Stories from Thursday, December 21, 2000

From Indian encampments to the nouveau riche wealth of Silk Stocking Hill, from a quiet residential street to a haven for drug dealers, from Vincentian priests to students of the arts, Lorimier Street has been a kaleidoscope of Cape Girardeau history...

Some Cape Girardeau residents remember John Seay Jr. as a stellar geology student, a reliable baby-sitter and a first-born son. A New Mexico man's memories of him on Monday led to Seay's death in a Texas murder-suicide, police there say. Seay was shot several times with a semi-automatic 9mm Glock pistol after a minor traffic accident that police in Midland, Texas, say was deliberate...

Dear friends and family, Indications are we're going to have a bracing Christmas, chilly enough to turn noses red and the ground outside our door into tundra. The appearance of reindeer isn't hard to imagine. We spent a week on Cape Cod this year. We swam, ate fish (not at the same time) and swooned over a Van Gogh exhibit. Sam also managed a few days at a golf school on the edge of the Everglades and saw a PGA tournament in Orlando. Gators and sharks were everywhere...

As residents complain of Cape Girardeau's snow removal, some people think a designated snow route, like the one used by the city of Carbondale, Ill., might be beneficial. A snow route sets a priority of streets that are cleared of snow or ice during a storm...

City officials say that despite the numerous complaints they have received about piles of snow and ice blocking driveways the city has done a good job of snow removal. City workers say that with more than 230 miles of roads to be salted and cleared after every winter storm they have little time to remove the piles built up on the roadside with every pass of the plow...

Suddenly there are Canada geese in Southern Illinois. Tens of thousands of the wild honkers have flocked into wet areas of the Southern Illinois quota zone of Alexander, Union, Jackson and Williamson counties over the past few days. A census this week revealed more than 300,000 geese in Southern Illinois and Ballard County in Kentucky...

The city will accept applications for its Vision 2020 Community Relations Council. Members will monitor and promote the Vision 2020 strategic plan for a safe and progressive community. The city will also accept applications for people to work on focus teams...

Local electricians who wish to be grandfather in under the city's existing licensing procedure must complete an application by 5 p.m. Dec. 29. Currently, all electricians who apply for a license in Cape Girardeau must pass the Block and Associates exam...

Cape Central coach Mark Ruark couldn't have asked for a better first round. In the Lady Tigers' 47-26 win over Farmington in the HealthSouth Holiday Classic Wednesday, not only did Cape Central advance to the semifinals, it destroyed a potential district foe, played suffocating defense and possibly discovered a freshman jewel in the process...

The Notre Dame Lady Bulldogs had no problem advancing to the semifinal round of the HealthSouth Holiday Classic. The Lady Bulldogs (8-1) romped to an easy 57-38 win over the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers on Wednesday. Hopkinsville (2-5), winners of their first two games of the season, entered with a four-game losing streak...

It's been an arduous process, but soccer in Southeast Missouri appears to be making some in-roads as far as gaining respect statewide. In what represents a bumper crop of all-staters, three Cape Girardeau high school soccer players were accorded all-state honors by the Missouri Coaches Association...

Southeast Missouri State University senior guard Antonio Short said the reason the Indians began Wednesday night's game against Campbell with so much focus and intensity was simple. "We get to go home for like three days, so we had some energy in us," said a grinning Short. "We wanted to make sure coach wasn't mad at us before we went home."...

Finis Newton Drummond, 78, of Union City, Tenn., and formerly of East Prairie, Mo., died Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2000, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Union City. He was born June 9, 1922, in Drummonds, Tenn., the son of Guy and Lillian Inez Grimes Drummond...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Delvin A. Kaempfe, 63, of Perryville died Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2000, at his home. He was born Aug. 29, 1937, in Perry County, Mo., son of Alfred and Esther Koenig Kaempfe. He and Norma J. Detjen were married Aug. 22, 1959. Kaempfe was a grain and dairy farmer. He was a member of Salem Lutheran Church at Farrar, Mo., and its finance committee, a trustee, and school board member. He was a member of American Legion Post 133, National Guard, and other service groups...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Olga Inez Dixon, 76, of Cairo died Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 7, 1924, in Corinth, Miss., daughter of Forrest Mayo and Grace Knight Marlar. She married Gaines "Rod" Dixon Sr., who died Aug. 15, 2000...

GRAND CHAIN, Ill. -- Phillip Baker, 45, of Grand Chain died Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2000, at Ferrell Hospital in Eldorado, Ill. Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak, Ill., is in charge of arrangements.

Emilee Hale, 91, died Monday, Dec. 18, 2000, at Chateau Girardeau. She was born March 14, 1909, in Indiana, daughter of Francis and Mary Betty Hardesty Wilson. She and Edwin Hale were married in 1926 at Cooter, Mo. He died Dec. 24, 1983. Hale attended school at Cooter. She was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Caruthersville, Mo...

THEBES, Ill. -- Funeral for Virgil Sutton of Thebes will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill. The Rev. Carl D. Fisher will officiate. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery at Thebes. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-8 p.m. today...

ANNA, Ill. -- Beatrice Moore, 83, of Anna died Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2000, at Union County Hospital. She was born March 16, 1917, in Chicago, daughter of William Curt and Faye Gurley Jones. She married Paul Moore, who died Jan. 5, 1999. Moore was a member of First Baptist Church...

John Gray Seay Jr., 57, of Midland, Texas, died Monday, Dec. 18, 2000, in Midland. He was born Sept. 9, 1943, in St. Louis, son of John G. and Anna Jean Seay Sr. He and Mary Hudson were married Nov. 11, 2000, in Midland. Seay was an independent geologist more than 20 years in Midland. He began work with Continental Land and Fur Co. Inc. earlier this year...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Rose C. Oberle, 68, of Perryville died Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born May 16, 1932, at Perryville, daughter of Anthony V. and Lunette A. Jannin Moranville. Oberle was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church...

ZALMA, Mo. -- Rulen Rufus "Sam" Spies, 89, of Zalma, formerly of Scott City, Mo., died Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 25, 1911, in Cape Girardeau, son of George John and Martha Eliza Thacker Spies. He and Reva Marie Pruitt were married Aug. 31, 1931, at Benton, Mo. She died Jan. 23, 1971. He and Dorothy Bowman were married June 29, 1973, near Houston, Texas...

Daughter to Scott D. and Missy A. Phegley of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 3:44 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2000. Name, Molly Claire. Weight, 7 pounds 4 ounces. Mrs. Phegley is the former Missy Nieveen, daughter of Ken and Diane Nieveen of Jefferson City, Mo. She is a graduate assistant at Southern Illinois University, pursuing a doctorate degree. Phegley is the son of Darrell and Shirley Phegley of Cape Girardeau. He is an occupational therapist at St. Francis Medical Center...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Harry B. Hornback, 56, of Sikeston died Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Ponder Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

When you read that more than half of Missourians fail the written exam to get a driver's license, it seems pretty alarming. It appears even worse when you consider that only 6.8 percent of those taking the written test in Illinois failed last year. So what's the problem?...

If you haven't been to at least one Christmas program this year, you're missing out on a lot of holiday spirit. Schools, churches and organizations have put together music, words and costumes to tell -- and retell -- the story of Christmas. Whether the story is about the Nativity as told by the Gospel writers or about the spirit of the season as told by Charles Dickens and Dr. Seuss, there are lessons to be learned every time we sit through another holiday program...

To the editor: Your banner headline Dec. 16 carried a subheadline, "President to consider clemency for American Indian who killed two agents." I take exception to this and consider it sensationalism, questionable journalism and just simply sales hype...

WELL, PRESIDENT-elect Bush owes a great debt of gratitude to two factors: Ralph Nader and his Green Party and the U.S. Supreme Court. Those two factors gave him the election. THE DIRECTOR of the nonpartisan committee for the study of American electorate and a veteran worrier about voter apathy said, "Nothing would be more destructive of what remaining faith Americans have in their political process than to drag the election of the president, the highest office in the land, through protracted and largely tit-for-tat battle in the courts." Voter participation rose to 51 percent this year, slightly up from 49 percent in 1998. ...

To the editor: The Republicans have once again proven they are no different than Democrats when it comes to real family values. In fact, it would seem they want to make sure the abortion business keeps right on rolling along even after President-elect Bush takes office. Could the Republicans be in the pocket of the abortion industry as well? You be the judge...

PATTON, Mo. -- Tuesday results: Cattle Receipts: 250, Last Week 1574, Last Year No Sale Do to snow and cold weather the feeder offering was not sufficient to compared to last week's market. Slaughter cows 2.00 higher. Demand and supply light. Cows made up approximately 26 percent of the run, 74 percent feeders. Steers made up approximately 28 percent of the offerings, heifers 72 percent. Feeders over 600 lbs totaled approximately 10 percent...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Medicare changes coming in January could make it more difficult for many rural ambulance districts to get reimbursed by the federal program, but those districts likely won't change the services they offer to patients. Whether it's broken bones or bleeding, patients who ask to be taken to a hospital won't be denied, said Larry Chasteen, manager for the North Scott County Ambulance District...

Mirth and merriment abound as we approach the holiday season. These festivities will include gatherings for celebration, which often involve many people, food, drink, fancy clothing, candles, lighted decorations and a warm crackling fire in the fireplace. ...