Stories from Tuesday, May 23, 1995

Teacher Tammy Gaines helped Stephen Sauceda and Carrie Mosebach access the Internet in her gifted class at Oran. Students in Cape Girardeau, Oran and Perryville can send a message to anyone around the world via the Internet and expect more than one response the next time they take a trip on the information superhighway...

LEOPOLD -- Mary Jansen is crazy about her new Mercury, country music singer Alan Jackson, Oldies and organ music. But Jansen thinks young voices make the best music of all. Jansen teaches choral music to children in kindergarten through high school. She also teaches language arts to elementary students...

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education hired seven people, accepted three resignations, granted a leave of absence and rescinded the retirement of Dr. Lanny Barnes, coordinator of the school district's A+ Schools Program, at a special board meeting Monday at noon...

After 12 public meetings on transportation needs, including Monday's town hall-type gathering cast to reach a consensus on street priorities, Hall Green still isn't convinced he and his neighbors will get what they want. "We don't want a street that will cost each property owner $14,000," Green said at Monday's meeting at the Port Cape Girardeau Restaurant at the West Park Mall. "All we want is to have Magnolia Street finished the way it was started."...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday will witness its second-highest Mississippi River crest on record. The National Weather Service Monday revised the crest upward, calling for the Mississippi to reach 47 feet on the Cape Girardeau gauge. The record is 48.49 feet Aug. 8, 1993...

COMMERCE -- A levee south of Commerce broke Monday morning, sending the rampaging Mississippi River across thousands of acres of cropland while holding rising floodwater in temporary abeyance in this flood-weary Scott County community. Danny Max, Cairo, Ill., area commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, said the breach of the Powers Island private levee at about 8:30 a.m. more equally distributed the water over a larger area...

Boyd Gaming Corp. announced Monday it will delay filing of a gambling application for a riverboat in Cape Girardeau to allow more time to develop plans. The decision will delay the start of riverboat gambling in Cape Girardeau by about a year, Maunty Collins, senior vice president and director of operations for Boyd's central region, said here Monday...

She is shorter than most of the shovels used to fill sandbags and she's older than her peers, but the true grit of Christine McGhee is evident in her determination to stem the tide of another devastating flood. As the mighty Mississippi rises toward an expected crest Wednesday of 47 feet at Cape Girardeau, McGhee, who stands just shy of 4 feet 11 inches, promises to meet the challenge...

Thirty years ago, Campbell Soup Co. marketing executives came up with SpaghettiOs and dinnertime for kids hasn't been the same since. My 3-year-old daughter, Becca, likes that canned pasta. So do countless other children. A TV commercial once billed SpaghettiOs as "the greatest invention since the napkin."...

I HAVE been reading in the paper the last few weeks about the city budget. If they would stop allowing personnel who work for the city to draw a vehicle allowance, they would probably save themselves a lot of money. What they should do is to let these people drive their own personal cars to work then take a city-owned vehicle from there. Also, if the city is going to operate the golf course and it continues to go into the red, they should get out of the golf course business...

JACKSON -- Kerry Hoffman, a longtime promoter of Jackson's youth programs, became the city's newest alderman Monday, only a week after Alderman Kevin Sawyer announced his resignation. Hoffman will fill Sawyer's seat until the April 1996 election and then decide if he wants to run again...

JACKSON -- The Jackson Chamber of Commerce elected Howard Alexander and Kirk Williams and re-elected Darrell Aufdenberg to its executive board Monday night. Alexander is retiring as business administrator of Jackson public schools. Williams is director of sales and marketing for MidAmerica Hotels Corp. Aufdenberg, who has served on the board for 1-1/2 years, is employed by Co-op Service Center...

Cletus H. "Pete" Winschel, 68, of St. Louis, died Saturday, May 20, 1995, in a St. Louis hospital. He was born Sept. 14, 1926, in Perryville, son of Andrew G. and Philomena T. Ponder Winschel. He and Ann Bauer were married in 1957 in St. Louis. Winschel was retired from the U.S. Postal Service. He was a member of Knights of Columbus 1263 in Perryville, and United Commercial Travelers of America 534 in Cape Girardeau. He was a veteran of the Korean War...

BELL CITY -- J.C. Matheney, 63, of Bell City, died Sunday, May 21, 1995, at his home. He was born June 25, 1931, at Old Piketon, son of Rosie Chase. He was reared by his grandparents, Stub and Mary Matheney. He and Julie Osborne were married Nov. 28, 1981, in Warren, Mich...

BLOOMFIELD -- Funeral service for Edgar Gibbs of Bloomfield will be held at 1 p.m. today at Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home, with the Rev. Hank Foster officiating. Burial will be in Bloomfield Cemetery. Gibbs, 89, died Sunday, May 21, 1995, at Bloomfield Nursing Center...

DEXTER -- Willene May Gunn, 76, of Dexter, died Saturday, May 20, 1995, at Dexter Nursing Center. She was born Feb. 23, 1919, at Essex, daughter of William and Effie May Swan Gunn. Gunn had also lived in the Puxico and Fisk communities. She was a member of First Pentecostal Church in Dexter...

ESSEX -- Emery J . Oliver Sr., 71, of Essex, died Monday, May 22, 1995, at Clearview Nursing Home in Sikeston. He was born Sept. 29, 1923, in Harrell, Ark., son of Thomas and Minnie Williams Oliver. He and Bertie James were married Nov. 6, 1943, at Malden...

SCOTT CITY -- William "Lonnie" Speakman III, 45, Scott City Route 2, died Sunday, May 21, 1995, at his home. He was born Sept. 16, 1949, in Truman, Ark., son of William Lonnie and Ruby Lucille McKinney Speakman II. He and Rose Annette Hutcherson were married Sept. 26, 1989, in Harrisburg, Ark...

PATTON -- Iona Maxine Stidham, 73, of Patton, died Monday, May 22, 1995, at Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington. She was born Feb. 25, 1922, at Scopus, daughter of Robert and Tora A. Seabaugh Tallent. She and Harold Stidham were married Nov. 16, 1968, in Paw Paw, Ill...

EGYPT MILLS -- Lillian E. Hahn, 82, of Egypt Mills, died Monday, May 22, 1995, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 16, 1912, in Cape Girardeau County, daughter of Fred C. and Hattie Thiele Gerlach. She and Palmer Hahn were married April 13, 1941, at Egypt Mills...

MARBLE HILL -- L.B. Long, 66, of Marble Hill, died Sunday, May 21, 1995, at her home. She was born April 22, 1929, at Scopus, daughter of Lee and Maudie Mae Cook Estes. She and the Rev. Jonas E. Long were married April 16, 1946. Long was a member of Hurricane Fork General Baptist Church...

COBDEN, Ill. -- The Rev. Howard F. Allen, 78, of Cobden, died Sunday, May 21, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 11, 1917, in Alto Pass, son of Willis and Clara Nichols Allen. He and Helen Louise Linton were married May 10, 1941. She died March 8, 1991. He and Mary Moon Bennett were married Oct. 5, 1991...

Funeral service for Ray G. Reynolds of St. Louis will be held at 1 p.m. today at John L. Ziegenhein Funeral Home in St. Louis. Burial will be in Sunset Hills Cemetery. Reynolds, 88, died Saturday, May 20, 1995, at his home. He was born Nov. 4, 1906, in Cape Girardeau, son of George and Glorine Knight Reynolds. He and Wilda Mae Crocker were married July 29, 1966...

To the editor: The childhood rebuke, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," was not believable in my youth. It is still not believable as an adult. Many battles are won or lost in the war of wards. Importantly, one must be accurate when labeling the ideas and thoughts of others...

Generosity is a tradition in the Cape Girardeau area. That tradition was upheld when postal patrons recently left nearly six tons of food to be picked up by letter carriers. The food will be distributed to agencies that help the needy. The National Association of Letter Carriers' food drive was considered a huge success. ...

An unusual fight is under way between Missouri and Alabama that involves Army bases, chemical warfare and a massive public relations campaign whose combatants claim either (A) chemicals used for warfare can be produced safely or (B) making chemicals used for warfare is a deadly risk to both humans and the environment...

To the editor: For weeks members of the House and Senate have been debating the best ways to balance the budget and reduce the deficit. Now it seems the budget discussions are focusing on just how much to cut from the Medicare and Medicaid budgets. In the 8th Congressional District, proposed Medicare cuts could leave a $948 shortfall for each senior hospitalized. ...

Emily Fisher, a student at the University of Missouri-Columbia, has been awarded a $1,000 Golden Key Scholarship Committee Fund Scholarship for the 1995-96 academic year. Kappa Kappa Gamma, a national fraternity for women, awarded six scholarships to women who are members of Greek organizations. Selection is based on academic excellence and leadership...

Winners of the annual essay contest sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of District 6090 were announced at the recent district conference at Lake of the Ozarks. The theme, "Be A Friend," generated more than 100 entries in the Cape Girardeau-Jackson area. Cash prizes were awarded both locally and in the district competition...

Nine area seventh-grade students have been recognized by TIP, the Duke University Talent Identification Program. The students are invited to attend recognition ceremonies by having earned scores on the SAT or ACT higher than 70 percent of collegebound high-school seniors...

Shirley Givens, a teacher in Delta schools, attended the Missouri State Teachers Association's Southeast District annual Spring Leadership Conference May 5 at Southeast Missouri State University. Approximately 75 educators from 37 school districts attended. The local leaders represented their Community Teachers Associations, in which they are officers...

Janice M. Eftink of Chaffee, Thomas E. Richards of Cape Girardeau, John R. Hearnes of Cape Girardeau and Shelby K. Kingree of Millersville have been awarded Regents scholarships to attend Southeast Missouri State University next fall. Eftink was also awarded the Missouri Leadership Award to attend Southeast. She is the daughter of Martin and Jeanette Eftink and is a 1995 graduate of Notre Dame High School...

Kristen Dreyer, daughter of Betty Deardorff of Cape Girardeau and Edgar Dreyer of Frohna, graduated summa cum laude with a master of science degree in clinical psychology May 13 from Emporia State University, Emporia, Kan. She graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology...

Jessica L. Anderson was awarded the Thomas G. Otto, M.D., Scholarship for 1995 at Central High School. She is a senior at Central where she is involved in varsity swim team, vice president of Chamber Choir and National Honor Society, president of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Student Advisory Committee, and CHS Prayer Group. She has been listed on Who's Who Among American High School Students. She is active in her local church youth groups and in numerous community events...

The 1995 Kelly FFA-FHA Chapter banquet was held recently. Star Greenhand and Star Chapter Farmer awards were presented by Mrs. Judy Beggs of First National Bank. Star Greenhand went to Jarett Seiler, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Seiler, and Star Chapter Farmer went to Brian Heuring, son of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Heuring...

Two L.J. Schultz students were winners in an essay contest sponsored by Scholastic Scope magazine. James Davidson's entry was published in the magazine along with the list of 10 winners, one of whom was Sarah Chaudhari of Schultz. Students were asked to write a description of what they would do if they were a teacher...

Linda Burns, an instructor at Southeast Missouri State University, and Ellen Lukens of R.O. Hawkins Junior High School in Jackson, are regional judges for the 1995 National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Awards in Writing. Through nationally recognized competition, approximately 800 high-school seniors are cited for excellence in writing and are recommended to colleges and universities for admission and for financial aid...