Stories from Wednesday, May 8, 1996

Most lawyers don't stay long in the public defender's office. The pay is much lower than private practice, and the long hours and demanding schedule can be frustrating and sometimes thankless. But the public defender represents a key role in America's system of justice. The system recognizes that defendants facing criminal charges are entitled to legal representation regardless of their financial means...

Dr. Duane M. Ford has been named the new chairman of Southeast Missouri State University's agriculture department. The appointment, which carries the rank of professor with tenure, was recently approved by the Board of Regents. Ford will begin his new duties Aug. 1...

To the editor: I teach sixth grade at May Greene Elementary School. Recently, my class completed a thematic unit in which the culminating project was the opening of an authentic restaurant for one day. Throughout the project the students received training in resume writing, completion of job applications, interviews, job training and hands-on opportunities to work with customers...

Walter Denton, Cape Girardeau's new administrative assistant to the city manager, started work Tuesday at City Hall. City Manager Michael G. Miller said the long title has a purpose. Some people feel the name "assistant city manager" means a person is a gateway to the city manager, Miller said, whereas Denton will be working alongside him on various projects...

The Discovery Channel will spotlight the work of a Southeast Missouri State University professor and two of his geosciences students who made a discovery at Mammoth Cave, Ky., National Park. A film crew will visit the campus Thursday to interview Dr. John Holbrook, associate professor of geosciences, and student researchers Tammy Eifert of Jackson and Phil Statler of Patton...

MALDEN -- The Bootheel Youth Museum will open its earthquake exhibit Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is only $1. The museum opened in March and is filled with hands-on science and technology exhibits. It is located at 700 N. Douglas St. in Malden...

Southeast Missouri groups honored state Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, last month for his legislative efforts for state-supported transportation services for elderly and handicapped persons. The award was presented at the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce office. Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, Perryville Chamber of Commerce, Madison County Council for Developmentally Disabled and the Southeast Missouri Transportation Service joined in presenting the award...

The Mississippi and Ohio rivers are rising again. After hitting its low for the month at 34.2 feet Monday, the Mississippi River rose one-tenth of a foot at Cape Girardeau Tuesday, to 34.3, and will continue its upward climb to a crest of 38 feet Saturday...

The old Sinclair Service Station at 212 N. Main, purchased by Boyd Gaming Corp. in 1994, was reduced to rubble Tuesday. The demolition of the structure by Eagle Excavating marks the second building which has been taken down for Boyd Gaming Corp. A small house in the 200 block of North Spanish Street was demolished last week...

I'M IN favor of a sales tax or a bond issue to finance a tornado warning system in Cape Girardeau. Other towns have warning systems and I think we should have one. REFERRING TO a letter from Ron Woolridge, I agree with him 100 percent on county zoning. We don't need it...

Southeast Missouri State University has earned national accreditation for its Donald L. Harrison College of Business. The designation represents a milestone for the university. About 1,200 colleges and universities in the nation offer undergraduate business degrees, but only one-fourth of those have earned accreditation by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. Southeast was one of only 11 schools to receive initial accreditation this year...

One of the most overworked words in the English language is "do." Overworked, and often misused. Years ago, I titled a column "Don't do oatmeal -- eat it." But the Quaker Oats TV announcers kept insisting that we "do" their oatmeal. By this time, everyone was "doing lunch" instead of eating it, and the misconception was fast turning into an infectious disease affecting all other areas of life and living...

Daughter to Andrew Joseph and Tammy Lynne Gaines of Benton, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, 1996. Name, Krissy Nicole. Weight, 8 pounds 7 ounces. Third daughter. Mrs. Gaines is the former Tammy Robert, daughter of Don and Bertie Robert of Benton. She is a teacher at Oran High School. Gaines is the son of Robert and Emma Gaines of Oran. He is a farmer...

CHAFFEE -- Funeral service for Silas H. Newman Jr. of Chaffee will be held at 1 p.m. today at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. John Gourley will officiate, with VFW Post 3838 to conduct a service. Burial will be in McGrew Cemetery near Senath, with the Veterans Honor Guard of Poplar Bluff to conduct graveside rites...

PERRYVILLE -- Ernest C. Bohnert, 77, of Bloomsdale, was found Monday, May 6, 1996, at Lawrenceton, as the result of a drowning accident. He was born Nov. 27, 1918, in Perry County, son of Charles George and Matilda Margaret Fassold Bohnert. Bohnert was a farmer. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II...

Mary Elizabeth Beck, 86, 3120 Independence, died Tuesday, May 7, 1996, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. She was born Aug. 19, 1909, in Springfield, Ill., daughter of Edward C. and Elizabeth Anhalt Beck Sr. Beck received a master's degree, and retired as a teacher from Arkansas State University. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church...

JACKSON -- Funeral service for Lydia M. Sperling of Jackson will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at McCombs Funeral Chapel in Jackson. The Rev. David Johnson will officiate, with burial in Russell Heights Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today...

Joseph R. Kurre, 83, 539 S. Spring, died Tuesday, May 7, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born June 25, 1912, in Cape Girardeau, son of William A. and Charlotte Poe Kurre. He and Fay Olive Ervin were married March 23, 1935, in Jackson. She died Feb. 2, 1984...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Jo Lee Bacon, 66, of Cobden, died Monday, May 6, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 21, 1929, in El Centro, Calif., daughter of Joseph and Lenora Bradshaw Coomes. She and Charles O. Bacon were married Feb. 8, 1948, in El Centro...

CHARLESTON -- Lloyd Phillip Hayden Jr., 61, of Hartford, W.Va., died Monday, May 6, 1996, from injuries received in a construction accident near Toledo, Ohio. He was born Sept. 10, 1934, in Wyatt, son of Lloyd Phillip and Thelma Justine White Hayden Sr. He and Diane Stewart were married May 23, 1986...

Funeral service for Ralph Edward Johnson, 513 Amethyst, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel. Msgr. Richard Rolwing will officiate, with burial in Fairmount Cemetery. Friends may call at the chapel from 7-9 p.m. Friday...

MATTHEWS -- Raymond "Goob" Landers, 75, of Sells Rest Home in Matthews, died Tuesday, May 7, 1996, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Oct. 22, 1920, in Piggott, Ark., son of Abraham and Mary Scott Landers. He married Mae West, who died April 4, 1965. He later married Burma M. Metros Sept. 22, 1972, at Diehlstadt...

BLOOMFIELD -- Darrol J. Aslin, 83, died Thursday, May 2, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 12, 1912, at Bloomfield, son of Alonzo and Minerva Long Jackson. Aslin was a graduate of Bloomfield High School, Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, and Arizona State University in Tempe...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Robert M. Shelton, 64, of Berkeley, Mo., formerly of Cairo, died Tuesday, May 7, 1996, at his home. He was born Jan. 22, 1932, in Cairo, the son of Walter and Myrtle Comer Shelton. Shelton was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and was a retired painter...

SIKESTON -- Graveside service for C.M. Cunningham Adams of Sikeston will be held at 1:30 p.m. today at Fairmount Cemetery in Cape Girardeau, with the Rev. Ed Thurman officiating. There is no visitation. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

The Federal Highway Administration has agreed to spend at least $1 million to launch construction of a Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau this year. U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, announced the funding late Tuesday afternoon from his office in Washington...

As they shuffled by a table topped with a photograph, bonnet and other memorabilia, some students wanted to know who lived in the house or who wore the bonnet. All the answers were the same -- Miss May Greene, the school's namesake. Students at May Greene Elementary School celebrated Greene's birthday with a party and May pole dance Tuesday afternoon...

A plan to use federal transportation funds to buy St. Vincent's Seminary was nixed by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. Commissioners decided Tuesday which Missouri projects would receive federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act money, which is allocated for transportation enhancement...

If the city has to cut back on taxi coupons, don't blame Kelley Transportation, says company owner Terrence Kelley. Blame Cape Girardeau's growth and the federal government. Kelley operates Cape Girardeau's public transportation system, a program that offers 16 coupons a month for $1 each to the elderly and handicapped. A limited number of tickets are available to the general public at $2 each, not to exceed the 16-a-month limit...

With all the rain keeping me inside, I've had a lot of time to think about stuff. -- The Other Half spends about twice the time in the bathroom that I do, but like most men who primp, he won't admit it. We were in a major discount department store Saturday with a friend. Mr. Half turned to me and said, "Sweetie, don't you need some more hairspray?"...

Missouri Secretary of State Rebecca Cook will formally announce her candidacy for a full four-year term at a rally in Cape Girardeau Sunday. The rally will be held on the lawn of the Common Pleas Courthouse in downtown Cape Girardeau at 5 p.m. On Monday, Cook will hold press conferences to announce her candidacy in St. Louis, Jefferson City, Kansas City and Springfield...

The Missouri Senate is expected to give first-round approval today to a bill that would ban same-sex marriages. The bill's sponsor, State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, said passage of the measure would put pressure on the Missouri House to follow suit...

JACKSON -- There's a new top dog at the Jackson Police Department these days. Or there will be soon, at any rate. City administrator Steve Wilson reported the city's new drug-detecting dog -- a German shepherd which is about a 1 1/2 years old -- is in the process of being trained by Mike Ervin, who trains animals for police departments throughout the area...

Saundra Perry Was recently elected Chapter Woman of the Year by the Jacksonian Charter Chapter of the American Business Women's Association. Perry has been a member of ABWA since 1990 and has served as program and hospitality chairman, vice president and president. She is currently serving as interim president...

JACKSON -- Mayor Paul Sander recently named new and reappointed members of the city's various committees. The appointments were approved Monday night by the Jackson Board of Aldermen. Bernard Proffer and Wayne Maupin are newly appointed members of the Planning and Zoning Board with terms expiring in 1998 and 2000, respectively...

It's Spring Cleanup Week in Jackson. The Southeast Missourian asked people for their ideas about city beautification. Jane Boren: "It would be good for the city to have an additional pickup time for those items that are not ordinarily able to go into the trash. For spring cleaning purposes, at least a couple of times in the spring and then again in the fall...

John Cozean of Cape Girardeau has earned honors at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich. Cozean made the dean's list and honor roll, and earned a certificate of merit in Torts II. Cozean is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Central High School. He is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Cozean...

Carl Patterson of Cape Girardeau has been selected as one of 250 elected delegates to the 1996 Biennial Convention of the American Association of Retired Persons, which will be held May 21-23 in Denver. As a delegate, Patterson will participate in the association's business and election of future members of the association's Board of Directors. More than 769,000 AARP members live in Missouri...

Brian Heuring of rural Oran joined more than 500 teen 4-H'ers from seven states at the recent Kansas City 4-H Conference. He was presented a plaque by Dr. Jo Turner, director of Missouri 4-H youth development programs, recognizing him as one of 34 Missouri state 4-H award winners for 1995...

TIP, the Duke University Talent Identification Program, is sponsoring a series of recognition ceremonies to honor some of the most talented seventh-graders in the nation. Students invited from the area to Drury College in Springfield May 31: -- Immaculate Conception, Jackson: Zachary Friedrich...

Sadie the basset hound couldn't care less. Those people poking at her at Capaha Park and making funny noises were no bother. Sunny, the blond golden retriever, rolled over on her back, as if encouraging the strangers to pet her more. Pansy, the rottweiler awaiting her chance to show off her talents at the skills testing session, nuzzled happily against anyone that would offer her the chance...

Laura Hurst, left, and her dog Sadie, a bassett hound, were tested for the Pet Pal program by Karla Carr at Capaha Park. Debbie Litzelselner gave her dog Sunny a hug after it qualified. Sunny will soon visit the Cape Girardeau Nursing Center. William Davis enjoyed Sam's antics and Annie's warm brown eyes...