Stories from Thursday, May 31, 2001

City police don't expect a tougher blood-alcohol limit in Missouri to lead to more drunken-driving cases, although it would take less alcohol for a driver to violate the law. Current law sets the BAC limit at 0.10 percent. A bill passed by the General Assembly would lower the limit to 0.08 percent on Sept. 29 pending approval by Gov. Bob Holden, who plans to sign the measure into law...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Operators of the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railway hope their tourist train will pick up steam thanks to its new nonprofit status, a move designed to secure government grants and private donations. Area train enthusiasts opened the railroad 16 years ago as a for-profit venture. It was a financial disaster, staying on track only because of the generosity of its 25 investors who have continued to dump money into the endeavor...

Bill Gaither doesn't like labeling the music he sings and writes because it's too hard to do. It's southern gospel with inspirational lyrics, a departure from the typical hymnal fare. The Christian musician and his Gaither Vocal Band will perform at 7 p.m. today at the Show Me Center before a nearly sell-out crowd. More than 6,000 tickets have been sold. Some are still available but only in the top rows. Prices range from $14 to $17...

May 31, 2001 Dear Patty, DC's father is in an unwinnable war with the water lilies that choke the pond behind the cabin on the Castor. He climbs in a little skiff with a weed eater and lops off the heads of as many lilies as he can. He knows they'll grow right back, but still he persists. The best he can do is maintain a corridor in the pond wide and lengthy enough to cast a line. Inevitably he returns to the cabin with a bass or more...

Police and firefighters in Cape Girardeau County are getting backup support. A group of community leaders met Wednesday to take the first steps in establishing the Guardians, which aims to meet financial needs of officers' and firefighters' families if they die on duty...

FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. -- A 37-year-old man died when his car ran off the road Wednesday morning, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported. Michael Boatright of Fredericktown was driving on Route C one mile west of Cherokee Pass about 10:30 a.m. when his truck ran off the right side of the roadway and overturned. Boatright, who was not wearing a safety belt, died at the scene...

Centerpieces for tea parties, tailgate parties and graduation will be on display during a flower show presented by the Council of Garden Clubs of Cape Girardeau. The show will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Family Life Center at Centenary United Methodist Church. Admission is $2...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- A 72-year-old man died in a one-vehicle accident Wednesday afternoon, the Illinois State Police reported. Albert E. Casper of Mounds was driving east on Olive Branch Road, approximately three-fourths of a mile west of Mounds when his pickup truck ran off the road. The truck hit an embankment, and then struck a utility pole. It came to a stop on the passenger side door...

JACKSON, Mo. -- A group of Jackson residents have joined with the City of Jackson and the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in an attempt to offer more art exhibitions and theatrical performances in the city. "This is an effort to bring the visual and performing arts together in a performing arts program," says Shane Anderson, the city's parks and recreation director...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- St. Vincent was on the verge of playing in another state championship game and there sat the Indians in the dugout playing cards. It was an anticlimactic way to win a state semifinal game, but the St. Vincent Indians will take it. The defending 1A state champion Indians defeated Community R-VI 6-2 Wednesday in a game that was stopped after the fifth inning because of rain...

Their sponsor has changed, but one thing should stay the same regarding the Capahas, Cape Girardeau's highest-level summer baseball team. The Capahas figure to have another successful season. Now under the sponsorship of Craftsman Union, the Capahas will open the 2001 campaign Friday when Valmeyer, Ill., comes to town for an 8 p.m. first pitch. The squads will also have a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Capaha Field...

Albert E. "Gene" Casper, 72, of Mounds, Ill., died Wednesday, May 30, 2001, at the Mounds-Olive Branch road. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Barkett Funeral Home in Mounds.

An Essex, Mo., woman was injured Monday in a Stoddard County accident. Christa Tucker, 29, was taken to Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo., after the accident on Route FF, three miles north of Essex. Tucker was a passenger in a vehicle driven by John Tucker, 31, of Essex. He was not injured...

Funeral Mass for Edgar A. Kohlfeld of Cape Girardeau will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. The Rev. Milton Ryan will officiate. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery. Friends may call at Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel from 4-8 p.m. today. Parish prayers will be said at 7...

ANNA, Ill. -- Funeral for Dorothy Lynn of Anna has been changed to 2 p.m. Friday at Crain Funeral Home in Anna. Dr. Dave Soucie will officiate. Burial will be in Anna Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-8 p.m. today. Lynn, 75, died suddenly Sunday, May 27, 2001, upon arrival at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau...

Beatrice M. "Bea" Sneed, 81, formerly of Cape Girardeau and Sikeston, Mo., died Wednesday, May 30, 2001, at Eden Village Care Center in Glen Carbon, Ill. She was born Nov. 23, 1919, at Kewanee, Mo., daughter of Isaac and Lucy Davis Parks. She and Alfred W. Sneed were married Jan. 30, 1936. He died Feb. 26, 1979...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Blanche Mathis, 80, of Mounds died Tuesday, May 29, 2001, at Daystar Care Center in Cairo, Ill. She was born March 2, 1921, in Centralia, Ill., daughter of Harry and Irene Chard Johnson. She married Charles Leo Mathis, who died May 23, 1984...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Steve Vick, 54, of Killen, Ala., formerly of Mounds, died Wednesday, May 30, 2001, at Eliza Coffey Memorial Hospital in Florence, Ala. Arrangements are incomplete at the Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak, Ill.

JACKSON -- Mary Ann Clayton, 52, passed away Tuesday, May 29, 2001, at her home in Jackson. Friends may call from 5-9 p.m. Friday, June 1, at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. Parish prayers will be said at 7. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Jackson. Msgr. Edward Eftink will officiate. Interment will be in Russell Heights Cemetery...

Laura Louise Todt Bullinger, 77, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Monday, May 28, 2001, at Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas. She was born Nov. 27, 1923, in Jonesboro, Ark., the daughter of James W. and Mattie T. Fallin Robinson. She married Herman C. Todt on June 28, 1942. He preceded her in death on Feb. 11, 1975. She married Clarence J. Bullinger on Feb. 14, 1985, at St. Mary's Cathedral. He preceded her in death...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Funeral for Jesse L. Fisher of Ullin will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Crain Funeral Home in Ullin. The Rev. John Clark and Junior Melvin will officiate. Burial will be in Ullin Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-8 p.m. today...

GLEN ALLEN, Mo. -- R.C. "Shorty" Blackwell, 79, of Glen Allen died Tuesday, May 29, 2001, at his home. He was born Dec. 18, 1921, at Bragg City, Mo., son of D.B. and Pearl Lee Wyatt Blackwell. He and Darlene Emma Arnold were married Aug. 8, 1942. Blackwell was a farmer and mechanic all his life. He and his son also did custom hay baling many years...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Funeral for Michael Lee Sousley of Jackson will be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. The Rev. Ronnie Brown will officiate. Burial will be in Russell Heights Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Funeral for John Edward Miller of Knoxville, Tenn., will be held at 1 p.m. today at Rainey Funeral Home in Dexter. The Rev. Fred Leist will officiate. Burial will be in Dexter Cemetery. Miller, 55, died Saturday, May 26, 2001, at his home...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Maxine G. Wilcox, 100, of Fredericktown, Mo., died Tuesday, May 29, 2001, at Stockhoff Nursing Home in Fredericktown. She was born Nov. 5, 1900, at Dexter, daughter of Extine Walter and Mary O'Shea Gholson. She and Harry M. Wilcox were married March 18, 1927, at Dexter. He died April 30, 1966...

ANNA, Ill. -- Johnny Lynn, 79, of Anna died Wednesday, May 30, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 22, 1922, in Pulaski County, Ill., son of John and Margaret Moore Lynn. He and Dorothy Dougherty were married March 13, 1944. She died May 27, 2001...

To the editor: In an April 28 article, "Survey of U.S. Muslims finds a growing faith," professor Ihsan Bagby of Shaw University said the statistics excluded the Ahmaddiya movement and other groups that mainstream Islam has regarded as heterodox. Ahmaddiya is the divinely promised revival of Islam prophesied in the Holy Quran and by the Holy Prophet of Islam, peace and blessings of God be upon him. ...

When politicians sell themselves to demagoguery, they deserve contempt. Yesterday, Gov. Bob Holden accelerated his descent into such depths in a speech before a group of protesters in St. Louis blaming President Bush for rising gasoline and energy costs...

At some point in human history, hunters and gatherers probably got tired of wading across creeks and rivers. Then someone climbed across a fallen tree, and the next thing you know they were cutting down trees on riverbanks everywhere. But it is safe to assume not everyone thought bridges were the answer...

Tickets are still on sale for "Southeast Day" at Busch Stadium featuring the Cardinals-White Sox game at 12:15 p.m. June 16. That's Father's Day weekend, so here's an opportunity to do something special for fathers. And it's a good opportunity for baseball fans in our area to show up in force, as they did at last year's "Southeast Day," and have an afternoon of fun while rooting for the Cards. OK, maybe there are a couple of White Sox fans in Southeast Missouri...

I'M SURE this can go for many students in many school districts. Our phone rang all school year. Now it is silent. It rang almost nightly for help in one subject or another, and my teen-ager was always "a pal" and "a life saver" and pulled you through those tough classes. ...

To the editor: In his announcement to leave the Republican Party, U.S. Sen. James Jeffords stated his reason succinctly. He declared the Republican Party had lost its moderate thrust. The struggle to merchandise the words "conservatism" as good and "liberalism" as bad started after our singular unity during World War II began to dissipate and reached its highest point during the Reagan administration. ...