Stories from Thursday, October 21, 1993

SCOTT CITY -- Theon L. Schaefer Jr., 50, of Scott City, died Wednesday, Oct. 20, 1993, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 28, 1943, at Cape Girardeau, son of Theon Frank and Marie Bertha Schoen Schaefer. Schaefer worked as a heavy equipment operator for West Lake Quarry in Scott City...

Student and faculty members debating riverboat gambling Wednesday night over and over gravitated to a central point: how best to enrich the lives of the citizens of Cape Girardeans. The jobs and tax revenues that would arrive with the riverboat would be foolish to turn down, the three-person team of pro-gambling debaters said, while one opponent warned, "Think about how dependent the local economy can become on gambling."...

To the Editor:Your editorial of 10-7-93 asked us to "lend a positive voice" to the "school improvement" issue. The most "positive" thing that has been voiced is the "negative" vote that defeated the school issue in both April and October. Maybe now the Cape Girardeau establishment will get the message and change their "Beverly Hills-throw-away-society" attitude and get back to basics.The reasons for the city-wide, and my individual, negative vote are many and very complex. ...

THURSDAY, OCT. 21 At 4:32 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters responded to 611 S. West End Blvd., for a report of a fire alarm sounding. At 6:27 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters responded to 820 S. Sprigg for medical assistance. At 7:03 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters responded to 1100 S. Kingshighway for a report of smoke in the area...

The Cape Girardeau County Medical Society Auxiliary will host its second annual Halloween Party on Saturday, Oct. 30 from 2-4 p.m. It will be held at Centenary Methodist Church Family Life Center at 300 N. Ellis. Food, fun, games, prizes, face painting, storytelling and magic will all be part of the afternoon. Activities are geared for children 12 and under, and they must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets are 25 cents each...

MARBLE HILL - The Marble Hill Board of Aldermen and park board are seeking a declaratory judgment in circuit court to determine whether it is legal to use a trust fund earmarked for construction of a swimming pool to also build a city office complex...

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce is in the process of restructuring. "We've been wrestling with declining membership for the past few years," said Steve McPheeters, a member of the chamber's board of directors. "We decided to shut down the operation in its present form and reorganize with new committees and a new focus,"...

Justice delayed is justice denied, the saying goes. In the case of Dr. Bolivar Escobedo, who played fast and loose with medical regulations, justice is being denied his patients. Forty-four months passed between a seven-count complaint being filed against Escobedo and a finding being issued in his case earlier this month ... ...

To the Editor: The riverboat casino gambling issue which is still alive in Cape Girardeau is just another battle in the cultural war going on throughout America. This particular battle just happens to be here where we live. The culture war which is raging through the land is about abortion, gay and lesbian agenda, drugs, gangs in the streets, crime out of control, pornography, TV and movie sex and violence, sexual promiscuity, teen pregnancy, corruption in government, disintegration of families, perverted people trying to redefine life in America and yes, gambling plus much more.. ...

Oct. 21, 1993 Dear Larry, This won't be a pep talk. But I have been in similar situations where circumstances changed abruptly, and that well-known, well-hidden silver lining was discovered only long afterward. Now, it looks to you as though up is down, left is right, and you are lost without a map. Now is scary...

Son to Amy O'Kelly of Perryville, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 5:26 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, 1993. Name, Kyle Scott. Weight, 7 pounds 3 ounces. Second son. Ms. O'Kelly is the former Amy Slinkard, daughter of Scott and Barb Slinkard of Jackson, and Michele Slinkard of Cape Girardeau. She is employed at TG(U.S.A.)...

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. -- Juanita Hoffner, 69, of Murphysboro, died Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1993, at her home. She was born May 17, 1924, in Union County, daughter of John M. and Virgie Poole Rinehart. She married Leo Hoffner, who died Nov. 26, 1988. Hoffner was retired office manager at Cardinal Distributors in Belleville. She was a member of Elm Street Baptist Church, American Legion Auxiliary, Women of the Moose, and VFW Auxiliary...

SIKESTON -- Chester Wesley Young, 64, of Sikeston, died Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1993, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born April 24, 1929, in Cape Girardeau County, son of Edgar William and Nellie Jane Atchison Young. He was formerly of Jackson. Survivors include a sister, Mattie O'Howell of Cape Girardeau...

SIKESTON -- George Ulis Sullivan, 95, of Sikeston, died Wednesday, Oct. 20, 1993, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Sikeston is in charge of arrangements.

EAST PRAIRIE -- Funeral service for Herbert L. Krauss of East Prairie will be held at 2 p.m. today at Shelby Funeral Chapel. Mike Johnson will officiate, with burial in Oak Grove Cemetery near Charleston. Krauss, 46, died Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1993, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston...

Paul Clayton Shank Sr., 65, of Grand Rapids, Mich., died Sunday, Oct. 17, 1993, in a Grand Rapids hospital. He was born Aug. 11, 1925, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Shank was a member of the faculty at Southeast Missouri State University from 1964-73. He was associate professor of education and director of school services in the Division of Education, Psychology and Physical Education. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II...

TAMMS, Ill. -- John C. Burke, 65, of Tamms, Ill., died Wednesday, Oct. 20, 1993, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 5, 1928, at Blue Island, Ill., son of Joseph C. and Amelia Kuchta Burke. He married Helen Penrod, Nov. 7, 1958...

JACKSON -- Woodrow A. Statler, 78, of Jackson, died Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1993, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

ANNA, Ill. -- Marie Ganong, 93, of Anna, died Wednesday, Oct. 20, 1993, at Union County Nursing Home. She was born June 12, 1900, in Centralia, daughter of George E. and Hattie Keith Gleason. She married Guy Ganong, who died in 1967. Ganong retired as hostess at Crain Funeral Home in Ullin in 1987. She was a member of the United Methodist Church here...

A ground-breaking ceremony Wednesday at 701 Good Hope marked the start of construction of the $1 million Salvation Army headquarters ... and the fruition of a dream for Capt. Elmer Trapp. "We're really excited," said Trapp. "Finally we're ready to begin construction, and everything is happening so fast...

Traffic congestion will be the price of progress as work begins this week on the next segment of the Cape LaCroix Creek-Walker Branch flood-control project in Cape Girardeau. Ken Eftink of the city's planning services department said Wednesday that sections of Kingshighway and streets that connect to the northbound lane of the street will be closed as part of the flood-control work...

Liesl Schoenberger playing "Turkey in the Straw" Wednesday at the Missouri Flag Day dedication in front of the Oliver-Leming home where the flag was created. Decked out in the red, white and blue of the American and Missouri flags, Cape Girardeau's historic Oliver-Leming house served as a fitting backdrop Wednesday for the celebration of Missouri Flag Day...

Cape Girardeau's Board of Education has called for three open forums to solicit community input on a possible change in the school grade structure. On Wednesday night, the board discussed some options to move the district toward a middle school educational system. The board also discussed the possibility of putting another tax increase on the ballot...

JACKSON -- Fourth grade students at Jackson's West Lane Elementary School took a walk through Missouri Wednesday, and met such famous people as Walter Cronkite, Gen. John J. Pershing, Walt Disney, Mark Twain and Harry Truman. Along they way, they also learned about the state in which they live, including its heritage and history, past and present...

The Otahki Girl Scout Council will celebrate care for the Earth by recycling newspapers. They ask area residents to join in this project by bringing in newspapers to the BFI drop off bin at the Schnucks parking lot on Oct. 30. The papers will be collected from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day...

The Cape Girardeau Central High School chamber, concert and girls choirs will perform their first concert tonight at 7:30 p.m. The fall choir concert is a demonstration performance designed to give the audience an idea of what takes place during choir practice...

A workshop for beginning genealogists will be held Monday in the Hirsch Community Room of the Cape Girardeau Public Library, 711 N. Clark, from 7-9 p.m. It is sponsored by the library and the Cape Girardeau County Genealogical Society. For further information, persons can call the library at 334-5279. Ancestor charts may be picked up at the reference desk of the library...

NEW YORK -- Steve Sandalis can't find the right woman, he eats only bland food and he goes to bed early most nights. Maybe being the Topaz Man isn't quite as romantic as it's cracked up to be. Those pecs are produced by spending at least five days a week in the gym and ingesting six or seven protein-packed meals a day, and his fat-free body came about because the word "plain" describes everything he puts in his mouth...

LOS ANGELES -- Barbara Donnell has heard it before: that some women groan at the soap opera hunks and the romance novel cover boy who are the star attractions at this weekend's Heartland Women's Conference. Donnell ticks off the names of some of the workshops -- on health, finances, self-protection, children's services, for instance -- that will be offered during this weekend. "Seminars and education are wonderful," she said, "But they do not sell tickets."...