Stories from Thursday, June 4, 1998

To the editor: Some weeks ago, I was surfing the Internet looking for information on tomatoes. This if the first growing season that I have been online, so it was of interest to me to see what could be found here in the states and around the world. Needless to say, the information available was voluminous, almost a bit overwhelming, but a lot of fun nevertheless, and some of it in languages that I could read...

On the southern edge of Kansas City's downtown, prominently situation on a hill, is a grand memorial to those who died in the War to End All Wars. The Liberty Memorial, including a 217-foot-tall tower with an eternal flame at its top, is a special place with special meaning. Unfortunately, the monument is suffering from neglect. It has been closed for some time because it is crumbling and dangerous...

In simple terms, the legal dancing around the issue of who in the Clinton White House should be compelled to testify to a grand jury is like trying to waltz when the band is playing a tango. The arguments that have been offered by the president's legal crew don't quite match up to the issues at hand...

Despite the phenomenal home-run hitting of Mark McGwire, the St. Louis Cardinals aren't doing well in the standings. It's like the banker's wife going hungry. When no one was looking, Missouri legislators voted a big increase in their pensions, which may anger voters enough to let lawmakers begin collecting early...

Arnold native Jeff Boyet wasn't involved in theater and didn't play in bands while he attended Southeast Missouri State University in the early 1990s. He managed the campus radio station and graduated with a degree in mass communication-radio. Five years later, the 27-year-old Boyet finds himself playing Don Everly in the musical "Bye Bye Love," now on the stage of the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The Everly Brothers debuted "Bye Bye Love," their first hit single, at the Ryman in 1957...

CHARLESTON -- Members of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus will visit Charleston next week to share information and discuss issues relevant to area residents. A panel discussion will be held at 6:30 p.m. June 11 at the Clara Drinkwater Newnam Auditorium. ...

Thanks to a grant, card catalogs of all Riverside Regional Library facilities plus those at Jackson City Library and Bloomfield Public Library soon will be available online for library users to browse from home. The local consortium linking Riverside with Jackson and Bloomfield libraries is part of a statewide goal to link all the public libraries in Missouri using the Internet and automated circulation systems...

Divisions between Protestants and Catholics run deep in Northern Ireland's Belfast. Even with a new peace accord, it could take years to heal all the strife, said Southeast Missouri State University graduate Russell Grammer. The 27-year-old Grammer finished up his senior year by student teaching for six weeks at an elementary school in Belfast...

Pilots Agree's strike against almost 100 barge companies entered its 56th day today with more than half of the union's 1,200 members off their jobs. "We can't give an exact number of pilots on strike," Fred Hunter, secretary-treasurer of the river towboat pilots' union, said from his Columbia office. "It changes from day to day. We gain some and we lose some, so the overall count hasn't changed that much."...

Dear Ken, Mediocrity, I have surmised, is a special kind of hell. This, of course, refers to the current state of my golf game. I won't bore you with the details but the essentials are that 10-15 strokes have adhered to my scores this year despite the best efforts of myself and a couple of teachers to unstick them...

COLUMBIA -- Trailing New Bloomfield 7-0 after three innings of its Class 1A semifinal on an unseasonably chilly and windy Wednesday at Simmons Field, Oran coach Mitch Wood angrily gave his team two options. "We had a little meeting in the dugout and I told the kids we could do two things," Wood said. "We could tuck our heads between our legs and quit or we could battle back."...

COLUMBIA -- It appears safe to say that a big lead early in today's Class 1A championship game at Simmons Field between the Oran Eagles and Halfway Cardinals won't necessarily lead to victory. Oran, ranked third in the state coaches poll with a 23-3 record, rallied from a 7-0 deficit Wednesday to beat No. ...

Cape Girardeau and Chaffee split an American Legion baseball doubleheader Wednesday night at Capaha Field, but the teams came away feeling a bit differently about what had just transpired. For Cape Ford & Sons, there was plenty of satisfaction. For Chaffee's VFW Legion squad, there was a bit of disappointment...

Betty Price recorded her second career hole-in-one Tuesday at Cape Girardeau Country Club. Price carded her ace with a driver on the 100-yard No. 8. Her husband, A.D. Price, witnessed the shot.

Mike Oslund made his second hole-in-one in the past three months Monday at the Cape Christian School Scramble held at the Cape Girardeau Country Club. Oslund achieved the feat on No. 11, a 132-yard par 3. He used a 9-iron as Dan Greene, Brian Young and Jonathan Thomas looked on...

Drew DeMond, a Southeast Missouri State University basketball signee from Hononegah High School in Rockton, Ill., underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a torn Achilles tendon. The surgery at Rockford Memorial Hospital was termed a success with DeMond expected to make a full recovery in about three months...

Justin McAlister School: Oran Class: Senior Sport: Baseball Position: Pitcher-Shortstop Coach: Mitch Wood Week report: McAlister started the week on a wild streak, but recovered in time to pitch Oran to its first state semifinal appearance since 1981. ...

Southeast Missouri State University softball players Christine Engelhardt and Jennifer Oermann have been named second team GTE Academic All-Americans by the College Sports Information Directors of America. It marks the second time Engelhardt, a junior pitcher, has been named an academic all-american. She was the first NCAA Division I first team academic all-american at Southeast last year. She has a 3.95 G.P.A. in elementary education...

MARBLE HILL -- Funeral for Wilma B. Matthews of Marble Hill will be at 11 a.m. today at Liley Funeral Home in Marble Hill. The Rev. Michael Woods will officiate, with burial in Bollinger County Memorial Park Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 9 a.m. until service time...

ADVANCE -- Joseph Alvin LaCroix, 73, of Advance died Tuesday, June 2, 1998, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 20, 1925, in Advance, son of Charles H. and Ruth M. Davis LaCroix. He and Ellen Heuring were married Sept. 1, 1956, in Advance. She died Dec. 29, 1997...

Dessie M. Enderle, 74, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, June 3, 1998, at her home. She was born May 21, 1924, at Chaffee, daughter of Thomas Bernard and Luta Estelle Hileman Bushard. She and Frank A. Enderle were married Feb. 15, 1947. Enderle was a member of the Church of Christ at Jackson...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Funeral for Betty Jane Spiller of Savannah, Ga., has been changed to 1 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church in Cobden. The Rev. Dewayne Taylor will officiate, with burial in Cobden Cemetery. Friends may call at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Cobden after 6 p.m. today...

JACKSON -- Zola Mae Robinson, 89, of Jackson died Wednesday, June 3, 1998, at Jackson Manor. She was born March 6, 1909, at Neelys Landing, daughter of Clinton and Hannah Josephine Pinkerton Penrod. She and Robert Elee Robinson were married Sept. 30, 1926. He died Dec. 15, 1988...

PERRYVILLE -- Ida I. Clifton, 78, of Columbus, Ind., died Wednesday, June 3, 1998, at Columbus Regional Hospital. She was born March 20, 1920, at Whitewater, daughter of John and Sarah Eddleman Winkler. She and the Rev. Lawrence Clifton were married Feb. 15, 1946...

Daughter to Joseph Heath and Jennifer Anne Lucas of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 9:32 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, 1998. Name, Hannah Rose. Weight, 6 pounds 4 ounces. Mrs. Lucas is the former Jennifer Lyle, daughter of Judith Lyle of Cape Girardeau and Mr. and Mrs. James Lyle of St. Louis. Lucas is the son of Mary Lucas of Cape Girardeau. He is employed at Blackhawk Electric Inc...

Harvey Lincoln Ward, 89, of Cape Girardeau, died Wednesday, June 3, 1998, at Fountainbleau Lodge. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.