Stories from Tuesday, September 10, 1991

Lehman Finch, a prominent Cape Girardeau attorney and civic leader, died at 9:22 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8, 1991, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Finch, 75, resided on Terry Hill Road. Finch was senior partner of Finch, Bradshaw, Strom and Steele, which his father, James A Finch Jr., founded as Finch and Finch Law Firm in the early 1900s...

A former Cape Girardeau County deputy sheriff and San Diego, Calif. police officer will be among several peace officers memorialized in this week's fall premiere of "Top Cops," on CBS television. The program will be broadcast at 7 p.m. Thursday on KFVS, channel 12. It will pay tribute to peace officers who have died in the line of duty...

An additional $34 million cut from state funding pushes Missouri public school districts even closer to the financial edge, say local school administrators. Terry Stewart, assistant state commissioner of education, said the second round of cuts announced last week by Gov. John Ashcroft brings the total amount of money cut from school budgets to over $75 million...

Twenty-two area businesses, which combined have about 6,000 employees, are seeking to reduce their ever-rising health care costs through the efforts of a group they have established the Cape Area Business Health Care Group. The group has been in existence for about 15 months and is now in the process of hiring an executive director, said Bob Cranmer, employee relations manager at the Procter and Gamble plant and president of the health care group...

A bustling new city opened for business this week in Cape Girardeau County. And as in any other new city, those in charge of the public's safety took a deep breath and got ready to keep order in and chaos out. The city is the 1991 SEMO District Fair at Cape Girardeau. The fair, though it opened Sunday, officially kicked off Monday...

SCOTT CITY - The Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority Board of Commissioners expressed interest Monday in working with the Regional Commerce and Growth Association toward extending Nash Road into the port. Walt Wildman, executive director of the RCGA, told commissioners the RCGA board would be willing to work with the port board to organize a group that would work toward the project. Presently, the only way to reach the port is by going through Scott City...

The U.S. League of Savings Institutions last year revealed that successful thrifts had twice as many assets in traditional housing-related investments as unhealthy savings and loans. Joe F. Lynch agrees. "Some people veered away from the original intent of savings and loans," said Lynch, acting CEO and vice chairman of Farm & Home Finance Corp., headquartered in Nevada, Mo. "They got in trouble."...

A steering committee has been formed to solicit $35,000 for a security fence around the vandalism-plagued Old Lorimier Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. Earlier this summer, vandals twice damaged tombstones at the 150-year-old cemetery. The incidents elicited a grass-roots campaign to better secure the city landmark...

IF MR. STOVERINK wants to inform the voters about the condition of the water system, I believe he should tell the whole story. He has a nice display made up of some hand-picked, cast-iron pipe cut from the water distribution system that was wire brushed, painted and mounted on a nice board, and he'll show it to the voters and brag about how good this old pipe is. ...

Cape Girardeau and the State of Missouri are reeling from an irreplaceable loss this week. The death of Lehman Finch leaves us impoverished, not just from losing another of a distinguished legal family, nor a dependable civic leader, nor a fundraiser without equal Lehman was all of those. We hurt today because Lehman was one of the great characters who ever called Cape Girardeau home...

Dear Editor: Two years ago, I and my young daughter moved to Cape Girardeau. I wanted to finish my education. I located an affordable, lower level apartment within walking distance of the college, an elementary school, and a reputable child care facility. We have lived here for two years. I have paid the rent on time, painted every room, and notified the owner promptly about repairs. Occasionally we had upstairs tenants; I had no complaints. It became our home...

Open Letter to Roger Harms, TCI Cable: Why don't you just tell citizens to sit down and shut up when they have an opinion on something. That is essentially what you are telling your customers concerning the MTV controversy. Whether or not a petition has any effect on your programming we are all still allowed to have an opinion on any subject we choose and can gather petitions on that matter despite what you think...

Daughter to Mr. and Mrs. W. Eric Cunningham of Jackson, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 12:56 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, 1991. Name, Rachel Elizabeth. Weight, 7 pounds 3 ounces. First child. Mrs. Cunningham is the former Janet Riedinger, daughter of Maxwell and Betty Riedinger of Ellisville. She is an arrhythmia technician at St. Francis Medical Center. Cunningham is an attorney with Spradling and Spradling, and is the son of William and Rosalyn Cunningham of Mountain Grove...

BELL CITY -- Etheyl Back, 80, of Bell City, died Monday, Sept. 9, 1991, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. The body is at Morgan Funeral Home in Advance, where arrangements were incomplete Monday.

JACKSON -- Beulah Pulliam, 72, of Jackson, died Sunday, Sept. 8, 1991, at Cape Girardeau Care Center. She was born Oct. 8, 1918, at Scopus, daughter of Enos and Selly Angel James. She married Arnold W. Pulliam July 13, 1935, at Scopus. The Pulliams moved to Jackson in 1941. She had worked at poultry plants in Cape Girardeau and Jackson many years, and was a member of Millersville Christ Gospel Pentecostal Church...

The psychology of aging, from life review to how different personalities adjust to growing older, will be the topic for the Adults with Aging Parents Support Group when it meets Sept. 30. The group will meet at Southeast Missouri Hospital's regional cancer center from 7-8:30 p.m...

PERRYVILLE- The Community Counseling Center at Perryville is offering three, free seminars at the center in the upcoming months. "Drugs, Addiction and Brain Chemistry" on Sept. 17, from 7 to 9 p.m., is about how addiction occurs, its effects and how to manage addiction...