Stories from Friday, November 10, 2000

Time will decide whether the names of Anton Chekov and Neil Simon belong in the same breath, but Simon's adaptation of Chekov short stories in the comedy "The Good Doctor" insures they always will be linked in some way. It's a good match, actually, because both writers have a taste for seeing how people wiggle out of the difficulties life offers up...

Surrounded by friends, firefighters and police officers on the second floor of Cape Girardeau Fire Station 1 on Thursday, James Russell explained his exceptional bravery with sincerity. "I didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't have done," he said...

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- Schools, hospitals and government agencies in Pemiscot County are being hindered in their attempts to provide services because Casino Aztar, the county's largest taxpayer, has withheld nearly $1 million in revenue. Aztar Missouri Gaming Corp. ...

If only I had half the command of the English language that wordmeister Dan Rather displayed well into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, I could regale you today with mots so bon that you would forget the election whiplash from which you are recovering...

Today Central High School in Cape Girardeau will hold "A Tribute to Veterans" at 9:45 a.m. at the high school auditorium. The event is open to the public and includes bands and speakers. For information, call the school at 335-8228. Red, white and blue balloons will be released over Sikeston, Mo., as part of a nationwide effort to raise money to build a National World War II Memorial in Washington. The local release of is being coordinated by Tom Nunnelee of the Nunnelee Funeral Chapel...

Cape Central High School's marching band and color guard will finish their season with several contest awards, including one each in first, second and fourth places and two in third place. Band spokeswoman Amy Cain said the highlight of the season was the band's second-place award in its size division at the Greater St. Louis Area Marching Festival on Oct. 28. The event was at the Trans World Dome, and 46 bands competed. Cape Central took fourth place overall...

After the Class 4A sectional football game between Cape Central and Hillsboro Wednesday night, there were some players so muddy, you couldn't tell which ones were white or which ones were black. You couldn't tell which ones were wearing white jerseys or which ones were wearing blue...

Corey Mathis had visions of playing NCAA Division I-A football, and he also apparently had the talent. That never worked out, but Mathis claims to be more than content at Division I-AA Southeast Missouri State University. "I was disappointed in a way," said Mathis of not being able to compete at college's highest level. "But I overcame it and I'm very happy here."...

Southeast Missouri State University senior safety Isaac Powell has been named to the 2000 Verizon Academic All-American All-District VII team. Powell ranks second on the Southeast football squad in tackles with 106 and he also has two interceptions...

Cape Central's eighth-grade girls basketball team swept Meridian Thursday night. The Lady Tiger "B" team (1-4) managed an 18-16 win behind 11 points by Tamika Wiseman. The "A" team (2-5) won 31-7, getting 10 points from Megan Richards and Meg Yates.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Maggie Bartholomew, 89, of Sikeston died Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Dec. 15, 1910, in New Madrid, Mo., daughter of Henry and Berta Smith Hart. She and James Henry Bartholomew Sr. were married Aug. 2, 1941. He died Jan. 3, 1977...

JACKSON -- Mrs. Viola Neilson, 83, passed away Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call Saturday, Nov. 11, from 4-8 p.m. at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. An Eastern Star service will be held at 7 p.m. Funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12, at the funeral home. The Revs. John Rice and Richard Northcutt will officiate. Burial will be in Russell Heights Cemetery...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- William Marion "Bill" Gaines, 78, of Advance died Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 15, 1921, near Puxico, Mo., son of Jessie and Bertha Duley Gaines. He and Edna Habada were married Dec. 7, 1946, at Lutesville, Mo...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Memorial service for Lucy LaFave of Sikeston will be held at 2 p.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Randy Eskew will officiate. Friends may call at the chapel from 1 p.m. until service time. LaFave, 71, died Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Dan L. Burris, 49, of Glendale Heights, Ill., formerly of Cairo, died Monday, Nov. 6, 2000, at Glen Oaks Hospital in Glendale Heights. He was born Sept. 26, 1951, in Anna, Ill., son of Wayne and Glenda Ilene Penrod Burris. Burris served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Clola V. Crites, 85, of Perryville died Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born May 17, 1915, in Sedgewickville, Mo., daughter of Charles and Cora Seabaugh Propst. She and Lale Crites were married July 11, 1933, in Cape Girardeau. He died June 2, 1994...

PATTON, Mo. -- Gary Dale Cooper, 37, of Denver, Colo., died Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2000, at his home. He was born April 12, 1963, in Danville, Ind., son of Adelbert and Mary Katherine James Cooper. Cooper was a designer with Amato Wholesale Florist in Denver...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Martha Lucille Hopper, 59, of House Springs, Mo., died Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000, at her home. She was born Sept. 23, 1941, in Charleston, daughter of Byrd Thomas and Willie Finley Traylor Moore. She and Travis Hopper were married Feb. 10, 1961...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Graveside and Masonic service for Harold A. Voges of Jackson will be held at 11 a.m. today at Russell Heights Cemetery. The Rev. Sam Roethemeyer will officiate. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements. Voges, 72, died Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

PERKINS, Mo. -- Funeral for Billy G. Spane of Perkins will be held at 2 p.m. today at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee, Mo. The Rev. Rick Crump will officiate. Burial will be in Pleasant Grove Cemetery near Bell City, Mo. Spane, 64, died Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

Loyd O. Crain, 75, of Cape Girardeau and formerly of Alto Pass, Ill., died at 1:15 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000, at Missouri Veterans Home. He was born Sept. 12, 1925, in Carterville, Ill., son of Cecil L. and Ruth Roberts Crain. He married Violet G. Hodge May 15, 1943, in Puxico, Mo...

Bernice Irene Clark, 99, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Lima, Ohio, died Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Mrs. Clark was born Dec. 17, 1900, in Cleveland, Ohio, daughter of Albert William Myers and Nellie Beatrice Wyatt-Myers of Norwalk, Ohio. She and Sherman Johnson Clark were married Nov. 18, 1922. He died Dec. 19, 1955...

THIS IS in response to the sports analysis made by the Jackson fan. Why is it that you complain that Central plays weaker teams when you play as many 4A schools as Cape Central? This past season Jackson played five 4A schools: Sikeston, Perryville, Dyersburg, Hillsboro and Cape Central. ...

As the whole world watched the last votes being recounted in Florida, the marvel of the U.S. election system was under a microscope. Partisan observers were mostly interested in the final tally: Would it be Bush, or would it be Gore? But step back, for a moment, from the strange sensation of not knowing for at least two full days after the election who the next president of the United State will be. ...

Democrats claim their attempts to keep St. Louis polling places open past the 7 p.m. closing time Tuesday was simply an effort to let everyone who wanted to vote cast ballots. This is a sham at best and an outrageous attempt to manipulate the final tally at worst...

To the editor: I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to Cape Electrical Supply and Sam Birk. With the store's recent donation of a 2-foot-by-2-foot fluorescent lighting fixture to our preschool, we were able to kill two birds with one stone. We had a fixture that had no cover, nor did it give off enough light. With the donation of the fixture, along with both bulbs, our hazardous and dimly lit supply room has been brightened...

To the editor: I voted in the election for president, and I must say that I do not agree with the problems facing the election. I want to voice my opinion. Like most registered voters, I dutifully watched the elections in hopes of seeing who would be the victor. At 7 p.m. I turned my television set on to my channel of choice to watch its coverage of the election, which continued until 4 a.m. It worries me that we have not yet received information on who is to be the president...