QUALITIES-OF-LIFE STATISTICS PROVIDE GOOD ROADMAP

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce has compiled and released a comprehensive report chocked full of statistics. These numbers on government, politics, economics, education, social and natural environment, culture, recreation, health and public safety paint a picture of Cape Girardeau's quality of life.

Overall, the figures reflect a good standard of living in this community. The statistics underscore the fact that the quality of life in Cape Girardeau is high.

This kind of documentation isn't just reassuring to local residents, it can become a real selling point for the city in terms of industrial and business recruitment. It can also help bring more new people to town.

These figures provide a kind of measuring stick to exam Cape Girardeau on its own merits and compare it with other cities.

John Mehner, president of the chamber, says people in leadership positions should never be afraid of information about a community. He is right. To address the problems and even relish the successes, the facts and figures must be laid out on the table for all to see and study.

The chamber deserves high praise for its leadership role in this project.

This mass of statistics -- as reported on in considerable detail in the Southeast Missourian this past week -- highlighted the city's strong points, its averageness and a few places that require definite improvement. For example, job growth and property values have increased rather substantially. On the other end of the spectrum, the number of public high school graduates has declined. Response times for the police and fire departments have climbed.

The Southeast Missourian's special report on the statistics added substance as well. Numbers alone don't always tell the whole story. The series highlighted the various agencies that provided statistics along with comments from leaders about the trends.

Where do we go from here?

The chamber plans to track the statistics each year. Categories that change dramatically -- either up or down -- would warrant a serious look and follow-up plans of action.

This yearly analysis is necessary to make this Qualities of Life report really work for the community.

But the chamber is wisely planning more than mere number tracking. Mehner is right on the money with his observation that information without recommendation is worthless.

Analysis combined with action will provide a powerful tool for future improvement of Cape Girardeau quality of life.