Out of the past: April 23

1991

The Jackson Board of Education votes 5-1 to build its school bus transportation center near the Orchard Drive Elementary School; the lone dissenter is Dr. T Wayne Lewis.

Cape Girardeau businessmen are urged to aggressively combat legislation that would hurt Missouri's business climate; Harold E. Turner, chairman of the board of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, and Joe Frappier, the organization's president, address more than 80 business leaders at a breakfast meeting at the Cape Girardeau Drury Lodge.

1966

Dr. Mark F. Scully, president of the State College, says contracts are expected to be signed today for the expansion of Kent Library to five times its present size; the contracts will then be submitted to the Federal Housing and Home Finance Agency at Fort Worth, Texas, for approval; general contractor for the job will be McCarthy Brothers Construction Co., of St. Louis in a joint venture with J.E. Hathman, Inc., of Cape Girardeau.

County court judges from six Southeast Missouri counties -- Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Scott, Perry, Ste. Genevieve and Washington -- meet at Jackson to discuss problems and topics of official interest to the judges; topping the topics are wages paid county employees, juvenile detention and blacktopping of county roads.

1941

Fire of undetermined origin at midnight destroys the Blattner Bros. Packing Co. plant on Highway 61; the blaze, which spreads rapidly through the frame structure, causes a total loss of the building and contents valued at $15,000; there being no wind, the fire is confined to the single structure, and the Blattner Auction Co. property, immediately adjacent on the south, and the Pipkin-Boyd-Neal Packing Co. plant, adjacent on the north, escape damage.

With the returns from seven precincts in Cape Girardeau County checked, the recount of votes cast for governor in last November's election was adjourned last night; the recount will resume tomorrow morning in the office of the county clerk; with 1,643 ballots checked, there have been no instances where they were not properly marked.

1916

Easter Sunday; appropriate services are conducted at all Cape Girardeau churches; at St. James A.M.E. Church, the pastor, the Rev. M.S. Smith, preaches on "Christ's Victory Over Death"; in the afternoon, primary and intermediate Sunday School classes at St. Jamews conclude their exercises with an Easter egg hunt.

Big Elam Vangilder wins a place with the Cape Girardeau Capahas, hurling six innings against the Perryville, Missouri, team and limiting the Blues to just one hit; the Caps win, 6-3.

-- Sharon K. Sanders