Out of the past: March 7

1997

EAST CAPE GIRARDEAU, Ill. -- A tractor-trailer driver swerved into a ditch and flipped the truck to avoid hitting a school bus carrying elementary and high-school students; the accident occurred at about 7 a.m. yesterday on Highway 146 a quarter of a mile east of the Purple Crackle; the school bus wasn't hit and no children were injured; the tractor-trailer driver, David T. Keller, 24, of Scott City suffered superficial injuries and was taken to Southeast Hospital where he was treated and released.

Cape Girardeau County is under the first rabies alert in 11 years after a skunk was found with the disease near Millersville on Wednesday; county and state health officials issued the alert to inform residents that a case of rabies has been reported.

1972

The Missouri Highway Commission has approved preliminary design plans for improving Route K between Cape Girardeau and Gordonville; the design calls for providing a new asphalt surface along the 4.6-mile stretch from Interstate 55 to the Highway 25 junction at Gordonville; the plan still requires approval of the Federal Highway Administration.

The fourth candidate to file for the one-year seat open on the Cape Girardeau City Council is Jerry L. Reynolds, vice president and general manager of Southeast Missouri Lumber Company.

1947

Absences in Cape Girardeau's public schools jump to 427, a number almost 2.7 times as high as a week ago, as influenza among the pupils appears to be becoming more prevalent; the enrollment is just under 3,000.

Speaking last night to members of the Optimist Club, Rush H. Limbaugh Jr., secretary of the Airport Board, outlines the $115,000 airport bond issue proposal, answering questions members had on efforts to acquire Harris Field.

1922

Freight rebates totaling nearly $2,000, representing reduction in freight charges on tobacco shipments from Cape Girardeau to points in Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana, are to be paid to the Roth Tobacco Co. here; the Interstate Commerce Commission, in a decision Saturday, declared the rate charged on the tobacco shipments to be unreasonable and ordered the refunding of the excess charges.

Mrs. C.A. Vandivort and Mrs. H.J. Houser are candidates for places on the Cape Girardeau Board of Education; they announced they would run following their endorsement by the women of Cape Girardeau at a mass meeting held yesterday.

-- Sharon K. Sanders