Stories from Thursday, July 2, 1992

Gov. John Ashcroft finalized the state's 1993 fiscal budget last week with his signature. The governor's action dealt Southeast Missouri State University a couple of bad cards: Planning money totaling $100,000 for a new College of Business building was vetoed, as was $201,000 for overhead costs of administering the Bootheel Education Center in Malden. We regret that these items were struck down...

Hand-dyed fabrics and other works by Pat Reagan-Woodard will be on display this month at Gallery 100. Reagan-Woodard is the director of the Southeast Missouri State University Museum and an instructor in the art department. This is the first local exhibit of her work in seven years...

Christian vocalist Carman will appear at the Show Me Center July 23 for a 7 p.m. free concert. Since the early 1980s, Carman has been entertaining audiences with his ministry and contemporary Christian music. He was voted Favorite Christian Male Vocalist four consecutive years by readers of "Charisma" and "Christian Life," and he has performed for more than 1.5 million people. He currently is in the middle of a 15-month tour of the United States...

Applications for booths at the annual Christmas craft bazaar held at the Show Me Center are now available. "Christmas at the Show Me Center" will be held Nov. 21 and 22. Booths range from $40 to $80 and about 250 will be available. Hand-made crafts made by the artists are sought, No kits, supplies or commercial products are permitted...

STE. GENEVIEVE Missouri's oldest city, Ste. Genevieve, will celebrate the fourth annual Bastille Days July 9-12. The town, with its colonial French heritage, celebrates the French Revolution each year when hundreds of people assemble at Third and Market Streets to march to the old Ste. Genevieve jail. There they hear the same words heard by Parisians in 1789: Rousseau's classic "The Rights of Man."...

BENTON -- Entries are now being accepted for the Miss Neighbor Day Queen Contest to be held in Benton Sept. 4. To be eligible, a girl must be enrolled in a Scott County High School as a junior or senior for the 1992-93 school year, never married or had children or been Miss Neighbor Day before...

Like the incessant chirping of katydids on a warm summer's evening, the sound of political candidates repeating their pat answers to the problems of government fills this year's campaign season. State and federal candidates alike broadcast well-rehearsed speeches that capsule their easy answers to difficult problems, and the utter simplicity of their message, like the sound of the katydid, lulls us into believing the candidates have uncovered solutions that somehow managed to elude the rest of us. ...

Looking for something to do to celebrate Independence Day? It's not necessary to look far to find traditional Fourth of July parades and fireworks. One of the biggest celebrations will be at the Jackson City Park. "I think a lot of people come from the smaller towns around here that don't have any kind of Fourth of July celebration," said Rick Schultz of the Jackson Jaycees, the organization that sponsors the event...

Even if a proposal to provide scholarships for children to attend the schools of their parents' choice is just election-year politics, local private-school officials applauded President George Bush's "GI Bill for Students." Bush proposed a pilot project last week that would provide children of low- and middle-income families with $1,000 scholarships to attend the school of their parents' choice...

Celebrants of this Fourth of July holiday can enjoy the weekend without worrying about uncooperative weather. The National Weather Service says there is little or no precipitation in the forecast for Friday through Sunday. The temperatures for this holiday weekend will range from highs in the 80s to lows in the 60s, according to the weather service...

Cape Girardeau police Wednesday began issuing a modified traffic ticket that they believe will lead to more seat-belt citations. The new ticket falls in line with the nationwide seat-belt enforcement campaign of "Buckle Up, Avoid the Summertime Blues."...

Law enforcement officials are applauding a new drunk-driving law that they say could help them in efforts to get intoxicated drivers off the roads. The law, enacted last year by the state legislature, went into effect Wednesday. The law contains a number of provisions, including one that makes it illegal to drink alcohol while driving a motor vehicle on public roadways. A violation is punishable by a maximum fine of $200...

Dancers with the Ballet Royale Midwest in Cape Girardeau will be competing at a national dance contest next week for a shot on television. The national competition, called Show Stoppers and sponsored by the American Ballet Theater, will be held July 5-12 at Myrtle Beach, N.C...

Cities, counties and school districts would be given the authority to expand their bonded indebtedness to retrofit public buildings against earthquakes if Amendment 5 is approved at the Aug. 4 primary election. The Missouri General Assembly approved a resolution sending the amendment to voters as a way of helping governmental entities make buildings withstand earthquakes. In particular, there is a serious problem with school buildings in the state...

For people suffering from the HIV virus and AIDS, life can be a lonely vigil. Teresa Wilferth of East Missouri Action Agency hopes a new support group will help. Wilferth deals with people who have the HIV virus or AIDS in a 21-county area of Southeast Missouri, and conducts AIDS education programs...

ORAN -- Ewell Shaffer, 66, of Oran, died Wednesday, July 1, 1992 at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born July 21, 1925, son of Claude Dallas Shaffer and Tressie Mae Petty Shaffer. He was a farm laborer and a member of the First Baptist Church of Oran...

DONGOLA -- Velma Forcht Houston, 78, of Dongola, died Wednesday, July 1, 1992 at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Aug. 19, 1913 in Menlo, Iowa, daughter of Harvey and Katie Plymesser Cline. She married Virgil Charles Forcht on Dec. 3, 1929. He preceded her in death on May 14, 1957. She married Claude Houston on July 4, 1959. He preceded her in death on April 24, 1978...

CHAFFEE -- Funeral service for Otis A. Keller of Velpen, Ind., will be held at 1:30 p.m. today at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel here. The Rev. Charley Shrum will officiate, with burial in Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau. Keller, 61, died Monday, June 29, 1992, at St. Joseph Hospital in Huntingburg, Ind...

CHARLESTON -- Robert G. DeLaney, 72, Charleston Route 2, died Tuesday, June 30, 1992, at his home. He was born March 8, 1920, in Etowah, Tenn., son of Thomas Henry and Katherine Lee Gary DeLaney. He and Frances Snow were married Aug. 7, 1944. DeLaney was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. After that he was a pliot with Delta Airlines until 1948. He then farmed and was a supporter of Missouri conservation...

SIKESTON -- Elmer E. "Hank" Boyer, 90, of Sikeston, died Wednesday, July 1, 1992, in the emergency room at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Oct. 19, 1901, at Bloomsdale, son of Charles and Mary Neevis Boyer. He and Virginia Aldrich were married May 30, 1937, at Kennett. She died April 7, 1985...

Daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Randy Hanners, Marble Hill Route 5, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 12 a.m. Friday, June 19, 1992. Name, Courtney Brooke. Weight, 6 pounds 14 ounces. Fourth child, second daughter. Mrs. Hanners is the former Dianna Huckstep, daughter of Jerry and Fay Huckstep of Marble Hill, and is a machine operator at Lee-Rowan. Hanners is a material handler at Lee-Rowan, and is the son of Gearldean Stepp of Marble Hill and the late George Hanners...

POPLAR BLUFF -- Linda Bloodworth-Thomason came home Tuesday. The television writer/producer and her husband, Harry, were in Poplar Bluff for only a few hours, but they made the most of their visit. The couple took Linda's nephews and niece out for pizza. They visited her brother and cousin at their law offices. And, they inspected renovation work being done at the Claudia Company House...

The family of Imogene Mayberry will hold a reunion Saturday at Trail of Tears State Park. The reunion will take place from noon to 10 p.m. Friends and family are invited. Signs for the reunion will be posted. The park is north of Cape Girardeau off Highway 177...

ADVANCE -- Allie Painton, 90, formerly of Advance, died Wednesday, July 1, 1992, at the Cape Girardeau Chateau Health Center. She was born March 10, 1902, the daughter of Benjamin and Clara Stocksdale Richmond. On Sept. 30, 1922, she married Ralph M. Painton, who preceded her in death Nov. 22, 1971...

Louie M. Snider, one of three Democrats seeking the nomination for State Senate from the 25th district this year, has a slight lead in campaign receipts for the Aug. 4 primary election. According to campaign reports due last week to reflect the period 40 days before the primary, the Poplar Bluff businessman had raised $38,281.15...