Stories from Sunday, April 13, 1997

Dr. Lynn Trapp, son of Mr. and Mrs. Waldemar Trapp of Perryville greeted Pope John Paull II at the papal audience held at the Vatican in Rome during a choir pilgrimage Trapp directed in January. The Epiphany Chorale consisting of 55 Midwesterners along with 30 travelers from Kansas City and Minneapolis toured Rome and Assisi, Italy...

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." "PEACE BE TO YOU" These words are from the same man, Jesus Christ. The first quote is from a time when Jesus was teaching His followers before He was hung on a tree to die for apparent blasphemy. The second quote was said by Him to the same group on Easter evening...

25 years ago, 1972 Cape Girardeau County will be out of surplus commodity program July 1; program will become state-operated after that date; County Court recently received notice of switch; up until this year, county had been paying 50 percent of cost of program; county share dropped to 20 percent this year, however, and with new state law, county will be phased out of program completely...

Megan McCarter reads about Australia. Derek Jenkisn points to a Downs Under map of the world where Australia is on top of the world. Megan McCarter and Derek Jenkins may be four years apart in school but the two hold one thing in common. They are both planning a three-week trip to Australia this summer...

This team played in the Jackson Softball League, formed in 1937 and played through 1941, when the league was disbanded due to World War II. The Roloff team won the championship twice. Each of the eight teams played once or twice a week. Games were played under the lights at the Jackson High School football stadium...

To the editor: The freedom destroyers are at it again. Senate Bill 462 sponsored by state Sen. Wayne Goode and House Bill 684 would create a state land use commission appointed by the governor and enforced by the Department of Natural Resources to dictate terms of land usage by private property owners...

A lot of attention has been given lately to the issue of private property rights. There are two separate issues in the current debate: -- The designation of the United Nations Biosphere Reserve Program and World Heritage Sites. -- So-called heritage corridors like the proposed Mississippi River Heritage Corridor...

On Wednesday of this week, we finished all but two of the 12 bills appropriating the entire state budget of approximately $14 billion. Among these is included Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill 2, which is the budget for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. ...

Like the weather, preventing crime and making our neighborhoods safer are subjects everyone discusses but no one does anything about. The explanation of why this is true is really quite simple: no one seems to have viable answers to a question that barely crossed the minds of our forefathers. ...

"Confidence and trust in the nation's premiere law enforcement agency is dwindling." -- Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). "I think the leadership of the FBI has brought the entire organization into question." -- Rep. Bob Livingston (R-Iowa) Think back to the so-called "good old days" when J. ...

The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting. This week brought news that Golden State voters have been vindicated on the subject of the California Civil Rights Initiative they passed last November by 700,000 votes. ...

Workers, especially parents of young children and adults with elderly parents for whom to care, often get caught in a tug of war between financial and family demands. It is therefore good to see U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft moving to try to give workers some breathing room. Ashcroft has introduced legislation to overhaul our 1930s-era labor laws to allow flexible scheduling in the work place for the nation's 80 million non-supervisory workers...

To the editor: Concerning Joe Sullivan's column about a finch in a cypress tree: About six miles southeast of Oaxaca on Mexican Highway 190 in the village of Santa Maria del Tule is the imposing arbol del tule (tule tree), a giant ahuehuete or Mexican cypress. Believed to be more than 2,000 years old, this colossal specimen (actually two trees on each side of a church) stands in the local churchyard and measures 150 feet both in height and around its base...

About 150 activists from across the state are meeting at the Bavarian Halle in Fruitland this weekend to strengthen the movement to make abortion illegal. They are members of Missouri Right to Life, a group dedicated to promoting their agenda through legal means...

In 1942, an attack on a black Sikeston man spawned a new NAACP branch in Cape Girardeau. Today the Cape Girardeau chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People celebrates its 55th anniversary. The Sikeston man, Cleo Wright, was accused of breaking into a home and attacking a Sikeston woman. ...

"Education is important." The words are Tommie Moore's, a 19-year-old 11th-grader at the Cape Girardeau Alternative Education Center. Considering he lost two semesters worth of credit because he was a chronic school-skipper, the sentiment could be considered ironic...

Anyone looking for a little sunshine Saturday only had to attend the Special Olympics held at Abe Stuber Track and Field Complex at Southeast Missouri State University. About 350 mentally or developmentally disabled athletes competed in the Southeast Area Missouri Special Olympics. Their smiles and enthusiasm shone like beacons as they toed the line at the beginning of a race or stood proudly at the podiums to receive their colored ribbons after competing...

Feeling kind? Turn those feelings into action and sign up for Random Acts of Kindness Week. The week, sponsored by the Southeast Missourian, will begin on Mother's Day, May 11, and run through May 17. Beginning next week, the names of all participants will be featured on the front page of the newspaper...

In the world of children's books, Mr. Brown can moo and so can you. I'm never going to write the great American novel. All journalists, I suspect, dream about writing the great American novel. But parenthood, changes things. As the father of pre-school children, I no longer think in big words unless, of course, they are silly, rhyming words like those thought up by Dr. Seuss...

Eight plumbers, four electricians and 250 bank employees recently received national recognition for their efforts during Make a Difference Day. The Pipefitters Local #562, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (I.B.E.W.) Local #1, and Boatmens Employees Serving Together for Charity (B.E.S.T. ...

Hundreds of volunteers were honored for their service to the 150 residents of the Cape Girardeau Missouri Veterans Home at the annual Volunteer Appreciation Night Dinner at the state-operated home on Friday, April 11. April is National Volunteer Month...

It's a lot like the fan wave at a sporting event, but instead of standing and raising arms, it's comprised of smiles. It's what happens when former Harlem Globetrotter legend Meadowlark Lemon moves effortlessly through a gymnasium of children. Where Meadowlark goes, smiles are sure to follow...

By all accounts, Cape Girardeau's Dustin McKinnis is a very special 13-year-old. St. Louis Cardinals' Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck certainly seems to think so. McKinnis has been made mention of in several paragraphs of Jack Buck's new book "That's a Winner."...

On a cold day at Capaha Park, Southeast Missouri State University's baseball Indians remained red hot in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Indians pushed their league winning streak to six games Saturday by sweeping a twi-night doubleheader from Austin Peay, 10-7 and 3-2. In the process, they propelled themselves squarely into OVC title contention...

It's that exhilarating time of the year again. The landscape is burgeoning with new life, inviting those who love springtime to immerse themselves in the natural world. Spring is also a time when North Americans welcome back countless flocks of Neotropical migratory birds that pass through or come to stay for the summer in our gardens, fields and forests...

JEFFERSON CITY -- The practice of releasing fish caught with a rod and reel is increasingly popular as a way of "recycling" fish and making the most of fishing opportunities. But occasionally the catch-and-release ethic falls victim to the perfectly human desire to know how big your fish is. Here is a way of satisfying your curiosity without having to subject fish to injurious treatment or haul them to the nearest boat dock for weighing...

JEFFERSON CITY -- As opening day of spring turkey hunting season approaches, Bob Staton finds himself studying spring foliage. As a turkey hunter, Staton has always been interested in the progress of spring leaf-out. Knowing whether spring is early, late or right on schedule helps predict how wild turkey gobblers will behave. But increasingly, his interest in the timing of spring is professional...

Southeast Missouri State University's softball team whipped visiting Ohio Valley Conference foe Morehead State Saturday at Parker Field to solidfy their hold on first in the conference. The Otahkians won the opener 8-0 and the nightcap 10-1 to improve to 19-14-1 overall and 12-3 in the OVC...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State University's golf team placed third in a very competitive 14-team meet at The Rail Golf Course here Saturday. Northern Illinois won the meet by shooting 307. Rounding out the top five were Marquette (308), Southeast (309), St. Francis (Ill.) (318) and Eastern Illinois (319)...

MILL CREEK, Ill. -- Gary Wayne Wheaton, 43, of Mill Creek, died Thursday, April 10, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He was born Sept. 17, 1953, in St. Louis, Mo., son of Lester "Peck" and Eula Dodson Wheaton. He married Kathy R. Garrett in Cape Girardeau on Dec. 25, 1976. He was self-employed as an auto body repairman and a member of the Jonesboro Masonic Lodge. He was of the Protestant faith...

Tommie Lois Corbin, 58, of 2010 Woodlawn, died Friday, April 11, 1997, at her home. She was born Oct. 17, 1938, in Corning, Ark., daughter of Thomas and Lucille Goffett Clifton. She married Ernest L. Corbin on May 14, 1964, in Poplar Bluff. She was a registered nurse and worked at Lucy Lee Hospital in Poplar Bluff. ...

COBDEN, Ill. -- William W. "Bill" Fry of Cobden died Friday, April 11, 1997, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale. He was 71. He was born Nov. 10, 1925, in Vandalia, Mo., the son of Harlan Lee and Anna Hutchison Fry. He married Evelyn Deming on Aug. 12, 1974, in Kankakee, Ill. She survives...

SIKESTON -- Edith Mary Alice Adams, 79, of Sikeston died Saturday, April 12, 1997, at Clearview Nursing Center in Sikeston. She was born Aug. 19, 1917, at Cherryville to Edward and Edna Harris Pyatt. She first married Floyd Harvey. She later married Ernie Adams, who preceded her in death...

DEXTER -- Sarah Estella Cullum, 70, died Saturday, April 12, 1997, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. She was born Aug. 24, 1926. Tentative funeral arrangements are planned for 2 p.m. Tuesday at Watkins and Sons Chapel in Dexter. Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home...

ANNA, Ill. -- Merle D. "Joe Pete" Ellis, 71, of Anna died Saturday, April 12, 1997, at his home. He was born April 9, 1926, in Pomona, the son of Ben and Edith Etherton Ellis. He married Aleen Brothers on Feb. 18, 1950, in Murphysboro. He was a Coast Guard veteran of World War II and a life member and past commander of Anna VFW Post 3455. He worked as a railroad division engineer for 43 years before retiring...

SEDGEWICKVILLE -- Elmer D. Shrum, 73, of Sedgewickville, died Friday, April 11, 1997, at Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville. He was born April 27, 1923, son of Ralph and Bertha Lix Shrum. He worked as a heel laster for the International Shoe Company for many years. He was a member of Crossroads Methodist Church and enjoyed talking on the CB under the name of "Molasses Maker."...

ORAN -- Bernard "Ben" Sietman, 97, of Oran, died Saturday, April 12, 1997, at Chafee Nursing Center. He was born June 26, 1899, in Bishop Creek, Ill., the son of Bernard H. and Thresia M. Krogman Sietman. He and Theresa Le Grand were married in Sept., 1926 in Oran, and she preceded him in death in April, 1957...

Florence Marie Jones, 1318 Big Bend in Cape Girardeau, died Friday, April 11, 1997, at the Birchtree Health Care facility in Clinton, Ky. She was 85 years old. She was born June 2, 1911, in DuQuoin, Ill., daughter of Ed and Eva Mann Davis. She married Jonathan Jackson Jones on Oct. 26, 1929, in Jackson. He preceded her in death June 13, 1959...

ADVANCE -- Myrtle L. Hill, 86, of Advance, died Friday, April 11, 1997, at the Advance Nursing Center. She was born May 26, 1910, in Rum Branch, Mo., daughter of John and Ella Field Hitt. She married Reuben Hill in Advance on Aug. 24, 1933. He preceded her in death on Jan. 19, 1949...

CHAFFEE -- Cleveland "Pop" Dodd, 83, died Friday, April 11, 1997, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. He was a resident of Chaffee. He was born Jan. 10, 1914, in Dallas, Texas, son of Andrew and Alice Kelso Dodd. He married Maggie Ann Cochran on Oct. 9, 1948...

Olga M. Sheeley, 1019 N. Missouri, died Saturday, April 12, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was 74 years old. She was born Dec. 13, 1922, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Alvin and Minnie Davenport Baker. She married Frank Sheeley in Cape Girardeau on Jan. 31, 1945. He preceded her in death Nov. 23, 1995...

JACKSON -- Murtice M. "Murt" Propst, 64, of Jackson died Friday, April 11, 1997, at her home. She was born Nov. 12, 1932, at Sturdivant to Elwood and Eula Ramsey Rhodes. She married Gene "Buse" Jones Sept. 12, 1946. He died March 25, 1972. She then married Bill M. Propst on June 7, 1984. He survives...

Things are picking up at the garden centers. One of my favorite rites of spring is strolling through the aisles of trees and shrubs that are for sale. Surveying them, I do a lot of mental landscaping. This white flowering crabapple tree would look good where the old lightning-struck wild cherry reigned. ...

The Four Seasons Audubon Society of Southeast Missouri will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Missouri Department of Conservation Building in Cape Girardeau County Park. Glen Smart will present a program on "Gardening for Birds and Butterflies." Everyone attending will receive a free plant...