Stories from Monday, December 11, 2000

Manpower Temporary Services has observed its 10th year of providing staffing service to employers in the Cape Girardeau area. Manpower opened first branch office here in November 1990 with one employee, Martha Minton. Manpower's staff now totals 18, which includes staff at the branch office here, and a satellite office at Perryville, Mo...

Fred Higdon has joined Wood & Huston Bank as vice president for commercial loans. Higdon, who has 25 years in the banking industry, will be responsible for commercial loans and business development. Barry Randolph, president of Wood & Huston Bank, announced Higdon's appointment recently...

Tom Novak has joined Edward Jones Investments as a new investment representative for the Jackson branch office at 502 B West Main St. An open house will be held at the office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. Edward Jones, founded in 1871, provides clients a variety of investments, including certificates of deposit, taxable and nontaxable bonds, stocks and mutual funds. ...

Sherry Nolan of Scott City, Mo., has joined Total Image Beauty Salon, 124 N. Main in downtown Cape Gir-ardeau. Nolan has 16 years experience in the beauty industry. She previously worked at JCPenney Salon and Great Clips. She also previously worked in the St. Louis area...

Mike Uhls, professional golf instructor and owner at Heartland Golf Academy, 2901 Hawthorne in Cape Girardeau, recently achieved the level of Master Teacher with the United States Golf Teachers Federation (USGTF). Uhls passed written thesis and verbal presentation for the USGTF's Level II Master Teaching Certification Course in Phoenix, Ariz...

Dr. Shanon Kirchhoff and members of his staff, Beth Reimann, Regina Naeter, Melanie Baron and Laura Voss, attended the Human Identification from Dentition seminar, at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill., recently. William M. Bass III, a forensic anthropologist at SIU, was guest speaker...

The Small Business Development Center will conduct counseling sessions at Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Mo., and Perryville, Mo., this week. Gil Degenhardt, will be available from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Sikeston, Mo., Chamber of Commerce office. Appointments are available by calling (573) 471-2498...

It's official: It will cost a penny more to mail a letter starting Jan. 7. The increase to 34 cents was accepted by the Postal Service's board of governors last week. It will be accompanied by changes in many other rates, including international mail...

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP has agreed to buy the U.S. Pipeline and Terminal business of GATX Corp., for $1 billion in cash and $100 million in assumed debt. The deal should make Kinder Morgan Partners one of the largest independent petroleum-storage operators in the nation, and top independent chemical terminal operations...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., achieved solid sales and income increases in the third quarter. The Bentonville, Ark., chain, the world's largest retailer, reported sales of $45.7 billion for the quarter ending Oct. 31, up 13 percent from the same period a year ago...

Spartech Corp. has announced record sales and earnings for its fiscal year, which ended Oct. 28. Sales for fiscal 2000 were $961.4 million, up 25 percent from the $767.9 million reported in fiscal year 1999. Operating earnings improved to $109.8 million, or 25 percent over the $87.7 million of last year. These increases resulted in record net earnings of $49.98 million, or $1.72 per diluted share for fiscal 2000, compared to $43.1 million, or $1.48 per share reported last year...

Carol Wilson is a new partner in Treasurable Moments, a wedding and special event coordination company at 127 N. Main St., in downtown Cape Girardeau. Wilson joins Derrick Charles in offering a complete line of services for special occasions. Wilson most recently worked in the Missouri capital, where she coordinated many events. She has more than 25 years experience in planning events...

Pemiscot County tourism spending has tripled over the past half decade, since the opening of the Aztar Riverboat Gambling Casino. In 1994, the total of tourism/travel spending was about $2.5 million. Last year's tourism spending in the county topped the $8 million mark...

Friends of the Cache River have received three grants for natural resource protection projects under the Illinois Conservation 2000 program. The largest grant was $300,500 for seedling purchases to plant 1,150 acres of conservation reserve program lands throughout Johnson and Pulaski counties in Southern Illinois. ...

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. When the stock market keeps going up, it's easy for investors to feel confident about their abilities to pick winners. But what happens when the going gets rocky?...

Millions of people wear eyeglasses today for necessity, but that hasn't always been the case. When Lucius Domitus Ahenobarbus, more commonly known as Roman Emperor Nero, used emerald lenses to view gladiator games in ancient Rome. His precious gem lenses, which didn't necessarily help him see any better, became an instant, must-have fashion accessory...

More than 140 million Americans wear prescription glasses today and about 26,000 pairs are made in Cape Girardeau each year. Rhea Optical produces lenses, frames and other eyeglass equipment for optometry professionals in three states -- Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas...

The nation's supply of phone numbers is dwindling, so the government is taking steps to make sure what is left lasts longer. But regulators say they will not force consumers nationwide to dial 10 digits to call a neighbor in the same area code. The growth of pagers, cell phones and fax machines has put a squeeze on the nation's numbering plan, prompting a proliferation of new area codes across the country. Left on its own, the current system could expire in the next 10 years...

Jason Wray is crazy and unpredictable. That's why he proposed to his girlfriend on television in front of thousands of viewers Sunday morning. Cori Koeller loves his craziness and unpredictability. That's why she said yes. Wray, host of Heartland Homes, a program that airs Sunday mornings on KFVS-12, decided he wanted to propose to Koeller, but at a time when she would least expect it...

When Toni Pearson and Camisha Ester appeared in the River City Players production of "Having Our Say" last month, they helped the community theater company break with a tradition its members wanted to get rid of. The tradition was one of white-only casts performing in plays that usually did not lend themselves to minority casting...

Local social service officials are concerned by an emerging face among the needy -- single women with no homes or families are seeking assistance. Meanwhile, the number of working poor -- people who have minimum wage jobs but can barely make ends meet -- continues to increase...

The new Cape Girardeau region Bell Telephone directory features local art on the cover for the second time in three years. The new phone book's cover is a photograph of the Cape Rock scenic overlook of the Mississippi River, taken from the files of the Cape Girardeau Convention & Business Bureau, said Lin W. Jones, sales-marketing manager with the CVB...

The only place 10-year-old Charissa Hollowell wants to be for the holidays is home. Charissa, a spunky Clippard Elementary School fifth-grader known for her cartwheels and love of cheerleading, suffered a life-threatening stroke six weeks ago. She has gone in for surgery on her brain three times and is progressing well enough that being home for Christmas is a possibility...

Flu, tetanus and pneumonia shots will be offered at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park through Jan. 7. The shots, which are provided by Test-Med, are $15 for flu, and $25 for tetanus and pneumonia. The vaccinations will be offered from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday...

Beatrice Bunker, 89, of Karnak, Ill., died Saturday, Dec. 9, 2000, at the Severin Health Care Center in Benton, Ill. Arrangements are incomplete at the Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Cletus J. Haas, 80, of Charleston died Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 19, 1919, in Mascoutah, Ill., son of August and Mary Wolfersberger Haas. He and Helen Blackman were married on April 21, 1945. She died April 30, 2000...

Floyd Thomas "Tommy" Cox, 65, of Rolla, Mo., formerly of East Prairie, Mo., died Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000. Arrangements are incomplete at James and Gahr Funeral Home in Rolla.

Harold Samuel Wilburn, 57, of Mounds, Ill., and formerly of Mound City, Ill., died Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Marion, Ill. Arrangements are incomplete at Jones Funeral Home in Villa Ridge, Ill.

TAMMS, Ill. -- Donald Vick, 69, of Tamms died Saturday, Dec. 9, 2000, at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Granite City, Ill. He was born Sept. 5, 1931, in Chicago, son of John and Jeanette Huffman Vick. He and Bobbie Lea Meisenheimer were married July 24, 1952. She died March 3, 2000...

MOREHOUSE, Mo. -- Emily Breeden, 64, of Morehouse, Mo., died Saturday, Dec. 9, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 29, 1936, in Egypt, Tenn., daughter of Leander and Velmer Evans Buckley. She and Frank Breeden were married in Corning, Ark...

CYPRESS, Ill. -- Earlene Hileman, 66, of Cypress died Friday, Dec. 8, 2000, at Cox Medical Center South in Springfield, Mo. She was born Dec. 29, 1933, in East Alton, Ill., daughter of Earl and Nora Adams Turner. She and Donald Hileman were married April 19, 1952...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Merlin Nickell, 78, of Sikeston died Friday, Dec. 8, 2000, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born in Sikeston, son of Jeff and Mattie Cash Nickell. He and Inez King were married July 3, 1948. Nickell was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served in World War II...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Marjean Weissenborn McLane, 71, of Advance died Saturday, Dec. 9, 2000, at her home. She was born April 14, 1929, in Hickory Ridge, Mo., daughter of F.E. and Anna Murphy Weissenborn. Her early childhood years were spent in Dongola, Mo...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Freddie Virgil Wicker Sr., 52, of Chaffee died Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 22, 1948, in Wyatt, Mo., son of Virgil Fabious and Mary Marcella Simmons Wicker. He and Anna Seyer were married June 13, 1970...

Hurma Bradshaw, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Dec. 8, 2000, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 6, 1916, in Cape Girardeau, son of James and Alma Stacy Bradshaw. He and Thelma Eaker were married Jan. 26, 1935, in Marble Hill, Mo. She died Jan. 3, 1985...

THIS IS to the owners and the managers of fast-food restaurants. Please remind employees to put napkins in the to-go orders either through the window or at the counter. It is very frustrating when you are eating and need a napkin and there is none in the bag...

Unless the Missouri Legislature rejects it, the state's elected officials will get 5.5 percent pay increases in each of the next two fiscal years, and associate circuit judges will see an additional $1,000 in their base pay. The Citizens' Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials established the raises after hearings around the state...

The selection of Southeast Missouri firefighting agencies to provide information for instructional programs that will guide firefighters around the nation in handling fires and waste at illegal methamphetamine labs illustrates how much confidence those responsible for the project have in the firefighters' abilities to handle these nasty and often dangerous situations...