Stories from Thursday, April 25, 1996

To the editor: I don't always agree with you, but I do agree on your daily prayer. I deed it! ORENE WILSON Cape Girardeau

To the editor: Five years ago the Cape Girardeau-Bollinger Counties Landowners Association asked me to examine the "Feasibility Report on Proposed Recreational Reservoir" prepared by a Texas engineering firm. The report, which has been used to claim $1.2 billion in one-time housing and land sales and $200 million in annual extra tax revenue, had several flaws...

To the editor: In 1952, Congress passed a federal statute recognizing a day of prayer to be observed annually, and in 1988 that law was amended making the first Thursday of May the annual National Day of Prayer (Public Law No. 100-307). This year's observance will be Thursday, May 2, and the theme chosen by the National Day of Prayer task force is "Honor God." I Samuel 2:30 says, "Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained."...

The latest effort to boost airplane boardings through a rejuvenated marketing campaign by Cape Girardeau Regional Airport is a step in the right direction if Trans World Express is ever to offer more flights and the airport is to land another commercial carrier...

The numbers speak for themselves. Gambling companies have sunk almost $626.5 million in Missouri and provided nearly 10,000 jobs since the first casino came to the state a little over a decade ago. When three new gambling operations are completed, the industry will have invested a total of $1.5 billion in Missouri...

TULSA, Okla. -- Rebecca Christine Kupka is living her own version of "42nd Street," the Tony-winning musical about a chorus girl who becomes an overnight star. Fresh out of Rhode Island's Providence College, Kupka almost skipped the New York City audition for tap dance-happy "42nd Street" because she'd done almost no dancing in college. But a friend insisted she'd be perfect as Peggy Sawyer, the chorus girl chosen to star when the leading lady breaks her leg...

When you think of volunteers, people who spend their days helping at area hospitals and schools often come to mind. But some community volunteers have a different task -- to teach people how to read. Sveta Mourzime is one person who benefits from the work of literacy volunteers at the Adult Basic Education Center...

Grain Processing Corp. of Muscatine, Iowa, may have to look for a new location. Industrial recruiter Mitch Robinson hopes it will be in Cape Girardeau. The grain processing company, which produces alcohol, poultry feed, starch for the paper industry and a number of other products made from corn, apparently selected Paducah, Ky., for an expansion project which would eventually provide more than 800 jobs to that community...

One-hundred-fifty miles of Southeast Missouri beauty and history beckon visitors to this weekend's sixth annual Mississippi River Valley Scenic Drive. The self-conducted tour, sponsored by Southeast Missouri State University's Center for Regional History, is an opportunity for tourists and locals alike to celebrate spring while learning about the area's history and enjoying community events -- all in the space of a single weekend...

Rush H. Limbaugh's stature in Cape Girardeau could land his likeness in a statue, although his son, a federal judge, doesn't embrace the idea. Limbaugh, one of the city's favorite sons, was the nation's oldest practicing lawyer when he died at his home here April 8 at the age of 104...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Community Health and Emergency Services Inc. has proposed to provide health care at three community health clinics being discontinued by the Southern Seven Health Department. CHESI, which operates a megaclinic in Cairo and satellite centers at Tamms and Olmsted, has developed a proposal that would not only continue the programs but expand services, said Fred Bernstein, executive director of the Cairo-based operation...

April 25, 1996 Dear Ken, Thanks for the letter. We received a card from Melina at about the same time. She was in New York for a visit but has left Columbia and Colorado for Eugene, Ore., her new temporary home while she figures out her next move. Freeloading with her amour, free-lancing for the Register-Guard. Says Oregon's a healing place. No phone number or address was included, so I guess she's incommunicado for now...

"When God made Eden, he thought in America." -- a popular Central American saying coined by Nino Bravo. With its Mayan ruins, Spanish architecture, beautiful flowers and exotic climate, Central America could easily have been the inspiration for a Garden of Eden, natives say...

BLOOMFIELD -- Walter Donald Hicks, 66, died Monday, April 22, 1996, at Valparaiso Care Center in Valparaiso, Ind. He was born Jan. 29, 1930, in Poplar Bluff, son of Walter and Nola Wilson Hicks. He married Sue Black, who died April 1, 1987. Hicks was formerly of Bloomfield and had worked at Arvin...

Funeral service for Earl W. Bruster, 2022 Montgomery, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Maple United Methodist Church. The Rev. John Gregory will officiate. Burial will be in Fairmount Cemetery, with an honor guard provided by Cape Girardeau Police Department and graveside rites by Missouri National Guard 1140th Engineer Battalion...

SCOTT CITY -- Josephine Catherine August, 95, of Scott City, died Wednesday, April 24, 1996, at Fountainbleau Lodge in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 19, 1901, in New Hamburg, daughter of Peter and Louise Diebold Welter. She and Mason August were married Aug. 20, 1919, in Advance. He died July 3, 1975...

IRONTON -- Funeral mass for John Ralph Keith Jr. of Ironton will be held at 10 a.m. today at Ste. Marie Du Lac Catholic Church. The Rev. Anthony Gaydos will officiate, with burial in Arcadia Valley Memorial Park. Keith, 58, died Tuesday, April 23, 1996, at his home...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- John B. Johnson, 78, of Mounds, died Wednesday, April 24, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 10, 1917, at Joppa, son of John and Maude Sears Johnson. He married Mary Jane Goins, who died Feb. 10, 1994...

PERRYVILLE -- Funeral mass for Mary C. Richardson of Perryville will be held at 10 a.m. today at Christ the Savior Catholic Church in Brewer. The Rev. Felipe Martinez will officiate, with burial in Mt. Hope Cemetery. Friends may call at Young and Sons Funeral Home in Perryville from 7:30-9:40 a.m...

An election-year issues forum will be held today at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center, 921 N. Clark, sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons. Topics include proposed changes to Social Security, Medicare and federal tax reform. Issues will be discussed by nonpartisan voter education volunteers from 1 to 3 p.m. The program is free...

BELL CITY -- Henry F. McCulley, 80, of Bell City, died Tuesday, April 23, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 15, 1916, in Bell City, son of William and Ellen Abner McCulley. McCulley had been a bus driver for Bell City Schools. He was a member of Southern Baptist Church...

JACKSON -- Violet E. Wiggins, 87, of Jackson, died Wednesday, April 24, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson from 4-8 p.m. Friday. Funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at New Bethel Baptist Church near Pocahontas, with the Rev. Don Slatton officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery...

Scott William Bryan, 40, 431A Broadway, died Tuesday, April 23, 1996, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. He was born March 7, 1956, in Cape Girardeau, son of William Morse and Jessie Jo Harvey Bryan. He and Sharon K. Bender were married Sept. 26, 1987, in Carlisle, Pa...

Daughter to Dr. Robert and Tracy Butler of Rolla, Phelps County Hospital, 5:58 p.m. Thursday, April 18, 1996. Name, Reagan Olivia. Weight, 8 pounds 1 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. Butler is the former Tracy Owens, daughter of Ron and Jeannine Owens of Cape Girardeau. ...

ANNA, Ill. -- Lanie Clayton, 92, of Anna died Wednesday, April 24, 1996, at Union County Hospital. Friends may call at Crain Funeral Home in Anna from 5-9 p.m. Friday. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. The Rev. Don McNeil will officiate, with burial in the Anna Cemetery...

The King-Royal Bros. Circus will give performances at 5 and 7 p.m. Friday, May 3, at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. The circus has added four baby elephants to its Kiddie's Zoo Wonderland. All the elephants will be on display from 9:30 a.m. throughout the day of the performance, which is sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club...