Stories from Friday, July 9, 1999

The Jackson and Cape Girardeau parks and recreation departments have a variety of activities scheduled this summer. Both cities have sports camps and youth programs. The camps include bowling, golf, jogging and tennis in Jackson, and in Cape Girardeau two-week sports camps feature a different sport each day. There are also bowling and tennis camps and a peewee gym class for children 2 to 5 years old...

JACKSON -- The Jim Stoverinks of Jackson recently spent a mini-vacation in Columbia, playing softball. It's been a family thing for years. Jim, 52, and three of his sons, Jimmy, 28, Tom, 26, and Luke, 18, played in the annual Knights of Columbus softball tournament at Columbia...

Headache sufferers have existed ever since the earliest recorded history and probably well before that time. In ancient times relentless headaches were treated by trepanation or opening the skull, reportedly to let out evil humors (fluids). These operations were performed without anesthesia and generally while the patient was intoxicated with alcohol or after chewing cocoa leaves to become intoxicated with cocaine. ...

Burt Lehman draped the POW/MIA colors over an empty chair placed at the memorial service in honor of the soldiers who have never made it home. "Every soldier is entitled to one certainty that they will always be remembered," Lehman said. "On the whole, the country has failed to honor that certainty."...

Below: As Birk's carving of Benjamin Franklin nears completion, it is becoming visually apparent who the statue is depicting. August Birk began his latest wood sculpture in Cape Girardeau during the final week of June, starting with the remains of an Oak Tree located on the corner of Themis Street and Louisiana Avenue at Franklin Elementary School...

The water in Lake Girardeau is too alkaline for fish to survive, says a local fisherman who has had the water tested. The fisherman, Doug Flannery of Whitewater, raised the water quality issue during a meeting with Missouri Conservation Department officials Thursday...

Community policing will not end when Cpl. Charlie Herbst leaves the Cape Girardeau Police Department later this month. Herbst, who has worked with officer Ike Hammonds in the community-oriented policing strategy since it began in 1994, submitted his resignation Tuesday. He has accepted a marketing job in Jackson...

There are sounds of the night that come in open windows. Think back to the days before air conditioning. Remember? You don't need to hear me say it, but it's hot. I don't know about you, but I don't tolerate hot. Or humidity. I used to hear people talk about how you don't notice the heat if there isn't any humidity. These are the people who sing the praises of Arizona's desert climate...

A new program seeks a few good parents to help pregnant teens learn skills they need to be self sufficient. The new Teen Parents Program is part of the Missouri Mentoring Partnership, a work-site training program that helps at-risk youth find work and keep the jobs. Teen-agers are matched with mentors on the job...

MARSTON -- The water is flowing again. After nearly a week without water, residents of Marston can turn on their taps, take showers and flush toilets. A temporary well is in place to provide water service to the town. The city's boil water order is still in place while the Department of Natural Resources tests the well water...

Julius Lane, 70, wandered away from a home he was staying at between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Sunday, said Buddy Mitchell, Alexander County Sheriff. Although people had reported seeing him in and around Cairo on Sunday, he has not been located yet, Mitchell said...

NEW MADRID -- Officials at New Madrid County Central High School have a serious message for students: Drug use will not be tolerated. Beginning with the 1999-2000 school year, the R-1 school district will randomly test athletes and other students participating in interscholastic activities in 7th through 12 grades...

The Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield processing center is here for the "long term." That's the word from John A. O'Rourke, chairman, president and chief executive officer for the insurance company. O'Rourke was in Cape Girardeau Thursday to take part in an honoring ceremony for 26 employees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Center...

THIS IS for the individual in Jackson who threw the stuff and killed the grass at the senior citizens home. All your neighbors know who you are, and you know you are. You're going to have to answer to God one of these days. He's your judge. I JUST read a comment about the bicyclists out on Highway 177. ...

Bill Clinton's presidency has been a very difficult time for conservatives. We have seen our ideas demonized and then shamelessly stolen, our ideals shattered, our values denigrated and our character impugned. Our entire worldview has been turned upside down...

The only bid for repairs to the old Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau came in too high, and the Missouri Department of Transportation has decided to seek new bids. This is the project that would have closed the bridge from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday for about three weeks...

You've got to hand it to President Clinton, who is a master at turning anything, including death and mayhem, into a headline-grabbing sound bite. His latest bit of PR virtuosity came in the wake of a shooting spree by a white supremacist who left two persons dead and at least eight more injured. Benjamin Smith's actions can in no way be condoned, and he certainly stirred up the wrath of a nation weary of real-life violence that matches the make-believe world of TV and movies...

To the editor: Here is a letter I sent to state Rep. Jim Kreider in response to his recent letter to the editor: Dear Jim, Let the debate on state spending continue! I read with interest your letter criticizing the Southeast Missourian for partisan leanings on state spending issues...

The old adage says, "Nothing in life is certain except death and taxes." Well, there has been at least one exception that has gotten hammered through intact. Last summer the McDowell Capahas were all but guaranteed their sixth NBC Mid-South Regional title in the '90s with a weak field assembled...

Before this baseball season began, many Cardinal fans -- myself included -- were disgusted at Cardinals general manager Walt Jockety for not finding a top-notch, No. 1 starter. I was glad, though, when the Cardinals didn't shell out the $105 million to land Kevin Brown, the most talented free-agent pitcher this past off-season...

The Cape Central girls soccer team emerged as a state force to be reckoned with in the 1999 season and its accomplishment didn't go unnoticed. Sophomore twins Amber and Ashley Voerg were named to the Class 4A All-State team, while sophomore goaltender Heather Hey received honorable mention...

SIKESTON -- Trailing 8-3 in the top of the seventh, the Chaffee Junior Legion baseball team scored six runs and advanced to the District 14 Tournament final with a 9-8 win over No. 1 seed Sikeston. Todd Friend's RBI single pushed Chaffee over the top. It was one of two hits for Friend...

DEXTER -- Jim Crank, 51, of Dexter died Thursday, July 8, 1999, at his home. He was born April 4, 1948, son of J.D. and Essie Trammell Crank. He had been a resident of Dexter for the past 25 years. He operated a house power washing service. He is survived by his mother; two daughters, Jami Mayfield of Sikeston and Sonya Crank of Dexter; a sister, Shirley Alumbaugh of Parma; and a grandson...

DEXTER -- Ruth Taylor, 69, of Dexter died Wednesday, July 7, 1999, at her home. She was born Dec. 13, 1929, at Dexter, daughter of Jesse D. and Hazel Effie Dickerson Gaines. They preceded her in death. She was a member of the Pleasant Grove Community Baptist Church near Dexter and a former employee of the Brown Shoe Co...

PUXICO -- Helen Jenkins, 87, of Puxico died Wednesday, July 7, 1999, at her home. She was born Nov. 22, 1911, in Indiana, daughter of Oscar and Altie Ellis. She and Oral W. Jenkins were married Sept. 14, 1935. He died Nov. 24, 1998. Jenkins lived in Stoddard County all her life, and in Puxico since 1941. She was a member of Brown General Baptist Church...

SCOTT CITY -- Kenneth Wayne Zimmerman, 57, of Scott City died Wednesday, July 7, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 27, 1942, in Cape Girardeau, son of Franklin Otis and Eloise Deweese Zimmerman. He and Theresa O'Brien were married Dec. 20, 1980, at Scott City...

BERNIE -- Bessie Octavia Williamson, 85, of Bernie died Wednesday, July 7, 1999, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She was born July 6, 1914, at Marble Hill, daughter of Freeman and Hanna Rush Durham. She and William W. Williamson were married Sept. 26, 1947, in Piggott, Ark. He died Dec. 18, 1973...

BENTON -- Former postmaster Jordan Theon "Gus" Robert, 68, of Benton died Wednesday, July 7, 1999, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Sept. 15, 1930, at Benton, son of Theon Emil and Emma LeDure Robert. He and Evelyn "Marie" Hency were married Sept. 20, 1956, at Benton...

Dorothy Fornkohl, 57, of Bunker Route 2 died Thursday, July 8, 1999, at her home. She was born Dec. 11, 1941, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Jesse and Bessie Hahn Hand. She and August "Gus" Fornkohl were married Oct. 3, 1959, in Cape Girardeau. He died June 2, 1988...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Funeral for Helen Marie Spring will be held at 1 p.m. today at Hileman and Parr Funeral Home in Jonesboro. The Rev. John Cripps will officiate. Burial will be in Jonesboro Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 11 a.m. until service time...

JACKSON -- Ernest F. Schuette, 93, of Jackson died Wednesday, July 7, 1999, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson from 4-8 p.m. Sunday. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Monday at First Baptist Church.

JACKSON -- Violet Elfrink, 83, of Jackson died Thursday, July 8, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Daughter to Michael and Cindy Burger of Millersville, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:23 a.m. Wednesday, June 30, 1999. Name, Malary Renee. Weight, 6 pounds 13 ounces. Third child, second daughter. Mrs. Burger is the former Cindy Sander, daughter of the Rev. Jerry and Mary Lee Sander of Millersville. She is employed at Mercantile Bank in Jackson. Burger is the son of Charles and Carol Burger of Kelso. He is employed at ABC Supply in Cape Girardeau...

Hubert W. Slinkard, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, July 8, 1999, at the Jackson Manor. He was born Feb. 17, 1913, to James and Elizabeth Coomer Slinkard at Randles. He was married to Evelyn Mobley Aug. 15, 1936. She died Oct. 13, 1979. He later married Anita Becky Spates Feb. 2, 1980...