Stories from Saturday, February 17, 2001

HAYTI, Mo. -- The Missouri State Highway Patrol is mourning the loss of one of its own: Sgt. Robert A. Guilliams, who was killed early Friday when his squad car crashed in Pemiscot County. A patrol spokesman said Guilliams, 41, of Portageville, Mo., was responding to an accident call at about 4:20 a.m. when his car struck a bridge abutment on Interstate 55, 14 miles north of the Arkansas border...

For a professional Republican political operative, now is an inspiring time to be in the nation's capital. President Bush is starting to push for the agenda that helped him win office, and the GOP controls both chambers of Congress. And as the party aggressively promotes its initiatives, a Cape Girardeau native is in the thick of things...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A Quick Pick Powerball ticket from Quick Chek Market in Sikeston was worth $100,000 to a local truck driver, who matched five numbers to the five drawn Feb. 3. J.W. Staggs, 60, purchased his ticket the same day as the drawing. The computer selected 21, 27, 29, 41 and 44...

I think Valentine's Day should always fall in the middle of a week. My reasoning is simple, if illogical: Valentine's Day fell on a Wednesday this year, and it was the best celebration of the holiday I've ever had. Therefore, it should be mandatory that the holiday fall on Wednesday every year...

Several thousand dollars have come into the Cape Girardeau Police Department this week after two officers were shot during a drug investigation last week. An estimated $16,000 has been given through various fundraisers this week, said Bill Bohnert of the Cape Girardeau Police Officers Association...

The Eddie Bauer store at Westfield Shoppingtown Center in Cape Girardeau is not among those which the parent company plans to close this year. The Spiegel Group announced Thursday it would close 25 Eddie Bauer stores but would open 10 new stores with merchandise that extends beyond the retailer's traditional casual, rugged style...

Missouri Gov. Bob Holden wants state lawmakers to provide better health care for women. During a visit to the Cross Trails Medical Center Friday afternoon, Holden outlined a four-point approach to better health care for women. Holden said he would push legislation that will:...

JACKSON, Mo. -- At the end of 2000, the Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission decided to consider shrinking the size of the city's central business district. Some members felt the core business district extended too far given the thriving commercial growth outside the district on East Jackson Boulevard. They also wanted to protect the residences in the district by restricting the ability to build from lot line to lot line...

Economists see some signs of a slowing economy in the United States. Manufacturers have cut production to trim unwanted excess inventory the Fed has lowered interest rates -- twice in January -- and the manufacture of cardboard boxes is down. "But we're looking at the economy as a slowdown not a recession," said Gary R. Thayer, vice president and manager of economic research at A.G. Edward's Investments in St. Louis...

St. Louis University High boys basketball coach Don Maurer is beginning to wonder if he'll ever be on the winning side of a game at Cape Girardeau Central's Tiger Field House. Maurer, a Cape Girardeau native who coached at Notre Dame before taking over the SLUH program 14 years ago, fell short again in his home town as the Tigers squeezed out a thrilling 70-68, double-overtime victory Friday night...

Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach Ed Arnzen hopes his team has some special incentive to play well today when Eastern Illinois visits the Show Me Center in Ohio Valley Conference action. The Otahkians' 1990-91 squad that finished as the NCAA Division II national runner-up will be honored during halftime of tonight's men's game and Arnzen would like nothing better than for his squad to perform well in front of the school's best-ever women's team...

Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team has long been eliminated from Ohio Valley Conference title contention, but tonight the Indians will still have the chance to be a major player in the OVC race. Eastern Illinois, which visits the Show Me Center for a 7:30 tipoff, needs a win to remain in solid contention for the regular-season championship...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- The Scott City Rams never had much of a chance Friday night against a talented Dexter Bearcats team that dominated every phase of the game. The Bearcats, the third-ranked team in Missouri Class 3A, mauled the Rams 96-56 at Scott City High School...

NEW MADRID, Mo. The New Madrid County Central High boys basketball team hit a mid-season lull, but the Eagles appear to be clicking on all cylinders now. Defending Class 3A state champion New Madrid wrapped up its regular season Friday night by rolling past visiting Notre Dame 70-40. The Eagles are now 16-7 while the Bulldogs fell to 17-7...

Cape Central's Leland Woelk is an all-stater. Today will determine exactly how high Woelk will finish as the Missouri Class 4A Wrestling Championships conclude. Woelk (145 pounds) is the only Cape Central wrestler remaining in state competition after O.J. Turner and Nick Harter were eliminated Friday...

Son to Rory Mitchell and Jacqueline Maree Segrest of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 2:39 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5, 2001. Name, James Michael. Weight, 8 pounds 3 ounces. First child. Mrs. Segrest is the former Jacqueline Stapchuk, daughter of John and Nancy Stapchuk of San Angelo, Texas. ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Ethel B. Currin, 76, of Charleston died Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Sparks Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

STEELE, Mo. -- Jerry A. Presley, 60, of Steele and formerly of Sikeston, Mo., died Friday, Feb. 16, 2001, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Blytheville, Ark. He was born Jan. 17, 1941, at Sikeston, son of Emily Lou Waltrip Presley and Gerald Robert Presley. He graduated from Sikeston High School in 1959. He attended Arkansas State University in Jonesboro for 3 1/2 years on a baseball scholarship...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Zelma Marie Wagoner, 87, of Ortonville, Mich., formerly of Chaffee, died Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001, at Genesis Hospital in Ortonville. She was born Aug. 30, 1913, at Puxico, Mo., daughter of Jess and Lula Maddox Steward. Wagoner had been self-employed in making custom-made drapes. She was a member of General Baptist Church and volunteer at Chaffee Nutrition Center, life member and past worthy matron of Order of Eastern Star Chapter 342 at Morley, Mo...

Steve Ireland Pettit, 42, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Feb. 15, 2001, at the Calvin Johnson Care Center in Belleville, Ill. He was born Aug. 20, 1958, at Cape Girardeau, son of Joseph I. and Mary Ann Plumb Pettit. He and Robin Crigger were married...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Funeral for Norman E. Wille of Jackson will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. The Rev. David Johnson will officiate. Burial will be in Russell Heights Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today...

MARQUAND, Mo. -- Mary Aslinger, 92, of Florissant, Mo. died Thursday, February 15, 2001 at the St. Sophia Nursing Home. She was born Feb. 8, 1909, at Marquand. She was a bow maker. She was married to Arthur Aslinger, who preceded her in death. She was the mother of Betty White, Larry Aslinger, Na Crego, Bonnie Jones, Rose Wilson and Bob Aslinger; and had five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Charles "Seed" Bland, 87, of Dexter died Thursday, Feb. 15, 2001, at Crowley Ridge Care Center in Dexter. He was born on March 15, 1913, at Dexter, son of Josh and Ethel White Bland. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Dexter. He was city collector of Dexter from 1963 to 1986. He was a Dexter sports enthusiast and was involved with Little League baseball and various Dexter High School athletic programs...

William "Bill" Bollinger, 98, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Feb. 16, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center. Ford & Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Elsie B. Medley, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Feb. 15, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Church. Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Gloria F. Sickles, 77, of Marble Hill died Friday, Feb. 16, 2001, at her home. She was born Jan. 30, 1924, at St. Louis, daughter of Stanley and Marie Masters Jakubowski. She and Guy Sickles were married May 6, 1950. He died Oct. 26, 1993...

To the editor: While swapping war stories and drinking coffee in our dining room, several veterans noted that at many encampments someone almost always put up a post with arrows nailed on with the names of hometowns in the states and a rough mileage figure to that town, much like the sign seen in TV's popular "M*A*S*H" series...

Certainly, city leaders such as council members Richard Eggimann and Jay Purcell must keep close watch on Cape Girardeau's financial stability. So they were well within their rights to raise a question about how the city keeps its emergency reserve fund...

They sound like money-saving tips readers have become accustomed to seeing in Redbook magazine: But they're actually steps the Cape Girardeau School District is taking to save money while waiting to see whether an anticipated $1 million state allocation for capital improvements clears litigation and makes it into district coffers...

I am currently reading Paul Johnson's "Modern Times," a history of the world from the 1920s to the 1990s. In one chapter, Johnson traces the brutality of the twin totalitarian regimes, Hitler's Nazi Germany and Stalin's Communist Soviet Union. It is fascinating that these two devils were mutually inspired by each other's methods of consolidating power and indirectly borrowed ideas and techniques from each other. ...

THE ONLY people who would not want cameras at stoplights are those who run the red lights and don't want to be caught. THIS IS an urgent plea to all dog owners in Cape Girardeau. Please take the time and spend a few dollars to get a tag with your dog's name, your name, and your phone number and address on it. ...

To the editor: Every other Wednesday, I look forward to reading Dr. Tom Harte's food column in the Missourian. When I turned to the back page to see what he had cooked up for Valentine's Day, I was horrified to see a headline about toilets below the food article. ...