Stories from Sunday, March 9, 1997

Rarely, it seems, can we go longer than 48 hours without new and alarming revelations about the burgeoning fund-raising scandals engulfing the White House, the Democratic National Committee and the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election campaign. Last weekend, Vice President Al Gore was drawn directly into the maelstrom with news that he made $40 million worth of fund-raising telephone calls from within White House walls in apparent clear violation of federal laws against conducting fund raising on federal property.. ...

Mark LaClair made his uniform using a pattern of the British uniform used during the French and Indian War. Mark LaClair demonstrates how to load a musket. Mark LaClair of Jackson has a love of history that has taken him as far as Ft. Niagara in New York to reenact the French and Indian War battle fought there over 200 years ago...

Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew M. Morton, son of Michael R. Morton of Jackson, recently returned from a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea with the 24th Expeditionary Unit. He was aboard the ships of the USS Saipan Amphibious Ready Group. During the deployment, Morton took part in multinational training for noncombatant evacuation and humanitarian and maritime operations...

The Tsalagi Service Unit will be opening a drop-in center in Jackson on March 18th. The drop-in center will be located on the corner of Mary and North High at the American Legion Hall. The Legion Hall has donated the use of the hall every third Tuesday of each month for the drop-in's use...

Air Force Airman Bradley A. Kistner has recently graduated from the mission ready technician training (MRT) conducted at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas and Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City, Fla. The six-month course is designed for all F-15 tactical fighter aircraft maintenance apprentices who are assigned as crew chiefs...

Navy Seaman recruit Christopher J. Roseman recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. Roseman is the son of Christie Miller of Jackson. During the eight-week program, Roseman completed a variety of training which included classroom study and practical instruction on naval customs, first aid, fire fighting, water safety and survival and shipboard and aircraft safety...

A gala birthday party is being planned by Altenthal-Joerns Post 158 of the American Legion in Jackson as a part of the Legion's worldwide observance of its 78th anniversary in March, according to Norman Sebastian, post commander. Under a special committee headed by Bill Poe, the 78th birthday of the American Legion will be observed with a banquet at the American Legion hall on North High in Jackson...

I grew up in St. Louis, in a wonderful neighborhood. St. Louis is full of neighborhoods, wonderful little communities where people know each other, and take care of each other. My grandparents' house was an anchor for me in my neighborhood. The grade school I attended was on one corner, their house across the street, and the church where I grew up was on the other corner. ...

Jo Ann Emerson, elected last fall to succeed her late husband in Congress, sounded a call for unity Saturday night and challenged the more than 500 people in attendance at the Cape Girardeau Lincoln Day Dinner to work together to lead the nation into a brighter future...

25 years ago, 1972 Meier Angus Farms and Millikan Stock Farm hold their annual production sale of registered Aberdeen Angus cattle; 10 bulls and 42 females are sold at public auction; this is 20th annual sale held by Meier Angus Farms, and Millikan Stock farm has been consigner since 1963; this year's sale again features cattle sired by Blue Sky Ermitre 326th, a $105,000 bull that has been used in Meier Angus Farms herd for past six years; he was grand champion bull of 1965 Missouri State Farm and reserve grand champion at 1966 Dixie National Stock Show; entire female offering features service if Firecracker, bull that weighs over ton and has compiled fantastic breeding record.. ...

Considering the fact that one out of every three Missourians is either in a nursing home, in prison or on parole, divorced, on a welfare roll, mentally ill or developmentally disabled or homeless, it is nothing short of amazing that two out of three Missourians possess an ounce of felicity or sanguineness. As Charles Dickens noted in an earlier and even less elysian age, it is difficult for humans to be contented when those around are in despair...

After a December rant in this space about the coming row over liberal, activist judges, I received a call from a good friend in the higher reaches of the Missouri state judiciary. "Kinder," said this conservative Republican appointee, eager to let me have it, "One of these days I'm going to write a newspaper column comparing all lawmakers to Ron Dellums," the radical liberal congressman from California. ...

I BELIEVE Indians and Otahkians are very special names for our Southeast Missouri State University athletes. Our heritage is about Indians, our forerunners, and they would be honored to have us remember them. Could it be that some of those tribe might have stayed on longer here if they hadn't been driven away? I can't see any harm in honoring our Indian ancestors...

To the editor: I am 16 years old and a junior in high school. I am an honor student, active in band, sports and many other clubs and school activities. Unfortunately, I am also a part of what is often derogatorily termed Generation X. In school and at home, my peers and I have always been taught to not stereotype people. ...

A whole zoo of mascots parade along the sidelines of college basketball and football games. Lions, tigers and bears are common mascots. But you also can find trolls, vixens and even banana slugs. University of California-Santa Cruz athletic teams are known as the "Banana Slugs."...

The director of a new art academy ast Southeast Missouri State University is hoping to provide affordable art education to people who have never put paint to paper before. The academy is sponsored by the university and held at the university's art building...

The Bliss family has been anything but blissful this past week. We all came down with a sniffles-clogged-up-throat-sinus-infection. Personally, I think we could do without sinuses. They don't seem to serve any useful purpose except to make people miserable...

METROPOLIS -- Players Riverboat Casino closed here at 1 this morning because of the rising waters of the Ohio River. "We're closing for at least 48 hours," said Mike Crider, the casino's vice president and general manager. "The water is still coming up, and we're going to re-evaluate our loading ramp."...

Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States, and U.S. Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond is concerned some 150,000 infants are born each year with serious birth defects. "Birth defects are directly responsible for one out of every five infant deaths," said Bond, a Republican, on Saturday during a visit to Southeast Missouri Hospital...

ST. LOUIS -- Jackson High's girls basketball team is a confident bunch, so the Lady Indians probably expected to reach the Class 4A Final Four for the third year in a row. But not even the Lady Indians -- and especially coach Ron Cook -- could have envisioned what took place here Saturday afternoon...

FARMINGTON -- The Fredericktown girls' state dreams ended Saturday night in frigid fashion. Leading by as many as 14 points in the third quarter of their Missouri Class 3A quarterfinal basketball game at the Civic Center, Fredericktown netted just two points in the final nine minutes and fell 45-39 to Eureka...

FARMINGTON -- The Perryville Pirates ran into a mathematics problem Saturday night in their 48-39 quarterfinal loss to the Sullivan Eagles at the Civic Center. Sullivan, ranked second in Class 3A, scored its points in three's, nailing 10 3-pointers. The Pirates, ranked eighth, managed just four treys and had trouble at the free-throw-line, ending their season a game short of the Final Four with a 28-3 mark...

Murray State beats Austin Peay in overtime while Charleston Southern rallies to beat Liberty Butler holds off Illinois-Chicago and South Alabama slips past Louisiana Tech. Fairfield -- with a record well below .500 -- stuns Canisius. And those are just a few of the results from Championship Week, that made-for-ESPN college basketball extravaganza that -- for those schools fortunate enough to be involved -- serves as their real NCAA playoffs...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --- Competing in an elite field on the campus of the defending state champion Alabama, Southeast's gymnastics team placed fourth in a four-team meet Saturday night. Alabama, ranked second in the nation, won the meet with a 196.850 point total, followed by Michigan State (193.750), West Virginia (192.525) and Southeast (191.650)...

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Ohio Valley Conference newcomer Eastern Illinois wasted little time in showing Southeast Missouri women's softball team that a third straight conference crown may be tougher to come by than the previous two. Playing its OVC opener, Southeast was swept in a doubleheader, falling 3-2 and 5-2...

SPRINGFIELD -- Southwest Missouri State collected a pair of baseball victories Saturday at the expense of Southeast Missouri. After Southwest won the opener 10-5, the Bears used a three-hitter by Bryan Buschhorn in the nightcap for a 4-1 victory and sweep of the Indians...

The Annual Capaha Baseball Team Benefit Auction will be held Saturday, March 22, at the Show Me Center. Doors will open at 8 a.m. and the auction begins at 9 a.m. Auction items are donated by local merchants.

DELTA -- Delta High School will hold its Third Annual Alumni Basketball Tournament on April 11-13. The tournament is for both men's and women's teams. Entry fee is $15 and must be paid by March 25. For more information, contact Doyle Parmer at 335-5444 between 7-10 a.m. Monday-Saturday...

The Scott City Parks & Recreation Department will holds its youth league registration March 20 from 5-8 p.m. in the Scott City High School cafeteria. Registration will also be accepted during the weeks of March 24-April 4 at City Hall or park office. Final registration will be April 5 from 8-11 a.m. at the high school...

A SEMO South Babe Ruth meeting will be held March 25 at 7 p.m. in Room 9 at Scott City High School. Coaches interested in playing in this area should attend. For more information, call Phyllis Spinks at 264-3411.

JACKSON -- The Jackson Women's Slow-Pitch Softball League will hold an organizational meeting Wednesday, March 26, at 7:15 p.m. at the Riverside Regional Library in Jackson. Anybody interested in having a team in the league should attend. For more information, call Michelle at 243-0269...

McCLURE, Ill. -- James "Pappy" Pickel, 70, of McClure died Friday, March 7, 1997, at Union County Hospital. He was born March 23, 1926 in Anna, son of John Frederick and Eva Miles Pickel. He married Bonnie E. Eudy in Anna on Dec. 5, 1954. She survives...

MARBLE HILL -- Ellen Wiley Propst, 96, of Marble Hill, died Friday, March 7, 1997, at the Bond Nursing Care Center in Marble Hill. She was born Aug. 26, 1900, near Farmington. She married William Wiley Aug. 22, 1916. He preceded her in death March 1, 1954. She married George Propst July 14, 1962. He preceded her in death Jan. 27, 1981...

ANNA, Ill. -- Tim Ross White, 85, of Anna, died Friday, March 7, 1997, at his home. He was born March 25, 1911 in West Frankfort, Ill., son of John Ross and Agnes Neal White. He married Montell Pearson July 12, 1934 in Ullin, Ill. She survives. White was a retired yardmaster for the GM&O Railroad. He was a Methodist...

MARBLE HILL -- Graveside service for James David Reilly, 85, will be held at St. John's Cemetery at Leopold Monday at 10 a.m., with Bill Huggins officiating. Full military rites will be conducted by VFW Post 5900 of Marble Hill. Reilly died Sept. 28, 1995 at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He is being returned to Leopold for burial in the family plot...

JACKSON -- Clara B. Moore, 64, of Jackson died Friday, March 7, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Sept. 14, 1932, in Cape Girardeau, the daughter of Luther Otto and Celeste Clark Tackett. She married Albert E. Moore Dec. 1, 1952 in Piggott, Ark., and he survives her...

MARBLE HILL -- Emelia Elizabeth Spencer, 85, of Marble Hill died Saturday, March 8, 1997, at Bond Nursing Center of Marble Hill. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Chapel.

THEBES, Ill. -- Leonard Eugene Hull, 41, of Thebes, Ill., died Saturday, March 8, 1997, at his home. He was born Nov. 4, 1955, in Granite City, Ill., son of Reuben and Shirley Anderson Hull. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and worked at Sides Steel Supply Company in Cape Girardeau...

BLOOMFIELD -- Howard W. Stevens, 69, of Bloomfield died Saturday, March 8, 1997, at the Lucy Lee Health Care Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born Nov. 25, 1927, in Bloomfield, son of Monroe and Mary Evans Stevens. He was a municipal judge in Bloomfield for 20 years, and in Advance for 10 years. He had retired as a transportation supervisor for the Bloomfield School System, was a U.S. Army veteran and member of the Bloomfield Lodge #153 A.F. and A.M...

PERRYVILLE -- Joseph Edwin Stern, 52, of Perryville died Friday, March 7, 1997, at his residence. He was born May 14, 1944, in Madison, Ill., son of Charles and Alice Lewis Stern. He worked for Gilster Mary Lee cereal plant, was a U.S. Navy veteran of Vietnam and a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Silver Lake...

Above, many homes sit vacant along Third Street as waters rose around the homes. Below, sump pumps are indispensable for residents when the Mississippi River floods the Red Star area of Cape Girardeau. Cheryl Johnson stood on her front porch at 1401 Water Street and talked about her yard being ruined by yearly flood waters...

"O.K. you fuzzy, little dust bunnies hidden there under the bed dust ruffles, the couch pleats, the low-lying buffet, your time is about up. "You think I don't know you're there, giggling to yourselves, rolling around with arid abandon, reproducing like four-legged bunnies? I even suspect that you've mastered cloning...

Bessie Mae Kirkpatrick, the Worthy Grant Matron of the Missouri Eastern Star Grand Chapter, made an inspection of Southeast Missouri district 49 chapters March 5. A meeting was held at the Masonic Temple in Cape Girardeau. Kirkpatrick is the chief executive of the 40,000 member Grand Chapter of Missouri. ...