Stories from Friday, July 21, 1995

There is something magic about hot-air balloons. They are majestic because of their size and bright colors as the float in the sky. They are mysterious vehicles as they silently transport a pilot and a couple of passengers from one point to another at the whim of whatever breeze is blowing...

Wild horses in Southeast Missouri are getting their day in Congress. Rep. Bill Emerson is a longtime advocate of allowing the beasts to roam free in the 71,000-acre Ozark National Scenic Riverways that encompasses the hills and valleys through which beautiful, spring-fed rivers flow. If legislation he has introduced is adopted, possibly later this summer, the horses would be protected as long as the herd didn't exceed 50 animals...

SCOTT CITY -- Scott City School Board members adopted a list of goals for the upcoming school year at Wednesday's board meeting. Some of the goals are to be positive about Scott City Schools and develop positive relationships with students and parents, officials said...

Jim Murray, District 10 engineer for the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department in Southeast Missouri, will be one of two guest speakers at Tuesday's West End Merchants Association meeting. Murray will discuss the department's construction project at Interstate 55 and Route K...

An mild earthquake in New Madrid County Wednesday evening shook residents in New Madrid and Lilbourn, according to officials with the New Madrid County Sheriff's Department. Officials in both towns said no one was injured and no damage was reported in the temblor at 8:10...

LITTLETON, Colo. -- What started as a simple hobby, turned into a career for Cape Girardeau native Jack Rickard. He is the son of Jack and Ben Rickard and is a 1973 graduate of Notre Dame High School. Boardwatch Magazine began about nine years ago with the help of Jack Rickard's personal computer and a modem...

The Area Wide United Way hopes to raise half a million dollars during the annual campaign announced Thursday. The $500,000 is down from last year's goal. In 1994, the United Way fell short of raising $520,000. Hanschen said, "We feel this goal is reasonable and attainable," said Donna Hanschen, manager of Ameritech and general chairman of the campaign. "We hope to surpass it."...

They were all set to take off -- several balloon pilots committed to taking reporters up for a Thursday evening media flight. Then the rain started. And stopped. And started again. By the time all the storm fronts moved through, it was too late for a real flight. For sponsor's sakes, the pilots inflated their balloons and hung advertising banners out...

Assistant City Manager Doug Leslie will end his job-juggling act and return to being the city's full-time public works director. But first he will tackle the job of interim city manager. On Monday, the City Council is expected to appoint him to administer city operations in the interim between the departure of City Manager J. Ronald Fischer and the hiring of a new manager...

Today 6 a.m. -- Media flight, various Cape Girardeau sites. 5 to 9 p.m. -- Arts and crafts, souvenirs, food concessions, Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. 5 p.m. to dusk -- Aircraft displays and aerial demonstrations. 7 p.m. -- Corporate balloons flight...

Printed words are amazing sources of facts, some interesting, some useless, some notable, some that make you say, "Gee whiz." While reading a magazine the other day, a small item -- actually, it was a filler, the kind at the bottom of a column of type -- popped right off the page...

POPLAR BLUFF -- The Haven House, a Poplar Bluff shelter for battered women and their children, will mark its 10th anniversary Saturday with a dinner featuring Denise Brown as the main speaker. The event will take place in Fellowship Hall at the First Baptist Church at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.50 a person...

ANNA, Ill. -- Illinois officials are searching for a Michigan man last seen Sunday. Edgar Pickering Willis, 66, has been missing since July 16. He last contacted his family on July 12. Willis is 5-11 and weighs about 200 pounds. He has blue eyes and gray hair and beard. It is possible he was wearing a gold chain necklace with a half-inch pendant...

Son to David and Stacey Long, Marble Hill Route 1, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 11:15 a.m. Thursday, July 13, 1995. Name, Caleb David. Weight, 8 pounds 6 ounces. Second child, first son. Mrs. Long is the former Stacey Jones, daughter of Carl and Judy Rhodes of Marble Hill, and the late Gene Jones of St. Louis. She is an elementary teacher at Meadow Heights School. Long is a pipefitter with Alliance Mechanics. He is the son of Elzie and Mary Susan Long of Marble Hill...

Raymond B. Wonsewitz, 80, of 2525 Boutin Dr., died Wednesday, July 19, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Feb. 26, 1915, at St. Louis County, son of Joseph J. and Theresa Moellmann Wonsewitz. He and Ruby Eldridge were married in 1966. She preceded him in death in 1988...

Javada J. Dannenmueller, 63, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Oran, died Thursday, July 20, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Sept. 25, 1931, at Oran, daughter of the late Leo and Colletta Heisserer Dannenmueller. Dannenmueller was a retired sewing machine operator for the Oran Hat Factory. She was a member of the Guardian Angel Catholic Church in Oran and the St. Ann's Sodality...

SIKESTON -- Lloyd Wilson, 86, of Sikeston, died Wednesday, July 19, 1995, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Aug. 30, 1908, in Bertrand, son of Ed and Ida Winters Wilson. He and Mildred Showmaker were married March 14, 1934. Wilson worked at Illinois Lumber Co. in Cairo 27 years, was employed by the state of Illinois eight years, and had owned a service station in Cairo. He was a member of First Christian Church...

JACKSON -- Everett Curtiss Hamilton, 66, of Jackson, died Tuesday, July 18, 1995, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 26, 1929, in Roosevelt, Minn., son of Curtiss Miller and Hazel Karlenzig Hamilton. Hamilton was an aircraft mechanic 20 years. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War...

GRAND CHAIN, Ill. -- Funeral service for Thomas Roach of Grand Chain will be held at 10 a.m. today at Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak. The Revs. Bill McGee and Jerome Fortenberry will officiate. Burial will be in St. Catherine Cemetery at Grand Chain...

GRASSY -- Paul W. Varner, 72, of Grassy, died Wednesday, July 19, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 30, 1922, at Naylor. He and Retta J. Smith were married July 23, 1949. Varner was a retired supervisor with McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Co. in St. Louis. He moved to this area in 1982 from High Ridge. He was a member of Marble Hill VFW Post 5900...

Virginia Ruth Lohmeier, 79, 275 Ute, died Thursday, July 20, 1995, at her home. She was born April 27, 1916, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of John A. and Alvina S. Blackwendt Inman. She and Wilbert Lohmeier were married Aug. 21, 1938, in Blytheville, Ark. He died April 8, 1991...

ANNA, Ill. -- Clara Cook, 93, of Lake Charles, La., formerly of Anna, died Thursday, July 20, 1995, at Lake Charles Hospital. Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements.

COBDEN, Ill. -- George A. Penrod, 80, of Baltimore, Md., formerly of Cobden, died Thursday, July 20, 1995, at North Arundel Hospital in Glen Burnie, Mass. Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Cobden is in charge of arrangements.

JACKSON -- Uldine Tice, 81, of Jackson died last night at her home. She was born June 24, 1924, in Shinewell, Okla., daughter of Monroe and Sarah Sartin Smith. She grew up in Shinewell, Okla., then lived in Idabell, Okla., Brawley, Calif., and Chula Vista, Calif. In 1980, she and her husband moved to Jackson...