Stories from Friday, November 29, 1996

ADVANCE -- An ambulance outside a residence on a holiday is usually not good news. But for the 14 years, the Stoddard County Emergency Medical Service ambulances have been delivering good cheer on Thanksgiving by providing rides for nursing home residents to their families' homes...

THIS IS in response to the person who called in about Trent Lott and Newt Gingrich having to work with President Bill Clinton but he doesn't have to work with them. Bill Clinton is not our king, and he is not our emperor or dictator. He's the president. It is the duty of our government to work together in the best interest of the people of our country. That includes the president...

Complicated math can be taught through dance. -- Margaret Brommelsiek, executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education, lauding Missouri's new education standards, which elevate arts education from an elective to a core subject on a par with math and science...

So many Cabinet officers are leaving the Clinton administration that Republicans don't know whether to charge presidential disillusionment or flight to avoid prosecution. The only reason Hollywood continues to make films more and more violent is because moviegoers keep mistaking the last ones for real-life crime documentaries...

Once the Thanksgiving Day dinner has settled, the holiday routine settles in: Making lists, shopping, going to parties, decorating, baking, wrapping. It also is the traditional time of year for doing something special for the needy. There are a number of programs that connect generous donors with those who need help, including Christmas for the Elderly, Toy Box and the Salvation Army's Tree of Lights...

The frustration level over a string of as many as 15 burglaries involving elderly victims is continuing to rise. Despite the ongoing investigation by the police -- there are two detectives working on these cases full-time -- and a reward offer for information leading to a conviction, the cases remain unsolved...

To the editor: Betty Sue Netherly Palsgrove died. She has left many who called her friend as well as her grieving family. But how proud we can all be of this talented lady. She was a tenacious pianist, organist and teacher of piano. Those who heard her in the duo piano concerts with John Shelton will not soon forget her abilities...

To the editor: The Christmas season is upon us, and, like most, our family is making lists and checking them twice. And, like a lot of families, we will have members who are not going to be with us physically, but spiritually. But our situation is a little different. ...

'Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone in a one-bedroom house made of plaster and stone. I had come down the chimney with presents to give and to see just who in this house did live. I looked all about, a strange sight I did see. No tinsel. No presents. Not even a tree. No stockings by the mantle, just boots filled with sand. On the wall hung pictures of far distant lands...

If you can't decide what to purchase when doing your Toy Box shopping this year, go educational. Many parents are requesting educational toys and books of all kinds for their children this year. Crayons, coloring books, and cloth or sing-along books are popular requests for children under the age of 7...

Mrs. E survives on half of what most minimum wage earners make in a month. Like many others, all she is doing is surviving. She lives alone in subsidized housing, and she has no children to help take care of her needs. Her one-room apartment is sparsely furnished, and she keeps her clean clothes in garbage bags...

The Salvation Army dining hall was packed with the hungry and the helpful Thursday. Most of the former were older people who didn't want to spend Thanksgiving alone, while other folks came with their families. Many didn't have the means or the energy to cook a holiday feast...

Some songs are closely identified with special occasions, and that's certainly true for "Shall We Gather at the River." The choir sang "Shall We Gather at the River" during the funeral Sunday for my stepfather, who was buried two months shy of his 100th birthday anniversary...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Lillie Ann Miller, 48, of Cobden died Thursday, Nov. 28, 1996, at her home following an extended illness. She was born Jan. 8, 1948, in Novelty, Mo., the daughter of Gile and Virginia Bowen Hatfield. She married George A. Miller on Oct. 22, 1974, in Murphysboro, Ill...

Lois E. Fritzler, 47, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday Nov. 28, 1996, at St. Louis University Hospital. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford & Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home.

ANNA, Ill. -- Helen Toler, 73, of Anna died Thursday, Nov. 28, 1996, at City Care Center. She was born Dec. 28, 1922, near Mount Pleasant, the daughter of Benjamin and Beulah Clark Toler. She was a veteran of World War II, serving in the WAC Military Transport...

Emily Bertha Green, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Nov. 28, 1996, at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Services. She was born March 2, 1917, in Lodi, Ohio, the daughter of Tekoa Shirk and Emily Bertha Shaw Winey. She married Charles Lloyd Green on April 21, 1935, and he preceded her in death on June 12, 1971...

PATTON -- Winford F. Masters, 76, of Patton died Wednesday, Nov. 27, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 12, 1920, in Fornfelt, the son of Charles A. and Nancy Yount Masters. On Sept. 21, 1950, he married Sarah Jane Bahnerd...

CHARLESTON -- Alice Sammie Ryal, 92, of Charleston, died Wednesday, Nov. 27, 1996, in the Bertrand Retirement Home. She was born Jan. 10, 1904, in Millard, Ill., the daughter of Eustace and Georgia Wyatt Ryal. She was co-owner of the Charleston Flower Shop for 25 years and was a member of the First Baptist Church in Charleston...

JACKSON -- Robert Cooper Brock Jr., 76, of Jackson died Wednesday, Nov. 27, 1996, at his home. He was born Jan. 27, 1920, in Benton, the son of Robert Cooper and Amelia Steimle Brock. He was married to Alma J. Brown on Nov. 3, 1945, in Nashville, Tenn., and she preceded him in death on May 14, 1992...