Stories from Friday, August 16, 1996

OLMSTED, Ill. -- A team is being selected to study and design the Olmsted Dam, which will stretch almost 3,000 feet across the Ohio River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, has awarded a joint-venture design contract to Sverdrup Civil Inc. of St. Louis and Ben C. Gerwick Inc., of San Francisco...

Southeast Missouri Hospital has established a new joint replacement center. Hospital officials announced the new service Thursday. James W. Wente, hospital administrator, said joint replacement surgery has been offered at the hospital for several years, but the centralized treatment area is new...

Missouri's 1996 high school seniors outperformed students from across the nation in the American College Testing admissions exams. The state's high school seniors averaged a composite ACT score of 21.4 compared to the national average of 20.9, said Dr. Kala Stroup, Missouri commissioner of higher education...

Cape Girardeau Public Library had the highest participation ever in its summer reading program, with 1,384 children reading 19,932 books. The nine-week program for children and young adults ages 2-18 encouraged each participant to set a goal to read a certain number of books over the summer. They received coupons from local restaurants for every five books read...

A malfunction could have caused a fire early Thursday in a fuel tanker being unloaded at Lone Star Industries Inc. But Lone Star's fire-suppression system might have prevented a disaster. Fire Marshal Tom Hinkebein said the Cape Girardeau Fire Department was called to the waste-fuel recovery unit of Lone Star at 3:58 a.m. When the first units -- one ladder truck and two engines -- arrived, firefighters found a fuel tanker in an unloading bay spouting flames about 2 or 3 feet out of a top vent...

In a rush to unity, a number of Republican state delegations only cast votes for Bob Dole Wednesday night. That wasn't the case with the Missouri delegation, which cast 24 votes for Dole, 11 for Pat Buchanan and one for Alan Keyes. Five Keyes supporters switched to Dole Wednesday night, but none of the Buchanan delegates jumped ship...

I would happily discuss the moral consequences of world peace all day long, but don't ask about the dripping faucet. Without noticing it, the Sullivan household has been coming apart at the seams. I call it the creeping domino effect. This is when something smaller than a domino goes haywire and you ignore it. Next thing you know, you are drowning in a sea of used hangers from the cleaners...

Adele Kupchella, left, presented the August Yard of the Month Award to Cathy Bishop, who resides at 3909 Carolewood with her husband, William. Danny Essner, left, presented the non-residential Yard of the Month Award for August to Dr. Karen Yates, 1413 Mount Auburn Road, with Adele Kupchella, right...

I WOULD like to applaud Sandra Fann's letter in the newspaper. I agree with her 100 percent about spending your vacation at home. IN A recent radio interview, Emily Firebaugh stated that the decision to abort an unborn baby should be left up to a mother, and the government should have no role in that decision. ...

Local elected officials are pleased to be guinea pigs for the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department's new process for deciding which projects to pursue and how to meet local needs. The new process, which will be used statewide as the highway department looks at future projects, was explained to local officials last week. ...

As with much of history, most Missourians tend to take their state for granted. The 175th anniversary of statehood, however, offers an opportunity to reflect on the Show Me State's past. The anniversary passed with little fanfare last weekend. Although 175 years have rolled by since Missouri was admitted to the Union as the 24th state, its people share many of the concerns of the state's founders. ...

To the editor: The Southeast Missourian's Aug. 13 issue carried a front-page article concerning a Center for the Study of American Democracy proposed by me. The article has raised some questions which I wish to address. What was proposed was an idea, not a fully developed concept...

About 65 Bloomfield Road residents attended an open house Thursday to learn about improvement work scheduled to begin in the spring. Engineers with the city of Cape Girardeau and with Black & Veach, the St. Louis firm that designed Bloomfield improvement plans, were on hand to answer questions at the A.C. Brase Arena Building...

Daughter to Allan Gene and Tamara Fay Huckstep of Jackson, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 2:43 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, 1996. Name, Kayla Lauren. Weight, 8 pounds 7 ounces. First child. Mrs. Huckstep is the former Tamara Uhrhan, daughter of Vernon and Jerry Uhrhan of Cape Girardeau. She is employed at St. Francis Medical Center. Huckstep is the son of Terry and Phyllis Huckstep of Jackson. He is employed at Southeast Missouri Dental Lab...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Birdie May Wiggins, 89, of St. Louis, formerly of East Prairie, died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1996, at Christian Hospital Northeast in St. Louis. She was born April 2, 1907, in Dublin, Ky., daughter of A.B. and Jenny Lathum Harrell. She and Ed Wiggins were married Dec. 7, 1925. He preceded her in death...

ANNA, Ill. -- Funeral service for Charles D. Brimm of Anna will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Crain Funeral Home in Anna, with the Rev. Scott Harner officiating. Burial will be in Anna Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 6-8 p.m. today, and Saturday until service time...

Verna Poe, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1996, at Cape Girardeau Nursing Center. She was born March 16, 1913, in Illinois, daughter of Frank and Allena Gayle Ussery. She married Hayward Poe March 25, 1931, in Cape Girardeau. He died in April 1990...

MILL CREEK, Ill. -- Funeral service for Lester "Peck" Wheaton of Mill Creek will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hileman and Parr Funeral Home in Jonesboro. The Rev. Herb Wilson will officiate, with burial in St. John's Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 5 p.m. today...

ADVANCE -- Genevieve P. Leggett, 83, Advance Route 1, died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 7, 1913, at Whitewater, daughter of William C. and Ida L. Snider Birkman. She and Charles W. Leggett were married Dec. 21, 1940. He died Jan. 11, 1980...

PERRYVILLE -- Lois J. Linebarger, 86, of Perryville died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1996, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Dec. 9, 1909, in Cape Girardeau County, daughter of James F. and Grace E. Cowen Varnum. She and Roy Linebarger were married Sept. 7, 1929. He died Feb. 8, 1974...

FREDERICKTOWN -- Joseph Marvin Baker, 80, of Fredericktown died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1996, at Claru DeVille Health Care in Fredericktown. He was born Oct. 21, 1915, at Marble Hill, son of Charles Richard and Mary Ethel Bell Baker. He married Hazel Aline Ward at Fredericktown. She died July 2, 1937...

Funeral service for Charles Freeman Holifield, 720 N. Sunset, will be held at 10 a.m. today at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Luther Rhodes will officiate, with burial in Lorimier Cemetery. Holifield, 65, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center...