Stories from Friday, November 1, 1996

To the editor: In the 1950s and 1960s the Missouri-Mississippi river system was compared to an open sewer and was called the colon of America. Cities were dumping raw sewage into these rivers and their tributaries, and industries were pouring chemical poisons into the rivers to the extent that the cancer rate in New Orleans was 13 times greater than at the headwaters of the rivers...

Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages (SWBYP) and Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. have received nearly unamimously positive comments about their new "down-sized" telephone directories, which are now being distributed to residential and business customers. The directory was shrunk to conserve paper, said Don Fisher, marketing specialist and SWBYP spokesman...

For over a year and a half, there was no Greyhound Bus service in Cape Girardeau. Since Ken Forester took over the service in July 1995, service has only been out of the main depot at 117 W. Main in Jackson. Service has now resumed in Cape Girardeau...

The Area Wide United Way has raised over half of its $525,000 goal for its 1996 campaign. So far, the organization has received over $265,000 in donations, most of which come from employee groups of small businesses and corporations. "The giving is up slightly from last year," said Narvol Randol Jr., campaign chairman. "We're pretty much on track for reaching our goal this year."...

The Riverfest Mural on the back of McGinty Jewelers Inc. building is getting a facelift. The mural, which features Riverfest celebration activities, is being repainted this week. "The mural was painted seven years ago and was beginning to fade," said Tim Blattner, a spokesman for the River Heritage Mural Association. "The new look, featuring bright magenta color, should be completed by early next week."...

I HAVE a few tips for parents with children in a in-home daycare. No. 1. Bring the kids, kiss them once then leave right away. It's a lot easier on the child. No. 2. Please don't allow your child to bring in food or toys from home. It always causes an argument. ...

Planning for the future is sensible way to go, particularly if the preparation avoids unnecessary inconvenience or unwarranted expense. That seems to be the message from City Hall about the $26.5 million bond issue and quarter-cent sales tax that will be on next Tuesday's ballot. The bonds -- which would be paid off using revenue from the sales tax -- would fund major improvements in Cape Girardeau's water system...

To the editor: Three cheers for Councilman Richard Eggiman for having the courage to speak out against the latest version of the BOCA Code and for the Missourian for reporting the issue on the front page where an item of such importance belongs. The Building Officials and Code Administrators Code has grown from a small pamphlet of 20 years ago to today's complex, unfathomable conglomeration of charts, legalese and mumbo jumbo which runs several hundred pages long. ...

To the editor: On TV, President Clinton said he wanted every child to have a computer and connect with the Internet "direct from Washington" so that every child will get an equal education. That is pure communism. China tried it. Russia had all thoughts entering its schools coming from Moscow. Our future children would be mental puppets of Washington...

The two leading candidates in the 8th District congressional race combined will spend an estimated $1.4 million, campaign officials say. Business and agriculture political-action committees are major backers of independent-Republican candidate Jo Ann Emerson, Federal Election Commission records show...

About 15 Dole-Kemp supporters spent Thursday afternoon preparing signs with such catchy slogans as "Back Jack," "Dole Man" and "We love Jack." The College Republicans, Cape Girardeau County Republican Women and others took a couple of hours Thursday to help make vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp feel more at home...

JACKSON -- Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp will discuss the economy, the presidential campaign and failures of the Clinton administration at today's campaign rally in Jackson, said a Dole-Kemp spokesperson. "He will tell the people of Cape Girardeau County why he and Bob Dole are much better for America," said Dan Hubbard, the coordinator of the Dole-Kemp campaign in Missouri. "He's very excited about being there; he's looking forward to it."...

Both distance and time have separated me from the friends and relatives I grew up with, but I keep running into them anyway. I have never attended a class reunion, high school or college. I went to one of my wife's high school reunions at the city park in Sweet Springs, Mo., many years ago. Aside from some of the best German potato salad I've ever tasted, there wasn't much to it...

The race for candy began as soon as parents and their trick-or-treaters hit the West Park Mall doors on Halloween night. All they had to do was sign up, take a number and join the stream of children flowing from shop to shop. At almost every store, there were handfuls of candy for all the Barneys, Pocahontases, witches and grim reapers...

Five candidates are seeking to represent the 8th District in Congress. The Southeast Missourian asked all five candidates the same 14 questions, which we feel are major issues in this campaign. Their answers appear in a weeklong candidates profile that ends today. Ballot order was used to determine publication date...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Kenneth Hopper will be held at 10 a.m. today at Ponder Funeral Home. The Rev. Jimmy Russell will officiate, with burial in Dogwood Cemetery at Blytheville, Ark. Hopper, 39, died Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1996, at Missouri Delta Medical Center...

SIKESTON -- Dr. Robert L. Frazier, 69, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was a staff physician at Sikeston Regional Center and Southeast Missouri Residential Services. Frazier was born March 18, 1927, in Success, Ark., son of William Edgar and Beatrice Kathleen McCracken Frazier. He and Mary Anna Watkins were married in 1949. She died in 1971. He later married Jeanette Caldwell Waldman May 9, 1975, at Charleston...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Pearl South, 84 of Jonesboro died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996, at Jonesboro Healthcare Center. She was born April 5, 1912, at Fountain Bluff, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Johnson Barton. She and Clarence South were married May 1, 1936, in Pinckneyville. He died June 6, 1995...

DEXTER -- Funeral service for Lowell W. Price of Dexter will be held at 11 a.m. today at Morgan Funeral Chapel in Advance. The Rev. Bob Wiggins will officiate, with burial in Morgan Memorial Park in Advance. Price, 73, died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996, at Dexter Memorial Hospital...

David H. Ray, 34, Highway V, died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born March 13, 1962, at Hayti, son of the Rev. Charles H. and Betty Rayburn Ray. He and Lisa McCain were married Jan. 28, 1995. Ray worked 10 years on a towboat, and was a mate in charge of deckhands when he retired because of an injury. He served two years in the U.S. Air Force...

JACKSON -- Warren Welton Pinkley, 78, of Jackson died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996, at his home. He was born June 12, 1918, at Ste. Genevieve, son of James F. and Mabel J. Herzok Pinkley. He and Ina E. Bush were married Jan. 25, 1954, in Mississippi. Pinkley worked at Monsanto Corp. 34 years, retiring as payroll clerk. He was a member of Ste. Genevieve Catholic Church, American Legion Post 300 in St. Louis, and VFW Post 3838 in Cape Girardeau. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II...

Son to Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey P. Snyder of Maryland Heights, St. John's Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, 8:08 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, 1996. Name, Tristin William. Weight, 8 pounds 8 ounces. First child. Mrs. Snyder is the former Para Priest, daughter of Marilyn Priest of Jackson and the late Paul Priest. Snyder is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Snyder of Emerald Isle, N.C., and Mr. and Mrs. Mike Deleo of Lebanon, Pa. He is a district sales manager with Hubbell Premise Wiring Inc...

BERNIE -- A Bernie man was killed Wednesday night when his Jeep left the road and overturned. Robert Norman, 39, was thrown from the vehicle at approximately 8:20 p.m. on Route U 5 miles west of Bernie when his 1997 Jeep left the road and rolled numerous times. He was declared dead at Dexter Hospital, police said...

POPLAR BLUFF -- Freota "Freddie" Prewitt, 74, of Poplar Bluff died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born May 31, 1922, in Valmeyer, Ill. She and L.S. "Cotton" Prewitt were married March 8, 1947. He died July 25, 1995...