Stories from Thursday, April 21, 1994

MATTHEWS -- Raymond R. Leach, 94, of Matthews, died Wednesday, April 20, 1994, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. The Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Sikeston is in charge of arrangements, which are incomplete at this time.

Students from 26 high schools participated in the annual District Vocational Agriculture and Future Farmers of America (FFA) contests held this spring. The contests were sponsored by the Southeast Missouri State University agriculture department in cooperation with area agricultural producers, agri-business, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Soil Conservation Service, district vocational agriculture instructors, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's agribusiness committee, Production Credit Association of Southeast Missouri and the Federal Land Bank of Southeast Missouri.. ...

JACKSON -- Election officials in Missouri are concerned about implementing the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which will open up the registration process but could force county officials to keep two sets of records for a while. "To say we are apprehensive about it would be an understatement," said Cape County Clerk Rodney Miller, who recently attended the spring Urban Election Board Conference conducted by the secretary of state's office...

The seventh annual Miss Riverfest Queen competition will be held June 11 as part of 1994 Riverfest activities. Scheduled from for June 10-11 in downtown Cape Girardeau, Riverfest features entertainment and activities for the entire family. Also back on the Riverfest schedule this year is the Little Miss Riverfest competition...

Central High School inducted 34 students into the National Honor Society Tuesday night. Students receive invitations to membership in National Honor Society who are juniors or seniors and uphold standards of scholarship, leadership, service and character as determined by the faculty council...

The city charter, like the constitution of this nation or state, is meant to define the broad concepts by which Cape Girardeau will be governed. Also like the constitutions, it is meant to be a living, breathing document, one that performs the delicate function of holding firm to certain principles while yielding when the times require it. ...

Funeral service for Vincent S. Kight, 2501 Janet, will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Patrick Tankersley and Chris Caywood will officiate, with burial in Morgan Memorial Park Cemetery at Advance. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today...

Son to Mr. and Mrs. Darren Sturm, 198 C Street, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 3:51 a.m. Saturday, April 9, 1994. Name, David Alexander. Weight, 8 pounds 1 ounce. Mrs. Sturm is the former Traci Rees, daughter of Gary and Anne Rees of Cape Girardeau. Sturm is employed at Papa John's, and is the son of Donnie and Xavieria Sturm of Scott City...

BLOOMFIELD -- Richard Wesley Pry, 66, of Bloomfield, died Monday, April 18, 1994, in Clearwater, Fla. He was born Sept. 1, 1927, near Bloomfield, son of William Edgar and Dolly Steward Pry. Pry lived most of his life in the Detroit, Mich., area, where he was a meatcutter with A&P Grocery Co. He moved back here six years ago. He attended Jehovah's Witnesses Church in Advance...

Cletus C. Smith, 78, of the Lutheran Home, died Wednesday, April 20, 1994, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

ALLENVILLE -- Dorothy Bock, 72, of Allenville, died Tuesday, April 19, 1994, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 11, 1921, at Allenville, daughter of Edward and Martha Jane Givens. She married Charles Williams. He preceded her in death. She later married Troy Probst, who also preceded her in death...

Candidates for the final Cape Girardeau City Council seat, representing Ward 3, have from May 3 until June 2 to file for the Aug. 2 special election. The Aug. 2 election will become a primary if more than two persons file for the office, or will be a general election if two or fewer candidates have filed by the deadline. If there is a primary, a general election would follow in November...

JEFFERSON CITY -- A scaled back health care reform bill, touted by Gov. Mel Carnahan and House Speaker Bob Griffin, was rejected on the House floor Monday, but few lawmakers believe they have heard the last of the measure this session. One version of Griffin's bill remains on the House informal calendar, and House rules give 10 working days for the bill to be taken up again before it dies...

When a 911 call is made to local authorities, it can be difficult to explain the nature of the ailment or even give law enforcement the address or directions to the home. That is why E911 systems like the one at the Cape County Sheriff's Department is so important...

Charles McClain will stay on as Missouri's commissioner of higher education for another year at the urging of Gov. Mel Carnahan and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. "The governor asked me to stay on for another year while the board was in a state of transition," McClain said Wednesday from his Jefferson City office...

April 21, 1994 Dear Frisco, I am living among people from outer space. My first clue was the lack of baseball fans. At dinner parties, grown men who teach high school chemistry (probably as simple as nursery rhymes to aliens) or own farm and garden supply companies (the better to splice rhododendron and sheep genes) blithely mention how boring they find the sport, as if they studied it in high school on Orion and didn't quite pick up on the nuances, the balletic poetry of 18 players balanced on a diamond, the unearthly symmetry that always gives a shortstop just enough time to throw out a runner, the way the game contracts, expands and bends time with the pinball speed of a double play, the manager's glacial walk to the mound, the swan dive of a forkball.. ...

How much money should I save for my retirement? How do I get a small business loan? What's the name of cartoon character Mr. Magoo's dog? Last year, the library received over 17,616 requests for help and information. Over 4,000 of those questions came over the telephone...

JACKSON -- If you plan to do any digging in Jackson, don't forget to call 1-800-DIG-RITE first. That's the toll-free telephone number of Missouri One Call System Inc. MOCS is a not-for-profit-organization that provides the one-stop, toll-free 800 number to expedite communications between the owners or operators of underground utility facilities and those who plan to dig, drill, or blast, so that the underground lines can be located and marked...

Pat Litzelfelner recently was recognized by the University of Kansas for "outstanding field instruction." She was nominated by students and collegues at Johnson County Mental Health Center for the award. Litzelfelner attends the University of Kansas, where she is pursuing a doctorage degree in social welfare...

A banquet honoring recipients of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce first Educators of the Year Awards will be held May 3. The dinner is open to the public. A reception begins at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. at the Drury Lodge. Honorees are Carol Reimann, elementary education; Tammy Brotherton, secondary education; Marjorie Engleman, special education; J. "Bud" Thompson, vocational education; and Sister Mary Ann Fischer, administration...

"Groundwater Protection -- Looking at Solutions" is the subject of a national teleconference to be presented from 1 to 3 p.m. May 4 at the University of Missouri Extension Center at Jackson, 815 Highway 25 South. The public is invited to participate in the teleconference, which is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters US along with LWV of Cape Girardeau County and the Groundwater Foundation, with both national and local speakers taking part...

There is a reward for taking in the entire 131-mile route of the Mississippi River Valley Scenic Drive : a sumptuous smorgasbord of history, culture and cuisine. One would have the opportunity to sample sorghum cake, old-fashioned barbecue, a vista of azealas, ride a steam train, roam the Black Forest or simply study a lengthy array of historical buildings...

Daniel Straubel knew he had something powerful to lure the Southern Literary Festival north to the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. "William Faulkner is the premier Southern writer, so having the Center for Faulkner Studies on our campus made us a real draw," said Straubel, who is the president for the 1994 Southern Literary Festival. ...

Sean Barnes, a Southeast Missouri State University junior art major, was recognized with the "Best in Show" award at the opening reception of the Annual Student Juried Art Exhibition recently. Barnes, who is from Cape Girardeau, won the "Best in Show" award for his oil painting titled "Eurydice". He also won a merit award for his oil painting titled "Amy"...

MILLER CITY, Ill. -- Jim Melton's father opened a fishing and camping area 25 years ago on the south shore of Horseshoe Lake. Eleven years later, Jim took over the family business. "I was working at the Chrysler plant in St. Louis," said Melton. "I decided it was time to work for myself, instead of some big business."...

STE. GENEVIEVE -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Wednesday plans to give Ste. Genevieve nearly $700,000 to help reduce future flood losses. The funds provided through FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, will be used to acquire flood-damaged and flood-prone properties of the north and south branches of the Gabouri Creek and Mississippi River. The properties will be demolished and the land turned into flood detention and open space areas for the community...

MCBRIDE -- The Missouri Department of Economic Development awarded more than $350,000 in disaster recovery assistance to Perry County for repairs to the Bois Brule Levee. The state agency announced Wednesday that Perry County will receive $358,000 to reconstruct the Bois Brule Levee, which protects 26,000 acres of land from the Mississippi River...