Stories from Tuesday, January 26, 1999

What's Pluto? If you answered "Mickey Mouse's dog" you may have the best answer. Astronomers seem to be lost in debate over the definition of the other Pluto, a ball of gas or stone hurling through space at the edge of our solar system. Joni: Poor Pluto. Its days as one of the nine major planets in our solar system may be numbered...

Kayla Marra played a contra bass xylophone with the choir. Dave Deisher, left, portrayed "The Wind" as other students played soprano recorders, from left, Jami Dement as the "Fish Woman," Catherine Moreton as the "Alligator Woman" and Lorrin Lynn as the "Turtle Woman."...

JACKSON -- Robert Foulk remembers the day well. He stood in the back yard of his Jackson home watching his four young children play. His son Keith, who is paralyzed and in a wheelchair, was struggling to keep up with his sister and brothers. "I was just watching him desperately trying to keep up," Foulk said. "I thought, I believe I can do something to make this easier. I knew there had to be something better."...

A Canadian aircraft manufacturer is expected soon to announce if it will open a manufacturing plant at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. The manufacturer, Zenair, which is headquartered in Toronto, is considering the airport for a plant to manufacture a two-seat training aircraft...

Southeast Missouri State University and the Regional Commerce and Growth Association want three routes in Southeast Missouri to be designated federal scenic byways. The designation could bring federal funding to the region for tourism efforts and spark economic development, university officials told the school's Board of Regents Monday...

Cheryl and Erin Oberhaus have some of the best seats in town today to see Pope John Paul II. The pope arrives in St. Louis this afternoon and will celebrate Mass on Wednesday morning. The Cape Girardeau mother and daughter will be seated in the front row at the Kiel Center where the pope is scheduled to speak tonight at a youth rally...

An Illinois man died Monday when his pickup truck was broad sided by a locomotive, Illinois State Police said. Raymond Cook, 38, of Johnston City was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident occurred at 12:55 p.m. on Tall Tree Lake Road, two-fifths of a mile east of state Route 47 in Johnson County...

To the editor: As I sit here and think about the court case relating to the Web dispute between Woodland School District and a student, I start to remember how things were when I was growing up not that too long ago and not here in the Bible Belt where things seem to be a little more stringent...

St. Louis, our neighbor to the north, is ready for one of the biggest events in its history. The city has seen presidents come and go, along with royalty, the pilot of the first transatlantic solo flight and the home-run king of the world. But nothing has quite taken over this metropolis at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers quite like the visit today and Wednesday of Pope John Paul II...

Once upon a time, colleges and universities segregated by gender were commonplace. In more recent times, these schools have opened their doors to welcome both men and women, mainly because of financial necessity. Missouri is home to two of the 79 women's colleges left in the United States. ...

To the editor: Two centuries ago, newspaper polls determined not citizens' reactions to their political leaders, but to the poetry most beloved and read. Again and again, Young's "Night Thoughts," Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" and, after it was published in 1850, Tennyson's "In Memoriam" won the top ratings. They are little read today, but their popularity at that time may teach us something about present values...

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson had something good to say about President Clinton Monday. She voiced support for Clinton's proposal to put 62 percent of the federal budget surplus or $2.7 trillion over the next five years back into the Social Security program...

An 11-day, 800-mile-plus American Derby Bicycle Race from St. Louis to New Orleans, with overnight stops at Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Ill. and Paducah, Ky., will be held early in the first year of the new century. The race, which was discussed more than a year go, was originally scheduled for spring of 1999...

Bud Eley's brilliant basketball career at Southeast Missouri State University is about to produce another major milestone. The Indians' 6-foot-10, 260-pound senior center needs just 11 more rebounds to become the school's all-time leader in that department...

RICHMOND, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team missed out on a golden opportunity Monday night to win for the first time ever at Eastern Kentucky. The Otahkians had a 10-point lead with just under five minutes to play and were still ahead by seven with a little more than three minutes left...

Five titles were awarded Sunday during the Snowman Classic indoor tennis tournament held at Universal Health & Fitness Center. Rob Hale won two divisions. He beat Bill Bradley in open singles 6-0, 6-2 and Ken Campbell in 35 singles 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Al Mitchener won `A' singles, beating Gary Loos 6-4, 4-6, 6-3...

JACKSON -- Danny Mayfield of Jackson shot his first hole-in-one while playing golf recently at Kimbeland Country Club. Mayfield used a gap wedge to ace the No. 4, 134-yard hole. His playing partner was Mike Rice.

JACKSON -- Jackson High's boys basketball team improved to 11-5 overall and remained undefeated in SEMO Conference play -- but not before the Indians had to survive some anxious moments Monday night. Poplar Bluff rallied from a 10-point deficit to start the fourth quarter and the Mules took a one-point lead in the late going. But Jackson regrouped to claim a 69-65 victory, their second league win without a defeat...

Both Jackson and Cape Girardeau Central tuned up for tonight's big dual match between the local rivals by participating in Saturday's SEMO Conference Wrestling Championships at Poplar Bluff High School. As expected, Farmington and Ste. Genevieve waged a spirited battle for the title in the 11-team meet. Farmington wound up on top with 266 points while Ste. Genevieve had 252 points...

JACKSON -- Bessie Hawn Haehn, 90, formerly of Jackson died Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999, at the Arcadia Valley Hospital in Ironton. She was born May 28, 1908, at Glen Allen, daughter of Felix and Rachel Goodson Hawn. She and Floyd Haehn were married Feb. 13, 1953. He died Jan. 21, 1964...

Clara Ladine Blattel, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Jan. 25, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

DEXTER -- Funeral for Nina L. Burton of Dexter will be held at 2 p.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Chapel in Dexter. The Rev. Jerry Holland will officiate, with burial in Dexter Cemetery. Burton, 65, died Saturday, Jan. 23, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Stella Vera Hogendobler, 86, of Villa Ridge died Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She was born Oct. 6, 1912, in Pulaski, daughter of Fred L. and Lizzie Corzine Davis. She married Lewis A. Hogendobler, who died May 20, 1978...

JACKSON -- Victor Francis Lane, 71, of Jackson died Monday, Jan. 25, 1999, at his home. He was born June 11, 1927, at Brazeau, son of John Herbert and Dora Clingingsmith Lane. He and Louryce G. Rabold were married Dec. 25, 1949, at Brazeau. Lane was a self-employed farmer. He was a member of American Legion Post 133 and National Rifle Association...

MOREHOUSE -- Graveside service for Janet Casey of Morehouse will be held at 11 a.m. today at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Sikeston. The Rev. Larry Arnold will officiate. Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston is in charge of arrangements. Casey, 41, died Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston...

SIKESTON -- George N. Mills, 78, of Sikeston died Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999, at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born July 20, 1920, at Matthews, son of John Thomas and Bertha Ann Lane Mills. He and Stella Ann Hayden Stowe were married Feb. 4, 1967. She died Aug. 21, 1984...

NEW HAMBURG -- Pauline Bertha Meisner, 87, of St. Louis died Tuesday, Dec. 29, 1998, at South County Manor Nursing Home. She was born Dec. 26, 1911, at New Hamburg, daughter of Herman George and Mary "Molly" Sherer Glueck. She married Harry Meisner, who preceded her in death...

PERRYVILLE -- Vera Hoercher, 73, of Perryville died Saturday, Jan. 23, 1999, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Feb. 7, 1925, at Altenburg, daughter of George and Olga Lehr Doering. She and Clyde Hoercher were married April 10, 1968. He died Aug. 17, 1976...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Cecil Hammon, 83, of Jonesboro died Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999, at Jonesboro Healthcare Center. She was born Dec. 29, 1915, at Jonesboro, daughter of Florence and Alice Axely Brown. She and Glee Hammon were married Sept. 12, 1936, in Murphysboro. He died Jan. 19, 1974...

Florence Monroe, 94, of El Cajon, Calif., died Friday, Jan. 22, 1999. She was born Sept. 18, 1904, in Bloomfield, daughter of Edgar Huey and Carrie Monroe. Monroe was formerly of Cape Girardeau and had worked at International Shoe Co. She moved to California in 1954. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau...

ANNA, Ill. -- Ronald Corydon "Cord" Finch, 64, of Anna died Monday, Jan. 25, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He was born April 27, 1934, in Anna, son of Eleazer Corydon and Beulah May Adams Finch. He and Mickey Martin were married June 6, 1985...

CHAFFEE -- Funeral for Harley Velmer Phillips of Algonquin, Ill., will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee. The Rev. Bon Reynolds will officiate. Burial will be in Forest Hills Memorial Gardens near Morley. Friends may call at the chapel after 5 p.m. Wednesday...

PERRYVILLE -- Catherine Anne Cissell, 84, of Perryville died Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born Oct. 19, 1914, at Horine, daughter of Sylvester and Matilda L'Hote Pearson. She and Harvey Joseph Cissell were married Aug. 19, 1937, at Belgique. He died Sept. 15, 1977...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Ida Faye Denny, 84, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri (formerly of Richmond Heights, Mo.) passed away at St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Mo., Jan. 25, 1999, from natural causes after a short illness. Ida Faye was a member of the Richmond Heights Presbyterian Church, the Ladies' Circle, and the Maplewood Missouri Chapter of Eastern Star. She attended Westminster Presbyterian Church and First Assembly of God, both in Cape Girardeau...

JACKSON -- This school year has been one of changes for veteran educator Pam Friedrich. After teaching kindergartners in the same classroom for 26 years, she began the school year in a new room in Jackson's newest elementary school. The year also meant the introduction of full-day kindergarten in the district...