Stories from Tuesday, July 9, 1991

CHAFFEE -- Work on the Highway 77 Cotton Belt railroad bridge overpass north of here was halted last week until the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department determines if a compound mixed into the soil to stop soil subsidence at the bridge is environmentally safe...

Red Cross regionally and locally is facing a budget crunch. Providing help for victims of fires, tornadoes and floods has drained its bank accounts, and donations have been slow coming in. The Cape Girardeau County chapter has donated an additional $1,000 to help the national organization. In turn, they hope to raise $3,500 locally in July...

Mayor Gene Rhodes accused a city councilman Monday of plotting to publicly humiliate him after the mayor failed to disclose a financial interest in an asphalt company that was awarded a city paving contract last month. The councilman, David Barklage, denied the accusation, saying the mayor is trying to divert attention away from the real issue...

SCOTT CITY - Add the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority to a list of agencies receiving state funds that have experienced cutbacks for the fiscal year that began July 1. On Monday, at the monthly meeting of the port Board of Commissioners, Executive Director Allan Maki reported that the annual operating grant for fiscal 1992 had been cut from $49,500 to $36,492...

Vandalism at Old Lorimier Cemetery and capital funds improvements for city parks were the topics at the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting at City Hall Monday night. Dan Muser, city parks and recreation director, said that nothing he has heard about controlling vandalism problems at Old Lorimier Cemetery can be classified as true solutions...

The manufacturer of an aerial lift truck that a Union Electric foreman was in when he suffered electrical shock in 1989 has agreed to pay a $1.5 million out-of-court settlement. The money will go to Glenn Hatley, the employee, and his wife, Janet Hatley. The couple, of Bertrand, filed suit against the truck's maker, the Alabama corporation of Altec Industries Inc...

The Southeast Missourian correctly reported in a front-page article in its edition of Sunday, July 7, 1991, that I failed to announce my financial interest in a local asphalt company, ASA Asphalt, Inc., when it was awarded a contract by the City of Cape Girardeau to apply three inch (3") asphalt to several streets in the City which remain unpaved...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Some officials of the Archer Daniels Midland Co., (ADM) were not aware of a tire problem that involved its property in this small Southern Illinois community. More than seven-million pounds of old tires are on the ADM-GrowMark property at Mounds, which is about seven miles north of Cairo and 27 miles east of Cape Girardeau...

Officials at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport are concerned about an adequate water supply to protect the airport in case of a major fire. It's a predicament that has dogged the airport for years. But a recent fire that destroyed two buildings in Scott City's industrial park provided a grim reminder of potential dangers. ...

ANNA, ILL. Estelle Graney of Tucson, Ariz., formerly of Anna, died Sunday, July 7, 1991 in Tucson. Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Anna.

EGYPT MILLS - An Egypt Mills man escaped serious injury Monday afternoon when the riding lawn mower he was operating was struck by a pickup truck on Highway 177 near here. The Missouri Highway Patrol said Michael Hahn, 48, was mowing grass along the edge of highway in front of his home when the mower was struck by a southbound pickup truck driven by Lester Wibbenmeyer, 39, of Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau Central High School baseball coach Terry Kitchen will be recommended to become the school's new athletic director, said Superintendent Neyland Clark. The Board of Education will vote on the matter at its meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. at 61 N. Clark...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Robert Charles Price, 54, of Kouts, Ind., formerly of Mounds, died Sunday morning, July 7, 1991, in Valparaiso Hospital at Valparaiso, Ind. He was born Jan. 13, 1937, at Cairo, son of Robert A. and Jean Sowers Price. His mother, of Mounds, survives...

RANDLES -- Funeral service for Herman Hutson, 71, of Elcajon, Calif., was held Monday in Elcajon. He died Friday, July 5, 1991. He is formerly of Randles. Born March 4, 1920, he was the son of Harry and Essie Smith Hutson. He was a veteran of World War II, a member of the VFW, and a printer for Redlands Daily Facts newspaper for 33 years...

Ivah Ellen Schafer, 98, a resident of the Bertrand Retirement Home in Bertrand for four years, died Monday, July 8, 1991 at the retirement h. She was born June 5, 1893 at Allenville, the daughter of John R. and Melinda Davis Deweese. On April 12, 1919, she married Luther S. Schafer in Allenville. He preceded her in death Oct. 13, 1966...

SIKESTON -- Leona Litha Curtner, 83, of Sikeston, died Monday, July 8, 1991, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Nov. 10, 1907, in Lamar, Ark., to Andrew and Annis Linkenfelter Davis. She was a restaurant cashier and a member of the Lamar Baptist Church. She had attended the Calvary Temple Assembly of God Church in Sikeston...

TAMMS, ILL. Rana Raby, 97, of Elco, died Monday, July 8, 1991 at her home. She was born Sept. 18, 1893 in Sparta, Ill., daughter of David and Lula King Walters. She married Charles Clarence Raby, who proceeded her in death Dec. 22, 1952. She was a member of the Elco Baptist Church...

JACKSON -- Molly L. Froemsdorf, 83, formerly of Jackson died Sunday, July 7, 1991 at Southeastern General Hospital in Lumberton, N.C. Ford and Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau is in charge of funeral arrangements, which are incomplete.

I WOULD LIKE to thank the city of Jackson along with radio station Y105 for the wonderful fireworks display that they had on the Fourth of July. The music that they played, the patriotic songs, gave a new meaning to the Fourth of July. I don't think I've ever been to a fireworks display that meant so much to me. Thanks so much for a job well done...