Stories from Sunday, February 4, 1996

EAST PRAIRIE -- Rachel Edwards, 63, of Charleston, formerly of East Prairie, died Friday, Feb. 2, 1996, at the Charleston Manor Nursing Center. She was born Jan. 30, 1933, in New Madrid County, daughter of Roy and Bertie Johnson Edwards. She is survived by a brother, Glen Edwards of Altenburg, and two sisters, Blanche Puckett of Des Moines, Iowa, and Imogene Clark of Sikeston...

Cape Girardeau County The following land transfers were recorded by the Cape County Recorder of Deeds: Wanda Kelley to Cape Girardeau Civic Center Inc.; Harold and Alene Beasley to Charles and Teresa Fulford; H. Richard and Nancy Cattoor to John Reid Abercrombie III; Norman and Deborah Baker to Douglas Kitchen; Frank and Bettilee Emmendorfer II to The Bettilee Emmendorfer Trust; Frank and Bettilee Emmendorder II to The Frank Emmendorfer II Trust; Barry and Janet Nickelson to Vicki Walker and Edna Decker; Missouri Family Holdings Inc. ...

Thirty-one students at Notre Dame Catholic High School in Cape Girardeau were inducted into the National Honor Society last week. New members: Lori Bles, Katie Boos, Jeremy Bratton, Brent Garner, Bill Hamm, Carson Heady, Ben LeGrand, Ryan Rosenquist, Shawn Scharenborg, Ben Edwards, Thuy Ha...

St. Francis Medical Center is gearing up for an accreditation visit this week from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. "Hopefully, you have three years between visits, so that whole time you're working on policies and procedures to make sure they're up to date," said Marcia Southard-Ritter, vice president of patient care at the hospital. "At the last minute you always go back and make sure you've crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's."...

Unlike most secular radio stations, talking, listening and praying is a part of running a Christian radio station. Billing, commercial production and a ton of paperwork also gets handled by Williams. KUGT is located on Woodland in Jackson. KUGT is "the light" for many of its listeners...

The Meadow Heights H.O.P.E. team met on Jan. 22. Discussion was held concerning the "after prom" event. The main concern was how to raise funds if the grant money from the state was not available. It was decided to hold a bake sale during parent\teacher conferences that will be held on Feb. 22...

Before your calendar fills up with activities, be sure to add one very important date: giving blood at the Leopold Ladies Sodality blood drive on Feb. 11. Area blood supplies remain low. By donating now, you can make sure blood is constantly available for hospital patients...

Amanda Roark Massey, a senior at Woodland High School, and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Randy Roark of Grassy, is the Business and Office Education Cooperative (BEO) student of the month. Amanda is a participant of the cooperative trainee program. The objective of this program is to promote a smooth transition from high school to the present day office work force. She is presently employed by Woodland school. Amanda's supervisor is Mrs. Beverly Johnson, secretary, Woodland R-IV High School...

The historic East Perry County towns of Altenburg and Frohna are visited by tourists year-round. The great Saxon Lutheran immigration to the area in the late 1830s left its mark on these towns, and a 30-minute video is being produced to tell the story...

George Jr. and Mill Lily Tallent, about 1883. George Washington Tallent and his wife, Martha, around 1900, were Charles Williams' grandparents. George and Martha Tallent, with their family, at their home near Scopus about 1889. Butchering hogs was one of the chores at the Henry Tallent farm, also near Scopus. From left are Henry Tallent, Adaline McCray and daughter, Will Tallent, Marshall Hamilton Williams. Rev. B. Yount and back, Loy McCray...

Of the hundreds of childrens' Christmas lists that Sonja Davis had sifted through, one particular request caught her attention. Shuffled in amongst the appeals for Barbie Dream dolls and Tonka trucks, was a list whose only item was a pair of blue jeans. The humility of the request touched Davis. She selected the child's name and his modest list from the bunch and folded it into her purse...

Michael E. Overschmidt Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael E. Overschmidt, son of Michael and Susan Overschmidt of Glen Allen, recently received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Overschmidt was cited for superior performance of duty while serving aboard the guided missile cruiser USS Hue City, homeported in Mayport, Fla. ...

Former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm is a lifelong Democrat and remains the longest-serving (1975-87) ever chief executive of that state. He has always been an interesting, candid, even provocative guy. Writing in the Washington Times, he recently made an important contribution by offering these bracing facts that help illuminate the debate raging over Medicare funding:...

A long conversation this week with a high-ranking legislator connected with the budget process convinces me that Missouri may be falling into a trap that an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has just warned about. On the one hand, the legislator speaks enthusiastically about the state's "splendid" financial condition, enabling it to embark on a baker's-dozen list of programs and projects, and on the other hand, the Federal Reserve economist warns that several conditions point to a return of state budgets to the sluggish 1980s.. ...

It's crystal ball time. The Iowa caucuses are a week away and a week after that comes New Hampshire. Anyway you slice it, Iowa is Dole country. It was Dole country when he ran against George Bush in 1988 and it's Dole country today. But it isn't Dole country by the landslide proportions he anticipated a couple of months ago. ...

Scott County Odessa Y. Cramer to Richard R. and Juanita N. Irwin Sr.; Ruby Varnon, Evangeline W. and Charles Wade to Arthur and Cynthia Massey. Diedre A. Loflin to Charles D. Loflin Jr.; Glenn Beardslee and Glenda Rae Beardslee to Dale R. and Jeanine C. ...

When Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing riverboat gambling in November 1992, included in it was a limit on losses from wagering of $500 per person for each two-hour trip on a boat. It is worth recalling other claims that formed the basis of the positive vote by which the people passed the proposal. ...

PERRYVILLE -- Elders J. Duvall, 78, of Perryville died Friday, Feb. 2, 1996, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born Jan. 4, 1918, at Silver Lake, son of Romanus and Theresa Pridemore Duvall. He married Myrtle Marie Ochs at St. Mary on Dec. 22, 1945. She survives...

ANNA, Ill. -- Jerry L. Hurley, 53, of Jonesboro, Ill., died Friday, Feb. 3, 1996, at Union County Hospital in Anna. He was born July 27, 1942, in Anna, son of William and Marie Richards Hurley. He is survived by two daughters, Shelly Lasher of Orange Lake, Fla., and Tonya Thompson of Jonesboro, Ga.; two brothers, George Hurley of Anna, and Richard Hurley of Crystal City; three sisters, Mildred Lazenby of Jonesboro, Ill., Fern Wilkerson of Richwood and Ester Liska of St. ...

MCCLURE, ILL. -- Evelyn Baldwin, 65, of McClure died Friday, Feb. 2, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 20, 1931, in McClure, daughter of Charles and Mary E. Rhymer Keller. She married Doyle E. Baldwin in Cairo on Oct. 18, 1947. He survives...

DEXTER -- John Kevin Watkins, 29, a former resident of Dexter, died Friday, Feb. 2, 1996, at the Santa Teresa Medical Center in San Jose, Calif. Arrangements are incomplete at Watkins and Sons Funeral Service in Dexter.

SIKESTON -- Ruth M. Mason, 92, of Sikeston died Friday, Feb. 2, 1996, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born July 17, 1903, in Maunie, Ill., to William and Emma Lee Ratleigh Nitman. She married Claude Lee Mason, who died Oct. 1, 1970...

JACKSON -- Annis "Ann" Webb, 70, of Jackson died Saturday, Feb. 3, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born April 19, 1925, in Millersville to Thomas and Flossie Statler Propst. She married Sidney "Art" Webb on June 3, 1950, in Pocahontas, Ark...

CHAFFEE -- Edna Mary Francis, 94, of Chaffee died Saturday, Feb. 3, 1996, at the Chaffee Nursing Center. She was born Sept. 21, 1901, in Oran, to Spencer Johnson and Fannie Phillips Abbott. She married Ezra Francis, who preceded her in death. Francis was a member of the Trinity Methodist Church in Oran, where she was the oldest member of the church and a former Sunday school teacher and church board member. ...

Alonzo "Lonnie" Rhodes Jr., 53, of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, Feb. 2, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 13, 1942, in Cape Girardeau, the son of Alonzo L. and Bessie Wallace Rhodes Sr. He married Shelby Shortridge on Sept. 21, 1969, in St. Louis...

PERRYVILLE -- Wayne P. Lawrence of Perryville, 51, died at his home Saturday, Feb. 3, 1996. He was born Aug. 14, 1944, at Cape Girardeau, son of Cecil Shomaker and Ada Norris Price. His adopted parents were Eleanor Klobe Lawrence and Ernst Lawrence...

Marvin William Schrader, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Feb. 3, 1996, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Jan. 13, 1913, at Dutchtown, son of Albert and Magdalene Keller Schrader. He married Lillian E. Loos July 23,, 1938, at Gordonville. She died in 1988...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Barbara Ann Axley, 58, of Mounds died Saturday, Feb. 3, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born in Alexander County July 21, 1937, daughter of Will Samuel Axley and Francis Lera Hicks Axley. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Mounds...

The American artist and pop guru Andy Warhol said, as everyone knows, that every human being enjoys 15 minutes of fame during his or her lifetime. He was wrong. Most people don't get any time in the spotlight and listening to all those multi-billionaires complain about how traumatic fame is, we should all count ourselves lucky NOT to have to deal with any amount of it...

Thomas Kempis, a wise German monk, once said, "Love is a great thing, a great good in every wise; it alone maketh light every heavy thing and beareth evenly every uneven thing." ... and then little naked Cupid, with his double-barrelled bow, pulled out two arrows and shot Thomas Kempis in the kneecaps...

It's been a long time coming, but winter may finally relax its icy grip on the area today. After four days of sub-zero, bone-chilling cold, today's forecast calls for a high temperature in the teens. And by mid-week it will be sandal weather by comparison when temperatures are expected to reach into the 50s...

Southeast Missouri State University officials hope night and weekend classes will make a difference in a region where few attend college. The university serves a 24-county area of Southeast Missouri and is the only four-year school in the region. On average, about 62 percent of the region's adults 25 years of age and older have high-school degrees. Eighteen percent have taken some college courses and just over 9 percent have college degrees...

Carolyn Figliolo dropped out of Southeast Missouri State University 10 years ago. This semester, the 29-year-old mother and 1985 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School returned to college. A bookkeeper, she hopes to graduate in fall 1998 from Southeast with a bachelor's degree in business administration...

It isn't the first time in the history of Cape Girardeau that voters in Ward 3 have been asked to narrow the field of candidates. Usually the list is narrowed in a general election, but Tuesday's election is a primary race. It is the second time a primary election was needed to narrow the candidates in the ward, said Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller...

Geese Middle, South, Shell Osage Zones...

As a forester, people often ask me about pruning trees. Their main concern usually centers on whether or not they should prune a tree or trees in their yard. Pruning trees is a natural part of our outdoor culture just like cutting grass and gardening. If pruned properly, a tree can be a long-term asset for a homeowner, rewarding them with much satisfaction. If pruned incorrectly or inadvertently, the tree could become a liability and a continual headache...

Now, about my terrarium. I'm trying to think of new non-dictionary words to call it. Maybe "funnyrarium?" Or "Sproutararium?" The little ceramic rabbit that sits in the middle of it seems to raise a questioning ear a little higher each day. A sunshine and shadow thing, no doubt...

Dear Abby: I never thought I'd write to you, but I've tried everything I can think of, and you're my last resort. How can I become the most widely syndicated advice columnist in the world? Desperate Dear Desperate: Try spiking plain old common sense with wit, wisdom and compassion, and you, too, can see your column in more than 1,900 newspapers. Write me, dear, and let me know how you're doing...