Stories from Saturday, May 11, 1996

To the editor: The color picture on the front of your May 7 magazine insert, "Vacation," depicts a healthy young man diving into a narrow Ozark stream. Rather than being safe summer fun, however, this is like playing Russian roulette with one's spinal cord. Walk in, maybe jump in, but never dive into a stream or lake. We don't want any more Christopher Reeves stories...

JACKSON -- What do steel ball bearings, foam and lighter fluid have in common? Each item is created from cattle, soybean or corn by-products. Whatever they didn't know about farming before Friday, third grade students at Jackson elementary schools learned during Farm Day at Flickerwood Arena...

Ordinarily, the Postal Service doesn't want anything in a mailbox except mail. Today, however, postal patrons are encouraged to put something extra in or near their mailboxes: food. Postal workers again are joining a nationwide campaign to collect nonperishable food items to be distributed to food banks and other organizations who cater to the needy. Last year's drive brought in more than 45 million pounds of food across the country...

'Tis the graduation season, and several hundred undergraduates and graduates will be honored in ceremonies today at Southeast Missouri State University. For many, today is the culmination of a process that began in kindergarten. Not every one of today's graduates completed this process without taking time off for jobs or raising a family. More and more students these days are older and are looking for the benefits of advanced training and preparation...

To the editor: On April 26, our family was devastated with the unexpected news that our 12-year-old son had a brain tumor. The confusion, pain and terror that we experienced were more than we thought we could bear. After evaluation at St. Jude Children's Research Center in Memphis, Justin was referred to Semmes-Murphy Clinic and LeBonheur Children's Hospital for removal of the tumor. ...

To the editor: On May 7 I pointed out directly to your associate publisher, Sen. Peter Kinder, the inaccuracies in his May 5 column. In accordance with the wishes of Senator Kinder, I am writing to you following his offer to print a correction. As I mentioned in a conversation with the senator, when I entered the governor's office for the press conference last week, I entered from the hallway, not from the governor's private office. ...

To the editor: Just a note to let you know that my husband and I really do appreciate the little prayer you have added to your paper. Enclosed are a few short prayers you may be able to use. Thank you so much. My husband and I are both 79 years old and really enjoy reading the Southeast Missourian...

To the editor: I have been reading the recent comments in Speak Out and letters to the editor. It amazes me how misinformed and uneducated the American public is about abortion. It appears people have heard the war of words and have not even questioned what some of us feel in a commonsense issue...

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon has put politics ahead of the public good, Republican challenger Mark Bredemeier charged Friday. "The office of attorney general has been cheapened by politics and blind ambition," he said. The 38-year-old Lee's Summit lawyer leveled the charge during a campaign stop in Cape Girardeau...

In Shakespeare's day, plays were presented during daylight hours in the town square or the yard of an inn. Patrons rented a stool or stood, and paid a penny to attend. This summer's first Old Seminary Shakespeare Festival will be very Elizabethan in those ways, although the price of admission will be cheaper...

BENTON -- They couldn't all place first in their class, but the 60 seniors at Thomas W. Kelly High School were the first in the area to graduate Friday night. Cape Girardeau and Notre Dame high school seniors will be the last to graduate this year. "I think we're getting out before some of the colleges," said Kelly senior Brian Choate...

MARBLE HILL -- Chester Herrington believes his grandson would be alive today had it not been for the actions of law enforcement officers in Bollinger County. His grandson, Marc Dudley, died of a gunshot wound to the head Oct. 17, 1994, as two officers -- one from the Marble Hill Police Department and the other a deputy from the Bollinger County Sheriff's Department -- rushed his bedroom at his home on County Road 500, about two miles west of Marble Hill...

Let me preface this column by saying that I do indeed love my mother. Moms are wonderful things and everyone should have at least one. Even after you're grown up, they can still be counted on to spoil you just as much as they did when you were a kid...

WICKLIFFE, Ky. -- Ronnie Dean Harvell, 46, of Wickliffe, Ky., and formerly of Tamms, Ill., died Thursday, May 9, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 18, 1950, in Cairo, Ill., to Charles and Getty Staton Harvell...

Private service for Raymond Oscar Allison, 3120 Independence, will be held at 2 p.m. today. The Rev. Neil Stein will officiate. Burial will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Troy City Cemetery in Troy. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Allison, 91, died Thursday, May 9, 1996, at Chateau Girardeau Health Care Center...

JACKSON -- Funeral service for Roy Charles Harris of Jackson will be held at 2 p.m. today at Cracraft-Miller Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Don Covington will officiate, with burial in Morgan Memorial Park at Advance. Friends may call at the funeral home from 9 a.m. to service time...

Memorial service for Charles Albert Hood, 523 Alta Vista, former mayor and City Council representative, will be held at 3 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Chapel in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. James Caughlan will officiate. Hood, 90, died Thursday, May 9, 1996, at the Lutheran Home...

JACKSON -- Joseph Biri, 88, of Jackson, died Thursday, May 9, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 28, 1907, at Yount, son of Andrew and Anna Stortz Biri. He and Lola McLard were married Sept. 12, 1936. She died Jan. 21, 1978. He later married Odessa Kurre in November 1978...

JACKSON -- Funeral service for William Myron Eggers of Jackson will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Cracraft-Miller Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Don Covington will officiate, with burial in Russell Heights Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today...

Son to Kevin Joseph and Rhonda Ann Naeger of Tamms, Ill., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 10:13 p.m. Sunday, March 31, 1996. Name, Austin Blake. Weight, 7 pounds 4 ounces. First child. Mrs. Naeger is the former Rhonda McClendon, daughter of Pat McClendon and Ronnie McClendon of Cairo, Ill. She is employed at Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. Naeger is the son of Kae Naeger and Larry Naeger of Tamms. He is employed at Lowe's...

A support group for parents and professionals dealing with children with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD) will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the Community Counseling Center in Cape Girardeau. For more information, call Maggie Friend, 651-5533, Peggy Pruett, 651-2099, Molly Strickland, 334-5866, or Robin Gruber-Post, 262-3840...

This phantom scan is used for equipment calibration at WomanCare. Elva Noisworthy of East Prairie took a step down not too long ago "and I guess I missed a step, because it really hurt my right foot and right calf and the pain came up in my leg." Her doctor took some X-rays and, while no fractures were found, referred Noisworthy for a bone density scan...

The Betaseron Support Group will meet at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Francis Medical Center's Health and Education Center Conference Room C. Dr. David Lee, a neurologist, will be on hand to answer questions about multiple sclerosis. Topics of discussion will include Betaseron therapy, side effects, coping tips and personal MS experiences...

Several blood drives to support the American Red Cross have been scheduled. On Tuesday, Notre Dame High School's National Honor Society will hold a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the multipurpose room, 1912 Ritter in Cape Girardeau. All donors will receive T-shirts...

The Mended Hearts Club will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Southeast Missouri Hospital in meeting rooms 101 and 102. Nancy Bray, director of marketing at Southeast, will speak on "Angels." The club offers emotional and educational support for heart patients and their families. For more information, call Southeast's Regional Heart Center, 651-5541...

The Elks Dental Unit will be in Cape Girardeau from Monday, July 1, through Wednesday, July 3, at Elks Lodge 638, 2751 Thomas Drive. People from Bollinger, Cape Girardeau and Scott counties are eligible for free dental care. Those with questions should contact the Elks Lodge at 335-9294, or Tom Hinkebein at 334-3211...