Out of the past: May 20

1997

Residents of the Woodland Hills Subdivision north of Lexington Avenue squared off at Monday's Cape Girardeau City Council meeting over whether the city should extend Kent Drive to connect with Lexington; residents of Kent Drive told the council extending their street would be a waste of money; residents of nearby Belleridge Pike said extending Kent Drive would take excess traffic off their narrow residential street; city officials decided they will study the matter.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A Boone County judge followed the recommendation of the jury yesterday, sentencing Russell E. Bucklew to death; Bucklew, who sported a new goatee and ponytail in court, was convicted of first-degree murder, forcible rape, burglary, kidnapping and armed criminal action April 3 after a week-long trial in Columbia; the trial was heard in Columbia on a change of venue from Cape Girardeau; Circuit Judge Frank Conley also sentenced Bucklew to 30 years for kidnapping and 30 years of first-degree burglary; these sentences are to run consecutively, adding a 60-year sentence to his death sentence.

1972

Southeast Savings and Loan Association and Deevers Realty Co. are moving this weekend into a new building at 440 Broadway; the 3,000-square-foot structure, designed by architect Fred Dormeyer Jr., has been built to accommodate both businesses; they had been operating together in one office at 621 Good Hope St.

A new tractor and implement dealership is preparing to open in Jackson in the next few weeks; Wib Bangert, for 23 years owner and operator of Bangert Wreck Rebuilders in Jackson, has signed a tractor and implement sales and service agreement with Ford Motor Co. Tractor and Implement Operations North America; the new business will be called Bangert Ford Tractor Sales and will be located on Highway 61 East in Jackson.

1947

Three banks -- First National and Farmers & Merchants in Cape Girardeau and the State Bank of Morehouse, Missouri -- submitted the only bid for the recently voted $115,000 airport bond issue at the City Council meeting yesterday and were awarded the contracts as joint bidders; the bid specifies the bonds are to be delivered by the city to the purchasers as the money is needed for land purchase and development of Harris Field.

Marvin Campbell, a State College graduate with a major in agriculture, has been appointed county sanitarian by the County Court; the job carries with it the duties of milk inspector for all incorporated places in the county which may adopt a milk ordinance; this will provide inspection throughout the county for all milk sold on the Cape Girardeau market.

1922

Contract for the construction of Farmers & Merchants Bank building, at the southwest corner of Good Hope and Sprigg streets, was let Friday night to J.W. Gerhardt Construction Co.; plumbing and heating contract was let to Meystedt Plumbing Co., and the wiring to Gus Grieb; total contracts amounted to $28,000; work on the building will start within 10 days.

Two complete distilling outfits, a 50-gallon barrel of whiskey, 40 empty whiskey barrels and other paraphernalia used in the manufacture of liquor, were confiscated by police yesterday in a raid on a home one block south of the May Greene School; the occupant, who accompanied officers on a search of the house and premises, fled when Police Chief Jeff Hutson lifted a rug in the sitting room of the home and discovered a trapdoor leading to the room where the distilling apparatus was located.

-- Sharon K. Sanders