Stories from Monday, June 8, 1998

A lot of people have already heard or read about the "aging of America." Whether you've heard about it or not, the fact is that people are living longer today than ever before. In 1980, there were roughly 50 million Americans older than 55. Today, there are 60 million, and it's estimated that by 2020 about 90 million people will be older than 55. ...

Galleria Grill has opened at Plaza Galleria. The new restaurant features a variety of foods -- chicken and dumplings, prime rib sandwich, crab meat pasta salad, taco salad, catfish, steaks and more. "We have a special menu for each day of the week, sort of like a plate lunch," said Lucy Frey, owner of the new restaurant...

Plaza Tire Service Inc. of Cape Girardeau has opened its third store in Cape Girardeau. The new store, a seven-bay operation, is on Siemers Drive in Cape West Business Park. Plaza Tire has also entered the metropolitan St. Louis market, with five stores, acquired with the purchase of The Tire Factory of St. Charles...

Raymond P. Enderle of Cape Girardeau, Donald J. Hinkebein of Jackson and Raymond I. Gillis of Marble Hill have joined JCS/Tel-Link, 1605 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Enderle, who has more than 10 years of experience in sales and customer services, will be communications consultant. ...

Cape Girardeau's loss is Tokyo's gain. Satoru Akiyama is returning to Tokyo after five years. Akiyama, who has headed operations at Biokyowa Inc. in Cape Girardeau the past five years, will assume a new assignment at Kyowa Engineering Co., LTD in Tokyo...

The Small Business Development Center will conduct counseling sessions at Cape Girardeau, Sikeston and Perryville this month. The counselor, Gil Degenhardt, will be available June 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office. The counseling sessions (about one hour) are free. Call 335-3312 for appointment...

The moving vans measure the loads in cubic feet. A van may move more than one household on a single trip. Ted Gilbert took a rather circuitous route to Cape Girardeau. Gilbert, a moving van driver from Nampa, Idaho, began by picking up two loads from California and transporting them cross country to Connecticut. From there, he went the short distance up to Boston where he picked up another two loads, one bound for Kansas City and the other for Jonesboro, Ark...

Big Lots has opened in Cape Girardeau. Big Lots, a closeout merchandise retail chain operated by Consolidated Stores Corp., headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, sells a number of name-brand, merchandise. The new store is at 214 S. Silver Springs Road in a section of the former Wal-Mart building...

Evaluating import-export potential, identifying market opportunities, transporting goods and marketing your product or service are among topics to be addressed during the "International Trade: Getting Started" seminar, to be held in Cape Girardeau June 18...

The Bank of Missouri has opened a new loan production office at 318 E. Main St., in Jackson. John M. Thompson, a vice president at the Bank of Missouri, Cape Girardeau office, will manage the office, and Tina J. Weber will serve as loan administrator...

Westvaco Corp., a major manufacturer of paper, packaging and chemicals, has reported its sales and earnings for the second quarter and first half of fiscal 1998. Westvaco, which includes a paper processing facility at Wickliffe, Ky., reported sales at $724 million for the second quarter, not far off the pace of sales during the same period a year ago. Six months sales for the period ended April 30 were $1.4 billion, down 2.4 percent from the same period a year ago...

Montgomery Ward & Co., one of three anchor stores at University Mall in Carbondale, is closing. The Chicago-based retailer announced the closure because the store is "underperforming." The Carbondale store is one of eight Montgomery Ward operates that will close in seven states. The company will continue operating 291 stores...

SIKESTON -- First National Bank of the Mid-South, headquartered at Sikeston, has received regulatory approval for two sites in the St. Louis area -- 10101 Gravois Road, Affton, and 180 Crestwood Plaza, Crestwood. The bank has also applied for a third branch in the metropolitan area, at Chesterfield...

At the turn of the century, Marble Hill had a flourishing Baptist college. It was founded in 1878 in Smithville, now Sedgewickville, by two doctors, William Henderson Mayfield and H.J. Smith. In later years, Mayfield helped found Missouri Baptist Sanitarium in St. Louis. It was the forerunner of Missouri Baptist Hospital...

A humorous frieze depicts a student's incorrect calculations on the exterior of the former Mayfield College arts and science building. This frieze depicting a college student is part of the exterior decoration on the former Mayfield College arts and science building...

"Some people call our singing a hobby," said Irene Stevens, "but it's really more of an avocation." Stevens, the director of the Cape Girardeau chapter of the Sweet Adelines, known as the Girardot Rose Chorus, was speaking of the barbershop music the all-female choir sings...

CAIRO, Ill. -- More than 300 people gathered at St. Mary's Park in Cairo, paraded a few miles to the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and went to work clearing logs, cutting weeds and brush from Fort Defiance Park. The park had been scheduled to close, but a group of bankers, businessmen and workers from Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri helped save the park. Now it is a site for visitors to view the where two of the nation's largest rivers meet...

JEFFERSON CITY -- An analysis of the state's spending plans for the next fiscal year shows taxpayers will pay five times more to keep one adult convict behind bars than for each of the 893,241 children enrolled in public schools. The per-capita cost for the 24,748 men and women locked up in Missouri's 30 adult prisons will reach $16,693.18, while the per-student expenditure for local school aid by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will be $3,104.78 in the fiscal 12-month period that begins July 1.. ...

The other day a co-worker wanted to trade two half dollars for a whole one. I said no, primarily because I didn't have a dollar bill. The other reason is, I can't spend half dollars or Eisenhower silver dollars, and I don't like taking money I can't spend...

Delta School District voters last week overwhelmingly approved a $200,000 bond issue to enable the district to carry out various improvements, including replacement of gymnasium heating units and a new gym roof, a new bus, a new bus garage and furniture for the elementary school...

To the editor: The mindless media via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has struck again. The News Analysis section of the May 31 Post-Dispatch hysterically rambled on and on about the supposed negative impact that chip mills and logging might have on the Missouri Ozarks. ...

The Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Laboratory says it needs a larger place in which to operate. A movement is afoot to relocate the lab from the Southeast Missouri State University campus to a building the university owns at Ellis and Merriwether streets...

To the editor: In response to Peter Kinder's tribute to Barry Goldwater on the occasion of the senator's death: I remember Goldwater well, The 1964 presidential election was the first in which I was able to vote. I remember having many lively discussions with my grandmother about who was the best man for the presidency. She was for Lyndon B. Johnson. I, being young and passionate, was for Barry Goldwater...

This week the Southeast Missourian asked, "What would you like to see more of in the Southeast Missourian?" Brad Brown, Cape Girardeau "I just go to the sports pages usually and that's it. I like to see basketball, baseball and just the basics." Betty McCormick, Cape Girardeau...

VAN BUREN -- Cape Girardeau's Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team enjoyed an extremely productive Sunday afternoon here by blitzing Van Buren in a doubleheader. Ford & Sons won the nine-inning opener that counts toward the District 14 standings 9-3, then romped 9-1 in the seven-inning nightcap...

Michael Mooney and Kristi Willenberg emerged as the overall winners during Sunday's annual Steamboat Classic Triathlon held in Cape Girardeau. Mooney finished in a time of 1:15.25 to claim the men's overall title while Willenberg finished in 1:29.40 to earn women's honors...

Luke McKinnis of Fredericktown shot an 80 to place first in the Optimist International Junior Golf Championship's pre-qualifying tournament Saturday at Cape Jaycees Municipal Golf Course. McKinnis paced the 16-18 age division, as Gabe Estes of Jackson placed second with an 81 and Kent Phillips of Cape Girardeau shot 85 to take third...

The Heartland Travelers will be hosting a women's fast-pitch softball tournament this weekend at the Jackson City Park. Pool play will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday. A single-elimination bracket will begin at 9 a.m. Sunday. There is no admission charge. In addition to the host Travelers, other teams participating will be the SEMO Rockets of Jackson, the Bootheel Bandits of Benton, the Perryville Lightning, the Ozark Thunder from Ellsinore, the West Frankfort (Ill.) Cardinals, the St. ...

The Area Wide United Way is offering two workshops to help nonprofit organizations in identifying additional funding. The first workshop, "Proposal writing: Panel of Local Sponsors; What do they look for?" will be held from noon to 2 p.m. June 22 at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office...

Opal Pauline Roth, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 7, 1998, at the Lutheran Home. She was born June 27, 1914, at Grassy, daughter of DeWitt T. and Hattie Mae Newell Sample. She and Raymond T. Roth were married July 19, 1940, at Jackson. She was the owner and operator of the Flower Garden Florist in Illmo from 1963 to 1977. She continued to be active in floral work and craft fairs throughout Southeast Missouri until 1993...

CROSSROADS, Ill. -- Lora May Rodgers-Oliver, 88, of Crossroads, formerly of Chester and Du Quoin, died Saturday, June 6, 1998, at her home. She was born July 28, 1909, in Johnson County, daughter of Daniel Franklin "Doc" and Mary Alice Cline Newton. She and Ernest Walter Rodgers were married Dec. 7, 1927, at Vienna. He died Dec. 30, 1979. She and Johnie Oliver were married May 27, 1990...

SIKESTON -- Brenda Kay Lindsey, 46, of Sikeston died Saturday, June 6, 1998, at her home. She was born Dec. 18, 1951, at Manilla, Ark., daughter of Basil Scott and Merline Shipley Gaddis. She and Gary T. Lindsey were married on July 18, 1951, at Poplar Bluff...