Stories from Monday, April 19, 1999

Luella Kempfer of Scopus has joined the Jackson USA newspaper operation at Jackson as a sales associate. Kempfer has experience in newspaper work. She previously worked at the Marble Hill Banner Press. She also has other experience im outside sales.

Delta Growers Association, a cooperative of about 280 growers in Mississippi, Scott and New Madrid counties, and Cargill Inc., a giant grain marketer, processor and distributor of agricultural, food, financial and industrial products, have announced a proposal to form a 50-50 venture that would combine to two groups assets in Southeast Missouri...

Capaha Bank has earned its second straight "5-Star Superior" rating. Capaha Bank, founded in 1955, provides banking services in Alexander County in Illinois and Cape Girardeau County with three full-time centers -- at Tamms and Cairo, Ill., and Cape Girardeau...

This "Financial Focus" column is prepared by Edward Jones Investments, headquartered in St. Louis. Jones includes branches throughout the nation, including Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Is the stock market becoming more volatile just when the number of first time investors has never been bigger? The media might have you think so. ...

A close-up of a jam lock prototype, which was produced at the Manufacturing Technology Resource Center at Southeast Missouri State University. Latest on the area invention list is the "HitchHand," a device designed to balance long loads -- plumbing pipe, lumber, carpet and more -- in pickup trucks...

The late C.M. McWilliams has been hailed as the "father of county extension." McWilliams of Jackson, described in early-century news items as "the first agricultural county agent in the United States," was named "County Farm Adviser" on Aug. 1, 1912, for the first organized extension work in the state, a position he worked at until March 1, 1918...

Donna Domian, investment representative with the Cape Girardeau office of Edward Jones, has been named to the President's Club for the American Funds Group. Appointment to the President's Club is one of the organization's highest honors for stockbrokers and financial planners...

Nelson L. Stone, a retired veterinarian at Jackson, has been named to an 11th term as secretary-treasurer of the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association. The appointment was announced the recent 107th annual meeting of the MVMA. Stone, a 1955 graduate of the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Missouri Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Bovine Practitioners, American Association of Swine Practitioners, Society for Theriogenology, and Southeast Missouri VMA. ...

Correctional officer Duffy Sanders and educator Lisa Jeffers have been named "Employees of the Year" at Tamms (Ill.) Correctional Center. Sanders of Anna, Ill., joined the Illinois Department of Corrections in March 1991. He is also involved in many areas of youth activity in the Anna Community, He is director of the Anna Junior Wildcat Summer Football League...

The Missouri Gaming Commission will hold a hearing later this month on eliminating the state's restrictive casino boarding times. The commission announced last week that it would hold a public hearing on the boarding-time issue April 27 in the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights. Commission officials said another hearing would be held in May in Kansas City...

Margaret Friend of Cape Girardeau won $1,100 as a home partner in the Missouri Lottery's "Fun & Fortune" game show. Six contenders and nine home partners are selected each week. To become a contestant on "Fun & Fortune," you must play the Lottery Scratcher game by the same name, and match numbers to "Fun & Fortune" numbers...

Delta Center Inc. of 1001 Washington in Cairo, Ill., is building a new 13,000-square-foot behavioral health rehabilitation facility at 1400 Commercial St. Groundbreaking for the new facility was held last week. Funding for the building came from departments of commerce, community affairs and agriculture...

Spartech Corp., a leading producer of engineered thermoplastic materials and polymeric compounds, has announced five new products. The new products are: -- Acrylloy, an impact-modified frosted acrylic product, developed for glass replacement. -- Packallloy Clear Pac, a packaging material...

Commerce Bancshares, with assets of $11.1 billion, is a registered bank holding company operating at 300 sites in Missouri, Illinois and Kansas. The company has total loans of $6.9 billion and total deposits of $9.3 billion...

Retail sales rose nationally in March for the eighth straight month as consumers rushed spring shopping for an early Easter and spent big tax refunds. The sales -- which represent about a third of the nation's economic output -- climbed a smaller-than-expected 0.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted $239.6 billion, the Commerce Department said...

Target Stores will open 35 new stores in 18 states this year, boosting its number of stores to 916, company officials said. Eight of the new stores will be in Pennsylvania. With the opening of the new stores, on Oct. 10, the upscale discount retailer will have 916 stores in 44 states. Last year, Target added 59 new stores...

Women have become a major entrepreneurial force in the U.S. economy. Women-owned U.S. businesses are growing. A recent survey revealed that women owned 7.7 million businesses in the nation, providing employment of more than 13.3 million workers. The latest figures are up from a 1992 report that showed 6.4 million firms owned by women...

Elementary school boundaries and staff salaries will be among topics discussed at a Cape Girardeau Board of Education meeting tonight. The board meets at 6 p.m. at the Central Junior High School cafeteria. Board members will consider approval of a boundary plan for the district's five elementary schools scheduled to open next year...

Missouri farmers have become a vital element in the state's export business. Farmers supply a variety of crops and livestock, ranging from cotton, tobacco, soybeans, poultry and rice. Their crops now account for more than $1.50 of every $7 in goods exported to 169 countries each year...

Finding enough money in the city budget to pay for remodeling buildings or equipment purchases is not an unusual task for city finance director John Richbourg. But for a relatively small remodeling project at the A.C. Brase Arena Building, at estimated costs of $230,000, the city chose a different-than-usual route for financing the work...

I THINK that the new science building in Jackson should be named after Ed Seabaugh. He has dedicated his life to teaching the kids, and he's a wonderful person. THIS IS to all the disgruntled Proposition B supporters. This is why we didn't want you to have guns anyway. And if you're carrying, you're no longer law-abiding citizens...

With a growing number of airplanes at their disposal, state bureaucrats and some members of state-department boards are ferrying about the state and elsewhere on official business to the tune of what has to be several million dollars a year. With so many airplanes, state Rep. David Schwab of Jackson and other members of the House Budget Committee are concerned about the cost to taxpayers. The problem is they don't know exactly how much all of these airplanes are actually costing Missourians...

A redesign of the "Y" intersection of Highways 34-72 west of Jackson is welcome news to the 14,000 motorists who go through the intersection every day. The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission has awarded a $165,339 contract to change the intersection into a "T" shape. The change will provide more visibility for drivers by relocating the left-turn location to the top of the hill. Left-turn-only lanes for traffic on Route 34 and on Route 72 are also included...

Monday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. City Hall, 401 Independence Study session 5 p.m. Consent ordinances (Second and third readings) -- Ordinance for a lease purchase agreement for improvements to the A.C. Brase Arena Building with First National Bank of the Mid-South...

JACKSON -- More than 100 paintings, a mix of mostly watercolors and oils, are on display at Cox Hall in Jackson. The paintings were made by 16 regional artists. Some are for sale and others are on display just for viewer enjoyment. An open house Sunday kicked off a weeklong display of the art work. The show will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Saturday...

What started out as a nutrition program 25 years ago has developed into something much more. Senior citizens in the area meet with friends, play a game of cards or two and receive a nutritious meal at the Cape Senior Center, 921 N. Clark Ave. The center held an open house Sunday to celebrate the nutrition program's anniversary...

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team was foiled in its hopes for a three-game sweep here Sunday as Middle Tennessee State posted a 9-6 victory. The Indians, who had swept MTSU in a doubleheader Saturday, fell to 17-19 overall and 6-5 in OVC play. The Raiders are 13-23 overall and 6-6 in the league...

Southeast Missouri State University's softball team closed out its home schedule in style Sunday afternoon. The Otahkians solidified their hold on first place in the Ohio Valley Conference as they swept a doubleheader from Eastern Kentucky. Both games were 4-3, with the nightcap going nine innings...

GRAND TOWER, Ill. -- Elizabeth Jane "Betty" Rumfelt, 61, of Jonesboro, died Saturday, April, 17, 1999, at her home. Rumfelt was born Jan. 5, 1938, at Fulton, daughter of Charles Remrey and Nellie Worden Remrey. She and Lyman Rumfelt were married Dec. 31, 1955, at Fulton...

SIKESTON -- Billy Charles Hupp, 52, of Sikeston died Sunday, April 18, 1999, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born March 11, 1947, son of Orville "Bill" Hupp and Avis Barber Hupp at Sikeston. His parents survive. He and Sandra K. McCanless were married Dec. 1, 1967, at Sikeston. She also survives...

SIKESTON -- LaRue "Tootie" Monan, 81, of Sikeston died Saturday, April 17, 1999, at Clearview Nursing Center in Sikeston. She was born Feb. 4, 1918, at Sikeston, daughter of William Thomas and Susie Elizabeth Knight Heath. She and Malcolm Henry Monan married Jan., 17, 1935, at Sikeston. He died Dec. 23, 1952...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Clifford "Speck" Johnson, 69, of Jonesboro died Saturday, April 17, 1999, at his home. He was born Aug. 1, 1929, at McClure, son of Henry V. Johnson and May Hawkins Johnson. He and Margaret Dillon were married Aug. 30, 1957, at Melrose Park. Johnson attended the Valley Mission Pentecostal Church...

MARBLE HILL -- Deuel Lee Burton, 71, of Marble Hill died Saturday, April 17, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 19, 1927, at Marble Hill, son of LeRoy Burton and June Henderson Burton. Burton and Helen Stratton were married Nov. 5, 1948, at Marble Hill. She survives...

ADVANCE -- Emerson "Jerry" Lee Highfill, 61, of Advance died Saturday, April 17, 1999, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. Highfill was born Dec. 31, 1937, at Ojibway, son of Nelson Highfill and Ethel Irene Tilley Highfill. He and JoAnn Grantham were married June 19, 1954, at Malden...

GLOBE, Ariz. -- Elouise Schrader McNulty, 87, died Saturday, April 17, 1999, at a Globe nursing home. She was born March 8, 1912, in Cape Girardeau, daughter Arthur and Maude Clippard Schrader. She and Charles McNulty were married in August 1948 at Centenary Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau...