Stories from Tuesday, May 8, 2001

"A tea party," Mom said softly, almost reverently. "A tea party," the rest of us echoed. "I'll get the tea," Grandma said, practically, hurrying to the pantry. "Do you have a lace cloth?" Mr. Sheckers asked, helping to clear the kitchen table. "Oh, no," Mom said, sadly, like it was all off...

Deidre Wiseman, daughter of Don and Velma Kindle of Cape Girardeau, was named to the third quarter honor roll at the Missouri School for the Deaf at Rice Junior High. To be named to the honor roll, students must achieve at least a B average.

From the capital at Jefferson City to metropolitan St. Louis to rural towns, state government leases office building space all over Missouri to help keep the wheels of government turning smoothly. The Missouri Division of Facilities Management, which is responsible for all leased property acquired for use by selected agencies statewide, lists 14 leases in Cape Girardeau. They encompass more than 144,000 square feet at a cost of more than $1.5 million...

CHICAGO -- It's just what motorists didn't want to hear on the eve of summer vacations: Gasoline price shock is back. With U.S. gas prices at record highs and motorists paying $2 a gallon in Chicago and California, talk from the pump to the Oval Office on Monday focused on whether prices could reach a once-unthinkable $3 a gallon this summer...

Andy and Jeanette Juden's Cape Girardeau home is filled with the footnotes of local history, much of it tied to railroad pioneer Louis Houck. Andy Juden is the great-grandson of Houck, who brought railroads to Cape Girardeau in the early 1900s. These days, the Judens are busy packing. They plan to move from their brick house at 306 Independence, at the corner of Independence and Lorimier streets, to a duplex...

There's a particularly cruel commercial on television right now. It's even worse than the PMDD medication commercial where the husband walks in, clearly sees the wife brushing her hair and asks, "What are you doing?" The wife screams, "What does it look like I'm doing?" causing him to back out slowly...

Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m. City Hall, 401 Independence Study session at 5 p.m. Public hearings n Held public hearing regarding the Arena Creek Sanitary Sewer Improvement Facility Plan for upgrading sanitary sewers in the Arena Creek watershed area. n Held public hearing to discuss financing the Arena Creek Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project and the impact on user charges...

Residents along the 400 block of North Louisiana might have felt like the biblical character David battling the giant Goliath when they appeared before the Cape Girardeau City Council Monday night, but council members say they try to use the wisdom of Solomon when making decisions, especially those that affect entire neighborhoods...

The Cape Girardeau City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance Monday that would put limits on how groups can solicit donations on city streets. After hearing several requests over a period of months, the council asked staff members to draft a set of guidelines that could be used to determine what requests to grant...

3rd quarter honor roll High Honors 12th Grade: Tameka Ballentine, Annie Carr, Kayla Williams. 11th Grade: Leslie Houston, Angela Kirby, Emily Randol, Sara Rivet. 10th Grade: Ebone Barnett, Torie Bennett, Ashley Ledbetter, Monisha Powell, Charidy Terry...

3rd quarter honor roll A Honor Roll 9th Grade: Nadine Aboul-Magd, Danielle Auer, Blake Barks, Tyler Bishop, Ryan Borgfield, Aaron Bornstein, Jessica Brethold, Jill Bryant, Michaelyn Burns, Chad Burton, Stacy Dohogne, Paul Drews, Mark Dunaway, Timothy Egbuka, Joshua Fee, Erika Foley, Meagan Freeze, Merritt Gerlach, Tim Gramling, Louis Hagler, Aysha Hency, Monica Jordan, Scott Kaverman, Cassie Kipper, Jacob Knepp, Candace London, Melissa Mack, Cory Marchbanks, Megan McDonald, Allie McGinty, Emily Morse, Rachel Morse, Varonnica Murphy, Darren Neels, Tuan Nguyen, Chelsey Oliver, Edgar Palacios, Rebecca Payne, Amber Pierce, Heidi Plilsner, Katie Porter, Kari Pruitt, Alex Ramsey, Tyler Roeger, Bryan Ross, James Russel, Stephanie Schaffner, Alex Schroeder, Tyson Seabaugh, Patrick Slattery, Kane Smith, P.D. ...

3rd quarter honor roll A Honor Roll 8th Grade: Jessica Andersen, Laura Browne, Jordan Cracraft, Ashley Dix, Lauren Essner, Rachael Essner, Brian McCrate, Lauren Mehner, Kenny Richardson, Kenny Schmitz, Megan Stidham, Mark Unterreiner, Jesse Westrich...

Southeast Missouri State University's Heather Keltner has added yet another honor to her already packed athletic resume. For the second straight year, the senior sprinter has been named the Ohio Valley Conference Female Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year...

IRONTON, Mo. -- Tyler Wengert escaped a precarious bases-loaded, nobody-out situation in the bottom of the seventh as St. Vincent held on for a 10-8 victory over Arcadia Valley on Monday in baseball action. Arcadia Valley had already scored three runs in the inning, but Wengert recorded a strikeout, then induced a pop-up and a ground out to end the game...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson Senior and Junior American Legion baseball tryouts that were rained out Sunday will be held Wednesday. The tryouts will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Legion Field in Jackson City Park. For more information, call Gerald Adams at 243-4199...

Lynn Pinkston Hutson, 90, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, May 6, 2001, at the Lutheran Home. He was born April 6, 1911, in Cape Girardeau, son of Nathaniel Jefferson and Amanda Catherine Smith Hutson. He and Jackie Lomax were married Oct. 3, 1944, in Cape Girardeau...

Daughter to Dr. Ken and Marla Fields of Hamilton, Mont., Community Medical Center in Missoula, Mont., 1:02 a.m. Friday, April 13, 2001. Name, Sarah Elizabeth. Weight, 8 pounds 5 ounces. First child. Mrs. Fields is the former Marla Craft, daughter of James and Carol Craft of Jackson, Mo. She is executive director of Unity Foster Care in Hamilton. Fields is the son of Jim and Sandy Fields of Evansville, Ind., and Joe and Karen Kitchens of Atlanta, Ga. He is a post-doctoral fellow in Hamilton...

ST. LOUIS -- George E. Sandvoss, 73, of Imperial, Mo., died Saturday, May 5, 2001, in St. Louis. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sandvoss. He married Patricia A. Sandvoss, who preceded him in death. Survivors include four daughters, Tina French of Fenton, Mo., Georgia Bohan of Barnhart, Mo., Connie Rose and Kim Watchinski; a son, Timothy Sandvoss of Festus, Mo.; three sisters, Mildred Hartle of Jackson, Mo., Minnie Compas of Cape Girardeau and Alleen Boswell of Cahokia, Ill.; a brother, Robert Sandvoss of Jackson; and 11 grandchildren.. ...

GRAND CHAIN, Ill. -- Robert G. Ulrich, 75, of Brewster, Wash., formerly of Grand Chain, died Saturday, May 5, 2001, at Harmony Health Care Center in Brewster. Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak, Ill., is in charge of arrangements.

COBDEN, Ill. -- Ruth Stroehlein, 100, of Cobden died Monday, May 7, 2001, at Jonesboro Health Care Center in Jonesboro, Ill. Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home at Cobden is in charge of arrangements.

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Eli B. Helton, 76, of Dongola died Monday, May 7, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 2, 1925, in Dongola, son of Dennis and Ola Vick Helton. He and Doris Hargis were married Feb. 16, 1947, in Union County. She died March 26, 1987,...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Ernest Chester Oldham, 86, of Sikeston died Monday, May 7, 2001, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Aug. 20, 1914, at Morley, Mo., son of Alfred Andrew and Iva Elizabeth Thompson Oldham. He married Claybelle Oldham, who preceded him in death...

Ida Marie Bird, 60, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, May 6, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born April 22, 1941, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Wilson H. and Emma Lucille Brewer Jones. She and Marblin Bird were married in June 1973, in Cape Girardeau...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Roberta T. Mohn Bethel, 92, of Paducah, formerly of Cairo, Ill., died Wednesday, May 2, 2001, in the Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah. She was born July 9, 1908, in Forrest City, Ark., to Jonus and Sophia Mohn. She married Leon Bethel on Jan. 29, 1929. He preceded her in death...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- Memorial service for Clint Hamilton Burgess of Portageville will be held at 7 p.m. today at DeLisle Funeral Home in Portageville. The Rev. Ed Rhodes will officiate. Burial will be in Portageville Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 5 p.m. today...

Ellen M. Leibrecht, 92, of St. Louis died Sunday, May 6, 2001, in St. Louis. The former Ellen Begley married John S. Leibrecht, who preceded her in death. Survivors include a daughter, Marilyn Brockman of St. Louis; three sons, Bishop John J. Leibrecht of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, the Rev. Robert G. Leibrecht and James G. Leibrecht of St. Louis; and five grandchildren...

To the editor: I was surprised to see a picture of Frank Rayburn, a very dear friend of mine, in an article concerning organ transplants. The article said Frank had received a heart. Upon reading this, my thoughts took me back to my grade-school days when Frank and I became acquainted. ...

From 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday ... DAVID LIMBAUGH (new father of Scott Armstrong Limbaugh, born May 4 and weighing 9 pounds, 10 ounces -- congratulations LISA and DAVE) will be autographing his book, "ABSOLUTE POWER: The legacy of the corruption in the Clinton/Reno Justice Department," which has been on the best-seller list for over five weeks...

President Bush's commitment to build a shield against ballistic missiles -- the so-called Star Wars defense system -- is prudent in light of potential aggressors in small nations "for whom terror and blackmail are a way of life," as the president put it in a speech last week...

On the heels of the recent summit to establish free trade in the democratic nations of North and South America, President Bush announced last week that his administration will impose sanctions on countries around the world that have unreasonable trade barriers on U.S. products...

One of the advantages of having a Republican president is we don't have to listen to Trent Lott and Tom DeLay complain. After being force-fed weeks of promotion, guest appearances and network commercials, the only survivors of "Survivor" are those who didn't watch...

TODAY, Limbaughism -- or Limbaughosophy, if you will (the political philosophy of the brothers Limbaugh) -- seems to be little more than mainstream, moderate Bushism masking as blustering hard-core conservatism. One of Limbaughisms tenets was anti-Clintonism, but this seems no longer relevant or particularly interesting to the American people. The principled conservative ideology thought to be an integral, even inherent, part of Limbaughosophy suddenly seems absent...

To the editor: Ever since the first Model T rolled off the assembly line, people have found ways to become distracted while driving. Whether it's personal grooming, drinking a beverage or operating a radio, drivers all too often take their attention from the road. All of these activities can cause dangerous situations...