11 for 11

The 10th year of the 21st century certainly provided many storylines. Who would have expected on Jan. 1 a year ago that Cape Girardeau would be set to have a downtown casino? Who would've placed a wager that the Southeast Missouri State University Redhawks would be OVC champs and be tied with the No. 1 team in the nation at halftime of a playoff game? We expect the unexpected in the coming year. That's one of the most exciting things about being in the newspaper business. But 2010 provided us plenty of material to follow up on in the coming 365 days. Here's a look at some stories on our radar.

1 Smiles or frowns?

The $10 million Watch Me Smile development was introduced publicly by the governor and celebrated by dignitaries who saw job growth and construction coming to Cape Girardeau. But the smiles quickly turned into frowns just before Christmas as news surfaced that the development company's CEO had pleaded guilty in 2007 to bad-check writing of more than $90,000. Furthermore, the CEO, Weaver Dickerson, submitted documents to the state that said no one on the ownership team had been convicted of a felony or was on probation. The state has pulled its incentives off the table. Now a prosecuting attorney wants to see Dickerson go back to jail, saying he violated his probation by falsifying documents. A group of local dentists who see the project as unfair competition is working behind the scenes to put up roadblocks to the project; they also claim statutes governing dentistry businesses should not allow the new development. Will the project ever get off the ground? Will Dickerson go to jail?

One thing is for sure. Not everybody will be smiling when this project's fate is determined.

2 Construction, construction, construction

The private and public infrastructure in Cape Girardeau will explode beginning in 2011. Let's count the dollars, shall we?

The casino: $125 million

Road projects, via the Transportation Trust Fund: $21 million

University construction: $59.25 million

Cape public school improvements: $40 million

Those are just a handful of the more visible construction programs slated to start next year. While the construction will go on for several years, that's more than a quarter-billion dollars in construction to start in 2011. Around the state, people may perceive Cape as a small, sleepy river town. But we know better.

If you add in other planned and ongoing private projects, such as the aforementioned Watch Me Smile project, the hospitals' cancer center expansions and others like Chateau Girardeau's expansion, and you quickly get the sense that 2011 will be a busy year for construction in Cape. Local contractors who have suffered due to the poor economy should see a silver lining.

3 Light 'em up

From silver linings to dark clouds ... Will Cape Girardeau go smoke free? We'll find out in April. It will be fascinating to see what groups or organizations jump into the campaigns on both sides. Will the casino enter the fray? Local restaurant owners are already banding together. The economic ramifications of a ban is often debated, but this story draws its strength from passion on both sides. Do smokers have the right to light up in public places? Or do non-smokers and employees have the right to breathe clean air? Democracy will decide. In the meantime, smokers could create some more good will and respect if they stop tossing their butts out car windows. Cigarette butts, that is.

4 The economy

Now that I've pulled your mind out of the gutter ... it seems the words "economy" and "recession" should always be preceded by an expletive. We're all tired of the bleepin' economy. When's the bleepin' economy going to bounce back? Are we headed toward a bleepin' double-dip? It's a tired story, but one that continues. We'll be looking closely at two areas in 2011. The first is unemployment. We hope that the numbers drop this year, and signs indicate they will. We'll also see how education is affected. Until this year, federal stimulus funds helped keep Missouri's education system insulated from major cuts. With the stimulus out of the picture, education institutions are sharpening the ax. Here's hoping the bleepin' state revenue climbs so the cuts to education can be minimized.

5 SEMO and TRCC

Speaking of education and strong language, we come to the topic of the region's two higher education systems, Southeast Missouri State University and Three Rivers Community College. The two schools worked with Mineral Area College and the Career and Technology Center to bring a community college, er, "partnership," to Cape Girardeau. There was some verbal sparring and posturing during those negotiations, but in the end the institutions birthed the Cape Girardeau Partnership for Higher Education Center. Thanks to that camaraderie, students in the Cape area now have a more-affordable, two-year college option with the ability to take advantage of A+ scholarships only available to two-year colleges. Unfortunately, the bickering picked up again between presidents Ken Dobbins and Devin Stephenson over SEMO's planned partnership with Arkansas State University on a two-year nursing program in Kennett, Mo. The spat, which played out in newspapers, was fortunately void of bleepin' profanity, but it was accusatory and frankly somewhat juvenile. The relationship between TRCC and SEMO has been abrasive in recent years. I understand the politics of education can be complicated and parochial, but in 2011 let's hope the strong-willed leaders from both institutions can put their egos aside and do what's best for the current and future students in Southeast Missouri. Surely the finger-pointing is not it.

6 The airport situation

Cape Girardeau city officials no doubt feel like the girl who is promised a wedding but engaged to a young man who won't confirm a date. Or maybe it's a metaphor of the woman who is stuck in a relationship from which she can't afford to remove herself. Either way, the city is stuck with a deadbeat at the airport and desperately wants another suitor to commit to a relationship. Commander Premier can't pay the rent. The city has to make a payment of $140,000 on April 1 on the bond that paid for the 52,000-square-foot building. The city has paid $261,000 over the last year, and Commander has made only eight of the 54 scheduled payments. Meanwhile, Canadian financier Ronald Strauss says he wants to buy the business and fix everything. But he's been saying that since the Knudtson administration, and city officials appear ready to move on to other options, including refinancing the bonds to relieve some of the restrictions in place. There's no getting around the fact that the city is paying for a costly mistake. But maybe 2011 is the year the city can break things off.

7 New county officials

In other sour-relationship break-up news, longtime Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones decided he'd spent enough time leading county government, and so one of the worst relationships in the history of Cape Girardeau County government comes to an end. Jones, with a stubborn streak as wide as a county road easement and his bleepin' R-rated vocabulary; and 1st District Commissioner Jay Purcell, with his secret recordings, political plots and conspiracy theories, couldn't stand one another. Something to watch in the new year will be how new commish Clint Tracy will try to mend wounds. Tracy soundly defeated Purcell in the primary presiding commissioner race. It appears, to his credit, that the Independent (or still Republican?) Purcell has taken the hint from voters that he needs to settle down. But how will Purcell respond when Tracy votes against him the first time? Will he call him part of the Good Ole Boy network (which he at least implied during the campaign)? Or can two men have a respectful disagreement without name-calling and stereotyping? Conversely, will Tracy stand up with Purcell when Purcell takes an unpopular but common-sense stand on an issue? Purcell's flaws aside, he has some good ideas worth serious consideration. Also, how will Tracy vote on tough calls such as subdivision rules? During his campaigning, Tracy showcased a laid-back personality and straddled the fence on a lot of issues. In 2011, we'll begin to see what kind of leader Tracy will be.

Tracy isn't the only new face in county government. There will also be a new auditor, recorder of deeds and circuit clerk. Which brings us to another interesting news question for 2011. Will the political winds change regarding elected officials' salaries? Currently most office holders -- they also make up the salary commission -- make about $70,000 a year. In just 12 years those same officials -- at least four of whom oversee an office of four or fewer employees -- could make six figures if they continue to receive 3 percent increases as has been the practice.

8 Tony Samuel/Redhawks football

Speaking of practice, will football coach Tony Samuel get a pay raise? After leading the Southeast Missouri State University football team to the school's first-ever playoff, fans are curious whether the coach will stay or go. Samuel hasn't commented much publicly on his plans for the future, but certainly the demand for his services has to be higher now than it's ever been. His contract ends Jan. 31, so we expect to hear some news soon. He and his players brought more than respectability to Southeast football; they brought a new energy to the region. When the basketball team made the Big Dance in 2001, the team did not capitalize on the momentum. I hope the same doesn't happen with the football team. It would be nice to celebrate a winning program every year, but with the current economics and other issues facing the university, the school faces many tough decisions. Will it invest in the football program? Only time ...

9 The casino schedule

... will tell if the casino construction project will stay on schedule. Isle of Capri has already demolished several buildings and started testing the rock composition under the soil. It has predicted a "late 2012" opening. The scope of the project is enormous, a bigger project in dollars than the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. In addition to normal construction setbacks that might occur, the casino developers have to deal with extreme government scrutiny. And then there's the weather. Other big projects around the downtown area have not fared well in terms of meeting completion projections. The Emerson Bridge and the federal courthouse are two that come to mind. Of course it's in the casino's interests to open as soon as possible, but there are a lot of factors that are beyond even the casino's control. I'd place the over-under at May 15, 2013.

10 More developments to come?

Just before the bleepin' economy tanked, it seemed there were a lot of whispers about new developments in the Cape Girardeau area, from the empty wing at the mall to the East Main/LaSalle interchange to the Center Junction interchange. We heard rumors about a new Walmart, a Home Depot and other large chains coming to the region. I have no inside information to suggest this, but it just "feels" like something big is going to happen in 2011. I don't think the open land along I-55 will be remain undeveloped much longer. Just a hunch. It's probably too much to wish that the old Plaza Galleria building and the mall wing get new tenants, too.

11 The landscape of downtown

While the casino group carries out its construction plans and gives the city millions for downtown improvements, and while developers sweat out the Watch Me Smile project, another downtown group has been working quietly behind the scenes to develop a DREAM. In Cape Girardeau B.C. (before casino) Old Town Cape formed a plan, a big plan, to get downtown on the right track. If you recall, plans even called for an aquarium as well as other amenities. With a plan, and city groups standing behind it, Cape applied for DREAM (Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri) funds. Some of those funds have already been spent. The Fountain Street extension is an example. A big component of the plan was establishing a Community Improvement District, which could establish a downtown taxing district for downtown projects. Now that the casino has promised funds for downtown, the DREAM could get even bigger. We'll see. The overall vision of downtown won't be known until we find out the fate of the old federal courthouse. The building had been tied up in court by the controversial Rev. Larry Rice, who wanted to turn the building into a homeless shelter. The county wants the space for offices. It looks like the fate of the old courthouse is in the county's hands, for now. The city will also get started on improving and beautifying Broadway this year. Cape Girardeau's downtown is changing. And swiftly. Here's hoping the bleepin' economy will do the same this year.

Best wishes to you and yours for a happy and prosperous 2011. Thank you for following the news with us.

Bob Miller is the editor of the Southeast Missourian.