Out of the past: Dec. 13

1997

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A steady stream of people visited the Scott County Health Department's Sikeston clinic yesterday; young and old alike, they came to the clinic to get vaccinated against hepatitis A, the contagious, viral disease that has sickened 43 people in the Sikeston area; public health officials estimated more than 250 people were vaccinated at the clinic Friday; as part of the vaccination, all of them will be called back within the next year to receive booster shots.

Health care in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding region could be a new ballgame in six months to two years; health and business leaders are awaiting the outcome of a joint study on the feasibility of a "permanent affiliation" between Southeast Hospital and Saint Francis Medical Center; officials from both hospitals announced the decision at a press conference Friday; exactly what that affiliation might mean is under study.

1972

The natural gas shortage facing Missouri Utilities Co. here worsened yesterday upon notification by Texas Eastern Transmission Corp. that it is curtailing the company's supply by another 200,000 cubic feet daily; it is the third time since October that Texas Eastern has cut Missouri Utilities' daily supply of natural gas, and company officials say it won't be the last this winter.

JEFFERSON CITY -- John Ashcroft, 30-year-old Springfield, Missouri, attorney, is tabbed by Missouri's Gov.-elect Christopher S. Bond to become state auditor Jan. 8; Ashcroft will serve the remaining two years of Bond's term in that office.

1947

Taking a break from his work of keeping geese off the farms in the Horseshoe Lake area in Illinois by flying at a low altitude in his Ercoupe, James Patton of Miller City, Illinois, landed the craft at Harris Field yesterday for an engine tune up.

A heating stove, some bedding and clothing for their children are given to Mr. and Mrs. Glynn Wallace, whose house at 1036 N. Fountain St., was virtually destroyed by fire Wednesday; the donations come as a result of an appeal made by the Salvation Army; the family is still urgently in need of a tent in which it may live while the dwelling is being rebuilt.

1922

The Scott County Milling Co. of Sikeston, Missouri, is defendant in a suit for damages filed in Federal Court by Pease and Dwyer Co. of Memphis, Tennessee, alleging the infringement and use of a trademark of the latter company; the suit is based on the alleged use by the Sikeston company of the trademark "Noxall," which the plaintiff company says was granted it by a state patent in January 1921.

Sheriff William Browning of Jackson leaves on the afternoon Frisco train with Jim Simon, the alleged holdup man and pal of the late Willie Willeford, to place him in the city jail in St. Louis for safety; likewise, a man accused of murder is moved from the county jail to the Cape Girardeau city jail; the actions are taken following an attempt by prisoners in the county jail at Jackson on Monday night to saw their way to liberty.

-- Sharon K. Sanders