LOCAL 4th GRADER PRESENTS ARTWORK

Nineteen school districts in Southeast Missouri recently participated in the 2008 Childrens’ Arts Festival. Amongst the entries, 70 were selected to be featured and published in the Festival booklet. Of those 70, Elizabeth Orr’s piece was selected to be presented to me here at the Capitol. We were delighted to welcome Elizabeth, of Alma Schrader, and her family here in Jefferson City. Her artwork is a wonderful addition to my office. My congratulations go to her and all of her fellow participants.

NEW COMMUNITY PROGRAM

On February 18, a group of eleven dogs will begin an obedience class in Cape Girardeau. What sets this class apart from other dog classes, is not only the class agenda, but the dogs themselves and the hosting location. The dogs all began as "throw aways", suffering from various forms of neglect or abuse. The class will be working not toward a graduation, but toward their Canine Good Citizen certification and the class is being hosted by the Cape Area Family Resource Center.
Another difference in this class will be the presence of several young people acting as volunteer dog handlers. These young volunteers are part of a new program being developed to educate the youth of Cape Girardeau, and encourage participation in dog related activities such as obedience.
The Cape Area Family Resource Center has dedicated itself to bringing educational programs to a section of Cape Girardeau that has very little exposure to so many things others may take for granted. This program will be the first time many of these residents will have been exposed to any animal education.
This is a cooperative effort by independent rescuers and owners. The dogs have been abandoned or come from the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri and Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary. It is the hope of this group to begin a new awareness of what is possible when choosing to adopt a dog. It is also hoped that with a heightened awareness, 2009 can truly be the beginning of change for our companion animals. For more information, please contact Melanie Coy at mscoy@netzero.net.

BRINGING QUALITY JOBS TO MISSOURI

This past week we took an important step forward with our job creation efforts—we passed legislation to expand a proven, successful program responsible for thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars of new investments in Missouri.
The nation’s economic downturn has stymied the healthy job growth we enjoyed just a few years ago. Even in trying times, our Quality Jobs Program has successfully brought many beneficial, high-paying jobs to our state. Since its creation in 2005, the program helped create more than 22,000 jobs in more than 65 cities around the state. It has also helped our state retain nearly 2,500 jobs. As the name of the program implies, the jobs that have been created and retained are quality jobs that pay above-average wages and provide health insurance. According to the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the average wage of the jobs created by the program is in excess of $53,000 annually and the average annual wage of those retained is nearly $74,000. In total, the Quality Jobs projects created in the first three years of the program resulted in more than $2.5 billion in new investment in our state.
The results produced by the program have been a huge success and quite impressive. The legislature increased tax credit caps in 2007 and again in 2008 to allow more projects to be approved. However, demand has still exceeded supply. The bill we approved this year removes the tax credit caps in order to approve projects all across the state. As a result, our area will not be forced to compete with others for limited dollars. Some may question removing the caps entirely. Rest assured that the program is designed to prevent abuse of this newly passed legislation. Tax credits are issued only after the projects create jobs and produce results. We also know that for every dollar we invest in the program, we get more than three dollars in return. This is a wise investment for our state. The Quality Jobs Program has proven to be the most powerful economic development and job creation tool in Missouri.
I supported the expansion of the Quality Jobs Program because I know it’s the right thing to do for our state. It will get our economy back on track. The program is a proven commodity and one we know will continue to create the kind of jobs that Missourians want and need. In the coming weeks we will work with the Senate to ensure this key component of our Family Recovery Plan is sent to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

LIBRARY AS A RESOURCE

In these difficult times there is a lot of talk about stimulating the economy and creating jobs. These issues are important and I hope our elected officials at the Federal level can come to a feasible and fiscally responsible plan of action.

Fortunately, there is one resource that we do not have to wait on the Federal Government to make available. That resource is our local library. I would encourage anyone who might be in transition or in need of a place to access the internet, print out a resume, or research a possible new career to utilize its assets. There are also numerous resources available for children, and it is never too early to prepare for the summer reading program.

There is no better place to spend a dreary late winter day than perusing the infinite number of places a good book can take you. Stop by, read up, and check out one of our free, local best kept secrets. Below you will find several other programs, resources, or dates of interest. For more information on the library’s services, please visit www.capelibrary.org.


• Feb 21st - NAACP Founder’s Day Program
• Feb 23rd - City Wide Read: Reno Anderson
• Book discussion group every month
• Toddler times
• Art Starts, ages 4-7
• Family fun after hours (Fridays 6-8 once a month)
• Books on CD, DVD, & VHS
• Music CD’s
• Wi-fi accessible
• Scrapbooking club meets 2nd Saturday of every month

INTEROPERABILITY A MUST

Interoperability is vital to every Missouri disaster/contingency plan. As you may or may not know, Governor Nixon recently placed a hold on a contract with Motorola that former Governor Blunt negotiated to make emergency responders communication systems interoperable. Having this kind of system means when disaster strikes, the Police, EMS, Fire, and other responders can all communicate on a dedicated system. To highlight the importance and necessity of interoperability, I offer two contrasting scenarios.

On September 11, 2001, emergency responders in New York arrived at the scene of the most horrific attack on American soil. Their communications systems were not interoperable. When a police helicopter sent out a warning over the radio to evacuate, the message was not relayed to other emergency response personnel. Had an interoperable system been in place, 343 firefighters who lost their lives that day would have received a warning to evacuate. While their actions were indeed heroic, with the right communication gear their lives might have been spared.

More recently, Minnesota experienced a devastating bridge collapse on I-35W. The personnel on scene, however, did have an interoperable system. All personnel dispatched to the scene of the collapse were in communication with one another and able to effectively and efficiently begin rescue assistance to the injured and prevent further harm to the general public.

Simply stated, I believe it is in the public’s best interest for the emergency personnel in this state to be able to collaborate while in the midst of an emergency. It is simply no longer acceptable for our citizens to rely on a 50 year old communication system that is used by our emergency responders. Whether it’s the ice storm we are presently digging out of or some other emergency, Missouri’s citizens are most likely to be provided with the quickest and safest response with a communication system that is interoperable. We cannot compromise public safety.