Stories from Sunday, April 2, 2000

The March meeting of the American Legion Post #158 was called to order by Commander Seabaugh, at 8 p.m. The Color Guard advanced the colors, Chaplain Boyd Summers gave the opening prayer. The pledge of allegiance to he flag, and the preamble of the American Legion Constitution were recited in unison by the 48 members present...

Coach Jessica Beeson doesn't plan on taking prisoners next year with her speech and debate team. "This was my first year and Mrs. (Joyce) Theiss' first year," she said. "Last year they graduated a whole lot of seniors, so they were a real young team this year. It was great to see them grow and come together as a team and win...

Some of my colleagues in the House and Senate Republican leadership held a press conference Thursday morning to call for Gov. Mel Carnahan to ban the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE. This follows letters sent earlier to the same effect by U.S. ...

Jackson Chamber of Commerce members heard Nancy Jernigan speak on the missions and accomplishments of the local Untied Way Chapter and selected two Jackson Industrial Development Committee (JIDC) board members at the regular quarterly meeting Wednesday...

Let met state right up front: There are presently many more questions hovering over the Missouri Capitol than there are answers, an even larger number than usual. Some questions are new. Some have been around like absent-minded albatrosses for years. And some were inherited from long-ago generations. Questions are funny that way, staying around for long periods just waiting for someone to provide the right answer before they will agree to drop out of sight...

Four educators with 92 years combined experience were honored by the Jackson Chamber of Commerce as the 1999 Educators of the Year Thursday. The honorees were Denis McDowell (K-5), Dee Walker (6-9), Ed Sebaught (10-12) and Norman "Buzz" Thompson (administrator)...

To the editor: At this time of year, many of our young people are preparing for two very important occasions: prom and graduation. In order to make this year's festivities safe, responsible and enjoyable, we encourage everyone in our community to join together to stop underage drinking...

What is Love? Is it for others? and our sisters and brothers? Love is listening to a babbling brook. Or dropping down a fishing hook. Running in the fields so green. Feeling peaceful, and serene. Setting under a nice, green tree. Feeling a nice cool 'breeze...

Spring, Spring, you are a funny thing. One day you are warm and pretty, the next day you are cool and chilly. The flowers drop their heads and beg for your pity, then the wind gives a big gush and blows them, until they look silly. I check the thermometer...

Some would say now what is love? Is it like the stars above? In our day when love goes wrong, will our love keep hanging on? Is it like a raging storm, or like a breeze soft and warm. In case you ask is our love true, "L" is for a long, long time for a special love like yours and mine...

A man, a horse, a lonely trail, treacherous hills and plains, a satchel filled with home-grown herbs for curing aches and pains. Alone he rode into the night to help those in despair; O'er muddy creeks and snowy steeps he went because he cared. He had no fancy office nor shingle to behold,...

Even before the starts her college or prefessionalc areer, Jamie Dost would ahve no trouble filling a resume. The Jackson High Schcool senior has been involved in seemingly every extracurricular activity at JHS. This dedication to her school helped earn her the Missouri Award for Outstanding Achievement in Citzenship recently. ...

The first sale of fall-calving heifers in the Show Me Select Heifer Development Program will be held Saturday, May 6, at the Fruitland Livestock Auction. The sale will feature 175 heifers bred to calve between Sept. 1 and Nov. 1, said Roger Eakins, University of Missouri regional livestock specialist...

To the editor: I would like to clarify a quote attributed to me in an article in Thursday's paper covering the panel discussion dealing with gender and God. In the final paragraph, the article quoted me as saying, "The experience of God is not objective but subjective." In the discussion, I said that an experience of God was not totally subjective but included both objective and subjective dimensions. ...

To the editor: A recent announcement said Riverfest will take a hiatus this year, certain members of the committee will step down and a reformed committee will seek public input concerning future expectations. From numerous residents I have heard discuss this topic, I am not alone in welcoming a possible change...

With a scant six weeks to go in this year's legislative session, Missouri lawmakers are deliberating over how to divvy up the state's share of proceeds from the settlement of the tobacco litigation that will be flowing in over 25 years. Lawmakers are considering a spending plan contained in a proposed constitutional amendment to be put before voters in either August or November. ...

The infamous Bhuddist temple fund raiser. "Missing" e-mails, found years after the fact, even though they had long been under subpoena. "No controlling legal authority." Chinese arms dealers and agents of that country's intelligence apparatus delivering cash by the bucketload to the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign, then invited into the Oval Office at photo-op time. ...

25 years ago, 1975 Jackson R-2 kindergarten pupils will participate in research project on television violence and how it affects youngsters; Board of Education Tuesday authorized two Southeast Missouri State University instructors -- Wayne Hoober and Robert Johnson -- to conduct project as part of continuing research effort on problem...

On Saturday March 25, the telephone rang at 7 a.m. It was Mary Daume. "Some of us are going to meet at 9 a.m. to work at the Arnsberg Cemetery. Do you think you can come, too?" "Mary, Vernon has his head immersed in income tax and I can't come either."...

Brides looking for the makings of a memorable wedding have one of the region's premier bridal accessory shops to call upon locally. Precious Memories, at 128 S. High Street in Jackson since 1989, is probably the largest such shop between St. Louis and Memphis, carrying everything for the wedding party, including bridal gowns, headpieces, custom-made veils, brides maid dresses, mothers' ensembles, flower girl and junior bridesmaids outfits, large selections of dyeable shoes and jewelry. ...

Dear Editor: My Irish eyes are smiling because Jackson has done it again! Thousands of area residents -- when they patronized their favorite convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and other retail businesses -- brought the luck of the Irish to families affected by muscle-wasting diseases. By purchasing and signing the Shamrocks Against Dystrophy mobiles, they turned these high-traffic venues green with good fortune for St. Patrick's Day...

Jackson High School senior Mike Williams was recently honored by the Missouri Scholars 100 program, designed to recognize the top 100 academic students in Missouri's Class of 2000. "This is a significant statewide honor for you and for Jackson High School," said Jim L. King, executive director of the Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals, in his letter informing Williams of the honor.. The MASSP sponsors the annual program...

Southern Living Magazine will bring their unique brand of cooking and decorating tips to the Show Me Center Thursday, April 27. This show will be all the more special in that it will mark the 25th anniversary of Southern Living's cooking schools. "I'd like to think that everyone who attends will learn at least 25 new things," said Catherine Hall, cooking school coordinator for Southern Living...

It was the moment Lettie Winston had trained for all year. Through the first and second calls for the 100 meter dash, she sat in her chair calmly. After the final call, however, she stood up and began asking other athletes who would be racing in the heat for women 29 and older...

If history is any indication, Cape Girardeau and Jackson Boards of Education have a good chance of winning voter approval for funding measures that will be decided during elections Tuesday. Both districts have passed at least half of the funding proposals that have gone before voters since 1980. Voters appeared most receptive to measures that required no overall tax increase. The approved measures generally required only a simple majority of total votes...

Tim Thompson, Perryville High School drama teacher "Why did you kill me?" the deceased Catherine Moore asked Josh Erzfeld in the play, "Bang, Bang, You're Dead!" PERRYVILLE -- "Paducah, Jonesboro, Springfield," the cast of the play "Bang Bang You're Dead" repeat over and over, a mantra of infamous scenes of school violence...

There's nothing like a little poetry to make life enjoyable. Just ask Becca, who has suddenly discovered that rhyming poems can be almost as much fun as playing video games. Our 8-year-old came home from school the other day and began reciting her favorite poem in a library book of children's verses...

Perryville High school drama teacher Tim Thompson first saw "Bang Bang You're Dead" at a thespian festival he took his students to last summer in Lincoln, Neb. Last November Dr. Pat Henley, who runs the Center for Safe Schools in Kansas City, suggested Thompson take the play on the road...

DEXTER -- A chain-letter plea for a dying boy who wants to receive a record number of business cards is a hoax, said a representative of the Make-A-Wish Foundation regional office in Springfield. "I think (a letter such as this one) has been going around about eight years now," Alexis Slyter said. In fact, the existence of fraudulent chain letters has prompted the Foundation to include a section on the letters on its Internet site:...

The Southeast Missourian has taken more than 15 months of the wildly-popular Recipe Swap column and published it in a spiral-bound cookbook. The book, which features nearly 630 recipes of area cooks, will make its debut at the Southern Living Cooking School April 27...

During the second annual Youth Days of Caring April 3-15, participating public and private schools in Cape Girardeau County and Scott City will be collecting items to fill emergency preparedness buckets designed by Project Impact. Every year the Area Wide United Way conducts two Days of Caring events; the one in the spring focuses on youth, the other in the fall focuses on the entire community. ...

Robert V. Strickland is in familiar surroundings at the Chateau Cape Girardeau retirement center in Cape Girardeau. Strickland, who has been a licensed health care administrator since 1987, has been named as administrator of the 30-year-old facility...

SIKESTON -- Like the final piece of the puzzle, Dr. Abilash Desai coming aboard as medical director of the Senior Lifestyles behavioral health unit at Missouri Delta Medical Center completed a team. Assembled for and devoted to caring for individuals ages 55 and above with emotional or psychological problems, the Senior Lifestyles Unit opened in September 1997 and operated for the first year with a full-time psychiatrist...

KENNETT -- One of three men who escaped from the Dunklin County Jail in Kennett Friday remained at large late Saturday night. Gregory Falls, a 17-year-old male from the Kennett area, had not been apprehended by 10 p.m. Saturday. According to the Dunklin County sheriff's office, Falls had escaped along with Travis Bullock, a 21-year-old male from the Campbell area, and Travis Morgan, a 19-year-old male from the Kennett area...

The Planets have dominated the night and morning skies since before the beginning of the year. This month they put on a dazzling display before heading for a grand alignment in early May. During the first week of April the three planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will dance a dance low in the western sky with the Moon at sunset. ...

Following a national trend, Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield, the largest provider of health care benefits in Missouri, has begun providing an alternative health program to members. On Saturday, the medical health insurance provider started a program in which its members -- 2.4 million in Missouri, including 80,000 in Southeast Missouri -- can receive discounts on the fees charged by participating providers of chiropractic, acupuncture and massage therapy services, as well as discounts on health club memberships and vitamins, mineral and herbal supplements.. ...

After losing to Sikeston on Thursday, Notre Dame's baseball team got back on track Saturday by claiming first place in its own four-team tournament. Notre Dame defeated Sikeston 6-3 in the first game then knocked off Jackson for the second time this season, 9-3, in the championship game...

After all the excitement Southeast Missouri State University's basketball team generated this season, now plenty of Indian fans are turning their attention to the baseball diamond and with good reason. While the bulk of the season still lies ahead, the SEMO baseball squad has given every indication that this could be a special year...

Roughly halfway through spring practice, Southeast Missouri State University football coach Tim Billings likes what he has seen so far from his first Indians squad. While acknowledging that it will take some time much longer than the 15 official practice sessions allowed by the NCAA during the spring for the Indians to learn everything the new coaching staff is throwing at them, Billings is nonetheless satisfied...

Jenny Doehring provided a game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh in the first game, then hurled a three-hit shutout in the second as Southeast Missouri State's softball team swept an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader over visiting Tennessee Tech Saturday...

Both Jackson and Notre Dame high schools figure to announce their new basketball coaches by Friday. Both schools started interviewing this past week. "We've probably lined up eight to 10 candidates who we're going to interview," said Jackson athletic director Kevin Bohnert on Thursday. "Some have been local and some have been from out of state."...

Southeast Missouri State's track teams both came away with 1-1 records in a triple-dual meet held at the Abe Stuber Track & Field Complex Saturday. Southeast's women defeated Murray State 82-41, but lost to Western Illinois 72-66. Western Illinois' women went 2-0, defeating Murray State 102-32...

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. -- -- The "Speedwagon" has taken his wheels to the track. Jackson sophomore Mario Whitney, nicknamed the Speedwagon during football season, lived up to his name Saturday by breaking school and meet records in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes in the 13-team Murphysboro Invitational...

Landowners and society are reaping benefits with conservation programs that help establish conservation buffers that will improve water quality and fish and wildlife habitat. One of these programs is the Conservation Reserve program through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)...

Harold James Drysdale, 73, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 31, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born May 8, 1926, at St. Louis, son of James and Metta Yount Drysdale. He and Cledith Stilwell were married Jan. 4, 1974, in Farmington. Drysdale served in the Navy during World War II...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Daisy Kelly, 75, of Almstead, formerly of Olive Branch, died Saturday, April 1, 2000, at Day Star Care Center in Cairo. Arrangements are under the direction of Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill.

PERRYVILLE -- Roy L. Abernathy, 48, of Perryville died Friday, March 31, 2000, at his home. He was born Aug. 25, 1951, in Perry County, son of Thomas Abernathy and LaVern Collins Emmendorfer. He and Mary Ann Kiefer were married Sept. 11, 1970, at Perryville...

Kathryn Montgomery, 84, of Chaffee died Saturday April 1, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Arrangements are pending at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee.

COBDEN, Ill. -- Jesse Aldridge, 99, of Cobden died Saturday, April 1, 2000, at City Care Center in Anna, Ill.. He was born March 31, 1901, in Union County, son of James and Elizabeth Kerr Aldridge. He and Edna Sheppard were married Aug. 23, 1922, at Jonesboro...

You read it here first -- the St. Louis Cardinals will play in the World Series in 2000. True, basking in 70 and 80 degree weather under balmy skies while watching the Cards win four of six games recently may have made me a tad biased. Biased or not, though, there are several valid reasons for optimism...

I have been the Prosecuting Attorney for Cape Girardeau County since 1987, but my roots as a St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan go back much further. As an 8th Grader I got hooked on "Our National Pastime" when Bob Gibson and Lou Brock led the Redbirds to the World Series against Denny McLain and the Detroit Tigers...

I don't remember who showed my sister, Lou, and me how to make a fire on a sunshiny day with the glass lens removed from a flashlight. I'm sure it wasn't any of the adults in the family for we had frequent conferences about being careful with fire. The house, barn, chicken house and other assorted buildings were all wooden, old and dry and out of the reach of any fire department. But, someone did show us. Probably some school classmates...

Jackson High School Student Council members attended the Missouri State Student Council Conference at Branson High School recently and brought home many new ideas. "The point was to learn from other Student Councils, what works in their schools," said junior Maggie Martin, "like showing appreciation for teachers, having spirit week, etc."...

BELL CITY -- Danille Gayl Anthony and Jarrod Marc McIntosh were married Oct. 23, 1999, at First Methodist Church in Bell City. The Rev. Linda Zych performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Theresa Steiner. Vocalists were Patty McPheeters and Mr. and Mrs. Chris Huddleston...

PERRYVILLE -- Melinda Jane Baer and Matthew Thomas Pruitt were married Sept. 18, 1999, at St. Maurus Catholic Church. The Rev. J. Friedel performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Debbie Myers of Oak Ridge, and soloist was Leslie Church of Cape Girardeau...

CHAFFEE -- Sheila Diane Foster and Charles E. "Chuck" Bain Jr. were married March 25, 2000, at Cape Rock Park in Cape Girardeau. Tommy Miller of Scott City performed the double ring ceremony. Parents of the couple are Paul and Charlene Griffin of Chaffee, and Charles and Bernice Bain Sr. of Bell City...

Mr. and Mrs. Joe L. Lowes of Cape Girardeau renewed their wedding vows Feb. 26, 2000, at Hanover Lutheran Church. A dinner and dance followed at Enchanted Gardens in Jackson. Hosts were their children and spouses: Cliff and Sandy Harris of Edmond, Okla., and Gail and Bob Best of Cape Girardeau...

JACKSON -- Mr. and Mrs. Ken Barnicle of Jackson recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at First Presbyterian Church. Friends and relatives attended from Jackson, Fruitland, St. Louis, St. James, Arnold and Chesterfield. Barnicle and Marian Hulsey were married March 23, 1940, at Keysville Church in Crawford County...

Mr. and Mrs. Wilton L. Ervin of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Jessica Lynn Ervin, to Jonathan Mark Allred. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Allred of East Prairie. Ervin is a 1994 graduate of Central High School. She is an assistant manager at Goody's Family Clothing...

JACKSON -- Rex and Belinda Jones of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Kasie Ann Jones, to Jason Eric Fouts. He is the son of Leroy and Susan Fouts of Puxico. Jones is a graduate of Jackson High School, and is attending Southeast Missouri State University. She is employed by city of Cape Girardeau...

CHAFFEE -- Mr. and Mrs. Ron R. Dirnberger of Chaffee announce the engagement of their daughter, Kelly Renae Dirnberger, to Ritchie Lee Spies. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Spies of Cape Girardeau, and the late Rosella Spies. Dirnberger is a graduate of Chaffee High School, and a 1998 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University. She is an accountant with Beussink, Hey and Roe, P.C., in Cape Girardeau...

OAK RIDGE -- Steve and Debbie Horn of Festus announce the engagement of their daughter, Angela Horn, to Michael Riehn. He is the son of Stan and Ginger Riehn of Oak Ridge. Horn is a 1996 graduate of Crystal City High School. She expects to graduate in May from Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in interior design...

BENTON -- Jim and Linda Wade of Benton announce the engagement of their daughter, Wendy Susan Wade, to Christopher Thomas Holt. He is the son of Terry and Debi Kitrel of Malden. Wade is a 1997 graduate of Thomas W. Kelly High School. She is employed at Jarvis Motor Co. in Sikeston...

JACKSON -- Marilyn Landewee and Alvin Landewee of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Renee Suzann Landewee, to Eric Lee Hinkebein. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Reiminger and Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Hinkebein of Jackson. Landewee is a 1995 graduate of Jackson High School, and is pursuing a degree in nursing at Southeast Missouri State University. She is employed at Southeast Missouri Hospital and at Dr. Thomas Sparkman's Office...

The living room is a cozy gathering place for relaxing and entertaining. The dining room is convenient to the kitchen and its counter with bar stools in this house at 1512 Briarwood in Jackson. A hinged patio door provides easy access to the backyard...