Stories from Saturday, June 5, 1999

HOW TO REGISTER The list of musical talent for the Gaither Heartland Homecoming series concert just keeps growing. Aaron Jeoffrey, a father and son duo, have just been added to the list of performers. The two have released their third album, "The Climb," and will perform several songs during their concert here...

Cape Girardeau schools superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent hopes students will know which elementary building they will start the next school year in by the end of this month. Tallent, who will leave the school district when his contract ends June 30, said controversy over where to relocate elementary school boundaries and repeated delays in the completion of the new Blanchard Elementary School have kept students in limbo most of the year regarding which school they will attend next fall...

A high pressure system spreading over much of the southern United States is responsible for the high heat and humidity that are giving the region its first taste of summer. The temperature reached 90 degrees at 4 p.m. Friday in Cape Girardeau, and the relative humidity was at 61 percent. The combination created a heat index of 100 degrees...

BENTON -- On Tuesday, voters in the Thomas Kelly School District will consider a $4.5 million bond issue to build a new high school. It is the second time voters have been asked to fund the project. In April, a majority of voter -- 51 percent -- approved $4.5 million in bonds to build a high school, but the measure needs 57 percent to pass...

On the final day of the 1999 Missouri legislative session, a measure passed allowing small businesses to claim a tax credit for expenses used in complying with the Americans With Disabilities Act. "The legislation could lead to a $5,000 savings for companies involved in making their building more accessible for the handicapped," said John Jones, vice president and director of industrial relations for Associated Industries of Missouri (AIM), which supported the legislation. ...

Battle worn from three years of Teenie Beanie Baby sales, Shannon Davis figured area McDonald's were ready for Friday morning's rush for International Bears. But the crush of customers at area restaurants was the biggest to date, said Davis, who supervises franchise stores in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Sikeston and Charleston...

A 48-year-old Fruitland man and a Bertrand teen-ager were both seriously injured in separate accidents in Southeast Missouri Friday. Jerry Massey of Fruitland was injured when the ATV he was driving overturned on him. The accident occurred at 7:19 p.m. Friday on Frolic Lane off Highway 177 near Trail of Tears State Park...

The Cape Girardeau school board approved a $26,000 bid for technical wiring for junior high classrooms at its noon meeting Friday. Two companies submitted bids, with the low bid of $26,179.05 from Technology and Networking Inc. being accepted. The other bid was $27,248.14 from Telcom Services Installation Inc...

Area children who receive free lunches during the school year will be able to continue the service though the summer. A new program in Cape Girardeau will provide the meals to children in economically depressed areas. Kevin Sexton, community service outreach representative for the East Missouri Action Agency, said the Summer Food Service Program is designed to extend the lunch program through the summer to children 18 and younger...

Family Feud, Snakes Alive and Egg'stra Egg'stra might sound like television shows on cable networks, but they are actually far from it. These and other educational programs will be offered this summer at the Trail of Tears State Park. Denise Dowling, park naturalist, said the programs run through Labor Day on weekends and are free to the public...

I'M CALLING in regards to the city of Cape Girardeau as well as the city of Jackson. You can go to Cape Girardeau any day of the week and see trash all over the city and tree branches to the shoulder of the curb. And you can go to Jackson, and it is a very clean, beautiful town...

Master political strategist Bill Clinton has apparently added another major client to his stable: wife Hillary Rodham Clinton. It's well-known that in order to extend his presidency vicariously through Al Gore, Clinton has appointed himself Gore's campaign manager. He believes Gore's election and now Hillary's would shore up his legacy...

Five years ago, Missouri took a gamble. In a close vote, Missourians approved riverboat gambling. Today, many Missourians have mixed feelings about the benefits of gambling. There's no doubt it has brought in big bucks to state and local coffers. Two Missouri casinos opened in 1994. ...

The Rev. S.S. Borum never plans to retire from the ministry. The soon to be 95-year-old has pastored churches throughout Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. For the past 23 years, he has served as interim pastor at numerous churches as congregations have searched for full-time leaders. It's a mission appreciated by many churches and their flocks...

To the editor: This is in answer to the lady who complained in Speak Out because a security guard had spectators sit for the gospel concert held recently near Jackson. We too were at that concert. We went an hour early in order to get a good, close seat. ...

To the editor: I read in the June 1 Southeast Missourian about the proposed changes to the IRS. It seems that many congressmen and President Clinton are on the bandwagon for IRS reform. There are many people, including tax consultants, CPAs and ordinary people like me who know that when you propose hundreds of changes to the already overburdened tax code, it will only lead to more bureaucracy, more forms and more confusion...

FENTON -- Cape Girardeau Central High's dream girls soccer season hit a major bump in the road Friday night. The Lady Tigers, competing in the Class 4A semifinals for the first time ever, ran into a talented Lafayette team -- and Central suffered a 3-1 loss at the Anheuser-Busch Conference & Sports Centre...

With the way McDowell began the game Friday night, it looked certain that the Capahas would win their fifth game of the season via a blowout. So much for first impressions. The Capahas scored four runs in the first inning and looked in command of the game, but had to rally late to capture an 8-7 victory over Waterloo (Ill.)...

JACKSON -- Ford & Sons Cape Legion and Jackson Legion split a doubleheader Thursday night with Jackson winning the opener 10-7 and Cape winning the nightcap 16-6. Cape's victory was its first of the season and put its record at 1-3. Mike Jones suffered the loss in the opener for Ford & Sons, allowing three hits and walking five in 2 1-3 innings...

PERRYVILLE -- Erna A. Hoehn, 83, of Perryville died Thursday, June 3, 1999, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Jan. 31, 1916, at Uniontown, daughter of Paul Benjamin and Anna Clara Bock Hopfer. She and Walter A. Hoehn were married April 12, 1936...

OLMSTED, Ill. -- Lois L. Edwards, 85, of Olmsted died Thursday, June 3, 1999, at her home. She was born Dec. 9, 1913, in Olmsted, daughter of Thomas and Addie Hester Hise. She married Roy Edwards, who died in 1977. Edwards retired as a cook at Meridian Schools. She was a member of Olmsted United Methodist Church...

BERTRAND -- H.B. Turnbo, 75, of Bertrand died Friday, June 4, 1999, at Sikeston Health Care Center. He was born June 23, 1923, at Steele, son of William Carroll and Nora Inman Turnbo. He and Dorothy Boyd were married July 3, 1951. Turnbo moved to Bertrand five years ago from Poplar Bluff, and had formerly lived in East Prairie. He was a member of First Assembly of God Church in Poplar Bluff. Turnbo served in the U.S. Army during World War II...

SIKESTON -- Funeral for Bertha Louise Scism of Sikeston will be held at 2 p.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Robert Burnes will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Scism, 61, died Thursday, June 3, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

THEBES, Ill. -- Daniel Eugene Clubb, 87, of Thebes died Thursday, June 3, 1999, at his home. He was born Jan. 6, 1912, at Oran, son of Anthony L. and Mary Elizabeth West Clubb. He and Ruby Marie Dunn were married June 1, 1936, in Cairo. She died Jan. 13, 1996...

Funeral for Dora D. Moore of Cape Girardeau will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel. The Rev. Darrell Faire will officiate. Burial will be in Hobbs Chapel Cemetery. Friends may call at the chapel from 4-8 p.m. today. Moore, 76, died Thursday, June 3, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital...

SCOTT CITY -- John E. Mirgaux, 88, of Cahokia, Ill., died Thursday, June 3, 1999, at his home. He was born Sept. 22, 1910, at Illmo, son of Lawrence and Amelia Etter Mirgaux. He and Stella Lee Petitt were married in April 1930. She died Nov. 4, 1993...

BENTON -- John J. Bollinger, 81, of Benton died Thursday, June 3, 1999, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 18, 1918, at Benton, son of Victor M. and Clementine Hahn Bollinger. He first married Venita Ann Burger Sept. 27, 1938. She died July 2, 1983. He later married Ola Bee Burger Feb. 12, 1984...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Zona Lorene Green, 88, of East Prairie died Friday, June 4, 1999, at East Prairie Nursing Center. She was born March 14, 1911, in Dyersburg, Tenn., daughter of Frank and Eunice Jetton Woods. She and Claude Green were married Feb. 22, 1931. He died Jan. 18, 1985...

Arthur Albert Schiwitz, Jr., age 75, passed away on Thursday, June 3, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was a retired truck driver and farmer. Mr. Schiwitz was born on July 31, 1923 in Commerce, Mo., the son of Arthur Albert and Mary Pearl Fullerton Schiwitz. ...

Della Marceil Buckman, age 80, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., passed away Thursday, June 3, 1999, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 4, 1918, in Webster County, Kentucky, daughter of Elmer Virgil and Nettie Elizabeth Bradley Jenkins. She and J.W. "Buck" Buckman were married on Sept. 16, 1939, in Morganfield, Ky., on their lunch hour. She attended Murray State College...

Son to Jon A. and Lisa A. Degen of Benton, born at home, 8:20 a.m. Friday, May 7, 1999. Name, Jared Alan. Weight, 7 pounds 1 ounces. Mrs. Degen is the former Lisa Davis, daughter of Robert Lee and Judith Ann Davis of Sikeston. She is an administrative secretary at Southeast Missouri State University. Degen is the son of Karen Lee Degen of Chillicothe, Ohio. He is warehouse supervisor at C&F Foods Inc. at Sikeston...

ST. LOUIS -- Jan Newton has been named president of Southwestern Bell-Missouri. Newton replaces Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, who has been appointed SBC's senior vice president for the Federal Communications Commission. Newton, 45, a former St. Louisan, has served the past year as executive director in the office of SBC Communications, where she was responsible for strategic planning for the company's wholesale and resale marketing efforts across SBC's entire regional...

ST. LOUIS -- Beverly Strohmeyer, former executive director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, has been promoted to assistant director of programs at the Missouri Arts Council. Strohmeyer has been a program specialist at the MAC for two years after spending 13 years leading the Southeast Missouri council...