Stories from Sunday, September 1, 1996

To the editor: I do not profess to have an answer to all of the ills that plaque America. However, I do know the one who has the answer. Since the beginning of time he has brought nations to great power and has brought nations of great power to their knees...

Left to right, Tom Jansen, Monica Jansen, both of the Leopold Volunteer Fire Department, prepare to be tested on their rescue techniques. The insutructor is Mike Morgan of Cape Girardeau Fire Department. The students' masks are covered with black plastic so that they can not see to simulate rescue conditions in a fire...

Kevin Priester, checks the names, before he judges kicking and throwing for distance on Aug. 17 in the Jackson City Park. Soccer is the fastest growing sport in America and a big reason it is growing fast is because of youth programs that peak a child's interest early in life...

On Aug. 16, 1976, Cape Starter and Alternator opened its doors in Jackson to provide starter and alternator repair to the area. Since then, they have opened two more stores. In 1976, there was only one employee and now there are 19 employees at the three locations...

When the Area Wide United Way kicks off its annual fund-raising campaign Wednesday, volunteers want to field questions and cover all the bases. At least 100 people are expected to attend the kickoff luncheon at noon Wednesday at the Drury Lodge. Whitey Herzog, former manager for the St. Louis Cardinals, will be the guest speaker for the event's baseball theme. Narvol Randol Jr. is the 1996 campaign chairman...

The Cape Girardeau County Christian Women's Club luncheon and meeting will be Sept. 9 from noon to 2 p.m. at Holiday Inn. The theme is "Mad Hatter." A special feature will be a program on "Hats Galore" by Jean Seres. Speaker will be Nancy Dempsey of Raytown. Her topic is "A Heady Message."...

Volunteers for the Muscular Dystrophy Association transformed the Show Me Center into telethon headquarters this weekend. Local segments of the annual Jerry Lewis MDA telethon will be broadcast live from the Show Me Center on Monday. The telethon begins at 9 a.m. and lasts until 6:30 p.m....

The Jackson Rotary is sponsoring Line Kristiansen of Vejle, Denmark. She is currently staying with Brad and Susan Teets and will stay with other families throughout the year. She is a senior at Jackson High School. Rotary recently sent Drew Burk to Sweden to study for one year. The exchange student program benefits young adults worldwide to help with world understanding and friendship with one another...

Time was when political parties took pride in their philosophical differences. In Abraham Lincoln's day, it was a badge of honor for Republicans to denounce the horrors of slavery and for many Democrats to stutter apologies on its behalf. Theodore Roosevelt didn't hesitate to separate himself from the Mark Hanna wing of the Republican Party on economic, social and conservation issues...

DELTA -- A Scott City man drowned Friday night in the Diversion Channel after a boat occupied by the man and four friends took on water and overturned. Frankie Don Medley, 27, of Scott City was pronounced dead at the scene a little after midnight Saturday morning by Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Carpenter...

WHY ARE the traffic laws that apply everywhere else are allowed to be completely ignored in the 300 block of North Frederick Street, specifically around the post office. Why are people allowed to park on the wrong side of the street, double park when not making deliveries, making U-turns at will and block driveways on the west side of the street? And why is the exit-only sign on the north side of the post office completely ignored by some people, blocking people who are obeying the law by going to wrong way? Why also can't a do-not-enter sign be placed at that location? I think it's time for the law to be enforced and people taught to respect the rights of others.. ...

Fellow Missourians, I am here today to ask for your blood, your sweat and your tears, and especially your money, as we embark on another great journey on the sea of what I like to call The Great American Democracy. As we launch the ship which we all know as the U.S.S. ...

To the editor: I've been hearing Bob Dole and Newt Gingrich talk about family values. I didn't know Dole had been divorced and had a daughter. At least Bill Clinton and Al Gore cherish their families. I sure don't believe in divorce, but to get up to make light of someone who knows family values to be a reality is something to be noted...

The just-concluded Democratic National Convention is said by most national pundits to have been a success. Indeed, judged by the thin standards that prevail in today's debased political discourse -- opinion polls, focus groups -- it may well have been. Was there a single memorable speech, a single memorable turn of phrase or figure of speech?...

Monday is Labor Day, the traditional but unofficial end of summer. The great trade union movement isn't what it used to be, what with private-sector union membership having steadily declined from 36 percent of the work force in 1952 to about 11 percent today. The only growth in union membership today is in government-worker unions. This revolution in composition, with its profound implications for remaining private-sector members, is under-noticed by most of the national media...

Although nobody knows if a minimum-wage proposal will make November's ballot, chambers of commerce are starting the fight against it. The Association for Community Organized Reform Now, a nationwide group trying to increase the minimum wage, started a petition drive to get the issue on the general election ballot Nov. 5...

Cape Girardeau a metropolis? No one's predicting skyscrapers, traffic jams and smog, but the city is moving toward a coveted designation by the U.S. Census Bureau that could help bring more commercial development to the area. A recent story in USA Today listed Cape Girardeau as one of 50 cities across the country approaching the 50,000 population mark necessary for the Census Bureau's Metropolitan Statistical Areas...

APPLE CREEK -- The smell of kettle beef, fried chicken and homemade breads and pies attracted about 1,800 people to the annual Apple Creek Picnic Saturday. Crowds were expected to line the hillside waiting for a meal and an empty seat inside the bursting parish hall. Only 200 people at a time could be seated inside for the buffet-style meal complete with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans, kettle beef and coleslaw...

Seemingly almost as quickly as he arrived, President Bill Clinton has gone. The park that held 25,000 to 35,000 people, depending on who you ask, is now empty, save for a few tents. Cars bustle on the previously closed streets that all made way for the presidential motorcade. Even river traffic must stop for the president, but the barges have all started moving again...

Dole should spend less time talking about the issues and more time practicing his footwork. It's a song. It's a dance. It's the stuff that presidential visits are made of. Welcome to Macarena in Missouri. The dance involves a lot of hand-on-body stuff and some well-timed hops...

If you are not a duck hunter, you probably assume that waterfowl hunting takes place only during the cold-weather months of November, December and January. While that may be true in general, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) also offers hunters an "early" season. The special nine-day teal season opens next Saturday, Sept. 7, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 15...

After winning the amateur World Championship last year, Rodney Huffman elevated his bow sights to the professional level. A year later, the Cape Girardeau bowman can't raise his sights too much further. As hoped, Huffman did turn professional, but as he did not expect, he's wearing the title of Professional World Champion...

Leon J. Dannenmueller, 86, 820 Perry Ave., died Friday, Aug. 30, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Jan. 29, 1910, in Kelso, son of Otto J. and Annie Blattel Dannenmueller. He and Viola Clara Bollinger were married Nov. 28, 1935, at Benton...

Walter J. Berkbigler, 89, of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, Aug. 30, 1996, at the Fountainbleau Lodge. He was born Nov. 26, 1906, in Millheim, son of Martin and Theresa Baudendistel Berkbuegler. He and Opal M. Henderson were married April 7, 1930, at Brewer. She died Dec. 20, 1992...

Margaret M. Thompson, 87, of Mount Vernon, Ill., died Thursday, Aug. 29, 1996, at Fountainbleau Lodge. She was born July 29, 1909, in Baltimore, daughter of Noel Hall and Alice Kate Gassman Matthews. She and Dr. Harry G. Thompson Sr. were married Dec. 1, 1935. He died Nov. 7, 1968...

MEXICO -- Molly E. Neely, 98, of Mexico died Saturday, Aug. 31, 1996, at Pin Oaks Nursing Center in Mexico. She was born Sept. 27, 1897, in Wellston, Okla., daughter of James B. and Lula Robinett George. She and the Rev. Golden E. Neely were married Dec. 29, 1916, at Poplar Bluff. He died Aug. 19, 1978...

JACKSON -- Dorothy D. Illers, 91, of Jackson, died Friday, Aug. 30, 1996, at the Ratliffe Care Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 7, 1905, at Columbia, daughter of Roy and Effie Woodson Creed. She and Herbert Illers were married Feb. 9, 1929. He died Nov. 11, 1975...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Madge Casey Nalley, 91, of Jonesboro died Saturday, Aug. 31, 1996, at her home in Jonesboro. She was born Aug. 29, 1905, in Union County, daughter of Jason and Nancy Elizabeth Osman Casey. She married Ollen R. Nalley Dec. 20, 1924, in Vienna. He died Aug. 3, 1984...

SCOTT CITY -- Billy D. Wyatt, 57, of Scott City, died Thursday, Aug. 29, 1996, in an automobile accident south of Benton. He was born Nov. 24, 1938, at McNary County, Tenn., son of Alvie D. and Maggie Tillman Wyatt. He was employed as a farmer. Survivors include his mother of Adamsville, Tenn.; a son, Patrick D. ...

SCOTT CITY -- Andrew L. Schaefer, 56, of Scott City, died Friday, Aug. 30, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born March 1, 1940, at Oran, son of Zeno Michael and Barbara Helen Glueck Schaefer. He and Mabel Nell Simmons Boyett were married Sept. 5, 1975, at Scott City. She survives...

BLOOMFIELD -- Norma L. Wilfong, 79, of Bloomfield, died Friday, Aug. 30, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 7, 1917, at Advance, daughter of Albert and Grace Straney Looney. She and Ward G. Wilfong were married May 26, 1947, at Clayton...

SCOTT CITY -- Frankie Don Medley, 27, of Scott City, died Saturday, Aug. 31, 1996, after a drowning accident in the Diversion Channel. He was born July 29, 1969, at Chaffee, son of Roy Leonard and Juanita Doris Cassout Medley. Medley was a 1987 graduate of Scott City High School...

SEDGEWICKVILLE -- James Thornton Raines, 83, of Sedgewickville, died Friday, Aug. 30, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born May 5, 1913, at Cranebrake, W. Va., son of Samuel and Jeanie Rasnick Raines. He and Caroline Margaret Griffith were married Aug. 17, 1937. She died May 16, 1991...

EAST PRAIRIE, -- Geneva Florence Baker Zimmer, 97, died Saturday, Aug. 31, 1996, at the East Prairie Nursing Center of an extended illness. She was born Oct. 13, 1989, at Dogwood, daughter of James and Lettie Baker. She and W.C. Zimmer were married at Matthews. He preceded her in death...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Hazel Nadine Thomason, 87, of Brawley, Calif., died Wednesday, Aug. 28, 1996, in Brawley, of an extended illness. She was born March 17, 1909, in Charleston, daughter of George Ancil and Ida Jackson Simmons. She married Albert Glenn Thomason on Dec. 21, 1931. He died Jan. 13, 1976...

MARBLE HILL -- Peggy Maxine Gilmartin, 38, of Marble Hill, died Thursday, Aug. 29, 1996, at her home. She was born Dec. 17, 1957, daughter of Clyde William and Ola Jean Goodwin Little. Survivors include two daughters, Stephanie and Shellie Long, both of Cape Girardeau; five brothers, Ricky Joe Little of Rincon, Ga., Chet W. ...

JACKSON -- Rhoda Amanda Allen, 90, of Jackson, died Saturday, Aug. 31, 1996, at the Lutheran Home in Jackson. She was born Aug. 20, 1906, in Bollinger County, daughter of Henry and Tavie Seabaugh Johnson. She and Ray Allen were married on Sept. 16, 1923. He died Aug. 24, 1966...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Lee Bowman, 80, died Saturday, Aug. 31, 1996, at his home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola.

Allison Filer, left, and her twin sister, Rebecca Filer, laughed together in their Jackson home. All Joann Hardesty prayed for was a way to make her second pregnancy special. She got two -- identical twins Nick and Tony. Hardesty is among tens of thousands of mothers who are giving birth to twins, triplets and even quadruplets. ...

By the time Mary Jo Filer reached the fifth month of her pregnancy, she was really getting big. "I just thought it was because this was my third pregnancy and I hadn't really snapped back after my second," said the Jackson mother of twins. When she went for an ultrasound, the technician found identical twins. Identicals share the same placenta...

Looking up from my early morning, porch swing coffee cup, I was startled to see, through the limbs of the tall pink dogwood, that my neighbor had painted one of his outbuildings a rather startling red. At least that is what I thought. My "before sunrise" eyes, further challenged by steam arising from the coffee, were playing tricks on me. ...