Stories from Friday, June 21, 1991

Margaret Riley, 63, of St. Louis, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday at Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Dec. 6, 1927, in Reynolds County, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Finley. She married Earl Riley Sept. 29, 1959, at Fredericktown...

John Sununu, the president's chief of staff, is a political shark. Lesser fish who swim in his wake are ever watchful he will turn and chomp them into bits so tiny Mrs. Paul wouldn't even bread them. Hold that metaphor. (It was a bit heavy-handed to begin with.) Now picture John Sununu, in a position of de facto presidency during previous administrations, with bad skin, nervous giggles and date shakes...

GLEN ALLEN -- A 25-year-old woman was killed early Thursday in a one-vehicle accident near Glen Allen. Police identified the woman as Tanya Beck of Glen Allen. Beck was a passenger in a pick-up truck driven by Sandra Fox, 29, of Grassy, said a spokesperson for the Missouri Highway Patrol. Fox was seriously injured in the accident and was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. A hospital spokesperson said she was in serious condition in the intensive care unit...

Four members of a Cape Girardeau family were injured Thursday in a one-vehicle accident near Poplar Bluff. A spokesperson for the Missouri Highway Patrol said Earnest Petty, 30, of Cape Girardeau, his wife Tammie, 31, and their two children, Amanda, 9, and Earnest, Jr., 7, were riding in a 45-foot box trailer when the accident occurred...

As Missourians prepare for a proliferation of information on the state's need for more school funding, all aimed at a November tax vote, they should also observe closely the actions of education officials in making use of the money now available. Certainly the responsible handling of immediate resources would soothe voters being asked to dig deeper into their pockets. ...

SIKESTON -- Etta L. Hill of Sikeston died at 2:15 p.m. Thursday, June 20, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center here. Hill, 101, was born Dec. 23, 1889, at Jerusalem, Ark., daughter of John and Katie Brashears Wiley. She was a member of the Shady Acres Church of Christ...

JACKSON - Agnes Gohn died Thursday, June 20, 1991 at the Lakeview Boarding Home on Route 2, Jackson. She was 76. She was born Dec. 18, 1914 near Neely's Landing, the daughter of Robert B. and Maggie J. Miller Schenimann. She married Lester Gohn Sept. 6, 1933. He died Dec. 7, 1988...

Imogene E. Steckler, 79, 15 S. Pacific, died Thursday, June 20, 1991, at her home. She was born Sept. 2, 1911, at Whitewater, daughter of Leo and Nancy Proffer Steckler. Steckler was a lifelong resident of Cape Girardeau. She retired from International Shoe Co. here, where she was an inspector more than 50 years. She was a member of First Church of the Nazarene...

DEXTER -- Burl Dee Clark, 66, of Dexter, died Wednesday, June 19, 1991, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. He was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Hagerville, Ark., son of Henry Albert and Mary Alice Johnson Clark. He and Tinia Abernathy were married March 30, 1952, at Morley...

JACKSON -- Ed Castleman, 75, of Jackson, died Wednesday, June 19, 1991, at his home. He was born Jan. 12, 1916, in Union City, Tenn., son of Clarence and Claudie Foster Castleman. He and Ruth Hayes were married Oct. 28, 1933. She died Sept. 17, 1989...

GLEN ALLEN -- Tonya M. Beck, 25, of Glen Allen, died Thursday, June 19, 1991, in a car accident here. She was born Dec. 4, 1965, in St. Louis, daughter of William F. and Mary Lou Robertson Franks. She married Michael Beck Sept. 17, 1986. She moved to this area in 1989 from Fenton. She was a member of St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church at Fenton...

A gust of wind blew a section of a mobile home across Insterstate 55 south of Sikeston Thursday, authorities said. The section of a mobile home, which was being transported by truck, landed on its top. No one was injured in the mishap, which occurred at 3 p.m. Thursday, eight miles south of Sikeston...

Two local leaders of higher education Thursday praised University of Missouri President C. Peter Magrath, who has announced he will resign to take an education-related job in Washington, D.C. Both Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president at Southeast Missouri State University, and Jackson attorney John P. Lichtenegger, who serves on the University of Missouri Board of Curators, lauded Magrath for his leadership role in higher education in the state...

A collector's offer more than two years ago to donate to the city of Cape Girardeau a museum collection valued at $1.5 million to $4 million still stands despite the city's inability to meet conditions of the transaction. A. La Vielle Lawbaugh, a Southeast Missouri native who now lives in San Luis Rey, Calif., has offered his personal collections to Cape Girardeau in exchange for a new 10,000-square-foot museum to house the artifacts...

SCOTT CITY -- Salaries at Scott City schools will remain at last year's level because of a projected loss of $100,000 in state funding during the coming school year. The Scott City Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to freeze salaries. The move will affect paychecks of both teachers and administrators...

Although the Senate has passed a version of a new five-year federal highway bill, Eighth District Rep. Bill Emerson indicated Thursday the House would draft a version of its own. The Senate bill would give Missouri an additional $754 million over the next five years in road and bridge funds distributed through the Federal Highway Trust Fund. The annual allocation to Missouri would go from $275 million to $429 million...

Construction of flood control improvements along Walker Branch should begin in July 1992 and be finished by December 1993. That's according to a schedule shown Thursday night at a public meeting on the improvements. The meeting, held at Cape Girardeau City Hall, drew about 35 people...

When hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, or other natural or man-made disasters occur or threaten, some of the first to respond are amateur radio operators. "Ham" radio operators, as they have been called since the invention of radio around the turn of the century, can communicate with another "ham" in the same town, or halfway across the world...

A musical prelude to the fourth of July holiday is planned next week by the First General Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. The program, Freedom Celebration '91, will begin Wednesday and be performed each night through June 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the church, 1812 Cape LaCroix Road...

Donations of blood are always needed. Currently, however, the area is facing a critical shortage of this crucial element of life. "Our supply is in pretty bad shape right now," said David Palmer. "Over the last few weeks, donorship has been extremely poor."...

The Rev. Halverson came to Cape Girardeau in August of 1988. Previously, he pastored churches in Belleville, Ill., and ministered in music and youth outreach in the Potter's House in Prescott, Ariz. The Rev. Halverson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin...

Shawnee National Forest officials will hold a public informational meeting at the Holiday Inn in Cape Girardeau June 26 to discuss the proposed amendment to the forest's land and resource management plan. "We want people to have all the information they need for understanding forest management," said Rodney K. Sallee, supervisor of the Shawnee National Forest. "We want people to provide us with written comments which will help us decide on a final, revised forest plan."...

Bicycle riders will meet at Schaper's IGA in Jackson at 2 p.m. Sunday for the Velo Girardeau Bicycle Club's 44-mile "Daisy Run" Sunday. The ride will feature rolling farmland, quiet woods and little traffic. The final ride of June will be the Trail of Tears Warped Circle Tour, a distance of 30 miles. Rider will meet at Kent Library on Southeast Missouri State University campus on June 30 at 2;30 p.m. for the ride...

WAPPAPELLO -- "Bluegill are hitting." This is the story from many water impoundments theses days. "Bluegill and sunfish are the best catch at Lake Wappapello," said one spokesman. "Using worms and crickets, these panfish are hitting in the brush in depths of two to five feet."...

PONTOON BEACH, Ill. - A pipeline company could face charges for letting a contractor cut timber in a nesting area, killing at least 30 endangered herons and egrets, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Conservation said Thursday. Members of local conservation groups claimed as many as several hundred endangered birds may have been killed in the incident, which apparently occurred Monday and Tuesday...