Stories from Monday, September 18, 1995

Charles Varble, right, pays for his dinner to Leslie "Scooter" Seabaugh, owner of Mable's Cafe in Chaffee. Varble works seven day each week at the cafe that was started by his mother Mable. Since he bought the place almost six years ago, Scooter Seabaugh has been getting up before 5 a.m. every day to prepare breakfasts and plate lunches at Mabel's Cafe in Chaffee...

Plants are closing, employee layoffs continue and sales declines are still occurring, but the economy over a seven-state area, including Southeast Missouri, continues to grow. Much of the bad news has been offset by good news -- plant expansions, new hiring and sales gains, says Joe Elstner, who prepares the "Beige Book" for the Eighth Federal Reserve District...

Employers are searching for workers. "Jobs Available," screams one headline in a Southeast Missourian classified ad. "Eight people needed: Earn while you learn" is another. All types of positions are available in a number of Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois businesses, ranging from nurses, training coordinators, counselors, bookkeepers, chefs and salesmen to construction workers, truck drivers, restaurant servicers and others...

The Southeast Missourian asked, "What do you think of the trend of docked riverboat casinos versus cruising riverboat casinos?" Dottie Goodrich, St. Louis "If you're going to lose it doesn't matter if you're floating down the river or if your docked."...

I JUST wanted to say thanks for all the coupons in Sunday's paper. I hope it will continue. REPLY: The Sunday newspaper generally is loaded with extra values for readers. Thanks for noticing and appreciating what retailers have to offer in the newspaper...

Results from SEMO District Fair competitions: Fiddler's contest Adult First place, Bob King; second, Bev Reese; third, John Simmons. Youth First place, Liesl Schuenburger; second place, Maggie Martin. Smile contest First place, Jeni Schrader; second, Justin Whitkanuck; third, Susie Petzold...

Monday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. City Hall, 401 Independence Consent Ordinances Establish no parking on Sunset. Second and third readings. Amend parking code. Second and third readings. Rezone part of the 200 block of North Pind Wood Lane. Second and third readings...

Monday, Sept. 18 7:30 p.m. Partial payment of $293,307.30 to Caldwell Tanks Inc. as per 300,000 gallon elevated tank contract. Purchase flowmeter from Promac Inc. for $4,995. Make interest payment of $20,825 on Jackson Combined Waterworks and Sewerage Series 1988 Bonds, due Sept. 29...

BLOOMFIELD -- Mayo McClain, 75, of Bloomfield died Friday, Sept. 15, 1995, at his home. He was born May 27, 1920, at Bloomfield, the son of Orville Jackson and Gertie Mae Herrell McClain. He married Anetha Albertha McClain on Aug. 26, 1950, at Piggott, Ark. She preceded him in death Jan. 19, 1995...

Unlike many people who restore antique vehicles, Jay and Jackie Sproat of Cape Girardeau don't excessively pamper theirs. After all, the Willy, commonly referred to by a generation of U.S. servicemen as a jeep, was intended to be durable and reliable transportation under the most adverse conditions...

Grace L. King, 19, of Thebes, Ill., died Sunday, Sept. 17, 1995, at her home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Ford & Sons Funeral Home.

Norma Janssen, 63, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Sept. 17, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford & Sons Mt. Auburn Road Chapel.

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Rex Forcht, 48, of Dongola died Saturday, Sept. 16, 1995, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale. He was born Nov. 8, 1946, in Hammond, Ind., the son of Virgil and Velma Cline Forcht. He was married to Diane Schultz on Aug. 9, 1969. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War and was a member of Carroll P. Foster VFW Post 3455 in Anna...

ANNA, Ill. -- Douglas C. Hewitt, 60, of Anna died Saturday, Sept. 16, 1995, at his home. He was born Dec. 8, 1934, in East St. Louis, Ill., the son of Ira and Beulah Anderson Hewitt. He married Doris Louise Barker on Sept. 9, 1979. He was a veteran of the Korean War and a member of the American Legion...

What has long hours, tough discipline, drill instructors, strict rules, uniforms and lasts 12 weeks? For thousands of men and women who have gone through rigorous military training, the answer might be "boot camp." In fact, the boot-camp philosophy has been extended by Missouri's correctional system to young offenders who meet strict criteria as possible candidates to become productive and law-abiding adults...

Like killer bees and bollworms, the deadly American Angst spread across the nation just as citizens were getting comfortable with the 21st century. The Angst, first identified in the mid-1990s by social scientists at several universities, was originally believed to be harmless to the health of the nation, but the tenacious virulence of the virus eventually convinced most researchers that not only was the disease immune to repellents, its dangerous side-effects could mark the beginning of the end of the USA as it was then known.. ...

Chuck Drury, left, president at Drury Inns Inc., is shown with Charles H. Hoessle, St. Louis Zoo director, on the zoo's new tram. Coming up: Tuesday -- Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's Business After Hours, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Show Me Center. Wednesday...

Most area farmers are busy harvesting corn, milo and rice or getting ready to combine soybeans and pick cotton and are not focusing on the 1995 farm bill debate that is currently taking place in the halls and rooms of the U.S. Senate and House. Farmers who are leaders in their respective commodity groups are spending time in the congressional halls when they can be enticed away from their combines and cotton pickers. ...

State performance standards and national teaching standards will be the focus of the annual fall conference of the Southeast Missouri English Teachers Association. The association will meet Sept. 23 at Southeast Missouri State University. The theme of this year's conference is "The Politics of English" and will feature a discussion of Missouri Performance Standards by local legislators followed by a question-answer session...

The Union army counted many politician soldiers among its ranks during the Civil War. None was any better than Southern Illinois' John A. Logan, says historian James Pickett Jones. Jones will sign copies of his reissued book, "`Black Jack': John A. Logan and Southern Illinois in the Civil War Era," beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday at Hastings in the Town Plaza Shopping Center...

CHAFFEE -- Using the city parks for school activities could carry a hefty price tag. Park Board President Bill Pfefferkorn has requested financial assistance from the school for upcoming renovations at the city baseball fields. Members of the Chaffee Board of Education have agreed to form a committee to study the issue further...

JACKSON -- With seven weeks left before voters decide on the Jackson library tax rate and merger, one issue is at the forefront. Location. According to officials with the Jackson Public Library and Riverside Regional Library, some voters think the proposed new building will be in the middle of Jackson City Park, forcing builders to tear up grass, trees and ball fields...

The Southeast Missourian was a big winner in the Missouri Advertising Managers' Association's advertising contest. Missourian entries captured a first, second and two honorable mentions in the contest. Pat Zellmer, advertising director of the Missourian, received the results of the contest late last week...

Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel recently opened in its new quarters at 829 N. West End Blvd. and will hold an open house next month. The site is only the fourth in the 85-year history of the Cape Girardeau business. The facility, a former church built in the mid-1950s, previously housed First Christian Church and includes two chapels...

Richard Knaup of Knaup Floral Company and Greenhouses received the Business Associate of the Year award from the American Business Women's Association. Ruth Hathaway, president of the Cape Girardeau chapter of the American Business Women's Association, presented the award Tuesday...