Stories from Thursday, June 29, 2000

Christopher Phillips, 5 weeks old, was massaged by his mother, Jeanne Phillips of Scott City. Grace Lysell, eight weeks, received a scalp massage from her mother, Jane Lysell. Eight-week-old Grace Lysell smiled and cooed as her mother, Jane, stroked Grace's face, rubbed her arms and made circles on her belly...

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) were initially developed in Japan as a farm-to-town vehicle in isolated mountainous areas where roads during the rainy season were often impassable with conventional vehicles. In the 1970s they were soon promoted and sold as recreational vehicles. More recently, some sportsmen and hunters have found them useful for off-road travel to reach remote areas to transport game...

Questions remained Wednesday regarding why security has been increased at the Missouri attorney general's office in Cape Girardeau. However, an official says measure is temporary. Locally based officials and those at Attorney General Jay Nixon's main office in Jefferson City have maintained secrecy regarding the new security measures...

State funding for four school building and improvement projects in Southeast Missouri was assured Wednesday after Gov. Mel Carnahan signed the capital spending bill for the upcoming fiscal year. The area projects are Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus in Cape Girardeau and Kennett Learning Center plus vocational schools in Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff...

Benjamin Lewis was relieved by Wednesday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the Boy Scouts' ban on homosexuals serving as troop leaders. "It means that it is a private organization, and we have a right to determine who can be a member of the organization," said Lewis, who grew up in Scouting...

June 29, 2000 Dear Pat, Humans dream of pennies falling from heaven. For dogs, the equivalent must be squirrels. Hank had that lucky experience last weekend. He was hanging out in the back yard with DC and her father when a squirrel fell from the sky at his feet. A few moments later it was a dead squirrel, though Hank barked at the carcass another 10 minutes and wrung its neck again just to make sure the squirrel was not merely dead but positively, absolutely, undeniably and reliably dead...

When the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport began operating in 1942, it served as a training field for U.S. Air Force pilots. Perhaps some of the same planes used in World wars I and II will return to Cape Girardeau July 8-9 for the "Heroes and Legends" air festival...

Crime Stoppers, a program designed to offer rewards for information leading to the arrest of criminals, was initiated in Cape Girardeau four years ago with the goal of cuttting down on a rash of burglaries. The program seems to be meeting its goals...

CHAFFEE -- The Chaffee Board of Education will meet tonight to discuss how best to replace former superintendent Bob Biggs, who accepted a position at a southwest Missouri school district last month. The meeting begins at 6:30 p. m. at Chaffee High School and is open to the public. The board will go into a closed session to discuss applicants and interviews...

A Cape Girardeau youth involved in a traffic accident Tuesday afternoon was in serious condition at Southeast Missouri Hospital late Wednesday. The accident occurred at the intersection of Emerald and N. Frederick when a bicycle operated by Robert David Lee Maglone, 1027 N. Frederick, collided with an automobile driven by Latibia Denise Jackson, 907 N. Middle St...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Carol Baker was skeptical when she and her husband, Scott, adopted a wild horse three years ago. "I thought we would have a lot of problems settling him and riding him," she said. But the horse they named Dusty turned out to be must easier to work with and less high strung than the family's three domestic horses. All four children in the family ride him. Scott is astride Dusty during the James Gang robberies staged some weekends by the St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway...

Cape Girardeau's Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team split a doubleheader for the third straight time Wednesday night. The River Region Mudcats from Ballard County, Ky., posted an 8-4 victory in the opener, but Cape came back to earn a 5-1 triumph in the nightcap. The second game was a five-inning contest...

What was supposed to be the fourth season of play for Jackson's American Legion baseball team since it revived the program in 1997 has ended prematurely. Jackson has had a problem fielding a full squad for much of the season and things eventually got so bad in that regard that District 14 chairman Homer Dickmann recently announced that the team has decided to forfeit the remainder of its games...

The Cape Girardeau Senior Babe Ruth baseball program will host its annual Firecracker Classic this weekend. Eight teams -- including two from Cape Girardeau -- will participate in the three-day tournament that will be played at Capaha Field, Central High School and Notre Dame High School...

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The McDowell Capahas received strong pitching from Billy Huston and Jerry Wolsey as they knocked off host Farmington 8-1 Wednesday night. Huston was the winning hurler as he worked the first five innings, allowing Farmington's lone run and one hit. He struck out six and walked one...

Yewell Gene Kraust, 68, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, June 27, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Oct. 31, 1931, in Cape Girardeau, son of Louie and Grace Fitzpatrick Kraust. He and Virgie Simmons were married Jan. 14, 1950, in Piggott, Ark...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Cletis Daniel, 80, of Advance died Wednesday, June 28, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born July 5, 1919, in Advance, son of John C. and Mabel L. Weatherman Daniel. He and Ethel Verneal Wilkerson were married Dec. 12, 1939, in Advance...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Amie Jones, 78, of Sikeston died Wednesday, June 28, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Aug. 31, 1921, in McNairy County, Tenn., daughter of John Henry and Mary Cordelia Barnes Hollingsworth. Jones was a member of Murray Lane Baptist Church...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Phillip Gregory Felden, 78, of Chaffee died Wednesday, June 28, 2000, at Chaffee Nursing Center. He was born March 16, 1922, in Keiser, Ark., son of Louis William and Clara Irene Haynes Felden. Felden had been a farm laborer. He was a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church and St. Ambrose Men's Club...

ANNA, Ill. -- Doris G. Gossett, 90, of Anna died Wednesday, June 28, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 1, 1910, in Chipley, Fla., daughter of Linnaus and Oma Helton Richardson. She and Robert Otis Gossett were married March 12, 1929, in Chicago. He died April 3, 1990...

ANNA, Ill. -- Dalton Ryan Kee, infant son of Michael and Heather Kee of Anna, died at birth Tuesday, June 27, 2000, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale. Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Anna.

Son to Steven Wayne and Lorena Aileen Gebhardt of Oran, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:51 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, 2000. Name, Samuel Wayne. Weight, 6 pounds 3 ounces. First child. Mrs. Gebhardt is the former Lorena LeGrand, daughter of Rebecca and Eddie McConnell and Calvin LeGrand of Oran. Mr. and Mrs. Gebhardt are registered nurses at Southeast Hospital. He is the son of Ronald and Joan Gebhardt of Perryville...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson police are seeking information about a man who held up Stogies Texaco Food Mart late Tuesday night. Two clerks and no customers were in the store when the man entered about 11:15 p.m., brandished a handgun and demanded money from the cash register. After leaving the gas station with an undetermined amount of money, he ran east on East Jackson Boulevard...

Though RUSH LIMBAUGH was more than gracious to ABC and producer Don Ohlmeyer when he was passed over for the "Monday Night Football" spot ... many were surprised and expressed their feelings in columns like the following: Monday night political football: I can't believe ABC has hired Dennis Miller to be a color commentator on "Monday Night Football" over Rush Limbaugh...

Let's see if we can sort our the $2 billion-dollar-plus school desegregation case in Kansas City. It may not be easy with a severe case of whiplash, but let's try. Twenty-three years ago, a lawyer, Arthur Benson III, went to court on behalf of some black students in the Kansas City School District, claiming the district had never been properly integrated despite the U.S. ...

To the editor: I wish to mark the passing and celebrate the life of one of Cape Girardeau's finest and most selfless servants, Larry Holdman. By now, everyone has taken note of his passing. Birth and death seem to be the things media notice the most about people like Larry Holdman. Here are some thoughts about his impact on our community...

To the editor: This letter is in response to Peter Kinder's June 18 column concerning estate taxes. Mr. Kinder neglected to mention several critical facts concerning estate taxes. Fact: Estates of less than $600,000 are currently exempt from all federal taxes. This is scheduled to be increased to $1 million over the next few years...

To the editor: The Downtown Neighborhood Association includes homeowners and residents in the historic downtown area of Cape Girardeau. We appreciate the historic value of our area and have worked to maintain our homes and properties to reflect these values. It is with concern that we have written to Mayor Al Spradling and City Council members for assistance...