Stories from Tuesday, March 19, 1996

Oran Elementary School will hold its kindergarten enrollment from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 27 and 28. Parents should call the school at 262-3435 to make an appointment. Children who will be 5 by July 1 are eligible to enroll. Children whose birthdays fall between July 2 and Sept. 30 can enter school if they are tested...

The Community Caring Council's Children's Issues Committee will offer a free 24-hour phone line listing youth activities throughout the area. The activity line, which will feature information for young people in grades K-12, will be operational April 1, and will be available to touch-tone phones. Information will be pre-recorded and updated regularly...

Students at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School do not wear uniforms but wear a variety of clothes. Among them, from left, are James Lyerla sporting a distinctive T-shirt, Juan Romero, Rusty Dailey and Willie Long. School uniforms can enhance students' self-esteem and eliminate social barriers between students...

Gemo Wong Jr., son of Dr. and Mrs. Gemo Wong of Cairo, Ill., has been chosen as a 1996 recipient of the Lord & Taylor American Dress Design Scholarship Competition. Gemo's dress design will be exhibited at the Lord & Taylor Watertower Store in Chicago through April 8...

Parents as Teachers will hold preschool screenings next week for children in the Scott City, Delta, Chaffee and Kelso school districts. The free screenings, sponsored by the Parents as Teachers Program in the area, require an appointment. To schedule an appointment before Thursday, call the PAT office at 887-6920...

Sally Wibbenmeyer of Friedheim was named to the high honor dean's list at Stephens College in Columbia. Stephens College is the second oldest women's college in the United States. To be named to the dean's list, students must complete at least 12 hours of classes and earn at least a 3.8 grade-point average...

Jason LeGrand, a senior at Southeast Missouri State University, was recently elected speaker pro tem of the Missouri House of Representatives during a 1996 mock legislative session. The session was part of LeGrand's activities as a student intern for Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff. He began the internship in January...

JACKSON -- Sheriff John Jordan says Cape Girardeau County needs to expand its jail, and he may have found a way to get the federal government to pay for part of the costs. The Cape Girardeau County Commission gave the go-ahead Monday for a feasibility study to see if enough space is available for expansion. Architect John Dudley will do preliminary studies to determine if an addition would fit on the jail site in Jackson...

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday night ranked the old St. Francis hospital block as the public's preferred choice for a new federal courthouse. The Happy Hollow area, a former dump site of nearly six acres west of City Hall, ranked second. The north side of the 400 block of Broadway, home to the H and H Building, ranked third...

Southeast Missouri State University students will see increases in tuition, general fees and residence-hall and textbook costs in the fall. The university Board of Regents approved a series of fee increases Monday. Incidental fees will go up $2.80 per credit hour for resident students and $5.80 per credit hour for non-resident students, an overall increase of 3.2 percent...

After shuffling some personnel, the Cape Girardeau Board of Education hired two principals Monday night. Randy Fidler, principal of Sikeston High School, was hired to replace high school principal Dan Tallent, who was chosen school superintendent after Neyland Clark's contract was not renewed...

JACKSON -- Watching a beloved plant die, unresponsive to any amount of sun, water or plant food, can be discouraging to a budding green thumb. Novice growers won't have to stand by helpless anymore, thanks to a new University of Missouri Extension Master Gardeners Hotline. It was connected Monday, and callers are promised the best information available about growing anything from apples to zucchini...

Moms are magnificent. They manage to get the kids dressed and to school, and still get to work on time. It isn't easy. Speaking as a dad, I'm really not sure how moms do it. My wife, Joni, had to go into work early the other day and left it to me to get 3-month-old Bailey and 4-year-old Becca dressed and safely deposited with the babysitter and the day-care center, respectively...

To the editor: The old Glenn house is a remarkable and excellent example of a part of the history of our town. The committee promoting the restoration of St. Vincent's as one of our city treasures is to be congratulated. I approve and second Mary Kasten's idea that it would be great to preserve old St. Francis Hospital as yet another great landmark of our town...

The sharp edge of policy debate over the federal budget has dulled in the weeks since politicking became more important than finding a way to make the nation's government solvent. Gone are the face-to-face meetings between congressional leaders and the president at the White House. Gone are the temporary shutdowns, real or imagined. Gone are the daily updates on how to reach a balanced budget in just seven years...

WHITEWATER -- Ira Lee Devore Jr., 78, of Whitewater, died Monday, March 18, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 10, 1917, at Whitewater, son of Ira Lee and Annie Eakins Devore Sr. He and Azalea Slinkard were married Dec. 21, 1940, at Benton...

FARMINGTON -- Funeral service for Noah John Thomas Schmidt was held Sunday at Taylor Funeral Chapel in Farmington, with Dr. David Webster officiating. Burial was in Knights of Pythias Cemetery. The infant was stillborn Wednesday, March 13, 1996, at Mineral Area Regional Medical Center...

DEXTER -- Funeral service for Carolyn Strauser of Dexter will be held at 1 p.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Chapel in Dexter. The Revs. Kenneth Biggs and Vyron Yount will officiate, with burial in Dexter Cemetery. Strauser, 54, died Saturday, March 16, 1996, at Dexter Memorial Hospital...

STEELE -- Funeral service for Zelmer R. Flood of Steele was held Sunday at Bradshaw Funeral Home here. The Rev. Vernon Reaves officiated, with burial in Mt. Zion Cemetery at Steele. Flood, 93, died Friday, March 15, 1996, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau...

SCOTT CITY -- Janice Kay Crook, 49, of Scott City, died Sunday, March 17, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 18, 1947, at Ironton, daughter of Arley and Zora Crocker Grogan. She and Weldon Ellis Crook were married April 18, 1971, at Salem...

BELL CITY -- Lucy Holyfield, 82, died Sunday, March 17, 1996, at Russellville, Ark., while visiting her sister and daughter. She was born Dec. 17, 1913, near Russellville, the daughter of William David and Margaret Mathis Rackley. On Sept. 6, 1932, she married Orval Holyfield. He died Nov. 14, 1989...

LaCENTER, Ky. -- Anna Mae Gray Hall, 77, of LaCenter and formerly of Tamms, Ill., died Monday, March 18, 1996, at Countryside Health Care in Bardwell, Ky. She was born March 11, 1919, in Ballard County, Ky., the daughter of the late Oid Green and Carrie Green...

Ida Hoffmeister of Jackson died Monday, March 18, 1996, at the Jackson Manor Nursing Home. She was 80. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

CHARLESTON -- Funeral service for Michael Alton Nicholson of Charleston will be held at 2 p.m. today at First Baptist Church. The Rev. Gerald Collier will officiate, assisted by the Revs. Marvin Butrum and Dolan Rogers. Burial will be in Dogwood Cemetery near East Prairie...

FREDERICKTOWN -- Funeral service for Celeste E. Petley of Fredericktown will be held at 11 a.m. today at Wilson Funeral Home in Fredericktown. The Rev. W.D. Snider will officiate, with burial in Marcus Memorial Park. Petley, 94, died Saturday, March 16, 1996, in Cape Girardeau...

Funeral mass for Richard Carroll Gill, 1257 Marilyn, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Vincent's Catholic Church. The Rev. Jay Gibson will officiate, with burial in St. Mary's Cemetery. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel from 4-8 p.m. today. Parish prayers will be at 7 and Elks service at 7:30...

PERRYVILLE -- Glen Joseph Bey Jr., 72, of Perryville, died Monday, March 18, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Miller Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

CHAFFEE -- Leslie "Scooter" Seabaugh, 47, of Chaffee, died Sunday, March 17, 1996, at St. Louis University Hospital. He was born April 18, 1948, son of Dale Victor and Mable DeHart Seabaugh. Seabaugh was owner/operator of Mable's Cafe. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War...

Marvin Henry Headrick, 84, 1559 Grandview, died Monday, March 18, 1996, at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born Sept. 13, 1911, at Jackson, son of Elijah and Eva Cora Williams Headrick. He and Vay Shoults were married Nov. 10, 1945, in Marion, Ark...

Voters in the Cape Girardeau School District will have a chance to meet candidates for the Board of Education during a forum at Washington Elementary School, 621 N. Fountain, at 7 p.m. Thursday. It is sponsored by the League of Women Voters. In addition to board candidates, Keith Russell, a member of the Cape Girardeau City Charter Commission, will talk about 10 changes in the City Charter ordinances to be decided by voters...

The Area Wide United Way and Ameritech are co-sponsoring the ninth annual Volunteer Awards program to recognize people and organizations that have had a significant impact on the community by giving of their time and energy. Deadline for nominations is Monday. Forms have been mailed to service clubs, organizations, churches and charitable and non-profit organizations in the area. Others may obtain nomination forms by calling the United Way at 334-9634...

JACKSON -- Residents watching their pocketbooks may get some help from the city of Jackson. The Board of Aldermen approved a budget billing program Monday, which eliminates the problem of paying unusually high electric bills in hot and cold months and paying low bills during moderate temperatures...

The fifth annual Cape Girardeau County WalkAmerica kickoff begins at 7 a.m. today at the Commerce Bank Community Room, 160 S. Broadview. The local, four-mile WalkAmerica will be held at Capaha Park April 27 from 9 a.m. until noon. The kickoff is primarily for team captains, said Matt Hopkins, division director for Southeast Missouri. "It tells them how to get involved and what WalkAmerica is across the country."...

Students must strive for respect, responsibility, courage and self-discipline, says Erin Phillips, Miss Missouri 1995. Phillips on Monday spoke to 700 eighth- and ninth-graders at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School. Ninth-grader Travis Kaufman introduced Phillips to the students. "She puts a lot of emphasis on reading, education and self-esteem," Kaufman said. "She is a really good role model for students."...

JACKSON -- David Hitt, who worked during natural disasters in the region with the Missouri National Guard, will be handling emergency preparedness for Cape Girardeau County. On Monday Hitt was hired as Cape Girardeau County's emergency preparedness coordinator. Martha Vandivort, who has volunteered for years with the county's emergency preparedness office, was hired as deputy director...

JACKSON -- The five candidates for three seats on the Jackson Board of Education will gather at 7 tonight at R.O. Hawkins Junior High School in Jackson to discuss several issues. The American Businesswomen's Association is sponsoring the candidates forum. If school is canceled today because of bad weather, the forum will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the junior high...

With reports of high schools recruiting athletes, colleges breaking regulations and professionals demanding salaries approaching the national debt, it is obvious that the high-stakes world of sport is as competitive as ever. But all those imperfections make Craig Billmeyer enjoy his affiliation with Noon Optimist Club indoor soccer league even more...

JACKSON -- Kyle Bruce is way ahead of schedule in his youthful bowling career. Bruce, a 15-year-old freshman at Jackson Junior High, has been bowling for four years. Reaching perfection -- the coveted 300 game -- never even entered his mind. "I never thought I'd get one," he said. "Not a lot of people do."...

Paced by a first-place finish by eight-year-old Brad Crader, Jackson's AAU/USA Wrestling Club captured the 2A state title this past weekend in Sedalia. Crader won his title in the eight-and-under, 80-pound division. Paul Feiner placed 6th in 10-and-under, 50 pounds while Brett Stroud also finished 6th in the 15-and-under, 90-pound division...

If high school sports are a little too competitive for your taste, there is an alternative in Cape Girardeau. The Evening Optimists sponsor a church basketball league for boys in the second through 12th grades. The league begins in early January and concludes in early March. Games are played on eight consecutive Saturdays...

With more and more players signing on for Cape Girardeau's Youth Tackle Football League, Mike Dunaway has seen expenses go up. In fact, last fall's signup was so great that the league had to find outfits -- uniforms, helmets and shoulder pads -- for 70 additional players...

If David Johnson's hockey game continues to improve like this, then Kansas City, look out. Johnson, 13, finished the 1995-96 season with a team-high 37 goals for the SEMO Wildcats, a team in the Pee Wee Division of Cape Girardeau's youth hockey league...