Stories from Saturday, July 14, 2001

For many years the only god Russians worshiped was the Communist Party, but after the fall of communism people began seeking God. Valentina Biryokova was one of those people. She related her story through a translator during an interview Thursday afternoon with the Southeast Missourian...

Although Marty Haggard picks up a guitar instead of a Bible when he heads to the stage where a single microphone stand and a black stool sit beside a pulpit, he'll be preaching the Gospel all the same. Haggard, son of legendary country musician Merle Haggard, performed last week at Bethany Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. He plays each Sunday at a new church started in Branson, Mo., and spends the remainder of the week with his family in Conway, Ark...

Bruce Loy scurried around the tarmac at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport in a golf cart Friday, directing last-minute preparations for this weekend's air festival amid landings by World War II bombers and aerobatic biplanes readying for the show...

With little experience in long-distance running and her 45th birthday a few weeks off, Joyce Hunter has decided to run a marathon. It's not for her own health, she said, but for two people with arthritis. "Marathons are a dime a dozen," said Hunter, who took up running last year. "If I was going to go through this long training process, I wanted more meaning out of it than crossing a finish line."...

I got my journalistic groove back this week, thanks to the help of a group of aspiring writers who are considering journalism as a career option. Losing my groove hasn't been a recent happenstance or even a quick one. Rather, the loss has been something that has occurred over time and without my even recognizing it...

Following is the June permit status of new buildings, expansions and remodeling projects and the status of those projects in Cape Girardeau: New buildings n Deer Valley Townhouse, Phase I, 3014-3022 Beavercreek Drive, five-unit townhouse, 5/16/01; letter sent, 6/12/01...

A former Scott City resident has been chosen to head up Southeast Missouri State University's fund-raising foundation. University President Dr. Ken Dobbins on Friday selected Alan Zacharias, 39, who currently is senior vice president for university advancement and chief operating officer of the Concordia University Foundation in River Forest, Ill. Zacharias, who grew up in Scott County, attended Southeast for two years in the 1980s before graduated from Murray State University in 1983...

Four people will be honored by the Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Southeast Missouri for their courage, commitment and work in Cape Girardeau A community service award and an award named in honor of the Rev. Walter J. Keisker will be presented at 6 p.m. Thursday at Drury Lodge as part of the annual recognition dinner for the Lutheran family services agency...

It was a good opening day Friday for the local teams in the National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional at Capaha Field. The Craftsman Union Capahas, the tournament favorite and host squad, knocked off the Sauget (Ill.) Wizards 12-2 in Friday night's winner's bracket semifinal. The game was stopped in the bottom of the eighth inning by the 10-run mercy rule...

BENTON, Mo. -- A rider throws himself and his motorcycle 30 feet into the air, hovers there for what feels like minutes -- plenty of time to hang from the bike's handlebars or do stunts with names like "the superman" -- and lands like a feather on a mound of dirt as a crowd oohs and aahs...

The action is fast and furious as 44 girls fast-pitch softball teams battle throughout the weekend at the Shawnee Park Sports Complex. Young ladies between the ages of 10 and 18 are participating in four divisions -- age 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under, and 18 and under -- in the fourth annual WASA...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Jason Chavez outpitched Jamie McAlister in Cape Ford & Sons' 6-1 Senior American Legion victory over Poplar Bluff in the opener of a make-up doubleheader Friday night. Cape (21-15) won the second game 15-10. Chavez went seven innings and allowed one earned run on five hits and four walks while striking out 10...

Southeast Missouri State University gymnastics coach Patty Stotzheim has announced the signing of seven athletes for the 2002 season. Those seven will join 10 returning members from the 2001 team that finished 10-10 overall. The new recruits are Michelle Albury of Missouri City, Texas; Katie Bloom of Snellville, Ga.; Talia Cover of Elizabethtown, Pa.; Crystal Eberhardt of Eden Prairie, Minn.; Anna Fink of Waukesha, Wis.; Traci Flippo of Hixson, Tenn.; and Alexis Traylor of St. Charles, Mo...

JON RUST'S column about Gov. Bob Holden's weak leadership causing him to pay off the unions hit the nail on the head. But Rust didn't go far enough. Holden's executive order is corrupt, plain and simple. He gives the unions millions of dollars a year in forced union dues from nonunion state workers. ...

Wednesday's execution of Jerome Mallett brought a sense of closure for some to a 16-year-old wound suffered by the family of Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper James Froemsdorf. Mallett slipped out of his handcuffs, shot and killed the trooper during an arrest near Brewer, Mo...

Real tragedies in Cape Girardeau are so rare they are magnified when they happen here. The city saw two such tragedies in the last week. Harold Gene Payne, 55, was virtually confined to his wheelchair due to a stroke. When a lighted cigarette made contact with a living room couch in the house where he lived, the results were disastrous. The North Fountain Street structure quickly became engulfed in flames, and Payne was overcome by smoke...

Liberals are fond of painting conservatives as extremists, which is interesting, given their own propensity to extremism. Last time I cited the occasional hysteria of certain pro-choicers. Now, let's look at gun-control extremists. Sarah Brady, chairman of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, is upset with Attorney General John Ashcroft over a letter he wrote to the National Rifle Association in May...

To the editor: To attend Southeast Missouri State University costs $117 a credit hour. Renting school books costs $14 per course taken. Experiencing Southeast as a student is priceless. I am a Southeast alumnus and proud of it. To the people who continually put down the university and always complain about what is wrong with it, how about saying what is good about the university as well. ...

Daughter to George Lee and Rebecca Lynn Bierschwal of Jackson, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 3:42 p.m. Sunday, July 8, 2001. Name, Felicia Ann. Weight, 6 pounds 11 ounces. Mrs. Bierschwal is the former Rebecca Smith, daughter of Melody Loveless of Cape Girardeau and Dennis Smith of North Little Rock, Ark. Bierschwal is the son of Clara Bierschwal and Gale Bierschwal of Cape Girardeau...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Eva Grogan, 90, of Dexter died Friday, July 13, 2001, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. She was born Feb. 15, 1911, at Kinder, Mo., daughter of William and Stena Bright Noce. She and William Lee Grogan were married Sept. 26, 1942, at Bloomfield, Mo. He died Feb. 3, 1988...

CYPRESS, Ill. -- Evelyn Voller, 47, of Cypress died Tuesday, July 10, 2001, at Massac Memorial Hospital in Metropolis, Ill., from injuries received in an automobile accident. She was born Aug. 6, 1953, in St. Francis, Ill., daughter of Helen Davault...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Herbert G. Plaster, 66, of California, Mo., died Thursday, July 12, 2001, at Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City, Mo. He was born Oct. 26, 1934, at Centertown, Mo., son of Clyde and Edith Taggart Plaster. He and Irma Johnson were married March 10, 1961, in Centertown...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Loyd Eugene Dickerson, 78, of Dexter died Friday, July 13, 2001, at Missouri Southern Healthcare. He was born April 12, 1923, at Dexter, son of Arthur Lee and Opha McCollough Dickerson. He and Lela M. Lane were married May 8, 1943, at Dexter...

Jeffrey Dean Kondrad, 37, of Manchester, Mo., died Wednesday, July 11, 2001 at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, Mo. Born Nov. 17, 1963 in Bonne Terre, Mo., he was the son of Larry and Martha McClary Kondrad. His father died in the year 2000...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Madelle F. Walker, 66, of Cairo died Sunday, July 8, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 18, 1934, in Cairo, the daughter of Ernest and Axie Jones. She married Elder Odies Walker on Oct. 11, 1975. He survives...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Douglas Eugene Curnell, 67, of Scott City died Friday, July 13, 2001, at his home. He was born Nov. 7, 1933, at Illmo, Mo., son of William Harold and Catherine Louise Cavaness Curnell. He and Lilla Mae Lape were married March 20, 1954, at Illmo...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Betty L. Backus Moit, 71, of Scott City died Thursday, July 12, 2001, at her home. She was born May 17, 1930, in St. Louis, daughter of Theodore and Mattie Cook Goodman. She first married Don Backus, who preceded her in death. She and George B. Moit Sr. were married July 23, 1993, at Benton, Mo...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Lydia J. Eggers, 91, of Perryville died Wednesday, July 11, 2001, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Nov. 11, 1909, at Farrar, Mo., daughter of Gottlieb and Martha Mangels Versemann. She and Walter A. Eggers were married April 16, 1933. He died May 5, 1972...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Funeral for Ida M. Mantz of Jackson will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. The Rev. Donald Sander will officiate. Burial will be in Russell Heights Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today...