Stories from Tuesday, October 7, 1997

Nacole Acosta, vice president of operations, and Cory Lenderman, operations support at the Bulldog Financial Center, sort through transactions before logging them on a computer. SIKESTON -- Educators at Sikeston High School are banking on a new class to teach the school's student body fiscal responsibility...

Education is a much-loved way of life for elementary school teacher Teresa Williams. The 12-year teaching veteran is in her first year as a second-grade teacher at Charles C. Clippard Elementary School. She was influenced to enter the profession by close relatives, and her husband works as a teacher and coach in the Cape Girardeau public school system...

Andrea Brown, regional superintendent of schools for Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pulaski and Union counties, has announced student appointments to the 1997 regional high school band. Sixty-two students were selected for the band, which brings together the most dedicated and outstanding musical talent from the 12 high schools in the five-county region. ...

CYBERTIP: The Oct. 9 and 13 Surfing 101 classes are full, but we've started a waiting list. Limited openings remain in November, with plenty of spots in December. Classes will be offered the second Monday of the month from 7-9 p.m., and the second Thursday of the month from 1-3 p.m. Call Joni or Peggy at 335-6611 to register. The cost is $10, which must be paid in advance...

The city of Cape Girardeau's purchase of the former Boatmen's Bank facility at Broadway and Main should be a done deal by Friday. The City Council authorized City Manager Michael Miller to negotiate the sales contract after a closed session Monday night...

At first, the Rev. Eddie Dodson, pastor of Iona Baptist Church, didn't really want to go to the Promise Keepers "Stand in the Gap" rally last weekend in Washington, D.C. But after meeting with 1 million men from across the nation who had gathered in prayer for their families, friends and government, Dodson is glad he attended...

JACKSON -- People in need often don't know where to turn for help, says Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the Area Wide United Way. The local United Way and Community Caring Council in Cape Girardeau believe that problem could be addressed by setting up a centralized information and referral network...

Local military, Scout leaders and others met in Cape Girardeau Monday to discuss development of a new Explorer post to combine elements of Scouting and military boot camp. The Explorer program is a young-adult division of the Boy Scouts of America. Posts are organized by businesses, churches, schools, government agencies and other organizations that want to match the interests of youths 14 to 20 with adult expertise and program resources...

Don't cry for me Cape Girardeau -- the truth is I've never really been here. It's a poor paraphrase of Evita, but what the heck, it's my last column. I'm moving. I've landed a job back home in Florida and I leave Oct. 15. I'll be home in time for the second-half of the Florida Gators's football season and the beginning of the much-ballyhooed Florida winter...

AS THE walls of our home and in fact our very bodies vibrate with the obnoxious beat of many boom boxes, and as our ears are assaulted by the weekly Friday- and Saturday-night blaring of horns, drag races and peeling tires, it is, with a deep sigh of contentment, that we are once again able to listen to the beautiful church bells of Grace United Methodist Church. ...

To the editor: In our society, unfortunately, all too often we are quick to criticize and tardy, at best, to praise. I would like to draft the following letter of praise for an outstanding group of individuals from Southeast Missouri State University...

There are numerous words of wisdom when it comes to gambling: No. 1, never bet against the guy who sets the odds. And, No. 2, never bet more than you can afford to lose. These pearls of gaming advice come not from any wealth of experience I might have, since I don't gamble at all, but from my father who loved it with a passion that only a young reporter-who-liked-to-shoot-craps-with-local-railroad crews could impart. ...

To the editor: My son recently brought home two notices from school with which I feel I must take issue. One regards the annual fund-raising event and the other a decision to drop Halloween from the regularly scheduled school parties. I have received no notice from the school that either one of these topics was open to input from parents, so I will use this letter to state my views...

To the editor: As I watched Princess Diana's funeral on television, I was once again reminded of the beauty and eloquence of the English language. Unfortunately, our children will not master this beauty and command of English. Those teachers who foster whole language and those teachers who think that grammar will be learned by reading cheat our students. ...

Hearings conducted last month before the U.S. Senate's Finance Committee spotlighted appalling abuses of power by the Internal Revenue Service. These abuses seem to have become business-as-usual for the agency, with some IRS employees testifying behind screens, their voices electronically altered as is done with mob informers fearful of retribution...

The state of Missouri is among those states in compliance with the federal government's deadline for cutting welfare rolls. Under the 1996 federal welfare-reform law, states as of Oct. 1 must have 25 percent of their total caseloads working in jobs, and 75 percent of two-parent families on welfare must be working a total of 37.5 hours a week between the parents. ...

Filing for unemployment will be easier in a number of Southeast Missouri counties this month. The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is expanding a new service for unemployed workers. The workers will call the Division of Employment Security's automated claim service to file a claim for unemployment benefits, said Jackie Cecil, manager of the Job Service office here...

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson will hold two economic development meetings in Southeast Missouri this month with business and community leaders. The first meeting will be held Oct. 14 at Southeast Missouri State University's Glenn Auditorium in Dempster Hall...

Hot and dry aren't adjectives usually associated with autumn, but that's the weather we're getting. Monday's high reached a balmy 86 degrees, as did the high on Sunday. Temperatures usually reach into the lower 80s this time of year. It's probably too soon to blame all the warmth on El Nino, a local weather expert says. Instead, blame it on the jet stream, said Dr. Al Robertson, a climatologist at Southeast Missouri State University...

SCOTT CITY -- The Scott City Planning and Zoning Committee will be asked to call a special meeting as quickly as possible to address a number of possible special-use violations. Two of those accused of violating the ordinance governing special-use permits are Public Works director John Rogers and his sister Carolyn Tinsley, another city employee...

7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6 Public Hearings -- Held a public hearing regarding the request of G. Keith Deimund Trust and Americare Properties, Inc. for a special use permit for a 12-unit residential care facility at 2906 Beavercreek Drive in a C-1 local commercial district...

Urban Miyares, founder and president of the Disabled Businesspersons Association and a diabetes spokesperson, will be keynote speaker at a diabetes seminar Oct. 18, at Dempster Hall on Southeast Missouri State University campus. Miyares, a disabled and blind Vietnam veteran, entrepreneur, lecturer, and published writer, will address two sessions of the conference. At 8:30 a.m. the topic will be "Diabetes Saved My Life" and at noon the topic will be "Living With the Complications of Diabetes."...

Greg Brune remembers vividly Southeast Missouri State University's football team of 30 years ago that captured the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship. "We started out really slow but we finished strong and went 5-0 to win the MIAA," he said...

Southeast Missouri State University's football team does appear to have quite a bit more talent on offense this year as opposed to last season. But you sure can't tell it by the production so far. In 1996, Southeast's offense -- lacking legitimate Division I-AA speed at virtually every position -- generated an average of 224.6 yards per game to rank dead last in the Ohio Valley Conference...

BENTON -- Mike Ward, driving the Sams Town Casino/Ward Racing J&J, fought off late race challenges from Lee Dunn Saturday night to earn the $3,000 top prize for the Winged Sprint Cars at Missouri International Racepark's final competition of the season...

SIKESTON -- Cape Girardeau Central High's girls tennis team concluded the regular season with a dual-match record of 12-0 after rolling past host Sikeston 9-0 Monday. The Lady Tigers will compete in Thursday's Class 4A, District 1 Tournament at Sikeston, scheduled to begin at 9:45 a.m...

No, it wasn't the old wild west, but Bill Logan did quite nicely anyway in a recent `duel.' Actually, this duel had an `a' substituted for the `e' -- as in dualthon, which combines the sports of bicycling and running and is an offshoot of the popular triathlon. Logan, a 55-year-old Cape Girardeau resident, finished fifth in the 55-59 age division at last month's World Dualthon Championships in Gernika, Spain...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's cross country team finished fifth out of 14 teams during Saturday's Saluki Invitational hosted by Southern Illinois. The Otahkians placed four runners in the top 25, led by Leslie McNamara's fourth-place finish and Janelle Quigley's seventh-place effort...

Southeast Missouri State University's volleyball team will venture outside the Ohio Valley Conference tonight when Arkansas State comes to Houck Field House for a 7 p.m. match. The Otahkians, who last week had their 34-match regular-season OVC winning streak snapped, are 15-5 overall and a first-place 7-1 in the conference...

JACKSON -- The City of Jackson has decided to join the SEMO Drug Task Force, if on a trial basis. A Jackson police officer will be assigned to the drug crime-fighting organization for 120 days as a test. "It is taking one of our officers off the street," City administrator Steve Wilson said...

Daughter to Brian Edward and Tanya Christine Enderle, Chaffee Route 1, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 9:05 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, 1997. Name, Madison Anne. Weight, 8 pounds 2 ounces. Mrs. Enderle is the former Tanya Essner, daughter of Stan and Shirley Essner of Benton. She is employed at K's Merchandise. Enderle is the son of Randy and Glenda Enderle of New Hamburg. He is a self-employed farmer...

PERRYVILLE -- Theodore G. Fischer, 78, of Perryville died Saturday, Oct. 4, 1997, at Perry Oaks Healthcare Center. He was born April 6, 1919, in St. Louis, son of Theodore L. and Louise S. Hoehn Fischer. Fischer had worked at International Shoe Co. He was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Funeral service for Roberta Lea Hunter of East Prairie will be held at 2 p.m. today at Shelby Funeral Home in East Prairie. The Rev. Jerry Willer will officiate, with burial in East Prairie Memorial Park Cemetery. Hunter, 69, died Sunday, Oct. 5, 1997, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, following an extended illness...

John Joseph Biri, 39, of Farmington died Saturday, Oct. 4, 1997, in Washington, Mo. He was born Dec. 16, 1957, in St. Louis, son of Roy W. and Edna Marie Schumer Biri. Biri was a case worker at Farmington Treatment Center, and also owned and operated The Computer Guy. He was a sound technician many years with area bands such as Madallion, Excalibur, and G.T.O. He was president of Farmington Band Booster Club...

MOREHOUSE -- Johnie Dallas Vaughn, 77, of Morehouse died Sunday, Oct. 5, 1997, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Feb. 27, 1920, in Noxall, son of John Nelson and Zona A. Dowdy Vaughn. He and Naomi Ruth Butler were married Oct. 23, 1937, at Kewanee...

JACKSON -- Loren D. "Wayne" Browning, 53, of Jackson, formerly of Olive Branch, Ill., died Monday, Oct. 6, 1996, in Marble Hill. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Thursday at the Trinity Assembly of God Church in Olive Branch. Friends may call from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Crain Funeral Home in Tamms...