Stories from Tuesday, October 3, 2000

THE STORY SO FAR: Hank and Drover were eating breakfast when Hank begins spinning a yarn to scare Drover but wait, maybe Hank is the one that ends up scared... So there we were in front of the machine shed, Drover and I. I was telling him a wild yarn about a red hairy gorilla that I'd found in the feed barn, and I had the little mutt scared out of his wits...

It didn't take Lelde Vaivode long to learn about two of the most important products of American culture: Football and barbecue. Vaivode, an exchange student at Central High School, is spending a year learning about American culture and the educational system courtesy of Cape Rotary West Club. She's one of three students the club will sponsor for visits to Cape Girardeau this year...

Even though many of us are swept up in sports fever (between the St. Louis Cardinals and Rams), you can't help but notice there's an election going on. For the last few years, I have been amazed how government has jumped on the Internet bandwagon. It has certainly increased the reach of government -- offering information and services beyond normal business hours (to say nothing of all those federal holidays)...

Students enrolled in Southeast Missouri State University's International Business Study Program will spend winter break in the Mediterranean. The two-week program, which begins Jan. 3, will expose students to cultural and business practices in Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Morocco...

Finding children in need of mentors isn't nearly as challenging as finding enough adults who can offer a positive role model, says the local staff of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri. The organization set up a satellite office in Cape Girardeau recently and is beginning to search for adult volunteers...

Dorothy Bush Koch, sister of the Republican presidential candidate, is coming to Cape Girardeau Friday for speeches before university students and faculty and a group of Republican women. After meeting with members of the media at 10:30 a.m., Koch, of Bethesda, Md., will speak to Southeast Missouri State University students and faculty members at 11 a.m. at the University Center program lounge...

The two candidates for U.S. Senate in Missouri can't agree on when, where and how to conduct a series of debates before the Nov. 7 general election. Mel Carnahan, a Democrat, and John Ashcroft, the Republican incumbent, are trying to come to an agreement about a debate schedule. Depending on which candidate you ask, you'll get different answers about the decisions made...

Tentative schedule through Friday Ongoing projects...

There's a feeling of anonymity that goes along with living in a large city. During my year in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., I bumped into acquaintances in public only three times and remember each incident distinctly. I saw a newspaper columnist walking on a street near my apartment. I saw a state representative eating lunch. And I saw two co-workers enjoying a Bruce Springstein concert...

There may be more tricks than treats during this Halloween, all because a pumpkin shortage is developing. Some pumpkins are early, others are small, and some have rotted in the field. "The general feeling is that the 2000 pumpkin crop is down," said David Emslie, a Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service statistician who conducted spot checks around the state. "Some retailers have purchased pumpkins from other areas."...

A new state-regulated program will enhance Alzheimer's patient care at one Cape Girardeau facility by providing social-based care for patients, a statewide networking system for staff and a new licensure category for the home. The Lutheran Home for the Aged, 2825 Bloomfield Road, was one of 16 facilities chosen to participate in the program, which will focus on a social model of care for Alzheimer's patients instead of the typical institutional medical model used at many nursing homes...

This is Industrial Appreciation Week in Cape Girardeau, and the highlight event -- the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Industrial Appreciation Dinner -- will be held Wednesday at the Show Me Center. More than 750 people are expected for the 12th annual event which kicks off with a social hour at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. The annual Commitment of Excellence award for the Industry of the Year will be presented...

The definition of the Italian word bravo and the feminine form brava is "brave, bold, original, wild, savage." Megwyn Sanders' new experimental play, "Nobody's Juliet," is all that and more. Written and directed by Sanders, a senior theater major at Southeast, "Nobody's Juliet" premieres tonight at 8 at the Rose Theatre. The play, for mature audiences only, continues through Saturday...

Cape Girardeau County aims to get the most asphalt for its dollar. As a petroleum product, the price of asphalt has risen in recent months. This increase prompted the Cape Girardeau County Commission on Monday to finalize a contract to purchase 10,000 tons less of asphalt mix this year than in last year's contract...

As if Southeast Missouri State University's football team hasn't had enough problems lately, now injuries are beginning to mount for the Indians. Three more players went down during Saturday's 48-24 loss at Eastern Kentucky, including cornerback Isaac Huddleston, who suffered a head injury. Huddleston, who had suffered a mild concussion the previous week against Western Kentucky, will be out until at least the Murray State game on Oct. 21 and perhaps longer...

Southeast Missouri State University setter Emily Scannell has been named the co-freshmen volleyball player of the week by the Ohio Valley Conference. Scannell handed out 79 assists and served six aces during Otahkian victories over Southern Illinois and Tennessee Tech last week...

Cape Girardeau Central High School softball pitcher Cassie Gross came ever so close to perfection Monday. Gross fired a five-inning no-hitter, with only one Delta runner reaching base, as the Lady Tigers knocked off the visiting Lady Bobcats 10-0 in a game stopped after the top of the fifth by the 10-run rule...

ANNA, Ill. -- Jack Hubbs, 64, of Anna died Monday, Oct. 2, 2000, at Jonesboro Health Care Center in Jonesboro, Ill. Crain Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements.

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Albert Orr, 83, of Jonesboro died Monday, Oct. 2, 2000, at Union County Nursing Home in Anna, Ill. He was born July 25, 1917, in Reynoldsville, Ill., son of John and Jessie McCloud Orr. He and Berniece Mainer were married in 1941 in Cape Girardeau...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Virginia C. Severs, 80, of Ullin died Monday, Oct. 2, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Jones Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill., is in charge of arrangements.

Samuel P. Cole Jr., 74, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Oct. 2, 2000, at his home. He was born June 30, 1926, in Lincoln, Ark., son of Samuel and Eva Lena Knifley Cole Sr. He and Dorothy Ruester were married Oct. 21, 1967. Cole worked at Allied Signal Corp. (formerly Bendix Corp.) 39 years, retiring in 1991. He was a member of St. Peters United Church of Christ in Kansas City, Mo...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Judith Clark Garlock, 59, of Paupack, Pa., died Sunday, Oct. 1, 2000, at her home, following a long battle with lung cancer. She was born in Poplar Bluff, daughter of Leo T. and Ruby Idella Phelps Clark. She and Jon A. Garlock were married Aug. 10, 1963...

Myrtle Burris, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Oct. 2, 2000, at Ratliff Care Center. She was born Jan. 2, 1908, at Egypt Mills, Mo., daughter of Charles and Margaret Rinkel Deevers. She and J.L. "Jack" Burris were married Oct. 18, 1923, in Jackson, Mo. He died Dec. 26, 1970...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Demetra Braden of Sikeston will be held at 1:30 p.m. today at Ponder Funeral Home. Pat Hogan will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Braden, 79, died Saturday, Sept. 30, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center...

MINER, Mo. -- Funeral for Emma Jane Lowe Jones of Miner will be held at 11 a.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston, Mo. Johnny Hester and Pat Hogan will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery at Sikeston. Jones, 89, died Sunday, Oct. 1, 2000, at her home...

Son to Michael and Kimberly Hunter of Moberly, Mo., Boone Hospital in Columbia, Mo., 7:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, 2000. Name, Spencer Andrew. Weight, 5 pounds 14 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Hunter is the former Kimberly Cooper, daughter of Kenneth and Diane Cooper of Cape Girardeau. She is a seventh grade math teacher in Moberly. Hunter is the son of Tommy and Marianne Hunter of Sedalia, Mo. He is an English teacher and football coach in Huntsville, Mo...

Other unused state funds are also making news. A state audit recently showed many women and children were turned away from domestic-violence shelters because available state money wasn't used. State law requires counties to collect a $5 fee for marriage licenses and an optional $2 fee to support shelters. There are also $2 optional fees for criminal and civil cases that can be collected to support shelters...

Some 13 years ago, the Missouri General Assembly passed legislation creating the Tort Victims Compensation Fund. This is a fund to compensate individuals who are injured in accidents and are either underinsured or are victims of those who lack insurance. The fund balance grows by taking in 50 percent of the punitive damages awarded against defendants found to be at fault in civil cases. (If a case is settled before it goes to trial, none of the damages are paid into the fund.)...

To the editor: Is planning and zoning right for you? For my family and me, it could have caused great suffering. Four and a half years ago, we were blessed with a wonderful granddaughter. Unfortunately, her parents were unable to take care of her. So my wife and I took custody of our granddaughter. My wife and I both worked outside the home, so in order to be at home with our granddaughter, I opened my own business next to our home. Would planning and zoning allow me to do that?...

To the editor: After reading the recent letter from Chris Long, president of Associated Industries of Missouri, regarding Proposition A, I was prompted to respond. Proposition A is a ballot measure which would stop new billboard construction along interstate and primary highways, prohibit the replacement or relocation of existing billboards and ban construction of new ones. ...