Stories from Friday, May 26, 1995

Funeral service for Sloan A. Watkins, 1624 New Madrid, will be held at 11 a.m. today at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel, with the Rev. S.S. Borum officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park. Watkins, 86, died Tuesday, May 23, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital...

ORAN -- Funeral mass for Sandra Leigh Todt of Oran will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Guardian Angel Catholic Church. The Rev. Frederick Lutz will officiate, assisted by the Rev. Normand Varone. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Oran after 4 p.m. today. Parish prayers will be at 7:30 and KC rosary at 8...

Carolyn Sue Hughes, 51, of Cape Girardeau, died Wednesday, May 24, 1995, at her home. She was born April 14, 1944, in Dexter, daughter of Cloyd Dean and Mildred Louise Markland Dickerson. She and Kenneth W. Hughes were married Dec. 28, 1961, in Scott City...

Son to Scott Andrew and Tammy Renae Stone of Sikeston, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 3:39 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, 1995. Name, Donovan Grey. Weight, 8 pounds 9 ounces. First child. Mrs. Stone is the former Tammy Parker, daughter of Brenda Lindsey and Gary Lindsey of Sikeston. The Stones are owners of T-N-T Tanning Studio. He is the son of Charlotte Stone and Arnold Stone of Sikeston...

Cape Girardeau County James Thomas Henry by power of attorney to Shirley Kaminskey; Olive I. Yount to the Everette O. and Olive I. Yount; the Everette O. and Olive I. Yount Trusts to Frank F. and Shirley A. Bertani. Michael L. Annis Inc. to Charles E. Kempf Jr. and Susan E. Kempf; Donna Sue Burk to Melissa Kay Barks and Jeffrey Wayne Lynn; David G. and Georgia M. Goulding to Robert Gene Fisher...

Youth and inexperience created a slight problem with a city flood project Wednesday, temporarily tipping the scales away from goodwill and to Tom Hinkebein's exclamation of "good grief." But thanks to a timely gesture of goodwill by KAGMO Motor Electric's part-owner Becky Heuer, things were righted...

The Cape Girardeau County Republican Women's Club will meet next Friday at 11:45 a.m. for a luncheon meeting at the Holiday Inn in Cape Girardeau. State Sen. Peter Kinder and state Reps. Mary Kasten and David Schwab will be speakers. Kinder and Kasten are Republicans from Cape Girardeau and Schwab is a Republican from Jackson...

After a relatively dry April -- the month that traditionally brings seasonal rains in these parts -- it started looking like a dry spring was in store. But nature has a way of fooling around, particularly as the seasons switch from cool to hot. With memories of the Great Flood of 1993 still so fresh, there weren't many thoughts at the beginning of May that the Mississippi River and its tributaries would go on another tear so soon. ...

To the editor: Thank you for the excellent sports coverage given to the Cape Girardeau Central High School girls swim team this week as they went to the state finals at Hickman High School in Columbia. The coverage was well planned and prepared. The color photo of the team as well as the reporting has been excellent. Hats off to a well-run paper...

To the editor: I wish to thank your staff and those of other newspapers for all the free publicity, negative or otherwise, you have given a supporter of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, the National Rifle Association. It has brought more awareness and sensitivity to the endangerment of our rights to the general public's eyes, minds and hearts, to the extent that the NRA membership is increasing even more...

To the editor: In both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, bills have been proposed that could open the door to competition for local telephone service. Why should you care if competition can be introduced in the local phone service market? Simply because consumers always get a better deal when they can choose from suppliers competing for your business...

KURREVILLE -- Mirandia J. Welker, 54, of Kurreville, died Thursday, May 25, 1995, at St. Louis University Hospital. Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home at Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON -- Mary A. Beggs, 82, of St. James, formerly of Sikeston, died Thursday, May 25, 1995, at Phelps County Regional Medical Center in Rolla. She was born Nov. 2, 1912, in Clinton, Ark., daughter of Nick and Minnie Lee Simmons Caldwell. She and Armour Beggs were married March 29, 1942. He died in December 1964...

PUXICO -- Jewel "Cotton" Kitchen, 72, of Puxico, died Thursday, May 25, 1995, at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born June 6, 1922, at Kennett, son of Emerson and Bertha Akers Kitchen. Kitchen was a retired plumber. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Funeral service for Thomas Filmore Burris Sr. of Cairo will be held at 10 a.m. today at Algee Memorial Chapel. The Rev. Wiley Reed will officiate, with burial in National Cemetery at Mound City. Friends may call at the funeral home from 9 a.m. to service time...

DIEHLSTADT -- Ruby Maynard, 91, formerly of Diehlstadt, died Thursday, May 25, 1995, at Miner Nursing Center. She was born Oct. 7, 1903, in Ballard County, Ky., daughter of Richard Ernest and Mattie Humphrey Oldham. She married Joe Peter Maynard, who died in 1965...

ESSEX -- Funeral service for Stanley Keith Evans of Essex will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Watkins and Sons Funeral Chapel in Dexter, with the Revs. Joe Williams and Doyle Corlew officiating. Burial will be in Dexter Cemetery at Dexter. Friends may call at the funeral home after 5 p.m. today...

JACKSON -- Funeral mass for Susan Marie LeGrand of Jackson will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at St. Vincent's Catholic Church. The Rev. Richard Lause will officiate, with burial in St. Mary's Cemetery. Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel is in charge of arrangements...

SIKESTON -- John Dallas Wallace, 91, died Thursday, May 25, 1995, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Ponder Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Funeral service for Shannon Eugene Landers of Dublin, Texas, will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Scriptural Lutheran Church. The Rev. Richard Tragasz will officiate, with burial in the church cemetery. Friends may call at the church after 11 a.m. Saturday...

John Merton Baltz, 82, 1303 Perry, died Thursday, May 25, 1995, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Feb. 10, 1913, at Rector, son of Thomas and Sarah Deatherage Baltz. He and Fern Light were married Nov. 11, 1944, in Salem, Ark. Baltz moved here in 1948 from St. ...

PARMA -- Ernest Carroll Campbell, 51, of Bernie, died Wednesday, May 24, 1995, at Ridgeview Nursing Center in Malden. He was born Feb. 3, 1944, near Parma, son of Taylor and Kathy Lamb Campbell. Campbell moved to Bernie from St. Louis four years ago. He was manager of a service station, and member of Parma General Baptist Church. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Funeral service for Ralph Bonnie Williams of East Prairie will be held at 2 p.m. today at Shelby Funeral Chapel in East Prairie. The Rev. Martin Lucas will officiate, with burial in Anniston Cemetery near Anniston. Williams, 75, died Wednesday, May 24, 1995, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston...

MILL CREEK, Ill. -- Earl W. Winn, 86, of Mill Creek, died Wednesday, May 24, 1995, at Union County Hospital in Anna. He was born June 12, 1908, in Union County, son of Charlie and Molly Fox Winn. He and Thelma Arnold were married Sept. 4, 1935, in Union County. She died Jan. 2, 1992...

The Mississippi River dropped to 45.5 feet Thursday after reaching a crest Wednesday of 46.7 feet, 14.7 feet above flood stage. The National Weather Service said if the weather pattern holds the next two weeks, the river would drop to 30 feet by Riverfest Weekend June 9 and 10...

Cape Girardeau public schools will get no new state money for next school year, and the school system predicts it won't get new state money through at least 1998. It could be worse. Without a provision in the school funding law called "hold harmless," the school district would be losing state money per pupil every year...

Players International, which operates Players Riverboat Casino at Metropolis, Ill., is one of three companies vying for licenses for two riverboat casino projects. The Missouri Gaming Commission voted Wednesday to process just two more riverboat gambling proposals over the next 12 to 18 months. The commission will investigate bids by three gaming companies to operate two casinos, one in Kansas City and one in West St. Louis County...

William Heatley was trying to fight off fatigue, but his leaden eyes showed he was losing the battle. "I'll be asleep in five minutes as soon as I lay down," Heatley said as he took a sip of soda in the lobby of the Cape Girardeau Central High Gymnasium Thursday afternoon. "I've been up for the last 26 hours."...

JACKSON -- Two Cape Girardeau County towns along Interstate 55 want interchanges, but only one will get an interchange during the next 20 years. Oak Ridge area residents say one was planned at Route E before the interstate ever was completed, but the plan was ignored. Now Route E runs over I-55 with no way on or off, and Oak Ridge residents wait to see if talk of inclusion in the state's highway and transportation commission's 20-year plan will hold true...

Graduates from Cape Girardeau Central High School and Notre Dame High School are worth more than a half-million dollars in scholarships. Seniors from the two schools have been offered scholarships of more than $630,000. Commencement is tonight for both Cape Girardeau high schools...

Whenever you want to get in touch with your roots, you go to the cemetery that overlooks Brushy Creek, the valley in the Ozarks where your mother's family is from. Meadows Cemetery is a well-kept hilltop with a fairly grand wrought-iron gate. The grass is neatly trimmed. The road up the hill is well-tended and passable year around. There is a shelter house with picnic tables for cemetery gatherings...

Workers at Tri-Con Industries Ltd. have ratified their first union contract after almost 10 months of negotiations. "We have won some great improvements since the vote to install a union at the Cape Girardeau plant," said Sam Luebke, first contract supervisor for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textiles Workers Union, of St. Louis. "We feel everything has been a win-win situation for both the union and the Tri-Con company. This is the best first contract I've been involved with."...

Michael Davis would have celebrated his 27th birthday Thursday, but the St. Louis native was killed a little over a year ago after a fraternity hazing ritual at Southeast Missouri State University. The circumstance around his Feb. 15, 1994, death and the fraternity blamed for the tragedy, Kappa Alpha Psi, will be featured tonight on "Dateline NBC."...

Missouri Secretary of State Bekki Cook told the Cape Girardeau West Rotarians Thursday she survived her first legislative session, but a big weight wasn't lifted from her shoulders when it was over. Jackson native Cook spoke to the Rotarians at their weekly luncheon at the Holiday Inn...

The annual Kinder family reunion will be held June 4 under Shelter No. 7 at Cape Girardeau County Park North. The event will begin at 11 a.m. A potluck meal will be served at 12:30 p.m., followed by a brief business meeting. Plans are being made for the gathering of all genealogy information into book form, with work meetings to be scheduled throughout the year...