Stories from Thursday, April 10, 1997

To the editor: In your lead editorial, the Southeast Missourian urged support for a proposed Oak Ridge interchange. While it is apparent that an interchange at Oak Ridge would be desirable for all of the reasons articulated in your editorial, may I respectfully suggest that your editorial truly misses the mark...

Decisions made by students participating in the Optimist Club Youth in Government Day Wednesday may influence their adult role models to take action in the future. Seventy students from Cape Girardeau Central, Notre Dame, Jackson, Oak Ridge and Delta high schools got a hands-on lesson in government during the annual event, which allows students to assume the roles of city, county and federal government officials for a day...

The "Puppet Mania" program has been introduced into the Cape Girardeau public and private schools by the Cape Girardeau Safe Communities Program and the Cape Girardeau Police Department. The program was presented at Franklin Elementary School Wednesday...

Director Cindy Wyatt had a visceral reason for choosing "I Remember Mama" for the Red Dagger Drama Club spring production at Central High School. "I always cry when I get to the last page," she said. The play by John van Druten will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Central High School Auditorium...

"Remembrances," a collage by Pat Fabrick of Cape Girardeau "Art for the Health of It," a show of two-dimensional art that opens Sunday in Southeast Missouri Hospital Surgical Waiting Area, is not just an art exhibit. It's part of a larger effort to make the hospital a nicer place...

I WAS wondering when will the Cape Girardeau school system make the maximum use of the administrative staff. Their administrative staff all started in the classroom. I believe they should teach at least one class per day. The gains would include smaller class size at no additional cost, and the staff would really be in touch with the student body and the parents...

In a week crammed with activities surrounding the inauguration of Southeast Missouri State University's 16th president, today is the focal point. At 2 p.m., Dr. Dale Nitzschke be the center of attention in the academic pomp and circumstance that attends such events. Maya Angelou, perhaps one of the most notable women in America today, will be the keynote speaker. As special events go, today should be remembered for a long time...

As John Oliver notes elsewhere on this page in a letter to the editor, the crucial consideration when discussing highway needs is money. The cost of needed projects must be carefully weighed against the available funding available for road projects...

To the editor: As a former Cape Girardeau School Board member,I have seen firsthand the cooperation that goes on between the Jackson and Cape Girardeau school districts. Believe me, there is a lot of shared work, information and expertise that greatly benefits both communities. At a time when cooperation is essential to the continued excellence of both schools, we get bickering and a "you're a bigger jerk than I am" attitude between the adults in each community...

Dr. Dale Nitzschke will be inaugurated today as Southeast Missouri State University's 16th president. The inauguration ceremony begins at 2 p.m. at the Show Me Center. The 59-year-old Nitzschke has served as Southeast's president since last July. The featured speaker will be poet Maya Angelou, who will receive an honorary degree from the school...

One of the largest concrete pours for a single structure in the history of the Missouri Department of Transportation will take place this week. The pour for the footing of Pier 2, one of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge's main support towers, is anticipated to take 24 hours, said department area engineer Randy Hitt...

The Missouri Senate approved $3.15 million in funding for construction of Cape Girardeau's vocational-technical school. The legislation was part of the state's massive appropriation bills considered by the Senate Wednesday. Funding bills haven't yet cleared the House, and the Cape Girardeau vocational school funding has hit more snags in that chamber...

University presidents can't just talk. They have to communicate. Four former Southeast Missouri State University administrators had little trouble doing that in a panel discussion Wednesday night. Dr. Dale Nitzschke, Southeast's current president, jokingly described the panelists as "an extremely rowdy group."...

In October, orthodontist David Crowe went before the Cape Girardeau City Council to ask that it require sidewalks in the Forest Hills subdivision of North Sprigg Street. He said children in the subdivision would be walking to a planned public school and would need the sidewalks for safety...

April 10, 1997 Dear Patty, The good City of Cape Girardeau is going to help everyone do their spring cleaning next week. Men in justly soiled clothes will drop by to pick up all the trash the citizens have deposited by the curb. But they'll only spend 10 minutes picking up trash at any single residence. Any more trash than that and you deserve to live with your excesses for another year, I guess...

The Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday night recommended that Brian and Debra Tracy be granted a special use permit so they can sell logs from their lot at 2525 State Highway 177. The couple's company, Timberline International Building Products, has been selling logs from there for three years. It is located across the road from Timberline's offices, which are outside the city limits...

The Harold Holmes Dugger Lecture, titled "J. William Fulbright and Liberal Internationalism," will be delivered by Dr. Randall Woods of the University of Arkansas April 17 at Southeast Missouri State University. The lecture is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Glenn Auditorium in Robert A. Dempster Hall...

The Missouri Senate will consider today a bill outlawing late-term abortions and making it a felony for a physician to perform the procedure. The bill, introduced by Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, got first-round approval Monday after three hours of debate...

A decade ago, the bulk of business for the Cape Girardeau County Health Department consisted of nurses visiting elderly patients and giving immunization shots to toddlers. But times have changed. In the 10 years that the department has been operating, the focus of public health and the role of health departments have expanded to include a large dose of education, prevention and policy-making...

As the new executive director of Southeast Missouri's Weed and Seed, Calvin Bird said he sees his job as helping communities and law enforcement agencies work together toward positive change. "We have to build a rapport between people and law enforcement if we want to attack and address community problems," Byrd said...

Kate Farrington doesn't profess to be a perfect gymnast. But a few judges who have scored some of the routines during her brilliant Southeast Missouri State University career beg to differ. Four times over the past three years -- including three times this season -- Farrington has received perfect scores of 10...

FREDERICKTOWN -- Jackson High's baseball team ripped two home runs and the Indians scored 10 unanswered runs to post a 10-3 victory over host Fredericktown Wednesday. Travis Stevens sent a two-run homer off the wall in left field in a three-run third inning and Burt Hahs later launched a solo shot to left in a two-run sixth. After going scoreless in the first inning, Jackson (4-2) scored in each of the remaining six innings...

ST. LOUIS -- Just two weeks after being routed 19-8 at Southeast Missouri State University, St. Louis returned the favor. The Billikens claimed a 9-3 home-field baseball victory Wednesday night to split the season series with the Indians. St. Louis improved to 14-12 while the Indians fell to 11-19...

Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team received no official commitments Wednesday as the spring signing period started, but the Indians are expected to land some players today. Among those planning to sign with the Indians today is guard Cory Johnson, a Piedmont native who starred at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff the past two seasons...

PERRYVILLE -- Funeral service for Irene Grindstaff of Perryville will be held at 10 a.m. today at Liley Funeral Home in Patton, with the Rev. Kirby Grindstaff officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau. Grindstaff, 83, died Monday, April 7, 1997, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

SCOTT CITY -- E. Alonzo Crader, 88, of Scott City died Wednesday, April 9, 1997, at his home. He was born July 16, 1908, at Burfordville, son of Lee Sylvester and Anna Elizabeth Kiel Crader. He and Alma M. Hopper were married Aug. 11, 1931, in Jonesboro, Ill...

THEBES, Ill. -- Funeral service for Thomas Earl Hale Sr. of Thebes will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Jones Funeral Home in Tamms. The Rev. Jimmie L. Monahan will officiate. Burial will be in National Cemetery at Mound City, with military rites by American Legion Post 900 of McClure...

Funeral service for Patsy Sue Hoffman of Cape Girardeau will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel, with the Rev. Art Hunt officiating. Entombment will be in Memorial Park Mausoleum. Friends may call at the chapel from 4-8 p.m. today...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Florance "Jenny" Crowell, 74, of Cobden died Tuesday, April 8, 1997, at Jonesboro Health Care Center. She was born Oct. 6, 1922, at Jackson, daughter of Frederick and Martha Jordan Obermiller. She and Thomas William Crowell were married July 9, 1939, at Benton...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Gladys Beatrice Parker, 87, of East Prairie died Wednesday, April 9, 1997, at East Prairie Nursing Center. She was born March 5, 1910, in Mississippi County, daughter of Gus Adolph and Amy Alice Hines Henry. She and Walter Ray Parker were married Aug. 30, 1933, in Charleston. He preceded her in death...

Memorial service for Billy Joe, formerly Billy Joe Neace, 1322 Big Bend Road, will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. D.J. Charles will officiate. There is no visitation. Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel is in charge of arrangements...

SIKESTON -- James Allen Francis, 32, of Sikeston died Wednesday, April 9, 1997, at Missouri Delta Medical Center, from complications of pneumonia. He was born June 3, 1964, in Dexter, son of John Gerald and Mary Lou Scott Francis. Francis was paralyzed in a diving accident in 1981 at Kentucky Lake. After obtaining his General Education Degree, he attended Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff and Todd-Comp Computer School in Columbia...

Son to Brian Peter Smentkowski and Kathryn Beth Adkins of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 4:26 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, 1997. Name, Noah Adkins Smentkowski. Weight, 7 pounds 5 ounces. Second son. Ms. Adkins is the daughter of Orman and Kay Adkins of Barboursville, W.Va. She is an instructor at Southeast Missouri State University. Smentkowski is the son of Peter and Barbara Smentkowski of Huntington, W.Va. He is professor of political science at Southeast University...

NEW WELLS -- Helen Richter, 76, of New Wells died Wednesday, April 9, 1997, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.