Stories from Saturday, October 21, 1995

The Cape Girardeau City Council has tabled a request to expedite the Henderson-New Madrid street intersection project. The move is well advised. It is not a matter of need, it is a matter of trust. Considerable discussion -- both in the community and among the council members -- went into preparation of a list of 20 transportation tax projects that voters approved last August. ...

Washington seemed almost abandoned Monday. So many businesses and workers were afraid of massive traffic jams that they took the day off. All of us at Family Research Council had the easiest commute of the year. As I write this, crowd estimates haven't been made yet. ...

Jari Southard looked over a patient's chart in the reception area of the Cross Trails Medical Center. When Nancy Mosley, a pediatric nurse practitioner, worked for the Cape Girardeau County Health Department, she saw a lot of children every day. Now that she's working for Cross Trails Medical Center, a local private not-for-profit primary care clinic, she still sees a lot of children...

The American Heart Association in conjunction with the St. Francis Medical Center will present Celebrity Celebration from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Friday at Drury Lodge. The goal of the Celebrity Celebration is to raise funds to support the American Heart Association's fight against the leading cause of death and disability in the nation while enjoying a delicious heart-healthy meal and a fun-filled evening of dancing and entertainment...

The 11th annual Benefit Craft Fair sponsored by the Community Counseling Center Foundation is being held today and Sunday at A.C. Brase Arena Building. Hours today are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Door prizes are awarded to attendees every half hour. Concessions and lunch will be available at the concession area provided by Someone's Treasure Clubhouse...

The Depressive and Manic Depressive Association of Southeast Missouri will have its annual meeting from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday at St. Francis Medical Center's education department, Conference Rooms A and B. Mary Ellen Harris will speak on "How to Get Along in Life After Surviving a Mental Illness."...

Imagine your boss offering you a quarter-an-hour raise this year. Times are tight, he says, but you deserve a raise. Unfortunately, a quarter per hour is all the company can afford. Then imagine your supervisor telling you that, yes, times are tight, but we've come up with a way to cut some fat from the company budget so that you can get the $1-an-hour raise that you deserve...

FROHNA -- Charles G. Grebing, 103, of Frohna died Friday, Oct. 20, 1995, at Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville. Arrangements are incomplete at Young & Sons Funeral Home, the East Perry Chapel, in Altenburg.

JACKSON -- Allied Waste Management has been given the OK by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to close the former Jackson landfill and open a transfer station in town. DNR approved the closure of the landfill last week, clearing the way for Allied and Jackson to finalize a real estate deal that will enable the proposed transfer station to be built. DNR also approved the permit request for the transfer station...

During his month in the Caribbean, Dr. C. John Ritter will enjoy the white sandy beaches and turquoise blue waters but the trip won't exactly be a vacation. Ritter, a Cape Girardeau physician, and his wife Marcia, a nurse, will spend most of November at a clinic providing medical care to residents of Barbuda, a tiny island nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The island was battered by Hurricane Luis, and residents are still rebuilding...

We all do it. We go to the grocery store, wait in an ungodly line, and glance at the tabloid covers. If we're with friends or loved ones, we might joke about them. "Hey, look! They've discovered Elvis Presley's two-headed alien love child! Ha, ha." "Yeah, and here's one about Oprah's secret affair with Pee-Wee Herman!"...

Managed care will be the focus of a seminar on Tuesday sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Business Group on Health. "Moving Ahead with Managed Care" will feature a number of topics including the role of business and industry in health care reform and hospitals of the 21st century...

ESSEX -- Two people were killed in an auto accident four miles east of Essex. Hazel M. Wilhite, 52, of Kansas City and a passenger in her car, June Welborn, 75, of Bloomfield, were killed in the accident at 2:25 p.m. Friday, the Missouri Highway Patrol reports...

SIKESTON -- District 14 of the American Legion will sponsor a banquet and fund-raiser Sunday at the Sikeston American Legion Post to honor Joe Frank of St. Louis. Next September, Frank will be elected national commander of the American Legion, the largest veterans organization in the United States...

DONIPHAN -- Three Rivers Community College trustees have authorized a renovation project for the Crisp Technology Center. Institutional Development Director Joe Rozman explained the renovations of the $1 million project at a trustee meeting here this week. Of the $1 million, $500,000 would be used for construction and renovation and $500,000 for equipment...

ANNA, Ill. -- Violet Butts, 76, of Anna, died Friday, Oct. 20, 1995, at her home. Funeral service will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Crain Funeral Home in Anna. Burial will be in Anna Cemetery. Friends may call at Crain Funeral Home in Anna from 6-8 p.m. today, and until service time Sunday...

ANNA, Ill. -- William D. Crain, 75, of Anna, died Friday, Oct. 20, 1995, at Hillside Terrace Nursing Home in Cobden. He was born Oct. 31, 1919, in Independence, Kan., son of William Dennis and Minnie Gibson Crain. He married the former Hazel Anderson...

SIKESTON -- Charity Beatrice McKinley, 84, of Sikeston, died Friday, Oct. 20, 1995, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Nov. 26, 1910, in Anniston, daughter of John Cleve and LaVernie McClain. She and Edward Brown Walker were married in 1928 in East Prairie. He died Nov. 7, 1950. She later married Woodrow W. McKinley in October 1955 at Bertrand...

ESSEX -- Lillian Lemons, 81, of Poplar Bluff, died Friday, Oct. 20, 1995, in Poplar Bluff. She was born March 22, 1914, in Essex, daughter of John M. and Cordelia Barker Davis. She and Pate Lemons were married July 27, 1932. He died Aug. 9, 1989. Lemons lived in the Essex and Gray Ridge areas most of her life, moving to Poplar Bluff 10 months ago. She was a member of Olive Branch General Baptist Church in Essex...

PERRYVILLE -- Velma Claretta Austin, 75, of Perryville, died Thursday, Oct. 19, 1995, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born Aug. 22, 1920, in Ellington, daughter of Floyd Q. and Ester Knuckles Safriet. She and James Robert Austin were married March 25, 1938. He died July 23, 1982...

Billy G. Ashabranner, 60, of Andrews, Texas, died Friday, Oct. 20, 1995, at his home. He was born July 8, 1935, in Manila, Ark., son of Leonard Floyd and Nellie Francis Fletcher Ashabranner. He married the former Shelby Kay Gamble. Ashabranner was a mechanic, and member of the Nazarene Church of Andrews. He was formerly of Chaffee, moving to Texas about 1978...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Andrew Collins, 49, of Tamms, Ill., died Friday, Oct. 20, 1995, at Union County Hospital in Anna. He was born Aug. 22, 1946, at Rehova, Ala., son of Andrew and Katie Short Collins. He was a Navy veteran and had lived at the H&S Care Center in Tamms for the past eight years...

Daughter to Buddy and Pamela Heaton, Bloomfield Route 2, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 2:39 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, 1995. Name, Michaela Jo. Weight, 8 pounds. Third child, first daughter. Mrs. Heaton is the former Pamela Wood, daughter of Barbara Keasler of Van Buren and Tom Wood of Bloomfield. Heaton is a self-employed piano technician. He is the son of Idalene Heaton and James Heaton of Bloomfield...

It was not exactly the dream Hawaiian vacation many people hold dear, but Jackson resident Gene Penzel returned fully satisfied with his trip to paradise. Whether he came back fully rested is quite another matter. Penzel, 61, completed his first attempt at a full triathlon, and not only finished, but placed 6th in his 60-64 age class against competition from around the world in the Gatorade Ironman Triathlon World Championship...