Stories from Thursday, August 18, 1994

Alma I. Brase, 96, died Wednesday, Aug. 17, 1994 at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements at Ford & Sons Funeral Home are incomplete.

To the editor: Concerning the Aug. 14 editorial about the escalating costs of the Medicaid program, I can certainly sympathize. However, there is another part of the issue the general public may or does not know. Any Medicaid recipient who does not have doctor and needs medical treatment, their primary alternative is to seek treatment at a hospital emergency room. ...

To the editor: I suggest that everyone write their congressional electees and recommend that they vote "No" on all health care reform bills that are presently proposed. All of the bills now before Congress fail to address the problem of health care. ...

The shareholders of the Bank of South County in St. Louis on Tuesday approved a merger of the bank with a subsidiary of Capital Bancorporation Inc., a multibank holding company headquartered in Cape Girardeau. The merger will increase the presence of Capital Bancorporation in the St. Louis market. When combined with Capital's affiliate, Capital Bank & Trust Co. of Clayton, total assets of the resulting bank will be approximately $140 million...

There is just one thing wrong with a proposal to save a 58-year-old house on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University: It came about five years too late. Here is the situation:-- The home at 814 N. Henderson is the former home of the schools oldest living alumnus, Rush H. ...

Son to Mr. and Mrs. Scott Little of Poplar Bluff, University Hospital in Augusta, Ga., 6:07 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 7, 1994. Name, Jacob Scott. Weight, 8 pounds 1 ounce. First child. Mrs. Little is the former Lori Goodman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Goodman of Cape Girardeau. Little is the son of Dean Little and Sandy Little of Scott City...

SCOTT CITY -- Funeral service for John J. Kelly of Scott City will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City. Burial will be in Lightner Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-9 p.m. today. Kelly, 70, died Tuesday, Aug. 16, 1994, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Grace A. Miller, 104, of St. Louis, formerly of Mound City, died Tuesday, Aug. 16, 1994, at South County Manor Nursing Home in Arnold. She was born Sept. 10, 1889, in Alexander County, daughter of Enoch and Sarah Evans Metcalf. She married Jesse Miller, who preceded her in death...

OAK RIDGE -- Stella Lohman, 85, of Oak Ridge, died Wednesday, Aug. 17, 1994, at Jackson Manor Nursing Home in Jackson. She was born Jan. 28, 1909, at Friedheim, daughter of Friedrich and Friederike Oehl Klaus. She and Herbert F. Lohman were married Nov. 28, 1932. He died Nov. 8, 1990...

Cleveland Mobley, 80, of Missouri Veterans Home, died there Wednesday, Aug. 17, 1994. He was born Feb. 6, 1914, in Oran, son of Grover Cleveland and Katherine Menz Mobley. He served in the U.S. Army from February 1941 to September 1945. He then worked at Ford Motor Co. in Detroit, Mich., until retiring...

Representatives of a citizens group that called for the resignation of Cape Girardeau Superintendent Neyland Clark said they question the Board of Education's pledge to improve communication. The reason: a curt response penned by the board's public relations committee addressing the group's list of concerns...

SCOTT CITY -- The Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority Commission has authorized port Executive Director Dan Overbey to purchase a locomotive from government surplus property. The purchases hinges on whether it can be transported to the port at reasonable cost...

Aug. 18, 1994 Dear Ellen, My friend Melina is visiting with a friend from journalism school in Columbia. First thing she says is I've put on a few pounds. "People gain weight when they get married," she says. Yesterday, they toured the Avenue of the Giants, "living museum of the world's tallest trees," and picked enough blackberries for a pie. ...

City Councilman Melvin Gateley will proceed with plans for a public relations program. Gateley and Councilmen J.J. Williamson and Melvin Kasten were appointed to the committee, which will develop a public relations program for the city. At Monday's council meeting, Gateley presented a preliminary plan and was told to continue to work toward a budget that would be reviewed later...

The chance to acquire a new fire truck and help Cape Girardeau firefighters do a better job with heavy rescue services have been outlined to the city by Fire Chief Bob Ridgeway. Ridgeway persuaded the City Council to pass a resolution authorizing the city manager to embark on an agreement to provide special heavy-rescue services within Cape Girardeau County...

Cape Girardeau School District No. 63 Thursday, Aug. 18, 5 p.m. Board of Education Conference Room - 61 N. Clark --Call to Order. --Consideration of Motion for Closed Session to consider: Matters involving hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees as provided under R.S. MO 610.021 (3)...

SEDALIA -- Exhibitors were busy Wednesday leading their prized animals into the barns and workers were hurrying to assemble the last of the midway rides on the eve of the Missouri State Fair. On Thursday, the gates swing open for thousands of visitors coming to see the sights and sounds of the colorful, clattering fairgrounds...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Four Southern Illinois ambulance services will receive new defibrillators as part of a state effort to provide health-care equipment in medically underserved counties. Getting the equipment are Cairo Independent Ambulance Service in Cairo, Johnson County Ambulance Service in Vienna, Pulaski County Ambulance Service in Mound City, and Union County Ambulance Service in Jonesboro...

BENTON, Ill. -- Illinois Central Railroad officials say they'll review how they notify local authorities after being criticized over their handling of a wreck last Friday. The derailment in Franklin County spilled almost 20,000 gallons of a hazardous chemical. No one was hurt...

DEXTER -- People from churches in Dexter and Malden met recently to plan SEMO Lifechain, a demonstration against abortion. The event will take place Oct. 9. Anyone may participate. This year's demonstration will be similar to last year's, when 1,300 people lined two streets in Dexter. Like last year, it also will feature a Cemetery of the Innocents of crosses representing aborted fetuses...

SIKESTON -- Shelsea Watkins, 4, has been named poster child for the 21st annual Kenny Rogers Cerebral Palsy Center Charity Walk. The walk will be held Oct. 29, and is sponsored by the Sikeston Fraternal Order of Eagles 3319. The event will start with registration at Kmart Garden Shop at 9 a.m. Following the walk, lunch will be served and prizes will be awarded to those collecting the most money...

Most of Southeast Missouri was swamps unsuitable for habitation until the early part of this century. Thanks to the creation of the Little River Drainage District in 1907, the vast swamp was transformed into an area that produces a plethora of agricultural products -- a transformation with monstrous economic effects on the region...

Jim Nelson isn't old enough to remember the first Jackson Homecomers celebration. He can only recall the last 40. But the longtime Jackson resident is enough of an historian to know that the event, which began in 1908, set the stage for great expectations in the years that followed...

JACKSON -- The Jackson Heritage Association will hold its Victorian Driving Tour Sunday, Aug. 28. This year's tour will begin at Pioneer Orchard where guests will learn about its history and sample apples in a picnic setting. The group will move on to the Cape County countryside to Burfordville, site of the historic covered bridge and five-story grist mill, which was built by German-American George Frederick Bollinger...

Marsha Gail Birk always knew in her mind's eye what she could do with a camera. But it wasn't until her doctor figured out what her real eye needed that she began to envision a career as a professional photographer. "I always liked photography, but I had what is known as a dislocated lens and that kept me from finding out what talent I really had," said Birk, who got the break she was looking for in 1987. ...