Stories from Thursday, October 13, 1994

CHAFFEE -- Sylvia Hester Morgan White, 87, died Tuesday, Oct. 11, 1994, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 10, 1907, in Pocahontas, Ark., daughter of James Burton and Ollie Pickrell Knotts. On Aug. 30, 1924, she married Reece Morgan, who preceded her in death Oct. 4, 1970. On July 3, 1975, she married Richard White, who also preceded her in death...

To the editor: Inmates currently housed in Missouri's penal system, offenders convicted and awaiting sentencing and those engaged in criminal activity but as yet not apprehended must be elated about the prospects for passage of Amendment 7 (commonly called Hancock II)...

About former President Jimmy Carter's mission to Haiti and its remarkable aftermath, much has been written, yet much remains to be said. Herewith, a summary. There are at least two Jimmy Carters. One is a sincere, honest, decent human being and a devout Christian. His dedicated service in building houses for poor people has been much remarked upon. Justly so...

The Show Me Center has had a run of bad luck. Within one week, center management was forced to cancel two major concerts -- Kenny G and the Pointer Sisters -- due to lack of ticket sales. Understandably, the Show Me Center staff is frustrated. They also are worried about long-term implications...

Of the new generation of country music performers on user-friendly terms with modern technology, Alan Jackson is the white-crowned prince. Jackson's "Who I Am" tour, consisting of three buses and four tractor trailers hauling 39 tons of stage and lighting equipment, will take over the Show Me Center at 7 p.m. Sunday. Also appearing will be Faith Hill...

Buying Victory Bonds, shopping with ration stamps, working long hours in defense plants. Saturday, the Girardot Rose Chorus of Sweet Adelines International brings back "The way it was" on the homefront during World War II in "Sentimental Sounds: Music from the '40s."...

As a candidate for the U.S. Senate on the Libertarian ticket, Bill Johnson admits that some people attend his campaign events just to see what a Libertarian looks like. But as voters become more disgruntled over the way government and the two-party system work, Johnson thinks they will be looking to third parties like his as alternatives...

Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Ashcroft was in Cape Girardeau Wednesday to ask law enforcement officers about the problems they face dealing with crime. The visit included a patrol car ride with Capt. Steve Strong to parts of the city where officers have battled drug dealers and other offenders...

EFFINGHAM, Ill. -- Republican challenger Brent Winters presented an anti-tax stance during a debate with U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard and accused Poshard of falsely presenting himself as conservative. The Republican challenger for the 19th congressional district repeatedly criticized proposals that small businesses pay health insurance for their employees...

To the editor: Several weeks ago Peter Kinder made a statement in one of his columns concerning Secretary of State Judi Moriarty. He said that Attorney General Jay Nixon had absolutely no legal right to file charges against Moriarty. A couple of days later Nixon answered Kinder in the Southeast Missourian. He spanked Kinder pretty hard, I think, and his statements have not been answered in the paper. Charges were filed, as we all know, and Moriarty is leaving office...

BLODGETT -- Jesse M. Lambert, 87, of Blodgett, died Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1994, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born May 3, 1907, in Red Bay, Ala., son of Mac and Cora Penley Lambert. He and Nellie A. Boston were married Feb. 5, 1932, in New Madrid...

DEXTER -- Emily Alexis Paige Oliver, 4 months, died Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1994, at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. She was born June 2, 1994, in Poplar Bluff, daughter of Robin Lynn Oliver. Survivors include her mother of Bernie; a sister, Amber Oliver of Bernie; maternal grandparents, Randy and Kathy McDonald Oliver Sr. of Dexter, and maternal great-grandmother, Novalene Hann of Dexter...

SIKESTON -- Luda Crader, 92, of Sikeston, died Tuesday, Oct. 11, 1994, at Bertrand Nursing Facility in Bertrand. She was born March 7, 1902, in Oran, daughter of Walter B. and Ida Belle Dillingham. She and Earl Crader were married in 1922. He died Dec. 3, 1989...

PERRYVILLE -- Eli Francis Hoffman, 87, of Perryville, died Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1994, at Aspen Forest Care Center. He was born Nov. 28, 1906, in Perry County, son of Lewis and Rosa Schamel Hoffman. He and Rosella C. Balsman were married April 19, 1937. She died Jan. 1, 1977...

Son to Kathryn Coomer of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, 1994. Name, Blake Conrad. Weight, 5 pounds 2 ounces. Miss Coomer is the daughter of Bill and Jurea Coomer of Cape Girardeau. She is employed at Monroe Enterprises...

August R. Meyer, 69, of Cape Girardeau, died Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1994, at Missouri Veterans Home. He was born Nov. 20, 1924, in Kansas City, Kan., son of August and Emma Nolte Meyer. He and Mildred Sue Maxey were married Sept. 28, 1946, in Conway, Ark...

MOREHOUSE -- Fred Arthur Sheeter, 79, of Morehouse, died Tuesday, Oct. 11, 1994, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Jan. 16, 1915, at Morehouse, son of Tom A. and Virginia Dimple Jones Sheeter. Sheeter had been a district supervisor with New Madrid County Department of Family Services...

The Missouri workers' compensation system is badly broken. That is the opinion of Robert T. Johnson, the employer member of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Commission. "The system needs some help from the Missouri state legislature," Johnson told a group of more than 45 people who turned out Wednesday for a daylong Workers' Comp Conference at the Holiday Inn...

WHITEWATER -- At the town's lone convenience store, the talk Wednesday was of water. The governor's office announced late Tuesday that Whitewater and the neighboring town of Allenville will receive a $753,500 Community Development block grant to construct a water system...

JACKSON -- Bruce Thomas is slated to be the next victim of the media coverage surrounding his affair with Cheryl Litzelfelner and the arrest of his estranged wife, Donna Thomas, for shooting Litzelfelner. Jackson School District administrators today are expected to announce Thomas's removal as head wrestling coach at Jackson High School. A tenured faculty member, Thomas will retain his job as environmental enrichment and health teacher...

Dear Kathy, The announcement of your son's birth arrived just as my wife DC and I were leaving California. You and I are like members of separate nomadic tribes whose footprints in the sand are the only clues to each other's existence. A wedding announcement from Southern California involving a mysterious man from India begets a birth announcement from Tucson introducing another mystery man only a few days old. ...

The flood of 1993 was about loss, suffering, compassion and trial. It was also about the restoration of human spirit and varying degrees of courage. Dr. Sharon Bebout found a way to tie all of these emotions together with a skillful narrator and a series of vignettes as author and director of the play titled "Heads Above Water, Heartblood In The Sand."...

SCOTT CITY -- The parks and recreation department here will sponsor its seventh annual Halloween Parade Oct. 22, at 10 a.m. Lineup for the parade will begin at 9 a.m. in the parking lot of the Assembly of God Church, 312 Dearborn. The parade will head down Dearborn to Main, then turn left and proceed to East Second Street. The parade will end in the 600 block of East Second, where children's costumes will be judged...

Postmasters in small towns do more than handle the mail: They keep track of what is going on in their communities. "In a small town, the post office knows who is sick and who's hurt," said June Ernst, Frohna's postmaster since November. That knowledge extends to local events, birthdays and anniversaries...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A Carbondale developer was paid $400,000 to end his four-year lawsuit against the city for a failed development project. Although the deal with developer Stan Hoye was cut in 1990, it was only revealed recently after The Southern Illinoisan went to court to get the information...

The official folk orchestra of the Russian state of Leningrad will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Academic Auditorium on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. Metelitsa (pronounced Mah-TILL-it-sa) consists of classically trained musicians who play traditional Russian folk music on traditional instruments...

The Southeast Missouri State University Orchestra will open its 1994-95 concert season Tuesday with a performance of music by Mozart, Copland and Hindemith. The concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. in historic Old St. Vincent's Church in Cape Girardeau. Soloists will include Adrian Walker, violin; Marc Fulgham, trumpet; and Gary Miller, English horn. All are faculty members...

The fall recital of the Southeast Missouri Music Academy will be presented at 2 p.m. Sunday in Brandt Music Hall on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. The recital will feature string students Kirk Miller and Bryn McDougall; flute student Blaine Oxley; and piano students Katie Greer, Patricia Cheung, Emily Scherer, John Detore, Laura Tenholder, Adam Bryant, Carol Jackson, Diana Weaver and Matt Young...

The Cape Shrine Club will present five performances by the Franzen Brothers Circus this weekend in Cape Girardeau. Okha, a 20-year-old Asian elephant, and 10-year-old African elephants Kosti and Megu are among the animals featured in the circus. Okha not only performs but gives rides on the circus midway...