Stories from Wednesday, September 27, 2000

Our family had a thrilling time Sunday afternoon at the Cardinals baseball game in St. Louis. We went with 110 other people from our church as our annual baseball outing. We had perfect weather and the Cardinals won. That made for a great day. One of the best parts of the day was the huge tailgate party before and after the game. ...

If you can't teach them, test them. I sometimes wonder if my students think that view represents my philosophy of education, because I give frequent quizzes. But examinations are important. After all, we wouldn't take a cake out of the oven without testing it, would we?...

Since most sex-related crimes in Cape Girardeau County are felonies, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle doubts a new state law requiring misdemeanor sexual offenders to register with authorities will have much impact. Until now, only convicted felony sex offenders have been required to register their address with their sheriff's office. The new law, in force as of Aug. 28, asks those convicted of indecent exposure or unwanted sexual touching to report to the sheriff, too...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A judge heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that could determine if Missouri taxpayers are entitled to more than $520 million in additional refunds from the state. At issue is how state budget officials calculated total state revenue under the Hancock Amendment, which limits the growth rate of state revenue...

Since 1988, when Vision 2000 began its strategic planning efforts in Cape Girardeau, Chuck McGinty has seen profits at his downtown jewelry business increase. Most people would say the economy is good everywhere, so Vision 2000 can't take credit for McGinty's good fortune. As unemployment rates across the nation continue to decline, businesses -- including those in Cape Girardeau -- are thriving...

Ongoing projects:...

Central High School librarian Julia Jorgensen sees the Internet as the next best promotional and instructional tool of ... well, the new millennium. The district maintains a Web site with links for each school building, and a special site for Central High School alumni was made available this week for alumni seeking school news, reunion information and addresses of high school chums...

A week of increased traffic citations has prompted a few more Cape Girardeau drivers to use their seat belts -- or else. Observations at Mount Auburn and Independence showed seat belt use increased from 67 percent to 71.5 percent from Sept. 13-20, Cpl. Kevin Orr said...

Corn production in Cape Girardeau County is more than 90 percent complete, with some yields topping the 200-bushel mark an acre. "Corn yields have varied throughout the county," said Terry Birk, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency office in Jackson, Mo. The harvest is about two weeks ahead of last year, with production reported as good...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson students outperformed state averages and district results from the previous year in most areas of a state achievement exam last year. The Jackson Board of Education heard the district's results on the Missouri Assessment Program assessment during its meeting Tuesday. Students in six grade levels took required portions of the test in mathematics, communication arts, science and social studies last spring...

The Southeast Missouri Otahkians returned to the friendly confines of Houck Field House Tuesday night and extended their volleyball win streak there to 24 games. The Southern Illinois Lady Salukis (7-7) were the victims, as they were in game one of the streak, falling in straight sets to Southeast 15-5, 15-6 and 15-3. Southeast improved to 6-8...

As we prepare to go on the road for our next two football games, I am reminded of all the hard work and dedication shown by one of our behind-the-scenes staff members. Equipment manager Robby Rasco does a remarkable job of getting all our equipment to and from the away games. He is in his second season at Southeast after serving one season at Tulsa and after being a student manager at Florida State...

Southeast Missouri State University women's soccer coach Heather Nelson said before the season that she expected her squad to contend for the Ohio Valley Conference championship. Now, as the Otahkians prepare to begin OVC play following seven non-league games, nothing Nelson has seen to this point from her second-year team has changed her mind...

The stellar pitching of Cassie Gross and one run was all Cape Girardeau Central High School's softball team needed to pick up an impressive victory Tuesday. Gross fired a four-hitter, with two strikeouts and no walks, as the host Lady Tigers knocked off a solid Seckman squad 1-0...

The 11th annual Southeast Missouri State University Booster Club/River Eagle Golf Tournament will be held Oct. 13 at Bent Creek Golf Course in Jackson, Mo. The event is an 18-hole scramble featuring six-person teams. The entry fee is $65 per person or $390 per team. Refreshments and lunch will be provided by River Eagle...

A coed slow-pitch softball tournament will be held Oct. 14 at Hillcrest Park in Poplar Bluff. Entry fee is $100 per team. Entry deadline is Oct. 12. For more information, call 686-1155 (D).

The Southeast Missouri State University softball team has been recognized nationally for academic achievement by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Based on grade-point averages for the 1999-2000 academic year, Southeast finished ninth among NCAA Division I teams with a 3.28 overall GPA and the Otahkians had five players named NFCA All-American Scholar Athletes for having a 3.5 or better GPA...

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Southeast Missouri State University's golf team finished last among 13 squads during the Kansas Invitational held Monday and Tuesday. The Indians had a 54-hole total of 961, which was 31 strokes out of 12th place. Host Kansas won the tournament with 861...

GRAVEL HILL, Mo. -- Funeral for Lloyd B. Davenport of Blackwell, Okla., will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson, Mo. The Rev. Phil Thompson will officiate. Burial will be in Crader Cemetery in Bollinger County. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. Thursday...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Rebekah JoEllen Whitworth Ham, 24, of Scott City died Monday, Sept. 25, 2000, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 13, 1976, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Marshall and JoEllen Gulley Whitworth. She married Paul Nevan Ham June 7, 1997, in Cape Girardeau...

WYATT, Mo. -- Anna Pauline Nolen, 78, of Wyatt died Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. She was born Oct. 28, 1921, in Indianapolis, Ind., daughter of Joe Hale and Mildred Lay Dyer. She and William Henry Nolen were married Dec. 19, 1936. He died April 29, 1990...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Adina Ida Sprenger, 90, of Warren, Ark., died Sunday, Sept. 24, 2000, in Warren. She was born Sept. 14, 1910, in Ulm, Ark., daughter of Albert and Maggie Oltmann Schiwitz. She married Joseph A. Sprenger. Sprenger lived in the Scott City area about 50 years. She was also formerly of Searcy, Ark. She was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Ulm...

MALDEN, Mo. -- Funeral for James "Jim" Mims of Malden will be held at 11 a.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter, Mo. The Rev. Ronnie Parker will officiate. Burial will be in Parma Cemetery at Parma, Mo. Mims, 53, died Sunday, Sept. 24, 2000, at John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis...

Barbara Ann Miller, 62, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Sept. 25, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Aug. 22, 1938, in Jacksonville, Ill., daughter of Paul Laverne and Elizabeth Hamm Smith. Miller was a graduate of Springfield High School and attended St. John's Nursing College in Springfield, Ill...

Funeral for Frank Ward of Cape Girardeau will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. Elder Alton Hunt will officiate. Burial will be in Fairmount Cemetery. Friends may call at the chapel from 5-8 p.m. Friday. Ward, 81, died Monday, Sept. 25, 2000, at his home...

HERRIN, Ill. -- Paul A. Holderfield, 64, of Herrin died Monday, Sept. 25, 2000, at Harrisburg Medical Center in Harrisburg, Ill. He was born April 13, 1936, at Cobden, Ill., son of Raymond and Alberta Pearman Holderfield. He and Dorothy L. Young were married April 22, 1966, in Anna, Ill...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Mamie Lou Cole, 90, of New Madrid died Monday, Sept. 25, 2000, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. She was born Dec. 25, 1909, in Coahoma, Miss., to Duff and Mamie Ross of Missouri. Cole was a member of the Prayer of Deliverance Church of God in Christ in New Madrid, where she served as church mother. She served as district missionary for 13 years, six years as state missionary unit of the women's department, and state treasurer of the women's department...

Daughter to Timothy Wayne and Lila Anne Loos of Honolulu, Hawaii, Kapi'olani Medical Center, 7:48 p.m. Monday, Sept. 4, 2000. Name, Tina Emily. Weight, 7 pounds 11 ounces. First child. Mrs. Loos is the former Lila Atow, daughter of Tommy and Viola Atow of Honolulu. She is a computer system analyst for the state of Hawaii. Loos is the son of Bill and Mary Loos of Cape Girardeau. He is owner of Pacific Appraisal Service in Honolulu...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Donald Eugene "Florida Boy" Giddens, 59, died Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2000, at Elder Care of Marble Hill. He was born July 1, 1941, in Jacksonville, Fla., son of Seth and Thelma Summerall Giddens. He and Faye Angel were married May 23, 1970...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Funeral for Marlene G. Shelton of Cairo will be held at 11 a.m. today at Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo. The Rev. F.M. Speakman will officiate. Burial will be in Green Lawn Memorial Gardens in Villa Ridge, Ill. Friends may call at the funeral home from 9 a.m. until service time...

The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz raises, then essentially answers in the negative, the question "Are the Media Tilting to Gore?" Listen to some of his proof: "Never mind that George W. Bush enjoyed a solid year of largely favorable press coverage while Gore was depicted as a bumbling, wardrobe-changing stiff." When did that "solid year" begin and end, Howie? Was it before or after The New York Times' Adam Clymer earned his pejorative nickname for doing a hit piece on Bush's Texas record, among other things?. ...

Sikeston can be proud of its new higher-education center, a gleaming new building where 672 people are shaping their futures through learning. That's more than double the number that enrolled in the fall of 1998, when the facility opened in a renovated bank building. The enrollment is sure to grow even more as Sikeston-area residents realize they can receive a quality post-secondary education without driving more than a few miles from home...

The outlook remains bleak for flu vaccine, in short supply nationwide because one of three flu strains selected this year didn't develop in laboratories. Mid-September, the typical time for area shot clinics, has come and gone. A voice-mail message at the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center tells callers to look for news updates on the situation in late October...

To the editor: By reading state statute 64.211 (the statute that authorizes county planning and zoning to be put on the ballot), I find that our Cape Girardeau County commissioners have spent $22,000-plus on this plan that they are proposing and were only to do this after approval by a vote of the people of this county. ...