REVIEW OF ISSUES FOR 1994 SHOWS BOTH GOOD, BAD

The promise of a new year comes tempered by remembrances of the year just ended. If lessons aren't learned, is history repeated? At the start of 1994, the Southeast Missourian proposed an agenda of community goals. Improvement abounded in many of these key areas, but not all the news was good.

Cape Girardeau public schools:

The past year didn't supply a resolution to the district's building impasse as we had hoped. A third attempt to get voter approval for a plan to increase school funding failed last June. The defeat came on the heels of a commencement brouhaha. A last-minute change allowed seniors who hadn't met all graduation requirements to participate in the ceremony. By summer's end, more than 1,000 signatures had been collected calling for the ouster of Superintendent Neyland Clark. At its annual retreat, the board evaluated both the superintendent's and their own performance, and pledged to do better.

Genuine needs still exist in Cape Girardeau's public school facilities. A redistricting plan set to the unveiled later this year will reinforce the need for another elementary school.

Riverboat gambling:

A statewide vote approving games of chance paved the way for riverboat gambling in Cape Girardeau -- or so it seemed. A year ago we dreamed big, saying Cape Girardeau could become a model for what a riverboat gambling community should be. Unfortunately, 1994 brought no boat. The Boyd Co is to meet with city officials next week to work out a contract with the city. The company has announced a fall 1995 opening, but Cape Girardeans are still waiting for tangible evidence that the riverboat is coming to town.

University business building:

Success at last. In late November, Gov. Mel Carnahan and Southeast officials turned shovels of dirt to ceremoniously break ground for the business building. Regent Don Dickerson likened the project to a "Field of Dreams." The two-wing 100,000-square-foot building is to open in August 1996. The community and university have worked long and hard for this building. The effort to secure state funding took a decade. The $12.3 million in state funds finally came to pass through the approval of a statewide $250 million bond issue last August. Another $2.4 million comes from private funds.

Hospital cooperation:

Cooperation between St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital had its ups and down last year. Community and business groups became vocal over a $1.76 million heart catheterization lab proposal at St. Francis Medical Center. A replacement lab is pending at Southeast. St. Francis also forged ahead on its medical office building. But hospital cooperation reached new heights with the announcement of a joint physician/hospital organization called MedAmerica HealthNet. St. Francis and Southeast have enlisted three other hospitals and signed up more than 200 doctors. The PHO and accompanying insurance product should begin later this year. This announcement also seemed to open the floodgates for other managed care products in Cape Girardeau.

Cape regional airport:

We predicted high flying for the airport in 1994, coming on the heels of a $1.1 million terminal renovation in 1993. In the good-news category, the airport secured a new fixed-based operator, Air Evac. Other companies have also expressed interest in operating some type of commercial facilities at the airport. The city also said farewell to airport manager Randy Holdman and welcomed Greg Chenoweth in early December. An unsettling development was Cape Girardeau's inclusion on a list of 23 air traffic control towers that could be eliminated nationwide. An offensive action has been launched by the city staff to counter the closing plans.

Retail growth:

Sales figures for 1993 reflected a solid showing by retailers in Cape Girardeau, and we anticipated an upbeat 1994. The city and county didn't let us down. Cape Girardeau and the county both experienced record-breaking sales tax collections in 1994, indicating both a strong economy and the county's growing role as a regional hub. City sales tax collections grew a healthy 11.4 percent. The county's half-cent sales tax revenue grew by 10.7 percent last year. A strong economy was also reflected in both residential and business construction. Cape Girardeau experienced one of its best construction years ever. The boom was particularly evident in western Cape Girardeau along Route K. The progressing Cape LaCroix-Walker Creek flood control project also aided the economy.

Port authority:

With good tonnage figures in 1993, we predicted the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority could expect good things in 1994, and that is just what happened. Consolidated Grain & Barge Co., headquartered in Mandeville, La., signed a lease in early December to build a $3.4 million grain elevator and barge facility. It is the fourth long-term lease signed at the port. The port also formed a separate corporation, Semo Port Railroad Inc., and signed an agreement to buy 5.8 miles of railroad track from the Thebes, Ill., bridge north through Scott City to the port and into Cape Girardeau. It gives direct access to the Burlington Northern, Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. The port also has received a locomotive, formerly Army property, from Ft. Carson, Colo. In other good news, the first bid has been let for the Nash Road extension from Interstate 55 to the port site, and groundwork is under way.

These are just some of the successes and disappointments of 1994. The region continued to build back from record 1993 flooding. Cape Girardeau made a sometimes bumpy transition to the ward form of government. The public housing debate fell quiet as did the furor over lack of county zoning. And the new Mississippi River highway bridge project proceeded on schedule.

Saturday: Editorial resolutions for 1995.