Out of the Past

The Rev. J. Michael Davis has been appointed as pastor of Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church; he will begin work June 14; Davis has served as pastor of Sedgewickville-Crossroads (Missouri) United Methodist Church for the last four years. ST. LOUIS -- Senior U.S. ...

Classes that aren't required for graduation could be the first to be eliminated from the Cape Girardeau School District's curriculum next year; budget reductions enacted by the Board of Education on Monday will mean increased class sizes of up to 30 students for the 1998-99 school year; the larger classes are the result of positions vacated by retiring or resigning teachers that will remain unfilled as part of efforts to reduce the school budget beginning July 1 by some $1 million...

Forty-four staff members and children at the Kiddie Kollege day-care center in Jackson have been treated with an antibiotic after an infant was diagnosed with a contagious illness, health officials say; the illness was detected earlier this week when a 4-month-old boy from Bollinger County was treated in the emergency room of Saint Francis Medical Center; the boy, who attends Kiddie Kollege, was found to be suffering from meningococcemia, a disease caused by bacteria in the blood...

A local lawyer, who has been serving as the special municipal judge for Cape Girardeau, will sit on the bench on a more permanent basis beginning next month, the Cape Girardeau City Council announced Thursday; Bob Gowen, 39, will take the bench as the Cape Girardeau municipal judge effective July 1; he will replace Judge Edward Calvin, who is retiring after 15 years on the court...

The federal government continues to plan for construction of a new federal courthouse west of Cape Girardeau City Hall, but the project's future depends on securing funding from Congress, officials say; both U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, want Congress to include more than $2 million in the fiscal 1999 budget to fund design work on the project...

In an effort to improve school district finances in the coming year, the Cape Girardeau Board of Education last night reduced and eliminated expenditures and froze salaries; in all, $611,000 in budget reductions will become effective July 1, the start of the fiscal year; the cuts are necessary because the district has been spending more money than it has taken in since the 1995-96 school year, and the result is a fund balance that is lower than state recommendations...

If funding can be found, it is planned to move the Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Lab from its present location on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University to the Tlapek building at Ellis and Merriwether streets; the building, which is used by the university's physical plant, would require substantial renovations estimated at $700,000...

Carrying banners and singing hymns proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord, more than 225 area Christians marched through the streets of Cape Girardeau yesterday morning; the March for Jesus is an international event designed to bring churches and Christians together in one spirit, without the barriers of denominational differences; the group gathered at May Greene Elementary School and ended the one-mile march at Common Pleas Courthouse; about 20 different churches were represented...

When members of First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau decided to ordain women as deacons, they knew the church would be in a minority; the congregation on May 10 ordained six women to serve as deacons, becoming the first Southern Baptist church in Southeast Missouri to do so; the women -- Denise Lincoln, Cathy Matthews, Carol Robinson, Pam Pratt, Jane Stacy and Vlasta Foster -- join a group of 24 men who serve the varying needs of church members...

Cape Girardeau city voters could be asked to approve a bond issue and raise the motel tax to help finance Southeast Missouri State University's development of a River Campus; another possibility is to ask city voters to extend the existing motel and restaurant taxes, which are set to expire in 2004; university officials also have talked to the Cape Girardeau County commissioners about the possibility of putting a county-wide sales tax issue on the ballot; the university wants to spend $35 million to renovate the old brick buildings of St. ...

Southeast Missouri State University plans to renovate St. Vincent's College in Cape Girardeau and turn it into a school of visual and performing arts; the university is buying the property with a financial gift from local business owner and longtime university supporter B.W. Harrison of Cape Girardeau; Harrison, 88, says he put up the funds to buy the property because he wanted the site to serve as a memorial to his wife, Hazel, and her mother...

The Missouri Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a Cape Girardeau man's 1997 conviction for first-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary, rape and armed criminal action; in a unanimous decision, the state's highest court upheld the conviction of Russell Earl Bucklew, 29, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the March 1996 shooting death of Michael Sanders at Sanders' mobile home in Cape Girardeau; Bucklew is on death row...

A festival celebrating the French cultural heritage of Southeast Missouri came to a close Monday afternoon on the lawn of the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau amid the sounds of French Cajun music and the sights of local actors portraying early French settlers of the region; the second annual festival, called La Fete Francaise, also included American Dixieland jazz played by Les Flagada Stompers, a seven-man jazz band from Lyon, France, and a performance of "Audubon in Ste. ...

Memorial Day services in the region attract large crowds of people who gather to honor fallen veterans; about 200 veterans and their families gather in the Osage Community Centre for the annual Memorial Day service sponsored by the Joint Veterans Council in Cape Girardeau; patriotic music performed by the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band, special flag presentations by color guards and a gunfire salute are included in the ceremonies, which are moved from Cape Girardeau County Park because of the threat of rain; Navy Reserve Cmdr. ...

In an effort to establish greater presence and visibility in the community, the Cape Girardeau Police Department is poised to install two new police substations by the end of the year; tentative plans call for one of the "community offices" in the 600 block of Good Hope Street and the other in West Park Mall...

With fewer than six weeks left in the current fiscal year, the time for making budget decisions is drawing near for the Cape Girardeau Board of Education; board members must take action by June 30 to cut about $1 million in spending from the next school year's budget, which goes into effect July 1; the cuts must be made because the district has been spending more money than it has taken in since fiscal year 1995, and the result is a fund balance that is lower than state recommendations...

Late-afternoon thunderstorms yesterday provided relief from the sweltering heat the Cape Girardeau School District has been battling all week; students and employees were dismissed from school at mid-day as heat indexes climbed above 100 degrees in some classrooms; school officials had hoped the break would allow the thunderstorms to cool down temperatures in the district's classrooms, most of which aren't air conditioned...

A Cape Girardeau County deputy, who was in on Tuesday's capture of a St. Louis man wanted in a Southeast Missouri manhunt, has been presented the county's highest award for a law enforcement officer -- the Timothy J. Ruopp Award; officer Ron Eakins of the Cape Girardeau County sheriff's office was presented the award yesterday by Ruopp's 18-year-old son, Nathan, in recognition of Eakins' overall excellence as a law enforcement officer...

After two days on the run, the target of a Southeast Missouri manhunt was captured on the banks of the Diversion Channel south of Cape Girardeau yesterday afternoon; the 26-year-old St. Louis man was captured in a wooded area along the Cape Girardeau County side of the channel by officers from Scott City, Cape Girardeau and Scott counties and the Missouri Highway Patrol; he was hiding behind a levee "where all the mud and all the driftwood and all the brush pile up," says Scott City patrolman Janice Payne, one of the officers who made the capture.. ...

Mayor Paul Sander last night vetoed a vote by the Jackson Board of Aldermen that would have rezoned property at the intersection of West Jackson Boulevard and Old Toll Road from residential to commercial; the board had voted 5-3 to approve the rezoning; Sander vetoed the decision because he favors waiting to rezone until the Missouri Department of Transportation decides on a plan for the future of Highway 72; the highway could become five lanes under one MoDot proposal opposed by the city...

BENTON, Mo. -- What began yesterday afternoon as a routine traffic stop on Interstate 55 south of Benton ended in an all-out manhunt involving law enforcement officers and canine units from Scott, Cape Girardeau and Mississippi counties, as well as members of the Missouri Highway Patrol; although the search was called off about 7:30 p.m. ...

It was standing room only at the Show Me Center yesterday as degrees were conferred on 921 graduates of Southeast Missouri State University; friends and families of the graduates filled every available seat, and some found seats on the steps and in the aisles; commencement speaker was Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon...

The airport and the school district in Cape Girardeau stand to gain financially from bills passed by the Missouri Legislature during the session that ended yesterday; lawmakers approved bills that would provide state funding for the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport control tower and increased state aid for the local school district; the governor must sign the bills before they become law...

Gene Huckstep, 69, whose leadership helped mold Cape Girardeau County government into one of the most well run in the state, died Wednesday night, May 13, at his Cape Girardeau home; Cape Girardeau County commissioners yesterday ordered all county flags lowered to half staff in memory of Huckstep, who had served as presiding commissioner from 1979 to 1994; more than just a political leader, he opened an auto body shop in Cape Girardeau in 1948, and in 1965 started the first extrication service in the area; a strong supporter of Saint Francis Hospital, he convinced the hospital to set up a 24-hour, staffed emergency room; in 1987, the center renamed its trauma wing in Huckstep's honor.. ...

Withdrawal of a request for a special use permit to operate a proposed halfway house leaves the program "kind of dead in the water," the director of the Gibson Center says; Dick Decker, whose agency wants to operate the halfway house for the Missouri Division of Probation and Parole, says his agency won't have time to find another site and get it operational by the state's June 30 deadline; George Bockhorst Sr., George Bockhorst Jr. ...

Missouri Secretary of State Bekki Cook believes a majority of state lawmakers support legislation to establish a presidential primary; the Senate passed a bill to create a primary by a 24-to-6 vote, but the House has yet to take up the measure; with the session to end Friday, Cook knows time is running out; she hopes the House will take up the bill and pass it; "It has bipartisan support," Cook said during a visit to Cape Girardeau Tuesday...

Telephone giant SBC Communications Inc. will purchase Baby Bell rival Ameritech Corp. for $57 billion in a stock-swap deal to be the second-largest merger in corporate history; the deal, announced yesterday, would create a powerhouse communications company with operations in nearly every region of the country...

Craig Scheer is just one step away from the majors -- Major League Soccer, that is; Scheer, a 1994 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School, is currently a midfielder with the A-League Hershey (Pennsylvania) Wildcats, the top minor league affiliate for the MLS Kansas City Wizards...

Carrie Beth Smith, daughter of Steven and Suzanne Smith of Cape Girardeau, was appointed to the Christian Student Ministries Leadership Team at William Jewell College for the 1998-99 academic year; she is a junior studying chemistry at the college; members of the leadership team help minister to students living in the dorm during the school year...

The Cape Girardeau AmeriCorps office will close Aug. 31, ending the organization's four-year involvement in the community; the organization is closing because the Community Service Commission which administers the program in the state wanted it to move to the Bootheel, the administrator says; Bill Thompson, director of the program, said the commission placed restrictions on the program that made it impossible to continue...

The Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday approved a capital improvements spending package that includes $1 million for construction of the Cape Girardeau vocational-technical school; while that amount falls short of the $1.65 million the House approved last month, state Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, says he was pleased with the funding arrangement; the House is expected to review the proposal today...

Cape Girardeau is taking a new approach to routing truck traffic through the city; the existing truck traffic ordinance specifies streets and roads on which truck traffic is prohibited; a new ordinance before the City Council spells out routes on which truck traffic is allowed and sets up a permit process for truck drivers who need to use other routes to make deliveries or reach construction sites...

Sides Construction Co. has received approval from the Cape Girardeau Board of Education to begin extensive additions and renovations to Jefferson Elementary School; board members voted unanimously to accept the construction company's low base bid of $1,898,333 for the project, which will take an estimated 245 days to complete...

Members of the local legal community gather at the Cape Girardeau City Hall for a judicial forum, defending plea bargaining as an important, though often misunderstood, component in the judicial process; in the first panel discussion of its kind in the area, two circuit court judges, the prosecuting attorney, the chief public defender, the circuit clerk and a representative from the police department join in a forum to discuss the problems and challenges of the judicial system...

CHESTER, Ill. -- Traffic has been reduced again to one lane on the Mississippi River bridge at Chester; the bridge, which is undergoing sandblasting and painting of steel and guardrails and some deck work, had been open for two-way traffic through the winter, but that was stopped recently when work resumed; workers who started the $4.7 million project in April 1997 completed about 75% of the sandblasting and intermediate coating of the bridge before closing down in November...

Fulfilling his end of an Easter challenge, the Rev. Randall Morse preaches from the rooftop of First Assembly of God Church in Scott City in the evening; Morse issued a challenge to the congregation just prior to Easter, saying he would preach from the rooftop if 200 people attended Easter Sunday services at the church; nearly 250 filled the pews for the morning service...

Cape Girardeau residents would pay more for water and trash service in the coming fiscal year under a budget plan submitted to the City Council; city officials discussed the proposed increases in water and trash collection fees yesterday at the council's annual, day-long retreat at Black Forest Villages; the city administration has proposed raising water fees by 2% and trash collection fees by 2.1%...

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson has raised seven times as much money as her leading Democratic opponent so far this year; as of the end of March, the Cape Girardeau Republican was sitting on a war chest of $292,511; in contrast, Democrat and former Scott County circuit judge Anthony "Tony" Heckemeyer had only $19,290 in his campaign coffer; the candidates disclosed their campaign finances in first-quarter reports filed in mid-April with the Federal Election Commission...

A proposal for a new student center in the heart of campus was tabled yesterday by the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents; the plan, put together by student leaders and the university administration, calls for a $12.5 million renovation and expansion of Parker Hall to provide a modern student center; about $10.6 million would come through the sale of bonds; but Regent Don Dickerson, who chairs the board, suggested it could be more economical to build a bigger addition to the Student Recreation Center to house a student center.. ...

Venture Stores Inc. has announced plans to sell and assign leases on most of its stores and other real estate to Kimco Realty Corp.; under terms of the agreement, Kimco will acquire lease rights to 89 Venture properties; at this point in the negotiations, the future of Venture as an anchor store at West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau is not known; it could become a Kmart store, a retail outlet for one of the other Kimco clients, or it could close...

The Otahki Girl Scout Council honored volunteers at the annual Appreciation of Volunteers program Saturday; Carolyn Goodin, president of the Otahki Council, presented the awards; the Thanks Badge, one of the highest awards, went to Jean Bollinger of Cape Girardeau and Joy Braeuner of Oak Ridge...

One hundred thirty five years ago today, Confederate and Union troops squared off in the Battle of Cape Girardeau; by most standards, it wasn't really much of a battle, says Dr. Frank Nickell, director of the Regional History Center at Southeast Missouri State University; Confederate troops commanded by Gen. ...

The Evening Optimist Club has donated two sets of bleachers at Capaha Park for the youth league baseball fields in memory of long-time Optimist George Jenkins, who died last year. Fifteen Southeast Missouri domestic violence shelter representatives heard a presentation about the newly formed Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence during a meeting Friday at the Safe House for Women; Tammy Gwaltney, president of SEMO-NASV, made the presentation to members of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic Violence who were in town for a regional meeting; the MCADV is a state organization whose goal is to relay information and resources regarding domestic and sexual-violence issues.. ...

Maxine Breezeel had been thinking about having the oak tree on the east side of her house cut down; but Mother Nature made the decision for her yesterday, when the giant tree crashed into Breezeel's home at 1952 Briarwood; no one was hurt, but the house suffered extensive damage and is no longer safe for habitation...

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri House yesterday restored $1.5 million in funding for construction of a vocational-technical school in Cape Girardeau; on a voice vote, the House added the money to the $150,000 that the Budget Committee had earmarked for the project; the funding was restored as part of action on a capital projects spending bill...

Mary Miller has resigned as director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau amid continuing concern by CVB Advisory Board members and city officials over the high turnover of CVB employees; Miller submitted a brief resignation letter to the city manager Monday, saying she was resigning to "move on to other horizons."...

The Southeast Missouri State University administration wants to hike general fees over the next five years to pay for a new student center; the administration has also proposed raising incidental fees for the 1998-99 school year by $3 a credit-hour for in-state undergraduates and $6 a credit-hour for out-of-state students...

The news came as a welcome surprise for volunteers from St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Cape Girardeau; Marillac's Moveables, a charity program at the church, was named the local winner in the national Make A Difference Day program; Marillac's Moveables provides furnishings, including beds, couches, tables and chairs, to the needy...

When Lynwood Baptist Church moved into its new building last week at 1712 Lynwood Hills Drive, the congregation packed up everything but the pews and pulpit; members of Bethany Baptist and Fellowship Baptist churches will do the same this week; the three Southern Baptist congregations will move into new buildings this month; although it isn't unusual for churches to move into new buildings or to add space, what is unusual is that these churches are trading buildings...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A new association has been charged with managing the community's newest park; the newly-formed Perryville Community Parks Association will be overseeing the use and operation of a new, approximately 34-acre park made available to the community by the Congregation of the Mission-Midwest Province, commonly known as the Vincentians; the park property is adjacent to the 650-acre property the Vincentians plan to develop; the new park sits on the St. ...

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri House Budget Committee yesterday slashed funding for construction of the new Cape Girardeau vocational-technical school by $1.5 million; the Cape Girardeau School District had asked for $1.65 million, and Gov. Mel Carnahan included the funding in his fiscal 1999 budget proposal; but the committee on a voice vote eliminated all but $150,000; State Rep. ...

Arriving yesterday at the Cape Girardeau Post Office to mail their federal tax returns, customers were stopped by a handful of anti-tax protesters from the Libertarian, Reform and U.S. Taxpayers parties; the protesters paraded in front of the post office with placards over the lunch hour and again in the evening; Wednesday was the deadline for filing taxes...

Paul and Irma Keller had barely gotten to their basement last night, when a strong gust of wind blew out a window in their Gordonville farm home, sending glass all over the living room and knocking pictures and a clock from the kitchen wall at the opposite end of the house; the storm was part of an evening of inclement weather that pounded Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and western Kentucky; the Kellers' home suffered minimal damage, but most of the roof was ripped off one barn; windows in a repair shop were blown out, the roof was gone, and a large, sliding metal door was pushed in.. ...

The nylon bubble that covers the Central High School pool was taken down yesterday after gusty winds caused a 6- to 8-foot-long tear in the fabric just before noon; the 30 people in the swimming pool were escorted outside, and recreation coordinator Doug Gannon called 911 as a precaution; the pool is closed until further notice...

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education installs new members and approves a retirement incentive that is expected to save the school district an estimated $170,000 during the next school year; Dr. Ferrell Ervin and Mark Carver are sworn in as board members following the acceptance of results from the April 7 election; Ervin, who was elected to a second term, is also re-elected school board president; board members also approve offering teachers an incentive for accepting early retirement at the end of the school year.. ...

Easter Sunday. Youngsters jammed a field next to Schnucks Market yesterday morning for the store's annual Easter egg hunt; about 25,000 prizes from candy to Beanie Babies were snatched up during the three sessions. Dr. Sarah Mort Cron, head of access services at the University of Northern Iowa's Rod Library, has been named director of Kent Library and dean of academic information services at the school; Cron will start her new job at Southeast Missouri State University on July 13; she replaces Dr. ...

CHESTER, Ill. -- Traffic will be reduced to one lane on the Mississippi River bridge at Chester later this month as repair work resumes; the Missouri Department of Transportation is overseeing the $4.66 million project to upgrade the bridge; traffic restrictions will begin April 25 at the earliest; in addition to one-lane traffic, vehicles using the bridge on Highway 51, including farm machinery, will be limited to 10 feet in width and 14 feet in height...

The Cape Girardeau County Commission yesterday decided to wait before granting any tax abatements for the old Saint Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau; commissioners said they would reconsider if and when the proposal becomes a viable project; Springfield, Missouri, developer Trent Condellone asked the commission to forgive back taxes and fines on the property; Condellone runs a newly formed Springfield corporation, 801 Good Hope Inc., which announced it has bought old Saint Francis Hospital...