Stories from Thursday, December 23, 1999

Chaffee is just 1-3, but the Red Devils will be carrying a bit of momentum into the U-High Tournament. That's because the Red Devils picked up their initial victory under first-year coach Tim Corley in their most recent outing, a 64-57 triumph over Zalma on Dec. 17...

Should Delta play the four games maximum in the U-High Tournament, coach Jim Gloth's players may all be asleep at the stroke of midnight when the year 2000 rolls in. Gloth, in his fourth year of coaching and second at Delta, has his smallest squad ever and is trying to make ends meet. The Bobcats, who had 12 players on the varsity last year, have eight players this year. Seven see the bulk of the playing time...

If Bell City hopes to make any noise in the U-High Tournament, the Cubs will have to solve the problem of nemesis Garrett Broshuis and the Advance Hornets. Bell City, seeded 12th, will face unbeaten Advance, the fifth seed, at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the opening round...

Kelly takes a 4-2 record and a happy coach into the holidays and the U-High Tournament. After a 1-2 start, Kelly picked up momentum with a 3-0 week before its break. The Hawks buzzed through Bloomfield, Oak Ridge and Clearwater in its perfect week. Next on the agenda for Kelly, the 11th seed in the tournament, will be a 6 p.m. first-round date Monday with sixth-seeded Scott County Central...

When first-year Oran coach Larry Boshell was asked whether he felt a Class 1A school such as Oran has a chance against the much larger 4A Cape Central Tigers in the opening round of the U-High Tournament, his answer was unequivocal. "I'm not really scared by a bigger school," said Boshell. "We play a bunch of 2A schools. I don't think it will bother my kids, but I'm aware that bigger schools don't want to be beat by a 1A school, so we'll be ready to play hard."...

Woodland coach Jennings Wilkinson thinks the Cardinals will have a solid team this season -- as long as they can recover from several injuries and illnesses that have hampered them severely during the early part of the campaign. "Our biggest concern is we've got to get some people healthy. We've had some injuries and then the flu bug really hit us," said Wilkinson. "We haven't had our full squad all season. For a while, we didn't even have 10 players to practice and that has really hurt us."...

For Leopold, experience, improved strength and conditioning, and some size have added up to an impressive start heading into the U-High Tournament. The Wildcats, seeded eighth, will carry a 5-2 record into Monday's 9 p.m. first-round game against No. 9 seed Woodland...

Either the Cape Central Tigers have been underrated or have overachieved in recent U-High Tournament history. Last year, the Tigers were seeded sixth and finished third. In 1996, Central was seeded fourth and took first. The Tigers are looking to surprise the tournament of the 16-team field again, as Central, after dropping its first four games, have been seeded seventh...

All things considered, Steve Wells is pleased with how his first Scott County Central team has performed so far. The Braves, seeded sixth for the U-High Tournament and facing a first-round game against No. 11 seed Kelly at 6 p.m. Monday, is off to a 5-1 start, the lone loss coming to Twin Rivers in the finals of the Oran Tournament...

Garrett Broshuis will get his points. How far the fifth-seeded Advance Hornets go in the U-High Tournament, and how well they do for the rest of the season, depends on the emergence of their front court. "Our season will rest upon how our interior people develop," said Advance coach Jim Hall. ...

1945 - Flat River over College High 1946 - Flat River over Leadwood 1947 - Leadwood over Illmo 1948 -University High over Cape Central 1949 - Sikeston over Oran 1950 - Puxico over Morehouse 1951 - Puxico over Cape Central 1952 - Morehouse over Puxico...

While the U-High Tournament gives fans the opportunity to see all the teams in Southeast Missouri, Jackson coach Steve Burk wants a good look at just one team. His own. "One nice thing about the Christmas Tournament, if you get four games, is you get a lot of looks at your kids," said Burk...

Former Notre Dame athlete turned Oak Ridge coach Paul Lynch is excited about the prospect of coaching in a U-High Tournament he once played in. Facing fifth-seeded Jackson only seems to add to his excitement. "The Christmas Tournament gives small schools the opportunity to go up against large ones and see what they can do," said Lynch. "We're looking forward to the challenge of playing against Jackson."...

With a basketball program that has struggled as much Meadow Heights has, the last thing the Panthers needed was a barrage of bad luck. But Meadow Heights coach Jeff Gravon and his team have been living by Murphy's Law to this point of the season. The Panthers are the U-High Tournament's No. 15 seed and will play second-seeded Scott City at 10:30 a.m. Monday in the opening round...

If Charleston can ever develop a killer instinct, then coach Danny Farmer believes his team might really be on to something. But until the Blue Jays learn how to put an opponent away, Farmer figures they'll continue to struggle. "We don't have a killer instinct, and we're trying to develop that," he said...

First-year Notre Dame coach Chris Neff had a good read on his team coming into the season. And the chapter about not having a strong inside presence seems to be jumping off the pages six games into the season. Although the Bulldogs have met with some early season success, including a win over rival Cape Central and a surprising upset of top-seeded Sikeston in the Sikeston Tournament, Neff laments the absence of an inside presence...

A millennium banner on a Christmas tree presents a timely greeting. A goose-feather Christmas tree from the 1920s is an early artificial tree on display at the Glenn House. When it comes to Christmas tree decorations, there's no best theme. Some people don't think they have a theme for their tree because they use the hodgepodge assortment of ornaments they've collected over the years. ...

For Scott City, the biggest question heading into the U-High Tournament is this: Did Advance reduce the Rams' confidence or incite the team's inner fire? For the first time since February of 1997, the Rams, seeded second, lost a non-tournament game. To make matters worse, it came in their last game before the tournament, a 60-57 loss to the fifth-seeded Hornets. The last time Scott City lost a non-tournament game was to Kelly in double overtime almost three years ago...

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout and I'm telling you why: Charleston is coming to town. It seems like Charleston hoisting the University High Christmas Tournament trophy has become as much of an annual occurrence as Santa Claus hoisting his sack of toys...

The shortages and resulting inflation predicted by Y2K doomsayers already have struck one market: baby sitters. Though polls and slow ticket sales to big concerts indicate that many people intend to spend the millennial New Year's Eve at home, finding a baby sitter is still an adventure that might be more costly than champagne...

A Cape Girardeau man is accused of defrauding philanthropist B.W. Harrison of more than $500,000 over the past year and a half, the Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's office said. The suspect, Bradley W. McIntyre, 40, of 1715 Henry St., was arrested and charged with a class C felony of stealing by deceit, Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said...

SCOTT CITY -- Although it is Christmastime and not Thanksgiving, there are plenty of area families thankful for the generosity of others this season. Needy families in Southeast Missouri who would otherwise not have a holiday meal can enjoy food from baskets delivered by volunteer firefighters in Scott City and the Salvation Army...

Dec. 23, 1999 Dear friends and family, A few days ago, when DC asked a child at her office if he knew how long it was until Christmas, he didn't. She, too, remembers being too young to be able to count the days until Christmas. Those days she arose early every morning and ran breathless into the living room to see whether Christmas had come...

A group of children at the Safe House will have a better Christmas this year thanks to the efforts of a group of kids from Jackson. The Safe House will get about $260 worth of toys and treats this week thanks to the fund-raising efforts of three 11-year-olds, Jessica Vaeth, Chelsea Bolen and Chelsea Niswonger, and two 7-year-olds, Zachary Vaeth and Bobby Clark, who call themselves Kids 4 Kids...

A number of area nursing home patients in Stoddard County will be "Home for the Holidays." The Stoddard County Ambulance District at Dexter will provide transportation for immobile patients to be with their relatives and friends at Christmas. The program, in its 14th year, is designed for nursing home patients who are unable to travel except by ambulance, said Monti Cooper, coordinator of the program...

WOODLAND -- One of the first things new Superintendent Bill Biggerstaff noticed while developing the Woodland schools annual profile was the district dropout rate. The district recorded a 15.4 percent dropout rate for the 1998-99 school year, a number so high it appeared erroneous. In fact, the dropout rate is nearly three times the 5.4 percent state average. It increased 2 percent from the previous year, 50 percent since the 1995-96 school year...

MARBLE HILL -- Mayor Ben F. Ellis Jr. faces a challenger in his bid for re-election. On the first day of filing for city offices Tuesday, Ellis and Jim Johnson filed for mayor and JoAnn Riggs and Tom Houchins filed for Ward 1 alderman. Johnson works in the city of Jackson's water department. Ellis, a veterinarian, has been mayor since 1994...

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a man arrested and convicted for felony stealing in Stoddard County while on parole for prior felony convictions should be credited with time served against his latest sentence. Gary Goings, now 38, was on parole after serving a portion of a five-year sentence for pleading guilty to felony stealing and second-degree assault charges in Franklin County. ...

The photograph of the cat with her kitten was as touching as any painting of Madonna and Child. Except the cat was a surrogate mother for the kitten, which grew from the egg of a rare African wildcat that had been fertilized by sperm taken from a male of the same species...

As might be expected from the Clinton administration, a report from 12 federal agencies has concluded that homeless Americans need help -- and that help needs to come from the federal government. This, of course, is pretty much the solution to every problem, real or imagined, among liberal Democrats...

If we glean nothing else from the last two Democratic presidential debates, we should recognize that Bill Bradley has Al Gore on the defensive. Prior to the first debate several weeks ago, Bradley vowed not to get personal and not to engage in negative campaigning. Gore, who has earned his reputation as a ruthless debater, seized on Bradley's announced strategy of appeasement and steamrolled over Dollar Bill in their first outing...

To the editor: A time warp, I thought, when I made out the tall windows of the old church gleaming through the mist. I had come to old Hanover Lutheran Church to join in singing of German Christmas music and hear a German sermon. It was warming to hear the congregation, which overflowed into the aisles, singing "Stille Nacht" and "Tannenbaum" and "O Du Froliche" songs composed about 200 years ago when Beethoven (not the composer of these songs) had moved from Bonn to Vienna, and Jefferson had just bought from France the ground on which my house stands.. ...

PEORIA, Ill. -- It's certain to be a wonderful Christmas for Gary Garner and his Southeast Missouri State University men's basketball team. The Indians made sure of that Wednesday night as they picked up their second straight win over a preseason conference favorite, holding off a furious late Bradley rally to prevail 65-60 in front of 9,326 fans at Carver Arena...

Southeast Missouri State University will hold a 2:30 p.m. press conference today at which time Marshall defensive coordinator Tim Billings will be introduced as the school's new head football coach. The press conference will take place at the Show Me Center...

Even the HealthSouth trainers couldn't prevent a death by suffocation Wednesday night. Poplar Bluff's defense didn't allow Cape Central any room to breathe much less run its offense as the Lady Mules executed the Lady Tigers 51-37 in the championship game of the HealthSouth Holiday Classic...

If success is anything like fine wine, it tastes better with age. Since Notre Dame's 58-54 upset victory over Jackson in the third-place game of the HealthSouth Holiday Classsic was two years in the making, it must have tasted delicious. Notre Dame had not defeated Jackson since the HealthSouth Holiday Classic in 1997...

PERRYVILLE -- Funeral for Esther Eva Leonard of Herculaneum will be held at 1 p.m. today at Young and Sons Funeral Home. The Rev. Dick Carter will officiate. Burial will be in Whitewater Presbyterian Church Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 9 a.m. until service time...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Phillip Junior Bailey, 42, died Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1999, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Feb. 26, 1957, in St. Louis, son of Albert Phillip and Margie Bradford Bailey. He and Patricia Ann Magee were married Feb. 26, 1998...

ANNA, Ill. -- Elizabeth Coffman, 92, of Anna died Tuesday, Dec. 21, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She was born March 26, 1907, in Cairo, daughter of John M. and Kathryn Pelley Coffman. Coffman was a special education teacher. She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church and American Legion Auxiliary...

Jan A. Chick, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Sept. 3, 1923, in Brackenridge, Pa., son of August and Olga Mattloll Chick. He and Nancy Black were married Dec. 22, 1951, in Cape Girardeau. She died April 20, 1984...

PERRYVILLE -- Richard A. "Rick" Duvall, 55, of Perryville died Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1999, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born March 14, 1944, in Pueblo, Colo., son of Carl and Elizabeth Beascoon DuVall. He and Carol A. Bishop were married Dec. 29, 1963, at Perryville...

CHARLESTON -- Sidney Lee Staples, 78, of Charleston died Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1999, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 15, 1921, at Wyatt, son of George Duncan and Martha Jane Griggs Staples. He and Joyce Ann Ashlock were married Jan. 3, 1948...

DIEHLSTADT -- Funeral for Lucille Armsby of Diehlstadt will be held at 1 p.m. today at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston. The Rev. Tom Bridges will officiate. Burial will be in IOOF Cemetery. Armsby, 76, died Tuesday, Dec. 21, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

DEXTER -- Funeral for Bobby Sanders will be held at 1 p.m. today at Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield. The Rev. Bob Holland will officiate, with burial at Gravel Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until service time. Sanders, 51, died Tuesday, Dec. 21, 1999, at his home in rural Dexter...

NEW HAMBURG -- LeRoy "Nip" Klipfel, 59, of Topeka, Kan., died Tuesday, Dec. 21, 1999, while at work at the Frito-Lay Co. in Topeka. He was born Feb. 9, 1940, at New Hamburg, son of Fidelis Martin and Catherine Josephine Heuring Klipfel. He and Rosemary Mayberry were married Feb. 8, 1964...

CHARLESTON -- Paul Hill, 92, of Charleston died Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston is in charge of arrangements.

GRAND CHAIN, Ill. -- Carl Mann Greer, 72, of Grand Chain died Tuesday, Dec. 21, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 9, 1928, at Malden, Mo., son of Carl and Lucille Riggins Greer. He married Joyce Roof. Greer was owner of A-1 Roofing and Siding Co. He was a merchant marine for the U.S. Coast Guard...

Tiffany Danielle Watkins, 3 months, died Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Sept. 7, 1999, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Kevin Watkins of Sikeston and Mary Jenkins of Cape Girardeau. Survivors include her parents; maternal grandparents, Marvin and Nancy Spurlock of Cape Girardeau; and paternal grandparents, David and Phyllis Watkins of Sikeston...