Stories from Tuesday, December 31, 1991

WHITEWATER -- Frederick C. Deneke, 76, of Whitewater died Monday, Dec. 30, 1991, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

I'M SO GLAD that they are going to stop smoking in the hospitals. I think now they should look at the nursing homes. It is terrible. The smoke is so strong in these nursing homes around here that it makes you almost sick. Please think about it and stop it for us and for the old people in them. They need your help, too. Thank you...

SCOTT CITY -- Ralf Emerson, a member of Boy Scouts Troop 29 of Scott City, recently received his Eagle Scout award. The ceremony was conducted by scoutmaster Danny Smith, with Bill Enderle and Harold Kuehle assisting. Emerson earned the award by completing 26 merit badges and completing an Eagle service project. His project was to rebuild the walking trail in the woods at the Scott City Park. With planning and execution, Emerson's project took about 20 hours to complete...

Disasters disrupt lives. But thanks to emergency services of the American Red Cross, the disruptions caused by fire, flooding and other unforeseen events are often eased. "A fire can tear a person's life apart for a few days," said Mike Shannon, field service representative for the American Red Cross, told a local gathering Monday. "All at once you can find yourself without food, clothing and shelter."...

Don't be surprised if a lot of Wilma Kincy's students become teachers. Many of them are getting a head start in considering the profession while in Kincy's classes at Meadow Heights Junior Senior High School at Patton. "Whenever a student has demonstrated comprehension of the objectives," Kincy said, "that student becomes a teacher."...

CHAFFEE - The new North Scott County Ambulance District building will undergo remodeling over the next few months, with district representatives hoping to hold an open house by early spring. The district reported its remodeling plans include construction of a training room, manager's office, garage, and living quarters for emergency personnel. ...

A fire that started near a gas furnace heavily damaged a home at 2021 Lacey Monday. A spokesman for the Cape Girardeau Fire Department said heat from the furnace ignited bags of trash that were placed near the furnace. No one was injured. The owner of the house, Minnie Sanders, was not at home at the time of the fire...

We arrive at the 365th day of 1991 without regret ... or much choice in the matter. The calendar will turn over at midnight, a year set to be rung out and another ready be rung in. While it is a mere exercise of ephemeral bookkeeping, the holiday known as New Year's Day releases us annually to look backward and then forward. As Americans and residents of this region, we have a lot to ponder ... and to be pleased with...

Son to Mr. and Mrs. Steve Mills of St. Peters, St. John's Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur, Friday, Dec. 13, 1991. Name, Samuel Edward. Weight, 8 pounds 1 ounce. Mrs. Mills is a registered nurse in the cath lab at St. John's Mercy Hospital. Mills is employed at McDonnell-Douglas. Grandparents are Virginia Hauser of St. Peters and Mr. and Mrs. Lyle Bishop of Jackson...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Margaret Peeler, 80, of Fulton, Ky., died Sunday, Dec. 29, 1991, at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, N.C. She was born Aug. 6, 1911, in Dongola, daughter of Everett and Dora Resch Lingle. She married Teddy R. Peeler, who died in 1969...

CHAFFEE -- Myrtle Flossie Miller, 59, of Chaffee, died Monday, Dec. 30, 1991, at his home. She was born June 18, 1932, at Chaffee, daughter of Herbert and Stella Pearl Howell Hubbard. She married James H. Miller Feb. 23, 1989. Survivors include her husband; her mother of Chaffee; a son, Christopher Knowlton of Jackson; a brother, Tom Hubbard of St. Louis, and a sister, Opal Cady of St. Peters...

DELTA -- Leonard W. Dalton, 79, of Delta, died Monday, Dec. 30, 1991, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 9, 1912, at Rumbranch in Cape Girardeau County, son of William and Sudie Gunn Dalton. He and Nelle Rhodes were married Oct. 9, 1933, at Herrin, Ill...

ADVANCE -- Lawrence Dave Williams, 92, of Advance, died Sunday, Dec. 29, 1991, at Advance Nursing Center. He was born Oct. 16, 1899, at Whitewater, son of John and Nancy Carlton Williams. He and Eula Smith were married Feb. 25, 1925, at Bloomfield. Williams was a retired farmer and gunsmith...

CHARLESTON -- The Rev. Oda C. Masters, 83, of Charleston died Sunday, Dec. 29, 1991 at his home. He was born Aug. 29, 1908, in Bollinger County, the son of Christopher Oda Augustus and Caroline Garland Masters. On Aug. 7, 1938, he married Mary Ethel Smith, who survives of the home...

EAST CAPE GIRARDEAU, Ill. -- Mina V. Duggins, 84, of East Cape Girardeau, Ill., died Monday, Dec. 30, 1991 at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born at Elco, Ill. on Sept. 10, 1907 to Henry and Ella Voger Jordan. She formerly lived in Granite City, Ill., and was a member of the Second Baptist Church there...

PERRYVILLE - Ralph O. Fox of Perryville died Sunday, Dec. 29, 1991 at Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville. He was 56. He was born Dec. 9, 1935 in Carlinville, Ill. to James Ralph Fox and Annabelle A. Fishback. They preceded him in death. Fox was an Army veteran and a member of the First Baptist Church...

Stock prices soared again Monday, setting record highs for the third straight session. "We were busy Monday," said Joe Domian of Edward D. Jones & Co. of Cape Girardeau. "A lot of people are looking at insurance bonds and a lot of people are looking at Wal-Mart."...

JACKSON - Cape Girardeau County's 1992 general revenue budget is up just 2.9 percent over this year, something Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep said is due to a need to watch expenditures carefully until the economy begins to turn around. "Overall, we have a pretty good, frugal budget here," declared Huckstep...

MARBLE HILL -- A group of Bollinger County residents are upset about what they call inadequate bookkeeping procedures in county government. About 40 county residents met Monday as a result of the county's refusal to pay Sheriff Dan Mesey his December salary...

Starting Wednesday, Bob Owen will leave his cigarettes in his car when he comes to work. The new year ushers in a new smoke-free policy at hospitals across the nation, including St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau...

DALE RAUH Occupation: Corporate planner, St. Francis Medical Center Pet Peeve: "Slow drivers in the inside lane of a four-lane highway." The best part of my job is: "The variety of every new project and the many people I get to meet." What do you do in your spare time? "Play piano, listen to music or study chroal music."...

JACKSON -- Doris Brennecke Davault, a retired Jackson High School teacher, recently culminated a nearly two-decade effort to "prove" her relation to a Revolutionary War soldier with the publication of her book, "Costner - Chostner 1550 - 1991." Davault said her mother was a Chostner, which spurred an interest in tracing her family history to Thomas Costner, a Revolutionary War ancestor. She began her research in 1972...

Cable television service in Cape Girardeau was disrupted Monday afternoon after a contractor cut the main cable line servicing the city. Roger Harms with TCI Cable said employees of P&R Development Corp. were digging near I-55 and accidentally cut the main trunk line which provides cable television to the city...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department has served notice to tonight's News Year's Eve revelers that they will have two DWI patrol cars guarding the city's streets against intoxicated drivers. Sgt. Carl Kinnison said the cars will patrol the city during late New Year's Eve and early New Year's Day. He said the use of the two cars is typical for the holidays...