Stories from Sunday, August 15, 1993

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Maurice James Brown, 73, of Cache, Ill., died Saturday, Aug. 14, 1993, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Allen Park, Mich. He was born Jan. 23, 1920 in Carlisle County, Ky., son of Ila Thurman and Shellie Lucille Deckard Brown...

The nays have it in a poll assessing President Bill Clinton: 219 readers said they disapprove of the president's job performance while only 48 said they approve in a poll conducted last week through the Southeast Missourian's editorial page. The unscientific, mail-in poll was based on an editorial cartoon by Dick Wright published in last Sunday's Southeast Missourian...

The Southeast Missouri State University Museum will celebrate the "Year of American Crafts" when it presents an exhibition of contemporary fiber works by Missouri artists in September. The exhibit, titled "Missouri Fiber Artists, 1993-1994," will open with a public reception at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 in the University Museum. Admission is free...

The Federal Election Commission is nothing if not deliberate. Four and a half years after the event, the commission disposed of a complaint regarding the 1988 visit of President Ronald Reagan to the Southeast Missouri State University campus, doing so in the only appropriate way: it took no action. We are pleased this matter has been brought to a close and this sour offshoot of an historic event ultimately amounted to nothing...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Carl Rodney Raymond, 64, of East Prairie, died Friday, Aug. 13, 1993, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born March 31, 1929, son of Ernest Rod and Lillie B. Evans Raymond. He and Marie Buie, who died Dec. 14, 1980. He later married Helen Poe, who died May 10, 1984...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Willa Dean Bankson, 63, of Villa Ridge, died Thursday, Aug. 12, 1993, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. She was born July 20, 1930, in Norman, Okla., daughter of Calvin Monroe and Sylvia Madlock Brown. She married Wayne Bankson, who died Nov. 27, 1987...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Charles B. Schaefer, 62, of Fountain Hills, Ariz., died Thursday, Aug. 12, 1993, at Scottsdale Memorial Hospital in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was born Dec. 15, 1930, in Cairo, son of George and Nellie McElligott Schaefer. He married the former Carolyn Steinhouse...

WYATT -- Bessie B. Howell, 82, formerly of Wyatt, died Saturday, Aug. 14, 1993 at the Miner Nursing Facility. She was born Aug. 20, 1910 in Steele, daughter of Will and Lillie Cotner. She had lived in Mississippi County most of her life and was of Baptist faith...

PERRYVILLE -- Curtis Dean Thorn Jr., 9 days old, died Saturday Aug. 7, 1993 at Children's Hospital in St. Louis. He was born July 29, 1993 in Perryville, and is survived by his mother, Amy Hodge of Perryville, and father Curtis D. Thorn Sr. of Cape Girardeau...

MILLERSVILLE -- Vernona Clark of Millersville died at the Cape LaCroix Manor on Saturday, Aug. 14, 1993, at the age of 97. She was born April 23, 1896 at Eva, Tenn., daughter of Frank M. and Lavanna Pafford Wright. She married Robert "Bob" Clark on July 13, 1913. He died April 21, 1939...

MCCLURE, Ill. -- Domer Edward Matlock, 79, of McClure, Ill., died Thursday, Aug. 12, 1993, at the Cape LaCroix Nursing Center. He was born Dec. 19, 1913 at McClure, son of James and Adeline Phillips Matlock. He married Wilma Colyer Oct. 5, 1940 at Jackson. She survives...

PERRYVILLE -- Della H. Schamburg, 87, of Perryville, died Saturday, Aug. 14, 1993 at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born Sept. 12, 1905 in Perry County, daughter of Theodore and Rosa Hacker Guemmer. On Nov. 17, 1924, she married Martin E. Schamburg. He preceded her in death May 15, 1968...

CHAFFEE -- Adella Rose Scheeter, 73, of Chaffee, died Friday, Aug. 13, 1993 at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born June 1, 1920 in New Hamburg, daughter of Otto Charles and Mamie Katie Westrich Scheeter. She was a retired cook and helper at the Chaffee Nutrition Center...

Vernon L. Pruitt, 45, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Aug. 14, 1993, at St. Francis Medical Center. The body is at Ford and Sons Funeral Home where funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Emergency services officials and volunteer flood workers aren't the only ones keeping an eye on the Mississippi River gauge at Cape Girardeau right now. On both sides of the Mississippi, school administrators have one eye on the calendar and the other on the river gauge. They hope the river will drop low enough so school buses can travel over roads and highways that are now submerged...

Two years ago, Richard Couch watched his son face a charging bull the first time. His son, Richie, a Cape Girardeau teen-ager, had dreams of becoming a professional rodeo bull fighter. Now 19 years old, Richie Couch's dream is coming true ... thanks in large part to his father...

Students at Franklin School will receive a visual lesson in Missouri history when they walk through the halls this fall. The lesson is in the form of a mural just completed in the school's north-end stairs. Craig Thomas's mural is a compendium of Missouri scenes and important contributions, from Tom Sawyer leaning against a fence in Hannibal to the St. Louis-built space capsule that carried astronaut John Glenn into orbit...

Raised on the low-income side of life, Brese Squires and Renee Metcalfe are searching for a way out. For them and five other young adults, the way out involves college educations that offer an opportunity for better-paying jobs. The seven young adults are involved in UJIMA, a new privately funded program designed to help them achieve their career goals through mentoring and financial assistance...

For the Boy Scouts of Troop 232 in La Junta, Colo., Indian dancing isn't acting, it's a time-honored tradition rooted in the love of Indian lore. From their colorful costumes to their practiced footsteps, scouts have performed for 60 years as the Koshare Indian dancers displaying the dances of American Indians, from those of the Southwest to the Plains Indians...

McCLURE, Ill. Motorists who travel the Grapevine Trail blacktop road between McClure and Tamms will have to use an alternate route for the next five to six weeks. Last Monday, the Illinois Department of Transportation closed a portion of the road near the Egyptian School, west of Tamms, to take out the old bridge over Sandy Creek, 11 miles east of McClure. Construction of the new bridge is expected to be completed in late September, weather permitting...

Staff members of U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond will attend Listening Post forums at a couple of area communities Aug. 25. The forums will be held at the Charleston Pizza Hut, South Main Street, from 11 a.m.-noon; the Sikeston Farmland Insurance office, 1515 E. Malone Ave., from 1-2 p.m.; and the Chaffee City Hall, 222 W. Yoakum, from 3-4 p.m...

Whether it's a trip to visit relatives or a dream vacation across the seas, summer for millions of Americans means vacation. The secret to a perfect holiday, some frequent travelers reveal, is plan, plan, plan and wear comfortable shoes. Vacations serve double duty for the Browns Mike, Dianne, and daughter Samantha, of Cape Girardeau...

In past summers my flower border has always had one or more butterflies flitting about all day long, dipping their long straw of a tongue into the sweet nectar of the rudbeckia, the zinnias and most especially the phlox. Although phlox comes in many colors, seemingly, they all eventually revert to the magenta color and are disdained by more formal gardeners. ...

A few days of more pleasant weather gave us a taste of what is to come and the days we have been waiting for. In the meantime, the days are hot, humid and not conducive to outdoor gardening. Old timers referred to this period of the hottest days of summer as Dog Days because it consisted of 40 days when the sun rose at the same time as the Dog Star, Siriums. It was thought that dogs had rabies more frequently at this time of year...

The local offices of Browning-Ferris Industries will match proceeds from recyclables collected in an areawide drive during August, and all funds will be donated to the Salvation Army for assistance to flood victims. Aluminum, newspaper and plastic milk jugs and soda bottles will be collected at the BFI offices in Marion, Ill., and Cape Girardeau during August. BFI will transport the material to its recyclery in Cape Girardeau, where it will be sorted and baled...