NIGHTCLUB DATHS RAISE QUESTIONS OVER OFFICIAL OVERSIGHT

A nightclub in nearby Alexander County, Ill., has been the site of two killings in six months. Two employees of the Hush Puppy Too stand accused in the deaths.

The bar has since been shut down by the local county commission. But the action seems a matter of too little too late.

The Hush Puppy Too has a long history of liquor and other violations, which includes fights and serving liquor to minors. It has been the scene of late-night drinking and topless dancing. Local law enforcement officers -- including the Illinois State Police -- expressed frustration that, despite the complaints, the bar continued business as usual.

In Illinois, the decision to close a bar rests with the local county commission. In Missouri, suspensions and fines are handled by the state supervisor of liquor control. We feel confident that Missouri enforcement would have been much tougher on the Hush Puppy Too.

An Illinois state trooper had twice asked Alexander County Liquor Commissioner Louis Maze to close down the bar in January, after a 17-year-old girl was found drinking and strip teasing in the bar in December 1993. But no action was taken.

On Jan. 29, Stephen Reynolds, 35, of Cape Girardeau died from head injuries he received after an altercation with the nightclub's bouncer. Kazuya Nakagawa, 24, of rural McClure is awaiting trial on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

A few days later, Maze pulled the bar's license for 90 days and levied a $500 fine against bar owner James Mungle of Cape Girardeau. It wasn't the first closing or the first fine.

On July 29, Oscar Burtley Jr., 22, of Carbondale was shot to death on the Hush Puppy Too parking lot. His friend, Clarence Moore, 19, of Elgin, was also injured. Charged was Jewell Mathis, who helped manage the club.

After the second homicide, Mungle closed the bar's doors. Maze then pulled the club's license indefinitely.

All of which raises a serious question: Why did the Alexander County Commission -- and particularly Maze -- let the complaints go on so long without shutting down the bar? The history of violence and underage drinking should have been enough to permanently close the bar a long time ago. Instead, the bar owner was fined several times and his license was suspended more than once, but the bar was allowed to open again.

Problems like those at the Hush Puppy Too don't exist just in Illinois. Many of the people who drink across the river in Alexander County establishments cross the bridge from Missouri. In turn, Cape Girardeau police must deal with the fallout back home.

Drinking responsibly is certainly the watchword in national liquor advertising these days. Bar management carries that same responsibility. It is an obligation to the people who police area drinking establishments as well.

Somebody must take responsibility and quit passing the buck. We urge the Alexander County Commission to keep a tighter rein on bar complaints in the future.

Would the permanent closing of the Hush Puppy Too in January have saved the lives of two men? It is a question that will torment the families of these two young men for a lifetime.