THOSE WITH OPINIONS ON COUNTY VETERANS MEMORIAL LOCATION SHOULD ATTEND UPCOMING HEARING

It is interesting that on this Memorial Day weekend we should contemplate the possible move of the Veterans Memorial from its location these last 18 years at the entrance to Cape Girardeau County Park North. This will require a close look, as early indications are that plenty of folks want to object.

The veterans memorial has been a landmark since the county commission decided to put it at this prominent spot in 1982. Together with the county park of which it is a part, the memorial provides a magnificent gateway to Cape Girardeau. All local veterans organizations helped raise funds for the memorial and as a consequence, their members rightly feel a significant degree of ownership. The memorial has been the location for annual Memorial Day observances, as indeed it will be again tomorrow morning. What has forced the issue is the request by the Missouri Department of Conservation to move the memorial so as to permit construction of the new DOC nature center. The new nature center is certainly going to be a major enhancement for the county, but whether it should force this kind of relocation of so major a landmark is open to question. It is interesting, though, that at a meeting of the Veterans of Foreign Wars attended by 61 members last week, a motion to support the county commission in whatever decision they made passed readily.

The county commission is to be commended for scheduling a session this Wednesday morning, May 31 at 10 a.m. for all citizens to be heard on the proposed relocation. We hope there is a large turnout of veterans and other interested citizens to provide their opinions. The county commission will necessarily take these opinions into account, as they should.