Stories from Tuesday, July 25, 2000

It's a dream come true for a ninth grader bent on revenge. Cape Central Junior High School, only two months into summer, looks like a hurricane hit the classrooms and hallways and wrecked chairs, tables, ceiling tiles, mirrors and even a stove or two...

The story so far: While exploring the grounds of Belle Vie, Melissa and Brian again see the young man they met in the morning. They follow him into the springhouse, only to find themselves alone and shut in. Their strange acquaintance has disappeared and taken Faithful the dog with him. Who is this mysterious person, and where has he gone?...

OK, I admit it. I love movies, but I don't see as many as I did B.K. (Before Kids). By the time you pay for the movie and a baby sitter, it can get rather pricey. And nothing is more of a downer than taking the effort and hating the movie. That's why I try to check out the movies from several different sources before I go...

MOREHOUSE, Mo. -- Funeral for Edward "Buck" Roberson of Morehouse will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Morehouse. The Rev. W.H. Worth will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery in Sikeston, Mo. Roberson, 86, died Saturday, July 22, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston...

An 8-year-old Cape Girardeau girl was recuperating in a St. Louis hospital after receiving a double lung transplant Monday afternoon. Jalisa Durham received the transplant to treat a potentially deadly lung disease she developed because of cystic fibrosis...

JEFFERSON CITY -- The cost of natural gas service for Southeast Missouri customers of AmerenUE jumped significantly Monday under rate hikes approved last week by the Missouri Public Service Commission. AmerenUE customers in the company's Southeast Missouri district -- Cape Girardeau and Scott counties and part of Stoddard County -- will see rates increase by 54 percent. ...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Becky Moore has pots and pans stacked all across her kitchen in an attempt to clean up her water supply. Moore and other Scott City residents are under a boil water order until further notice. For several days residents have been asked to boil water as a precaution. The city recently dug a new well and "put it online with a temporary connection," said Erika Glock, city administrator. "The request is just a precaution."...

JACKSON -- There's one major problem with R.O. Hawkins Junior High School: It isn't big enough. Members of the school's student council said that problem affects everything that occurs in the building, from locker size to ventilation in the classrooms...

The sounds of Independence Day may have fizzled from three weeks ago, but they haven't died, Cape Girardeau police said. "Complaints about fireworks will go into August and September," Cpl. Kevin Orr said. Like most nuisance ordinances, fireworks violations generally don't result in arrests, Orr said. But ordinances about noise, loitering, weeds and trash can keep police busy...

A tornado swept across the campus of Southeast Missouri State University on Monday, killing and injuring several. Not really. It was just a mock disaster, featuring fictional tornado damage created to test the emergency response training university employees received the past three years...

The start of the letter was a familiar one: "Welcome to our program, a program designed for people who want to better their lives financially while helping others." Just send $5 to help the six people named in this letter and wait for your mailbox to be stuffed full of cash...

Southeast Missouri State University baseball coach Mark Hogan realizes that a lot of people will expect a significant dropoff for the Indians next season. After all, Southeast lost seven standout seniors -- all were major contributors -- off a squad that went 37-17 to shatter the previous school record for victories in a single season...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Jewel Maxine Kerby, 68, of Scott City died Sunday, July 23, 2000, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 15, 1931, in Piggott, Ark., daughter of Thomas F. and Bertha J. Wyatt Hodgkiss. She and Otto Joe Kerby were married Nov. 15, 1950, at Fornfelt, Mo. He died Nov. 20, 1969...

SHAWNEETOWN, Mo. -- Elton O. Dost, 72, died Sunday, July 23, 2000, at his home in Shawneetown. Friends may call today from 4-8 p.m. at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson, Mo. Funeral service will be Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Shawneetown, with interment in the church cemetery. The Rev. Howard Mueller will officiate...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Madeline E. Randol, 75, of Jackson died Monday, July 24, 2000, at Fountainbleau Lodge in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

The Rev. Dr. Neil Stein, 65, of Asheboro, N.C., died Saturday, July 22, 2000, at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. Stein was pastor at Centenary United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau from November 1985 to September 1997. He was born Aug. 27, 1934, in Malcolm, Neb., son of Leonard and Mildred Deal Stein. He married Carolyn Cagle, who died May 7, 1998...

TAMMS, Ill. -- James W. Wilson, 65, of Tamms Route 1, died Monday, July 24, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Jones Funeral Home at Tamms is in charge of arrangements.

CAIRO, Ill. -- Clifford T. Murray, 83, of Cairo died Sunday, July 23, 2000, at his home. He was born March 29, 1917, in Ballard County in Kentucky, son of Howard and Kittie Hall Murray. Murray was retired from Cairo Post Office. He was a member of Cairo VFW Post 2649. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II...

Margaret Roberta Jones, 72, of Cape Girardeau, died Sunday, July 23, 2000, at her home. She was born April 3, 1928, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Albert and Bertha Lipps Langston. She and Richard Lee Jones were married Sept. 8, 1945, in Cape Girardeau...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Phyllis Kaye Smith, 59, of Puxico died Sunday, July 23, 2000, at her home. She was born Jan. 22, 1941, at Parma, Mo., daughter of Herschel and Winona Pullum Ledbetter. She and Howard L. Smith were married May 30, 1960, in Charleston, Mo...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Estell O. McMinn, 86, of Sikeston died Sunday, July 23, 2000, at Clearview Nursing Center in Sikeston. She was born June 12, 1914, in Dardanelle, Ark., daughter of Harrison and Claudia Raney Manes. She and Russell R. McMinn were married Feb. 23, 1932, in Dell, Ark. He died Jan. 13, 1993...

ANNA, Ill. -- Faye Smith, 84, of Anna died Monday, July 24, 2000, at her home. She was born Nov. 19, 1915, in Dongola, Ill., daughter of John L. and Augusta Peeler Taylor. She and Curtis Smith were married March 9, 1935. Survivors include her husband; five daughters, Iris Modglin of Ullin, Ill., Kay DaLPonte of Highland Park, Ill., Cathy Garrey of Lake Forest, Ill., Nancy Kiddle of Naples, Fla., Pam Inglish of Kenosha, Wis.; a son, Mike Smith of Anna; a brother, Grant Taylor of Ullin; two sisters, Lenora Canupp of St. ...

Dorothy M. Payne, 71, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, July 24, 2000, at her home. She was born May 1, 1929, at Hahn, Mo., daughter of Earl and Dora Shell Hendershott. She and Leeman Payne were married March 17, 1947. Mr. and Mrs. Payne were owners of General Pest Control Co. She was a member of Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church...

Funeral for Hazel Strickland of Florissant, Mo., will be held at 7 p.m. today at Parker Road Baptist Church in Florissant. The Rev. Keith Simon, a grandson, and Dr. Robert Griffin will officiate. Burial will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Sikeston, Mo...

CYPRESS, Ill. -- Maurine Francis Aldrich, 93, of Cypress died Sunday, July 23, 2000, at her home. She was born July 10, 1907, in St. Louis, daughter of Walter and Izora Beggs Francis. She and Willard Aldrich were married. He died in 1958. She was a retired schoolteacher, having taught in the Anna-Jonesboro, Ill., school system and also at El Paso, Texas. She was a graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill...

BERNIE, Mo. -- Carolyn Westphal, 66, of Fairview, Mich., formerly of Bernie, died Wednesday, July 19, 2000, at Mercy Hospital in Grayling, Mich. She was born March 1, 1934, in Blytheville, Ark., daughter of Howard R. and Virginia C. Williams Hill. She had been married to Bill Blevins. She married Francis Westphal, who died in 1996...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Funeral for Varble V. "Bud" Sielert of Fairfax Station, Va., will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The Rev. Fred Leist will officiate. Burial will be in Dexter Cemetery. Sielert, 80, died Friday, July 21, 2000, at Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va...

Lydia Anna "Liddy" Seabaugh, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, July 24, 2000, at her home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

To the editor: In my opinion, there are two distinct issues pertaining to the Jackson School District to be decided by voters Aug. 8. They need to be considered separately, each on its own merit. First is the bond issue to pay for expanding the current junior high school building. ...

To the editor: I am writing in the interest of the overtaxed residents of the Jackson School District and in favor of the adoption of a year-around school plan. My children were raised under this plan to help offset the need for school construction during a high-enrollment per-iod in the 1960s and 1970s...

Among the few bills vetoed by Gov. Mel Carnahan was Senate Bill 892, which required the state to cover medical bills for prisoners awaiting trials in county jails. The governor said in his veto message that this wasn't affordable if existing state reimbursement for inmate food and lodging is to continue. ...

Once again during a presidential election year, news stories and pundits have it that the make-up of the U.S. Supreme Court will be an election issue. Whether this will be an actual voting issue for many Americans is very much in doubt. It never has been before, despite many such predictions. Still, there can be no doubt about the high stakes concerning who gets to make these crucial appointments...

My question: Why do so many citizens walk in the middle of well-traveled streets where there are good sidewalks on both sides? Why are so many unlicensed vehicles allowed to travel the streets day after day with no plates at all? Why are so many vehicles using only one plate for up to three years at a time? If that is permissible, why doesn't Missouri go to a one-time system for everyone when it saves the state a lot of money? And finally, why isn't there more police presence north of Broadway to Washington on Frederick, Middle and Fountain. ...

To the editor: Your July 17 edition contained a Jack Stapleton article on the state budget that asserted incorrectly Missouri Department of Insurance spending increased 601 percent from fiscal 1988 to 1999. Many others have made the same error because of how state appropriations have changed...