Stories from Sunday, March 5, 1995

To the editor Surgeon General nominee Dr. Henry Foster seems a sincere, accomplished professional. It does bother me that we are considering a man who favors teaching children about a sexuality i consider to be immoral. It bothers me that he personally sterilized mentally handicapped people. ...

The Cape Girardeau area chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons will meet Monday at 1:30 p.m. at Grace United Methodist Church. Opal Collins and Marge Haman will present the program on the history of the national and local organizations of AARP...

Dr. Joseph Preston, a former Southeast Missouri State University history professor, will return to the campus March 23 to lecture on the "Gunpowder Plot." Preston, emeritus professor of history at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., will discuss the traditions surrounding the famous plot to blow up the English parliament in 1605...

Stroder and his mules often compete in events designed to test the abilities of both the mules and their driver. Missy and Lucky stand patiently as Rocky Stroder hooks up their harness and bridles. As Stroder stands between the two Belgian mules he is dwarfed by the size of the animals...

Chris Liley views pre-programmed images of roses and wedding rings that can be added to monuments. Photographs of homes and people can be scanned into the computer and added to the stone. A red granite monument is positioned to have lettering and images embedded in it by a robotic "blaster" using aluminum carbide particles...

RoseLee Nussbaum checks the purity of maple syrup. Rudy Nussbaum checks taps on a sugar maple tree. The wind whistles and rattles in the tree limbs overhead as a man walks into the woods, his breath turning to frost in the cold air. Throughout the hollow are buckets resting under dripping tubes driven into the sides of maple trees. The man collects the sap from these buckets as nearby, a women works to stir and strain the contents of a cauldron shrouded in steam and wood smoke...

Last week's column foretold a meeting convened this past Wednesday evening by Dr. Bob Bartman, commissioner of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Purpose: to discuss the new "assessments" required by Senate Bill 380. I attended along with 15 or so lawmakers and dozens of citizens...

We are half way into one hundred days of Speaker Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America." Maybe it is time to get a sense of the direction in which our government is heading. -- Balanced Budget Amendment. The Senate came within a whisper of passing Constitutional amendment to balance the budget. The proponents were not willing to enshrine protection of the Social Security Trust Funds in the Constitution, although they were ready to make almost every deal short of that...

We are witnessing today in Washington a shining example of America's insatiable desire for instant gratification, personified in this instance by House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who insists he is leading nothing short of a "new American revolution." Except when the word was applied to the political movements in communist countries, we Americans have always had a predeliction for the word revolution, with its connotation of immediate change and reform...

On April 4, voters across Missouri will vote on a constitutional amendment with which few are familiar at this juncture. The amendment was placed on the ballot through quick action by the General Assembly, following a Supreme Court decision last year...

Also on April 4, Perry County voters will vote on whether to pay between 80 cents and $1 more each month to acquire an enhanced 911 emergency response system. Currently Perry County residents pay 4 percent for a 911 system that records the telephone number of the caller. The system voters are asked to approve on April 4 would give the phone number, the address from the home or business where the call originated and the name of the person or business at that address...

To the Editor First I want to make one thing very clear I and my family are very strong advocates of the Public Schools of Cape Girardeau. We have 4 daughters who graduated from Central High School. Each one going all they way through from kindergarten. ...

The Cape Girardeau Elks Lodge has named its two Students of the Month. The program is an effort to bring recognition to outstanding youth in the area. Laine Lindley, 18, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Koenig of Cape Girardeau, was selected from Cape Central High School. She has been active in varsity cheerleading, Future Business Leaders of America, Letterman's Club and Latin Club...

The telephone calls are coming again from the South. I still haven't found a way to communicate to my offspring that if they want my help, they must live closer to me. First was the RAT. Cara, who is an engineering co-op student, called from Mississippi. "Mom, I have a RAT in my apartment," she said with a quivering voice...

There are "Boy Dads," and there are "Grown Dads." Author Jim Trelease explains the difference. "A `Boy Dad' will tell his son there is nothing as important as athletics," said Trelease, who was keynote speaker during the third annual Parenting Conference, held at the University Center on Southeast Missouri State University campus Saturday. "He'll spend most of his time with his son throwing and tossing a ball."...

"Distance learning" educational opportunities, "telemedicine" for better medical care and economic prosperity through business development are among the many benefits of the information superhighway say Southwestern Bell Telephone officials. "Information technology has become integral to businesses and individuals throughout the world," Southwestern Bell Vice President Alfred G. ...

Chuck Martin and Suzanne Holland surveyed the administrative offices at the Easter Seals Society of Southeast Missouri and breathed a collective sigh of relief. "We've now got some room to operate and give the kids in the building next to us the space they need to learn," Holland, director of children's programs, said...

Community advisory boards are being formed throughout Missouri during a series of meetings being conducted by Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. to discuss plans to bring the "information superhighway" to areas throughout the state. "These boards will be an important part in the bringing of optic technology in their areas," said Craig Felzein, Southwestern Bell Telephone area manager. ...

I WAS at the SEMO game Saturday night and became aware of a very unsettling matter. As the band was playing The Star Spangled Banner, I noticed a man and his son (age 13 or 14) in front of me. Although they both stood up as was requested, the boy never removed his baseball cap nor stopped eating his popcorn. ...

The automatic dialer that notifies businesses, hospitals, shopping centers and school systems about an impending tornado will be activated next Tuesday morning to test emergency management personnel and equipment. "It's a drill we run every year to test both the hardware and the people assigned to warn and organize evacuation in the event of a tornado," Brian Miller, Cape Girardeau County emergency manager, said. ...

An Illinois chemistry professor will discuss "Caves and Caving Speleology: An Introduction to the Chemistry, Geology and Ecology of Caves" at Southeast Missouri State University on March 13. Dr. John Marquart, a chemistry professor at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, will speak at 7 p.m. in Rhodes Hall, Room 121...

Women can't do it all and they shouldn't, author Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz says. Shaevitz, author of "The Superwoman Syndrome," was the featured speaker Saturday at the Womancare conference at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. Shaevitz said too many women are depressed, angry and overwhelmed because they try to do everything from having a career to taking care of the household duties and raising a family. They volunteer for everything and leave no time for themselves...

KELSO -- Lorene Theresia Ressel, 95, of Kelso died Saturday, March 4, 1995, at Chateau Girardeau. She was born Dec. 9, 1899, at Illmo, daughter of John and Mary Burger Schlosser. She and Otto Joseph Ressel were married Nov. 21, 1922, at Kelso. He died July 27, 1990...

PERRYVILLE -- Edith M. Pannier, 81, of Perryville died Friday, March 3, 1995, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born Sept. 24, 1913, in Perry County, daughter of William and Sadie Downing Otto. She married Julian J. Pannier. He died Sept. 6, 1980...

Daughter to Allan and Devin Mauk, 121 E. Rodney, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 12:44 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27, 1995. Name, Allison Nicole. Weight, 8 pounds 1 ounce. First child. Mrs. Mauk is the former Devin Rinehart, daughter of Bill and Jackie Rinehart of St. Ann. Mauk is employed at Champ's Sports, and is the son of Ted and Jewell Mauk of Lilbourn...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Alma Miller Seip Jonas, 92, formerly of Alexander County, died Friday, March 3, 1995, at Jackson County Nursing Home in Murphysboro. She was born April 22, 1902, at Matthews, Ill., daughter of Lewis P. and Sarah Queen Webb. She married Eugene D. Miller Sept. 17, 1919. He preceded her in death in 1965. She married Raymond Seip, who preceded her in death. She then married William Jonas, who preceded her in death...

Cape Girardeau County Lula M. and Fed E. Tripp to Katrina K. Hebron; Pauline Jane Brown Cathcart to Donald Gene and Pauline Jane Brown Cathcart; Robert and Joanne Dudley to Briand W. and Laura L. Blankenship. Marc J. and Mary J. Healey to Steven L. and Sheila M. Barks; Allen and Anna Mae Peterson to James B. and Diana Peterson; Rose Marie Hecht to Ronald and Sheila Hecht...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Audrey Irby Muirhead, 85, of East Prairie, died Saturday, March 4, 1995, at the East Prairie Nursing Center. She was born Jan. 18, 1910, at East Prairie, daughter of Jim and Kate Milam Irby. She and Willie Muirhead were married in 1925. He died in 1964...

Cape Girardeau County Robert E. Lee Meyers III, 19, and Hope Ann Renn, 17; Richard Dean Wheeler, 31, and Angela Kay Beno, 15; Roger Lee Blankenship, 30, and Laura Lee Asher, 25. Gregory Lynn Crites, 26, and Candy Rochelle Caldwell, 18; Scott Louis Peters, 27, and Michele Gail Jackson, 23; Briand Andres Anderson, 21, and Erica Leigh Welker, 17...

Scott County Carl Mason to the Ashton Marie Mason Trust; Bessie Kirk to Harold and Gaila Warren; James G. and Elanor M. Robbins to Ag-Lands Investment Co. Ag-Lands Investment Co. to Michael C. and Diana C. Flynn; Michael R. and Donna M. Ballard Helpingstine to Michael R. and Donna M. Helpingstine; Harry P. Pratt et al. to Harry and Ann Pratt Rentals...

Scott County George Michael Cagle II, 22, and Michaela Shea Moser, 18; Michael David Shell Jr., 22, and Pamela Kay Holmes, 25; Dickey Lee Fulton, 34, and Leslie Webb Smythers, 30. James Wilford Baker, 43, and Bonnie Sue Medley, 38; Christopher Daniel Deen, 22, and Jodi Lynn Margrabe, 19; Robert Lee Jones Jr., 19, and Crystal Lynn Flye, 20...

Get to the point: It's a dull fisherman who hangs his hopes on a blunt hook That which seems to be the least of the angler's equipment inevitably may have the most influence on whether he catches a fish. The acid test may not be a measure of his boat or rod or reel. In the end, it's the hook that must grab and hold the fish. And countless fish have gone free because hooks weren't up to the task...

MONROE CITY, Mo. -- Mobility-impaired hunters can apply for special turkey hunts at Pomme de Terre Lake south of Hermitage and Mark Twain Lake south of Monroe City. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is offering the hunts for persons who are confined to wheelchairs. To be eligible, applicants must be permanently disabled (non-ambulatory or semi-ambulatory), have valid hunter safety certification cards and valid spring turkey tags...

The second annual Friends of the NRA Banquet will be held Thursday, March 9 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Cape Girardeau. Tickets to the banquet are $25 per person or $40 per couple and available at Phegley's Shooting Supply (335-1007) and Beards Sporting Goods (334-2266) in Cape Girardeau and Hartlein Archery & Sporting Goods (243-5384) in Jackson. All proceeds go to the National Rifle Association...

The Wednesday morning before Ted Fedler's AIDS clinic appointment wasn't so good. He battled insomnia all night, then woke up to persistent diarrhea, aches all over his body and an upset stomach. There were 15 different medications to take, which meant Fedler had to eat a few crackers and drink lots of water. It made the problems worse...

This winter I have hung a hefty bird feeder on a swinging bracket attached to a porch post. In inclement weather I can swing the feeder under the porch roof overhang where no snow or rainwater can get into the feeding troughs. I can fill it from the porch, too...

Ted Fedler and Travis Clayton met in a Iowa tavern in 1992. Clayton was with a group of friends, but Fedler was alone, seeking solace in a few drinks. Fedler had returned to his native Iowa to die, having been through bouts with AIDS-related illnesses. He didn't expect to meet new friends, form a group to help people with AIDS or live outside his home state again...

With his shaved head and pierced ears, Ted Fedler cuts quite a figure in conservative Cape Girardeau. When he moved here in April 1993, he let people know he had AIDS and intended to work as an advocate in the community. It didn't take long for folks to recognize Ted Fedler or to hear about the AIDS Project of Southeast Missouri, the organization he created...