Stories from Sunday, May 23, 1993

JACKSON -- Mildred Poston Gast of Jackson died at St. Francis Medical Center Thursday, May 20, 1993. She was 82. She was born Aug. 7, 1910, at Glen Allen, the daughter of Hiram Sitzes and Elizabeth Sample Sitzes. She married William B. Poston on Aug. 25, 1928; he died Dec. 24, 1942. She then married Francis "Red" Gast on Dec. 23, 1957; he died March 15, 1970...

St. Francis Medical Center recognized 152 employees for their years of service to the hospital at its annual service award banquet. The banquet, which was held last Friday at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, was done so in conjunction with National Hospital Week, May 9-15...

A 9-year-old Cape Girardeau girl has been accepted into the Indiana University String Academy for the summer of 1993. Liesl E. Schoenberger, daughter of John and Brenda Schoenberger, will join 84 other string instrumentalists for the intensive program, under the direction of Mimi Zweig, a professor of music at Indiana University...

BENTON -- The Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate (Joliet Franciscans) will honor Sister M. Rosabel LeGrand, originally of Benton, for 50 years of service to the sisterhood. LeGrand was born in Benton, Nov. 25, 1914. She attended St. Denis Grade School in Benton, and St. Francis Academy in Joliet for high school. She received a bachelor's degree from the College of St. Francis...

A seventh-grader at St. Marys Cathedral School will be among 651 students recognized by the Duke University Talent Identification (TIP) Program next month. Robert Macklem, son of James and Shirley Macklem, scored as well or better than average college-bound high school seniors on scholastic aptitude tests. The tests are administered as part of an annual talent search...

As the school year winds to a close, the St. Francis Medical Center is gearing up for its Junior Volunteer program during the summer months. Young men and women between the ages of 14 and 17 are eligible for the program. A Junior Volunteer orientation session is scheduled for Wednesday, June 9, at 9 a.m., at the St. Francis Health and Education Centre...

The American Red Cross will hold a community blood drive Wednesday, from 2-7 p.m., at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. The drive is sponsored by Telephone Pioneers Cape Life Member Club and Life Underwriters. Their goal is to collect 100 units of blood...

Two area high school students have been selected to attend the Missouri Girls State conference this summer. Sally Wibbenmeyer, of Friedheim, and Tara Payne, of Cape Girardeau, will attend the conference June 20-26, at William Woods College in Fulton...

So the politicians got together in Jefferson City this year and decided your taxes should go up. And what of that pesky vote of the people, solemnly promised us just last fall when, in the heat of a gubernatorial campaign, there was an electorate to be wooed?...

It's not whether you win or lose, but how you delay the game. It can be persuasively argued there is as much political art in rejecting bad legislation as there is in enacting good laws. This year's First Regular 87th General Assembly seemed to recognize this fact, and whether their skills were accidental or purposeful, Missourians should give a collective sigh of relief for those bills the 1993 Legislature never got around to approving...

Cape Girardeau finds itself about to engage in a municipal debate that seems never-ending: At what point does a city get into the business of housing its citizens? The city council will appoint a Housing Task Force next month to study the matter, and some proponents of this move suggest appointment of a housing authority and construction of federal public housing might be logical next steps. ...

Peter Gordon is professor of marketing at Southeast Missouri State University. Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of discussion of the riverboat casino issue that is facing Cape Girardeau voters next month. In the following paragraphs, I have tried to present some verifiable facts about riverboat casinos. I neither advocate a yes or no vote, but think it is important that voters at least are able to separate facts from fiction...

Editor's note: the following article first appeared in the Sunday edition of the Las Vegas Review Journal-Sun, May 16, 1993. It was brought to the attention of the Perspective Page by a Southeast Missourian employee who was attending a convention in Las Vegas last weekend. We reprint the article with permission from the Las Vegas Review Journal-Sun...

PERRYVILLE - Gilmore Prost, 80, of Perryville, died Friday, May 21, 1993, at his home. He was born July 6, 1912, in Highland, to Emmett and Wilhemina Huber Prost. On Jan. 14, 1939, he married Valma Lee Rushing in Perryville. She survives, along with one son, James J. Prost of Chester, Ill.; three daughters, Rosalee Lurk of Columbus, Ohio, Margie Brown of Ste. Genevieve, and Ann Koenig of Perryville...

ANNA, Ill. - Cleta Grear, 86, of Jonesboro, Ill., died Saturday, May 22, 1993, at the Union County Hospital in Anna. She was born June 8, 1906, in Union County, to H.C. and Fannie A. Ellis Grear Survivors include a sister, Ruth Dollar of Jonesboro, one nephew, Jim Grear; five nieces, Alice Keller, Donna Jean Edwards, Beth Pearl, Sharon Gilbert and Jean Warren...

JACKSON - Sadie M. Harper, 86, died Thursday May 20, 1993 at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born July 12, 1906 at Neelys Landing, the daughter of John Carl Craft and Nora Clingingsmith Craft. On Jan. 11, 1943, she married Lindell Pete Harper at St. Charles. He preceded her in death on Jan. 25...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Lorene Sullivan, 91, of Mounds, died Friday, May 21, 1993 at her home. She was born in Olmsted, Ill. Aug. 20, 1901, the daughter of E.G. and Lotte Thomas Wildy. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Mounds. She is survived by a daughter, Margaret Knight, Mounds; a son, Robert L. "Buddy" Sullivan, Houston, Texas; a brother, O.T. Wildy, Decauter, Ill.; 11 nieces and nephews...

SIKESTON - Clifton E. Jones, 71, of Sikeston, died Thursday May 20, 1993 at the Sikeston Convalescent Center. Visitation will begin today at 1:30 p.m. at Ponder Funeral Home, with Masonic rites scheduled for 1:30. Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. today at the funeral home, with Rev. Mike Lee, associate pastor of the Trinity Life Center in Pueblo, Colo., officiating...

Daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Dirnberger Jr., Jackson Route 2, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 4:45 p.m. Saturday, May 15, 1993. Name, Jennifer Marie. Weight, 6 pounds 13 ounces. Second daughter. Mrs. Dirnberger is the former Tammy Graviett, daughter of Eugene and Doris Graviett of Oran. She is an accounts payable clerk at Drury Inns Inc. Dirnberger is a farmer, and is the son of Paul M. and Frances Dirnberger Sr. of Oran...

The status of Missouri Department of Revenue license fee offices in Cape Girardeau and Jackson is still uncertain. Aides to Gov. Mel Carnahan are deliberating over what to do with the 165 patronage offices around the state. Since Christopher Bond was elected to a second term in 1980, the offices in these two neighboring cities have been operated by the respective chambers of commerce. ...

Hoping to dispel rumors that Cape Girardeau Central High School is a drug haven, school officials welcomed a trio of trained German shepherds to search for contraband on the campus Friday. No drugs were found, no arrests were made. School and police officials hope students got the message...

Workers' compensation legislation approved this year by the Missouri General Assembly is receiving mixed reviews. It's considered more far-reaching than the measure approved last year but is still unlikely to bring immediate relief to businesses burdened by skyrocketing premium increases...

Thousands of senior citizens danced, played bingo and enjoyed Saturday's Senior Fun Fest in Cape Girardeau. They also had a lot on their minds about issues facing the nation. Health care, especially the cost of medical care and insurance, topped the list of concerns for most...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Cairo Police Chief Harold Nelson submitted a letter of resignation Thursday, citing health concerns and family obligations. Nelson, a retired Illinois State policeman, was named chief in May 1992. The Cairo city council is scheduled to consider his resignation at its meeting Tuesday...

A town meeting on the riverboat gambling issue will be held Tuesday. The meeting, to start at 7 p.m. at the Show Me Center, is being co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Cape Girardeau County and KZIM Radio. Audience members will be provided index cards and pencils for submitting written questions. The riverboat gambling question will be presented to voters in Cape Girardeau June 8...

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Missouri have identified several key parts of the new workers' compensation reform law that they believe will have a positive impact. The two business organizations both agree that some parts of SB-251 will reduce costs, but on more of a long term basis, leaving businesses without needed immediate relief...

On a sunshiny day after one of the recent rains I went down to the creek, tracking. Not running or jogging around a racetrack, but looking for wildlife footprints. It is one of my pastimes. I learned to track from an early trap line my sister and I had and from Louis L`Amour! Did I know Louis? Of course not. ...

Joann "Peggy" Taylor was looking for an activity to get her out of the house once in awhile. She loves reading; loves children and loves helping others. Thanks to RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program), Taylor helps children at Washington Elementary School twice a week...

Gardening in the shade always presents some extra problems, but none that are insuperable. One can have just as attractive a garden, and sometimes more colorful than one in the sun. The main thing is to choose the right plants. Of course, everyone knows about ferns--reliable, effective, easy to grow, but not as colorful. Along with these go such old reliable's as English ivies in a variety of forms, vinca, pacandra, many of the wild gingers, impatiens, coleus and many others...

SCOTT CITY -- The Scott City Chamber of Commerce announced that it has raised more than $1,700 toward the purchase of new "Welcome to Scott City" signs to be placed near the exit ramps on I-55. At last week's chamber meeting, a committee was appointed to "see what they can get for $1,700," said Shirley Young, the chamber's president...