Stories from Monday, September 11, 1995

The gaming industry in Missouri and Illinois is on the move -- in some cases, litrally. The President IV riverboat caught some attention when it passed through Cape Girardeau recently, en route to St. Louis via the Mississippi River. When the giant riverboat casino passes by Cape Girardeau the next time, it will be under a new banner, Players Casino, and will be headed for Lake Charles, La., where it will replace one of two Players International riverboat casinos operating there...

Jack Mehner, owner of Advanced Business Systems, said his typewriter sales have dropped dramatically since computers became popular. He still sells a few typewriters, though. We live in the Computer Age. Want to bang out a letter to a customer? Find out if a bill was paid? Keep track of an employee's overtime?...

BENTON -- You wouldn't know it by looking into a classroom, but the Thomas W. Kelly School District is growing by leaps and bounds. School enrollment has jumped about 15 percent in the past two years, particularly at the high school. "We've gained 70 or 80 students, but they're good students," said Kelly High School Principal Tom Allen...

Amy Randol might get a check for more than $700 from the Cape Girardeau Public Schools following action tonight by the Cape Girardeau Board of Education. On the agenda for tonight's board meeting is consideration of a "patron's refund." The board might reimburse Randol for money she had to spend to review school district receipts last year...

JEFFERSON CITY -- A just-completed analysis of last November's legislative campaign expenditures reveals a rapid increase in the amount of money being raised and spent for the 197 seats in the Missouri General Assembly. In the 1994 general election campaign, Senate and House candidates raised more than $6.8 million, according to records of the Missouri Ethics Commission...

On an average weekday morning, Cape Girardeau's streets are quiet except for the sound of motorists zooming to work. They won't be on Tuesday. Practically at the crack of dawn, area volunteers will station themselves with stacks of Southeast Missourian newspapers, shouting encouragement to potential buyers...

The SEMO District Fair began Sunday with entertainment for the entire family. Some children paraded their pets around the grandstand. Others enjoyed the reduced rate for midway rides. Most had smiles on their faces. The Pet Parade featured a wide array of farm animals, birds, dogs, and other critters...

The Southeast Missourian asked, "What you think about the proposed site for the new Federal Building downtown?" Bill Beydler, Cape Girardeau "I think they should knock down the Hotel Marquette and put it right there across from the current building. They have an existing building there they could refurbish."...

Lack of morality WHILE IT is not for government to prescribe morality, a government without a moral base fosters a citizenry without responsibility and a nation void of stability. It is no wonder under our government's current mindset individual responsibility is disappearing. ...

Camera shutters clicked and flashes illuminated as 50 balloons floated across the sky during the Balloons & Arts Festival '95 in July. Photographers around the area tried to capture a "Kodak moment" to enter in the festival photo contest. "We tried to pick a photo that depicted the event and wasn't a single balloon," said Beverly Strohmeyer, executive director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri...

MARQUAND -- Ronald J. Yamnitz, 57, of rural Marquand died Saturday, Sept. 9, 1995, at Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Sept. 5, 1938, at Patton, son of Lancie and Irene Smith Yamnitz. He married Joyce Yount on June 29, 1957. He was a farmer and a veteran of the U.S. ...

ADVANCE -- Archie E. Cantrell, 76, of Advance died Saturday, Sept. 9, 1995, at his home. He was born Feb. 11, 1919, at Leora, son of Henry and Allie Bleakly Cantrell. He married Pearl Jackson on Oct. 21, 1939 at Caruthersville. She survives. He was a retired carpenter, a charter member of the Sturdivant General Baptist Church, and he served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War...

L. Edgar Massey, 82, of 1501 Parksite Drive died Sunday, Sept. 10, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Sept. 26, 1912, at Batesville, Ark., son of Luther Edgar and Louie De Anna Mack Massey Sr. He and Dorles Wilton were married Oct. 10, 1953. She survives...

ST. LOUIS -- Sarah H. Johnson, 82, formerly of Patton, died Sunday, Sept. 10, 1995, at the Oak Forest North Skilled Nursing Center in St. Louis. She was born April 8, 1913, at Patton, daughter of Jefferson Franklin and Mary Elizabeth Seabaugh Grindstaff. She and Lester Johnson were married. He preceded her in death Dec. 28, 1981...

Lloyd "Pete" Propst, 85, of 1551 Price Drive died Saturday, Sept. 9, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 16, 1909, in Cape Girardeau, son of Steven and Elizabeth Seabaugh Propst. He married Frieda Stovall on Dec. 5, 1927, in Cape Girardeau. She preceded him in death on Dec. 9, 1987...

JACKSON -- Aza Mabel Reynolds, 91, of Whitewater died Saturday, Sept. 9, 1995, at her daughter's home in Burfordville. She was born Oct. 26, 1903, at Burfordville, daughter of Marshall S. and Alice I. Smith Helderman. She and Otis Reynolds were married Oct. 25, 1928 at Jackson. He preceded her in death Sept. 30, 1976...

MARBLE HILL --Drucille J. Myers, 75, of Fenton died Saturday, Sept. 9, 1995, at the Cedars Health Care Center in Cedar Hill. She was born Aug. 1, 1920, at Dongola, daughter of Sherman and Bessie Murphy Bess. She married John L. Myers on May 18, 1946. He survives...

SIKESTON -- Windle Fikuart, 80, of Sikeston died Sunday, Sept. 10, 1995, at his home. He was born Sept. 23, 1914, at Sedgewickville, son of Charlie and Nora Crites Fikuart. He married Mary Marie Vaughan Sept. 9, 1942, at Charleston. She survives. He attended Calvary Temple Church in Sikeston and was a retired truck driver...

Lillie Gertrude Clifton, 98, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Sept. 9, 1995, at the Cape Girardeau Nursing Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

To the editor: As the former Adult Basic Education coordinator for the Cape Girardeau public schools from 1983 to 1995, I want to personally congratulate the new group of general equivalency diploma graduates who completed their high school education...

I hope some doctoral candidate at some ivy-covered university will someday select for his or her thesis the subject of why we mortals find it so upsetting when we encounter greed among the poor and remain so tranquil when we witness it by the rich. A radio talk-show hostess told me recently that she was transformed from a "flaming liberal" to a "cautious conservative" when she witnessed a family purchasing beer with food stamps. ...

During John Danforth's last term in the U.S. Senate, the veteran Missouri legislator became an expert on the federal deficit. In one of his final efforts to seek solutions to the never-ending cost of government, Danforth and Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska chaired a bipartisan commission that examined entitlements, those massive funding programs such as Social Security and Medicare on which the country has grown dependent...

To the editor: I wish to respond to the Aug. 29 letter from Stan Crader of Jackson. I appreciate Mr. Crader's consideration of the affected landowners regarding the proposed recreational lake. I sincerely hope this is genuine concern and not like the petition drive Crader has initiated for Bollinger County, a county in which he no longer resides...

The weather forecasters say Tuesday will start off clear and cool as the sun comes up. That is welcome news for several hundred volunteers who will spend a few early-morning hours hawking copies of the Southeast Missourian's annual YELL edition. This award-winning project, now in its fifth year, raises money for reading programs, literacy grants and the Newspaper In Education program. ...

To the editor: I read in the Mini-Page about the five Sullivan brothers. They were all in the Navy on the same ship as my great-uncle, Thomas Kane Jr. They came from my hometown, Kearny, N.J. The Sullivan brothers wanted to be together during the war in 1942. Their ship was hit by a torpedo in the Pacific Ocean. The ship was on its way back to the United States. Only a few sailors lived, but my uncle and the five Sullivan brothers died...

In hawking his Show-Me Net idea for Cape Girardeau County, Larry Loos uses a videotape about a similar network in Peoria, Ill. Established about four years ago, Peoria's FreeNet was billed as a way to connect Peoria residents with local and national information...

While some rural Missourians zoom along the information superhighway, others sit in the dust on outdated gravel roads. Supporters of Show-Me Net want a few road improvements. By now, most people have heard about the Internet -- the world's information superhighway. This computer system links government agencies, universities, medical centers, newspapers, private companies and other organizations through one huge computer network...

Jackson Board of Education Tuesday, Sept. 12 7:30 p.m. Action Items Approve changes in the District Student Testing Plan. Purchase two additional buses and authorize superintendent to secure needed drivers. Information Items Middle-school parking lot update...

WASHINGTON -- Fees charged by out-of-state banks are significantly higher than those at in-state banks, the Federal Reserve reports. But in a report based on a 1994 survey of more than 1,000 banks and savings institutions, the Fed said average fees did not rise very much from 1993...

Sept. 19 -- Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's business After Hours, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Show Me Center. Sept. 20 -- "General Communications and Basic Telephone Etiquette" seminar, Drury Lodge. Oct. 4 -- Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's Industrial Appreciation Banquet, Show Me Center, humorist Grady Jim Robinson, guest speaker at the dinner, 335-3312...

The Southeast Missourian-Concord Printing will be the host for the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's Business After Hours, Sept. 19, at the Show Me Center on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. The monthly meeting is designed to unite chamber members in a relaxed atmosphere and encourage members to meet, mingle and make new business contacts. The chamber's membership committee sponsors the event...

The Southeast Chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association will hold a food and beverage show Tuesday at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. Food and beverage vendors will demonstrate and sample new products. The show is open to establishments that serve food and beverage...

The Small Business Development Center will conduct counseling sessions in three areas this month. Counselor Gil Degenhardt will be available Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office. The counseling sessions (about an hour) are free. Call (314) 335-3312 for appointment...

The Southeast Missouri Private Industry Council (PIC) will recognize and honor the accomplishments of its graduates of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs at a special banquet Sept. 19. The banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau...

The Lady Luck Gaming Corp. reported large revenue gains in its latest quarterly report. Net revenues of $37.7 million were reported for the three months ended June 30, a 73.7 percent increase from the $21.7 million for the same period a year ago. Net income for the second quarter was $734,000, compared with a net loss of $10.6 million in the second quarter of 1994...

"Financial Statement Preparation and Analysis for Small Business," a seminar designed to demonstrate how to interpret financial statements and use the information to improve business decision-making, will be held at the Bootheel Education Center, 7600 N. Douglas, Malden, Sept. 20, from 6 to 9 p.m...

Spartech Corp. has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 3 cents a share, payable Oct. 6, to common shareholders of record Sept. 20, Spartech recently reported record third-quarter fiscal results of $90.9 million in sales and net earnings of $3.8 million and fully diluted earnings per share of 16 cents...

Westvaco Corp. of New York, a major manufacturer of paper, packaging and chemicals, has announced record sales and earnings for its third quarter. The company, which has a fine paper mill at Wickliffe, Ky., also announced a 3-for-2 stock split and a 20 percent increase in Westvaco's quarterly dividend on common stock...

Two Farmers Insurance Group agents are joining forces in one office. Jim Robison, who has been with Farmers for six years, is moving to 1925 William, which houses Wiggs Insurance, operated by Leon Wiggs. Wiggs and Robison will share staff and office space...