SERVICES EULOGIZE SOLDIERS; MANY OFFICES WILL CLOSE FOR HOLIDAY

The weather for the first major holiday weekend of the summer will be more typical of July 4th than a Memorial Day weekend.

The National Weather Service says it will be warm and humid, with a 30 percent chance of spotty showers and an occasional thunderstorm during the period, Friday through Monday. Highs will be in the upper 80s to low 90s.

Forecaster Dave Jokerst says the best chance of thunderstorms will be on Saturday, as a weak cool front pushes into Missouri.

Memorial Day programs are scheduled Monday in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City and Sikeston.

The Joint Veterans Council of Cape Girardeau County will sponsor a service at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial in the county park. Retired Lt. Col. Ian Sutherland, assistant Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, will be the speaker.

The Jackson American Legion Post 158 will sponsor its program at 10 a.m. on South High Street, near the Jackson city cemetery. The Rev. Rodney Travis, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jackson, will give the address. In case of rain, the program will be moved to the American Legion Hall.

The Kelso Township Memorial Post 6407 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars will conduct a service at 11 a.m. at the Lightner Cemetery in Scott City.

State Rep. Robert J. Quinn Jr. of the 80th District in Ferguson will be the speaker. In case of rain, the program will be moved to the VFW home on Main Street in Scott City.

Retired Navy Capt. Eugene "Red" McDaniel will be the featured speaker at the Memorial Day program in Sikeston. The program, sponsored by the Sikeston American Legion, will begin at 11 a.m. in front of the old Methodist Church columns on New Madrid Street.

McDaniel was held six years by the Viet Cong as a prisoner of war. After his release, McDaniel returned to active duty with the Navy and served as commander of the aircraft carrier Lexington.

He received the Navy's highest award for bravery, the Navy Cross.

During the Persian Gulf War, McDaniel was interviewed by the national news media 60 times, including 24 for television.

All federal, state, county and municipal offices will be closed Monday, including all post offices. There will be no mail delivery Monday.

In addition, all Missouri Department of Revenue license-fee offices will be closed Saturday and Monday. They will reopen Tuesday.

There will be no trash pickup Monday in Cape Girardeau and Jackson. But trash will be picked up Monday in Scott City and Chaffee.

In Cape Girardeau, Monday's trash pickup routes will be run Tuesday. The Tuesday routes will be run Wednesday. There will be no Wednesday special pickups.

In Jackson, Monday's trash routes will be run on Tuesday. Tuesday's routes will be run later in the day because of the holiday.

Illinois State Police and the Missouri Highway Patrol will have extra officers on patrol on major interstates and highways in both states.

The holiday period officially begins at 6 p.m. Friday and ends at midnight Monday.

The National Safety Council estimates between 370 and 400 people may die in traffic accidents during the Memorial Day weekend. Last year, 451 people were killed and 21,600 injured in Memorial Day weekend crashes.

Last year, 26 people were killed on Missouri's roads and highways over the Memorial Day holiday, the most fatalities during that holiday in 21 years.

Troop E had the worst fatality total in the state. Seven people, including an entire family, were killed in a head-on collision on Highway 67 near Fredericktown. Six people died in separate accidents in Southern Illinois during last year's holiday period.