NO MAIL DELIVERED; MANY SCHOOLS, BUSINESSES CLOSE

Wednesday's ice storm made streets and sidewalks too slippery for even the mailman.

The storm covered the region in sheets of ice, closing schools, government offices and some businesses.

In Cape Girardeau, the post office canceled mail delivery for the first time since the February 1979 blizzard that dumped 2 feet of drifting snow on Cape Girardeau.

"I didn't want to take a chance that someone would be killed," said Postmaster Mike Keefe.

Postal employee Bill Daniels said this was only the second time in 29 years that a winter storm prevented the delivery of mail.

Keefe said he drove a mail truck on Cape Girardeau's side streets early Wednesday morning to see if mail delivery was feasible.

Keefe said the truck slid all over the place. "I couldn't get stopped on the hills."

Keefe said that convinced him to cancel mail delivery.

Street conditions were so treacherous that even Cape Girardeau police officers stayed off the roads and responded only to emergencies.

Courthouses closed in Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties. Scott County Courthouse offices remained open, although many weren't fully staffed.

The Cape Girardeau County Administration Building in Jackson closed.

"It was just too dangerous for folks to get out," said County Commissioner Larry Bock. "It is not fit for man or beast to be out."

Judges canceled court.

Circuit Judge William Syler of Cape Girardeau postponed the second day of a medical malpractice trial in Scott County Circuit Court at Benton because of the icy roads.

Syler is serving as special judge in the case. The trial began Tuesday with the selection of a jury and opening testimony.

But Syler decided early Wednesday morning to delay the trial rather than risk possible injury to jurors, witnesses, lawyers and court personnel.

Syler said this was the first time in his 22-year legal career that he has been involved in a trial that had to be postponed because of bad weather.

Schools throughout the region canceled classes and even some day-care centers closed.

Southeast Missouri State University, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and community colleges in the two-state region shut down.

SIU canceled classes and closed its offices for the first time in a number of years.

At Southeast, classes for the spring semester won't start until Tuesday. But university officials closed the offices for the first time in several years.

A February 1993 snowstorm forced the university to cancel classes at mid-day. That shutdown was the first since February 1979, when the area was buried in the blizzard.

Southeast officials decided about 6:20 a.m. Wednesday to close the university.

"We shut things down, it was so bad," said Dr. Dale Nitzschke, Southeast's president.

Nitzschke said he tried to walk to work from his campus residence, but never made it up his driveway. "I kept sliding back," he said.

Dr. Ken Dobbins, the school's executive vice president, managed to reach his office in Academic Hall.

Dobbins said the decision to close was made after discussions with the school's public-safety director and the director of facilities management.

Initially, school officials had planned to open offices two hours later than usual.

But freezing rain made it impossible to clear off roads, sidewalks and parking lots, Dobbins said. Cleared areas quickly became ice-covered again.

University crews began battling the ice at 3 a.m.

"We basically put all hands to spreading salt and sand," said Al Stoverink, facilities management director.

Stoverink said some university employees couldn't make it too work because of the slippery roads.

The Show Me Center was closed. The storm canceled the baseball Cardinal Caravan that had been scheduled Wednesday night for the Show Me Center.