Stories from Monday, April 5, 1999

Six Sikeston-area construction companies have been honored by the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce. Construction businesses honored were: -- Boyer Construction Co., a family-owned business, Phil Boyer, president. -- Bridger Construction Co., owned by Kenneth Bridger...

Dorothy Bertrand of Cape Girardeau uses WebTV instead of a computer to navigate cyberspace. Dorothy Bertrand isn't concerned with what's on cable. She's too busy keeping up with the news via WebTV and the Internet. Instead of sitting down at a computer, she sits down at her television set to send electronic mail to friends and family...

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson and James Gray, a member of the British Parliament, will be guest speakers at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's monthly Friday Coffee Friday. Gray was elected to Parliament in May 1997 from an agricultural district, 100 miles west of London. While in Missouri, he will address groups in Cape Girardeau, St. Louis and West Plains...

Bill Needham Designs has added a new line of outdoor-indoor basswood roll-up shades for sun porches and screened-in porches. A number of finishes are available for both indoor and outdoor uses, said Bill Needham, president of Bill Needham Designs-BDR Enterprises, Inc., 2003 New Madrid...

Dr. John L. Sheets of Cape Girardeau has been elevated to Diplomate status by the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, the highest honor bestowed by the dental group involved in oral implantology. Diplomate nominees come from two sources -- those who have significantly contributed to the art and science of oral implantology, or through a fellowship program stressing efforts in education, research and actual clinical experience...

New Madrid County will hold its second annual "Job Information Day" on April 27, at the Howardville Multi-Purpose Center. Employers from New Madrid County and surrounding counties, have been invited to set up booths, provide information about their businesses, jobs available and training programs, said Sarah Hunter, executive director of the New Madrid County Human Resources Council...

Tip's Learning Trees was named "Business of the Year," during the 133rd annual Cairo, Ill., Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting, held recently at the Elks Lodge in Cairo. Pat Brey, program director at the business, received a plaque from Jay Manus, president of the Cairo Chamber...

A.G. Edwards has reported record revenues and earnings for 1998. For the fiscal year that ended Feb. 28, net earnings were $292,117,000, up from the 1997 fiscal revenues year of $269,297,000. Total revenues for the year were $2,241,000,000 versus $2,004,000,000 in 1997...

Jayne Ervin is the newest member of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Ervin, a jeweler of Jayson Jewelers Ltd. and Ervin's Metalsmiths Inc., was named to fill the vacancy left by Jim Sexton, former St. Francis Medical Center president and chief executive officer, who left Cape Girardeau in January to become president and chief executive officer of North Iowa Mercy Health Center and Network in Mason City, Iowa...

Two Ford Groves Motor Co. technicians have been honored. Rick McIntyre of Friedheim, who has been with Ford Groves 14 years, has finished training to attain Senior Master Technician, the highest honor presented to Ford Motor Co. technicians. Steve Sharp of Cape Girardeau completed work for his second Masters Technician program and is working on the senior classification. Sharp has been with Ford Groves five years...

Jason Emmenderfer and Andrea Siemer, physical therapists at Southeast Missouri Hospital's Outpatient Rehabilitation Services, have completed requirements for Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. The program was initiated in 1985 to identify professionals who possess the knowledge and skills to design and implement safe and effective strength and conditioning programs. ...

This "Financial Focus" column is prepared by Edward Jones Investments, headquartered in St. Louis. Jones includes branches throughout the nation, including Cape Girardeau and Jackson. We've all heard about the aging of America. As the over-50 population begins to swell, more and more people will face an important decision: what to do with the proceeds from their employer-sponsored retirement plan when they leave the company. ...

Jay Townsend has been promoted to Level I Maintenance Technician at the Cape Girardeau Dana Corp.'s Spicer Axle Division, effective Tuesday. Townsend has been at Dana since December 1994 and had previously worked as a cell technician in Departments 500 and 250...

Melissa, important message; it's Microsoft's fault Yes, the current black mark on the Internet is Melissa. A macro virus that has wreaked havoc and panic on the Internet. Now, as viruses go, this is not a super bad one for the individual. It doesn't format your drive or corrupt your OS. It, instead, sends out infected files to 50 people in your address book. And yes, this one is all Microsoft's fault...

Connie Brown, audit manager with Schott & Van de Ven, Certified Public Accountants, has received a certificate of Education Achievement in Business Valuations. Business valuations are used for estate and gift tax planning, buisness acquisition and sales, and divorce settlements...

Mary Miller, marketing director with Schott & Van de Ven, Certified Public Accountants, attended the Southeast Region Partner Meeting of Great Plains Software, held recently in Kansas City. The conference focused on sales and marketing techniques. Great Plains Software provides software for Microsoft Windows and Windows NT. The company, founded in 1981, is headquartered in Fargo, N.D...

Donna Loop, human resource manager at Cape Girardeau Dana Corp.'s Spicer Axle Division, has earned the certification of Senior Professional in Human Resource. Loop had to demonstrate a strong background of professional human resource experience and pass a rigorous examination to receive the senior professional designation...

Mary Cary of Jackson was winner of the 1999 Home & Garden Show's $5,000 shopping spree recently. The shopping spree is sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Home Builders Association and K-103 Radio.

Southeast officials told the Board of Regents last month the polytechnic building and the River Campus could solve 75 percent of the university's future space needs. When it comes to relocating departments, Southeast Missouri State University has plenty of options...

A Main Street Shopping Mall was on the drawing board for downtown Cape Girardeau long before plans were developed for West Park Mall. The downtown renaissance was the dream of architect Thomas E. Phillips. "It actually came to me in a dream," said Phillips of his 1970s concept for a covered mall to extend the length of Main Street from Broadway to Independence...

A narrow stretch of space, between retail stores, is the home of "Arts in Common," a community art gallery in The Commons Mall, a block-long shopping mall in downtown Columbus, Ind. In the same shopping center,"Kidscommons" provides a program which offers interactive exhibits for youngsters four days a week, Thursday through Sunday, featuring a $25 a year family membership...

THE EXIT strategy for Slick Willy to save face or save American lives should be to declare that the bombing has been a success and that most of this ability to conduct any further damage has been diminished greatly. America does not want American young men used as ground troops to fight in another foreign small country and occupy it indefinitely as in Bosnia. ...

A report by the Missouri Legislature's Oversight Division on the performance of the Missouri Gaming Commission makes one wonder if the gambling industry itself didn't have a hand in the report. The report was so slanted to favor the gambling industry that a subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Legislative Research unanimously rejected it and voted to keep the report secret. Some lawmakers said the report should be burned, and one -- Sen. Harold Caskey, D-Butler -- even offered a match...

Although the mayor doesn't like it, East Cape Girardeau, Ill., voters will have to drive to McClure to vote in the April 13 election for three village trustees. The reason is that Alexander County doesn't want to have to pay the expense of extra poll workers, and consolidation of precincts holds down election expenses...

To the editor: In the March 31 paper, Judy Lueders warned people in her column not to be fooled by dietary supplements. While Judy appears to have the best interests of the public at heart, she fails to give them the real truth about the use of dietary supplements...

Agenda 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 5 City Hall Public hearing -- Hearing to receive comments concerning proposed wastewater system improvements for the City of Jackson. -- Hearing to consider the proposed voluntary annexation of property owned by Equity South, L.L.C...

7:30 p.m. Monday, April 5 City Hall Public Hearings A public hearing regarding the city's past performance in carrying out a 1994 Flood Buyout Program under the Community Development Block Program, the grant project being as follows: 97 houses were purchased and 56 families were relocated under the Flood Buyout Program, Project #94-DR-096...

Editor's note: The following article provides a brief preview of the race for mayor and three aldermanic seats at Jackson Tuesday. Photographs of the four challengers were inadvertently omitted from an article in Sunday's edition and are published today. Photos of the incumbents accompanied an article about the election in Saturday's edition...

Some major supporters of Cape Girardeau Central athletics have started up an athletics foundation that is intended to serve as a financial supplement to the current Central Booster Club. According to foundation vice-president Mike Dunaway, the purpose of the foundation is to help with Central's sports programs on both the high school and junior high levels when money is not in the operating budget. ...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Florence Esther Casper, 77, of Cobden died Saturday, April 3, 1999, at Union County Hospital in Anna. She was born Jan. 31, 1922, in Cobden, daughter of Francis Ray and Edith Mae Garner Kelley. She married Adolphus Lewis "Jimmy" Casper Dec. 21, 1940. He died Aug. 8, 1970...

Brenda Joyce Held, 50, of Kelso died Sunday, April 4, 1999, at her home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

JACKSON -- Ruth U. Mulcahy, 93, of Jackson, and formerly of East Cape Girardeau and Cairo in Illinois, died Saturday, April 3, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 12, 1906, in Carterville, Ill., daughter of Hosea and Mary Walbert Upshaw. She was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Cairo, the Daughters of Isabella, and the Egyptian Country Club...

SIKESTON -- Charlotte Gee Adams, 80, of Sikeston died Sunday, April 4, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston.