Stories from Friday, June 24, 1994

To the Editor: I found John Campbell's metaphor using the Superintendent of School and the Board of Education sharing a foxhole to be quite appropriate. I feel however, that the board and superintendent should be less concerned with jumping into foxholes and more concerned with protecting the security and future of our children...

Dear Editor: I am responding to the editorial letter by Steve Mosley (June 21). In his letter Mr. Mosley refers to O.J. Simpson in his present situation as one who "... now symbolizes that undefinable something that is wrong with America." It is "that undefinable something" I am addressing. I believe the "something" is very definable. The definition is in the history of our nation, a part of history which is no longer taught in our schools...

Dear Editorial Board: The ultimate effectiveness of Mr. John Campbell's usage of military examples in his Guest Commentary remains to be seen. General Anthony McAuliffe's famous retort described in one word the valiant, heroic stand he and his soldiers were prepared to make in the defense of Bastogne. ...

Dear Editorial Board, The editorial (Sunday, June 19) on the state of Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education and Superintendent was right on target. They have (ital) assumed the position of power that the community is not willing to yield to them...

Residential trash fees are going up an additional $1.59 per month in the city of Cape Girardeau, from $10.54 to $12.13. No one wants higher trash fees, and the issue has prompted an emotional roller coaster in this city for a number of years. But the Cape Girardeau City Council bit the bullet this week to approve the increase 5-1. An examination of the data reveals that the council had little choice...

When Billy Curmano decides to take on a cause, nothing -- not even a "dead" performance from six feet under -- seems out of the question. Curmano, accompanied by two canoes and four volunteers, swam from Trail of Tears to Riverfront Park in Cape Girardeau Thursday, a four-hour trek, to raise public awareness of pollution in the Mississippi...

A proposed coast-to-coast Transamerica Transportation Corridor -- promoted locally as the I-66 project -- is not economically feasible, according to a final executive summary. The study, funded by Congress, concluded that the concept "does not meet the economic feasibility tests from a national perspective."...

The Southeast Missouri State University administration, backed by the school's fund-raising foundation, has embarked on a campaign to help win passage of a $250-million, statewide bond issue for capital improvements. The board of directors of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation last Friday approved spending $20,000 in private funds on an informational campaign backing the bond issue...

In the wake of Cape Girardeau public school's failed tax increase, some voters have questioned whether or not the wording on the ballot was too complex. Larry Dew, business manager for Cape Girardeau public schools, said, "The wording we used was from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which came from their legal staff and was reviewed by the attorney general and by our attorney, Joe Russell."...

Charlotte Craig could appreciate the quandary the minimum property standards review committee found itself in when it considered the dilemma of dealing with high levels of lead in old homes. "Let's say you go into a home and you find that a family has lead in the pipes," said Craig, who is director of Cape Girardeau County Health Services. "The family is able to pay its bills but is struggling to make ends meet," she said. "Who is going to pay for someone to come in and replace those pipes?"...

It's hot and muggy, and the last thing you want to think about right is letting someone stick a large needle into your arm to get a pint of blood. But the American Red Cross says now is the time to give. "People don't want to get out in the heat, and I know giving blood is not a high priority," said David Palmer, Red Cross donor services consultant. "But our supplies are reaching dangerously low levels and some surgeries may have to be postponed."...

A potluck supper will be held at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Scriptural Lutheran Church, followed by a special mission presentation. Guest speaker will be WELS missionary to Colombia, Philip Strackbein. He will speak about his many years of work among the people in the area of Medellin...

Emil C. Heider, 75, of Jackson died Thursday, June 23, 1994 at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Ford & Sons Funeral Home.

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Funeral mass for Charles L. Hannan of Mounds will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Mound City. The Rev. Bill McGhee will officiate, with burial in St. Catherine's Cemetery in Grand Chain. Friends may call at Barkett Funeral Home in Mounds after 5 p.m. today. The parish wake will be at 7...

Burial for Katrina "Kay" Jones, 2801 Bloomfield, will be held today at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. Jones, 68, died Wednesday, June 22, 1994, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Survivors include her husband; a son, two stepsons, a stepdaughter, two grandchildren and six stepgrandchildren...

BERTRAND -- Albert H. "Dutch" Voelker, 88, of Bertrand, died Thursday, June 23, 1994, at Oak Ridge Nursing Home in Jefferson City. He was born Oct. 27, 1905, in Bertrand, son of Charles and Ella Hutson Voelker. He and Hazel Ruth McDowell were married June 9, 1935. She died Jan. 6, 1989...

Daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Victor Idom, 921 S. Ellis, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 1:44 p.m. Friday, June 17, 1994. Name, Ercie Nicole. Weight, 7 pounds 11 ounces. Third child, second daughter. Mrs. Idom is the former Dorothy Wiseman, daughter of Roberta Brown of Cape Girardeau. She is employed at Cape Budget Inn. Idom is the son of Mary Idom of Cape Girardeau...

BLOOMFIELD -- Funeral service for Carrie May Scism of Bloomfield will be held at 1 p.m. today at Chiles-Cooper Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Vyron Young will officiate, with burial in Harper Cemetery at Aid. Scism, 100, died Tuesday, June 21, 1994, in the emergency room at Dexter Memorial Hospital in Dexter...

PERRYVILLE -- Lily M. Miget, 100, of Perryville, died Wednesday, June 22, 1994, at Aspen Forest Nursing Home here. She was born May 29, 1894, in Perry County, daughter of August J. and Caroline M. Dunker Gagnepain. She and Thomas A. Miget were married July 16, 1928. He died in September 1942...

STURDIVANT -- Mildred Elizabeth Swindell, 87, of Jefferson City, formerly of Sturdivant, died Wednesday, June 22, 1994, at St. Mary's Health Center in Jefferson City. She was born Feb. 21, 1907, at Zalma, daughter of Ben and Alice Green Bollinger. She and Buel Swindell were married Jan. 18, 1925, at Sturdivant. He died Nov. 26, 1936...

SIKESTON -- Floy L. Smith, 85, a resident of the Sikeston Convalescent Center, died Wednesday, June 22, 1994 at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born June 9, 1909 in Formosa, Ark. to Hiram S. and Lucy Bell Ward Sandage. On July 12, 1924, she married the Rev. Henry J. Smith Sr. in Conway, Ark. He preceded her in death Dec. 12, 1992...