Charter research added to list of League of Women Voter projects

The League of Women Voters of Southeast Missouri's schedule is full this fall. In August, representatives participated in a meeting hosted by the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce with representatives of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. The single agenda item: exploring a charter form of government for Cape Girardeau County.

In 1977, the League produced a study on a charter for the city of Cape Girardeau, also at the behest of the chamber. So it's not a big surprise to learn the League of Women Voters, an organization best known for its impartiality, has been asked to research a county charter.

According to Mary Ellen Sharp (League co-president, along with Jan Miller), the work is all about fact-finding and an objective point of view, resulting in a report explaining what a county charter is, how it functions, how various counties in the state have used this form of government and what a charter affects.

The task comes at one of the busiest seasons for the group. Members are pulling together a candidate forum as well as a voter guide for the upcoming election. Look for the voter guides at libraries, senior centers, courthouses and some bank lobbies.

Among the invitees for the candidate forum are those running for Cape Girardeau County Commission, District 1 and 2; county treasurer; Districts 158 and 159 state representatives and Missouri State Senate, District 27.

Incumbent Sen. Jason Crowell will not be able to attend — he has a previous commitment as a board member of the Missouri Humanities Council, which meets that same evening in Joplin, Sharp said.

The candidate forum is not a debate. Sharp said questions from the audience must be written and are filtered "to eliminate questions in poor taste or direct attacks or something that is not appropriate ... The questions have to be appropriate for both candidates."

The forum, set for 7 p.m. on Oct. 21 at the Career and Technology Center of the Cape Girardeau Public Schools, 1080 S. Silver Springs Road, will be recorded for later broadcast on the local access cable channel.

Sharp said the League's October membership meeting will be open to the public as well. Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle will be the guest speaker, Sharp said, and discuss his official duties as well as take questions from the audience.

Swingle's talk will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Community Caring Council office, 937 Broadway, Suite 306 (rear entrance) in Cape Girardeau.

If you've ever thought of joining the League of Women Voters of Southeast Missouri, now is probably a good time. The $40 dues are among the lowest in the state and include membership in the national organization.

For more information, contact Sharp at 573-334-7270 or Linda Burns at 573-334-5238.

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After the city of Cape Girardeau won a Preserve America designation from the National Parks Service, Old Town Cape submitted a grant application for more than $126,000. Friday, Marla Mills, executive director of Old Town Cape, learned the city will get a grant, but today she will learn the exact figure.

"I hope we got the full amount, but we just don't know yet," she said. The money will be spent on billboards and other marketing, as well as a study on way-finding — "what directs people to the downtown area or historic sites, the directional signage, those kinds of things," Mills said. "Our hope is to apply for a second grant to improve the signage."

Questions, suggestions or tips for Lost on Main Street? E-mail pmcnichol@semissourian.com or call 335-6611, extension 127.