Stories from Sunday, January 17, 1993

CHAFFEE -- All four incumbents on the Chaffee Board of Aldermen have filed for re-election. None is opposed. Aldermen who have filed are: Ward 4 Alderman Tom Cunningham, Ward 3 Alderman Dan Finley, Ward 1 Alderman Bill Cannon and Ward 2 Alderman Ed Gauthier...

PERRYVILLE -- The city of Perryville is ready to embark on the second phase of a project to renovate the downtown business district. Last year, the city completed the $1.6 million first phase of the project and is expected in February to award a bid for the second phase ... at a cost of nearly $1 million...

George Bush leaves office this week after 1,463 days as our nation's leader. His tenure as chief executive was marked by soaring highs and deep lows, by landmark successes and puzzling failures. How will history remember George Bush? We hope it is as a good if fallible president who was a credit to his nation and who handled adeptly the primary function of that high office: he protected our nation and its interests when global events threatened them...

It is my belief that too much responsibility has been arrogated to the federal government; we have created a "nanny state" that takes too much from us in order to do too much for us. This has enervated self-government. We seek a devolution of responsibility from the federal government to the states, from the states to the localities, and from all three to the efforts of individuals...

Two of 10 Cape Girardeau public school buildings were built before World War I. Two more were built before World War II. The newest building, the Area Vocational-Technical School, was built in 1967, years before most students attending the school were born...

A group of Cape Girardeau business people have hired the St. Louis public relations firm of Tretter-Gorman, Inc. to help promote the school district's April ballot measure. Boatmen's Bank president Jim Limbaugh is spearheading the citizen's group, which is in its formative stage...

Pleased with their win in court Friday, educators say they're ready to give the Missouri General Assembly a chance to revise the state's formula for funding schools. Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder ruled Friday the formula, which provides $1 billion to Missouri's 538 public school districts, is unconstitutional and ordered the legislature to rewrite it...

Picture this: A blacktop pathway varying in width from 6-8 feet snaking its way through Cape Girardeau, grazing parks, past ~benches, along a creek, ducking under streets and bowing around trees. Hard-core bikers and hikers pump their legs mercilessly up and down, almost kicking up dust on a asphalt and concrete trail...

JEFFERSON CITY - The chairman of the House committee that deals with tourism is at odds with the tourism chairman in the Senate and the governor's office over what group will regulate riverboat gambling in Missouri. Rep. Herb Fallert, D-Ste. Genevieve, who sponsored the legislation that eventually led to voter approval of riverboat gambling last November, is trying to fight off efforts to shift regulatory and licensing duties from the tourism commission to a gaming commission...

The Cape Girardeau SEMO Chapter 519 of Parents Without Partners is having a public discussion on remarriage. It will be held at Bonanza restaurant Jan. 26, from 7-9 p.m. The topic of discussion will be the "Pitfalls and Advantages of Second Marriages." Several couples who were members of PWP will share their joys and struggles of remarriage...

Two Cape Girardeau men were honored for their work promoting justice, freedom and social betterment through non-violence at Friday's community-wide Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. Ferd Sturm and Michael Sterling received the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for 1993...

Workshop on Wheels presents "Developmentally Appropriate Practices" Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Next Generation Day Care in Jackson. Jody Trautwein will also offer an opportunity to discuss specific teaching strategies effective in a child care setting...

Hilda J. Merideth, 85, of Florissant, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 1993 at Christian Hospital Northeast in St. Louis. She was born April 19, 1907 in Perryville, the daughter of Leon Hoffman and Mary Sutterer. On Dec. 26, 1927, she married William A. Merideth, who preceded her in death in March 1986...

Kenneth D. Gerecke, 50, died Jan. 15, 1993 at Cedar Groves Nursing Home in Hillsboro, Mo. He was born Dec. 2, 1942 in Crump, son of the late Earnest H. Gerecke and Frieda A. Yoder Gerecke. He is survived by two brothers, Jerry L. Gerecke, Thomaston, Ga., Donald G. Gerecke, Mojave, Calif.; one aunt, one uncle, three nieces and three nephews...

EAST PRAIRIE - Basil Alexander Zilafro, Jr., 72, of East Prairie, died Saturday, Jan. 16, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 2, 1920, in East Prairie, to Basil A. and Mattie T. Jones Zilafro. On July 18, 1946, he married Beachel L. Jones, who preceded him in death on Nov. 22, 1989...

CHARLESTON -- Henry Luke "Gus" Heckman, 84, of Charleston died Saturday, Jan. 16, 1993 at his home. He was born Aug. 13, 1908 in Roanoke, Va., the son of Samuel R. and Mary Yates Heckman He had lived in Charleston for the past 33 years. He was owner and operator of the Spur Oil Company near Wyatt and was an auctioneer until his retirement in 1982...

DEXTER -- Vivian R. Botsch, 65, of Dexter, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 1993 at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 26, 1927 in Flint, Mich., daughter of Eathel Bond Blackman, of Dexter, and the late Earl Blackman. She was married to Erwin C. Botsch at Dexter on Dec. 23, 1945. He survives of Bernie, Mo...

MARBLE HILL -- William Travis Royal, 64, of Marble Hill, died Friday, Jan. 15, 1993, at Marble Hill. He was born Nov. 7, 1928, in Birmingham, Ala., son of E.E. and Cora Royal. He and Johnetta Gold were married July 12, 1989. Royal had been employed by Pan American Airlines...

PERRYVILLE -- Herbert J. Weisler, 89, of Perryville, died Thursday, Jan. 14, 1993, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born Aug. 13, 1903, at Sereno, son of August S. and Ellen M. Valleroy Weisler. He and Cecilia M. Manche were married July 22, 1934...

Ollie Louis Purl, 58, 1022 N. Middle, died Thursday, Jan. 14, 1993, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born May 25, 1934, in Brownville, Tenn., son of Cornelius and Mary DeBerry Purl. He married the former Martha Mae Harris. Purl was a truck driver 30 years with the city of Cape Girardeau Sanitation Department...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Earl Eugene "Gene" Romine, formerly of Sikeston, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Ponder Funeral Chapel. rial will be in New Morley Cemetery at Morley. Romine, 48, died Tuesday, Jan. 12, 1993, in Terrell, Texas. He was born July 16, 1944, at Illmo, son of Earl and Mary Simpson Romine...

MATTHEWS -- Funeral service for Dwayne D. Kelso, Matthews Route 1, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston. The Rev. Herschel Yates will officiate, with burial in Matthews Cemetery. Kelso, 30, died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 1993, in a car accident here...

CHESTERFIELD - Kay Mallett Preston, 51, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 1993 at Surrey Place in Chesterfield after an extended illness. She was born Nov. 27, 1941 in Conway, Ark., the daughter of Philip and Erma Mallett. On Nov. 20, 1988 she married Harry Preston...

JACKSON - Two more candidates have filed for municipal and school board offices in Jackson. They are: - David Hitt, for Jackson alderman, Ward 1 - David Seabaugh, for Jackson School Board Hitt, 41, of 601 Otto Drive, is a life-long resident of Jackson. He has lived in Ward 1 for 12 years and is running for the vacancy created by incumbent Ward 1 Alderman Paul Sander's decision to run for mayor...

It is amazing how much enjoyment and education one can get from simple things such as, in this case, three ears of corn; that is, if you have time and inclination to enjoy the purchase, the purpose of the purchase, the result and the little pieces of information you glean along the way until nothing but the cobs are left...

Do you believe chocolate should be considered a food group and carrot cake a vegetable? Do pretzels, soda, cookies, doughnuts and candy bars tantalize you from the snack machine? Yes, Americans love their junk food. Secretary Kathy Pinnt believes she may be a junk-food junkie, but she doesn't care...

"America Abloom-A Celebration of Regional Styles of Gardening," is the theme of the third annual St. Louis Flower Show, hosted by the Junior League of St. Louis. The event will be held at Cervantes Convention Center, downtown St. Louis, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and from noon until 6 p.m. on Sunday...

A Tiny Miss and Little Miss Southeast Missouri Pageant will be held Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. at the Caruthersville High School in conjunction with the Miss Southeast Missouri Pageant. Contestants who may enter the Tiny Miss are girls ages 3, 4 and 5. Those wishing to enter the Little Miss must be 6, 7 or 9...

JACKSON -- Warranty deeds issued at the office of Janet Robert, Cape Girardeau County recorder of deeds: Lowell G. and Margaret Ann Spane to Pamela R. Brown; Kelly E. Waller to Kenneth W. and Melissa D. Eakens; Richard G. and Carolynn L. Vah to Harry Jene and Ma Li Lee Imhoff...

Doug Kaminskey, formerly environmental services coordinator for the city of Cape Girardeau, has joined the private sector. Kaminskey has become a partner in the Lincoln & McBride Paint and Aluminum Co., of Jackson. "I enjoyed my job for Cape Girardeau," said Kaminskey of his 13-year association with the city. "I had a chance to get into business for myself and decided to take it...

Weight Watchers of Greater Missouri and Southern Illinois has opened a new center for meetings in Cape Girardeau, at 250 Silver Springs Road. The local center was founded by Joe and Sandie Folender in 1967. The Folenders are still owners of the franchise, which is in its 25th year of operation...

Elite Travel, Inc., has opened at 354 South Silver Springs Road in Cape Girardeau, and will hold its grand opening this week. The new travel agency is owned by Carolyn Kempf and Peggy McLain. People can stop by and register for prizes this Monday through Friday...

Kerber, Eck and Braeckel Certified Public Accountants has been named to the "Bowman 100," a ranking of the top 100 CPA firms in the United States. The ranking is prepared by Bowman's Accounting Report, an Atlanta-based independent newsletter that reports and analyzes the news, trends and strategies affecting CPA firms...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Heilig-Meyers, a Virginia-based furniture company, which recently opened a store in Cape Girardeau, will expand to Carbondale. Heilig-Meyers has purchased a building, which formerly housed Cheatham's Furniture in Carbondale. Ed Helms, vice president of corporate expansion for Heilig-Meyers, said the company will spend about $150,000 for renovation and remodeling of the building...

A new pet grooming and boarding business opened in Cape Girardeau last week. All-Pet Grooming started operations last Monday at 125 S. Broadview Plaza, Suite 3. "We specialize in pet grooming and boarding," said Chantel Miller, owner of the new business. "We also have supplies, and AKC puppies for sale."...

Frontier Bar-B-Que, under new ownership, will expand its hours this week. The new hours will be 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Richard and Margaret King of Cape Girardeau recently purchased the restaurant, 602 Morgan Oak. Margaret King said the restaurant had previously been open for breakfast, and that it was re-opening at 6 a.m. Monday by popular demand...

ST. LOUIS Spartech Corporation has purchased a portion of Penda Corporation's custom extrusion division. With the acquisition, Spartech Plastics becomes the largest custom rigid plastic sheet producer in the country, with sales in excess of 150 million pounds a year...

SIKESTON -- Courtney Corbett has joined Boyer Construction Co. at Sikeston as director of public relations. Philip Boyer, president of Boyer Construction and developer of the Sikeston Factory Outlet Stores, announced Corbett's appointment. Boyer also announced MediaConsultants will handle all marketing and advertising...

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Venture Stores Inc. will close its department store in the University Mall here next month because of "lower-than-expected" sales. The store, less than 2 years old, is only the fourth in Venture's 25-year history to close. Venture, headquartered in O'Fallon, Mo., operates 93 discount stores in eight states, including West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau...

A hobby has turned into a part-time business for Jeff Beltz of Cape Girardeau. "I'm a pretty hard-core fisherman," said Beltz. "I've been tying my own flies and lures for a long while." Beltz is hand-tying lures and flies now for other anglers. "I work out of my home," he said. "I have lures available at Jackson Bait and Tackle and Southern Boat and Motors."...

MEXICO, Mo. Mike McGannon, who served as president of the former First Federal Savings and Loan of Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau from March 1987 to August 1989, has been promoted to president and chief operating officer of Optec D.D. USA Inc. in Mexico...

Write Service, a computerized printing service that allows for immediate printing of almost any paper product, opened recently in Cape Girardeau. The new business is operated by Jill Wilferth, through Children's Bazaar and Kick's Cards and Gifts at the Crossroads Shopping Center, located at the intersection of Independence and Kingshighway...

The Small Business Development Center at Southeast Missouri State University will conduct sessions for owners of area small businesses and those planning business ventures. Sessions will be held at Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Perryville and Malden. Gil Degenhardt will conduct the counseling sessions, scheduled for about one hour each. There is no fee...

SIKESTON -- A new Medicap Pharmacy will open here in March. Groundbreaking for the new facility was held Thursday at 10 a.m. The new store at Sikeston is the second Medicap Pharmacy opened by Script Masters, Inc. Jim Teegarden is president of Script Masters and Kevin Teegarden is secretary and treasurer. The Teegardens operate a Medicap at Chaffee...