Stories from Monday, December 18, 2000

SunCom Wireless, a member of the AT&T wireless network -- Telecorp PCs -- has opened in Cape Girardeau. The new company, at 350 N. Kingshighway, offers a variety of wireless services -- digital phone, voice mail and pager. SunCom recently opened a regional headquarters in Evansville, Ind., and is planning new stores throughout a four-state region...

Dr. Gordon W. Eller has been awarded the designation of adjunct clinical associate professor in orthopedics from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. Ellers, who is one of seven orthopedic surgeons on the staff at Orthopaedic Associates of Southeast Missouri, P.C., has served the college as clinical preceptor for third and fourth year medical students the past eight years...

Wayne and Faye Deneke and Kathryn Miller, of Gordonville Mutual Insurance Company, 192 State Highway Z, recently attended the Missouri Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (MAMIC) 105th annual convention in Columbia, Mo. More than 650 people attended the event, which featured a number of industry speakers on a variety of topics. Speakers included MAMIC president Larry Forrester...

Wesley Tripp of Cape Gir-ardeau, Deborah Long of Cape Girardeau and Albert Mateka of Perryville have graduated from a four-week, 192-hour tractor trailing driving course at Malden, Mo. Industrial Park. Chester Graham, an instructor with the Southern Missouri Truck Driving School, taught the course...

John Ferguson of Cape Girardeau has retired from active membership from the East Missouri Action Agency (EMAA) Board of Directors. Ferguson served on the board for the past five years. EMAA is a not-for-profit group serving low income residents of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Iron, Madison, Perry, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Washington counties...

Cheryl A. Morris, Cassandra Wilson, Michael A. Radake, Debra K. Johns and Howard J. Poston, all of Schott & Van de Ven, Certified Public Accountants, recently attended a "Current Developments in Federal Taxation" training course in St.. Louis. The continuing education class focused on current federal tax developments and included recent changes in the Internal Revenue Code...

The Movie Gallery has opened at Dexter, Mo. The new Dexter Movie Gallery is the 1,000th store for Movie Gallery, inc., which is the third largest video rental and retail chain in the nation. Bob Ober is the manager of the facility, located at the intersection of Business Highway 60 and One-Mile Road...

Dates have been established for the annual Ag Expo 2001, to be held at Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff, Mo. The annual event, sponsored by the Butler County University Outreach and extension Council and the Ag Club of Three River Community College, will be held Jan. 19-20...

Americans, feeling less confident in the economy, tightened their belts in November, driving down sales at the nation's retailers for the first time in seven months. With recent holiday sales lackluster, Grinches may outnumber Santas this year. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales fell by 0.4 percent last month, surprising analysts who expected sales to rise slightly. In October, sales were flat...

Vintage Villa Nursing Center is looking for a name for its new facility, under construction at Dexter. The new facility is scheduled to open in 2001. The winning entry will receive $250 Dexter Dollars. America Systems Inc. will select the name. Names may be submitted to Vintage Villa, 228 E. Market, P.O. Box 514, Dexter, Mo., 63841...

SBC Communications Inc., Southwestern Bell's parent company, has been named one of the nation's "Top 25 Companies for Executive Women." The magazine's annual rankings, published in the most recent issue of "Working Women," ranked SBC number one among telecommunications companies and 13th overall. The magazine cited SBC as having more women on its board of directors than other Top 25 company...

A Workers' Compensation discussion session will be held at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau Jan. 3. The program will follow a noon luncheon at the Drury Lodge. Mike Banahan, attorney with Evans & Dixon firm of St. Louis, will discuss recent changes in Missouri's Workers' Compensation Law...

The requests were simple -- a left-handed monkey wrench and a women's spiral saw. Yeah, sure! I'm not a home-improvement buff, but I do know there is no such thing as a "left-handed" monkey wrench. And, I wasn't too sure about a women's spiral saw. Now I know. There is a special women's spiral saw, thanks to the invention of Bob Kopras, CEO and founder of RotoZip Tool Corp., of Cross Plains Wis...

This "Financial Focus" column is prepared by Edward Jones Investments, headquartered in St. Louis. Jones includes branches throughout the nation, including Cape Girardeau and Jackson. There are two things we can be fairly sure of in the investment world. ...

Ten persons recently received "Above and Beyond" awards from the Southeast Missouri Business Group on Health, which were presented recently during the group's annual meeting, held at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. Diane Bauman of Nordenia USA, and vice president of the health group's board of directors, said the "Above and Beyond" awards recognize individuals who have "gone the extra mile to improve healthcare options" in Southeast Missouri...

Bob Evans Restaurant has opened on Vantage Road near the route K/Interstate 55 intersection. Todd Schoener is general manager. Houchin's Do-Nuts Drive-In has opened at Kingshighway and Hopper Road. Store managers are Jerry and Pat Johnson.

More than 300 business leaders from Missouri are expected to attend the Missouri Chamber of Commerce's eighth annual Chamber Day at the Capitol in February. A panel featuring state legislators from 9-11:30 a.m. at the Capitol Plaza will give chamber and business leaders an opportunity to discuss business issues with senators and representatives...

Aunt Mabel's Jelly Company, founded in April, has added corporate gift baskets to its product list. The company, which was launched at Fenton, Mo., by former Cape Girardean Letty Payne Thies, offers the baskets in a breakfast variety, containing sausages, crackers and cheese...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Graveside service for Joseph Pettit will be held Monday, Dec. 18, 2000, at 10 a.m. at Williams Cemetery in Perkins, Mo. One son, Steve Pettit, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., was inadvertently omitted from the obituary in the Dec. 17 Southeast Missourian...

Blue Cross has moved its training facilities to Auburn Park Place, located at William and S. Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau. The 70,000-square-foot Auburn Park Place is owned by DSW Development Corporation (a Drury Company) of Cape Girardeau.

Sprint recently established a "Sprint Store" on North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, in the former A&W Restaurant building. The company provides cellular, Internet and local phone service, joining a number of competitors in the market, including Southwestern Bell and Ameritech (now merged into Verizon)...

Charter Communications' new facility will be ready early next year in Six Thirty Industrial Park in Cape Girardeau. The communication giant, owned by technology legend, Paul Allen is nearing completion of a new technical center that promises to upgrade the companies cable service...

The plaster paratrooper hanging from the door of a Douglas C-47 Skytrain in a North Carolina museum doesn't look much like Cape Girardeau's Clemon Crain, but they share the same name. "I think I'm a little better looking than the mannequin," said Crain, a World War II veteran who jumped into fighting during D-Day from a C-47...

Annual reports released by Missouri school districts earlier this month are best used as tools to mark self-improvement, area school administrators say, and should not be viewed as a report card on their districts' effectiveness. Although the reports often are referred to as report cards, they don't assess a district's performance. School officials said there is no need to try to develop assessment criteria as long as state evaluations like the Missouri School Improvement Program exist...

Lower ticket prices and proximity to major airports are causing more local air travelers to catch planes in St. Louis rather than in Cape Girardeau, according to a recent study. But the information is no surprise to local airport officials, who say they intend to step up marketing and outreach efforts to encourage more passengers to begin their journeys here. The report is considered a first step in trying to attract other airlines and services to the airport...

Road maintenance or construction work may cause delays this week. Mississippi River Bridge -- Maintenance repair work. Today, one lane from noon until 5 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, one lane from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.; Thursday, one lane from 7:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Delays of 10 to 15 minutes can be expected...

City officials may deny a liquor license for the Taste Lounge, a Good Hope Street bar that has been plagued by fights, assaults and disturbances. The renewal decision will be made at tonight's city council meeting at 7. The Cape Girardeau Police Department recommended a denial, citing numerous disturbances at the Taste Lounge, 402 Good Hope, since July, when its six-month probationary period began...

A 2001 operating budget of $16 million will be presented to the Jackson Board of Aldermen for approval tonight. That is a 6 percent increase from 2000, a boost consistent with recent city budgets. A public hearing on the budget will begin at 7:30 p.m...

Terry Rogers, Daniel Weaver, Nyah Jones, Drew DeMond and Tim Scheer combined to score 24 points during Southeast Missouri State University's 73-71 win over Southwest Missouri State Saturday night. That production might not seem like much -- but it brought a smile to Indians' coach Gary Garner's face...

Monday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m. Council Chambers, City Hall, 401 Independence Study session at 5 p.m. Consent ordinances (Second and third readings) n An ordinance amending Chapter 19 of the city code relating to employee political activities. n An ordinance for a quit claim deed for excess land from the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for right of way for the Cape La Croix Creek/Walker Branch Flood Control Project...

7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18 City Hall Public Hearings n Hearing to consider the proposed annual budget for 2001. Action Items Power and Light Committee n Consider a bill proposing an ordinance accepting dedication of water line easements from Dwight and Kathleen Johnson, Robbie Eastman and Jerrel and Patricia Busey...

A 7-month-old Kenneth J. North of Fort Campbell, Ky., died after a head-on collision during blizzard-like conditions on Interstate 57 Saturday night. The accident occurred aroudn 11:30 p.m. three miles north of Charleston, Mo., as the child's mother drove the wrong direction on I-57...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Joseph H. Foster, 86, of Charleston died Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000, at Charleston Manor. He was born Feb. 2, 1914, in Arkansas, son of Joseph Henry and Artie Byrd Foster. He and Juanita P. Hunt were married May 2, 1949, and she died April 21, 1989...

ANNA, Ill. -- Nina Gregerson, 74, of Anna died Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000, at Union County Hospital in Anna. She was born Sept. 17, 1926, in Kennett, Mo., daughter of Jess F. and Ruth Edna Weaver Chapman. She was employed as a nurse's aide and was of the Pentecostal faith...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Audrey A. Sorrells, 61, of East Prairie died Sunday, Dec. 17, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 8, 1939, in St. Louis, daughter of Arthur and Viola Henke McBride. She and Bill Sorrells were married June 10, 1967...

Dolly Ruth Snyder, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Dec. 17, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel in Cape Girardeau.

Dale Williams, 54, of Buncombe, Ill., died Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Marion, Ill. Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Anna, Ill.

James L. Hoyle, 79, of Cobden, Ill., died Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000, at the Jonesboro Health Care Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Cobden.

Tressa Marchildon, 87, died Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000, at Jerseyville Community Hospital. She had been residing at Greenwood Manor West Nursing Home. Born May 7, 1913, in Thebes, Ill., she was the daughter of the late Deward and Maggie Clutts Butcher...

MALDEN, Mo. -- William Arvills Hufford, 62, of Malden died Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000, at his home. He was born March 2, 1938, in Malden, son of Earl William and Myrtle Bea Keaster Hufford. He was a building contractor and a member of the New Prospect Church in Malden...

SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC lost an election in Yugoslavia and tried to remain in power. Al Gore lost an election in the United States and fought to stay in power. Can somebody please tell me the difference? I AM disappointed in both the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. ...

If everything falls into place, Jackson would finally get an East Main Street interchange with Interstate 55. And Southeast Missouri State University's demonstration farm would be converted into a technology park. The plan, outlined a couple of weeks ago, would require Jackson to extend its new stretch of East Main to I-55 and the Missouri Department of Transportation to build the interchange north of the university's demonstration farm, which straddles I-55 north of County Road 618...

Cold weather, the shutdown of some generating plants for repairs and the effects of utility deregulation have combined to create an energy crisis in California. To save energy, people are being asked to wait a few extra hours after dark before turning on their holiday displays...