Stories from Sunday, February 23, 1997

A bill to ban partial-birth abortions has had a favorable hearing in the Missouri Senate and is on the calendar for floor debate. There it should be approved and sent to the House where three similar bills, though not yet heard in committee, boast more than 100 co-sponsors out of 163 members. ...

The nation may pull the switch on electric utility monopolies and open the door to retail competition by the turn of the century or soon after. Power company officials, regulatory experts and state and federal lawmakers insist that deregulation will happen...

In the 21st century it will be hard to find a business that doesn't have a web page for those who want to surf before they shop. Dr. Bill Webber teaches computer science at Southeast Missouri State University and says the Internet is a big part of business in this century let alone what it may do in the next...

While whizzing around in a small aircraft like George Jetson isn't in our near future, the advancement of technology will change the way we go from A to B. Many changes drivers will see will be alternative fuel and power sources, but we will also see many automated devices that will shift the responsibility of driving more from the driver to the computer that controls the car...

Is it possible that athletic shoes are going to be more outrageous in the future than they are now? "Ten to 12 years from now we may not recognize athletic shoes," Ken Sliva, manager of Finish Line sports shop in Cape Girardeau, said. "They'll be totally redesigned from what they are now, as new plastics and all that becomes available. There are prototypes that I've seen that are real different."...

A small black box in the glassed-in, air-conditioned cab of the big green combine records harvest data as the driver sweeps across the soybean, or wheat, field. At one point in a corn field, the "little black box" may register 48 bushels an acre. At another point, the needle may pass the 100-bushel mark...

Single-family homes are not in the "Jetson Age" yet, but with the advent of the VCR, pre-recorded VHS video tapes, laser disc movies, and satellite technology, it's beginning to look a lot like the 21st Century. Take, for example, "home theater." A few home plans actually include a special room which features a large screen and projector system that can be adjusted from a 20-inch to a 100-inch screen, with a stereo sound system...

If Americans don't learn how to effectively utilize their leisure time, the casualty will be the human spirit, said Dr. Edward Leoni. Technology is providing an abundance of free time in our country, said Leoni, chairman of the health and leisure department at Southeast Missouri State University...

Tourism is a growth industry and is the second largest industry in Missouri and the future looks like more of the same for the industry. The industry contributed more than $16 billion to Missouri's economy in 1995 and there are no signs of a slow-down soon...

Athletic opportunities for girls will continue to expand, creating greater equity between girls and boys programs. "There is no doubt in my mind you will see more and more girls programs," said Terry Kitchen, athletic director at Cape Girardeau Central High School...

Matt Dunn gets his chance to experience vergigo in the vertigo simulator designed by Don Grossheider, right, as Nathan Edwards and Justin Crader look on. This flight simulator is on loan from Southeast Missouri State University for use in Don Grossheider's class...

Well I finally did it and I am overwhelmed, I became an Internet subscriber. Since my youth I have believed the public library was a wonderful place to go and spend the day. To dig deep into the stacks and looking into all the knowledge humankind has amassed over the last four or five or maybe six millenniums. ...

Computerized electronic equipment starts perking coffee before you wake up, cooks the oatmeal in a minute and a half, senses when the clothes are dry and turns down the heat while you are away at work. At work, the same types of technology answer the telephone, monitor inventory and operate huge machines on multi-million dollar manufacturing lines...

To the editor: Here is a prayer my wife and I have found to be helpful when we pray for others: Dear Lord, help me search my heart for any unconfessed sin. If there is any sin within me, I confess that sin now, knowing that you are faithful and just to forgive my sings and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. ...

The road to the 21st century in Southeast Missouri may be a toll road or a two-lane superhighway or any number of other highway improvements. But roads are just one part of the region's transportation future, officials say. The Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority and the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport also figure into the picture, as does rail service...

Imagine a newspaper office in the mid-1800s when the big news of the day was a newfangled invention called the telegraph. Information could be sent instantly over long distances. Editors and newspaper owners likely worried what the invention would mean for the future of their industry. The result was the potential for improved news gathering...

More and more frequently the recurring nightmare of pervasive crime in Missouri disturbs my sleep and before I am fully awake, I imagine a society that tries, but fails miserably, to protect itself from drug-crazed criminals. While still not a nightmare for Missourians who inhabit the state's farms, villages and small cities, the terror has already become reality for residents of Missouri's large urban areas, where the drug culture has become the predominate factor of everyday life, where 8-year-olds bearing dangerous weapons can, and do, kill at will, and where every street corner has become the invulnerable marketplace of drug dealers.. ...

Adorned in a cowboy hat and boots, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright departed Andrews Air Force Base ready to take charge of the 'first wave' enlargement of NATO. Hew predecessor Warren Christopher was a cautious man who went to great pains to talk in elliptical phrases. Albright speaks the language of righteous certitude...

Two more weeks and we'll be at the midpoint of the 1997 regular session of the 89th General Assembly, heading toward a May 16 adjournment. How time races by. Herewith, by way of an update, a few comments on the action that has -- or hasn't -- unfolded since Jan. 8...

NOW THAT studies have found that these clowns who try to drive and talk on cellular phones are as dangerous as intoxicated drivers, they need to know: If work is that important, stay in your office. Also, no one is impressed by some buffoon with one hand on the steering wheel the other wrapped around a cellular phone...

PERRYVILLE -- For as long as Kevin Fausz has been pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Perryville, the church required every couple married there to attend classes and counseling sessions for six months before the ceremony. In the near future, 15 churches in Perry County could have similar requirements...

Keith Estes worked on the exterior of a miniature home. Big wishes are sometimes built around little things. On Tuesday, four playhouses will go on display at West Park Mall. They were constructed by Perryville contractors who have donated their time and skills to help make a wish come true for terminally ill children...

Quality, choices, true health care, these are the words health-care providers use to describe the 21st century. "It will become advantageous for the physician to keep people healthy. It will be cheaper to keep them healthy," said Dr. Rod Crist, a family practitioner in Cape Girardeau. "As time goes by you're going to see physicians do more preventative stuff, more true health care."...

The 21st century will probably see a leaner, more efficient medical system as area hospitals join with other branches of health care to provide a kind of community clinic. The directors of both St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital said they can see projects where both hospitals will work closely to provide services to the community...

The 21st century is no longer the stuff of daydreams. It is taking shape today in our own neighborhoods -- in schools, businesses, hospitals and homes. In today's annual progress edition, the Southeast Missourian takes a look at what the next century might bring to our region...

It's a bird-eat-anything world in Branson where the vultures have come home to roost. You know you've hit the big time when vultures value your community. Vultures are picky birds. They don't winter just anywhere. Black vultures and turkey vultures have found a February home in the country music mecca of Branson in Southwest Missouri...

Economic law dictates that the longer you live the more money you will need to have saved for retirement. With America's ever increasing older population putting a drain on Social Security and government health care insurance, what people put back on their own will be what gets them through after retirement...

At 93, Anna Jenkins hasn't seen everything that has happened in the 20th century in Cape Girardeau, but as a lifelong resident she has seen most of it. When Jenkins was born in 1903, it had only been 97 years since Cape Girardeau's founder Don Louis Lorimier laid out the small trading post as a town. Two years later the town celebrated its first centennial...

With the increasing number of older Americans, society will have to find new ways to provide services for senior citizens. "I think there will have to be more facilities to take care of these people because people are living longer," said Janice Unger, administrator at The Lutheran Home...

Summer means construction and, with warm weather approaching, the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center wants to remind the public of the new Missouri laws governing on-site sewage systems. People building a new system or changing an existing system should contact the Public Health Center. An on-site inspection by an environmental public health specialist could be required for any of the following reasons:...

Shifting membership patterns has caused a construction boom for local churches, and precise marketing will be crucial for those hoping to be around in the 21st century. However, the basic spiritual and religious questions will remain, several Cape Girardeau religious leaders and teachers say...

In 2025 a vintage clothing collector might look for a Rush Limbaugh tie. Another collector might search for an Elvis Presley credit card. Another might scour flea markets, estate sales and yard sales for something as simple as a hotel key. Clothing, character toys, movie memorabilia, modern-era games, playing cards, cereal boxes with sports figures, Matchbox Cars, certain Hallmark Christmas ornaments and much more are among items predicted as future collectibles...

The bull is on the run as the nation's stock market races toward the 21st century, financial analysts say. "The market is getting pretty lofty," said Bart Ozbun, manager of the local Merrill Lynch investment office. He and other stockbrokers predict the good times will continue on Wall Street...

COLUMBIA -- Jackson High senior Travis Reiminger completed a perfect wrestling season Saturday night at the Hearnes Center by winning the Class 4A 215-pound state championship. With a 9-6 victory over Jefferson City's Brian Busby, Reiminger completed a 38-0 season. Busby entered the match with same ambitions as Reiminger, but saw his season end at 33-1...

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State University's road woes continued here Saturday afternoon. As a result, the Indians will hit the road for the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference post-season basketball tournament. Eastern Illinois University's Panthers made sure of that -- and in emphatic fashion -- as they hammered Southeast 92-69 in front of 3,279 fans at Lantz Gym...

Pitching, defense and timely hitting were just three of the areas the Southeast Missouri State baseball team excelled at Saturday afternoon as they opened their home schedule with a doubleheader sweep of the Bradley Braves at Capaha Park. The Indians, coming off two losses last weekend in Memphis, evened their record at 2-2 with two seven-inning wins. ...

It all looked so promising for Southeast Missouri State University's basketball team. After beating Tennessee Tech last Saturday and Middle Tennessee State on Monday -- both games at the Show Me Center -- the Indians were poised to earn a home game for the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference post-season tournament...

Drugs, less prison space and ever-advancing technology will be familiar foes in the war against crime in the 21st century. These are the same problems that the criminal system has fought for decades. And more of the same are expected if predictions by officials in the legal and law enforcement communities are correct...

As business and industry look to the new millennium, thoughts of cybermarketing and trade shows come into focus. More than 40 million people travel the thousands and thousands of World Wide Networks. The number of users grow by 20 percent a month, and as many as 300 new web sites are developed daily, leading to the premise that companies need to get on the Internet "because everyone else is."...

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team closed out its worst season ever under coach Ed Arnzen by losing 69-54 to host Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon. The Otahkians wound up the campaign 5-21 overall and 3-15 in Ohio Valley Conference play, which places them last in the 10-team league...

Cape Central's girls jumped on Notre Dame early, held off a Notre Dame rally and emerged with a 41-32 victory Saturday. Laura Lukens scored 12 points to lead Cape Central while Abby Harris added 10. The Lady Tigers closed their regular season schedule with a 19-6 record...

The 4A and 3A District tournaments begin Monday night in several venues around the state. Several local teams look to have a outstanding chance of advancing past districts with the possibility to maybe make a deep run into the state playoffs. A look at the district tournaments with local relevance:...

The restaurant industry in Cape Girardeau may see great changes in numbers when Cape reaches metropolitan area status, but the restaurant's success will still depend on the age-old values of good food and good service. "I think people are more and more going back to ethnical foods in traditional settings and are getting away from the chain restaurants," said Mark Anthony, chef du maison at Cafe Alexander in Cape Girardeau...

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri's women's track team captured its first OVC Indoor Track Championship Saturday behind four individual first-place finishes. The Otahkians finished with 134 points to outdistance Eastern Kentucky, which finished runnerup with 119. Middle Tennessee placed third with 111...

Southeast Missouri State University's gymnastics team has had several outstanding individual performances this season: Erin Chenier's 39.275 set a school record in the all-around, the trio of Chenier, Kate Farrington and Malia Roberts set a school record with three straight 9.9s on floor and the Otahkians have recorded five 9.9s overall...

When companies decide to move their headquarters or expand facilities to a new area, they look at a number of factors. They're not just looking for a place to manufacture and make the most profits, they're also looking for a place from which they can most easily, and directly, serve their markets...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Take a look at your fishing and hunting permits before taking rod or gun in hand. That's the advice from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Agency officials say they don't want anyone to be caught unintentionally hunting or fishing without a valid permit...

It's that time again. You're tired of being cooped up in the house. The days may be getting warmer. You want and need to get outside. You're thinking of spring and fishing. If you are a pondowner, it's also the time of year to think about the problems you encountered last year with your pond. Whether it is a problem with aquatic vegetation or poor fishing, the Missouri Department of Conservation can assist you...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Early data from the 1996-97 trapping season paint a picture of increase -- increasing fur harvests, increasing fur prices and increasing numbers of furbearers, including two species that are of special interest to wildlife conservationists in Missouri and around the world...

The worst time for the next major earthquake to hit the Cape Girardeau area would be during a normal working day. An earthquake of a magnitude of 7.0 or greater could conceivably do immense damage to the older, downtown area of Cape Girardeau as well as some of the older schools and churches...

CHARLESTON -- Fronie Frances McCormick, 82, of Charleston died Friday, Feb. 21, 1997, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Aug. 9, 1914, at Princeton, Ky., daughter of Charles Edward and Donnie Oliver McCormick. She lived in Charleston most of her life. She was employed with Brown Shoe Co. for 38 years, retiring in 1978...

Robert C. McNulty, 75, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Feb. 22, 1997, at his home. Funeral arrangements were incomplete Saturday at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Michael T. Vranesh, 80, of Charlotte, N.C., died Thursday, Feb. 20, 1997, at his home as a result of complications from throat surgery. He was born Dec. 7, 1916, at Chisholm, Minn., the son of Serbian immigrants Theodore George and Anne Naca Lonchar Vranesh...

ANNA, Ill. -- Robert E. Sullivan, 70, of Makanda died Saturday, Feb. 22, 1997, at his home near Lick Creek. He was born Feb. 19, 1927, near Goreville, the son of Roscoe and Mary Chamness Sullivan. He and Wilma J. Rion were married June 29, 1947, at Anna...

SIKESTON -- Jackie Joe Campbell, 67, of Huntsville, Ala., formerly of Sikeston, Miner and Portageville, died Saturday, Feb. 22, 1997, at Huntsville Hospital in Huntsville. He was born Nov. 16, 1929 in Indiana the son of Leonard and Alma Dean Adkins Campbell. His wife, Laura R. Walker Campbell, survives in Huntsville...

BELLA VISTA, Ark. -- Lorraine Trainum, 66, of Bella Vista died Friday, Feb. 21, 1997, at Concordia Care Center in Bella Vista. She was born Jan. 1, 1931, at St. Louis, daughter of Otto and Elizabeth Haenni. She and Sam E. Trainum were married on Sept. 10, 1950...

Helen Juanita McWilliams, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday Feb. 22, 1977, at St. Frances Medical Center. She was professionally known as Helen Mack. She was born Oct. 6, 1910, in Olney, Ill., the daughter of George and Flora McWilliams. She taught school in Olney, and later was a welfare case worker before becoming a professional musician. ...

BELL CITY -- David Ray George Jr., 18, of Bell City died Saturday, Feb. 22, 1997, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. Funeral arrangements are pending at Morgan Funeral Home in Advance.

Graveside service for Mildreth Jessie Rieck of Tucson, Ariz., formerly of Cape Girardeau, was held Friday in Lorimier Cemetery. Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Chapel was in charge of arrangements. Rieck, 85, died Saturday, Feb. 15, 1997, at Tucson Medical Center...

MALDEN -- Kenneth Wayne Riley Jr., 56, of Malden died Thursday, Feb. 20, 1997, at his home. He was born April 29, 1940, at Cape Girardeau, the son of Helen Ramsey Riley and the late Kenneth Wayne Riley Sr. He and Brenda J. Robinson were married Aug. 26, 1961, at Clarkton...

ANNA, Ill. -- Lydia Pearl Dillow, 91, of Anna died Saturday, Feb. 22, 1997, at the Union County Nursing Home in Anna. She was born July 24, 1905, in Hamilton County, Ill., the daughter of Matthew and Lizzie Russell Dennis. She and Herman Dillow were married on Nov. 15, 1940, at Jackson. He died on July 31, 1980...

THEBES, Ill. -- Winifred Graham, 76, of Thebes, Ill., died Saturday, Feb. 22, 1997, at Cape Girardeau Nursing Center. Funeral arrangements by Crain Funeral Home are pending.

PERRYVILLE -- Irene L. Leonard, 93, of Perryville, died Friday, Feb. 21, 1997, at the Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Oct. 4, 1903, at Biehle, daughter of Henry W. and Anna Mariel Klaus Biehle. She had been an office manager with the International Shoe Co. She was also a member of St. Maurus Catholic Church in Biehle...

These are some recent newspaper headlines: 'Mercantile garners mega-bank status; merges with Roosevelt Financial Group.' 'Union Planters seeks to merge three area branches' 'NationsBank completes merger with Boatmen's' 'Banks are 'banking' on Perryville's future...

What's your vision of the 21st century ... and beyond? Do you think of the Jetsons, with people running around in pastel tights and turtlenecks? Or "Lost in Space," with the helpful robot waving his arms and saving the stranded explorers? ("Danger, danger, Will Robinson!")...

Colleges will rely more on technology to teach students in the 21st century, and some public schools could become private institutions. Long-distance learning through computers and interactive television is already a part of higher education, but it will become more prevalent in the coming century, Southeast Missouri State University officials say. More courses will be offered on the Internet...

Betty Housman of Cape Girardeau held the blackout bingo card that won her $400 at the Kiwanis Club. Jo Ann Drum always brings her good luck charm -- a troll doll in her bingo. Several bingo players bring various items that they hope will bring them luck...

February creeps on, I guess. Sometimes it seems to stall in its cloudy, grumpy tracks, seeking, like frost on a granite boulder, to find toeholds in human patience and vulnerable bones. Perhaps that is why it is called by ancients the Purification Month. ...

Schools are looking toward Internet access, fiber optics, satellite classes and computers and other high-tech devices as the necessary tools for learning in the 21st century. Cape Girardeau and Jackson public schools are taking steps now to prepare for the changes students will encounter in the next millennium...

They may delete your computer games instead of sending you to a corner, but otherwise, teachers of the future will remain pretty much the same. Classrooms of the 21st century will see more physical and strategic changes than overall concept changes. ...

As more parents choose an education that includes moral development along with academics, parochial and private schools will continue to have growing enrollments in the 21st century. Overcrowding in many public schools and increasing societal pressures are two reasons administrators list for enrollment increases over the last decade. As emerging school networks and more enticing packaging develop, these increases will continue...

The future of the arts in the region brightened considerably earlier this year with the announcement that an arts center could be built at Southeast Missouri State University in 5-8 years. The idea is the brainchild of a 75-member group called the Friends of Music, but has been warmly received among artists of all kinds, both those associated with the university and those who are members of the community...

In Cape Girardeau County, a statistical household would include 2.49 people who live in a home they either own or are in the process of buying. The income per person is $11,858 and 9.8 percent of families live below the poverty level. The unemployment rate is under 5 percent...

Employees of the 21st century will be highly-specialized to meet the growing demands of employers for workers with well-developed technical skills. "What we seem to have tremendous shortages in locally, and probably nationally as well, is some type of specialized training beyond high school, but not necessarily a four-year college degree," said John Mehner, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce. "That's where we're hurting the most."...

President Clinton talks about a bridge to the 21st century. But the real bridge is taking shape in Cape Girardeau. Work is under way on a new, four-lane bridge over the Mississippi River that could be opened to traffic by 2001 or 2002. The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge is named after the 8th District's longtime congressman, who died last summer from lung cancer...

The next time your mother says, "Look at me when I'm talking to you," it may be over the telephone. Phone conversations of the future will be face-to-face, say project coordinators with local phone companies. In fact, in some circles, they say, it's already happening...

The future of television technology means viewers will have substantially better quality pictures and sound as well as much more variety in programming, local electronics dealers say. In recent years mini satellite dishes have hit the market and taken off in popularity...

As city living becomes more technical and complicated the parks are going to become simpler and more diverse. Cape Girardeau County Parks Supervisor Bruce Watkins said he sees the county parks providing a retreat where people can walk in quiet woods or gather with family for cookouts...

Judy Jetson won't be the cover girl for any clothing magazines in the near future. Area clothing store buyers and owners said 21st century fashion will be easy to wear and easy to care for in coming years, which means Judy's supercyber look won't be in style...

Construction is slated to begin later this year on a major expansion of Cape Girardeau's water system. The project will be funded by the sale of $26.5 million in bonds approved by city voters in November. Also approved was a quarter-cent sales tax to pay off the bonds...

As the Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City communities continue to grow and expand, it is likely that the three will melt into one metro area. However, it is unlikely they will formally unify into one municipality, particularly Cape Girardeau and Jackson...

Murals tell a story about the community in which they are located. "Murals are wonderful postcard into the past and the heart and soul of the city and into the citizens of the city," said J. Tim Blattner of the River Heritage Mural Association. "Cape Girardeau is fast becoming known as a town of murals," said Mary Miller, director of the Convention & Visitor's Bureau. "People are asking us about our Wall of Fame and other historical murals."...

The future of music sales is anchored in the past, according to some local record stores. "Country gets bigger and bigger all the time and alternative music is more popular, but people mainly want older stuff," said Rebecca Hart, assistant manager at Disc Jockey in West Park Mall...