Stories from Wednesday, December 13, 2000

My favorite time of the year has always been fall and early winter. I'm not sure why, but I think it is because I love to see fall colors, days are usually cool, fall rains replenish the soil after summer's parching, and plants seem to grow with renewed vigor for a short time before leaf fall. Of course fall also is the season for hunting and football, both of which I enjoy very much.Ê...

My favorite time of the year has always been fall and early winter. I'm not sure why, but I think it is because I love to see fall colors, days are usually cool, fall rains replenish the soil after summer's parching, and plants seem to grow with renewed vigor for a short time before leaf fall. Of course fall also is the season for hunting and football, both of which I enjoy very much...

Cookies, cakes and candy, along with the smell of warm cider are all the sweet smells of the Christmas season. It seems that every party we attend there is a crowd grazing around the dessert buffet. Today we have a nice variety of treats to add to your holiday serving table...

JACKSON, Mo. -- An alleged theft of a diamond ring by a tenant prompted Ralph J. Knoblauch to offer $1,000 to have the tenant killed, an undercover policeman told a judge Tuesday. Knoblauch, 60, who owns a number of rental properties around Cape Girardeau, was bound over by Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp for arraignment Dec. 18 on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Ever-multiplying ripples from the controversy surrounding last month's U.S. presidential election could have a positive financial effect for the Jackson School District's $6 million bond issue approved by voters Nov. 7. Gregory Bricker, an investment banker with George K. Baum and Company of Kansas City, Mo., informed the Jackson Board of Education Tuesday night that uncertainty regarding vote counts in Florida have thrown the stock market off...

A Cape Girardeau man was found guilty Tuesday of stealing a hammer drill from his employer and selling it through an acquaintance. Thurman Lee Watson, 51, allegedly stole a Milwaukee brand hammer drill worth about $520 from his employer, Rental Land...

Cape Girardeau's late Traci Taylor is in consideration for a national youth magazine's Person of the Year 2000 award, nominated alongside pop singer Britney Spears, Los Angeles Laker Shaquille O'Neal and President Bill Clinton. Taylor, 19, died in February after attaining national recognition for her service work while engaged in a 13-year struggle against leukemia...

Soaring demand, low inventories and expected colder weather will keep natural gas and heating-oil prices high through the winter, government and industry economists told a U.S. Senate hearing in Washington Tuesday. That's bad news for all natural gas users, but especially for people like Beverly Breese of Cape Girardeau. She struggles on a fixed income to provide for herself and her disabled 93-year-old mother. They get by on their Social Security checks and her mother's small pension...

Missouri's governor will appoint a new coroner for Cape Girardeau County in the wake of the death of longtime Coroner John Carpenter. But it's unclear if Gov. Roger Wilson will make the appointment or if Wilson's successor, Bob Holden, who takes office on Jan. 8, will do so...

Low river levels and low temperatures are not a good mix for barge traffic on the Mississippi River. And, that's the way things are right now. Another bout of bitter cold has moved into the region, and with a winter storm watch on for today, the U.S. Coast Guard office at Paducah, Ky. is keeping a eye on the Mississippi River...

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. -- Marvin Enderle, 48, publisher of the Monroe (N.C.) Enquirer-Journal for the past three years, has been appointed publisher of The Courier in Russellville, Ark., and the Dardanelle (Ark.) Post-Dispatch. The newspapers are owned by Paxton Media Group, which is headquartered in Paducah, Ky...

Students at Blanchard Elementary School took to the shopping aisles Tuesday in the first day of a week-long shopping spree financed by their good behavior and school work. Volunteers filled the school hallways with merchandise to form a makeshift "store" where students could purchase gifts donated by school staff and local businesses and organizations for family members. ...

Southeast Missouri State University senior Krista Haukap didn't put in so much time in the classroom just so she could earn Academic All-American honors. But the Otahkians' star volleyball player figures it's a nice reward for all of her hard work over the past four years...

Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach Ed Arnzen is somewhat disappointed his team doesn't have a better record. But as Arnzen prepares to send his players home for a lengthy winter break while school is out of session, he is comforted by a two-game winning streak that has gotten the Otahkians back to the .500 level at 4-4...

Needless to say, I was very disappointed that we were unable to beat Tennessee Tech at the Show Me Center in our Ohio Valley Conference opener Saturday night. Tennessee Tech is a very good basketball team that will contend for the OVC title, but it is very disappointing to lose to Tech on our home floor. We did not play well, particularly inside, and Tech made the plays down the stretch and won the game...

MALDEN, Mo. -- Three players scored at least 20 points as Scott City High's boys basketball team earned a hard-fought 79-66 road victory over Malden Tuesday night. Ben Sample led the way for the Rams with 22 points, Nick Steimle had 21 and Michael O'Brien added 20 in his first start of the season. O'Brien also stood out on the defensive end as he drew five charges...

To the editor: This item did something to me when I read it while waiting for my doctor. Please cut this out and post it in your house where everyone can read it each day: Children Learn What They Live If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn...

TO THE caller who commented that we should disband the Electoral College: Without the Electoral College, the only states that would be of any importance to a presidential candidate would be New York, Florida, and California. As a Missourian, I seriously doubt any citizen of this state wants those three states choosing the leader of our nation, especially after what occured in New York this fall. ...

Californians received good news last week: The lung cancer rate in that state has dropped by 14 percent over the past 10 years. Officials attribute the decline to tough anti-smoking measures and public-health campaigns. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the lung-cancer rate for the rest of the nation dropped only 2.7 percent over the same period...

The Missouri Lottery sent out a proud press release to media across the state last month proclaiming the latest distribution to schools of $11.7 million in lottery funds. Sounds good. But where is the money going? Well, the annual distribution covers about 3 percent of Missouri's education funding, lottery officials say...

To the editor: It is with great regret that I read an article in the Southeast Missourian that said U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson was involved in the following concerning P. David Matthews: 1. Using her congressional position to influence the Department of Agriculture concerning a $400,000 loan decision that should have been made solely on its merit. Did Emerson expect her intimidation to overrule an otherwise rational loan ruling?...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- James A. "Jim" Dexter, 62, of Jonesboro died Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2000, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at Hileman and Parr Funeral Services in Jonesboro.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Cpl. Mason Yarbrough of Sikeston will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at First United Methodist Church. The Rev. Robert T. Janner of Lebanon, Mo., retired U.S. Air Force chaplain, will officiate. He will be assisted by Msgr. William Stanton, Blair Moran, and several members of Carlson's Raiders. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, with military honors to be conducted by the Honor Guard...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Marion "Pete" Fowler, 55, of Dexter died Monday, Nov. 11, 2000, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. He was born July 31, 1945, near Gray Ridge, Mo., son of Albert and Arel Wilson Fowler. He and Linda Sue Brown were married Jan. 10, 1964, at Dudley, Mo...

URBANDALE, Ill. -- Marc A. Quick, 41, of Urbandale died Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000, at his home. He was born July 17, 1959, in Fort Bragg, N.C., son of James T. and Betty Scott Quick. Quick was a truck driver. He served in the U.S. Army. Survivors include his mother of Urbandale; his father of Oak Grove, Ky.; two sisters, Lisa Droge of Cape Girardeau, Brenda Hudgin of Clarksville, Tenn.; and a brother, Scott Quick of Urbandale...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Funeral for Charlie J. Rendleman of Advance will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Morgan Funeral Home. The Rev. Gary Cooper will officiate. Burial will be in Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Advance. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Wendell Penick, 78, of Union, Mo., died Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2000, at Beverly Healthcare in Sullivan, Mo. He was born May 24, 1922, at Bernie, Mo., son of John F. and Leona Johnson Penick. He and Geraldine Griffin were married Feb. 7, 1942, at St. Charles, Mo...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Gene Raymon Statler, 56, of Jackson died Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2000, at his home. He was born Sept. 13, 1944, in Cape Girardeau, son of Raymon R. and Aline Frentzel Statler. He and Anna Dean Lohman were married June 29, 1963. Statler was a 1962 graduate of Jackson High School. While attending Southeast Missouri State University he worked at McCombs Funeral Home and the former McCombs Furniture Store in Jackson. He received a bachelor's degree in 1966, and a master's degree later...

Funeral Mass for John "Doc" Carpenter of Cape Girardeau will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Mary's Cathedral. Friends may call at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau from 4-9 p.m. Thursday. Carpenter, 54, died Monday, Dec. 11, 2000, at his home...

ANNA, Ill. -- Morris D. Farmer, 75, of Anna died Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2000, at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Murphysboro, Ill. He was born Nov. 3, 1925, in Marion, Ill., son of Rufus and Zella Clayton Farmer. He and Ida V. Cauwels were married Jan. 21, 1948, in Chicago. She died Dec. 31, 1999...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Pansy Pirtle Parrish Holmes, 80, of Lincoln, Ill., died Monday, Dec. 11, 2000, at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln. She was born Jan. 20, 1920, in Bernie, Mo., daughter of Theodore and Helen Allen Rice. She first married Vance Pirtle, who died in 1957. She later married Lloyd Parrish, who died in 1981. She and Cleo Holmes were married Aug. 7, 1995, in Jonesboro, Ark...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Ora Mae "Macey" Washington, 38, of Memphis, Tenn., died Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. She was born June 19, 1962, in Sikeston, daughter of Monroe and Ora Mae Moore Davis. She and Johnl Washington were married Aug. 23, 1981...

ORAN, Mo. -- Pauline Helen Horrell, 94, of Oran died Sunday, Dec. 10, 2000, at her home. She was born Nov. 1, 1906, at Oran, daughter of Leo and Theresa Kiefer Halter. She and Henry Horrell were married Nov. 24, 1924, at Oran. He died April 1, 1950...