Stories from Friday, August 11, 2000

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- For two days in August, Missouri's oldest town revels in its past and commemorates the journey it made from a pioneer settlement to a community that has survived the rise and fall of the Mississippi River. Residents in Ste. Genevieve first planned the Jour de Fete as a means of raising money for the city, said Fran Ballinger, one of the original organizers...

According to the National Weather Service at Paducah, Ky., the thermometer in Cape Girardeau hit a high of 93 degrees around 1 p.m. Thursday with a feels-like temperature of 100 degrees. It was the best mid-day reading of the past three days for the city...

If you're handicapped, it could be difficult to get your day in court in the courthouses in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties. There are handicapped accessibility problems with the courthouses in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Marble Hill and Perryville, said Phyllis Launius, who works for the Missouri state courts administrator's office...

BENTON, Mo. -- Two cousins face murder charges in the death of a Scott City, Mo., woman who disappeared at the end of July, the Scott County Sheriff's Department said. Gary Wayne Biggs, 36, and Charles Scott Biggs, 31, are charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the death of Willie Mae Vasquez, 57, Sheriff Bill Ferrell said...

I've been thinking a lot about hot weather recently. Maybe you have too. In case you haven't figured it out, having air-conditioned homes, offices, cars, stores, restaurants and movie theaters makes the heat worse. Bear with me on this one. Before air conditioning, hot weather was called summer. Now we call it a nuisance that requires expensive mechanical relief...

"Pulling heavy seas" means encountering heavy waves from another boat. Below Baton Rouge, La., captains are known by numbers instead of names. "Once you get your feet wet, you're lost" is the explanation often given for working on the river by people who do...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson said during a Jackson Board of Education meeting Thursday that requests for more district funding won't go away following the defeat of two funding proposals during elections Tuesday. The school board did not discuss the failed proposals, although Board of Education President Dr. ...

Cassie Gross, daughter of Chris and Debbie Gross, is active in varsity basketball, FBLA, FCA, FCCLA, Model UN, speech and debate, National Honor Society, community service and Young Life. She is an A honor roll student at Cape Central High School and was sponsored by the Excelsior Optimist Club of Cape Girardeau...

A Wayne County commissioner accused of pistol whipping a man he thought was tearing down his campaign signs lost by a wide margin Tuesday in the Democratic primary for his seat. Bruce W. Keel of Piedmont, Mo., is charged with unlawful use of a weapon and second degree assault, both felonies, stemming from a June 29 incident at a convenience store parking lot in Mill Spring, Mo. Keel has pleaded innocent to both charges...

Tony and Tim Enderle -- brothers from Chaffee, Mo. -- sometimes have to pinch themselves. Their dreams have come true, and they're loving every minute of it. The Enderles, three years apart in age, grew up enamored with cars, particularly the mechanical and body work end of things. Little did they know that their interest in automobiles -- especially ones that go extremely fast -- would ultimately lead them to the major leagues of stock car racing...

Southeast Missouri State University's second season of women's soccer won't officially begin for a couple more weeks. But area fans will get a chance to see the Otahkians in action Saturday night when they play an exhibition game against the Busch Soccer Club from St. Louis. The contest, set for a 7 o'clock start, will be held on the new FieldTurf surface at Houck Stadium...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Cape Central High School swimmer Jonathan Younghouse did not advance out of the preliminary round of the 200 freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials on Thursday. Younghouse, who placed eighth in the 400 IM on Wednesday, did not place in the top 16 in the 200 preliminaries...

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. -- Dunklin County won its opener in the American Legion Mid-South Regional, defeating Mississippi 9-8 on Thursday. Dunklin County continues action today in the eight-team tournament which features seven state champions. The tournament winner advances to the American Legion World Series in Alton, Ill...

August Christopher Bierschwal was stillborn Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was the son of George and Rebecca Smith Bierschwal of Cape Girardeau. Survivors include maternal grandmother and stepgrandfather, Melody Loveless and Steven Loveless of Cape Girardeau; maternal grandfather, Dennis Smith of North Little Rock, Ark.; parental grandparents, Gale and Clara Bierschwal of Cape Girardeau; and paternal great-grandmother, Georgia Bierschwal of Cape Girardeau.. ...

JOSEPH V. MERKLER AGE: 24 HEIGHT: 6' 2" WEIGHT: 242 lbs. HAIR: Brown EYES: Blue LAST KNOWN ADDRESS: 426 North St. or 1843 Rampart, Cape Girardeau WANTED FOR: Felony probation violation, original charge possession of controlled substance. Bond set at $5,000.00 cash only...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Edwin A. "Ed" Yamnitz, 78, of Jackson died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 4, 1922, at Patton, Mo., son of Joseph and Annie Johnson Yamnitz. He and Doris Yamnitz were married Aug. 30, 1941. She died June 30, 1975. He and Oleta Brown Propst were married Aug. 7, 1976...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Visitation for Willie Mae Vasquez, 57, of Scott City, Mo., will be from 9-11 a.m. Saturday at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. at the chapel, with the Rev. Barry Pfanstiel officiating. Burial will be at Oakdale Cemetery in Commerce, Mo...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Fern M. Murphy, 78, of Marble Hill died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 19, 1922, in St. Louis, daughter of Charles Freeman and Nellie C. Mabrey Markham. Murphy was a senior nurses aide at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, and was a member of St. John's Catholic Church...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Funeral for Richard D. Peeler of Dongola will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna, Ill. Burial will be in Dongola American Legion Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 6 p.m. today. Peeler, 63, died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Martha B. Springs, 81, of Sikeston died Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Aug. 22, 1918, in Glendale, Ill., daughter of David and Carrie Hesselrode Allard. She and C.D. "Cotton" Springs were married Dec. 26, 1936, in Greenville, Mo...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Funeral for Bernice Bledsoe Clutts of Olive Branch will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill. The Rev. Billy Don Heady will officiate. Burial will be in Olive Branch Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-8 p.m. today, and Saturday until service time...

Daughter to Kelly Dewayne and Carla Christine Williams of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 10:07 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, 2000. Name, Madison Gayle-Margaret. Weight, 7 pounds 1 ounce. Mrs. Williams is the former Carla Trowbridge, daughter of Don Trowbridge and Carol Trowbridge of McClure, Ill. She is employed in medical records at Southeast Hospital. Williams is the son of Dewayne Williams and Judy Williams of Blytheville, Ark. He is supervisor at Midwest Sterilization...

I THINK the amount of time it's taking to build the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge is pathetic. The old bridge was built in less than two years' time. What is the holdup on this new bridge? They say people are working on it, but you never see anybody out working. ...

It is interesting to note, in this age when too many of our national leaders are suffering moral lapses with few if any consequences, that there are still bastions of uprightness, and they tend to be found on the local level. Consider the case of the school superintendent at West Plains, Mo., who was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Throw in the fact that the arrest occurred after a visit to a club that features nude dancers. This kind of information is important in small communities...

Turnout for Tuesday's elections in Cape Girardeau County was miserably low, much lower than the light turnout predicted by election officials. This lack of interest might be taken as a sad commentary of how more and more Americans seem to be losing touch with government and their right to make key decisions about how they are governed...

To the editor: Recently there was a Speak Out comments, "Restricting freedom." The caller objected to video cameras' being installed at the intersections because this would infringe on our civil liberties. I would like to toss out some comment of my own for this caller and others of the same frame of mind to consider...

To the editor: It was with great sorrow that I saw that John Ferguson had lost his bid to for the Republican nomination for public administrator. I have known John for at least 30 years, and he is a good Christian, minister and a dedicated public servant who has held the job of public administrator for a considerable length of time. ...