Stories from Wednesday, July 6, 1994

SCOTT CITY -- Stella Ruth Dickerson, 76, of Scott City, formerly of Sikeston, died Tuesday, July 5, 1994, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 16, 1917, in Mississippi County, daughter of Virgil and Lilie Gertrude Atchinson Stain...

From the looks of things, nationally syndicated commentator and hometown icon Rush Limbaugh has members of the National Education Association just where he wants them: making ridiculous proclamations. Convening in New Orleans, the NEA voted Monday to boycott Florida orange juice because Mr. ...

In the aftermath of last year's flooding, Missourians held their collective breath in anticipation of how the state's economy would rebound. Numbers released last week indicate it has done alright, thank you. We see this as a positive sign for Missouri. The economy shows evidence of strong growth following a period when high water might have put confidence in the state at a low point...

Today we resume our discussion of verbals, this time to expound on the unpopular subjunctive mood. Like the passive voice, the subjunctive has always been disparaged even by scholars of note, and the mere mention tends to put many writers in a contrary mood...

BENTON -- Nina M. Swope, 71, of Sacramento, Calif., died Sunday, July 3, 1994, at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. She was born Aug. 15, 1922, at Benton, daughter of Charles and Adelia Westrich Bollinger. She married Jesse M. Swope, who died Nov. 1, 1992...

James Onice Wills, 78, of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, July 5, 1994, at his home. He was born Aug. 27, 1915, at Wappapello, son of John F. and Mary Fox Wills. He and Floy M. Croell were married Sept. 17, 1938, at Greenville. Wills was a farm equipment salesman at H&S Equipment in Jackson, retiring in 1981. He was a member and trustee of First General Baptist Church...

DELTA -- Eula Mansker, 69, of Morganton, N.C., died Friday, July 1, 1994, in Morganton. He was born March 31, 1925, at Delta, son of Homer A. and Ellen Estes Mansker. He and Freda A. Fredichs were married in 1943. Survivors include five sons, Kenneth and Eula Jr. ...

Connie Harris, 80, of Abilene, Texas, died Tuesday, July 5, 1994, in an Abilene hospital. She was born in Portageville. The former Connie McElyea and Lindell Harris were married Sept. 2, 1941, in Cape Girardeau. Harris received a bachelor of science degree in education from Southeast Missouri State University, and master of religious education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas...

CHARLESTON -- Anthony Ray Kent Jr., 13, of Charleston, died Sunday, July 3, 1994, at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. He was born June 25, 1981, in Charleston, son of Anthony Ray and Bernice Hamilton Kent. Kent was an eighth grader at Charleston Junior High School...

DEXTER -- Funeral service for Frances Louise Light of Dexter will be held at 10 a.m. today at Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield. The Rev. Everett Enloe will officiate, with burial in Pilgrim Rest Cemetery near Round Springs. Light, 47, died Sunday, July 3, 1994, at Dexter Memorial Hospital...

MOREHOUSE -- Thomas Gerald Gargus, 84, of Eufaula, Ala., died Sunday, July 3, 1994, at Crown Health Care. He was born Jan. 19, 1908, in Berkley, Ky., son of John Burl and Nora Ellen Whitis Gargus. Gargus lived in Morehouse more than 40 years, moving to Eufaula in 1991. He was a retired self-employed landscaper, and member of Morehouse General Baptist Church...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Funeral service for Lucian Finley "Luke" Watson of Dewey, Ill., formerly of East Prairie, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Shelby Funeral Chapel here. The Rev. Don Edwards will officiate, with burial in Dogwood Cemetery. Watson, 79, died Saturday, July 2, 1994, at Country Care Center in Pana, Ill...

Dear Editor, According to the Southeast Missourian (July 5), SEMO instructor Richard Bryant thinks Missouri is about 20 years behind in public education ("Local educators get involved in state reforms"). Hallelujah! Considering the perceived condition of public education in the U.S. (particularly urban areas), Bryant's criticism should be cause for celebration, not concern. I doubt he intended it that way...

CHARLESTON -- Rhoda Catherine Pike, 91, of Charleston, died Tuesday, July 5, 1994, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Dec. 23, 1902, in Kentucky, daughter of Elijah R. and Mary Josephine Hodge Merrick. She and Noel Pike were married in April 1952. He died Aug. 27, 1973...

SIKESTON -- Martha Lou McDowell, 64, of Sikeston, died Monday, July 4, 1994, in the emergency room at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born June 12, 1930, in Conway, Ark., daughter of Wesley H. and Iva Lou Fulmer Kelley. She and Coy McDowell were married May 17, 1947, in Lonoke, Ark...

BLOOMFIELD -- Virgie Raye Mize, 92, of Bloomfield, died Tuesday, July 5, 1994, at Bloomfield Nursing Center. She was born Dec. 24, 1901, in Franklin, Ark., daughter of John and Nancy Smithee Pinkston. She and Homer Mize were married in 1926. Mize attended college in Conway, Ark., and taught in rural schools for several years. She and her husband moved to Avert in 1949 and operated Mize Grocery until ill health forced their retirement in 1993. She attended Walker General Baptist Church...

PERRYVILLE -- Lena J. Powell, 74, of Perryville, died Monday, July 4, 1994, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born Dec. 17, 1919, in Caledonia, daughter of John Thomas and Elizabeth Ellen Wisdom Brooks. She and Harold D. Powell were married June 16, 1967. He died Aug. 3, 1977...

Funeral mass for Clara Elizabeth Brant, 542 S. Ellis, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Mary's Cathedral. The Rev. Glenn Eftink will officiate, with burial in St. Mary's Cemetery. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel from 4-8 p.m. Thursday. Parish prayers will be at 7...

After wrestling with his conscience, Cape Girardeau City Councilman Richard Eggimann decided he had to reverse his endorsement of a planned hiking-biking trail along Bloomfield Road. Three other councilmen -- Tom Neumeyer, Melvin Gateley and J.J. Williamson -- followed suit and Eggimann's motion to kill an application for a grant through the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department to fund it passed 4-2 Tuesday night...

Labor unions will have greater access to state employees under a policy put into effect by Gov. Mel Carnahan's administration. The policy, issued by H. Lee Capps, director of the Office of Administration's personnel division, became effective in March and will be used beginning in September...

FROHNA -- In 1894, Joachim Dreyer and seven of his brothers and sisters made the treacherous journey to America from Hamburg, Germany. Dreyer and his brothers decided to call the community of Frohna their home, while the sisters settled in Illinois. Three other sisters remained in Germany...

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Christopher John McDonald is looking forward to duty on the USS Squall, a Navy coastal patrol ship that was christened in St. Louis. "Most of this crew along with a SEALS team will be together for the next two years," said McDonald Tuesday...

Fourth of July weekend, that special time in the year when we shoot off fireworks, barbecue a few hamburgers and revel in our independence, brought out varying shades of red, white and blue. It wasn't patriotism, however, that flushed those traditional colors to the surface...

SCOTT CITY -- Two weeks in Paris may sound like a dream vacation, but teenage missionaries headed to France today plan on hard work. A group of 17 teenagers, including three from Scott City, will help launch a new Assembly of God church in Paris. They leave this morning for a two-week stay in the "City of Lights."...

SCOTT CITY -- As Scott City Clerk Nona Walls read council members' names in a roll-call vote to approve a contract with the city's cable television supplier, Ward 1 Councilwoman Ladonna Phelps turned to a fellow council member, held up two fingers and whispered the words, "Two years."...

The Jackson license fee office is operating this week on an abbreviated vacation schedule, office manager Norma Wildman said. The office will be open through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon, she said. Wildman said the Cape Girardeau license fee office on North Main Street will be open its normal hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon...

About 150 high school students from across Missouri will talk about freedom, government and the economy today through Friday. The ninth annual Missouri Freedom Forum is being held in Cape Girardeau this week. Fifteen students from Cape Girardeau are among those attending...

Southeast Missouri State University's Kent Library has been named to the top 10 list for net lenders in the state of Missouri for 1993. The list documents the total number of interlibrary loans made by libraries in Missouri, including public, college and university libraries, during 1993...

"Quick, get the camera!" What parent hasn't uttered some variation of that four-word phrase on a simmering summer day? Sometimes the plea takes the form of an urgent whisper, so as not to arouse the suspicions of the little ones at play. Pictures of children and summertime go together like kids and wading pools. But, what to do about those worrisome shadows, bored stares and out-of-proportion results that just don't do the moment justice?...

Ferns give a calm grace to gardens that no other group of plants offer. Unlike many of the flowering plants, ferns have not been hybridized for garden usage. They are essentially wild -- precisely the kind of plants we need to invite into our gardens in a world in which wilderness is disappearing...