Stories from Wednesday, May 20, 1998

Say the word bagworm at a dinner party. The response will be "Yuk, oooh, ug, they give me the heebie jeebies, they give me the woolies, they make me want to throw up." These insects have a bad reputation. I have only one friend, Larry, who speaks fondly of bagworms. I suppose I should mention that he is an entomologist by trade...

PATTON -- Three Fredericktown women were injured Tuesday morning when the vehicle in which they were riding overturned on Highway 51. Injured were driver Brenda Lawson, 39, and passengers Debbie Wills, 24, and Phyllis Sikes, 44. Lawson suffered moderate injuries, and Wills and Sikes suffered minor injuries. All three were transported to Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville...

SIKESTON - The Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce Springfest '98 opens May 26 on the grounds between the chamber of commerce headquarters and the Sikeston Airport. Five days of carnival rides, music and games are planned during the annual event, which will run through May 30, said Sue Scott, chamber of commerce marketing director...

Brad Jones, Missouri state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, will speak Thursday to the Southeast Missouri Pachyderm Club. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Holiday Inn. NFIB has more than 600,000 members nationwide...

A serpentine path being paved across a field in the north Cape Girardeau County Park will eventually meander through an arboretum with up to 100 different species of trees. The project is a cooperative venture of Cape Girardeau County and the Missouri Conservation Department. The county is furnishing material for the trail. The conservation department is providing the labor...

Drivers in Cape Girardeau are more likely to use seat belts than drivers throughout the rest of the state, according to the results of a recent survey. Sharee Galnore, coordinator for the Cape Girardeau Safe Communities Program, said Monday that the current usage rate of seat belts by drivers in Cape Girardeau is 78 percent, down from 82 percent six months ago...

An individual winner of tonight's Powerball Jackpot could face tough some decisions. Not the least is how to take the money -- in payments totaling more than $500,000 a month for 25 years, or in one after-tax payment of $55,080,000. The Powerball jackpot is up to an estimated $150 million, the largest lottery jackpot ever offered in North America. The winners have an option of receiving approximately half of the winnings in cash...

The Bomb: India's detonation of five nuclear devices in the desert near Pakistan was a rude reminder that the world is a dangerous place. The largest blast was at least twice as big as the bomb that leveled Hiroshima. The blast caught the CIA totally by surprise. ...

Riverboat casinos offer the glitz of gambling. Bingo isn't as showy, but it isn't penny-ante either. Bingo generates big bucks in Cape Girardeau County, with the profits going to charitable efforts throughout the region. Missouri has more than 700 bingo groups licensed to offer weekly bingo games. ...

Getting Missouri's bingo records from officials in Jefferson City can be a difficult task, as this newspaper discovered. It took two months for the Southeast Missourian to obtain from the state the 1997 quarterly financial reports on bingo operations run by nine organizations in Cape Girardeau County...

To the editor: The ads, fliers and circulars are arriving in our homes proclaiming great values in merchandise to be available at Memorial Day sales. I fear that our people have forgotten the meaning of Memorial Day. It has become just another day off work for some, while others labor to serve those who observe the holiday by shopping store to store. ...

To the editor: Recently I received this letter from my son, Ted, who contends that communism is criminal in nature. And that is surely true. Ted is a former professor at Southeast Missouri State University who lives at Lehigh Acres, Fla. Here is his letter:...

A distinct haze hangs in the air. Is it typical of Southeast Missouri weather or is it smoke and soot from fires burning in Mexico and Central America? A little of both, officials say, and again El Nino is to blame. Fires are burning out of control in Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala causing a giant plume of smoke that is drifting across the United States. Particularly hard hit is Texas, but as the fires continue winds are sending the smoke to the north and east...

A bill passed by the Missouri Legislature could boost the state's efforts to return unclaimed property, officials say. The state treasurer's office already has returned a record $3.2 million in unclaimed property this fiscal year, which ends June 30. The state thus far this year has returned more unclaimed property than during any full year since the inception of the program in 1985...

Cape Girardeau is a city with a mission. The City Council has adopted the city's first mission statement, which Mayor Al Spradling III calls a guideline for council members, employees and staff. "I think it's an important step to let the general public know what the mission of the city is," Spradling said. ...

It's 10 p.m. and I'm already bushed. Gone are the days of staying up until 1 a.m. to watch the "Late, Late, Late Show" and then rising at 7 a.m. for a shower, blow-dry and makeup application. Now it's shower the night before, finger-style and add a little mascara if there's time...

Dr. Velmer Burton, head of the criminal justice department at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., has been named assistant provost for graduate studies and research at Southeast Missouri State University. Burton will begin July 1 and will be responsible for some of the duties handled currently by Dr. Sheila Caskey, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Extended Learning. Caskey plans to retire in August...

A group of mayors representing cities and towns that are home to riverboat casinos in the Midwest have gathered in Chicago this week to recognize some positive impacts legalized gambling has had on their communities. The occasion is the meeting of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, which was founded by Congress in 1995 to evaluate the social and economic issues surrounding the $50-billion-a-year gambling industry...

The Cape Girardeau School District's new elementary school will be surrounded by beauty and several energy savers thanks to a grant awarded by AmerenUE. AmerenUE's GreenLeaf program was started by Union Electric in 1989 to provide grants for planting trees, gardens and other foliage that offers energy savings and beautifies an area. ...

Gene Stephenson has built one of the nation's premier college baseball programs at Wichita State, with a 1,164-344 record and seven College World Series appearances over the past 22 seasons. So there's no way Stephenson and his Shockers could possibly take Southeast Missouri State University seriously, right?...

"You want me?" That was the reaction of Cape Central senior Michael Minner when coach Steve Williams called on him to pinch hit with the score tied 3-3 in the sixth inning of Tuesday's Class 4A, District 1 semifinal against Poplar Bluff. "I wasn't real sure he was calling for me," Minner said. "I was standing next to David (Ham), we were both swinging bats and (Williams) pointed at me...

CHAFFEE -- It will be rematch time in the championship game of the Class 2A, District 2 Tournament. Defending champion Kelly and Notre Dame both used strong pitching performances and timely hitting to handily win semifinal games here Tuesday. Top-seeded Notre Dame eased past fifth-seeded Scott City 7-1 while second-seeded Kelly downed third-seeded Chaffee 8-1...

COLUMBIA -- Thanks to the boys golf team, St. Vincent High School has its first-ever state championship. The Indians rallied from a six-stroke deficit after Monday's first day of competition to storm to the title in the Class 1A Tournament held at the Lake of the Woods Course...

The American Heart Association will hold a four-person scramble golf tournament June 12 at Bent Creek Golf Club in Jackson. There will be a shotgun start at 1 p.m. and the entry fee is $75. For more information, call the American Heart Association office at 335-3240 or Rob Janet at 243-3193...

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department will sponsor a 4-on-4 sand volleyball tournament June 6 at Arena Park. Entry forms and rosters are due June 4 at 12 p.m. The format of the tournament will depend on the number of entries. Entry forms are available at the AC Brase Arena Building and the Osage Community Centre. For more information, call Lance at 334-2859 or 335-5421...

The 1998 University of Missouri Tiger Caravan will be in Cape Girardeau June 4 at the Drury Lodge. Head football coach Larry Smith will lead a Mizzou delegation that will include interim athletic director Gene McArtor and alumni association executive director Todd Coleman. Mike Kelly, the radio voice of MU sports, will be the master of ceremonies for the evening...

Cape Central senior Tatum Kitchen grew up idolizing his dad's Lou W. Muegge Award as the school's top male athlete. "I see it in my living room every night," said Kitchen, son of Central athletic director Terry Kitchen. After winning the same honor at Tuesday's All-School Recognition Banquet, Tatum now has one to call his own...

Scott City's basketball boosters will be holding a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for several age groups June 13 at the high school. Medals will be awarded to the top team in six different age divisions. Cost to enter is $40 with every player receiving a t-shirt. Each team is guaranteed two games with action starting at 9 a.m...

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department will host its 8th Annual Junior Outdoor Tennis Tournament June 20 at Arena Park's and Cape Central's courts. Participants should be at the Arena Park courts at 8 a.m. and play will begin shortly after that. The tournament is open for youths ages 10-18. There will be singles and doubles play...

Martha Hamilton of Cape Girardeau got her second career hole-in-one Saturday while playing golf at the Cape Girardeau Country Club. Hamilton aced No. 8 hole, a 100-yard par 3. She used an eight-iron. Playing along with her were Tom Hamilton, Mark McDowell and Christy McDowell...

CHAFFEE -- Walter Ancell, 82, of Holts Summit, formerly of Chaffee, died Tuesday, May 19, 1998, at St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City. Arrangements are pending at Amick-Burnett Funeral Home in Chaffee.

SCOTT CITY -- Henry E. Perr, 91, of Scott City died Monday, May 18, 1998, at The Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 25, 1907, in New Wells, the son of August and Johannah Borchelt Perr. He married Edith Wells on May 17, 1943. He was a barber and worked at Style Rite Barbershop in Cape Girardeau for many years. ...

PERRYVILLE -- Clara E. Elder, 101, of Perryville died Monday, May 18, 1998, at Perry Oaks Nursing Home. She was born Oct. 17, 1896, at Biehle, daughter of Henry and Barbara Moll Balsman. She and Joseph P. Elder were married May 2, 1918. He died Sept. 5, 1955...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Ivery D. "I.D." Williams, 67, of Cairo died Saturday, May 16, 1998, at his home. He was born Sept. 3, 1930, in Huntington, Tenn., son of Willie and Alene Crittenden Williams. He married Mary Walker. Williams served 18 years in the U.S. Army, and several years in the U.S. Air Force. He was employed by United Trans Trucking Co. in Cairo more than 20 years...

Daughter to David Lewis and Sandra Lee Smith of Jackson, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 5:10 a.m. Saturday, March 14, 1998. Name, Taylor Sue. Weight, 9 pounds. Third daughter. Mrs. Smith is the former Sandra Aufdenberg, daughter of Walter and Ruth Aufdenberg of Jackson. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are employed at Procter & Gamble. He is the son of Jim Smith of Gibbs, and the late Peggy Smith...

BLOOMFIELD -- Joyce Patterson, 59, of Bloomfield died Tuesday, May 19, 1998, at Dexter Memorial Hospital in Dexter. Watkins and Sons Funeral Home at Dexter is in charge of arrangements.

The Southeast Missourian asked students at Orchard Drive Elementary School about an experience they had that was not safe. Luke Clippard: "Last year I tried to ride my bicycle with no hands. I fell down and cut my knee. It was not fun." Hillary Jordan: "About two years ago I went roller skating outside on concrete. I went down a hill, landed in the grass, my arm flew back and I broke my arm."...

JACKSON -- Since 1992, children in Jackson have been learning how to ride their bicycles safely at Safety City in City Park. The miniature village provides a setting for children in grades K through four to learn how to travel through the city's streets more safely...