Dear Editor:
I enjoyed your recent editorial regarding Scholastic, Jefferson City's largest nongovernmental employer. However, the facts were a bit misleading.
You are correct that Scholastic located a distribution center here is 1968. But, that was a distribution center which served only the Midwest. They operated two others, one in New Jersey and one in California. In late 1982 or early 1983, the corporation made the decision to consolidate all three into one. Jefferson City stood to either gain the much larger center or lose what it had.
The company was of the opinion that the terrain where its existing building sat was not suitable for the larger center. They were considering other sites in the central United States. A city council persons' wife looked at the site and suggested that land across the street be purchased and a tunnel be built under City View Drive to connect the two. The City Council approved funding for the tunnel in the amount of $49,866 on April 19, 1983, and Jefferson City was to become the location of the company's consolidated distribution center.
You are correct that Command Web relocated here from Ohio a few years later to be close to the distribution center. It is an interesting story of how one citizen can make things happen that greatly benefit the entire area.