Stories from Friday, March 28, 1997

To the editor: It's payback time. Everyone reading this letter owes a debt of gratitude to a teacher somewhere. Everyone reading this letter had his or her education paid for by someone else. Everyone reading this letter had a parent or grandparent who built the schools in which they learned at least the basics of every skill they now possess...

To the editor: The Scott County Commission is seeking voters to approve a quarter-cent sales tax for the county's general revenue fund on the April 1 ballot. The quarter-cent sales tax would produce $700,000 in revenue. It would cost consumers 25 cents on each $100 purchase...

"I can pay for the ignorance of a man or the education of a man. I will pay for one or the other." -- Walt Whitman. With your help, Tuesday will be a banner day for public education in Cape Girardeau. A funding package on the ballot would bring vital improvements to the Cape Girardeau School District. It also would trigger a domino effect for business growth to carry the community into the next century...

SIKESTON -- There were murmurs of surprise and approval from the crowd of Sikeston Jaycees Thursday afternoon as 1997 Sikeston Bootheel Rodeo entertainment co-chair Shannon Garrett read the names of entertainers for this year's event. Garrett said he was striving for four nights of entertainment that would appeal to everyone when he signed George Jones, Diamond Rio, Terri Clark and Wade Hayes. The rodeo is scheduled for Aug. 6 through 9...

Fingerprinting anyone who applies for welfare will cost Missouri more than $5 million and save it far less, an advocate for welfare recipients said at a meeting Thursday evening. Jeanette Mott Oxford of St. Louis, executive director of Reform Organization of Welfare or ROWEL, told a meeting of the Cape Girardeau chapter that under bills proposed in both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly backed by the Missouri Department of Social Services, all applicants and recipients of welfare would have to undergo a high-tech version of fingerprinting called electronic finger imaging.. ...

ALTO PASS, Ill. -- Sixty-one years ago, 250 people gathered atop Bald Knob Mountain for Easter sunrise services. Since then, thousands of worshipers have made their way up the mountain road near Alto Pass, Ill., to visit the Bald Knob Cross and participate in Easter sunrise services...

Nell Holcomb's performance on its Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) review in October has placed it among the elite school districts in the state. The district was one of the first statewide and the only Southeast Missouri school district so far to be awarded Accreditation with Distinction in performance honors by the Missouri Board of Education. ...

Michael Sweet knows all about the menace of meningitis. His 13-year-old son, Mikey, died of meningitis two years ago this month after initially coming down with flu-like symptoms. The family lived in Cape Girardeau at the time. Mikey Sweet was a seventh-grader at L.J. Schultz School...

First in a series At Washington Elementary School, perpetual water leaks eat away at plaster in the 83-year-old building. At Central High School, stairwell landings have been converted into classrooms because no other space exists. The district's newest building is 30 years old. The oldest, Washington, May Greene and L.J. Schultz, were built before 1920. All need renovations or updates and many are crowded...

We didn't put out a sign for bird boarders, but we have another one this spring. Too bad they didn't talk to last year's pigeons. It is impossible, of course, to speak for every bird, but in general I marvel at how a creature with such a tiny brain can be so smart...

The race for the Perry County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees comes at a time when the board is considering major changes in the way the hospital is run. But with three incumbents and one challenger running for three seats, it's not likely the election will determine whether those changes go through...

The Notre Dame Bulldog baseball team got senior leadership on the mound and freshman heroics at the plate Thursday at home against Poplar Bluff to come back for a 5-4 win. Senior pitcher Chris Canfield pitched around five Bulldog errors to go the distance on the mound, and freshman third baseman Josh Eftink smashed a two-run, opposite-field home run to right field in the bottom of the sixth inning to push the Bulldogs ahead for good...

Entering the championship match of the Lady Bulldog/Tiger Kickoff Classic girls soccer tournament, neither Cape Central nor Jackson had allowed a goal this season. The teams' tight defenses showed no signs of letting up Thursday at Shawnee Park. After Central and Jackson both went through regulation and a sudden death overtime without a score, Central outscored Jackson 3-2 in the shootout to sneak away with the title...

MILLINGTON, Tenn. -- Cape Central fell to 0-2 in the USA Classic baseball tournament Thursday, dropping a 6-0 decision to Tupelo, Miss. Central (1-2) managed just three singles while Tupelo (14-5) banged out 10 hits off three Tiger pitchers. Tupelo scored its first run in the top of the second and added two runs in the third. It broke the game open with three runs in the seventh...

KELSO -- Herman Joseph Jansen, 73, of Kelso died Thursday, March 27, 1997, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 4, 1923, at Oran, son of Bernard and Christine Brockmeyer Jansen. He and Rita Marie Klipfel were married July 9, 1946, at Benton...

MARBLE HILL -- John M. Stovall, 79, of Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau died Thursday, March 27, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 30, 1917, at Fredericktown, son of John Louis and Etta Mae Myers Stovall...

MARBLE HILL -- Memorial service for Lucy Gray of Marble Hill will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at First Baptist Church. The Rev. Fred Ritter will officiate. Morgan Funeral Home in Advance is in charge of arrangements. Gray, 94, died Tuesday, March 25, 1997, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

Funeral service for Garnet E. Williamson, 1053 W. Cape Rock Drive, will be held at 1:30 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Chapel in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Neil Stein will officiate, with burial in Lorimier Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 11 a.m...

SIKESTON -- Lillian Ruth Nickens, 80, of Bay Minette, Ala., died Wednesday, March 26, 1997, at the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile. She was born Oct. 22, 1916, at Bloomfield, daughter of James Benjamin and Beulah Huggins Snider. She and Clarence A. "Jack" Nickens were married Dec. 7, 1935. He died June 16, 1975...

WYATT -- Funeral service for George Allen Wallace of Metropolis, Ill., will be held at 3 p.m. today at Shelby Funeral Chapel in Charleston. The Rev. Bill Meeks will officiate, with burial in Oak Grove Cemetery near Charleston. Wallace, 36, died Tuesday, March 25, 1997, in Memphis, Tenn...

CHARLESTON -- Erma M. Brewer, 88, formerly of Charleston, died Wednesday, March 26, 1997, at Bertrand Nursing Facility. She was born June 29, 1908, in Lobelville, Tenn., daughter of Marquis DeLafayette and Mary Elizabeth Gunter Cagle Sr. She and Harry Truman Brewer were married Sept. 11, 1927. He died March 28, 1982...

Leola Clementine Poston, 83, 721 W. Rodney, died Wednesday, March 26, 1997, at her home. She was born May 19, 1913, at Sedgewickville, daughter of Judes and Myrtle Statler Seabaugh. She and Oscar Poston were married Sept. 23, 1932, in Jonesboro, Ill...

ALTENBURG -- Albert E. Preusser, 77, of Altenburg died Thursday, March 27, 1997, at his home. He was born Dec. 27, 1919, at Altenburg, son of Arthur J. and Anna Doering Preusser. He and Dorothy Mueller were married Sept. 29, 1946. She died Jan. 8, 1987...

CHAFFEE -- Charles Edward Memering, 58, of Chaffee died Wednesday, March 26, 1997, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 20, 1939, in Vincennes, Ind., son of Edward and Lucille Bair Memering. He and Shirley Ann Lowe were married March 18, 1967...

Daughter to Bradley R. and Tamee L. Schroepfer of New Haven, St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Louis, 3:33 p.m. Sunday, March 16, 1997. Name, Madeline Elizabeth. Weight, 5 pounds 6 ounces. First child. Mrs. Schroepfer is the former Tamee Bruenderman, daughter of Susan Bruenderman and Mr. and Mrs. Don Bruenderman of Charleston. Schroepfer is the son of Robert and Barbara Schroepfer of Washington, Mo...

Louis Beaudean, 77, of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, March 27, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Friends may call at from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Hanover Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Esther M. Stewart of Sikeston will be held at 2 p.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. Pat Hogan will officiate, with burial in Memorial Park Cemetery. Stewart, 77, died Wednesday, March 26, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau...