Stories from Wednesday, October 27, 1993

(Editor's note: Because of the volume of letters mailed to the Southeast Missourian concerning the riverboat gambling issue, and our desire to let all voices be heard prior to the election Tuesday, we will edit them for length more vigorously the remainder of the week. It is our desire to publish as many as possible, and it is our intent to keep the substance of each letter intact...

SIKESTON -- Scott County Citizens for Economic Development will sponsor a town meeting Wednesday to discuss the effects of a proposed casino gaming operation at the Southeast Missouri Port Authority. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Sikeston Ramada Inn...

PADUCAH, Ky. Players International Casino Co. has exercised its option to buy financially-troubled Bluegrass Downs thoroughbred horse track just one day before a 90-day, $5.1-million purchase option was due to expire. Players officials, who operate a riverboat casino in nearby Metropolis, Ill., and will open a second riverboat casino at Lake Charles, La., in December, have said they want to open a casino at the track if Kentucky legalizes casino gambling...

The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau was at or above flood stage for 165 days this year. It's a staggering statistic. And 124 of those days were consecutive - beginning June 10. It wasn't until Oct. 13 that the river returned to "normal" levels and crept below flood stage. However, the stage today still remains about 13 feet above levels just a year ago...

To the Editor: I am very concerned about the new reconfiguration plans facing Cape Girardeau School District. I feel there has to be a better way if we all in the community put our heads and hearts together and work with the school board to solve the problem...

To the Editor: Everything in life is a religious issue, even your own economics. As we look to God for his will in our lives, we are taught to "trust in the Lord with all our heart and acknowledge Him in all our ways." This means we should consider God's desire or God's will for us in how we spend our money and in all of the decisions that we make...

To the Editor: Cape is a vibrant and healthy city. Witness the new construction of homes and commercial buildings and the growth of sales tax revenue. The Southeast Missourian even had an editorial on Oct. 18 about the unusual new construction and growth during 1993. Solid growth has always been a hallmark of Cape and will continue to be as long as we are concerned and watchful...

To the Editor: Here we go again -- the Yes Group saying "no" to Scott County and the proposed riverboat casino at the Port Authority. They say that gambling will be "somewhere" why not Cape? The Yes Group doesn't give enough credit for the people of Scott County or the people of Cape Girardeau...

To the Editor: In regards to riverboat gambling: When will some of the people of Cape Girardeau wake up to the fact that when something has been brought up for a vote, and has been defeated, why keep bringing it up over and over hoping to catch enough people asleep to get something passed that Cape Girardeau doesn't need or want? If it is such a good thing, why wasn't it passed the first time up? There has been any guarantee, just promises of what would really help Cape. ...

To the Editor: In a recent letter to the editor, John Blue stated some concerns about the forthcoming election. He opts to have his opinion heard, while wanting to deny university students their legal right to express their opinion through voting. But I am sure that as a proponent of a vote on a school bond issue, a flood control plan or a new sales tax, he would not object to the students being courted for their positive vote. ...

To the Editor: When I was growing up, a favorite statement of my mother and father was "just because everyone else is doing it, does that mean you have to do it too?" They instilled in me a sense of morality and trying to do things in a proper manner. I have always tried to follow that admonition to the best of my ability...

Full-time students at Missouri's 13 public four-year colleges and universities spend about an hour a day studying, a survey by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education suggests. "If that's the case, it's terrible," Charles McClain, the state's higher education commissioner, said Tuesday...

The citizens group opposed to riverboat gambling in Cape Girardeau hit the jackpot late last week but they're giving the money back. A member of the Citizens Against Riverboat Gambling steering committee received a large anonymous cash gift, according to the Rev. Charles Grant, a spokesman for the group...

JACKSON - The Yes Group, the committee formed to work for passage of riverboat gaming in Cape Girardeau Nov. 2, has raised three times as much money as Citizens Against Riverboat Gambling, the committee formed to oppose the issue. Proponents of riverboat gaming contend it will be a boost for the downtown area, and apparently merchants are convinced that will be the case. ...

If you really want to confuse parents, all you have to do is put Halloween on a Sunday. Area police departments, the West Park Mall and news agencies throughout the area have been receiving hundreds of phone calls from parents desperate to know when to set their little goblins and ghosts loose on the town...

ESSEX, Mo. -- An Essex man was killed Tuesday afternoon when his vehicle ran off the side of the roadway and struck a culvert on a county road two miles south of Essex. Orville Miller Jr., 44, was killed after he was thrown from his vehicle and it rolled over on top of him. The accident occurred at 5 p.m...

SCOTT CITY -- Albert "Junior" Uhrhan, 68, of Scott City, died Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1993, at his residence. He was born April 13, 1925, at Fornfelt, Mo., son of Albert and Alice Raspberry Uhrhan. He married Evelyn Blankenship, Nov. 18, 1944. She died July 4, 1989...

STE. GENEVIEVE -- Josephine R. Oberle, 87, of Ste. Genevieve, died Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1993, at her home. She was born Aug. 26, 1906, in Ste. Genevieve. She married Julius Oberle Feb. 1, 1925, who preceded her in death. Oberle was a retired seamstress, member of Church of Ste. Genevieve and VFW Auxiliary here...

Anita Laura Reimann, 81, of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1993, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Feb. 13, 1912, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Joseph and Amelia Theiss Popp. She and Frederick W. Reimann were married June 7, 1936, in Cape Girardeau. He died Aug. 16, 1992...

ADVANCE -- Sadie Margaret Ellis, 91, of Advance, died Monday, Oct. 25, 1993, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 28, 1902, at Sedgewickville, daughter of Willie and Hannah Friese Seabaugh. She and Bill Ellis were married March 7, 1925, at Jackson...

BLOOMFIELD -- Hubert Hutchison, 82, of Bloomfield, died Monday, Oct. 25, 1993, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. He was born Aug. 20, 1911, near Bloomfield, son of James David and Roxie Owens Hutchison. He and Derotha Harris were married Nov. 9, 1930. She died Dec. 11, 1990...

MARBLE HILL -- Thelma Mae Leadbetter, 79, of Marble Hill, died Monday, Oct. 25, 1993, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. She was born April 15, 1914, at Lutesville, daughter of Frederick L. and Rhoda Bell Eaker. She and Clarence U. Leadbetter were married Aug. 30, 1930. He preceded her in death...

NEW WELLS -- Albert R. "Joe" Koch, 72, of New Wells, died Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1993, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Juy 23, 1921, at New Wells, son of Theodore and Margareta Hemmann Koch. He and Coletta McMullin Pinkerton were married July 17, 1971...

PERRYVILLE -- Raphael F. "Ray" Emmenderfer Sr., 55, of Benld, Ill., died Sunday, Oct. 24, 1993, at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Ill. He was born Aug. 25, 1938, son of Raphael and Elta Sutterer Emmenderfer. He first married Leona Frazer. He later married Sharon Cheney...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Peggy June Bennett, 59, of East Prairie, died Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1993, at the Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Ky. She was born April 29, 1934, at Hickman, Ky., daughter of Harry Albert and Margaret M. Campbell Parks. She married Harold Eugene "Gene" Bennett, June 14, 1962...

SIKESTON -- Graveside service for Wilma Lee Agnes Davis of Sikeston will be held at 2 p.m. today at Garden of Memories Cemetery. The Rev. Tom Geers will officiate. Friends may call at Ponder Funeral Home from noon until service time. Davis, 68, died Monday, Oct. 25, 1993, at Sikeston Health Care...

Ruby M. Bockhorst, 71, 3128 Themis, died Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1993, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Sept. 19, 1922, at Neosho, daughter of Benjamin F. and Ida Mae Wood Miracle. She and George E. Bockhorst were married Feb. 10, 1943, in Kansas City...

MARBLE HILL -- Ada E. Elledge, 88, of Marble Hill died Monday, Oct. 25, 1993 at Bond Nursing Care Center in Marble Hill. She was born Feb. 20, 1905 in Bollinger County, the daughter of Joseph William Angel and Clora Rowe Angel. She married the Rev. Clarence Elledge on Feb. 8, 1922. He survives...

ANNA, Ill. -- John Paul "Big John" Beanland, 73, of Anna, died Monday, Oct. 25, 1993, at his residence. He was born Sept. 8, 1920, at Eldon, Mo., son of Theodore and Minnie Bookout Beanland. He married Luvina Unterreiner, July 12, 1942, at St. Louis...

Several years ago I wrote a column called "March to your drummer." It had nothing to do with a marching band; it was about putting words together with the help of sound. Hard rock and heavy metal have deafened thousands of ears, but my hearing has been spared because I have no teenagers living with me. ...

A room that looks like it should be featured in a magazine and yet is functional and personalized; that's the goal of an interior designer. It's more than just throw pillows and fancy window coverings. It's space, and light and color. Hopefully the room doesn't look like the homeowner walked out and bought the whole room. Instead it should reflect the individuality of the homeowner, local designers say...

Local interior designers Terry McDowell and Jackie Reese offer these tips for homeowners. - Color can be one of the best design elements in a home. Designers advise choosing colors you feel comfortable with. If you pick trendy colors, be prepared to change colors often, probably in less than five years...

Crisp warm days, clear blue skies, colorful chrysanthemums and breathtaking fall colors of leaves--this is October. What a thrilling month for those who from day to day watch Nature silently and swiftly shift the scenes on the countryside from green to yellow mixed with orange, red and purple...

For families awaiting the birth of a baby, the LaLeche League meeting Nov. 4 will discuss "The Family Relationship to the Breastfed Baby." Informal discussion will center on how to manage those first hectic weeks with emphasis on the entire family as well as timely tips for mothers and baby...