Stories from Tuesday, October 22, 1991

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday approved unanimously a motion to solicit proposals for use of the city's convention and tourism funds. A 3 percent gross receipts tax on hotel and motel rooms and 1 percent levy on restaurant sales is used to fund conventions and tourism in the city, in addition to other economic development proposals...

Cape Girardeau teachers armed themselves with information about Proposition B at a meeting Monday with Missouri State Teachers Association's lobbyist Bill Ray. Ray was guest speaker at the Cape Girardeau Community Teachers Association's first general meeting of the year. The local group is part of the statewide MSTA...

Proposition B would provide needed revenue for higher education at a time when public colleges and universities are facing funding woes, educators say. At Southeast Missouri State University, it's estimated Proposition B could mean added state funding of more than $9 million annually...

(Third in a series) Proposition B doesn't provide a blank check for Missouri's public colleges and universities, but ties the funding to specific reforms and activities, proponents say. The measure is on the Nov. 5 election ballot. It would establish a higher-education trust account, with the funds being divided among eight categories according to specified percentages...

A reading from a new book about small-town life and a lecture on the women's movement are scheduled at Southeast Missouri State University tonight. Both events are free and open to the public. Terry Teachout, a New York writer, will read from his book "City Limits: Memories of a Small-Town Boy." The reading, to be followed by a question-and-answer period, will begin at 7 p.m. at the Kent Library Little Theater...

JACKSON -- Traffic on Madison Street between Russell and Missouri near Jackson High School will be prohibited when school is in session. The Jackson Board of Aldermen Monday approved an ordinance that bans all traffic except school buses on the stretch of Madison from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on days high school is in session. Signs and barricades will be placed on the street during school hours to alert motorists of its closing...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson will introduce legislation today that will allow the federal government to buy 7,000 acres of land surrounding Greer Spring in Oregon County. According to Emerson, the compromise has the support of the entire Missouri House delegation...

SCOTT CITY -- The renewal of Scott City's 15-year cable television franchise agreement was discussed and then postponed at Monday's Scott City Council meeting. The agreement with Falcon Telecable expires Nov. 22, city officials said. Falcon wants the city to renew it for another 15 years...

CHAFFEE - Mayor Ron Moyers is urging Chaffee residents to attend a public hearing Wednesday on a proposed city bond issue for a waste water plant and sewer line improvements. "If we have questions, we know the citizens of Chaffee have questions," Moyers said in reference to city officials at the Chaffee City Council meeting Monday evening. "We have to get this through. It's not a need-to ... we have to."...

ORAN -- A Cape Girardeau man was injured Monday afternoon in a two-vehicle collision north of Oran that authorities said was caused by poor vision due to smoke from a field fire. The Missouri Highway Patrol said a Ford Bronco driven by Joseph Gilmore, 48, of Cape Girardeau, crossed the center line of Highway 77 and struck a Ford utility vehicle driven by Jessie Bratton, 48, of Scott City...

Former Missourian Clarence Thomas becomes the 106th person to be named to the U.S. Supreme Court, a number that closely matches the time required for his confirmation hearings. Most of us should be real happy we won't be around for the 300th nominee...

What was not long ago a careworn plot of land destined for a parking lot has become a piece of beauty in downtown Cape Girardeau. Sunday, the park earned its official dedication by the city. Monday night, the Cape Girardeau City Council formally accepted the land as a city park. Its well-groomed appearance today is a credit to tireless volunteers who transformed this property at the corner of Themis and North Fountain...

Instead of bringing students to education, a group of community-minded volunteers are bringing education to high school students this week. The Saturday Morning Breakfast Club will host a college fair Thursday and Friday at the Holiday Inn Convention Center...

Dear Editor: The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce University Relations Committee is hosting an open house at Southeast Missouri State University on Sunday, Oct. 27 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Everyone is invited. Several aspects of the university will be highlighted, included industrial technology labs, nursing, KRCU National Public Radio, student financial aid, Kent Library, and the University Museum. In addition, there will be a number of other exhibits at various locations on campus...

ORAN -- The Guardian Angel Catholic School Home and School Association will host a Halloween Carnival Friday from 5-8 p.m. Proceeds will help toward purchase of books and other school expenses. A variety of games will be available during the carnival, as will a meal. Children may compete in the creative costume contest...

Roy L. McClanahan, 78, 2700 Jewel, died Monday, Oct. 21, 1991, at his home. He was born Oct. 7, 1913, in Scott County, son of Lex and Ida Holiway. He and Clara Littrell were married Nov. 22, 1936, at Portageville. McClanahan farmed at Bell City until 1960, then moved to Cape Girardeau and was a self-employed carpenter. He was a cabinetmaker with his son from 1972-89. He was a member of First General Baptist Church, and had been a deacon more than 52 years, retiring from the post in 1988...

CHAFFEE -- Alma McDonald Wilhelm, 78, of Chaffee, died Monday, Oct. 21, 1991, at Chaffee Nursing Center. She was born July 2, 1913, at Blodgett, daughter of Grant and Nettie Riley Andrews. She first married Robert L. McDonald Nov. 7, 1936, who died Oct. 25, 1962. She later married Raymond Wilhelm Nov. 12, 1963...

SCOTT CITY -- Dorothy "Teenie" Underwood Peters, 67, of Morse Mill, formerly of Scott City, died Saturday, Oct. 19, 1991, at her home, following a lengthy illness. She was born May 27, 1924, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Homer and Adeline Davis. Survivors include a daughter, Teresa Miller of Cape Girardeau; two sons, Donald Underwood of St. ...

PERRYVILLE -- Henrietta M. Michaud, 100, of Perryville, died Monday, Oct. 21, 1991, at St. John's Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. She was born April 4, 1891, daughter of Peter Millfelt and Matilda French. On March 6, 1910, she married Charles Michaud, who died in April 1950...

SIKESTON -- Funeral service for Betty Sue Brown of Sikeston has been changed to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Jim Martin will officiate, with burial in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 11 a.m. until time of service...

ELCO, Ill. -- Roberta Coleman, 85, of Elco, died Monday, Oct. 21, 1991 at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 23, 1906 in McClure, Ill, the daughter of Thomas and Annie Sorrels Cantrell. On May 5, 1926, she married Miles Coleman. He preceded her in death on March 9, 1962...

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday agreed to end a five-month debate on construction contractor regulations and approved a scaled-down version of a trades-licensing law that members called far from perfect. "I'm not happy with it; we've compromised it," said Councilman Al Spradling III. "I'd like to see full licensing requirements for all contractors such as we have for plumbers and gasfitters, and we should move toward that."...

A portion of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, an international memorial to those who have died of AIDS, will be on display in Cape Girardeau Nov. 14-17. The quilt will be exhibited at Houck Athletic Building on the Southeast Missouri State University campus...

Desma R. Reno, administrator of the Missouri Veteran's Home in Cape Girardeau, has been elected delegate to the American Nurses' Association. The election results were announced at the Missouri Nurses' Association Biennial Convention held recently in Cape Girardeau...

PERKINS -- The Perkins Volunteer Fire Department will hold its eighth annual barbecue pork and smoked chicken dinner Sunday at the firehouse. Serving is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children 6-12 years, and free for children under 6...

I JUST READ in Speak Out about someone being unhappy with the Homecoming Parade this year. Every year at Homecoming, a group of us, about 20 alumni from the '60s, gather to enjoy the Homecoming and each other's company, and by far it was a unanimous agreement that this parade was the best ever. ...