Works Department to remove railroad ties displaced by previous flooding, Shrimplin said. Plans are in the works to install a new stone street sign at the intersection of East Cape Rock Drive and Big Bend Road.

"A lot of issues we are facing in our community are best addressed at the neighborhood level," the city planner said.

Robert Loyd, president of the neighborhood group, told the council many Red Star residents believe the area needs more streetlights. He said too few street lights poses a safety factor.

Judy Douglas, who lives in the 1600 block of North Main, said the area is not well lit.

"It is pitch black," she said of the block in which she lives.

She said inadequate storm drainage is a problem, too. When it rains, stormwater pours down her driveway and into her yard, she said.

Jane O'Connell, who serves as secretary/treasurer, said she believes the group is making progress. The association is incorporating as a not-for-profit entity. She said she and Loyd routinely pick up trash along their streets in an effort to help clean up the neighborhood.

In all, about a half-dozen people voiced their concerns to the council on everything from the need to clean debris to a report of a dog regularly being left tied up outside a house even in bad weather.

In other action, the council gave final approval to an ordinance accepting easements from some property owners to extend Veterans Memorial Drive. Ward 4 Councilwoman Loretta Schneider again cast the lone dissenting vote.

Last month, she voted against the ordinance on its first reading, citing a continuing dispute in which state Rep. Kathy Swan and her husband, Reg, allege the city is taking their land unfairly. The land-value dispute is a subject of litigation.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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