Stories from Thursday, November 18, 1993

To the Editor: Youth Expo '93 is now a part of history and I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for all your support and report on the success of the weekend of events. Over 400 youth and other interested people were in attendance at the Youth Expo events. The response to all activities was very positive and many people stated that more events like Youth Expo need to be offered to youth...

To the Editor: Now that riverboat gaming has passed, let's try and find some family-oriented ideas to bring business to Cape. In a few years the newness of gambling will wear off and business may drop. If we think ahead, we may have other attractions to take up the slack...

To the Editor: The proverbial fat lady has not yet sung, but it would appear that the gambling parasites will probably invade our shore. Nonetheless, as the Boyd and Yes Groups indulge in full-page ads and other forms of self-congratulations, let them remember that there are a substantial number of Cape citizens who still feel that this is all a giant mistake...

To the Editor: This being National Education Week brings to mind a special lady who has dedicated her life to educating others. Her name is Mary Abercrombie, or "Mary C" as she is affectionately known to her family and friends, and she is one of Shawnee District's finest...

The Cape Girardeau City Council has acted with due deliberation in setting an early March deadline for compiling proposals for a riverboat gambling operator. We believe this is a reasonable timetable for researching and considering an arrangement that will change the city significantly. If Cape Girardeau is ripe for such a development, a few weeks of local reflection on the issues involved should not discourage any potential vendors...

ST. LOUIS - Proponents of a proposed interstate highway that would span the United States have agreed to make an all-out push in Congress next year to win approval of funding for a design and build study. Participants in I-66 Project, Inc., an organization formed in 1990 to promote construction of an east-west interstate highway that would be located somewhere between Interstates 70 and 40, held their second national meeting in St. Louis Wednesday to lay the groundwork for next year's push...

Frank Stoffregen of 223 Capaha Trail is the second candidate in Ward 1 to file for a Cape Girardeau City Council seat that's up for election in April. Stoffregen, 39, is a life-long resident of Cape Girardeau County and has lived at Capaha Trail in the city's northeast side since 1990...

A new section of divided four-lane highway through the south edge of Cape Girardeau could be completed in 1995. Tom Stehn of the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department told members of the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday that the state will start work on the new Mississippi bridge route between Sprigg Street and Kingshighway next year...

Members of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board on Wednesday berated preliminary plans for a multi-purpose building in the city's new Osage Park. "It's clear to me that you got all your input on this plan from parks and recreation," said board member David Ross...

West Park Mall is decked out for Christmas, and Santa arrives to kick off the holiday season Saturday. A 24-foot Christmas tree with more than 3,000 lights is featured in the middle of center court. Santa will be in front of the tree, available for photographs and to talk with youngsters...

The North American Free Trade Agreement is "a winner for the United States, its workers and the nation's economy," U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, said after Wednesday night's vote. Emerson, who represents Missouri's Eighth Congressional District, fellow Republican Mel Hancock of Springfield and Democrat Ike Skelton of Lexington were the only members of the Missouri House delegation to vote with President Clinton on the trade agreement...

An official of a Netherlands business school says the North American Free Trade Agreement would be good for the United States. Matt Heckman, coordinator of international relations for the Limburg Business School in Sittard, the Netherlands, said Wednesday that NAFTA could result in a North American trading bloc that would provide similar advantages as those of the European Community...

Now that all the receipts have been counted and the bills paid, the SEMO District Fair has finished in the black. Fair Board President Bob Nitsch reported on the fair's financial health at the fair's annual meeting Wednesday. Over 150 people attended...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A recently completed study shows that Southern Illinois University has a tremendous impact on downstate Illinois, with an annual economic impact of close to $1 billion. SIU's presence pumped $934 million into 40 Southern Illinois counties in fiscal year 1991 alone, the study shows. ...

ALTENBURG -- Tiny Altenburg Public School plans to meet Missouri's new guidelines for classification by next fall. The district was among nine Missouri school districts rated "unclassified" by the State Board of Education last week, and the clock is ticking for the school district...

The little girl cloud November 18, 1993 Dear Kim, I don't know why I've never written you a letter before. Maybe I thought little girls were too busy to sit still for such foolishness as an uncle who plays with words instead of toys. What can I say to compare to the adventures you take on the swing in your backyard, where the only word you care about is "higher?"...

GORDONVILLE -- Dan Kern of New Hamburg is the new postmaster at Gordonville. Kern succeeds Patty Matlock, who served as officer-in-charge of the Gordonville Post Office until a postmaster was named. Matlock has resumed her former position as postmaster leave replacement at Gordonville...

Graveside service for Lucille I. Lewis of Gettysburg, Pa., will be held at 2 p.m. today at Memorial Park, with the Rev. Neil Stein officiating. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Lewis, 89, died Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1993, in Gettysburg Hospital...

Lucian "Luke" Ashby of St. Petersburg, Fla., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1993, at his home. The Ashbys lived here 41 years, moving to St. Petersburg in November 1992. He played basketball in Indiana, was a coach in Illinois, and after coming here was a salesman with Celotex Corp., and then worked in the purchasing department at Southeast Missouri State University. He was also an officer in the U.S. Navy...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Lorene Bedwell Sickman, 82, of Pearcy, Ark., formerly of Alexander County, died Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1993, at Arkansas Health Care Nursing Home in Hot Springs. Sickman was born July 24, 1911, in Nashville, Tenn., daughter of Chancy Joseph and Maude Emma Pince Tupper...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Chester Fieldon "Boss" Schneider, 69, of East Prairie, died Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1993, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Shelby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON -- A prominent Sikeston attorney, landowner and businessman died Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1993. John D. Hux, 78, died at the Columbia Regional Hospital in Columbia. He was born Aug. 21, 1915 in Essex to James A. and Oltha Miles Hux. On July 10, 1941, he married Olga L. Matthews in Sikeston. She preceded him in death on Jan. 29, 1990...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- George T. Weaver, 54, of Louisville, Tenn., died Sunday, Nov. 14, 1993, at the University of Tennessee Hospital in Knoxville. He was born March 11, 1939, in Jonesboro, son of Charles B. and Ruby Coomes Weaver. He and Marita Hogue were married Sept. 3, 1960, in Jonesboro...

ANNA, Ill. -- Ethel F. Goodman, 86, of Anna, died Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1993, at Union County Hospital. She was born Sept. 28, 1907, in Jonesboro, daughter of Oliver and Hannah Ida Kohler Hileman. She and Louis Goodman were married Aug. 24, 1939, in Jackson, Mo...

Today marks the second most famous Thursday in November, next to Thanksgiving. It's a day when millions of Americans will be talking turkey -- cold turkey. The American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout is an upbeat, good-natured effort to encourage smokers to give up cigarettes for 24 hours, if only to prove to themselves they can. They might give up smoking for good...

JACKSON -- Lillian Hahn makes 13 different styles of stuffed bears. There's one sure way to tell her females from the males, she says. "They have sweeter dispositions." A retiree who lives in Jackson, Hahn is the creator of The Bear House stuffed bears, which have found homes in 18 different states, Canada and Germany...

ST. LOUIS -- Suzanne Grace may have the perfect name for a dancer, but she also has what she calls "expressive feet." In fact, Grace says, "I am known for my feet." In the dance world that translates into high arches. "It's like when a musician notices another musician's hands," she explained. "Dancers always notice my feet."...

CAIRO, ILL. -- The 41st Holiday House will be held at Magnolia Manor beginning Thanksgiving and continuing Nov. 26-28, and Dec. 4-5. Guests will be welcomed to the gaily decorated four-story Magnolia Manor with the theme "There's a Song in the Air."...

SPRINGFIELD -- Pianist Susan Ho, a senior at Southeast Missouri State University, won a first prize in the Missouri Music Teachers Association competition last weekend in Springfield. Ho, a student of associate professor James Sifferman, received first-place collegiate honors in the upper division. There were 13 other pianists in her field...