Out of the past 7/12/03

10 years ago: July 12, 1993

Relief efforts throughout Cape Girardeau area have intensified as flood waters steadily rise, forcing more people to abandon their homes; about 56 area homes and nine businesses have been affected to some degree by surging floodwaters.

Ste. Genevieve, Mo. -- Ste. Genevieve is city under siege; heavy dump trucks carrying rock and sand, and "Hummers" transporting Missouri National Guard brass along with Gov. Mel Carnahan and his wife Jean rolled through historic town's otherwise deserted streets yesterday.

25 years ago: July 12, 1978

Area within Trail of Tears State Park has become one of four areas of undeveloped land in Missouri State Parks to be designated wild lands by state Department of Natural Resources.

Local officials have been accused by NAACP with discriminating against minorities in conduct of summer recreation program, charge that is denied by all city officials involved; complaint centers on access to May Greene and Washington schools; it is charged that participants there have been forced to use portable toilets and can't use restrooms and other facilities in buildings, while program at two other schools -- Alma Schrader and Jefferson -- allow participants inside.

50 years ago: July 12, 1953

Number of young men training for priesthood at St. Mary's Seminary at Perryville are taking courses this summer at State College; they are Terrance O'Donnell, Thomas F. Cawley, Gerald Brown, John B. Haley, Albert H. Lee, Francis Crowley, Joseph R. Dowd, James P. Cashman, Herald J. Pilz and Godden Manard.

Morehouse, Mo. -- Sikeston, Mo., serviceman, returning home for funeral of his brother, is one of 50 passengers aboard four-engine airliner which goes down in Pacific Ocean; Norman L. Shipman, 30, was on his way from Guam, where he had been stationed, to Honolulu on first leg of flight to Morehouse.

75 years ago: July 12, 1928

Workers are completing placing reinforcing steel and machinery in preparation to lay first section of concrete floor of new traffic bridge across Mississippi River; first steel over Frisco railroad tracks, from approach to first pier, was concreted last week, and paving machine has been moved out nearly to end of steel.

Cape Girardeau Fire Department yesterday completed its seventh week without a fire; this establishes new record, according to fire chief George French, who has been with department 15 years; previous record was slightly more than six weeks.

-- Sharon K. Sanders