Stories from Sunday, January 3, 1999

To the editor: In my letter, I never accused Mr. Hodge of saying the Founders were wrong in setting up the Constitution. I said Mr. Hodge continually made statements of personal opinion and assumed the Founding Fathers would agree with him without any documentation. And ain't it great we live in a country where we can spout off all we want...

Greetings and Happy New Year! 1998 was a banner year for astronomy. We discovered water on the Moon, on one of Jupiter's moons, and in comets. Astronomers now believe that the Universe will expand forever and believe they have evidence of anti-gravity...

Low-income families with children ages 3 to 5 may qualify for the free Head Start program. Enrollment for next fall's program begins this month. Head Start is a federally-funded program offering youngsters and their families training in social skills, assistance with medical and dental needs and referrals to other social programs...

On Aug. 5, this writer filed a lawsuit in Jefferson City against Attorney General Jay Nixon and Tom Strong of Springfield, the lead attorney he hired to pursue Missouri's stake in the tobacco litigation. We allege that that contract is illegal. Our requested remedy: That the contract be voided, and that a permanent injunction be granted stopping further work under its terms. ...

In recent days we have all read and heard what has occurred in America and the rest of the world during the past 12 months as historians, political scientists, columnists and just about every journalist alive tried to provide a perspective of the events of 1998. ...

If the tobacco settlement becomes a reality, with its $6.7 billion award to Missouri -- by no means a certainty -- ideas for spending among state lawmakers and in the governor's office are as common as blackberries in July. Few point to the obvious fact: It isn't by any means established that this money will be the politicians' to spend...

A 14-member joint House-Senate committee of the General Assembly has made a series of recommendations to try to address the troubles plaguing Missouri's small, independent agricultural producers. The Joint Interim Committee on Small Farms and Value-Added Agriculture programs released a report containing 17 recommendations ranging from direct subsidies for fuel-ethanol plants to tax incentives and low-interest loans...

Stories illustrating a changing community -- hospital merger talks, methamphatamine crimes, new life for the old seminary, and expansion at Procter & Gamble -- topped the news for 1998. A Jackson woman killed in a motor vehicle accident raised questions about the youth driving the stolen car which hit her. Drive-by shootings shook up neighborhoods in Cape Girardeau...

When Wehrenberg Theatres opened the West Park 4 Cine in 1983, its four screens and equipment represented the newest in moviegoing technology. In July 1997, the company opened the state-of-the-art 14-screen Cape West across the interstate and relegated West Park 4 Cine to showing second-run movies for $1...

Safety tips for walking on ice are few, if any. The best offered: "Don't!" Snow and sleet conditions have subsided briefly in the Southeast Missouri area, but streets and sidewalks are still hazardous. People going outside are greeted by thin sheets of ice, and slips and falls have given people hip and leg injuries and bruises...

All things considered, 1998 could have been worse, although I'm not sure Bill and Hillary would see it that way. The White House sex scandal was front-page news all year, and Monica and Bill gave new meaning to smokeless tobacco. History buffs and talk-show hosts relished the talk of impeachment and everyone else went shopping...

Southeast Missouri State University's basketball team returned home Thursday after spending four nights on the road. The Indians, on the surface, had a bummer of a trip as they lost both games, including a dismal 70-49 setback against Southern Illinois at the Trans World Dome in St. Louis...

Southeast Missouri men's basketball coach Gary Garner announced Saturday that sophomore point guard Jeramy Biles has left the team. Biles, a sophomore transfer from St. Louis University, cited personal and family obligations for leaving the team. Garner said Biles was academically eligible and it was not an issue...

Eastern Kentucky University's women's basketball team has bullied Southeast Missouri State for years. But on Saturday, thanks to a record-smashing shooting exhibition from Paula Corder and stellar efforts from Tajauna White and friends, the Otahkians turned the tables...

Are you concerned about the quality of water that you drink? Do you know where water goes when it leaves your property? How do you dispose of your household chemicals, fertilizers and oil? Do you care? How you answer these question will ultimately determine how to improve the number one environmental problem occurring today -- water pollution!...

Dr. Ivan H. Nothdurft died at his home in Cape Girardeau, Mo., on Thursday, Dec. 31, 1998. He was born in Cape Girardeau on March 23, 1917, the son of Otto H. Nothdurft and Ida Ulrich Nothdurft. Raised in Cape Girardeau, he attended public school there and graduated with both bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees from Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) in 1938-39...

MARBLE HILL -- Delzie Cook, 89, of Marble Hill, died Friday, Jan. 1, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born at Mayfield June 18, 1909, son of Hunter E. and Barbara A. James Cook. On March 14, 1931, he married Bertha Mae Cook. She died Aug. 16, 1993...

GRAND CHAIN, Ill. -- Kenneth "Poncho" Davis, 62, of Grand Chain died Friday, Jan. 1, 1999, at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Ky. He was born Feb. 1, 1936, at Belknap, son of the late Homer Davis and Rosa Davis, who survives of Karnak. He was retired from the Century Elementary School in Grand Chain as a custodian, a member of the West Eden United Methodist Church and was an Army veteran...

JACKSON -- Lynnwood Morrison, 85, of Jackson died Saturday, Jan. 2, 1999, at Heritage Gardens in Jackson. He was born Aug. 10, 1913, in Cape Girardeau County, son of John Walter and Ollie I. Hall Morrison. He was a union carpenter, a union pipefitter and a farmer in the Fruitland area. He was a member of Wesley United Methodist Church in Fruitland and a member of Excelsior Lodge 441 A.F. and A.M. of Jackson...

Cody H. Hurley, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Jan. 1, 1999, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 2, 1919, at Portageville, son of John Valley and Maude Box Hurley. On Oct. 4, 1941, he married Ruth Cossou at Benton. She survives of Cape Girardeau...

PARMA -- Maxine M. Sisler, 84, of Memphis, Tenn., formerly of Parma and Wardell, died Thursday, Dec. 31, 1998, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. She was born Aug. 9, 1913, at Romney, W.Va., daughter of Ellis H. and Gertrude Sanders Patterson. On Jan. 1, 1943, she married the Rev. George Edward Sisler. He died Sept. 4, 1974, while pastor of the First Baptist Church in Parma...