Stories from Sunday, August 9, 1998

To the editor: Hell and high water. Take your choice, or you can have both. Every day we learn in the news of weather-related headlines grasping for our attention. Last year it was floods in North Dakota and mudslides in California. The Grand Forks, N.D., newspaper reported all 50,000 of that city's resident were urged to leave. Some reported that 90 percent of the homes and businesses there were empty...

CHARLESTON -- Investigators worked to reconstruct an accidentthat killed three adults, including a husband and wife, and seriously injured their four children. The crash Friday night on Interstate 57 in southeastern Missouri involved a northbound car driven by Malcolm Bone, 47, of Bertrand, and a southbound car driven by Allene Mor, 66, of Charleston, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said...

My wife and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the St. Louis Art Museum to see the collection of art work from the Vatican featuring the "Angel." As I passed by and looked at the beautiful art work from many centuries ago, I was struck by a very powerful thought -- Every person's life, in a sense, resembles a work of art...

The Jackson USA Signal is seeking writers to report on social news within their communities. News of interest would be birthdays, anniversaries, who went where and who visited with whom. We would like writers from Altenburg, Appleton, Burfordville, Friedheim, Frohna, Fruitland, Glenallen, Gordonville, Jackson, Longtown, Marble Hill and Millersville...

The sitting room is where visitors can find, among other things, an Edison Victrola that plays cartridges as well as a "fainting couch," so called because women during the period who wore their corsets too tight would often faint and be placed on such couches. The couch also folds out into a bed...

25 years ago: 1973 Had Cape Girardeau County Board of Equalization examined reassessment figures established by countywide reappraisal project and applied them to this year's tax bills, total 1973 assessment would have been nearly $6.4 million more than amount it will be; instead of examining them and making changes it deemed necessary, board instructed Assessor Edwin A. ...

I WAS excited beyond words when I saw the title of the recently published Paul Greenberg column, "Quotes of the week: Take your pick." However, after reading the column countless times, I became clinically depressed. Greenberg failed to quote one -- that's right, not even one -- measly Speak Out comment...

It was 211 years ago this month that a small group of men, never numbering more than five, salvaged the work of the Second Continental Congress and saved America. Although we recognize their names on the list of the nation's Founding Fathers, few appreciate the significance played by these patriots who turned what seemed like political defeat into an historic and resounding governmental triumph. ...

One of the stories I cherish from old political lore is a comment attributed to Speaker Sam Rayburn, the Texas Democrat who ruled for so long in the U.S. House of Representatives. His friend and graduate of Southwest Texas State Teachers College, U.S. Sen. Lyndon Johnson, had just been elected vice president with U.S. Sen. John Kennedy. The president-elect was stocking his administration with lots of intellectual types from the Ivy League and other elite schools...

With courage all too rare in public life today, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recently confronted his critics. Thomas had been invited to speak at the annual meeting of the National Bar Association, a group of black lawyers. The speech was met with placard-carrying protestors out front of the conference hall in Memphis, along with much more disrespect inside it. Thomas had to sit and listen to more than an hour of non-humorous roasting of his record before rising to speak...

Missouri's State Board of Education approved new tests for reading, writing and science that officials say are so difficult most students couldn't score at the proficient level. Nearly 97 percent of high school sophomores are below proficiency in science. For seventh graders, the figure is 91 percent. The best science scores were for sixth graders, but still 65 percent are below proficiency...

A 28 year-old Golden Eagle was one of the birds of prey on display in Ste. Genevieve by World Bird Sanctuary during Jour de Fete Saturday. The event continues from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. STE. GENEVIEVE -- Capt. Steve Meister and his company of French Marines marched down the street of Ste. Genevieve Saturday, stopping to fire a volley near the center of the Jour de Fete celebration...

A report from a consumer health care group ranks Missouri second in the nation for laws guaranteeing health care access to managed care customers. The Families USA Foundation reviewed health care protection laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia...

A partnership between the Missouri Arts Council and the state Division of Tourism has resulted in a plan to promote cultural tourism in the state. The plan recommends a feasibility study for a proposed Ozark Center that would present Ozark artisans and traditional Ozark culture...

Martha Lemonds walked through a gentle rain Saturday morning, headed to a reunion of flood buyout participants. Ironic, she said, that it rained on this day when rain caused so many of the problems that brought these people together. "We can enjoy the rain now," she said. "We live up on a hill. We can sit in our family room and enjoy every minute."...

It's 6 p.m. You've just rushed from work to pick up the kids at day care. Now, you've got to feed them and get your 6-year-old to Brownies. Your 2-year-old is in no mood to sit still. It's times like these that parents appreciate drive-through restaurants. You don't have to unbuckle everyone and haul them inside. You also don't have to worry that they will turn into Mexican jumping beans once they've entered the diner. You don't have to think about bolting your kids to the restaurant booth...

Plenty of the behind-the-scenes talk at Friday's Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Day in Nashville, Tenn., centered around how the rich just seem to keep getting richer. Which led to the subject of transfers, specifically of the 1-A variety. Most of America's better Division I-AA football conferences have been able to reap tremendous benefits ever since the NCAA instituted a new rule a few years back that granted immediate eligibility to players transferring down from Division I-A programs...

With the football season fast approaching, most every high school coach in the state can't wait to get his hands on his players for the first practice of the season. Thanks to a new ruling by the Missouri State High School Activities Association earlier this year, those coaches will have two less days to wait...

The big day -- and a well-deserved one to be sure -- is just about here for former Southeast Missouri State University All-American Kenneth Dement, who in late May was one of six former collegiate standouts named for enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame...

Kimbeland Country Club will hold a mixed couples (chapman format) tournament Aug. 15-16. Cost of the tournament is $100, which includes a meal on Saturday. For more information, call 243-3923.

Practice for all Cape Girardeau Central High School fall sports teams will officially begin Monday. Following are the times when players should report for the various sports (practices are at Central High School unless otherwise noted): Football: grades 10-12, 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; grade 9, 8 a.m...

Signups for the SEMO Youth Hockey League will take place Sept. 26 from noon-2 p.m. and Oct. 3 from 2-4 p.m. at Plaza Galleria. Players up to age 20 are eligible to participate. For more information, call Terry Bass at 833-6137.

If you traveled across the state of Missouri from Cape Girardeau to the northwest corner, you would see a number of different landscapes. The hills, rivers and plants would change from one area to another. You would see different animals and different rock exposures along your route...

PERRYVILLE -- Edna G. Galnore, 80, of Perryville died Saturday, Aug. 8, 1998, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born March 30, 1918, at Wittenberg, daughter of Herman and Paula Grebing Thurm. She married Norman G. Galnore on Sept. 29, 1940. He died Nov. 9, 1981...

MARBLE HILL -- Veda Marie Van Amburgh, 77, of Springfield, Ill., formerly of Zalma, died Thursday, Aug. 6, 1998, at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. She was born March 13, 1921, at Zalma, daughter of Charles and Cora Tally Back. She married John F. Van Amburgh in December 1941. He died Sept. 8, 1987...

JACKSON -- Dorothy M. Skelton, 66, of Gordonville died Friday, Aug. 7, 1998, at her home. She was born July 3, 1932, at Whitewater, daughter of Raymond and Helen Gast Willa. She married Harold Skelton Aug. 3, 1966, at Gordonville. He died May 28, 1994...

PUXICO -- Timothy Allen Smith, 33, of Puxico died Friday, Aug. 7, 1998. He was born Feb. 9, 1965, at Houston, Texas, son of Claude R. "Smitty" Smith and Joyce Townsend Smith. Smith, a graduate of Puxico High School, was employed as a truck driver with Pine Tree Trucking of Advance...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Birdie "Nanny" Sams, 105, of Cairo, died Saturday, Aug. 8, 1998, at her home. She was born Jan. 5, 1893, in Greenville, Miss., daughter of Roy and Bella Roy Davison. She was a Methodist and was a member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary. She was a Gold Star Mother during World War II...

KARNAK, Ill. -- Spring Rhoades, 40, of Metropolis died Friday, Aug. 7, 1998, at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Ky. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak.

Isabel Y. Varro, 67, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Aug. 6, 1998, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Nov. 7, 1930, at Charleston, Ill., daughter of Thomas Howard and Rosalie Krail Howard. She married Louis J. Varro Nov. 23, 1957, at Los Angeles. He survives...

SIKESTON -- T.J. Sanders, 75, of Sikeston, died Saturday, Aug. 8, 1998, at his home. He was born May 31, 1923, at Dexter, son of Thomas Jacob and Grace Hall Sanders II. He married Emily Mae Fulford in Piggott, Ark., on April 22, 1950. She survives. He served in the Navy. He was a retired teacher in the Bell City School District. He attended the Morehouse Assembly of God Church...

CHARLESTON -- Allene V. Mor, 68, of Charleston died Friday, Aug. 7, 1998, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Oct. 13, 1931, in Maywood, Ill., to John and Mary Principe Tosti. She moved to Charleston in 1968 where she co-owned and operated Nicolena's Restaurant and Mor's Cafe until retiring in January...

ANNA, Ill. -- Helen L. Kollehner, 85, of Anna died Aug. 8, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 9, 1912, at Anna, daughter of Herman A. and Virgie Penninger Menees. She married Robert E. Kollehner March 15, 1935. He survives...

BERNIE -- Loreda Oxley, 77, of Bernie died at her home Friday, Aug. 7, 1998. She was born Dec. 29, 1920, at Bernie, daughter of Omri Benton Charles and Hattie M. Wilson Charles. She married Vincent Oxley at Malden on May 6, 1941. He survives. She was a schoolteacher at Campbell for two years. She was a member of the Bernie United Methodist Church...

Billy Franklin Orr, 76, of Las Vegas, formerly of Southeast Missouri, died Thursday, Aug. 6, 1998, at a care center in Boulder City, Nev. He was born April 3, 1922, at Poplar Bluff, son of Willie Earl Orr and Pauline Henley Orr. He married Marinelle Jo Sample Nov. 30, 1941. She preceded him in death...

ANNA, Ill. -- Jennifer Anna "Jenny" Baker, 21, of Carbondale, formerly of Anna, died Friday, Aug. 7, 1998, at her home. She was born July 11, 1977, in Temple, Texas, daughter of Larry Joe and Carole Anne Keistler. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Anna and was a student at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale...

JACKSON -- Medford Schleinger, 82, died Aug. 8, 1998, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 24, 1915, at Millersville, daughter of Willis Kinder and Minnie Mayfield Kinder. She married Cecil Schleinger Dec. 21, 1939. He died April 9, 1969...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Alvina Huffman, 78, of Cairo died Saturday, Aug. 8, 1998, at Southeast Missouri Hospital at Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are pending at the Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo.

Laura Muir, right, read the story, "The Big Surprise," to Claire Herbst, left, and Shannon Ledbetter while Katie Jenkins listened too. Shannon Ledbetter called out orders for the babysitters during a game of "Simon Says." Since July 1985, more than 1,000 teens and not-quite teens have spent a day boning up on babysitting in a Southeast Missouri Hospital Super Sitter course. Many, like 11-year-old Kelly Loos, discovered that tykes are high-maintenance beings...

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. Some of my journal entries in 1978 speak for themselves. Jan. 16, 1978: Fourteen inches of snow and still snowing...