Stories from Sunday, October 23, 1994

To the editor: I am in full accordance with the article recently printed in the Missourian declaring the enactment of our crime bill as being deceitful and unfair, and also, merely a gain for many of our congressmen whose main interest appears to be in stuffing their pockets...

The 1994 American Cancer Society Jail & Bail campaign will be held Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the West Park Mall. Ten people have been selected to be "arrested," and each must raise $1,000 in pledges to be released from jail. The faces of "Cape's Most Wanted" can be found in the Southeast Missourian and inside McDonald's and Burger King restaurants...

Attendance at a weekend conference in Washington, D.C., this past March offered me an opportunity to visit with John O'Sullivan, the British-born former adviser to Margaret Thatcher and current editor of National Review. O'Sullivan was at the Iron Lady's side throughout her tumultuous and historic run as the longest-serving prime minister of this century. ...

JACKSON -- The Jackson Chamber of Commerce will conduct its general membership meeting Monday at 5:30 p.m. at Delmonico's. Business will follow dinner. With the Nov. 8 election approaching, the chamber will have guests from both the pro and con sides of Amendment 7, the Hancock II Amendment...

The American Red Cross continues its Code Yellow blood supply alert to urge people to prevent shortages of certain blood types. A Code Yellow is a cautionary situation, just a step above a Code Red, which means the Red Cross desperately needs blood...

State budget cuts that would come with passage of Amendment 7, would force the Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Lab to cut some services and not start new ones for area law enforcement agencies. Only about 40 percent of the lab's budget comes from the state, and the rest comes from agencies and local governments in a 21-county area...

Fourth-graders at West Lane Elementary were among those marking Missouri Day Wednesday. The students were given a whirlwind tour and an audio and visual history of their state right from the comfortable confines of the Jackson elementary school. Among the various presentations made during the morning program were a slide show presentation on the life and career and President Harry S. ...

To the editor: Amendment 7 (Hancock II) is the latest attempt by Congressmen Mel Hancock to strangle Missouri's future growth and place a chokehold on the legislators we've elected to represent us. Supporting Hancock's effort are his friends and financial supporters in big business, banking, utilities, and insurance. These are hardly the kind of people one would expect to be terribly concerned about the well-being of the average Missouri citizen...

Missouri Day is not the best known among holidays but it certainly has its share of devotees among the residents of Jackson. In addition to a slate of Missouri Day activities which took place Wednesday at Jackson's West Lane Elementary, photos of which appear elsewhere in this edition, members of the Jackson chapter of the General Federation of Women's Clubs continued their tradition of marking the day by holding a Missouri Day ceremony and flag presentation at the U.S. ...

You could call it a labor of love. The four senior members of Jackson High School's cheerleading squad have been found recently bagging groceries, working in restaurants, selling drawing tickets and doing just about anything possible to raise the $8,000 they'll need to join other cheerleaders from around the nation during the halftime at the annual Aloha Bowl college football game. The game will take place on Christmas Day and will be televised from Honolulu, Hawaii...

The bedroom in the second story of the Massey Houseis filled with old comforters and quilts. A chamber pot sits on the floor by the bed. Bollinger County Historical Society members, from the left, Jeanie Troy, Blanche Reilly and Freeda Huskey stand beside the sign noting the site of the Massey House, which was built in about 1869...

The debate over Amendment 7, commonly known as Hancock II, is proceeding in a fashion that satisfies neither supporters nor opponents and leaves voters pleading for facts. The debate is messy, confusing, frustrating and, at times, infuriating. Welcome to grass-roots democracy by initiative petition, where questions abound. Among them:...

Suppose you were dealing with an 80 percent illiteracy rate and a virtually nonexistent educational system -- so bad that it would make the worst school district in America look like a jewel. Suppose your police department was do atrocious that the principal worry was how much unwarranted violence the policemen would inflict your citizens. ...

One of the things editors get to do is eat lunch with some pretty important people. Being an editor gives you enormous power to sway the minds of readers -- at least that is what a good many politicians think. By and large, editors share the responsibility for what readers see in the newspaper. News content, for example, is largely determined by other editors whose primary responsibilities include selecting news stories, editing them and writing headlines...

To the editor: At the most recent meeting of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association, the board of directors, unanimously approved the submittal of a letter to the editor concerning Hancock II/Amendment 7. The board is very concerned about the adverse impact of Hancock II on state government and the ability to attract new jobs and industry to the Cape Girardeau area...

To the editor: Once again the voters of Missouri will be going to the polls to vote on the games-of-chance issue. This issue is very crucial to the future of riverboat gambling in the state of Missouri. Therefore, I am writing this letter to encourage all opponents of riverboat gambling to go to the polls on Nov. ...

To the editor: Missourians for Tax Justice, a statewide alliance of organizations and individuals who are working for a fair state tax system, is strongly opposed to Amendment 7, the Hancock II amendment on the November 8 ballot. Some citizens who support the amendment have obviously been misled about the education tax measure (Senate Bill 380) passed by the Legislature with Gov. Carnahan's leadership in 1993. In enacting this bill, our legislators and governor accomplished several things:...

BENTON -- A Memphis, Tenn., man was apprehended by Scott County deputies and Miner police officers Saturday afternoon, following a high-speed chase on Interstate 55. The chase, at speeds of more than 100 mph, came after a deputy became suspicious of the way a man was acting at MO's Truck Stop near the Benton exit...

Shappert Engineering Inc., the contractor building channel improvements to Walker Branch next to Kingshighway, will close the bridge to Arby's Restaurant Monday. Arby's patrons will have access to the restaurant by way of a drive from Themis Street along Southwestner Bell's offices, and from Bessie Street along Sunny Hill Garden Center...

ANNA, Ill. -- Clorene Rixleben, 87, of Anna, died Saturday Oct. 22, 1994, at City Care Center in Anna. She was born April 30, 1907 in Jonesboro, the daughter of Charles A. and Effie Crowell Rixleben. For more than 50 years she worked as a bookkeeper at the Gazette-Democrat...

PERRYVILLE -- Hubert F. Thompson, 86, of Perryville, died Friday, Oct. 21, 1994, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born May 19, 1908, in Perry County, the son of Rush and Hilda (Kutz) Thompson. He was married to Clara Kutz, who died Jan. 22, 1991...

WOLF LAKE, Ill. -- Funeral services for Bessie Ann "Becky" Copeland, of Wolf Lake, will be held today at 1 p.m. at the Lutz & Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna. The Rev. John Cripps will officiate and burial will be in Lindsey Cemetery near McClure. Mrs. Copeland died Friday, Oct. 21, 1994, at St. Francis Medical Center...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Fred Day of Ullin, died Saturday, Oct. 22, 1994, at Cox Medical Center in Springfield, Mo. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Crain Funeral Home in Ullin.

ANNA, Ill. -- Fern Foster Kotke Zacharis, 75, of Racine, Wis., and formerly of Dongola, died Saturday Oct. 22, 1994, at her home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by the Lutz & Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna.

Orval Joseph Seiler, 64, of Leopold died Saturday, Oct. 22, at 7:15 a.m. at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born April 18, 1930, in Leopold. He married Helen Marie Holcomb Dec. 1, 1951, in Leopold. He worked for Elfrink Truck Lines for 30 years before retiring in 1990...

Florence Nadine Parker, 71, of Schertz, Texas, died at 7:37 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, 1994, at the Northeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio. Parker, formerly of Sandusky, Ill., was born Sept. 23, 1923, at High Point, Iowa, the daughter of William Francis Brenton, who preceded her in death, and Mabel Bell Fortune Brenton...

Ernest N. Nance, 2800 Pioneer Drive, died Saturday Oct. 22, 1994, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Arrangements are incomplete at Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel.

MINER -- L.F. Wheeler, mayor of the city of Miner, died Saturday Oct. 22, 1994, at his home. Wheeler, 75, was born in Jackson, Tenn., June 28, 1919, the son of Benjamin Howard and Birdie Richardson Wheeler. On April 10, 1948, he married Dixie Spears, who survives...

This is the second article in a two-part series. The first installment appeared in last week's edition of the Jackson U.S.A. Signal With darkness approaching, Connie and I decided to stop and spend the night in Radium Hot Springs, which is a picturesque small town with lots of mountain views and a population of 400. ...

FAIRFIELD, Ohio -- Glenda E. Vogel, 59, a resident of Fairfield, died at Mercy Hospital in Hamilton, Ohio. She was born Dec. 17, 1934, at Whitewater, the daughter of Oliver and Beulah Barks Williams. She is survived by her mother of Cape Girardeau; a son, Roger Vogel of Carrolton, Ky.; a brother, Jimmy Williams of Cape Girardeau; two sisters, Melva Coomer of Scott City and Linda Williams of Cape Girardeau; and three grandchildren...

Outcome Based Education is "totally socialistic in nature" and ultimately prepares students to become politically correct citizens rather than high achievers. So proclaimed Arkansas teachers Debbie Pelley and Iris Stevens. Both Pelley and Stevens have had an opportunity to see the OBE plan at work in Arkansas, and neither likes what she sees...

State highway officials will interview four consulting firms as a step to decide where to upgrade Highways 25, 34 and 72 in the Cape Girardeau and Jackson area. Major improvements in the three highways are included in the state's 15-year road plan. Although the plan doesn't include widening the highways to four lanes, it does provide for enough right of way to widen the highways in the future...

Some people view Cape Girardeau's proposed property maintenance code as a blessing. To others, it is a curse. But after four years of debate, the city council is scheduled to give first reading Monday night to an ordinance establishing a property maintenance code...

Once Walt Larson and Jim Brinker inhaled the gunpowder of a Civil War re-enactment, they were hooked. "Once you get gunpowder in your nostrils, it becomes a habit that almost turns into a disease," said Brinker, wearing a reproduction Union Army uniform...

PULASKI, Ill. -- The 1994 Pulaski County sheriff's race is a rematch of the 1986 election -- Democrat Gene Dixon opposes Republican Russell E. "Rusty" Dakin. But, there is a difference. Eight years ago, Dakin was incumbent sheriff and was facing the challenge of Dixon. This time around, on Nov. 8, Dixon is the incumbent, seeking his third term, and Dakin is the challenger...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Union County voters will decide in November whether to add a new building commission in the county. Voters are being asked to decide if a public building commission should be created and organized to exercise the powers and authority prescribed by the Public Building Commission Act...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Louis Maze is seeking his third term on the Alexander County Board of Commissioners. Warren "Buddy" Mitchell will be seeking his fourth term as Alexander County Sheriff. Commissioner and sheriff races are the only locally contested races on the Nov. 8 Alexander County ballot...

When it comes to deer rifles, the caliber of the cartridge probably isn't as critical as the caliber of the shooter. With deer hunting by firearm bearing down on sportsmen, this is a time of considerable preparation -- and also one of endless debate over which is the ideal whitetail rifle. It makes for interesting conversation among sportsmen, but the question probably isn't as major a consideration as arguments seem to imply...

I came down here to Whispering Hills at 10 p.m. last night and fell asleep to the sound of rain falling on the camper. Water falls from the leaves this morning as a gray squirrel hops from tree to tree in a hurried search for acorns. It runs a branch-course in a leafless walnut before jumping into oaks across the road...

The Missouri Department of Conservation will sponsor Duck Day today at Duck Creek Wildlife Area located 9 miles north of Puxico on Highway 51. There will displays on ducks and wetlands, boat rides through flooded timber, a wagon ride through the marsh, a guided hike through the woods and an auto tour. Hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p..m and admission is free...

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the USDA Forest Service are offering a poster and a toll-free telephone number to help Missourians make the most of autumn. The reds and golds that appear on nature's palette each October are there throughout the growing season. They are masked by the green pigment chlorophyll during the summer. Fall colors begin to show when trees' solar-powered food manufacturing operations shut down and the amount of chlorophyll dwindles...

COLUMBIA -- Good weather and an upturn in ruffed grouse numbers elsewhere are helping to restore the dapper game bird to the Show-Me State. The past two years have been difficult ones for Missouri's grouse, due to cool wet spring weather. Such weather makes it difficult for grouse and their close relatives -- quail, pheasants and turkeys -- to rear their young. This year, however, spring conditions were very good...

Too many know what is wrong with our culture. Too few offer definitive, workable plans about how to correct it, or, offering plans, see that they do not work. When all governmental and societal plans thus fail, why not try the unorthodox? I have an idea!...

Structures that took months to build fall in weeks at the hand of Delmar Cruce. A one-man army, he begins in the basement, clears out valuable copper pipes, climbs to the attic, knocks off the roof. Then the walls come tumbling down. Cruce doesn't use machinery, just hand tools, and his lined face and stained fingers are those of a man who has torn apart more than 500 buildings with crowbars and hammers...

Heather Cook and Davique Dumars recently were chosen from a field of 600 dance students to receive scholarships at a Kansas City dance convention. Cook is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cook of Oran, and Dumars is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Dumars of Cape Girardeau...

The Salvation Army, 701 Good Hope, will serve Meals With Friends this week. Serving is from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Capt. Elmer Trapp invites any individual to come and enjoy a hot, nutritious meal in a cool, friendly atmosphere at no cost...

Glamour Magazine, the largest fashion, beauty and health magazine in the U.S., will host two fashion events at the West Park Mall on Saturday, Oct. 29. The events have been rescheduled from a Sept. 10 postponement. Kristine Lippe, Glamour's merchandising editor, will host these fashion events at noon and 3 p.m...

JACKSON -- Riverside Regional Library recently installed fax machines in each branch throughout the three-county area. Patrons may use the machines to send or receive fax messages. The numbers at each branch are: Jackson, (314) 243-8142; Altenburg, (314) 824-5267; Benton, (314) 545-3581; Oran, (314) 262-3745; Perryville, (314) 547-6508; and Scott City, (314) 264-2413...

ANNA, Ill. -- A celebrity auction and chili supper will be held Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Anna-Jonesboro Community High School. Art and autographed memorabilia from sports, soap opera and music stars will be auctioned along with signed books, antiques and collectibles and pet supplies. Local businesses have also donated items for auction...

ADVANCE -- The Advance High School Beta Club will sponsor a blood drive on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The drive will be held at the Advance Elementary School, Highway 91 and School Street. It will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Blood supplies continue to be in great demand in the region...

Changes in tax legislation, with special emphasis on farm and retirement situations, will be the theme of a day-long Farm Income Tax School, to be held Oct. 31, at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. Cost of the school, sponsored by University Extension, is $70...