Stories from Wednesday, June 16, 1999

One way to identify spider mites is by smearing the bugs on paper. As I drive or walk by landscapes, I have the habit of inspecting trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals for insect and disease problems. I do this subconsciously because many people ask me to identify plant problems and give advice on treatment...

Operation Weed and Seed, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative, is pumping significant federal dollars into Southeast Missouri. The program is funneling $750,000 this year to targeted neighborhoods in Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Charleston, Poplar Bluff and Caruthersville. It's a considerable amount of money -- more than the entire Area Wide United Way collections of $690,000...

Most teachers are good. But some are STARRs. The Select Teachers as Regional Resources program prepares teachers to teach others teachers. Each spring, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education selects 36 master teachers for a year-long study. That year is followed by a second year in which these teachers share their expertise with colleagues...

To the editor: I am writing to say thank you to Habitat for Humanity. My daughter qualified for a new home. It will be build very soon. As a mother and grandmother, there is no way I can begin to express what's in my heart to the people who would give of their valuable time to work voluntarily to make others' lives better. It's all about putting caring and love into action...

Cape Girardeau school administrators are looking for ways to reduce costs after construction bids for the district's planned vocational-technical school came in nearly 25 percent higher than projected. Three contractors submitted bids, which were opened Thursday. Kiefner Brothers Construction was the lowest bidder with a base bid of $10,991,000. Also submitting bids were Penzel Construction, $11,245,000, and Huffman Construction, $11,200,000...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- One of the nation's oldest national cemeteries is expanding. The Mound City National Cemetery Preservation Commission has signed a purchase agreement for an additional 3.6 acres adjacent to Mound City National Cemetery. "The cemetery was near capacity," said James M. Larry Sr., a member of the cemetery commission. "This will add another 2,000 burial spaces for veterans and their spouses."...

After graduating from Southeast Missouri State University last month, Patryce "Patches" King interviewed and auditioned for her first job last weekend. Her family, her roommate, her boyfriend and her cheering sisters from Sigma Alpha Iota professional music fraternity were there with nearly a thousand others to see her get hired...

William and Loretta Marshall face another financial hardship with faith, the same faith that has carried the Bethesda Fellowship through 14 years with no steady income and no guarantee that the charity would continue from one week to the next. The fellowship, which gives away food and clothing, has weathered a year of hardship to find itself facing closure -- again. Immediate donations are needed to keep the charity operating...

Tempers flared. Anger mounted. People shouted. "Where do we go from here?" the president of the Cape Girardeau County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People asked a group of about 300 concerned citizens Tuesday night at St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church...

Have plenty of Maalox on hand if you plan to try the fried green tomatoes, slaw dogs or shrimp and grits. What is it about vacation that makes me abandon all semblance of dietary restraint? Sure, if you're going to Paris or Hong Kong or Puerto Rico, you're going to want to try as much of the local cuisine as possible. ...

JACKSON -- Shawnee Hills Baptist church will hold a Vacation Bible School expedition Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the church. The event is planned to introduce children to their VBS leaders for the Mount Extreme Adventure. The church will hold Vacation Bible School July 5 to 9 from 6:30 to 9 p.m...

SIKESTON -- Realtors at REMAX Achievers will have fewer cakes and fewer jokes at their office. Real estate agent Charles Beal, 54, died Wednesday in a car accident on Interstate 55. Beal, a Cape Girardeau native, was driving home to Sikeston when he was stopped by road construction on the interstate about three miles north of Miner, reported the state Highway Patrol...

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson wants Hollywood to leave violence on the cutting room floor. The Cape Girardeau Republican said she's encouraging the nation's entertainment industry to back away from graphic violence in movies, video games and on television...

SIKESTON -- As we enter the lazy, hazy days of summer our thoughts turn to fun, sun -- and bugs. "We've already been real busy with 40 to 50 calls per day," said Vance Eason, branch manager of the Terminix pest control center in Sikeston. Ants, wasps, fleas and spiders head the Most Un-Wanted List, he said...

Kostas Avgerinos towered over the wide-eyed youngsters who gave him an enthusiastic, rousing welcome Tuesday during the Southeast Missouri State University boys basketball camp at the Student Recreation Center. The 7-foot-2 Avgerinos is the tallest recruit in the history of Southeast basketball. The native of Athens, Greece, who signed with Southeast in the spring, is visiting the campus -- and the United States -- for the first time...

POPLAR BLUFF -- Chaffee's Junior Legion baseball team split a doubleheader Tuesday with Poplar Bluff. Chaffee won the opener 14-6 behind the four-hit pitching of Justin Simpher. He also had two hits at the plate. Chaffee dropped the nightcap 3-2. Matt Stroup allowed four hits and suffered the loss...

The Continental Basketball Association is having its first-ever training camp held in Southern Illinois. It will be held on campus at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill., Aug. 20 and 21. The Aug. 20 session will be from 5-9 p.m. The first session Aug. 21 will be from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m., with a second session from 4-9 p.m...

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program Golf Tournament will be held July 23 at the Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course. The tournament has a four-person scramble format and begins at 1 p.m. Entry fee is $65 per person, which includes lunch. The tournament will have two flights with prizes for the top two finishers in each. There will be four hole-in-one prizes, including a car. Numerous attendance prizes will also be given away...

The 5th annual Children's Benefit Golf Tournament will be held July 19 at the Cape Girardeau Country Club. Entry fee for the three-person scramble is $85 per person, which includes lunch and a post-tournament reception. The tournament will have three flights with prizes for the top three finishers in each. A number of special hole and door prizes will be awarded...

The 2nd annual Parks Development Foundation golf tournament will be held July 17-18 at Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course. The two-day, 36-hole event is a men's individual stroke-play tournament. Entry fee is $60, which includes a cart. Entry deadline is July 14. Cash prizes will be awarded...

The 8th annual Cape Central All School Booster Club 4-man Scramble will be held Friday, July 9, at Bent Creek Golf Course. The tournament, which will have four flights, will have shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Entry fee is $65 per person, which includes lunch and beverages. Many prizes will be available, including a $5,000 hole-in-one...

SIKESTON -- Charles William "Bud" Beal, 54, of Sikeston died Tuesday, June 15, 1999, in an automobile accident three miles north of Miner at the overpass construction site on Interstate 55. He was born March 8, 1945, in Cape Girardeau, son of Charles Bryant and June W. Wyatt Beal...

A memorial service for Melba L. Koenig Petty of O'Fallon was held Monday at Baue Chapel in O'Fallon. Burial was in St. Charles Memorial Gardens. Petty, 74, died Tuesday, June 8, 1999, at St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles. She was born May 12, 1925, at Pocahontas. She married Oscar L. Petty, who preceded her in death...

SILVER LAKE -- Mary E. Zahner, 94, of Silver Lake died Tuesday, June 15, 1999, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born June 23, 1904, at Silver Lake, daughter of Henry and Louise Geile Doll. She and John Zahner were married in December 1943. He died May 18, 1973...

SCOTT CITY -- Barry Kern Gettings, 56, of Scott City died Tuesday, June 15, 1999, at his home. He was born Dec. 9, 1942, in Cape Girardeau, son of Jesse Hardy and Vernita Bertha Kern Gettings. He married Sheila Spradling. Gettings was a retired masonry laborer. He was a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Chaffee. He served in the U.S. Air Force...

SIKESTON -- Paul R. Bumbarger, 90, of Memphis, Tenn., died Friday, June 11, 1999, at Baptist Memorial Hospital East in Memphis. He was born Nov. 27, 1908, in Memphis, Mo., son of John Vance and Edna Weaver Bumbarger. He and Virginia Whitehead were married June 15, 1934, in West Point, Miss...

WYATT -- Nora Mae Smith, 52, of Wyatt died Tuesday, June 15, 1999, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Arrangements are incomplete at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston.

CHARLESTON -- Ruth Stallings Moore, 66, of Charleston died Tuesday, June 15, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 18, 1932, in Mississippi County, the daughter of Nellie Feezor and Marshall O. Stallings. She married John W. Moore Sr. on Aug. 30, 1955. He survives...

Daughter to Roy D. Finley and Annalee E. Nanney of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 6:18 a.m. Sunday, May 16, 1999. Name, Sarah Elizabeth. Weight, 6 pounds 15 ounces. First child. Ms. Nanney is the daughter of Randy and Cathy Alsup of Cape Girardeau and Michael and Dehlia Nanney of New Athens, Ill. Finley is the son of Bill and Darlene Finley of Sparta, Ill...

Leo August Graden, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, June 14, 1999, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Dec. 10, 1909, in Cape Girardeau County, son of Samuel and Mary Oberbeck Graden. He and Mabel C. Meystedt were married Nov. 3, 1935, in Cape Girardeau. She died May 7, 1995...

SIKESTON -- Funeral for Nigel Elizabeth Andres of Sikeston will be held at 11 a.m. today at First Assembly of God Church. The Rev. Bill Nichols will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Blanchard Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements...

Creamy Corn Pudding is at its best when corn is at its summertime peak of perfection and freshly out from the cob. Around July 4th is when my two favorite varieties, the tried-and-true field corn and the newer cobbies of Honey Gold, make their season debuts...

Ice cream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! What would summer be without ice cream, and homemade ice cream at that. I have wonderful memories of cranking the handle and having a contest with my siblings to see who would get that last hard crank in. But it always seemed that Dad could always manage to crank it a couple of more times when we kids thought it was done. We still crank our ice cream and my sister Barb always gets the dasher...