Stories from Tuesday, May 10, 1994

When John Mehner surveys his domain, he leans back in his office chair, puts his hands behind his neck, and smiles contentedly. He is a man in his element. A personable, goal-oriented achiever, he seems well suited to lead one of the state's largest and most active chambers. Mehner was chosen president of Cape Girardeau's Chamber of Commerce in 1993...

Seventh-graders will learn about sex based on abstinence as part of a new health curriculum approved Monday by the Cape Girardeau Board of Education. In approving the health package, the board also requires an additional semester of high school health for graduation...

Lone Star Industries, the Kasten Block plant, Consolidated Grain and Barge and the city of Cape Girardeau all will benefit from a timely financial boost from the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA). The EDA notified the city Monday it plans to pay $425,750 of the $567,670 needed to embark on a flood recovery project in south Cape...

Mary Ellen Klein, environmental services coordinator for Cape Girardeau, told a group Monday she's not certain the city will remain in the solid waste business much longer. She spoke Monday night to members of the Cape Girardeau Sierra Club about the city's recycling efforts and the murky future of local solid waste efforts. Her appearance, she explained, was rare...

Last week, the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce honored five outstanding educators in the first "Educators of the Year Awards." This long-awaited recognition became a reality primarily due to the determination of Kim McDowell, chair of the education committee of the Chamber of Commerce...

The EPA's out to get them -- those pollution-spewing, gasoline-powered lawn mowers that keep suburban life so neatly trimmed. Last week, the mammoth federal agency set emission standards for lawn mowers and other gasoline-powered tools. We're told that 5 percent of air pollution comes from the 89 million lawn mowers, garden tractors, chain saws and other gas-powered tools. More than 6 million tons of pollutants are churned out annually by this equipment...

Pauline Ruhl-Cain served up a gold-medal meal at the VICA state skills Olympics held recently in Warrensburg, Mo. Ruhl-Cain earned a gold medal in culinary arts. She won a silver medal for her test score in another competition and won a bronze medal in the quiz bowl contest. She is the first Cape Girardeau vocational student to bring home all three medals...

Twenty-six young writers from grades 4-12 were honored at the annual awards ceremony for the Southeast Missouri Writing Achievement Awards program April 23 at Southeast Missouri State University. "This program was initiated in 1982 by the university's department of English as a means of recognizing the importance of writing skills in the development of an educated person," said Linda Burns, professor of English at Southeast...

Eighty-four honor students were recognized April 12 at the Southeast Missouri State University College of Science and Technology honors program. To be recognized by the college, students must be majoring in agriculture, biology, chemistry, computer science, geosciences, industrial technology, mathematics or physics. They also must have completed at least 75 credit hours and have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5...

Southeast Missouri State University's baccalaureate degree program in recreation has received national accreditation. The accreditation was approved for five years by the National Recreation and Park Association/American Association for Leisure and Recreation Council on Accreditation...

Three Jackson High School seniors have been awarded Regents' scholarships to attend Southeast Missouri State University during the 1994-95 academic year. The three are Amanda Allmon, Andrea Vrbosky and Christina Weaver. The Regents' Scholarship is awarded to high school seniors who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class and who have achieved an ACT score of 28 or SAT score of 1,160. ...

Jeffrey Jackson, a senior at Cape Girardeau Central High School, has been awarded a partial cello scholarship to attend Southeast Missouri State University. Jackson will be playing in the university orchestra. He plans to major in mass communications and minor in music...

The Algebra II team at Cape Girardeau Central High placed third in the state in the Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics contest. The team includes Adam Bryant, Jeff Riley, Tina McCloskey, Rebecca Lewis, Brianna Nicholson, Drew Hicks, Krystal Mills, Emily Trueblood, Diana Weaver and Gabe Hart. On an individual basis, Adam Bryant earned a second place award...

Individual and team winners in the annual Math Field Day competition held April 19 on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University have been announced by the University's Department of Mathematics. More than 700 students from 35 area schools competed in the event sponsored by the Department of Mathematics and the Southeast Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics...

JACKSON -- Thomas A. Burke Jr., 71, of Jackson, died Monday, May 9, 1994, at his home. Funeral service will be at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Friends may call after 4 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson, where parish prayers will be at 7:30 p.m., and a Knights of Columbus service at 8...

JACKSON -- Midwest Asphalt Angels, a recently formed car club, will meet each Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at the Sonic Restaurant in Jackson. Donnie Smith, president of the Asphalt Angels, said the club is an opportunity for car collectors to meet and show off their old cars...

ST. MARYS -- James E. Henderson, 85, of St. Marys, died Saturday, May 7, 1994, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born July 24, 1908, at Desloge, son of Gilbert and Cecilia Gibbar Henderson. He and Sylvia Skaggs were married May 11, 1933. Henderson was retired from International Shoe Co. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Perryville...

PERRYVILLE -- Geraldine G. Schlue, 88, of Perryville, died Saturday, May 7, 1994, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born March 15, 1906, at Delta, daughter of Harry and Carmen E. Cottner Galeener. She and Joseph H. Schlue were married Jan. 6, 1931. He died Nov. 21, 1958...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Dale H. White of Sikeston will be held at 2 p.m. today at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel here. The Rev. Tom Geers will officiate, with burial in Garden of Memories Cemetery. White, 67, died Sunday, May 8, 1994, at the University of Tennessee William F. Bowld Hospital in Memphis...

ANNA, Ill. -- Vern Granay, 88, of Anna, died Sunday, May 8, 1994, at Union County Hospital. He was born Feb. 19, 1906, in Union County, son of Oscar and Aurelia Toler Granay. He and Ruth Huskey were married Aug. 17, 1931. She died Jan. 24, 1981. Granay was a retired farmer, and member of Union Lodge 627 at Lick Creek...

SIKESTON -- Bill J. George, 61, of Sikeston, died Sunday, May 8, 1994, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born May 22, 1932, in Charleston, son of William Louis and Orlena Franklin George. He and Mildred Bennett Corbin were married Nov. 21, 1969...

ADVANCE -- Melvin Junior Riley, 70, of Advance, died Monday, May 9, 1994, at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born May 3, 1924, in Hartman, Ark., son of Oliver and Theora Richie Riley. He and Juanita Myers were married Dec. 21, 1946, in Piggott, Ark...

Funeral mass for Jeff S. Heisserer of Jonesboro, Ark., will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Vincent's Catholic Church. The Rev. Ron Hoye will officiate, with burial in St. Mary's Cemetery. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel from 4-8 p.m. today. Parish prayers will be at 7, and KC rosary at 7:30...

MARBLE HILL -- Nellie Dell Cook, 90, of Marble Hill, died Monday, May 9, 1994, at Bond Nursing Care Center. She was born March 3, 1904, at Marble Hill, daughter of Peter Emiziah and Emma Elizabeth Walker Baker. She and William Lee "Mike" Cook were married Sept. 26, 1923. He died Oct. 2, 1957...

Southeast Missouri State University turns loose the Class of 1994 this week, with graduates wrapping up their final examinations Friday. This marks a bittersweet milestone for the students, who will leave what was hopefully a pleasant and rewarding period in their lives for new experiences in seeking higher degrees or in the work force. ...

To the Editor: In regard to my proposal for protecting teenage girls from pregnancy through a temporary immunization procedure like Norplant, Steve Mosley says that "Bierk's idea differs not only in degree, but in kind, from all other proposals on the table for public discussion of how to best deal with this matter." Yes, it does, and that is precisely my point...

Dear Editor, Do you know anyone who has died from second-hand smoke? I was around it for at least 30 years. I don't even cough. Not that I think it's good, but let's crack down on real crime. God knows, we need to: like Bill Clinton allowing doctors to abort babies. And forcing us to give them our money to do it. If this isn't a violation of my rights, to take my money to pay for abortions, tell me what is...

Dear Editor, Mail for our Military, successor to the original nationwide military morale mail program, wishes to express appreciation to all the outstanding folks who helped make the most recent mail campaigns so successful. The wonderful support of so many caring people all across the country enabled this program to send packages of that morale-boosting mail to more than a thousand units, bases and support locations such as USOs, Armed Services YMCAs and hospitals...

JACKSON -- Physical education teacher Ellen Koeper has discovered that square dancing causes stomach aches for fourth-grade boys. "Square dancing is one of the activities I enjoy teaching most," Koeper said. "It is not one of the boys' favorite activities."...

Found in a rainbow of colors, a variety of sizes, sometimes disguised as a pen, shaped like a heart, sometimes scented, it's the mainstay of writing instruments -- the pencil. Sixth-graders at Alma Schrader Elementary School say the pencil is the writing tool of choice...