Stories from Saturday, August 12, 2000

Missouri Department of Transportation officials hope to bridge an information gap in a new newsletter devoted to the construction of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge at Cape Girardeau. The first issue of the quarterly newsletter, The Beacon, was mailed this month to about 1,700 residents in the region, including Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce members, mayors, state lawmakers, county commissioners and the news media...

Student identification badges will be used at three Cape Girardeau School District buildings this fall as part of a three-year phase-in plan. The computerized badge system has been considered for some 10 years and will be used in cafeterias and libraries at Louis J. ...

I'm attending the graduation of a childhood friend this weekend who has completed training at the police academy. I find myself looking for the punchline to what I know is not a joke. I would have expected Michelle to be either a professional athlete, an inept politician or a stand-up comedienne, but never a law enforcement officer. What with her easy-going, fun-loving personality, it just seemed too much of a departure for her...

A St. Louis man arrested by Cape Girardeau police escaped from a work-release program on Friday and is still being sought. Shemiah Lashawn Carter, 19, was arrested for several state and municipal warrants on Tuesday, Cpl. Kevin Orr said. But around 11:15 a.m. on Friday, a supervisor noticed that he was missing from the Cape Girardeau Recycling Center at 120 N. Broadview St., Orr said...

First-year Southeast Missouri State University football coach Tim Billings considers wide receiver to be one of the Indians' deepest positions -- and that depth should come in handy now. That's because Tarik Simpson, a Marshall transfer who is being counted on for big things catching the ball this season, suffered a partially separated shoulder during Thursday's practice. He is expected to be out from three to six weeks, putting his status for the Aug. 31 season opener at Marshall in jeopardy...

BENTON, Mo. -- A pair of Benton-based girls fast-pitch softball teams will attempt to bring home national championships when they compete in the Babe Ruth Softball World Series beginning Sunday. The 16-under Heartland Heat will participate in Milleville, N.J., while the 12-under Heartland Nationals will compete in Wilson, N.C. Both local squads advanced by winning Midwest Plains Regional titles that they hosted earlier this month in Kelso, Mo...

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. -- Dunklin County's American Legion baseball team suffered a 12-11 loss to Texas City, Texas, Friday during the Mid-South Regional Tournament. Dunklin County, which fell to 1-1 in pool play in the eight-team tourney, will play host Bartlesville, Okla., at 8:30 tonight. If Dunklin County wins, it will likely advance out of pool play into the tournament semifinals...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Cape Girardeau Central High School swimmer Erin Vogt failed to advance out of the preliminary round Friday during the 200-meter individual medley at the United States Olympic Swimming Trials. Vogt, who also failed to make it out of the preliminaries Wednesday during the 400-meter individual medley, still has one event to go in the Olympic Trials. She will compete today in the preliminaries of the 200-meter butterfly...

ANNA, Ill. -- Anne B. Rindo, 73, of Anna died Friday, Aug. 11, 2000, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale. Funeral arrangements are pending at Lutz & Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna.

Daughter to Mervin Ray and Tammy Renae Lence Jr. of Lick Creek, Ill., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 7, 2000. Name, Jordan Nicole. Weight, 8 pounds 15 ounces. Third child, second daughter. Mrs. Lence is the former Tammy Roach, daughter of Mike and Patricia Roach of Anna, Ill. She is employed by Union County Government. Lence is the son of Merv and Sue Lence Sr. of Lick Creek. He is employed by E.T. Simonds Construction...

Helen Louise Ishmael Woodard, 74, of Cape Girardeau died at her home Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000, at 4:35 p.m., following a lengthy illness. She was born Jan. 14, 1926, in East Prairie, Mo., daughter of Harry Otho and Chessie Bee Zook Ishmael. She and Edgar L. Woodard were married May 24, 1942, in Jackson, Mo...

Elda Esther Haertling, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Aug. 11, 2000, at the Lutheran Home. She was born May 24, 1917, in Altenburg, Mo., daughter of Arthur and Ada Kaufman Buck. She and Clarence R. Haertling were married Oct. 10, 1937, in Altenburg...

Mary E. Brown, 85, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Aug. 11, 2000, at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Services of Cape Girardeau. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mary Butrum, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Aug. 11, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center. Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Graveside service for Hensley O. Bennett of East Prairie will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Dogwood Cemetery. Burl Britt will officiate. Friends may call at Shelby Funeral Home in East Prairie after 11 a.m. Sunday. Bennett, 86, died Friday, Aug. 11, 2000, at East Prairie Nursing Center...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Elmer G. "Butch" Schlensker, 92, of New Albany, Ind., died Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000, at Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany. He was born Dec. 14, 1907, in Crawford County, Ind., son of John H. and Mary Lou Ruffner Schlensker. He married Holland J. Hinkle, who died Dec. 19, 1993...

Wilna F. Lattin, 84, of Lyons, Kan., died Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000, at Rice County Hospital District No. 1 in Lyons. She was born July 22, 1916, in Elyria, Kan., daughter of John and Emilie Flegel Borth. She and Walter Leon Lattin were married March 16, 1941, in McPherson, Kan. He died Feb. 1, 1996...

I HAVE quietly followed the calls concerning the new Mississippi bridge. So when a caller specifically mentioned my hometown of Thebes, I had to respond. First, the caller is right: Many of us do have jobs in Missouri, for which we are grateful. But by working out of state, we pay taxes in both states. ...

Can anyone fairly deny that when it comes to name calling, insults and innuendo, conservatives are fair game? They are called racists and anti-Semites and are said to be worthy of death, but no one seems to consider such words hate speech or even inappropriate...

For the second time in five months, voters in the Jackson School District have spoken. Once again, what they had to say wasn't what school officials and most Board of Education members wanted to hear. In the wake of the second round of defeats for district funding proposals, the district's leadership has important decisions to make regarding the district's future. ...

As families head to stores in coming weeks for the annual ritual of back-to-school shopping, the Area Wide United Way is asking parents to pick up a few extra supplies for the county's less fortunate children. The United Way has set up collection stations at Schnucks, ShopKo and Target so shoppers can conveniently drop off extra purchases of notebooks, pencils, pens and other classroom staples. ...

To the editor: I read Kathleen Parker's Aug. 6 column, "Marine: Cheney, Bush unfairly criticized for draft-dodging," and have been so infuriated that I had to reply to that degrading description of our Vietnam vets. Ms. Parker and her Marine brother apparently were in agreement when they said, "The only ones who served in Vietnam were the poor bastards who were either going to prison -- the judges gave them a choice: go to jail or enlist in the military -- or people who had no other place to go." With those disrespectful thoughts and comments, I'm certain I am not your only offended reader.. ...

Immaculate Conception parish in Jackson, Mo., will celebrate 150 years of Catholic worship in the community Monday with an outdoor Mass at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse. The Mass will begin at 7:30 p.m. The first Catholic Mass in Jackson was celebrated in 1850 on the courthouse steps. Although no priest was appointed to the community until 1874, the parish has been worshipping since 1850, said Monsignor Edward Eftink...

There might have been 90 years' difference in their ages, but the Rev. S.S. Borum and Jalana Jo Johnson share much more -- faith in God. Borum, 96, is a retired Baptist minister who baptized Johnson, 6, recently at Iona Baptist Church. Borum was serving as the interim minister at the time. The baptism was his last official duty as the church's pastor before the Rev. Dan Pate arrived to serve the congregation...