Out of the past: April 30

1996

In his 37 years of gauging river stages, Andy Juden hasn't seen the Mississippi River rise as quickly as it will this week; forecasters warned yesterday the river will rise at least 12 feet in the next 72 hours; much like the sudden rains on Sunday caused widespread flash flooding, the Mississippi is expected to flood areas in Southeast Missouri just as quickly, and with little warning.

The Board of Regents will choose a new president for Southeast Missouri State University today from among two finalists rather than three; the field narrowed yesterday when Dr. William C. Merwin withdrew because he has been offered the job of president of Salisbury State University at Salisbury, Maryland; Merwin's decision means the regents will decide between Dr. Dale Nitzschke, an educational consultant in Milford, Ohio, and former president of the University of New Hampshire, and Dr. G. Warren Smith, chemistry professor and former president at Southeastern Louisiana University at Hammond, Louisiana.

1971

A re-dedication to the rule of law and a recognition of the importance of change through legal procedure is the basic purpose of Law Day, Judge James A. Finch says in the morning at the State College's annual observance of Law Day; Finch, who will become chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court July 1, tells the group gathered in Rose Theater of the Language Arts Building there must be a recognition of the importance of changing those things which ought to be changed through legal procedures on the basis of informed and reasoned judgment.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Speaking to 300 persons at the 21st annual dinner meeting of the Sikeston Chamber of Commerce, Gov. Warren E. Hearnes yesterday predicted the "war of economics" will overshadow the Vietnam War as the major political issue of the 1972 presidential campaign.

1946

The bread shortage has already hit Cape Girardeau, but not in serious proportions; complying with the order to reduce milling to 75% of the 1945 volume, millers have begun their rationing, on their own plan, to bakers here and elsewhere; bakers, in turn, are limiting the supplies they provide retail stores.

Southeast Missouri, home for years of the 140th Infantry Regiment, Missouri National Guard, will again be the location of the foot soldiers if the tentative program of the advisory board of the state military organization is approved by the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C.; an effort is being made to secure for Cape Girardeau the two companies it had before the war -- service company and Third Battalion Headquarters Company, as well as Regional Headquarters, if the proper personnel can be secured for the latter.

1921

Little Hazel Young, 13-year-old daughter of Glenn Young the Frisco brakeman, suffers a broken arm in the morning, when she falls while roller skating on the sidewalk near her home at 210 S. Frederick St.; both bones just above the wrist are broken.

The grand jury completed its labors yesterday and made its final report to the court, having returned three indictments, which remain secret; in addition, the grand jury issued a report on the condition of the county jail and county farm; the former was found satisfactory, recommending only some minor repairs; however, the county farm, the report said, needs immediate attention, including repairs of the superintendent's building as well as one of the inmates' building; the report concludes with the recommendation that part of the acreage of the farm be sold off, retaining only 20 to 80 acres that would support the needs of the inmates; proceeds from the sale would be used to erect a replacement for the oldest inmate building.

-- Sharon K. Sanders