Stories from Wednesday, May 10, 1995

CHARLESTON -- Jack Ketchum, 84, of Charleston died Tuesday, May 9, 1995, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Arrangements are incomplete at McMikle Funeral Home.

PERRYVILLE -- Robert Willis "Diz" Dean, 69, of Perryville, died Monday, May 8, 1995, at his home. He was born Aug. 24, 1925, at Horton, son of Ray Willis and Frances Lucille Claypool Dean. He and Dorothy Louise Panchot Brunkhorst were married March 19, 1988, at Nevada, Mo...

When the first "Lend me your ear" column appeared in the Southeast Missourian in December 1972, a score of readers were quick to inform us that regardless of our good intentions, we would be fighting a losing battle. Since then, more than 12 years have gone by, and efforts to preserve our language are still widespread. ...

Sometimes it's smart to learn from other people's experience. At this time when the coming congressional attack on Medicaid is the most serious group problem affecting all of us seniors, I think it's appropriate we look at the experience of other groups in defending their rights to government-provided or financed health care...

Cape Girardeau poet Ted Hirschfield's fourth book, "Middle Mississippians: Encounters with the Prehistoric Amerindians," has been accepted for publication by the University of Florida Press. "Middle Mississippians" is a verse history of the mound-building cultures that flourished locally between 1100 and 1500 A.D. It will be published in the fall...

BENTON -- The Scott County Commission proceeded Tuesday with implementing an Enhanced 911 System and heard proposals for making the county courthouse handicapped accessible. The commission signed an order authorizing Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. to start collecting a 15 percent surcharge on basic phone bills as of July 1...

Joe Sherinski, Mr. Goodgarden on KFVS-TV, will present "Landscaping Tips with Mr. Goodgarden" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 31, at the Cape Girardeau Public Library. Sherinski is a horticulturist, certified nurseryman and master gardener. The program will be conducted in the Hirsch Community Room and is free. Accommodations for patrons with disabilities will be made upon request...

Missouri's wild horses finally may be left alone, says U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson. The 8th District congressman from Cape Girardeau is banking on legislation he authored that would bar the roundup and removal of about 25 wild horses that roam a stretch of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Shannon County...

The SEMO MS Society Self-Help Group will have its annual family picnic Saturday under Pavilion 21 at Cape County Park South. The event begins at 10 a.m. Fried chicken and eating utensils will be provided. Each family should bring a covered dish, beverages, and an inexpensive prize for games...

Cape Girardeau is one of 38 public school districts across the state that is participating in the A+ Schools program. The grant program is an outgrowth of Senate Bill 380, the 1993 Outstanding Schools Act. Is the program simply Outcomes Based Education in disguise? It depends on who is talking about the A+ program. ...

Ray "Mouse" Reed, 84, 1704 David, died Monday, May 8, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Dec. 7, 1910, at Illmo, son of Peter Alexander and Dora Sarah Russell Reed. He and Laura Estelle Moss were married Oct. 20, 1942. Reed was a push boat operator with U.S. Corps of Engineers, retiring in January 1964. He attended Third Street United Methodist Church...

MARBLE HILL -- Naomi Ruth Bollinger, 74, of Marble Hill, died Tuesday, May 9, 1995, at her home. She was born Aug. 20, 1920, at Marble Hill, daughter of Lyman A. and Retta Mae Hahs Hahn. She and Milford E. Bollinger were married Dec. 25, 1939. He died Nov. 2, 1993...

Willis Williams, 73, 523 S. Benton, died Monday, May 8, 1995, at St. Mary's Hospital in St. Louis. He was born July 4, 1921, in Cape Girardeau, son of Joshua and Lula Cardwell Williams. He and Violet Wilson were married March 17, 1945, in Cape Girardeau. She preceded him in death...

Funeral service for Viola Velma Rhodes, 1631 Bessie, will be held at 11 a.m. today at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Louis Launhardt will officiate, with burial in Memorial Park. Friends may call at the funeral home from 8:30 a.m. to service time...

CHARLESTON -- Private funeral service for Ramesh Bhikubhai Patel of Charleston will be held today at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston. Friends may call at the funeral home from 9-11 a.m. Patel, 43, died Sunday, May 7, 1995, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston...

ORAN -- Funeral service for Ella R. Hall of Oran will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church in Oran, with the Revs. Jerry Williams and Jack Bishop officiating. Burial will be in Friend Cemetery. Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Oran after 5 p.m. today. An Eastern Star service will be held at 7:30...

OAK RIDGE -- Funeral service for Rufina O. Burgan of Oak Ridge will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Shawneetown. The Rev. Howard Mueller will officiate, with burial in the church cemetery. Friends may call at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson from 4-8 p.m. today, and Thursday at the church from 10 a.m. to service time...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Mildred Mays, 81, Dongola Route 2, died Monday, May 8, 1995, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Murphysboro. She was born Aug. 4, 1913, at Alto Pass, daughter of John Thomas and Lula Broadway Bilderback. She and Oliver Lee "Pete" Mays were married March 1, 1949, in Cobden. He died Jan. 2, 1989...

Leonora Ella Luckmann, 92, of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, May 9, 1995, at the Lutheran Home. She was born April 2, 1903, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Theodore and Bertha Ochs. She and William A. Luckmann were married April 12, 1924. He died in 1966...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Clyde Turner, 92, of Jonesboro, died Tuesday, May 9, 1995, at City Care Center in Anna. Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements.

MCGEE -- Funeral service for Mary Evelyn Duniphan of McGee will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Morgan Funeral Chapel in Advance. The Revs. Bill Fox and Leeroy Hefner will officiate, with burial in Morgan Memorial Park at Advance. Duniphan, 86, died Monday, May 8, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Funeral service for Austin Dale Eaves will be held at 3 p.m. today at Barkett Funeral Home in Mounds, with the Rev. Ernest Browning officiating. Burial will be in Spencer Heights Cemetery at Mounds. Friends may call at the funeral home from 1 p.m. to service time...

GRAIN VALLEY -- This small Jackson County community on the eastern edge of the Kansas City metropolitan area is the headquarters of the Missouri 51st Militia. You would be hard-pressed, however, to locate the nerve center of the paramilitary citizens' unit. The headquarters of the 51st militia is really "a state of mind," says one of its leaders, Harold Sheil, a retired battalion chief with 35 years of service to the Kansas City Fire Department and a Korean War veteran...

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's membership surpassed the 1,200 mark following a one-day recruitment blitz Tuesday that netted more than 80 new members. The new numbers shoved the local chamber into the No. 3 position in membership in Missouri, with 1,231 members, 31 more than previous third-place chamber Jefferson City...

When Tom Fitzgerald decides to throw himself into his work, all he needs is wide open spaces, a sharp flick of the wrist and the wonderment of what can be done with an oblong piece of wood. His success can be measured in many happy returns. Having spent eight years tossing, designing and competing with the boomerang, the St. Louis entrepreneur gets the itch now and then to take his show on the road...

COULD SOMEONE please tell me what the city manager's job is? If the city council and the mayor make all the decisions and votes on them, what does he do? What does he get paid for? REPLY: The mayor and council members set policy. The city manager is the top administrative employee of the city and is responsible for making sure the city operates within the policies established by the council...

Andrea Cardin, Kerri Uhlig and Todd Alexander plan to make their mark in careers traditionally filled by members of the opposite sex. Once the word gets out that breaking tradition isn't only rewarding but has been done before, Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School counselor Dr. Dorothy Hardy believes more will follow the trio's path...

The Rev. Hal Green doesn't have to drive on the gravel section of Magnolia Street to be reminded of the frustration he and his neighbors have felt for several years. Green said even though he lives on the corner of Rampart and Magnolia, he eats plenty of the dust when traffic stirs the gravel on Magnolia. Rampart is completely paved. But Magnolia was paved as part of the city's 3-inch surfacing program several years ago only as far as Rampart. The remainder of the street is gravel...

Two Red Cross volunteers from Southeast Missouri left Cape Girardeau in an emergency response vehicle Tuesday night, bound for flood-ravaged New Orleans. Glenna Sherron of Dexter and Curtis Mathes of Farmington will represent the Southeast Missouri Chapter of the American Red Cross in efforts to help victims in New Orleans, which was hit with heavy rains and tornadoes Monday night...

The Red Simplicity rose bushes have arrived in time for Mother's Day. Southeast Missourian customers who qualified to receive one by starting or extending a subscription should call the circulation department to make arrangements to pick up the roses or to have them delivered...

JACKSON -- Jackson Public School District teachers will receive about a 6 percent pay raise next year, with an additional increase added to their pay plan for longevity. The Jackson Board of Education voted Tuesday to approve a schedule drawn up by the Community Teachers Association. Marvin Adams, vice president of the board, had the only dissenting vote...

St. Louis Rams' officials are once again busy touring prospective summer training camp sites and Southeast Missouri State University athletic director Richard McDuffie said that they made a second visit to Cape Girardeau on Monday. The Rams' delegation that met with McDuffie and John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, included Steve Ortmayer, vice-president of operations; John Oswald, director of operations; and Rich Brooks, head coach...

Niswonger introduced Charm City Choice in 1992. Using tweezers, Niswonger took pollen from one of his irises, Halo in Rosewood, which he introduced in 1993. Niswonger takes photographs of his seedlings. O.D. "Dave" Niswonger brushed pollen onto the stigma of a seedling...

The growing of herbs has increased by leaps and bounds the past 10 years. Apartment dwellers grow herbs on their balconies or on window sills. In homes they are grown in containers as house plants. They are widely grown in the garden and now there are herb farms. There are herb societies and national and international organizations...