Stories from Friday, November 12, 1993

SIKESTON -- Laura J. "Pat" Meeks, 61, a resident of Jacksonville, Fla., and formerly of Sikeston, died Wednesday, Nov. 10, 1993, at the Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville. She was born July 9, 1932, in Alma, Ark., to the late Lonzo and Mary Etta Stovall Murphy...

JACKSON -- A training specialist for the Missouri State Bureau of Emergency Medical Services has recently returned from lecturing at a national FEMA forum in Washington, D.C. Jim Lawrence, a resident of Cape Girardeau who works out of the Department of Health office in Jackson, lectured on a new form of disaster planning at a special meeting of the Federal Emergency Management Agency last week...

Terry Holmes of Jackson was a big winner in the Big "O" Bass Masters Tournament, held this fall at Wappapello Lake. Holmes and his partner, Fred Bauer, outfished 163 other teams to win the tournament. Holmes added $1,000 to his other prizes because he was using a Yamaha Pro-V 150-horsepower outboard motor in the tournament...

A little over 25 years ago, few services existed for the disabled. Most simply lived at home with few outside activities. Several local parents of these children came together in frustration. But instead of throwing up their hands in despair, they united and worked hard to create opportunities for their special needs children. Because of their efforts, there are increased educational and job opportunities for mentally handicapped people today in the form of VIP Industries...

Daughter to Mr. and Mrs. John Shrewsbury of Crestwood, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 12:09 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1993. Name, Meghan Eileen. Weight, 7 pounds 12 ounces. Second daughter. Mrs. Shrewsbury is the former Renee Humburg, daughter of Chris and Sandra Humburg of Scott City. She is director of sales for Pere Marquette Lodge. Shrewsbury is an engineer with Metropolitan Sewer District, and is the son of Eileen Shrewsbury of Kirkwood, and the late John Shrewsbury...

ADVANCE -- Avery Jackson, 73, of Advance, died Thursday, Nov. 11, 1993, at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Morgan Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

SCOTT CITY -- Funeral service for Alfred Simon Hartle of Scott City will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church. The Rev. Terry Eades will officiate, with burial in Lightner Cemetery. Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Home in Scott City after 5 p.m. today...

OAK RIDGE -- Funeral service for Jacob "Jake" Wendel of Oak Ridge will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at McCombs Funeral Chapel in Jackson. The Rev. Sam Roethemeyer will officiate, with burial in St. James Cemetery at Tilsit. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today. A Masonic service will be held at 7:30...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- William Gabriel "Gabe" Henson, 92, of Mounds, formerly of Olmsted, died Wednesday, Nov. 10, 1993, at Daystar Nursing Home in Cairo. He was born March 10, 1901, in Perry County, Ill., son of Henry E. and Emma Reece Henson. He married the former Opal Louise Poole, who preceded her in death Jan. 7, 1984...

PERRYVILLE -- Terence "Terry" W. Abbott, 41, of Ste. Genevieve, died Wednesday, Nov. 10, 1993, at Southwest Hospital in Little Rock, Ark. He was born June 13, 1952, at Cape Girardeau, daughter of William M. And Mildred L. Myer Abbott. He worked as a highway construction crane operator for Robinson Construction Co., of Perryville...

Funeral service for Joe Warfield, 547 S. Frederick, will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Church of God in Christ. The Rev. William Bird will officiate, with burial in Warfield Cemetery at Oran. Friends may call at the church Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to service time...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Funeral service for Loyce D. Johnston, East Prairie Route 1, will be held at 11 a.m. today at Shelby Funeral Chapel. Larry Smith will officiate, with burial in Dogwood Cemetery. Johnston, 69, died Wednesday, Nov. 10, 1993, at his home...

Southeast Missouri State University wants to move all of the approximately 350 students out of Towers North residence hall by Jan. 10 so work can proceed on renovating the building. Whether the move is made rests with the Towers North students, said Paul Carr, residence life director...

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission has agreed to assist the Bi-State Development Agency in St. Louis in finding a way to come up with $10 million in operating funds for its light rail and bus systems. Bi-State has warned that it has a deficit and could shut down mass transit operations in metropolitan St. Louis next spring without additional money. Efforts during the last legislative session to approve a method of providing funding for transit were defeated...

CAIRO, Ill. -- If illegal drug sales abound in Cairo, the bane is shared by towns such as Charleston, Sikeston and Cape Girardeau in Missouri. Lester Murray, special agent for the Cairo Drug Task Force, said most crack cocaine dealers in Cairo are just as at home selling their wares in surrounding towns' drug markets...

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County Assistant Prosecutor Ian Sutherland gave a frank Veterans Day speech Thursday to about 75 veterans and their families at American Legion Post 158. "This day is about you," said Sutherland, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served with the 82nd Airborne Division and Special Forces in Vietnam...

It's Kern to the kernel, this "Very Good Eddie," University Theatre's musical comedy opening tonight at Southeast Missouri State University's Forrest H. Rose Theatre; it's a gem of theatre joy, bubbling with sophisticated innocence, and not to be missed by anyone who wishes for good, clean fun that can be as racy as one wishes to make it...

The surprise in Cape Central High School's production of "Ten Little Indians" is not so much whodunit in the end as how well the ensemble of players works together to make the finding out worthwhile. These are mostly caricature roles that give them little opportunity to grab the audience, but the Red Dagger performers have their timing down...

A "one-two punch" by the federal government at the trucking industry has prompted a weeklong shutdown by independent owner-operators, a local truck-stop manager said Thursday. The Associated Press reported the independent truckers staged scattered protests over an increase in the price of diesel fuel by parking their rigs. Some truckers have stayed off the highway to avoid possible incidents of violence...

SCOTT CITY -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has asked that Scott City residents boil their drinking and cooking water until Monday, while tests are being run on the city's water supply. Mayor Larry Forhan said a contractor struck a water main on Main Street on Tuesday causing a leak, which was soon repaired...