OPERA HOUSE IS AGAIN GRACING DOWNTOWN AREA

A number of items in the news recently are deserving of brief comment. We offer a thumbs up sign to items deserving of praise, thumbs down to those we would have preferred not to learn about.

It is both institution and artifact ... and it's good to see the resurrection of the Old Opera House. The red brick citadel at the northwest corner of Lorimier and Broadway has risen phoenix-like from the ashes of a ruinous fire one year ago. The Opera House has held forth at that location for 123 years and its destruction would have taken a part of this community's soul. Credit property owner Dennis Stockard for breathing life back into those walls emptied by flame. For less money he could have started from scratch; instead, he returned to us a gift of heritage. Long may the Royal N'Orleans restaurant send the aroma of baking fish and fowl into the Broadway air. Long may the Opera House stand as part of Cape Girardeau's history.

Last Friday's Mayors' Prayer Breakfast was an overwhelming success, drawing 815 people to the Show Me Center for a gathering of fellowship and inspiration. Cape Girardeau Mayor Gene Rhodes brought an appropriate comment: "It's great when we can all come together and put aside our petty differences and break bread." Indeed, prayer is a great unifying force. We applaud Rhodes, Jackson Mayor Carlton Meyer and the Christian Business Men's Committee of Cape Girardeau putting together what is becoming a fine annual tradition.

The Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association is setting new standards for vacillation. Faced with a rules violation that has barred Southwest Baptist University from competing in the NCAA Tournament, the MIAA dithered with its decision on whether to let the Bolivar, Mo., school compete in its tournament. In the process, MIAA officials have risked squandering the conference's automatic bid to the national tournament. While the hours of indecision mounted, teams, including Southeast Missouri State, were not informed until Monday about where they would play games the following day. Regardless of the decision made, it was unfair to keep so many waiting for so long.

What's black and white and more than a mile tall? The stack of newspapers turned in at the Cape Girardeau Public Works Building as part of the Missouri Paper for Trees program. As an incentive for recycling, the state gave Missourians a tree for each three feet of newspaper submitted. Fifteen hundred trees were allotted for Cape Girardeau and nearly 2,000 three-foot stacks were turned in. Local recycling volunteers are trying to get enough extra trees to reward everyone who took part. They deserve it. Good work, Cape Girardeau.