Out of the past: Feb. 24

1998

The final phase of channel improvements for Cape Girardeau's Cape LaCroix Creek-Walker Branch flood-control project is underway; crews are relocating electrical and sewer lines from the Walker Branch area; channel improvements in this phase will focus on Walker Branch from just north of Kingsway Drive to the intersection of Cape Rock Drive and Perryville Road.

A large group of Cape Girardeau public school employees attended a Board of Education meeting last night to express their desire to be involved in planning the 1998-99 school district budget; some 200 persons -- mainly district teachers and non-certified staff -- attended the meeting to support staff representatives who addressed the board; employees are concerned that a lack of staff input in addressing budget reductions will result in decisions that negatively impact staff salaries, experience and morale, and the overall quality of education.

1973

Scouting's highest rank will be bestowed on 57 area boys when the Southeast Missouri Boy Scout Council holds its annual Eagle Court of Honor tomorrow afternoon in Academic Hall auditorium; sponsor of this year's class is Dr. Tom Haggai, public speaker and radio personality with a broad scouting background himself.

Cape Electric Supply, Auto Tire and Parts Co., and a warehousing division are occupying their new 55,000-square-foot building on Christine Street; the structure has an additional 5,000 square feet of second-floor offices and conference rooms; the companies are owned by a group of stockholders, with Francis P. Tlapek heading the electrical firm and J.P. Tlapek heading Auto Tire and Parts.

1948

Despite a morning-long drizzle, Cape Girardeau voters in large numbers make their way to polling places to cast their ballots on whether the city should adopt the city manager form of government or retain the commission government; a check of the 11 wards at the noon hour shows that a total of 1,099 votes had been cast up to that time; the number is expected to be unusually heavy for a special election.

The State Highway Department has placed the old Burfordville covered bridge and the short section of highway that leads from Highway 34 through the town on the Cape Girardeau County supplementary list; this means the bridge and the road will be looked after by state highway workers and will receive the same attention as the farm-to-market roads; no great amount of money will be spent on this historical project, but eventually the property will be placed in good condition and will receive regular attention.

1923

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Examination of the books of the closed Citizens Bank of Sikeston shows an irregularity in the affairs of the Kansas City Joint Stock Land Bank, which has made several loans in this vicinity; a visit of a number of Southeast Missouri bankers here last week, who had sent notes here to be collected by the Citizens Bank, disclosed that money sent here by the Kansas City bank to pay off mortgages on farms on which loans had been made hadn't been placed to the credit of the mortgages.

The Missouri Utilities Co. is extending its lighting and electrical services in Smelterville; heretofore, residents of all of that part of Cape Girardeau haven't had the electrical advantages afforded in Cape Girardeau proper; wiring is being done now, and already about 40 new patrons have been added to the list of the utilities company.

-- Sharon K. Sanders