Stories from Tuesday, October 5, 1999

JACKSON -- The busier the little hands are in Janice Friedrich's second-grade classroom, the happier she is. Friedrich is a first year teacher at Immaculate Conception School. She believes busy hands lead to enriched minds for students. "I feel that it is important for the children to explore and make discoveries on their own," she said. "All too often we tell our children what to do, think and say."...

For hikers who have little time mixed with great expectations, Pickle Springs Natural Area is one of the best answers Missouri can offer. Pickle Springs is a hilly, two-mile loop of a trail near Farmington that samples several wonderful sights. The state Department of Conservation bills it as "the trail through time," because its geological features are so old, but the low-lying ferns and the stark sandstone bluffs give contrasts of the ageless beauty of nature...

Web TV may take on a whole new definition when Internet-based programs allow us to watch movies, television and videos in real time from our computer terminals. Gone will be the days of buffering and garble because of net congestion. Gone will be the days of tiny and distorted images...

CHARLESTON -- A contract for construction of a maximum-security prison in Charleston likely will be awarded this week. Project manager Scott Dressel said the director of the Missouri Division of Design and Construction is expected to award the project before Friday. "We hope to get this thing started pretty quickly here," said Dressel...

MARBLE HILL -- The dry summer gave way to a hot autumn weekend in Bollinger County as firefighters responded to four fires. Although no one was injured, several hundred acres of fields and forests burned and one residence was damaged, said James D. Bollinger, Marble Hill fire chief...

When it came down to choosing either $8 million or $8.5 million in bonds for a sanitary sewer project, members of the Cape Girardeau City Council didn't squabble over money. They didn't even debate it during the 17 minutes it took to complete city business Monday night...

Cape Girardeau has made great strides in its efforts to recycle and reduce waste, said Councilman Melvin Gateley. Gateley commended the city for receiving a $100,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to build a new drop-off recycling facility...

Maybe the world is divided into two kinds of people: owners of high- or low-maintenance pets. We've all heard someone say, "Well, there's only two kinds of people in the world..." Up to now I never believed that could be true. Sure there are some instances where you can classify people into simple categories: decaf and regular coffee; Pepsi and Coke; white or wheat bread. You get the idea...

"Fire Drill: The Great Escape," a fun activity for the entire family, can save lives. The Great Escape is a nationwide fire drill planned for 7 p.m. Wednesday, but the real work for the annual event is already under way. "If a fire breaks out in your home, you and your family may have only a few minutes to escape," said Cape Girardeau fire Capt. Charles Brawley...

Seven-year-old James Edward Pryor picked pecans and sold them to buy his first harmonica, but he couldn't practice at home because his father, a Mississippi minister, said the blues was "devil music." The young boy who would become Snooky Pryor sneaked out to practice by kerosene lamplight at his older brother's house. He got good at it...

Monday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. Council chambers, 401 Independence Study session at 5 p.m. Public hearings -- Held a public hearing regarding the request of Columbia Construction Corp. and Southwestern Bell Wireless for special-use permit for 150-foot monopole communication tower and 12-foot-by-20-foot equipment building for period of 20 years at 3630 Exchange Drive...

The Lower Mississippi Delta region needs to boost economic development in its battle against "brain drain," community leaders in the region told federal officials Monday. To do so, the region needs improved roads, schools, cultural opportunities, job training, and a commitment by the states to work together, they said...

JACKSON -- By the end of the year, the City of Jackson will have installed a new computerized system that will allow it to monitor production at the municipal power plant more accurately and to identify the location of outages quickly. The Jackson Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Monday night to purchase the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System from Novatech of Lenexa, Kan., for $177,886...

A Malden woman and her mother were killed, and three other people were injured in an accident Monday morning along Highway 25, four miles south of Malden. Kay Anders, 57, of Malden and her mother, Grace Anders, 96, were killed in the accident, which occurred at 11:25, according to reports from the Missouri State Highway Patrol...

I'd like to know how the principal at Blanchard elementary School is permitted to allow students only one recess a day, while all other students in the Cape girardeau School district get to enjoy two or three recesses daily. this is especially hard on the kindergartners. ...

President Clinton's decision to file suit against the tobacco companies is one of the very worst of his presidency, ranking right up there with the 1993 push for his and his wife's ill-fated health-care plan. The Clinton theory seems to be that the federal government is owed damages for costs relating to treating tobacco-related illnesses. This is ludicrous...

So presidential hopeful Bill Bradley wants free, federally subsidized health care for all Americans. Aside from providing further proof that the former New Jersey senator is running to the left of Vice President Gore, it is a bad idea. That Bradley should run to the left of a liberal vice president is really no surprise to careful observers. ...

To the editor: I and my family would like to thank all the companies, organizations, churches and friends for supporting my trip to Australia with the National Future Farmers of America international program during the summer. Thank you for all your help and prayers. A special thank you to Danny McCrite, FFA adviser at Egyptian School, and Lamar Houston for their help...

To the editor: I am writing on behalf of our family to publicly express our sincere and deepest appreciation for the nursing staff of the neurological ICU department at Southeast Missouri Hospital. My mother, MarieAnna Theiss, entered Southeast Missouri Hospital on June 21 following a fall at her home in Perryville. ...

To the editor: This is in reference to the Sept. 23 article concerning Shepherd's Cove Children's Home. We believe the first obligation of a reporter is to ascertain the truth of what she intends to report on before she reports it. It appears this reporter failed to do that, as have others in past articles concerning Shepherd's Cove. We have no idea where or from whom she got her information that Shepherd's Cove is a licensed foster home...

As the chances of even a semi-respectable season keep slipping away for Southeast Missouri State University's football team, coach John Mumford refuses to give up hope of a winning record. Since the Indians are 0-5, they must win their final six games to pull that off. The odds are certainly heavily against it...

BENTON -- The softball dynasty at Kelly High School just keeps on rolling. Kelly captured its 14th consecutive district championship Monday as the top-seeded Lady Hawks rolled past second-seeded Notre Dame 10-1 in the finals of the Class 2A, District 2 Tournament...

Missouri coach Quin Snyder will have to wait another day, and maybe longer, before finding out if he broke NCAA rules while pursuing his first two recruits for the Tigers. The university had expected to hear from the NCAA Monday on whether the men's basketball program had violated recruiting rules. But no such ruling was issued from the college sports governing organization, and NCAA spokeswoman Jane Jankowski said there was no specific time set for one...

SIKESTON -- Cape Girardeau Central High's girls tennis team completed their fourth straight undefeated dual-match season Monday by rolling past host Sikeston 9-0. The Lady Tigers, who have won 50 straight duals over the past four years, improved their 1999 record to 13-0...

Notre Dame High School's baseball team was presented a Missouri Senate resolution Monday applauding the school's second-place finish in the 1999 Missouri Class 2A Tournament. Sen. Peter Kinder made the presentation to the 26-3 Bulldogs. Notre Dame bowed to defending state champion St. Pius 13-7 in the state championship game...

ADVANCE -- Iva Jean Hart of Advance died Monday, Oct. 4, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Morgan Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

ANNA, Ill. -- Funeral for Violet Mae "Ginger" Hess of Anna will be held at 2 p.m. today at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna. The Rev. Donald Poole will officiate. Burial will be in Anna Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home until service time...

Hurl J. Dale, 70, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Oct. 3, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Feb. 7, 1929, in Advance, son of William L. and Pearlie L. Rhodes Dale. He and Josephine R. Tanner were married Jan. 9, 1951, in Piggott, Ark. She died April 14, 1990...

Billy Don Little, 62, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Oct. 4, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born July 24, 1937, in Cape Girardeau, son of Theodore and Lillian Sander Little. He and Carol Keesee were married March 21, 1959, in Sandusky, Ill...

MARBLE HILL -- Funeral for Glenn Armstrong of Lake City, Fla., was held Monday at Biggs Funeral Home in Lake City. Burial will be today in Florida National Cemetery at Bushnell. Armstrong, 76, died Friday, Oct. 1, 1999, at his home. He moved from Marble Hill to Lake City in May 1998. He retired as a mechanic with a commercial airline and had been a Methodist lay minister...

Curtis Andrew Allen, 75, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, Sept. 30, 1999, in Clermont, Fla. Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

John Pershing Bayer, 81, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died Sunday, Oct. 3, 1999, at Memorial Hospital in St. Petersburg, following a lengthy illness. He was born Aug. 23, 1918, at Kinsey, son of Edward and Agnes Bockencamp Bayer. He and Dorothy Difani were married April 28, 1945, in Grand Island, Neb...

PERRYVILLE -- Marion Bevetta Bunge, 79, of Perryville died Monday, Oct. 4, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 5, 1919, at Sturdivant, daughter of William E. and Ora L. Jones Hunt. She first married JW Smith May 10, 1937, in Marble Hill. He died March 25, 1964. She later married Fred O. Bunge March 26, 1965, in Las Vegas, Nev. He died in 1983...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Orpha Warren, 89, of Olvie Branch died Monday, Oct. 4, 1999, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She was born Oct. 17, 1909, in Alexander County, daughter of Lorenza and Irene Durham Bedwell. She married Howard E. Warren, who died Dec. 21, 1988...

Darlene J. Winters, 55, of Cape Girardeau, died Monday, Oct. 4, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born April 10, 1944, in Rockwood, Ill., daughter of Herman and Wilma Zang Koch. She and Jim V. Winters were married Nov. 29, 1963, in Murphysboro, Ill...

Lorraine Darby Broyles, daughter of Charles Marion and Byrd Fox Darby was born in Sikeston, Mo., on January 18, 1907, and died at St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo., on October 3, 1999, at the age of 92 years 8 months and 15 days. She lived in Sikeston and Essex until 1921 when her family moved to Dexter, Mo., where she lived until 1992, when she moved to cApe Girardeau, Mo., to be near her family...

Daughter to Patrick and Amy Higgins of Cape Girardeau, St. Luke's Hospital, 4:19 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, 1999. Name, Taylor Elizabeth. Weight, 7 pounds 15 ounces. First child. Mrs. Higgins is the daughter of Larry and Jean Smith of Bonne Terre. Higgins is the son of Tom and Mary Higgins of Cape Girardeau...

CHAFFEE -- Jo Nell Rhoda, 64, of Chaffee died Sunday, Oct. 3, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 5, 1935, in Princeton, Ky., daughter of Luther and Mary Carner Sullivan. She and LeRoy Rhoda were married Jan. 30, 1956. He died Aug. 8, 1974...