Stories from Wednesday, July 14, 1999

A pumpkin plant sprouted out of a mound in the Meyr's garden destined to be picked in the fall. At this time of the year, I am often asked "Is it too late to plant vegetable garden plants and seeds?" The answer to this question depends upon you. My friend, Kathy, (I've changed her name to protect the innocent, namely myself) is a fair weather gardener. ...

To the editor: On June 17 the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that permits the posting of the Ten Commandments in our schools and other state and local facilities. Please understand that I am certainly not opposed to that action in and of itself. We all need to keep in mind every day what God's holy expectations of us are. God makes that very clear in the Ten Commandments where he states positively and negatively how we are to live our lives...

Twenty-two area high school students and the more than 940 other boys who participated in the American Legion's Boys State of Missouri have returned home with greater insight into government and the valuable rights of American citizenship. The annual experience at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg is designed to educate young teens about duties, privileges and responsibilities of citizenship. ...

A plan to put health-care clinics in each of the state's six veterans homes makes good sense. The Cape Girardeau Veterans Home at Kingshighway and I-55, is the first to get a clinic, thanks to the establishment about three years ago of the Cape Girardeau VA Community Clinic nearby at 1923 N. Kingshighway...

The new House Republican plan to reduce income taxes by a meager 10 percent is being touted as bold and promising. In fact, it is neither. At best, it is a faint-hearted compromise. During the last six years, Bill Clinton and congressional Democrats have so successfully demonized Republicans that they have become afraid of articulating conservative ideas for fear of being branded compassionless or worse...

To the editor: I am one who has memories of very long ago. I would like to share a few of those memories that without a doubt many can relate to. Do you remember when the word "pregnancy" was never used? Instead, women were known as being in the family way...

They knew he was going to do it, but local anti-abortion groups are upset with Gov. Mel Carnahan's decision to veto the partial birth abortion bill. "We are disappointed because we are a group that values life from birth to death," said Jeanette Dohogne, a counselor at the Crisis Pregnancy Center, 109 Independence. "How can you be anything but disappointed when the governor doesn't value life?"...

BENTON -- Martin Priggel watched as two excavators with grapple attachments fed tires into a shredder at a tire dump east of Benton. "Finally, we are seeing something accomplished," said Priggel, presiding commissioner of Scott County. For six years some 500,000 tires have been stockpiled in the sandy field near Interstate 55. The tires long have been an eyesore and a breeding ground for rats, mosquitoes and complaints, said Priggel...

Peach production in Missouri may be down this year, but the 7.5 million to 8 million pounds expected to be harvested should still make for a good crop. "We've had two great years of more than 9 million pounds," said Dave Enslie of the Missouri Agricultural Statistical Service at Columbia. "Even with a slight decrease, this is still a good year for peaches."...

ADVANCE -- Future Homemakers of America members aren't just baking cookies anymore. So says Ross McFerron, an Advance High School senior who has been elected to lead the national organization in promoting its new name and image. McFerron, the son of Kenny and Jan McFerron of Advance, was elected president of the organization during a national convention in Boston, Mass., last week...

Southeast Missouri State University crafted a $1 million grant proposal and then backed away from it because it didn't want to get into the transportation business. But the university later agreed to administer the grant-funded transportation program at the urging of the Missouri Department of Social Services...

If you're John Reed, it pays for subsidizing transportation services so welfare recipients can get off the dole and go to work. Reed coordinates Southeast Missouri State University's Bootheel Initiative, an effort to help get families in the region off the welfare rolls...

I should have been suspicious after noticing my makeup artist wasn't wearing any herself. Some women can transform their entire appearance with nothing but $10 worth of cosmetics and 15 minutes of time. Take my friend Julie. Her T-zone has no oily shine. Her lips don't feather. Her mascara never smudges. She looks like a million bucks 24-7...

BELL CITY -- The bodies of a man and a woman were discovered by a fisherman three days after their car had run off the road and flipped upside down in several feet of water, reported the state Highway Patrol. The bodies of Donald J. McWhirter, of Sikeston, and Sarah Franklin, of Oran, were found in a drainage ditch about seven miles southeast of Bell City on Monday, said Sgt. Dale Moreland...

The senior center has made "a sizable dent" toward paying off its $300,000 mortgage. Jess Hopple, campaign chairman and Senior Center Foundation board member said the board just celebrated the first year of its three-year fund-raising campaign. Hopple, a retired Ford Motor Company executive, has traveled all over the world and finds this area amazing. "Say you need something, prove you need it and it's there," he said...

From a fairly humble beginning of 30 teams, the Lassies Classic Golf Scramble has over the years evolved into a full-blown tournament featuring competitors from five states and a limit of 100 teams -- and the field never takes long to fill up. The 21st edition of the Lassies Classic -- a Scottish-themed tournament patterned after the "old course" in St. Andrews, Scotland -- will take place today and Thursday at the Cape Girardeau Country Club...

Former Southeast Missouri State University baseball star Steve Bieser has once again switched professional organizations. Bieser, who has been with several organizations during a fairly lengthy pro career that has seen him primarily toil in the minor leagues, was recently acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals from the Pittsburgh Pirates...

BENTON -- Benton will once again serve as host for the annual Babe Ruth Girls Fast-Pitch State Softball Tournament this weekend. The event, featuring 13 teams in four age divisions, will take place Friday through Sunday. The winners of the three oldest divisions qualify for regionals in Denver...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- The Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team fell back below the .500 mark Tuesday night by dropping a 12-3 decision to Paducah. Cape (18-19) trailed just 4-3 entering the bottom of the sixth inning before the hosts pulled away...

The Cape Girardeau Senior Babe Ruth baseball team extended its winning streak to six games by sweeping Charleston in a doubleheader Monday night. Ty Fidler, Jeff Dillingham and Josh Browning led the way in hitting while Jonathan Caldwell and James Powell were the winning pitchers as the White Sox prevailed 15-1 and 14-4...

Notre Dame High School will hold a camp for varsity, junior varsity and freshmen players July 19-23 from 9-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. The camp is free. There is also open gym every Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. Also, a Notre Dame grade school volleyball camp will be held July 26-30 from 9 a.m.-noon. The fee is $45...

Tryouts for the SEMO Soccer Club under 14 boys will be held at Jackson City Park (Field No. 2) July 19-21. Boys born 8/1/85 to 7/31/86 will are eligible for the team. The tryouts will be held 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. each day. Please bring a soccer ball and wear shin guards...

Chaffee High School will hold a boys basketball camp July 26-29. Grades 3-6 will be held 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Grades 7-12 will be held 8 to 10 a.m. Cost is $20 for the first child in a family and $10 for each additional child. Each participant will receive a T-shirt...

The American Cancer Society will host the first annual Capaha Bank and Outback Steakhouse Golf Shamble Aug. 16 at Bent Creek Golf Course. This tournament will be a four-person best ball with a twist. The first shot on each hole will be a scramble; after that, each person plays their own ball in and a group's lowest individual score for a hole is recorded as the team's score (maximum score per hole is triple bogey)...

The second annual Jackson Homecomer Race, sponsored by the Jackson Parks & Recreation Department, will be held Aug. 17 at 7:30 p.m.. There will be a 5K race and a one-mile youth race. The location will be the Medicap Parking Lot on the corner of Washington and Missouri streets in Jackson...

CHARLESTON -- Ida Ruth Clack, 81, of Charleston died Tuesday, July 13, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 13, 1918, at Wyatt, daughter of Clarence Preston and Dollie May Graham Black. She and Milton M. Clack were married Dec. 25, 1938. He died May 19, 1992...

PUXICO -- Jessie Ashbaugh, 80, of Puxico died Monday, July 12, 1999, at Dexter Memorial Hospital in Dexter. She was born Aug. 25, 1918, at Puxico, daughter of Jessie Houston and Lucy Jane Williams Crank. She and Charles Lorin Ashbaugh Jr. were married Nov. 26, 1938, at Poplar Bluff. He died Oct. 28, 1972...

SIKESTON -- Funeral for Dale Edward White of Huntingdon, Tenn., was held July 9 at Dilday Funeral Home. Burial was in Twin Oaks Cemetery in Huntingdon. White, 46, died Wednesday, July 7, 1999, at Life Care Center in Bruceton, Tenn. He was born in Sikeston, son of Doise E. and Wanda L. Hicks White. He married Sudie Chandler...

SIKESTON -- Sarah Margaret Franklin, 53, of Sikeston died Monday, July 12, 1999, in Stoddard County. She was born Aug. 6, 1945, in Doniphan, daughter of Thomas W. and Carrie Collins Wilder. Survivors include two daughters, Alice Middleton of Morley, Angela Graham of Coffeyville, Kan.; two brothers, Calaway Wilder of Doniphan, Lonnie Wilder of Tulsa, Okla.; three sisters, Pearl Rush of Doniphan, Faye Rennie of Tulsa, Ira Graham of Haywood City; and four grandchildren...

Son to Alan L. and Christie M. Schoen of Jackson, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 6:37 p.m. Saturday, July 3, 1999. Name, Ballas Isaiah. Weight, 7 pounds 14 ounces. Mrs. Schoen is the former Christie Morgan, daughter of Fawn and Gordon Morgan of Cape Girardeau. Schoen is the son of Dr. William and Sue Dillon of Sikeston...

BELL CITY -- Charles Cossou, 88, of Bell City died Tuesday, July 13, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Morgan Funeral Home in Advance is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON -- Donald Jean McWhirter, 58, of Sikeston died Monday, July 12, 1999, in Stoddard County. He was born Sept. 3, 1940, in Eldridge, Ala., son of Thomas C. and Dessie Nola McWhirter. McWhirter was a farm hand at Bill Deane Farms. Survivors include a son, Matthew McWhirter of Winfield, Ala.; two daughters, Angela Graham of Coffeyville, Kan., Ricky McWhirter of Sikeston; a stepdaughter, Alice Middleton of Morley; and his mother of Bertrand...

Laughter tickled the trees and merrily tiptoed across the water at Reelfoot Lake on June 26 as five generations gathered for the Turner family reunion. Some 20 years had gone by since I had seen many of my dear cousins, but to my absolute delight, instant recognition was the order of the day...

Over the past several months there has been a tremendous response to this Recipe Swap column. I have said from the very beginning the best part of this column for me is meeting new friends who also love recipes and to cook. I have a wonderful opportunity to present to you that will not only allow us to meet and get acquainted but also raise very much needed funds for the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri...