Stories from Friday, May 16, 1997

To the editor: The Associated Press story April 28 ("Robertson's humanitarian planes used in gem mining?) is factually flawed and maligns the reputation of religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and Operation Blessing, an international humanitarian organization founded by Mr. Robertson in 1978...

Fire department gets pizza Agnes Bendel called in about the A-Wing Ladies of the Missouri Veteran's Home took a pizza out to the fire department on Kurre Lane Tuesday. A pat on the back A Missourian subscriber called "I can never thank Joy Johnson enough to putting my paper at my door in the morning. I appreciated it before, but since having to use a walker following surgery, I appreciate it even more. Thank you, Joy."...

Ready to ride Kellie Kunze, certified occupational therapy assistant for Berverly Health and Rehab of Cape Girardeau took resident Catherine Cullick for a ride in the country. Catherine says she enjoys felling the wind in her hair. Kellie often takes residents fishing, shopping and for summer-time rides. Kellie exhibits that personal caring touch that is a common thread at the Beverly facility, where kindness is practiced all year long...

When members of Maple United Methodist Church need a little encouragement, a sympathetic ear or a thank you for a job well done, it's often James and Neva Mowery delivering the message. Over the years, the Mowerys have developed a trademark calling card -- angel food cakes. The message is simple. Angels are looking out for people and so is the church congregation...

SCOTT CITY -- Shirley Young, like the town she represents, is guilty of random acts of kindness. Young, who currently serves as president of the Scott City Chamber of Commerce, is also a past mayor and city alderman. She is vice president of the Scott City Historic Preservation Commission, on the board of directors of the Regional Commerce and Growth Association and sings in the choir at Eisleben Lutheran Church. ...

I WOULD just like to thank the Jackson music department for the outstanding performances they did during their pop concert. These young people worked so hard to do this right in spite of the fact that it's time to be preparing for finals. Their music department is one of the most outstanding in Southeast Missouri. Their director and the students need our congratulations and our support...

To all the graduates in the Class of 1997: More than once, as you go through the rituals of getting a diploma, you will hear that commencement marks a new beginning. This is difficult to grasp for some of you, because graduation also is a celebration of an end to the hard work you have finished to get where you are...

To the editor: A number of communities are keenly at work competing in the latest version of prison lottery hoping to be selected as the lucky recipient of a new industry. From reading about the way these communities are plotting their strategies, you would think they were going after an honest-to-goodness real industry. ...

To the editor: I am serving my 20th year as a member of the Tamms, Ill., Village Board. I was one of the board members who voted against the grant for additional police officers, and I am writing this letter in response to the article in the Southeast Missourian May 7, "Tamms residents want police."...

To the editor: Congratulations on the newspaper's international award for its Random Acts of Kindness Week. We know you are proud of Joni Adams and her team. We are proud also of the paper and the emphasis it puts on the positive. It is wonderful to see the international recognition...

To the editor: We would like to commend the Southeast Missourian for the recent decision to honor deceased veterans by including a reproduction of the flag they fought for in their obituary. At least two of the obituaries since inclusion of the flags have been those of residents of the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau...

To the editor: Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3838 and the Ladies Auxiliary would like to thank all who donated to our recent buddy poppy campaign. Although there was little publicity, you recognized this symbolic flower and contributed generously. All proceeds from this campaign must be placed in our relief fund to be used for needy veterans or their families...

Third-grader Chelsey Collins finished her breakfast of cereal, a muffin, milk and juice, then explained that eating breakfast is important every day. "Because then I don't get tummy aches when I'm in school," she said. But once a month breakfast is even more important at Washington Elementary School. A handful of adults take time from their schedules to eat breakfast and talk with students during the Breakfast Club...

Students at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School discovered Thursday that kindness can be sweet. Four women at Grace United Methodist Church baked more than 1,600 chocolate chip and sugar cookies in the church kitchen. The cookies were distributed to junior high students Thursday...

The Missouri House voted 127-26 Thursday to outlaw partial-birth abortions and sent the bill to the governor. Gov. Mel Carnahan, a supporter of abortion rights, said he was troubled by the measure. He said he was undecided whether to sign or veto the bill, which earlier in the session passed the Senate...

Students said no to drugs and alcohol during an empowerment party thrown on the front lawn of Cape Girardeau Central High School Thursday morning. More than 1,000 Central students and faculty and other community representatives attended the party and rally, which was hosted by Missouri's Youth-Adult Alliance Against Underage Drinking (MYAA) and the Missouri National Guard...

Ron Shumate, who won more games than any other basketball coach in Southeast Missouri State University history, has been fired as the head men's basketball coach. The firing was linked by the university to an NCAA investigation into the Indians' program...

Particularly when your memory is about as reliable as a tomcat given the responsibility of babysitting a canary. Bob Ruff of Cape Girardeau was quick to respond to my plea in last week's column for information about that square inch of land I said I owned in Alaska's gold territory. Remember? The offer came on a cereal box in the 1950s. Kellogg's, I said...

Ron Shumate may be gone, but he will be difficult to forget as his name always will be tied to one of Cape Girardeau's showcase buildings, the Show Me Center. David Hahs, Southeast Missouri State University graduate, basketball booster and announcer at Southeast basketball games, said he regrets that Shumate will not be able to enjoy the legacy after being fired from his head coaching position at Southeast Missouri State University...

JACKSON -- Several officers at the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department were presented with awards Wednesday. In coordination with Law Enforcement Memorial Week, Sheriff John Jordan presented the 1996 Timothy J. Ruopp Award to Sgt. Eric Friedrich for the outstanding officer nominated by the sheriff's office. The award is presented to the "Highest Tribute for Outstanding Service to His Department, Community and his Fellow Officers in the Name of Timothy J. Ruopp."...

Law enforcement officers gathered Thursday at Cape Girardeau County Park to remember their comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Officers placed roses at the base of the memorial that bears the names of the 10 local officers who have died on duty since 1875. Over 14,000 names are engraved on a memorial in Washington, which was also home to a national memorial service Thursday...

In a baseball season filled with more ups and downs than a game of `Chutes and Ladders' the Cape Central Tigers completed their regular season with a 9-4 win over Perryville. Tatum Kitchen (3-4) pitched six innings for the win as the Tigers improved to 13-12. Perryville, scheduled to play at Fredericktown today, dropped to 12-11...

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- After barely qualifying for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last weekend, the Southeast Missouri Indians decided to make their presence felt in Thursday's opening day of action with a pair of victories. The Indians, the fifth seed out of six teams, held off fourth-seeded Eastern Illinois 6-5 during Thursday morning's elimination game...

Ron Shumate, whose reign as Southeast Missouri State University's basketball coach ended Thursday, certainly left an indelible mark on Indian hoops. Shumate came to Cape Girardeau in 1981, taking over a team that had finished last in the old Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association the year before and inheriting a program that had produced just three winning records in the previous nine seasons...

An emotional Ron Shumate said Thursday he has done nothing wrong and believes he will ultimately be exonerated. Choking back tears, the winningest basketball coach in Southeast Missouri State University reacted following the Southeast Board of Regents' unanimous decision to fire him...

Southeast Missouri State University basketball players expressed some surprise -- but not total astonishment -- by Thursday's developments that will result in an entirely new coaching staff for next season. Ron Shumate, Southeast's head coach for the past 16 seasons, was fired because of an NCAA investigation into the Indians' program...

In only its second year of existence, the Cape Girardeau Central girls soccer team is one win away from a perfect regular season. Behind a nice goal by Nichole Thiele in which she manuevered around three Poplar Bluff defenders, Central beat Poplar Bluff at home Thursday 1-0. Abby Harris assisted on the goal...

Funeral service for Eva Lee Foster of Cape Girardeau will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. Dr. John Owen will officiate, with burial in Old Morley Cemetery at Morley. Friends may call at the chapel from 4-8 p.m. today...

Dr. Edward Adair Rodgers, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, May 15, 1997, at Fountainbleau Lodge. He was born May 11, 1905, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Rodgers. He and Melba Hobbs were married Oct. 29, 1944, in Blytheville, Ark. Rodgers was a 1930 graduate of B.J. ...

BLOOMFIELD -- Eunice L. Howard, 84, of Bloomfield died Wednesday, May 14, 1997, at Dexter Memorial Hospital in Dexter. She was born Feb. 13, 1913, in Dry Hill, Tenn., daughter of Charles and Dollie Childress Bradford. She married Allen Moore Oct. 17, 1926, in Arkansas. He preceded her in death. She married W.P. Whalen Sept. 3, 1936, who preceded her in death. She and W.D. Howard were married May 26, 1960. He also preceded her in death...

CHAFFEE -- Clyde Hayden Duncan, 80, of Chaffee died Wednesday, May 14, 1997, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 6, 1917, in Bethesda, Ark., son of William Henry and Ann Thompson Duncan. He and Ruby L. Mason were married Dec. 10, 1937...

CHAFFEE -- Graveside service for Brandon Douglas Belt will be held at 10 a.m. today at Forest Hills Memorial Garden in Morley. The Rev. Luther Thorne will officiate. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel at Chaffee is in charge of arrangements. The infant was stillborn Wednesday, May 14, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau...

Charles John Engelmann, 69, 348 Engelmann Lane, died Wednesday, May 14, 1997, at his home. He was born July 28, 1927, in Cape Girardeau County, son of John R. and Esther Cobble Engelmann. He and Dorothy "Eldine" Fiedleve were married April 16, 1955, in Cape Girardeau...

Son to Michael A. and Jennifer A. Waldo, 1540 Whitener, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 4:29 a.m. Sunday, May 4, 1997. Name, Jonathan Michael. Weight, 7 pounds 11 ounces. Second child, first son. Mrs. Waldo is the former Jennifer Seres, daughter of Gilbert Seres and Jean Seres of Cape Girardeau. Waldo is the son of Carroll Waldo and Carol Waldo of Cape Girardeau. He is employed at the Agronomy Service Bureau in Oran...

Don't try to move a mobile home into Cape Girardeau unless you put it in a mobile home park. That's the message the city's planning and zoning commission sent Wednesday evening when it rejected George and Lora Lee Eaker's application to put one on the land they own on Vincent Park Drive...

SIKESTON -- Mildred "Nannie" Rankin, 87, of Sikeston, died Thursday, May 15, 1997, at St. Frances Medical Center. She was born Aug. 9, 1909, in Marion, Ky., the daughter of Robert E. Lee and Anna Belle King Drury. In March 1925, she married Wilbur Rankin. He died in Oct. of 1952...

This week is Safe Kids Week, and the Missouri State Safe Kids Coalition called on parents to "gear up" to keep their children free from injury. The coalition is winding up the week with a focus on bike safety. St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital will sponsor a "Bike Smart" program from 8 a.m. ...

An investigator for the state fire marshal said he sees the devastation associated with fires as a part of his job and now he wants to help in the healing process. James "Butch" Amann of Jackson has been trying to get people interested in a burn camp that will be held Aug. 11 through 17 at the Lake of the Ozarks. This is the first year for a camp of this kind in Missouri...