Out of the past: Jan. 3

1997

House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who may be facing a reprimand and other sanctions, has the backing of two freshman Republican lawmakers with ties to the Cape Girardeau area; both U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson of Cape Girardeau and Rep.-elect Kenny Hulshof of Columbia, Missouri, say they will vote to re-elect Gingrich as speaker when the new Congress convenes Tuesday; Hulshof was a public defender and then assistant prosecuting attorney in Cape Girardeau before becoming a special prosecutor for the Missouri Attorney General's office.

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. -- Concerned about overcrowding and shocked by a lack of state regulation, one Scott County parent is trying to light a fire under the Kelso C-7 District School Board about fire safety in the New Hamburg elementary school; Robert Mothershead, a former school board member, says he is worried about the safety of his son, a fifth-grader at New Hamburg, after receiving a copy of a state fire marshal's inspection of the school; the report listed 14 areas where the building could be improved to provide better fire protection.

1972

Sheriff Ivan E. McLain files for reelection as a Republican candidate, becoming the third person to officially declare himself for the 1972 local election; he will be seeking his second full term as sheriff, having been elected to a four-year term in 1968; he also served from late 1966 to 1968 after winning a special election for sheriff after John C. Crites resigned to become Jackson postmaster.

Perhaps not all of Coach Dan Milligan's basketball moves will pay off this winter, but you can't fault his adjustments thus far in the 1971-72 season, as Cape Girardeau Central is off to one of its fastest starts in Bengal history; with the College High holiday tournament championship tucked away, the Bengals have an 11-1 record, best in the SEMO Conference, and are working on a winning streak that has reached nine.

1947

Roaring in on the heels of a winter blizzard which skids the mercury to 22 degrees this morning, snow lashed by strong wind threatens to again bog down traffic in Southeast Missouri; there is little indication of a respite in the forecast for the remainder of today, tonight and tomorrow, with light snow predicted and temperatures expected to tumble into the single digits.

Because their cotton crops didn't produce the insured yield, farmers in 10 Southeast Missouri counties who carried government insurance -- including Bollinger, Cape Girardeau and Scott -- will receive $1,304,405 in federal indemnities, it is announced by Bert Femmer of New Madrid, district supervisor of the Federal Crop Insurance Corp.; the payment will amount to 7,260 bales of cotton.

1922

J.F. Gordon, recently appointed deputy clerk of the Federal Court here, formally takes charge of all the business of the Federal Court in this section; Mrs. Gordon and their daughter, Dorothy, are here with the new clerk and will make their home with J.M. Allison at 716 Broadway for a short time; Mrs. Gordon is a sister of John and Herman Bremermann of Cape Girardeau.

Mrs. William Meyer of Cape Girardeau has received word from her sister, Mrs. J.R. Akins, who is in Bengal, India, that she will sail for America from Calcutta in March, arriving here about a month later; Mrs. Akins' husband is working on the construction of a large steel bridge near Bengal; they have been there nearly two years.

-- Sharon K. Sanders