Stories from Friday, November 19, 1999

Leaves don't fall on a schedule THE LAST city I lived in solved its leaf-removal problems. The city had one truck with a vacuum unit mounted on the front that was rather jury-rigged, but it worked. The second unit, which became the city's primary unit for leaf collection, was really a smooth-operating unit. ...

Area employers increasingly require workers to take drug tests, particularly in the manufacturing industry. The trend isn't just local, it's nationwide. The federal government mandates drug and alcohol testing for workers in the transportation industry, including bus drivers, truck drivers, air traffic controllers and pilots...

As we complete the American Cancer Society's twenty-third annual Great American Smoke-out, let me leave you with a few thoughts until this time next year. Since it has taken years to scientifically prove and document the deadly effects of tobacco, the tobacco industry enjoyed, with impunity, the opportunity to continue to advertise and promote their products. ...

As a member of Soka Gakkai International, or SGI, I appreciate inclusion in Andrea Buchanan's Nov. 13 article, "Midwestern Buddhists." The article was focused on Zen Buddhism and what might be termed traditional Buddhism.There are a number of differences, however, in Nichiren Buddhism, which SGI members practice, and Buddhism as widely understood in the West.Nichiren Buddhism is founded on the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, a Buddhist teacher and sage who lived in Japan in the 13th century.The fundamental practice of Nichiren Buddhism is chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, meaning roughly "devotion to the universal law of cause and effect through harmonious vibration." This practice activates the Buddhanature within the individual. ...

Aging equipment and other factors could mean the end of the leaf pickup program in Cape Girardeau that has been an autumn tradition since the 1960s. City officials must weigh the cost of the program and needed capital improvements carefully. The most complaints are about the timing of the pickups in various sections of the city. ...

A new poll that assesses the mood of American voters a full year before the 2000 presidential election shows some significant shifts from five years ago when Republicans were taking control of Congress as a Democratic president hunkered down to battle a series of missteps that ultimately resulted in impeachment...

The weather was clear, the temperature warm. A small flock of Canada geese swam through cypress and tupelo trees in a shallow area of Horseshoe Lake. A couple of them stood over the rest, their long necks stretched high as they took in happenings around them. ...

JACKSON -- 'Tis the season for tax bills, some 60,000 in Cape Girardeau County alone.The Cape Girardeau County collector's office began mailing tax bills Wednesday. Some 40,000 pieces of mail containing the tax bills will be mailed over the next five to six days, said Collector Diane Diebold.The county is mailing about 28,000 personal property tax bills and more than 30,000 real estate tax bills.Diebold said the tax bills are mailed about mid-November every year. ...

SIKESTON -- With more input from Weed and Seed's national office, the Southeast Missouri version of the anti-crime program should experience some improvement, said the president of the regional board. Several issues relating to organizational structure were discussed at a Thursday board meeting, which was attended by two representatives of Weed and Seed's Washington, D.C., office, said Bill Adams, board president and Poplar Bluff police chief."We had been floundering largely because we weren't getting any direction," Adams said.. ...

Sometimes it's a joy to read the newspaper. Take last week, for example. My wife has had to put up with my glum disposition for weeks. It all started when I had to give up my dream -- the downtown golf course -- all because Hizzoner wants to save a piece of the old bridge...

It is hoped a new program for non-custodial fathers will increase their compliance in paying child support, but the main purpose is just to make them better dads.The Proud Parents program shows non-custodial fathers the importance of being involved with their children, said Walt Wildman, assistant executive director of the East Missouri Action Agency, which helps run the program in collaboration with the Community Caring Council and the Division of Child Support Enforcement."If the program works, it will produce better parent-child relationships that, hopefully, will include child support," he said of Proud Parents, a pilot program that this month was renewed for another year of funding through the Missouri Department of Social Services."Our message is You helped create this child, you need to support this child financially and emotionally,'" said Glenda Smith, who works in community outreach for Division of Child Support Enforcement.But instead of taking an adversarial role, the Proud Parents program encourages this support by being responsive to the needs of these fathers, Wildman said.It does this by offering informational sessions on fathers' rights and responsibilities, child development, bonding and attachment and communication with the other parent."The whole idea is to share information to help make them better parents," said Calvin Bird, who recruits participants into the program.The program is helping participants overcome barriers keeping them from being the best parents they can be, Bird said.Two common barriers for participants are financial difficulties, which could be lack of a job or having a low-paying job, that keep them from financially supporting a child and custody problems, where the custodial parents put up barriers to involvement, Bird said."I haven't run across one person with a good job and a good relationship with the custodial parent who is just shirking his responsibilities," Bird said.To help with custody and visitation issues, the sessions include an attorney who talks about custody, paternity, visitation and child support and a mediator who speaks on communicating with the other parent and conflict resolution.There's also information about services available such as job placement programs, job skills programs and financial assistance.But the areas participants have been most interested in, to Bird's surprise, was child growth and development, where they learn how to interact with children, what to expect from children at what ages and parenting skills."These guys are begging for answers because they want to do the right thing," Bird said. ...

BLOOMFIELD -- Trial dates have been set for a couple accused of buying a baby and the grandmother charged with trying to sell the infant. Cathy Adams, 39, of Qulin, grandmother to the baby, pleaded not guilty late Wednesday afternoon to a charge of trafficking in children. Her trial is set for Feb. 7. Adams, on probation at the time of the incident, has been in jail since her arrest...

BERNIE -- Students are mixing outdoor activities and reading and coming up with a formula for fun. Bernie Elementary School is using the theme "Camp-Read-A-Lot" to correspond with National Reading Week. Each day this week the school has had different activities designed to make reading fun, said coordinator Michelle Martin."It has hyped up the kids and got them excited," Martin said. ...

Volunteers with Southeast Hospice, which provides support to terminally ill patients and their families, were honored for their service to the program at the annual Southeast Hospice Awards Banquet sponsored by Southeast Missouri Hospital Thursday night...

The Department of Music at Southeast Missouri State University will present a special concert of Early American and traditional Christmas music at 8 p.m. Nov. 30 in Academic Auditorium. The program will feature Wilberg's new "Four American Folk Hymns," plus a dramatic setting of traditional Christmas carols for choir and orchestra, "The Many Moods of Christmas." The Choral Union and University Choir, directed by Dr. ...

Money won't disappear from your bank accounts, telephones will still have dial tones and electricity will generate power when the clock strikes midnight New Year's Eve 1999. Officials from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Southwestern Bell, AmerenUE and the city said there isn't going to be anything scary about Y2K, particularly if people are properly prepared...

What's a good reason to dismiss school for the day. Area school administrators and teachers defended recent dismissals for a state teachers' meeting and for deer hunting season. Both were well-executed because they addressed issues of safety, attendance and professional development, they said. ...

Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team is ready to attack an early portion of its schedule that figures to severely test the Otahkians. It all begins today, when the 1999-2000 Otahkians tip things off at 5:30 p.m. against Mississippi Valley State in the first round of the Arkansas State Tournament...

On the eve of the Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament in Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri State University's championship team garnered two of the league's top individual awards. Cindy Gannon was named Coach of the Year while senior setter Amy Henken was named Player of the Year Thursday night during the OVC's awards banquet at the Show Me Center...

Western Carolina basketball coach Phil Hopkins has nothing against Missouri, but he hopes his team isn't treated too rudely in the Show Me State this weekend. The Catamounts open their season with a pair of games against Missouri opponents, beginning tonight when they tip off Southeast Missouri State University's 1999-2000 campaign with a 7:30 p.m. contest at the Show Me Center."I think we've got a real tough way to open the season," said Hopkins...

PARMA -- Vera Pauline King, 85, of Parma died Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1999, at MCI Hospital in Independence. She was born Aug. 10, 1914, at Parma, daughter of Samuel Marion and Mary Frances Bolden Earley. She and Wallace Gilbert King were married Dec. 19, 1949, in Piggott, Ark. He died Aug. 14, 1989...

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Hilda Suchy, 94, of Hot Springs died Monday, Nov. 15, 1999, at a local hospital. She was born Sept. 3, 1905, at Millersville, Mo., daughter of Herman and Emma Houpt Martin.She and Stanley Suchy were married. He preceded her in death.Suchy was of the Protestant faith.Survivors include three nephews and four nieces.Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. today at Hot Springs Funeral Home. Private burial will be Saturday at Pinecrest Cemetery in Alexander, Ark...

SIKESTON -- Johnny Dwain Warren, 37, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1999, from injuries received in an automobile accident in Natchez, Miss. He was born May 8, 1962, in Phoenix, Ariz., son of Hubert and Shelby Clark Warren. He married Barbara Green...

KARNAK, Ill. -- Essie Barnett Lockett, 93, of the Hillerman Community in Massac County died Thursday, Nov. 18, 1999, at Massac Memorial Hospital.Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak is in charge of arrangements.