Out of the past: Aug. 8

1998

Southern Illinois hunters go on a wild goose chase every year, but the hunt may be more intense this year; waterfowl flight numbers, from shallow potholes on the plains of Canada to the Mississippi Flyway, are expected to be down this winter; flights could be down as much as 40%, say officials of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources; that creates concern in Southern Illinois, where goose hunting is big business.

A lawsuit seeking to set aside the closure of a number of public roads and trails in Shawnee National Forest in Illinois pits horseback riders, bow hunters, campground owners and other users of the lands against the U.S. Forest Service; the lawsuit was filed earlier this week by the Mountain States Legal Foundation on behalf of five organizations: the Shawnee Trail Conservancy, the Illinois Ranch and Campground Owners Association, Illinois Trail Riders, the Illinois Federation of Outdoor Resources and the Horsemen's Council; some who oppose closing the roads and trails use the forest for horseback riding, including trail ride businesses that have been affected by the move; but the order also limits to certain areas rappelling, rock climbing and camping.

1973

A 15% increase in serious crime in Cape Girardeau, reflected by the crime index in the Federal Bureau of Investigation crime report for 1972, released today, contrasts sharply with the overall decline of 2% nationwide; Cape Girardeau's figure is one of the greatest increases in Missouri.

The Cape Girardeau City Council is scheduled to meet in special session today to refer to the City Planning and Zoning Commission a request for a special-use permit to operate a State Boarding Home for Juveniles at 143 S. Frederick St.; Opal Wulfers, the property owner, and Robert N. Robinson, representative of the state who is in charge of such homes, made the request.

1948

Cape Girardeau's expanding building program, accelerated in July with the largest number of permits to date this year, has all but wiped out cement reserves and brought a pinch to local dealers; however, although the cement supply remains short, there has been no shutdown of building construction.

A single by Jack Hinton in the ninth inning with two out scores Morris Gaines from second and provides the Capahas with a 5-4 victory over the Granite City, Illinois, Tri-City Men's Club at Capaha Park; Boyd Boussum goes the route for the Capahas, holding the opponents in all innings but the sixth, when they bunch five of their nine hits to score all four runs.

1923

The body of the man taken from the Mississippi River near the ferry landing at the foot of Broadway yesterday around noon is identified as that of F.E. Moore, 28, an engineer who had been working at Grand Tower, Illinois; Moore drowned near the Missouri shore, opposite Grand Tower, on Sunday morning, when he swam into the river to recover his cap, which he had lost when a boat in which he and three companions were crossing the river swamped.

Fire originating from a truck, which blazes up from overheating, threatens the plant of the Southeast Missouri Lumber Co. at 9:45 a.m., but prompt action of workers in assisting the fire department prevents the fire from spreading; one of the sheds of the company, filed with dry pine lumber, catches fire, but it is quickly extinguished.

-- Sharon K. Sanders