Stories from Tuesday, April 21, 1998

JACKSON -- The best part of teaching a foreign language for Jackson High School French teacher Darlene Houchins is the opportunity she gets to open doors in her students' lives. She said she isn't always successful, but when she is, her students have a way of letting her share in their excitement...

Some high school students find it hard to fit classes into their busy schedule. They arrive early and stay late. They often visit the principal's office, but not for any wrongdoing on their part. They're members of student government. They're often involved in several clubs and even find time for sports...

If you're a Disney fan, this is the big week. The fourth park, Animal Kingdom, opens Wednesday. If you didn't buy your ticket yet, don't worry. You can join the virtual grand opening online. In addition to Disney's world of animals, the Internet is teaming with wildlife sites that are both fun and informational...

The Cape Girardeau City Council did an about-face Monday night, approving a special-use permit to add a sixth floor to a William Street office building after rejecting the request earlier this month. The council voted unanimously to grant the request from Drury Southwest Inc. and Robert A. and Anna R. Drury for a sixth floor on the building under construction at 3065 William...

The Southeast Missouri State University administration wants to hike general fees over the next five years to pay for a new student center. The administration also has proposed raising incidental fees for the 1998-99 school year by $3 a credit-hour for in-state undergraduates and $6 a credit-hour for out-of-state students...

Missouri's law enforcement agencies and local prosecutors should target businesses that sell cold pills and other chemicals in bulk to manufacturers of methamphetamine, Kansas City prosecutor Claire McCaskill said Monday. McCaskill, prosecuting attorney for Jackson County, said some retailers knowingly sell cold pills in bulk to meth dealers. They even charge more for the chemicals in bulk because they know it will be used to make the illegal drug, she said...

The sounds of select radio broadcasters in America are reaching deaf ears, at least that's what a group of California protesters said last week. The group of micro broadcasters, people who operate small wattage, independent radio stations across the country, want people to hear a voice other than that of corporate America...

To the editor: As members of the Budget Committee, we would like to address the inaccurate information put forward by state Rep. Joe Heckemeyer concerning the loss of vo-tech funding for Southeast Missouri. His personal and partisan attack on state Rep. Mary Kasten was inappropriate and misleading...

Tornado season has begun with a vengeance. Dozens of deaths, mostly in the southern states, have resulted from killer twisters that have left behind hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage as well. There is no way to predict every dangerous storm, but the National Weather Service has become more and more sophisticated in its storm warnings, thanks to technological advances. ...

I DON'T want to hear any more about how the big-city doctors don't care. Because of my company insurance, I was supposed to go to St. Louis for my health care. Instead, I chose to pay the penalty and see a local doctor for what I was afraid was an ulcer. ...

To the editor: I would like to take this opportunity to comment about Friday's front-page article in the Southeast Missourian, in particular the part of the headline that said, "Heckemeyer says Kasten sat idly by." I cannot think of any one individual with whom I have had the privilege to serve in the Legislature for whom I have more respect than Mary Kasten. ...

JACKSON -- The city Monday authorized a contract with a St. Louis architectural firm to continue work on the feasibility study for the Jackson's proposed multipurpose building. The Board of Aldermen voted to approve spending $20,000 so the committee studying the project can continue its work...

Volunteers with Southwestern Bell Telephone took a challenge to roll up their sleeves and dig into the spirit of volunteerism during the fourth annual Days of Caring sponsored by the Area Wide United Way. The United Way has set aside this week, which is National Volunteer Week, and May 11 to 15, which is the local Random Acts of Kindness Week, to focus on volunteerism in the community...

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education took two days off this year's school calendar and rejected bids from three companies for property and casualty insurance during a meeting Monday night. The last day of school for students will be May 29 instead of June 2 as originally scheduled. ...

With an incredibly quick bat, Notre Dame sophomore slugger Josh Eftink has the potential to change the outcome of a game every time he comes to the plate. In Monday's 6-2 victory over Scott City, Eftink not only shifted the momentum with one of his powerful swings -- he changed the weather...

Tennis players are accustomed to facing windy conditions at times, but Southeast Missouri State University's women's team took that a couple of steps further than normal last Thursday. The Otahkians were in Nashville, Tenn., for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament when they found themselves literally right in the middle of the major tornado that hit the city...

CHAFFEE -- Josh Hanlon struck out 14 batters and had two hits of his own as Chaffee High's baseball team defeated visiting Portageville 5-2 Monday. Hanlon allowed just four hits and walked one as Chaffee improved to 6-3 on the season with its sixth straight victory...

Sierra Ellis, 12, and Franky Ellis, 10, have been selected to play on a Great British Soccer Tours team that will participate in two tournaments this summer in Great Britain. Sierra and Franky are the children of Frank and Sylvia Ellis of Cape Girardeau. Sierra is a 6th-grade student at St. Mary's Cathedral School and is a member of the Cape Girardeau-Jackson under 13 competitive soccer club. Franky is a 4th-grader at St. Mary's and plays on the Classic United under 11 soccer team...

Gliding and twirling around the ice, clad in a costume worthy of the Olympics, 10-year-old Corrie Gerecke looks a little like Tara Lipinski. But like Lipinski, the Olympic champion, Corrie is a kid. And kids sometimes do funny things when they travel to ice skating competitions...

The seventh annual Youth Catch and Release Fishing Derby will be held May 16 at Capaha Park Pond. Children ages 1 thru 15 are invited to test their fishing skills. The event is free to all participants. There will be many door prizes, including rods and reels, tackle boxes and other fishing equipment. Some bait will be provided but participants are encouraged to bring their own bait and fishing equipment...

A kid's fishing tournament will be held May 9 at Cape County Park from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Everything is free, including refreshments and prizes. For more information, call 339-4085.

EAST PRAIRIE -- Alta Voner Dunn, 91, of East Prairie died Monday, April 19, 1998, at East Prairie Nursing Center. She was born Nov. 27, 1906, in Dorena, daughter of William and Nina Williams Brown. She and Everett Dunn were married Feb. 14, 1925. He died Nov. 22, 1980...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Royce Woods, 90, of East Prairie died Sunday, April 19, 1998, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Jan. 9, 1908, in Obion County, Tenn., son of Talmadge and Bertha Burton Woods. He and Pauline Ward were married Aug. 23, 1928. She died Dec. 28, 1986...

COBDEN, Ill. -- E.E. "Gene" Williams, 80, of Cobden died Sunday, April 19, 1998, at Union County Hospital in Anna. He was born April 1, 1918, at Cobden, son of O. Earl and Mabel Stout Williams. He and Helen M. Thompson King were married Dec. 31, 1983, in Cobden...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Maryan Tibbets Connolly of Jonesboro died Sunday, April 19, 1998, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was 76. She was born Nov. 28, 1921, in Jonesboro, daughter of John and Cecil Musselman Tibbets. On Oct. 7, 1944, she married Thomas Connolly in Milne Bay, New Guinea. She was a registered nurse and served in that capacity during World War II. She was a member of the Salem Lutheran Church in Jonesboro...

DEXTER -- Edna Swindell, 92, died Monday, April 20, 1998, at the Beverly Health Center in Dexter. She was born Jan. 24, 1906, daughter of John and Ada Crews Watkins in Bloomfield. She was married to John Swindell. He died Nov. 2, 1961. She spent most of her life in the Bloomfield community, where she was a housewife and had worked at Elder Manufacturing Co. She attended the Bible Tabernacle Church in Bloomfield...

Lillian K. Barringer, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, April 19, 1998 at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born January 20, 1919, at Marion, IL, daughter of Rev. C..E., and Almeda Walker Barringer. Miss Barringer graduated from Central High School and Southeast Missouri College in 1940 with a degree in Business. She worked with the department of the Navy in Washington, D.C. and New York. Later she was employed and retired from Dunn & Bradstreet. She returned to Cape Girardeau in 1992...