Stories from Wednesday, July 20, 1994

Mina B. Himmighoefer, 56, of McCluer, Ill., passed away July 19 at St. Francis Medical Center. Himmighoefer is at Ford & Sons Funeral Home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

The U.S. dollar is a measure of the color of the U.S. economic grass in the eyes of alert worldwide investors. -- Pollster and demographer Albert Sindlinger "Alert investors don't like what they see. The recent plunge of the dollar is a vote of no confidence in America's economic policies. It should also be a sober warning to everyone who expects the economy to gather strength in the months to come. ..."...

Four years ago, the Missouri General Assembly took its first serious look at lobbyists and their clients. But it wasn't until 1991 that legislators approved rules with teeth as a way to ward off political corruption. The result of these new regulations is an expanding number of lobbyists in Jefferson City. The number of lobbyists went from 973 just a year ago to 2,168 today...

If area public schools were to leave a paper trail, the 15.4 million sheets ordered annually would be over 25,000 miles long. In an effort to save money, a dozen local schools have formed a cooperative to purchase copy and computer paper in bulk. The four tractor-trailer trucks carrying 30,800 reams of paper arrived at Cape Girardeau public schools this week...

To Whom It May Concern: I am writing in response to recent criticisms directed at me because of my representation as a lawyer of a client involved in a contractual dispute with the Sahara Company of Las Vegas, Nevada. Allegations have been made that this representation was unethical and perhaps violative of statutes pertaining to the gaming industry in Missouri. ...

Of all the words common to the English language, "grammar" may be the most misunderstood. Readers who request more emphasis on grammar are probably thinking of the basics, once taught and learned in primary school. Beloved faithfuls, what does it profit a man to have tools if directions for handling are missing? Most qualified literates can recite the principal parts of verbs, yet multitudes of "educated" adults fail usage...

Daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Fred McGruder, Patton Route 1, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 1:09 p.m. Wednesday, June 29, 1994. Name, Makayla Ray. Weight, 8 pounds 8 ounces. First child. Mrs. McGruder is the former Sherry Hill, daughter of Joe and Evelyn Hill, Sikeston Route 1. She is employed in the outreach lab at Southeast Hospital. McGruder is employed by Missouri State Tax Commission, and is the son of Mrs. Verneal McGruder of Poplar Bluff...

SIKESTON -- Clara M. Miederhoff, 82, of Sikeston, died Tuesday, July 19, 1994, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born April 27, 1912, in Kelso, daughter of Joseph and Rosa L. Gosche Buhs. She married Andrew H. Miederhoff, who died March 24, 1958...

Mary Lucille Harris, 75, 2801 Bloomfield, died Tuesday, July 19, 1994, at her home. She was born March 26, 1919, in Advance, daughter of Herman and Laura McNamee Winemiller. She married Adam Woodrow Harris Dec. 24, 1934, in Advance. He died July 10, 1984...

CHARLESTON -- Larry R. Pulliam, 37, formerly of Bertrand, died Monday, July 18, 1994, at Fort Wayne, Ind. The McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston is in charge of arrangements, which are incomplete at this time.

OAK RIDGE -- Paul Edward Richter, 53, of Oak Ridge, died Tuesday, July 19, 1994, at his home. He was born Jan. 22, 1941, at Oak Ridge, son of Paul E. and Clara Bingenheimer Richter Sr. He and Roma Darnell were married July 11, 1986. Richter was a farmer. He was a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown, Oak Ridge School Board, Oak Ridge Fire Department Board, National Guard, and American Legion Post 133 in Perryville...

MARSTON -- Elbert "Hut" Mosby, 74, of Marston, died suddenly Saturday, July 16, 1994. He was born July 8, 1920, in Marianna, Ark., son of Tommy and Mary Kaye Mosby. Mosby was a member of Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church, and served on the deacon's board. He was an Army veteran of World War II...

ANNA, Ill. -- Lester Kaufman, 89, of Anna, died Monday, July 18, 1994, at the Union County Hospital in Anna. He was born March 3, 1905, in Union County, daughter of Cora Kaufman. He married Mabel Wilkinson. Kaufman was a member of the First Baptist Church of Anna...

Lora May Ross, 86, 917 S. Sprigg, died Tuesday, July 19, 1994, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born May 25, 1908, in Bollinger County, daughter of Nez and Lou Kitchen Greer. She and Charles H. Ross were married May 20, 1926, at Jackson. He died Dec. 29, 1971...

Blackberry pickers in the wild know about prickly vines, chiggers and itching. They also know about blackberry cobbler, blackberry dumplings and blackberry cordials. June and July are blackberry picking months in Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri...

The image of men gently gliding across the lunar surface shines bright as moonlight in the mind of Southeast Missouri State University professor and astronomer Craig Joseph. He was a teenager living in Canton, Ohio, when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon on Sunday, July 20, 1969...

A sole dissenting voice at the American Legion state convention was hooted down by supporters of a resolution naming the mule Missouri's official animal. The brainchild of Cape Girardeau American Legion Post 63, the state veteran's organization now will try to persuade the General Assembly to designate the mule as Missouri's official animal when it meets again in January...

The Southeast Missouri Regional Easter Seal Society has launched its 1994 Neighbor-to-Neighbor campaign to raise funds to support the organization's programs and services for children with disabilities. During the campaign, designated block captains throughout Cape Girardeau will be giving out a kit, which contains information sheets and donation envelopes. The kits are to be passed from neighbor to neighbor until it makes its way around the block and back to the block captain...

Another development project has been killed in Cape Girardeau, and I wonder why my instincts say something isn't right. Why is a community development project so inherently rotten that it would be attacked like some form of cancer? Dr. Robert Gardner hired a respectable architectural firm from Des Moines, Iowa, to draw up plans for a development project on the 33-acre tract he purchased over a year ago. I have to admit, the project looked impressive...

The Cape Girardeau Jaycees recently honored individuals and organizations who have offered support to the service club over the past year. Receiving honors were: Dan Lynn, Lynn Enterprises; Robert Herbst, Herbst and Co.; Ken Augustyn, Mid America Hotels; The Sweet Stop; Dennis Marchi, Schnucks; Mike Recker, Shop & Save; Pilot House; Darrell Vandeven, Pepsi Co.; Gary Stanley, Stanley, Dirnberger, Hopper and Associates; Paul Hawkins, Sears; Chuck Bailey, Dollar General Store...

The Delta Queen steamboat is scheduled to arrive at the Cape Girardeau waterfront today at 9 a.m. This marks the second docking here this month by the Delta Queen, which has been plying the waters of the Mississippi River north of St. Louis since the Great Steamboat Race re-enactment between the Delta and Mississippi Queens ended at St. Louis July 4...

Susan Mills gets questions year-round about canning everything from fish to green beans to homemade jams and jellies. "June, July and August are our busiest seasons by far," she said. "We get 40-50 calls a day, asking questions from `How to?,' to `Can I do this?'"...

You know of Fathers' Day, Mothers' Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Martin Luther's Birthday, but have you ever heard of Turnip Day? Possibly not, but July 26 is Turnip Day according to an old saying, "On the twenty-sixth of July, sow turnips, wet or dry"...