Stories from Tuesday, June 4, 1996

Reading is the last thing most children want to do once the final school bell has rung for the summer. But many local libraries and bookstores hope to inspire children to read by providing fun, free and interesting summer reading programs. Cape Public Library, Barnes and Nobles Booksellers, Hastings and Riverside Regional Library in Jackson are just some of the places providing summer reading programs to prove reading can be fun...

MARBLE HILL -- In Jennings Wilkinson's industrial arts courses, students work with their hands and minds at the same time. The same is true on the basketball court, said the Woodland High School coach. "The structure in a shop setting or on the basketball floor is such that students are moving around and performing various physical activities all the time," Wilkinson said. "I think this tends to keep students' attention spans a little longer."...

Despite controversy over whether Jasmine Lane is actually a street, the city plans to pave it with Transportation Trust Fund money. When the city was promoting the half-cent transportation sales tax passed by voters in August 1995, paving Jasmine was included on a list of potential projects...

Missouri and Illinois farmers have made some big strides in getting their corn crops in the ground. Working around showers and flood conditions, Missouri farmers are ahead of the five-year average and "way ahead" of last year, Bob Bellinghausen, Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service statistician, said Monday...

A half-cent use tax will go before Cape Girardeau County voters and a 1.75-cent use tax will be put before Cape Girardeau city voters Aug. 6. The Cape Girardeau County Commission and Cape Girardeau City Council decided Monday to submit the proposals to voters...

People living near the intersection of Henderson Avenue and New Madrid Street never loved its design. They fought for various traffic signs and held their breath when they passed through, hoping drivers would comply with the signs. Now, some say, the intersection will get even worse...

SCOTT CITY -- A controversy surrounding the appointment of City Councilman John Rogers to head the city public works division after its director Harold Uelsmann leaves prompted debate at Monday night's Scott City Council meeting. Most questions posed by residents will have to wait to be answered...

Welcome to terrible teething. That's the stage of life when babies drool excessively like monsters in a B movie and painfully grow teeth. At 6 months of age, our daughter, Bailey, has entered this stage. Drugs help, but they don't get rid of all the pain...

Daughter to James E. Peikert and Shelley D. Newman of Des Arc, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 9:37 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, 1996. Name, Shawna Marie. Weight, 8 pounds 2 ounces. Second daughter. Son to Dr. Gary and Janel Fazio of El Paso, Texas, 11:30 a.m. ...

Geri Wissman, 64, of Cape Girardeau, died Sunday, June 2, 1996, at the home of a daughter in Fort Defiance, Va. She was born Oct. 29, 1931, in Dewitt, Ark., daughter of Elmer and Alma J. Huey Pierce. Wissman had worked at the New Orleans Restaurant 22 years...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Clara A. Spaulding, 82, of Villa Ridge, died Monday, June 3, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 7, 1913, at Bertrand, daughter of Arthur Needham and Lular Estelle Cowell Clayton. She and John W. Spaulding were married Nov. 8, 1941, in Cairo...

KINDER -- Mildred Dennison, 87, of Kinder, died Monday, June 3, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 7, 1908, at Zalma, daughter of Charles and Mary Payne Morgan. She and Gladys Edward Dennison were married Dec. 27, 1930, at Zalma. He died March 8, 1979...

CHARLESTON -- Graveside service for Reba Faye Evans of Charleston will be held at 2 p.m. today at Myrtle Cemetery in Myrtle, with the Rev. Jerry Adams officiating. Friends may call at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston from 9-10 a.m. today. Evans, 32, died Sunday, June 2, 1996, at her home...

PERRYVILLE -- Clifford W. Clifton Jr., 45, of Perryville, died Monday, June 3, 1996, at his home. He was born Oct. 9, 1950, in St. Louis, son of Clifford W. and Leola Milliano Clifton Sr. He and Jannet S. Leible were married Aug. 19, 1972. Clifton was a meter reader with Citizens Electric. He was a member of St. Vincent's Catholic Church...

BLOOMFIELD -- Funeral service for Iva Irene Aslin of Bloomfield will be held at 2 p.m. today at Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home. The Rev. Kevin Eskew will officiate, with burial in Walker Cemetery near Bloomfield. Aslin, 85, died Saturday, June 1, 1996, at Bloomfield Nursing Center...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Funeral service for Fred Elliott Organ of East Prairie will be held at 2 p.m. today at Shelby Funeral Chapel here. The Rev. Larry Smith will officiate, with burial in Dogwood Cemetery. Organ, 54, died Sunday, June 2, 1996, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston...

SCOTT CITY -- Fred Thomas Woods, 79, of Scott City, died Sunday, June 2, 1996, at Westwood Hills Health Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born Feb. 2, 1917, in Floral, Ark., son of William Arthur and Lucy Rose Woods. He and Roberta Ivern Carlton were married Jan. 3, 1953. She died April 23, 1993...

Ethel E. Bechel, 97, of Cape Girardeau, died Monday, June 3, 1996, at Fountainbleau Lodge. She was born April 2, 1899, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of William and Relda Moore Rhodes. She and Albert J. Bechel were married in 1916 in Cape Girardeau. He preceded her in death...

PERRYVILLE -- Donald H. "Tub" Moonier, 63, formerly of Perryville, died Monday, June 3, 1996, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 29, 1932, at Perryville, son of Wilbert "Buck" and Hester Ochs Moonier. Moonier was a meter reader with Union Electric, and member of American Legion Post 133. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War...

DELTA -- Virginia Flowers, 73, of Delta, died Monday, June 3, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 24, 1922, at Whitewater, daughter of Charlie and Ora Mullinar Rhodes. She and Owen Flowers were married Dec. 22, 1938, at Benton...

THIS IS message is in regards to Whitewater: Just remember, the Democrats controlled Congress when Whitewater started. I WAS just wondering if you can still get Freon for your car air conditioning, refrigerators or your home air conditioning, or has it all been outlawed in Missouri?...

The failure of the Mel Carnahan administration and the Democrat-controlled General Assembly to exercise prudent and responsible fiscal policies will wind up costing Missouri's taxpayers several million dollars. This is the result of excessive taxation and a bulge in state revenue that have combined to exceed the limits of the Hancock Amendment for the first time. The Hancock Amendment was approved more than a decade ago in an attempt to put a lid on the growth of state government...

In another tax story, a Kansas City couple appears to have found a way -- not an easy one, however -- to combat the Internal Revenue Service's strongarm tactics. Instead of complying with an IRS order to discuss their tax returns, the couple chose to stand behind the protection of their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. For their troubles, they have spent the past year in jail...

To the editor: I miss the roses between Jackson and Cape Girardeau. I remember driving to Cape Girardeau when I was a child on the two-lane highway with the embankments covered with roses. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dedicated one of its rotogravure issues to the Ten Mile Rose Garden. One couldn't decide which was more beautiful: the red, the pinks or the whites...

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following letter to the editor from Brian Sirimaturos was recently published in the Maneater, the student newspaper at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Sirimaturos is grandson of Mr. and Mrs. James W. Hahn of Cape Girardeau. While our nation's leaders battle over the rights to set the vision for tomorrow, issues such as balancing the budget and conflicts abroad have dominated the media, overshadowing perhaps the most important issues -- education. ...

CHARLESTON -- Mildred McDowell, 87, Charleston Route 3, died Monday, June 3, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 27, 1908, at Fruitland, daughter of Victor and Amy Barber Tant. She and C. Wilson McDowell were married Oct. 14, 1928. He died Sept. 3, 1991...

During the 1970s, Foghat was one of the hottest rock acts around, playing to packed stadiums and well known for hits such as "Fool For the City" and "Slow Ride." With six gold albums, one platinum album, a double-platinum record and five Top 40 singles, the group was riding a wave of success...

Employees at the Cape Girardeau Community Counseling Center rejected union organizing efforts by the Teamsters in secret-balloting held at the center's Cape Girardeau office, 402 S. Silver Springs Road, Monday. "We don't have a total on the vote," said Roger Henry, executive director of the center. "But we do know that the proposal was defeated."...

The Cape Girardeau Municipal Band will present its opening concert at 8 p.m. Wednesday under the Capaha Park Band Shell. The concert originally was scheduled for Memorial Day but was canceled due to rain. Charlene Peyton will be the special guest, singing and playing the piano during intermission. Mayor Al Spradling III will be guest conductor and Jay Landers master of ceremonies...

When it comes to settling fee disputes with clients, most lawyers would rather not go to court. The Missouri Bar Association has had a mediation and arbitration program in place since October 1991 that works to resolve fee disputes between lawyers and clients outside of court...

Seven area students were named Student of the Month by the Cape Girardeau Elk's Lodge 639. They are Sarah Ann Essner Jennifer Kristine Oslund, Sara Jansen, Tiffany Jill Biggerstaff, all of Cape Girardeau; Amy Hughes and Kara Westrich, both of Scott City...

It was a personal honor for the 38 students who were invited to the People's Choice Awards sponsored by the Renaissance program at Cape Girardeau Central High School. The awards were presented by Principal Dr. Dan Tallent at the high school auditorium on May 13...

Sara Whistler, a junior at Chaffee High School, received a No. 1 rating at the recent state music contest in Columbia. She has earned a top rating for the last three consecutive years. Whistler also was chosen to participate in all-district choir earlier this year. She is the daughter of Stephen and Vicki Whistler of Chaffee...

Stephen S. Owen of Cape Girardeau has received the first Student of the Year Award presented by the Criminal Justice Department at Southeast Missouri State University. The award recognized Owen for his outstanding leadership, said Dr. Johnny McGaha, department chairperson. Owen was instrumental in establishing a campus chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma, the national Criminal Justice honor society and assisted in teaching a departmental class this semester...

Heidi Glaus was chosen Outstanding Senior and Jodi Glaus was named Outstanding Junior at William Woods University. They are the daughters of Bill and Jill Glaus of New Madrid and granddaughters of Doris Smith of Kelso and Virginia Glaus of Benton. Both girls graduated from New Madrid County Central High School...

Julie Kirchdoerfer of Cape Girardeau has been named an All-American Collegiate Scholar by the U.S. Achievement Academy. All-American Collegiate Scholars must earn a 3.3 grade-point average. Only scholars selected by a school official or other qualified sponsor are accepted. Kirchdoerfer who attends Southeast Missouri State University was nominated for this national award by Dr. William Meyer. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Kirchdoerfer of Cape Girardeau...

Rhonda Dunham, a computer laboratory instructor at Washington Elementary School in Cape Girardeau, took a field trip last month as a winner of a grant to attend a national training center for educational technology. Dunham attended a three-day course at the J.C. Sparkman Center for Educational Technology near Denver. The program was funded by money raised during TCI's campaign for education last fall. More than $2,500 was raised for the Cape Girardeau and Jackson communities...

The Kelly-Benton FFA recently held its annual chapter banquet at the St. Denis Parish Center to honor outstanding members and their parents. Russ Johnston, a motivational speaker and best-selling author, was keynote speaker. Star Greenhand and Star Chapter awards were presented to Douglas Felter and Jarrett Seiler by First National Bank of Sikeston. The Outstanding Member awards were then presented to Aaron Robert and Brian Heuring by First Financial Bank of Southeast Missouri...

Katherine Klaus, daughter of Karl and Diane Klaus of Perryville, recently won the High School Recognition award from Central Missouri State University. Klaus, a senior at Perryville High School, will receive $250 a semester. To be eligible, students must rank in the upper 25 percent of their high school class. Students who meet key criteria at the end of the second semester will receive a Regents Scholarship worth $600...

Three St. Mary Cathedral School students took individual wins at the state level of the recent math competition sponsored by the Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM) in Columbia. Tim Robert and Ryan Watin, after winning first an second place respectively at the regional level in Sikeston, at the state level, finished fifth and seventh respectively. Avelina Lichtenegger was the coach...

Bryan W. Daume, a student at Central High School, has been awarded a college scholarship as part of The Procter & Gamble Fund Scholarship Program. The program awarded 128 college scholarships to outstanding students from around the country who are children of P&G employees. Each scholarship provides the winner with $1,000 to $4,000 a year for up to four years of full-time study at an accredited college or university...

Rebekah C. Rigg of Cape Girardeau has been awarded a President's Scholarship to attend Southeast Missouri State University for the 1996-1997 academic year. The President's Scholarship is awarded to high school seniors who score 24 on the Enhanced ACT, rank in the upper 20 percent of their high school classes or earn a 3.5 grade-point average. The scholarship is worth $1,200 per academic year...

Robert C. Johnson, son of Naomi (Randol) and the late Lester R. Johnson, formally of McClure, Ill., was recently presented with the Air Force's most prestigious award for scientific research. The ceremony was held at the Pentagon, and the Harold Brown Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research and Development was presented by the Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. Sheila Widnall...

Irene Popp of the Quest Club of Cape Girardeau was presented a plaque by the 9th District GFWC as the Centennial Woman of the 9th District. Other awards were presented to Louise Elrod, Hilda Mavers and Gladys Taylor of the Quest Club and Juanita Snider, Vernice Baumstark and Hazel Sanders of the Wednesday Club...