Stories from Saturday, April 30, 1994

To the Editor: I hadn't thought about our space program damaging the ozone layer until I read Davida Douglas' letter (April 19), but the observation adds another good reason for opposing this congressional and scientific folly. There are many others. ...

Dear Editor, I finally read an article in Parade Magazine which is worth reading, "Should Elderly People be Allowed to Drive" by Hugh Downs. Hugh really checks into it and he documents every word he says. I have quit reading Missourian editorials since the subject was, Young People have the most accidents but old people cause most of them. ...

Dear Southeast Missourian, I would like to say a big "thank-you" for all your efforts in making the Young Columbus program a big success in this area. The Young Columbus program is the best educational and cultural opportunity for younger ages I have ever seen. You made it possible for me to go to Europe, an opportunity I would otherwise have never had. The experience I gained will never be equaled...

For four days this week, the people of South Africa voted. Many waited overnight in line and most waited several hours, undaunted by violence and threats of violence. By early estimates, 90 percent of the electorate cast ballots. It was an historic event -- a non-racial election -- that a decade ago seemed as unlikely as the collapse of communism. ...

The countless hours of volunteer services performed by the four recipients of this year's United Way-Cybertel Volunteer Awards offer remarkable testimony to the dedication of the three individuals and the organization that received them. The awards, presented at the annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon, went to the late Sue Lusk of Cape Girardeau, Nicole Wadlington of Scott City, Dorothy Ressel of Cape Girardeau, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10495 of Jackson...

Bicycle enthusiasts from a large part of the nation will converge on Cape Girardeau this weekend for the first Tour de Girardot Cycling Classic, a two-day event that promises to offer entertainment not usually seen in the area. Not only will the more than 200 dedicated cyclists, who are members of the United States Cycling Federation, be competing in races for $6,000 in prize money, but amateurs will have an opportunity to race in adult and teen competitions at 2 p.m. ...

Area strawberry growers say the outlook for this year's strawberry crop is good, but they need more sunny, dry weather and warm nights between now and mid-May to help the berries grow and mature. "All of our early variety strawberry plants are loaded," said JoAnn Illers of Illers' Strawberry Farm south of Jackson...

The nearly weeklong bout of severe weather that has pounded much of the region has given way to another familiar problem: flooding. The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau was expected to be back above flood stage today, less than a week after dropping below the 32-foot flood stage on April 23...

St. Francis Medical Center plans a new "one stop" facility, combining doctors offices with medical laboratories and technology on the medical center campus. The medical center's president, John Fidler, announced plans to employees Friday. Many of the details are still to come, including square footage and exactly what services would be housed in the proposed addition...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the longtime sponsor of H.R. 123, the "Language of Government Act," 8th District U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson warned a House appropriations subcommittee this week of a "dangerous trend" toward multilingual government. Emerson stressed that Congress should work to make English the "official" language of the federal government, rather than condone efforts in the opposite direction...

As you read this, I'm in Dallas for a mini-vacation of sorts. I call the three-day trip a vacation only because I've brought my wife and three children along. The real purpose of the trek is to feed my insatiable appetite for perhaps the purest sport in America today: rugby...

DEXTER -- Two people were seriously injured Thursday night when a car tried to beat a train across the railroad tracks in Dexter. The Missouri Highway Patrol reported that at about 8:20 p.m. a Union Pacific train struck a vehicle that had failed to stop at a railroad crossing and then went around the lowered gates at Walnut Street...

ANNA, Ill. -- Ed Brimm, 86, Anna Route 2, died Friday, April 29, 1994, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 7, 1907, in Anna, son of William and Frances Pitts Brimm. He and Christina Confer were married Aug. 17, 1928. She died June 13, 1989...

Funeral mass for Tom Vetter of Cape Girardeau will be held at 10 a.m. today at St. Lawrence Catholic Church Parish Center in New Hamburg. The Rev. Amel Shibley will officiate, with burial in the church cemetery. Amick-Burnett Funeral Home at Chaffee is in charge of arrangements...

SIKESTON -- Memorial service for Kenneth Harold "Pete" Cline, Sikeston Route 5, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel here. The Revs. Amos Johnson and Jeff Arthur will officiate. Cline, 62, died Wednesday, April 27, 1994, at his home...

SIKESTON -- Ruby Brock, 73, of Sikeston, died Thursday, April 28, 1994, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born June 15, 1920, in Marquand, daughter of Arch Ballan and Mary Lee Powell King. Survivors include two daughters, Joyce Ferrell of St. Louis and Meldred Hrdina of Montara, Calif...

BLODGETT -- Tally A. Huey, 84, of St. Louis, died Friday, April 29, 1994, at Alexian Brothers Hospital. He was born Nov. 16, 1909, in Blodgett, son of Tom and Mary Anna Morris Huey. He and Nellie Gertrude Rankin were married Sept. 21, 1933. She preceded him in death...

Memorial service for Gerald Lee Slinkard of Hastings, Neb., will be held at 2 p.m. Monday in the Gazebo at Memorial Park. The Rev. Harold Henderson will officiate. There is no visitation. Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel is in charge of arrangements...

JACKSON -- Funeral service for Stacy Lee Jones of Jackson will be held at 11 a.m. today in the gymnasium at Meadow Heights High School in Patton. The Rev. William Brooks will officiate, with burial in Sedgewickville Cemetery. Friends may call at the gymnasium from 9 a.m. to service time...

CHARLESTON -- Rita M. Scheffer, 63, Charleston Route 2, died Thursday, April 28, 1994, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born June 23, 1930, at Benton, daughter of Zeno Jacob and Loretta Scherer Urhahn. She and John Henry Scheffer were married Feb. 1, 1947. He died May 13, 1993...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Raymond E. Bowen, 71, of Jonesboro, died Friday, April 29, 1994, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He was born Sept. 16, 1922, at Jonesboro, son of Guy and Hulda Reischauer Bowen. He and June Knupp were married Sept. 7, 1946, in Jonesboro...

MORLEY -- Jeanetta M. Rhodes, 89, of Anderson, Ind., died Thursday, April 28, 1994, at St. John's Hospital in Anderson. She was born May 9, 1904, at Morley, daughter of Harris and Olive Wright Rhodes. Rhodes had lived in Anderson since 1943. She was a member of East Side Church of God...

Ervin Hobbs, 82, of rural Cape Girardeau died Friday, April 29, 1994 at the home of his daughter. He was the former presiding commissioner for Cape Girardeau County. The body is at Ford and Sons Funeral Home where arrangements are incomplete.

JACKSON -- Elsie E. Seabaugh, 82, of Jackson, died at Southeast Missouri Hospital Thursday, April 28, 1994. She was born Feb. 12, 1912, near Licksville, daughter of Adolph and Ida Seabaugh Statler. She married Harley L. Seabaugh May 16, 1930, He died April 4, 1967...

MARBLE HILL -- Shelby Estes, 51, of Marble Hill, died Friday, April 29, 1994, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 21, 1943, at Scopus, son of Lee and Maudie Mae Cook Estes. Estes was a paint sprayer with H.H. Robinson. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War...

SIKESTON -- Opal Sipes, 81, of Sikeston, died Thursday, April 28, 1994, at her home. She was born Jan. 8, 1912, in Wappapello, daughter of Oscar and Zadie Bazor. She and Buford Sipes were married in 1935. He died in 1953. Sipes attended First Assembly of God Church...

JACKSON -- Bollinger County humorist, artist and sculptor Tom Runnels will appear at the Riverside Regional Library on Saturday, May 14. Runnels will sign copies of his second book "Slipshod, but Not Shabby" from 1 to 4 p.m. Several pieces of his sculpture and prints will also be on display...

Robert Foster, executive director of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation, will be the featured guest Sunday on "University Conversations." The 30-minute program can be seen Sunday on local cable access channel 5 at 7:30 p.m. "University Conversations" is an information program presented by Southeast Missouri State University and features programs, issues and services of the university...

JACKSON -- A Loyalty Day ceremony will be held Sunday at the Memorial to Veterans of All Wars at Brookside Park in Jackson. It will begin at 1 p.m. The Loyalty Day program has been held for many years, but this is the first time it will be at the new veterans memorial...

Cape Girardeau is celebrating National Historic Preservation Week with a number of events that focus on the city's architectural heritage. "Every town has something special and unique about it, and that's one of the things we want to show off and highlight," said John Bry, a local preservationist who helped plan the events...

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Senate Committee on Gubernatorial Appointments unanimously confirmed Betty C. Hearnes of Charleston last week for a seat on the Missouri Mental Health Commission. She awaits confirmation by the full senate next week. The seven-member body serves as the principal policy advisers to the director of the Department of Mental Health...