Stories from Tuesday, July 26, 1994

The horrific sight of thousands upon thousands of dying men, women and children in Rwanda has gripped the world. With cholera, diarrhea and, by some reports, bubonic plague sweeping through refugee camps just inside neighboring Zaire, it is urgent the world respond to this tragedy with whatever humanitarian aid it can muster. ...

Neyland Clark can single out the worst day of his life in a heartbeat. It wasn't during any district upheavals, although the Cape Girardeau school superintendent has had his share in Indiana, Kentucky and Cape Girardeau. No, it was the day in 1978 his thesis was stolen from the front seat of his rattletrap car. As a result, he had to wait a whole year to get his specialist degree...

BENTON -- For years, they have worked side by side, conducting the business of county government. But this summer, County Clerk Bob Kielhofner and Presiding Commissioner Durward Dover are pitted against each other in the presiding commissioner's race...

Following an hour-long closed door meeting, members of the Cape Girardeau School District Board of Education said they welcome public comments on Superintendent Neyland Clark's performance. Those comments will be considered during Clark's upcoming evaluation...

Cape Girardeau Superintendent Neyland Clark believes a petition drive seeking his resignation is linked to National Education Association activity. He also thinks that part of his woes have been created by an internal struggle by the district's two teacher groups: the small but vocal NEA, and the larger Missouri State Teachers Association...

Refrigerators never look right to me in the show room. There they stand, all shiny and immaculate, without a single magnet-held list on their doors. In my mind, it only makes sense to use all that white space. My wife, Joni, is of the same mind. The refrigerator and freezer doors in our home serve as sort of a family bulletin board, covered with everything from alphabet magnets to thank-you cards...

Students returning to Nell Holcomb Elementary School north of Cape Girardeau in the fall might have trouble recognizing the place. That's because they'll be greeted by renovated classrooms that are air conditioned and newly lighted. The $767,000 renovation project is a little more than half complete, said Superintendent David Fuemmeler...

PERRYVILLE -- Mary J. DuVall, 97, of Perryville, died Sunday, July 24, 1994, at the Aspen Forest Nursing Center in Perryville. She was born Jan. 30, 1897, in Perry County, daughter of Frederick and Mary Stortz. She married Henry DuVall, May 8, 1923, at Silver Lake. He died in May 1953...

Funeral service for Leslie A. Tucker Jr. of Country Club Hills, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Stygar and Sons Funeral Home in St. Louis County. The Rev. Richard A. Moore will officiate, with burial in St. John's Cemetery in St. Louis County. Tucker, 69, died Friday, July 22, 1994, at Christian Hospital Northeast...

PERRYVILLE -- Graveside service for Floretta J. Fassel of Perryville was held Monday at Our Redeemer Cemetery in St. Louis, with the Rev. Dennis W. Schmidt officiating. Young and Sons Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. Fassel, 94, died Sunday, July 24, 1994, at Aspen Forrest Care Center...

COBDEN, Ill. -- John W. Johnson, 85, of Cobden, died Saturday, July 23, 1994, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Sept. 28, 1908, in Lafayette, Colo. He first married Edith Walker in 1928, who preceded him in death in 1981. He and Edith Rhodes were married in 1982...

Lucille M. Ochs, 86, of Cape Girardeau, died Sunday, July 24, 1994, at Chateau Health Center. She was born Oct. 12, 1907, at Burfordville, daughter of Charles Columbus and Anna Vesta Oldham Gladish. She and Henry A. Ochs were married Sept. 5, 1927, in Cape Girardeau...

ANNA, Ill. -- Esther Pitts, 81, of Anna, died Monday, July 25, 1994, at Union County Nursing Home. Lutz & Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements.

Son to Kenneth Pinkerton and Joannie Jenine Smith of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 6:23 p.m. Friday, July 15, 1994. Name, Justin Lamonte. Weight, 6 pounds 9 ounces. Fourth child, third son. Miss Smith is the daughter of Eva M. Smith of Cape Girardeau. Pinkerton is employed at Magnetic Collectibles and SEMO Molding. He is the son of Kenneth L. Pinkerton of Millersville, and Lora L. Pinkerton...

Lynn Cotner laughs at the thought of spending the summer lounging by a pool. Not his style, says the Jackson science teacher. During his summer vacation, Cotner operates a painting company, employing a handful of high school students. Like Cotner, many teachers spend their summers working jobs other than teaching. No matter what the job, teachers seem destined to do a little teaching too...

University of Missouri-Rolla area students named to its honor roll for the 1994 winter semester: Cape Girardeau Boyd Louis Denson, senior, civil engineering. Erica Dawn Dunning, senior, engineering management. James Brett Felton, senior, engineering management...

Northwest Missouri State University recently named students to its dean's list for the spring semester. Students named to the list from Cape Girardeau: Travis Mitchell Austin, majoring in mathematics; Matthew Edward Hoffman, majoring in biology; Julie Suzanne Logan, majoring in psychology; Amy Christina Ringwald, majoring in communication disorders; Carol Rene Robinson, majoring in biology; Keith Ames Russell II, majoring in English and Nelson Kirk Wong, majoring in biology...

Adam Cox of Chaffee recently received a valedictorian scholarship and a theater scholarship from Millikin University in Decatur, Ill. Cox is a 1994 graduate of Notre Dame High School. Millikin annually gives scholarships of one-half tuition to students ranked first in their class. Talent scholarships are based on quality of audition and other evidence of outstanding performance...

Andy Dial of Cape Girardeau, Christopher Buerck of Perryville, Kip R. Underwood of Sikeston, and Angela Judd and Robert Dodson of Scott City recently received engineering scholarships at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dial, who is majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering, received a $1,000 Andrew W. and Cecelia A. Roth Engineering Scholarship...

Rebecca A. Lewis of Cape Girardeau recently attended the Thousand Hills Summer Drum Major Camp at Northeast Missouri State University in Kirksville. The weeklong camp emphasized basic marching, conducting and leadership fundamentals. Lewis, daughter of Karen Lewis, will be a senior at Cape Central High School in the fall...

Carrie Mattingly of Cape Girardeau has been named to the dean's list at William Woods University in Fulton. She is the daughter of Doris Mattingly. Students must achieve a grade point average of at least 3.75 on a 4.0 scale to be named to the list. William Woods University is the only private women's university in the United States...