Stories from Sunday, December 10, 1995

President Clinton is on a roll. After languishing in the polls for a large part of this year, he has inched up to the point where in most of the country he has a positive approval rating. What has happened? He fights for what he believes in. Clinton has been perceived as a wishy-washy accommodationist. ...

The new doctor in town practicing with Dr. John Englehart is Dr. Melody Armstrong of St. Francis, Kan. She was born in Weisbaden, Germany, while her father was in the U.S. Army. Armstrong is part of the Cross Trails Medical Center, based out of Cape Girardeau, that purchased the Twin City Medical Clinic on Oct. ...

A stop at the Milheim School west of Biehle in Perry County. Dorothy Hahs was the teacher around 1955. Rural Bookmobile stop in Cape Girardeau County at Hahs Store in Daisy in the mid-'50s. Aimee Keillor shows a book to her 6-month-old son Austin at the Riverside Regional Library. (Photos by Scott Moyers)...

Riverside Regional Library in Jackson and its branches in Altenberg, Perryville, Scott City, Benton and Oran will be closed Saturday, Dec. 23 for the Christmas holiday. The libraries in Jackson, Perryville and Benton that are normally open on Monday will be closed Dec. 25 and also Jan. 1 for Christmas Eve and New Year's Day...

Jackson Jaycees' House Decorating Contest will be held Dec. 15, starting at 6 p.m. Anyone wishing to participate and have their house judged should send a letter to the Jackson Jaycees, P.O. Box 7, Jackson, MO., 63755. Anyone wishing to nominate a house can notify the Jaycees at the same address or call Wanda Lorenze at 243-0434...

In 1978 Randy Bartels bought a farm just north of Sedgewickville in Bollinger County with no idea he would later be selling Christmas trees. It took two years for the idea to take root, so to speak. Bartels started clearing the land for trees after getting information from the Extension office on how to plant and care for young seedlings. ...

The military Staurday put two Southeast Missouri National Guard groups on formal alert status. The 1137th Military Police Company of Caruthersville and Kennett were identified last week as possible candidates for deployment in Bosnia. Saturday those troops were put on formal alert...

A bill proposed in the Missouri Senate could preserve a source of substantial income currently threatned for about 80 school districts in the state, including Cape Girardeau Public Schools. The measure, filed Dec. 1, would keep revenues from a state tax on railroads and utilities going directly to local school districts. ...

The value of 1995 construction contracts in Cape Girardeau will go down as the second biggest year in history. With a month remaining, it's not feasible that this year's totals will match the record year of $47.9 million in 1992. But after 11 months, the Inspection Services Division reports that more than $42 million in new building and expansion permits have been issued...

The city of Cape Girardeau cut off service to a southside church over a $11.35 water bill. City Councilman Richard Eggimann said the church is one of several instances where customers have had their water cut off. "These are horror stories to me," said Eggimann, who has asked the city staff to review the city's water-cutoff policy...

Dr. William Atchley told Southeast Missouri State University graduates that Saturday's commencement was his third to attend at the university. "This one is the best," he said. Atchley was speaker at the university's winter commencement held at the Show Me Center Saturday afternoon...

Separate announcements just days apart have left two top administrative posts up in the air within the Cape Girardeau School District. First the principal at Central High School, Dan Tallent, announced he will resign at the end of the school year, some six months from now. Then Neyland Clark, the superintendent, announced he plans to stay until his contract expires in 1998, some 2 1/2 years from now...

By Derek J. Hale Christmas of 1987 was the best of all Christmases. My grandfather had gotten me my first BB gun. Also that year we got snow. My mom had gotten me a skateboard with a matching sweatshirt. Later that day I went outside to try to ride my skateboard. To my excitement I discovered a rabbit hutch with two rabbits. One rabbit was mine. I named him Charlie. He was brown. Santa also left me two pigeons...

By John Oehl My favorite Christmas memory is putting up the Christmas tree every year. I like this so much because it symbolizes that Christmas is coming soon. I really love putting all the ornaments on, and it is a time when the whole family is working together on a great thing. I really like walking into a room and seeing it. It makes me feel great and all warm inside. That is what I always remember about Christmas...

Students at Cape girardeau and Jackson junior high schools wrote the following essays:By Melinda McLainIn my family, we have traditions to buy four gifts per family. Then my aunt puts numbers on the presents and numbers in a bucket. After that, everyone draws numbers. ...

When delegates to the annual meeting of the Missouri Farm Bureau got down to the business of deliberating on resolutions concerning Missouri's education reforms last Monday, it wasn't a pretty sight for the high command of the education establishment. Where Senate Bill 380 is concerned, the dirty little secrets are getting out, and at the grass roots folks are just plain revolting against our betters among educational elites. Call it the rout of the educrats...

"The danger of morality," Plato once wrote, "is that it is sometimes useful as an excuse for immorality." Paraphrasing the Greek philosopher, one could say a threat of fiscal stability is that it can occasionally be used as a reason to create financial instability...

Police Sgt. Howard Hammers says the best option for kids these days is to stay off drugs. Hammers is in his fourth year as the DARE officer for the Jackson Police Department so he knows what he's talking about. DARE, the program that tries to snuff teenage substance abuse before it starts, was developed in the 1980s in Los Angeles...

I spent last weekend with my 4-year-old son, Zachary, just as I do every second and fourth weekends of the month. On our weekends we do all sorts of things. We catch a movie (he calls the screen the big TV), go roller skating, hang out at the park -- all those part-time dad things...

Margaret E. Davis, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Dec. 9, 1995, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 6, 1916, to Jerry and Ada Baker Farmer in Charleston. She married Clayton W. Davis on Sept. 17, 1944, in Cape Girardeau. He died July 17, 1991...

ESSEX -- Illa Henrietta Malloy Brown, 57, of Essex died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995, at Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Dec. 12, 1937, in Appleton, Ark., daughter of William Haney and Tellie Ola Martin Malloy. She had been a cook for Gray Ridge Head Start for 13 years and was a member of Essex Assembly of God Church...

VANDUSER -- Carolyn Sue Vinson, 50, of Vanduser died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Nov. 26, 1945, at Wyatt, daughter of Lloyd Philip and Thelma Justine White Hayden. She had lived in Scott and Mississippi counties most of her life...

ANNA, Ill. -- Weldon Ray Nimmo, 60, of Anna, Route 1, died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995, at the Union County Hospital in Anna. He was born Aug. 29, 1935, in Anna, son of Howard and Lea Ann Hinkle Nimmo. He married Diann Adkisson in Cairo in 1965. She survives...

JACKSON -- Helen E. Moll, 81, of Jackson died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 23, 1914, in Jackson, daughter of Albert W. and Emma Roloff Rose. On Jan. 24, 1932, she married Wilbert "Bill" Moll. He preceded her in death on June 9, 1966...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Martha J. Edwards, 62, of Cairo died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995, at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Ky. She was born in Cairo July 16, 1933, daughter of Flem and Ada Carter Chrestman. She was a piano instructor for many years and was a member of the Cairo Baptist Church...

JACKSON -- Hattie E. Preusser, 101, of Jackson died at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau Friday, Dec. 8, 1995. She had been a resident of the Lutheran Home for the past 17 years. She was born Jan. 2, 1894, at Shawneetown, a daughter of Gustav and Margarite Streit Hemmann...

MARBLE HILL -- Fern B. Sitzes Fletcher, 84, of Kent, Wash., formerly of Marble Hill, died Wednesday, Dec. 6, 1995, at Renton, Wash. She was born Sept. 9, 1911, at Bessville, Mo., to Nesbert and Lou Kitchen Greer. She married Clark Sitzes on Dec. 26, 1928. He died in June 1963...

FRUITLAND -- Paul R. Adams, 90, of Fruitland died Saturday, Dec. 9, 1995, at Jackson Manor Nursing Home in Jackson. He was born Sept. 4, 1905, to John and Ruby Hansel Adams in Fruitland. He married Bessie Morton on Aug. 6, 1941. She died on May 3, 1993...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Nellie Henderson, 85, of Mounds, formerly of Olive Branch, Ill., died Saturday, Dec. 9, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 10, 1910, to Champ and Elzora Byrd Bailey in Thebes, Ill. She married Melvin C. Henderson on May 24, 1928. He died May 10, 1980...

PATTON -- Martha Mae Phillips, 82, of Patton died Saturday, Dec. 9, 1995, at her home. She was born Dec. 29, 1912, at Tamms, Ill, daughter of William and Sarah Elizabeth Webster Martin. On Jan. 25, 1930, she married Charley A. Phillips. He died Aug. 16, 1971...

MARBLE HILL -- Mary Ellen Lincoln, 46, of Marble Hill died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Oct. 23, 1949, at Poplar Bluff, daughter of Gerald E. "Jerry" Stephens and Dorothy Mae Berry Stephens. She is survived by her mother, who lives in Greenville, her paternal grandmother, Florence Stephens of Marble Hill; two daughters, Gina M. ...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Charlotte Marie and Noelle Lyn Rider, infant daughters of Matthew and Melissa Anglin Rider, died shortly after birth at St. Mary's Health Center in St. Louis. The babies were born Dec. 5, 1995. Charlotte Marie died Tuesday, Dec. 5, 1995, at St. Mary's Health Center. Noelle Lyn died Thursday, Dec. 7, 1995 at Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis...

SCOTT CITY -- Emma Miriam Martin, 90, of Scott City died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995, at her home. She was born Oct. 2, 1905, in Scott County, daughter of Joseph Norval and Lillie Mae Jehlen Goddard. She married Hulin "Lester" Martin Dec. 2, 1928, at St. Louis. He preceded her in death...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Roy Lee Johnson, 58, of East Prairie died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995 at his home. He was born May 27, 1937 in Anniston, son of Alma Dyer Johnson of East Prairie and the late Luther Johnson. He lived all his life in Mississippi County, where he was employed by Dale Tatum Construction of Charleston. He was a member of the East Prairie Eagles Club...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Nadine Bell Swann, 73, of East Prairie died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center following an extended illness. She was born May 5, 1922, in Mississippi County, daughter of Manuel and Vivian Octavie Grider Bell. She lived most of her life in Mississippi County, where she was a member of the St. James General Baptist Church in East Prairie. She was married to Arvin G. Swann, who preceded her in death...

ST. MARY -- Elmer James Evans Jr., 53, of St. Mary died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995. He was born Sept. 14, 1942, in Belgique, son of Elmer James and Lorene Streiler Evans. He married Patricia L. Boland on Feb. 14, 1984, in St. Mary. She survives. He is also survived by a daughter, Dana M. ...

ANNA, Ill. -- Winstead W. Hill, 56, of Anna died Friday, Dec. 8, 1995, in an automobile accident near Mount Vernon, Ill. He was born Aug. 8, 1939, to John and Mary "Tootie" Walton Hill in Anna. Survivors include his mother of Anna; a brother, Rovert Hill of Anna and several nieces and nephews...

PERRYVILLE -- Finding a job is easier than finding a place to live in Perry County, but the problem isn't a unique one. "It's the case in several areas," said JoAnn Sumner of the Perry County Industrial Development Authority. "There's a declining supply of labor, and along with labor goes the housing issue."...

Students at Louis J. Schultz School will continue a Christmas tradition as they join the list of Toy Box donors. On Tuesday students who bring toys or cash donations to school will get a "paws" stamp on their hands or cheeks to "kind of say, I gave," said Betty Schuetts, a co-sponsor of Schultz's Student Council...

Carol Laudi, with her son Kenneth, who has cerebral palsy, is organizing a support group for parents of special needs adults. Carol Laudi and Margaret Grant worry about what will happen when they no longer are able to care for their sons. Laudi's son, Kenneth, 23, is a quadriplegic. He has cerebral palsy. Grant's son, David, 34, has asthma, scoliosis and physical disabilities as the result of cancer treatments he received as a child...

More deer are on the move. The extreme change in weather conditions and the mating season are cited by conservation officials as the primary reasons for deer being on the move. "This creates nightmares for motorists," said Mike Lancaster, hunter training specialist with the Cape Girardeau regional office of the Missouri Department of Conservation...

As Darrell Hobbs sat in his tree stand Nov. 28 hunting deer the hard way -- with bow and arrow -- he didn't fully realize he had a date with destiny. Also with an unbreakable date with fate was a 10-point buck, which ambled onto the property adjacent to Hobbs' home, located near Procter and Gamble, north of Cape Girardeau...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Imagine you are trying to solve a mystery for which you only have half the clues, and the clock is running out. That is the dilemma facing Natural History Biologist Mark McGimsey with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) as he works to stop the decline of Indiana bats here...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake will begin dropping the lake level from recreation pool to conservation pool on Dec. 15. In accordance with the water control plan, the pool will go from 359.74 feet to 354.74 feet. Barring additional rainfall, the lake should reach this level on or about Jan. 1...

As 1995 draws to a close, hunters and fishermen begin to make plans for the coming year. Those plans often include the selection of vacation time to coincide with special hunting seasons such as those for deer and turkey. Maintenance of existing equipment or, with Christmas upon us, the selection of new items are common activities. Hunting and fishing permits are pieces of "equipment" that are often given or received as gifts by outdoor enthusiasts in Missouri...

Red, green and white were the traditional lights of Christmas, but these days it is no holds barred when choosing light colors and other decorations for outside the home or business. The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce and the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau have come to appreciate and reward residents who take the time and trouble to decorate their homes and businesses for the enjoyment of passersby...

You've received your American Lung Association Christmas seals, haven't you? Have you studied them? In detail? Did you read the little note at the bottom of the sheet telling about the seals this year? If you can't find them, used them or didn't get any, I'll tell you the story of this year's seals and my reaction to them. Excuse my arrogance in assuming you want to know...