Stories from Monday, January 15, 2001

A crop management conference, sponsored by Missouri University Outreach and Extension and the Missouri Soybean Association, will be held Jan. 25 at the Banquets Beyond the Bay in Sikeston, Mo. The conference, which doubles as the Missouri Soybean Association's District 7 meeting, will begin at 8 a.m. and end with a lunch, sponsored by the soybean group and agribusiness representatives...

Burger King has selected McCann-Erickson, known for its work for Coca-Cola, MasterCard and Buick cars, to create advertising aimed at adults for the nation's second biggest fast-food restaurant chain. The new ads are expected to be on the air next spring, and Burger King hopes to decide on an agency for its children's advertising within a few weeks...

Mercedes-Benz USA reported record-breaking sales in 2000. The 2000 sales volume, 205,614 cars, was up 8.5 percent from sales of 1999. United States sales were led by the award-winning M-Class sports utility vehicle, which recorded its highest sales year, with 52,765 vehicles sold...

Welta Garrison has joined Mid America Mortgage Services Inc., at 2260 E. Jackson Blvd., in Jackson, Mo., as loan officer. Garrison, who has lived in the Jackson area 13 years, previously worked in the mortgage loan industry and has also served as manager for Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield and Apria Healthcare in Cape Girardeau...

Magna-Tel Inc. of Cape Girardeau has received a top award in the "Golden Image Awards," an international printing competition sponsored by the Screenprinting & Graphic Imaging Association International. Magna-Tel's entry was a 4-by-7-inch magnetic calendar, which received an Award of Excellence in the competition's calendar category...

The Kirchdoerfer Jersey Farm of Cape Girardeau and Wichern Dairy Farm of Jackson, Mo., are among those being honored by Prairie Farms, a dairy farmer-owned cooperative based in Carlinville, Ill. The Prairie Farms people are among a total of 2,341 of its members who were awarded for meeting or exceeding the company's milk quality standards...

The Conservation "Farmer of the Year" will be recognized during the Pulaski-Alexander Soil and Water Conservation District's 53rd annual meeting Jan. 25 at the Shawnee Community College cafeteria. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., with the business meeting to follow at 7...

Kendra Troncale of Cape Girardeau has earned the title of Fraternal Insurance Counselor. Troncale, an Aid Association for Lutherans district representative with Mike Mikelson and Associates of Independence since 1999, serves Lutheran families in Friedheim, Jackson and Sedgewickville in Missouri...

Sledding has became a year-round activity, but we may have to wait a few more days before giving it a try. Terry Davis, a Southeast Missouri State University graduate, has introduced a new product on the United States market -- the "SummerSled." The SummerSled will allow you to fly down a hill, without using snow...

Correctional officer Kevin Porter has been named "Employee of the Year" at the Tamms, Ill., Correctional Center. Porter, who became a correctional officer in January 1998, was selected from a dozen "Employees of the Month," for the annual honor. Porter, who is assigned to the prison's 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, was instrumental in assisting a fellow correctional officer to secure an inmate during an altercation between the inmate and the correctional officer...

Cory Aufenberg and Todd Aufenberg, both of Jackson, are new junior members of the American Angus Association. Junior members of the association are eligible to register cattle in the Angus association and take part in association-sponsored shows, and other national and regional events...

PARAGOULD, Ark. -- A former news anchor and reporter at television station KAIT-TV 8 in Jonesboro, Ark., has been signed as the exclusive spokeswoman for Walden Motor Co. in Paragould. Dana Jo "D.J." Cunningham of Jonesboro, who served as co-anchor for KAIT's 10 p.m. broadcast for almost three years, has signed a contract to serve exclusively as the advertising representative for Walden, northeast Arkansas' largest Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge and Jeep dealership...

William R. Schott, a certified public accountant with Schott & Van de Ven, Certified Public Accounting, has been named an honorary member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The honorary member certificate is given to accountants who have been a member of the group. Schott founded the firm in 1959 and is the managing partner. He was recently honored by the Missouri Society of CPAs for his contributions over 28 years on the Managing an Accounting Practice Committee...

Dawn Wise of Sikeston, Mo., remembers the roar of Scud missiles arcing overhead as she pulled night guard duty in the Saudi desert. The Iraqi missiles sounded like airplane engines, she said. "You'd hear them going over," she said. "If you had the night vision goggles, you could see where we dropped bombs on the Iraqis, and you could see the oil wells burning."...

One adult circus ticket to accompany your children, who got free tickets at school: $16. Three pineapple snow cones: $9. Watching your children ride Ohka the elephant: $5. Spending a Sunday afternoon watching dancing bears and a human cannonball: pricey...

Kristina St. Clair missed her high school graduation because she gave birth to a son. That was 18 months ago. On Tuesday, the 19-year-old single mother will become a freshman at Southeast Missouri State University as the spring semester gets under way...

Sitting quietly in her home, Jean Bell Mosley can weave a tale about life on an Ozarks farm that would bring to mind episodes from the television and book series "Little House on the Prairie." Her stories about life on the farm, roaming through the woods while rabbits and foxes scamper by, and family gatherings entertain and educate listeners and readers...

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16 City Hall Action Items Power and Light Committee Street Committee...

Donald E. Jacobs Sr., 71, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., passed away Saturday, Jan. 13, 2001, at his home. He was born Aug. 15, 1929, in Blodgett, Mo., son of the late Marlin W. and Katheryn C. Austin Jacobs. He married the former Anna Lora Murphy in Cape Girardeau...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Joseph Daniel "Danny" Martinez, 75, of Crowder, Mo., died Friday, Jan. 12, 2001, at Clearview Nursing Center in Sikeston. He was born May 25, 1925, in Montrose, Colo., son of Joseph D. and Rachel Martinez. He and Mary Elizabeth Pratt were married Aug. 4, 1943, in St. Louis. She died April 30, 1993...

Eugene E. Butler, 50, of Waxahachie, Texas, and formerly of Southern Illinois, died Saturday, Jan. 13, 2001, at his home. He was born May 30, 1950, in Cairo, Ill., son of Elmer and Ethel O. Engleman Butler. He and Diane Quinn were married March 19, 1993, in Las Vegas...

Wanda L. Helms, 71, of Creve Coeur, Ill., died Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2001, at her home. She was born Sept. 21, 1929, in Anna, Ill., daughter of Roy S. and Alice Smith Vancil. She and Lee Helms were married Jan. 23, 1954, in Benton, Ill. Helms was a cashier for many years at Kroger in East Peoria, Ill., and Peoria, Ill., and at Giefman's in Peoria...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- John Henry Hanners, 85, of Marble Hill died Saturday, Jan. 13, 2001, at his home. He was born May 24, 1915, at Lutesville, Mo., son of Henry and Nancy Garland Hanners. He and Ruby Cook were married May 6, 1939. Hanners was a retired farmer and a member of the Hurricane Fork General Baptist Church...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Larry T. Dotson, 57, of Southaven, Miss., and formerly of Charleston, died Sunday, Jan. 14, 2001, at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis. He was born Sept. 28, 1943, in Mississippi County, Mo., son of Johnnie Earl and Madeline Johnson Dotson. He and Alice Ann Lankheit were married April 28, 1965...

Don Craig, 74, of Pine Bluff, Ark., and formerly of Illmo, Mo., died Saturday, Jan. 13, 2001, at his home. He was born July 15, 1926, in Illmo, son of Morris and Gladys Richards Craig. He and Betty Chrisman were married July 24, 1959, in Kennett, Mo...

AS USUAL, the editorial staff of the Southeast Missourian is out of touch with reality when they rant against power sharing in the U.S. Senate. We have a 50-50 tie in the Senate with several frail, sick and aged senators. Six of those states have Republican senators and Democratic governors who will likely name replacements for these men, such as Strom Thurmond who is 98 years old. ...

Let's see. When businesses claim tax deductions for meals, they have to show the purpose of the meal and who attended. When Missouri government officials pay for meals with tax dollars, they are expected to supply the same documentation. These are not new rules...

By all accounts, folks who went to Gov. Bob Holden's inauguration in Jefferson City, Mo., had a fine time. But even with special events for children -- special guests on a special day -- you have to wonder if spending $1 million for parties was such a good idea...