Stories from Friday, March 18, 1994

Dear Editor: I read with interest Tuesday's editorial on Senator Caskey's SB 380 clean-up amendment. It's my opinion there is a greater concern than just the one which revolves around the lease purchase issue. That concern is loss of local control by school districts...

To the Editor: When commentators and politicians use science to bolster an argument, they deserve scrutiny. In explaining Senate Bill 809, introduced to control Missouri's Department of Natural Resources, State Senator Peter Kinder attacked its national counterpart, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. ...

Yesterday, I celebrated St. Patrick's Day. I am Irish by background. Seriously. My mother's maiden name was McGill. The maiden name of my father's mother was McIntosh. While Newton, I am told, is a Scottish name, I have some Irish blood flowing through me...

Society's tolerance of smoking has waned. It's a change that has left many smokers out in the cold. The newest trend to sweep the area affects restaurants. Some new eating establishments have banned smoking all together, such as Fazoli's. Other national chains -- such as McDonalds and Taco Bell -- are encouraging local franchises to ban tobacco use...

Cape Girardeau County has a problem with dogs running loose. Most times, the problem is a matter of inconvenience. But on March 4, an eight-year-old girl was attacked by an unrestrained Rottweiler in Cape Rock Village. Her wounds required 38 stitches. The attack was unprovoked. And it's not the first time a county resident has been frightened or threatened by an unchained dog...

House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt is backing efforts to secure federal funding for the new Mississippi River bridges at Cape Girardeau and Hannibal. "It enhances the chances of getting funding," said Walter Vandelicht, assistant chief engineer of the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department...

Even the good reverend will have to admit that sometimes it just doesn't pay to tell the truth. That's the message Jackson school officials imparted on the Rev. Eddie Dodson, whose son, along with another teen, were disciplined because Dodson overslept one morning and didn't get them to school on time, contend the reverend and his wife Denise...

Medical spending must shift to preventative and primary care if the nation is to reduce overall health care costs. That's the prescription of a panel of experts gathered by Southeast Missouri State University's nursing department and College of Health and Human Services for a forum on how to reduce health care costs...

A group of area skaters, clutching autographs of World Cup Figure Skating Champions, sat back at the Show Me Center Thursday night and dreamed a little. "I hope the pairs skaters we saw last night do the same thing tonight," said Melissa Enderle, 10, who has been with Cape Girardeau's chapter of the Ice Skating Institute of America (ISIA) for two and a half years...

As part of its service to voters, the League of Women Voters of Cape Girardeau County is sponsoring a televised forum for Cape Girardeau City Council candidates to be broadcast on public access Channel 5. Times of the broadcast will be announced on the channel's "Message Line."...

The author of a state constitutional amendment that limits the state's ability to raise taxes without a vote of the people, will be in Cape Girardeau Saturday to launch a petition drive he hopes will close loopholes in the amendment. Southwest Missouri U.S. Rep. Mel Hancock, R-Springfield, who was a private citizen in 1980 when he successfully led a petition drive that resulted in voter approval of the amendment bearing his name, is seeking signatures for what he is calling Hancock II...

JACKSON -- Opal L. Tripp, 85, of Jackson, died Thursday, March 17, 1994, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 2, 1909, at Neelys Landing, daughter of George and Maggie Robinson Ackman. She and Clarence Tripp were married in 1928. He died April 30, 1966...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Zena Rose Calvert, 61, of Royalton, Ill., formerly of Alexander and Pulaski counties, died Thursday, March 17, 1994, at her residence. She was born April 19, 1932, at Tamms, Ill., daughter of Edward and Louise Parker Conant. She married Kenneth D. Calvert, Sept. 30, 1966...

THEBES, Ill. -- Albert Henry Lipe, 79, of Union, Mo., formerly of Thebes, Ill., died Wednesday, March 16, 1994, at the Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital. He was born Feb. 6, 1915, at Olive Branch, Ill., son of David and Edith Clapp Lipe. Lipe was a veteran of World War II, having served in the U.S. Army...

SEDGEWICKVILLE -- Violet Viola Hartle, 77, Sedgewickville Route 1, died Thursday, March 17, 1994, at her home. She was born Oct. 30, 1916, at Lixville, daughter of Louis and Ida Bollinger Fellows. She and Leslie Hartle were married Nov. 3, 1948. He died Sept. 18, 1993...

MCCLURE, Ill. -- James C. "Caesar" Moore, 66, of McClure, died Wednesday, March 16, 1994, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He was born Dec. 28, 1927, in McClure, son of Walter and Thelma Burchyett Moore. He and Phoebe J. Jones were married Dec. 24, 1952, in Piggott, Ark...

JACKSON -- Anna L. Wright, 88, of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, March 17, 1994, at the Jackson Manor Nursing Home. She was born Oct. 15, 1905, at Jackson, daughter of Wentzel and Sophie Fischer Nitsch. She married Elmer Wright, Feb. 17, 1925. Wright moved to Cape Girardeau in 1934 from Jackson...

CHARLESTON -- Bea Bertha Horton, 86, of Charleston, died Tuesday, March 15, 1994, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born June 18, 1907, in Marianna, Ark., daughter of Will and Ida Hudson. Hudson was a member of St. Matthew Baptist Church, and served on the Mother's Board...

MARBLE HILL -- Bessie Burk, 93, of Marble Hill, died Wednesday, March 16, 1994, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 12, 1901, at Grassy, daughter of Ruben and Parley Myers Abernathy. She and Willard Burk were married Dec. 25, 1917. He died Sept. 13, 1965...

FREDERICKTOWN -- Missouri Whitewater Championships officials are expecting a record field for events in the annual championships, to be held March 19-20, in the cold waters of St. Francis River, hoping to win the right to compete in the Olympic Games...

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has received what agency officials believe is unwarranted criticism from some landowners over delays in levee repairs. The complaints relate to a prohibition against removing trees riverside of levees in the process of collecting fill material needed for repairs...

The Missouri Department of Conservation is seeking input for its new "five-year strategic plan." "Missourians are proud of their natural heritage," said MDC director Jerry Presley. "They have consistently supported a conservation that is second to none. We want them to stay involved."...

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge reopens it weekend visitors center this weekend. Starting Saturday, the center, located about a mile north of Puxico on Highway 51 will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekend -- Saturday and Sunday -- and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday...