Stories from Tuesday, September 28, 1993

Good grief, Charlie Brown! Everyone knows Linus' Great Pumpkin is only a mirage, but experts say the real thing may be in short supply this fall. Locally, pumpkin crops have been hit with a virus. Yields are down, but local growers say there's no pumpkin panic and plenty of pumpkins will be available locally...

With nearly 20 years of experience in various levels of city administration, Doug Leslie is well prepared to take over this week for departing Cape Girardeau Assistant City Manager Al Stoverink. Leslie, who was hired as the city's public works director in 1990, previously was the city manager in Nevada, Mo...

Thousands of cable subscribers in Southeast Missouri may see the plug pulled Oct. 6 on the local CBS and NBC affiliate stations, the result of a continuing dispute between certain broadcasters and cable operators. If no agreement over retransmission is reached by then, WPSD-Channel 6, the NBC affiliate in Paducah, Ky., will be taken off the TCI Cablevision system serving 13,000 subscribers in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, cable and broadcast officials say...

Two area television stations and the Falcon cable systems remain far apart in efforts to reach retransmission agreements that would keep the stations on cable TV throughout much of Southeast Missouri. Officials at both KFVS-Channel 12 in Cape Girardeau and WPSD-Channel 6 in Paducah, Ky., say they have abandoned per-subscriber-fee proposals in favor of seeking promotional or advertising arrangements in return for allowing their stations to be aired on the Falcon and Falcon-Enstar cable systems...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Eighth District U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson Monday praised St. Louis Mayor Freeman Bosley for taking a strong public stance against court-ordered desegregation efforts in Missouri. Emerson, who has sponsored a resolution every year he has been in Congress calling for a constitutional amendment prohibiting forced busing, said he is pleased Bosley is joining the fight...

When a fire broke out in a warehouse at 2143 Independence April 1, five fire engines, a ladder truck and several special units were dispatched. It took 45 firefighters more than an hour to bring the fire under control and several hours to extinguish the flames. In the end, the fire gutted a vast majority of the 150-by-50-foot building, causing the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in raw materials and equipment...

SCOTT CITY -- Walter August Eifert, 91, of Scott City, died Sunday, Sept. 26, 1993, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 20, 1902, at Illmo, son of Henry and Anna Ristig Eifert. He and Frieda Elizabeth Sanders were married Sept. 17, 1927, at Illmo. She died Jan. 19, 1979...

ADVANCE -- Arley "Sarge" Fowler, 70, of Advance, died Sunday, Sept. 26, 1993, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 28, 1923, in Advance, son of George and Bertie Pohlman Fowler. Fowler was a machinist. He was a member of First Baptist Church, and charter and life member of Advance Memorial VFW Post 7750. He was a veteran of the Korean War...

ROCKVIEW -- Charles Javis Green, 80, of Rockview, died Monday, Sept. 27, 1993, at his home. He was born April 15, 1913, at Kennett, son of Carl and Ethel Green. He and Ida Zola Tucker were married Nov. 13, 1935. Green was a section hand with Cotton Belt Railroad, retiring 18 years ago. He was a member of Church of Christ in Advance...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Arthur J. Worthy, 75, of East Prairie, died Monday, Sept. 27, 1993, at East Prairie Nursing Center. He was born Sept. 11, 1918, at Byler, son of Arthur and Lulabelle Frazier Worthy. He and Annie Mae Melton were married Nov. 25, 1939...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Gladys Walker, 81, Cairo Route 1, died Sunday, Sept. 26, 1993, at Daystar Care Center. She was born Dec. 18, 1911, in Olive Branch, daughter of Charles and Edna Bledsoe DeLashmutt. She married Harold E. Walker. Walker was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church...

PERRYVILLE -- Bertha Ponder, 90, of Perryville, died Sunday, Sept. 26, 1993, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born April 21, 1903, at Uniontown, daughter of John E. and Philomena Josephine Winschel Unterreiner. She and Anton C. Ponder were married April 18, 1921, at Apple Creek. He died Jan. 21, 1981...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Jim Poe, 25, of Jonesboro, died Saturday, Sept. 25, 1993, on arrival at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale. He was born Nov. 24, 1967, in Springfield, son of Paul David and Beverly Wright Poe. He and Bonnie Moutell were married June 23, 1989...

SIKESTON -- Edward Seymour, 78, of Beavercreek, Ohio, formerly of Sikeston, died Saturday, Sept. 25, 1993, at his home. He was born Jan. 16, 1915, in Double Springs, Ala., son of Chester and Lecy Baldy Seymour. He and his wife, Hattie Ruth, were married Oct. 12, 1940. She died Aug. 4, 1991...

The Mississippi River, its tributaries and Mother Nature, after a summer of caprice and destruction throughout the Midwest, can't seem to loosen their considerable grip. At just the moment when waters were receding at a steady, optimistic pace and flood-weary Missourians were breathing sighs of relief, early autumn rains have washed through the middle portion of the country and bloated the waterways once again. ...

Calvin Vogelsang of Cape Girardeau and a member of Veteran's of Foreign Wars Post #3838 has been appointed vice chairman of the VFW National Security Committee. VFW Commander-in-Chief George R. Cramer made the appointment. Vogelsang has been active in the VFW for many years and has held various offices. The National Security Committee met recently in Washington, D.C., to formulate plans and programs for the coming year...

JEFFERSON CITY - Two area teachers have been named to the Missouri 1st Vote Advisory Committee of educators, students and election officials by Secretary of State Judith Moriarty. Named to the group were Alberta Dougan, from the Department of History at Southeast Missouri State University, and Rhett Oldham, a social studies teacher at Perryville High School...

JACKSON - A Jackson High School business teacher counts among her former students accountants, secretaries, bankers, business leaders, an astronaut, two colleagues in the business education department and the assistant principal at Jackson High School...

CHAFFEE -- Blocks, toy cars and plastic kitchen utensils are just some of the tools of the trade for Parents As Teachers educator Kathy Heise. When she visits parents and their young children, she's equipped with a bag full of play things. But behind the fun and games, there's real learning taking place...

Students participating in the Southeast Missourian's Newspaper In Education program have a chance to win an expense-paid trip to Ireland. The trip is a grand prize of the Young Columbus 1994 program. Thousands are expected to compete for the chance to represent their newspapers and the United States on the 10-day tour, April 12-21. In all, 150 students will visit Dublin, Mitchelstown, Ballyhoura Country, Killarney, Tralee and Shannon on the ancient Emerald Isle...

Two youths from Cape Girardeau County have recently completed summer internships on Capitol Hill with U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson. Intern Jane Thorpe currently is seeking an undergraduate degree in history from Princeton University in Princeton, N.J., before attending law school. She is a 1991 graduate from Cape Girardeau Central High School, and is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. William Thorpe of Cape Girardeau...

Judith Ann Crow of Cape Girardeau has been named to the Easter Seal's Disability Leadership Forum Directory. The directory is a who's who of community volunteer leaders with disabilities throughout the country. Crow is a former staff writer and librarian for the Southeast Missourian newspaper who has cerebral palsy. She retired in 1984, but continues to write reviews of university and community theater presentations for the newspaper...

May Greene Elementary School will host its second annual Fall Apple Festival on Monday. Proceeds from the event will be used to fund reading and literacy events at the school. The festival is scheduled from 4-5 p.m. at the school. Games, prizes and food will be available...

JACKSON - The 49th annual Jackson Marching Band Festival, including a parade through downtown Jackson and a field show, will be held Tuesday. The parade begins at 1:30 p.m., and the field show is at 6:30 at Jackson High School. The cost for the field show is $2 for adults and $1 for students. In case of inclement weather, the festival will be held Oct. 12...

Area students will have an opportunity to meet the authors of books they read at the 13th annual Children's Young Adult Literature Festival Thursday and Friday. Featured authors attending this year's festival are Missourians Jan Greenberg and Vickie Grove, and from Georgia, Doris Buchanan Smith...