Deserving a little ink

Here are a few notes that don't quite warrant a full story, but deserve — in my opinion — some ink:

n

The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department received word that it has been tentatively approved for $5,567.67 from the Missouri Public Safety's local law enforcement block grant. The grant program is distributing a total of $500,000 after reviewing 214 applications. The applicants' requests totaled $1,7 million. The award process is incomplete, so the money cannot be spent yet.

The Cape Girardeau County Commission, meanwhile, is working on a memorandum of understanding to address exactly how Proposition 1 funds will be used to extend the life of the money as far as possible.

n

Nathan Cromwell of Cape Girardeau called to say he was thrilled to learn about Greyhound's agreement with the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority, particularly about the new indoor waiting room at the transit authority's building at 937 Broadway. He'd been accustomed to using the open air bench in Jackson.

"It used to rain a lot on me and that was not fun," he said, looking forward to someday being in the new waiting room, which he expects to be "nice and dry and warm."

n

Every community relies on volunteers to serve on advisory boards and the same is true for Cape Girardeau County, where a few changes are in the works.

Glen Birk has asked not to be reappointed to the county's road and bridge advisory board when his term expires later this year.

Three openings will occur on the county's mental health mill tax board. Richard Kuntze has applied for one opening. He is a lawyer and lifelong Cape Girardeau County resident. Three more names were proposed for consideration by Tammy Gwaltney, executive director of the SEMO Network Against Sexual Violence and Linda Garner, executive director of Safe House for Women. In a joint letter to the commission, they proposed three Southeast Missouri State University professors: Linda Keena, Karen Buchheit and Ellen Dillon.

____________________

Corinne F. McVey of Jackson sent out a sternly worded request asking Cape Girardeau County officials, as well as the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson, to take a more active role in increasing the county's tree population.

She printed out a report that included applications for programs supporting urban and private forests, public and privately owned trees, and disaster recovery programs dedicated to tree damage and debris removals. The work filled a small binder.

"Personally, not taking care of our trees is a disgrace to our community as a whole," McVey wrote. "We rely on trees for so many things and they rely on us for care. We have fallen severely down on our part of the deal."

She also volunteered to get involved.

n

Over the weekend, the Boy Scouts of America delivered bags to area households for the annual food collection drive. They'll be back to collect them Saturday.

n

Ever since a reader asked me to explain the Tower Club and its role in Cape Girardeau's business, I have been doing research. The 40-year-old club is not as mysterious as it seems. More on that in next week's column.

n

Curious about anything going on around town? E-mail your questions, along with your name and phone number, to pmcnichol@semissourian.com or mail them to Find It, c/o Lost on Main Street, Southeast Missourian, 301 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63701. Questions dealing with personal or legal disputes will not be accepted.

Questions, suggestions or tips for Lost on Main Street? E-mail pmcnichol@semissourian.com or call 573-388-3646.