Stories from Tuesday, June 1, 1993

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- The first person you notice once aboard the Players Riverboat Casino is Merv. Old television programs starring your host, entertainer Merv Griffin, beam from video monitors in the lobby. Every few minutes Merv's taped voice volubly welcomes you aboard his $7.5 million floating casino...

Should 8th District U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson decide to seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, Emerson's chief of staff, Lloyd Smith, says he will give serious consideration to seeking Emerson's House seat. Smith, who will turn 42 in July, has been on the congressman's staff since March 1981 - two months after Emerson took office...

Several hundred people braved the biting, blustery chill Monday at Memorial Day ceremonies in Cape Girardeau and Jackson to honor the nation's more than 1.1 million war dead. About 200 people, including many veterans, turned out for the 11 a.m. Memorial Day service at Cape Girardeau County North Park. Earlier in the day, about 125 people attended a ceremony at the entrance to Jackson's Russell Heights Cemetery...

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- Until the riverboat came to town in February, Metropolis was known mainly for producing two of the world's mightiest weapons: Superman and fly swatters. Recently deceased and reincarnated in the comics, Superman always has been alive and well in his hometown. A new $100,000 bronze statue of the "Man of Steel" will be unveiled Saturday in Superman Square...

With the school year coming to a close, the Southeast Missourian asked children what they were looking forward to doing this summer. Brandon Hamilton: "I'm not real sure what is happening this summer. I may be going to Chicago to visit my grandma's sister, and that would be fun. I'm also playing on a baseball team and I'm looking forward to that. And I'm real glad school is out this Friday."...

Nash Road was closed to traffic for a short time Monday following a chemical spill at the Biokyowa manufacturing plant that was blamed on a faulty valve of a tanker truck. The incident occurred as the driver of the truck, Mark Gallagher of St. Louis, was attempting to attach a hose to begin the process of unloading hydrochloric acid shortly before 7 a.m., authorities said...

The Cape Girardeau Municipal Band will open its 1993 season Wednesday. This marks the 67th concert season under the sponsorship of the city of Cape Girardeau. The public is invited to bring a lawn chair and enjoy the concert in Capaha Park, beginning at 8 p.m...

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- Not everything Players International Inc. originally proposed for Metropolis back in December 1990 has materialized. For instance, entertainment and dining were to be offered on one deck of the boat, and the company talked about building a ticketing office on Front Street. At the time, company officials said a dock would be built downstream from Metropolis' public boat ramp...

PERRYVILLE Luella F. Bohnert, 72, of Perryville died May 30, 1993, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was a homemaker who had lived in Perryville all her life. Visitation will be held from 3-9 p.m. Tuesday at Miller Family Funeral Home in Perryville...

Daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Englehart of Jackson, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:22 a.m. Friday, May 21, 1993. Name, Celina Natsumi Jesica. Weight, 6 pounds 15 ounces. Mrs. Englehart is the former Nobuko Shibata, daughter of Shoichi Shibata and Toshie Shibata of Tochigi, Japan. Englehart is a painter at Rapco, and is the son of Gerald Englehart and Lois Englehart of Burfordville...

Esther A. James, 88, Cape Girardeau Route 2, died Monday, May 31, 1993, at the Lutheran Home. Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

PERRYVILLE -- Evelyn M. Hinni, 82, of Perryville, died Sunday, May 30, 1993, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 11, 1911, in Perry County, daughter of John and Mary Cora Brewer Nienhaus. She and Clarence J. Hinni were married Oct. 18, 1930. He died April 1, 1989...

PERRYVILLE -- James Moll, 82, of Jefferson City, formerly of Perryville, died Monday, May 31, 1993, at Still Regional Medical Center in Jefferson City. He was born July 15, 1910, at Silver Lake, son of Lawrence and Mary Moll. Moll was a retired farmer...

Elmer Sylvester Abernathy, 90, 1505 Bessie, died Monday, May 31, 1993, at Chateau Girardeau Health Care Center. He was born Aug. 15, 1902, in Cape Girardeau, son of Ora Sylvester and Alvina Ude Abernathy. He and Alene Tooke were married Nov. 22, 1927, in Mounds, Ill. She died Dec. 19, 1991...

SIKESTON -- Lois Marie Johnson, 75, of Sikeston, died Friday, May 28, 1993, at her home. She was born Dec. 26, 1917, in Stoddard County, daughter of John Preston and Myrtle Harlan Edwards. She and Lt. Col. George T. Johnson were married March 29, 1946. He died Dec. 13, 1979...

PERRYVILLE -- Funeral mass for Sarah Elizabeth Buchheit of Perryville will be held at 11 a.m. today at St. Vincent's Church. The Rev. Dan Schulte will officiate, with burial in Mt. Hope Cemetery. Miller Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

Funeral service for Willa Dean Stanger, 20 Morgan Oak, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Diana Cook will officiate, with burial in Lorimier Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today...

Southeast Missouri State University will offer three courses this summer as part of its ongoing Sikeston University Studies Program, which begins June 7. "Comparative Political Systems" (PS 104) will be offered on Mondays and Wednesdays. "Psychological Development Across the Life Span" (PY 220) and "Fundamentals of Oral Communication" (SC 105) will be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays...

The Cape Girardeau County Republican Women's Club will meet at noon Friday at Holiday Inn. Participating in the program will be Sheriff Norman Copeland, Public Administrator John Ferguson, and Coroner John Carpenter. Kim Groves, chairman of the board of the American Red Cross, will speak on "The American Red Cross How Can It Affect Your Life?"...

The featured guests on "University Conversations" Sunday will be Ed Kaiser and Sterling Cossaboom, who will discuss the Southeast Missouri Concert Association. The 30-minute program can be seen Sundays at 7:30 p.m. on local cable-access Channel 5. Kaiser is president of the concert association, formerly known as the Cape Girardeau Community Concert Series. Cossaboom is chairman of the music department at Southeast Missouri State University...

To the Editor: John Blue and others have stated the reasons for voting against riverboat gambling far more eloquently than I can but I beg the people of "the city of Cape Girardeau" to vote against riverboat gambling. It can not improve the atmos~phere of Ca~pe ~Girardeau as we all know it...

To the Editor: Like the rest of the citizens of Cape Girardeau, I have been following the current debate on riverboat gambling. What disturbs me is the escalating intimidation being exercised by various Christian organizations in this community. Why do these churches believe that just because a casino might open in this city, the people of Cape would flock to it, gamble away livelihoods and descend to a level of addiction that would destroy lives?...

To what extent is it a government's responsibility to safeguard its citizens? Police and fire protection are obvious and justifiable examples, as are aspects of environmental protection and inspections of public transportation. But government can not be and was never meant to be a shield that protects all citizens at all times...

Monsignor Joseph Gosche heads St. Michael's Church in Fredericktown. On May 23, he spoke at the baccalaureate service for Fredericktown High School. These are excerpts of his remarks. If my remarks are not what you expect to hear, please bear with me. I promise you a message of hope at the conclusion...

Wilver W. Wessel is a former postmaster in Cape Girardeau. He is a graduate of the Cape Girardeau Central High School Class of 1936. Commencement the act or ti~me of commencin~g; beginnin~g; start. Congratulations! You are now a high school graduate. This is an honor. Through your diligence and perseverance you have attained it. Out of every five pupils who began the first ~grade with you less than four graduate from high school...

To the Editor: I was there Tuesday night (May 25). I was among the some 300 who gathered to listen to proponents and opponents of riverboat gambling. I heard it. I am sure everyone there heard it too. Much to my horror somebody dared to say that the economy and jobs have nothing to do with morality. ...

Last week, the board of directors of Southeast Missouri Hospital and St. Francis Medical Centera nnounced plans to pursue collaborative efforts in providing area health care services. In a joint interview with the Southeast Missourian last week, Jim Wente, administrator of Southeast, and John Fidler, president of St. Francis, shared their visions of the collaboration, as well as other health care issues. Following are excerpts from that interview...

Jobs are scarce. College graduates across the country are learning that lesson in life as they search for employment. "Right now the outlook for jobs is poor and very competitive," said Loretta Schneider, assistant director of Career Planning and Placement Service at Southeast Missouri State University. "But there are a lot of opportunities, and the outlook for the future is looking up."...

Spring may have been cloudy and wet, but the first quarter of 1993 spread some economic sunshine in a seven-county Southeast Missouri region covered by the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission. A total of 45 new businesses and eight expansions were reported during the first quarter, with 29 new-business starts and six expansions in Cape Girardeau County...

When people work together, things get accomplished. A good case in point is the Union County Economic Development Corp. headquartered at Anna, Ill. During the first two months of its existence, the group has tallied an impressive record. It has: Obtained more than 6,000 names on petitions to support a maximum security prison in "Southernmost" Illinois...

A pageant-training seminar will be held in Cape Girardeau next month. The two-hour workshop will be held June 27 from 2-4 p.m. at J Katherine's Formalwear Shop, 826 Broadway. It is designed for women ages 13-20. Topics include attitude, self-esteem, makeup, interview skills, wardrobe and modeling skills...

Doug Conyers of Cape Girardeau has joined MidAmerica Hotels Corp. as a sales representative. Conyers, who worked with Blue Cross-Blue Shield for 19 years, five of them with the Cape Girardeau regional sales office, will represent all of the company's hotel properties, which include Holiday Inns at Cape Girardeau and St. Louis and the Victorian Inn of Cape Girardeau...

Joyce Kowal couldn't believe her eyes as she watched cars, vans and trucks pull up to her small, five-room house at 1221 S. Pacific late last week. Paint, ladders, flowers, cleaning supplies and gardening tools were unloaded at 9 a.m., and more than a dozen workers started a one-day project that ended about 5 p.m...

Morrell C. Diebold has been honored as "Life Underwriter of the Year" by the Cape Girardeau Association of Life Underwriters. Diebold, who has been involved in the insurance industry for 28 years, received the association's highest honor for outstanding contributions to the life and health insurance industry and to the community during a recent awards banquet...

Dr. Beverly Cleair, Wendy Nesslein and Rebecca Keen, all of Regional Eyecare Center Inc., 1749 Independence, recently attended Eye Quest Conference '93 in Chicago. Purpose of the conference was to update eye care practitioners, opticians, technicians, vision care assistants, secretaries and bookkeepers employed in eye care...