Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for July 22, 2008 BLOWIN' SMOKE

Oh, oh...

A story from the Cape Girardeau television station...mentioning Cairo fires and THEIR fires in the same article!!!

Can the blame of Cairo for THEIR fires be far behind???

I mean, where there's fire...

What's Your Opinion on Suspicious Area Fires?

Authorities continue to investigate yet another suspicious fire in Cairo.

Firefighters worked to put out the fire inside a home on the 2100 block of Pine Street.

That's just across the street from another suspicious fire that burned earlier this month. The home was vacant so no one was injured.

Authorities still have no suspects in either fire.

Cairo isn't the only town dealing with suspicious fires.

Police in Cape Girardeau are still investigating several suspicious fires including the fire at a home on Pacific Street. The fire happened on April 29th and the burned out home is still sitting untouched.

We wondered, how much longer until something's done with it? Steve William with the city tells us it's a lengthy process. The homeowner gets a series of registered letters over about a five or six month period informing him he must repair or demolish the home. At the end of that process the city can take over and tear down the building.

For more information on the suspicious fires over the past year, see the related links to the right.

We want to know your opinion. Leave your thoughts about the suspicious fires in Cape Girardeau and Cairo in the comment section below.

Ooh, ooh, ooh...

Man, wondered how they pulled off this feat with Cairo lurking right across the river???

Too bad those potential SEMO students didn't see this article...

Of course, the latest news flourishes coming out of Southeast Missouri have been making me paranoid...as indicated by the article above. In fact, I halfway expect to see an article in the coming week of how Cape Girardeau would have been #1 if it had not been for its proximity to Cairo, IL.

Oh, well...woulda, coulda, shoulda!

Cape earns spot on national 'Dreamtown' list

By Peg McNichol
Southeast Missourian

Cape Girardeau was named as an American Dreamtown by American City Business Journals on Monday. American City Business Journals is the largest publisher of metropolitan business news weeklies in the United States, with 41 papers across the country.

Cape Girardeau ranked 66th in the survey, which compared 140 micropolitan areas in 20 statistical categories based on U.S. Census Bureau data. A micropolitan area is defined by a central community with 10,000 to 50,000 residents, including the surrounding countryside.

The only other Missouri city on the list, Branson, ranked 103rd. Paducah, Ky., was 85th.

In a statement issued by the city Tuesday, Mayor Jay Knudtson said he was "very proud that our city has been recognized as an American Dreamtown. What I feel makes this more of an accomplishment is that we were named to this list without applying or lobbying for it, based on several quality of life issues."

The story is at www.bizjournals.com/edit_special/68.html.