Stories from Wednesday, December 6, 1995

POPLAR BLUFF -- Eva A. Mattingly, 83, of Poplar Bluff died Tuesday, Dec. 5, 1995, at Lucy Lee Hospital in Poplar Bluff. She was born Dec. 28, 1911, to James and Ethel Carter O'Mohundro in Dudley. She married Clarence Carl Mattingly on July 25, 1929. He preceded her in death on Dec. 19, 1984...

Cape Girardeau County Brent and Mary Eastman to Boyd and Robert Langford; James Maurer et al. to James and Teresa Maurer and Paul and Rita Dirnberger; Scot and Tyronza Pringle to The Tyronza Pringle Trust; Frieda Schnurbusch to Frieda Schnurbursch et al.; Whitewater United Methodist Church to City of Whitewater...

Gov. Mel Carnahan spoke before students at Cape Girardeau Central High School Tuesday to outline proposed legislation intended to reduce crime in Missouri's public schools. The legislation, called the Safe Schools Initiative, includes provisions to make all assaults on school employees felonies, create alternate schools for disruptive students, expand drug-free school zones, allow for greater flow of information concerning student misbehavior and provide grant money to make schools safer...

Donations to the Salvation Army's Tree of Lights campaign are down, but Salvation Army officials are confident the community will come through with support. The goal for this year's campaign is $150,000. So far, $38,733 has been raised toward that goal, according to Charlie Neese, chairman of the 1995 campaign...

A luncheon Tuesday sponsored by Americorps featured Miss Missouri Erin Phillips at Southeast Missouri State University. About 60 people associated with Americorps, a national community service organization, heard Phillips say that people with her designation no longer reign as Miss Missouri...

Once again, the Jackson Indian football team has excited the entire community. The number of people who turned out to support the Indians in the state playoffs was unbelievable. When I walked into the stadium at Springfield, I felt tremendous pride to see over 3,000 Jackson fans...

JACKSON -- Don Kling frowned at the tiny laptop computer screen as he punched its keys. "You spell that with an `A'?" he said, glancing at the anxious woman in front of him. She nodded. Kling punched a few more keys. "Sorry," he said. "There's nothing here."...

Gay Pilsner, left, headed down the doll aisle at Target with two of her daughters, Hannah and Haley, looking for gifts. Hannah Pilsner, left, Gay Pilsner and Haley Pilsner looked at a collection of toy horses. Christmas giving warms the soul, but the process can frazzle bank accounts and nerves...

Let's see. Airlines started offering frequent-flier deals in 1981. The idea was to promote sales by allowing ticket purchasers to accumulate enough free miles for a no-cost ticket. This was particularly appealing to businesses whose employees travel a lot. In some cases, companies used the frequent-flier tickets to stretch expense dollars. In other cases, companies allowed employees to use the free miles they accumulated for personal trips unrelated to business...

Among the many organizations that make the holiday season brighter for hundreds of area residents is the Salvation Army. At Christmas time, the Salvation Army will help more than 800 families with food, clothing and gifts. But just as important is the Salvation Army's year-around assistance efforts, because needs arise every month of the year, not just at the holidays...

To the editor: The happy holidays are here, and people will drink and drive. Please practice defensive driving and always buckle your seat belts. Statistically there is a 25 percent greater chance of being killed when ejected from a vehicle. In the United States every year over 350,000 people receive traumatic brain injuries from doing a windshield taste test. ...

To the editor: With the unbalanced budget and government shutdown looming again, I, as a retired federal employee, would like to enlighten readers about federal government language and policies. All departments are different, but with my agency within the Department of Defense this is the procedure with a possible shutdown:...

To the editor: On behalf of St. Paul Lutheran School, I would like to thank the United Way, the Southeast Missourian and the people who worked in regard to the YELL program for the grant money our school received this year. Those funds will be used to purchase additional software for our accelerated reading program. That is a program which allows students to take computer-generated tests based on books that they read...

To the editor: Wake up, my fellow Americans. Your elected officials are giving our country away. We are not only becoming a dictatorship/police state, but also a Third World country. Our government is deliberately giving our factories and jobs to Asia and Europe, thanks to the treaties and the United Nations...

John Mark Scully, 54, of Sedalia, died Sunday, Dec. 3, 1995, at his home. He was born Jan. 31, 1941, in Cape Girardeau, son of Dr. Mark Finney and Pearl I. Golden Scully. His father was a former president of Southeast Missouri State University. He and the former Mary Ellen Hesskamp were married April 13, 1963, in Cape Girardeau...

MARBLE HILL -- Nina O. Capps, 91, of Marble Hill, died Monday, Dec. 4, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 27, 1904, in Marble Hill, daughter of Oliver A. and Mollie Beach Hahn. She and Otis Capps were married June 30, 1923. He died Nov. 9, 1987...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Helen Frances Kennedy, 80, of Mounds, formerly of Pulaski, died Tuesday, Dec. 5, 1995, at her home. She was born May 8, 1915, in Ullin, daughter of Richard Elbert and Sophia Staduadcher Echols. She married Loren "Bosco" Kennedy, who died Dec. 29, 1986...

CHAFFEE -- Paul O. Mansell, 85, Chaffee Route 1, died Monday, Dec. 4, 1995, at his home. He was born Sept. 25, 1910, near Bell City, son of Charles Robert and Minnie Louise Hency Mansell. He married the former Ruby Callaway. Mansell retired as a truck driver with I.M.L. Freight Lines in Kansas City. He was a member of United Pentecostal Church, American Legion Post 389 and Country CBers Club, all in Chaffee. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Jewell Wilson, 88, of South Elgin, died Saturday, Dec. 2, 1995, at Heritage Manor in Elgin. She was born July 6, 1907, in Vienna, daughter of William Henry and Louisa Wickham Lasley. She married Talmadge "Pete" Wilson, who died Feb. 24, 1989...

Son to Stephen and Melinda Gateley of Nashville, Tenn., hospital there, 2:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30, 1995. Name, Andrew Tyler. Weight, 8 pounds 10 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Gateley is the former Melinda Keeney, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Keeney of Marietta, Ga. She is a public school teacher. Gateley is a media consultant with Southern Baptist Sunday School Board. He is the son of Melvin and Ella Gateley, 1725 Brookwood...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Jerry Lee Sanders, 48, of Cobden, Ill., died Monday, Dec. 4, 1995, from a house fire. He was born April 27, 1947, at Bethel Springs, Tenn., son of Joseph and Maudell Holmes Sanders. He was a member of the Apostolic Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Cobden...

Despite Congress' lifting of the federal speed limit, Illinois will keep speed limits at 65 mph on interstate highways and 55 on two-lane roads. Only minor changes have been enacted for Illinois motorists. "Speed limits on some non-interstate, four-lane highways will be raised from 55 to 65 miles per hour," said Marsha Schiebel, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Transportation at Springfield. "The IDOT is in the process of changing those signs now, and should be finished by Monday."...

After more than 60 years, Benjamin Franklin is getting a face lift. The $100 bill, which bears a portrait of Franklin, will get a new look beginning after the new year. The U.S. Treasury Department will begin issuing the newly-designed $100 bill in January. Bank officials expect it will begin circulating in Southeast Missouri sometime around March. Federal Reserve banks will distribute the bills for the treasury department, depending on the number requested locally...

PERRYVILLE -- Although it's become a national trend for corporations to downsize, Perry County industries are expanding. Through a state program that gives local businesses credit at reduced interest rates for expansion, two local industries will add about 230 jobs in the county...

Cape Girardeau needs a new city board to foster economic development, Councilman Melvin Gateley said Tuesday. Gateley proposed Monday night that the council create a five-member board of governors to formulate a plan for economic development and look at funding public-private partnerships...

Community support is building for the 1995 Toybox toy drive, sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian. Local businesses are getting in the Christmas spirit to help make Christmas merry for children in Cape Girardeau. Kerry Reeves, Jaycees co-chair of the drive, reported that Kmart and Target both have agreed to give discounts to Toybox organizers "when we're doing our toy shopping."...

People who undergo dialysis treatments, like Mr. L, spend three to five hours in a dialysis chair three to five times a week. The treatments are long and tiring but necessary for Mr. L to stay alive. He is suffers from kidney failure, high blood pressure and arthritis. He uses a cane for support when he walks and has a history of cataracts...

Cable television isn't necessarily evil. Like handguns, cable TV is neutral. But when improperly used it can have a serious impact, leaving thousands of once productive people forever beached on the shores of sloth. Cable TV doesn't kill intelligent thought and initiative. People kill intelligent thought and initiative. Or something like that...

The LaLeche League will hold an informal discussion on how a family relates to a newborn baby that is breast fed when it meets Thursday at 10 a.m. at 919 S. Pacific. The discussion will focus on how to manage the first few weeks with a new baby, with an emphasis on the entire family and not just mother and child...

There apparently will be a race in at least one Cape Girardeau City Council ward. Lawrence Godfrey, an unsuccessful candidate for a council seat in 1992, said Tuesday he will challenge incumbent Melvin Gateley for the Ward 5 seat. Godfrey, however, still hasn't filed. Friday is the filing deadline for the April municipal election...

Mary Johnson Tweedy's death Saturday in Manhattan at 80 ended a life that began in ivy-covered security in Cape Girardeau but was as rich in exotic adventure as, in the words of a childhood friend, "a 25-cent book." Tweedy grew up Mary Virginia Johnson, the red-haired daughter of Caroline and B.F. Johnson. Her father, affectionately known as "Peggy" because of his artificial leg, was the chairman of the mathematics department at then-Southeast Missouri State College...

The Cape Girardeau City Council will expand most of its city boards in an effort to involve more citizens in local government. The council Monday night approved Councilman Richard Eggimann's suggestion to add two people to each advisory board, excluding the Board of Adjustment, the public library board, and the Show Me Center Board of Managers...

An information session will be held Friday for persons interested in spending spring break in Paris, France, and western Europe. The session will be from 3-4 p.m. in the Presidents' Room of the University Center. Southeast Missouri State University history professors Charles Sharp and Frank Nickell will lead the 12-day educational trip. It will focus on World War II sites. Participants will fly to London and follow the route of the U.S. military across France to Germany...

A St. Louis manufacturer has donated a tractor-trailer load of fertilizer to improve the soil at Southeast Missouri State University's demonstration farm. The fertilizer, donated by Lange-Stegmann, is valued at more than $3,000. The university recently sampled all its fields and found its pastures to be deficient in soil nutrients...

The Area Vietnam Veterans and Support Group will have its holiday group dinner Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion Hall. Meat, bread and soda will be furnished. Those attending should bring a covered dish or dessert. Prospective members are welcome...

There is always something new in the gardening world -- Now it is National Poinsettia Day! December 12 commemorates the best-selling potted plant. It has been designated as a day to enjoy poinsettias, and to honor Dr. Joel Robert Poinsett, the American diplomat who first introduced the plant here in the United States...