Stories from Monday, February 28, 1994

DELTA -- Erica McClard has set her dating ground rules -- no sex until she is married. The 14-year-old is among a growing number of teens making a commitment to abstain from sex until marriage as part of a national campaign called True Love Waits, sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention...

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. and City Engineer J. Kensey Russell are preparing a preliminary study on the impact riverboat gambling will have on the city's traffic. But despite apprehension by some city council members, Boyd and City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said traffic matters likely will not affect the council's choice between the two gaming companies vying for a license to operate here...

It took just eight seconds to determine if Jeff Gannon would be a "lying" cowboy or a local hero. Judging from Gannon's smile, which was nearly as wide as his black cowboy hat, the latter came to pass after an excruciating 48-hour waiting period. Much to his delight, friends and family could shake hands with a local hero on the final day of competition in the seventh annual Longhorn World Championship Rodeo. The three-day event took place at the Show Me Center...

FRUITLAND -- Over 100 firefighters from regional fire departments in seven Southeast Missouri counties participated in a day-long training program on fighting and suppression of brush fires. The program was sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation's (DOC) forestry division, and hosted by the Fruitland Rural Fire Department...

The Southeast Missourian asked students at Franklin Elementary School what they do when they are bored. Geoff VandeWeghe: "I usually sculpt any old thing. Sometimes I read books, magazines and comic books. Sometimes I grab my creek pole and go fishing for crawdads, or clean my pets' cages."...

A recent $1,500 donation by the MidAmerica Hotels Corporation allowed commissioned work to begin on a police memorial, remembering regional officers who have died in the line of duty. The memorial is scheduled to be dedicated during a ceremony May 15 -- Law Enforcement Day -- at Cape County Park North. It will be located adjacent to the war memorial, near the flag pole...

Don Hager believes only baseball is innocent enough to allow the batter three strikes before he's out. In the arena of violent crime, Hager feels strongly that there are cases when one strike is all that's needed to put the offender behind bars for the duration of his or her sentence...

The U.S. Senate last week began debate on one of the most controversial issues facing Congress this year -- a constitutional amendment that would require a balanced federal budget. The amendment is proposed in a bill sponsored chiefly by U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill., a longtime proponent of a balanced federal budget. Its passage is imperative if this nation is to regain any degree of the fiscal responsibility that it lacked since 1969...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Paul D. Thompson, 58, of Bloomfield, Mo., died Sunday, Feb. 27, 1994, at his residence. He was born July 17, 1935, at Bell City, Mo., son of James Harvey and Ona Mae Hickerson Kelso Thompson. He married Janice Sheldon, Nov. 10, 1956, at Bloomfield...

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- Clara E. Hoffmann, 90, of Altenburg, Mo., died Saturday, Feb. 26, 1994, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 11, 1904, at Frohna, Mo., daughter of Herman C. and Emma Poppitz Weber. She married Carl E. Hoffmann, Aug. 6, 1932...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Gerald Miller, 78, of Olive Branch died Saturday, Feb. 26, 1994 at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Aug. 8, 1915 at Miller City, Ill. to Charles and Ada Hargis Miller. On Sept. 3, 1939, he married Ruby Farris. She survives...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Tommy Jeff Mansfield, 73, of ST. Louis, formerly of East Prairie, died Saturday, Feb. 26, 1994, at the St. Louis Regional Hospital. He was born July 14, 1920, in Mississippi County, son of Fornie E. And Dellar M. Busby Mansfield. He married Virginia M. Wilson in 1939...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Frankel A. Carney Jr., 73, of Lake Alfred, Fla., formerly of Cairo, Ill., died Sunday, Feb. 27, 1994, at the Winter Haven Hospital in Winter Haven, Fla. The Barkett Funeral Home of Cairo is in charge of arrangements, which are incomplete at this time...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Margaret I. Crabtree, 74, of Cairo, Ill., died Saturday, Feb. 26, 1994, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 12, 1919, at Cairo, daughter of Willie and Mayme Hooker Brame. Survivors include an aunt, Frances Hooker of Paducah, Ky.; and two cousins, Mike Hooker and Kay McCohan, both of Paducah...

Riding in her mother's shopping cart, a little girl held her arm out as she passed Edith Hornbuckle near the inside entrance to Wal-Mart Supercenter, located alongside Interstate 55 at Cape Girardeau. Hornbuckle smiled, selected a "Wal-Mart Happy Face" sticker and carefully placed it on the youngster's arm...

Don't be surprised to see some Golden Arches in the Cape Girardeau Wal-Mart Superstore in the near future. McDonald's Corp., the king of fast foods, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the retail giant of merchandise, formed a quasi-partnership early last year, and they like what has evolved...

Doris Jean Arnold, Karla Marquart and Gary Turner, all of Century 21 Ashland Realty Co., have been honored for outstanding production for 1993. Arnold qualified as a member of the 1993 Presidents Club, producing a minimum of $90,000 in gross closed commissions for the year...

Spartech Corp. has announced a significant increase in its results for the quarter ended Jan. 29. Bradley B. Buechler, Spartech president and chief executive officer, reported quarterly earnings of $2.1 million, or 17 cents for primary and 9 cents fully-diluted earners per share. That was a sizable increase from the $1.3 million, or 10 cents primary and 6 cents fully diluted earnings per share reported for the same period a year ago...