Stories from Sunday, April 8, 2001

Donna Ellis believes in giving her students hands-on experience. She also believes in recruiting the next generation of students to study Spanish. The Jackson High School teacher annually takes her Spanish IV students to the district's kindergarten classes to give them experience teaching youngsters some Spanish. It also allows them to exhibit their mastery of the language...

TWO WEEKS ago I went to my mother's grave to put flowers on it. I saw that someone had stolen a basket of artificial flowers. This has upset me very much. I hope the person or persons who took the flower basket will return it to my mother's grave. GET REAL, people. ...

Second-place winners in the fourth- and fifth-grade division were the Timberwolves. Pictured from left are, front row: Joe Miller, Kyle Trousdale, Andrew Graham and Matthew Fluegge. Back row: Tim Dowdy, assistant coach, Brian Davidson, Derek Holt, Arrow Shockey and Jan Holt, coach...

Students at R.O. Hawkins Junior High celebrated Spirit Week March 26 through 30, capped off with a free hot dog lunch and a spirit dance on March 30. Money raised during the week will go to the proposed World War II veterans' memorial in Washington, D.C...

The children at Wednesday K.I.D.S. are part of an after school club dedicated to teaching Christian values. They meet from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays in the church basement fellowship hall at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson. The program is open to all religious denominations and those without a religious denomination as well. The program is set up for children in first through fifth grades...

Once upon a time, there was a foolish farmer who lay around all winter. Early in the spring he bought some seeds, scattered them over the ground, and took a plane to Florida, saying: "The Lord will provide!" Once upon a time there was a practical person who lived a very self-centered life, went to church if and when he felt like it, took a jet to Florida, saying: "The Lord will provide!"...

Here I am at Hope and Main, the hub of Jackson, waiting to be the megaphone for you folks. The ideal purpose here at Hope and Main is to offer a community bulletin board, so please take advantage! Greetings to everyone! Let me take the time to give you a little background. I have been a resident of Jackson for six years. My immediate reaction to moving here was one of relief. No more pollution, no more defensive people and no more rushing!...

Lives in: Fruitland, Mo., yet has a Jackson mailing address. Family: Has three kids: two boys, one girl, they all live close by Gilbert's wife has two children: one in Texas, one in Pennsylvania. Job: Volunteers at the Jackson Senior Center as treasurer, Mr. Fix it, and keeps the food pantry stocked...

It's time to make the donuts. Do you know what time that process really begins? The answer is 10 p.m.! Unlikely, you say. Well, first they must be proofed, ( allowed to rise) then they get fried and then it's time for them to dry. The whole process is completed at about 3 a.m...

To the editor: In response to the recent letter, "Thank liberals for the rights women now have": The bumper sticker, "God is Pro-Life," is absolutely right. Regardless of which political party may have been responsible for legalizing abortion, it is and remains murder. How the people of a civilized nation can stoop so low as to resort to the murder of unborn human beings is hard to understand...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Rounding the turn into the last six weeks of this year's legislative session before the May 18 adjournment, here is where some of the crucial issues lie: Transportation plan This one made it through the House Thursday by a vote of 83-71, or one vote more than the constitutional minimum necessary for passing a bill. ...

To the editor: I cannot believe the United States and the news media are allowing China to place the blame on us for the plane incident. No way can a four-engine propeller plane outmaneuver a fighter jet. Why was a fighter jet flying so close to our plane? It seems, without a doubt, that the fighter pilot was hotdogging and trying to intimidate our pilot and got too close...

Nationalism has been on heightened display in the United States and China these past few days. This is serious business, of course. The fate of 24 U.S. military men and women who were aboard a surveillance plane is at stake. The plane made an emergency landing on a Chinese island after it and a Chinese jet fighter collided. The pilot of the Chinese plane is presumed dead...

The Kyoto Treaty -- named for the Japanese city where it was drafted -- is intended to be an environmental blueprint for the world. Emissaries working on behalf of the Bill Clinton White House joined proponents who sought to set strict and exacting standards that mostly affected industrialized nations whose factories and chemicals cause most of today's man-made pollution...

The Jackson Parks and Recreation Department wants you to enjoy our beautiful park system and activities this summer. Many activities, leagues and other park-related events have now been finalized. If you wish to receive a brochure or would like more information about our parks planned summer schedule, call director Shane Anderson at 243-3568...

KENNETT, Mo. -- The public can reasonably assume that the most important subject in Missouri's state capital is which of the two major political parties will control the distribution of legislative seats for the next decade. Others can reasonably conclude the state's most critical issue focuses on which party controls the internal workings of the General Assembly...

Don't fall for this tripe from Democratic senators and milquetoast Republicans who say they are opposing President Bush's tax-cut plan for reasons of fiscal restraint. Shame on all of them. Three renegade Republican senators joined with all Senate Democrats except Zel Miller to dilute Bush's already modest tax-cut proposal...

In San Francisco, the Brainwash Cafe Laundromat presents comedy and musical entertainment while you wash and dry. At the Boulevard Laundromat at 15 S. West End Boulevard, watching the spin cycle is as entertaining as it gets, but something else may make this Laundromat special. Cape Girardeau's oldest Laundromat could be an historic landmark...

As business manager of the financially strapped Cape Girardeau schools, it's Rob Huff who gives final approval or denial to teachers' requests to purchase classroom supplies. He sees a lot of those requests -- the district's teachers only receive about $50 each to cover annual classroom supply purchases...

Athletes stood unwavering against Saturday's blustery winds, many showing a strength as mighty as the words of the oath they repeated prior to beginning their competitions: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." More than 340 athletes competed at the Southeast Missouri Area Special Olympics track and field competition before a crowd of some 300 family members and volunteers at Cape Girardeau Central High School...

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson leaves Tuesday for Cuba with the goal of breaking down barriers to rice exports from Southeast Missouri. The Cape Girardeau Republican will meet with Cuba's agricultural attach, commerce officials and perhaps President Fidel Castro said Lloyd Smith, Emerson's chief of staff...

Barely 10 minutes out of Cape Girardeau and already the kids were asking, "Are we there yet?" Joni and I quickly pointed out that it would take two days to get to our destination, sunny South Florida and a stay with relatives. We hadn't made the trip for several years. The last time we made the 19-hour drive, Becca was still in a car seat and Bailey hadn't been born...

JACKSON, Mo. -- A man was arrested Saturday for making a false report after apparently lying about an armed robbery, police said. A caller had reported that a man wearing a ski mask and holding a small black handgun had robbed Casey's General Store at 920 W. Independence St. about 3 p.m., police detective James Humphreys said...

A presentation on "The Forgotten Suffragist: The Life of Anna Howard Shaw" will be held Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center Missouriana Room. Dacia Charlesworth of the speech communication and theatre department faculty will deliver the speech...

The region's Cardinal fans will enjoy a day at the ballpark on June 16 as part of Southeast at Busch Stadium, sponsored by the Southeast Missourian and Southeast Missouri State University. Last year, the event drew 1,700 people. University Alumni Services Director Kim Groves said she hopes as many as 2,000 people will attend this year's St. Louis Cardinal game against the Chicago White Sox. The game starts at 12:15 p.m...

I don't know about you, but for me, this is something of a sad time of the year. I'm about to go into withdrawal. That's because the college basketball season is now officially over. Sure, I love most other sports. I wouldn't have gotten into this profession otherwise...

JACKSON, Mo. -- At about 2:30 p.m. Saturday -- with two thirds of the Jackson Invitational track meet finished -- Cape Central coach Lawrence Brookins was asked how his teams were doing. Brookins seemed down a bit. Not knowing how other teams were doing for sure, he thought his boys team was about where it should be, but he didn't think his girls, at far less than 100 percent, would have enough horses to take first place...

The Southeast Missouri State University men's track team outdistanced a seven-team field to capture the team championship at the 20th annual All Sport Classis on Saturday. Southeast won the men's title with 187 points to runner-up Southwest Missouri State's 152.5, and took second in the women's division with 145 points, behind Southwest's 186...

I know that spring is here when I hear the frogs singing after rain storms. It does not matter to me if leaves are on the trees or if any birds have migrated back through. When I hear spring peepers and chorus frogs singing to beat the band I know it is spring! I will bet that I am not alone. ...

A good start to the Cape Central boys tennis season turned to a great start on Saturday as the Tigers defeated perennial power Parkway West at the Southeast Missouri State University courts. Not only did the Tigers post their first victory ever over the St. Louis school, they did so in convincing fashion, winning 9-0...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Cecil Crowe, 95, died Friday, April 6, 2001, at the Beverly Healthcare Center in Bloomfield, Mo. He was born Aug. 24, 1095, in Aid, Mo., son of Oscar and Gertie Sifford Crowe. He had been a resident of Stoddard County all his life. He moved to Dexter in 1943. He was a farmer before being employed with Bennet Appliance in Dexter, where he worked for many years...

Hattie Emilie Habeck, 90, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, April 6, 2001, at Beverly Health & Rehab of Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 15, 1911, at Cape Girardeau, daughter of Henry and Julia Heuer Habeck. She attended the Evangelical United Church of Chirst in Cape Girardeau. She was a lifelong resident of the city...

BURFORDVILLE, Mo. -- Clent W. Proffer, 83, of Burfordville died Friday, April 6, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born April 3, 1918, at Crump, Mo., son of Lyman E. and Etta C. Jones Proffer. He and Alfreda J. Flowers were married June 21, 1946, at Cape Girardeau...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Leonard M. Barker, 73, formerly of Mill Creek, Ill., died Saturday, April 7, 2001, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Marion, Ill. He and Ruth Thibodeau were married Aug. 27, 1964, in Chicago. She died July 18, 1996...

GORDONVILLE, Mo. -- Hobert Fredie "Gabby" Riehn, 73, of Gordonville died Saturday, April 7, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 6, 1927, at Kurreville, Mo., son of John and Sarah Niswonger Riehn. He had worked as a truck driver for Macke Farm Service, Straightway Farm Service and Kuntze Excavating Service...

CROWDER, Mo. -- Thomas Burke, 82, died Friday, April 6, 2001, at the John J. Pershing V.A. Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo. He was born July 22, 1918, in Vanduser, Mo., son of Elbert and Lena Collins Burke. He was a World War II veteran, serving in the U.S. Army. He was a member of the Morley Church of Christ and a retired construction worker...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Jim VanGennip, 68, of Advance died Friday, April 6, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 4, 1933, at Dongola, Mo., son of R.A. and Minnie Schrock VanGennip. He was a retired farmer and carpenter. He was a veteran of the Korean War, serving in the U.S. Army...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Marsharlene Cox Harris, 53, of Memphis, Tenn., formerly of Charleston, died Wednesday, April 4, 2001, at Baptist Desoto Hospital in Whitehaven, Miss. She was born Nov. 25, 1947, in Indiana, daughter of Creola and William Cox. She graduated from Loop College in Chicago in 1974. She was employed by the Internal Revenue Service Treasury Department from 1975 to 2000...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Jennifer Lynn Pape and Douglas Michael McDaniel exchanged vows Jan. 2, 2001, in a private outdoor ceremony in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. The Rev. Joel Downer performed the double ring ceremony. Parents of the bride are Bill and Phyllis White of Advance, and Michael Pape of Zalma, Mo. The groom is the son of Mike and Charlotte McDaniel of Festus, Mo...

Natasha Jo Potter and Lloyd William Voerg were married March 6, 2001, at Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau. Judge Pete Statler performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Don and Judy Potter of Galena, Mo. The groom is the son of Kyle and Lori Quessenberry of Republic, Mo...

Last summer my "growing-up" neighbor, Sami, creator of the city's children's flag, decorated a miniature flower pot for me. With some kind of fast-drying paint/glue she had written my name on it and added little colored dots all around it. It was filled with potting soil and, as she said, was sown with wildflower seeds. ...

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- Teresa Regina Giacomo and Charles Kennett McLane were married Dec. 2, 2000, at Oak Ridge Methodist Church. Dr. Nick Perry performed the double ring ceremony. Music was presented by Lucy and Lisa Meyer of Oak Ridge. Norma Habeck of Oak Ridge, and the late Roger Giacomo are parents of the bride. The groom is the son of Bob and Karen McLane of Oak Ridge...

Mr. and Mrs. Norman Youngblood of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a dinner March 31, 2001. Youngblood and Dorine Lampman were married March 31, 1951, in Hillsboro, Mo., by Jack H. Hunter. Their attendants were Norvel and Betty Spradling...

Richard and Veroncett Gerlach of Cape Girardeau and Bud and Becky Whitlatch of Scott City, Mo., announce the engagement of their children, Myra R. Gerlach and Jason L. McCormick. McCormick is also the son of the late David "Poonie" McCormick. Gerlach is a 1994 graduate of Central High School. She is employed at Heise Heating and Cooling Inc...

Doug and Marlene Glenn of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Cassandra Dawn Glenn, to James Robert Worley. He is the son of Darrel and Ruth Worley of Cape Girardeau. Glenn is a 1994 graduate of Central High School. She expects to receive a degree in health management and health promotion from Southeast Missouri State University in August. She is employed at Community 2000 at the university...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Spurgeon of Terre Du Lac, Mo., Jerry Suedekum and Brenda Crain of Jackson announce the engagement of their children, Natalie Ann Spurgeon and Brandon Kyle Suedekum. Spurgeon is a graduate of West County High School. She received a bachelor of arts degree in biology and a doctorate of medicine from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2000. She expects to start residency training in family medicine in Cleveland, Ohio...

James and Rebecca Hicks of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Anna Christine Hicks, to Randall Lee Majors. He is the son of Kim Majors and Tony Fork of Uniontown, Ky. Hicks is a 1999 graduate of Central High School. She is pursuing a degree in English at Southeast Missouri State University...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Danny "Rerun" Freeman of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Tara Lee Freeman, to Michael James Conner. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Conner of Effingham, Ill. Freeman is a 1996 graduate of Jackson High School. She received a bachelor of general studies degree from Southeast Missouri State University in 2000. She is employed at Firstar Bank...

BENTON, Mo. -- Marvin and Esther Lawless of Benton announce the engagement of their daughter, Valerie Dawn Lawless, to Clayton Daniel Eubanks. He is the son of Jerry and Doris Eubanks of Sikeston, Mo., and Johnny and Linda Hogan of Elsberry, Mo. Lawless is a 1998 graduate of Kelly High School, and is majoring in secondary education at Southeast Missouri State University. She is employed at Lacey's on the Hill Restaurant in Cape Girardeau...

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Robert Haertling of Altenburg and Mr. and Mrs. Roger Buerck of Perryville, Mo., announce the engagement of their children, Regina M. Haertling and Jamie G. Buerck. Haertling is a 1997 graduate of Perryville High School. She is employed at Golden Products Division of Ralston Purina Co. in Cape Girardeau...