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River stage: 22.39 ft. Falling
Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Out of the Past

Out of the past 5/22/12 (05/22/12)
Tragedy struck the 1987 NCAA Division II track and field championships here yesterday afternoon, when a University of California-Pennsylvania distance runner collapsed at the conclusion of the 1,500-meter run; he was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived at Southeast Missouri Hospital, when repeated attempts to revive his heart failed...
Out of the past 5/21/12 (05/21/12)
Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority board president C.W. Rushing will sign his name tomorrow to a local cooperative agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, paving the way for the corps to seek bids for construction of an 1,800-foot slackwater harbor...
Out of the past 5/20/12 (05/20/12)
Officials with Southeast Hospital announce the addition of an air ambulance service that administrator David Niswonger says should have a "significant impact" on the 24 Missouri and Illinois counties that the hospital serves; service should begin about Aug. 1...
Out of the past 5/19/12 (05/19/12)
The Jackson Board of Aldermen last night proceeded with its plans to annex 22 acres of land near Highway 61 and Interstate 55 as requested by the property owner, Jim Drury; the aldermen held a public hearing on the matter at which no one spoke in favor of or against the proposed annexation...
Out of the past 5/18/12 (05/18/12)
Amid an air of festivity, tempered with a touch of sorrow, teachers and students gather in the evening to bid farewell to the Southeast Missouri State University's laboratory school; Friday is the last day of classes for grades K-6 at the school before it closes its doors...
Out of the past 5/17/12 (05/17/12)
The annual "Third Sunday in May" meeting is held at Old Apple Creek Presbyterian Church near Pocahontas; following the morning worship service, a basket dinner is held at noon; G.S. Lauser, public relations officer at Presbyterian Children's Home, conducts the service...
Out of the past 5/16/12 (05/16/12)
With the Show Me Center rapidly nearing completion, plans for its formal dedication and a series of special events surrounding a grand opening are being put together for August. The train in Arena Park will soon bear the nickname of Jim Johnson's great-grandfather, Virgil "Hoppy" Hopkins; the name was chosen from more than 1,200 entries; Hopkins worked on the train when it was in operation at Marquette Cement...
Out of the past 5/15/12 (05/15/12)
One year after floodwaters ravaged Cape Girardeau, city officials and community leaders are still working to help ensure the devastation doesn't happen again; May 15, 1988, brought 10 inches of rain to some parts of the city, crippling the town for days...
Out of the past 5/14/12 (05/14/12)
River royalty -- the Delta Queen -- was on hand yesterday, along with a crowd of about 200, for the dedication of the Riverfront Park amphitheater. A proposed "green space" measure has been added to Cape Girardeau's comprehensive plan; the measure would require developers to set aside a certain percentage of property, in an area to be developed, for neighborhood parks or "green spaces."...
Out of the past 5/13/12 (05/13/12)
An internal investigation is underway by the Cape Girardeau Police Department to determine how a federal prisoner being held in the city jail was able to get a hacksaw blade and a fully loaded handgun into his maximum-security cell; the man was shot once in the chest by a police officer as he attempted to escape last night...
Out of the past 5/12/12 (05/12/12)
CAIRO, Ill. -- Coast Guard officials say an oil spill of more than 10,000 gallons will cause temporary aesthetic damage to the Mississippi River shoreline, but no real environmental problems; the spill occurred yesterday morning, after an eight-barge petroleum tow went aground at the upper end of Dogtooth Bend, about 23 miles upstream from Cairo...
Out of the past 5/11/12 (05/11/12)
With the spring semester wrapping up this week, Southeast Missouri State University announces its administrative offices will return to a five-day work week in the summer, having operated on a four-day schedule the past two summers. Residents of the Crystal Springs Estates and Westlake Meadows, just southwest of Klaus Park, prefer to be annexed by Jackson rather than Cape Girardeau; residents there have submitted a petition to the joint Cape Girardeau-Jackson annexation committee indicating their preference.. ...
Out of the past 5/10/12 (05/10/12)
Tomorrow morning, Cape Girardeau will join with many other cities around the country as it moves into the modern technology of computerized central dispatching; that's when the new central dispatch office -- in the police headquarters -- takes over the responsibility for dispatching emergency calls for police and fire assistance in the city; currently, each department has its own dispatchers...
Out of the past 5/9/12 (05/09/12)
Dr. Allan W. Ostar, president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, speaks to nearly 800 undergraduate students at Southeast Missouri State University's commencement exercises at Houck Stadium. Cathy Baker of Cape Girardeau has proposed that the city consider providing a skateboard park for youngsters; she suggests that the southwest portion of Cherokee Park be used as a "skate-a-rena."...
Out of the past 5/8/12 (05/08/12)
John E. Pepper, president of Procter & Gamble Co., was guest speaker yesterday at the 10th annual Marketing and Small Business Conference at Southeast Missouri State University. An increase in the state's gasoline tax by 4 cents a gallon will likely only keep Cape Girardeau County's bridge-building program at its present level; the tax increase will bring the county about $100,000 in additional road and bridge funds; however, revenue sharing, which brought the county $165,000 annually, has been discontinued.. ...
Out of the past 5/7/12 (05/07/12)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State Sen. Danny Staples says he is looking at several options for 1988, but has decided against challenging 8th District Rep. Bill Emerson for his seat; the Eminence, Mo., Democrat had been mentioned as a possible foe for the four-term congressman...
Out of the past 5/6/12 (05/06/12)
The Salvation Army is planning to repair the old bank building at Sprigg and Good Hope streets that serves as its headquarters and construct an adjoining chapel and a multipurpose room. Workers for Kelley Construction Co. are removing railroad ties from the crossing on Independence Street near the Plaza Galleria; the work is part of the removal of railroad tracks from the entire length of the abandoned Missouri Pacific branch line that runs through Cape Girardeau...
Out of the past 5/5/12 (05/05/12)
Fire in the morning destroys the Cape Flea Market near the intersection of Highway 74 and South Kingshighway; one of the oldest established flea markets in the city, it was established in 1970 by Tom Howard. The Jackson Board of Aldermen last night unanimously and resoundingly turned down a proposal submitted to it by the State Highway Department to improve Highway 61 with a three-lane improvement in front of the Wal-Mart plaza...
Out of the past 5/4/12 (05/04/12)
On-again, off-again efforts to develop the Westborough Mall property are on again; developers have announced construction work on a 45,000-square-foot supermarket is expected to get underway on the 67-acre tract in the near future; Cape Girardeau Centre will eventually include a second major anchor store, restaurants and retail specialty shops...
Out of the past 5/3/12 (05/03/12)
Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel marks its 20th anniversary with a service of praise and thanksgiving in the morning; the Rev. William A. Matzat, pastor, gives the sermon on the anniversary theme, "Growing in Christ." Christmas came about five months late for members of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department; but no one complained yesterday when a representative of Grumman Emergency Products of Roanoke, Va., delivered their new 102-foot aerial platform ladder truck; the $450,000 truck will be placed in service in about two weeks.. ...
Out of the past 5/2/12 (05/02/12)
Grading and clearing work is underway on a tract of land south of Highway 74 and east of South Kingshighway; the total tract, on both sides of Highway 74, is 191 acres, and is being developed as an industrial park by 630 Inc. People and places that make up Cape Girardeau will be captured on film next week, as photographers document "A Day in the Life of Cape Girardeau"; the photo essay, sponsored by the Southeast Missourian, will feature the town's best professional photographers highlighting the city; they will take pictures during a 24-hour period Thursday.. ...
Out of the past 5/1/12 (05/01/12)
An early morning two-alarm fire destroys a landmark business building at 503 Maple St.; the two-story brick building had most recently been used by Cletus Winchester, who operated a motor vehicle transmission overhaul and repair shop there. Despite bids much higher than estimates, the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents has approved a contract with Kiefner Brothers Construction Co. to build a 13,000-square-foot, three-story addition to its nursing building...
Out of the past 4/30/12 (04/30/12)
Concerned over the amount of time it is taking to do the drywall work in the county's new administrative office building in Jackson, Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep says he will request a meeting with the contractor and architect to discuss the matter...
Out of the past 4/29/12 (04/29/12)
Dr. Bill W. Stacy, president of Southeast Missouri State University, says the $27.6 million budget recommended for the school next year by a Senate subcommittee would meet basic needs of the university but would provide little for program, equipment and building improvements being sought...
Out of the past 4/28/12 (04/28/12)
Heading Cape Girardeau, a group of high school students sees first hand how city government operates; 18 juniors, nine each from Notre Dame and Cape Central high schools, are spending the day with city officials and department heads during the fourth annual Optimist Youth City Government Day...
Out of the past 4/27/12 (04/27/12)
Good weather has allowed work to progress on the paving of New Madrid Street near the Show Me Center; university officials say the first phase of street construction could be completed in about 10 days. Missouri State Auditor Margaret Kelly tells a crowd of about 100 people her audit of the city of Scott City didn't turn up evidence of any misappropriation, misuse or theft of funds by any city official from a $1.5 million bond issue...
Out of the past 4/26/12 (04/26/12)
The 100th anniversary of Burfordville Baptist Church is observed with special activities in the morning and a basket dinner at noon; guest speaker is Dr. Adrian Lamkin, director of the Center for Baptist Historical Studies at William Jewell College...
Out of the past 4/25/12 (04/25/12)
More than 100 people turn out to clean up Cape Girardeau's parks, plant flowers and paint playground equipment during the Friends of the Park Day; the activity is part of the effort known as "Make Cape Shine." John E. Carpenter, who has more than 25 years experience as a funeral service practitioner, and Bruce Dockins, a funeral director who has interests in two other area funeral homes, have purchased Lorberg Funeral Home, 433 S. ...
Out of the past 4/24/12 (04/24/12)
MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Marble Hill City Council and the Bollinger County Ambulance Board have agreed to provide funding for two dispatchers at the county sheriff's department; Presiding Commissioner Charles Hawn had warned that unless the two entities shared in the costs, 24-hour dispatching services would have to be discontinued; that would also have resulted in the county jail being closed...
Out of the past 4/23/12 (04/23/12)
Scott City officials say they will pay the bill to correct a mistake made 47 years ago when the former city of Fornfelt incorrectly installed a sanitary sewer line; the city will replace a 900-foot section of sewer line in the alley between Perkins and Good Hope streets...
Out of the past 4/22/12 (04/22/12)
Long-range strategic planning is coming to Cape Girardeau; the plan -- "Vision 2000: A Strategic Plan for Cape Girardeau's Future" -- will be developed by a 30- to 40-member committee of residents; the planning process was proposed by Councilman David Barklage...
Out of the past 4/21/12 (04/21/12)
After 42 years, a World War II trainer plane flew again for the first time yesterday at Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport; the PT-19 was restored by a group of 12 pilots, mechanics and airplane enthusiasts who worked two years on the open-cockpit plane; J.G. "Pete" Malone, a crop duster from Sikeston, Mo., and a member of the restoration crew, was honored as the first pilot...
Out of the past 4/20/12 (04/20/12)
A recent survey of members conducted by the Chamber of Commerce shows that Girardeans are most concerned with flood control and street improvement. The Cape Girardeau City Council gives its commitment to extend sewers to the veterans home site as part of an overall sewer-improvement program that could cost an estimated $2.49 million...
Out of the past 4/19/12 (04/19/12)
Easter Sunday. The Rev. Chandler Crawford is the guest celebrant and preacher at the morning service at Christ Episcopal Church; he is retired vicar of Mineral Area parishes of the Episcopal Church in Missouri. About 120 dozen colored eggs were collected in short order by eager children yesterday during the Cape Girardeau Jaycees' annual Easter egg hunt at Arena Park...
Out of the past 4/18/12 (04/18/12)
THEBES, Ill. -- Eighty-two years ago today, the Thebes railroad bridge was officially opened to traffic, when a steam-powered passenger train made the trip from the Illinois shore to the Missouri side of the river. Cape Girardeau native Dr. Bill Atchley, president of the National Sight Center for Communication and Electronic Foundation, has been named president of the University of Pacific at Stockton, Calif...
Out of the past 4/17/12 (04/17/12)
After over three months of discussion, the 10 members of a committee studying a proposed lake in Cape Girardeau presented a final report to the county commission yesterday; as expected, the report calls for construction of a lake in excess of 8,000 acres in the west part of the county that would include about 2,700 acres in Bollinger County...
Out of the past 4/16/12 (04/16/12)
The Southeast Missouri State University women's gymnastic team was honored at a special ceremony yesterday for winning the U.S. Gymnastics Federation Division II and III national titles. The high cost of malpractice insurance for doctors who deliver babies is causing many physicians to drop that part of their practice; currently, there are only five obstetrician-gynecologists remaining in practice here, and only nine doctors in town deliver babies...
Out of the past 4/15/12 (04/15/12)
Pressure from Jefferson School parents has caused the Cape Girardeau School Board to strike a proposal to bus eight students to Franklin School next year. About 40 residents of the northern part of Cape Girardeau County who are caught in a boundary line dispute between the Jackson and Oak Ridge school districts appeared at a Jackson School Board meeting last night to seek its support in remaining within the Jackson district; the Oak Ridge district plans to file suit against the Jackson district to have the boundary lines changed.. ...
Out of the past 4/14/12 (04/14/12)
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board is recommending that the Arena Building be renamed the "A.C. Brase Memorial Building" in honor of a man who spearheaded improvements to the building over the years The board of commissioners of the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority met with representatives of the Corps of Engineers yesterday to discuss proposed plans and designs for an 1,800-foot slackwater harbor that should be under construction late this summer...
Out of the past 4/13/12 (04/13/12)
State highway crews are checking 290 bridges in Missouri, including 27 in Southeast Missouri, which are similar in design to an Interstate 55 bridge that buckled in St. Louis last month; the focus on bridge safety was sharpened with the collapse of two spans in New York...
Out of the past 4/12/12 (04/12/12)
A new congregation has been established in Cape Girardeau that is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America; the Evangelical Free Church of Cape Girardeau is holding services at Trinity Lutheran School; pastor is George Jewell. Bishop Abel T. Muzorewa, resident bishop of the Zimbabwe area, speaks in the evening at Centenary United Methodist Church...
Out of the past 4/11/12 (04/11/12)
Declared congressional candidate Wayne Cryts of Puxico, Mo., whose court-ordered debt to the trustee of a bankrupt grain-storage company is growing, has turned over a gun collection to federal marshals in partial compliance with a writ of execution...
Out of the past 4/10/12 (04/10/12)
After a long, distinguished career in both appointed and elected positions in government, State Sen. Harry Wiggins believes he is qualified and prepared to be governor of Missouri; the Kansas City Democrat, on a statewide swing to announce his 1988 candidacy, stopped at the municipal airport yesterday for a news conference...
Out of the past 4/9/12 (04/09/12)
City officials are hoping to unearth some state funding to help pay for the extension of sewer lines to the site of the new veterans home; Union Electric has already developed plans to bring water, natural gas and electricity to the site near Memorial Park Cemetery...
Out of the past 4/8/12 (04/08/12)
Strong support in metropolitan and most other municipal areas across the state led to passage yesterday of Proposition A, a measure that will generate in excess of $100 million more annually for road and bridge construction in Missouri and $32 million more for city and county road and bridge use; the measure won in Cape Girardeau County by a 59 percent margin...
Out of the past 4/7/12 (04/07/12)
In an effort to come up with mutually acceptable annexation boundaries for Cape Girardeau and Jackson, the Cape Girardeau City Council last night called for establishment of a committee of officials from both communities to tackle the issue. The Jackson Board of Aldermen voted unanimously last night to proceed with plans for the proposed annexation of disputed land east of the city; the measure was approved while the Cape Girardeau City Council was busy laying plans for a committee to solve the annexation dispute between the two towns.. ...
Out of the past 4/6/12 (04/06/12)
Speaking to an ad hoc group of area business and civic leaders, Dr. John Crowe promotes a flood-control project for Cape Girardeau involving development of a green belt area for parks and recreational use, patterned after one in Scottsdale, Ariz. Use of the name SEMO as an acronym for Southeast Missouri State University no longer may be used in university-generated formal text under a new policy adopted by the university board of regents...
Out of the past 4/5/12 (04/05/12)
The Cape Girardeau Baptist Association honors the Rev. and Mrs. G.D. Parrack with a reception in the afternoon at First Baptist Church; Parrack has served as the association's director of missions since 1969, and Mrs. Parrack has been association secretary 15 years...
Out of the past 4/4/12 (04/04/12)
The sixth annual SEmotion Relays draws more than 800 athletes from 60 schools to competition at the Abe Stuber Track and Field Complex. As part of a two-day training session for Southeast Missouri law enforcement officers, members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms concluded the seminar with a bang yesterday, detonating two car bombs in the rural area north of Millersville; flames shot 50 feet into the sky...
Out of the past 4/3/12 (04/03/12)
The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce will spearhead a campaign to promote passage of a proposed half-cent city transportation sales tax slated to be on the August election ballot. The Cape Girardeau School Board has asked for more information concerning the possibility of eliminating one administrative position at Central High School; the suggestion is one on a long list of possible budget cuts the board is considering in efforts to trim its deficit spending...
Out of the past 4/2/12 (04/02/12)
The Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents unanimously accepts a proposal to establish a major in nonmedical health management that, if approved by the Missouri Coordinating Board of Education, would meet a need for such a major not only in the region but statewide...
Out of the past 4/1/12 (04/01/12)
Five parks and recreation fee measures apparently will be placed before Cape Girardeau voters in a special election in June; while the final decision won't be made until Monday night's regular city council meeting, the council has given tentative approval to submit the measures to voters...
Out of the past 3/31/12 (03/31/12)
Local orchardists are breathing a little easier early in the morning, after a predicted hard freeze fails to materialize in the immediate Southeast Missouri-Southern Illinois area; west of here, however, the news isn't as good. The Cape Girardeau County Commission has agreed to pay a $1,950 bill to Larron Laboratories for the testing of 10 drinking wells near the Kem Pest site, which has been proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency as a site for the Superfund clean-up list of hazardous waste sites.. ...
Out of the past 3/30/12 (03/30/12)
The weather man delivers an April Fool's Day prank, as snow falls during the day and freezing temperatures hover in the area in the evening; gardeners and orchard growers are concerned, as last week's 60- and 70-degree weather caused flowers, shrubs and trees to bud out...
Out of the past 3/29/12 (03/29/12)
The new Cape Girardeau Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall was dedicated yesterday afternoon; the hall, 605 Northview Drive, was constructed last summer by volunteer workers. An 11,500-square-foot building is on the drawing board for Vernon E. Rhodes, a Cape Girardeau businessman; the structure will be built on North Kingshighway, with Metro Business College occupying about 7,500 square feet...
Out of the past 3/28/12 (03/28/12)
The Southeast Missouri State University Choir has made it big in the Big Apple; the choir is scheduled to perform May 25 at Carnegie Hall in New York City; it has been invited to perform Brahm's "Requiem" along with several other groups from the Midwest in a mass choral concert...
Out of the past 3/27/12 (03/27/12)
A two-day conference on sexual abuse opens at Southeast Missouri State University's University Center; FBI special agent Robert Roblee of St. Louis says "kiddie porn" is the common threat that ties child abusers across the world together. Ruth Waldon has been named as the new juvenile officer/administrator to replace Wally Allstun as the director of the Cape Girardeau County Juvenile Detention Center...
Out of the past 3/26/12 (03/26/12)
With winter over, a project involving the restoration of the two old locomotives in Capaha and Arena parks is beginning to pick up steam; the tarpaulins which had covered the engines have been removed in preparation for the start of work. Although many television viewers in America will have a new choice April 5 as a fourth television network hits the air, viewers in Southeast Missouri will have to wait until at least fall before Fox Broadcasting Co. is available here...
Out of the past 3/25/12 (03/25/12)
A committee has recommended that the NCAA Division II men's basketball championship be held another two years at Springfield, Mass.; Show Me Center officials had hoped to lure the tournament to Cape Girardeau. The proposed "friendly annexation" by the city of Jackson of 22 acres on the west side of the U.S. 61/Interstate 55 junction conflicts with Cape Girardeau's comprehensive development plan; businessman and developer Jim Drury has asked for the annexation by the city of Jackson...
Out of the past 3/24/12 (03/24/12)
Ron Hines, director of Southeast Missouri State University relations, and David Ross, director of the new Show Me Center, were in Springfield, Mass., over the weekend to convince a committee to move the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II men's basketball championships to Cape Girardeau; the two say they are encouraged by the committee's reaction...