Stories from Thursday, April 18, 1996

William E. Ingram Sr., 57, of Lexington, Ky., died Monday, April 15, 1996, at his home. He was born Oct. 18, 1938, in Whitesburg, Ky., son of Ell and Celestie Sheppard Ingram. He was employed as a bus driver for the Lextran Co. in Lexington. He was a veteran of the Army...

SEDGEWICKVILLE -- Charles Edward Sams, 75, of Sedgewickville, died Wednesday, April 17, 1996, at St. Louis University Hospital. He was born June 8, 1920, in Greenville, Miss., son of Walter and Birdie Davidson Sams. He and Muredith Statler were married Oct. 7, 1967...

Once again, construction in the Cape Girardeau area has outdone both national and state averages, a trend that has become the rule rather than exception for the area in recent years. Based on building permits issued by the city of Cape Girardeau's Inspection Services Division, commercial and residential contracts during the first quarter of this year were up a hefty 17 percent over 1995 first-quarter averages. ...

With much fanfare, St. Vincent De Paul's grade school held a ceremony in honor of its first 48 students graduating from GREAT, or Gang Related Education And Training. The nine-week course led by community police officers Ike Hammonds and Cpl. Charlie Herbst promotes the development of life skills in a world that tempts kids with drugs, gangs and other illegal activity...

"Ratings" is the most important word for advertisers who want to make the most of their print and broadcast media advertising dollars. "Ratings numbers refer to the percentage of population which is reached by media, whether it's radio, television or newspaper," said John Gorby, president of Douglas Britt Co., headquartered in St. Charles, Ill...

Ortrude (Sue Baer) often is exasperated by the antics of Rumpelstiltskin (Terry Vallelunga). In the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin is a gnome who wants to capture a prince so he can put him in a pot and cook him. "The original is pretty horrible," says Don Garner, the St. Louisan who adapted "Rumpelstiltskin" for the children's theater at Southeast Missouri State University. Garner says he has "added a little sugar to it."...

Director/designer Dennis C. Seyer's production of "Rumpelstiltskin" creates its own magical world, a dark green place made of rocks and flowers and lightning bolts. It's possible to travel great distances across this world simply by reciting a poem, and a rascally little boy with a funny name comes and goes in puffs of smoke...

Cape Central sophomore Kyle Hoppmann got a music lesson of a different sort when he began learning music for the Point of Impact concert. "It's out of this world," said Hoppmann, a percussionist who plays in the N-2 Jazz ensemble. "It's a broad spectrum of music."...

I WOULD like to say, Mr. Kinder, I applaud you for your column on April 14. I don't care how much they say the homosexual lifestyle is an alternative lifestyle, it's still not a natural lifestyle. Common sense alone should tell people that there is no way two people of the same sex can replenish the earth in the way God ordained. I know that won't make them happy, but I don't care if they're happy or not...

With the arrival of dependable construction weather, Cape Girardeans soon will start seeing benefits of the half-cent city sales tax that voters overwhelmingly adopted last August, specifically targeted for a list of street projects. Just three and one-half months have passed since the tax went on the books Jan. ...

CHAFFEE -- Roxie Mae Chapman, 80, of Chaffee, died Wednesday, April 17, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 10, 1915, at Chaffee, daughter of John Riley and Lula Bell Biby. She and Hope Ford Chapman were married Nov. 18, 1933. He died July 17, 1986...

CHAFFEE -- Edith Mable Newberry, 80, of Chaffee, died Wednesday, April 17, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 28, 1915, in Independence County, Ark., daughter of Ernest Edward and Bertie Irene Scoggins Hunter. She and Ernest T. Newberry were married Oct. 2, 1937, at Portageville...

ORAN -- Homer King, 73, of Oran, died Wednesday, April 17, 1996, at his home. He was born Aug. 8, 1922, at Delta, son of George and Delia Young King. He and Judith LeGrand were married May 12, 1955. King was a retired mechanic with the U.S. Air Force. He was a member of Morley VFW Post 5368. King served in the U.S. Navy during World War II...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Irma L. Diggs, 82, of Cairo, died Wednesday, April 17, 1996, at Daystar Care Center. She was born Aug. 5, 1913, in Villa Ridge, daughter of George and Lucy Behrendt Clancy. She married Charles E. Diggs. Diggs was a retired licensed practical nurse. She was a member of Tigert Memorial United Methodist Church...

JACKSON -- Elsie Buchheit, 86, of Sullivan, formerly of Bonne Terre, died Monday, April 15, 1996, at Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan. She was born Jan. 11, 1910, at Marquand, daughter of Henry and Josephine Barr Trost. She married Florian L. Buchheit, who preceded her in death...

PATTON -- Elbert David Green, 90, of Patton, died Wednesday, April 17, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 28, 1906, at Mayfield, son of David and Sarah Mayfield Green. He first married Grace Angel Dec. 29, 1928. She died in 1939. He later married Vallie Roseann Thomasson March 21, 1940. She died Jan. 19, 1988...

Memorial service for James W. "Jim" Miller of Hendersonville, Tenn., was held Wednesday at Cole and Garrett Funeral Home in Hendersonville. The Rev. Phillip Wright officiated. Miller, 65, died Monday, April 15, 1996. He was born in Cape Girardeau, son of James Edgar and Myrtle Bell Wheeler Miller...

DEXTER -- Ray Wilburn, 67, of Dexter, died Wednesday, April 17, 1996, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. He was born Jan. 30, 1929, in LaValle, son of Len and Clara Casey Wilburn. He and Thelma Kinser were married Aug. 26, 1983, at Dexter. Wilburn lived in Utah 10 years, and had lived at Dexter since 1981. He attended the Church of Christ in Dexter...

JACKSON -- Bobby Edward Graham, 48, of Farmington, died Tuesday, April 16, 1996, at Parkland Health Center in Farmington. He was born Oct. 6, 1947, in Cape Girardeau, son of William and Virginia Kelly Graham. He and Patsey Hahn were married Aug. 5, 1993. She died in May 1994...

CHAFFEE -- Eugene Terrence White, 75, Chaffee Route 2, died Wednesday, April 17, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 10, 1920, at Nash, son of William Henry and Virgin Minnie Slinkard White. He and Golda Stidham were married April 27, 1957...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Violet Haslauer, 84, of Olive Branch, died Tuesday, April 16, 1996, at the home of a daughter in Dade City, Fla. She was born Jan. 21, 1912, in Whittington, daughter of James and Flora Scarber Isom. She and John C. Haslauer were married in 1932. He died in 1960...

Colleges must reach beyond campus borders to serve their regions or face the possibility of being replaced by a "Walt Disney subsidiary," a finalist for Southeast Missouri State University president said Wednesday. The finalist, G. Warren Smith of Southeastern Louisiana University, said communications and entertainment companies might offer distance learning through computers and other technologies if universities don't do it...

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."...

JEFFERSON CITY -- A bill that would allow Cape Girardeau County to retain a county coroner instead of hiring a medical examiner when it becomes first class next year won legislative approval Wednesday and awaits the governor's signature. The measure, Senate Bill 806, allows the county to be exempt from a state law that requires all first-class counties to hire a medical examiner to determine causes and manners of deaths when a doctor isn't present. ...

April 18, 1996 Dear Patty, Know what the hard part about being married is? It's not having philosophical differences over the nature of God or even deciding whose family to spend holidays with. The hard part is deciding which piece of furniture goes where and what color to paint a wall...

Three Missouri Supreme Court judges will speak at a Public Issues Forum April 25 at Southeast Missouri State University. The event, the third in a series of forums sponsored by the school, will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Show Me Center meeting rooms...

CHARLESTON -- A few azaleas are in bloom and the dogwood trees are just starting to blossom, but Charleston welcomes spring this weekend with the 28th annual Dogwood-Azalea Festival. Festivities begin today and continue through Sunday. Charleston homes and gardens feature flowering dogwoods and azaleas...

Seven years ago, a Bollinger-Cape Girardeau counties lake project would have created 12,000 jobs in the region and added $330 million to the local economy. The proposed 7,700-acre lake would be situated between Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties, near Millersville...

JACKSON -- Rick Bender tells people he has a face they'll never forget, and he uses it to make sure they remember his message. Bender, 33, travels across the country to warn young people of the dangers of smokeless, or as he calls it, "spit," tobacco...

The SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence, Inc. (SADI) will hold a seminar on fair housing today at the Show Me Center. The seminar, which lasts from 9 a.m. to noon, will discuss landlords' and tenants' rights and responsibilities under federal fair housing laws, said Chuck Henze II, an independent living specialist for SADI...

SIKESTON -- Four major country western stars will shine Aug. 7-10 at the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo. The rodeo will begin at 7:30 p.m. each night, Wednesday through Saturday. John Anderson, best known for his 1980s monster hit "Swingin'," will perform Aug. 7. A new rendition of the hit is on his latest album, "Country 'til I Die."...