Out of the past 4/2/02

10 years ago: April 2, 1992

Schools in Southeast Missouri are eliminating teaching positions, freezing salaries, postponing building repairs and looking at local levy increases in efforts to maintain school programs and balance budget, recent poll of region's school superintendents shows; survey assessed effects of two withholdings in state school funds made this past summer and fall by Gov. John Ashcroft.

Faculty Senate at Southeast Missouri State University has narrowly rejected proposal to included homosexual "orientation" in university's anti-discrimination policy; proposal, offered by Faculty Senate Chairman Allen Gathman, was defeated by vote of 10 to 11.

25 years ago: April 2, 1977

Cape Girardeau voters Tuesday will elect two members to city council and three to board of education, when they cast ballots in city's combined general and school board elections; in campaign largely devoid of controversial issues, public interest in two elections doesn't appear to be intense.

Six-way race for two seats on Nell Holcomb Board of Education, seven-way contest for two seats on Meadow Heights Board of Education, and proposal to enact 36-cent tax levy increase in Oak Ridge School District will face voters Tuesday.

50 years ago: April 2, 1952

Manning P. Greer, Broadway hardware merchant, was voted Cape Girardeau mayor in yesterday's election; elected with him in balloting that left only one of three incumbents still in office were following city commissioners: Louis Brune, Roy Smith, J.W. McBride and Phillip H. Steck.

Illmo - Tom Ham was elected mayor, Clyde Rowland was chosen police judge and proposal to extend town's corporate limits was approved at election on Tuesday; Ham was give 170 votes to 99 writ-in ones for A.W. Kjer, who wasn't a candidate.

75 years ago: April 2, 1927

With Mississippi River rapidly rising and smaller streams and creeks in vicinity already out of their banks from recent excessive rains, Southeast Missouri is faced with its second serious flood water situation within past 10 days; river at Cape Girardeau passed flood stage of 30 feet during night and is moving up at rate of more than one inch an hour.

Paul F. Dietrich, former owner of Blue Ribbon Ice & Fuel Co., is awarded $2,000 damage by jury in Common Pleas Court in his suit against three other ice concerns here which, he charged, formed combine to force him out of business in 1921; under state law, jury's award must be trebled, and Dietrich will receive $6,000 from defendants, if verdict isn't overturned on appeal.

-- Sharon K. Sanders