Stories from Thursday, February 17, 2000

To the editor: I didn't know Traci Taylor. I just read about her in the paper, and this came to my mind: Heavenly Father, sometimes in your great love for mankind you send someone like Traci into the world for a few short years to teach us how to live, how to make the most of the days you have given, each precious moment, as we live to love, inspire and bless others for your glory, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Amen...

The delicacy and intricacy of lace might make lacemaking seem the most complicated of the sewing arts. Not so, says Lise Thomsen, a founding member of the Heartland Lace Guild. "There are only two moves. If you can count to four you can make lace." Of course, 10 hours of work are required to produce one square inch of the most intricate kinds...

I'D LIKE to voice my opinion on a Speak Out item "Waiting for the Democrats." It's just too bad that we can't be here on this earth like we will be when we get to heaven. There will be no Democrats or Republicans. There won't be any poor or rich. It's so sad that we can't live in harmony on this earth. ...

The newly named CAPE GIRARDEAU CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER received a major national award Tuesday morning. Approximately 200 people were in attendance when Dr. CARROLL TOWEY of the U.S. Department of Education presented the award to Dr. DAN STESKA, superintendent of the Cape Girardeau School District...

For a good many Americans of a certain age, the current national unemployment rate is a wonder to behold. There are still plenty of folks who remember the Depression and everything that went with it. In particular, they remember when jobs were few and far between. They recall the economic hardships of not having a job. And they hope the current high employment rate can last forever...

The Cape Girardeau County Extension Center touches a lot of people through its 90 programs. It is no surprise that efforts to raise about half a million dollars for a new building to house the center near Jackson. Donations have come from 185 groups representing as many as 4,000 individuals. This shows remarkable support for the center and its activities. Construction is about to start on the center, which will more than triple the space available...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The Cairo Board of Education is looking for ways to reverse a seven-year deficit-spending trend. Work-force reduction, program cuts and even closing one of the district's five schools are among options the school board is considering to get the district's finances under control...

"Down the left field line. Is it enough? Gone! There it is! Sixty-two! Touch first, Mark. You are the new single-season home-run king." Those words by sportscaster Joe Buck described Mark McGwire's 62nd home run and have been played and replayed on Fox Sports Network. The St. Louis Cardinals slugger had just established a new season-high home-run record in September 1998...

That shiny sports utility vehicle that looked so great last year when gas cost about 80 cents per gallon may seem more like a money vacuum now that prices have reached the $1.37 mark. "The price of gas has gone up about 50 cents a gallon since last spring," said Michael Right, vice president for public affairs for AAA in St. Louis. That's making it painful at the pump for those who drive cars like SUVs that don't get good gas mileage, he said...

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County candidates who file for office on Feb. 29, the first day of filing for the 2000 election, will draw numbers to determine the order of placement on the ballot. Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller said he decided to go to the lottery system this year to avoid having candidates and their surrogates stand in line for hours or even days in advance of the start of filing...

Feb. 17, 2000 Dear Julie, Eleven weeks ago, I brought home a book that promised to transform my life in 12 weeks. I'm waiting. This book isn't going to make me wealthy or give me inner peace. This book claims to be able to turn the bodies of paunchy men and flabby women into the kind of bodies that appear on the cover of muscle magazines. In so doing, the author writes, you will believe in your power to transform everything else in your life...

JACKSON -- Bradley W. McIntyre tried to convince a judge that he did nothing criminal in receiving over $500,000 from philanthropist B.W. Harrison, but Judge Michael Bullerdieck decided otherwise. McIntyre, 40, will be arraigned Tuesday in criminal court on charges that he stole Harrison's money by deceit...

DEXTER -- Public school officials say one of the biggest problems facing educators today is discipline in the classroom. With the advent of tragedies that have happened in America's schools over the past few years, legislators are looking for new approaches to deal with the problem...

DEXTER -- As a part of the Dexter Public Library's 60th anniversary, a special art exhibit is planned featuring the work of a local artist. Ed Boyt will be showing his watercolors at the Keller Public Library this Sunday, Feb. 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. Boyt, who retired from the U.S. ...

After only three years, the Deer Creek Christian Academy is ready to expand its enrollment into a larger facility. Administrators have purchased a two-acre site on Route W opposite Kenneth Drive for the school, which was started in Trish LaFoe's home in 1997. LaFoe founded the school because she wanted to expose her children to a broad-based education that would help them develop academically, socially and spiritually...

A group of Cape Girardeau residents wants the city to make a better first impression with visitors by cleaning up run-down and dilapidated properties. "Your first impressions are your first impressions, and they need to be good," said Bill Dunn, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association...

At this time of the year, there are basically two types of wrestlers left -- those who are on a roll and those who have rolled over just about everybody. Jackson has both types. The Indians will be sending seven wrestlers to the state meet today at the Hearnes Center in Columbia located on the campus of the University of Missouri. Matches will take place today and Friday, with the state champions to be decided on Saturday. The top six wrestlers in each weight class will be named all-state...

Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team saved one of its best games of the season for its final home appearance. The Otahkians blistered the nets in the second half to wipe out a four-point halftime deficit as they rolled past Belmont 87-72 Wednesday night in front of 475 fans at the Show Me Center...

So far, Southeast Missouri State University's baseball Indians are not playing the way coach Mark Hogan thought they would -- not that he's complaining. Hogan expected his pitching staff and defense to suffer through some early-season struggles, but he figured his offense would lead the way during that stretch...

JACKSON -- In the best shooting performance Jackson coach Steve Burk can remember, Jackson High crushed visiting Perryville 86-44 in a makeup game Wednesday night. According to the 1999 Missouri High School Sports Record Book published by the Missouri State high School Activities Association, the 15 threes is the second-most recorded by a Missouri team. Scott City holds the record of 24 against Tamms Egyptian in 1997...

MINER -- A Matthews man sustained injuries Wednesday when his truck collided with a tractor-trailer at an intersection near Miner. Russell Wescoat, 18, was taken to Missouri Delta Hospital after the 11:04 a.m. accident on Route H, a mile north of Miner...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Almeata Britt Morris, 81, died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2000, at East Prairie Nursing Center. She was born April 2, 1918, in Crosno, daughter of Richard P. and Nora Campbell Britt. She and Doss Morris were married Sept. 7, 1940. She has lived in Mississippi County most of her life. She was of the Protestant faith...

JACKSON -- Theresa Casper Harman, 28, of Jackson died Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2000. She was born Nov. 1, 1971, in Carbondale, Ill., daughter of Roy A. and Carol D. Churchill Casper. She and Allen Harman were married July 15, 1995. She was formerly of Dongola, Ill...

SCOTT CITY -- Charlotte M. Chaney, 66, of Scott City, died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

CYPRESS, Ill. -- Hubert Hobson, 91, of Cypress died Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2000, at Hillview Care Center in Vienna. Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak is in charge of arrangements.

PERRYVILLE -- Robert I. DuVall, 94, of Perryville died Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000, at his home. He was born Dec. 16, 1905, in Perry County, son of Thomas and Frances Algire DuVall. He and Evelyn Schulte were married May 31, 1926, at Claryville. DuVall had been a self-employed painter and paperhanger. He was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church...

CHAFFEE -- Georgia Lee Cox, 74, of Chaffee died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 11, 1925, at Chaffee, daughter of Oral and Effie Jane Fowler Whitaker. She married Allen Gene Cox April 12, 1947. He died May 16, 1981...

MARBLE HILL -- Esther I. Rowe, 83, of Sparta, Ill., died Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2000, at Green Park Residential Care Center in St. Louis. She was born Aug. 7, 1916, at Greenbriar, daughter of Henry and Nona Bohnsack Umfleet. She and Harry B. Rowe were married April 19, 1941, at Sank...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Mary V. Hessian, 97, of Cairo, died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2000, at her home. She was born on Dec. 8, 1902, in Cairo, daughter of Jeremiah and Kate Magner McCarthy. She was married to Edwin Hessian. He died in 1949. She was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Cairo and the Church Altar Guild. She was a clerk at Cade's Florist in Cairo before her retirement...

PUXICO -- Lelia M. Douglas, 90, of Puxico died Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 19, 1909, at Puxico, daughter of Charles and Lettie Wilkerson Doublin. She and Don Lyle Douglas Sr. were married Jan. 15, 1931, at Kinder. He died Aug. 23, 1986...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Edna M. Mowery, 87, of Tallassee, Ala., formerly of Tamms, died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2000, at the Community Hospital in Tallassee. Friends may call at Crain Funeral Home in Ullin from 6-8 p.m. Friday. Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Crossroad United Methodist Church at Ullin, with the Rev. Rick Bishop officiating. Burial will be in St. John's Cemetery...

OLMSTED, Ill. -- Funeral for Norman Gus Schwieger of Olmsted will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak. The Rev. Joey Dunning will officiate. Burial will be in Green Lawn Memorial Gardens at Villa Ridge. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-9 p.m. today...

MARBLE HILL -- Esther Mattie Walker, 89, of Marble Hill died Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2000, at Elder Care of Marble Hill. She was born Feb. 12, 1911, at Marquand, daughter of Marion J. and Blanche V. Pair Slinkard. She and Ernest H. Walker were married Aug. 9, 1936, at Glen Allen...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Ruth Evelyn Loomes Stanley, 71, died Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2000, at Vencor Hospital in St. Louis. She was born April 8, 1928, at Kelso, daughter of Rome C. and Cynthia Bomer Pate. She and Robert F. Loomes were married Aug. 16, 1950. He died Feb. 8, 1985. She later married Paul R. Stanley June 10, 1989...

PERRYVILLE -- Doris M. Hansen Balsmann, 70, of Perryville died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 30, 1929, in Randolph County, Ill., daughter of Pius G. and Anna Belshea Mattingly. She and Willard H. Hansen were married Aug. 23, 1947. He died Dec. 20, 1988. She later married Walter L. Balsmann Dec. 4, 1993...

Son to Joseph B. and Jennifer R. McElvain of Marble Hill, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 9:26 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2000. Name, Carson Ray. Weight, 9 pounds 6 ounces. Second son. Mrs. McElvain is the former Jennifer Horman, daughter of Bonnie Horman of Marble Hill and Jerry Horman of Chaffee. She is a nursing student at Mineral Area College. McElvain is the son of Lowell and Kaye McElvain of Marquand. He is a fabricator at General Machine and Supply...

SCOTT CITY -- Funeral for Fred Charles Burger of Scott City will be held at 10 a.m. today at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City. The Rev. William Dickey will officiate. Burial will be at 1 p.m. in Dunklin County Memorial Gardens at Kennett. Burger, 76, died Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2000, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau...