Stories from Saturday, June 21, 1997

Terry Taylor is resigning from the Cape Girardeau Board of Education. His job has been relocated to Arizona. He has served the district well since earning the most votes in a four-way race in April 1995. The former Booster Club president ran on a pledge of restoring trust and credibility to the district...

A new assessment of the nation's public schools places Missouri smack dab in the middle of the 38 participating states. Ouch. For all the hullabaloo over school reform in recent years, Missouri hasn't made any real educational improvement. And that lack of progress has come with a steep price tag: millions upon millions of additional dollars in recent years have been funneled into public schools through the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993...

They have been around for thousands of years. There is no avoiding them. They are part of our lives. Ticks. They are nasty little blood-sucking creatures, and they can make human beings very sick. Lyme disease, or the spirochetes that cause the disease, can be transmitted by ticks...

House Speaker Newt Gingrich will visit Cape Girardeau on Friday to raise money for U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's re-election campaign and the Safe House for Women. The Georgia Republican will attend a charity event in the Holiday Inn Executive Room at 4:30 p.m. to benefit the Safe House for Women...

The following comments were made on the floor of the U.S. House Thursday in honor of the year anniversary of Rep. Bill Emerson's death. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Virginia Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor our former colleague, the gentleman from Missouri, Bill Emerson, who passed away a year ago after a long and valiant battle...

Southeast Missouri State University plans to construct new athletic fields at Sprigg and Bertling. The improvements include three soccer fields, two recreational softball fields and an intercollegiate softball field. All the fields would have lights. Restrooms and a concession area would be built, along with parking for 200 vehicles...

A year ago Sunday, Southeast Missouri lost a longtime friend and political leader. Congressman Bill Emerson's death left a political and personal void for many in the 8th Congressional District. His widow, Jo Ann, who took over his seat in Congress, and Lloyd Smith, his longtime chief of staff, reflected on Emerson's death...

BENTON -- Rollbacks will keep Scott County's high assessment from impacting property taxes too severely. But some people and some school districts will have problems as they fall outside the cover of the rollback. Residents whose property values increased by more than 10 percent will pay higher taxes despite the rollback. Scott County Assessor Teresa Houchin said some property values went up as much as 30 percent this year...

BENTON -- Many Scott County property owners will be paying higher taxes next year. The question is, just how much higher? Scott County Assessor Teresa Houchin said some property values went up by 30 percent and 5,000 of the county's 20,000 property owners were issued impact notices...

VAN BUREN -- Area economic developers hope to send Gov. Mel Carnahan a strong message during a summit July 1 regarding construction projects along U.S. Highway 60. "We want to re-emphasize to the department, and to the T.T.C. (Total Transportation Commission), and ultimately to the governor that Highway 60 remains the most important highway project in southern Missouri," said Bill Green, Sikeston's economic development director. Green is a member of a core committee sponsoring the summit...

I visited the Cape Girardeau county mapping and planning division this week, and as far as I could tell, there was no area labeled "bad side" on our city map. The Clippard Elementary lottery controversy has had parents and administrators drawing proverbial lines in the dirt recently...

Bill Hopkins, who resigned this week as Southeast Missouri State University's gymnastics coach, said his decision to step down had nothing to do with an internal investigation of his program. Hopkins, asked Friday about the investigation conducted by Southeast officials, said simply that, "There seems to always be something going on within the athletic department, but I really can't say anything more than that. The way sports are set up these days, it's a constant check and double check."...

When the Perryville Lady Pirates take the basketball court next season, for the first time since 1981, Steve Wunderlich in his trademark green sports jacket will not be on the sidelines as the head coach. Wunderlich, who built the Lady Pirates basketball program into one of the finest in the state, recently resigned as athletic director and head girls basketball coach to become principal at Oran High...

SEMO Bank Cape Jr. Legion and Chaffee Jr. Legion both posted round-robin victories Friday night as the SEMO Bank Invitational opened play. SEMO Bank posted an 8-4 victory over Jackson, while Chaffee Jr. Legion remained undefeated on the season with a 5-1 win over Paducah...

Son to Darrell Alan and Lisa Michelle Mitchell, 2405 Sunny Lane, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 9:34 a.m. Friday, June 13, 1997. Name, Kody Lewis. Weight, 5 pounds 15 ounces. First child. Mrs. Mitchell is the former Lisa Dawes, daughter of Ronnie and Patti Dawes of Doniphan. She is employed at St. Francis Medical Center. Mitchell is the son of Sheila Sherrion of Matthews and Dennis LaFerny of Kewanee. He is employed at Huck's Auto Sales...

Viola M. Wedekind, 92, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Whitewater, died Friday, June 20, 1997, at St. Francis Medical Center. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home.

Funeral service for Sophia C. Vaughn of Cape Girardeau will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Jeffrey Sippy will officiate. Graveside service will be at 2:30 p.m. at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, with the Rev. Gary Byers officiating...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Funeral service for Charles V. Lingle Sr. of East Prairie will be held at 1:30 p.m. today at Shelby Funeral Home in East Prairie. Harold Norton and Charles Carr will officiate, with burial in Dogwood Cemetery. Lingle, 72, died Thursday, June 19, 1997, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston...

SIKESTON -- Edgar L. "Eddie" Grace Jr., 43, of Sikeston died Thursday, June 19, 1997, at his home. He was born Nov. 25, 1953, in Rochelle, Ill., son of Edgar L. and Shirley H. Kidd Grace Sr. He and Debra J. Henry were married Feb. 16, 1973. Grace was a machinist at Hahs Machine Shop. He taught seven years in the machine shop at the Vo-Tech School, coached Little League baseball and girls softball in Sikeston. He attended First Christian Church...

SCOTT CITY -- Funeral service for Clarence Earl Snider of Scott City will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City. The Rev. Jack Bishop will officiate, with burial in Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call at the chapel from 4-8 p.m. today...

Funeral service for Merrill F. Gentry of Hannibal will be held at 10 a.m. today at Smith Funeral Chapel in Hannibal, with the Rev. Michael McIntyre officiating. Graveside service will be at 4 p.m. in Memorial Park, with the Rev. James Sanderson officiating...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Henry Franklin McRaven, 74, of Tamms died Thursday, June 19, 1997, at his home. He was born April 21, 1923, at Charleston, son of Curtis and Refa Growes McRaven. He married the former Farie Cain. McRaven had been an electrician with Western Electric Co. in Montgomery. He was a member of Alexander Freewill Baptist Church near Olive Branch. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II...

PERRYVILLE -- Bernard Raymond Comte, 90, formerly of Perryville, died Friday, June 20, 1997, at St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield. He was born Dec. 13, 1906, in Perry County, son of Joseph and Ora Thorpe Comte. He and Rosalia F. Klump were married Nov. 22, 1947, in Perryville. She died Nov. 6, 1984...

SEDGEWICKVILLE -- A Sedgewickville woman was killed when the car she was driving pulled into the path of another car at the intersection of Routes K, EE and WW, at 8:25 a.m., Friday. Ida Thompson, 50, was killed when she drove her 1987 Cadillac into the path of a 1995 Ford driven by Martha Bollinger, 31, of Millersville...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Billy Ray Allen, 53, of Panama City, Fla., died Thursday, June 19, 1997, at Bay County Medical Center in Panama City. He was born March 23, 1944, in Cairo, son of Clarence William and Mary Jane Baggett Allen. Allen was a charter boat guide for a fishing company in Panama City...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Josephine Miller of Jonesboro was killed Friday when she stepped into the path of an eastbound car driven by Kathleen Furlow, 21, also of Jonesboro. The accident occurred at 7:35 a.m. at Illinois 146 and Jasper Street in Jonesboro...

SEDGEWICKVILLE -- Marie Thompson, 50, of Sedgewickville died Friday, June 20, 1997, as a result of an automobile accident in Sedgewickville. Friends may call at Liley Funeral Home in Patton after 4 p.m. today. Funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Little Whitewater Baptist Church...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Josephine E. Miller, 78, of Jonesboro died Friday, June 20, 1997, upon arrival at Union County Hospital in Anna. She was born Sept. 1, 1918, at Mt. Pleasant, daughter of Charles and Grace Allen Elam. She and Francis P. Miller were married June 7, 1936, in Marion...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Donald L. Stockman, 57, of Kansas City, Kan., formerly of East Prairie died Wednesday, June 18, 1997, at the Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., following an apparent heart attack. He was born Dec. 10, 1939, at East Prairie, son of James William and Grace Irene Ellis Stockman...