Stories from Sunday, January 24, 1999

To the editor: Like the majority of other Americans, I am already very tired of the coverage of the impeachment trial of William Jefferson Clinton, although not as tired of it as he is, I imagine. However, I am also very concerned about the possible outcome should President Clinton be allowed to get away with the possible crimes of perjury and obstructions of justice. ...

25 years ago: 1974 County Courthouse got unpleasant taste of interruptible gas contract -- a $339 penalty fee for not switching to standby propane last weekend when it was ordered to do so; county officials had erroneously assumed switch over was automatic...

The Southeast Missouri State University of Board Regents will hear a report on Crowley's Ridge National Scenic Byway when it meets Monday. Regents are scheduled to meet at 1:30 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom.m Members of the Tourism Advisory Council will present a proposal, which they intend to take to Missouri legislators, asking for support to plan and develop state and national scenic byways in Missouri...

JACKSON -- Firefighters from a half-dozen fire departments participated in a "live fire" training exercise Saturday. The training, conducted south of Jackson on County Road 318, off Highway 25, was a day-long fire safety and training program conducted and sponsored by Jackson Fire Rescue...

Key Word: COLUMNS An ancient Chinese curse says, "May you live in interesting times." We do. President Clinton delivered his State of the Union address last week, and what was the substance? The biggest explosion of spending since the heyday of LBJ's Great Society plus the beginning of a government takeover of the stock market. Back to the '60s...

World affairs experts are suggesting that the United States needs Iraq's Saddam Hussein -- or a bad-guy nemesis like him -- to rally support for U.S. foreign policy and defense spending. The recent past lends some credence to this analysis. A partial listing of U.S. enemies has included the likes of Manuel Noriega and the Ayatollah Khomeini. Current contenders, in addition to Saddam, include Moammar Ghadafi, Slobodan Milosevic and Fidel Castro...

Unless Missourians exercise extreme caution they could, perhaps all too soon, elect a governor and other public officials with the same limitations as the newly inaugurated chief executive of Minnesota. Although this prediction may fall wide of the mark, the conditions that brought about the election of an ill-equipped professional wrestler in the Land of 10,000 Lakes are ripe for installing more Jesse (The Body) Venturas in highly important, critical public posts throughout the U.S...

Missouri Secretary of State Bekki Cook is scrambling to rewrite a ballot measure on the right to carry concealed weapons and get copies distributed by Tuesday, the deadline to get them on the April 6 ballot. Cook's challenge follows a ruling Thursday by a Cole County circuit judge striking down the ballot language approved by the Legislature last year. ...

The graying of the Baby Boomer generation is resulting in an aging workforce. The work force is a changing one, in Missouri, the United States and the world. Industrialized nations will have more and more older workers over the next 20 years, as demands for those with skills increase...

Affordable, accessible public transportation for anyone who needs it; smooth traffic flow, adequate parking and well-maintained streets; easier accessibility in-and-out of Cape Girardeau and the pursuit of a MSA regional designation were among topics discussed during a Vision 2020 meeting, held at St. Francis Medical Center Saturday in Cape Girardeau...

The Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence, in the organizing stages for the past year, is ready to take action. In February, the non-profit organization will sponsor training for registered nurses and hopes to announce a location for rape crisis center in Cape Girardeau...

Missouri Department of Transportation location studies of proposed improvements along Routes 25 and 74 and Routes 34 and 72 are nearing completion. When final, they will provide the documentation that will allow the projects to proceed. MoDOT has proposed improving Highway 74 to four lanes beginning at the Highway 77 and 25 intersection past Dutchtown and terminating at the intersection of Highway 74 and I-55...

While forecasting the weather is a pretty sophisticated business, with advanced radar and satellite scans, determining existing conditions remains as easy as it always has been. Look out a window. If you see snow, you can safely conclude that it's snowing. If you see rain, it's fair to deduce that it's raining...

Safety pins used to hold diapers together. Now they're piercing eyebrows. It's enough to drive parents crazy or at least make them want to ban all sharp objects from their homes. Teen-agers also are putting diamond studs, gold hoops and other foreign objects in their eyebrows, belly buttons, noses and even tongues...

Every place I go, when the subject of area high school boys basketball comes up, people are telling me how much of a down year this is. When I talk to coaches, most of them say the same things: There is a lot of parity in the area, which makes for plenty of close, interesting matchups. But when it comes to super-type teams -- the kind Southeast Missouri is accustomed to having in most years -- they are nowhere to be found...

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team has had a lot of big wins so far this season. But -- even though it came against the Ohio Valley Conference's last-place squad -- Saturday's 75-64 triumph over host Eastern Illinois ranks right up there with the biggest...

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Strange as it might sound, Southeast Missouri State University basketball coach Gary Garner actually felt pretty good at halftime Saturday night -- even though his team trailed by six points. The reason for Garner's optimism? The fact that Eastern Illinois had absolutely burned the nets from long range in the first half -- yet the Panthers had failed to knock out the Indians...

JACKSON -- Adam Crader was an intimidating giant that scared Jackson down the proverbial beanstalk Saturday night. The 6-foot-9 sophomore owned the paint and used every bit of his frame to his advantage in Doniphan's 64-49 win over Jackson Saturday night...

Parkway West, ranked No. 8 in Class 4A, pulled away late to a 43-34 victory over Cape Central Saturday in girls basketball action. Parkway West put the game away in the fourth quarter with frequent trips to the foul line after several quick misses by the Lady Tigers...

If you take a look at a calendar for 1999, you will see that the new year began almost an entire month ago. However, if you hunt or fish in Missouri, you will have yet another new year that is still more than a month in the future. Monday, March 1, marks the beginning of the new sport hunting and fishing permit year in Missouri. That is also the date for the implementation of new regulations that pertain to all forms of wildlife in the state...

The Southeast Missouri State University Booster Club is sponsoring buses for the Southeast basketball games at Murray State Feb. 11. The buses will leave the Show Me Center parking lot at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 11 and will stop at the Dutch Essenhaus Smorgasbord outside Murray. The buses will arrive at the Murray State Regional Events Center prior to the 5:30 p.m. tipoff of the women's game. The men's game will follow at 7:30...

The Cape Area Youth Soccer Association (CAYSA) will be taking signups for the spring outdoor soccer season Jan. 24 and Jan. 31. from noon to 5 p.m. inside West Park Mall at the JC Penney entrance. Age groups span pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in both co-ed and girls divisions. Registration fee is $20 for kindergarten through eighth grade and $10 for pre-kindergarten...

The Jackson Area Optimist Soccer Association (JAOSA) will hold its spring signups two more days at Main Street Fitness in Jackson. Signups will be Jan. 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. and Jan. 30 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, contact Tom Sprandel at home (243-4065) or work (243-9533)...

BELL CITY -- Vernal "Goog" Matheney, 76, of Bell City died Friday, Jan. 22, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 19, 1922, at Ardeola, son of Richard and Mary Cazy Matheney. He was a retired manager of a Cargill Inc. grain elevator at Sikeston. He attended the General Baptist Church at Bell City. He was in the Army during World War II...

BERNIE -- Marie Mize, 94, of Bernie died Friday, Jan. 22, 1999, at the Lincoln Skill Care Center at Fayetteville, Tenn. She was born July 7, 1904, at Matthews, daughter of Luther Deane and Annie Dockins Deane. She married Claude A. Mize Sr. at Detroit, Mich., May 12, 1926. He died Jan. 5, 1964...

DEXTER -- Edna Davis, 91, of Dexter died Friday, Jan. 22, 1999. She was born Nov. 10, 1907, at Stuttgart, Ark., daughter of Wiley and Cora Spence Halfacre. She was a homemaker and had lived in Dexter most of her life. She was a graduate of Dexter High School and was of the Presbyterian faith...

CHARLESTON -- Luther Winchester, 72, of Charleston died Saturday, Jan. 23, 1999, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston.

COBDEN, Ill. -- Janet W. Anderson, 91, of Cobden, Ill., died Saturday, Jan. 23, 1999, at the City Care Center in Cobden. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at the Lutz & Rendleman Funeral Home in Cobden.

PERRYVILLE -- Mary B. Herold, 88, of Perryville died Tuesday, Jan. 19, 1999, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born Oct. 12, 1910 at Longtown, daughter of Lucas and Louise Bohnert Geringer. She married Henry Herold on Oct. 21, 1944. He died Oct. 30, 1951...

Roberta Elliott worked with her "apprentice," a pneumatic power hammer, to shape a hot steel rod. Elliott created a decorative bracket for a calling bell in her shop for a customer. Elliott's blacksmith shop is situated near quiet woods. A locking wrench was modified by Elliott to hold steel pipe...