Stories from Tuesday, March 28, 1995

Jackson Board of Education Tuesday, March 28 7:30 p.m. Action Items A. Consider request of City Park Board for $7,200 toward cost of resurfacing city-owned tennis courts. B. Consider request of Jackson Ministerial Alliance to sponsor 1995 baccalaureate service of Jackson High School May 21, at 7:30 p.m. in gym...

A nationally-recognized speaker on gangs in violence in the United States will appear tonight at 7 in Central High School Auditorium. Dr. Louis Gonzales will discuss pre-gang characteristics, risk factors for gang affiliations and effective intervention strategies with the public...

Carol Keeler, host of KZIM Radio's "Talk of Cape," has accepted a position with KMOX in St. Louis as a news reporter. Keeler, who joined KZIM in September 1992, will start the new position in mid-April. She will help anchor newscasts and host talk shows...

A monument commemorating three priests that floated down the Mississippi River and landed at Cape Girardeau in 1699 has been targeted by a Wisconsin-based group that says the concrete cross violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of separation of church and state...

Two candidates for the Cape Girardeau Board of Education say the board must regain credibility, another wants a moratorium on redistricting of school boundaries, and a fourth would like to see the superintendent and some school board members replaced...

The recent mild weather is an extension of a winter season that averaged 4 degrees warmer than usual across the Midwest, but scientists warn against reading too much into the change. "It's not a real exact science," said climatologist Beth Reinke of the Midwestern Climate Center in Champagne, Ill. "I would be very reticent to say it's getting warmer."...

For crops ready to be planted, the mild weather is a hopeful portent of another impressive growing season. But the potential for another bumper crop -- this one of insects that survived the frostless winter -- could mean a summer of backyard barbecues interrupted by the buzz of flies and mosquitos...

Forrest who? It's a question a lot of parents are probably asking today. After all, parents with young children don't get to see a lot of movies other than those Disney cartoons. If they watched the Academy Awards Monday night, they found out what they didn't see last year...

I READ with surprise and interest and apprehension the proposed street improvements should the transportation tax be approved. Independence was widened from a two-lane to three to allow for safer passing of vehicles, and sidewalks were installed in the early 1960s. ...

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- John Clark Sproat, 72, of Hot Springs died Sunday, March 26, 1995, at St. Joseph's Hospital. He was born Oct. 26, 1922, to Howard E. and Iva Irene Smith Sproat in Cape Girardeau. He married Alyce Kotlan Sproat, who survives. Other survivors include two sons, Jay Clark Sproat and Jesse James Sproat of Cape Girardeau; two daughters, Jacquie Sproat Lloyd of Cape Girardeau and Sharon Rose Bell of Malvern, Ark.; a brother, Howard E. ...

Cape Girardeau city councils in the past have found it difficult to address conflict-of-interest allegations regarding their own members. That is at the heart of a recommendation to amend the city charter to establish a seven-member ethics commission, former councilman David Barklage told the City Council Monday night...

BELL CITY -- William "Odus" Strobel, 79, of Bell City, died Monday, March 27, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 22, 1915, at Swinton, son of William Elmer and Bertha Mann Strobel. He and Clem Simpher were married Aug. 19, 1936, in Cape Girardeau County. She died Oct. 30, 1994...

ADVANCE -- Grace Woodcock, 76, of Advance, died Sunday, March 26, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 17, 1919, in Bollinger County, daughter of Willis and Laura Stevens Cook. She and George Woodcock were married Oct. 23, 1945, in St. Louis. He died Feb. 16, 1990...

STE. GENEVIEVE -- Elizabeth R. "Betty" Wehner, 67, of Ste. Genevieve, died Sunday, March 26, 1995, at Ste. Genevieve County Hospital. She was born Nov. 17, 1927, at Zell, daughter of Meinrad and Catherine Roth Kettinger. She and William J. Wehner were married Oct. 2, 1948, at Zell. He died April 5, 1958...

Eva V. Cotner, 84, of Shreveport, La., died Monday, March 27, 1995, in Shreveport. She was born May 30, 1910, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Fred Joseph and Clara Beaudean Meinz. She and Homer Cotner were married July 3, 1937, in Cape Girardeau. He died Feb. 18, 1981...

George W. Smith Sr., 76, 1105 Linden, died Sunday, March 26, 1995, at his home. He was born June 4, 1918, in Tucker, Ark., son of Charlie and Carrie Lindsey Smith. He married Ophelia Moses, who died in 1981. Smith was a farmer, and member of the Masonic Lodge in Portageville...

Alma Louise Edwards, 78, 1122 S. Ranney, died Saturday, March 25, 1995, at Heartland Care Center. She was born April 28, 1916, in Greenbrier, daughter of Scott and Janie Cato Davis. She first married James Louis Penny, who preceded her in death. She later married Henry Edwards in Cape Girardeau, who also preceded her in death...

PERRYVILLE -- Lillian B. Bierk, 88, of Perryville, died Monday, March 27, 1995, at Perry Oaks Healthcare Center. She was born July 4, 1906, in St. Louis, daughter of Henry and Mary Sauer Meer. She and Thomas L. "Roy" Bierk were married in 1935. He died Sept. 4, 1958...

James S. Smithwick, 77, 2801 Bloomfield, died Monday, March 27, 1995, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

COBDEN, Ill. -- Floyd William Sanders, 85, of Cobden, died Monday, March 27, 1995, at Union County Hospital in Anna. He was born Sept. 25, 1909, in Cobden, son of Albert and Clara Graham Sanders. He and Lucille Wolfe were married March 14, 1942, in Jackson, Mo...

PERRYVILLE -- Angela J. Michaud, 61, of Perryville, died Monday, March 27, 1995, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born Jan. 17, 1934, in St. Louis, daughter of Louis and Corrine Scott. Michaud worked at Southwestern Bell. Survivors include three daughters, Karen Michaud, Christy Brown and Denise Manche of Perryville; a son, Oliver Michaud of Perryville; four sisters, Corrine Siebert and Sally Schaefer of St. ...

OLD MCGEE -- Funeral service for Sandy Christine Pedigo of Old McGee will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Morgan Funeral Chapel in Advance. Robert Wright will officiate, with burial in New Hope-McGee Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 6-9 p.m. today...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Votra M. Holyfield of Sikeston will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Bob Burnes will officiate, with burial in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Holyfield, 91, died Sunday, March 26, 1995, at Missouri Delta Medical Center...

To the editor: Using the axiom "Follow the money trail," here is an excerpt from the spring 1995 Common Cause magazine: "More than a year ago, when then-editor Peter Overby began researching an article on the amount of federal money that flows to the nation's suburbs, he had no idea where that particular money trail would lead. As it turns out, it lead to Cobb County, Ga., home base of Newt Gingrich...

To the editor: I must believe, based on my own experience and public expressions, that Cape Girardeau and its environs are most desirable for homes and personal productivity. The Mississippi River and the interstate provide social and economic channels important to the well-being of this healthy local society...

One person can make a difference in the world. Robert Dempster, a Sikeston lawyer and civic leader, was such a man. He died last Friday, but he will leave a lasting legacy at Southeast Missouri State University and the entire region. Dempster played an integral role in starting the university's foundation in 1983. He served as its first president. Over the past 15 years, he contributed nearly $2 million to Southeast...

Last week, the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents approved a scaled-back tuition increase for the 1995-96 academic year. Regents Don Dickerson and Pat Washington rightly expressed concern that perpetual tuition increases are pricing some students out of a college education...

Activity remains fast-paced in Washington as Republicans continue to push ahead in passing major elements of their Contract With America.Last week the House of Representatives approved sweeping welfare legislation that would create block grants for state welfare programs, impose a five-year limit on cash benefits, ban cash aid to unmarried parents under age 18 and repeal the automatic guarantee to benefits for low-income mothers and their children. ...

To the editor: I'm writing to commend you and your staff for the coverage given to the Impact America crusade at the Show Me Center. Your positive, upbeat reporting on the sessions has been a joy to see and read. The tone of the newspaper can set the mood of an entire city. Your stories and editorials have helped to inspire the entire area...

Cape Girardeau speller Christina Van Nostrand missed ciborium by one letter in a killer-round 2 1/2 hours into the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Regional Spelling Bee Saturday. The spelling bee was held at the Art Museum in Forest Park. Van Nostrand, a seventh-grader at L.J. Schultz School, represented the Southeast Missouri District. Sixty-five district champions from a 78-county area participated...

Carol Sue Reimann has been elected Missouri president of Alpha Delta Kappa International Honor Sorority for women educators. Reimann is a first-grade teacher at Charles C. Clippard Elementary School. Alpha Delta Kappa promotes recognition of outstanding educators, establishment of high standards of education, and educational and charitable projects and activities...

The Panhellenic Council and Interfraternity Council of Southeast Missouri State University won two awards at a conference Feb. 23-26 in Chicago. The councils won the Outstanding Greek Relations in Programming Award and a certificate of commendation for their Hazing Education Audit...

Nell Holcomb School District will hold kindergarten and preschool screenings in April. The screening for 3- and 4-year-olds and incoming kindergarten children will be April 25 at Hobbs Chapel on Highway 177. Appointments are required Call 334-3644 after Saturday to make an appointment, and tell the school in which screening your child is eligible to participate...

The Washington School DARE Choir will continues its all-city tour of elementary schools Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at Jefferson School. The choir also will perform at Alma Schrader School April 21 at 1:30 p.m. and at May Greene School May 5 at 1:30 p.m. The choir, a non-auditioned group of students from grades four through six, was organized last fall in an effort to promote drug awareness and encourage self-esteem among students throughout the Cape Girardeau school system...

Kindergarten registration for Scott City School District will be April 4. Registration will be in the hallway by the elementary multipurpose room. Times for registration will be 8 to 11 a.m., 12:45 to 3 p.m., and 6 to 8 p.m. To enroll in kindergarten a child must be 5 before July 1. The necessary information to bring for registration is the child's birth certificate, immunization records, and Social Security card...

Enrollment in Delta School District kindergarten for the 1995-96 school year will be conducted April 11-12. Registration will be alphabetical: Tuesday, A-F, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., and G-L, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.; and Wednesday, M-R, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., and S-Z, from 12:30 to 2 p.m., at Delta Elementary School...

Oak Ridge School District will hold kindergarten enrollment and preschool screenings April 26 from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Screenings are offered free to families in the district with children 1 to 5. They and enrollment will be held at First Baptist Church on Highway E in Oak Ridge...

Several members of the Nebraska Wesleyan University forensics team placed at the Mid-American Forensics League tournament March 4 in Hastings, Neb. Among the members was Jason Green of Cape Girardeau, who placed second in prose and fourth in dramatic interpretation...

FRUITLAND -- Linda Blankenship explained to a first-grader that sometimes she was tired when she got home from school. The youngster seemed puzzled. "But, Mrs. Blankenship," the little girl said, "you don't work!" While teaching first-grade at Jackson North Elementary School in Fruitland is indeed work, Blankenship said it is the job she has wanted to do since she was 6...

Oliver Sanders compared the properties of plastics with his Science Fair project. Jessie Fluegge hates to admit it, but her mom was right: Listening to music does affect concentration. Her Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair experiment proves it...