Out of the past 4/21/08

25 years ago: April 21, 1983

Demolition work involved in the replacement of the heating and air conditioning systems at Common Pleas Courthouse and the Courthouse Annex could include removal of dangerous asbestos insulation from around old pipes; disposal of the asbestos could be problematic, since there are no EPA-approved disposal sites in Missouri.

Cape Girardeau Public School teachers were given salary increases last night, along with a contract addendum that says what is given may be taken away should a lawsuit involving the controversial Hancock Amendment result in the district losing its Proposition C funds; an across-the-board increase of $1,300 was approved by the school board.

50 years ago: April 21, 1958

Larry Lewis, 13, an eighth-grader from Jackson Junior High School, spelled down 26 other contestants in the sixth annual Missourian Spelling Bee Saturday at Central High School to capture first place; contestants spelled through 22 rounds and more than 250 words.

Charles F. Zimmerman of Cape Girardeau, who has been active in Democratic politics for many years, files with the county clerk for his party's nomination for county collector of revenue.

75 years ago: April 21, 1933

KENNETT, Mo. — About 5,000 acres, not yet planted to cotton or other crops, are covered in floodwaters, caused by a break in the St. Francis riverside levee 3 1/2 miles southwest of here; the break occurs at 6 a.m., and in two hours is 85 feet wide; it is expected to be 200 feet wide by nightfall.

Newton Gilliland signs a contract with the city to collect garbage in the southwestern section of Cape Girardeau, where this service was suspended two weeks ago when Donney Wood relinquished his contract.

100 years ago: April 21, 1908

A scheme is afoot for the solution of the drainage problem in Southeast Missouri; it is proposed to dig a big ditch from Greenbriar in Bollinger County to Cape LaCroix Creek, south of Cape Girardeau; the waters of Castor, Whitewater, Crooked and Hubble creeks will be deflected into the ditch.

In commemoration of the dedication of the Elks home, a grand ball is held in the evening; it is one of the finest clubhouses in Missouri.

— Sharon K. Sanders