Stories from Wednesday, January 17, 2001

Over the past couple of weeks I have done my own thing and put some mail aside to be able to promote Girl Scout cookies and other food topics. But as I promised last week, I'm back to your recipe swapping and there are several to share with you today...

Teaching has its own rewards, but an extra $10,000 doesn't hurt. Ten teachers in Cape Girardeau schools will each receive the Edna C. Kinder Excellence in Teaching Award this year, which includes a $10,000 check to be used at their personal discretion...

The need for better-trained election judges and a desire for uniform, statewide election procedures were among the concerns area residents and officials submitted to a bipartisan election reform commission that stopped in Cape Girardeau Tuesday. The commission was formed by Secretary of State Matt Blunt to review what Missourians think about the state's election system and collect suggestions for improving the system...

JACKSON, Mo. -- A new contract to buy off-peak electricity should enable the City of Jackson to keep electric rates stable over the next five years. Under a new five-year contract with the Ameren Energy Marketing Co., the city will save about $50,000 a month during June, July, August and September compared to its previous contract, Public Works Director Jim Roach told the Jackson Board of Aldermen Tuesday night...

A 22-year-old Cape Girardeau man was acquitted of cocaine possession charges Tuesday at the conclusion of a one-day jury trial. Samuel Cornelius Taylor was found not guilty after a jury deliberated for about 90 minutes. Taylor's acquittal was an exception to most verdicts in Cape Girardeau County drug trials, said Ian Sutherland, assistant county prosecutor...

The newest section of the Schnucks Supercenter expansion in Cape Girardeau was unveiled Tuesday. The new section houses the store's wine and spirits department; a pharmacy, with a drive-in window; frozen foods and health-care items. The pharmacy drive-up will open Friday, said store manager Dennis Marchi...

Cape Girardeau voters will consider a field of three candidates for the Board of Education during elections April 3. Martha Zlokovich, who had a strong showing in her first bid for school board last year, filed Friday for a spot on the ballot. She will vie against incumbents Dr. Ferrell Ervin and Mark Carver for one of two, three-year positions...

The Southern Illinois Quota Zone Canada goose hunting season, although off to a slow start last November, will close 13 days early. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday that the season will close to Canada and white-fronted geese (specklebellies) at 3 p.m. Thursday...

ARNOLD, Mo. -- Despite 26 points from Seth McDowell, the Jackson High boys basketball team suffered a 60-52 loss at the hands of host Seckman Tuesday night. The Indians fell to 8-7 while the Jaguars improved to 6-6. Nathan Brown added 11 points for the Indians, but the rest of the squad managed just 15 points...

Tuesday night's Notre Dame-Cape Central game would rank on basketball's aesthetic scale somewhere between ugly and hideous. But Notre Dame, unable to get the ball inside and unable to hit many shots, managed to battle to a 48-40 victory over Central, who found it difficult to get off good shots, period, against a much taller Bulldog lineup...

As we prepare for a four-game road swing that includes one non-conference game, I would like to try and explain just how hard scheduling is. I don't like the idea of playing Morris Brown in Atlanta Monday night, but we needed games and a home-and-away contract with Morris Brown, a new Division I school, helped us finish our schedule. I never like to play a non-conference road game during the conference season, but we were forced to this year...

PARMA, Mo. -- Maggie M. Davison, 91, of Parma died Sunday, Jan. 14, 2001, at Dexter Memorial Hospital in Dexter, Mo. She was born Sept. 15, 1909, in Quarters, Ga., daughter of Frank and Arie Jackson Weatherow. Davison lived in Missouri since 1984. Survivors include two nieces, Johnny Beck, with whom she made her home, Kerlene Moncrief of Malden, Mo.; and a nephew, Danny Beck of Parma...

GLENNONVILLE, Mo. -- Thomas Martin Wicker, 88, of Glennonville died Monday, Jan. 15, 2001, at Three Rivers Healthcare South Campus in Poplar Bluff, Mo. He was born Oct. 4, 1912, in Adamsville, Tenn., son of Henry and Nola McDaniel Wicker. He and Agnes Heck were married Sept. 16, 1938. She died May 21, 1995. He and Delphine Mattingly Petry were married Nov. 27, 1996, at Glennonville...

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. -- Geneva C. DeCamp, 80, of Chesterfield, formerly and Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Mo., died Monday, Jan. 15, 2001, at Delmar Gardens in Chesterfield. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel.

Fern Louise Bollinger, 88, died Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001, at Jackson Manor in Jackson, Mo. She was born May 21, 1912, in Detroit, Ill., daughter of Warren A. and Eva Olga Norton Dinsmore. She married O.L. "Ikey" Bollinger, who died in 1959. Bollinger owned and operated Crescent Cleaners a number of years. She was a member of Grace United Methodist Church, Business and Professional Women's Club and West Side Senior Citizens...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Linda Sue Richmond, 51, died Monday, Jan. 15, 2001, at St. John's Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Jan. 14, 1950, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., daughter of Winford Cecil and Maxine Berry Richmond. Richmond was a licensed practical nurse at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, until retiring due to a disability...

ANNA, Ill. -- Elmer L. "Pete" Hubbs, 92, of Anna died Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001, at Union County Hospital. Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements.

ANNA, Ill. -- Maurice D. "Metz" Metzger, 83, of Anna died Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001, at Union County Hospital. He was born Aug. 3, 1917, in Anna, son of Arthur and Mabel DuRall Metzger. He and Charlotte Leon Phillips were married Aug. 14, 1954, in Anna...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Tony Ray Whitis Jr., 42, of Logan, Ohio, died suddenly Sunday, Jan. 14, 2001, at Hocking Valley Community Hospital in Logan. He was born June 10, 1958, in Norman, Okla., son of Anthony Ray and Marilyn Stuart Whitis Sr. He and Linda Johnson were married Oct. 6, 1982...

MARION, Ill. -- Cleta Treece, 82, of Marion died Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001, at her home. Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home at Cobden, Ill., is in charge of arrangements.

JACKSON, Mo. -- Suyapa "Sushila" Bratina, 24, died Monday, Jan. 15, 2001, at her home. She was born Feb. 15, 1976, in El Salvador, daughter of Pritam Sandhu and Gloria Sandoval. She and James E. Bratina were married March 24, 1997, in Texas. Bratina was raised in South America and had lived in the United States four years. She moved to Jackson in 1998...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Ervin J. Mansker, 65, of Houston, Texas, died Sunday, Jan. 14, 2001, at his home. He was born Feb. 8, 1935, in Lutesville, Mo., son of Louise and Edna Johnson Mansker. He was a longshoreman and worked for the I.L.A. 42 years. Survivors include a son, Ervin J. ...

EAST CAPE GIRARDEAU, Ill. -- Eddie Jerome, 98, of East Cape Girardeau died Monday, Jan. 15, 2001, at the Illinois Veterans Home in Anna, Ill. He was born Sept. 30, 1902, in Schulenberg, Texas. He married Irene Minton in Hernando, Miss. He served in the U.S. Army 116th Signal Radio Intelligence Company from Aug. 21, 1942 to Jan. 18, 1945...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Undraus Demone "Monie" Nabors of Sikeston will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cornerstone Baptist Church. Elder Nathaniel Green will officiate. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Williams-Farr and Purnell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Hermaine Jones, 84, of Sikeston died Sunday, Jan. 14, 2001, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Nov. 15, 1916, in Bayonne, N.J. Jones lived in Sikeston more than 19 years. She was a member of Greer Chapel Baptist Church and its Mother Board and was chaplain of the Missionary Society many years...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Lora Hargan, 97, of Mounds died Monday, Jan. 15, 2001, at Daystar Care Center in Cairo, Ill. She was born Sept. 17, 1903, at Tunnel Hill, Ill., daughter of William Robert and Etta Wright Johnson. She and Loal A. Hargan were married in 1926 in Pulaski County, Ill. He died Dec. 10, 1979...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Edward B. Mathews, 53, of Perryville died Monday, Jan. 15, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 29, 1947, in Perryville, son of Thomas J. and Athala L. Chappius Mathews. Mathews worked in the production department at Association of Miraculous Medal 22 years. He was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus Council 1263 and a life member of VFW Post 4282...

To the editor: If someone wants to adopt a dog or cat, the Humane Society is really the place to go. I visited the building, and they have some really wonderful animals. There was one dog that was going to be going to a new home, and I am very appreciative toward that person or family. But there are still many homeless animals that need a loving family to adopt them...

Maybe rural homeowners have reasons for not clearly marking their residences so they're easy to find. Maybe they don't believe signs with numbers and letters are aesthetically pleasing. Or maybe they think everybody knows where their homes are and they don't need the special markers. Or maybe they value their privacy so much they don't want to put up easy-to-find identification...

What a great time it is to be a skilled worker in Southeast Missouri. With the unemployment rate around a low 3 percent for most area counties, at least one large concrete company is opening in Ste. Genevieve, Mo. And an airplane manufacturer is looking to locate at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport...

The Clinton-Reno Justice Department is boasting that it has finally snared Indonesian businessman James Riady, one of the primary kingpin's of the Clinton-Gore campaign finance scandal. On closer inspection, Justice has little to brag about. Riady's indictment in the last fortnight of Clinton's tenure is more cause for suspicion than it is for celebration. The same is true for the terms of his plea agreement with the government...

I DISAGREE with the person who griped in Speak Out about the African-Americans using that term to describe themselves. Much of my ancestry is Huguenot. We were driven out of our homes in France several hundred years ago. And because of our hatred of this, we call ourselves Huguenots, not French-Huguenots. ...

To the editor: I would like to address the Democrats. You know we have enough bad examples of adults in prison and running around the streets of this country. Why must you add to it with your immature actions? Al Gore lost the election. Get over it. ...