Out of the past: Jan. 30

1999

CAIRO, Ill. -- The U.S. Coast Guard late yesterday morning reopened a section of the Ohio River north of Cairo to one-way traffic following a barge crash into a pier of the Illinois-Kentucky highway bridge; the motor vessel Megan Beesecker, owned by Northstar Navigation Inc. of Paducah, Kentucky, struck the pier about 5:10 a.m. Friday; one of its 12 barges sank; the barges were loaded with non-hazardous dry bulk cargo.

Researching the Cape Girardeau city code no longer requires a trip to City Hall and ample time to plow through a 3 1/2-inch thick tome; now the code of ordinance is just a few clicks away on the city's website; city manager Michael Miller calls it "another step toward a virtual City Hall."

1974

At a meeting last night, a first draft of a Cape Girardeau County emergency readiness report was distributed to about 20 county representatives and the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson by Walter M. Clark and John F. Eveler, community projects officers of the State Disaster Operations office in Jefferson City; the two said normal emergencies can be handled by Cape Girardeau, Jackson and county agencies, but mutual planning and central coordination are needed; they said a disaster coordinator is needed for the area.

KASKASKIA ISLAND, Ill. -- A 60-foot break in a ring levee protecting a section of the lower part of this 17,000-acre Mississippi River Island was repaired last night after about 400 acres of land were flooded; according to a spokesman for the Corps of Engineers, 40 acres were flooded in the initial break, and this spread out to 400 before the gap was filled with rocks, logs, flash boards, sandbags and other materials

1949

CHAFFEE -- The new $16,000 edifice of the Assembly of God Church at Chaffee is dedicated; the Rev. K.A. Lawson, district secretary from Springfield, Missouri, speaks at the morning service; the dedicatory service is at 2 p.m., with Mayor L.D. Lankford giving the opening address; preaching the dedicatory sermon is the Rev. Bert Webb of Springfield, district superintendent; speaker at the evening service is the Rev. Burl Chronister of Detroit, Michigan, who will also hold nightly services at the new church during the week.

The Rev. J.M. Smith, evangelist from Rose Hill, Mississippi, concludes a two-week revival meeting at Maple Avenue Methodist Church in the evening; his final sermon is on "The Unpardonable Sin, What Is It and How Is It Committed?"

1924

Two Main Street business buildings are undergoing extensive remodeling and a third will be completely redone in the near future; W.J. Masek is constructing an entrance from the street to the second story of his building and will move the workshop of his tailoring shop there, while the third floor will be transformed into a flat; next door, south of Masek, S.P. Siebert is reconstructing the entire second and third stories of the building, which houses his shoe store; the apartment on the upper floors will be occupied by the Siebert family about March 1; A. Lang is planning to renovate his shoe store, tearing out the front of the building and installing modern show windows and an attractive entrance.

The old Mercer Wilson house at 313 Broadway is being torn down and will be replaced this spring by a modern store and apartment building, to be erected by William Vedder, who conducts a music store at 433 Broadway.

-- Sharon K. Sanders