Out of the Past

Parking in Cape Girardeau is cramped and restaurants packed when approximately 4,400 people arrive for the Missouri State Teachers' Association's district meeting, a spring convention of Elks and a Children with Attention Deficit Disorder conference; Mary Miller, director of Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, says the meeting and conferences are an excellent opportunity for retail shops and eateries...

Three nationally known folk singers will perform this spring in KRCU's Spring Folk Music Series: singer-guitarists Tom May and Bill Staines, and autoharpist Bryan Bowers; the station sponsored two successful concerts last year to test the water for a series that is likely to become a permanent KRCU production...

Cape Girardeau's Weed and Seed committee has established the city's south side for its first project; the committee met last night to decide how to distribute about $40,000 to groups that provide educational development and recreational activities on the city's south side; funds will go to the Civic Center, the Greater Dimension Church of God in Christ, May Greene Elementary School and the Salvation Army...

Cape Girardeau Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3838 has canceled the annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration, but an outpouring of interest could prompt it to reconsider; the post needs people or organizations to help plan and fund a celebration and clean up afterwards...

ST. LOUIS -- Congressman Dick Gephardt says he is hopeful of getting the Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, levee project back on track after the work was endangered by budget cuts and federal regulations; after meeting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the weekend, the House minority leader is pledging to seek another $10 million over the next three years to rescue the foundering $48 million flood control project...

U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond was the keynote speaker yesterday at the 28th Cape Girardeau County Lincoln Day dinner; about 300 tickets were sold for the annual event sponsored by the Cape Girardeau County Republican Women's Club; in his remarks, Bond said President Bill Clinton should tell the truth so government and the nation can get on with the work at hand...

Auto thefts are up in Missouri but down in Cape Girardeau; despite the number of security devices available to deter auto thievery, 24,170 vehicles were reported stolen in Missouri during 1997, the Missouri Highway Patrol reports; that's an increase of 5% over 1996; in Cape Girardeau, however, the number of vehicle thefts fell from 135 in 1996 to 102 in 1997, city police reported...

An Indian mascot for Southeast Missouri State University could be appropriate if the costume is authentic looking and mirrors the type of clothing that would have been worn by Indians in the region, says school president Dr. Dale Nitzschke; Nitzschke says American Indians have told school officials they don't have a problem with an Indian mascot as long as the school is committed to understanding and respecting Native American culture; the school has been without a mascot for a number of years, even though its athletic teams continue to be called the Indians and Otahkians.. ...

The U.S. attorney's office is investigating a link between criminal elements in Mexico and methamphetamine trafficking in Southeast Missouri; U.S. Attorney Larry Ferrell yesterday told students and faculty at Southeast Missouri State University's Criminal Justice Day that the government is trying to destroy drug trafficking operations in the region; the criminal organizations involved are thought to be dominated by Mexicans who have recently moved into meth distribution and are using transportation and distribution routes established for cocaine and marijuana.. ...

Temperatures aren't expected to climb out of the 30s as the region remains in the grip of a cold front that passed through with a vengeance Monday; the return of winter weather followed an extended period of spring-like temperatures through much of February and early March, making this latest blast of arctic air difficult for most to deal with...

Fishing promises to improve at the two large lakes in the Cape Girardeau County parks; on Monday, the County Commission approved the restocking of the lakes with 2,000 channel catfish; Bruce Watkins, park superintendent, said 1,000 of the catfish will be stocked in each lake; in addition, 75 pounds of minnows will be added to the lakes to serve as food for the catfish and bass...

A Scott City woman has accused city officials of deception after discovering materials set aside for recycling were actually being dumped into the city's trash and taken to the landfill; Tanya Davis went before the Scott City Council last month to complain that the recycling program, for which the city has receive a $39,000 state grant, wasn't being implemented; although the city did construct the building and purchase the equipment outlined in the grant proposal, no recycling has ever been done.. ...

Travelers on County Road 351 drive through a canopy of trees to an 88-year-old bridge that crosses the Little Whitewater River; but the historic span in Cape Girardeau County is slated to be dismantled when a new bridge is built across the river later this year; "It's one of those things," says Judy Wilferth, who owns a farm in the area; "It's considered an attractive nuisance. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A race is on for the 160th District state representative's seat; Peter Myers, a Sikeston Republican, filed Thursday for the seat held by Sikeston Democrat Joe Heckemeyer, who is seeking re-election; Myers said he would fight to keep government accountable to the people and for tax cuts for working families...

The Cape Girardeau County Commission is considering whether it should donate county-owned Klaus Park for a Missouri Veterans Cemetery; the Cape Girardeau Joint Veterans Council has been searching for a site of 50 to 80 acres that could be donated for a cemetery, but has been unable to find a donor; last week, the council asked the commission to donate Klaus Park; the commission tabled action to seek information on the legality of making the park a cemetery and to get public opinion of the idea...

President Clinton should tell the American people the truth about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, former White House adviser George Stephanopoulos said yesterday; "If he made a mistake, he should own up to it," Clinton's former political strategist said; Stephanopoulos commented on the White House scandal during a visit to Southeast Missouri State University; he met with reporters and later delivered a speech to a packed room of 500 people at the University Center...

Talks aimed at affiliating Cape Girardeau's two hospitals are on schedule, the administrators say, with consensus already reached on some of the thorniest issues; one of those, agreement on an ethical and religious directive, has been resolved to the satisfaction of Bishop John Leibrecht of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church; under the agreement, Southeast Hospital no longer would perform sterilization procedures or therapeutic abortions for women...

The Cape Girardeau City Council tabled action on a controversial road assessment policy to gather more public input; the council voted last night to hold a public hearing March 16 to give residents a chance to comment on the proposed policy; it outlines how much property owners would be assessed for new roads or widening of residential, commercial and residential-commercial streets designated under the Transportation Trust Fund; the Hopper Road extension project was the center of discussion at last night's meeting.. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- Scott County government will see a changing of the guard in the upcoming months when three long-time county officials leave office; Presiding Commissioner Bob Kielhofner and County Collector Tom Marshall, both of whom have held county office since the early 1970s, didn't file for re-election last week but announced their decisions to retire; Treasurer H. ...

More than 1,000 people cheered for God at a Christian youth rally yesterday in Cape Girardeau; many of the participants at "The Joshua Generation: Taking America Back" rally were of high-school age and younger; they came to the Holiday Inn Convention Center from Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana; they stood and clapped to Christian music performed by singer Kristin Swinford and a band from the Faith Evangelical Free Church in Cape Girardeau...

A group foster home under construction next to Abundant Life Church in Gordonville will be more like a large family home than a "children's prison", as some neighbors fear, says the Rev. David Butler, the church pastor; neighbors aren't confident that the people undertaking the project are prepared for the task at hand; they also worry that the children who will live in the home might pose a threat to the small community's tranquility...

Firefighters from three Cape Girardeau fire stations responded yesterday morning to a report of smoke coming from a building at 709 Broadway; when they arrived, they found the building, which housed Local Area Web, an Internet provider, filled with smoke and a small fire in the back; firefighters were able to gain entry to the building and bring the fire under control in just a few minutes...

The Old Appleton bridge is $200,000 closer to restoration, thanks to a check from the Missouri Department of Transportation; the state funding, coupled with money raised by volunteers, should cover costs of rebuilding and replacing the bridge across Apple Creek, says Renee Dellamano, one of the committee members organizing the restoration; the iron bridge, which is more than a century old, was destroyed by a flash flood in 1982...

Cape Girardeau writer Aileen Lorberg, 88, died yesterday at a local hospital; Lorberg had written a language column -- Lend Me Your Ear -- since 1982; the column appeared in the Southeast Missourian; based on a similar affection for the English language, Lorberg and nationally-syndicated column James J. Kilpatrick became friends years ago; his second book on writing is dedicated to her...

The final phase of channel improvements for Cape Girardeau's Cape LaCroix Creek-Walker Branch flood-control project is underway; crews are relocating electrical and sewer lines from the Walker Branch area; channel improvements in this phase will focus on Walker Branch from just north of Kingsway Drive to the intersection of Cape Rock Drive and Perryville Road...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- One of the nation's oldest national cemeteries, Mound City National Cemetery, is nearing capacity; the cemetery, established in 1861, has more than 7,500 burials, but will reach capacity between 2010 and 2020, unless additional space is obtained...

The Rev. Jimmie Corbin has joined the staff at New McKendree United Methodist Church as outreach minister; he will work with the mission committee and evangelism groups at the church; in his 47-year career, Corbin has served several churches in Missouri; he and his wife, Elwanda, recently moved to Jackson after retirement...

Nine of Southeast Missouri's 10 state representatives and a state senator plan to seek re-election this fall; state representatives who will seek re-election are Mary Kasten of Cape Girardeau, David Schwab of Jackson, Mark Richardson and Bill Foster of Poplar Bluff, Patrick Naeger of Perryville, Marilyn Williams of Dudley, Joe Heckemeyer of Sikeston, Denny Merideth III of Caruthersville and Larry Thomason of Kennett; State Sen. ...

A meeting yesterday with superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent left some Cape Girardeau school teachers hoping for the best but expecting the worst when board members begin considering salary schedules and budget cuts for 1998-99; teachers say Tallent's cost-cutting proposals include a freeze in spending on anything that isn't funded with state or federal money; that includes all operational spending on items such as textbooks, equipment, utilities and, most importantly, teachers' salaries...

Floodwaters on a Cape Girardeau County road trapped a rural Marble Hill, Missouri, woman in her station wagon shortly before noon yesterday; personnel from the Missouri Conservation Department, the Millersville Fire Department and the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office responded; Verla Crites had attempted to drive through a flooded section of County Road 351 west of Burfordville; the gravel road was covered by water from nearby Whitewater River...

The Army Corps of Engineers and Missouri Department of Natural Resources have confirmed that a wetland area exists on the site of the planned Cape Girardeau vocational-technical school and high school campus; a two-person regulatory team from the Corps and the DNR designated just over three acres of the 72-acre property as wetlands; because of the designation, the Cape Girardeau School District must now hire a surveyor to determine the exact size of the area so it can enter a process called mitigation; the process will include submission for a permit to disturb the land and will offer substitute property for the wetlands.. ...

Local Persian Gulf War veterans aren't surprised hostilities between the United States and Iraq are heating up again; Terry Crass, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, served as a nurse with the 217th Evac Hospital during the Gulf War; he says he isn't at all surprised that the United States is threatening to bomb Iraq over Saddam Hussein's refusal to allow U.N. ...

If old Saint Francis Hospital is Cape Girardeau's white elephant, the Marquette Hotel is its faded queen; the five-story Spanish Revival-style hotel was completed in 1928; with 82 rooms, the hotel was once considered one of the finest in the Midwest; but recently there have been calls for the deteriorated hotel to be torn down; however, owner Thad Bullock has an immediate reaction to the talk: "No way. ...

State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, won't be running for state auditor this year after all; he announced yesterday he is backing out of the race and will instead support Republican contender Chuck Pierce, who announced Friday he will seek the office; Pierce is deputy state auditor under incumbent Margaret Kelly...

Anita Eby, admissions counselor at Southeast Missouri State University, has been named the school's director of alumni services; Eby will replace Jane Stacy, who was promoted last fall to the position of director of development; she will assume her new duties in May...

A Cape Girardeau police crackdown on illegal sales of tobacco and alcohol to minors has resulted in the issuance of 20 criminal court summonses to employees of local convenience stores; the violations were identified during an alcohol and tobacco compliance inspection program conducted the night of Feb. 6, as part of the police department's Operation Safe Streets program...

Cape Girardeau's Planning and Zoning Commission last night rejected a proposal for a halfway house at Gibson Recovery Center Inc.; the commission voted 6-3 to turn down the Gibson Center's request for a special-use permit and zoning change to allow operation of a halfway house program to serve inmates from the Missouri Division of Probation and Parole; some members cited opposition by parents and staff at a neighboring school for severely handicapped children as the reason for their votes against the halfway house.. ...

Dr. James Bollinger is practicing in solitary splendor in Saint Francis Medical Center's new Healing Arts Center; Bollinger moved his family dentistry practice into the medical office building Monday and is the first tenant; about 80% of the 98,000-square-foot, $12-million center initially will be occupied, says James Sexton, hospital president and chief executive officer...

The Cape Girardeau City Council yesterday toured the police headquarters on South Sprigg Street and found a facility crammed full of officers, dispatchers, desks, jail cells, communications consoles, crime lab equipment, police records and stored evidence; the council is looking at an $80.5 million capital improvements program for the next five years that would include construction of a police annex with an estimated price tag of $4.8 million...

Taxis in Cape Girardeau will be a little safer for some young passengers this week, when the Cape Girardeau Safe Communities Program donates 10 child safety seats to a local company; the organization is donating the seats to Kelly Transportation so the company's customers can benefit and its child passengers are protected...

FROHNA, Mo. -- The Rev. James Marten has been named the new curator at the Saxony Lutheran Memorial in Frohna; the memorial has been a historic site since 1964 and includes a country store, visitors center and 30 acres of land. Southeast Missouri State University hopes to transform Parker Hall into a student center that would serve as the campus' living room; the Board of Regents has yet to approve the project, but school officials and student leaders are pushing the merits of the project; they want to expand and renovate the 37-year-old academic building and surround it with additions on three sides.. ...

Representatives of Missouri's Department of Transportation and the company that designed the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge met with local government officials here yesterday to quell rumors about the bridge's design and safety; they'll answer the public's questions Monday at an open house meeting at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office; rumors about the status of the bridge have been flying since the construction contract with Flatiron Structures Co., LLC., was dissolved in December after Flatiron dug a hole to begin construction of Pier 3 in the middle of the river and discovered fissures in the rock filled with mud and clay.. ...

A wood stove is being blamed for a house fire that nearly destroyed the Scott City home of a woman and her three children Thursday afternoon; Scott City Fire Department Deputy Chief Bill Crump says preliminary investigations revealed the fire began in or around a first-floor wood stove and spread quickly to the attic of the house, 713 Chestnut; the family, Cindy McClellan and her children, lost most of their belongings in the fire...

It's beginning to look a lot like spring even though the calendar says it's still deep winter; some trees are budding and some plants like creeping phlox and snow crocus are starting to bloom in the area; "Probably a lot of bulbs are up right now," says gardening expert Paul Schnare; Schnare, who owns Sunny Hill Gardens & Florist, says tulips and other spring plants shouldn't be hurt by any return of winter weather as long as they aren't blooming...

Just after noon Tuesday, Division 3 Circuit Court clerk Earlene Sokolowski stood at the counter in Jones Drug Store buying Tylenol for a headache when she heard "a horrible noise"; as plate glass shattered and the floor rumbled, Sokolowski and others in and nearby the courthouse square store thought an earthquake had struck; actually, it was a Chrysler New Yorker driven by Paul Bollinger of Jackson; his foot slipped off the brake and onto the gas pedal as he parked the car in one of the diagonal spaces in front of the drug store; the car jumped the high curb and plowed completely into the left side of the 127-year-old building.. ...

When voters approved Cape Girardeau's half-cent transportation sales tax in 1995, Perryville Road was at the top of the list for improvement; yesterday, city officials gathered to mark the official start of that project; the $1.7 million project, which covers a one-mile stretch from Meyer Drive to the city limits, calls for widening Perryville Road to 36 feet, adding sidewalks, improving sight distance at intersections, providing safer turning on and off the road from residential streets and improving drainage.. ...

Visitors to Southeast Hospital last week who thought they might be seeing double were right; three sets of boy-girl twins were born within five days, perhaps setting a record; Craig and Michelle Heisserer's twins -- Mitchell Preston and Madison Nichole -- were born Jan. 20; twins William Grant and Taylor Christine were born to Bill and Christie Shivelbine the next day; and Sam and Claire Tillman welcomed Charles Hayden and Mary Claire on Jan. 25...

The congregation of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary; special services and a banquet will be held Feb. 8; Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel, as it was originally called, is the result of work among the Joint Lutheran Council of Cape Girardeau, Trinity, St. Andrew and Hanover Lutheran churches...

A Festival of Music is held in the evening at the Salvation Army's center at 701 Good Hope St., as the Army celebrates the 100th anniversary of its coming to Cape Girardeau; along with a brass band that hearkens back to the earliest days of the Army in Great Britain, a vocal sextet and a soloist from the local corps, the Teen Challenge Chorus and the Euclid Avenue Singers from St. Louis perform...

An agreement between Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield and MedAmerica HealthNet Inc. stipulates that the local network won't be liable for losses on a state health insurance contract; the settlement also stipulates all of the doctors and hospitals contracted with MedAmerica HealthNet for the HealthNet Blue product will contract directly with Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield until at least Oct. ...

Trying to accommodate parents of Gordonville and Millersville, a proposal presented to the Jackson Board of Education Tuesday night designated South Elementary as a "town school" populated with children mainly from the Primary Annex and West Lane and Orchard elementary schools; if the proposal is approved, the boundaries of the outlying schools, including North Elementary School, will remain virtually untouched; in addition, Gordonville will remain a first-through-fourth-grade center, while fourth-grade classes at Millersville will be replaced with a kindergarten class.. ...

Improvements to the city's sewer, water and stormwater systems make up more than half of Cape Girardeau's proposed $80.5 million capital improvements program; the City Council is reviewing a draft of the program, a five-year plan outlining proposed capital expenditures for fiscal 1998 through 2003; the latest program allocates $45.39 million for sewer, water, stormwater and solid-waste projects; most of the funding -- $39.1 million -- comes from revenue bonds approved by voters and issued by the city.. ...

Cape Girardeau and Jackson city officials last night stressed the need for cooperation as the two cities began working on agreements over new highways, annexation and other joint issues; the Jackson Board of Aldermen and Cape Girardeau City Council held their first-ever joint meeting to act on shared issues; the spirit of cooperation was strong, and officials from both cities said working together will benefit both cities...

Efforts are moving forward to create a one-stop referral network for people trying to access social service agencies and fill special needs in Cape Girardeau County; United Way director Nancy Jernigan says an executive committee has been formed to devise an information and referral network in the county...

Jackson Free Will Baptist Church holds its first service in its new mission church, 611 Blanche St.; the congregation has been renovating the building with volunteer labor and help from the Missouri State Free Will Baptist Missions Department; Vernon Long is serving as pastor of the new church...

Radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh will be inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters' Broadcasting Hall of Fame in April; the Cape Girardeau native will be honored at a luncheon April 7 in Las Vegas as part of the association's 1998 convention...

A new cable franchise agreement reached last November between Cape Girardeau and TCI Cablevision of Missouri will mean more cable television stations being available by April in the Cape Girardeau-Jackson area; plans announced by TCI this week include the addition of 36 channels to its programming when it launches its new digital entertainment system April 1; that will bring the total number of available channels to 77, plus 10 music stations through Digital Music Express...

Gov. Mel Carnahan wants lawmakers to appropriate $7.2 million to construct a polytechnic building and a vocational-technical school in Cape Girardeau; Southeast Missouri State University's polytechnic building and the Cape Girardeau School District's vo-tech school are two of the capital projects included in the governor's proposed budget; the governor unveiled his budget Wednesday in his annual State of the State speech to the Legislature;...

The City of Cape Girardeau has signed on with the Operation Weed and Seed anti-crime initiative; the City Council last night approved a contract for services with Southeast Missouri Weed and Seed, Inc., and will seek funding to strengthen law enforcement programs against drugs and gang activities...

The quest for equality in America is "an unfinished revolution," Dr. Frank Nickell told the assemblage last night at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration; Debra Mitchell-Braxton, recognized for her tireless work on behalf of African-American youth in the area, received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award; the event at St. James AME Church was attended by about 75 people...