Stories from Sunday, January 17, 1999

To the editor: Recently, 136 girls and coaches converged on the courts of the Show Me Center to participate in the Health South Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament. Health South provided the financial support for this showcase of areas girls basketball. In addition, David Ross and the Show Me Center staff produced a tournament that allowed fans and athletes to experience exciting basketball in a magnificent arena...

JACKSON -- Building materials, hardware, farm products, work clothing and general merchandise -- items found in general stores of yore -- will be under roof when Buchheit's opens in Jackson later this year. The business will be located at 2801 S. Old Orchard Road, next to the McDowell South auto dealership...

25 years ago: 1974 A $70,000 grant pending before Farmers Home Administration might be only salvation for construction of water district to serve Gordonville, Dutchtown and surrounding area; Wesley A. Deneke, president of Gordonville Water District No. 4 of Cape Girardeau County, says that bids totaling more than $62,000 over estimates of three years ago has forced district to apply for supplemental FHA grant...

I WOULD to know just exactly where they get their polls that show Clinton has such a big majority of the people in the United States for him. And if he is not convicted of perjury, they should have to release everybody who has been convicted of perjury and is in jail or has been in jail or in prison, and they should have to clear their record of any abuse, and they should have to pay them at least $100 a day for every day that they have spent in jail or prison...

Sources tell this writer of a likely February announcement of a run for governor by U.S. Rep. Jim Talent, R-St. Louis. That is to say, if he doesn't so announce, Talent will stun Republican insiders all over Missouri. The amiable Talent, a married father of three, is a graduate of Washington University and the University of Chicago Law School. ...

This year started as all the rest, as I made my way over icy roads to the small town in Missouri called home by the Oracle of Peculiar, the man who possesses the uncanny faculty for predicting the future. As in times past, I found him huddled in his somber robes, sitting at the very peak of the Ozarks' All-Knowing Mountain, waiting to be interviewed on the events that would occur over the next year in the Show-Me State...

With good news from the courts and the governor's office this past week, Southeast Missouri State University's plan to build a polytechnic building is back on track. On Monday, Gov. Mel Carnahan released $129.3 million in capital-improvement funds for Missouri's colleges and universities. The money is earmarked for 28 projects on 19 campuses. Included is $5.6 million for construction of the industrial technology building at Southeast...

An Associated Press story reported this week that for the first time eight of the nation's 10 largest jury verdicts topped $100 million each last year. Altogether, the 10 biggest jury awards totaled $2.8 billion, according to Lawyer's Weekly USA, a Boston-based publication that has been compiling such a list since 1989. ...

When the Show Me Center opened in 1987, a stream of big-name acts came through the door beginning with George Jones and Tanya Tucker on the first night and continuing with Tina Turner, Barry Manilow and many more. The venue was booking 20 entertainment events a year...

The Cape Girardeau Regional Airport enjoyed a banner 1998 with a record number of passenger boardings. The airport recorded 11,745 passenger boardings, topping the all-time high of 11,014 achieved in 1987. It also marks the first time since 1990 the airport topped the 10,000 boarding mark...

Southeast Missouri State University annually garners millions of dollars in grants to fund everything from mosquito studies to the regional crime lab. In fiscal 1997, the university received a record $5.29 million in grants to fund 112 projects. By comparison, the university was awarded 86 grants totaling $3.7 million in fiscal 1996 and 96 grants for $4.59 million in fiscal 1995...

Amid the constant chatter of impeachment, it's nice to know that there are still happy people in this nation. One of them is Pam Johnson, a 32-year-old publisher's representative based in Irving, Texas. She founded the Secret Society of Happy People last summer and hasn't once been called upon to discuss President Clinton's problems on the Fox News Channel...

Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team has been the surprise of the Ohio Valley Conference so far this season -- and Saturday night the Otahkians no doubt opened even more eyes. The Otahkians erased a 10-point first-half deficit and used an 18-3 second-half run to stun OVC powerhouse Tennessee-Martin 75-55 at the Show Me Center...

With the basketball in Kahn Cotton's hands, anything seems possible. Cotton, Southeast Missouri State University's Mr. Clutch, delivered once again as the Indians pulled out an incredible 84-75 overtime victory over Tennessee-Martin Saturday night. Things looked bleak for the Indians as they trailed most of the second half and were still behind 68-65 after UTM's Jason Ohlsen hit two free throws with 4.5 seconds left...

Nothing's worse than showing up for a Shootout with sights out of alignment. The Cape Central Lady Tigers discovered that fact Saturday. Cape Central shot just 29 percent from the field and 40 percent from the foul line as the more-athletic Rosary Lady Rebels (9-5) were able to stave off the Lady Tigers 55-42 in the first game of the Fourth Annual Tiger Shootout...

As good as Cape Central's third quarter was, it wasn't good enough to overcome Vianney's first. The St. Louis school escaped the Fourth Annual Tiger Shootout with a 60-52 win over Cape Central at the Tiger Field House on Saturday. After trailing 16-4 just five minutes into the game, Central -- thanks to an incredible run -- eventually tied the game at 40 with 25 seconds left in the third...

Sure, Southeast Missouri State University's Indians fell just short during Thursday night's first-place Ohio Valley Conference showdown with Murray State. But no real college basketball fan who loves a big-time, frenzied atmosphere could have left the Show Me Center truly disappointed...

DELTA -- Scott County Central's Ashley Whitson scored a game-high 20 points as the Bravettes won the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament championship Saturday with a 55-49 victory over Kelly. Brandy Miller added 12 points in the victory. Marissa Essner paced Kelly with 16 points and Bridgette Riley finished with 12...

Southeast Missouri State University gymnastics coach Kris Buchheister will be returning `home' today when the Otahkians take part in the 9th annual Shakespeare's Festival at the University of Missouri. Buchheister, in her second season at Southeast, competed in gymnastics at Missouri and she also served 11 seasons as an assistant coach with the Tigers before coming to Cape Girardeau...

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department is again teaming up with the Southeast Missouri State University volleyball team for its annual Fundamentals of Volleyball Class. The class, which is for children ages 8-12, will meet from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 at the Southeast Student Recreation Center...

The Cape Area Youth Soccer Association (CAYSA) will be taking sign-ups for the spring outdoor soccer season Jan. 24 and Jan. 31. from noon to 5 p.m. inside West Park Mall at the JC Penney entrance. Age groups span pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in both co-ed and girls divisions. Registration fee is $20 for kindergarten through eighth grade and $10 for pre-kindergarten...

Kelly baseball coach Mike Scott will conduct winter hitting clinics for boys and girls in grades 3 through 7 over the next three Saturdays. Grades 5 and 6 will meet Jan. 23; grades 7 and 8 will meet Jan. 30; and grades 3 and 4 will meet Feb. 6. The clinics will take place in the Kelly cafeteria from 8:30 a.m.-noon...

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department will be hosting its second annual Osage Invitational Co-ed Volleyball Tournament Sunday, Feb. 7, at the Osage Community Centre. The registration deadline for the 6-on-6 tournament is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3...

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department will be holding a Super Kids Race Day Event at 12:45 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 7 at the Southeast Missouri State University Student Recreation Center for children old enough to crawl to 15 years. The cost of the event is $9.65. Registration begins the day of the event at 11 a.m. and will continue until 12:30 p.m...

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Lillian H. Menzel, 94, of Pensacola died Friday, Jan. 15, 1999, at Arbors Nursing Home in Pensacola. She was born June 29, 1904, in Shelbyville, Ill., daughter of Hiram and Frances Talley Shirrell. She married Richard C. Menzel. He died in 1983...

The Rev. Conley Bowman, 71, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 1999, at the Cape Girardeau Lutheran Home. He was born in Booneville, Ky., son of Sim and Stella Herald Bowman. He married Bertha Estepp on July 19, 1946. He was a retired minister and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II...

SIKESTON -- Kelly L. Wethington, 25, of Sikeston died Friday, Jan. 15, 1999, at Missouri Delta Medical Center from injuries in an automobile accident. He was born Sept. 17, 1973, in Dexter, son of Lloyd "Sully" and Wilma Joann Driscoll Wethington. He was a 1991 graduate of Sikeston Senior High School and raced at the Sikeston Drag Strip. He had worked as a steel fabricator for Steward Steel Co...

MARBLE HILL -- Dorothy M. Lagermann, 79, of House Spring died Saturday, Jan. 16, 1999, at the Barnes-Jewish West Hospital in St. Louis. She was born July 30, 1919, daughter of the William and Dosha Mouser Long. She was a homemaker and a member of the Crestwood Baptist Church in St. Louis...

EAST MOLINE, Ill. -- Leonard Beckett Jr. of East Moline, formerly of Scott City, Mo., died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 1999, at Trinity Medical Center West in Rock Island. He was 36. He was born June 26, 1962, in Cape Girardeau, son of Leonard Beckett Sr. and Donna Rhodes Beckett. On Oct. 18, 1980, he married Lorie Randolph in Rock Island. She survives...

PERRYVILLE -- Loren C. Wharton, 73, of Friedheim, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 8, 1926, in Alton, Ill., son of Darrell and Ada Clifton Wharton. He married Lucille Bruene on May 28, 1966, in Friedheim. She survives...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Freda E. Lynn, 74, of Springfield, and formerly of Scott City, Mo., died Friday, Jan. 15, 1999, at St. Mary's Hospital in Centralia. She was born Sept. 8, 1924, at Black Oak, Ark., to Sam and Flossie Austin Underwood. She had been an executive secretary for the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, D.C...

What has happened to the railroad caboose which used to be the final car on most large freight trains? Recently, one of the 32-ton vehicles was positioned at a site in Marble Hill for future use as a museum. Another caboose, currently vacant at Metropolis, Ill., has served as a sandwich shop and later an ice cream parlor...

The Cape Girardeau Public Library will hold an informational program for brides-to-be from 7 to 8 p.m. Jan. 26 in the Hirsch Community Room. Julie Southard and Peggy Smith, a mother-daughter team from Unique Brides in Cape Girardeau, will discuss creating a budget, planning a timetable and proper bridal etiquette. Mothers, sisters and bridesmaids are also welcome at the program...