Stories from Wednesday, August 20, 1997

To the editor: The following poem was written by a very caring person following the aftermath of the tragic incident at the SPCA in Kennett about two years ago. I hope it will bother the conscience of the people who make their beloved pets homeless by dumping them at the SPCA as was the case last month when 675 animals were deposited at the Cape Girardeau shelter...

The Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy, which will air on KFVS-12 from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Labor Day, will originate local segments from the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Cape Girardeau. This year's telethon will be hosted by news anchor Mary Ann Maloney and sports director Randy Ray. Some segments will be hosted by KFVS news anchor Lisa Crane and meteorologist Charlie Neese...

Student Support Services, a federally-funded program designed to assist low-income and first-generation students and students with disabilities, recently was awarded its third grant at Southeast Missouri State University. The four-year grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education begins Sept. 1 and will run through August 2001...

Ten Cape Girardeau public schools teachers again spent two weeks of their summer in Huntsville, Ala., at the National Faculty Delta Teachers Academy summer institute learning more about how to teach science, and broadening their own science backgrounds...

I've been busy lately visiting some other communities for business reasons. In learning about them, I've found many ideas that are applicable to our newspapers and communities here in Southeast Missouri. But the major thing that is obvious is that it is PEOPLE who make communities, organizations and businesses successful...

This week marks a return to classes for many area students. Southeast Missouri State University gears up Monday, and Cape Girardeau's public schools starts next Wednesday. There's plenty of excitement and some trepidation as the new school year begins. For many families, the start of school marks a return to a busier, but more ordered, schedule...

Which came first: The speeder or the accident? The Cape Girardeau Police Department is wrestling with this question. The number of speeding tickets has dropped rather dramatically because officers are spending so much time working traffic accidents. But a prime cause of traffic accidents is speeding...

To the editor: As the Republicans and Democrats are celebrating a balanced budget, the debts are increasing. They will continue to increase unless wasteful spending ceases. By using the trust funds of civil service retirees as revenue in calculating the budget, the deficit has risen to about $90 billion less than the increase on the national debt...

Southeast Missouri Hospital is considering construction of a professional medical building. The hospital recently purchased property on Broadway near Pizza Hut to be used for expansion, said James W. Wente, Southeast administrator. "Southeast Missouri Hospital is in the final phase of a feasibility study to determine physician interest in a professional building," Wente said. "We are progressing with the study and hope to have the data to make an informed decision before the end of 1997."...

The chairman of the legislative committee that oversees Missouri's prison system said lawmakers may recommend Missouri quit shipping inmates to privately run, out-of-state jails. State Sen. Danny Staples, D-Eminence, chairs the joint committee on corrections...

Students had an unexpected day off Tuesday when the first day of classes was canceled at Notre Dame High School. But classes will be held today. Classes were scheduled to begin Tuesday morning, but administrators announced the cancellation the night before. Sister Mary Ann Fischer, principal, said classes were called off after school administrators discovered that asbestos in a small area of the building may have been disturbed while a back flow preventer was being installed on Monday...

State Sen. Anita Yeckel, right, listened as Sen. David Klaritch asked Cape Girardeau School Superintendent Dan Tallent how funds that formerly went to desegregation programs in Kansas City and St. Louis schools should be used. The issue was discussed at a public hearing in Cape Girardeau Tuesday night...

You never see mothers-in-law rushing around the house when their daughters-in-law are about to visit. When you live in Florida, you never know if you have loving relatives and true friends who'd travel miles to visit or if you just know lots of people who like the beach...

JACKSON -- Final winners of the Jackson Homecomers Talent Show were announced Sunday. The Talent Show was held in conjunction with the 89th Homecomers Celebration sponsored by American Legion Post #158. Jim Nelson, talent show chairman, said the winners of each age group received cash prizes and plaques as awards...

The Southeast Missourian asked students at St. Paul Lutheran School about starting a new school year. Rachel Lowes: "I'm glad to be back to school, because I missed all my friends over the summer. I'm in fifth grade, and I am looking forward to science. I want to be an astronaut, and I like all the planets."...

Angel Rubio is majoring in accounting but he'd make a heck of a public relations prospect. Rubio, Southeast Missouri State University's standout defensive lineman, is trying to spread the word to anybody willing to listen that Indians football will be well worth watching this year...

The Cape Girardeau Kohlfeld Scorpions rugby team won the Ramblers 10's Tournament in St. Louis last Saturday, beating the University of Missouri 17-12 in sudden-death overtime in the finals. Allen Kloss, who was named most valuable player of the tournament, scored the winning try in overtime against Missouri...

Three people were injured in two separate accidents Tuesday. Dave Cline, 20, of Oriole was injured when he lost control of a 1990 Volkswagen and the vehicle overturned. At 3:25 p.m., Cline was driving northbound on Route V in Cape Girardeau County when he ran off the roadway and struck a utility pole. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol...

SIKESTON -- Isadore Girard Hunt, 37, of Sikeston died Monday, Aug. 18, 1997, at Sikeston Comfort Care. He was born Oct. 18, 1959, in Sikeston, son of Jake and Inez Jones Hunt. Hunt was a 1978 graduate of Sikeston High School. He was a member of Urbana Assembly of God Church in Urbana, Ill. He was formerly of Chicago and Champaign, Ill...

Grace E. Arnold, 87, 2910 Beaver Creek, died Monday, Aug. 18, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born July 8, 1910, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of H.F. and Flora Hanebrink Bode. She and Albert Cottle were married in 1930 in Cape Girardeau. He died in 1972. She later married Robert Arnold in 1973 in Calvert City, Ky. He died in 1994...

ADVANCE -- Funeral service for Virginia J. Nichols of Granite City, Ill., was held Tuesday at Werner Chapel in Pontoon Beach, Ill. The Rev. Fred Boatright officiated, with burial in Sunset Hill Cemetery. Nichols, 76, died Saturday, Aug. 16, 1997, at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Granite City...

ZALMA -- Teddy Richard Perkins, 53, of Rockford, Ill., died Saturday, Aug. 16, 1997, at his home. He was born Nov. 11, 1943, at Poplar Bluff. He and Frances Marie Becker were married June 6, 1964. Perkins worked at Plastic Crafters 18 years, and at Rohr Manufacturing from 1991-95. He attended Samuelson Road Church of the Nazarene...

The best way to eat a tomato, according to the late M.F.K. Fisher, acknowledged by many as America's foremost food writer, "is in the garden, warm and pungent from the vine, so that one can suck unashamedly, and bend over if any of the juice escapes."...