Stories from Monday, January 5, 1998

A bicyclist can become attached to the bike by using special shoes, which lock to the clipless pedal. There's something about the wilderness that lures people -- but many times a thought of or association with a Thoreauvian wild is preferred over mosquitoes-swarming-you contact with it...

The Southeast Missourian's "Top 60" industries, based on number of employees, started as a "Top 25" six years ago, but due to growth, expansions and new industry, the list went to "Top 40 in 1995 and to the "Top 60" in 1996. We're in the process of looking to the 1998 list, which will appear during the first quarter of 1998...

This "Financial Focus" column is prepared by Edward Jones Investments, headquartered in St. Louis. Jones includes branches throughout the nation, including Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Is cyber-investing in your future? Would you like to locate the nearest financial-service office, calculate how much money you'll need for retirement or monitor the performance of the stocks in your portfolio?...

Training sessions for dealers and applicators in the use of pesticides will be held in Cape Girardeau, Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia and St. Louis this month. Information on pesticide use, applicator protection, endangered species and water quality protection will be provided...

Sears, Roebuck and Co., a member of the Dow 30 Industrials with common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol S, is no stranger to reorganization and redirection. In fact, Roebuck was not around when the company went public and Sears only lasted a couple of years after the initial public offering. ...

A.G. Edwards has been named Fortune Magazines's "100 Best Companies to Work for in America." A.G. Edwards, one of two retail brokerage firms on the 1998 list, is ranked 57th overall. This marks the third time that A.G. Edwards has been included on the list...

Wehrenberg Theatres collected more than 4,000 can goods for the Salvation Army during the Christmas holiday season. "People brought four cans of food to see a free movie," said Kevin Dillon, general manager of Wehrenberg's new Cape West 14 Cine. A total of 4,413 cans of food were collected and presented to the Salvation Army...

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce is taking reservations for the chamber's annual meeting and dinner dance. The event, to be held at the Show Me Center on Southeast Missouri State University campus, will be held Jan. 30, with a social hour at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 and dancing at 9...

After three years of surprise billion-dollar profits, the U.S. Postal Service is pushing to be debt-free by 1999, reversing a history of poor performance and financial returns. Postal money manager Michael J. Riley believes the increased profits have led to growing pride among mail carriers and executives and could mean a moneymaking future for the agency...

The Missouri Cattlemen's Association will hold its 30th annual Convention and Trade show Saturday and Sunday at Columbia. Speakers include association president John A. Beltz, and Missouri CattleWomen's president Loretta Broderick. Also on the speaker's list are Max Deets, president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and humorist Jerry Flower...

Thomas Meyer has completed the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) class, "Essential of International Real Estate," sponsored by the Missouri Association of Realtors. The course, which includes topics on problems of international transactions, cultural and historical elements of the client's region and marketing properties and services, fulfills one of the educational requirements of the CIPS designation, awarded by the National Association of Realtors (NAR)...

Women (46 percent) are more likely than men (35 percent) to feel guilty when calling in sick, says the Wellness Council of America, a nonprofit group promoting healthy workplaces. More women are working these days. The percentage of women either working or looking for work rose to 59 percent in 1996, up from 46 percent in 1975, according to the U.S. Labor Department...

Union membership is declining. The number of unionized workers fell sharply during the decade, 1985-1995, in most of the 90 countries surveyed by the International Labor Organization. The drop was sharpest in central and eastern European countries, with an average decline of almost 36 percent. In contrast, South Africa saw union membership more than double...

The Welfare Reform Task Force is weeks away from seeing the fruits of its first year of planning to help needy Cape Girardeau County families. Roy Jones, task force chairman, said the committee hopes to begin a pilot work program within the next month. The weeklong program will provide 10 mothers receiving welfare assistance with job-finding skills and give them the chance to land jobs with area employers at the end of the program...

Editor's Note: This is the second of a five-part series examining the issues facing Missouri's growing elderly population. When Sue Ballsamo reached the front step to Helen Sheets' house, Sheets opened the door with a smile and invited her inside. Ballsamo and Sheets greeted one another like old friends, although the two women see each other infrequently...

The winning candidates in the 1996 Missouri House and Senate races received more than $5.5 million in campaign contributions. The money helped those candidates cash in on victory in the November 1996 election. The 17 winners in Senate races raised $1.72 million. On the House side, $3.85 million was contributed to 162 of the 163 winning candidates, a study by a pro-business group shows...

I got to the office the other day and as I settled into my cubicle, I realized I wasn't wearing a watch. I think they heard my gasp of horror in the far corners of the building. I live by deadlines; going without a watch is a sure way to induce panic...

The effort by federal and local authorities to clean up gang-related activities in Sikeston got a major boost when a judge declared two businesses run by a Sikeston couple to be public nuisances. Ruling on a civil suit that sought a permanent injunction against continued operation of Ella's Package Store and Club Scottie in Sikeston, Circuit Judge Gary Kamp ordered the businesses closed. ...

The U.S. Postal Service, whose fiscal record through the years has been dismal at best, appears to be on the verge of turning things around. After three years of surprise billion-dollar profits, the Postal Service is expected to be debt-free by 1999. It finished 1997 with a $1.26 billion profit. That follows profits of $1.77 billion in 1995 and $1.57 billion in 1996. That three-year performance trimmed the agency's long-term financial deficiency from $5.9 billion to $1.36 billion...

To the editor: I've been reading in the Southeast Missourian about the most unfortunate people and kids in our area who are in dire need of the basic necessities of life that you and I take for granted. We at Craftsman Independent Union thank God for the many blessings he has bestowed upon us, and we feel honored and privileged to share those blessings with the many, many persons in need...

To the editor: There are a great number of people who oppose unlimited trade with China. They have various reasons for this, and any reason is valid. But I can't help thinking that the prevailing reason may be the wrong one. Most people use human rights as their objection. ...

Monday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m. City Hall Public hearings -- A public hearing on the voluntary annexation of Brown, Patterson, Eastman, McCulley and Horn tracts in the Franks subdivision, adjoining and connecting to Limbaugh Lane and adjacent to the city's northeast city limits...

This week the Southeast Missourian asked, "What do you think of the new law in California that bans smoking in most bars and gambling casinos?" Kelly Hartman, Cape Girardeau "I'm for it because I'm not a smoker. I like it because it will protect employees and also protect customers."...

RICHMOND, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University's Indians will attempt to accomplish something tonight that has never happened in the history of the school. Win a basketball game at Eastern Kentucky. The Indians and Colonels will square off in a 7:30 Ohio Valley Conference tipoff at McBrayer Coliseum...

RICHMOND, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach Ed Arnzen figures his Otahkians will be running into a pretty angry team tonight. Defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Kentucky, coming off a surprising 66-65 Saturday home loss to Eastern Illinois, will host the Otahkians in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at McBrayer Coliseum...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Hazel V. Griffith, 91, of Cairo died Sunday, Jan. 4, 1998, at the Daystar Care Center in Cairo. She was born July 8, 1906, at Pulaski, the daughter of John E. and Essie Curry Rives. She married Rollie Griffith. He died in 1989. Griffith was a homemaker. She was a member of the First Southern Baptist Church in Cairo...

PERRYVILLE -- Clare E. Chappius, 89, of Perryville died Saturday, Jan. 3, 1998, at Perry County Nursing Home in Perryville. She was born Nov. 17, 1908, at New Hamburg, the daughter of William and Madgalina LeGrand Essner. She married Floyd E. "Snubby" Chappius on Oct. 28, 1944, at Blytheville, Ark. He died April 9, 1992...

PERKS, Ill. -- Margie Thieke, 71, of Perks died Saturday, Jan. 3, 1998, at her home. She was born March 18, 1926, in Pulaski County, the daughter of Homer and Iva Eddleman Casper. She married David Thieke on July 11, 1942. Thieke was the retired postmistress of the Perks Post Office. She was a member of the Maple Grove Baptist Church in Perks...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Harry Curtis Carbaugh Sr., 71, of Jefferson City, formerly of Scott City, died Saturday, Jan. 3, 1998, at his home. He was born Feb. 28, 1926, at Chaffee, the son of Theodore Marion and Zora Mae Hood Carbaugh. He married Louise Letempt on June 12, 1943, at Cape Girardeau...

Martha L. Ricky, 66, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Jan. 3, 1998, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Feb. 13, 1931, at Cape Girardeau, the daughter of Leon and Pauline Britt Sander. Ricky was an independent beauty consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics for more than 25 years. She retired from Mary Kay in 1994. She also worked as an elementary and preschool teacher at various times and at various schools, including Cape Christian School...

PINHOOK -- Clottie S. Cooper, 65, of Pinhook died Thursday, Jan. 1, 1998, at her home. She was born Dec. 22, 1932, in Louisville, Miss., the daughter of Ida and Izalla Spiva. She was married to Clayton Cooper, who preceded her in death. Cooper had lived in Missouri since 1958 and attended the Union Baptist Church in Pinhook...

CHAFFEE -- Ida Ann Johnson, 79, of Chaffee died Saturday, Jan. 3, 1998, at her home. She was born on Dec. 28, 1918, at Ste. Genevieve, Ill., the daughter of George William and Ida May Strickland Ehrheart. She married Tony Carroll Dec. 30, 1929. He died in 1953. She married Elzy Clark Johnson Sept. 20, 1956. He died Jan. 11, 1974...