Stories from Tuesday, August 19, 1997

Ta da ... drum roll please ... the A-team is back. Joni is back from her vacation. Peggy survived her first week back to work after maternity leave. Things are returning to normal. We're both gearing up for the start of another school year, which turned our thoughts to learning...

Mike Kiehne showed off the locker he used when he attended the school he will teach at. When Mike Kiehne walks the halls at R.O. Hawkins Junior High School in Jackson, things look smaller. When he was a ninth-grader there, he was 5-foot-9, now he's 6-foot-5...

Don Beggs, chancellor of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, wants to change the image of the campus from a party school to one that offers quality educational opportunities. "It's no secret we have an image problem," said Beggs, who was in Cape Girardeau Monday promoting SIU...

If all goes as planned, Cape Girardeau Public Schools could break ground next month for the first new school building in three decades. The Board of Education Monday approved soil testing at the Sprigg-Bertling property where an elementary school will be built. The first phase of dirt work could commence in late September...

Bob Blank, a member of Cape Girardeau's Board of Education, thinks a truant officer will help improve attendance. It did for him, he recalled. The school board approved $6,000 in matching funds to hire a truant officer. Randy Rhodes, juvenile officer, wrote and received a grant for $27,440 from Missouri's Department of Public Safety for the officer, who should be hired within the next few months...

The national leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has approved a policy that community churches have been practicing for years, a Cape Girardeau pastor said. Delegates to the ELCA's biennial assembly in Philadelphia voted 839-193 Monday to enter into full communion with the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ and the Reformed Church in America. ...

The Cape Girardeau City Council granted a variance Monday night to allow a developer to construct a residential subdivision with lots as small as 8,500 square feet. Developer Larry McCulley had sought a variance from the 10,000-square-foot requirement for single-family homes in an R-1 zone...

So, it is a guilty plea for Bob Griffin. The former speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, whose 15-year tenure in that office made him much the longest-serving ever in this key position, pleaded guilty last week to one count of accepting a bribe and one count of mail fraud. ...

USMedia Group Inc. announced it plans to sell four daily newspapers and five weeklies to Rust Communications of Cape Girardeau. USMedia said it has signed a letter of intent, but contract details are still being worked out. A change of ownership is expected by Oct. 1...

Bob Heisserer of Rogers, Ark., and formerly of Cape Girardeau, has been recognized by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and HFN Magazine, as Wal-Mart's "Buyer of the Year." Heisserer, who joined the giant retailer in store management 14 years ago, has been a buyer for Wal-Mart in girls' apparel, infant and juvenile products and currently, small electronics and floor care products...

If the Ohio Valley Conference's volleyball coaches are accurate, then Southeast Missouri State University's Otahkians won't make it five straight league championships this season. The Otahkians have been picked to finish second in the OVC in a vote of the league's head coaches. The vote was extremely tight as Southeast was edged out by Eastern Illinois by one first-place vote and one total point...

After a disappointing (by his standards) 1996 season, manager Jess Bolen was determined to get his Kohlfeld Capahas back on track. And that's exactly what happened. The Capahas, who finished just third in the National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional a year ago, rebounded to capture the 1997 Mid-South Regional championship and tie for seventh place in the prestigious NBC World Series in Wichita, Kan...

BENTON -- Robby Arnold made the long haul from Paragould, Ark., to Missouri International Racepark Saturday night, then right into victory lane. The Arkansas native made his visit to the Show Me State a profitable one as the driver picked up the $600 IMCA Modified top prize. The IMCA Modifieds paid a special visit to MIR as the Winged Sprint cars took a night off...

Running 1500 meters can be a haul for just about anyone. But six-year-old Taylor Sanders of Jackson appears to have the legs and lungs to handle the distance. Taylor, the daughter of Dennis and Karen Sanders, won four track medals at the Show Me State Games in Columbia last month. Racing in the six-and-under division, Taylor won two gold medals in the 1500-meter run and walk, a silver in the 100-meter run and a bronze in the 400-meter run...

Four area high school basketball players honed their skills in South America during a sports evangelism mission this summer. Chris Sisk and Nick Centanni of Scott City joined Andy Barnes of Marquand and Matthew Hale of Millersville on a mission trip to Ecuador from June 13-22. The Rev. Daniel Hale, Matthew's father, led the mission which helps to work on churches and gain new members to the church...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Juanita Rendleman, 80, of Kimberling City, Mo., died Saturday, Aug. 16, 1997, at Skaggs Memorial Hospital in Branson, Mo. She was born April 7, 1917, in Anna, daughter of Howard and Florence Karraker Henderson. She and Charlie Rendleman were married Nov. 9, 1935, in Cobden...

CHARLESTON -- Carman C. McKinley, 61, of Charleston died Monday, Aug. 18, 1997, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born April 27, 1936, at Bertrand, son of Walter C. and Sarah Christine Collier McKinley. He married Shirley Ann Siggers, who died Aug. 7, 1992...

CHARLESTON -- Private graveside service for Margaret Thurmond of Charleston was held Monday at IOOF Cemetery. The Rev. Rick White officiated. McMikle Funeral Home of Charleston was in charge of arrangements. Thurmond, 96, died Sunday, Aug. 17, 1997, at her home...

Son to Lillian Christian Faye Seabaugh and Andrew Thomas Miller of Whitewater, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 12:37 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, 1997. Name, Garrett Levi. Weight, 7 pounds 6 ounces. Ms. Seabaugh is the daughter of Larry and Mary Seabaugh of Whitewater. She is a student at Delta High School. Miller is the son of Tommy and Anna Miller of Scott City. He is a student at Scott City School...

JACKSON -- Graveside service for Robert E. Anderson of Jackson was held Monday at Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Bill Ellis officiated. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson was in charge of arrangements. Anderson, 77, died Friday, Aug. 15, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Private services will be in Chicago for Nancy Krieger, 49, of Dongola, who died Saturday at the City Care Center in Anna. She was born June 29, 1948, in Chicago to Marshall and Mary Elizabeth Cole Cannom. She married Donald Edward Krieger...

PUXICO -- Funeral service for Virgil Payton of Puxico will be held at 11 a.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Puxico. The Rev. Marshall Link will officiate, with burial in Puxico Cemetery. Payton, 80, died Sunday, Aug. 17, 1997, at his home...

SIKESTON -- Adoline "Addie" Marshall, 89, of Sikeston died Monday, Aug. 18, 1997, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Jan. 9, 1908, in the McMullin community, daughter of William B. and Emma Simpson. She and James Marshall Jr. were married Nov. 20, 1933, at Charleston. He died Oct. 15, 1989...

The Jackson Board of Alderman voted to lower the 1998 property tax rate by 5 cents per $100 assessed valuation. The city rate was set at 99 cents per $100 for those residents who resided in the city prior to 1965. Those residents pay an extra 12 cents per $100 for the city library...

SCOTT CITY -- Scott City's mayor is unhappy with a parking problem in one area of the city and plans to authorize the police to begin writing tickets if it isn't resolved. That is a big chore considering the vehicles are Union Pacific railroad trains...

SIKESTON -- Graveside service for Charles F. Buchanan will be held at 1 p.m. today at Memorial Park Cemetery. Cline Ables will officiate. Ponder Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Buchanan, 73, died Sunday, Aug. 17, 1997, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis...

FRIEDHEIM -- Funeral service for Alvin Sauer of Friedheim will be held at 2 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Chapel in Jackson. The Rev. Wayne Palmer will officiate, with burial in Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau. Sauer, 97, died Sunday, Aug. 17, 1997, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau...

FARRAR -- Wilhelm G. "William" Kassel, 86, of Farrar died Sunday, Aug. 17, 1997, at Perry Oaks Healthcare. He was born Jan. 27, 1911, in Perry County, son of Phillip and Clara M. Hopfer Kassel. He and Wilma Roth were married May 9, 1937. Kassel was a farmer. He was a member of Salem Lutheran Church and School Board...

ANNA, Ill. -- Rollie "Blue" Wright, 68, of Anna died Monday, Aug. 18, 1997, at the VA Medical Center in Marion. He was born June 16, 1929, in Alto Pass, son of Rollie and Celia Ellen Sprouce Wright. He and Billie Jean Lambert were married Nov. 3, 1951, at Murphysboro. She died March 19, 1996...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Pauline Laughlin, 84, of East Prairie died Monday, Aug. 18, 1997, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Oct. 11, 1912, in Mississippi County to Thomas and Hannah Morgan Flowers. She was a lifelong resident of Mississippi County and was a member of the First Christian Church of East Prairie...