WAR MEMORIAL WILL STAY PUT, BUT PARK ENTRANCE NEEDS TO BE REALIGNED

The fuss over the war memorial at Cape Girardeau County Park North took some unusual twists after plans for the Missouri Conservation Department's new nature center were announced. Those plans showed the center being built where the war memorial is now, and the memorial moving to a new location.

Now the issue has been laid to rest. The memorial will stay put. The nature center will be moved to the northwest. And a new entrance will be developed for County Park North that leads directly to nature center parking.

One major consideration that needs immediate attention is the new entrance from the divided highway that separates the north and south county parks. The proposed entrance to the north park is offset from the entrance on the south side of the highway to Memorial Park Cemetery. Either the new entrance should line up with the cemetery entrance, or it should be relocated to line up with the entrance to the south park. Eventually, a traffic light is going to be needed for safety reasons, and having entrances on both sides of the highway at that intersection would be practical and safer.