Stories from Saturday, March 28, 1998

To the editor: I heard it on TV: Come down, this government program is free. Sign up. Just takes a little time. If you qualify, won't cost a dime. They never mention taxpayers like me, whose earning are taken so someone can get something free. MARY NALL...

JACKSON -- Missouri Secretary of State Bekki Cook looked for voters instead of votes during a visit Friday to Jackson High School. Cook met with students from the school's social studies classes as part of the Missouri First Vote program. The program encourages high school students to register to vote...

SIKESTON - Clint Black, Charlie Daniels, the band Ricochet, and David Lee Murphy are included in the lineup of musical entertainment for the 46th Annual Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, set for Aug. 5 through 8. The rodeo is held each year at Bootheel Rodeo Grounds in Sikeston...

Have you ever wondered what the Jewish Passover and Jesus' Last Supper have in common? Rob Meisel of Jews for Jesus will answer that question in a presentation called "Christ in the Passover." He will present the program at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Andrew Lutheran Church...

Marsha Craft knows that all salvation requires is a child's simple belief and trust. So she wrote a play that explains Jesus Christ's gift of salvation through the eyes of a child. "The Gift" is the fourth script Craft has written for the Easter pageant at First Baptist Church in Jackson...

Few people stop to question the date of Easter each year, even though it always changes. Last year Easter fell in March; this year it is in April. Because the date changes each year, Easter poses some interesting mathematical questions. Can it fall in March two years in a row? How often does the pattern repeat itself?...

To the Pentecostal preacher, who was disturbed by Billy Graham's forgiving President Clinton: Sir, Billy Graham doesn't preach the full gospel. He preaches a lot of it, but he also leaves out some. The full gospel condemns Bill Clinton. So understand what the Bible says, not Billy Graham...

Where were all those award-winning film editors when the Oscar awards presentations lasted longer than the Spanish-American War? If computers are the wave of the future, why do we have to wait to enter the new millennium until they are smart enough to print the year 2000?...

For nearly 125 years, Southeast Missouri State University has been an integral part of the community and region. The impact of the university on the region has been nothing short of remarkable. It has helped Southeast Missouri prosper through expanded educational opportunities...

Southeast Missouri State University affords this area many opportunities, including occasions interact with people from many different cultures. International students from the university stretch the borders of this town, teaching us about many countries around the globe. A perfect chance to learn about the world around us can be found at the International Festival...

To the editor: We would like to thank the many constituents for taking the time to contact our offices concerning HCR 12, the House resolution sponsored by state Rep. Roy Holland, R-Springfield, and co-sponsored by local legislators Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, and Pat Naeger, R-Perryville, that would support efforts to privatize our Social Security system...

When an adult approaches a room full of teen-agers with a discussion about sex, eyes roll, chins plop down into the palms of hands, and conversation shuts down. However, when those same students discuss sex among themselves, the conversation is more flowing, frank and honest...

Poet Nikki Giovanni is a tiny 54-year-old woman who writes and speaks with great conviction and humor about love, social systems, justice and the nobility of the human experiment. "We're all crazy, but I like to think we're trying," she says. The black poet and essayist spoke and read poems for an audience of about 100 Friday night at Southeast Missouri State University. ...

The first quarter of 1998 saw a 13 percent increase over the first quarter of last year in Cape Girardeau County sales-tax revenue. It was the largest increase ever. March boasted the highest sales-tax collections for a single month, continuing an upward trend in sales-tax revenue...

Southeast Missouri State University commuter student Jennifer Hawkins regularly hitches a ride on the shuttle bus. "I love the shuttle," she said Thursday while traveling across campus on one of the university's buses. It is a feeling shared by other students who regularly use the shuttle buses to get from perimeter parking lots to the interior of campus...

Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. hopes to get an answer in July to its request for Local Plus Calling. Southwestern Bell representatives will make their pitch in early May for the local-dialing package, which would provide subscribers unlimited calls within a regional calling area at a flat rate...

Cape Girardeau and Scott City residents will get a chance next week to review plans for a new roadway between the two cities. The Missouri Department of Transportation will hold two open-house sessions to gather input on four possible corridors for the highway...

The nation's social workers are celebrating their centennial this year. Local social workers will hold a banquet tonight in honor of the 100th anniversary of the profession, a profession that has helped people solve problems, said Shelby Kneer and Ken Green, local social workers...

Even the best-laid plans can go awry, but sometimes Plan B can offer a welcome surprise. When I was growing up, I never thought about one day becoming a mother or wife. I was going to save the world, meet the rich and famous, and write Pulitzer-worthy international news...

JACKSON -- A high school sophomore isn't supposed to have this kind of composure. But the situation was nothing new for Notre Dame left-hander Brian Obermann. Trailing by three runs, Jackson loaded the bases with no outs in the last inning Friday. But Obermann came out unscathed, finishing a 5-2 win at Jackson City Park by striking out Jackson's No. 4 hitter Todd Wessel...

PERRYVILLE -- Leona V. Heise, 69, of Perryville died Friday, March 27, 1998, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born April 6, 1928, at Farrar, daughter of Martin and Edna Fritsche Verseman. She was a bank teller and worked for 1 1/2 years at the Bank of Menfro and 41 years at the Bank of Perryville. She was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville, Ladies Aid, Bercan Bible Class, AAL and the American Legion Auxiliary...

Memorial service for Donald "Diz" Anderson of Hannibal will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. John's Lutheran Church in Hannibal. Anderson, 77, died Wednesday, March 25, 1998, at Naples Community Hospital in Naples, Fla. He was born March 10, 1921, in West Frankfort, Ill...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Martha Evelene Clark, 71, of Cobden died Thursday, March 26, 1998, at her home. She was born Sept. 30, 1926, in Union County, daughter of Mart and Myrta Mae Beggs Clutts. She and Hubert Richard Clark were married Aug. 10, 1945, in Jackson. He died Feb. 17, 1990...

DEXTER -- Thella Lee, 90, of Dexter died Thursday, March 26, 1998, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. She was born Jan. 5, 1908, at Cobb Station, daughter of Jonas and Mary E. Melton Moore. Lee formerly lived at Puxico and in Michigan, moving to Dexter in 1945. She was retired from Elder Manufacturing in Dexter...

BERTRAND -- Funeral Mass for Charles E. Voelker of Jefferson City will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Henry's Catholic Church in Charleston. The Rev. Robert Schumacher will officiate, with burial in Oak Grove Cemetery. Friends may call at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston from 5-8 p.m. Sunday...

Leon Givens, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, March 26, 1998, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Oct. 29, 1916, in Cape Girardeau, son of Ed and Martha Jane Morrison Givens. He and Sue Cathleen DeJournett were married March 26, 1971, at Allenville...

PINHOOK -- Elouise Fullilove, 66, of Chicago died Tuesday, March 24, 1998, at her home. She was born July 12, 1931, at Inverness, Miss., daughter of Charlie and Lula Bell Roby Jefro. Fullilove was formerly of Pinhook. Survivors include six sons, Leonard Gallion of East Prairie, Jimmy, Ernie and Maurice Fullilove of Chicago, Sydney Fullilove of St. ...

ALTENBURG -- The Rev. Edward G. Gruenwald, 66, of Altenburg died Friday, March 27, 1998, in Altenburg. He was born July 31, 1931, at Altenburg, son of Theodore and Alma Schuessler Gruenwald. He and Florence Hecht were married Sept. 1, 1956. Gruenwald was a retired Lutheran pastor. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church...

Daughter to Thomas Ray and Dee Ann Curl of Clarksville, Tenn., Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, March 4, 1998. Name, Savannah Rayann. Weight, 5 pounds 12 ounces. Mrs. Curl is the former Dee Kaminskey, daughter of Tom and Shirley Kaminskey of Jackson. She is employed at State Farm Insurance. Curl is the son of Tommy and Linda Curl of Marianna, Fla. He is employed at Finance Inc...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Melba Gunning, 93 of Tamms died Friday, March 27, 1998, at the Union County Hospital at Anna. The Crain Funeral Home of Tamms is in charge of arrangements.