Stories from Friday, November 3, 2000

Sam Bishop ran his pixel mosaic photos over to the University Museum as the 2000 Faculty Exhibition was being hung Tuesday afternoon. Amy Kephart still needed a name for her triptych urn, and the lid was due out of the kiln later that night. If the exhibition opening today at the University Museum is designed to teach by example, Southeast art students may be relieved to learn that deadlines motivate professors just as much as they do the rest of us...

JACKSON, Mo. -- The Cape Girardeau County Commission Thursday denounced a legal challenge from planning and zoning opponents as nothing more than an "election eve ploy." At a news conference in the commission chambers at the Cape Girardeau County Administrative Building, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones read a two-page statement denying any improper use of tax money...

An AM radio that looks like a 25-cent bottle of Coca-Cola and is worth $700, rubbings taken from a Thai temple before the practice was outlawed, and a pristine copy of the sheet music to Irving Berlin's 1938 song "Cathedral in the Pines" are some of an estimated 80,000 items in a lollapalooza of an estate sale starting this morning in downtown Cape Girardeau...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Prosecutors planned to charge a man with kidnapping after his day-long odyssey that investigators say started with pulling a 4-year-old Scott City girl from her bedroom window and ended with dropping her off apparently unharmed nine hours later in northern Cape Girardeau County...

Pertle Probst of Jackson, the Missouri Veterans' Home's last World War I veteran, died Thursday at 104. He was born at Neely's Landing north of Cape Girardeau, served in an artillery unit overseas during the war and returned home to work as a mechanic...

One of the things I like about my job is that I get lots of helpful advice about how to do it. If I play my cards right, on any given day I don't have to make a single decision. Somebody else has already decided for me. Sometimes these good and helpful folks have ideas that are so good they just can't wait until I get to work in the morning to share them with me. So they call me in the middle of the night...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson senior citizens want school administrators to consider economical options and plan for the future before they ask residents to voluntarily increase their taxes. About 25 people were on hand Thursday when schools Superintendent Dr. ...

River City Recipes, the celebrated community cookbook from Cape Girardeau Senior Center, will be featured in America's Best Recipes -- A 2000 Hometown Collection. Featured recipes are chosen by food experts representing cross-sections of the country...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Reba Emery, a musical institution in Poplar Bluff, has died at age 85. The talented pianist was unique in both talent and longevity, said John R. Stanard, former Daily American Republic editor. There were few lives in Poplar Bluff not touched by Emery's talent as she played for service club meetings, weddings, funerals, church services and untold other events...

JACKSON, Mo. -- A 28-year-old man could spend the next 22 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of stealing anhydrous ammonia and then trying to run over a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper. Troy E. Marlow of Poplar Bluff, Mo., was found guilty on four separate charges stemming from a Nov. 15 confrontation with trooper Aaron Harrison...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- State Rep. Lanie Black faces a re-election battle from New Madrid, Mo., restaurateur Van Harry Sharp in his bid for a second term in the Missouri House. Black, a Republican, won election to the 161st House seat in 1998. The district, which covers parts of Mississippi, New Madrid and Scott counties, traditionally has been a Democratic district...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Surrounded by about 20 supporters, U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond pumped gasoline Thursday afternoon at Rhodes 101 truck stop and decried the Clinton-Gore energy policy. Two GOP supporters held up signs stating "Al Gore endorses $3 per gallon gas." Bond said Gore wants higher gas taxes...

Earmarking federal dollars for infrastructure is an investment in the community not pork barrel legislation, said the area's U.S. congressional representative. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, said legislative leaders and communities need to work together to enjoy economic prosperity and build better infrastructure to attract jobs...

Fourteen-year-old Cassie Kipper runs for the Central High School cross country team, just won a district contest for pianists, made the district honor orchestra as a violinist, makes straight A's, rappels off mountains with her siblings and competes in triathlons...

The Southeast Missourian will collect the American Red Cross Good Neighbor Award Nov. 11 at Lake of the Ozarks. The Southeast Missouri chapter of the American Red Cross nominated the newspaper for the award, which recognizes people and organizations who made contributions which helped the Red Cross provide more effective services or reflected a positive impact in the community...

It wasn't a pretty game. Unless you think hard hits, short runs and very little offense is pretty. Or unless you think grown men pushed to tears of joy is pretty. Or mud-plastered, exhausted high school players so overwhelmed with emotion they can't talk...

It was one of the best high school football games in Southeast Missouri last year, featuring 843 yards of offense, 68 points and several huge plays on offense and defense. It pitted the area's best quarterback against an up-and-coming, electrifying running back who was about to have his breakout game; it ended a debate of which team was the best in Southeast Missouri; it determined the Class 5A, District 1 champion and the SEMO North Conference champ and it was close until the last couple of minutes.. ...

With an eerie fog hanging over the field, the Cape Central Tigers' hopes of repeating as district champions vanished with a 2-0 loss to the Poplar Bluff Mules. Poplar Bluff (15-8-3), the No. 3 seed, netted two first-half goals to take its first-ever Class 4A, District 1 championship...

Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach Ed Arnzen knows his team will be shorthanded because of injuries, but he's still looking forward to tonight's exhibition opener. The Otahkians will take on St. Louis Goldstar at 7 p.m. at the Show Me Center in the first of two exhibition games prior to the start of the regular season on Nov. 17. There is no admission charge...

Before the season started, before anyone knew that Hayti would be 8-1 and ranked eighth in Class 1A, first-year St. Vincent coach Keith Winkler warned that a district championship wouldn't be a lock like it has been in the past several years. Winkler's prognostication was right on the money as St. ...

CHAFFEE -- Chaffee concluded its season with a 43-14 loss to Valle of Ste. Genevieve Thursday night in Class 1A, District 1 football action. The Red Devils, who fell to 3-7 on the season and 0-3 in district play, drew first blood, but saw the Warriors heal quickly...

MARSTON, Mo. -- Velma Mae Reed, 68, of Marston died Thursday, Nov. 2, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. She was born April 26, 1932, near Marston, daughter of David and Lula Cotton Evans. She and Joseph Reed were married in September 1955...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Dessie Mae Johnson, 53, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born July 12, 1947, in Tunica, Miss., daughter of Curtis and Odessie McKinney Williams. Johnson formerly worked at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft in St. Louis. She was a member of Eastern Star in St. Louis...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Ronald Miller, 42, of Bloomington, Ill., died Thursday, Oct. 26, 2000, at the Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago. He was born Aug. 15, 1958, in Charleston, Mo., son of Herbert and Katie Starks Miller. He was raised in Chicago and completed high school there...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Funeral for Larry E. Mayo of Advance will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Morgan Funeral Home. The Rev. Syd Maness will officiate. Burial will be in Dexter Cemetery at Dexter, Mo. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4:30-8 p.m. today...

ANNA, Ill. -- Funeral for Ruby Mary Duskey of Anna will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna. The Rev. Brent Gordon will officiate. Burial will be in Anna Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 6 p.m. today...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Barbara R. Harper, 55, of Jackson passed away Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2000, at the scene of an automobile accident on Route B near Park Hills, Mo. Friends may call at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson from 3-8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5. Funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. ...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Corena C. Hency, 74, formerly of Chaffee, died Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 15, 1925, at New Hamburg, Mo., daughter of Zeno Nicholas and Dena Katherine Schlitt Dannenmueller. She and Elmer "Bud" Hency Jr. were married Feb. 4, 1961. He died July 8, 1983...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Flora Edith Francis, 82, of Marble Hill died Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born May 25, 1918, at Gordonville, Mo., daughter of Albert and Elizabeth Pittman Myers. She and Robert Francis were married May 14, 1942, in San Bernardino, Calif...

Son to John Lewis and Wendy Lynn Niswonger of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 2:39 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 3, 2000. Name, Xavier Thomas. Weight, 7 pounds 7 ounces. Mrs. Niswonger is the former Wendy McFadden, daughter of Lois McFadden and Patrick McFadden of Cape Girardeau. She is a housekeeper at Hampton Inn. Niswonger is the son of Nancy Niswonger and Mike Niswonger of Jackson, Mo. He is a stock employee at Country Mart...

To the editor: A recent letter presented some information I feel needs clarification. The letter expressed concerns about whether the Jackson School District is putting the taxpayers' money in the right place regarding Tuesday's vote on the junior high bond proposal...

To the editor: You got one thing right in your recent endorsement of Jim Talent: Bob Holden didn't sound like a Washington politician. When you call Talent "more articulate," I say he is actually a politician who is out of touch with Missouri. As you pointed out, Holden is an honorable man who has spent his career with the people he is seeking to represent. ...

To the editor: Voters in the Thomas W. Kelly School District in Benton will be asked once again next Tuesday to pass a $4.9 million bond issue for a new high school. How many times can this issue be put on the ballot before the school board gets the message? On Oct. ...

There is widespread agreement among scientists, politicians and government policy makers that close attention needs to be paid to the environment and how both human enterprises and natural occurrences are affecting this planet. Regardless of affiliation or persuasion, most of us accept the stewardship of the natural assets which surround us...

ST. LOUIS -- Urban myths -- alligators in the New York sewers, Elvis sightings, UFOs -- can be amusing, but a vote is too important to waste on an urban myth. It is an urban myth that Mel Carnahan is still running for the U.S. Senate. Unfortunately, Democratic politicians are using this myth in an effort to befuddle voters...

Anyone who doubts the sincerity of Yasser Arafat's intentions for peace in the Middle East would be in good company following recent events. The PLO leader went into the streets of Jerusalem this week and urged children to fight Israelis. This is the same Arafat who shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. ...

To the editor: In my opinion, Al Gore's plan is much better than George W. Bush's. Gore wants to keep the Social Security Trust Fund safe. Bush wants to give it back to the people to save. Knowing people, I think they would take their money and shop and shop until it was all gone...

To the editor: I'm amused by hypocritical Republicans who are trying to get elected by running on the Democratic platform. They used to curse liberalism, socialism, pork-barrelism and all the other Democratic programs that have made this nation great. But after being elected, they will change back to harsh Republicanism. So minimum wagers, poor people, farmers, seniors and working-class people need to beware...