Stories from Thursday, October 17, 1996

To the editor: I have just read with great disappointment the Oct. 7 article headlined, "Hazing offenders speak to pledges." The article resulted in my immediate infuriation as I read the comments from Isaac Sims, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity who participated in the weeklong hazing activities that led the death of Michael Davis:...

Williwaw is an Eskimo word for a wind that flies swiftly off a mountain. That's the name David Keiper gave to the world's first trimaran hydrofoil. Trained in physical and biomedical sciences as well as engineering, Keiper designed the trimaran hydrofoil in response to his first sailing experiences in the 1960s. He was sailing a 20-foot sloop at maximum speed (about 7 knots) and recalls, "The mast was bending like it was going to break."...

Civil War re-enactments are becoming popular pastimes and entertainments, but the chance to see an attack on a train remains a rare treat, says Maj. Mark Westoff. "Civil War re-enactments involving trains are significant," says Westoff, a major in the Illinois State Militia. "There aren't that many, maybe only three or four in the country."...

Na Pali Coast "In January 1971, I had backpacked through the three valleys accessible by trail, and camped out in Kalalau overnight. Now that it was summer, I wanted to sail to all the valleys. In late June, it happened that two fairly adventurous young women, Janine and Nani, came by the boat. ...

ON THE sidewalk issue, deciding whether to make it compulsory in new subdivisions: I have built homes in developments with sidewalks and without sidewalks. If you've ever been faced with someone falling on the sidewalk and getting sued, you'll change your mind about getting sidewalks, because your insurance will go sky high, the lawsuits will be rampant and you'll have children running people down with tricycles, bicycles and roller blades. ...

Getting a new relative in the family, whether by birth or marriage, is an occasion for celebration. Cape Girardeau got a sister this week when it formally agreed to be the sister city of Shaoxing, a city of 300,000 population near the eastern coast of China south of Shanghai...

At a recent hearing on improvements planned for a portion of Broadway near its western end, the idea of making the thoroughfare one way surfaced again. This is old hat. A one-way street system was tried several years ago, and it was such a disastrous failure that two-way traffic was restored to the narrow streets...

Organized prayer vigils being planned for the Nov. 5 presidential election is about faith, not politics, say organizers. "We're not Democrats praying to get Republicans out of office or vice-versa," said the Rev. William Burke, pastor of First Church of the Nazarene and president of the local Ministerial Alliance. "But we do believe prayer makes a difference."...

Nearly a year after a committee formed to look at the direction Cape Girardeau public schools should head, a roadmap is being presented for that group's approval. Tonight, members of the Vision Planning Committee will take a look at a draft of a master plan for the Cape Girardeau School District...

Who won Wednesday night's second presidential debate between Republican Bob Dole and President Clinton? It depends on who you talk to. "It's not that either one is losing or winning the debate, but what it comes down to is the ideological differences between Republicans and Democrats," said Kendra Foster, a Clinton supporter. "I think right now, because the economy's going so well, people tend to side with who's in the White House -- who happens to be a Democrat."...

CHESTER, Ill. -- The on-again, off-again project to repaint and renovate the Chester bridge over the Mississippi River is on again. Work could start by Dec. 2, a Missouri Department of Transportation spokesman said Wednesday. But an actual start-up date remains uncertain...

Dear Julie, I was telling a friend recently about New Orleans. She's job-hunting and has professed on her resume to possess a certain skill she has not quite yet acquired. Much like me and bartending. Two weeks' practice behind the bar at the Jambalaya did not quite prepare me for the high volume of pina coladas at the dinner theater that hired me on the presumption that my bartending experience was a bit more extensive. ...

Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms carries this bewildering sub-title: "A Dictionary of Discriminated Synonyms with Antonyms and Analogous and Contrasted Words." Which explains why I keep it on the floor in my study, as far from the desk as space will allow...

Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center will hold a series of flu clinics for senior citizens starting today. Seniors can get flu shots at Williford's Restaurant in Delta today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Jackson Senior Citizen Center...

PERRYVILLE -- William "Ed" Higgins, 77, of Perryville died Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1996, at Perry Oaks Nursing Center. He was born Sept. 14, 1919, in Perryville, the son of William and Pearlie Heistant Higgins. Survivors include one sister, Sarah Fraser of Perryville...

ANNA, Ill. -- Arthur Nobles, 87, of Anna died Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1996, at the Iowa Masonic Nursing Home in Bettendorf, Iowa. Funeral arrangements are incomplete with Lutz & Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna.

Private service for Arthur William Beaudean, 1023 S. Benton, will be held today at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel. The Rev. Charles Lance will officiate, with burial in St. Mary's Cemetery. Beaudean, 83, died Tuesday, Oct. 15, 1996, at the Lutheran Home...

OAK RIDGE -- Harold Hunt, 70, of Oak Ridge died Tuesday, Oct. 15, 1996, at his home. He was born April 1, 1926, in East Prairie, son of James T. and Eula Mae Barley Hunt. He and Meta Walther were married Dec. 25, 1948. Hunt was employed 30 years at American Can Co., retiring Aug. 1, 1980, as mechanical supervisor. He moved to Oak Ridge in 1980 from Holland, Pa...

ADVANCE -- Cletus Leadbetter, 62, of Advance died Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 13, 1934, in Bollinger County, son of Paul and Myrtle Eaker Leadbetter. He and Mary Lee Robins were married June 5, 1959, at Advance...

ORAN -- Juanita B. Vogel, 85, of Oran died Tuesday, Oct. 15, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 13, 1911, at Bell City, daughter of Jefferson Davis and Mary Ollie Harris Riley. She and Francis Vogel were married Jan. 14, 1932. He died Aug. 1, 1975...

Funeral service for S. Lee Moore of St. Louis was held recently at Pfitzinger Funeral Home in St. Louis. Burial was in Sunset Memorial Park. Moore, 67, died Friday, Oct. 4, 1996, at St. Jude's Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Oct. 11, 1928, son of Rufus and Flora Moore...

PERRYVILLE -- Frieda H. Fritsche, 75, of Perryville died Tuesday, Oct. 15, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 18, 1921, at Farrar, daughter of Ernst and Anna Lohmann Miesner. She and Eugene B. Fritsche were married May 3, 1946. He died Jan. 29, 1993...

SIKESTON -- Linda Kay Davis, 50, of Sikeston died Tuesday, Oct. 15, 1996, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Nov. 1, 1945, in Dell, Ark., daughter of Harold D. and Fredia P. Rice King. She and Glen T. Davis were married Feb. 6, 1982, in Sikeston. He died Nov. 10, 1995...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Vesta Manus, 81, lifelong resident of Union County, died Tuesday, Oct. 15, 1996, at Union County Hospital in Anna. She was born Dec. 1, 1914, in Union County, daughter of John L. and Martha E. Lasley Manus. Manus was retired from Florsheim Shoe Co...

JACKSON -- Merlin Schultz, 54, of Jackson died Tuesday, Oct. 15, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 19, 1942, at New Wells, son of Fred and Olga Hoffman Schultz. He and Marilyn Schuessler were married June 26, 1965...

CHARLESTON -- Virgil James Kynion, 71, of Charleston died Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1996, at his home. Morgan Funeral Home in Advance is in charge of arrangements.

Son to Jeff and Kelly Hoffmeister of Swansea, Ill., St. Luke's Hospital in St. Louis, 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, 1996. Name, Adam Jeffrey. Weight, 8 pounds 5 ounces. Third child. Mrs. Hoffmeister is the former Kelly Hutchison, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Hutchison of Fairview Heights, Ill. Hoffmeister is the son of Bill and Julia Hoffmeister of Cape Girardeau. He is a sales engineer with Zeuschel Equipment in St. Louis...

George J. Basler, 82, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Festus, died Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1996, at his home. He was born Jan. 16, 1914, in Ste. Genevieve County, the son of George Philip and Regina J. Guethle Basler. He was married to Velma Mott. Basler was a retired glassworker, a former member of the Missouri State National Guard and a member of Linwood Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau...