Stories from Friday, October 20, 1995

Efforts by some in Congress, led in large part by Rep. Bill Emerson of Cape Girardeau, to make English the official language of the United State are heating up. Hearings began in the House Wednesday on legislation to accomplish that goal. Opponents of the proposed legislation claim such a law is unnecessary. After all, only 265 foreign-language documents were produced by the U.S. government over a five-year period out of some 400,000 documents that were checked...

It is refreshing to see a group of parents get concerned enough about their teen-age children to take effective action to stem a growing problem: underage drinking. Several convenience stores with drive-up windows -- identified by the parents as major outlets for teen-agers who want to drink -- were targeted by law-enforcement officials after the parents sought assistance. ...

SCOTT CITY -- Kenny Smith certainly didn't anticipate receiving an autographed picture of swimsuit model Kathy Ireland. Smith, a senior at Scott City High School, wrote a letter to Ireland as part of an English assignment. And when two photographs arrived four weeks later, Smith lost his bet with classmates and teachers and had to stand on his head...

Disobeying immoral laws -- if you can pay the price -- is Americans' duty, Dr. Walter Williams told audiences Thursday at Southeast Missouri State University. Williams, an economist and syndicated columnist, told two audiences -- a classroom and public lecture -- that if he had his way, government would have an extremely limited role in society...

A cold front pushing across the state was expected to bring markedly cooler and wetter weather to the region this morning. The high temperature today is predicted to reach only the mid-50s and lows could dip into the 30s by Saturday morning. This contrasts with earlier this week when sunny skies and highs in the 80s were the norm...

Boyd Gaming Corp. has proposed a two-phase, $170 million gambling project at Hammond, Ind. Boyd, based in Las Vegas with casino operations already in Nevada, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri, outlined its plan for an Indiana operation released this week...

As a native Missourian who has lived all over the country, you have managed to make your share of jokes about Kansas. There was a time when the easiest column to write -- and one that usually got favorable reviews -- was about how Kansas ought to be fenced off and forgotten...

THE SOUTHEAST Missourian is to be congratulated on its solicitation of public reaction to the editorial opinion expressed by the newspaper. I think feedback from the readership is important. It's obvious that the Southeast Missourian shares that view and values public input. ...

Some things may get better with age, but not school buildings. Replacing aging elementary schools and constructing new buildings were top priorities at a Vision Planning meeting Thursday night. Loretta Dodd came to talk specifically about the need for new school buildings. Replacing aging buildings, particularly Washington Elementary School, was her major concern...

Before a community can be healthy, it has to decide what health is, and that's what the Healthy Community Committee set out to do Thursday. Jeff Krantz of the Community Caring Council urged people at Thursday's kickoff event to "open your eyes, your hearts and your minds to the potential this county has" for addressing the health of its residents...

When the Mississippi River overflowed its banks and contaminated Martha Vandivort's water wells, she began to worry about her water supply. Like more than half of Cape Girardeau County, Vandivort drinks well water. "I don't want to drink polluted water," she said...

Consumer review teams will begin training next month to monitor the quality of service to the developmentally disabled from the agencies that serve them. The monitoring program is a project of the Missouri Advocates for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities and was created to augment the Mental Health's Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities...

Creative thinking may be hard to define, but Dr. Corliss McCallister is betting there will be plenty of it at Southeast Missouri State University during the next week. That's because American Creativity Association directors are holding their fall conference here...

MARBLE HILL -- Opal Irene Jordan, 57, of Marble Hill, died Thursday, Oct. 19, 1995, at her home. She was born Sept. 6, 1938, in Braggs, Okla., daughter of Charley and Bea James Tooman. She and Henry Jordan were married Nov. 10, 1957. He died Nov. 2, 1987...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Mildred Chapman, 85, of Cobden, died Thursday, Oct. 19, 1995, at Union County Hospital in Anna. She was born Oct. 29, 1909, in Martinsville, daughter of T.P. and Celia Craig Donovan. She and Arthur G. Chapman were married Sept. 10, 1965. He died May 10, 1978...

Son to Billy and Janet Moses of Cairo, Ill., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, 1995. Name, William Samuel Jr. Weight, 7 pounds 13 ounces. Second child, first son. Mrs. Moses is the former Janet Swoboda, daughter of Jean Swoboda of Cairo and the late Roy Swoboda. She is program manager at Shawnee Development Council. Moses is owner/contractor of Residential Home Builders. He is the son of Samuel and Julia Moses of Mounds, Ill...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Harry L. Hartmann, 73, of Villa Ridge, died Thursday, Oct. 19, 1995, at his home. He was born May 26, 1922, in Cairo, son of William F. and Rita Lehning Hartmann. Hartmann was founder and president of Delta Drug Co. in Cairo. He served on the board of directors at First State Bank in Olmsted, and was a member of Mounds VFW. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and received the Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars...