Out of the past 12/9/08

25 years ago: Dec. 9, 1983

Several Cape Girardeau County officials will receive pay cuts of thousands of dollars annually following action taken yesterday by the County Court; the court voted to cut the salaries of county administrative judges, the county clerk, treasurer, auditor and prosecuting attorney back to 1982 levels in light of a recent court ruling.

The pastor of St. James AME Church, the Rev. John D. MaGee, files as a candidate for the Cape Girardeau City Council; he is the sixth candidate to file for three seats.

50 years ago: Dec. 9, 1958

Members of the Cape Girardeau County Association for Retarded Children hope the Cape Girardeau County Court will grant permission for the use of the County Home on U.S. 61 for a special education program for mentally retarded children of the district.

Federal funds for completion of the riverfront levee system in the North Main Street Levee Improvement District have been withdrawn by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; a deadline of Dec. 1 had been set for the district to obtain the required right of way, but it wasn't met.

75 years ago: Dec. 9, 1933

With Cape Girardeau County's 20 Civil Works Administration construction projects, in addition to eight at the Teachers College, approved, the civil works committee in this county moves to put 500 men to work by Tuesday.

In another sermon last night at the Teachers College auditorium, Billy Sunday scorched gossipers, grafters, stingy churchgoers, a certain class of preachers and young men who know only how to spend their fathers' money.

100 years ago: Dec. 9, 1908

A rumor is confirmed that W.B. Thomson, master mechanic of the Frisco Railroad in the Cape Girardeau, will temporarily move his office to Chaffee, Mo., to have the master mechanic more centrally located in his field of work and because of the heavy volume of business going via Chaffee and the Thebes, Ill., bridge.

To test the new sewer system, the city water works company is having connections made with the system; contractor W.C. Mullin has reached an agreement with the company to pay for every connection made as the testing progresses.

— Sharon K. Sanders