Stories from Wednesday, August 8, 2001

The inspiration for this article came while I was sitting on our riding mower. We had not mowed our lawn for the last three weeks because of rain, work and grandkids. Needless to say our lawn looked like a hayfield. The grass and weeds were so tall that quite often I had to put the mower in the lowest gear so that it would not bog down...

It's the all zucchini recipe show today. Everything from main dishes to dessert bars. Zucchini is so versatile it can be used in nearly every way possible. I will have to try some of these for my sister Barb Kinsey. She does not like zucchini and I keep telling her the zucchini takes on the flavors of things it is cooked with, but she doesn't buy it. Maybe I can trick her with the Chicken Vegetable Bundles or the cornbread recipe...

When H. Weldon Macke became Cape Girardeau County's first-ever elected auditor 34 years ago, all the work was done with hand-cranked calculators and scribbled on paper. "There was no air conditioning and we had small rooms to work in," Macke recalled. "Now we have computers along with everything else."...

After a multimillion-dollar cleanup, the once pesticide-laced Kem-Pest site near Cape Girardeau no longer poses an environmental threat and should be taken off the Superfund list, the federal government says. The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment for the next month in advance of making a final decision on removing the site from the Superfund list. The agency will collect comments through Sept. 5...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Construction of a state veterans cemetery at Bloomfield is again delayed, with the facility now slated to open for burials by March 2003, six months later than last anticipated. Ron Taylor, the superintendent of services and cemeteries for the Missouri Veterans Commission, said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is expected to give final approval to the design of the Bloomfield facility within the next few weeks...

It was close, but Cape Girardeau school officials saw their third straight funding measure approved by voters during Tuesday's special election. Nearly 51 percent of voters approved a 58-cent tax increase by a 1,963-1,890 vote. A simple majority was needed to pass the measure...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Voters shot down a 25-cent tax increase proposal during elections Tuesday that would have provided breathing room for the Jackson School District's tight budget and crowded classrooms. Schools superintendent Ron Anderson said the 1,196-2,119 decision means officials will have to find other ways to pay for new teachers to put in as-yet-unbuilt junior high classrooms voters approved funding for in November...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Experienced weather watchers and law enforcement personnel reporting a number of funnel clouds near Sikeston just after 5 p.m. Tuesday were seeing a phenomenon known as land spouts. Land spouts are similar to tornadoes, but the system they are produced by lacks the power and height of a tornadic thunderstorm...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Perryville School District voters on Tuesday rejected a 25-cent tax levy increase by 63 votes. Perry County Clerk Randy Taylor said voter turnout was light but higher than expected for a special election -- about 25 percent. The vote was 1,260 against the increase and 1,197 for it...

Judges had a tough time selecting four semifinalist winners from among the 175 Foto Fest contest entries this week. Photos ranged from pictures of children and pets to landscapes and sunsets. Competition is stiff as the final weeks of the Foto Fest contest arrive, said Joyce Hunter, director of marketing for Westfield Shoppingtown West Park, a contest sponsor...

Saying he is taking "swift and decisive action" against telemarketers who violate the state's new no-call law, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon filed his fourth lawsuit in five weeks, this time against a Florida alarm system company. The lawsuit, filed in St. Louis, asks for a restraining order be issued against ADT Security Services, Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla., Nixon said at a news conference in Cape Girardeau Monday...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate has approved $27 million in projects for Missouri, including $1.5 million for sewer improvements in Cape Girar-deau. The money is in the $84 billion fiscal 2002 Housing and Urban Development spending bill, said U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Samuel Joseph Farrow Jr. of Jackson pleaded innocent Monday to charges of kidnapping and sexually abusing two young girls. Defense attorney Albert Lowes entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental defect on behalf of his client...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will give Mound City an Outstanding Maintenance Award today. Mound City Mayor Sam Johnson will receive the award from Maj. Todd A. Gile, deputy commander of the Corps' Memphis District, at 2:15 p.m. today at the Mound City Fire Station...

A year away from baseball was about all Scott Reinagel could handle. "I really missed it a lot," said Reinagel. But he won't have to worry about the void any longer. Reinagel, a former Notre Dame High School baseball standout, will be a member of the 2002 Southeast Missouri State University squad...

Despite her team's dominance of the Ohio Valley Conference last season, Southeast Missouri State University volleyball coach Cindy Gannon is not surprised that the Otahkians are expected to fall short of the league title this year. The Otahkians, who have won eight of 10 OVC regular-season championships since joining the conference, are picked to finish third in 2001 according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches that was released Tuesday...

Southeast Missouri State University football coach Tim Billings smiled as he surveyed his freshmen on the practice field for the first time Tuesday. "They can all play," he said. "It's just a matter of when." Billings knows that it's tough for freshmen to make in impact in the hard-hitting, fast-paced world of college football. But he expects at least a few of the Indians' rookies to do just that. The question is who will they be?...

PINE BLUFF, Ark. -- The Heartland Nationals, a 12-under girls fast-pitch softball team based in Benton, Mo., split two games Tuesday during pool play in the Babe Ruth World Series. Heartland lost to Hoquiam, Wash., 4-2 but came back to beat Souhegan Valley, N.J., 9-2...

Former Southeast Missouri State University men's basketball coach Ralph Pink has died at the age of 77. Pink served as the Indians' coach from 1952-58 and compiled a 70-53 record during those seven seasons, including a 15-6 mark in the 1954-55 campaign...

Deanna Estes carded a hole-in-one during the Fillies Run Tournament at Cape Girardeau Country Club. Estes aced No. 6, a par 3 playing 115 yards. Martha Hamilton and Alice Temm won the tournament. Jennifer Coad and Bev Prater took Place' while Robyn Young and Kathy Morris finished Show'...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Ralph J. Arnzen, 59, died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2001, at his home near Jackson. He was born Dec. 29, 1941, at Leopold, Mo., son of Frank and Minnie Eftink Arnzen. He and Patricia Glueck were married July 15, 1972, at New Hamburg, Mo. Arnzen worked 23 years at SuperValu in Scott City, retiring in 1999. He was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church...

ANNA, Ill. -- Norma J. Dawley, 70, of Anna died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

THEBES, Ill. -- Raymond E. Benefield, 70, of Thebes died suddenly Monday on arrival at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 17, 1930, at McClure, the son of Ray and Bertha Groves Benefield. He married Donna Parks on Nov. 3, 1957. She survives...

BESSVILLE, Mo. -- Ruth Brodhacker Schafer, 89, of Indianapolis, Ind., died Sunday, Aug. 5, 2001, at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, Ind. She was born March 24, 1912, in Hornbeak, Tenn., daughter of Anderson and Emma Bass Keeton. She and Albert Brodhacker were married Aug. 22, 1928. He died July 22, 1966. She later married Fred Schafer, who also preceded her in death...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Jeffery D. Buehler, 48, of Perryville died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2001, at his home. He was born July 17, 1953, at Perryville, son of Gerald J. and Mary V. Elliott Buehler. He and Janice M. Lynch were married Dec. 19, 1984. Buehler was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Funeral Mass for Lee Roy Chambers of Chaffee will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Ambrose Catholic Church. The Rev. Ralph Duffner will officiate. Burial will be in Texas Bend Cemetery at Charleston, Mo. Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee after 4 p.m. today. Parish prayers will be at 7...

Charles E. Duncan, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Aug. 6, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born June 28,1918, at Gideon, Mo., son of John Morgan and Stella Frances Parks Duncan. He and Mary Sue Sutilef were married June 18, 1941. She died Nov. 16, 1990. He married Opal Pensel Nov. 22, 1991, in Cape Girardeau...

ANNA, Ill. -- Funeral for C. LaClede "Corky" Graves of Anna will be held at 11 a.m. today at Crain Funeral Home in Anna. Msgr. Tom Miller will officiate. Burial will be in Anna Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 9 a.m. until time of service. An Eastern Star service will be held at 10:30 a.m...

Harold E. "Jim" Griffin, 66, of Conway, Ark., died Monday, Aug. 6, 2001. He was born July 29, 1935, son of Harold W. and Jewel Griffin. Griffin attended Arkansas Tech and received a master's degree in education from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville in 1959. He received a degree in education from the University of Missouri in 1972...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Virgil D. Wiggs, 82, of Jonesboro died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2001, at his home. He was born July 27, 1919, at Lick Creek, Ill., son of James and Hattie Emery Wiggs. He and Genevieve Dillow were married Oct. 5, 1940, in Cape Girardeau. Wiggs worked 22 years at Choate Mental Health Center. He attended Salem Lutheran Church...

I STRONGLY dissent from the Speak Out view that politicians do not understand the nature of manual labor. They know very well what it is, seeing it on the streets quite often through tinted windows as they are driven to their respective legislative bodies in luxurious stretch limos. My guess is that every time they see it their resolve to avoid it at all costs is significantly strengthened...

State Rep. Rod Jetton of Marble Hill, Mo., always the gentleman, recently sent out thank-you notes to the news agencies that covered his remarkable walk. The former cross-country runner and Marine successfully completed a nine-day, 255-mile trek from Jackson, Mo., to Jefferson City in an attempt to bring attention to the area's unmet highway needs...

Ameren Corp., a major utility company that serves much of eastern Missouri, could build its largest hydroelectric plant in scenic Reynolds County near Johnson Shut-ins, a breathtaking section of waterway enjoyed by Missourians every hot summer, and Taum Sauk Mountain, the state's highest peak at 1,772 feet...