Stories from Thursday, June 11, 1998

To the editor: I am writing in response to the Speak Out caller who said that Libertarians are "warmed-over social Darwinists." By doing so, I believe the caller misunderstood what I meant by my previous statement, "Life based on Libertarian principles would be freedom in its purest form." It is this issue I wish to address...

Cleda Curtis showed a student how to blend shadows in an oil painting. This portrait of her niece Stacey Curtis was painted by Cleda Curtis. There are many arts programs for children and students in the Cape Girardeau area, and the Senior Learning Program at Southeast offers art classes for senior citizens. But adults mostly have been left out of the mix...

For a guy who sings the blues, Robbie Stokes is solidly upbeat. The 48-year-old Carbondale, Ill., man plays lead guitar and sings in St. Stephen's Blues, a band he helped found five years ago. To Stokes, playing music is almost a spiritual thing. "There is nothing like it when it is really working right," says Stokes, who has performed with two members of The Grateful Dead...

Family fun and cultural enlightenment are on tap during the first annual Juneteenth celebration in Cape Girardeau next week. The Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri State University chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will host Juneteenth festivities, which take place throughout the day June 20...

ARE YOU as tired of telephone solicitations as I am? They're an intrusion into my privacy. If you are, call your congressman. Call the telephone company. Swamp them with calls demanding a law be passed outlawing telephone solicitation. We must do it ourselves if it's going to get done. Call now...

Shopping malls have changed the face of retail areas of small towns and large cities alike. Once upon a time in Cape Girardeau, virtually all of the city's retail businesses were located in an area generally known as Downtown. Now there is a renewed effort to re-energize that Downtown under the umbrella of a Main Street Program...

When the Mir space station was put in Earth's orbit 12 year's ago, it was operated by the Soviet Union's space program. Since then, the Soviet Union has dissolved, and now the Russian government is responsible for the project, which picked up NASA as a partner along the way...

To the editor: On June 5 the Southeast Missourian ran on this page a cartoon featuring this dialogue: Hatless man: "Won't this latest move to make flag burning illegal restrict free speech?" Hatful man: "Not really! you can say you're going to burn the flag all you want ... ."...

CHARLESTON -- Local residents said they hope visiting state legislators will be receptive to concerns of southeast Missourians during a forum in Charleston tonight. A panel discussion led by members of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus will be held at 6:30 at Clara Drinkwater Newnam Auditorium. The event is co-sponsored by Mississippi County Community Churches to let people know of legislation passed during the session and to answer questions they might have...

JACKSON -- Passengers on a St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railway excursion train got a little more excitement than they had bargained for Wednesday when the train struck a pickup truck that pulled into its path at the U.S. 61 crossing. The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries in the accident, the first involving the excursion railway...

Democratic congressional candidate Tony Heckemeyer on Wednesday challenged U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson to debate him on the issues. Emerson campaign manager Atalie Ebersole said later that the Cape Girardeau Republican would be willing to discuss the issues with "our eventual opponent" at informational forums this fall...

Sikeston -- Led by standout pitcher Brent Self -- had Cape Girardeau Central's number this spring during the high school baseball season. With Self pitching two of the victories, including the district championship game, Sikeston beat Central in all three meetings as the Bulldogs advanced to the Class 4A quarterfinals...

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- A lot has happened to America's No. 1 comic-book super-hero, Superman, over the past decade: -- He died. -- He was rejuvenated as a near robot, minus his cape. -- He married reporter Lois Lane. But now the traditional Superman is back...

June 11, 1998 Dear Pat, My friend C.C. and her husband have split up, though since they live in California they're still sharing a car. She moved out on the spring equinox and was at first shocked by what she had done. But, she reasons, the late '90s seem a time of changes and uncertainties for many people...

Hannibal may have its frog-jumping contest, but Cape Girardeau has its turtle-racing contest. After 20 years of Riverfest, the turtle race and the best-dressed turtle contest are still two of the most popular attractions to the annual festival by the river...

Riverfest is celebrating its 20th anniversary Friday and Saturday with music, food, events and activities for the whole family. Twenty bands will perform on five stages or stroll the streets of downtown Cape throughout the two-day festival. The air will be filled with different styles of music including rock, R & B, country, jazz, blues and bluegrass from bands such as Brown Baggers, New World Spirits, Dave's Dixieland Band and Under the Influence...

Bud Eley is flattered by all the attention he's been receiving from the National Basketball Association, but he believes one more year of college hoops will do him a world of good. Primarily for that reason, Eley told the Southeast Missourian Wednesday that he was withdrawing his name from the NBA draft and plans to use up his final season of eligibility at Southeast Missouri State University...

Southeast Missouri State University will launch a new national search for an athletic director beginning later this summer after no clear choice emerged from a pool of three finalists who interviewed and visited the campus during the past few weeks...

While a couple of area prep coaches hang up their whistles for better-paying administrative positions, Notre Dame baseball coach Gregg Muench has a much more personal reason for his coaching departure. Muench wants his 23-month-old son Braden, who was born profoundly deaf, to hear...

Whether its the big leagues or prep sports, coaching changes are inevitable. With several area coaching moves taking place as another school year comes to a close, Southeast Missouri has had its share of shakeups in the coaching ranks. Kelly's Clay Vangilder headlines this year's list, following a remarkable stay at the Benton school. After 17 years at the helm of Kelly's girls basketball program, Vangilder will be exploring new territory as the assistant principal at Jackson High School...

Today is the deadline for early registration and family discount entry fees for Friday night's 16th annual Kohlfeld Riverfest Run in Cape Girardeau. Those interested in pre-registering for the event can sign up at Universal Physique, 505 S. Mt. Auburn Rd., tonight from 6-7:30. Entrants can pick up their race number and T-shirt and save money by registering tonight...

BELL CITY -- The Rev. Norris T. Pullen Sr., 80, of Bell City died Thursday, June 4, 1998, at his home, following an extended illness. He was born Sept. 21, 1917, in Schlater, Miss., son of Josephus C. and Floia Montgomery Pullen. He and Marie Bryant were married Aug. 22, 1941. She died July 19, 1988...

ANNA, Ill. -- George K. Huggins, 84, of Niceville, Fla., died Tuesday, June 9, 1998, at Sterling House in Niceville. He was born Aug. 11, 1913, in Jonesboro, son of George and Mary Hooper Huggins. He and Eleanor Richardson were married Oct. 27, 1935, in Anna. She died March 25, 1992...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Maxine Perry, 78, of Dongola died unexpectedly Wednesday, June 10, 1998, on arrival at Union County Hospital in Anna. Friends may call at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola from 5-8 p.m. Friday. Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with Bill Branstetter and Kip Adams officiating. Burial will be in Christian Chapel Cemetery...

CHARLESTON -- John David Godsey, 74, of Charleston died Tuesday, June 9, 1998, at his home. He was born April 29, 1924, in Tennessee, son of Harry and Ollie May Smith Godsey. He and Lillian Marsac were married Dec. 8, 1952. Godsey had lived in Charleston since 1965, and was a self-employed mechanic...

ANNISTON -- Jessie Roland Burrell, 50, of Anniston died Wednesday, June 10, 1998, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, following an extended illness. He was born March 2, 1948, in Blythe, Calif., son of Jessie Joseph Emmanuel and Ann Yielding Burrell. He and Linda McClain were married May 26, 1972...

NEW HAMBURG -- Funeral Mass for Irene Barbara Niederkorn of New Hamburg will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Lawrence Catholic Church. The Rev. Ralph Duffner will officiate, with burial in the church cemetery. Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Benton from 4-8 p.m. Friday. The rosary will be recited at 7...

Roth, 83, died Sunday, June 7, 1998, at the Lutheran Home. She was born June 27, 1914, at Grassy, daughter of DeWitt T. and Hattie Mae Newell Sample. She and Raymond T. Roth were married July 19, 1940, at Jackson. Roth was owner and operator of the Flower Garden Florist in Illmo from 1963 to 1977. She continued to be active in floral work and craft fairs throughout Southeast Missouri until 1993...

Daughter to Joseph Vincent and Dayna Jean Powell of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 8:14 a.m. Thursday, June 4, 1998. Name, Josey Taylor. Weight, 8 pounds 10 ounces. Second daughter. Mrs. Powell is the former Dayna Miles, daughter of the late Dayton and Jeanette Miles of Kennett. Mr. and Mrs. Powell are teachers and coaches with Cape Girardeau Public Schools. He is the son of Esther Powell of St. Louis and Joe Powell of Hutchinson, Kan...

BENTON -- Lucy Hazel Michael, 84, of Leesburg, Fla., formerly of Benton, died Wednesday, June 10, 1998, at Leesburg. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Benton.