that sort of thing.”
“Other tourism opportunities include Tower Rock which is in the Mississippi,” Buerck goes on to explain. “It’s a huge tower that is literally built out of rock that just pops up in the river. Lewis and Clark spoke about it in their explorations. Perry County is unusual in its topography. It has the longest caves in the state of Missouri. The longest cave here is 30 miles. People love to go down there and explore.” There are many religious shines and historical buildings and artifacts for those interested in the early settlement of the area, but Buerck emphasized that the City and County also are keen to express great reverence for their veterans. “We have a long history of service organizations. A couple years ago we brought the traveling Vietnam Wall through the city and it was a great moment for the community in a lot of ways. A lot of folks found peace in viewing the Wall and it was well received.” The traveling exhibit was so moving, it inspired one veteran to donate substantial funds toward the construction of their own Vietnam Wall. “The veteran said ‘if you guys will do something on a permanent basis I’ll donate money.’ And he started with $1-million donation, and it’s up to over $2.5 million now and over 46 acres. Right here in Perryville, we are building the Missouri National Veterans Memorial, which is going to include the only full-size exact model of
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • DECEMBER 2018
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