Stories from Friday, January 15, 1993

America's prisons are overflowing. The nation's prison population reached a record 804,524 men and women during the first half of 1991. We must ease this overcrowding through brick and mortar or by stepped-up use of alternative methods of punishment for non-violent offenders. Otherwise, there will be no place to house dangerous criminals ... and their early release due to space constraints may spell disaster...

Over the past 50 years, Missouri has had only three Republican governors, and one of the interesting facts about this is that the first and last governors over the past half century were remarkably alike in their styles of governance and their personal habits. ...

SCOTT CITY -- Students at Scott City High School will again urge residents to patronize local merchants, at least for one week in February. Last year, the Future Business Leaders of America club sponsored the first Buy Local campaign. The club received national honors and local businesses saw an increase in sales...

Cape Girardeau's assistant city manager, Al Stoverink, doesn't view his residential-development venture with his brother in Jackson as a conflict of interest. The business experience, he maintained Thursday, would actually help him in his dealings with building codes and developers in Cape Girardeau...

As Americans prepare for Bill Clinton's inauguration next week one Cape Girardeau resident reminisces about her attendance at former President Richard Nixon's inauguration in 1973. Then a Charleston High School senior, Cynthia Adams was one of many who were privileged to attend Nixon's inauguration...

Southeast Missouri State University plans to establish a college preparatory academy this summer that would provide a way for academically ineligible high school graduates to meet the university's admission requirements. "We are going to keep it fairly small this summer to see if it works," said Sheila Caskey, Southeast's interim provost and dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Extended Learning...

ity officials in Cape Girardeau will have their work cut out for them if they expect to reach a public consensus on a proposed minimum property maintenance code. At a meeting Thursday night of the Board of Appeals, landlords and tenants debated the merits of a proposal to adopt the 1990 Building Administrators and Code Officials (BOCA) minimum property maintenance code...

Two personnel changes were announced Monday on the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Board of Commissioners. Former Cape Girardeau County member-at-large W.K. Ken Dillon was appointed to fill the four-year, unexpired term of Commissioner Peter Kinder following Kinder's resignation after being elected state senator...

JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Mel Carnahan admits "there is grumbling" in the halls of the Capitol and around the state about the time it is taking him to make cabinet-level appointments in the new administration. But Carnahan defended his pace and said he was taking time to insure that all candidates are carefully scrutinized, that no qualified people are overlooked, and to insure that women and minorities are given just consideration for appointments...

The government of Bulgaria has invited 12-year-old Nicholas Sterrett to speak to Bulgarian students about American education and teenagers. A student at L.J. Schultz School, Sterrett bases his expertise almost solely on first-hand experience. Nicholas will accompany his father, Jack Sterrett, and Buz Sutherland. ...

Thomas T. Simpson, 68, 937 Hawthorne, died Thursday, Jan. 14, 1993, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Dec. 19, 1924, in Mississippi. He and Ruby May Patterson were married Sept. 19, 1953, in Corinth, Miss. Simpson was a retired pipefitter and welder. He was a member of Masonic Lodge 528 AF&AM in Anna, Ill., Oasis Shrine Club, Ainad Temple in East St. Louis, Ill., and Scottish Rite of Belleville, Ill. The Simpsons moved here about two months ago from Anna...

MARBLE HILL -- Graveside service for H. Fred Shipley of Witt, Ill., will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Baker Cemetery. The Rev. Randy Poole will officiate, with Baker Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. There is no visitation. Shipley, 58, died Tuesday, Jan. 5, 1993, at Decatur Memorial Hospital in Decatur, Ill...

Funeral service for Ursula M. Myles of Downers Grove, Ill., was held Jan. 11 at St. Mary of Gostyn Church. Burial was in Clarendon Hills Cemetery in Westmont, Ill., with Adams-Winterfield and Sullivan Funeral Home of Downers Grove in charge of arrangements...

Rep. Joe Driskell of Doniphan and Sen. Danny Staples of Eminence will address the Regional Commerce and Growth Association annual banquet Jan. 22. "We the People," is the theme for the organization's 5th annual banquet at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, starting with a social hour at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m...

CHARLESTON -- Burnetia Bradley, 42, of Charleston, died Tuesday, Jan. 12, 1993, at Missouri Delta Medical Center, following an extended illness. She was born Nov. 23, 1950, at Thompson Bend, daughter of Olie and Eather Scott Dixon. She married Robert "Billy" Bradley...

MORLEY -- Stella Mae Milam, 83, Morley Route 3, died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 1993, at Ripley County Memorial Hospital. She was born Jan. 10, 1910, in Pocahontas, Ark., daughter of William E. and Mary Polly Holder. She and Willis Milam were married Oct. 11, 1924. He died May 27, 1987...

KELSO -- Laverna Mae Clark, 70, of Kelso, died Thursday, Jan. 14, 1993, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 11, 1922, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Edward and Lydia Staebel Eifert. She and Woodrow Persian Clark were married June 3, 1947. He died Jan. 23, 1977...

Mayme L. Roark, 96, of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, Jan. 14, 1993, at Cape Girardeau Nursing Center. She was born April 19, 1896, in Sharpe, Ky., daughter of Charles T. and Bettie Hill Dalton. She and King Watson Roark were married March 12, 1927, at Sharpe. He died Jan. 7, 1941...

Gary Lee Farrar, 25, of Cape Girardeau, died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 1993, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Jan. 4, 1968, in Cape Girardeau, son of Jerry and Mary Lance Farrar. Survivors include a daughter, Keyaira Moore of Cape Girardeau; his parents, Jerry Farrar and Mary Curry of Cape Girardeau; a brother, Richard Farrar of Haywood City; two sisters, Deborah and Priscilla Curry of Cape Girardeau; paternal grandfather, Norman Farrar of Cape Girardeau, and maternal grandmother, Maurine Hamilton of Haywood City.. ...

SIKESTON - Clyta I. Waggener, 94, of Sikeston, died Thursday, Jan. 14, 1993, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center. She was born Aug. 12, 1898, in Commerce, daughter of Albert Clay and Anna Moore Ancell. She married William "Lynn" Waggener July 27, 1921 in Commerce. He died Dec. 19, 1986...

Norman L. "Bill" Jones, 72, 1417 N. Water, died Thursday, Jan. 14, 1993, at his home. He was born July 10, 1920, at Stroderville, son of Clarence and Mary Proffer Jones. He and Hazel Adams were married in February 1937, in Cape Girardeau. She died March 17, 1985...

SCOTT CITY -- Arvella Mary Long, 84, of Scott City, died Thursday, Jan 14, 1993, at Cape LaCroix in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 19, 1908, at Kelso, daughter of John and Anna Hess Sailer. She and Charles Arthur Long were married May 28, 1945. He died May 2, 1965...

Manning Paschal "Safety" Greer, 87, of Phoenix, Ariz., died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 1993, in Scottsdale, Ariz. A native of St. Louis, Greer was safety engineer at Marquette Cement Co. 20 years, retiring in July 1963. He also had owned and operated Cape Hardware. He served as mayor of Cape Girardeau, served on the Cape Girardeau Board of Education nine years, and was a past president of Cape Girardeau Jaycees...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Maxine Arnell of Sikeston will be held at 2 p.m. today at Shelby Funeral Chapel in East Prairie. Bill Dunning will officiate, with burial in Dogwood Cemetery near East Prairie. Arnell, 57, died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 1993, at Missouri Delta Medical Center...

Gary Johnson and Jerry Huskey will be guest speakers during the Cape Girardeau Association of Life Underwriters bonus hour and regular meeting to be held at the Holiday Inn Oak Room today. Johnson will discuss "Living Benefits," during the bonus hour session at 11 a.m...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- More than a half-million Canada geese are in the Southern Illinois area. The latest goose census, conducted Thursday Wednesday in Southern Illinois/Western Kentucky area, shows about 559,000 geese in the area, up more than 100,000 from the county of a week ago...