Stories from Monday, August 7, 2000

Jayne Ervin and Kendra Kelley of Jayson Jewelers in Cape Girardeau recently attended the National Retail Jewelers Organization (RJO) convention at Des Moines, Iowa. The buying show was conducted by RJO for more than 700-member jewelers. Ervin and Kelley attended a number of professional jewelry seminars...

The Small Business Development Center will conduct counseling sessions at Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Perryville and Malden this month. The counselor, Gil Degenhardt, will be available Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office. The free counseling sessions last about an hour. Call 335-3312 for appointment...

SunCom is coming to Cape Girardeau. SunCom, a wireless service of TeleCorp PCS, will move to the Cape Girardeau area soon. The company recently opened a regional headquarters in Evansville, Ind., and will open a corporate store there later this year...

"Trees N Trends" is in, "Silk Tree Factory" is out. Eight years and 21 stores after the first Silk Tree Factory, a home-decorating business featuring silk-floral arrangements, has changed its name. The new Trees N Trends signs will go up in all 21 stores throughout an eight-state area...

Wallis Oil Co. Inc., a petroleum distributor based at Cuba, Mo., has purchased the retail and transportation assets of Cooper Oil Co., Inc., of Missouri, from Bill Cooper. Wallis adds 21 convenience stores, a commercial card-lock fueling facility and five transport trucks to its business. Wallis has 102 service stations in Eastern Missouri...

The third annual Orthopaedic Associates Strike-Out Arthritis Bowling fund raiser raised $1,500 for the Arthritis Foundation. The Strike-Out was sponsored by the Orthopaedic Associates of Southeast Missouri, P.C., with Pam Woodruff coordinating the event...

A CD Warehouse Inc. store in San Diego, Calif., is the first in the company's history to exceed $1 million in annual sales. The store is one of 14 in the San Diego market. In Missouri, stores in Cape Girardeau and Springfield were near the $1 million sales mark, said Jerry Grizzle, company chairman and chief executive officer in Oklahoma City...

A commercial mussel harvest will be allowed on a lower portion of the Illinois River this month with an approved contract from the Department of Natural Resources. Harvest will be allowed by contract from the mouth of the Illinois River upstream to the railroad bridge near Pearl in southern Pike County at river mile 43.3. ...

Candidates wanting to keep in contact with voters have turned to a technological tool to help their grass-roots campaigns. Area candidates say the Internet has helped them keep in touch with voters, discuss issues, answer questions and make voters more educated. Three local candidates operate Web sites for voters to access information...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Flamm Orchards, on Old Highway 51 just north of Cobden, has added a fruit and cream stands at its country market. Flamm, opens from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily from mid-July until mid-December. Flamm Orchards, which dates back more than a century, has operated a retail country market for years, offering fruits, vegetables, cider, jams and jellies...

Concord Printing Services will close the gap to highly automated commercial printing. A Heidelberg Printmaster GTO, five-color press has been installed at the printing press facility at 500 William St. in Cape Girardeau. "This is good news," said Mike Tenholder, director of Concord Printing Services, a division of Concord Publishing House, Inc. "It will help us do a better job and do it quicker."...

Darrell Aufdenberg, of Jackson, has been named vice president of agricultural and commercial lending at Capaha Bank of Cape Girardeau. John Abercrombie, president of Capaha Bank, announced the appointment recently. Aufdenberg has been in banking for the past three years and has an extensive background in agriculture. He is past president of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, serves on the Jackson JIDC Board and Semo Cattleman's Board...

Angela Heuring has been appointed loan specialist at First National Bank at Cape Girardeau. Jim Limbaugh, president of First National Bank of Cape Girardeau, announced the appointment recently. Heuring has assumed her new duties, supporting Limbaugh and Ted Williams in the Cape Girardeau area. Heuring will work at the Cape Girardeau Branch, 2027 Broadway...

Linda D. Puchbauer has been named branch manager of the First National Bank facility, 2125 E. Jackson Blvd., at Jackson, Mo. Jim Limbaugh, president of First National Bank of Cape Girardeau, announced the appointment recently. Puchbauer has a background in banking and financial service since 1978...

Napster is a term that resonates around every collage dorm. If you haven't heard of it, you can bet your kids have. Young people around the world are sharing music like there is no tomorrow. They compare this use of technology to a public library where all the books are covered by the U.S. ...

JWS Estate Sale Service is coming to the Cape Girardeau and Jackson area. Jill Wilferth Smirl is owner of the new service to assist people in closing out their estates. JWS Estate Sale Service will offer numerous services -- evaluation, presenting the sale in a professional manner, marketing the sale to assure public turnout, removal of unsold items, and professional cleaning of the home to make it buyer-ready. Additional information is available by calling 334-5061...

Doug Bruce has joined Wieser Honda, 385 Siemers, in Cape Girardeau as salesman. Bruce, who taught school for 29 years at Notre Dame High School, has seven years of experience in auto sales.

Marilyn Spurlock has rejoined AAA Travel, 1903 Broadway, as a senior travel counselor. Spurlock of Sikeston, Mo., previously worked eight years for AAA.

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. If you've ever thought about retiring early, then you know there's one major concern you'll need to address, money. Will you have enough? And where will it come from?...

Residents in the neighborhood of Perryville Road and Lexington Avenue oppose any zoning changes or special-use permits to modify their neighborhood. Twenty-two residents have signed a petition saying they are "opposed to the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission, or the City Council, granting special-use permits or rezoning of property which would permit commercial activity at that intersection."...

Missouri's Rapid Response teams have been activated on several fronts, but unemployment in the state remains less than 3 percent. Rapid Response teams, which provide special training and re-employment services for workers who have lost their jobs, will conduct meeting this week in a number of areas, including Cape Girardeau, to help workers who will be laid off in the closing of the regional census center...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Ask children around here what they did during the summer before the Perry Park Center. They'll say, "Nothing." Although the response seems exaggerated, the $9.5 million center that opened a little over a year ago has given residents recreation options they never had before...

Melvin Gateley couldn't have guessed that when the city and civic leaders began working on a strategic plan for helping Cape Girardeau reach the 21st century that the plan would be so successful -- or that it would even be used. But the plan was put into action and has been so successful that a continuation is being developed for use into 2020...

Montgomery Gentry SIKESTON, Mo. -- Last year, the Sikeston Jaycees donated $85,000 to community projects thanks to the little old rodeo they've been sponsoring for nearly half a century now. While they're at it, they provide both rodeo and music fans with top entertainment...

WICHITA, Kan. -- The McDowell Capahas suffered their second straight tough-to-stomach loss here Sunday as they were eliminated from the 66th annual National Baseball Congress World Series. Friday night, the Capahas lost a 6-0, seventh-inning lead and suffered a 7-6 defeat to the San Diego Stars...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Dunklin County, the District 14 champion of Southeast Missouri, captured the title in the American Legion State Tournament by beating Blue Springs 12-3 here Saturday night. Dunklin County (46-7) went 3-0 in the state tourney, winning other games by scores of 9-5 and 14-0...

After seeing his initial recruiting class on the field for the first time, Southeast Missouri State University football coach Tim Billings came away feeling good, and believing that several freshmen could help out right away during the 2000 season. "I'm real excited about this recruiting class," said Billings late Saturday afternoon as he watched his youngsters run through non-contact drills on the new FieldTurf playing surface at Houck Stadium. ...

DELTA, Mo. -- Levis F. Schearf, 77, of Delta died Sunday, Aug. 6, 2000, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 21, 1923, at Delta, son of Philip Ludwig and Myrtle Amelia Stoffregen Schearf. He and Rachel Surface were married Oct. 25, 1952. She died March 25, 2000...

ANNA, Ill. -- Delia S. Wojnas, 95, of Anna died Sunday, Aug. 6, 2000, at Jonesboro Health Care Center in Jonesboro, Ill. She was born July 30, 1905, at Normal, Ill., daughter of William Henry and Desdie Mona Waddle Sowder. She and Michael Wojnas were married July 30, 1958, at Arlington, Va. He died Jan. 19, 1991...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Frances S. Preston, 87, formerly of Perryville, Mo., died Sunday, Aug. 6, 2000, at Mark Twain Manor in Bridgeton, Mo. She was born Oct. 22, 1912, in Perry County, Mo., daughter of Frank A. and Matilda Vogel Schulte. She and James Arthur Preston were married June 11, 1938. He died Sept. 24, 1955...

ANNA, Ill. -- Edith Boyd Davis Gordon, 99, of Columbus, Ohio, formerly of Anna, Ill., died Saturday, Aug. 5, 2000, at the Arbors at Hilliard Nursing Home in Columbus. She was born Aug. 14, 1900, at Jonesboro, Ill., daughter of John J. and Mary Gillespie Boyd...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Elmer Jewell Babb, 84, of Charleston died Saturday, Aug. 5, 2000, at Bertrand Nursing Facility. He was born June 17, 1916, in Diehlstadt, Mo., son of Elmer S. and Bunice Plunkett Babb. He and Emma "Tootie" Hazel were married Oct. 15, 1948...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Leslie E. Warren, 84, of Grand Chain, Ill., formerly of Olive Branch, Ill., died Sunday, Aug. 6, 2000, at his home. He was born July 12, 1916, in Alexander County, Ill., son of James and Gertrude Story Warren. He and Vergie Johnson were married Dec. 20, 1941...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Leonard Conrad, 80, of Jackson died Sunday, Aug. 6, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. Funeral will be Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home, with Dr. Brian Anderson officiating. Burial will be in Russell Heights Cemetery...

Juanita L. Farrar, 72, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Aug. 5, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 23, 1928, in Advance, Mo., daughter of Frank and Edith Humphrey Farrar. She has worked for 35 years with AT&T and Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. She was a member of Southwood Baptist Church in Tulsa, Okla., and Telephone Pioneer Workers of America...

Missourians may never know why five Missouri Supreme Court judges withdrew from hearing a request by parties seeking to intervene in the state's settlement with tobacco companies. That is because they aren't required to give a reason for their recusals, and none of them did...

When a flood-control project on the city's west end was unveiled almost 30 years ago, a plan for a pedestrian trail running its entire length wasn't of much concern. It was even received with a few snickers here and there. But what an improvement the trail has turned out to be. Cape LaCroix Trail is heavily used. People bicycle, walk or run from one city park to another along the trail. Shawnee Park is connected to Arena Park, which is connected to Osage Park...

To put the River Campus issue in context, I am reprinting my column of Oct. 21, 1998, that discussed the proposed vote on a bond issue and increase in the city's hotel-motel tax that were on the ballot Nov. 3. That headline read: "River Campus has potential to spark downtown." Here are excerpts from the column:...

IN RESPONSE to the person who said the Democratic Party lives in the past: The Republican Party has no past to be proud of. And they have no present to boast about. And they certainly have no future. Their past is their future. They think the same way as they did in the past: trickle-down economics, anti-labor, anti-right-to-work law, anti-minimum wage bill and anti-Medicare and national health care. I wouldn't boast about my past either if I were Republican...

To the editor: "Now, therefore, I, William J. Clinton, president of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2000 as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. ...

Agenda Cape Girardeau City Council Monday, Aug. 8 at 7:30 p.m. City Hall, 401 Independence Study session at 5 p.m. Public hearings n Public hearing regarding the request of Larry W. Stone to rezone 327 S. Lorimier St. from R-4, multiple-family residential district to C-2, general commercial district, and for a special-use permit for mini-storage units at that location...

Agenda 7:30 p.m. Monday City Hall Action Items Power and Light Committee n Consider a motion authorizing Pay Request #1 in the amount of $23,093.30 to Townsend Innovative Clearing and Growth Control under the Contractual Tree Trimming Contract. n Consider a motion to change the regular council meeting date from Monday Sept. 4 to Tuesday, Sept. 5 due to the Labor Day holiday...