Stories from Saturday, June 9, 2001

In the past year, worship at St. Andrew Lutheran Church moved from a bland contemporary style to a service filled with creativity, liveliness and variety. The change is Soul Survivor. It's a worship service that strips away all but the basic elements of meaningful messages, hands-on interaction and lively music. An unlit sanctuary where pop music plays greets worshipers as they arrive...

Even though most classrooms are shut down, students shouldn't plan to shut down their brains for the next three months. Instead, parents should make sure their children enjoy a variety of academic, social and physical activities that keep their minds and bodies sharp for the coming school year, local educators advise...

A Perryville, Mo., man was charged with driving while intoxicated after his two passengers suffered serious injuries Thursday in a single-vehicle accident in Madison County. David Powell, 21, and Todd Moll, 19, both of Perryville were taken to Mineral Area Hospital in Park Hills, Mo., with serious injuries after the 10 p.m. accident on Route J, three miles east of state Highway 72...

An estimated 3,000 Harley-Davidson riders and motorcycle enthusiasts from four states are expected to attend the ninth Missouri State H.O.G. Rally Sept. 7-9 in Cape Girardeau. Members of the state's 13 Harley Owners Group chapters will participate in contests at the Osage Community Centre, conduct a Grand Parade through the city's streets displaying their colors, provide demonstrations and go on self-guided tours of the area...

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- For a first try at rodeo, Perry County did just fine Friday night, according to rodeo cowboys and clowns. "When I got off the interstate and got down here and saw about five houses, I thought about turning around and going back," said John Hayden of Eureka, Mo., who has spent 30 years as a rodeo clown traveling from Maine to Montana. "But now I can't believe a rodeo in its first year has this kind of turnout."...

At 29, Steve Kress is still a very young man, even by baseball standards. But on a youthful 2001 Craftsman Union Capahas team, Kress is the elder statesman, having played for the squad since 1993. "I'm the old man of a young team," said a laughing Kress prior to Friday night's game against the visiting Waterloo (Ill.) Buds...

KELSO, Mo. -- Kelso Connection connected just enough. Kelso's men's fast-pitch softball team used a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to slip past Elkville, Ill. 1-0 in the first round of the Kelso Klassic Friday night. Tommy Jansen picked up the win, throwing a three-hitter and striking out five...

The SEMO Fast-Pitch Softball Tournament, a two-bracket, 16-team event, begins today at Arena Park. The tournament, which will consist of a 10-team women's open division and a six-team 18-and-under division, is in its third year and is being put on by the Heartland Heat of Cape Girardeau. Games begin at 9 a.m. today and continue through Sunday, when play concludes with a 3 p.m. championship in the 18-and-under division and a 4 p.m. championship in the women's open division...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Steve Miller of Jackson carded a hole-in-one Monday at Bent Creek Golf Course. Miller used a 5-wood to ace No. 15, a par 3 playing 188 yards. Miller's father, Dick, witnessed the shot as did Homer Greening and Dale Weaver.

JACKSON, Mo. -- Two men in their seventies recently recorded their first holes in one at Kimbeland Country Club. Vernon Sander, 76, and Jim Reinagel, 73 -- both from Cape Girardeau -- aced the 115-yard No. 4 hole. Sander used a pitching wedge and Reinagel used an 8-iron...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Dorris A. Wren of Bartonville, Ill., formerly of Dexter, Mo., died Friday, June 8, 2001, at the O.S.F. St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Ill. She was 76. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at the Rainey Funeral Home in Dexter.

Son to Dennis Gordan and Julie Marie Snider of Charleston, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 10:43 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, 2001. Name, Dawson Crain. Weight, 7 pounds 3 ounces. First child. Mrs. Snider is the former Julie Pemberton, daughter of Alen Pemberton and Janie Pemberton of Charleston. She is an optical technician at Marian Eye Center. Snider is the son of Wiley Snider and Brenda Snider of Wyatt, Mo. He is an ink technician at Bordan Chemical Inc...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Bessie Bea Drew, 75, of Chaffee died Friday, June 8, 2001, at her home. She was born March 29, 1926, at Burnum, Mo., daughter of James Edward and Julia Ann Woodsworth Spence. She married Herbert Daily on Oct.. 20, 1945. He died Oct. 18, 1965. She married Fred Ivan Drew on June 15, 1963. He died Oct. 31, 1983...

ANNA, Ill. -- Funeral for Lorene Sweitzer of Anna will be held at 1 p.m. today at Crain Funeral Home in Anna. Msgr. Tom Miller will officiate. Friends may call at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until time of service. Sweitzer, 83, died Thursday, June 7, 2001, at City Care Center...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Jackie May, 43, of Paragould, Ark., formerly of Thebes, Ill., died Friday, June 8, 2001, upon arrival at Arkansas Methodist Hospital in Paragould. Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Lester Lee Rodgers, 75, of Sikeston died Thursday, June 7, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 12, 1926, in St. Louis, son of Tillman and Opal Robinson Rodgers. He and Joan Kornic were married Oct. 22, 1979, at Sikeston...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Louise Dismore Roberts, 81, formerly of Mississippi County, died Friday, June 8, 2001, at Gainesville, Mo. She was born Dec. 28, 1920, in Oakton, Ky., daughter of Lonnie Vester Vinson and Maggie Nolen Vinson. She lived in Mississippi County most of her life, moving to Gainesville in 1996...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Helen Mae Penrose, 79, of Jackson, Mo., died Friday, June 8, 2001, at her home. She was born Aug. 30, 1921, in Jackson, daughter of William and Ella Johnson Lowes. On Nov. 19, 1944, she married Russell Penrose. He survives of the home...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Leona D. Crawford, 84, of Puxico died Friday, June 8, 2001, at Wappapello, Mo. She was born April 1, 1917, in Essex, Mo., daughter of Charlie and Elizabeth Sweet Clayton. She and William O. Crawford Sr. were married Aug. 1, 1942, in Puxico. He died June 23, 1968...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Elsie Fay Hazel, 69, of Scott City, Mo., died Friday, June 8, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Feb. 14, 1932, at Marmaduke, Ark., daughter to Henry and Ruth Brown Warner. She and Ernest Hazel were married Dec. 28, 1964, at Shawneetown, Ill...

I READ the item in Speak Out about nursing homes and how people will not care for their loved ones. It's not always a matter of will or won't. Sometimes it's a matter of can or can't. It's not always that these people are dumped in nursing homes. Sometimes it's the only choice the families have...

Democrats are constantly putting Republicans on the defensive by hurling charges of prejudice and discrimination at them. Isn't it time the GOP turned the tables by calling Democrats to task for their exploitation of minorities for political purposes?...

Amateur shutterbugs from Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois can receive the recognition they deserve through this year's popular Foto Fest contest. The rules are simple. Be a resident of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Scott, New Madrid, Stoddard, Perry or Madison counties in Missouri or Alexander, Pulaski or Union counties in Illinois. ...

A stroll through Downtown Cairo, Ill., provides glimpses of the bustling city it once was. The buildings stand tall but vacant and dilapidated. Paper wrappers float down the middle of the street like tumbleweeds in a ghost town. Cairo sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, ideal for water travel and trade. Once upon a time, folks from all over came to the conveniently located city to raise a glass or two, have a good meal and spend their money...