Stories from Saturday, January 22, 2000

To the editor: I want to publicly thank the commissioners of Mississippi County -- Jim Blumenberg, Homer Oliver and Martin Lucas -- for the unrelenting support they have given me over the past two and a half years as manager of the Mississippi County Records Preservation Center...

The City of Roses will honor the efforts of Vision 2000 with an appropriate tribute: a rose garden near City Hall. The garden will recognize the efforts of dedicated volunteered who have worked hard to improve the city since Vision 2000 was founded in 1987...

The football Rams may claim St. Louis as their home, but the excitement over the team's playoff chances has consumed sports fans across the state. The Rams, who had the dubious honor of being the team with the worst record in the 1990s, are just one game away from the Super Bowl. It's hard not to come down with a case of Rams fever. This week, it may be more contagious than influenza...

The message is the same as it has been for centuries, but area churches are jazzing up the presentation to appeal to and keep the attention of modern congregations. For 31 years, Ida Mae Jordan has been secretary at Evangelical United Church of Christ. It wasn't until just recently that Jordan, now almost 70, had to learn how to keep up with changing technology...

Few Southeast Missourians were missed in the 1990 census, the Census Bureau says. Statewide, the count was off just over one-half of 1 percent out of a population of slightly more than 5 million, Census Bureau figures show. The undercount totaled nearly 32,000, the bureau calculated...

St. Francis Medical Center is investigating the feasibility of adding obstetrics to its hospital services, said Kim Groves, a hospital spokesperson. The medical center's strategic planning committee has identified the need to make St. Francis a full-service hospital, said Groves. To that end, St. Francis is studying the feasibility of adding obstetrics and expanding its heart institute...

A Southeast Missouri farm couple has received the American Farm Bureau Federation's Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award, a top national honor. David Herbst and his wife, Leslie, who farm near Chaffee, are continuing the tradition of David Herbst's family by becoming the fourth generation to work the Southeast Missouri farm...

La Nina may or may not be responsible for the region's above-average temperatures and scarce precipitation this winter, but the recent cold spell has been caused by much more customary forces, meteorologists say. The digit-freezing temperatures that have swept across much of the country, especially the Northeast, during the past week are the result of a normal winter weather pattern, says Jeff Hovis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky...

The male version of the soap opera has become a bi-weekly staple in my household of three men and a mom. What, you're not familiar with male-directed soap operas? Well, I can sum it up for you in one word: Wrassling. That's not to be confused with wrestling, which is a hand-to-hand athletic contest that requires opponents to struggle within a confined space and with specific rules of engagement...

Wayne Davenport, vice president of university advancement at Southeast Missouri State University, will be featured Sunday on KRCU's "Going Public" show. The university's fund-raising efforts will be discussed. The show airs at 3 p.m. on 90.9 FM. At 3:30 p.m., KRCU will rebroadcast an interview with Dr. Wayne Fields, author of "Union of Words: A History of Presidential Eloquence."...

You wake up with a crick in your neck and as you try to turn your head, pain shoots down your arm and there's a tingling sensation in your fingers. These may be symptoms of nothing more than a pulled muscle, but then again it could be a pinched nerve that will require surgery, said neurosurgeon Dr. ...

Jackson made the game of basketball look easy. Notre Dame, on the other hand, made like salmon during spawning season. Nothing came easy for the Bulldogs Friday night in a 72-47 home loss in which they saw Jackson make seven of its 10 3-point attempts...

Cape Girardeau Central High's boys basketball team entered play Friday with a two-game winning streak, and the Tigers had generally improved considerably in recent weeks after a slow start. But it didn't take a genius to surmise that the Tigers would be hard pressed to continue their upward climb Friday night...

Eastern Illinois men's basketball coach Rick Samuels is the first to admit that losing two of his top players to injury is frustrating and disappointing. But Samuels also knows that feeling sorry for themselves will do the Panthers no good as they enter tonight's 7:30 Ohio Valley Conference game against Southeast Missouri State University at the Show Me Center...

Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach Ed Arnzen hates to consider any game a must-win situation. But Arnzen figures he has no choice right now. Today's Ohio Valley Conference contest against Eastern Illinois, set for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at the Show Me Center, is one the Otahkians simply must win...

Southeast Missouri State University's indoor track and field program nabbed a pair of team titles Friday night during a triangular meet at the Student Recreation Center. On the women's side, Southeast scored 128 points to ease past Tennessee-Martin (71) and Murray State (69)...

For the first time in seven years, Cape Central High School will be holding the SEMO Conference wrestling tournament today. While Tigers coach Josh Crowell said the event is not quite as enormous as the 16-team Tiger Classic which was held in December, it will have steeper competition...

NORMAL, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's gymnastics team finished last during Friday night's triangular meet hosted by Illinois State. Ball State was first with 192.325 points, followed by Illinois State with 191.675 and Southeast with 187.100...

ORAN -- Scott City claimed the Scott-Mississippi County Conference Tournament title Friday night with a 72-62 win over Scott County Central. Ryan Weatherspoon led the way with a game-high 25 points, while teammate Ronald Watson followed closely behind with 23...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Private memorial service for Margaret Fitzgerald of Cairo will be held today at Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo. The Rev. Bill McGhee will officiate. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery at Villa Ridge. Fitzgerald, 79, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2000...

MATTHEWS -- Funeral for Alyce Cowgur of Matthews will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston. The Rev. Ed Pangburn will officiate. Burial will be in Ebenezer Cemetery in Galatia, Ill. Cowgur, 97, died Thursday, Jan. 20, 2000, at Sells Rest Home in Matthews...

Son to Julio and Ashley Jaisaree of St. Charles, St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, 6:26 p.m. Monday, Dec. 28, 1999. Name, Jacob Dean. Weight, 8 pounds 8 ounces. Second child, first son. Mrs. Jaisaree is the former Ashley Jennings, daughter of Greg and Beth Jennings of Cape Girardeau. Jaisaree is the son of the late Jessie Jaisaree of Stamford, Conn. He is a computer technician with Federal Mogul...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Richard L. Crites, 76, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., died Tuesday, Dec. 21, 1999, in a hospice center in Fort Lauderdale. He was born June 14, 1923, in Cape Girardeau, son of Earl H. and Hannah J. Crites. Crites had worked at Pevely Dairy and had owned and operated Crites Sheet Metal in Jackson...

DEXTER -- Dottie Mae Shell, 89, of Dexter died Friday, Jan. 21, 2000, at Sells Rest Home in Matthews. She was born July 21, 1910, in Stoddard County, daughter of Cleveland and Roda Harper Wright. She and Harvey Shell were married Sept. 2, 1931, at Dexter. He died March 24, 1979...

PATTON -- Funeral for R.S. "Butch" Mungle of Patton will be held at 11 a.m. today at Liley Funeral Home in Patton. The Rev. Stella Turner will officiate. Burial will be in Patton Cemetery. Mungle, 93, died Thursday, Jan. 20, 2000, at Elder Care Nursing Home in Marble Hill...

JACKSON -- Wilma Maxine Underwood, 72, of Jackson died Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2000 at her home. She was born Jan. 12, 1928, at Jackson, daughter of Gerald and Lillian Mason Lewis Cravens. She attended Lincoln Grade School and was a graduate of John S. Cobb High School in Cape Girardeau...

MARBLE HILL -- Two men were injured in a one-car accident early Friday on Highway 51 just north of Marble Hill, the Missouri Highway Patrol said. The driver of the southbound car, Patrick Vandermierden, 19, of Jackson, suffered serious injuries and was taken by air ambulance to Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was reported in serious but stable condition at the hospital Friday evening...

ADVANCE -- Funeral for John Graham of Advance will be held at 1:30 P.M. Sunday at Morgan Funeral Home. The Rev. Gene Robbins will officiate. Burial will be in Pleasant Grove Cemetery near Bell City. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5:30-8 p.m. today...