Week of May 15-21

May 19, 1956

First Negro Grad of College Hopes to Remain in Girardeau

Miss Helen N. Carter became the first member of the Negro race to graduate from State College when she received her Bachelor of Science at commencement exercises Monday.

Miss Carter, who majored in speech with minors in social science and English, was the second member of her race to enroll at the college here when integration occurred years ago. Miss Roberta Slayton of Cape Girardeau was the first to enroll, but she has two more years of work before graduation.

Before enrolling here, Miss Carter had attended Lincoln University at Jefferson City for two years.

Reluctant to look upon her graduation as anything unusual, Miss Carter said she is deeply grateful to the many Cape Girardeans, both her people and others whose help and encouragement...

---

May 16, 1986

Tornadoes, flooding leave 4 people dead

By John H. Ramey and Mark Bliss

Southeast Missourian

A night of severe weather that ravaged Cape and Scott counties with tornadoes, hail and unrelenting rain claimed the lives of at least four people, two in Cape Girardeau and one each in Vanduser and Sikeston, which were hit by tornadoes.

After some spots received as much as 10 inches of rain early Thursday, another downpour that night quickly flooded low-lying areas.

A tornado hit Vanduser at about 7 p.m., cutting a two-block-wide path of destruction trough the center of town from the southwest to the east.

The tornado that hit Sikeston at about 6:45 p.m. didn't stay on the ground as it cut across the city from the southwest to the northeast.

"We've had at least 30 people injured in both towns," said Scott County Sheriff's deputy Jerry Bledsoe.

One of the biggest problems today was making contact with the areas hardest hit. Long-distance service was out because a tower at Bloomfield was downed by a tornado.

Many people in Vanduser were left homeless...

---

May 15, 1998

Civic leader Gene Huckstep dead at 69

By Mark Bliss

Southeast Missourian

Gene Huckstep, whose leadership helped mold Cape Girardeau County government into one of the most well run in the state, died Wednesday night at his Cape Girardeau home. He was 69.

He had suffered from poor health in recent years.

Friends described Huckstep as caring, trustworthy, frank and honest.

He was a longtime political supporter of the U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, dating back to when Bond first ran for Missouri auditor.

Huckstep served as Cape Girardeau County's presiding commissioner for 16 years, from 1979 to 1994.

He was so well liked that both the Republican and Democratic parties asked him to run for presiding commissioner in 1978. He ended up running as a Republican.

As presiding commissioner, Huckstep combined business sense with common sense and a take-charge approach...