Dexter, Missouri -  Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander today reminded voters that the deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail or fax for the June 4, 2013 Special Election is Wednesday, May 29. Voters may vote absentee in person at their local election authority's office until 5:00 pm on Monday, June 3.

To receive an absentee ballot by mail, eligible voters must complete an absentee ballot application and mail it or fax it to their local election authority. Applications must be received by the local election authority no later than 5:00 pm on Wednesday, May 29.

If requesting an absentee ballot by mail, first time voters must provide a copy of their personal identification in order to vote. Local election authorities will be open for limited hours on Saturday, June 1 for absentee voting. Please contact your local election authority to inquire about their Saturday hours.

The application form and contact information for Missouri's local election authorities are available online at www.GoVoteMissouri.com.

Registered Missouri voters are eligible to vote absentee if they expect to be prevented from going to the polls to vote on Election Day due to:

(1) Absence on Election Day from the jurisdiction of the election authority in which such voter is registered to vote; 

(2) Incapacity or confinement due to illness or physical disability, including a person who is primarily responsible for the physical care of someone who is incapacitated or confined due to illness or disability;

(3) Religious belief or practice;

(4) Employment as an election authority, as a member of an election authority, or by an election authority at a location other than such voter's polling place;

(5) Incarceration provided all qualifications for voting are retained.

The local election authority must receive absentee ballots no later than 7:00 pm on Tuesday, June 4.

Bloomfield, Missouri - For many American, Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer season.  While we enjoy our freedoms of picnics, swimming, fishing and summer sports, there are those who lost their lives for that freedom.  Many Americans have died serving our country and we should take a moment to show respect on Memorial Day.

The Missouri Veterans Commission encourages the public to attend the Memorial Day Ceremony at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield on Monday, May 27, 2013.  The program is expected to begin at precisely 1:00 p.m. 

The Boy Scout Troop #72 from Bloomfield worked diligently over the past week to post a flag at each grave. 

“Our cemeteries firmly believe in honoring in perpetuity those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country,” commented Larry Kay, Executive Director of the Missouri Veterans Commission. 

This year the guest speaker will be Paul Schuerenberg, MBA, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.  It is hoped you will attend such an important ceremony.  At 3:00 p.m. a National Moment of Remembrance will also happen across this great country!

Cairo, Illinois - Most of us call the bridge that connects Cairo, Illinois to Wickliffe, Kentucky as the Cairo Bridge. 

A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is gearing up for a repair project on the U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge between Wickliffe, KY, and Cairo, IL, that will impact truck traffic this summer. Trucks will be have to be rerouted for approximately 70 days beginning after June 24th.

According to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 spokesman Keith Todd, the agency wants truckers and suppliers who depend on the bridge to be aware of the coming project.

"This project involves repairs on bridge deck stringers and replacement of seven joints on the bridge decking," Todd said. "This work will exclude trucks and other large vehicles such as motor homes from the bridge for about 70 days."

Excluding commercial trucks and other large vehicles from the bridge work zone turns a six-mile trip from Wickliffe to Cairo into about an 80-mile detour via the I-24 Ohio River Bridge at Paducah. By falling in the window for harvesting of Spring wheat, the original project schedule would have created issues for area farmers attempting to haul their crop to grain facilities. That prompted transportation officials to move the project start date back two weeks. 

While the work will create a major inconvenience for area shippers, Todd noted that the maintenance and repair work is required to maintain the long-term reliability of the river crossing.

"We want to give our industries and area farmers who regularly cross the bridge as much advance notice as possible so that they can plan and make logistical adjustments for the coming traffic restriction," Todd said. "As the schedule firms up, we will provide a specific start date for the project. This will impact tour bus traffic, people pulling boats, and any number of other vehicles that will not be allowed through this work zone."

The contractor is currently fabricating steel needed for the repair work. As that preliminary work nears completion, the contractor will schedule a more specific start date sometime after June 24th. Todd noted that will likely extend completion of the project into mid-September.

By maintaining passenger vehicle traffic, commuters who travel between Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri will still be able to get to and from work. While the project is scheduled for 70 working-days, KYTC engineers are optimistic it can be completed more quickly than that if the weather cooperates. The bridge will be restricted to one lane traffic and a strict 7 ft. load width due to equipment that will be needed on the deck to accomplish the work. 

The U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge also carries U.S. 60 and U.S. 62 between Kentucky and Illinois. It connects with the U.S. 60/U.S. 62 Mississippi River Bridge which carries traffic between Illinois and Missouri. Commercial trucks make up about 35 percent of the 5,500 vehicles that cross the Ohio River each day, making it a key transportation link between the three states.

The structure was constructed by the Cairo Bridge Commission as a toll facility and opened to traffic on November 11, 1936. Tolls were removed from the crossing on November 11, 1948, when the highway departments of Kentucky and Illinois assumed responsibility for maintenance on the bridge.