Stories from Sunday, April 30, 1995

William McKinney, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, April 28, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Sept. 2, 1905, at Mounds, Ill., the son of Stephen and Hattie Ford McKinney. On April 16, 1929, he married Lena Ruth Butler at Mounds. He was a punch press operator and die setter at Superior Electric in Cape Girardeau for more than 25 years. He also worked at Tucker Truck Line. He was a Cape Girardeau resident for 54 years, and he was a Baptist...

"The nicest privy in Bollinger County" is what Linda Whitener says of the outhouse near the log cabin at Trace Creek Blues. It's decorated with wallpaper, curtains and stained glass. A quarter-acre pond was built to supply irrigation to the dozens of rows of blueberry bushes. Two swimming pool filters filled with sand remove algae and soil particles from the water before it is pumped uphill to the berry patches...

Ward 1 residents who attended Saturday's Vision 2000 transportation public meeting were wondering if they were merely paying lip service to change or if their input would actually result in better and safer roads. "That's why we're holding these meetings," said Al Stoverink, who presided over one of two discussion panels at the Red Star Baptist Church. "We want to hear what you think are the most important needs so they can be considered with the rest of the projects."...

LAKE OZARK -- The Southeast Missourian's Marty Mishow and Chuck Miller won first-place awards in annual honors announced by the Associated Press Managing Editors Saturday. The Kansas City Star won the APME sweepstakes award for reporting excellence for its coverage of Missouri House speaker Bob Griffin. The Star received first-place awards in community affairs-public interest, feature writing, sports feature and spot sports categories for large newspapers...

Violet and Norman Colyott stand under one of the heavy archways near the entrance hall of the White House. the couple bought the home in 1983 and have completed extensive restoration work in the ensuing years. A second-story sunroom with pine floors is among the many interesting features of the 21-room White House...

Dan Stover knows the interest children have for horses. Like many of the sixth-grade students he teaches at North Elementary, Stover grew up in the rural area around Fruitland and has maintained a lifelong interest in and involvement with horses. He and many other Fruitland residents, including a few students, meet frequently for weekend trail rides at state parks and other spots...

Saint Francis Medical Center is in the process of relocating the services which have been provided for several years at the Saint Francis Information Center at Jackson. The information center has been located at 2122 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson's Heartland Plaza since June 1990. ...

Last Tuesday in Jefferson City saw the unfolding of an unusual event: the de-railing, by a commission of state government, of a long-planned and deeply cherished bureaucratic agenda. Bureaucrat-watchers marvel at the uncanny ability of government minions to outlast all opponents, if nothing else simply by wearing them down -- and out. ...

The Oak Ridge Athletic Boosters Club will hold its annual chicken and beef dinner May 7 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Oak Ridge School Cafeteria. Fried chicken and kettle beef will be served family style, with all the trimmings. Cost is $5.50 for people 12 and older, $3 for children 6 to 11, and free for children 5 and younger...

BENTON -- The countdown to establish an Enhanced 911 System in Scott and New Madrid counties will begin July 1. Both county commissions are expected to sign the order this week authorizing the Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. to start collecting the 15 percent surcharge on basic phone bills to establish the system...

The Southeast Missouri Community Concerts campaign begins Monday and continues through Friday. Scheduled to appear next year are the eclectic band Cafe Noir, a dance and drama spectacular called "Navidad Flamenca" and the Aspen Wind Quintet. Cafe Noir is a Dallas-based all-acoustic quintet that plays classical, world beat, jazz, folk and Eastern European music on a variety of instruments, including accordion, guitar, violin, viola, clarinet and mandolin and bass. ...

Response to the weather pet in the Southeast Missourian has been overwhelming. With very little prodding, readers by the dozens have submitted photographs of their favorite pets to be featured on the front page of the newspaper. Last Friday's weather pet, for example, was Lena, a dog belonging to Kitty Jolls of Cape Girardeau, whose name was on Page 2A along with the weather forecasts...

As a high school percussionist captivated by Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana," John Egbert never imagined he one day would conduct the electrifying choral work. "It's not even a dream come true," Egbert said of the upcoming concert. "I never would have even dreamed that I would get to do this."...

A 27-year-old Anna, Ill., man was reported in critical condition at St. Francis Medical Center Saturday night after he was thrown from his vehicle earlier in the day. The Missouri Highway Patrol reported Jimmie Rambau was driving north on Route 177 five miles north of Cape Girardeau at 11:03 a.m. when his 1983 Chevrolet pickup truck went off the roadway and struck a tree...

PULASKI, Ill., -- Melvin E. Thurston, 71, died Saturday, April 29, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 19, 1923, at Pulaski, son of Harry F. Thurston and Jennie S. Edwards Thurston. He was married to Agnes (Schnaare) Thurston...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Paul Shurmon Williams, 56, of Corona, Calif., and formerly of East Prairie, died Friday, April 28, 1995, at the Regional Medical Center in Corona. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Shelby Funeral Home in East Prairie.

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. -- Infant Kimberly Jo Cook, age 3 months, died Thursday, April 27, 1995, at Children's Hospital in St. Louis. The infant, formerly of Anna, Ill., was born Jan. 9, 1995, at Carbondale, Ill., daughter of Kevin Earl and Janice Mary Tucker Cook...

BROWNWOOD -- Linus N. Kynion, 72, died Friday, April 28, 1995, at his home. He was born May 3, 1922, at Hickory Ridge, son of Henry Kynion and Pearl Lowe Kynion. He and Mary Ashcraft were married April 1, 1942, at Jackson. A retired pipe fitter for Local 653 in Centralia, Ill., Kynion was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army...

Henry Joseph Niederkorn, 74, died Friday, April 28, 1995, at the Missouri Veteran's Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 14, 1920, in Paragould, Ark., son of William Niederkorn and Emma Strack Niederkorn. He and Betty Larson were married Nov. 10, 1945. She preceded him in death. On May 29, 1993, he married Jeanette Riley in Cape Girardeau...

ANNA, Ill. -- Amy B. Penrod, 87, formerly of Dongola, died Friday, April 28, 1995, at Union County Hospital in Anna. She was born May 6, 1907, at Dongola, daughter of Charles Edward Johnson and Mary Jane Parr Johnson. She and Walter A. Penrod married Nov. 26, 1927. He preceded her in death...

So we're going to line up our 13- and 14-year-olds and, asking them to choose a general field of endeavor for the rest of their lives, place them on something called "career pathways." Welcome to the A-Plus Schools program -- $218,000 worth of A-Plus Schools, mostly courtesy of a Senate Bill 380 grant to the Cape Girardeau school district from the friendly folks in my growing fan club over at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education...

Rush Limbaugh, Gordon Liddy and other talk radio hosts of equal vituperation most certainly did not direct, order or participate in the horrid bombing in Oklahoma City. Professional promoters of paranoia as they are, they nonetheless are not the conductors of the orchestra. ...

I fill my brain by wondering as I wander on road trips. My traveling companions usually tire of my comments, "I wonder why ...... I wonder why......" When I have had enough hearing someone sing about "messed up in Mexico living on refried dreams," I just let my mind go and try to find answers by the side of the road...

Voice Mail, which is today's electronic term for receiving information over the telephone by punching various numbers on the dial, has proved to be so popular with private industry that it won't be long until we citizens will be forced to deal with governments with our index finger. In the past, many of us have reserved our middle finger for politicians, so it will be nice to make the digital transition...

Sandra Shupp was honored at the River Heritage Museum as the first recipient of the Mulkey-White Historic Preservation scholarship. Shupp is a junior historic preservation major who transferred to Southeast Missouri State from New York. Last year she served as president of the Historic Preservation Association...

Few people registering to vote under the state's motor voter law voted in the April election, a survey of election reports from area counties shows. The law, effective Jan. 1, is part of a federal effort to get increased voter turnout. Agencies, such as employment offices and license bureaus, can register people...

Bernard Hutchins had misgivings about running the 50-meter dash against Richie Heenan during the Area IX Missouri Special Olympics Saturday. "I knew I would win," Hutchins said, mindful that Heenan has been his best friend since the Hutchins family moved from Salem, Ark., to Fredericktown last year...

I WANT to say thanks to the lady who sent my flowers for the use of my phone. You shouldn't have. I was glad to be of help. I DON'T understand why the media keeps saying that O.J. Simpson is such a big deal. I'm 65 years old. I'd never heard of O.J. Simpson until this trial began. The only football I ever knew about or was ever interested in was the Dallas Cowboys. O.J. Simpson meant nothing to me, so I don't understand why they're making such a big deal of it...

Cape Girardeau Central High senior Shannon M. Newcomb has received a Regent's scholarship from Southeast Missouri State. The scholarship, which is for the 1995-96 academic year, is awarded to high school seniors who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class and who have achieved an Enhanced ACT score of 27 or SAT score of 1,130...

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce and the city staff are looking for specific problems builders, architects and developers confront when they deal with city hall, and generalities, half-truths and rumors aren't welcome at Thursday's task force meeting...

ORAN -- Oran homeowners are seeing some lower fire insurance premiums and can expect further decreases after June 1 because of improved fire protection. Minor equipment updates since last fall improved the town's rating by the Insurance Services Office from a Class 8 to a Class 7 on March 1, Oran Fire Chief Mike Ramsey said...

Kennett businessman Paul T. Combs, 29, has been named to the board of curators of the University of Missouri. Combs, a certified public accountant, is vice president of Baker Implement Co. retail farm equipment complex. He is an alumni of the university, having received a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1987...

The weekly fishing report from the Missouri Department of Conservation: RIVERS: Black (upper): Clear, 1' abovg slow. Castor (upper): Clear, normal; goggle eye and bluegill excellent, all other species fair. Current: Clear, normal, goggle-eye good on natural bait, all other fishing slow...

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- The first Austin Peay State University Governors Buddy Bass Tournament is just two weeks away. The two-man bass fishing tournament will be held Saturday, May 13 at Kentucky Lake with registration and boat launching from Paris Landing, Tenn., State Park. The tournament will benefit Austin Peay athletics...

JEFFERSON CITY -- A strong opening day could mean a record turkey spring harvest. On the other hand, if the weather turns sour, it could mean nothing at all. The guaranteed good news about the 1995 spring turkey season opener is that it was not marred by accidents...

POPLAR BLUFF -- The Missouri Department of Conservation is asking anglers at Lake Wappapello to keep small black bass and release big ones. Too many small bass at the lake in Wayne County are interfering with the small fish's growth. If competition for food could be reduced, said fisheries management biologist Mark Boone, more small bass would grow into large, healthy bass...

It's a given that into every life a little rain must fall. the quantity and timing of it, however, makes a lot of difference to fishermen. Look at the basics: Where fish live and where anglers fish is water. And where that water comes from is precipitation. A shortage of rain means less water; a deluge of it means more...

This Fairchild PT-23, right, was used in pilot training at area air fields in the 1940s. Cliff Rudesill, 19, was a flight instructor at Harris Field. When the United States entered the war, Oliver Parks chose Cape Girardeau as a fifth site for pilot training. Located at the current airport, Cape Institute of Aeronautics was called Harris Field, named for Lawrence Harris, a Parks instructor who was killed in a crash in East St. Louis...

They flew through the air with the greatest of ease -- those courageous cadets in their flying machines. They came to Southeast Missouri, trained to be pilots, and left for Europe to help make the world safe for democracy during World War II. Terry Irwin of Cape Girardeau has developed an intense interest in the history of these cadets and their training fields and is attempting to gather information on the institutions. ...

Some years ago a Mrs. Stubbs on West Broadway conceived the idea of planting a pink and white dogwood in the same hole. Both thrived. The pink and white blossoms intermingled, creating a curiosity for those who didn't know what had been done. When the appreciators found out, they began to copy the procedure and pink and white "calico" dogwood trees began to spring up all over town...

Cape Girardeau's Division of Planning Services recently released new, updated street maps of the city. The new maps are available for 50 cents from the Customer Services Office in Cape City Hall. This year's maps are printed in green and may be used as a basic guide to the city for garage sale shoppers and others attempting to locate places throughout the community...