Stories from Tuesday, May 22, 2001

Ann Ostendorf enjoys the freedom of an unhurried life and the excitement that comes with a traveling adventure. Over the past year, Ostendorf has saved almost $10,000 to fund her travels through Pakistan, India, parts of Southeast Asia and Northern Africa for at least a year. She leaves Wednesday for London, where she will meet up with her traveling partner, Richard Lambert...

Editor's note: This is a chapter from Jean Bell Mosley's book "Wide Meadows" that was first published in 1960. On winter evenings a frequent visitor around our fireplace was Jeem Hollister. Jeem lived at Laurel Cove, far up the mountain where the mists were last to disappear of a morning and where his cabin remained in sunlight long after the evening shadows had crept over the valley below. ...

Son to Charles and Laura Schwepker Jr. of Lees Summit, Mo., St. Joseph Health Center in Kansas City, Mo., 7:44 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, 2001. Name, Anthony Peter. Weight, 9 pounds 11 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Schwepker is the former Laura Pirrone, daughter of Vince and Arlene Pirrone of Overland, Mo. Schwepker is the son of Charles and Mary Schwepker Sr. of Cape Girardeau. He is marketing professor at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg...

FRUITLAND, Mo. -- A mother and three of her children died when a fire swept through a second-story apartment in a small, frame house along U.S. 61 Monday. A fourth child was taken to Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau after the mother managed to throw the boy out of a second-story window before she was overcome by smoke, authorities said...

Missouri teen-agers are among the most likely nationwide to be working or studying, yet also are more likely to die while youths, according to a children's advocacy group. The annual survey of children's living conditions ranks Missouri as slightly worse than average -- 31st nationally -- with little change from the previous study...

Two extra report cards each year and a consistent way of figuring semester grades should eliminate any confusion about how well Cape Girardeau secondary students are doing in classes next year. The Cape Girardeau Board of Education Monday approved six-week grade report cycles for students in eighth-through-12th grades beginning next fall...

Heidi Hall's "Stranger than Fiction" column will run every Wednesday beginning this week. The column first appeared in the Southeast Missourian in September 1994 when Hall joined the staff as a reporter. She continued writing it during her four years in Florida, except during a brief sabbatical to think up new material...

A million dollars in state funding for Cape Girardeau's Career and Technology Center remains in the hands of Gov. Bob Holden, state Rep. Jason Crowell told the Board of Education Monday night. Crowell said another $832,000 in state funding for the new school is in the state's operating budget and should be released soon...

Cape Girardeau's first roundabout could be its last unless the city can find a way to accommodate the growing list of concerns drivers and council members have about the new intersection at Gordonville and Silver Springs roads. The roundabout was built as part of the Transportation Trust Fund improvements, but the entire road won't open to traffic until the roundabout is reconstructed or redesigned, said City Engineer Mark Lester. Now the section from Gordonville to William remains closed...

A man arrested in Jackson, Mo., May 3 was arraigned Monday in Hawaii on three felony counts of theft in the second degree. Wendell Morgan, aka Doug Morgan, W. Morgan. D. Morgan and John W.D. Morgan, is accused of creating a false impression that he was a lawyer and bilking Honolulu residents out of their money...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Most of the 70-plus people attending an informational public meeting at Jackson Middle School Monday night seemed to support a tax hike to cover increased operating costs over the next three years. Meeting-goers, who consisted largely of district staff and members of a community planning committee that is helping to prioritize district needs, questioned how the district planned to meet specific needs like increased class sizes and a lack of library resources that could affect accreditation.. ...

JACKSON, Mo. -- The Jackson Board of Aldermen voted Monday to continue the city's participation in the I-55/Jackson/Cape Girardeau Corridor Projects Agreement, a failed attempt to join with the City of Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County and a developer to accelerate improvements at Center Junction...

BENTON, Mo. -- An autopsy on the body of Jason M. Robinson has determined that he was killed by a bullet wound. The body of the 22-year-old Robinson of Sikeston, Mo., was found Saturday in a wheat field on County Road 480 near Sikeston. People who saw Robinson within the past three or four days are asked to contact the Scott County Sheriff's Department at 471-3530...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- A prominent local historian and noted author died Sunday at his home in Scott City. Edison Shrum, 85, was a noted local historian and self-educated man who loved to read and do research. Jim Steel, a longtime friend, said that Shrum was in love with books and knowledge although he was only formally educated through the eighth grade...

The Cape Girardeau Central High School girls soccer team had its share of rough moments this season, but the Lady Tigers appear to be clicking on all cylinders now. Rockwood Summit's Lady Falcons have been rolling along virtually the entire campaign...

Three Southeast Missouri State University athletes have been named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars by the publication Black Issues in Higher Education. Senior Isaac Powell, who has a 3.50 GPA, was named first team in football; junior Emmy Kisaka, who has a 3.84 GPA, was named to the first team in softball; and senior Garvin Ambrose, who has a 3.28 GPA, was named third team in men's track...

MILLERSVILLE, Mo. -- Clifford Henry Lincoln, 62, of Millersville died Monday, May 21, 2001, at his home. He was born Nov. 29, 1938, at Scopus, Mo., son of Miles O. and Ruth Adeline Long Lincoln. Lincoln was a 1956 graduate of Lutesville High School. He was a carpenter and raised cattle. He lived in Bollinger County all his life, and was a member of Scopus Church of Christ...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Rhonda Sue Story, 49, of Villa Ridge died Sunday, May 20, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 12, 1952, in Pekin, Ill., daughter of Andrew Arthur and Ethel Martin Story. Formerly of Thebes, Ill., she was a home health aide for senior citizens and elderly shut-ins. She was a member of Trinity Pentecostal Church in Sandusky, Ill...

Carl D. Thiessen, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, May 20, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Dec. 14, 1919, in Gaza, Iowa, son of George Andrew and Marie Johanssen Thiessen. He and Blanche Marie Crook were married Dec. 24, 1941, in Corpus Christi, Texas...

THEBES, Ill. -- Brendon Comte, 22, of Thebes died Sunday, May 20, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, from injuries received in a motorcycle accident. Arrangements are incomplete at Crawshaw Funeral Home in Murphysboro, Ill.

OLMSTED, Ill. -- Eva Bell Marrs, 82, of Olmsted died Sunday, May 20, 2001, at Meridian Manor Nursing Home in Mounds, Ill. She was born Dec. 1, 1918, in White County, Ill., daughter of Thomas J. and Margaret Smith Costellia. She married Orville Marrs, who died in 1977...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Helmuth Doberenz, 87, of Jackson died Monday, May 21, 2001, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

Jean G. Welch Tate, 73, of Venice, Fla., formerly of St. Louis, died Sunday, May 20, 2001. She was born May 23, 1927, in Washington Park, Ill. She and Lt. Col. Lee B. Tate were married Feb. 11, 1950, in St. Louis. He died March 29, 1966, in Vietnam...

Mary Elfrank, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, May 21, 2001, at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Services of Cape Girardeau. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Trula M. Huber, 82, of Perryville died Monday, May 21, 2001, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born April 30, 1919, in Perry County, daughter of John V. and Sarah R. Bohnert. She and Wallace H. Huber were married June 5, 1937. He died April 28, 1984...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Reuben Amelunke, 52, of Jackson died Monday, May 21, 2001, at his home. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

CAMPBELL, Mo. -- Funeral for Arvel Allen "Butter" Thompson of Campbell was held Monday at Landess Funeral Chapel in Campbell. The Rev. Darrell Woods officiated. Burial was in Woodlawn Cemetery. Thompson, 86, died Saturday, May 19, 2001, at Piggott Community Hospital in Piggott, Ark...

ORAN, Mo. -- E.J. Jackson, 75, of Milwaukee, Wis., died Thursday, May 17, 2001, at Columbia Hospital in Milwaukee. He was born May 27, 1925, at Holland, Mo., son of Floyd and Cornelaus Hays Jackson. Formerly of Oran, he moved to Milwaukee six years ago. He was a retired truck driver and farmer...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Funeral for Joanne M. Johnson of Kansas City, Kan., will be held at 11 a.m. today at Mrs. J.W. Jones Memorial Chapel in Kansas City, Kan. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery in Kansas City, Kan. Friends may call from 10-11 a.m. at the chapel...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Rita M. Tooman, 41, of Bloomfield died Saturday, May 19, 2001, at the home of a brother near Hiram, Mo. She was born Feb. 21, 1960, at Lutesville, Mo., daughter of Charles William and Bessie Iretha Cook Tooman. She married John Minson...

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Timothy Elmer Nenninger, 36, of Leopold died Sunday, May 20, 2001, at his home. He was born Aug. 22, 1964, in Cape Girardeau, son of Joseph Charles and Ursula Steinnerd Nenninger. He and Shiela Stanley were married June 20, 1998, at Leopold...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Edison Eugene Shrum, 85, of Scott City died Sunday, May 20, 2001, at his home. He was born Aug. 20, 1915, in Stoddard County, Mo., the son of Eugene and Margaret Lockhard Shrum. He was a free-lance writer and a member of the Seismological Society of America, the Foundation for the Study of Cycles, the Canadian Royal Astronomical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Hawaiian Volcano Reville, Tenn., and a nephew, Kurt Shrum of St. Louis...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Mildred Loyd, 87, of Puxico died Monday, May 21, 2001, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Morgan Funeral Home in Advance, Mo., is in charge of arrangements.

To the editor: Penny Lane To build will be a pain, but Mount Auburn needs a lane or will remain a bane and drive us all insane. You'd better build it cheap, or we misers will weep and upon you heap words like bleep, bleep, bleep. STEVE MOSLEY Cape Girardeau...

To the editor: One has to wonder what infant twins Lauren Alma Hunt and Sarah Jane Hunt will think when they are old enough to learn about the outrageous scrutiny surrounding their arrival. I hope by the time they are grown that the idea that their mother, Acting Gov. Jane Swift of Massachusetts, was expected by some to relinquish her responsibilities while bringing them to term will be an antiquated notion...

To the editor: Over the years, Teen Challenge International of Mid-America has developed a reputation as the source for fresh strawberries in Cape Girardeau County. I have so much appreciated the support of those who have bought our berries in the past. ...

To the editor: I feel I owe an apology to Roger Harms at Charter Communications for my May 18 letter in which I said Fox News Channel is no longer on the basic level of service. It is on the expanded basic level. I have apologized to Harms personally, and he has graciously accepted my apology. It is very apparent that I overreacted when I could not find Fox News on the new channel lineup. I would also like to thank Harms for adding C-SPAN 2 and the History Channel...

Just as the Missouri General Assembly has to contend with redistricting, thanks to the 2000 census, city and county governments face the same chore prior to the next elections. For Cape Girardeau, that means the city's six wards must be adjusted before next April's municipal elections...

With the end of the Missouri General Assembly session Friday came the instant assessments of success, failures, accomplishments and overlooked needs. As could be expected, what was good and what was bad depended where you stood in the partisan divide...

Question of morality TO THE caller who became tired of having to explain things to her children: Rest assured here is one Democrat and his children who plan to be at the polls every time the doors are open. Have you explained to your children how oil and insurance companies buy elections? Probably not, since this isn't a moral question to your thinking...

Beverly K. Hahs, who wrote a May 20 letter to the editor, is the special-needs coordinator for the Greater St. Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Her affiiliation was incorrectly listed.