Stories from Tuesday, March 6, 2001

Editor's note: This is an installment from a chapter of Jean Bell Mosley's book "Wide Meadows" that was first published in 1960. Last time: Preparing for the butchering. This year we will butcher a hog for the Kotiskis, a new family in the cabin on Gillman's Hill. ...

It's Newspapers in Education Week, an celebration of how students learn more by reading about the world around them. The Southeast Missourian has delivered newspapers to area classrooms for 10 years. The program started here after newspaper owner Gary Rust heard about the idea at a national meeting of newspaper publishers...

St. Patrick's Day is fast approaching. It's a day people feel a kinship with the Irish, or at least would like to possess the "luck of the Irish." Of course, many may feel a little down on their luck this year as Ireland has just postponed its national St. Patrick's Day celebration. The postponement is a precautionary measure against an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Ireland...

By Vasiliy Zaitsev Video Recommendation: When youthful drug dealer Ron Decker (Edward Furlong) finds himself behind prison walls, he quickly realizes that he's out of his league in a society of predators. Decker is marked to be, um, indoctrinated into the ways of prison life, when a lifer named Earl Copen (Willem DaFoe) offers him protection...

by Jaysen Buterin "We're all lying in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars" -- Oscar Wilde Okay dear readers, it's time for a change of pace. Instead of my usual misoneistic diatribes and obsequious soapboxes, I ask you instead to bear witness to my confession, my confession of an addiction. ...

So OFF! Magazine wanted me to do a couple of CD reviews. Since I'm such a big music fan, I jumped at the opportunity. I'll be reviewing two different albums, "Everyday" by Dave Matthews Band and "L.D. 50" by Mudvayne. Basically I go from one extreme to another...

by Mix 104.7's afternoon personality, Parker Greetings one and all. Have you checked out www.amihot.com yet? If not, refer back to the last time I told you to kill your TV in the previous issue. By the way, to set the record straight once again, the name of this column is in no way associated with Marilyn Manson, as I find his overall persona to be that of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video fused with 1980s' shock rockers Gwar. ...

by Katie Shannon The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri is proud to offer everyone the chance of a lifetime to see the actual works of Vincent van Gogh. You may have already heard about the Vincent van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard exhibit showing at the St. ...

Ginger -- Halt a Hangover With This Amazing Spice By Amber Niswonger Did you have too much to drink last weekend and wake up wondering why you felt so awful? Or maybe that big greasy cheese pizza you had for dinner last night is catching up with your stomach? If so, the cure for these may be in your kitchen cabinet. Containing 477 known active constituents, ginger may be just the thing you need to spice up your life!...

By Chad Armbruster Well it's that time again kiddies. It's been a whole month and I know you've missed me so here's the update you've all been waiting for. Yes, my girlfriend agreed to marry me. I know you've been on pins and needles waiting for that one, right? Anyway, on with the ranting, raving and such that you've all come to know and expect from a magazine of this caliber. Okay, so after much trial and tribulation I finally decided to brave the world of violence in society...

by Richard Cason It is Feb. 27 at 3:10 in the afternoon. I've been standing at the rear entrance of a popular Cape Girardeau eatery for five minutes and no one has yet seated me. (Don't worry, downtown restaurateurs, it didn't happen at one of your places.) I'm not even close to having this column completed and while waiting to be seated I am also waiting for one of those trademark Richard Cason flashes of brilliance to strike me at any moment...

Cocktail -- the very word rolls off your tongue, invoking images of pleasant evenings, intimate encounters and gatherings of friends. The cocktail hour transcends all social classes and is a statement of awareness and knowledge of adult concerns, pleasures and sensibilities. ...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- The opening of the Mound City Shipyards in 1858 gave Southern Illinoisans hope that the area would grow into a great metropolis. Today, the Mound City Shipyards and Marine Ways is one of the best kept secrets of American history. A lot of people know it was there through 1980, but few know how important it was to history...

Monday's school shooting in Santee, Calif., left local educators saddened and reviewing their own plans to prevent such incidents. Cape Girardeau assistant superintendent Mark Bowles called a special meeting of the school district's secondary principals to review security procedures...

My friend Lynn recently allowed her 7-year-old to record the outgoing message on the family answering machine. It's a rite of passage for kids these days -- the first generation born into a world where everybody who has a telephone has an answering machine...

Eric Schwepker's 12-year-old son did not make eye contact with Schwepker when the boy testified Monday against Schwepker at a probable-cause hearing in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court. The boy told Circuit Judge Gary Kamp that in January, Schwepker ordered the boy to take off his left shoe and sock and to place his foot on a coffee table...

An 18-year-old Cape Girardeau woman remains in serious, but stable, condition after being thrown from her car during an accident early Monday morning. Erin L. Ward was westbound on Route K four miles west of Cape Girardeau at around 3 a.m., when she reportedly fell asleep at the wheel...

Cape Girardeau Councilman Frank Stoffregen has an idea for the newly constructed roundabout on the city's west side -- rip it out and put in a four-way intersection. "Why would the city put in something that's a nuisance for its citizens?" Stoffregen said. "That doesn't make sense."...

JACKSON, Mo. -- The City of Jackson now will provide an asphalt overlay on a gravel street provided that 100 percent of the estimate is paid by all or part of the property owners in advance. The amendment to the city's Street Improvement Policy was approved at Monday night's meeting of the Board of Aldermen by a vote of 7-1...

A late slump put a damper on Southeast Missouri State University's 2000-01 women's basketball season, but the future does appear to be bright for the Otahkians. Southeast's roster during the season that ended last week included just one senior, reserve forward Kim Nicholson, who saw very little playing time...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Delta High girls basketball player Rebecca Below had the type of performance that would normally mean a victory for her team. But Couch had just a bit more balance, so it is the Lady Indians who are moving on in the Class 1A playoffs...

Last year, graduation gutted the front line of Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team and the Indians had a hard time rebuilding that area, at least until late in the season. As the wraps were put on the 2000-01 campaign last week with a 72-70 overtime loss at Austin Peay in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, the Indians will now face a different challenge for next season -- rebuilding their backcourt...

Southeast Missouri State University's softball team, coming off a rough weekend to start the season, will look to break into the win column today when Mississippi visits the Southeast Softball Complex for a 3 p.m. doubleheader. The Otahkians went 0-3 in their own six-team, round-robin tournament that was shortened by rain over the weekend...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Edgar Garland "Eddie" Hillis, 54, of New Madrid died Sunday, March 4, 2001, at his home. He was born Oct. 18, 1946, in East Prairie, Mo., son of Bervil G. and Juanita Hillis. He and Mary Pat Hunter were married Feb. 21, 1987. Hillis was a 1964 graduate of Morehouse High School, and received a bachelor of science degree in education from Southeast Missouri State University in 1972...

PARMA, Mo. -- Pansy Hopkins, 72, of Grandin, Mo., died Monday, March 5, 2001, at her home. She was born Dec. 12, 1928, at Parma, daughter of Charles Clinton and Lola Blanche Taylor Boyt. She and Claude Toombs were married in June 1944. He preceded her in death. She and Elvis Hopkins were married July 28, 1957. He died July 12, 1987...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Funeral Mass for Martin F. Eikstetter of Scott City will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church. The Rev. David Coon will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City from 5-8 p.m. today. Parish prayers will be at 7...

ANNA, Ill. -- Forrest Dale Young, 79, of Anna died Sunday, March 4, 2001, at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Murphysboro, Ill. He was born June 11, 1921, in Neoga, Ill., son of Samuel and Nellie Ferguson Young. He and Valerie E. Crane were married Oct. 26, 1945, in Neoga...

ANNA, Ill. -- Elsie Simmerman, 69, of Anna died Sunday, March 4, 2001, at City Care Center. She was born Jan. 4, 1932, at Wolf Lake, Ill., daughter of Monroe and Bernice Skelton Toler. She married William Simmerman, who preceded her in death. Simmerman was a member of Jonesboro Pentecostal Church...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Paul Everett "Babe" Huitt, 78, of Calvert City, Ky., died Sunday, March 4, 2001, at Marshall County Hospital in Benton, Ky. He is the son of Everett and Ruth Light Huitt. He was formerly of Olive Branch. Huitt was a retired electrician. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Calvert City, and IBEW Local 816 in Paducah, Ky...

Edward P. Arnoldi Sr., 81, passed away Saturday, Feb. 24, 2001, following an extended illness. He was born July 1, 1919, in Cape Girar-deau, and lived here until moving to Florida. He was a resident of St. James City, Fla., from 1996-1999 and then resided at Coral Trace Nursing Home in Cape Coral, Fla...

Glenn M. McCain, 83, of St. Louis died Sunday, March 4, 2001, at St. Anthony Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Oct. 1, 1917, in Cape Girardeau. Survivors include his wife, the former Ruth Polack; a daughter, Mary Suits; two sons, Robert and Thomas McCain; five grandchildren; and a great-grandson...

BERNIE, Mo. -- Alice Irene Campbell, 40, died Sunday, March 4, 2001, at Three Rivers Healthcare South in Poplar Bluff, Mo. She was born Dec. 8, 1960, in Grand Rapids, Mich., daughter of Lawrence D. and Verna Irene Cobbs Sixbury. She and Buddy Paul Campbell were married Feb. 15, 1988, at Malden, Mo. He died April 26, 1996...

JACKSON, Mo. -- George Robert Neilson Jr., 79, of Jackson passed away Sunday, March 4, 2001, at his home. He was born Dec. 22, 1921, in St. Louis, son of George Robert and Mary Wilson Neilson Sr. He and Viola Call were married July 22, 1950, at Marble Hill, Mo. She preceded him in death Nov. 9, 2000...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Ruby Margaret Futrell Croney, 76, of East Prairie died Monday, March 5, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 9, 1924, in East Prairie, daughter of George and Allie Higgins Futrell. She and William O'Neal "Bill" Croney were married Nov. 16, 1940. He died April 29, 1996...

DICK GEPHARDT talks big, sounds good. We're going to give money back to all Americans. It will be a cold day before I ever give my money back to somebody who does not pay one cent to the federal government in taxes or to the state government. That's what the Democrats want to do...

So often, it seems, government bureaucrats make us do things we think are a waste of time or inappropriate, but, because it's the government, we do them anyway. Not the tiny community of Lake Ozark, Mo. Lake Ozark's city administrator, Herb Llewellyn, doesn't think much of a new Missouri law that requires law enforcement agencies to report the age, race and gender of every motorist or pedestrian police officers stop. ...

Former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois is trying very hard to make U.S.-Cuban relations a topic of interest in the middle of this country. Simon, who is the head of Southern Illinois University's Public Policy Institute at Carbondale, tried top bring Cuban President Fidel Castro to Illinois for a summit with then-President Bill Clinton. ...

To the editor: This letter is in response to the recent article, "The business of good and bad vibrations." While I agree tarot-card and palm reading are a business, I feel it cannot and should not be confused with anything pertaining to God (Matthew 7:22). ...

To the editor: If Cape Girardeau taxpayers think all the unrepaired potholes are a sign the street department and the city fathers do not love you, you are wrong. For your edification you need to drive to the intersection of Silver Springs Road and Gordonville Road to check out the new roundabout. ...

KARNAK, Ill. -- Alice Russell Ford, 64, of Metropolis, Ill., formerly of Vienna, Ill., died Sunday, March 4, 2001, at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Ky. She was born April 20, 1936, in Belknap, Ill., daughter of John and Murvey Richardson Russell. She was employed by TIP of Illinois and the Shawnee Development Council...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Ernest L. Smith, 92, of Bloomfield died Sunday, March 4, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 28, 1908, in Bloomfield, son of Oscar Lee and Cora Jones Smith. He and Mary Ruth Scism were married Oct. 9, 1936...