Stories from Friday, September 24, 1993

It's human nature. We tend to take status quo for granted -- even when everyday accomplishments are actually quite extraordinary. Such is the case with Cape Girardeau County's general revenue property tax levy. It's zero. It's been zero for a dozen years. But repetition shouldn't diminish this remarkable feat. This zero property tax levy is due to sound financial management and a remarkable degree of self-control on behalf of the Cape Girardeau County Commission...

One bad move can turn your world upside down. It's such a shame 'cause you've been so good up to now. -- Song and sentiment by Lyle Lovett Here is a story that I find sad, funny, a bit depressing and, in some measure, historically and philosophically revealing. Maybe it didn't happen, which spoils somewhat the dramatic buildup I've provided...

SIKESTON -- The financially-troubled Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce will close its doors Oct. 1 in a surprise move announced this week by the Chamber's Board of Directors. The 50-member organization has been plagued by declining membership and financial problems for nearly three years, according to Mark Nelson, chamber president. From a high membership of nearly 400, the chamber has battled to stay afloat by using reserves, which are now depleted...

The Beggs residence at Pioneer Orchard, Highway 72 West, Jackson, will be the site of a salad supper at 7 p.m. Monday, opening the 1993-94 program year for the Cape Girardeau Branch of the American Association of University Women. Members will bring a salad, table service, and a lawn chair for themselves and guests...

The Velo Girardeau Bicycle Club will hold its annual picnic Saturday at Cherokee Park, starting about 5 p.m. The club will conduct a "century ride" Sunday, starting at 7 a.m. from Kent Library on Southeast Missouri State University campus. National Hunting and Fishing Day programs are on schedule at a number of sites Saturday, including Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Carterville, Ill...

To Southeast Missouri State University's incoming class of National Merit scholars, the benefits didn't add up. What had been promised them in the spring didn't materialize this fall. But the issue has now been resolved, Merit scholars and university officials say...

Heavy rains that caused flash flooding and two flood-related deaths on Thursday in central Missouri will send the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau to its 10th flood crest of the year early next week. The National Weather Service said the Mississippi here is expected to crest Monday at 39.5 feet, 7.5 feet above flood stage. The river was at 36.6 feet on Thursday and is forecast to rise to 37.4 today, 38.4 on Saturday, and 39.3 feet on Sunday...

The computer age may soon give rise to the computer fee at Southeast Missouri State University. A university committee has recommended the school adopt a $2-per-credit-hour fee, effective with the start of the fall 1994 semester. For a full-time student, the fee would amount to another $30-a-semester charge on the ever-increasing tier of student fees...

A priest, a cop, a university employee, business owners and housewives were among the 30 people who went looking for the best and the worst of the Haarig area Thursday afternoon. They found plenty of contrasts along the hourlong tour: barely habitable shacks next door to lovingly kept houses, junked cars visible on the grounds of one business while others appeared pristine. ...

A Congressional Medal of Honor winner will be the guest at a reception hosted by the Joint Veterans Council Saturday night. U.S. Air Force Col. George E. Day, veteran of three wars and the most decorated military officer since Gen. Douglass MacArthur, will be at the Drury Lodge at 7 p.m. Saturday. The public is invited...

MARBLE HILL -- Funeral service for Homer J. Collins of Marble Hill will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hahn chapel General Baptist Church. The Revs. Gerald Huff, Norman Elledge and Edward Collins will officiate, with burial in Bollinger County Memorial Park Cemetery...

OAK RIDGE -- James Wilson Kesterson, 84, of Oak Ridge, died Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1993, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home at Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

CAIRO, Ill. -- Carl E. Worthington, 77, Cairo Route 1, died Thursday, Sept. 23, 1993, at Daystar Care Center. He was born May 14, 1916, in Alexander County, son of Henry and Caroline Schlamer Worthington. Worthington was owner of Worthington's Service Station 32 years, and after retiring was a rural mail carrier at Olmsted...

SEDGEWICKVILLE -- Bessie Bollinger, 84, of Sedgewickville, died Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1993, at Jackson Manor. She was born July 22, 1909, at Marquand, daughter of Frederick and Mary Alice O'Kelly Miinch. She married Ellis E. Bollinger, who died Feb. 11, 1979...

Ervin William Dueker, 80, of Arnold, died Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1993, at St. Anthony's Medical Center in St. Louis. He was born June 10, 1913, in Cape Girardeau, son of Frank and Clara Wohrley Dueker. He and Naydean Calvin were married Dec. 24, 1931, in Cairo, Ill. She died in 1953...

CHARLESTON -- Funeral service for Carl Nolen "Jiggs" Miller of Charleston will be held at 2 p.m. today at the United Methodist Church. The Rev. Richard Combs will officiate, with burial in Dogwood Cemetery. McMikle Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

CAIRO, Ill. -- John A. "Boo" Fischer III, 29, of Cairo, Ill., died Thursday, Sept. 23, 1993, at Community Health Services in Cairo, Ill. He was born Jan. 28, 1964, at Cairo, Ill., son of John A. and Mary Emma Kaha Fischer, Jr. He was the owner of Jafco Heating and Refrigeration Company in Cairo, Ill...

The deadline for submitting nominations for the Otto M. Dingeldein Award is Friday, Oct. 1. The award is given annually by the Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts to individuals or organizations whose achievements have enriched the arts community...