Stories from Friday, August 18, 1995

There is was in the Aug. 13 Southeast Missourian: "Why I quit NOW: a look at feminism" by Sarah Bryan Miller. She writes what I have heard some complain of before, that NOW "has become too distanced from the realities of most women's lives." I find that hard to believe, since most women will experience male violence against them at the hands of a boyfriend, husband or male family member. Violence against women remains one of the central issues of NOW, along with finding ways to combat it...

The annual Jackson Homecomers celebration is in full tilt and will continue through Saturday with its street fair, special entertainment, talent shows and queen contest. It is an event that represents the best of how Americans celebrate the good things in life...

There are so many thing wrong with President Clinton's newly declared war on teen-age smoking that it is difficult to know where to begin. But first let it be said that smoking in general has been linked by many respected medical groups to serious health problems, and when youths take up the smoking habit they are more likely to be among those whose health is adversely affected later in life...

Classes begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday for students in the Scott County Central School District. The bus schedule will remain unchanged from the previous year, school officials said. New students should enroll for classes at the principal's office. Kindergarten students should bring a birth certificate, immunization records and a Social Security card when they register...

First the question was whether there would be an AmeriCorps for 1995-96. Now that grant money is approved, the question is how many people will want to become members. Coordinators are trying to get 19 full-time and 17 part-time volunteers recruited by mid-September...

Southeast Missouri State University's activity bands director will direct the halftime show of the Kickoff Classic Aug. 28. Director Barry Bernhardt will conduct more than 600 musicians, including high-school bands and the Boston College marching band...

Cape Girardeau has two attractions for Jeffrey Broughton: its size and the fact it is a university town. Broughton, 41, manages the city of Oak Ridge, Tenn. He is one of five finalists for the job of Cape Girardeau city manager. The City Council interviewed Broughton at the end of the finalist's daylong visit...

Southeast Missouri State University has 142 employees who will make more than $50,000 each this fiscal year. That's 16 percent of the school's 916 employees. The more-than-$50,000 group includes more than 100 faculty members, school records show. Faculty members typically have nine-month contracts while non-teaching staff work year-round...

SIKESTON -- Members of a committee wanting to link Paducah, Ky., with Charleston sat down with lawmakers from Southeast Missouri for the first time this week, informing them of details on Closing the Gap. That is what the committee calls itself because the road and bridge project would link Interstate 24 in Kentucky with Interstates 55 and 57 in Missouri...

About $80 million is up for grabs from a fund the state treasurer administers, but there are no numbers to match or tickets to scratch. The money is from Missourians who have either died or forgotten about bank accounts, investments, safe deposit boxes, utility deposits and other money-oriented transactions. And the state treasurer's staff tries to find the rightful owner or the heirs...

Who else do you know who would drive over 50 miles to find vine-ripened tomatoes that are also home-grown? Yes, you're right. That's what you and your wife did last Sunday. This is the time of year when gardeners throughout the area should have so many tomatoes they would be glad for someone to take them. It appears, however, that two converging forces are preventing a glut in free tomatoes:...

The New Madrid County Sheriff's Department is slated to receive $18,645 for its DARE program, Gov. Mel Carnahan announced Wednesday. Thanks to a federal grant administered by the Missouri Department of Public Safety, the sheriff's department will be able to continue the DARE program for its fourth consecutive year...

Jo Nell Lingo said she would have to wean herself from the Cape Girardeau Senior Center following her retirement in late September. After 15 years as the center's director, Lingo said someone else should have a chance at running it. "I'm going to miss it," she said, "but I want to give the next person to try things without me being around. I don't want to be here to say 'we used to do it this or that way.' But I'll have to train myself to stay away."...

KENNETT -- Officials from the Humane Society of Missouri are expected to arrive here today to investigate the unexplained deaths at the city's animal shelter. The investigators were contacted after members of the Friends of Animals, Bootheel Humane Society, found at least 38 dogs dead Saturday at the shelter...

One of the tales storyteller Lynn Rubright tells is titled "Sampler from a Simpler Time" and was adapted from the book "Wide Meadows" by Cape Girardeau writer Jean Bell Mosley. "Her books are Americana," Rubright says. "I was charmed by her writing."...

Son to Jeff and Tonya Meuir of Chaffee, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 2:15 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, 1995. Name, Jeffery Lynn II. Weight, 9 pounds 4 ounces. Fourth son. Mrs. Meuir is the former Tonya Cox, daughter of Tommy and Joyce Cox of Commerce. Meuir is employed by Chaffee Housing Authority. He is the son of Christine Jones of Chaffee and the late Floyd Meuir...

SIKESTON -- Dixie Beauton Ray, 72, of Sikeston died at her residence Thursday, Aug. 17, 1995, following an extended illness. She was born Dec. 13, 1922, in Vanduser to Lorenzo D. and Flora S. Brendel Helms. She married Herman R. Ray on Sept. 11, 1948. He preceded her in death Jan. 10, 1994. She was a member of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sikeston...

William E. "Bill" Randolph, 70, of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, Aug. 17, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Aug. 9, 1925, in Golconda, Ill., son of Elmer R. and Ethel Florence Rigor Randolph. He and Hilda Childres were married April 3, 1949, in Corinth, Miss...

JACKSON -- Memorial service for Valerie Sylvia Garrison of Herrin, Ill., will be held at 6 p.m. today at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Jackson. Msgr. Edward Eftink will officiate. There is no visitation. Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

STURDIVANT -- Essie V. Smith, 88, of Sturdivant, died Thursday, Aug. 17, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 12, 1907, in Essex, daughter of J.A. and Mary E. Spicer Bowman. She and Hershal Smith were married in 1965 at Dexter. He died March 17, 1975...

Funeral mass for Dallas E. "Gene" Howe, 220 Edgewood, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Cathedral. The Rev. Lewis Hejna will officiate, with burial in St. Mary's Cemetery. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel from 4-8 p.m. today. Parish prayers will be at 7, and KC rosary at 7:30...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Funeral service for Robert Lewis Sharp of Joppa will be held at 11 a.m. today at Jones Funeral Home in Villa Ridge. The Rev. Barry Dummitt will officiate. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery at Pulaski. Sharp, 50, died Wednesday, Aug. 16, 1995, at Massac Memorial Hospital in Metropolis...