Stories from Tuesday, July 18, 2000

Are you a survivor? Millions of Americans are tuning in each week to the new genre of TV voyeurism. You do something unusual, and we'll watch. CBS has two of these virtual reality shows on air: "Survivor," which airs Wednesdays, and "Big Brother," which airs an incredible five nights a week...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- No such nobleman before or after has put down stakes in Ste. Genevieve County. A man who had been in the aristocratic social circle (on the periphery, at least) of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, Pierre Charles DeHault DeLassus DeLuzierre was far from the typical Upper Louisiana Territory colonist...

The story so far: Melissa and Brian have been given a message written on a door, a weird map to nowhere, and an old Bible. And Melissa hears the piano playing ghostly music at night. Should they follow these strange clues, or are they in danger? It was still drizzling the next day when Brian and Melissa started school...

Bob Bettis of Clayton dug a test pit under the DeLassus-Kern House. Students tried to determine whether the vertical log section of the house had been built on the site, or moved there. Cindy Pigg of Sikeston, one of two Southeast graduate students taking part in the historic preservation field school, removed dirt from a test pit under the DeLassus-Kern House...

At one time, an 80-acre farm sold for 70 cents an acre on the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse steps. In another instance, a modern, two-bedroom home valued at more than $35,000 sold for $2,500. These two instances aren't the norm, but there are a lot of similar ones involving sales to settle delinquent property tax bills...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Crystal Reeves' 3-month-old German shepherd probably won't be chasing car tires soon. When Reeves went out to see her dogs at 7 a.m. Monday, the five other German shepherds were fine. But 3-month-old Cheyenne had her head stuck in a wheel rim with a tire still on it...

It happened again. The Other Half demonstrated that he is a victim of Male Pattern Incompetence. MPI is caused by a combination of testoterone and professional sports. Its primary symptom is the inability to complete a simple task correctly. Thus, the person who assigned the task, also known as the "wife," never asks the MPI victim to do that task again...

A spattering of rain Monday wasn't enough for city officials to consider lifting a request that Cape Girardeau residents conserve their water use. Late last week residents were urged to cut back on water use, which had increased some 1.5 million gallons over average daily use because of hot weather...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- A Scott City family tries to recover from a Saturday fire at their house that left them with little but the clothes they were wearing. Friends and relatives have started a collection for Harold Clay and Ashley Usrey, the couple whose home on Mary Street was destroyed. An account has been set up at Firststar Bank in Cape Girardeau for donations...

MISSISSIPPI COUNTY, Mo. -- Mississippi County residents will narrow the field of candidates vying to become assessor from four to two during primary elections Aug. 8. Incumbent W. R. "Bill" Thompson and challengers Rebecca Boyd Presson and Oliver B. French, will compete in the Democratic primary in August for the position...

Southeast Missouri State University has updated action taken in the radioactive chemical spill at Magill Hall. A vial of the radioactive americium 241 was found spilled in a safe in Magill Hall's basement. Americium, a radioactive, metallic, man-made chemical element found in smoke detectors, poses little health hazard unless it is inhaled...

The Cape Girardeau City Council denied a request of two Cape Girardeau residents to build a home at the northeast corner of Lexington Avenue and Perryville Road that would also serve as an insurance office. Since the council denied the request of Bo and Dianne Shantz, individual council members had to submit a findings-and-conclusion report stating their reasons for denial. ...

JACKSON, Mo. -- A proposal for a lighted golf course that would allow play until midnight on weekends was discussed before the Board of Aldermen in a public hearing Monday night. So far, the numbers favor the golf course. Ronald Clark, who wants to construct a 9-hole course on slightly more than 16 acres at 1600 N. High St., brought 177 favorable petitions and one man who would be a neighbor to the course before the board...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A wrong turn on the highway taken by his ace pitcher had Poplar Bluff American Legion baseball manager John Moon fretting late Monday afternoon as the District 14 Tournament got under way at Hillhouse Park. But a little more than two hours later, Moon was celebrating his unexpected good fortune...

The following is a listing of players with area ties who are competing in professional baseball. Included in the list are each players' local connection, his last year as an amateur and his major league affiliation. Statistics are through Sunday. Steve Bieser, OF (Ste. Genevieve High School, Southeast Missouri State 1989) St. Louis Cardinals:...

Former Southeast Missouri State University football player Marquis Walker, an unrestricted free agent, signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions on Monday. Walker, a cornerback entering his fifth NFL season, played the last two years with Oakland, appearing in all 32 games for the Raiders. He made seven starts in 1998...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Like a lot of 14-year-olds, Loren Groves suffers from a cluttered room. But unlike a lot of her peers, there's not a whole lot this freshman-to-be can do about the situation. In fact, in all likelihood the problem will only get worse...

The River City 8-and-Under Coaches Pitch World Series will be held July 22-23 at Arena Park. Entry fee is $100 per team and Entry deadline is July 20. For more information, contact Jerry Kratochvil at 651-4270 or Steve Williams at 334-0145.

The Jackson Area Youth Football camp for grades 2-7 will be held from 9-11 a.m. July 24-28 and will be conducted at Jackson Junior High School by the junior high coaches. The cost for the camp is $20 and includes a T-shirt. Sign-ups for the camp will be held from 9 a.m.-noon on July 15 in the Jackson City Library's Community Room...

The Cape Area Youth Soccer Association (CAYSA) will conduct fall sign-ups on Sunday July 23 and July 30 from noon to 5 p.m. at West Field Shopping Town. Fees for the fall season are $10 for pre-kindergarten and $25 for players in grades K-8. Parents may also pick up a registration form from Uni-Soccer, Howard's Sporting Goods and Play It Again Sports...

When Chanda Adair got into gymnastics at the relatively late age of 12, she said she did it for the fun of it. She avoided competitions, choosing instead to concentrate on the recreation side. That is until she discovered that winning can be kind of fun especially a national title...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- James Carl Sprinkle Jr., 81, of Scott City, died Monday, July 17, 2000, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau where he had lived since January. He was born Sept. 9, 1918, at Parma, Mo., son of James Carl Sprinkle Sr. and Clara May Pinder...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- James William Riley, 54, of Doniphan died Sunday, July 16, 2000. He was born March 24, 1946, in Mississippi County, son of George D. and Rosie E. Cogdill. He and Bonnie Abernathy were married May 16, 1964. Riley lived in Doniphan most of his life. He retired as a janitor at Ripley County Courthouse. He was a member of the Church of God and Ripley County Emergency Management...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Agatha Nell Morman of Sikeston will be held at 9:30 a.m. today at Ponder Funeral Home. The Rev. A.J. Wollenburg will officiate. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery at Poplar Bluff, Mo. Friends may call at the funeral home from 8 a.m. until service time...

BERNIE, Mo. -- Memorial service for Ricky Dale Thompson of Bernie was held Monday at Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston, Mo. The Rev. John Tarter officiated. Thompson, 42, died Sunday, July 16, 2000, at his home. He was born March 9, 1958, at Sikeston, son of Maurice and Mary Morgan Thompson. He and Jan Woodall were married June 1, 1981...

MOREHOUSE, Mo. -- Gary Alan Hankins, 46, of Morehouse died Saturday, July 15, 2000, at the University of Missouri Medical Center in Columbia. He was born Sept. 26, 1953, in St. Louis, son of James Charles and Velva Little Hankins. Hankins was a printer and member of the Nazarene Church. He was formerly of House Springs, Mo...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Funeral for William I. Oliver of Puxico will be held at 10 a.m. today at Life Chapel Assembly of God Church in Puxico. The Rev. Dan Montgomery will officiate. Burial will be in Brown Cemetery. Oliver, 83, died Saturday, July 15, 2000, at Three Rivers Medical Center North Campus in Poplar Bluff, Mo...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Funeral for Michael Patrick McCoy of Marble Hill will be held at 11 a.m. today at Liley Funeral Home in Patton, Mo. The Rev. Eddie Wallace will officiate. Burial will be at 2:30 p.m. at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, with military rites by the U.S. Marine Corps...

WYATT, Mo. -- Mildred Smith, 90, of Wyatt died Sunday, July 16, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 6, 1909, in Mississippi County, daughter of Ulysses Grant and Julia Teresa Norris Raffety. She and E. Fred Smith were married Dec. 26, 1931. He died May 20, 1970...

Daughter to Paul and Kristi Hueseman of Kirkwood, Mo., St. John's Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur, Mo., 8:03 a.m. Tuesday, July 11, 2000. Name, Caroline Grace. Weight, 8 pounds 9 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. Hueseman is the former Kristi Schetter, daughter of Elmer and Sandy Schetter of Cape Girardeau. ...

JACKSON, Mo. -- LaWanna Sue Henderson, 69, of Jackson died Sunday, July 16, 2000, at St. Mary's Health Center in Richmond Heights, Mo. She was born Aug. 20, 1930, in Jackson, daughter of Orville and Ollie Smith Christy. She and James B. Henderson were married Sept. 1, 1950. He died June 13, 1994...

Ida Mae Stromatt, 87, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Monday, July 17, 2000, at Jackson Manor, in Jackson, Mo. Arrangements were incomplete at Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel in Cape Girardeau.

BLODGETT, Mo. -- Vercie Shelton, 81, formerly of Blodgett, died Monday, July 17, 2000, at Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Blanchard Funeral Chapel.

ANNA, Ill. -- Mary A. Nelson, 77, of Anna died Monday, July 17, 2000, at Jonesboro Healthcare Center in Jonesboro, Ill. She was born Nov. 23, 1922, in Savanna, Ill., daughter of Oscar L. and Mary M. Fountain Anderson. She and James Nelson were married in 1945 in Union County...

I wanted to say that I thought it was pretty tacky to have the picture on the front of the paper of the body coming out of the river and the family member or friend in tears, and it was pretty tacky to have a photo of the little girl who got hit on Broadway. ...

In a bit of possible good news for American motorists, Saudi Arabian officials said last week that the Persian Gulf country could live with oil prices at a level about half the current market price. Fellow members of OPEC, to no one's surprise, prefer keeping prices in the high-rent neighborhood and aren't very happy with the cost-cutting proposal from their most powerful partner...

In yet another move to improve his image by solving a phony problem, President Clinton moved last week to stockpile 2 million barrels of heating oil in an alleged attempt to head off possible sharp price increases this winter in northeastern areas of the country...

To the editor: In its zeal to demonize Democrats and promote the interests of short-term gain at the cost of environmental destruction, yet again a Southeast Missourian editorial oversimplifies an issue to the point of deceit. It is true, as you argue, that chip-mill companies do not themselves log forests. ...