Stories from Sunday, July 12, 1998

To the editor: I had a pretty good chortle the other night while watching "Larry King Live." King's guests were Lucianne Goldberg, at whose insistence Linda Tripp surreptitiously recorded her telephonic conversations with Monica Lewinsky, and Goldberg's son, Jonah. King asked the Goldbergs to what they attributed Tripp's extreme unpopularity, not to say infamy, among her fellow citizens...

Annie Stoverink, swimming instructor, shows Kaleb Williams how to use a floating device to get him used to floating in water. The Jackson swimming program keeps growing and growing with each passing year. Last year the program had 1,100 children enrolled to learn how to swim, and midway through 1998, already 1,000 children from Cape Girardeau and east Perry counties have entered the program...

25 years ago: 1973 Cape Girardeau County Board of Equalization, which is empowered to change tax assessments if justification is found for such action, will begin meeting Monday at county courthouse; board will meet each week day until its work is completed; Monday and Tuesday, board will set assessments on merchants and manufacturers, putting assessments on tax books; these assessments are compiled by County Assessor Edwin A. ...

With all the stories relating to the Y2K computer glitch, one might think that Jan. 1, 2000, will mean doomsday. But local government agencies say they are going to be year 2000 compliant. But does that mean area residents won't be affected by the computer glitch?...

GORDONVILLE -- A Cape Girardeau woman suffered moderate injuries Friday afternoon when her vehicle slid off the roadway and into a culvert on Route Z. Glenda Heiden, 44, was transported to St. Francis Medical Center after the accident, which occurred at 12:45 p.m. about four miles west of Gordonville...

The General Assembly passed several bills this year concerning conceal carry and law enforcement officers. Forty some states now have a conceal carry of firearms law. The interesting this is that crime against individuals has gone down considerably in the states that have passed conceal carry...

We seem to be writing more these days. Electronic mail, we usually refer to it as e-mail, has many more persons writing notes than ever before. Chat rooms on the internet offer persons the opportunity to converse through the typewritten word. Still, with all this writing going on, the English language seems to be suffering as never before. ...

Last year's elimination of the state sales tax on groceries didn't stop state revenue from setting another record in fiscal year 1998, which ended June 30. The state's general revenue rose a very strong 5.7 percent over the previous year, even though the state stopped collecting sales tax on food last Oct. ...

Another year, another annual state budget, another fight over funding Planned Parenthood. As long as Mel Carnahan is governor, it appears we'll have these battles, given his determination to shovel money at the state's largest abortionist, as against the General Assembly, populated as it is by a lopsided pro-life majority. Previous governors never funded Planned Parenthood...

The recent victory of Alabama Gov. Fob James in his Republican primary runoff is most interesting. James has made national headlines in recent years for backing the Alabama judge who insisted on displaying the Ten Commandments on his courtroom wall. James champions prayer in schools, confronts activist federal judges and regularly offends against liberal piety...

For many years we who are fortunate enough to call ourselves Americans have celebrated our independence in a variety of ways, most of them devoted to our own personal choices and pleasures, as befits a free people living in a free country. On the Fourth of July we pack our families in cars and travel miles and miles to visit families and friends, attend outdoor picnics and barbecues, watch parades and fireworks displays, water ski and fish, do whatever pleases us at the moment...

FRUITLAND -- Professional horse gentler Dave Seay educated and entertained horse owners and lovers Saturday during the Adopt-A-Wild Horse program held at Flickerwood Arena. Some 300 visitors attending the event over the weekend to see and in some cases purchase one of the 70 wild horses available for adoption. The event is sponsored annually by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management to control wild horse overpopulation in the western states...

Women's clubs became important in the 1800s when middle and upper class women were freed from many of their domestic tasks by industrialization. Women weren't then invited into the professions, says Dr. Bonnie Stepenoff, so they began doing charity work. The medical help of women was essential during the Civil War, she said...

Charles Boyer took a trip back in time Saturday at the 1998 Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival. Boyer, 75, of Poplar Bluff waxed nostalgic as he watched youngsters and adults touring a 1944 PBJ, the U.S. Navy's version of a B-25. The "Devil Dog" PBJ was one of several vintage warbirds that roared over Cape Girardeau Saturday...

A new study says a countywide transit system could provide improved transportation for residents of in Cape Girardeau County. The Transit Study, completed by the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission, will be presented Monday to the County Commission and representatives of transportation providers. The meeting is at 1:30 p.m. at the county's administration building in Jackson...

She was college-educated in a day when most women weren't. She taught at a school for orphans in St. Louis and at schools in Cape Girardeau before moving to Kansas to spend most of the first decade of the 1900s raising four children whose parents -- family friends -- had died...

Teeth have become a virtual gold mine for today's youngsters. Just ask our oldest daughter, Becca. Our 6-year-old lost her first baby tooth the other day, leaving a gap in her smile. But Becca couldn't have been happier. She couldn't wait to put the small, bottom tooth under her pillow...

An Associated Press story published Wednesday by the Southeast Missourian reported seven high school football players died last year from heart-related causes. While none of those deaths occurred in Southeast Missouri, Cape Girardeau doctors are hoping to avoid such a tragedy by ending the mass physical examination program for area high schools which started four years ago...

Most people expected the McDowell Capahas to have little opposition during the 1998 National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional Tournament that they are hosting this weekend. And if you look solely at the final scores, that has definitely been the case so far...

Most of you might have already figured it out, but an Ohio Valley Conference report comparing the league's athletic programs that was recently released contained some extremely misleading information. Under the heading of `operating expenses,' the report indicated that Southeast Missouri State University spends nearly $2.6 million annually on its athletic programs while some other OVC schools -- like Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky -- spend less than $500,000...

SENATH -- Ford & Sons Cape Legion split a doubleheader with Dunklin Co. Saturday, but won the all important opener which counts in district play. Ford & Sons routed their host in the opener 17-6 in eight innings, but saw Dunklin County return the favor in the nightcap with a 12-2, five inning victory...

The Cape Girardeau Road Runners Third annual Summer Track Series will be held Aug. 4, 11 and 17 at the Abe Stuber Track and Field Complex on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. The series gives runners an opportunity to race on a track and test themselves at distances from 400 meters to one mile. It is open to participants of all ages and abilities. Age divisions range from age 5-and-under to 60-and-over...

Advance High School will hold its summer volleyball camp July 20-24. Players entering grades 7-8 will work out from 8 a.m.-noon each day while players entering grades 9-12 will work out from 1-5 p.m. each day.

The Friends of St. Francis will host the 11th annual Benefit Golf Tournament Aug. 28 at Bent Creek Golf Course in Jackson. Morning play will begin with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start and afternoon play will begin at 1:30 p.m. The afternoon portion of the tournament is already filled. Entry fee for the morning is $100 per person. Entry fee includes green fees, breakfast, lunch and dinner...

Anyone interested in coaching in the Cape Youth Tackle Football League this fall should contact league director Mike Dunaway at 335-1475. The league begins its 18th season in late August.

The 10th annual Fredericktown Open Tennis Tournament will be held July 17-19. The tournament, for all ages, will include 10 divisions, covering youth boys and girls, men's and women's singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles. Entry fee is $5 for one event and $10 for two or three events. Only three events are allowed per person...

Tom Arnold recently recorded his second career ace at Kimbeland Country Club. Arnold achieved the feat with a driver on No. 8, a 166-yard par 3. Witnessing the shot were Howard Kinder, Gary Niswonger, Horace Eastman and David Chasteen.

How would you like to take a trip back in time? I know of a place where you can glimpse the look and feel of the land before settlers from Europe arrived. In fact this place can give you a brief look at Missouri around the time that glaciers sat on the northern half of our state...

Phyllis Jean Stoll, 64, of St. Charles died Thursday, July 9, 1998, at her home. She was born Dec. 2, 1933, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Fred and Beulah Simpher. She worked as a receptionist at Family Dental Practice in St. Charles and attended St. Mary Cathedral Church as a Cape Girardeau resident...

Arthur Joseph Click, 72, 1616 Bel Air, Cape Girardeau, died Friday, July 10, 1998, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Aug. 8, 1925, at St. Louis, the son of Roy C. and Flora Julian Click. He married Marcella E. Lawrence on May 13, 1950, at St. Louis...

DELTA -- Casey Alan Graviett, 18, of Delta died Friday, July 10, 1998, in an accident on the Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 8, 1979, at Cape Girardeau, son of Roger and Bonny Hutson Graviett. He was an installation worker for Sullinger Window and Awning Co. in Chaffee. He had lived in Delta for two years, moving from Summerville, S.C...

Erline M. Agnew, 94, of St. Louis, formerly of Perryville, died Saturday, July 11, 1998, at Marillac Provincial House in St. Louis. She was born June 5, 1905, at Perryville, daughter of Emmett Joseph and Mary A. Cissell Gagnepain. She married Daniel F. Agnew Sr. on Nov. 5, 1924. He died Jan. 9, 1994...

SIKESTON -- Lillian F. Butler, 88, of Sikeston died Friday, July 10, 1998, at Clearview Nursing Center in Sikeston. She was born Dec. 1, 1909, in Jackson, daughter of Jessie and Lula Black Fox. She married George Earl Lewis on Aug. 29, 1933. He died Dec. 26, 1961. She married Cecil Butler on Sept. 9, 1966. He died in February 1982...

Jean Bell Mosley's new autobiography, "For Most of the Century," is only available in serialized form in the Southeast Missourian. Return each week for her continuing story. With Mama's death, Edward's heart attack, my own period of depression and the ongoing national unrest, it would have been easy to slip into some "Slough of Despond" or "Dismal Swamp" of inactivity...

Terri West, left, kept score of her son's baseball game against the Diamondbacks. West's parents and older son, from left, Linda and Don Wiseman and Brandon West also attended the game. Athletics coaches Bob Brosey, left, and Stan West watched the team during their turn at bat against the Diamondbacks...