Out of the past 6/26/06

25 years ago: June 26, 1981

During its closed session, the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents approved the specifics of a plan designed to reduce the manpower at the institution in light of the sizable withholding from the university's state appropriation ordered earlier this week by Gov. Christopher S. Bond; 39 staff positions at the school will be vacant, most of those being positions that are currently unfilled.

Scott E. Walter, the assistant public defender for the 32nd Judicial Circuit, consisting of Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties, is leaving the circuit to accept the newly created public defender position in the 33rd Judicial Circuit in Scott and Mississippi counties.

50 years ago: June 26, 1956

A concerted effort will be made by the Cape Girardeau Jaycees on July 1 and 2 to secure the signatures of 950 registered voters on petitions requesting that a bond issue of $149,000 for the purpose of building a municipal swimming pool be put on the ballot in the Aug. 7 primary election.

It will probably be August before plans for Cape Girardeau's new elementary school are sufficiently completed to ask for bids, members of the school board were told last night; the board also received a suggestion from one of its members that the new school be named Jefferson School to perpetuate the name of Thomas A. Jefferson, after whom the old school, now abandoned, was named.

75 years ago: June 26, 1931

Depositors in the Bank of Oak Ridge, which closed June 16, 1925, will receive nearly $20,000 more if no additional claims are presented by preferred creditors; payment of $16,150 by the Fidelity and Casualty Co. of New York, holders of the bond of the cashier of the defunct institution, is expected.

Another historic traffic artery leading into Cape Girardeau, the Bloomfield Road, has been abandoned as a state-maintained road; completion and opening of Highway 74 to Dutchtown has removed designation of the old road as a state highway, and maintenance of it now reverts to the Cape Girardeau Special Road District.

100 years ago: June 26, 1906

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives passes the public building bill, which provides for the appropriation of money from the treasury for public buildings in many cities of every state; the bill carries an appropriation of $100,000 for a federal building at Cape Girardeau.

I. Ben Miller, the ice cream expert, is a progressive fellow; beginning tomorrow evening, a fine orchestra will give a concert from 7:30 to 9:30 in his ice cream parlor, and his patrons will be served with every cold delicacy known; the concerts will be held each Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening.

-- Sharon K. Sanders