Stories from Tuesday, March 31, 1992

Tom Richards, a ninth-grader from Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School, wondered if cats are right and left pawed as people are right and left handed. He conducted an experiment to find out. Richards' science project is among hundreds being judged today at the 36th annual Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Cape Girardeau City Councilman Hugh White is willing to concede that of the candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the 27th District Senate seat, he is starting out as the underdog. But as the campaign runs its course between now and August, White said he is optimistic that when voters understand his position on issues and compare him with the other candidates, he will emerge as the nominee of his party...

Editor's note: The Southeast Missourian today offers the second installment of reports on candidates for the Cape Girardeau City Council. The final installment will be published Wednesday. Cape Girardeau City Council candidate Loretta Schneider says she wants to combine her fresh perspective on issues with her previous council experience to nurture economic growth in the city...

The media are not asking tough questions of presidential candidate Bill Clinton, says Reed Irvine, founder and chairman of the board of Accuracy In Media (AIM), an organization which serves as America's media watchdog. "The media are covering up for Clinton," said Irvine during an address before a large audience at the Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau meeting Monday. "Clinton has a favorable press, which is cutting him a lot of slack."...

Melvin Gateley, who for the past several years has spearheaded community development through his work with Vision 2000, says he now wants to devote his energies to Cape Girardeau city government. A retired public school educator and administrator, Gateley will seek one of three four-year terms on the city council. He'll join incumbent Al Spradling III, Lawrence Godfrey, Melvin Kasten and Loretta Schneider on the ballot April 7...

ADVANCE -- Voters in the Advance School District will decide the fate of a $350,000 bond issue and a 38-cent operating levy hike in an election April 7. "Thus far, everything has been positive," Superintendent Terry Pearcy said of the election campaign...

Sterling P. Cossaboom is chairperson of the Department of Music at Southeast Missouri State University. America's educational system is in shambles! American youth can't compete! The "gloom and doomers" would like us to believe this, but anyone who attended Tarina Kang's violin recital at Centenary Methodist Church on Sunday, March 29, 1992 knows better. The audience experienced a level of professionalism and self-assurance that is "first class" anywhere...

To the Editor: Although the logical analyst has trouble with art and music, especially in an election year when school budgets are being cut, we were delighted with Judy Williams' production at Central High of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance." The meat-and-potatoes man asks, "Yes, but what good is it, really?" and suggests by his question that no answer we could give would please him. ...

The American educational system takes a whipping when reports are released comparing U.S. students' prowess in mathematics and sciences with that of students in other nations. Our nation should find troubling the statistics that show students in Seoul and Tokyo and most other industrialized nations outperforming those young people in domestic classrooms. Weighed on this lofty scale, the anxiety is not necessarily misplaced. On a local level, we see reason for optimism in this regard...

To the Editor: In the March 17 edition of the Sikeston Standard-Democrat, one word was used to describe Peter Kinder's campaign and that word was reform. In paragraph four, Kinder said, "I'll be looking for taxes to cut, regulators to eliminate, services to privatize and bureaucrats to put on the unemployment line." Sounds like Reagan in 1980, only meaner and tougher...

MARBLE HILL -- Earl Long, 74, of Marble Hill, died Sunday, March 29, 1992, at his home. He was born May 17, 1917, near Lutesville, son of Henry Lee and Laura Langston Long. He and Essie Mae Pulliam were married Sept. 11, 1943. She died Dec. 20, 1990...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Funeral service for Cleeoria Adalay Motley, East Prairie Route 1, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Shelby Funeral Chapel. The Revs. Richard Farquhar and Mike Johnson will officiate, with burial in East Prairie Memorial Park. Motley, 82, died Saturday, March 28, 1992, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

GRASSY -- A memorial service for Ruby Ruth Harris of St. Louis will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Liley Funeral Chapel in Marble Hill. The Rev. Gene Robbins will officiate. Friends may call at the funeral home Sunday from 12:30 p.m. until service time...

PATTON -- Meadow Heights school officials believe if voters understand the district's need for more money, they will approve a tax hike on the April 7 ballot. For weeks, officials have been holding town meetings and making presentations to civic organizations trying to get the information out to voters, said Superintendent Tom Waller...

Toys R Us is coming to Cape Girardeau, but Michael Miller is not confirming a site for the store. "I will confirm that we are looking at Cape Girardeau," said Miller, of the Toys R Us Real Estate Division. "But we haven't signed any agreements." The company, headquartered in Paramus, N.J., is advertising for store managers for the new operation. In an ad appearing in Sunday's Southeast Missourian, the firm listed needs for management personnel with experience in merchandising...

SIKESTON -- Melvin E. Tidwell Sr., 56, of Sikeston, died Sunday, March 29, 1992, at his home. He was born Feb. 12, 1936, at Sikeston, son of Malcolm and Mildred Heathcoat Tidwell. Tidwell formerly owned and operated several service stations in Sikeston. He currently owned and operated Tidwell's Auto Cleanup, and was a member of Sikeston Eagles 3319...

KELSO -- Theresa Welter, 86, of Kelso, died Sunday, March 29, 1992, at Mary's Boarding Home, Scott City Route 1. She was born Sept. 1, 1905, at New Hamburg, daughter of Frank and Veronica Hoefler Heuring. She married Joe Michael Welter Jan. 26, 1926. He died Jan. 6, 1983...

Funeral service for Alta Darlene Young of Arnold will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Bruce Owens will officiate, with entombment in Memorial Park Mausoleum. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today...

BLOOMFIELD -- Rosalie Dooley, 57, of Bloomfield, died Monday, March 30, 1992 at Dexter Memorial Hospital. She was born in St. Louis on November 20, 1934, daughter of Beatrice Fulkner Hester and Paul Hester. She married Gene Dooley on June 23, 1955. He survives of Bloomfield. They had operated Genes Furniture and Appliance Store in Bloomfield since 1956...

U.S. Sen. Christopher S. Bond's office will hold listening post forums April 8 in Jackson, Marble Hill, Perryville and Ste. Genevieve. Tom Schulte, district office director, will be available to answer questions and hear comments. The forums will be held in Ste. Genevieve at Klein's Medicate from 9-10 a.m.; in Perryville at Hoeckle's Bakery from 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; in Marblee Hill at Kamp Law Office from 1:30-2:30 p.m. and in Jackson at the Chamber of Commerce from 3:30-4:30 p.m...