Out of the past: Dec. 17

1998

Steve Wright, senior member of the Cape Girardeau Board of Education, has resigned to seek employment by the school district; he is interested in a position with the Work Keys program at the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School; the job is part of a federally funded program that creates job profiles and tests people.

The committee studying a possible merger of Cape Girardeau's two hospitals has revised the document that outlines promises for community health care; the document is a demonstration of the hospitals' intent to return benefits of the merger to the community; the benefits listed in August haven't changed, but the wording has been simplified and shortened; the benefits include establishment of centers of excellence, consolidation of operations, implementation of a two-year price freeze, and initiation and expansion of public health and wellness programs.

1973

The Rev. Earl W. Tharp has announced he will resign his pastorate at Red Star Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau, as well as his seat on the Board of Education; Tharp will resign both posts to become pastor of First Baptist Church at De Soto, Missouri; reflecting on his time here, Tharp says, "I have nothing but sweet memories of Cape Girardeau and of Red Star Church."

The fifth rural Cape Girardeau County fire within the past two weeks destroyed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Billy Joe McLain off Highway 177 east of Leemon last night, leaving the couple and their two children without clothing or furniture; the fire broke out about 10:30 Sunday night in the bedroom of the couple's 14-year-old daughter; "I never saw a house burn so fast," Billy Joe McClain says. "It was to the ground in 20 minutes"; Cape County has been without rural fire protection for nearly a year.

1948

Both the St. Louis division and district Army Engineers give their approval of plans for a $4,000,000 floodwall and levee at Cape Girardeau; Col. R.E. Smyser Jr., district engineer, says approval by the Army Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors in Washington is expected; after that, it would be up to Congress to appropriate funds.

The Military Affairs Committee of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce has suggested that the city dedicate a four-acre tract in the northwest corner of Capaha Park for an armory building; committee members made the proposal to the City Council yesterday, but it didn't formally commit itself.

1923

At a meeting of the board of directors of the Southeast Missouri Trust Co., A.L. Harty of St. Louis is employed by the institution to become president of the bank; E.J. Deal remains executive head of the institution and is to be elevated to the chairmanship of the board of directors, a new position that is to be created.

Harry B. Newman, new manager of the Cape Girardeau district of Union Electric Light and Power Co., is in Cape Girardeau preparing to take over his duties here; he is succeeding Eugene A. Hart, who is soon to move with his family to Los Angeles; Newman, who is already well acquainted with many local businessmen, has been the utilities company's manager at Poplar Bluff, Missouri, the past six years; before that, he worked for the same company in Kansas.

-- Sharon K. Sanders