Stories from Thursday, July 3, 1997

To the editor: Special reminders in our life that never cease to impress us and that hold a dear spot in our hearts -- whether personal, an event or an occasion -- never leave us nor blot our memory. The June 28 American Pride section in the Southeast Missourian fully and beautifully pointed that out to us...

By a lopsided bipartisan vote last week, the U. S. Senate did something that until recently has been thought near-impossible: They defied conventional wisdom on the political dangers of reforming entitlements and began doing just that. We say it is just a beginning because these truly are baby steps. ...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, ... ...

Close your eyes and imagine the sounds of Independence Day: the rumble of bass drums, the sharp pop of firecrackers, the ping of an aluminum baseball bat on a fastball, the somber tones of a political speech and the whisper of paper fans. Add to that the whine of an electric guitar and the rasp of a snare drum...

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- Illinois cities making the cut in the state's latest prison derby were announced Wednesday. Named finalists in the quest for one of two facilities -- a $73 million, 1,800-bed medium-security adult prison that would provide 450 jobs or a $70 million juvenile facility that would house 400 youths and provide 280 jobs, were:...

CHARLESTON -- The city of Charleston put on its best face Wednesday for members of the Joint Committee on Correctional Institutions and Problems. Even a group of protesters who oppose a state prison for Charleston were polite. Committee members toured a 120-acre site near Interstate 57 and State Highway 105, City Manager Dave Brewer said. They had a tour of the town and lunch at Warren and Betty Hearnes' house...

Missouri's Total Transportation Commission has set the stage for a political move to "steal" gasoline tax money to fund mass transit projects in the state, a former member of the state's Highways and Transportation Commission charged Wednesday. The head of the Total Transportation group denied the allegation...

Reassigning students within the Cape Girardeau School District by using a random selection process has been an administrative policy for several years, said Dr. Dan Tallent, superintendent. However, some principals have chosen not to enforce that policy if their school didn't show the need for lottery drawings, Tallent said...

Don Howard pointed at neglected property out the window of his home at Ranney and Linden streets Wednesday afternoon. Walk down the streets near May Greene Elementary School and you'll see modest white-frame houses with neatly trimmed lawns. Some have gardens, some backyard swings, some fenced-in areas for dogs...

July 3, 1997 Dear David, I was in the living room at 6 one warm morning last week when the sounds of someone getting sick floated down the stairs from the bathroom. I called to DC, who assured me she'd be all right. DC gets headaches some mornings if she has slept in a draft, and there have been occasional bouts of nausea ever since her car wreck last December. So I wasn't overly alarmed...

MARQUAND -- Starting at 8 a.m. Saturday at Clearwater High School in Piedmont, friends and family of cancer victim Dillion Karn will play softball to help raise funds for his medical expenses. Dillion was an active, outgoing 4-year-old with lots of energy to spare, family members say. When he began to slow down and lose his appetite they knew something was wrong...

Ananda Bullock was 3 when she first smoked marijuana. Bullock, 24, didn't quit until a year ago when she entered Teen Challenge National, a drug counseling program. A survey of 230 Teen Challenge students revealed 97 percent used marijuana. Seventy percent said marijuana led to other drugs...

Food. We love to eat it. We can't live without it. Unfortunately it can also be deadly: Mishandling by human hands can cause hepatitis A or food poisoning. The Cape Girardeau County Health Department said food preparation and handling is a serious matter. With summer holiday food preparations now in progress, Diane Gregory, environmental public health specialist, said safe food handling practices must be taught and used to prevent often fatal foodborne illnesses...

The March of Dimes is offering grants to agencies interested in helping improve the health of babies in Southeast Missouri. Matt Hopkins, March of Dimes southeast division director, said his organization is offering one-year grant funding through Project Abstract. Grants are available to agency programs that target one of three March of Dimes areas of emphasis...

STE. GENEVIEVE -- The Kohlfeld Capahas used four home runs, two by Ryan Murphy, to stay unbeaten with a 15-4 victory over Ste. Genevieve Wednesday night. Murphy added a double to his round-trippers and finished with five RBIs. The Capahas, who improved to 19-0 on the season, also received longballs from Steve Kress and Darrick Smith...

Paducah visited Capaha Field Wednesday night and thumped Cape Legion Ford & Sons 14-1 in five innings. Cape Legion, which fell to 20-11, managed just a second-inning, RBI single off the bat of Jeff Michel. Paducah posted three-run innings in the first, third and fourth, and enacted the 10-run rule with a five-run fifth...

Chaffee's Junior Legion team improved to 27-1 on the season with a district sweep of Sikeston Wednesday night. Chaffee won the opener 9-1 before winning the nightcap 8-1. Dustin Dannenmueller held Sikeston to four hits in the opener, striking out seven and walking one...

Daughter to Shawn Davis and Heather Ann Clinton of Sikeston, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 5:28 p.m. Tuesday, June 24, 1997. Name, Ivy Elizabeth. Weight, 7 pounds 6 ounces. Mrs. Clinton is the former Heather Hinton, daughter of Dan and Jane Hinton of Sikeston. Clinton is the son of Toliethe Campbell of Deming, N.M. He is employed at Good-Humor Breyers...

WARDELL -- Funeral service for Iris Carolyn Maddox of Houston, Texas, will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church in Oran. The Rev. Edward Maddox will officiate, with burial in Union Park Cemetery at Chaffee. Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Oran after 4 p.m. Saturday...

ALTENBURG -- Rudolph T. Schirmer, 88, of Altenburg died Wednesday, July 2, 1997, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 5, 1908, at Altenburg, son of Martin and Emma Holt Schirmer. He and Alma Kutscher were married Oct. 21, 1930. She died April 24, 1995...

Memorial service for Cora Isabelle Copeman Shearer, 1256 Linden, will be held at 7 p.m. today at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Cy Smith will officiate. Friends may call at the chapel after 6 p.m. The body was cremated. Shearer, 69, died Tuesday, July 1, 1997, at St. Francis Medical Center...

DEXTER -- Funeral service for Alma Fay Bailey will be held at 3:30 p.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The Rev. Rick Broadway will officiate, with burial in Dexter Cemetery. Bailey, 91, died Tuesday, July 1, 1997, at St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City...