Stories from Tuesday, June 16, 1998

Are you an X-Philer? If so, you probably know that the new X-Files movie, "Fight the Future," opens Friday. Little is known about the plot, other than it promises to shed light on a long-standing hidden conspiracy. Since the beginning of the series, X-Files and the Internet have bonded. For one thing, Mulder and Scully, are two of the most wired main characters in television history. The Net practically plays a supporting role in the show...

Hikers set off down the tail toward the Mississippi River and stone quarry at Trail of Tears State Park. When people think of summer fun, they usually do not think about learning. They are more likely to think about baseball, barbecues and float trips...

An elbow-macaroni lobster, tie-dyed teddy bear, painted lizard, a collection of seagoing creatures and two pictures of Inch the worm outshined the competition to win a drawing contest sponsored by area McDonald's restaurants and the Southeast Missourian...

The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to begin condemnation proceedings on old St. Francis Hospital. Mayor Al Spradling III said that doesn't mean the empty building at Good Hope and Pacific will be razed any time soon. Spradling said it could take from six months to a year or longer to go through the condemnation process...

Residents who use Cape Girardeau's taxi coupon service will get one less round-trip a month under a cost-cutting measure. The City Council voted Monday night to cut the maximum number of coupons sold to each household from 16 coupons to 14 monthly. The council also agreed to use a pending report on mass transportation from the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission and other information to start looking for alternatives to the popular coupon program...

SIKESTON -- Fair housing issues were discussed at a public forum attended by about 45 people at the Drury Inn in Sikeston Monday night. The forum was sponsored by The Missouri Commission on Human Rights. The commission is the state agency that enforces the Missouri Human Rights Act in the areas of employment, public accommodations and housing...

Although I'm not partial to high humidity and temperatures in the mid-90s, I love summer. And despite what any calendar says, it has arrived. Schoolchildren are out of classes for three months, area swimming pools are full and barbecue grills are getting a workout...

Election returns from California are most interesting in light of hysterical warnings from self-styled reformers about money in politics. The Golden State is home to 32 million people and, were it a separate nation, the seventh largest economy in the world. This means that in order to reach voters, retail campaigning takes a back seat to media campaigns through television, radio and other media, including newspapers and direct mail. And purchasing media means money in large amounts...

Upon concluding this year's session of the General Assembly, legislative leaders congratulated themselves on passing more significant legislation than any year in recent memory. Among the touted bills was what we are told is the toughest anti-methamphetamine bill in America, which Gov. ...

To the editor: My granny always says what goes around comes around. Everything old is new again. Just keep it in the back of the closet, and it'll be back in style soon. If people don't take the time to learn history, they set out to repeat the same mistakes of those in the past. We need to seek out the knowledge of those who have plowed the road of life well ahead of us, gain from their experiences and maybe make the walk a tad easier for us...

Monday, June 15, 1998 7:30 p.m. Agenda Consent ordinances -- Approved an ordinance amending Section 29-302 of the city code relating to water rates. Second and third readings. -- Approved an ordinance amending Chapter 22 of the city code relating to solid waste fees. Second and third readings...

JACKSON -- The city will contribute $50,000 per year to help pay the salary of a new executive director for the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. The Jackson Board of Aldermen approved the agreement Monday night. The new executive will be charged with attracting retail business to the city as well as helping maintain the strength of the businesses already operating. Attracting new industry will be another part of the job...

BENTON -- Longtime banker and businessman Dale Stuckey has announced his candidacy for Scott County treasurer on the Democratic ticket. Stuckey, a lifelong Scott County resident, is a graduate of Kelly High School, the University of Missouri and LSU School of Banking...

Cape Girardeau is a great place for a veterans' home, says Missouri Lt. Gov. Roger Wilson and Missouri Veterans' Commission Chairman Jack Matthews. The area has been a big supporter of the veterans' home since it opened at Interstate 55 and U.S. 61 in 1990, said Wilson, who was in Cape Girardeau County Monday for the annual Veterans' Home Flag Day Benefit Golf Tournament...

Two administrators and other personnel were hired Monday during a special meeting of the Cape Girardeau Board of Education. Julie Davenport and Pamela Barnes were hired to fill two of three administrative positions vacated because of resignations or retirements. Board members have yet to hire a replacement for Barbara Blanchard, principal of Washington Elementary School, who accepted an early retirement incentive offered to certified staff by the district last month...

A public auction will be held at the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School June 25 at 3 p.m. A 1995 Ford Escort wagon repaired by the auto collision class will be auctioned to the highest bidder. The event will take place at 301 N. Clark. Jones Auction Co. will be auctioneer...

It wasn't always the prettiest of sights, but Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons and Poplar Bluff certainly hooked up in a tense District 14 American Legion baseball game Monday evening. When the dust at Capaha Field had cleared -- after about 3 hours and 40 minutes -- Poplar Bluff had prevailed 13-12 to not only notch its first district win of the season but also hand Cape its initial district loss of the campaign...

Despite never taking the volleyball court her senior year due to a rash of problems, Jackson High graduate Becky Stoverink recently signed a letter of intent to continue her athletic career at Shawnee Community College. A three-year starter entering her senior season, knee surgery kept Stoverink on the sidelines all of this past season. If that wasn't bad enough, Stoverink also underwent surgery to remove a tumor on the roof of her mouth which sapped a lot of her energy...

Carl Reddick was the common ingredient of two winning teams in tournaments put on by the SEMO Horseshoe Association this past weekend. On Saturday, Reddick teamed with Janie Raines to win at the Kelso Country Club. Larry Burford and Debbie Miller finished second and Bill LeGrand and Rose Kern took third...

The team of Joe Pope, Tom Teschner, Mike Silvey and Jim Eaton shot a 61 to win first-place honors in the recent Southeast Missouri State University Alumni Association of Business Professionals golf tournament. The four-person scramble was held at Bent Creek Golf Course in Jackson...

Eric Fraley may not ever turn out to be a championship golfer -- only time will tell -- but he's already accomplished something at an extremely young age that most people go a lifetime without. The 12-year-old Jackson resident recently shot a hole-in-one while playing at Kimbeland Country Club in Jackson. He used a 7-iron to ace the 100-yard, par-3, No. 12 hole...

The Domino's Pizza traveling team placed second in the prestigious 26-team Presidents Day Duel in the Desert Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz. The local squad played teams from Arizona, Colorado and Iowa. Domino's also won the Tony Glavin and Avalon Mother's Day Tournaments in St. Louis this year. They are currently in the semifinals of the Kellogg's Cup regional tournament. The regional finals will be held in Kansas City this month...

If the sixth annual Jim Belknap Junior Classic at Jackson's Bent Creek Golf Course is any indication, golf's popularity explosion among youngsters is still in bloom. A tournament-high total of 88 youth golfers participated in the two-day event last week, which was shortened by one day due to heavy rains on the morning of the final round Tuesday...

Graveside service for Kenny Weisenborn of Cape Girardeau will be held at 11 a.m. today at Trinity Methodist Cemetery in Delta. The Rev. J.D. Smith will officiate. There is no visitation. Morgan Funeral Home in Advance is in charge of arrangements. Weisenborn, 63, died Friday, June 12, 1998, at his home...

MOREHOUSE -- Juanita M. Payne, 74, of Morehouse died Sunday, June 14, 1998, at her home. She was born Oct. 28, 1923, at Dexter, daughter of Paul and Dora Allen McDaniel DeArman. She and Chester Howard Payne were married Aug. 17, 1946, in Arkansas. He died June 15, 1992...

McCLURE, Ill. -- Funeral for Mary Lou Kaufman of McClure was held Sunday at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The Rev. Greg Morrison officiated, with burial in Lindsey Cemetery. Kaufman, 65, died Thursday, June 11, 1998, at her home...

Margarette "Peggy" Nelson, 70, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 14, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Oct. 17, 1927, in St. Louis, daughter of Ira William and Margarette Wolf Fischer. Nelson was a graduate of Webster Groves High School and attended DePauw University...

THEBES, Ill. -- Virgie Cochran, 97, of Thebes died Sunday, June 14, 1998, at Heartland Care Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She was born Feb. 20, 1901, at Thebes, daughter of Edward Franklin and Flora Ann Porterfield King. She and Floyd Tapley were married March 16, 1920. He died March 21, 1957. She then married Carroll Cochran Oct. 29, 1958. He died Jan. 21, 1978...

SEDGEWICKVILLE -- Helen E. Hahs, 89, formerly of Sedgewickville, died Monday, June 15, 1998, at Fountainbleau Lodge in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Daughter to Robert and Robynn Hambrick of Bonne Terre, Jefferson Memorial Hospital at Festus, 5:25 p.m. Monday, June 8, 1998. Name, Emily Ann. Weight, 7 pounds 2 ounces. First child. Mrs. Hambrick is the former Robynn Elizabeth Eftink, daughter of Eugene and Jerralee Eftink of Chaffee. She is a respiratory therapist at Jefferson Memorial Hospital. Hambrick is the son of Kenneth and Wanda Hambrick of Knob Lick. He is employed at Chrysler Corp. in Fenton...

BLOOMFIELD -- Carl "Pete" Tilley, 66, of Bloomfield died Saturday, June 13, 1998, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. He was born Nov. 2, 1931, in Keo, Ark., son of John H. and Vevie Drye Tilley. He and Mattie Hudson were married Sept. 2, 1954, at Salcedo...