Stories from Tuesday, August 17, 1999

PARK HILLS -- The weightiest part of Missouri's history is here. This is just about the geographical center of a 15-by-5-mile area once and still known as the old lead belt. It's a belt Missouri should wear with pride, said Art Hebrank, former state geologist with the Department of Natural Resources...

I don't know about you, but I'm fascinated by money. Maybe it's because there's never enough to go around. The new quarters that represent each state have made a real hit in my house. It gives my kids another excuse to dig through my purse. It's also intriguing when the change you get back is something out of the ordinary: like a $2 bill from a local movie theater or Susan B. Anthony dollar coins from the post office stamp machine. It made me stop and think. Are these still in circulation?...

Beth Bishop of Cape Central High School was among the 750 girls to participate in the weeklong Girls State program at Central Missouri State University at Warrensburg. It was the 58th session of the program, which is sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary. Girls State participants get a hands-on view of the democratic process by forming their own city, county and state governments...

PERRYVILLE -- The corn stands tall on the Oliver Bachmann farm south of Perryville. But Bachmann and his fellow farmers are worried: Low prices for their crops and livestock are making it tough to make a living. Bachmann and about 20 other Perry County farmers discussed their concerns Monday in a meeting with U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson. The Cape Girardeau Republican kicked off her four-day farm tour with an 8:30 a.m. stop at the Bachmann farm along Highway 61...

The southeast Missourian is seeking your family photographs -- current or historic -- to be included in a special YELL section. The edition will be buried in a time capsule during the SEMO District FAir. It will be unearthed in 50 years. There is no charge, and photographs will be returned. Please identify people and events in the photographs. Drop off at 301 Broadway or mail to: Time Capsule, Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. The deadline is Sunday...

Dustin Easton, a junior volunteer, logged a package to be shipped at St. Francis Medical Center. While many 14-year-olds are spending their summer playing video games, swimming or biking, Dustin Easton delivers packages, checks inventories and puts information into a computer...

I went to a church picnic Saturday afternoon at the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis and didn't eat a thing. Maybe I was too amazed at the beauty of the cathedral to even bother with food, although the smell of grilled sausages was tempting. And the Eiffel Tower sugar cookies were sort of appealing, too...

JACKSON -- The Jackson Board of Aldermen did something Monday night sure to please the city's property owners: It didn't raise taxes. The 1999 tax rate the board approved is the same rate the city has had for the past two years. The rate is 99 cents per $100 assessed valuation for anyone who lives in the city limits as they were in 1965. Those who live outside those city limits pay 87 cents per $100 assessed valuation...

Southeast Missouri State University's Common Hour programs this fall will focus on AIDS. "Beyond the Red Ribbon: Societal Impact of HIV/AIDS" will be the theme for the Wednesday noon-hour programs. No classes are held during the Common Hour, which was established several years ago to offer lectures and other activities for students...

It may be a few months before Cape Girardeau residents have a chance to vote on a bond issue for more sewer improvements. The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday rejected an ordinance that would have set a Nov. 2 election for voters to consider allowing the city to borrow $8 million for sewer projects...

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday night gave its final approval to the property tax levy for the city. The rate is set to be same as the previous year -- 65 cents per $100 of assessed value. That means that for every $100 of assessed value a home owner must pay 65 cents. The assessed value for residential property is 19 percent of the actual value...

To the editor: I would like to take this opportunity to respond to concerns raised by one of your readers in the Aug. 13 Speak Out regarding my introduction of the Folic Acid Promotion and Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1999. While the caller made some valid points, I do not believe that the intent of my legislation was made clear. ...

I SAW where they are closing the bridge over the Big Muddy River between Wolf Lake and Grand Tower in Illinois, and it's going to be closed for several days. Our school district lost three days of educating our students last year because of the way they scheduled these days. ...

It's easier to care when the need is apparent. The Area Wide United Way knows the needs of the 25 agencies its serves. But through its annual Days of Caring, others receive a firsthand look into what these agencies do. Volunteers also see what more these agencies could do with sufficient manpower and dollars. More volunteers and potential contributors should consider participating in Days of Caring Sept. 10-11...

Take time to be remembered. The Youth Education Literacy and Learning Foundation is preparing a time capsule to be buried on YELL Day Sept. 14. It will be placed near the cornerstone of the Arena Building as part of the SEMO District Fair festivities...

The East Missouri Action Agency will receive about $190,000 from the state to fund utility assistance related to the area's recent heat wave, said Robert Fulton, executive director of EMAA. The money is part of $7.6 million in emergency funding Missouri received from the federal government, he said. The state was one of several receiving a special energy allocation from the federal government after being identified as hard hit by this summer's high temperatures, Fulton said...

The Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC) is a well kept secret. But that's not what the center wants, said Russ Lindenlaub, executive director of the Missouri office, which is headquartered in Rolla. "We help Missouri businesses and we want them to know it," he said...

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education approved measures designed to bolster academics during a meeting Monday night. School board members approved a three-year contract with Channel One Broadcasting Corp., an educational media company which produces a daily, student-friendly, current events program that is broadcast during the school day...

Southeast Missouri State University's volleyball team has been picked to win the 1999 Ohio Valley Conference championship. So what else is new? The Otahkians are the preseason choice to capture the OVC title just about ever year so the result of the latest poll should come as no surprise...

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Matt Kuchar, one of the rising stars in golf, says he's enjoying his amateur status so much he may never join peers such as Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia in the professional ranks. Kuchar was among the leaders after Monday's first round of the U.S. Amateur Championship, an event he won in 1997 and is excited to be playing again this year while Woods and Garcia battle for riches on the pro circuit...

It has been another good summer of motocross racing for the Friese brothers of Cape Girardeau. Vince, age 8, has been particularly impressive, finishing second in the recent American Motorcycle Association National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn's Ranch near Nashville, Tenn...

SIKESTON -- For the second year in a row, a youth baseball team from Sikeston has proven to be one of the nation's top squads for its age group. The Sikeston 13-year-old All-Stars won the championship in the recent Junior Babe Ruth Midwest Plains Regional Tournament held in Colorado...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Funeral for Wilma Clemons of East Prairie will be held at 10 a.m. today at Shelby Funeral Chapel. Martin Lucas will officiate. Burial will be in Dogwood Cemetery. Clemons, 70, died Saturday, Aug. 14, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

PERRYVILLE -- Funeral for Marvin H. Brueckner of Perryville will be held at 10 a.m. today at Zion Lutheran Church in Crosstown. The Rev. Robert Schneider will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may call at Young and Sons Funeral Home in Perryville from 6:30-8 a.m. today...

SIKESTON -- Funeral for Levi Nathaniel Garrett, 57 days old, will be held at 11 a.m. today at Blanchard Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Curtis True will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Friends may call at the chapel from 9:30 a.m. until service time...

DEXTER -- Vernace P. Absher, 91, of Dexter died Sunday, Aug. 15, 1999, at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Center in Dexter. She was born June 14, 1908, at Acorn Ridge, daughter of Willard Robert and Hallie Essie Harbin Tweedy. She and Roy Marteen Absher were married July 27, 1930, at Dudley. He died Nov. 7, 1975...

DEXTER -- Funeral for Tommy "Tinker" Maddox of Dexter will be held at 11 a.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The Rev. Dennis Ward will officiate. Burial will be in Hagy Cemetery at Dexter. Maddox, 61, died Saturday, Aug. 14, 1999, at Dexter Memorial Hospital...

CIRCLE CITY -- Vernon C. "Cliff" Jordan, 85, of Circle City died Sunday, Aug. 15, 1999, at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born Jan. 1, 1914, at Dexter, son of Frank and Ida Mae Bond Jordan. He and Ruth Francis Harlow were married July 12, 1933. She died Sept. 1, 1987...

BERNIE -- Funeral for Barbara Luvetta Yarbrough of Bernie will be held at 2 p.m. today at Rainey Funeral Home in Bernie. The Rev. Carl Smith will officiate. Burial will be in Parma Cemetery. Yarbrough, 56, died Sunday, Aug. 15, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau...

Graveside service for Paul B. Schultz of Blairsville, Ga., was held Aug. 11, 1999, at Cape County Memorial Park. Dr. Paul Currie officiated. H.S. Smith Funeral Home in Caruthersville was in charge of arrangements. Schultz, 92, died Sunday, Aug. 8, 1999, at Chatuge Regional Hospital in Hiawassee, Ga...

Byron L. "Connie" Connell Jr., 63, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Aug. 15, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Nov. 28, 1935, in Cairo, Ill., son of Byron L. and Laura Brookins Connell Sr. He and Vicki Miller were married Dec. 3, 1977, in Cape Girardeau...

PERKS, Ill. -- Wayne Duke, 53, of Perks died Monday, Aug. 16, 1999, at his home. Friends may call at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola from 5-9 p.m. Wednesday. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in St. John's Cemetery...

SIKESTON -- Mattie Lou Washer, 83, of Sikeston died Sunday, Aug. 15, 1999, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Aug. 11, 1916, in Perry County, Tenn., daughter of Monroe and Minnie Kelley Barber. She and Charles Pope Washer were married Oct. 10, 1939. He died Aug. 7, 1961...

Irene Miller Erwin, age 85, of Cape Girardeau passed away on Sunday, August 15, 1999 in Jackson, Mo. She was born on July 22, 1914 in Cape Girardeau, the daughter of John Ralph Burge and Edna Earl Finley. She married Fieldon M. Miller on June 6, 1936. ...