Stories from Wednesday, July 10, 1996

To the editor: The July 3 "People and things" column has Belinda Dalton requesting funds for disadvantaged students and universities. Ms. Dalton has a wonderful array of listed accomplishments. But may I say if these people have the desire, let them find the drive. I hope Ms. Dalton can provide the example for all as I can. We earned to opportunity to succeed...

To the editor: This letter is to the concerned citizens of our area communities. We wish to thank each and every one of you for responding in such an overwhelming way when you became aware of the Missouri Department of Corrections' intent to release convicted felon Charles Eugene O'Howell...

Ironic, isn't it, that Commerce, which owes its origins 206 years ago and has prospered because of its proximity to the Mississippi River would someday see the river almost bring about its demise? The residents who remain are determined to preserve and build on what is left and have formed a Commerce Better Community Club to help attract businesses and new residents. ...

The fact that a genuinely free national election has been held in the former Soviet Union mustn't pass without comment. Boris Yeltsin's landslide victory is welcome news for westerners who want to see a democratic course pursued in this, formerly among the most despotic of nations. With all the troubles attendant on moving from socialism to markets, from slavery to freedom and democracy, the rumored return to power of Communists is the big dog-that-didn't-bark story of 1996...

I AM so sick of the Republican party. It is a pinnacle of arrogance to encourage Jo Anne Emerson to run for her late husband's seat. Sure, she may stand a good chance because of name recognition. But what does she know about Missouri? She's never lived here. I have never even seen her here when her husband visited. I do not want an outsider representing me. Why doesn't the Republican party support the Republicans who are on the ticket? I am one Republican who has had enough...

Hurricane Bertha likely will miss the U.S. mainland, but it has touched six Cape Girardeau residents. Monday in Puerto Rico, Steve, Beverly, Courtney and Stephanie Boren, Chris Thompson and Jill Wittenborn got a bit more of the tropical life than they had bargained for...

Time was when the cry of "steamboat a'comin'" created excitement. All up and down the river, townsfolk grabbed their hats, bonnets and little ones and hurried down to the river to wave at the passing boat. Things haven't changed that much. When the lilting tunes of the calliope sounds these days in downtown Cape Girardeau, townspeople still turn out in large numbers to watch the big paddlewheelers churn to a stop and drop the drawbridge...

JACKSON -- The last time the Democrats headed to Chicago, Gene McCarthy and Hubert H. Humphrey were slugging it out for the nomination, and protesters and police were slugging it out -- literally -- on the streets. Vicki Litzelfelner Abernathy hopes this year's convention will be calmer than the 1968 gathering...

When will technology create the "Slim Cam?" There's nothing that builds excitement like waiting for vacation photos. You just know those 4-by-6-inch pieces of paper are going to take you back to a better time -- a time when you weren't dragging your uninspired tail to work every morning...

Currently much of our attention is focused on the upcoming bond issue. The district's urgent need to improve and add facilities has been well documented. We are confident that the proposed solutions are practical and financially conservative. The Support Jackson R-2 Education Committee held its organizational meeting Monday evening. ...

JACKSON -- The Singing Waiters, three young performers recently featured in Spotlight Tonight's Bent Creek production, will perform with the Jackson Municipal Band Thursday night. The free concert starts at 8 p.m. at the band shell in Jackson City Park. Bring a lawn chair...

JACKSON -- The St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railway is running on steam again. Railway officials announced that Engine No. 5 is back in operation after being out of commission for more than a year. The steam engine's boiler was refurbished last year, and the firebox, valves, brakes and sanders were rebuilt by volunteers Lois Caron and Oliver Groseclose and railway mechanic Jaret Keith...

JACKSON -- Friday is the deadline to sign up for the annual Agri-Business Tour scheduled for Aug. 17. The Jackson Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with Cape Girardeau County Pork Producers and the SEMO Cattlemen's Association, are sponsoring the tour. There is no charge for this year's event, but advance reservations are required. Call the chamber office, 243-8131, to sign up...

JACKSON -- Since its district seems to be keeping up with changing times, the Jackson Board of Education made some adjustments Tuesday that should bring its policies up-to-date as well. The board approved changes in its mileage reimbursement, personnel sick leave and meeting location policies to bring them up to current standards. It also will begin studying policy recommendations from the Missouri School Boards Association...

The Southeast Missourian asked people, "Do you think Jackson needs a citywide curfew for juveniles?" Pam Raney: "I think the city of Jackson should establish a curfew for youth, primarily for the safety and best interests of the youth, and also for the good of the other residents."...

No one I know claims to have mastered every word in our dictionaries. Seldom does a day go by without my consulting at least two. Some time ago, a friend asked me how I pronounced "a-f-i-c-i-o-n-a-do." This term was wholly foreign to me. To my intense satisfaction, Harry Shaw, in his excellent "Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions," described "aficionado" as a vogue word to be used only sparingly. Thus comforted, I saw no reason to replace "devotee" with a more pretentious-sounding term...

CHARLESTON -- Ruth Ann Sanford, 55, of Charleston, died suddenly Sunday, July 7, 1996, at her home, of an apparent heart attack. She was born Jan. 18, 1941, in Charleston, daughter of Russell and Ardell Straughter Smith. She married Charlie Sanford...

JACKSON -- Jimmy D. Parker, 57, of Jackson died Monday, July 8, 1996, at his home. He was born May 21, 1939, in Isola, Miss., the son of Horace and Marie Smith Parker. He married Zelda Whittington on May 26, 1967. Parker worked at Marquette Transportation in Cassville, Wis., from 1979-89 and then for Missouri Barge Lines in Cape Girardeau from 1991-1996 as a chief engineer...

PERRYVILLE -- Truman Ellis, 63, of Perryville died Tuesday, July 9, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 28, 1932, at St. Louis, son of Orvil and Myrtle Ellis. He and Ruby Shaffer were married Nov. 12, 1976. She died Nov. 9, 1979...

HARDIN, KY., -- Raymond David Lee, 87, of Hardin, Ky., died Monday, July 8, in the Murray-Calloway County Hospital in Murray, Ky. He was born Dec. 17, 1908, in East Prairie, son of Luther and Altha Raidt Lee. He lived most of his life in Mississippi County before moving to Hardin. He was employed as a civil engineer and as a Corps engineer in New Madrid County and was a self-employed surveyor for Mississippi County. He attended the Nelson United Methodist Church in East Prairie...

Funeral service for Lawrence Huntley of Cape Girardeau will be held at 3 p.m. today at Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston. The Rev. Carl Addison will officiate, with burial in Mounds Park Cemetery at Lilbourn. Friends may call at the funeral home from noon to service time...

SIKESTON -- James W. Umfress, 71, of Sikeston died Tuesday, July 9, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Feb. 15, 1925, in Fulton, Miss., to Trannie and Frances Dodd Umfress. He was a World War II veteran and served in the Navy. He was a warehouse manager for Schwann's Frozen Food Distributing Co. until he retired. He had previously worked for Oakes Standard Service Station and had managed the South Side Oil Co. in Sikeston...

PERRYVILLE -- The Rev. James W. Richardson, 87, of St. Mary's of the Barrens, died Monday, July 8, 1996, at the Barrens. He was born Feb. 5, 1909, in Dallas, Texas, son of Patrick Aloysius and Mary Theresa Walsh Richardson. Richardson became the first vice provincial of the Los Angeles Province of the Vincentians in 1959. ...

The city of Cape Girardeau will host an open house Thursday for public comment on the proposed Perryville Road improvements. The open house will be from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the A.C. Brase Arena Building. Project staff and consultants will be on hand to answer citizens' questions. Maps of the area, fact sheets and comment cards also will be available...

SCOTT CITY -- Glenn Maurice Beardslee, 84, of Scott City, died Monday, July 8, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 18, 1911, at Blodgett, son of Paul and Francis Groves Beardslee. He and Nina Bell Edmonds were married Feb. 24, 1934, at Commerce. She died Jan. 11, 1991...

PERRYVILLE -- Leonard Emmanuel "Casey" Hacker, 82, of Perryville, died Monday, July 8, 1996, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born Nov. 5, 1913, in Perry County, son of Joseph Emmanuel and Katherine Kirmse Hacker. He and Iva Bergmann were married April 15, 1956. She died Aug. 9, 1995...

JACKSON -- James Arnold "Mutt" Brown, 75, of Jackson, died Tuesday, July 9, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 25, 1921, in Lamar, Ark., son of James Marvin and Minnie Oma Jones Brown. He and Ruby Mae Slinkard were married Feb. 2, 1941...

DEXTER -- Cecil Vancil, 89, died Tuesday, July 9, 1996, at Gideon Care Center in Gideon. He was born Aug. 20, 1906, at Bloomfield, son of Samuel Doran and Anna Williamson Vancil. Vancil was a member of Pleasant Valley General Baptist Church. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army...

JACKSON -- Ricky Lutes, 39, of Jackson, died Tuesday, July 9, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 24, 1956, in Cape Girardeau, son of Jesse and Martha Lutes. He and Diane "Pixie" Hill were married Sept. 24, 1977. Lutes was an electrician with Famous-Barr in Cape Girardeau and Carbondale, Ill...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Herman Fugate, 83, East Prairie Route 1, died Tuesday, July 9, 1996, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Shelby Funeral Home in East Prairie is in charge of arrangements.

A Farmington man may have sacrificed more than just a portion of his liver last month in an attempt to save his ailing father. Joseph William, 27, of Farmington, donated the right lobe of his liver in a rare living-donor transplant performed June 25 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. The operation was to save his father, Robert William, 50, and was performed in a 12-hour operation in which father and son were operated on simultaneously in adjoining rooms...

A memorial service for the late U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson will be held Friday morning in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol in Washington. A number of congressional and federal dignitaries as well as close friends of the Emerson family are scheduled to attend...

Snapping vacation pictures that will be treasured usually requires more than making sure the subject is framed in the viewfinder. Decisions that help make the difference between good prints and great prints begin before the family bags are packed. If the camera is already in hand, film is among the first items to consider before embarking...