Stories from Friday, August 12, 1994

OLMSTED, Ill. -- Ricky Ray Griffith, 38, of Olmsted, died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1994, at his home. He was born Feb. 6, 1956, in Cairo, son of Seth and Freda Richards Griffith. He is survived by his mother, Freda Ivy of Olmsted; three brothers, David Griffith of Cypress, Paul Griffith of Olmsted, Danny Ivy of Mounds; three sisters, Norma Klein and Kathy Griffith of Villa Ridge, Mary Klein of Mound City, and a half-sister, Wanda Cole of Metropolis...

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education approved administrator, teacher and support staff salaries Wednesday night. The vote was seemingly routine, but lurking in the background was a conflict of interest accusation. Three of the seven board members have spouses employed by the school district. The wives of both Steve Wright and Bob Fox are teachers at the high school; John Campbell's wife is a secretary at May Greene School...

SIKESTON -- The money is important. But that isn't what ultimately lures cowboys like Craig Andre to the Sikeston Jaycees Bootheel Rodeo. It is the test. It is man's will, physical strength and riding skill against the spirit of the animal he has drawn. The tougher the animal, the better the challenge. The mystery of not knowing who will prevail after a mere seven or eight ticks of the clock makes all the broken bones, lonesome highways and nondescript hotels seem like minor inconveniences...

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"We have not the slightest idea what any of these health care plans will cost." Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee that, five weeks ago, voted out the "outline" of an as-of-then-unwritten "health care reform bill"...

Son to Tom and Shirlie Wright of Perryville, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 4:12 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, 1994. Name, Blake Robert. Weight, 5 pounds 11 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Wright is the former Shirlie Dumey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dumey of Burfordville. Mr. and Mrs. Wright are teachers at Perry County District 32. He is the son of Kenneth Wright of Millersville, and the late Jerry Jean Wright...

GOREVILLE, Ill. -- Homas Duco "Duke" Montgomery III, 35, of Goreville, died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1994, in a car accident. He was born Dec. 3, 1958, in Herrin, son of John and Louise Turnage Montgomery. He and Pamela Terry were married Aug. 19, 1978, in Goreville...

BELL CITY -- Jessie Mae Foster, 96, of Bell City, died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1994, at her home. She was born April 2, 1898, in Dale, Ill., daughter of William and Laura Vickers Wheeler. She and Jesse Foster were married Feb. 24, 1917, at Bell City. He died April 11, 1986...

Justine Huey Floyd, 81, of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, Aug. 11, 1994, at the Lutheran Home. She was born May 25, 1913, near Egypt Mills, daughter of George and Ida Foeste Hengst. She first married Thomas M. Huey Aug. 16, 1930, at Egypt Mills. He died in 1958. She later married Albert Floyd in July 1965, at Egypt Mills. He died in 1988...

Kenneth L. Burton, 68, 720 S. Pacific, died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1994, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Oct. 12, 1925, near Senath, son of Owen and Dora Hall Burton. He and Vivian I. Watson were married July 24, 1974. Burton retired from the maintenance department at Southeast Hospital. He was a member of VFW Post, and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War...

ANNA, Ill. -- T. Alice Keller, 87, of Anna, died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1994, at Union County Hospital. She was born March 28, 1907, in Anna, daughter of Andrew and Margaret Kerr Halterman. She and Floyd E. "Penney" Keller were married Jan. 29, 1928, in Anna. He died June 19, 1975...

JACKSON -- Funeral service for Vida G. Hemmann of Jackson will be held at 2 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Robert Henrichs will officiate, with burial in Russell Heights Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 8:30 a.m. to service time...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Mirtle Lee Orr, 90, of Mounds, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 1994, at Meridian Manor Nursing Center in Mounds. She was born Feb. 29, 1904, in Houston, Miss., daughter of William Bolden and Sarah Jennings Chandler. Survivors include a sister, Jimmie Brown of Charleston, Mo., and a brother, James Chandler of Mounds...

Graveside service for Paul W. Berry, 1312 Victoria, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Memorial Park. The Rev. John Owen will officiate. There is no visitation. Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Berry, 78, died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1994, at his home...

Cape Girardeau's flood-control project is generating good news and bad news for motorists. The new Themis Street bridge over Walker Creek will be opened to traffic this morning. But the Independence Street span over the same creek will be closed to eastbound traffic beginning Monday morning, city officials said...

When Tonya and Rathael Fambro moved to Cape Girardeau in 1984, they learned that black people were not treated the same here as in their native Chicago. When they walked into stores, people followed them around and asked "May I help you?" a dozen times. When suggestions were needed about work-related issues, no one asked them. And when people talked about politics and world issues, no one thought they would have an opinion...

The first River Heritage Regional Black Family Reunion in Cape Girardeau kicks off today with a presentation by the Rev. Benjamin Hooks, former executive director of the NAACP. Hooks will attend a prayer breakfast and be keynote speaker at a leadership seminar that is part of the reunion...

Memories are such wonderful things, but oh so fragile. Memory -- the ability to recall events, faces, names, places from out of the past -- is, on the other hand, durable enough to last a lifetime. The problem is that your memory is no longer a whole piece. It is but shards of reality...

A series of workshops designed to help families and individuals learn skills will be held Saturday during the Black Family Reunion. The workshops begin at 10 a.m. and continue through 5 p.m. and will be held in the A.C. Brase Arena Building. No registration is necessary and the sessions are free...

Bishop John J. Leibrecht of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese, has announced new pastoral assignments affecting Catholic parishes throughout southern Missouri. Most appointments are effective Wednesday. The Rev. Jay Gibson, newly ordained, is the new associate pastor at St. Vincent's Catholic Church in Cape Girardeau...

Streets through Cape Girardeau's Arena Park will be closed and barricaded during the Black Family Reunion. The barricades will go up at noon today and the streets will remain closed until 11 p.m. Saturday. No through traffic will be allowed on Kiwanis Drive at Optimist Drive, Kiwanis Drive at Jaycee Drive and Conservation Drive at East Rodney. Kiwanis Drive is the street that runs in front of the Arena building...