Out of the past: July 24

1997

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Sikeston power plant was evacuated last night after a fire filled the building with smoke; Sikeston Department of Public Safety personnel were called to the plant at 7:10 p.m. after a failure in the 4,160-volt electrical switch gear created a small fire; firefighters extinguished the blaze in about an hour; some firefighters were overcome by the heat, five seeking treatment at Missouri Delta Medical Center.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- After combing farmland east of here last night, police arrest a 15-year-old Independence, Missouri, boy, who goes by the name "Psycho," and are continuing to search for his 17-year-old companion; the two ran off from a weigh station on Interstate 57 around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday after stopping for directions; an officer at the station radioed in the license plate of the vehicle the boys were driving, and it came back as stolen; additional officers were called to the scene, and the highway patrol's new helicopter out of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, was brought into action.

1972

The Capaha Park lagoon is taking on a clean, sleek appearance as another mini-park is also being added to Cape Girardeau's recreational facilities; employees of the City Park Department cleared brush, removed trees and trimmed foliage on the upper island of the lagoon last week; today, they are doing the same on the lower island; the mini-park is being developed in the 2300 block of Broadway, across from the Masonic Temple.

The issue of county planning and zoning is kicked around by the County Court and other county officials; the court, which announced in January it intended to place the issue before voters in the fall, changed its mind two weeks ago and decided to delay the issue until next April; this morning, however, the court agrees to reconsider the matter and will discuss the feasibility of placing the issue on the November ballot at its session Thursday.

1947

Summer delivery of coal is being sought on a big scale by Cape Girardeau home owners and business firms, and the coal companies have their summer and fall work cut out for them; most families are asking for from six to 10 tons of coal.

The Cape Girardeau American Legion Junior team won the junior baseball championship yesterday by defeating Farmington, Missouri, in both ends of a doubleheader at Fairground Park, 1-0 in the opener and 3-1 in the second game; Cape Girardeau will represent this area in the state tournament at St. Charles, Missouri, opening July 31.

1922

E.A. Hart, manager of the local utilities plants, returns in the morning from a trip to the Alabama coal fields in search of coal; he says he was successful in getting a few more cars that should arrive here this week; Hart has a supply of coal on hand that should last about three weeks, and he believes he will get a sufficient supply to keep the plants going without having to curtail service.

BENTON, Mo. -- In a recent accident at the John Dirnberger place near here, Dirnberger's grown son, Oscar, was assisting in the construction of a new barn; he was in the loft receiving lumber, when he over reached and fell 14 feet to the ground, breaking both bones in both wrists; in addition, his right shoulder and the right side of his face were also badly bruised.

-- Sharon K. Sanders