Stories from Thursday, January 28, 1999

To the editor: To say the least, events surrounding the impeachment of Bill Clinton have confounded just about everyone. What is constitutional or not has become moot. Where things are going, or will wind up, is anybody's guess. Perhaps the resolution proposed by U.S. ...

JACKSON -- Plans to reclaim the former beauty of the Jackson High School auditorium could be put into action as early as this summer. In August 1997 a committee was organized to develop a plan for refurbishing the auditorium, which originally was part of an elementary school built as a Work Projects Administration project in 1938. The group prioritized a list of projects that would modernize the 563-seat theater while maintaining its original architectural features...

When he was 16, Darryl Purpose found the book "Beat the Dealer" -- a primer on winning at blackjack -- in his stocking on Christmas Day, a gift from his mother. "I've since forgiven her," the singer-songwriter says from a stop on the road in Florida...

I WANT to comment about the 1,001 promises that Bill Clinton made in the State of the Union address. The day after, he said he couldn't give people tax breaks because the average person wouldn't know how to spend it, like the government knows more about how to spend our money than the average person. ...

Missouri State Highway Patrol officials in Jefferson City say they aren't surprised that the number of traffic fatalities on interstate highways have increased since speed limits were raised in 1996. The connection, however, between speed limits and fatalities may not be airtight...

It probably came as no surprise to legislators in Jefferson City that most of the General Assembly's committees are headed by representatives or senators from urban areas. For the first time, a head count was made last week by the Southeast Missourian's statehouse correspondent, Jack Stapleton, who found the ratio is 2 to 1...

To the editor: Those of you who knew my mother, Francine Seier, know what a giving person she was, always committed to family, always devoted to friends. She had a heart of gold and always put others first, even when faced with the biggest challenge of her life: cancer. ...

To the editor: Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan has taken it upon himself to begin state regulation of private woodlands by issuing an executive order requiring that wood bound for chip mills be identified concerning where the wood was harvested. Carnahan has no legal authority to do this. He's following President Clinton's example of issuing executive orders to create unconstitutional policy that Congress did not approve...

To the editor: My enthusiasm mounted as I read of the desire, effort and possibility of getting Cape Girardeau recognized as an official Main Street Town. I eagerly await further information on plans to make this possible, which are proposed to get under way in January...

To the editor: Please add one very conservative white guy to the list of those who strongly support protection of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Dr. King is not responsible for the foolish rhetoric of Louis Farrakhan. He never employed the rude irrationality of Maxine Waters, and he did not rely on government social programs to advance his cause. Dr. King was not responsible for the opportunistic welfare-state disaster which followed him...

Another week of single-digit temperatures before planting time could benefit Southeast Missouri agriculture, says Tim Schnakenberg, an agronomy specialist with University of Missouri Outreach and Extension at Charleston. "Last year's crops were victims of insects," said Schnakenberg. "The insect problem was really bad in cotton, soybeans and corn."...

ST. LOUIS -- The simple words of Pope John Paul II echoed through the Trans World Dome Wednesday during the largest indoor Mass ever celebrated. More than 100,000 people attended the standing-room-only Mass. The pope's words reiterated the message of preserving human dignity and life, strengthening the family and the "priceless value of Catholic education."...

Workers' compensation premiums dropped 9.8 percent in 1998, continuing a trend sparked by the end of state regulation in 1994. According to Missouri Department of Insurance, employers in the state paid $470 million in workers' compensation premiums last year, a decrease of $51 million from 1997...

A woman clasped her hands in prayer on a program while Pope John Paul II spoke in the Trans World Dome in St. Louis Wednesday. Editor's note: Laura Johnston, Southeast Missourian religion reporter, covered Pope John Paul II's St. Louis visit. She filed this report on her impressions of Wednesday's concluding events...

Jan. 28, 1999 Dear Leslie, James Harman, one of Southern California's rhythm and blues gods, got it right. "The only difference between a rut and a groove is whether or not you're digging it." This was a man who loved an Orange County restaurant's barbecue so much he named one of his albums "Extra Napkins."...

Two Southeast Missouri State University basketball players who didn't grow up all that far apart are the nation's leading NCAA Division I free-throw shooters. Cory Johnson, a senior guard, is shooting 93.9 percent from the charity stripe to rank first among all Division I men's players...

It's not often that a freshman is considered a college basketball team's most consistent performer. But as far as Southeast Missouri State University's women are concerned, that just might be the case. To be sure, Pam Iversen has more than lived up to expectations in her first season with the Otahkians...

BENTON -- What a difference a relatively healthy Jim Hulshof makes for the Kelly High boys basketball team. Hulshof, one of the area's top returning players from last season, had missed about a month of the campaign with a stress fracture in his foot...

Ryan Verseman School: Perryville High School Sport: Basketball Coach: Dean Lewis Week report: Verseman, a 6-foot-1 senior center, totaled 63 points and 35 rebounds in three games last week. He scored a career-high 30 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in a 75-48 loss to Herculaneum. He had 14 points and 14 rebounds in a 62-48 win over Grandview and scored 19 points, including a layin at the buzzer to force overtime, in an eventual 63-62 loss to Chester...

Andrea Koeper School: Jackson High School Sport: Basketball Coach: Ron Cook Week report: Koeper, a 5-foot-9 sophomore, scored a career-high 21 points in a 68-31 victory over Kelly and had 10 points in a 68-41 win over Nerinx Hall. Season report: Koeper is a versatile player for the Lady Indians, who graduated several key players off last year's Class 4A state runner-up team. ...

MORLEY -- New Madrid County Central High's girls basketball team opened the game with a 22-point quarter and then finished with one in a 73-52 win over Scott County Central Wednesday night. Ashley Whitson scored 17 points for the Bravettes (8-6) and Brandy Miller followed with 14, but it wasn't enough as four New Madrid players scored in double figures...

BENTON -- Tonight's high school girls varsity basketball game between Cape Girardeau Central and host Kelly will begin at 6:30 p.m. There will be no junior varsity game.

A one-car accident in Wayne County Tuesday left the driver of the vehicle dead. Mary Payne, 27, of Mill Springs was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. The accident occurred at 3:55 p.m. on state Highway 34, two miles south of Route V. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, Payne's northbound vehicle left the roadway and struck a ditch, causing the vehicle to become airborne. The vehicle overturned and came to rest on its top...

Daughter to Barry Joseph and Susan Annette Glastetter of Oak Ridge, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 4:38 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, 1999. Name, Monica Marie. Weight, 8 pounds 13 ounces. Sixth child, fifth daughter. Mrs. Glastetter is the former Susan Pence, daughter of Rita and Bob Noal of Lebanon Junction, Ky. Mr. and Mrs. Glastetter are owners of ServiceMaster Lawncare of Cape. He is the son of Eugene and Rella Glastetter of Chaffee...

JACKSON -- Mary Nema Holloway, 70, of Jackson died Tuesday, Jan. 26, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born in Leachville, Ark. She married H.E. Holloway, who died in 1986. Formerly of Jonesboro, Ark., she lived in Jackson 35 years. She had worked at Hardee's Restaurant...

BURFORDVILLE -- Larry Dean Sides, 63, of Carrollton died Saturday, Jan. 23, 1999, at his home. He was born March 7, 1935, in Burfordville, son of Garnet "Bud" and Geraldine "Dean" Combs Sides. He and Virginia Hahn were married Sept. 17, 1955, Sides was a graduate of Jackson High School...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Helen M. Ditto, 68, of East Prairie died Tuesday, Jan. 26, 1999, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Feb. 8, 1930, in East Prairie, daughter of Matt and Amanda Cave Cummins. She and Charles Lee Ditto were married Oct. 6, 1949. He died July 11, 1997...

CHARLESTON -- Ronald Edward Walker, 52, of Charleston died suddenly Saturday, Jan. 23, 1999, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born May 11, 1946, in Charleston, son of Mose and Alice Robinson Walker Sr. Walker attended Charleston High School. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War...

GRAND CHAIN, Ill. -- Dave Shumaker, 101, of Grand Chain died Tuesday, Jan. 26, 1999, at Magnolia Manor Nursing Home in Metropolis. He was born Aug. 5, 1897, at Grand Chain to John and Mary Guy Shumaker. He was a retired farm laborer. He was a member of Ohio Chapel United Methodist Church near Grand Chain...