1998 YELL EDITION A BIG HIT; MCGWIRE SOUVENIR PACKAGE HELPS SELLOUT

It's going. It's going. It's gone.

The 1998 YELL edition has all but sold out, thanks in large part to St. Louis Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire.

A souvenir, 12-page edition highlighting McGwire's home run record was included in the special YELL edition, making it a hot item on Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City street corners Tuesday morning.

In many places, the papers were gone by 8 a.m.

"The enthusiasm was contagious. It was fantastic," said Mark Kneer, YELL Foundation board member.

The project raised $44,000 for literacy, $9,000 more than last year's campaign.

Rain didn't dampen spirits of dozens of volunteers who sold the 1998 YELL Edition. About 50 organizations participated.

As volunteers turned in their money, very few brought back newspapers. "We sold out," was the common explanation.

The collectible value of the McGwire section prompted YELL supporters to buy multiple copies, when in the past only a single copy would have been purchased.

John Harding sold newspapers at the corner of Cape Rock Drive and Perryville Road, the official corner for the Cape West Rotary. In just under an hour and a half, club members sold 350 newspapers.

Harding, a veteran YELL volunteer, said the Mark McGwire souvenir section helped speed the pace of newspaper sales. "For a while, every other car was a sale," he said. "And we had several large donations."

The Beanie Baby giveaway also added to the excitement. "We had mothers in minivans buying three and four newspapers," Harding said.

The Cape West Rotary, like many local service clubs and businesses, sold the newspapers on street corners throughout the community. "We really enjoy working on this project," Harding said. "Literacy is a big project for Rotary International, and we like to support our local literacy projects too."

Top sellers in Cape Girardeau were NationsBank with $815.95 in sales at Mount Auburn Road and Independence, followed by the Cape West Rotary, which raised $759.18.

The top seller in Jackson was the American Business Women's Association, which raised $772.12. Scott City High School raised $743.

"Folks got up at 6 a.m. and went out in the rain to sell papers for our organization," Kneer said. "I've got to salute these folks and say thanks."

A few copies of the YELL edition were available at the Jackson, Chaffee and Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian offices Tuesday afternoon. Those papers are expected to sell out today.

Money raised supports the Southeast Missourian's Newspaper in Education program. Newspapers are delivered to area schools at no cost to teachers. Money is also distributed as grants for literacy projects.

This was the first year YELL was operated under a new foundation. It was the eighth year for the campaign.

"We were cautiously optimistic this first year on our own," Kneer said. "We hoped to do as well as last year. This is tremendous."

"The product and production are outstanding, as usual," he said. "Our McGwire section is as good as any I've seen in the nation."

People who bought newspapers were enthusiastic as well.

Betty Black, Cape Girardeau Public Library director, sold papers at the Cape Girardeau Post Office.

She sold several YELL papers to people who were out scouting for papers after 8 a.m.

"Usually we see someone at every corner, but people were just sold out all over town," Black said.

A YELL sellout is good news for Black. The library has received YELL grant money to help fund its summer reading club. Over 1,200 children participate and can earn their own books.