Stories from Thursday, October 8, 1998

To the editor: Cockfighting, animal baiting and bear wrestling are cruel activities that should be prohibited. In cockfights, specially bred roosters are trained to fight each other. The birds are armed with 3-inch-long gaffs, given stimulants to increase their aggressiveness and placed in a pit to fight. During these fights, the birds suffer serious, often fatal, injuries...

To the editor: In my child development class at school, we are currently studying the development which takes place inside the uterus during the prenatal period. On Tuesday, we watched a video of actual footage inside the mother's body from the point of conception to birth. ...

Military readiness has never been a high priority for the Clinton administration. As a result, funding to maintain the degree of preparedness that would allow U.S. forces to wage two regional wars at the same time -- a military standard that is widely accepted -- has been sorely lacking...

Once again, there is good evidence that one person can make a difference in a world all too often labeled as indifferent. In this case, an eighth grader at Jackson Junior High School has been working to get fellow students, teachers and townspeople involved in a special effort of national proportions. Today students and others will be asked to sign a pledge to keep guns out of schools. It is all a part of the Day of Concern About Young People and Gun Violence...

IN RESPONSE to the person who phrased us Democrats as yellow-dog die-hard Democrats: Die-hard Democrats and the forefathers of the Democratic Party during the New Deal, the ones who are no longer with us, brought in Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which left us in real good shape with Social Security, unemployment insurance, worker's comp, the WPA. ...

When he was younger, Christopher House wanted to be a diplomat and travel to China. As artistic director of the Toronto Dance Theatre, House has been to China a number of times. His modern dances were received there "with an extremely open mind," he says...

High school students in the Cape Girardeau area may enter the 52nd annual audio essay contest, Voice of Democracy, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Ladies Auxiliary. VFW Post 3838 in Cape Girardeau has distributed entry packets to high school speech and English teachers. The deadline is Nov. 1. Students should have final entries turned in to their schools by Oct. 30...

The city of Cape Girardeau has issued a boil-water order for 41 customers along North Kingshighway after birds got into a water storage tank. "We need to stress that this is a localized boil order, and is not citywide," said Tom Taggart of Alliance Water Resources, which operates the city water system...

THEBES, Ill. -- The first-ever Stringbenders Bluegrass Festival will be held this weekend on a piece of flat land between Old Man River and the historic courthouse that once imprisoned Dred Scott. The festival is the creation of Scott Kuyper and Zac Caldwell, two bluegrass musicians/fans who were sitting around playing one night and found themselves wondering why they had to travel at least a hundred miles to attend a festival...

October is the perfect time to get your flu shot. But a shortage of vaccine has forced some health-care providers to reschedule vaccination clinics. Medicap pharmacies in Cape Girardeau and Chaffee had to reschedule Wednesday vaccination clinics when they learned no vaccine was available...

Life is about gaining respect, and Drew Jackson, 16, has it. He gets it from former and current friends who notice he doesn't "hang out" as much as he once did. He also gets it from his Division of Youth Services case manager and law enforcement officials who notice a new maturity that wasn't there six months ago...

JACKSON -- Residents armed with plenty of questions about the proposed expansion of Highway 34-72 to five lanes flooded the Jackson Middle School cafeteria Wednesday evening at an open house sponsored by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Color-coded MoDOT maps and MoDOT officials were stationed about the room to show residents the 26 houses that would be taken if the corridor is expanded. ...

In 1989, Lone Star Industries Inc. became the second industry to accept the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's Commitment of Excellence Award as the city's Industry of the Year. Wednesday night, Lone Star Industries was in the industrial spotlight again, becoming the first Cape Girardeau industry to repeat as Industry of the Year...

Organized crime has made a financial killing in this country. It isn't just the Italian Mafia that has cashed in on crime. From the Colombian drug cartels to the Asian gangs, organized crime is big business, says a law enforcement expert. Dr. Gene Scarmella, an assistant professor from Western Illinois University, was a member of the Organized Crime Intelligence Division of the Chicago Police Department for a decade. ...

Oct. 8, 1998 Dear Pat, We don't talk the way French people do. I don't mean that we speak different languages. I mean that our lives don't seem to be an extended conversation the way French people's are. Parisians sitting side-by-side at tiny tables in the cafes gave the world the term tete-a-tete. America gave the world stools in diners where you stare at yourself in the mirror...

FROHNA -- Apple butter cooking in 30-gallon copper kettles, soap making, cider pressing, quilting, spinning and other pioneer skills will be featured Saturday during the 18th annual Fall Festival at the Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna. The event is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m...

The Department of Administrative Services at Southeast Missouri State University still has seats available in their fall workshops designed for busy people. Workshops meet two days for 3 hours for .6 in continuing education units. "If you want to learn new software applications, but find yourself short on time, these classes are for you," said Sharon Hale in the administrative services department. ...

JACKSON -- When Nathan Windeknecht broke Jackson High's single-season soccer scoring record last year, he figured he had hit the jackpot. "I thought I kind of just got lucky," said Windeknecht, a senior striker for the Indians. "I thought this year, maybe I'd start to get watched."...

Three area high school softball teams are hoping the home-field advantage will help them continue their seasons. Jackson, Perryville and Kelly will all host sectional playoff games today, with the winners earning berths in Saturday's quarterfinals that will be played in the St. Louis area...

Steven Thomas School: Scott City Sport: Football Coach: Terry Flannigan This season: Thomas, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior inside linebacker and three-year starter, leads Scott City in tackles with 37 first hits and 20 assists. His partner at inside linebacker, Jeremy Mouser, is second on the team in tackles. He also has made three tackles for losses, one quarterback pressure and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown against East Prairie...

Chrissi Glastetter School: Jackson Sport: Volleyball Coach: Nancy Ellis This season: Glastetter, a senior middle hitter, has a .380 kill percentage and averages four kills, 1.5 blocks, four digs and one ace per game. Jackson is 21-2-2 this season. Week report: Jackson went 7-1 last week, including a 15-5, 15-6 win over Farmington, a team which knocked Jackson out of the SEMO Classic last month. ...

PATTON -- Meadow Heights beat Valle 15-11, 15-11 in high school volleyball Wednesday. The Lady Panthers (13-6) got nine kills, 10 blocks and 20 digs from Rachael Yount. Emily Sewell had 52 assists while Kristi Hahs added nine kills and 10 digs.

The Kohlfeld Scorpions Rugby Club took third place at the Heart of America Tournament held last weekend in Kansas City. The Scorpions went 2-1 in the tourney. Kohlfeld began the tournament with an 8-0 loss to Columbia, then beat Sioux Falls, Iowa, 27-7. Scorpion scorers were Mark Lineberry, John Creutz and Alan Kloss, while Dan Milan provided conversions and penalty kicks...

It's no secret that Tennessee-Martin has the worst defense in the Ohio Valley Conference; the Skyhawks allow an average of 514 yards per game, by far the most in the league. But the kind of damage Murray State did to the Skyhawks' defenders last weekend borders on the criminal...

PEORIA, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State University freshman golfer Ryan Smith won the individual title in the Bradley Fall Classic that concluded Tuesday. Smith finished with a 36-hole total of 140 (71-69), which was 3-under-par. For the third time during the fall season, the Indians finished second as a team. Southeast's score of 588 was six strokes higher than that of Northern Illinois, which fired a 582 to win the 13-team event...

Two men were injured in separate automobile accidents Wednesday. Daryl Lawrence, 29, of Poplar Bluff suffered minor injuries after he was struck by a car in the parking lot of Larry Hillis Dodge in Poplar Bluff. Lawrence, who was taken to Lucy Lee Hospital, had bent over to pick up an item as Samuel Deur, 20, of Dexter backed his 1997 Plymouth out of a parking place on the lot. Deur's vehicle struck Lawrence in the head...

Earl Crites Jr., 73, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

KELSO -- Ruth Felix, 72, of Kelso died Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998, at her home. Arrangements are under the direction of Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Juanita N. Gentry, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

CHAFFEE -- Elwanda Hawkins, 69, of Reno, Nev., died Thursday, Oct. 1, 1998, at her home. She was born Nov. 15, 1928, at Chaffee, daughter of Harry and Ruby Hindman. Survivors include a son, Cal Hawkins of Reno; a daughter, Sharon Caldwell of Reno; three sisters, Betty Halter and Cybil Aiello of Chaffee, Twala Hansen of Florissant; and six grandchildren...

BERTRAND -- Willie Mae Wade, 85, of Bertrand died Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born May 3, 1913, at Wyatt, daughter of Jesse Edward and Betty Rodgers Downs. She and John Eugene Wade were married April 4, 1932. He died March 10, 1976...

Daughter to Lance Cpl. Steve and Dawn Petersen of Twentynine Palms, Calif., Yuma Regional Medical Center in Yuma, Ariz., 7:09 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, 1998. Name, Courtney Ann. Weight, 6 pounds 1 ounce. First child. Mrs. Petersen is the former Dawn Oberbeck, daughter of Alan and Kathy Oberbeck of Jackson and Jerris Raffety of Tybee Island, Ga. Petersen is the son of Donna Petersen of Blairstown, N.J., and the late Mr. Petersen. He is a communications operator in the U.S. Marine Corps...

Valerie Margaret Beardslee, beloved wife of the late Harold, was born February 28, 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia of nobility to Joseph & Marcella (Kebort) Skarzynska. She passed away on Monday, October 5, 1998, at her home in Cape Girardeau. She arrived at Ellis Island, New York on April 2, 1907 aboard the S.S. ...