Stories from Tuesday, January 3, 1995

Computers impact the lifestyle of most Americans, particularly in the workplace. For many, that impact means having the opportunity to work at home and spending more time in the field than in the office. "All of today's technology makes it easier to do a lot of things," said Tim Hill of Jackson, owner of Hillco computer company. "You can run just about any type of business out of your home."...

The search is on for "Jim Beam." Booker Noe, a master distiller for Jim Beam Bourbon, is conducting a $100,000 search for all Americans bearing the same name as his legendary grandfather, Jim Beam. Noe, who is planning a 200th anniversary celebration of Jim Beam Bourbon, wants to be surrounded by Jim (or James) Beams for this momentous occasion in Clermont, Ky., this year...

I READ in Speak Out about the handicap problem. Because you have a Medicaid card does not make you handicapped. You have to have a blue and white parking permit or a handicap license plate. Because you are old and don't want to walk to the building doesn't mean you can park in the handicap spots, which are for those of us who have legitimate handicaps and the proper parking permits...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Bekki Cook of Cape Girardeau will claim a place in Missouri history when she bangs the gavel to convene the 88th session of the Missouri House of Representatives Wednesday. As secretary of state, Cook is required to preside over the opening of the Missouri House until members are sworn in and a temporary speaker elected...

1950s Airline Lounge, current site of Golden Dragon restaurant, 217 N. Kingshighway; Alvarado, current site of Burger King restaurant, northeast corner of Broadway and Kingshighway; Tenkhoff's Drug Store, 801 Broadway. Wimpy's, northeast corner of Kingshighway and Cape Rock Drive, current site of Boatmen's Bank; Wayne's Grill, current site of J. Katherine Bridal & Formal Wear, northeast corner of Broadway and Pacific; Thompson's Drive-In, 1900 block of Broadway...

Freeman Lewis bought a Kingshighway hamburger stand called Wimpy's in 1942. His parents, Fred and Ethel, ran it while he and his brother, Frank, attended to World War II. When they returned, Wimpy's moved across the street to the northeast corner of Broadway and Cape Rock Drive formerly occupied by the popular Haman's Sandwich Shop...

Sherry Brown was at a New Year's Eve party in New Madrid when she started feeling the contractions. While her husband, Donnie, played party games, she gritted her teeth and kept quiet. That changed at about 12:30 a.m. New Year's Day, when the couple loaded their car and rushed to Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Thanks to a nervous dad and empty roads, they made the trip in just over half an hour...

CAIRO, Ill. -- After 24 school days, the Cairo school strike ended Monday, and for the first time since Nov. 17, students in the district will have to get up for school this morning. Sixty-seven of the 73 striking teachers voted Monday night to approve a tentative settlement reached earlier Monday by administration and teacher representatives...

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those whose cars have that immaculate, I've-never-been-driven look even after crossing the Baja desert, and those that have that jumbled, lived-in look. My wife, Joni, and I are in the latter category. Our Honda and Dodge Caravan began the new year like they left the old one -- in a state of blissful clutter...

Floyd L. DaWalt, petty officer first class in the U.S. Navy, has been chosen to participate in the Enlisted Commissioning Program. He is the son of Jim and Jewell DaWalt of Jackson. DaWalt was one of about 150 personnel chosen for the award. At the completion of the program, he will be commissioned as an officer...

Boy Scouts have to be prepared, and U.S. soldiers must be patient. At least that's the lesson one area soldier learned while awaiting orders off the coast of Haiti. Navy Airman Steven Cook, 21, of Whitewater was one of 8,000 soldiers patrolling the waters near Haiti during the U.N. restoration of President Jean Bertrand-Aristide in October...

The city of Sikeston is fighting crime both on the streets and at the Department of Public Safety headquarters. The city has decided to boost salaries for starting public safety officers and expand its force. The various personnel moves should advance the number of public safety officers to 50 from 31...

If you get behind a slow-moving tour bus, don't complain. Tourists are pumping an incredible amount of dollars into the local, regional and state economies. Spending by travelers in Missouri increased by a healthy 4 percent last year, in spite of record flooding. Tourism remains the No. 2 revenue-producing industry -- manufacturing is No. 1 -- in Missouri, generating more than $14.1 billion to the state's economy...

JONESBORO -- Earl E. Ring, 79, of Jonesboro, died Friday Dec. 30, 1994 at Southeast Hospital. He was born Dec. 19, 1915 in Centralia, Ill., the son of Ernest and Della Arnold Ring. On Oct. 8, 1991 he married Florence Knupp in Wolf Lake, Ill., who survives...

ADVANCE -- Bertha May Kight, 82, of Advance, died Sunday, Jan. 1, 1995, at Advance Nursing Care Center. She was born Nov. 7, 1912, in Advance, daughter of Marion and Sylvia Day Garrett. On Feb. 28, 1933, she married Charles C. Kight at Advance. He preceded her in death Aug. 22, 1978...

PATTON -- Gladys I. Smith, 75, of Patton, died Sunday, Jan. 1, 1995, at her home. She was born Sept. 23, 1919, at Alliance, daughter of Jimmy D. and Ethel Doggett Johnson. She and William F. Smith were married Dec. 14, 1938. Smith was a member of Old Bethel Freewill Baptist Church near Patton...

Retired Col. Robert Carl Roth, 77, of North Springfield, Va., died Saturday, Dec. 31, 1994, at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He was born Dec. 9, 1917, in Cape Girardeau, son of Theodore William and Dorothea Martha Elizabeth Kies Roth. He and Lorene Lena Ruppel were married Oct. 5, 1938, in Arlington, Va...

GREENVILLE -- Donna Sue Schanks, 54, of Greenville, died Sunday, Jan. 1, 1995, at Deaconess Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Nov. 2, 1940, at Zalma, daughter of Charles and Mary Pauline Hefner Schanks. Schanks worked at Owens-Brockway Corp. in St. Louis 33 years, and was head shipping clerk when she retired. She was a member of Glassblowers Association and was union president several years. She was also a member of Order of Eastern Star Chapter 509 at Zalma...

Tuesday, Jan. 3, 7:30 p.m. City Hall, 401 Independence Public hearings Request of Tim Singleton for a special use permit to convert a shop building into real estate offices at 2911 Bloomfield Road. Request of First Christian Church for a special use permit to construct a church on the southwest corner of Kenneth Drive and Abbey Road...

MARBLE HILL -- David Lee Cook Sr., 39, of Marble Hill, died Sunday, Jan. 1, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 10, 1955, in St. Louis, son of Hubert and Jeanette Jones Cook. He and Darlene Gromer were married Nov. 13, 1974...

LEOPOLD -- Dr. Phillip F. Hickey, 57, of Leopold, died Sunday, Jan. 1, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 15, 1937, in Kane, Pa., son of Phillip F. and Mary Virginia McMichael Hickey. Hickey was a staff physician at Twin Rivers Community Hospital in Kennett. He was a member of the Emergency Medical Association...

Funeral service for Erma L. Fagan of Lorain, Ohio, will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday. It will be at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel instead of Mt. Auburn Chapel. Burial will be in Memorial Park. Friends may call at the funeral home from 1-3 p.m. Wednesday...

Cape Girardeau Board of Education President Ed Thompson plans to seek a third term on the school board today. Candidates for school boards may file for three-year terms starting today. The filing period closes Jan. 31. Two, three-year positions will be filled during elections April 4. Terms of Thompson and Lyle Davis expire in April...

A Cape Girardeau woman makes her national television debut at 8 tonight on the Discovery Channel. Marie Exler was interviewed almost a year ago by producers for "How the West Was Lost," a mini-series about North American Indian tribes. The documentary received an Ace Award nomination during last year's run on the channel...

Construction activity in Missouri was down in November but continues to be ahead of 1993 levels. The F.W. Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill, an authority on the construction market, reported construction for the first 11 months at $5.2 billion, up 11 percent from the $4.7 billion during the same period in 1993...

A legacy ended Friday at the Federal Building when J.B. Malone left at 3:30 p.m. After 24 years as a maintenance worker, Malone retired. "You couldn't work with a better group than these people," he said about his co-workers. One fellow worker even joked that a wrecker was waiting outside to finally pull him out. Malone said he would probably need two of them to accomplish the task...