Stories from Wednesday, December 21, 1994

ULLIN, Ill. -- Leslie "Bubby" Parker Jr., 62, of Ullin, died Monday, Dec. 19, 1994, at his home. He was born April 3, 1932, in Mound City, son of Leslie and Mary Helen Britt Parker Sr. He and Louise Wilson were married June 2, 1954. Parker was a member of First Baptist Church of Ullin, and former member of the Machinist Union...

SCOTT CITY -- Scott City will buy a 40,000-watt electrical generator for its 911 emergency telephone service. The city council has authorized City Administrator John Saxton to decide which generator bid to accept. Saxton will meet with the police and fire chiefs before making a final decision...

Staff of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department determined that the state's 15-year road plan would be underfunded during a progress review requested by the highway commission. About $2.2 billion of the shortfall came from errors made by department staff in late 1991 and early 1992, when it drafted the plan. Another $2 billion shortage could come from changes in federal funding allocations and a change in state law giving counties a greater share of state gas tax money...

JACKSON -- Jackson city employees should see pay raises -- larger for longtime employees, smaller for new ones -- after Jan. 1. Jackson aldermen approved the plan at Monday night's meeting. City Administrator Steve Wilson said employees who worked for the city 17 or 18 years were paid the same as those employed for two years...

Lemro F. and Theresa E. Hale to the Lemro F. and Theresa E. Hale Trusts; Grant L. Townsend to William M. Hofer II and Debbie A. Hofer; Constance W. Harris to the Constance W. Harris Trust. Gerald E. and Catherine M. Stoverink to Andy L. and Mary M. Fellows; Robert L. and Laraine R. Adams to Steven D. and Diane E. Gregg; John E. and Kathryn J. Landewee to Amy C. Sheehan and Kevin W. Scaggs...

Son to Michael and Sarah Belken of Fredericktown, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 10:39 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, 1994. Name, Matthew Craig. Weight, 7 pounds 4 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Belken is the former Sarah Rogers, daughter of Roy and Cynthia Rogers of Zalma. She is employed at Angelica Uniform Co. in Marquand. Belken is employed at Braswell Masonry in Marquand, and is the son of Paul Belken of Fredericktown and Judy Belken of Marquand...

CHARLESTON -- Maggie J. Moore, 32, of Poplar Bluff, was found dead Saturday, Dec. 17, 1994, in a wooded area. She was born April 5, 1962, in Charleston. Moore moved to Poplar Bluff earlier this year. Survivors include three daughters, Malaysia and Jasmine Moore of Cape Girardeau, LaShunda Moore of Charleston; her father, T.C. Williams of Charleston; her mother, Ruth Moore of Cape Girardeau; a brother, Jerry Moore of Hayti, and a sister, Diane Moore of Cape Girardeau...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Jack L. Cauhorn, 92, of Mounds, died Monday, Dec. 19, 1994, at Daystar Care Center in Cairo. He was born Feb. 5, 1902, in Buncombe, son of John W. and Sarah Littlepage Cauhorn. His first wife, Julia, died in 1974. Cauhorn was a member of First Baptist Church, and a veteran of World War I...

MOREHOUSE -- LaVerne H. Beck, 70, of Morehouse, died Tuesday, Dec. 20, 1994, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born June 29, 1924, in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., daughter of W.C. and Bitha Mae Estes Hanback. She and Joseph G. Beck were married Sept. 6, 1941, in Osceola, Ark. He died May 2, 1984...

Lloyd Albert Nagel, 62, 1927 N. Kingshighway, died Tuesday, Dec. 20, 1994, at the home of a sister in Jackson. He was born Dec. 20, 1932, in Jackson, son of Albert A. and Lillian M. Huter Nagel. Nagel was an off-set printer with Missourian Litho and Printing Co., retiring in 1984. He was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church and Altenthal-Joerns American Legion Post 158 in Jackson. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War...

As the new GOP majority in Congress seeks to pare back government, a hard look at food stamps is unavoidable. One of the fastest growing government aid programs -- and the Department of Agriculture's costliest -- is the national food and nutrition package, which includes food stamps, school lunches and WIC assistance for women, infants and children...

Funeral service for Verna K. Quade, 6885 State Highway 25, will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Christ Lutheran Church in Gordonville. The Rev. D. Lee Cullen Jr. will officiate, with burial in Memorial Park. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel from 4-8 p.m. Thursday...

ANNA, Ill. -- Bernice L. Dale, 92, of Anna, formerly of Dongola, died Tuesday, Dec. 20, 1994, at Union County Hospital. She was born April 17, 1902, in Gifford, Ark., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Silvers. She married George Dale, who died June 6, 1950...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The Cairo High School basketball team received some bad news Tuesday. It has been replaced in the Carbondale Holiday Tournament. It is the second tournament it has missed because of the teachers strike. Boys Basketball Coach Larry Baldwin received the word Tuesday...

Although the Missouri Legislature didn't pass a tougher impaired driving law the last time it came up for a vote, the issue isn't likely to die. Statistics show a noticeable decrease in injuries and deaths in states that have adopted stricter measures...

Cape Girardeau Postmaster Michael Keefe feels a little like Santa Claus these days -- delivering Christmas packages, cards and letters. This is one of the busiest weeks of the year for the post office. "We'll probably have twice as much mail every day as we usually have," Keefe said of the week preceding Christmas...

If Attorney General Jay Nixon's proposed changes in state juvenile laws are passed, violent juveniles could receive adult sentences, including the death penalty. At a news conference in Jefferson City, earlier Tuesday, Nixon said juveniles committing adult crimes should receive adult penalties, even if it means giving the death penalty to someone as young as 13...

Twice in eight years, voters have rejected a transportation sales tax to fund street improvements. Now Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling III thinks the third time will be the charm. He has suggested the council put a half-cent transportation sales tax on the April ballot...

The last two Christmas gifts to arrive at my humble abode came in the form of voices from a planet I have yet to visit. The messages left on my answering machine were surely eggnog induced. The first message caused me to turn the same color as the flashing light I couldn't wait to unwrap...

CHAFFEE -- After hearing about a tight parks-department budget, the Chaffee City Council has agreed to place a 27-cent property tax hike on the April 4 ballot. Bill Pfefferkorn, park board chairman, told the council this week that the parks department doesn't have money in its budget to provide extra services without donations...

Missouri Attorney General Jeremiah "Jay" Nixon is recognizable to news watchers. He disperses legal opinions, handles high-profile state cases and conducts press conferences. Two of Nixon's assistants, attorneys Vicky Anthony and Charmagne Schneider, aren't as recognizable, but they spend 12-hour days in the Cape Girardeau branch of the attorney general's office...

Eyes as big as saucers peered out of windows as vans stocked with toys made their way throughout Cape Girardeau Tuesday night. When one child saw that Santa had arrived, she ran out of the house and squealed with delight. "Santa's here, he's here," she shouted. Santa entered the house toting a sack full of toys and the child was noticeably moved by the experience...

Betty Brown and Royce Adams were both searching for information on how to better the chances of stepfamily success. Brown was interested for personal reasons; Adams had both personal and professional interests -- such information would aid in her educational goals...

Members of stepfamilies face challenges not unlike that of a complex jigsaw puzzle. Each member has to work to see how the pieces will fit. But if there is to be success, the human parts of the puzzle cannot be rigid, they must be malleable, able to adapt, many involved in the pursuit say. And the rewards of putting the new family puzzle together far outweigh fleeting happiness found at achieving lesser goals...

The days of anticipation are over! That wonderful time is here! Christmas! It is a day of caring, of giving, of squeals and peals of laughter, of happiness, of food, fun and families together, of merriment, and, also of solemn reflections on the true meaning of this most significant day in all history...