Stories from Thursday, February 3, 2000

COBDEN -- In the 1980s, Mel Watkin enrolled in the University of Montana to become a ceramic sculptor. But something happened on the way to her MFA. "I kept wanting to defy gravity," Watkin says. The art Watkin creates now is a near-weightless convergence of lace and paint and pencil. At first the images look like plants and flowers, but her plants do not exist in nature...

Construction should begin this year on the main span of the cable-stay Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau. A bedrock problem in the middle of the river has been fixed so work can proceed on the main span, the Missouri Department of Transportation said...

If you have a student attending one of the Cape Girardeau public schools, expect to be hearing from someone soon who wants your vote. When voters decide April 4 whether to approve an $18 million bond issue to build a new Central High School, all of Cape Girardeau's public schools will be affected, says Harry Rediger, co-chairman with Dennis Marchi of the bond issue campaign...

If your last name is Brown, Steed, Copeland, Pett, McGuire, Skelton or Lambert -- and you got a letter from San Francisco recently -- it could be worth $1 million. But only if you can prove you are a relative of Glenda Ella Bergman. Bergman, who was born Glenda Stead in Cape Girardeau in 1906, died in December in San Francisco with no will, no known relatives and an estate worth about $1 million, said John D.R. ...

Feb. 3, 2000 Dear Patty, One summer before I could drive was spent enthralled with the game of pool. Many hot afternoons I gathered enough coins for a Coke, a bag of peanuts and a game or two of snooker and walked six very hot blocks to the Pla-Mor on Broadway. There it was always cool inside, and green-topped tables were lined south to north like ships waiting to be sailed...

Gov. George Bush remains the Republican presidential front-runner despite Sen. John McCain's win Tuesday in the New Hampshire primary. Bush has far more money and the support of Republican political leaders across the country. That's the assessment of four political science professors at Southeast Missouri State University...

Whether their efforts involve raising funds, time spent at board meetings or hands-on tasks, volunteers are an integral part of non-profit organizations. Beginning this year, those volunteers in this area will be honored in a new way, it was announced Wednesday...

Don't put those overcoats away yet! Although the National Weather Service's extended forecast is calling for mild temperatures over the coming weekend, Girardeau George and Punxsutawney Phil have some other ideas about what happens then. George and Phil, part-time weather forecasters and full-time groundhogs, saw their shadows Wednesday, and predicted six more weeks of winter...

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark waited months and crossed half a continent before finding Sacagawea, and now small retailers and local banks are in a similar situation. The retailers and banks are looking for the new gold-colored Sacagawea dollar coin which features an image of the Shoshone woman on its face. The coins, however, are in limited supply, due in part to a recent deal struck between the U.S. Mint and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. based in Berryville, Ark...

I WANT to point out something, the necessity for a reliable source of news in this country. This biased news media drive me crazy, and it points up what I'm going to discuss, why we need talk radio. Now, the Iowa caucuses. Al Gore, according to the major media, won a smashing success. ...

I think I may have finally figured out why President Clinton so virulently opposes the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative. But as with so many other things, his reasons are shortsighted, self-serving and detrimental to our national security interests...

Get any two soft-drink aficionados together. Make sure one is a Coca-Cola drinker. And make sure the other is a Pepsi-Cola drinker. Ask them which carbonated beverage is better. Stand back. Coke and Pepsi fans don't know much about the color gray. At Southeast Missouri State University, it seems Coke drinkers outnumber Pepsi drinkers about 3-to-1, particularly those who attend functions at the Show Me Center. ...

Throughout history, public buildings, naval vessels and other prominent landmarks have been named for distinguished individuals who have served their nation well. Such is the case of the new Matthew E. Schlimme Industrial Facility in St. Louis. It is named for a young man from Whitewater who died in a 1997 rescue attempt while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard...

Tim Billings has officially started to put his stamp on the Southeast Missouri State football program as nine recruits committed to the school Wednesday, the first day players could sign letters of intent. Billings, at least after the first day of signings, has apparently focused on bringing in defensive players. ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee State is apparently a much different basketball team than the one Southeast Missouri State University routed 79-46 in Cape Girardeau on Jan. 6. The Indians will find out just how different tonight when they face the Tigers in a 7:45 Ohio Valley Conference game at the Gentry Complex...

One is a big-time scorer, the other a big-time defender. One wears Cape Central orange. The other wears Jackson red. They've exchanged words. They, in all likelihood, have exchanged elbows to the ribs and kicks to the shins. But soon, they'll exchange remote controls and bags of pretzels...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team has not been strong on the road so far this season, but coach Ed Arnzen is hoping that changes this week. The Otahkians, who have won three straight games to climb back in the thick of the Ohio Valley Conference race, face Tennessee State tonight and Austin Peay Saturday night. Both contests are set to tip off at 5:45 p.m...

Son to Michael and Shana Warner of St. Louis, Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, 2:23 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2000. Name, Bo Michael. Weight, 7 pounds. Second child, first son. Mrs. Warner is the former Shana Cobble, daughter of Marge Welker of Cape Girardeau and Dan and Karen Cobble of Jefferson City. Warner is the son of Marilyn Warner of St. Louis and Al and Fran Warner of Canton, Ohio. He owns and operates Warbro Asphalt Maintenance Co...

David C. Jones, 46, of Crump died Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2000, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

EAST PRAIRIE -- Calvin E. "Cal" Walker, 62, of East Prairie died Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2000, at his home. He was born Aug. 8, 1937, in Cairo, Ill., son of Charles and Irene Harris Walker Sr. Walker lived in East Prairie most of his life, and was a self-employed mechanic...

The Rev. Jamie Samuel "Sam" Peters, 62, of Port Charlotte, Fla., died Monday, Jan. 31, 2000, in a Port Charlotte medical center. He was born March 18, 1937, in Oak Hill, W.Va., son of Joseph and Doris Crawford Peters. He married the former Rebecca Shaffer...

VANDUSER -- Melvin Aaron "Cooter" Lancaster, 20, died Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2000, at Linn. He was born Aug. 11, 1979, at Sikeston. Lancaster had been a driver with Spanky's Friendly Cab, and had worked at M&L Trailer. Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Judy Terhune and Bobby Klingel of Vanduser; his father, Melvin Lancaster of Moberly; two sisters, Melisa Arnold of Bell City, Jenny Freeman of Granbury, Texas; paternal grandparents, Jim and Betty Lancaster of Vanduser; and stepgrandparents, Harold and Ruby Mills of Sikeston.. ...

VIENNA, Ill. -- France L. Alford, 88, of Vienna died Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2000, at the Southgate Nursing Home in Metropolis. She was born April 20, 1911, in Reynoldsville, daughter of John Wesley and Ida Mae Lobeck Skelton. She and William Andrew Alford were married Oct. 10, 1927, in Johnson County, Ill. He died Sept. 2, 1981...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Funeral for Ramsie Nicole Nale will be held at 11 a.m. today at Crain Funeral Home in Ullin. The Rev. Richard Martin will officiate. Burial will be in Green Lawn Memorial Gardens. Friends may call at the funeral home after 10 a.m. The infant died at birth Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2000, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale...

CYPRESS, Ill. -- Funeral for Donald L. Steele of St. Charles died Monday, Jan. 31, 2000, at Delnor Community Hospital in Geneva. He was born May 23, 1927, in Cypress, son of Ernest and Gladys Hartline Steele. He married Dorothy Goins. Steele worked at St. Charles Kitchens Inc. 15 years; worked for the city of St. Charles 22 years; and with the St. Charles Fire Department, retiring in 1989...

SIKESTON -- Flossie Clinton, 92, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2000, at Clearview Nursing Center. She was born Nov. 15, 1907, in Columbus, Ky., daughter of Spencer and Carrie Bell Burton Davis. She and Ora Hilton Clinton were married Jan. 5, 1922. He died Oct. 3, 1964...

DEXTER -- Anita L. Fortner, 39, of O'Fallon died Monday, Jan. 31, 2000, at her home. She was born Aug. 26, 1960, in Blytheville, Ark., daughter of Carl and Delcie Lee Hesselbein. She and Jeffery Fortner were married Oct. 9, 1987, in Memphis, Tenn. Fortner was a receptionist at H.R. Block. She moved to O'Fallon 15 years ago from St. Peters...

SIKESTON -- Travis Yant, 81, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born June 5, 1918, in Paragould, Ark., son of Moses W. and Lou Annie Bazzel Yant. He and Betty Lou Thompson were married March 1, 1947, in Piggott, Ark...

Elda B. Masterson, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2000, at the Lutheran Home, where she resided the past 15 months. She was born Dec. 4, 1911, in Cape Girardeau County, daughter of Reuel and Nora Dell Swan Morton. She married Lester "Bud" Masterson Dec. 24, 1929, in Cairo, Ill. He died July 2, 1981...

Marion Arthur Reed, 62, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Jan. 30, 2000. He was born Aug. 18, 1937, in Pritchard, Ala. He married Carol Hunter in 1961. She died Jan. 30, 1998. He served in the U.S. Army and was retired from the Chrysler Corp. He is survived by two daughters, Katherine A. Reed-Wilbur and Marian A. Reed, both of St. Louis; five sisters, Julia, Amanda, Anna, Eleanor and Carolyn; three brothers, Cleveland, Benjamin and Joe; and three grandchildren...