Stories from Thursday, January 27, 2000

To the editor: I enjoyed R. Joe Sullivan's Friday column about typos, i.e. newsroom gremlins, immensely. I'm a recent transplant in Southeast Missouri from Iowa where I worked in the newsroom of The Des Moines Register. Before we went through the hell of hells -- pagination with a jury-rigged computer system -- among other jobs like actual writing, I supervised corrections on the final proofs in the composing room. ...

Ceramics, often identified with lawn gnomes and kissing angels, get a bum rap because the craft is a simple one. However, there is a level of skill developed that's not easily recognized. "You get used to saying I made this' and somebody saying "Oh, you mean you sculpted it by hand?'" said Vicki Raines, who owns Ceramics Unlimited at 622 Broadway...

Unforeseeable future: Who in the year 1000 could have imagined the course of events over the next millennium? Nothing in that world could have let people foresee the world of today. Who in 1700 could have predicted the events of the next 100 years: the Enlightenment, Britain's beating France for control of all of North America, the American Revolution whereby a people created a new nation based on principles inchoate a century before, the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror and the rise of nationalism?. ...

Based on the campaign dialogue of the presidential races, there appears to be a serious gap between the issues candidates are discussing and those that the victor will likely face in office. Perhaps one reason for this variance is that the electorate is anesthetized by a thriving economy and peace in our times. ...

Just as there are a lot of Missourians who oppose abortion on demand, partial-birth abortions and the harvesting of organs and tissue from aborted fetuses, there are a lot of Missourians who favor family planning, particularly if it keeps women who might seek abortions from getting pregnant...

When Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, pleaded guilty to three murders, the nation exhaled a collective sigh of relief. But Kaczynski says he was coerced by the fact that his lawyers intended to mount a defense based on his mental condition. Kaczynski's adamant refusal to have his psychiatric condition paraded through a public trial is now the basis of his request for a trial. In a 58-page handwritten brief, the Unabomber asks to be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea...

DEXTER -- Arvin Exhaust ranks fourth in the nation in an environmental organization's calculation of factories whose emissions pose cancer risks. New York-based Environmental Defense computed the cancer risk using toxic emission data factories must supply to the federal Environmental Protection Agency and multiplying those numbers by exposure factors such as smokestack height and population. ...

No one denies problems exist in the city's south side, but the best source for solving them aren't city leaders, school officials or business owners. The solution lies with the people who live in the area. That was the consensus at a Community Leadership Group meeting attended by about 30 people who met for two hours and 15 minutes Wednesday night at the Salvation Army. The meeting was designed to talk about problems and solutions in South Cape Girardeau...

Reviving moments of the Civil War for fun and profit could be a boon to Missouri, state tourism officials said. Last month the Missouri Division of Tourism created an ad hoc committee by request of Lt. Gov. Roger B. Wilson to explore the possibilities of promoting Missouri's Civil War history, said Laurie Sims of the Division of Tourism...

Jan. 27, 2000 Dear Carolyn, The brittle cold this week makes it hard to let go of the blankets in the morning. How DC must lovingly despise the sight of me snuggling deeper into the covers as she arises early for work. The cold affects everyone. Lucy steps out the back door and immediately plops onto her outdoor bed. ...

Peggy Kitchen was breathing a little easier Wednesday looking at some well stocked shelves at the Red Cross Blood Bank. Kitchen, supervisor of distribution for Red Cross Blood Services, said a successful blood drive over the weekend has eased the critical shortage the center was facing most of January...

POPLAR BLUFF -- One of the eight men charged for a riot that injured police last June in Cape Girardeau was sentenced to six months in jail and given a $500 fine, the Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor's office said. The sentence recommended for Elijah J.D. Fisher, 18, by a jury in December was upheld Tuesday by a Butler County judge, said Ian Sutherland, assisant Cape Girardeau County prosecutor. He had been found guilty of rioting...

Cape Girardeau voters soon could be asked to extend an existing sales tax that would be used to help pay for road construction projects. The Transportation Trust Fund has helped the city pay for nearly 20 road improvement projects in the last five years. The projects have been funded by a half-cent sales tax that was first approved in 1995. The existing tax will expire later this year...

There's a cold front heading south. I mean way south. I mean below-the-ground south. Prepare your souls, friends. It appears Hades has frozen over. The Rams are in the Super Bowl. Satan is putting on his Tennessee Titan jacket. Just the other day, I saw a pig fly. Oh wait, it was a pigskin. And it was flying into the hands of Ricky Proehl for an NFC Championship victory...

Morehead State's women's basketball team is in last place in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Lady Eagles having yet to win a league game. But Southeast Missouri State University coach Ed Arnzen knows the Otahkians would be making a huge mistake to underestimate the Lady Eagles in today's 5:30 p.m. contest at the Show Me Center...

Morehead State's score from Saturday night tells Southeast Missouri State University men's basketball coach Gary Garner all he needs to know about just how dangerous and capable the Eagles are. The Eagles took Murray State to overtime before suffering a one-point loss. So Garner knows Morehead State is an opponent the Indians need to take extremely seriously in tonight's 7:30 Ohio Valley Conference game at the Show Me Center...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Scott Pingel ended his college football career as the greatest wide receiver statistically in NCAA history. And although he played for a low-profile program, the Perryville native believes he has a shot of making it in the National Football League...

DELTA -- The one-two scoring punch of Josh Altenthal and Allen Rhodes was enough to secure Delta a 78-63 win over Marquand Tuesday night. Altenthal poured in a game-high 24 points, followed by Rhodes, who added 21. Robbie Lemonds helped out as well, netting 10 points...

SCOTT CITY -- Arba William "A.W." Wright, 97, of Scott City died Saturday, Jan. 22, 2000, at West Volusia Memorial Hospital in DeLand, Fla. He was born Aug. 14, 1902, at Leora, son of Frank Harlan and Emma Kitchen Wright. He and Margaret Evelyn Pellett were married Jan. 1, 1930, in St. Petersburg, Fla. She died Jan. 5, 1999...

SCOTT CITY -- Richard Gordon Hink, 68, of Scott City died Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 28, 1931, in Cape Girardeau, son of T.V. and Helen Mifflin Hink. He and Mary "Sue" Welker were married May 19, 1957...

DEXTER - Herbert Lee, 71, of Dexter died Monday, Jan. 24, 2000, at his home. He was born Nov. 14, 1928, at Aquilla, son of Leffler and Ada Monroe Lee. He and Freida Martin were married May 23, 1947, in Piggott, Ark. Lee retired as a security guard with Purolator Filter Co. in Dexter...

SIKESTON -- Dale Elmore Carter, 70, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at the Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston.

Son to A. Lee and Amanda Dawn Chapman of Whitewater, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:59 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2000. Name, Isaac Benton. Weight, 8 pounds 9 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Chapman is the former Amanda Wren, daughter of Don and Linda Wren of Jackson. She is employed at St. Francis Medical Center. Chapman is the son of Alfred and Juanita Chapman of Jackson. He is employed at Electrical Contractors Inc...

MATTHEWS -- Gay Cagle, 73, of Matthews died Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Dec. 31, 1926, in Harviell, Ark., daughter of Tom Shaw and Annie Laura Barnes Woodson. She and Melvin Cagle were married March 25, 1944, in Essex...

MARION, Ill. -- Kenneth A. Madding, 34, of Marion died Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000, at Marion Memorial Hospital. He was born Aug. 23, 1965, in Cairo, the son of Leslie Allen and Sharon Lefler Anglin. He married Betty L. Baswell on Aug. 22, 1987, in Aransas Pass, Texas. She survives...

Pete V. Jarrell, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Jan. 23, 2000, at Missouri Veterans Home. He was born June 5, 1923, in Whitesville, W.Va., son of Donnie and Bessie Jarrell. Jarrell had worked at United Fuel Gas Co., and also had been a mechanic...

PERRYVILLE -- Richard L. "Rick" Sutterer, 55, of Fenton died Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2000, at St. Anthony Medical Center in St. Louis. He was born March 16, 1944, in Perryville, daughter of Ralph and Elfrieda Buchheit Sutterer. He and Joan A. Guyott were married Nov. 21, 1964, in Perryville...

Wilma Lehmann, 78, of Jackson died Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000, at Southeast Hospital. Arrangements are under the direction of McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

DELTA -- Funeral for Immogene Hester of Delta will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee. The Rev. Vyron Yount will officiate, with burial in Kenyon Cemetery at Delta. Friends may call at the chapel after 4 p.m. today. Hester, 80, died Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau...

BLOOMFIELD -- William M. Elmore, 69, of Bloomfield died Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 7, 1930, at Bloomfield, son of Estel "Jack" and Jessie Hutchison Elmore. He and Elizabeth Moore were married Sept. 19, 1952. She died May 27, 1987. He and Patricia Shively Shipman were married in 1987...

ANNA, Ill. -- Funeral for Mary Shaddrick of Springfield will be held at 1 p.m. today at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna. The Rev. Richard Sullins will officiate. Burial will be in Anna Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home prior to service...