Stories from Sunday, February 9, 1992

As the manager of one of Cape Girardeau's largest retailing establishments, it would be easy enough for Harry Rediger to sequester himself in private business concerns and let the community spin on its own path. He chose a different course, and Cape Girardeau is better for it. On Friday, Mr. Rediger received the Chamber of Commerce Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. Award for contributions to the community. It is a fitting honor...

CHAFFEE -- A program on child safety will be presented Tuesday at the Parents as Teachers parent meeting. McGruff the crime dog will speak to parents and children. Kevin Orr, with the Cape Girardeau Police Department, will lead the program, and children will be fingerprinted...

The American Cancer Society has begun its annual Daffodil Days festival. Orders for the flowers will be accepted through Feb. 12. Volunteers will be bringing this first spring flower to Cape Girardeau residents to raise money for cancer research, education and patient service programs...

The Cape Girardeau branch of the NAACP will sponsor a bus trip to Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 29 to culminate events for Black History Month. The tour will stop at the National Civil Rights Museum (Lorraine Hotel), the Memphis Pyramid, historic Beale Street and other points of interest...

To the Editor: The Missouri House has before it a bill to increase the state motor fuels tax by 6 cents by increasing the tax 2 cents every other year beginning this year. This is needed to match federal funds made available recently. The federal funds have been building up for several years because Congress had not released them, even though they are earmarked for highway use only upon being matched by state funds. ...

More than nine miles of Route W, from Route 177 to the new construction at Route 61-34, will be resurfaced, the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission has announced. Freeman McCullah, the department's southeast district engineer, said the department awarded a contract Feb. 7 in the amount of $225,961 to Girardeau Contractors Inc. of Cape Girardeau for the work...

Dr. Charles H. Cozean will discuss macular degeneration on this week's "Ask Your Doctor" program. The show airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on cable channel 13. "Ask Your Doctor" is sponsored by St. Francis Medical Center, Southeast Missouri Hospital, the Cape Girardeau County Medical Society and channel 13...

SCOTT CITY -- Indicator lights will be installed at the Scott City Police Department, allowing police dispatchers to know when rail crossings in the town are blocked. The lights are designed to keep police, fire and emergency crews from being delayed when answering a call...

Tom Harkin and Pat Buchanan, candidates on the left and on the right, traverse New Hampshire espousing "America First" the battle cry of isolationism and protectionism. They now have some new numbers to blurt out. Today's Granite State script could be "America 13th" and "America 14th." Among 13 year-olds, the U.S. ranked 13th out of 15 countries in science and 14th in math. We clobbered Jordan in both ratings that's a comfort...

The Southeast Missourian begins publication today of its annual Progress Edition. Today and on the next two Sundays, "Profiles of Progress" will present stories of achievement and growth from Cape Girardeau and around the region. That there are a multitude of stories to be told speaks well for the vitality of our area. This newspaper is pleased to bring its readers those stories...

Harry Rediger, the manager of the JCPenney store in Cape Girardeau, was honored Friday night by the Chamber of Commerce for his longtime service to the community. Rediger was presented the Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. Award, which is given each year to someone who has a record of longtime achievement in helping the community...

Seventh-grader Jesse Dunavan says he really likes band and gets A's in science, but math and reading are hard. He participates in Boy Scouts and enjoys swimming. Jesse is also one of the 682 students in Cape Girardeau public schools receiving special educational services. He has a learning disability; Jesse is of normal or above normal intelligence, but he doesn't learn the same way other students do...

For Leta Wagoner, teaching second grade is a learning experience, but one made easier by a revamped teacher education program at Southeast Missouri State University. Students in the College of Education are introduced to a variety of teaching experiences long before they do their final student teaching...

TAKING A GLOBAL VIEW: Superintendent Meyland Clark has begun to make contacts with school officials in 19 foreign countries in hopes of setting up an exchange of teachers, and perhaps students. While most recent discussion on Cape Girardeau public schools has been about upcoming budget cuts and a five-year strategic planning process, the district has been making contacts to bring a distinctively international flair to the city...

At Southeast Missouri State University, would-be teachers learn their profession by practicing it not in a campus school setting, but in elementary and secondary school classrooms extending from the St. Louis area south through the Bootheel and into Southern Illinois...

Bringing to an end a process she termed as "very excruciating," state Rep. Mary Kasten said Saturday she has decided not to seek the Republican nomination for the Missouri Senate and will instead seek a sixth term in the House. "The indecision of whether to run or not to run is probably one of the hardest decisions I have made," said Kasten...

MILLERSVILLE -- The small Millersville First Baptist Church has big plans. Nine members of the church are leaving early Tuesday morning on a trip to Ecuador to construct a church building for the congregation's new sister church there. Daniel Hale, pastor of the 100-member congregation, said, "The church has a history of mission involvement. Over the years, members have been to several countries. We have also done mission work locally, chopping wood, building fences, painting houses."...

SCOTT CITY -- Jennifer Bertrand hopes to teach her fellow high school students that it's not how they shop that's important, it's where they shop. "I think when people decide to buy something, they just assume they'll go to Cape to get it," said Bertrand, a senior at Scott City High School. "They don't realize they're taking away from Scott City."...

A fourth street remodeling project is now under way in downtown Cape Girardeau as part of the continuing redevelopment efforts of the shopping area. The latest project involves remodeling of intersections at Main Street and Broadway, and Main and Independence...

BENTON -- Thomas W. Kelly High School and parents of seniors are planning Project Graduation 1992, the third year for the drug- and alcohol-free celebration. Last year, more than 90 percent of the senior class participated. Seniors have been working since August to raise money for the projects. They have worked at a concession stand at the Sikeston Jaycees Bootheel Rodeo and at school ballgames. They sponsored a dunking booth at Benton Neighbor Days...

Southeast Missouri State University officials plan to move the campus forward this year in a number of areas, from restructuring of student services to completion of a successful capital campaign. Southeast officials also hope to continue planning toward construction of a new business school, despite the unlikelihood of state funding for the project this coming fiscal year...

Employment in the medical administrative-assistant field is expected to experience significant growth during the 1990s. "Figures from the U.S. Department of Labor's `Occupational Outlook Handbook' report that almost 300,000 persons are employed in medical- or dental-assisting operations," said Mary Emmenderfer, director of Metro Business College in Cape Girardeau. "With a growing and aging population, the demand for these jobs is expected to surpass all other occupations this decade."...

For hundreds of parents like Donna Maguire, the Parent-Teacher Association chapters at Cape Girardeau's public schools provide a chance to be involved in their children's education. "I wanted to know what my children were doing," said Maguire, who has three children attending Franklin Elementary School and is president of that school's PTA...

CHAFFEE -- New parents often have a lot of learning to do about themselves and their newborn children. People like LaDonna Bollinger like to think they help new parents become good parents. Bollinger is a parent educator with the Parents as Teachers program in Chaffee. Herself a parent, Bollinger said she believes in the program so much that she has a parent educator come to her home...

For years, vocational educators have been showing students how the skills they learn in academic classes are put to use in the "real world." That partnership between academic and vocational classes will expand, thanks to new federal guidelines, said Gary Gilbert, director of the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School...

Eagle Scouts from the Southeast Missouri Council Saturday were advised that even though the world is changing rapidly, some things are not like the need to work hard to be successful. "We are in a very rapidly changing world and it is hard to project what the world is going to be like in a few years," said Missouri Secretary of State Roy Blunt. "But some things don't change."...

JACKSON -- School Superintendent Wayne Maupin says one of the most important events last year in the Jackson School District was the Board of Education establishing a financial plan for the district. Many school districts around the state face financial problems because of cutbacks in state funding. The Jackson system is among them...

Economics and single parenthood compel more and more women to seek employment outside the home. Subsequently, there has been a marked increase in demand for quality, licensed day care service. Deanna Long, licensing supervisor for the Division of Family Services in Cape Girardeau, said day care caseloads at her office have "doubled and tripled" in the past decade...

When Gerry and Joan Strohmeyer considered a move, they chose Cape Girardeau because of its private schools, even though his job is an hour-and-a-half drive from here. "The main reason we're living in Cape Girardeau is so we can send our children to Catholic schools," said Joan Strohmeyer, whose husband works in Kentucky...

GALESBURG, Mich. - Karen Louise Johnson, 53, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died suddenly Friday, Feb. 7, 1992 at Borgess Medical Center, in Kalamazoo, Mich. She was born in Coalfax, Ill. on Sept. 8, 1938, the daughter of Raymond G. and Helen L. Lawrence Jones. On Jan. 17, 1959 she married Martin C.V. Johnson in Cape Girardeau. He survives...

MARBLE HILL - An 18-year-old Bollinger County resident was injured early Saturday morning when the car he was driving overturned on Bollinger County Route B, five miles north of Marble Hill. The Missouri Highway Patrol said Michael Stevens of Marble Hill was northbound when his car ran off the highway and into a ditch, where it struck an embankment and overturned...

CHARLESTON -- Jack Ingram, 54, of Flint, Mich., died Wednesday, Feb. 5, 1992, at his home. He was born Aug. 26, 1937, at Charleston, son of Frank E. and Alfrieda Ingram. Survivors include three sons, Woodrow Graham of Flint, Adrian Straughter of Charleston, Edgar Nelson of Cairo, Ill.; four daughters, Valerie Lampkin of Cairo, Arnetta, Emily and Carla Ingram of Flint; his mother, Alfrieda Rodgers of Charleston; four brothers, Frank Ingram Jr. ...

Funeral at 2 p.m Tuesday at the funeral home CHAFFEE - Josephine Oberman, 88, of Chaffee, formerly of New Hamburg, died Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Cape Girardeau Nursing Center. She was born near Jackson, on Dec. 6, 1903, to Gottfried and Dorothea Graden Probst...

JACKSON -- John E. Cox, 78, Jackson Route 2, died Friday, Feb. 7, 1992, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Jan. 30, 1914, near Advance, son of C.C. and Alpha Winfred Zimmerman Cox. He and Melba A. Swindell were married April 12, 1943, in Battle Creek, Mich...

SIKESTON -- Steven Dale Mayfield, 17, of Sikeston, died Thursday, Feb. 6, 1992, at his home of unknown natural causes. He was born Sept. 1, 1974, in Cape Girardeau, son of Gene O. and Evelyn E. Killian Mayfield. Mayfield was a junior at Sikeston High School, and worked at Fisherman's Net...

JACKSON -- Elmer R. Schaper, 84, of Jackson, died Thursday, Feb. 6, 1992, at his home. He was born Sept. 28, 1907, near Jackson, son of Louis and Anna Brennecke Schaper. He and Odene Kaufman were married Oct. 3, 1941. She died June 27, 1973. Schaper farmed many years, and he and his wife operated Puls and Schaper Realty Co. about 15 years. He was a past committeeman of ASCS Office, and served on the Governor's Agriculture Committee...

MARBLE HILL -- Lucille Daisy Abbott, 69, of Marble Hill died Friday, Feb. 7, 1992 at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 13, 1922 in Delta, daughter of Earl and Gladys Glenny Steen Gibbons. She married Lloyd Abbott on Oct. 18, 1941. He survives...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Eva Etta Blackard, 79, of East Prairie, died Friday, Feb. 7, 1992, at East Prairie Nursing Center. She was born May 12, 1912, in Clarksville, Ark., daughter of Arthur and Hattie Sims Garren. She married Olen Blackard March 5, 1937. He died March 15, 1980...

ANNA, Ill. -- The Rev. Waller M. Bartles, 75, of Statesboro, Ga., formerly of Anna, died Saturday, Feb. 8, 1992 at the Bulloch Memorial Hospital in Statesboro. He was a retired Baptist minister and was pastor of the First Baptist Church in Anna from 1960 until his retirement in 1979. He had lived in Georgia for the past 13 years, serving as a supply pastor and was a member of the Statesboro First Baptist Church...

ADVANCE -- Bill Sherman, 61, of Advance died Saturday Feb. 8, 1992 at his home. He was born Sept. 19, 1930 at Stamps, Ark., son of the late William Sherman and Fern Bess Francis, who survives. He owned and operated an excavating service. On Sept. 30, 1950, he married Naideney Phelps at Pocahantas, Ark. She survives...

ULLIN, Ill. - Edna Freeze, 92, of Garland, Tex., formerly of Ullin, died Friday, Feb. 7, in Garland. She was born March 4, 1899, in Ullin, to Thomas and Etta Hunt Hileman. She married Sam Freeze on March 9, 1917. He preceded her in death. Survivors include one daughter, Betty Weaver of Garland, four grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 17 great-great grandchildren...

Barb Minor says she's grateful to the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School for helping her daughter find a good job as a stripper. Today marks the beginning of American Vocational Education Week. An open house at the school, 301 N. Clark, is being held from 12:30-3:30 p.m. today...

ADVANCE - Arthur "Pee Wee" James, 89, of Puxico, Rt. 1, died Friday, Feb. 7, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 3, 1902 at Zalma, to Houston and Della Deck James. On Nov. 20, 1933, he married Thelma Shell at Jonesboro, Ill. ...

David Sanford, left, and Tyrone Jones, both with the Cape Girardeau Public Works Department, pick up recyclables, a service the city implemented last year. J. Ronald Fischer says Cape Girardeau is a "darned good" place to live. Fischer, the Cape Girardeau city manager, said he believes being the retail, medical, education and employment "hub" of Southeast Missouri is a role Cape Girardeau is now more than ever prepared to fulfill...

CAIRO, Ill. -- James Wilson can see some positives through the negatives in this Southern Illinois community of 4,800 people. "One of the biggest assets we could have is the new medical mega-clinic now under construction at North Cairo," said Wilson. "The clinic is expected to open this summer. It will improve our medical situation here."...

JACKSON -- City Administrator Carl Talley says the two most important events in Jackson last year were completion of the East Jackson (Highway 61) widening project and street improvements made possible by a one-half-cent transportation tax. Talley said both will have a positive impact on the city far into the future...

SCOTT CITY -- Just about 10 miles south of Cape Girardeau off Interstate 55 is a town some of its residents call just a bedroom community of the larger city. And sure enough, every weekday at just after 5 p.m. the town's one thoroughfare from the interstate quickly becomes backed up with cars of people trying to get home after a long day at work...

PERRYVILLE -- "We're basically going to tear everything out and start over." That's how Perryville City Administrator Craig Lindsley describes the town's planned renovation of its downtown business district, scheduled to begin this spring. "We're very excited about this project," Lindsley said. "It's received a lot of public input, and I honestly feel it will be a tremendous improvement for the city of Perryville."...

OAK RIDGE -- Lizard Lick, Mo., used to be here, but a growth of trees and incorporation changed that. Now it's Oak Ridge, incorporated 1869. Oak Ridge Treasurer Karen McLane said that, according to a book on the town's history, the original settlement took on the name of Lizard Lick because of the natural salt deposit that used to be on the ridge close to where the town center and crossroads are now...

SIKESTON -- The city of Sikeston hopes to realize big dividends from a new economic development department. The new office, created late last year, is a joint effort between the city-owned utilities and city government. Dan Ward, Sikeston's city manager, said the joint effort is designed to "expand the financing and scope of economic development" activities in the city...

ANNA, Ill. -- Street improvements, further construction on a waste-water disposal project, and a new veterans center are among notable projects scheduled in Anna in 1992. "We're looking at improvement projects for Davie Street and Lime Kill Road this year," said Anna Mayor Ken Kohler. "These projects will be funded by motor fuel tax funds which are allocated to the city."...

ORAN -- Oran Mayor Robert K. Dennis' main concern this year is getting a grant to fund new water lines and a well in Oran. "Our main well is down. We're on a backup well and we have a lot of water breaks" with the pipes, said Dennis, mayor of this Scott County town of 1,162...

ADVANCE -- Officials of the Advance School District propose expanding the elementary school and making improvements to other school buildings. But those plans depend on voter approval of two tax measures on the April 7 ballot. Voters will be asked to approve a $350,000 bond issue and a 38-cent operating levy hike...

CHAFFEE -- Chaffee's biggest development of 1991 caused a lot of apprehension for city officials. City voters, though, put that apprehension to rest in November when they approved a $500,000 bond issue for needed improvements to the city's waste-water treatment plant...

MARBLE HILL -- What are the best things a town like Marble Hill has to offer? The town's administrative assistant says it's the residents themselves. "There are some down-to-earth, real honest and hard-working people here," said David Jackson, a former city alderman who took over as administrative assistant just a few months ago...

DELTA -- All of the streets in Delta will be officially named and all houses will be numbered as the town prepares for participation in a countywide enhanced 911 emergency dispatching service. Delta Mayor Paul Evans said the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission in Perryville will help lay out the addressing plan, which will be carried out this year...

Five-year-old Sally Pyles of Charleston says she will be a great big sister when her little brother or sister is born; now she has a certificate to prove it. She is a graduate of Southeast Missouri Hospital's sibling class, a course designed to help soon-to-be big brothers and big sisters learn a little about the new arrival...

Did you take a self inventory in January? Or is your inventory made at another time? June 30th? September 29th? Today? I mean an honest, lengthy, true or false inventory of where you are in life, what your problems are, what you have or have not achieved but still want to. Something like this, say in the category of problems?...

The traditional Valentine's Day gift of candy may be losing popularity these days, considering the current emphasis on health and fitness. But flowers never go out of style. There is an increasing interest in flowers, especially flowering plants as special expressions of caring. Each time it blooms, the gift conveys these sentiments again and again...

Three students have advanced to the state level in the Daughters of the American Revolution, Nancy Hunter Chapter, National History Month essay contest. Students were asked to write an essay about a woman involved in the American Revolution. Timothy Sadler, a seventh-grade student at L.J. Schultz School, wrote about Abigail Adams...

Larry and Daina Eyler had scheduled an overnight stay at Cape Girardeau in their plans for a fly-drive vacation along the upper Mississippi River. "Our plans were to fly into Memphis and drive along the Mississippi River to Burlington, Iowa, a community of about 40,000 people," said Daina Eyler. "We lived in the Simi Valley area near Los Angeles. My husband had retired from the L.A. school system and we were looking for a retirement location."...

More people are working these days in Cape Girardeau County and the state of Missouri. "More than 36,000 people had jobs in Cape County in December," said Jackie Cecil, director of the Missouri Job Service office at Cape Girardeau. "That figures to 95.9 percent of our work forces."...

John Turner, who has been working at the Wal-Mart vision center at Sikeston, will be manager of the vision center at the new Wal-Mart Superstore, which is expected to open in Cape Girardeau this month. "We will have a doctor available at the vision center for eye examinations," said Turner. "We're already taking calls for appointments."...

Room Mates Sleep Center Pool & Spa is moving. "After 22 years in the same location, it was time for a change," said Ed McCormick, who has operated the business at the same location since 1970. "We're taking on a new look." The company, now located at 2146 William, didn't move far, from 2148 William in the Town Plaza Shopping Center...

Frank and Carolyn Klueppel of Plaza Gifts and Office Supplies recently received a plaque in recognition of the store's high level of retailing as a Hallmark Gold Crown Store. The local company has locations at Town Plaza Shopping Center and West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau; at Carbondale, Ill., and Sikeston, Mo...