Out of the past: April 19

1997

After five years of planning, $2 million in expenditures and the moving of uncounted cubic feet of dirt, the Shawnee Park Sports Complex softball fields open with a tournament that brings seven teams here from as far away as Pevely, Missouri; five softball fields are ready for play, but city officials hope to build three more; children have been kicking soccer balls on two new fields on the other side of the park, but plans are in place for one more field with bleachers for use as the site of championship games.

After only five people applied for a place on the seven-member Ethics Commission before the March 1 deadline, the Cape Girardeau City Council reopened filing and set a new deadline of April 15; those efforts proved effective, and 12 more people applied for the board; those applicants, along with four previous applicants, gives the council more than enough qualified people from which to choose.

1972

Cape Girardeau County's regular Democrats remain in control of their party, having survived an attempt last night by the county New Democratic Coalition and 10th District Rep. Bill D. Burlison, D-Cape Girardeau, to capture a huge number of uncommitted delegates to district, state and national conventions; the heated debate that was expected by some at the mass Democratic precinct meeting Tuesday night at the Arena Building -- called for the purpose of electing delegates to the county convention here May 9 -- failed to materialize; voting by the several hundred Democrats attending, many of them State College students, was quiet and orderly.

The proposed improvement of 1.8 miles of Highway 61 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson is probably going to take a wide strip of land off the Cape County Farm and the property along the north side of the steep hill approaching the county tract; plans calls for the improvement to begin east of the Interstate 55 interchange and extend southeasterly toward Cape Girardeau, terminating where the four-lane undivided highway now ends at its junction with Kingsway and Cape LaCroix Road.

1947

Damaging windows but apparently stealing nothing, thieves entered the Lorimier School building last night, and janitors find the damaged windows early today; the office and other rooms had been locked and weren't entered.

With increased interest being shown, indication are that a moderately heavy vote will be cast in the special election Tuesday, when Cape Girardeau will ballot two proposals; the first is the question of issuing $115,000 in bonds to acquire and develop Harris Field as a municipal airport; the other is to extend the city limits to take in contiguous territory to the north and west.

1922

The flood situation in Cape Girardeau is grave; the river stage here is expected to go to 38.5 feet Saturday, a rise of nearly nine inches over today's reading and an increase of six inches over yesterday's prediction; nine more inches of water will cause great damage to business houses on Main and Independence streets, while manufacturing concerns in South Cape Girardeau will suffer losses that will run high; residents there and in Smelterville will be forced leave their homes.

Jim Frazier, assistant superintendent of the Frisco, advises at noon that water has reached a point where it will be necessary for him to order the new Frisco passenger depot closed and business transferred to the freight depot, about two blocks south; trains to St. Louis on the Frisco have been abandoned, but the regular service to the south is being maintained; it will take at least 18 inches more water to interfere with that service, Frazier says.

-- Sharon K. Sanders