Stories from Sunday, February 10, 1991

ADVANCE -- Funeral service for Virgil Bagbey of Advance Route 2 will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church. The Revs. Clinton Woodfin and Cy Smith will officiate, with burial in Morgan Memorial Park. Morgan Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

SIKESTON -- Almedia Hillis, 83 years old, of Sikeston, formerly of Broseley, died Friday, Feb. 8, 1991, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center here. She was born Feb. 17, 1907 at Pitts, Ark., daughter of Charles Henry and Julia May Linn Wheaton. She was a member of the Brown Chapel General Baptist Church in Broseley...

Son to Mr. and Mrs. Tim McIntyre of Sikeston Route 1, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 5:58 a.m. Monday, Feb. 4, 1991. Name, Andrew Steven. Weight, 8 pounds 7 ounces. Second son. Mrs. McIntyre is the former Elizabeth Pobst, daughter of Gerald Pobst and Ginny Grant of Sikeston. McIntyre is a farmer, and is the son of Burley McIntyre of Bell City and Jan Bivens of Sikeston...

Dear Editor: Hopefully, this letter will clear up some of the misconceptions about the proposed 5-cent property tax levy to provide services to the elderly. The issue is on the April 2 ballot. The Cape Girardeau Council on aging, d/b/a Cape Nutrition Center, and the Jackson Senior Center asked the Cape County Commission to submit the proposal to the voters. The Commission unanimously approved the request...

BENTON -- Absentee ballots are available at the Scott County Clerk's Office for the March 5 special election on a measure calling for the annexation of land by the town of Kelso. The area to be annexed is west and northwest of the Kelso city limits in Cedar Hills Subdivision...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana (1863-1952) As war continues in the Persian Gulf, those words of the Spanish-born American philosopher, poet, and novelist seem even more appropriate today. Knowledge of the past is vital for making the right decisions now and in the future...

"A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week." --General George S. Patton (From the book SAM WALTON ... The Inside Story of the Richest Man in America.) Sam Walton's "waste not want not" mentality, or put bluntly, Spartan frugality was the talk of the industry. ...

Cape Girardeau is blessed with a great many assets that contribute to its prosperity and that of the region. Some of the assets are God-given, such as the Mississippi River and the great natural beauty of these environs. Others are man-made, like the interstate highway that connects the area to points north and south. ...

Dear Editor: Who lost the war? If think that if your newspaper is going to re-fight the war in Vietnam, you should get the question right. The right question is not whether we dropped more bombs on both civilian and military targets on the North than we did on Germany. Nor is it whether we would have been sudden victors had we bombed the last 20 miles up to the border of China. The right question is not even why Peter Kinder thinks he knows more about anything than does Tom Eagleton...

SILVER LAKE -- Joseph "Joe" A. Jannin Sr., of Silver Lake, died Friday, Feb. 8, 1991, at the Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was 86. He was born Aug. 27, 1904, in Perry County to the late Marcellious and Mary Louise Seifert Jannin. He was a farmer and a member of the St. Rose of Lima Church at Silver Lake...

JACKSON - Edward Paul Schneider, 78, Of Jackson died Thursday, Feb. 7, 1991 at Jackson Manor Nursing Home. He was born Jan. 17, 1913 in Aurora, Ill. to the late George and Minna Bender Schneider. On Sept. 30, 1951, he married Marian Nickolson. She survives...

BLOOMFIELD -- Funeral service for Mrs. Carrie May Hopkins of Bloomfield will be held at 2 p.m. today at Chiles-Cooper Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Bob Holland will officiate, with burial in West Antioch Cemetery near here. Mrs. Hopkins, 92 years old, died Friday, Feb. 8, 1991, at Bloomfield Nursing Center...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Clarence Rafferty of Memphis, Tenn., formerly of Sikeston, will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Crews Welsh and Ponder Funeral Chapel. Burial will be in Dexter Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 5 p.m. Monday...

OAK RIDGE -- Funeral service for Jack Boyd of Oak Ridge Route 1 will be held at 2 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Chapel in Jackson. The Rev. Lloyd Bollinger will officiate, with burial in Russell Heights Cemetery at Jackson. Friends may call at the funeral home from 8:30 a.m. until time of service...

PERRYVILLE -- Funeral service for Mrs. Ruth May Rabolt of Perryville will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. The Rev. Luther Herman will officiate, with burial in the church cemetery. Friends may call at Young and Sons East Perry Chapel in Altenburg after 5 p.m. Monday...

ANNA, Ill. -- Funeral service for Harold Menees of Anna will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday at Crain Funeral Chapel here. The Rev. Al Slayter will officiate, with burial in Casper Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 5 p.m. today. Menees, 64 years old, died Friday, Feb. 8, 1991, at the home of his brother...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- William L. Presley, 232 Good Hope, died Saturday, Feb. 9, 1991, at his home. He was 62 years old. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

OLMSTED, Ill. - Olmsted resident Edna Britt Fox died Thursday, Feb. 7, 1991 at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was 80. Fox was born at Olmsted Nov. 17, 1910, the daughter of J.R. Britt and Grace Corzine Britt. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Olmsted. She was also a member of the former Order of the Eastern Star Chapter of Mound City, as well as the Order of White Shrine of Jerusalem chapter, formerly of Cairo...

CAIRO, Ill. - Former Cairo resident George Michael Schmaeng Sr., 74, of St. Louis, died Thursday, Feb. 7, 1991 at his home. Schmaeng was born Jan. 21, 1917 at Cairo. He was the son of the late Albert Schmaeng and Catherine Margaret Becker Schmaeng. A retired port engineer, he was a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in St. Louis and the Knights of Columbus...

Dear Editor: Well it has started in earnest now just as I said it would back in September. The news media has begun their campaign to show their power over the American people and their elected officials. They were going slow before, cleverly giving the public just as much as they would digest of their left-leaning ideology. Now they seem to think the military should be forced into giving them their battle plans, for no reason than to boost their individual ratings...

Population: 34,438 Incorporated: 1808 County: Cape Girardeau Mayor: Gene Rhodes Unique point: "The quality of life here is so much better," says Judy Moss with the Cape Chamber of Commerce. "Almost everything available in large cities is available in Cape. It's very sophisticated for its size."...

CHAFFEE -- If it's ham-and-beans it must be Monday at least if you're a Chaffee resident with a hankering for down-home cooking. "If it's ham-and-bean day they know it's Monday," said Leslie D. ("Scooter") Seabaugh, who operates Mable's Cafe, a Chaffee fixture for 31 years. "If it's fried chicken it's Tuesday; or, if it's chicken-and-dumplings it's Thursday."...

SCOTT CITY -- During his tour in the Army, Jim Chastain was a radio-teletype operator confined much of the time to a dark, windowless, secure room. Maybe that's why he enjoys working outdoors so much. Chastain is a section foreman for the St. Louis-Southwestern ("Cotton Belt") Railroad in Scott City. ...

BENTON -- Scott County commissioners have ruled out building a new jail and sheriff's office at this time, arguing that it's unlikely voters would approve a new tax to fund it. But Presiding Commissioner Durward Dover said county officials are studying an alternate plan, which calls for purchasing the county health center building in Benton for use as the sheriff's office...

BENTON -- Scott County government will operate on a $3.4 million budget this year, an amount only slightly higher than what was actually spent last year. The county commission approved the budget last week. In 1990, actual county expenses totaled $3.34 million...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- A team of amateur sleuths, who unraveled the mystery of a Cape Girardeau tot who contracted a tropical disease about two years ago, has attracted national media attention. The detective work, which discovered the source of young Katie Wolz' infection, was published in a national magazine, "Ladies' Home Journal." The story will also be featured on a new CBS television series, "True Detectives."...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- "Put this on the tab, Mrs. Ratliff." The customer, in his 60s, held up soda and a box of crackers in front of the small counter. Juanita Ratliff reached behind the counter and thumbed through a stack of charge books. She duly recorded the transaction...

GALE, Ill. -- Workers at the Ilada Energy Reclamation plant cleanup project worked Friday to cut down the site's final, large steel storage tank. Meanwhile, nearby portable storage tanks ready to be trucked off held all of the remaining oil, sludge and water from the site...

BENTON, Ill. -- A federal jury has found a Cairo minister and civil-rights activist guilty of theft, embezzlement, arson and mail fraud. The jury reached its verdict of guilty against the Rev. Charles Koen here Friday. Judge James L. Foreman set sentencing for April 22 at 1:30 p.m...

MARBLE HILL -- Like "The Gambler" in Kenny Rogers' song of the same name, Tom Runnels knows "when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em." And so far, he's plenty content with the hand he was dealt. "When my hand was dealt, I was satisfied not because it was such a good hand, but because I've played it the best I know how," Runnels wrote in the preface to his 1979 book of essays and sketches, "Before T.V."...

PERRYVILLE -- When the first shoe factory closed at Perryville in 1964, the "gloom-and-doom" brigade predicted Perryville would become a ghost town in six months. Viola Blechle refused to believe that. "That was my first year with the Perryville Chamber of Commerce," said Blechle, who had been optimistic about Perryville for a long time before she was named executive director of its chamber...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- David S. Glastetter, broker/owner of ERA Cape Realty, and Larry D. Underwood, an associate at the firm, recently attended the ERA's 19th Annual National Business Conference at San Diego, Calif. Glastetter and Underwood attended several seminars and sessions at the meeting, which covered such topics as "Ways to Find More Prospects in Less Time," "Soft Market Selling Techniques," and "The Real Estate Financial Planning System."...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- David J. Donley and Robert (Bob) Campbell, associates with ERA Cape Realty, recently graduated from Floyd Wickman's Sweathogs to Star Training Program. During the 12-week program, Donley and Campbell were instructed in the areas of listing properties at the right price, terms and commission, how to separate lookers from buyers, and how to negotiate offers...

EN3 KEVIN C. MARTIN U.S. NAVY Martin is the son of Glenda Martin of McClure, Ill., and the late Charlest Martin. He is a 1986 graduate of Shawnee High School, where he was a member of the marching band. He joined the Navy in August of 1986, enlisting for three years. He then re-enlisted for six years and was stationed in Jacksonville, Fla., aboard the USS McInerney...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- "Mayor" Howard C. Tooke joined a small, but growing elite list here Friday night. The Cape Girardeau businessman and former mayor was named recipient of the Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. award. The award was presented by the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, during the chamber's annual dinner/dance held at the Show Me Center on the Southeast Missouri State University campus...

Population: 4,846 Incorporated: 1857 County: Alexander Mayor: Allen Moss Sr. Unique point: "Location, plenty of water, location and location are our assets," said Moss. "We have Interstate 57 at our front door...a nice airport, cheap water transportation, both north and south, and cheap land values."...

CAIRO, Ill. -- It wasn't until his senior year at Southeast Missouri State University that Darrell Shemwell decided running a restaurant was to be his career. "I went through high school and college thinking I was going to be a school teacher," said Shemwell, owner and operator of Shemwell Barbecue Downtown Restaurant, 1102 Washington. "During my senior year when I was doing my student-teaching, I decided teaching just wasn't for me."...

ANNA, Ill. -- Ask Robert Hafeman to place himself under one of the card catalogs in the Stinson Library here, and chances are he'd file his entry under "Content." Hafeman is very satisfied in his position as head librarian at Anna's small but impressive Stinson Library...

SIKESTON -- Jim Davis is responsible for the operation of a $250 million generating plant that supplies electricity to cities in at least three states. Davis, 32, a native of Sikeston, is one of four control-room operators at the Sikeston Municipal Power Plant on the west end of town. The plant is a landmark that can be seen for at least 30 miles in all directions, with its tall, red-and-white-striped smokestack emitting a plume of steam vapor...

OAK RIDGE -- You might say Roger Tatum is a man who wears two hats. Tatum is superintendent of the Oak Ridge R-6 School District. He also is publisher, editor, contributing writer and printer of the district's quarterly newsletter that is mailed to the 225 parents of the school district's 300-plus students...

ADVANCE -- The Morgan family has been a part of Advance for almost as long as the town has been in existence. From the time the first Morgans arrived around the turn of the century to open a general merchandise store and livery stable, the family has been involved in some kind of business and community activities...

WICKLIFFE, Ky. Seven cars of an Illinois Central freight train en route from Memphis, Tenn. to St. Louis, Mo., derailed near here Saturday afternoon, forcing the closing of the railroad bridge which crosses the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky...

VIENNA, Ill. -- Landowners who may be confused about how new wetlands regulations will affect how their land may or may not be used are urged to attend a wetlands informational meeting to be held here Monday. "What you could farm or build on before may now be protected," said U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard. D-Ill., who will sponsor two meetings Monday to discuss the revisions to the Clean Water Act, which expanded the definition of wetlands...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- A Cape Girardeau banker expressed satisfaction Friday with the sentencing of the ringleader who conspired with two other men to kidnap him. The ringleader, Douglas Wayne Willis, was sentenced in federal court in Florida recently to 16 years and three months in prison, plus five years probation...

CAPE GIRARDEAU - The February meeting of the Regional Commerce and Growth Association will be held Wednesday at the Riverview Banquet Center in Cape Girardeau. Featured speaker will be Dr. Rhonda Vinson of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Vinson is the director of the Economic and Industrial Development Department at the university. She is also involved in the Southern Illinois Coalition...

ORAN -- If you buy gasoline or diesel fuel from gas stations in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, chances are David Sturgeon had a hand in making sure you got the fuel. Sturgeon works for Texas Eastern Transmission Corp. Texas Eastern moves petroleum products through its 16-to-24-inch pipelines that provide natural gas to heat homes and run industries and gasoline and other fuels to run vehicles...

DELTA -- Sipping from a cup of coffee, Billie Waddle settled in for a chat, just as she chats with the frequent visitors to her craft shop, Waddle-N-Crafts. "There is always a pot of coffee going," she said. "And I have a lot of people stop in to browse and just to chat."...

CHARLESTON -- It's been said that a newspaper is a mirror of the community. Mildred ("Millie") Wallhausen, who has been involved in a newspaper operation for more than a half century, agrees. "A weekly newspaper plays a big role in the community and the newspaper business," said Wallhausen, publisher of the Charleston Enterprise Courier. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU A half-century-old war veteran, the USS Missouri, last week began bombarding Iraqi positions with its 16-inch guns for the first time since the Korean war. The Missouri and another World War II-era battleship, the USS Wisconsin, are participating in action for the first time since being recalled from the mothballs, and their recalls have jogged the memories of retired Cape Girardeau fire chief Charles Mills, who served during World War II on a battleship...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Pam McCarron says college is better the second time around. After nearly a 10-year break from college, McCarron will graduate in May with a business degree. A single mother returning to school, McCarron is among 25 percent of students at Southeast Missouri State University who are classified as non-traditional, those who are older than the common-aged college student...

CRUMP -- Instead of leaving for school each morning, Rick and Dorothy Green's five children take a seat around the kitchen table to begin their lessons. The Greens have opted to educate their children Amy, 11, Lucas, 9, Andrew, 8, David, 5, and Sarah, 2, at home...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Dennis Seyer has been around stage and theater most of his life. As a youngster, he loved to perform in school plays. As a senior at a St. Louis County Catholic high school, Seyer was a member of the school's drama club, and he was cast in every school theater production that year. As a freshman, he landed a role in a Southeast Missouri State University theater production, and, Seyer said, he "really had the bug."...

JACKSON -- World events blend with school activities and graduation preparations as high-school seniors like Heather Wiedefeld prepare to face the future. Heather, a senior at Jackson High School, said the crisis in the Persian Gulf and after-graduation plans dominate her thoughts...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- To psychology professors and students, research often is the icing on the cake of the psychology program offered at Southeast Missouri State University. "We are not a heavy research program," said Dr. William Snell, psychology professor and researcher. "Our major concern is providing students with a broad based and useful preparation in psychology. Our first responsibility is to the education of our students...

CHAFFEE -- Nancy McGrew isn't satisfied just teaching her 75 elementary students to read; she wants the entire city of Chaffee to be excited about reading. Her efforts recently won state-wide recognition for the Chapter 1 remedial-reading program at Chaffee Elementary School. The project is now entered into national competition...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Mary Emmenderfer wasn't looking for a career when she accepted a job at what was known as Cape Business College 14 years ago. "It was just a part-time job as a telephone marketing person," said Emmenderfer. "The school was located in the Buckner-Ragsdale building, and we had 12 to 14 students involved in basic secretarial courses like typing and shorthand."...

SCOTT CITY -- The classroom is noisy and full of commotion constantly. But that's the way Sally Eaker likes her kindergarten classroom to be. "I don't care how much noise and commotion there is," she said while checking handwriting exercises during her class in the Scott City school system. "There is always learning going on."...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- OK, let's not beat around the bush. Latin has always had a bad reputation. It's supposed to be a difficult subject in high school, and not much fun to learn either. In a word, boring, right? But that doesn't seem to be the case at Central High School, which always has a waiting list of students wanting to get into one of Candy Hahs' junior- or senior-high-school level Latin classes...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- A plaque on the wall in Sister Jeanne's office at St. Mary's Cathedral School pretty well sums up the four "Rs" of a parochial school: readin', writin', 'rithmetic and religion. It says: "Education Means - Enabling persons to reach the fullness of their potential as individuals, created in God's image, and assisting them to direct their gifts toward building the Earth."...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Children learn best by discovering new things themselves, says Janie Meyer, director of the Cape Girardeau Montessori School. "The basic goal of Montessori is to prepare and teach children to be the independent, self-sufficient adults they must become," Meyer said...

DEAR SPEAK OUT: In regard to the proposed Route E and Interstate-55 interchange, I was asked by the reporter what my "personal" reasons for wanting this exchange are. I answered the question honestly. I could have easily offered many school or community reasons. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Don Hunt offers hope for people with learning difficulties: he and his students help them learn to read. Hunt coordinates a reading clinic each summer at Southeast Missouri State University. This will be the 23rd year for the clinic...

Old buttons, trinkets whose clasps are broken, but whose special memories are fastened forever to their owners' hearts, medals from long ago wars: We've all got at least some of these things. Chances are they're stored in small, dusty boxes tucked deep inside dresser drawers. To us, they're the reminder of yesterday but for two area artisans, they're the jewelry of today...

We are prone to grumble about too much government in our lives, fearful that it may some day dictate how far we could walk in a day and how much we should carry as it did in some ancient laws. Perhaps we don't appreciate enough how government runs interference for us, especially in the realm of truth in advertising...

Flowers, which predominate as gifts on Valentine's Day, have a tradition of being associated with things romantic. There is a legend in the ancient Middle East that the first tulip bloomed when the tears of a lovesick Persian youth moistened the hot desert sands...

SCOTT CITY -- Larry Payne, the owner of Rose Concrete Products, Inc. in Scott City has donated money for four savings bonds to Scott City High School. All students who attain honor roll status in the first three quarters of school will be eligible to receive one of the bonds, said Judy Bane, High School counselor. A check was presented last week to High School Principal David Fuemmeler by three students whose parents are employed at the company...

CHAFFEE - The Scott County R-2 School District has announced that sophomore Tyler Meyr will attend the Missouri Scholars Academy for Chaffee High School. The Scholars Academy is a three-week residential program in June for 330 of Missouri's gifted students, the district reported. It will be held on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- LaDonna Juden of Cape Girardeau, Eagle Forum's 1990 Missouri Fulltime Homemaker of the Year, will be recognized at the annual sweetheart luncheon of West County Chapter of Eagle Forum. The luncheon is at 11:30 a.m. Monday at Sheraton West Port Inn in St. Louis...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Lori Early, registered dietitian at St. Francis Medical Center, will be guest speaker at the Cape Girardeau Business and Professional Women's Club meeting Tuesday. The 6:30 p.m. session will be held at the Holiday Inn. additional information concerning the meeting is available by calling 335-0058...

JACKSON -- Three Jackson business women Mrs. Pam Wheeler, Ms. Debi Zschille, and Ms. Judy Vickrey recently attended the Oxyfresh Midwest Regional Leadership Seminar at Indianapolis, Ind. Richard Brooks, president and CEO of the Oxyfresh Co., was one of the seminar speakers...

JACKSON -- Peter L. Marsac has joined Rapco International, Inc. here as chief executive officer. Marsac previously served as vice president and general manager of Atlas Soundolier, a supplier of cone and horn loudspeakers and cabinets for the commercial sound industry...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Tina Adrian has joined Bloomin' Balloons, 2558 Independence, as a florist and account representative. JoAnne Farless, owner of the company, announced Adrian's appointment this week. "This is the first time we have had a full-time florist," said Farless. "But we're adding a variety of floral services."...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- In the midst of a not-so-good retail season, one major chain is whipping through the tough times. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., headquartered at Bentonville, Ark., was again the stand-out performer among the largest retailers in January, recording increases of 11 percent in same-store sales and 36 percent in total sales to $2.49 billion...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Montgomery Ward is moving to University Mall here. Montgomery Ward, which is headquartered in Chicago, will become an anchor store for the mall, which is expanding its operations to include more than 650,000 square feet and 90 merchants...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Personal trainers are the latest trends in the physical fitness industry. "A person can make a lot of physical fitness progress in a short period of time when they work with a trainer," says Mike Josue, a Certified Personal Trainer here. "Basically, my job is to teach people to exercise correctly and control their weight...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Trio Travel Agency has a new owner and new name. Jerry Reppert, of Reppert Hospitality Inc., Anna, Ill., announced the purchase of the travel center, located at 2029 Independence, this week. "The name of the center has been changed to Reppert Hospitality Travel Center," said Joe Flood of Cape Girardeau, and general manager of the Hospitality company, headquartered in Anna. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Bart Ozbun has been named assistant vice president of Boatmen's National Bank of Cape Girardeau. In addition to his position with Boatmen's of Cape Girardeau, Ozbun also serves as vice president of Boatmen's Investment Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Boatmen's Bank...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Shane Glover has been appointed advertising director for General Sign Corporation, 780 Nash Road. Shane joined General sign in September of 1990 as an account executive. He will continue in sales while coordinating the efforts of all General Sign's branch offices in St. Louis, Mt. Vernon, Ill., and Nashville, Tenn...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Lori Lain has joined the staff of Gulliver's Travel Agency as a travel consultant. Beverly Estes, owner of the firm, announced Lain's appointment this week. Lain is a graduate of Echols Travel School in Santa Monica, Calif., and has three years' experience in the travel industry...

Key WorDs: BUSINESS,PROCTER & GAMBLE CINCINNATI The Procter & Gamble Company has aMDSUnnounced that net earnings for the October-December quarter were $490,000,000, an increase of 40 percent over the net earnings of $350,000,000 for the same quarter last year...

WASHINGTON - Existing home sales fell 5.5 percent during the final three months of 1990 and closed the year down 11.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 1989, a real estate trade group said today. The National Association of Realtors said resales during October, November and December totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.42 million units, down from 3.62 million in the third quarter and 3.87 million in the same period of 1989...

ST. LOUIS National Food Stores will feature a "National Avenue," a 50 x 50 foot display of foods, during the St. Louis Working Women's Survival Show to be held at Cervantes Center Feb. 22-24. "Freshness A Festival of Foods" will be theme of National's booth exhibit, which will have separate exhibits of produce, fresh seafood, bakery breads and cakes, Certified Angus Beef, imported delicatessen cheeses and sausages, and a flower shop display with new floral arrangements for spring weddings...

APPLETON, Wis. Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) has received the highest possible claims paying rating, "AAA," from Duff and Phelps Credit Rating Co., an investment research and financial consulting company based in Chicago. AAL, headquarters in Appleton, Wis., provides its 1.5 million members nationwide with insurance, including life, health, disability income, and retirement products...

ST. LOUIS Spartech Corporation (AMEX-SEH) has announced that its fiscal 1990 earnings were $4.2 million, or 80 cents a share. Lawrence M. Powers, chairman and chief executive officer, said the earnings included a $1.5 million gain from the sale of the company's Burlington, N.J., compounding facililty...

ST. LOUIS Union Electric Company (NYSE:UEP) reported 1990 earnings on common stock of $279.5 million, or $2.74 a share, up 5 percent from the 1989 earnings of $266.5 million, or $2.61 per share. Fourth quarter earnings were depressed by abnormally mild fall temperatures, along with costs of a scheduled refueling outage at the firm's Callaway nuclear plant. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The Cape Girardeau area Vocational-Technical School will offer four additional sections of various computer courses, starting in mid-March. "Intro to DOS" will start March 11, and run for six weeks, from 4 to 6 p.m. The course is designed for people with little, or no, experience with computers...

POPLAR BLUFF -- Deer killed accidentally by vehicles on Missouri roads legally may be kept for private consumption providing the driver reports to a conservation department agent. In a year's time, the question arises nearly 200 times in Butler, Wayne, Stoddard, Ripley and Carter counties. Missouri Department of Conservation totals for 1989 showed 203 road kills reported in the five-county area. Totals for 1990 are not yet available...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- A number of Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois residents graduated in December with advanced degrees from Southeast Missouri State University. The following is a list of those graduates who live in Cape Girardeau and surrounding areas...