Stories from Monday, April 13, 1992

PERRYVILLE -- Bill Ritch thought his life had taken a dramatic turn a month ago when he was reunited with the brother he hadn't seen for 28 years. Little did he know his story would continue to unfold in an unexpected way. "One day you're an orphan, the next day you have a family," said Ritch, 35, of Perryville. "I'm still trying to get used to it."...

An ancient German art treasure, stolen from its hiding place during World War II by an American soldier, is being returned home to the church where it belongs. The pastor of that church, Friedemann Gosslau, and his wife Uschi, were in Cape Girardeau last week, visiting friends...

A new county-wide program takes aim at juvenile shoplifting in an effort to break the behavior before it matures into adult theft and jail or prison. The program, for Cape Girardeau County juveniles ages 13 to 16, is called "Shoplifting Diversion" and is a cooperative venture between the county's Juvenile Office, the Community Counseling Center and Cape Girardeau merchants. It starts this month...

Southeast Missouri State University has received a $40,000 grant from the National Collegiate Athletic Association for a five-week, summer sports program for disadvantaged youth. The National Youth Sports program of the NCAA is designed to help disadvantaged youth through sports in developing a positive image and self-esteem. The program also stresses nutrition and drug-free living...

The Southeast Missourian asked people about their preference of two designs for next year's Elvis Presley postage stamp, the younger Elvis or the older version from Presley's Las Vegas days. The Postal Service is accepting postcards as ballots until April 24...

SIKESTON -- Thomas A. Galloway, 87, of Sikeston died Saturday, April 11, 1992, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Oct. 6, 1904, at Anniston, to the late Joseph Andrew and Annie Reed Galloway. He was a retired mill worker for the Himmelberger-Harrison Co. at Morehouse, and had been a resident of the Sikeston area most of his life. He was a member of the First Assembly of God Church in Sikeston...

Son to Mr. and Mrs. Ron Tate, 2010 S. Sprigg, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 3:49 p.m. Sunday, April 5, 1992. Name, Dillon Ray. Weight, 7 pounds 1 ounce. Third child, second son. Mrs. Tate is the former Edna Youngman, daughter of Bobbie Harris of Sikeston. Tate is the son of Ople Tate of Carbondale, Ill...

ORAN -- Chrishella Shantelle Cook, 15 months, of Oran died Saturday, April 11, 1992, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 9, 1991, in Poplar Bluff, the daughter of Ronnie Christopher Cook and Dawn Renee Harless, who both survive of the home...

Zella R. Johnson, 86, of 315 Mason Street in Cape Girardeau died Friday, April 10, 1992, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Oct. 4, 1905, in Clay County, Ark., the daughter of James A. and Captolia Cross Pierce. On Dec. 15, 1920 in Arkansas, she married the Rev. A.J. Johnson, who preceded her in death Oct. 21, 1978...

Michael Steven Nabors Collins, 32, of 904 S. Ellis in Cape Girardeau died Friday, April 10, 1992, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Sept. 11, 1959, in Sikeston, the son of John Collins of St. Louis and Vera Rollins of Cape Girardeau. He formerly lived in Sikeston and attended Sikeston and Cape Girardeau public schools. He was of the Pentecostal denomination...

Charley Willey, who has spend 30 years as a professional public speaker and seven years on daily radio and television, will be the speaker at the April 23 meeting of the Cape Girardeau Executives Club. The meeting is held at the Drury Lodge at 7 p.m...

To the Editor: There is fast, there is cheap, and there is good. Pick any two. Regardless of your "rights" or the laws, all three are not likely to happen simultaneously. In fact, with health care even "good" is not enough. People are "entitled" to the best or the system is liable. As for cheap, cheap is available but nobody wants it. You don't have to have heart surgery; you can take digitalis and nitroglycerin, restrict your activities, and die at home. It doesn't cost much...

To the Editor: On April 5, 1992, John L. Oliver Jr. responded to a "Speak Out" article concerning Missouri Appellate Judges declining retention vote. I revere Mr. Oliver's judiciary scholarship, however, I am compelled by my civic duties to reply to a number of misstatements in his letter to the editor of the Southeast Missourian...

Open letter to Cape Girardeau Public School Board Members: It is hard to believe the extra emphasis that is being placed on athletics in our schools today, so much so, that other very important subjects are suffering. For instance, one of the top priorities should be drivers education and automobiles, when we know our whole life is tailored to the automobile and its importance on our transportation and the economics of our society. ...

As the nation muses over perks available to elected leaders in Washington, it seems quaint to ponder any presumed privilege that comes from serving a municipal government. Those who observe city councils objectively and over a period of years can't fathom why anyone would want the job. Yet, people do. For those earnest souls who are leaving the Cape Girardeau City Council, we express our appreciation...

The past few years have seen several bills proposed on Capitol Hill dealing with cable regulation in one form or another. Our own respected Senator Danforth has proposed legislation to regulate the cable industry. Why, suddenly, are so many so concerned about cable? To regulate or not to regulate the cable industry, what's all the beef about?...

Roger Harms, General Manager of T.C.I. Cablevision of Missouri, was interviewed recently about his perspective on cable television. Missourian: The columns that have been received at the Southeast Missourian for this Perspective deal more with regulation and technology and their impact on content than content itself. ...

Since the Cable Act of 1984, cities have had little power to regulate cable systems, except for the drastic step of not renewing the franchise. Since that time, cities have had no power to affect either the rates, or the content of what is delivered on cable systems within their borders...

A little known fact about cable television is that it has been around as long as broadcast television. When broadcast television became a reality in the mid-to-late 1940s, some areas of the country could not receive the line-of-sight broadcast signals due to geographic interference: mountains, buildings, etc. One enterprising gentleman, Robert Tarlton, knew of a better way...