Stories from Tuesday, January 21, 1997

Cybertip: The Southeast Missourian is planning its online product, which we hope to launch in March or April. Next week, we'll talk about some of our ideas for www.semissourian.com, and we'll be asking for your ideas as well. OK, face it: 800 million viewers in 160 countries could be watching the Super Bowl on Sunday. Even the football widows will probably be there with a bowl of chips. If nothing else, the commercials are usually fun...

Jane Wilson is in her ninth year of teaching with some of the very teachers who sparked her interest in the profession. Wilson is a first-grade teacher at St. Mary's Cathedral Grade School in Cape Girardeau. She is a graduate of St. Mary's school and has been a lifelong member of St. Mary's Cathedral...

Janet Besand won't miss the bus. The Perryville woman has made the bus trip to Washington each January since 1982 to protest abortion, with one exception: during the Persian Gulf War six years ago. She is making the journey again this year. Besand will be among 40 Southeast Missouri residents who will board a bus in Cape Girardeau today for the trip to Washington and Wednesday's anti-abortion march...

Blame this crazy weather on an undulating jet stream, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pedigo. "The jet stream controls the path of storm systems," Pedigo said. "They usually form in depressions in the jet stream, and clear, dry weather usually forms in the ridges where it rises to the north...

People in Southeast Missouri will have an opportunity to watch $1 billion of Russian space technology race across the sky when the space station Mir is visible Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. On Friday Mir will be visible beginning at about 6:26 a.m, on Sunday it will be visible at about 6:06 a.m., and on Tuesday at about 5:48 a.m. Each time the station should be visible for about two minutes...

One of five barges that broke loose from a towboat struck the Mississippi River bridge here Monday. The bridge wasn't damaged, officials said. The other four barges floated under the bridge before all of them were corralled, said Leo Steger, general manager of Missouri Barge Line...

"Education is still the best spaceship to your dreams." That message was delivered Monday by Dr. Charles I. Rankin, keynote speaker at the 12th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast. The event was the first in a series of local events commemorating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday...

And he also proved first impressions aren't always right. OK, I'll admit it: My very first impression of Cape Girardeau's new police chief was not a good one. My initial view came before I ever laid eyes on Rick Hetzel, who came to us from Norcross, Ga., where he had been chief since 1992...

With new fire and police chiefs on the job, the city of Cape Girardeau will focus its attention on hiring a manager for Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. City representatives will interview candidates for the job Thursday. Airport board chairman J. Fred Waltz said four or five candidates will be interviewed. Names of the candidates have not been released...

COMMERCE -- The Commerce Historical Society is trying to raise money and get volunteers to clean up a cemetery believed to be nearly 200 years old. Historical society secretary Dixie High said: "As far as anyone knows it was started back in the early 1800s. There are some civil war veterans buried up there. Sen. John Coffman is buried up there. He served in the State Senate from 1890 to 1894, when he passed away...

Goody's Family Clothing store is looking to a spring opening in Cape Girardeau. Goody's, a fast-growing retailer headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., has more than 200 stores in 14 states with sales of more than $700 million annually. The store, which will be in Cape West Plaza Shopping Center on Siemers Drive in Cape West Business Park, will provide up to 35 jobs. It is the first Goody's store in Missouri...

It is usually best to hear straight talk from someone with experience. When it comes to telling potential high school dropouts what a mistake they would be making, a good person to hear from is Angela Battles. Recently, Battles told students at the Alternative School in Cape Girardeau that they should make getting a high school diploma a top priority. Students who drop out because they want to earn money at a job realize quickly that their earning potential is limited...

How's this for a frightening story? A single mother of four children in Connecticut has been fingered as a child abuser five times by anonymous callers to the states hot line. She was accused of beating and starving her children, using drugs in front of them and leaving them alone...

To the editor: Beauty can be discovered in so many ways, described in just as many and suddenly applied. That is what I encountered just recently in hearing the beautiful poem, "The Touch of the Master's Hand" by Myra Brooks Welch. It seems no one cared about the old, worn-out violin that was put up for auction, when suddenly a poor, old, ragged man was attracted to the violin. ...

To the editor: As a citizen of this great city and a former member of the Cable TV Advisory Board, I understand the frustrations felt by the many persons calling in to Speak Out. In a survey conducted by the advisory board of cable service provided to similar size cities, Cape Girardeau's cable service had the fewest channel offerings of those surveyed. ...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team lost here Monday night -- but it certainly wasn't because of a lack of effort. The Otahkians, looking like a different squad during their two-game road trip to Tennessee, staged a furious rally that fell just a bit short as Tennessee Tech held on for a 75-68 victory...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Forgive Ron Shumate if he doesn't much like coming to this town that he lived in for several years while attending college in the late 1950s. Shumate, Southeast Missouri State University's basketball coach, starred in baseball and basketball at Tennessee Tech to earn a spot in the school's athletic hall of fame...

DELTA -- Scott City's boys basketball team played out its role as the top seed in the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament Monday night, thumping No. 8 seed East Prairie 77-37 in opening-round action. The Rams improved to 15-1 on the season and advanced to Thursday night's semifinals where they'll play the winner of tonight's game between No. 4 Scott County Central and No. 5 Oran...

Daughter to Samuel Isaiah and Jill Lynn Johnston Jr. of Advance, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 10:17 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29, 1996. Name, Summer Dawn. Weight, 7 pounds 12 ounces. First child. Mrs. Johnston is the former Jill Hagan, daughter of Beverly Boyer and Brian Boyer of Advance, and Michael and Emily Hagan of Cape Girardeau. She is a medical transcriptionist with Endocrinology Associates. Johnston is the son of Samuel and Lena Johnston of Millersville. He is a driver for Delta Concrete Inc...

Cape Girardeau City Council 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21 Consent Ordinances (Second and third readings) -- Ordinance amending Chapter 30 of the Code of Ordinances by changing the zoning of 2825 Bloomfield Road from R-1 to R-4. -- Ordinance granting a special use permit to the Lutheran Home for the Aged for purposes of constructing, maintaining and operating a home health agency office at 2861 Bloomfield Road. (First, second and third readings.)...

7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 21 Financial Affairs -- City clerk's and treasurer's reports. Action Items Power and Light Committee -- Motion to approve the Semi-Annual Financial Statement ending Dec. 31 and to publish in the local newspaper. -- Motion amending the 1996 budget...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Wilda Ash, 98, of Phoenix, formerly of Dongola, died Thursday, Jan. 16, 1997, in Phoenix. She was born Feb. 27, 1898, in Dongola, daughter of Solomon and Della Fisher Hill. She married Charles E. Ash on May 29, 1920. He died July 10, 1963...

OAK RIDGE -- Dorothy Grebe, 86, of Oak Ridge died Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, at Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete with McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

FREDERICKTOWN -- Lewis W. French, 77, of Fredericktown died Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, at his home. He was born July 18, 1919, at Butte, Mont., to Lewis W. and Bertha Gray French. On Sept. 19, 1940, he married Norma L. Hussman. She died Aug. 1, 1988. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II...

MATTHEWS -- Georgia Frankie Deane, 89, of Matthews died Sunday, Jan. 19, 1997, at her home. She was born Oct. 1, 1907, at Matthews, daughter of George Franklin and Amanda Jane Barnhart Deane. A retired teacher, she taught at schools in Kennett, Kewanee and Matthews...

CHARLESTON -- William Franklin Lockridge, 76, of Charleston died Sunday, Jan. 19, 1997, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Jan. 14, 1921, in Anniston, son of George and Lola Gardner Lockridge. He and Hazel Pike were married Aug. 8, 1942...

CHARLESTON -- Jewell Lillian Nelson, 81, of Charleston died Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Dec. 20, 1915, in Calvert City, Ky., daughter of Will and Annie Lee Dodge Lindsey. She and Robert Adron Nelson were married Aug. 17, 1933. He died Dec. 18, 1979...

The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a hearing today to discuss efforts to clean up the Missouri Electric Works site. EPA officials will be available from 4-7 p.m. at the Victorian Inn in Cape Girardeau to answer questions from the public. EPA officials will discuss the project one-on-one with area residents who come to the session. Area residents can attend at any point during the session...

Lionel N. Thornton, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, at Heartland Care Rehabilitation Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford & Sons Funeral Home.

COBDEN, Ill. -- Fred J. Hall, 60, of Cobden died suddenly Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, at his home. He was born Nov. 1, 1936, in Johnston City, son of Hershel and Dorothy Tolbert Hall. He and Betty Ann Davis were married Aug. 22, 1959, in Wheeling. Hall was a superintendent with Richardson Excavating Service in Golconda...

ORAN -- Eleanor Caroline Stokes, 81, of Oran died Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel at Oran is in charge of arrangements.

ANNA, Ill. -- Eulah Harris, 81, of Holland, Mich., died Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, in Holland. She was born Dec. 18, 1915, in Lamar, Ark., daughter of Joe B. and Myrtle Dutton Breedlove. Harris had lived in Holland 19 years. She was formerly of Anna, and was a member of Anna Church of Christ...

Juanita Richardson, 79, of Mayfield, Ky., died Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, at her home. She was the daughter of Lexie and Opal Galloway. She married Thomas Richardson, who preceded her in death. Richardson was a member of First Baptist Church and Order of Eastern Star...

Cape Girardeau County Dan J. and Tempa D. Greene to Larry J. and Natalie M. McGinnis; Karen S. and Shawn D. Mitchell to Alicia D. and John D. Woodall III; Northfield Properties to Patricia F. and Stephen E. Strom; Patricia F. and Stephen E. Strom to La Croix United Methodist Church Inc.; James Michael and Louise Frances Hurtle to Michael J. ...

Charles Utah Austin, 68, 815 N. Fountain, died Sunday, Jan. 19, 1997, at Wentzville Doctors Hospital in Wentzville. He was born Dec. 11, 1928, at Whitewater, son of John Leslie and Celeste Hazel Jauch Austin. His family moved to Cape Girardeau in 1943 from Allenville...

PERRYVILLE -- Joseph A. Blechle, 56, of Chicago died Saturday, Jan. 18, 1997, in Sun Valley, Idaho. He was born Oct. 18, 1940, at Biehle, son of Edward O. and Anna Welker Blechle. Blechle was a 1959 graduate of St. Vincent's High School. He was a foreman many years at American and Granite City Steel Companies. He was a member of Catholic War Veterans in Belleville, Ill. He served in the U.S. Air Force...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Wilburn Lee "Good Buddy" Thornton, 66, of Mounds died Sunday, Jan. 19, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Aug. 4, 1930, in Mounds, son of the late Ernest and Lola Parmley Thornton. He was employed at Louisiana Dock in Urbandale, was a member of VFW Post 8891 in Mounds, the American Legion Post in Villa Ridge and the Shiloh Baptist Church in Villa Ridge. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War...

SIKESTON -- Faye Cohen, 59, of Sikeston died Sunday, Jan. 19, 1997, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center. She was born July 20, 1937, in Shelby County, Tenn., daughter of George F. and Hattie Gray Andition. She and Benny Lee Cohen Sr. were married May 8, 1954, in Corinth, Miss...