Stories from Friday, January 13, 1995

ORAN -- Shirley J. Schlitt, 58, a resident of Route 1, Oran, died Thursday, Jan. 12, 1995, at her home. Arrangements are incomplete with Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Oran.

In government, as in business, reorganization is the order of the day whenever the top brass changes. President Clinton and his crew are looking for ways to "re-invent" government, which is pretty hard to do. Once the wheel is invented, it can be modified or enhanced, but it can never be invented again. ...

Earlier this week I wrote about a Moscow press conference that I attended in 1989, where angry Russian citizens criticized their government for failing to tell the truth about the Afghanistan War. Remarkable to me at the time was the openness and bluntness of their criticism. One gentleman, frustrated by the duplicity of the Soviet government, called the war their Vietnam...

The site is selected, the director appointed, and now the check is in the mail for a Southeast Regional Professional Development Center. Southeast Missouri State University will receive one of nine $150,000 grants for the center, established to assist public schools in this region. It is situated on Scully Education Building's third floor and should begin offering teacher education programs by September...

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E was M-I-S-S-I-N-G. Mickey Mouse, part of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department holiday display at Cape County Park North was swiped from the display last week along with one of the seven dwarfs and Sparky the dog. The dwarf, Bashful, and Sparky, taken last week with Mickey, were soon discovered at the Oak Ridge High School, but Mickey's whereabouts weren't known until Thursday...

Earlier this week I wrote about a Moscow press conference that I attended in 1989, where angry Russian citizens criticized their government for failing to tell the truth about the Afghanistan War. Remarkable to me at the time was the openness and bluntness of their criticism. One gentleman, frustrated by the duplicity of the Soviet government, called the war their Vietnam...

Son to 2nd Lt. Douglas and Rebecca Welter of Goldsboro, N.C., 4th Medical Group Koritz Hospital at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, 11:20 a.m. Friday, Jan. 6, 1995. Name, Douglas Michael Jr. Weight, 7 pounds 11.9 ounces. First child. Mrs. Welter is the former Rebecca Semsrott, daughter of David and Cheryl Semsrott of Des Peres. Welter is chief of community relations with the Public Affairs Office at Seymour-Johnson, and is the son of Franklin and Linda Welter of Chaffee...

PUXICO -- Tommie Lee Kilburn, 52, of Puxico, was pronounced dead on arrival Thursday, Jan. 12, 1995, at Doctors' Hospital in Poplar Bluff. He was born Sept. 15, 1942, at Portageville, son of Eugene Wallace and Della Hester Rose Kilburn. Kilburn was a retired truck driver. He was a member of Wappapello VFW and Wappapello Eagles. He served in the U.S. Marines during the Vietnam War...

JACKSON -- Tolman Willoughby, 108, of Jackson, died Monday, Jan. 9, 1995, at Jackson Manor. He was born July 29, 1886, in Baltimore, Md., son of Thaddeus and Alice Tolman Willoughby. He and Edith Yewell were married Nov. 25, 1912, in Baltimore. She died Feb. 6, 1986...

Paul F. Sitze, 79, 1738 Themis, died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Feb. 1, 1915, at Kennett, son of Franklin and Edna Rose Sitze. He and Geneva Evelyn McLain were married Sept. 1, 1937, in Cape Girardeau. Sitze had lived in Cape Girardeau since 1924, and was a 1932 graduate of College High School. He worked at Kilgore's Drug Store until 1937, and in 1940 went to work with the Social Security Commission in Jefferson City...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Charles Willard "Jiggs" Neill, 79, of Cairo, died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He was born May 17, 1915, in Cairo, son of David Allen and Ruby Mae Rorer Neill. He was reared by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Hamilton...

Leo Seabaugh, 74, 627 Whitelaw, died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 1995, at his home. He was born Oct. 12, 1920, in Cape Girardeau, son of Juda and Mary Angle Seabaugh. He and Wilma Crites were married Dec. 8, 1945, in Cape Girardeau. Seabaugh had worked at Wides Oil Co., Erlbacher Foundry, owned a Texaco station on South Frederick, and worked at Horton Sales from 1958 until retiring in 1982. He was a member of Maple United Methodist Church...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Mary Karraker, 93, of Dongola, died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 1995, at Memorial Hospital in Springfield. She was born Nov. 10, 1901, in Dongola, daughter of John and Minerva Casper Cauble. She and Roscoe Karraker were married in 1922. He died June 16, 1957...

SIKESTON -- W.A. "Dubb" Beggs, 79, of Sikeston, died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 1995, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Aug. 29, 1915, in Morley, son of William A. and Mary M. Capps Beggs Sr. He and Virginia L. Dunn were married Sept. 23, 1937, at Charleston...

SCOTT CITY -- Funeral mass for James L. Owens of Scott City will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Joseph Catholic Church. The Rev. Pat Wissman will officiate, with burial in the church cemetery. Friends may call from 3-9 p.m. today at Amick-Burnett Funeral Home in Scott City. A joint parish prayers and KC service will be held at 7:30...

Rush Limbaugh III slept here. He also ate Wimpy's burgers, shined shoes, played high school football, dabbled at radio and prayed here. And his life is now the stuff of bus tours in his hometown of Cape Girardeau. More than 50 people, including Mayor Al Spradling III, crammed into a yellow school bus Thursday afternoon for a drive-by, 45-minute glimpse at the conservative celebrity's past...

Three Southeast Missouri legislators were named to committee chairmanships this week by House Speaker Bob Griffin. Rep. Gene Copeland of District 161 will continue as chairman of the committee on banks and financial institutions, a post he has held for years...

Judy Coburn and Bob Cardwell watched the demolition of the two-story Farmers and Merchants Bank building at 701 Good Hope Thursday with contrasting sentiments. "I hate to see the bank go down because I can remember when my dad used to take me when he did business there," Coburn said. "I guess I was about 10 or 12 years old then. I used to look forward to getting the candy they always gave out."...

It is quiet, this post-holiday week. The seasonal fluster is over. Trips to Florida and to your favorite hometown are history. Visits with both sons while in sunny climes are finished. Older son is back in Boston between his Artic summer sojourn and his planned yearlong return to Africa. Younger son has concluded his four-week winter-break visit and has returned to his Kansas university...

HEARTBREAK game. SEMO lost to MSU. As I see it doesn't matter, It's as the referees see it or not see it. A big factor in a close game. I'm proud of coach Shumate and the SEMO Indian team effort, and every fan shared your loss. You know the song: Pick yourself up, brush yourself off and start all over again. Come on, SEMO Indians, it's the reason for the basketball season, and your fans will be cheering you on. You can do it. Win on the road...

Area cities, chambers and industrial groups want the Federal Aviation Administration to keep the control tower open at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. They have said so in 21 letters that Regional Commerce and Growth Association Executive Director Gregory Williams will present today to Airport Manager Greg Chenoweth...

BENTON -- Buying a building for a new sheriff's office and courthouse renovations will be major elements in a 1995 Scott County budget. The Scott County Commission has offered $120,000 to buy the Scott County Health Department building. Commissioners said it would be an ideal site for a sheriff's office...

Two members of the Service Employees' International Union handed out fliers Thursday outside Cape Girardeau Nursing Center, 2852 Independence. The fliers cited reports from Beverly Enterprises, the company that owns Cape Girardeau Nursing Center, and the Missouri Department of Social Services, saying the nursing facility was "unnecessarily restraining patients."...