Stories from Friday, December 29, 1995

SCOTT CITY -- George H. Kester, 69, of Scott City died Thursday, Dec. 28, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 26, 1926, at Cape Girardeau, son of Frederick John and Mary Mae Cobble Kester. He and Barbara Arnold were married Nov. 5, 1948, at Cape Girardeau...

The nation's oldest regulatory agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission, will cease to exist at the end of the year, barring a presidential veto, which isn't anticipated. The ICC accumulated enormous rate-setting power over the years since it was created in 1887 to regulate railroad fares and tariffs. ...

The latest figures from Missouri's riverboat casinos indicate a trend that lends a good deal of credence to the state gaming commission's cautious approach to licensing more gambling spots along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Several months ago the gaming commission said it wouldn't authorize any more riverboat licenses until it had some feel for the saturation level of gambling in the state...

JACKSON -- For 14 years, Woodard's Smorgasbord restaurant has been serving home-cooked meals to residents of the Delta area. Now Woodard's hope to do the same for customers in Jackson. The restaurant, which closed in Delta Dec. 16, will open at 6 a.m. Tuesday at 1830 E. Highway 61 in Jackson...

The deadline for returning surveys concerning Cape Girardeau schools is Dec. 31. The Vision Planning Committee, appointed by the Cape Girardeau Board of Education, is collecting opinions about school issues through a two-fold survey. The survey was published in the Dec. 20 Southeast Missourian. The same survey was also direct mailed to 400 households in the school district...

The mobile office of Rep. Bill Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau will make a number of stops throughout the 8th District in early January to hear from constituents. A schedule of stops for Jan. 11: Williamsville, nutrition center, 9-10 a.m. Greenville, courthouse, 10:30-11:30 a.m...

Cape Girardeau County Betty and Martin Radmer to James and Helen Hays; The Wesley and Carolyn Campbell Trust to the Campbell Family Trust; The Campbell Family Trust to The Lynuel and Mildred Campbell Trust; Thomas Harold to Thomas Harold and Daniel and Helen Seger; Martha Hanning to Charles and Pam Groshong; Meier Angus Farms Inc. to Michael and Terralyn Kahle; The Walter Davis Trust to Doris Davis Properties et al...

It is mixed bag for Republicans in Congress these days. On the one hand, we are thrilled so far with our legislative progress on important issues. The Republican House and Senate overwhelmingly passed a plan that will balance the budget in seven years, save the Medicare program from certain bankruptcy (while actually spending more on benefits to seniors) and give $245 billion well-deserved tax relief to the American people...

PULASKI COUNTY, Ill. -- Two Chicago residents were injured in a one-vehicle accident Thursday morning along Interstate 57. Georgia M. Jones, 56, and Riley Harris, 58, both of Chicago, were injured in the accident, which occurred at 9:20 a.m. Thursday. Both were taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

MARBLE HILL -- Chalmer O. Huffman, 90, of Marble Hill died Thursday, Dec. 28, 1995, at Bond Nursing Care Center. He was born Sept. 2, 1905, at Whitewater, son of Columbus L. and Lena Buckner Huffman. On Nov. 10, 1925, he married Dora Opal Jauch, who preceded him in death Aug. 24, 1973...

BLOOMFIELD -- Gertie Walker of Bloomfield, 87, died Saturday, Dec. 23, 1995, at her home. She was born Feb. 13, 1908, at Ardeola, daughter of Thomas and Viola Summers Overby. She was married to Schuler Walker, who preceded her in death on June 22, 1955...

Frank James Stinnett Jr., 70, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Dec. 27, 1995, at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Ky. He was born Jan. 13, 1925, at Sturgis, Ky., son of Frank James Stinnett Sr. and Myrtle Elizabeth Hight Stinnett. He and Mary Back were married in 1942 at St. Louis...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Randy D. Metheny, 35, of Lombard, Ill., and formerly of East Prairie, died Saturday, Dec. 23, 1995, at Baldwin, Mich., as the result of an automobile accident. He was born Jan. 15, 1960, son of Aneta Maxey Talley of East Prairie and J.D. Metheny of Benton, Ky. He had lived in the Chicago area for the past 15 years, where he was employed by N.S.K. Manufacturing Co...

ZALMA -- Charles Gilliland, 63, of Zalma died Thursday, Dec. 28, 1995, at Lucy Lee Hospital in Poplar Bluff. He was born Feb. 10, 1932, at Gypsy, son of Jasper and Flora Stilts Gilliland. On April 7, 1957, he married Shirley Dunn at Lowndes. He was a farmer and a member of the Lowndes Methodist Church. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean Conflict...

JACKSON -- Marie Weiss, 87, formerly of Jackson, died Thursday, Dec. 28, 1995, at the Cape Girardeau Health Center. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

CAIRO, Ill. -- Virginia Mae Holshouser, 72, of Cairo died Thursday, Dec. 28, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 20, 1922, at America, Ill., daughter of Clifford and Beulah Johnson Dover. She was a member of the Assembly of God Church in Mounds...

Walter W. Bender, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Dec. 27, 1995, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 7, 1911, in Cape Girardeau, son of William Frederick and Anna Burke Bender. He was a boiler maker and a construction worker. He also was a member of the International Brotherhood of Boiler Makers and of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau...

SIKESTON -- Next month's Rural Restoration Conference will attract some big names to Sikeston. Noted economist Bill Helming, U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson; country gospel music star Susie Luchsinger and her husband, world-class rodeo cowboy Paul Luchsinger, will be at the conference. It will be held at the Ramada Inn Jan. 14-16...

JACKSON -- If they wait until the last minute to mail their county tax payments, taxpayers will find themselves delinquent. That's because the postal service won't cancel mail on the Dec. 31 deadline, which is a Sunday. County Collector Harold Kuehle said taxpayers need to mail their tax payments by Saturday...

A few more big checks in the mail could put the Cape Girardeau Salvation Army over the top of its $150,000 1995 Tree of Lights goal. Each Christmas season, the Salvation Army erects a tree, then puts on strings of lights to represent money raised. A highly visible kettle drive, during which bell ringers attend collection kettles outside area businesses, nets most of the proceeds. Other contributors choose to donate through the mail...

Or what about spoons that aren't used at mealtime? Talk about an abrupt change in topics. But it is the grab-bag time of year, and this is what got grabbed. Seasoned readers already know there won't be any New Year's resolutions here. Good resolutions deserve better than the dieting-drinking-smoking promises that are so seldom kept...

HEY, EVERYBODY did you check out Jupiter in the sky last? Every 15 years. Gotta see it. RUSH LIMBAUGH, on our license plate? Oh please. Where's my barf bag? Happy New Year. I WOULD like to respond to the person who blamed the Democrats for the Somalia fiasco. ...

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County and Southwestern Bell recently reached a compromise on the Emergency 911 audit issue, allowing the account to be audited while maintaining customer privacy. Talk about an audit of the account began in October, when Schott and Ven de ven, accountants contracted to do the county audit, wanted a list of all the telephone numbers in Cape Girardeau County. ...

Diabetics in Southeast Missouri and their physicians will have a new resource for information and treatment options on the disease. The target date for St. Francis Medical Center's Diabetes Education and Management Center to be operational is March 1, said Dr. Daniel S. Duick, medical director for the project...