Stories from Friday, August 11, 1995

The Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau will hold its annual yard sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of the historic Reynolds House, 623 N. Main St. In addition to items such as household goods, refrigerators and stoves, the sale will offer a limited amount of antiques donated by members...

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County's emergency management team got top marks from the Missouri Army National Guard Thursday. Col. James Wakeman, head of the Guard, met with officials from the county and the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson to discuss how National Guard units operate in emergencies. Cape County Emergency Management Director Brian Miller set up the event...

COMMERCE -- The small Mississippi River town of Commerce could be getting smaller. The town board has applied for $1.7 million in federal and state money to buy 72 houses and vacant lots in the flood-prone area. The houses would be torn down and the lots cleared...

Half the usable human organs that become available in this region are wasted, a statistic Gary Anderson hopes to change. Anderson plans will open a Jackson office of Mid-America Transplant Services of St. Louis if he can justify the need to the company. He hopes the presence of MTS, a non-profit company, will increase the number of organ, tissue and eye donations made in the area...

OAK RIDGE -- Shirley Grebe of Oak Ridge says ignorance killed her son. Her son died while awaiting a heart transplant because people don't understand organ donation and how it saves lives, Grebe said. Joe Grebe, 32, was placed on the transplant list in April, five months after being married. He died Wednesday from cardiomyopathy, a weakening heart muscle...

SIKESTON -- A rodeo looks different at 2 a.m. The stands are littered with soda cups and popcorn bags from departed fans. Oh, a few night owls many be standing around nursing beers, but the cheering is over. All the action is in the middle of the arena, where slack -- cowboys not drawn to compete in front of the crowd -- may run until dawn...

MARBLE HILL -- In an effort to gather more support for the rejuvenated Cape Girardeau-Bollinger counties lake project, the Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce offered its endorsement Thursday. The lake proposal never went to a vote five years ago because Bollinger County commissioners refused to place it on the ballot...

Warning. This isn't a happy story. Two pigeons on a balcony overlooking a busy downtown street tried to have a family. They failed. In the process, they demonstrated that being a parent is tough, whether you are human or pigeon. It all started with an egg about the size of a pullet egg. ...

I WOULD like to address this to Margaret Kelley. I wish her luck on running against Mel Carnahan for governor. I sincerely hope she defeats him. She, unlike Mr. Carnahan, seems to have a great deal of honesty and integrity. She seems to more capable of keeping her word than he does. I would truly support and back her in anyway that I can...

BENTON -- Lt. Gov. Roger Wilson Thursday criticized mostly Republican efforts to trim Medicare, which, he said, would leave Missouri footing the bill on care for the elderly and indigent. During a visit at the Scott County Courthouse in Benton, Wilson told reporters 800,000 senior citizens in Missouri are in danger of losing Medicare benefits because of proposals in Washington...

The idea that the end-times prophesied in the Bible are upon us isn't nearly so scary if you know what the Bible has to say about the Second Coming, evangelist Robb Long says. "Jesus said, `The truth will make you free.'" Beginning at 7 tonight, Long will present the first of a series of lectures designed to help people understand the messages in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation...

SIKESTON -- Hiram T. Burch Jr., 69, of Sikeston, died Thursday, Aug. 10, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 4, 1926, at Matthews, son of Hiram T. and Willie Morgan Burch Sr. He and Vivian Braiser were married Oct. 12, 1943, at Gray Ridge...

CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY Jerry D. and Judith K. Davis to H. Lee Schneider Jr. and Brenda Schneider; Linus and Nancy Johnston to New McKendree Methodist Church Inc. Jesse Don and Larraine Wolters to Norma A. and Billy C. Wolters; Leslie W. and Laverne Ann Newell to Kevin E. and Joyce E. Hahn; John Michael Enterprises et al. to Shawn W. and Lisa C. Asmus...

Daughter to Mark and Suzanne Beall of Lakewood, Colo., Lutheran Medical Center in Wheatridge, Colo., 3:06 a.m. Tuesday, July 25, 1995. Name, Regan Nicole. Weight, 7 pounds 1 ounce. First child. Mrs. Beall is the former Suzanne Tomlin, daughter of Wanda Tomlin of Prairie Village, Kan., and Mike Tomlin of Jackson. ...

PERRYVILLE -- Iva L. Hacker, 79, of Perryville, died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 1995, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born June 9, 1916, in Perry County, daughter of Edward J. and Minnie Sutterer Bergmann. She and Leonard "Casey" Hacker were married April 15, 1956...

PERRYVILLE -- Stanley F. Barks, 68, of Perryville, died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 1995, at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Crystal City. He was born Dec. 2, 1926, in Perryville, son of Floyd and Della Hildebrand Barks. He and Velda Layton were married July 8, 1978...

OAK RIDGE -- Funeral service for Lonnie Joe Grebe of Oak Ridge will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at New Salem United Methodist Church in Daisy. The Rev. Fred Rister will officiate, with burial in the church cemetery. Friends may call at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson from 4-8 p.m. today, and then at the church Saturday from 9 a.m. to service time...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Evelyn Virginia Sargent of Sikeston will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. Bishop John C. Sargent will officiate. Burial will be at 2 p.m. in Rehoboth Cemetery at Roellen, Tenn. Sargent, 84, died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 1995, at Missouri Delta Medical Center...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Earl Brewer, Sikeston Route 2, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. The Revs. Lloyd Lathum and Dewayne Coleman will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Brewer, 84, died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 1995, in the Emergency Room at Missouri Delta Medical Center...

To the editor: The following is a copy of a letter sent to Peter Kinder (associate publisher of the Southeast Missourian and a state senator from Cape Girardeau) in response to a recent column: "Once again you have criticized me for doing my job. This time the criticism is directed at my aggressive enforcement of Missouri gaming laws. ...

Municipal bands used to be as commonplace as general stores, town pumps, barn dances and radio soap operas. But all of these are rooted in another era when, some like to remember, life was simpler and the sense of community was stronger. But don't count municipal bands out just yet. While there aren't so many left around the country these days, they are still a fixture in this area...

Supporters of the half-cent sales tax in Cape Girardeau were confident the measure would pass in Tuesday's vote, but even the most confident of the backers of the plan to put street projects on a fast track were surprised by the margin of support: better than two to one...

To the editor: There is much in the news about the increase of crime. Most of the items emphasize getting tough with criminals and building more prisons and hiring more police. Deterring crime is one approach, but with the rate of increase in crime we should also try to determine the reason for the increasing rate. Children don't get as much guidance from parents now as in previous generations. This should be considered seriously...

The staff of Hair Biz will hold a "Cuttin' Up for St. Jude Kids" cut-a-thon on Monday at 312 Independence. Proceeds from all haircuts done during this event will help St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. The hospital conducts research and treats children who are sick from cancer, pediatric AIDS, Sickle Cell Anemia and other catastrophic childhood diseases...

The Humane Society of Southeast Missouri will hold a candlelight vigil on Aug. 19. The vigil will be held in conjunction with "Homeless Animals Day" to remember the 12 to 17 million dogs and cats euthanized in the nation's pet shelters last year. Laura Walz at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri says the numbers of euthanized pets can be reduced drastically by spaying and neutering dogs and cats...