Stories from Sunday, August 23, 1998

To the editor: A recent editorial questioned both the legality and rationale for spending millions of dollars of taxpayers' money in the forthcoming tobacco litigation. This issue represents an opportunity to invest in the improved health of Missouri citizens with a corresponding savings in personal and public revenue. ...

The crowds were impressive at the 90th annual Homecomers. Smiles, squeals of delight, the smell of food wafting through the crowd. Sound familiar? It should if you were in attendance at the 90th annual Jackson Homecomers. Everyone seemed to be smiling from the babies in strollers to a lovely couple (who preferred to remain nameless) that have been coming to Homecomers since 1946...

Colonel Jim Dowdy is at it again, selling items at Rainbow Auction's Tuesday night sale. If you're looking for something different to do, the auction may be just the thing for you. You might find that "treasures" you just can't live without. One thing you're sure to have is a good time. Especially when the ringmen get wound up. Although the selling is a serious business, listen carefully and you're sure to hear a humorous comment or two...

Shane Anderson, parks and recreation director for the city of Jackson and coordinator of this year's 5K run and one mile walk, expressed his delight with the turnout for the Homecomers' event. There were 100 participants who braved the hot, steamy weather...

25 years ago: 1973 Sherri Sue Ulrich, Miss Gordonville, was selected 1973 Jackson Homecomers Queen Wednesday night from among 10 candidates representing area towns; she is daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Ulrich of Gordonville and graduated from Jackson High School in May...

"Always Buckle Children in the Back Seat," is Optimist International's newest safety awareness program. Because of the risk of serious injury to children from air bag deployment, Optimist International has teamed up with AutoLiv, a manufacturer of air bags, to encourage parents and caregivers to always buckle children in the back seat of a vehicle...

What is love? That is a deep question. Many have tried to answer this puzzler from a worldly point of view much to the confusion of everyone who would listen. An example is the little cartoon "Love is." This cartoon comes up with such startling statements as, "Love is never having to say you're sorry." Very cute, but wrong...

The Missouri Vocational Association/Missouri Business Education Association celebrated ~its 29th annual Joint Summer Vocation Workshop and MVA Conference in Springfield July 20-23. More than 3,300 MVA members registered and more than 100 exhibitors brought displays. Approximately 800 MBEA members attended the conference...

Meredith Rae Lape, daughter of Tony and Danna Lape of Jackson, is the 1998 Missouri Demolay Sweetheart. Miss Lape was chosen sweetheart of the Excelsior Chapter then went on to compete in a three day event at Conclave convention in Jefferson City. Lape competed in talent, evening gown and interview competitions. She placed first in talent for her singing...

"Government is not a substitute for people, but simply the instrument through which they act, and if the individual fails to do his duty as a citizen, government becomes a very deadly instrument indeed." -- Bernard M. Baruch, presidential adviser A close look at voting returns in Missouri's biennial primary election earlier this month provides a conclusion that is both disappointing and alarming, for they show that 2,881,528 residents of this state failed to do their duty as citizens. ...

Methamphetamine sneaked into Missouri like a thief in the night. Three years ago both federal and state prosecutors handled few meth cases. Today it is consuming the workload of police and prosecutors. Meth, a dangerous and addictive drug, is filling up jails and ruining lives...

To the editor: On behalf of the American Cancer Society and the entire Relay for Life planning committee, I would like to thank everyone who joined together to make this even successful. The second annual Relay for Life was held at Houck Stadium Aug. 8 and had more than 150 participants and raised $20,000...

Bruce Loy knows what should be in the updated master plan for Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. Now the question is, who's going to pay for it? "Right now I don't have a commitment from the state to fund it," said Loy, who manages the airport. Loy wants the state to pay for part of the master plan update. The state wants to wait and see if the airport will qualify for federal funding...

Sizzle. Drip. Munch. Grill guerrillas converged on Arena Park Saturday for day two of the sixth annual Cape BBQ Fest. Competitors came armed with aprons and tongs, not to mention pounds and pounds of ribs, pork steaks and burgers to toss on the grills...

Good food, good times, and most importantly, good basketball were the main reasons people gave for attending Slamfest '98 basketball tournament at Indian Park Saturday. "It's a positive thing for our community," said Tim Lane, a local basketball fan who claimed to be the best player not participating in the event. "It's always a lot of fun just to come out and be with everybody."...

Potty Training. It not just a job; it's an adventure that often borders on disaster. As parents, we all look forward to the day that our children finally get out of diapers, thereby eliminating the need for a diaper pail and the gold mine to pay for all those diapers...

Southeast Missouri State University football coach John Mumford candidly admits that his 1998 team does not possess the talent of last year's squad. On the surface, that would not appear to be good news, since the Indians went just 4-7 overall in 1997, including a 1-6 Ohio Valley Conference mark that netted them seventh place in the eight-team league...

Greying hair and creaking knees didn't keep a number of local basketball heroes from showing their stuff Saturday during the opening day of Slamfest at Indian Park. Fans who braved the blazing sun said the seventh annual Slamfest tournament wasn't about who was the quickest or had the smoothest moves. Slamfest is a good mixture of the "old heads" and the "young bloods," they said, and the combination makes for an unpredictable, exceptional tournament...

The preseason is an exciting time of the year for all teams in all sports on every level. The reason is simple: nobody has played a game yet, so every squad is undefeated -- which means every team has high hopes. It matters little that, once the season actually begins, the high hopes of so many teams will quickly start getting dashed...

In Ohio Valley Conference football, it seems as if the rich just keep getting richer. Eastern Kentucky, which captured its record 18th OVC football championship last year, enters the 1998 season as the consensus preseason pick to win another title. In a recent poll of the league's head football coaches and sports information directors, the Colonels earned 13 of a possible 16 first-place votes...

With the sweltering temperatures that we have endured in recent weeks, it might seem inappropriate to think about hunting. We associate most hunting seasons with the cool, crisp days of autumn or the bitter cold days of winter. Unless you are a hard core squirrel hunter, you are probably limiting your hunting activity to daydreaming as you stare wistfully out the window of an air conditioned building or motor vehicle...

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.

The Sikeston Lion's Club will hold its 2nd annual Charity Golf Tournament Sept. 25 at the Bootheel Golf Club in Sikeston. The two-person scramble will begin with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. Cost is $45 per person, which includes green fee and golf cart. Attendance and contest prizes will be awarded...

Southeast Missouri State University will have a special Labor Day celebration Sept. 7 when the Cardinals play the Cubs at Busch Stadium. Kohlfeld Distributing, River Eagle Distributing and Coca-Cola are the sponsors. From 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., a barbecue style picnic and beverages for all alumni and friends of Southeast will be held at Sverdrup across from Busch Stadium...

Signups for the 1998 Cape Girardeau Youth Tackle Football League season will be held Aug. 29 and Sept. 5 from 8 a.m.-noon at Capaha Park (corner of Perry and Broadway). The cost of $65 per player includes supplemental insurance coverage, all equipment and a game jersey that players keep...

The Missouri Youth Soccer Association has scheduled tryouts for the Girls Olympic Development Program. For girls born in 1982 through 1986, tryouts will be held at the Mueller Sports Complex in St. Charles Aug. 23 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and Aug. 24 from 6:30-8 p.m. For the 1985 and 1986 age groups only, an additional tryout will be held Aug. 31 from 6:30-8 p.m...

SIKESTON -- Arthur T. "Sarge" LaVigne, 80, of Sikeston died Friday, Aug. 21, 1998, at his home. He was born Oct. 2, 1917, at Portage, Wis., son of Frank Sylvester and Olive Leona Gray LaVigne. He married Louis Nickens LaGrand on Dec. 1, 1951. He served in the U.S. ...

SIKESTON -- Richard Carroll Marchbanks, 85, of Sikeston died Friday, Aug. 21, 1998, at the Bertrand Retirement Home in Bertrand. He was born Jan. 4, 1913, in Dogwood, son of J.W. and Ada Belle Livingston Marchbanks. He married Eulene Dodd on Feb. 8, 1936, in Sikeston...

Harry A. Keith, 80, 9014 state Highway 25, died Friday, Aug. 21, 1998, at his home. He was born July 6, 1918, at Marked Tree, Ark., son of Harry Andrew and Mayme Payne Keith. He had retired from kitchen management at the St. Clair Restaurant. He lived in Memphis, Tenn., from 1947 to 1995 when he moved to Cape Girardeau. He was of the Baptist faith...

PATTON -- Jesse Loren Tallent, 79, of Patton died Friday, Aug. 21, 1998, at his home. He was born Nov. 2, 1918, at Tallent, Mo., son of William M. and Lillian L. Zimmerman Tallent. He was a farmer and an Army Air Force veteran of World War II, where he received the Bronze Star for the battle of Ryukyus...

SIKESTON -- Janet D. Bush Johnson, 53, of Sikeston died Saturday, Aug. 22, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 10, 1945, daughter of Joseph N. "Jake" and Laura Alice Daugherty Bush. She married Gary E. Johnson on Oct. 12, 1968, in Sikeston...

WILSON CITY -- Robert "Sam" Weems, 78, of Wilson City died Friday, Aug. 21, 1998, at the Charleston Manor nursing facility. He was born April 29, 1920, in Arkansas, son of Arthur and Parlee Foster Weems. He had lived in Missouri for more than 75 years. He was a retired employee of Burkhart Manufacturing in Cairo, Ill., and a member of the Holly Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Wyatt...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- William Lynn Casper, 75, of Carbondale, formerly of Union County, died Saturday, Aug. 22, 1998, at the Abbey of Carbondale. He was born Sept. 4, 1922, in Eldorado, son of Donald Webb and Veva Mae Bishop Casper. He married Shirley Jean Cross on July 12, 1947, in Anna...

WOLF LAKE, Ill. -- Gene Pinnon, 78, of Wolf Lake died Saturday, Aug. 22, 1998, at his home. He was born Feb. 1, 1922, in Finley, Tenn., son of Charlie and Berdie Permenter Pinnon. He married Hazel Dean Smith in New Madrid, Mo., on June 21, 1942. He farmed and had retired from Shawnee District 84 after 23 years of service...

Dale Wayne Gunter, 30, of Troy, formerly of Cape Girardeau, Mo. died Thursday, August 20, 1998 in a one-car accident ten miles south of Louisiana, Mo. He was born April 4, 1968 in Fredericktown, Mo., the son of Stephen David and Dianna Marie Hargiss Gunter...

The City of Roses Charter Chapter of the American Business Women's Association will be held Sept. 3 at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. Social time begins at 6:15 p.m., and the meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. The program includes presentation of the Business Associate of the Year, a scholarship winner and a discussion about wines by Jerry Smith, owner of River Ridge Winery...

KIMMSWICK -- While some of America's small towns are barely surviving, Kimmswick is thriving. The Mississippi River town in Jefferson County has salvaged its past and developed itself into a popular stop for tourists. Situated a few miles east of the Mastodon State Historic Site off Interstate 55 in Jefferson County, Kimmswick has a population of 136...

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. 1980-1990 Nearly every year my sisters and I, after we had established our own homes, would set aside a day to drive down the crooked, woodsy road to the farmhouse where we were reared...