Stories from Monday, March 17, 1997

Judy Magee Stone has written a novel. It's not surprising that the 75-year-old Stone has written, proofed and published the 14-chapter, "Fertile Fortress," a novel she calls "about 90 percent historical." Stone, during the more than 40 years of our acquaintance, has written millions of words, proofed twice that many and published thousands of pages for a number of newspapers in western Kentucky...

These $2 bills are in poor condition and will be considered for shredding. This dollar bill is "all washed up" and will be retired from circulation. Never mind what the song says. You CAN have a "barrel" of money. Or a bale. And it will only cost 2 cents on the dollar...

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is responsible at least in part for our positive associations with clover. In his teachings, he used clover -- the usual three-leafed kind -- to represent the Trinity of God. Thus the shamrock, an old Irish word applied to a number of plants in the Trefolium genus, became the national symbol of Ireland...

SCOTT CITY -- Who will pay the cost of improvements the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to make along the 23-mile levee that protects much of Scott and Mississippi counties will be the subject of a meeting today at the SEMO Port Authority. Scott County Presiding Commissioner Bob Kielhofner says the Corps promised last year that it was going to make repairs to the levees at no cost to the counties. Now, he said, they're asking the counties to help out...

The worst flooding in Southern Illinois in 60 years is on the way out, with the Ohio River having crested at 56.1 feet at Cairo, Ill., Sunday morning, 16.1 feet over flood stage. Even with an expected smattering of rain on Tuesday, river levels should continue falling, said meteorologist David Humphrey of the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- The U.S. Coast Guard station in Paducah has been the hub of an ever-growing wheel of activity since the Ohio River hit flood stage. Work groups have been pulling people out of flooded homes, providing medical service, bringing food and supplies to others who have chosen to wait out the flood, clearing debris and monitoring river traffic...

MARBLE HILL -- Off a gravel Bollinger County road almost as winding as nearby Crooked Creek, in a low area behind the rustic family house, Dr. David Stewart is conducting an experiment. The geophysicist and former Southeast Missouri State University seismologist is growing four-leaf clovers...

Today, as all right-thinking people know, is St. Patrick's Day, an occasion to celebrate the accomplishments of the greatest ethnic group on Earth. I am not biased. But while the rest of the country is getting its Irish up, I can't help but think about the other half of my ethnic makeup -- my mother's family, a fiery combination of Spanish and Yugoslavian, settled down Bolivia way...

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People announced during its general membership meeting Friday it will bring a circus to town Memorial Day weekend. With the cooperation of Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department, the organization will sponsor the Big Top Circus on May 24 in Arena Park. The circus will set up across from the baseball diamonds on East Rodney...

U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard, who in his fifth and final congressional term continues to do an excellent job of representing Southern Illinoisans, has become the first declared candidate for Illinois governor. Poshard not only would bring exceptional experience and know-how to the governor's office, but unmatched integrity as well...

Let me explain right up front, some of my best friends are psychiatrists. Having said that, let me also add this exculpatory caveat: some of them are just a tad unusual, one could even say odd. None of this should, however, be taken as derogatory of a profession that, someday, could well pronounce any of us, or all of us, bananas...

The 40 or so people who attended Secretary of State Bekki Cook's first in a series of town hall meetings made it clear that they want Missouri to abolish its caucus system in favor of a presidential primary. Cook said after the meeting last week in Cape Girardeau that the call for a statewide presidential primary is in keeping with what she hears from others across the state. ...

This week the Southeast Missourian asked, "What two teams do you think will play in the NCAA championship basketball game?" Dave Mirly, Jackson "I think Kansas and Kentucky because I think they are the two best teams, and they've got momentum going into the tournament."...

Joe Aden was installed into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. But it wasn't until a dozen year later that Aden, the mayor of East Cape Girardeau, Ill., for the past two decades, had an opportunity to observe his spot of basketball honor...

MURRAY, Ky. -- Lance Craft tied a school record by stealing four bases in one game, but his speedy footwork wasn't enough to lift Southeast Missouri State baseball squad over Murray State Sunday. The Murray Racers overcame a 4-2 deficit with a big fourth inning on the way to a 9-8 home victory at Reagan Field...

PULASKI, Ill. -- Gus McClellan, 97, of Pulaski, Ill., died Sunday, March 16, 1997, at his home. He was born Jan. 30, 1900, in Pulaski County, Ill., son of John and Bathsheba Milford McClellan. He was a retired farmer and member of the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Pulaski...

Doris N. Morehead, 84, died Saturday, March 15, 1997, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Roy Wesley Trickey, 86, of Chateau Girardeau died Sunday March 16, 1997, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Sept. 4, 1910, in Pocahontas, the son of Charles Wesley and Emma Letitia Sides Trickey. He married Verda Emily Kaufman on Jan. 18, 1930...

JACKSON -- Herbert A. Schaper, 88, of Jackson died March 16, 1997, at Heritage Gardens Nursing Home in Jackson. He was born Nov. 4, 1908, at Gordonville, the son of Louis H. and Anna H. Brennecke Schaper. He was an elementary-school teacher in area schools for many years, retiring from the Jackson R-2 School District. ...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Maxine Ward Sherman, 72, of East Prairie died Saturday, March 15, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau She was born Aug. 9, 1924, in East Prairie, daughter of Georgia Anderson Thomure. She married Buford Ward in 1940 and he preceded her in death on March 10, 1965. She married Clarence Sherman on March 19, 1975, and he preceded her in death on Oct. 14, 1996...

WHITEWATER -- Elma E. Dennis, 83, of Whitewater died Saturday, March 15, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 22, 1913, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Penturf Barks. She married Herbert B. Dennis on June 1, 1933, in Cape Girardeau. He preceded her in death on May 18, 1991...

SCOTT CITY -- Gale Ann Dale, 50, of Scott City died Saturday, March 15, 1997. She was born June 29, 1946, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Otto and Augusta Walter Peetz. She married Arthur Dale on Nov. 23, 1968, and he survives her. She was a checker and checker trainer at Schnucks supermarket, a member of the Eisleben Lutheran Church in Scott City, Scott City R-1 School Board for 10 years, Missouri School Board Association Board of Directors and was president of that group in 1996-97. ...

APPLE CREEK--Do you know why the Perryville Fire Department has a dachshund as its mascot? It helps the firefighters find the fire hydrants. Well, that may not be true, but when the crowd at St. Joseph's of Apple Creek Parish Hall heard that, its laughter seemed to shake the stained wooden rafters that crisscross the ceiling...

SCOTT CITY -- Thelma Lucille Pennington, 69, of Scott City died Saturday, March 15, 1997, at Dexter Memorial Hospital in Dexter. She was born June 10, 1927, in Malden, daughter of Gilbert Arrington and Myrtle Staham. She married Jack Pennington Nov. 7, 1942, in Bloomfield. He preceded her in death Jan. 31, 1993...

PATTON -- Alma Irene Robinson, 91, of Patton died Sunday, March 16, 1997, at the Jackson Manor. She was born April 1, 1905, on a farm in Hamilton County, Ill., daughter of Wesley and Alice Pool Robinson. She was brought up by her aunt, Sarah Reed of Cabool, after her parents died when she was 5...

SIKESTON -- Shirley Ann Turner, 50, of Sikeston, formerly of East Prairie, died Saturday, March 15, 1997, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Nov. 17, 1946, in Rockford, Ill., daughter of Lester and Vera Brumfield. She had lived in Sikeston for the last 13 years...

Beverly Cleair of Regional Eyecare Center Inc., 1749 Independence, has received "Diplomate" status in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Cleair received the new designation during the 63rd ACHE convocation ceremony, held in Chicago. At present, about 7,000 health-care executives hold Diplomate status in the ACHE...

UPS began flying people in addition to packages for the first time in its 90-year history. Five of the company's 197 planes will fly passengers on weekends to nine destinations in the United States and Caribbean. The rest of the week, the planes will ship cargo...

Reviving a lawsuit over the northern spotted owl, a federal appeals court cleared the way for a new timber industry challenge to Northwest logging reductions President Clinton ordered three years ago. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed a 1996 ruling by a federal judge that said challenges to Clinton's Northwest forest plan must go before a federal judge in Seattle that already had reviewed related cases. The case goes back to the same federal judge...

The maker of Winston and Camel cigarettes boosted its wholesale prices by 4 percent in a move analysts said could add about a nickel to the retail price of a pack of cigarettes. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the nation's second-biggest tobacco marketer, informed its customers it was boosting its prices to offset rising costs. It was the first increase in cigarette prices since last April...

Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield unveiled its new customer service center to the public at Cape Girardeau during an open house recently. The 42,000-square-foot customer service center opened Jan. 1 at 471 Siemers Drive.

Americans filing personal bankruptcies passed the 1 million mark for the first time in 1996. Some 1,242,700 bankruptcies were filed last year, up 35 percent from the 918,964 filing in 1995, according to a survey of every U.S. bankruptcy jurisdiction by CDB Infotek, a Santa Ana, Calif. public records research company...

Mountain Valley Spring Water from Hot Springs, Ark., tied for first with Sweet Springs Natural Mountain Water of Gap Mills, W.Va., for "best noncarbonated water" during the recent Toast to the Tap International Water Tasting Competition, held at Berkeley Springs, W.Va...

The Professional Secretaries International meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Drury Lodge. Sgt. Lawrence Fleming of the Southeast Missouri State University Department of Public Safety, will speak. Fleming will discuss protective measures for women's personal safety...

Margie Johnson, owner of Shop Talk, a consulting firm in retail, hospitality and financial industries, will be keynote speaker at the annual business conference at the Show Me Center April 16. The daylong conference, sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's University Relations Committee and the Harrison College of Business, will feature speaker hook-ups with U.S. Reps. Jim Tallent and Jo Ann Emerson...

An "Employment Information Workshop" for veterans will be held at Shawnee Community College near Ullin next month. The workshop, designed to help veterans learn about job opportunities with the state, will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 25. The event is sponsored by the Illinois Department of Central Management Services Veterans Outreach Program, Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and Employment Security...

Country Home Health of Missouri, L.L.C. has opened an office at 2126 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson. Susan Shepherd, vice president of operations, will oversee the daily operations at the Jackson office, which will provide home health care in five counties -- Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Perry, Scott and Stoddard...

US Franchise Systems Inc. has targeted Cape Girardeau as a new market area for a Microtel Inn. USFS is franchiser for Microtel Inn, Microtel Suites and Microtel Inn & Suites. Michael Leven, president and CEO of the company, said USFS was on an expansion plan, to have 1,000 Microtel facilities across the country by the year 2000...