Stories from Tuesday, May 7, 1996

To the editor: I read Sen. Peter Kinder's April 19 column and applauded. Then I read the whining complaint in the letter to the editor of the liberal from Tamms, Ill. He cries that our Republican majority creates policy that favors business while threatening consumers, environmentalists and labor. He asserts this is the part of suppression and fascism -- generalities without examples...

Constant rain Monday morning hampered cleanup of Sunday's storm damage, but most of the work on roads and power lines already was done. Yard work -- everything from cutting up fallen trees to replanting flowers -- may go on longer. Cape Girardeau citizens may leave their branches at the curb beginning today, and public works employees will pick them up as time is available...

Cape Girardeau Downtown Merchants Association's Auction raised more than $13,000 last weekend. The annual auction raised $13,391, down from the record-setting total of $18,000 of a year ago. Money raised pays for restoration projects downtown like street lights, brick walkways, Christmas lights and decorations and the annual Christmas Parade. Items for the auction are provided by merchants from throughout the city...

Southeast Missouri Hospital honored four longtime retiring Board of Trustees members with Outstanding Service Awards recently. Honored were Paul L. Ebaugh, Martin Hecht, Howard C. Tooke and T. Frank Waltz Jr. Hecht served 47 years as a member of the Southeast Missouri Hospital Association. He was a member of the Active Board of Trustees from 1949 to 1970, including a stint as president from 1962-63. He has served as a member of the honorary Board of Trustees since 1970...

The Community Caring Council recently honored several members at the council's annual awards luncheon. Charlotte Craig, director of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Department, received the Kasten Award. Named for Caring Council founder State Rep. Mary Kasten, it is the highest honor given to a council member who exemplifies the goals of the Caring Council...

CARUTHERSVILLE -- The City of Caruthersville, Casino Aztar's riverboat casino here, remains open despite the rising Mississippi River. The Aztar is designed to withstand high waters. Cruise times are every even hour Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to midnight, and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m...

Traci Taylor, a Cape Girardeau student, earned a national Inspiration Award for her work at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Taylor was one of two Missouri youth volunteers competing for national honors in the Prudential Spirit of Community Initiative. Taylor created the Toy Train, a cart she built with the help of family and church members. She provides toys to children at the hospital. Taylor, a former cancer patient, knows firsthand how to make hospital stays a little easier for children...

A Southeast Missouri State University dean has resigned to accept a similar position with the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Dr. Jesse O. Snowden, who has served as dean of the College of Science and Technology at Southeast since July 1990, will become dean of the College of Science and Engineering Technology at the Little Rock school July 1...

Mail carriers in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City will play dual roles Saturday by delivering mail and collecting food. This year's post office food drive in Cape Girardeau, sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service and National Association of Letter Carriers Local 1015, is the second drive for local carriers...

Words. Strung together they can form poems, essays and stories -- word pictures that are every bit as colorful and unique as paintings in an art gallery. The Southeast Missouri Writing Achievements Awards program at Southeast Missouri State University annually offers up some of the best writing of elementary and high school students...

I HAVE a comment regarding the daily prayer that is put on the Opinion page. Many people have been calling in praising this daily prayer and saying that they very much enjoy it. While I agree that we could all use an extra boost and that they are very nice prayers, there are many people in our area who are not Christian and who do not believe in the Bible. ...

As expected, spring in Southeast Missouri has brought lots of rain. And, if the experience of recent years is a good gauge, flooding also has become a seasonal problem. Low-lying areas along the Mississippi River and other rivers and creeks already have been inundated. Floodgates in Cape Girardeau already have been closed once...

President Clinton has said "the era of big government is over." But so far it looks like it's over for only one area of government: national defense. The administration is looking for a 6 percent cut in the 1997 defense budget. While that may not seem like much, it will further starve an already hungry armed forces wizened by nearly a decade of consecutive budget cuts...

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following letter is a response to the recent series televised by KFVS-TV called "Making the Grade." To the editor: Do wonders never cease? Once again I have had to listen to outsiders degrade and humiliate the students of the school that I represent and have great pride and faith in...

Southeast Missouri State University suspended a sorority Monday pending completion of an investigation by campus and Cape Girardeau police into allegations of hazing. The allegations against Alpha Kappa Alpha were made by a student who pledged the sorority and ultimately joined it, school officials said...

Everyone expects firefighters to stop out-of-control blazes -- it's in the job description. But when someone calls a chimney sweep, electrician, mechanic or landscaper, a firefighter may respond then, too. In Cape Girardeau, a variety of causes move them to seek part-time employment...

JACKSON -- The Environmental Protection Agency will demolish a former pesticide formulation building on the Kem-Pest Laboratories Superfund site but leave behind most of its basement. A remediation plan outlined Monday calls for removal of about a fourth of an inch of materials from the surfaces of the walls and floors of the building and washing of metal surfaces with high-pressure water to remove contaminants, demolition of the building, and shipment of the debris and materials off site for incineration or placement in landfills.. ...

A soft recycling market is forcing Cape Girardeau to reopen its long-dormant waste processing facility and drop BFI. The recycling center behind the Department of Public Works building closed a year ago when the city contracted with Browning-Ferris Industries to handle residents' recyclable items. The agreement said BFI would process the items for $45 ton...

Lack of competition in the taxi coupon bidding process may mean fewer rides for coupon customers. Kelley Transportation has been the only bidder since the taxi coupon program began in the early 1980s. If Kelley's most recent bid is accepted, the city will have to pay $3.25 per coupon, a 75-cent-per-coupon increase...

MORLEY -- Jean Lett, 73, of Morley died Monday, May 6, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born April 28, 1923, in Chaffee, the daughter of Ivas and Clara Mae Coleman Hamilton. She married Charles F. Lett on Sept. 15, 1939. He died on Oct. 28, 1963...

OLMSTED, Ill. -- A.M. "Pete" Huddlestun, a former mayor of Olmsted, Pulaski County commissioner and member of the Olmsted Board of Education, died Sunday, May 5, 1996, at his home in Olmsted. He was 87. He was born Aug. 9, 1908, in Ullin, the son of Homer and Ethel Ebbert Huddlestun...

BENTON -- Lee Harley, 53, of Benton, died Friday, May 3, 1996, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, following an extended illness. Survivors include three sisters, a stepson, and three grandsons. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers...

PERRYVILLE -- Edna C. Petzoldt, 95, of Perryville, died Monday, May 6, 1996, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born April 30, 1901, at New Wells, daughter of Julius and Elizabeth Loos Koenig. She and Anton H. Petzoldt were married June 29, 1920. He died July 11, 1969...

PERRYVILLE -- Funeral service for Hildegard R. Lohmann of Perryville will be held at 10 a.m. today at Immanuel Lutheran Church. The Rev. Jeffrey Lloyd will officiate, with burial in Peace Lutheran Cemetery. Friends may call at Young and Sons Funeral Home from 6:30-8:30 a.m. today...

JACKSON -- Mierl M. Cord, 86, of Jackson, died Saturday, May 4, 1996, at Jackson Manor. She was born April 13, 1908, at Belgrade, daughter of George E. and Alice Hayes Brooks. She and J. Owen Cord were married in 1934. He died in April 1969. Cord had been a nurse at Christian Hospital in St. Louis. She moved to Jackson in 1994 from St. Louis, and was a member of New McKendree United Methodist Church and its Wesleyan Circle...

ANNA, Ill. -- William D. "Bill" Cash, 69, of Anna, died Sunday, May 5, 1996, at Union County Hospital. He was born Jan. 10, 1927, in Nashville, son of William D. and Laverne Opie Cash. He and Carolyn Travelstead were married March 15, 1947, at Marion...

PERRYVILLE -- Frank A. Brown, 92, of Perryville, died Sunday, May 5, 1996, at his home. He was born Feb. 27, 1904, at Leslie, son of Francis Marion and Julie Ann Brown. He and Susan Grace Woodcock were married Sept. 24, 1924. She died Sept. 23, 1986. He then married Lois M. Leach June 23, 1987...

SCOTT CITY -- Joe Mac Venable Mason, 82, of Scott City, died Monday, May 6, 1996, at Pope County Care Center in Golconda, Ill. She was born Jan. 22, 1914, in Bell City, daughter of William and Almora Thrower Bollinger. She first married George Earl "Buster" Venable Nov. 21, 1931. He died Oct. 12, 1957. She then married Hershel Mason Sept. 11, 1961. He died March 9, 1971...

CHAFFEE -- Silas H. Newman, 72, of Chaffee, died Sunday, May 5, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Ford and Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau is in charge of arrangements.

CHARLESTON -- Lawrence C. Townsend Jr. II, known as "Tiger," 28, of Charleston died Saturday, May 4, 1996, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was 28. He was born June 2, 1967, in Charleston to Ruby Hart Townsend of Charleston and the late L.C. Townsend. He was a member of the Class of 1985 at Charleston High School and a member of the Perry Chapel A.M.E. Church...

JACKSON -- Lydia Sperling, 94, of Jackson, died Monday, May 6, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home at Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Ralph Edward Johnson, 89, 513 Amethyst, died Monday, May 6, 1996, at Marion VA Hospital in Marion, Ill. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

May 6, 1996, Jackson City Hall Call to order Introduction of guests/visitors Non-agenda citizen input Adoption of agenda Approval of minutes Financial Affairs A. Monthly bills B. City Collector's Reports C. City Collector's Annual Reports Action Items...

PERRYVILLE -- The Memory Makers Quilt Club of Perry County will hold its annual quilt show during Mayfest on Saturday at the Perryville Community Center. The Mayfest Quilt Show allows participants the opportunity to share their love of quilting with visitors...

GORDONVILLE -- The Cape Girardeau County Historical Society will hold its annual meeting on May 17. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Zion Lutheran Church in Gordonville. Guest speaker will be Larry Dowdy with the Little River Drainage District. He will present a slide presentation on the history of the drainage district development...

Daughter to Daniel Gary and Robin Denise Kralemann of Jackson, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 5:40 p.m. Monday, April 29, 1996. Name, Bailey Lorraine. Weight, 5 pounds 3 ounces. First child. Mrs. Kralemann is the former Robin Lizenbee, daughter of Carolyn and Jim Seay of Sikeston and John and Pat Lizenbee of Chaffee. She is a fourth grade teacher at Clippard School in Cape Girardeau. Kralemann is the son of Gary and Jeannette Kralemann of Jackson. He is a supervisor at M&W Packaging...

JACKSON -- Notre Dame High's golf team saw four players match or better their career nine-hole lows and qualified for next week's Class 1A-2A state meet in Columbia, Mo. with a second-place finish Monday in District 1 play at Bent Creek Golf Course...

The Southeast Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics recognized three area teachers as Outstanding Mathematics Educators at a recent banquet. The elementary award went to JoAnn Hahs. She has been teaching for 30 years at Oak Ridge. The middle-school award was presented Carole Del Vecchio. She has been teaching 22 years and teaches math in grades eight to 12 at Oak Ridge...

Final applications for the 1996 Missouri National Teen-Age Pageant, a preliminary to the 25th annual America's National Teen-Ager Scholarship program, are being accepted through Wednesday. More than $100,000 in cash and scholarships will be awarded at the state program at Rockhurst College in Kansas City May 31-June 1...

Ms. United States of America pageant is seeking a representative from each state to compete in the national pageant. Applicants must be between 25 and 55, and may be married, single, divorced or widowed. The selected woman will represent her state and compete for the national title of Ms. United States of America 1997 Dec. 5 in Reno, Nev...