Stories from Tuesday, December 8, 1998

It's a busy time of year trying to get everything done before the holidays, including Christmas cards. You can cut down on your necessary mailing or send a holiday pick-me-up with electronic Christmas cards. The Internet is full of them. Joni: How about season's greetings from the American Legion? You can brighten the day of a military person you know with a military post card...

Southeast Missouri State University's jazz bands will present their final performance of the semester at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in the University Center lobby. The Common Hour concert will begin with the University Jazz Lab Band performing, "You Too," "Everything Must Change," "On a Clear Day," "Tongue 'N Groove," and "One More Time, Chuck Corea."...

Tuesday, Dec. 8 7:30 p.m. Board of Education office, 614 E. Adams Agenda Action Items -- Consider filing dates and times for candidates for school board member positions. -- Consider amendments to 1998-99 budget: revenue. -- Consider proposals for 1998-99 audit...

The Cape Girardeau West Rotary Club made a gift of $10,000 to establish a scholarship through the Southeast Missouri University Foundation. "The university has been awfully good to Cape over the years," said Steve Schneider, the club's president. "We hope this scholarship is a way of doing something positive to give back to the university."...

Janet Randolph says her friends think she should write a book. A kindergarten teacher for 21 years, Randolph has plenty of material. She teaches kindergarten at Oran Elementary School and has for 11 years. Before that, she taught at St. Ambrose Catholic School in Chaffee...

Sirens and crime scenes don't sound scary to 7-year-old Tiffany Smith, a first-grader at Clippard Elementary School. She thinks that working as a police officer might be a fun job. After all, you get to "give tickets and take people to jail," she says. And police officers get to drive really neat patrol cars with flashing lights and sirens, and they give out tickets for speeding, Tiffany says...

The 32nd Annual Edition of Who's Who Among American High School Students lists students who earn high academic achievement and extracurricular involvement. Students must be nominated by high school principals and guidance counselors, national youth groups, churches and educational organizations...

Detective Judy Gentry read a polygraph test at the Cape Girardeau Police Station. A lot of Detective Judy Gentry's work is in filling out paperwork and making phone calls. Detective Judy Gentry sat in her unmarked patrol car before leaving the police station...

JACKSON -- After months of delays and unanticipated costs, the Grandview Acres sewer project could be complete by Jan. 1, Public Works Director Jim Roach told the Board of Aldermen Monday. The project is a sanitary sewer retrofit in a subdivision that has been operating on septic systems. The approximately 50 landowners requested annexation into the city because of problems with their systems...

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday granted preliminary approval of a site plan request for construction of a new anchor store at West Park Mall. A site plan filed with the city in relation to another matter listed the tenant of the proposed store as Sears, Roebuck and Co., which currently operates a store at 2102 William...

Politics paved the way for the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to scrap the 15-year highway plan, Missouri Farm Bureau officials said Monday. The Farm Bureau accused Missouri Department of Transportation officials of replacing the 15-year plan for road and bridge projects with a five-year, $4.2 billion plan that puts more money into urban projects...

David G. Smith wants to make sure schoolchildren have a proper learning environment and all the help they need to get ahead. Smith, one of two finalists for superintendent of the Cape Girardeau School District, talked to teachers and the public during an informal forum Monday evening at Central Junior High School...

JACKSON -- Area school boards are getting lessons in supply and demand as they search for superintendents. The demand for superintendents is high, with Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Perryville, Meadow Heights and Farmington districts all looking to fill their top posts...

SIKESTON -- The 175 employees of Fleming Cos. Inc. in Sikeston will lose their jobs when the grocery distributor closes its warehouse within the next three months. The company is closing or selling four supply centers in a restructuring aimed at making it more competitive. The other centers are in Johnson City, Tenn., Huntingdon, Pa., and Laurens, Iowa...

I checked out a new book from the library over the weekend and found myself barely able to put it down. It's not so much that the book's plot is so intriguing, but that its character shares every last detail of her life. "Briget Jones' Diary" by Helen Fielding is an inside look at a woman's life during the course of one year...

I'M CALLING in regard to the Speak Out commenting about how they ought to cut down on the loud stereos like they do drunken drivers. That's a ludicrous idea. I don't believe they ought to do that. What I do believe they ought to do is when a police officer hears that -- there is a noise ordinance in Cape Girardeau -- the officer should pull that vehicle over. ...

The Missouri Commission on Compensation of Elected Officials has come forth with its second set of recommendations for pay increases. This time, commissioners are only proposing salary hikes for judges and the lieutenant governor. In 1997, lawmakers acted to reject the commission's proposed increases for themselves as well as all judges and statewide elected officials. The commission was created by a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 1994...

So we have a five-year highway plan in place of the 15-year plan abandoned by the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission. That agency's chief financial official, Pat Goff, says MoDOT will spend $4.3 billion over the next five years, including $878 million in the current fiscal year. ...

Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team will shoot for its sixth victory of the young season tonight when Division II Oakland City visits the Show Me Center for a 7 o'clock tipoff. Coach Ed Arnzen figures his Otahkians should be able to pull it off. But he's not taking anything for granted...

For Southeast Missouri State University's basketball Indians, they must be able to overcome one very important obstacle tonight -- avoiding a letdown. Coming off two huge Ohio Valley Conference road victories to begin league play, and with another OVC game looming later in the week, the Indians must now direct their attention to a non-conference opponent...

Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team has signed three junior-college players during the early signing period. The three will compete for the Indians in the 2000 season. Michael Mitchell is a catcher at Westark JC in Arkansas. He batted .300 with five home runs and 35 runs batted in last season...

CHAFFEE -- Top-seeded Scott City and No. 2 Kelly posted easy victories Monday night as the Chaffee girls basketball tournament got under way. Scott City destroyed East Prairie, the eighth and last seed, 91-25. Kelly rolled past No. 7 Oran 67-39. Also Monday, No. 5 Sikeston downed No. 4 Delta 40-31...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Funeral for Ruth Nixon of Mounds will be held at 1 p.m. today at First United Methodist Church. The Rev. Jerry Herring will officiate, with burial in Rose Hill Cemetery. Friends may call at the church from 10 a.m. until service time...

SIKESTON -- Esther McMillen, 81, of Sikeston died Sunday, Dec. 6, 1998, at her home. She was born March 20, 1917, in Doniphan, daughter of Baker E. and Florence Mangold Barnes. She and Irvie McMillen were married Sept. 30, 1934, at Risco. He died Oct. 13, 1986...

SIKESTON -- Funeral for Dorothy Humphrey will be held at 10 a.m. today at Ponder Funeral Home. The Rev. Mike Quillman will officiate, with burial in Matthews Cemetery at Matthews. Humphrey, 78, died Sunday, Dec. 6, 1998, at Sikeston Health Center. She was born Feb. 19, 1920, in Huntsville, Ark., daughter of Joe and Ella Thomas Whiteley...

LEOPOLD -- Lawrence William Seiler, 80, died Saturday, Dec. 5, 1998, at the Veterans Home in St. James. He was born Oct. 22, 1918, at Leopold, son of Bernard "Ben" and Mary Brauer Seiler. Seiler was a longtime resident of St. Ann before moving to the Veterans Home. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Memorial service for Richard W. Rochel of Dongola will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola. The Rev. Paul Sadler will officiate. Friends may call at the funeral home at 5 p.m. Rochel, 69, died Sunday, Dec. 6, 1998, at his home...

DEXTER -- Funeral for Beverly Jean Robinson will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The Rev. Doyle Corlew will officiate, with burial in Triplett Cemetery near Dexter. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-8 p.m. today...

PERRYVILLE -- Tyler Shawn Hamm, 1 day, died Saturday, Dec. 5, 1998, at St. Louis Children's Hospital. He was born Dec. 4, 1998, at Perryville, son of Ronald and Barbara Long Hamm. Survivors include his parents of Perryville; a sister, Laci Hamm of Perryville; paternal grandmother, Sherry Hamm of Piedmont; maternal grandparents, Beverly and Denny Whitener of Fredericktown, Randy Long of Sedgewickville; maternal great-grandparents, Dorman and Shirley Mayberry of Sedgewickville, Shirley and Dan Newell of Perryville; and maternal great-great-grandmother, Virginia Harmon of Perryville.. ...

JACKSON -- Jewel Godwin, 76, of Milton, Fla., died Monday, Dec. 7, 1998, at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Fla. She is formerly of Jackson. Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

CAIRO, Ill. -- Doug Franklin Sr., 72, of Cairo died Monday, Dec. 7, 1998, at his home. Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo is in charge of arrangements.

GLEN ALLEN -- Lola O. Buckingham, 76, of Glen Allen died Monday, Dec. 7, 1998, at her home. She was born Nov. 25, 1922, at Marquand, daughter of Arnold and Eva Jordan Gromer. She and Cletus A. Buckingham were married July 26, 1965. He died Feb. 17, 1992...

ANNISTON -- Harold Lester Presson, 84, of Anniston, died Monday, Dec. 7, 1998, at his home. He was born March 1, 1914, in Mississippi County, son of John and Cora Owens Presson. He and Jackie Duke were married May 6, 1943, at Charleston. Presson had lived in Mississippi County all of his life and was a retired farmer. He was a member of the Dogwood United Methodist Church and the Christian Motorcycle Association...

Son to Kevin and Jennifer Schneider of Cape Girardeau, St. Mary's Health Center in St. Louis, 8:27 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, 1998. Name, Nathan Tyler. Weight, 8 pounds 1 ounce. Second son. Mrs. Schneider is the former Jennifer Siemers, daughter of Paul and Paula Siemers of Cape Girardeau. She is a fourth grade teacher at Jackson R-2 School District. Schneider is the son of Butch and Sharon Schneider of Gordonville. He is a farmer with Siemers Farm...

Monday, Dec. 7 City Hall Consent ordinances (Second and third readings) -- Passed by a 4-3 vote, an ordinance granting a special use permit to city for purposes of constructing, maintaining and operating a cellular phone communication tower at 2815 Perryville Road...