Stories from Sunday, July 5, 1998

Pinwheels, exploding stars, gigantic explosions, and pretty lights in the sky, these are the things fourth of July celebrations are most noted for. But, you need not wait for the next fourth of July to experience these sights again, they are all around you in the Universe we live in. Ever wonder what it would be like to ride on a pinwheel as it whirls around? No need to wonder, you already live the life...

This weekend we and our fellow Americans celebrated the birth of our nation by rallying around Old Glory, hosting BBQs and picnics and viewing fireworks displays. As we celebrated we were no doubt reminded of the sacrifice and the lives it took to establish liberty and to maintain it in this nation of ours...

Capt. Steve Skelton of Jackson and HHC Commander, Capt. Todd Anderson locate a position on a map where training will be held. The Picket Pounder enabled wire entanglement to be positioned. Here, two members of Jackson's 1140th Eng Bn work in 100 degree temperature in full field gear to place entanglement wire pickets...

25 years ago: 1973 Police this week confiscated nearly 65,000 pills, including approximately 11,000 that are controlled drugs, from storage shed outside residence of Jackson man, Police Chief David M. Gellatly confirmed; officers acted Monday upon information supplied by confidential informant; man consented to confiscation and wasn't charged with any crime; Gellatly asked that man's name not be publicized; there is no evidence that man was dispensing or using pills illegally; he obtained pills legally a few years ago.. ...

June was a lousy month for the liberal media. First, The New Republic, long a liberal mainstay as a journal of opinion, had to fire a 25-year-old writer upon discovering that he had fabricated quotes and made up facts in no fewer than 45 articles. An unanswered question: What on earth was a 25-year-old kid doing writing for a journal of analysis and opinion, when he should be earning his spurs writing obits and covering the police beat for a paper somewhere?...

Eight years ago one of America's best known political analysts, Kevin Phillips, wrote a book entitled "The Politics of Rich and Poor," outlining the author's views on the increasing danger of economic disparity within the United States and the problems such a division will present in the future. ...

This is the weekend set aside for Americans to celebrate Independence Day, without question one of the most glorious of our holidays. Surely it is more than an occasion for just another getaway to the lake or to a ballgame, important as those diversions are to hardworking Americans...

Over the last year, a milestone was reached at the 23-year-old Southeast Missouri Regional Port. For the first time in its history, private investment has exceeded public investment at the burgeoning facility on the Cape Girardeau-Scott County line...

To the editor: As a 15-year-old girl, I became deeply concerned when I read the article, "Clinton welcome will linger," by Walter R. Mears (of The Associated Press) in the June 27 paper. One cause for my alarm was this statement: "`As China and the United States have different social systems, ideologies, values and cultural traditions, we have some difference of views on certain issues,' said Jiang in explaining why it was so easy for Clinton and him to agree to disagree."...

To the editor: Recently I followed a Jackson municipal truck hauling a large transformer up Highway 72 halfway to Fredericktown. The speed was 40 mph. I managed to get around him, but he made no effort to pull over. More recently I encountered four very large tractor-dirt movers on Highway 3 in Illinois south of Ware moving at 20 to 25 mph. ...

Melvin Gately milked a Jersey cow named Jellybean to victory during a Fourth of July milking contest at Arena Park Saturday afternoon. The milking cows were supplied by Kierchdoerfer Jersey Farm. Area residents celebrated the Fourth of July with everything from fireworks to mud volleyball...

DUTCHTOWN -- A feasibility report on a proposed levee that would protect Dutchtown from flooding is due this week, but a report on the study findings probably won't be available until later this summer. Larry Sharpe with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the feasibility study was assigned to a private firm, which is scheduled to complete its work this week...

Armed solely with notebooks and pens, they don't appear to be a fierce group of soldiers. They sit on pews inside a chapel at First United Methodist Church in Sikeston learning how to prepare for battle. They don't have many weapons -- a list of telephone numbers, information packets and possibly a list of registered voters -- in their arsenal. Yet, members of Southeast Missouri's religious community are getting ready for a battle with the state's gambling industry...

In the movie "Fight Club" now being made in Los Angeles, Brad Pitt's character goes to a club where regular guys fight each other to blow off steam. But he takes the fights further, into total anarchy, and tries to disrupt civilization in what screenwriter Jim Uhls calls "a dark sociological comedy."...

A campaign group financed by the riverboat casino industry filed about 20,000 pages of petitions, containing more than 200,000 signatures, to the Secretary of State's office Friday, seeking a vote to legalize boats in moats. The group gathered about 80,000 more signatures than required from registered voters to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot...

You have to hand it to The Mouse, he knows how to treat all those hot, sweaty vacationers looking for a good time. In Mickey's world, you can't help but smile. Even Eeyore is happy at Disney World. Our family just returned from a vacation to Orlando, Fla., and the Disney empire...

Three of the 238 pieces of legislation that passed the General Assembly this year address tax relief. Since Gov. Carnahan took office the budget has grown close to a billion dollars each year. In fact, the state budget has doubled in this time frame giving Missouri the dubious honor of having the second fastest growing budget in the nation...

Although it has at times been overshadowed by other local items of sporting interest, Cape Girardeau Central High School athletic director Terry Kitchen reports that the Cape Central Sports Hall of Fame is alive and well. Started in 1991 to honor former standout athletes at the school, the Cape Central Hall of Fame now lists 24 inductees, all voted in by a panel after having been nominated...

The Cape Area Youth Soccer Association is in need of sponsors for the fall and spring recreational leagues. Anyone interested in sponsoring a team should contact Howard Aslinger at 334-3921.

The Friends of St. Francis will host the 11th annual Benefit Golf Tournament Aug. 28 at Bent Creek Golf Course in Jackson. Morning play will begin with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start and afternoon play will begin at 1:30 p.m. The afternoon portion of the tournament is already filled. Entry fee for the morning is $100 per person. Entry fee includes green fees, breakfast, lunch and dinner...

Anyone interested in coaching in the Cape Youth Tackle Football League this fall should contact league director Mike Dunaway at 335-1475. The league begins its 18th season in late August.

The Shawnee Community College Foundation is sponsoring its 11th annual Golf Day Classic on July 17 at the Gambit Golf Course in Vienna, Ill. The tournament, a three-person scramble, begins with an 11 a.m. lunch. Play begins at 12:30 p.m. Registration fee is $100 per player, which includes greens fee, cart, lunch, gift and refreshments...

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The McDowell Capahas bounced back from an opening loss to win two games Saturday in a 10-team tournament hosted by a team from Evansville, Ind. After falling to Cincinnati 7-3 Friday night, the Capahas defeated Warrick Co., Ind., 10-0 and Kokomo, Ind., 4-1 Saturday...

Certainly this one is made up! The animal is so unusual there is no way something like that could be living in Missouri. Right? A three-foot long, aquatic, blind salamander that has pointed, curved teeth, a nasty bite, virtually no legs, and electro sensors on its head has got to be total fiction!...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Flora May Davis, 93, of Cobden died Friday, July 3, 1998, at Jonesboro Health Care Center. She was born Sept. 8, 1904, in Union County, daughter of Rolla and Jerry Stroud Tripp. She married Oscar Lee Davis June 30, 1923. He died in 1965...

DEXTER -- Mary E. Mathews, 59, of Dexter died Thursday, July 2, 1998, at her home. She was born April 2, 1939, at Gideon, daughter of Ulyse and Rebecca Katherine May Frazier. She was a member of the Abundant Life Temple in Malden, where she lived before moving to Dexter 15 years ago...

Nell R. Goza, 95, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, July 3, 1998, at the Cape Girardeau Lutheran Home. Funeral arrangements will be announced later by Ford & Sons Funeral Home.

ANNA, Ill. -- Bessie Cook, 90, of Anna died Friday, July 3, 1998, at Union County Hospital. Funeral arrangements will be announced later by Crain Funeral Home.

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Albert B. "Pete" Thomas, 79, of Paducah, formerly of Cairo, Ill., died Friday, July 3, 1998, at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah. He was born on Aug. 9, 1918, at Oscar, son of Joe and Eunice Eblen Thomas. He owned the Pete Thomas Ford, Mercury & Lincoln dealership in Cairo before his retirement...

Samuel T. Melbin, 77, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, July 4, 1998, at Heartland Care in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements will be announced later by Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel Inc. in Cape Girardeau.

EAST PRAIRIE -- Ruth J. Lyke, 86, of East Prairie, died Thursday, July 2, 1998, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Sept. 9, 1911, in East Prairie, daughter of Ernest F. and Anna Pope Mansfield. She married Paul B. Oliver, who preceded her in death. She later married Ralph E. Lyke. He died in 1974...

Leon Clarence Brinkopf, 71, of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, July 2, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Oct. 20, 1926, at Cape Girardeau, son of Leon F. and Flora E. Werner Brinkopf. He married Genevieve East Jan. 30, 1963, at Sikeston...

DEXTER -- Turley Cooper, 72, of Dexter died Friday, July 3, 1998, at the Dexter Memorial Hospital. She was born near Clarksville, Ark., June 23, 1926, daughter of Riley and Martha Ann Berry Cooper. She formerly worked at the Sheltered Workshop in Dexter. She was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church in Dexter...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Zeb M. Harper, 92, of Paducah, Ky., formerly of Cairo, died Friday, July 3, 1998, at Superior Care Center in Paducah. She was born on Nov. 16, 1905, at Mounds, daughter of Charles and Lillie Wood Darley. She and her late husband, Harold M. Harper, founded and operated Harpers Restaurant in Cairo before their retirement in 1976...

PUXICO -- Hazel Clodfelter of Puxico died Friday, July 3, 1998, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Services will be announced later by Watkins & Sons Funeral Service of Puxico.

BLOOMFIELD -- Kenny Rice, 56, of Bloomfield died at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis Friday, July 13, 1998. He was born at Malden on Feb. 9, 1942, son of J.R. and Jewell Carr Rice. He married Barbara Montgomery May 27, 1961. Rice was a farmer in the Bloomfield area. He was a member of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Bloomfield...

Ruby Arsta, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, July 4, 1998, at Heartland Care Center in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements will be announced later by Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel Inc. in Cape Girardeau.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the bees are buzzing. The grill is calling. It's a great time for a picnic. Before you grab the potato salad and head for that shady spot near the lake, take a few minutes to think about what you're packing in the picnic basket...

I think, in time, Edward was glad, too, that I didn't win. After his recuperation, for the next four years, we spent days and days in the Indian relic country of Southeast Missouri. Knowing many farmers in that region, we got permission to roam their fields, fence rows and creek banks for the artifacts. We did no digging but collected quite a lot, the best of which was displayed at the local museum for many years...