Stories from Friday, February 19, 1999

To the editor: And article in the Feb. 14 Southeast Missourian vividly detailed the agony of euthanizing animals at a humane shelter on the East Coast. I'm glad you ran that article, because it sheds light on the heartbreaking work we're forced to do -- forced, because there are simply too many pets and not enough homes. There are too many dogs and cats left to starve on the streets, get hit by cars and die from disease...

To the editor: For quite some time this matter has bothered me. It makes me very sad when I think how someone can go to the cemetery and take whatever he wants from the graves. I have visited Lightner Cemetery almost daily for almost six years. My husband and two sons are buried there, so it is sacred ground to me and should be to anyone who goes there...

When the Missouri Department of Transportation's new director was introduced last week, he immediately acknowledged a topic that has created quite a furor across the state: the 15-year highway plan. This was the plan adopted by the General Assembly in 1992. Legislators at the time included a funding mechanism: a six-cent increase in the state's fuel tax to be phased in over a few years. The 15-year plan promised major improvements to highways all over Missouri...

I WANT to comment about something that was in your paper about the investigation into Travelgate and Filegate. Have they got those 900 FBI files back from the White House yet? I'll tell you what, I'd be interested to know what's in the files of these Republicans who voted against Clinton being convicted. ...

Warning labels put on new cars warn about the dangers of air bags. It is common knowledge that children who ride unrestrained -- 40 percent of child passengers -- are the most likely travelers to die in car crashes. Less well known is the fact that children whose car seats are misused may also be at serious risk...

This is the second in a series of four articles this month addressing the menopause transition and some of the major health issues that post-menopausal women face. In biological terms menopause is referred to as the climacteric. This word also has a Greek origin, coming from the word "climakter", meaning a rung of a ladder. ...

Notre Dame Regional High School students were inducted into the National Honor Society during a "tapping" ceremony Thursday. The National Honor Society is an organization that honors academic excellence among high school students. Seniors inducted were Jason Garner, Jessica Lawrence, Alexis Ramsey, Samantha Russell and Jane Welker...

Law enforcement officials in Southeast Missouri are worried that a proposed law allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons could have too many loopholes to be effective. Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell said there are too many unanswered questions about Proposition B, a bill that would allow citizens to carry a concealed weapon after they obtain a permit and complete a 12-hour training course...

Contractors on the new Cape Girardeau elementary school won't meet their June 30 deadline, schools superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent said Thursday. Tallent updated parents on construction progress within the district during a Parent Teachers Association meeting at Alma Schrader Elementary School. Parents also met candidates for the upcoming school board elections during the meeting...

More than a third of the retail sales generated in Cape Girardeau County come from people who live outside the county. Cape Girardeau has a good retail base, says Chauncy Buchheit, deputy director of the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission, which covers a seven-county area. "It has great diversity in retail products and attracts buyers from a wide area."...

Caesar Rodney's horseback ride isn't as famous as Paul Revere's. But thanks to the U.S. Treasury Department, it is getting plenty of attention these days. Rodney's ride is featured on the Delaware quarter, the first of the new quarters to be minted in honor of the nation's 50 states...

You want to know my definition of the good old days? No need for a TV remote because there's only one channel. Time travel has never been a big deal to me. When the "Back to the Future" movies came out and that other one about the high school reunion, I didn't get it. The sci-fi movies about machines that take you back to the past or into the future have impressed me the most with their inability to make it look convincing...

Candidates for three Cape Girardeau Board of Education positions gathered for an introductory meeting at Alma Schrader Elementary School Thursday night. Seven of eight candidates competing for three, three-year school board seats attended the meeting, which was sponsored by the Alma Schrader Parent Teachers Association. Each candidate was given five minutes to address the group of about 70 parents and tell why they were running for office...

JACKSON -- A $350,000 fund drive to build a new, 7,000 square-foot Cape Girardeau County Education and Extension Center will kick off here next week. The fund raiser is off to a good start. "A local family has already donated two-and-a-half acres of ground for the building," said Mary Gosche, human development specialist at University of Missouri Outreach & Extension office at Jackson. Also, volunteers have raised approximately $89,000 in cash and pledges, she said...

A house may be built of bricks. But a home is defined by intangibles. The same goes for the home of a basketball team. Depending on who you talk to, a gymnasium is not just an edifice. It's an edge for the home team. "We've got a definite home-court advantage," said Scott City coach Derek McCord, who has seen his team lose just three times at home over the past three years...

According to high school coaches in the Southeast Missouri region, there are many gymnasiums which pose difficult atmospheres to play in if you happen to be the visiting team. The Southeast Missourian polled 18 boys high school basketball coaches in its coverage area to inquire which schools they think are the most difficult to play. Each coach was to name three schools...

Former Southeast Missouri State University basketball coach Ron Shumate filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking nearly $300,000 in damages from the university's Board of Regents, stemming from his 1997 firing. Shumate's four-page petition filed in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court also named the school's executive vice president of financial affairs, Kenneth Dobbins, as a defendant...

Southeast Missouri State University's women's track team will be shooting for a third straight Ohio Valley Conference indoor championship when the meet is held today and Saturday in Charleston, Ill. But a decision to redshirt star middle distance runner Tammy Wenkel figures to make the meet much closer than expected...

COLUMBIA -- Jackson's Lance Schlick bucked a losing trend Thursday in Thursday's opening round of the Missouri State Wrestling Championships. A total of seven wrestlers from Cape Central and Jackson made the trek to state for the 4A competition, but Schlick was the only one to emerge victorious, posting a 9-0 victory over Blue Springs' David Hegarty (38-8) in the 135-pound class...

CHARLESTON -- Cape Central finished its regular season with an 18-6 record by disposing of Charleston 73-24 Thursday night. The Lady Tigers erupted for 32 points in the opening quarter and led 45-15 at halftime. "That was our biggest output of the year," Central coach Darrick Smith said. "We talked about coming out aggressive and it was nice to see them come out and do it."...

SIKESTON -- Funeral for F.F. "Bud" Collins of Sikeston will be held at 11 a.m. today at Ponder Funeral Home. The Rev. Larry Davis will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Collins, 77, died Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

JACKSON -- Funeral for Charlotte V. Schwab of Vandalia will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at St. John Lutheran Church in Vandalia. The Rev. Harry Hager will officiate. Burial will be in Jackson City Cemetery. Waters Funeral Home in Vandalia is in charge of arrangements...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Marian F. Carey, 77, of Alhambra died Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1999, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. She was born Aug. 3, 1921, in Cairo, daughter of Augustus and Jennie Stewart Wilson. She married Francis D. Carey, who preceded her in death...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Carol Jean Murry, 76, of Rockford died Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1999, at St. Anthony Hospital in Rockford. She was born Oct. 6, 1922, in Cairo, daughter of Benjamin and Odessa Hagey Carr. She married Ernest "Tip" Murry, who died in 1990. Murry was a member of the Lutheran Church...

Abundant Life Church in Cape Girardeau will host a marriage seminar Friday and Saturday at the church, Route K and Missouri Highway 25. The seminar begins Friday at 7 p.m. and continues from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Jacob Webster and Opal Eaker of Cape Girardeau will be the instructors...

Funeral for Daniel Joseph Bolton of Cape Girardeau will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. James Caughlan will officiate. Friends may call at the chapel from 4-8 p.m. today. Bolton, 41, died Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1999, at his home...

JACKSON -- Clola E. Stady, 90, of Jackson died Thursday, Feb. 18, 1999, at her home. She was born May 8, 1908, near Patton, daughter of James M. and Ellen Bollinger Long. She and Jesse Stady were married Feb. 7, 1927. He died July 31, 1988. Stady had worked at the former Dorsey Dress Factory in Jackson, and at the former Ralph Edwards Sportswear in Cape Girardeau...

M. Gene Martin, 73, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1999 around 9:15 a.m. in Columbia, Mo. as a result of an auto accident. He was born Jan. 30, 1926 in Cape Girardeau. He married Marian Bahn on Dec. 31, 1968 in Cape. Mrs. Martin survives in Columbia, along with his mother, Mrs. Mina Wolfenkoehler of Columbia, one son, Douglas Martin of Columbia; one stepbrother, John William Wolfenkoehler of Salina, Ok. A son, Bruce Martin died in 1995...

Ms. Martha Goddard, a resident of Advance, formerly of O'Fallon, was born February 11, 1917 in Clarksville, Tenn., daughter of the late Alva and Kathryn Carver Nale. She passed away Wednesday, February 17, 1999 at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau at the age of 82...

Daughter to Lance K. and S. Lynne Holloway of Jackson, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 2:05 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, 1999. Name, Makenna Elizabeth. Weight, 8 pounds. Second daughter. Mrs. Holloway is the former S. Lynne Key, daughter of Thomas and Roberta Key of Fort McCoy, Fla. She is employed at Commerce Brokerage Services. Holloway is the son of Eugene and Joyce Holloway of Cape Girardeau. He is employed at Holloway Carpet One...

DEXTER -- Walter A. Whitmore, 83, of Dexter died Thursday, Feb. 18, 1999, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. Survivors include a daughter, Mary Jane Banken of Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Rainey Funeral Home in Dexter.