Stories from Wednesday, December 18, 1996

This is a letter from the chief engineer of the Missouri Department of Transportation that was sent to Sen. Peter Kinder of Cape Girardeau. There has been much discussion about the status, progress and funding of plan developed in 1992. Two years ago, we announced that our analysis showed the 1992 plan was seriously underfunded. ...

Officials at Southern Illinois University have taken a heavy hand in dealing with an out-of-control Halloween party. Thirteen students have been suspended and another dozen received lesser penalties. The suspensions will last at least one year. What will it take for students to get the message in Carbondale? The university and city have been quite clear in banning such Halloween gatherings that have turned into near riots in the past...

From the start, the Common Pleas Courthouse has been so much more than a mere building where justice was doled out. Perched atop a terraced hillside overlooking a growing city and the Mississippi River, the building has served as an icon for Cape Girardeau...

Just look at how much money people spend on their leisure time ... $640 billion ... one-eighth of consumer spending. All on movies, travel, music, eating out, TV sets, gambling, golf, pets, hobbies, sports etc. The growth is being driven by retirees with both time and money looking for things to do. Tuition is history. Mortgage nearly paid off...

These Christopher Radko ornaments were available at the Fantasticks, including, at top, a set of three Hansel and Gretel ornaments, and below, a decorated bell and "Bearly Awake," the 1996 Pediatric Cancer design. A family of Boyd's Bears was on display at Ye Ole House, 120 Broadway...

Two years ago, this column featured a spirited visit from a Thanksgiving guest who was about to turn two. On Thanksgiving Day this year, I was invited to dine in the same household with this priceless lad. A big boy now, Master William Curran Hennessey had brought his parents with him all the way from Michigan to Cape Girardeau -- with the help of their family car instead of his cherished one-passenger police van...

BENTON -- The Scott County Commission spent most of Tuesday morning trying to wrap up acquisition of the sheriff's department's vehicles before Christmas. The commission will be taking over the sheriff's 10 patrol cars Jan. 1, and the county still needs to have an insurance policy set up by then. Scott County Commissioner Walter Bizzell said the commission advertised for bids on insurance and will be dealing with that matter at its next meeting...

Toybox needed a big boost this year, and it came from a number of sources. "We're helping Santa Claus," cried the children from Westminster Christian Preschool as they placed gifts under the Toybox Christmas tree at the Southeast Missourian. These children were continuing what has been a tradition at the preschool for 15 years...

Cape Girardeau public schools earned nearly a half-million dollars in grants this year and more are expected before the end of the school year. The money provides teachers and students with technology, equipment and opportunities the district might not have been able to afford otherwise. The grants received thus far total $470,447...

No one delivers as many Christmas greetings as the Postal Service. Not even Santa Claus. The Christmas holiday season is the busiest time of year for the nation's post offices, and this is their busiest week. The Cape Girardeau Post Office this week is receiving about 200,000 pieces a day of incoming mail for Cape Girardeau residents...

Sharing a bed isn't always fun and games. It didn't surprise me when scientists discovered that husbands and wives sleep better alone than together. Remember that study completed earlier this year? Married couples went on and on about how they slept so well together. Women couldn't sleep a wink without their little snookie-ookums and men just had to have their old ladies...

Monday, Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m. New Ordinances -- Named new Missouri Route 74 in the city as Shawnee Parkway. -- Levied a special assessment for the improvement of Lexington Avenue from Old Sprigg Street Road to Big Bend Road. -- Authorized final payment to Lappe Cement Finishing Inc. and Fronabarger Concreters Inc. for improvement of Lexington Avenue...

Only three school board candidacies were filed Tuesday during the opening day of filings in some Bollinger, Cape Girardeau and Scott County schools districts. Incumbent Dr. Robert Fox announced he would run for another term on the Cape Girardeau Board of Education, and Thomas A. Ludwig threw his hat in the ring for a Jackson Board of Education seat. Doug Lindley filed for another term on the Woodland Board of Education at Marble Hill...

The Marching Tigers of Cape Girardeau Central High School will travel to Orlando, Fla., to perform at Disney's Epcot Center. The performance is scheduled for Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Epcot Center lake. One hundred and ten students and 65 parents and family members will leave from Central High School Dec. 26 at 7:45 p.m. They will be taking four motorcoaches and will be gone through Dec. 31...

ESSEX -- William Marvin Causey, 77, of Essex died Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1996, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. He was born Jan. 25, 1919, in Frisco, son of Bertis and Della Jones Causey. He married Dora Lee Lawrence Jan. 13, 1945, in Piggott, Ark. She survives...

Daughter to Mark and Jane Clayton of Arnold, St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Louis, 9:15 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 1, 1996. Name, Maire McKenzie. Weight, 7 pounds 3 ounces. First child. Mrs. Clayton is the former Jane Bolen, daughter of Jim and Elaine Bolen of Cape Girardeau. Clayton is the son of Jim and Carolyn Clayton of Scott City. He is a financial analyst at Boatmen's Trust in St. Louis...

JACKSON -- James M. Hughey, 64, of Houston, Texas, died Thursday, Dec. 12, 1996, at St. Luke's Hospital in Houston. He was born Aug. 8, 1932, in Lilbourn, son of Melvin and Dorothy Smith Hughey. He and Mary Lou Clifton were married Dec. 1, 1950. She died Aug. 16, 1975. He later married Sandra Stearns April 16, 1978, in Lancaster, Texas...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Marianne Pierceall, 54, of Virginia Beach, Va., died Monday, Dec. 16, 1996, at her home. She was born Jan. 4, 1942, in Cairo, daughter of James B. and Mary Spaulding Walder. Pierceall received master degrees from Southern Illinois University and Southeast Missouri State University. She had taught at Cairo Public Schools, and at Crestwood Elementary and Middle Schools in Chesapeake, Va...

Funeral Mass for Marie Schwepker of Cape Girardeau will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary's Cathedral, with Msgr. Richard Rolwing officiating. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel from 4-8 p.m. today. Parish prayers will be at 7:30...

JACKSON -- Selected pieces of art created by Jackson School District students are on display at the Riverside Regional Library during December. Students whose work is on display: -- Eleventh grade: Vince Siever, Dylan Jones, Leah Ulrich, Lauren Randley...

The Southeast Missourian asked people about their Christmas shopping. Eddy James: "We got it taken care of early this year. Now we can relax. Early is better, so you don't have to fight the crowds." Dorothy Rowley: "I like to get into the rush of things. It seems more like Christmas when I wait closer to the 25th to do my shopping."...

JACKSON -- So far, Jackson residents won't see any new names on the ballot when they vote for four aldermen. Mayor Paul Sander filed for his third term, Ward Three Alderwoman Val Tuschhoff for her fourth term and Ward Four Alderman Jack Piepenbrok for his sixth...