Stories from Saturday, February 25, 1995

Funeral service for Curtis O. James, 410 Mt. Auburn, will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. Jerry Culbertson and Guy Roberson will officiate, with burial in Mounds Park Cemetery at Lilbourn. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. Sunday...

It is hard to believe that state and local governments have to worry about how they are going to spend more money than anticipated. But that is exactly what Robert E. Bartman, Missouri's education commissioner, suggested in a recent letter he sent to school districts...

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson predicted Friday that House Republicans would fulfill their promise to act on all parts of the Contract With America during the first 100 days of Congress. "We will stay on the timetable; we will complete the contract on time, in my opinion, at this juncture," said the Cape Girardeau Republican...

Three members of the Cheatham family were sentenced to prison for bankruptcy fraud Friday by U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr. The Cheatham's operated furniture stores in Sikeston, Cape Girardeau and Carbondale, Ill. Charles E. Cheatham, 65, was sentenced to three 36-month terms in prison on felony counts of mail fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and conspiracy. The three sentences will run concurrently...

To the chagrin of moderate Republicans, anti-abortion conservatives have drawn a line in the sand, pledging to withdraw support for any GOP presidential hopeful who is anything other than unabashedly pro-life. Ralph Reed, executive director of the Christian Coalition that is growing in numbers and stature since playing a decisive role in the Republicans' November victory, said religious conservatives won't support the Republican ticket in 1996 if either candidate supports abortion rights...

Daughter to Jarrett M. and Barbara Burger, Scott City Route 1, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:46 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, 1995. Name, Whitney Paige. Weight, 7 pounds 2 ounces. Second daughter. Mrs. Burger is the former Barbara Lee, daughter of Edwin and Delores Lee of Commerce. Burger is a self-employed farmer, and is the son of Kenny and Linda Burger of Scott City...

PERRYVILLE -- Jason Aaron Moll, 18, of Perryville, died Friday, Feb. 24, 1995, in an automobile accident near here. He was born Sept. 16, 1976, in Cape Girardeau, son of Kevin and Deborah Phillips Moll. Moll was a 1994 graduate of Perryville High School. He was employed at Buchheit's in Biehle. Moll was a member of St. Vincent's Catholic Church and Biehle Volunteer Fire Department...

Funeral mass for Bridget Ida Fath, 547 S. Benton, will be held at 11:30 a.m. today at St. Mary's Cathedral, with the Rev. Richard Rolwing officiating. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel from 10-11:15 a.m. today...

PULASKI, Ill. -- Carol Lee Stringer, 68, of Pulaski, died Thursday, Feb. 23, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She was born Nov. 29, 1926, in Ullin, daughter of Charles Arvel and Ina Mae Crippen Sowers. She married Carl Edward Stringer, who died April 24, 1992...

PATTON -- Funeral service for Joseph C. Burr of Patton will be held at 2 p.m. today at Liley Funeral Chapel in Patton. The Rev. Jerry Sander will officiate, with burial in Liberty Cemetery near Marquand. Burr, 71, died Thursday, Feb. 23, 1995, at Perry County Memorial Hospital...

GLEN ALLEN -- Letha M. White, 76, of Glen Allen, died Friday, Feb. 24, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 14, 1919, in Haleyville, Ala., daughter of John and Bertha Weeks Vickery. She and William H. White were married Sept. 12, 1940. He died May 18, 1987...

To the editor: We hear so many people saying, "Take back our country." This sounds so good. But with so many crooked politicians it is hard to do so. We hope we made a good start in the last election. The politicans in Missouri are so arrogant it is embarrassing. ...

WITTENBERG -- Funeral service for Della Clara F. Wichern of Wittenberg will be held at 2 p.m. today at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The Rev. Charles Weber will officiate, with burial in the church cemetery. Friends may call at Young and Sons Funeral Home in Perryville from 6:30-11:15 a.m. today...

CHARLESTON -- Woodie Brown, 87, of Charleston, died Thursday, Feb. 23, 1995, at East Prairie Nursing Center. He was born July 4, 1907, in Bollinger County, son of John Patterson and Nancy Cates Brown. He and Lucy Bell Estes were married March 25, 1934, at Jackson. She died April 4, 1982...

JACKSON -- Charles Russell Hall, 46, of Jackson, died Friday, Feb. 24, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call at McCombs Funeral Home from 4-8 p.m. Sunday. Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at First Baptist Church, with Dr. Rodney Travis officiating. Burial will be in Russell Heights Cemetery...

SCOTT CITY -- Funeral service for Lucille Ward of Scott City will be held at 2 p.m. today at Landess Funeral Chapel in Malden, with the Rev. Gene Lancaster officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery at Malden. Ward, 91, died Thursday, Feb. 23, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

Sunday's Southeast Missourian will contain an in-depth look at the Cape Girardeau public schools' use of an American Express corporate account. Questions have arisen over certain expenditures and Superintendent Neyland Clark's failure to provide detailed receipts...

Cape Girardeau schools are asking for bids a second time for two-way radios and pagers. Cape Girardeau's Board of Education voted to rebid a package of two-way radios and pagers after an unsuccessful bidder questioned the process. Several board members said they felt the bid process was fair and handled properly, but the board voted, 4-2, to rebid the equipment and avoid any appearance of impropriety...

Trans World Express and the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport could be affected by the life or death of an Essential Air Service subsidy to the tune of more than $500,000. Trans States Airlines of St. Louis, which owns TWE, gets $254,525 from the Department of Transportation each year to provide a commuter airline in Cape Girardeau and Marion-Herrin, Ill., with St. Louis as the community's essential air service hub...

Bridget Fath lived alone. The 83-year-old woman died that way, too, in a fire that gutted her old, white-frame home at 547 S. Benton early Friday. Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Carpenter said the woman died of smoke inhalation. Her body was found on the floor next to her bedroom window. "It looked like she tried to get up and get out of bed," he said...

Ex-Mr. Dreams, formerly The Hope of My Dreams, adores the game of basketball. If he's not writing about it for a newspaper, he's watching it at a little high school gym somewhere. To him, small-town basketball is the best. He taught me an appreciation for the sport -- an appreciation for basketball doesn't just evolve with 6 feet of height, you know -- so we take in the occasional game together. ...

I'D JUST like to comment on the column by Mr. Sullivan on Sunday's paper defending Speak Out against members of the school board. The school board does not like Speak Out because it is critical of the outlandish and wild decisions the school board makes and it rubs in their face the fact that no one in this community has an ounce of backing for the school board and they don't want to see that in print. ...

PERRYVILLE -- Jason Aaron Moll, a 1994 graduate of Perryville High School, died Friday morning from injuries sustained when his 1986 Chevrolet collided with a 1982 Ford Butternut bread truck on Route B in Perry County. Moll's car, which was traveling north on Route B, just 1.3 miles south of Route K, crossed over the line and struck the truck at 9:25 a.m. Friday. The truck was heading south on Route B...

SCOTT CITY -- The latest rulings in small claims court between Scott City's mayor and his former employer ended in a draw. But, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney Morley Swingle might have the last say in the fight. Swingle said he will review the tape recordings of the court hearing to see if criminal charges are warranted against the mayor...

Although this might be a great weekend for working outside, it will not be a good weekend for burning because of an extreme fire danger. Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan said Friday that forest service and conservation department officials are warning there is a high potential of open fires getting out of control today...

The recently refurbished organ at Hanover Lutheran Church, 2949 Perryville Road, will be dedicated during the 10 a.m. worship service Sunday. Selections will be played on the organ by Kendra Ruesler, minister of music. The refurbishing included a set of 21 chimes, an eight-foot principal, and new solid state coupler and relay system. The work was contracted to Wicks Organ Co., builder of the organ...

CHAFFEE -- The Chaffee City Council has decided to sell a quarter-acre lot to people it knew, even though their bid was $300 less than the other bidder. The council voted 5-0 to sell a vacant triangular lot on North Main Street next to the old shoe factory parking lot to Robert E. Foulk of Chaffee for $450...

Harry Schuler's high school counselor never encouraged him to go to college. Schuler grew up poor and black in southern Arkansas. The youngest of nine children, Schuler attended a predominately white high school and served as class president. "It is ironic that my high school counselor never talked to me about going to college," Schuler said...

Cape Girardeau will be featured in "Rush Limbaugh's America," a "Frontline" report that will air Tuesday on PBS stations. Locally, the program will air at 9 p.m. on Channel 8. A "Frontline" crew visited Cape Girardeau last November. The crew witnessed the Rush Limbaugh Hometown Tour sponsored by the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and interviewed local residents...