Stories from Tuesday, November 5, 1996

The Missouri Department of Transportation is looking to improve three Cape Girardeau County highways, and the public is invited to get involved at an information meeting this week. The state wants people to comment about traffic and dangers on Routes 25, 34 and 72...

Cybertip: Looking for a telephone number? Head to www.switchboard.com. By entering names, cities and states, you can find most individuals and business telephone listings in the United States. Tonight's the night. All the campaigning, debate and other election hype leads to today: (ta-da) Election Day. But what really counts is Election Night because that's when we find out who wins...

If squirrels start gathering nuts in mid-September, better order up some extra firewood. If rabbits are particularly furry, it's time to line your own nest. If there are a lot of spiders in the fall, even the big yellow-and-black banana spiders, Miss Muffet watch out...

Barbara Lohrmann occasionally gets confused for her students' mother, but this year the problem is even more common. Lohrmann, a third-grade teacher at Cape Christian School, teaches her daughter Emily. "A couple of times at the beginning of the school year, I would hear a voice call me `Mom' but that's not unusual anyway," Lohrmann said. "I usually just respond, `Yes, dear,' and then we both smile at the mistake."...

St. Louis College of Pharmacy awarded scholarships to students at the fall awards program recently. Three local students were among the recipients. Meike Newell, a fifth-year student at the college, received the Donald R. Lloyd Scholarship, a $400 award. Newell is the daughter of Mike and Diann Newell of Cape Girardeau and is a 1992 graduate of Central High School...

Five students from Franklin Elementary School in Cape Girardeau were accepted into the Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans. The anthology is a collection of poems from students all across the country. The following students' poems were published, Becky Komorech, Jocelyn O'Malley, Brittany Johnson, Erin Moon and Amy Rauls. These students are enrolled in Schultz Middle School...

Southeast Missouri State University has awarded several scholarships to area students for the 1997-98 academic year. Kelly Fisher of Cape Girardeau has been awarded a President's Scholarship and Missouri Leadership Award. She will be a 1997 graduate Notre Dame High School and is the daughter of Robert and Linda Fisher...

Nell Holcomb School PTO is having their annual chili supper and carnival 4-9 p.m. Saturday. Tickets can be bought at the door for a bowl of chili or soup, dessert and drink. Hot dogs and chips are also available. The carnival and sweet shop will be held in the school gym. There will be new games and activities, a raffle, face painting and a cake walk...

High school students who are U.S. citizens and have a grade-point average of 3.00 or better are eligible for a $1,000 college scholarship. To receive an application, send a request by Dec. 15 to the Education Communications Scholarship Foundation at 721 N. McKinley Road, P.O. Box 5012, Lake Forest, Ill. 60045-5012...

SHARE! America Program is seeking host families for foreign high school students who will arrive mid-January from Germany, Brazil, Poland and the former Soviet Union. The students, all between the ages of 15 and 18, will live with host families and attend local high schools for an academic year or semester. ...

YOU NEED to get rid of the columnist Mona Charen. She's suffering from major hormonal imbalance. I JUST saw Officer Dan Niswonger, the officer who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident a couple of years ago, in a quick shop, and I said "Hi, Officer Dan," and his face lit up, and he said, "Hi, how are you?" He'd never met me before. ...

In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England. In 1649, one vote caused Charles I of England to be executed. In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead of German. In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union. In 1868, one vote saved President Andrew Johnson from impeachment...

Public schools should teach children the fundamentals of reading, writing, arithmetic and science. Some teachers, though, are instructing their students in the fundamentals of activism. These teachers use their students to promote pet projects. "Use" is the key word here. In the name of education, students write letters to politicians or newspapers to stop projects or change laws. This student activism most often shows up with environmental concerns...

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County is going to the dogs, and county officials are powerless to catch them. But that could change when the county goes to first-class status Jan. 1: The County Commission then could enact laws to control everything from stray animals to littering...

JACKSON -- The Jackson Police Department hopes to take a bite out of crime with its first drug dog. Mayor Paul Sander greeted the city's newest crime fighter, Stadt, a 2-year-old, male German shepherd at a ceremony in front of the police station Monday. Stadt is German for city...

Before most of us were awake today, 199 Cape Girardeau County election judges opened the polls. It will be a long day for all of them. The judges had to show up at 5:15 a.m., will have to stay until the polls close at 7 p.m., then either drive the ballots to Jackson or stay and disassemble equipment...

Pre-election prayers asked God to guide voters at the polls today and the nation's leaders in the days to come. About 40 people attended a service on the steps of the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau. The service lasted about 45 minutes. The service was based on a Bible verse in II Chronicles, 7:14: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.". ...

It would be one thing if their nasty image was unwarranted, but a politician's image often doesn't stray far from the reality. Among friends, the topic of running for elected office came up yesterday. It came about, obviously, because it was the day before the "most important election of our lives." At least that's what politicians are calling it...

Thanksgiving is just 22 days away, and the weekend after Thanksgiving marks the start of the big rush toward Christmas and the annual Christmas Lights Parade. Actually, there are just 50 shopping days until Christmas -- including today. Some Christmas merchandise is already making its appearance on retailers' shelves...

The City of Roses Charter Chapter of the American Business Women's Association will meet Thursday at Drury Lodge. Dee Cannon of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management will present the program on "Managing Conflict." Julie Zwosta of Stanley, Dirnberger, Hopper and Associates will be the vocational speaker...

U.S. Sens. Christopher Bond and John Ashcroft touted the Republican ticket and tax relief at an election-eve campaign rally Monday. They said the Dole-Kemp ticket offers voters an opportunity for smaller government. Gubernatorial candidate Margaret Kelly told a crowd of about 50 enthusiastic supporters at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport that Missourians would have a $640 million tax cut, the largest in the state's history, and better management of their tax dollars if she is elected today...

The Cape Girardeau City Council may have stepped on citizens' constitutional rights with last month's passage of a political-sign ordinance. The new law forbids political signs 10 feet from any established street. In some cases, those 10 feet would take in city right of way. In others, the area would include private property...

SCOTT CITY -- The Scott City Police Personnel Board was dissolved by Mayor Jerry Cummins at a City Council meeting Monday night. The only explanation the mayor gave was, "I'm the mayor, I can do that." The Scott City Council had approved a series of changes to the board that caused a rift between the council and board...

Monday, Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. Public HearingsA public hearing regarding the request of Cape Girardeau Public School District No. 63 for a special use permit to install a 60-foot communication antenna at 2880 Hopper Road in an R-1 district.* A public hearing regarding the request of Cape Girardeau Public School District No. ...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Ruth Ann Vaughn was held Monday at Ponder Funeral Home, with the Rev. Bob Lane officiating. Burial was in Triplett Cemetery near Essex. Vaughn, 92, died Saturday, Nov. 2, 1996, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Jan. 17, 1904, in Stoddard County, daughter of Luther and Mary Weaver Blackshare. She and Squire Spence Vaughn were married in March 1926. He preceded her in death...

ESSEX -- Funeral service for Venetia Stafford of Essex will be held at 1 p.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The Revs. W.H. Worth and Thomas A. Stafford will officiate, with burial in Essex Cemetery. Stafford, 80, died Sunday, Nov. 3, 1996, at her home...

MOREHOUSE -- George Junior Waters, 58, of Morehouse died Monday, Nov. 4, 1996, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Sept. 20, 1938, in Charter Oak, son of George and Pearl Hill Waters Sr. Survivors include three brothers, Jack Waters of Charter Oak, Wilford and James Waters of Morehouse...

DEXTER -- Funeral service for Naomi Mae Crews of Dexter will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The Rev. Wayne Dismuke will officiate, with burial in Dexter Cemetery. Crews, 74, died Saturday, Nov. 2, 1996, at her home...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Helen Duncan, 95, of Mounds died Sunday, Nov. 3, 1996, at the Meridian Manor Nursing Home. She was born May 13, 1901, in Stonefort. Duncan was a member of St. Marys Catholic Church of Mound City and served as the church's organist. Her husband, Earl L. Duncan, died in 1983...

CAIRO, Ill. -- William P. Egan Jr., 88, of Cairo died Monday, Nov. 4, 1996, at the Daystar Care Center. He was born in Cairo Nov. 17, 1907, the son of William P. and Nell Decker Egan. Egan was the vice president of Security Bank and Trust Co. and served on the Cairo City Council and as mayor pro tem for several years...

Graveside service for Marguerite Lewis of Tulsa, Okla., was held Monday at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa. A memorial service followed at First Presbyterian Church. Stanley Funeral Home in Tulsa was in charge of arrangements. Lewis, 76, died Saturday, Nov. 2, 1996...

Floyd A. Ellison, 72, of Texas died Sunday, Nov. 3, 1996, in Fredericksburg, Texas, following a lengthy illness. The son of Floyd Anderson and Clara Vogelsanger Ellison, he spent his childhood and youth in Cape Girardeau. He was a 1941 graduate of Central High School, and was the crucifer several years at Christ Episcopal Church...

SIKESTON -- Laura May "Mrs. Mac" McCampbell, 90, of Sikeston died Sunday, Nov. 3, 1996, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Nov. 4, 1905, in Lexington, Ky., daughter of Robert and Emma Morris Boaz. She and Brown L. "Mac" McCampbell were married Jan. 24, 1925, in Paducah, Ky. He died July 16, 1983...

Clifton Warfield, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Jan. 15, 1918, in Natchez, Miss., son of William and Mary Harris Warfield. The family moved to Bell City in 1922. Warfield retired from the steel mills in Chicago, moving to Cape Girardeau in 1977...

JACKSON -- Reba Thalma McCauley, 87, of Jackson died Sunday, Nov. 3, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 17, 1909, at Daisy, daughter of Marshall L. and Mary E. Hurst Morton. She and Carl McCauley were married March 12, 1927. He died May 31, 1996...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- William Loyd Vaughn, 62, Mounds Route 1, died Monday, Nov. 4, 1996, at Meridian Manor Nursing Home. He was born Sept. 9, 1934, in Cairo, son of James H. and Sarah Bauer Vaughn. Vaughn was a retired mechanic. Survivors include two sons, Brian Stern of Poway, Calif., Michael Vaughn of Niles; three daughters, Janice Stern of Cajon, Calif., Cindy Rodgers of Poway, Belinda Vaughn of Niles; a brother, Carl Vaughn of Mounds; and six grandchildren...

Cladia Mae Reilly, 57, of DeSoto, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Monday, Nov. 4, 1996, at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Crystal City. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

MARBLE HILL -- Tom F. Cook, 88, of Marble Hill died Monday, Nov. 4, 1996, at his home. He was born May 4, 1908, in the Hurricnae community of Bollinger County, son of Adam Lee and Kizzie Caroline Langston Cook. He and Donie J. Garland were married Dec. 29, 1929. She died April 21, 1990...

He was born Oct. 9, 1938, in Perry County, the son of Joseph F. and Emma Otto Hayden. He married Ruth Hornberger on June 3, 1961. She survives. He was a retired trucker and member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. Also surviving are two sons, Jeffrey Hayden of Festus and Craig Hayden of Jackson; two daughters, Michelle Hayden and Amy Hayden, both of St. ...